The Church of God and the Baluchitherium

Never has there been a church that has felt it has had to have the answer about everything mentioned in the Bible.  Every myth, allegory and metaphor had to have an explanation in order to prove them as "true" and "factual."  The problem with all of that is the things they tried to prove as true were not and the things they really needed to believe, they refuse to acknowledge.  But that is another story that most here already know.

One of the things we attempted to prove was the meaning behind the behemoth mentioned in Job. Those wise archaeologists of the letter answering department  latched on to the discovery of the largest creature ever found, the Baluchitherium.  This was the behemoth of scripture. They then claimed that this was the large animal that was supposedly created when Adam and Ever were created.

Begin with Job 40:15: “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee: he eateth grass like an ox.” What does this tell us?

First, as recent articles in “The Plain Truth” have graphically shown, God made a distinct creation of plants, including grass, and animals for the benefit and pleasure of man. The warm-blooded animals and the grasses and herbs were FIRST made when man was made — about 6000 years ago (Gen. 1:24-25). Evolutionists have always been puzzled at the fact that this kind of vegetation appeared so late in geological history.

Now notice again Job 40:15: “Behold now behemoth, WHICH I MADE WITH THEE ….” Here is an animal God made when man was made. Behemoth did not exist in the pre-Adamic world which was filled with giant dinosaurs and other types of strange creatures. Behemoth was an UNIQUE animal created WITH MAN — and for a purpose, as we shall see later!  Plain Truth, March 1964

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Notice the amazing confirmation that the giant rhinoceros “Baluchitherium” was “the chief of the ways of God.” It’s described in a modern book on fossil animals: “In an age when a hippopotamus is big and the elephant a giant, “Baluchitherium” seems ALMOST UNREAL. His head was about 5 FEET LONG, yet it was absurdly small upon his gigantic body, which stood 18 FEET HIGH at the shoulder and was very deep” (“The Fossil Book”, Fenton, page 406).

Another author reveals the fact that “Baluchitherium” was “at least 25 FEET LONG” (“Historical Geology”, Dunbar page 413).

“It was the LARGEST OF ALL LAND MAMMALS” (“Time, Life, and Man”, Stirton, page 325). 

Not only was it the largest of all known land mammals, but “very probably, like the huge sauropod dinosaurs among the reptiles, IT REPRESENTS ABOUT THE MAXIMUM SIZE TO WHICH A LAND-LIVING MAMMAL CAN DEVELOP” (“The Illustrated Library of the Natural Sciences”, article “Giants of the Past,” by Colbert, Vol. II, page 1192). 

His great legs, longer than those of elephants and living rhinoceroses, also gave him the RECORD FOR SPEED among both of these groups, living or extinct” (“The Wonder Books”, Janssen & Cole, page 324). 

But, there is yet more proof! 

Notice again the inspired Biblical account of “behemoth.” Job 40:18 informs us: “His bones are as strong pieces of BRASS; his bones are like BARS OF IRON.” These facts are upheld by the findings of “Baluchitherium”: “‘Baluchitherium’, as it was called, had HUGE POSTLIKE LIMBS …” (“Time, Life, and Man”, Stirton, page 325).

The church spent time and money having people study these subjects when they refused to study that most inconvenient dude they never attempt to really follow.  The church has always made a business out of majoring in minors and never getting to the meat of the matter.

That tradition of wallowing in the unnecessary things still is alive today in all of the splinter groups today.  That is why none of them are growing.  They are so out of touch with reality that people are turned off by everything they teach.

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Why has the Church of God always been embarrassed about its self?

I am on a secret Facebook page filled with over 780 former COG members that has all kinds of conversations going on, usually about abuse at the hands of the ministry or church.  One of the conversations has centered around how the church called it's self  a "nondenominational church" instead of a Christian church.

I remember in 1962 when I was in first grade that we had been instructed to say the church we attended was nondenominational.  We did not claim to be Christian because that was a label for back sliding,  Sunday keeping, pork eating  Christmas keeping false Christians, even though they proclaimed Jesus much more than the COG did.

Because of church beliefs many thought church members were Jews because  we rarely, if at all, talked about Jesus but sure talked about old testament holy days and old testament biblical characters.  However, church members found the Jewish label to be just as offensive as being called Christian.  

Church literature and sermons rarely mentioned Jesus and if they did, it was in the last couple of paragraphs in an article or as a side comment in a sermon.

Even Herbert Armstrong could not bring himself to say God or Jesus and had to talk about a "strong hand from some place."

When HWA started gallivanting around the world bribing audiences with world leaders with offers of cash and Steuben crystal, he did it under the auspices of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation.  It was too embarrassing to say he was there as a leader of a church.

Even if you look back at old issues of the Tomorrow's World magazine, which was supposed to be filled with "meaty" articles for the baptized, there was seldom mention of Jesus, but lots and lots of law.

I think part of the problem today that almost all of the various COG incarnations suffer from is the fact they still cannot take a stand on who they are and what they believe.  They pretend to be Jewish, then whence when people compare them to the Jews. They pretend to be Christian, but can't talk about Jesus.  

Because the church has no identity, it allows it self to fall under the spell of devious men like Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel and James Malm.   These men have made it all about themselves. They are special conduits of streaming knowledge directly from God the Father, but never Jesus.  Everything revolves around their personal interpretations regardless of how sick and perverted it is.  Just look at Dave Pack and Bob Thiel with all their self aggrandizing comments about themselves.  It is all about them and not the church or Jesus.

United Church of God makes endless attempts to make a name for itself with public campaigns and appearances, but it has accomplished nothing other than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It has left no witness about Jesus anywhere.

Now that this version of the Church of God movement moves into the 80 some years of existence it is still shocking that it still has no identity or focus on the one it claims to follow. 

One Facebook user made the following accurate description of the Church of God:

"A non denominational non sectarian educational group in the public interest!"

This is exactly why not a single Church of God group is growing today nor has any impact.