The idolatry in the Philadelphia Church of God continues on unabated. The PCG has an article out on its website today about John Amos, Why You Must Remember John Amos, who has apparently attained "...the greatest success attainable on Earth" when he died. Attaining sainthood in the PCG is par for the course for the PCG elite. It has grandiose monuments and dirty old rocks proclaiming the deification of Herbert Armstrong. It has placed Gerald Flurry even higher that HWA in the deification process. HWA apparently did not have the super knowledge that Flurry does because Flurry has had to add to and delete things that HWA said in books, booklets and articles.
Now it is time for the canonization of John Amos. Flurry hack, Gareth Fraser writes:
For one, he was the second Philadelphia Trumpet writer. In that first edition, John Amos contributed an informative article and thereafter served as a contributor and executive editor.Amos was one of the early members who apostatized from the WCG to start a church for Flurry. Amos stands in the long line of men who worked behind the scenes to create a church so its divinely appointed leader could move right in and claim he did not start the splinter church but was asked to lead. This is exactly what Meredith did three times, UCG ministers did, COGWA ministers did, and many of the others.
His career experience as a broadcast enthusiast, student of Hollywood High, World War ii radio operator, radio show host and voice-over specialist in the dominant Southern California market, coupled with his service under Herbert W. Armstrong’s direction in media sales for The World Tomorrow, headquartered from Pasadena, and role as longtime minister of the Worldwide Church of God, well positioned him for any contribution he would make to the genesis of the Trumpet magazine’s sponsor.
“John Amos and I were disfellowshiped in late 1989 for seriously questioning the wcg leaders’ doctrinal changes away from what Mr. Armstrong taught, and for believing what was later printed as Malachi’s Message,” Mr. Flurry went on to detail.Flurry claims he and Amos had to "staunchly defend" HWA's book Mystery of the Ages, because the administration of the WCG was wisely taking it out of circulation.
That historic night of Dec. 7, 1989, saw the pair staunchly defend the contents of Mr. Armstrong’s final book, Mystery of the Ages.If it was such a "historic night" set aside for defending the divinely inspired book by HWA, then what has Flurry deleted, changed and added to MOA since he had to pay millions of dollars for rights to the book after losing the court case against WCG?
Fraser continues writing what Flurry dictated to him about the veneration of Amos:
A pinnacle spiritual lesson for us to learn from this venerated Trumpet writer was pinpointed in our hope-filled booklet Isaiah’s End-Time Vision. “John Amos followed [God's] government from the beginning. We were two nobodies in the ministry, and yet he never argued over who was in charge. He was one nobody submitting to another nobody! That is to his eternal credit, and it demonstrates that we had the government of God right at the start.”
Technically Amos was in rebellion against government when he conspired to break away from WCG to form a new splinter cult. That is, if you believe the COG malarkey on "proper government."
Notice how Flurry attempts to bring in prophetic significance to the number of the first PCG attendees: 12.
On the first Sabbath of the Philadelphia Church of God in December 1989, Mr. Amos, his wife, son and daughter made up four of the original 12 members.Fraser married Amos daughter and talks about what a magnificent man he was:
...since his death, in our hallway at home hangs his picture and that Philadelphia News article honoring his memory as a perpetual reminder to me, my wife and our children of his loyalty, sacrifice, service and death.
To God Mr. Amos’s death was precious. There is now another son ready to be born into God’s Family. This means so very much to our spiritual Father! He is in the business of building a family.John Amos is now waiting to marry Jesus as only those in the COG are qualified to do.
“During such a sobering time we urgently need God’s perspective. A great man has just died in Israel. He has now qualified for the most exalted job in God’s Family–the Bride of Christ. Very soon, we shall all be reunited to serve together for all eternity.”