COG Leader Says Harper Lee's New Book Is About A False Watchman - I Am The TRUE Watchman

It has been fascinating over the last couple of decades to watch various Church of God men who envision themselves as true leaders go into mental melt downs.  From men uttering hundreds of failed prophecies to men proclaiming themselves Elijah's, Joshua's, one of the two witnesses, prophets, true apostles, and Chief Overseers.

We have watched Gerald Flurry plagiarize Jules Dervaes book, to getting arrested for public drunkenness,  and then suffer through a humiliating court trial when he lost the plagiarism case.  Then after paying out a $3,000,000.00 fee for rights to publish Herbert Armstrong's writings, Flurry had to rewrite many of those works to edit out negative things that HWA said that would cast him in a bad light with all of his failed prophecies and Elijah predictions. His melt down continues as extreme forms of control are forced upon Philadelphia Church of God members isolating them from society  and their families.

Then there is Rod Meredith.  After being publicly humiliated in court proceedings after libeling Leona McNair and having WCG pay for his attorney fees, he jumped ship to take over leadership of Global Church of God which was started started by a child molester.  Then Meredith was forced into sticky position by Raymond McNair and others who felt Meredith was not fit to be running Global leading him and the child molester to start up Living Church of God.  From murders in his church to numerous ministers and members defecting, this rapidly aging leader is no longer a watchman.

There is also Dave Pack, ensconced in his cult compound in Wadsworth Ohio.  This legalistic tyrant has left a trail of destruction in every church area he has ever been in.  After decades of being rejected as a true leader, Dave had to start his own group because he knew MORE than any other COG out there.  Because he is so puffed up with "knowledge" Dave had to go and declare that three COG leaders would be struck down by God (three years ago) and that all of the members of these three churches would come over to Dave's camp and live happily ever after.  After suffering a humiliating defeat in this epic failure; Dave has proven once and of all that he is nothing but hot air.

And then there is Bob Thiel....who through duplicity was doubly blessed and then self-appointed himself  as Chief Overseer of the ONLY true Church of God on the earth today, even though 95% of his members and readers live in various countries of Africa.  Nevertheless Bob feels he is the most highly informed man on the earth today.  That puffed up arrogance, vanity, and narcissism has led Bob to make another incredibly STUPID comment today.

In today's entry on his blog he makes note of Harper Lee's new book, Go Set A Watchman. Then Thiel, like any good Church of God leader has to make the subject turn towards himself.

Thiel feels that the title Harper Lee chose was from Bible (Isaiah 21:6) has nothing to do with the Bible story and has this to say:

I debated for the past week if I should report about that particular book.  The title seems to come from a statement in the Bible (Isaiah 21:6), but the content of the book is not like the Book of Isaiah.  Here is what Amazon says about the novel:

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—”Scout”—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.

Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic.

Then Thiel makes a bold claim. He is the TRUE Watchman sent by God!

While many are interested in fiction, most fail to realize that God has a set a watchman to warn the world and the end time descendants of Israel what is going to happen.

At this news page, regular readers are aware that I declare what I see on a daily basis.

Because of Jesus’ admonishing to watch, you see news items on this page daily.

But is a watchman witness clearly needed today?

Yes.

Notice something else that Jesus said:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.  (Matthew 24:14)

Notice that Jesus said His gospel of the kingdom would be preached to the world as a witness, then the end would come. That end has not yet happened, so that message needs to continue to go out.

Since the rise of the Philadelphia era of the Church of God, through the old Radio then old Worldwide Church of God in the 20th century to those in the Continuing Church of God in the 21st century, this message has been going out.

The Bible itself also tells about a time when restrictions will be in place–so much so that it will be a famine of the word (Amos 8:11-12).  We have already started to have restrictions (watch the short video Famine of the Word?), but more significant ones are coming.

Because we know this, we in the Continuing Church of God are leading the final phase of the work and are actively preparing for the short work that will be cut short.  Thus, we need to do the watchman work now, while we can.  For as Jesus said:

4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. (John 9:4, NIV)

Anyway, the newly popular novel Go Set a Watchman does not do that.  Relatively few realize what God’s watchman should be doing today.

We in the Continuing Church of God “have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).”

Why so many members of the various Churches of God continue to follow these liars and outright frauds is shocking.  Bob Thiel is no more a Watchman that my cat is Elijah.  Thiel is a fraud and religious huckster just like Flurry, Pack, Kubik, and Meredith.  Sick degenerate men that are enslaving sincere people with mindless pablum and legalistic rules.

John Aubrey Pinkston, Former WCG Minister and Current Pastor in the Congregation of God Seventh Day, Found Guilty of Child Molestation

The sad legacy of Armstrongism continues to rip lives apart.  The latest is the conviction today of John Aubrey Pinkston who was found guilty of molesting two girls. Pinkston was a former Worldwide Church of God minister who served for a while in the Monroe, Louisiana WCG.  He was also a minister in GTA's church, Church of God International.  Various people on Facebook COG sites are talking about him now when he was the minister in their area.

KENNESAW, Ga. -- A pastor was sentenced to prison Thursday when a jury determined he molested at least two young girls and took "no responsibility whatsoever" for his actions.

Jurors deliberated half an hour before convicting 78-year-old John Aubrey Pinkston of two counts of child molestation. Pinkston is the founder and former leader of Congregation of God Seventh Day in Kennesaw.

"Mr. Pinkston, you've been convicted of the unforgivable sin of molesting the most vulnerable members of your flock. You've taken no responsibility whatsoever," Cobb County Superior Court Judge Robert D. Leonard II said before sentencing Pinkston to 20 years with 10 to serve in prison.

Read rest of story here.

 Court House News Service had this:

MARIETTA (CN) - It took just 33 minutes for a Georgia jury to convict a 78-year-old pastor of molesting two young girls at his church in Cobb County.
     During the trial, two young girls testified that they were molested by defendant John Aubrey Pinkston, at the Congregation of God Seventh Day in Kennesaw, a church Pinkston founded and led.
     Pinkston, of Dallas, was arrested in 2013 on a total of three counts of child molestation.
     The Cobb District Attorney's Office said later Pinkston confessed to touching one girl when questioned by police, telling them it was a "stupid mistake" that lasted "only 15 seconds."
     After the jury announced its verdict, Judge Robert Leonard II sentenced Pinkston to 10 years behind bars, and another 10 years on probation to be served after his release.
     "Mr. Pinkston, you've been convicted of the unforgiveable sin of molesting the most vulnerable members of your flock," Leonard said during the sentencing, "You've taken no responsibility whatsoever."
     Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring, who prosecuted the case, was even more blunt during a press conference following Pinkston's sentencing, saying not only did he refuse to take responsibility for his acts, but "he spit in everyone's face with the nonsense that he used to try to manipulate the jury."
     Pinkston did apologize before he was sentenced, but when Judge Leonard question whether his apology was sincere, the disgraced pastor expressed only frustration.
     "What more do you want me to do? You're going to send me to prison anyway," Pinkston said.

Georgia News Day: Kennesaw pastor John Aubrey Pinkston sentenced on child molestation charges

Stephen Elliot: Did LCG Commit Another Misstep When They Put Him In A Position Of Power After He Defected From David Hulme?

Many Living Church of God members where shaking their heads when Stephen Elliot jumped ship from David Hulme's minuscule little group to join up with Rod Meredith.  Meredith accepted him with open arms and it wasn't too long till he was back preaching.  Now it looks like Stephen is bringing his legalistic "sheriff" attitude with him.   It has emerged that Elliot was the one who fellowship the LCG woman who brought up the calendar issue.

A comment made about Elliot says this:

Many of us, though not in LCG, were horrified when we heard Stephen Elliot had been accepted into LCG, knowing they would rue the day. As a former policeman he was, and seemingly still is, firstly a sheriff instead of a shepherd. We remember when his actions in a UCG congregation resulted in the possibility of a lawsuit against the church which could have destroyed UCG financially. He was immediately pulled from the area and banished to the Mexico border while we heard that Jim Franks would frantically call members asking if the lawsuit was still coming. Perhaps it was Elliot’s fortunate move to Hulme a few months later that the lawsuit was dropped. Shining Light