Bob Thiel Struggles to Prove He Is A Prophet After Doug Winnail Deflates His Bubble Again

Doug Winnail of the Living Church of God has taken another broad swipe at the outrageous claims of Bob Thiel.  This is just the latest in a series of smackdowns by Rod Meredith and the Living Church off God to discredit Bob Thiel.

As usual, Thiel takes it personally and lets his bitterness shine forth.  It must really be frustrating  for Bob to have imagined himself all these years as Rod Meredith's confident and spiritual advisor and  then to have Meredith turn his back on him and mock him.

Thiel writes:

12/13/15 a.m. LCG had the following announcement read in services yesterday from its Dr. Douglas Winnail:

Some of the strongest condemnations delivered by the Hebrew prophets were against the leaders of Israel who “cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness” and “who try to make My people forget My nameby their dreams” (Jeremiah 23:13, 26-27, 32; see also Isaiah 3:12; 9:16).

Normally, I would have not mentioned something like this, but coming relatively close after the recommended CCOG sermon Dreams, COGs, and One Man Rule, perhaps it should be commented upon. 

Thiel is under the impression that his nightmares have spiritual significance.  Following in the footsteps of Herbert Armstrong, who started his version of the Church of God movement based upon the nightmares of Loma, Thiel bases his entire movement upon his own nightmares and the "double blessing" he received.

Thiel tries uses the Bible to back up his claim of being an "old man" who dreams dreams:

The Bible teaches the following: 

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18) 

Is the Bible true? 

Of course it is. 

Why ask that? 

Because that verse says that in the latter days, old men would have dreams--this means dreams for God. And that some with God's Spirit would prophesy. 

No leader currently in the Living Church of God has claimed that prophetic dreams happened to them. The same is true for all the leaders in groups once part of the old GCG, except the Continuing Church of God. 

I had two dreams. I was about 50 at the time of the first one, which essentially makes me an ‘old man’ per Numbers 8:25; cf. John 8:57. And about 52 at the time of the second one.

Having dreams can lead to people mocking you, especially when you make these dreams public claiming that God told you to do something.  Thiel knows he is routinely mocked by LCG members and hierarchy and by others. He has this to say:

Some people want to discount dreams, but notice what God taught:

6 “Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)

While it seemed to me that from my dreams God was calling me to be a prophet, I was not sure at first that the message was from God. Lest that seem unusual, Jeremiah the prophet sometimes wondered as well--he, like I, realized the message was from God when the message was confirmed (see Jeremiah 32:6-8). Also the Apostle Peter at least once had a vision that he did not understand (Acts 10:9-17) until later as well (Acts 11:5-17). 

Thiel then claims that all of the upper brass at Living Church of God were beginning to realize that he was prophet as early as 2008.

On October 3, 2008, Dr. Meredith (Presiding Evangelist of the Living Church of God) called me and said to me, “God may consider you to be a prophet.” Notice that this came from a long-time evangelist and did not first come out from me. It was Dr. Meredith who first brought up the topic about Bob Thiel being a prophet. In January 2009, Dr. Meredith told me over the telephone that if he (Dr. Meredith) was raised to the office of apostle, he was considering ordaining me (Bob Thiel) as a prophet. On February 4, 2009, Dr. Meredith told me over the telephone, “You have an in-depth understanding {of prophetic matters}—you could be a prophet.” In the Summer of 2009, Dibar Apartian told me, in quite a positive tone, that Dr. Meredith had been stating in top level meetings that Bob Thiel may be a prophet. Because of Dibar Apartian's statements, later that Summer or perhaps early Fall, I asked Dr. Douglas Winnail, if he was part of top LCG level discussions stating that Bob Thiel may be a prophet. He said yes.

Thiel is doing all he can to make people believe he is a prophet.  Next, he drags Gaylyn Bonjour back into the mix.

I prayed in November/December 2012 that on my next trip to Charlotte, NC, that God would, one way or the other, make the prophet matter clear to me. On the morning of December 15, 2011, upon arriving at the Charlotte HQ of LCG, I asked to meet with Gary Ehman as I wanted to get anointed for some non-debilitating matters as well as to ask him to pray that I be granted wisdom for my meetings with the HQ evangelists. But Gary Ehman was not in.  So instead, I asked to meet with Gaylyn Bonjour (with whom I never had any discussions prior about me possibly being some type of prophet). I asked Gaylyn Bonjour if he would do the anointing and pray that God would grant me wisdom for the meetings. He agreed. But while laying hands upon me, Gaylyn Bonjour also happened (it was not planned nor did I say anything to encourage this) to ask God to grant me a “double-portion” of His Holy Spirit and anointed me with oil. I asked him if he had ever prayed for a a double-portion anointing before, he said he had not, and that the only 'double-portion' he knew of was when Elisha received the double-portion and the mantle in 2 Kings 2. I then attended a meeting with the evangelists and did not then have time to discuss more of what this might mean with Gaylyn Bonjour. On Sunday 12/18/11 night at a family wedding reception, without discussing the matter, I stared at Gaylyn Bonjour for a few moments, without saying anything and then asked, “Do you have any idea of what you may have accidently done?”  Gaylyn Bonjour said, “Yes, I think so.”

Another proof Thiel drags out is the fact he is an old man who dreams.

Within two weeks of my leaving LCG, on January 7, 2013, Dr. Douglas Winnail sent me an email, which included the statement, "we made comments to you  that 'you may be a prophet.'" 

As far as I am aware, I the only COG leader who met the criteria of being an 'old man' who had a dream that was confirmed as well as a prayer answered about being given an anointing reminiscent of being a prophet. 

Thiel claims that ever since he left the Living Church of God it has sunk unto apostasy.

Since the time of my departure from LCG, it has promoted more and more doctrinal and prophetic errors as it refuses to believe the Bible and the power of God  

In spite of Winnail's smack down, Thiel trots out the following as proof he is a prophet.

Few will believe:

1. Dr, Meredith on more than one occasion stated that God may consider me to be a prophet.

1. That God speaks to His prophets in dreams (Number 12:6).

1. I had two dreams that were confirmed by subsequent events, thus confirming they were from God (Jeremiah 32:6-8; Acts 10:9-17, 11:5-17).

1. Dreams and prophets are required in the last days (Acts 2:17-18).

1. God answered my prayer (cf. Psalm 65:2)

1. God does not always get anointings done the way people think they should be (Genesis 27:25-37; 2 Kings 9:1-3).

1. Therefore my anointing was a real answer to prayer and God's intervention.

Fortunately, Thiel ranks right up there with the other false prophets of Armstrongism. His nonsense is just as appallingly bad as Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Gerald Waterhouse, Dean Blackwell, Herbert Armstrong and many others.

Living Church of God Members Must Forsake All

Living Church of God members are being encourage to forsake all, families, friends and money.  Naturally this does not apply to the ministry or LCG HQ folk.  Can you imagine Lil'Jimmy forsaking all? Gerald Weston? Or Rod McNair?

I feel sorry for LCG members, nothing they can do ever seems to please Rod Meredith.

Stop Playing Church!The time for “half-hearted” Christians who “play Church” is over! We must truly seek firstthe Kingdom of God and His righteousness. And we must want to be in God’s Kingdom so much that we can “taste” it. Therefore, we must be willing to totally surrender the self, lose (if need be) part or all of our families, friendships and physical possessions, and literally “forsake all” to gain eternal life in the glorified Family of God. As Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24–26). 

Let us daily give our lives to God as living sacrifices. And let us so walk with Him and with Christ in living faith that at the end of our physical lives—whenever or however that may be—we may say what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7–8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Rod Meredith Is Tired of Competitive, Bickering, and Accusatory Brethren

One of the most effective tricks of Armstrognism was to instill fear in its members.  That fear kept the membership obedient and submissive. Fear of losing ones salvation or being persecuted for ones beliefs was the favorite control mechanism of the Church of God.  Rod Meredith's god has always been eternally pissed and angry at everyone.  From regular church members to the pagan heathens in lost corners of the world.  His god has been ready to SPANK everyone into submission.

In his January/February editorial, Rod's god is ready to wreck havoc upon an unsuspecting world, BUT before it does so the Living Church of God will face INTENSE persecution of its FORCEFUL message. 

Brethren, with the entire panorama of prophetic events surging ahead more than ever, I deeply feel that I should once again give you “proper warning” about what to expect in the years ahead. We often emphasize the blessings and the opportunitieswe will surely have in God’s Work—and, later on, in Tomorrow’s World. Our reward will be awesome. However, it is very clear in the New Testament that many true Christians will be persecuted—even before the formal Tribulation begins. So it is imperative that you understand this, pray about this, and are not “shocked” or disillusioned if the world begins to savagely turn on us at some point before the end of our ministry!

While LCG members are not being persecuted for their faith, fake Christians are dying around the world.  Meredith and other COG ministers (Thiel) love to smear Christians as "professed" or "so-called."  These people apparently are too stupid to know that they are not real Christians like LCG members are.   Rod somehow thanks that the LCG will soon be restricted and banned around the world for their message.  Its laughable to think that such a thing will happen to them considering the cesspool the LCG leadership is currently swimming in.  They have not set any example to the world other than what NOT to do in a church.  Instead of being persecuted they are being laughed at and set forth as an example as to how not to treat ones members.

Even apart from the true Church, professing Christians around the world are suffering increased persecution. News reports tell us of more and more horrifying instances of their being tortured, killed, raped or even sold into slavery in many non-Christian lands.
And now there is a movement in many European countries to crack down on virtually all religious groups that are not in the “mainstream.” These groups include Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and others. Clearly, as the Living Church of God gains worldwide recognition and prominence for doing the Work of God, we too will be restricted—maybe banned!—and eventually persecuted in many nations around the world. 

The Living Church of God has been facing lots of criticism over the last few years as abusive ministers are placed in positions of authority where they treat members like dirt, with the full blessing of LCG HQ.  (Just look at Rod McNair's track record and what he has done.) Yet, Meredith places that criticism into the category of "persecution."  Members have never had the right in the Church of God to have the ability to ask for justice.  Mistreatment by the minister was always turned around to be a "test" to see if the members were worthy.  That's why the ministry has always gotten away with its grievous abuse of members.  It was Satan the accuser at work, never sick and degenerate men who who should never have been ordained.

Truly, we all will need to “stand tall” against the storms of criticism, hatred and persecution that Satan will hurl at us, both from within and from without. For Satan will attempt to “break” us. He and his untold legions of demon spirits (Ephesians 6:11–12) will try to divide us, pitting brother against brother, even in God’s Church! He will attempt to discourage us profoundly, through repeated attacks, accusations and persecution. Eventually, after his “frontal assault” on God fails, Satan will “come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12). 

Will you be ready? The time for us to be bickering, competing and accusing one another must quickly come to a close, brethren! For we have a far greater enemy in the “prince of darkness” than many of us may fully realize. And we will need all the love, encouragement and support of our brethren that we can possibly have during the trials ahead. 

Sadly the persecution of the brethren has come from within, not from Satan or the world who is upset with their message. The persecution is coming from men who do not follow Jesus or even know anything about him.  When ones own leaders cannot talk about Jesus, his message, what he accomplished, grace, justification or any other new covenant teachings, what more can one expect?   When the message is about the law, death and doom, how can grace ever shine forth?  Reading through  any missive by Rod Meredith, particularly his editorial, you can see how graceless the man truly is and what what he preaches.