COGWA Upset Over New Years

The Church of God a Worldwide Association has an article up in their latest Discern (November/December 2017) magazine concerning New Years.  Like any good Church of God, they have to find everything they can wrong with it.  The problem is, some of the things they attribute to it are the exact same things they do at the Feast of Tabernacles.

New Years was always a college and church activity for those in the Pasadena area.  Hundreds of college and church members sold their souls to the devil New Year's Eve as they freely volunteered to sell programs, film, and food along the Rose Parade route.  In addition to that, they also ushered in almost all of the grandstands and served in the parking lots all along the route.  For many years the church had the exclusive rights to sell programs and film along the entire route.  Doing this brought hundreds of thousands of dollars into the college and church coffers which supposedly went into college and church activity funds for students and member activities.  Very few of those dollars ever trickled down to the members where the church paid for activities. Never once was a sermon preached on the evils of New Years.

Church members and college students/employees spent decades partying along with the public on New Year's Eve.  This includes many of the members in all of the splinter groups, including a lot of the ministry. But New Years still remains an evil Satanic activity and they find anything they can to malign it, even though their excuses sound silly and trite in 2017.

Mike Bennett writes:

In addition to its pagan roots, the fruits of this holiday are not good. For example, according to Allprobailbond.com, “the holidays are the busiest time of year for the bail bond industry.” Why?

• Increased alcohol consumption. … Driving under the influence is the leading cause for New Year’s Eve arrests.

• Increased emotions. Some people are very unhappy during the holidays. Domestic violence often increases during the holiday season as well as self-inflicted wounds. Consumption of alcohol also increases violent acts.

This sounds just like a typical COGWA or any other COG Feast site.  Alcohol consumption goes through the roof during the Feast.  Liquor stores used to stock up when COG members came into town at some of the larger Feast sites.  Ministerial dining rooms are stacked to the brim with wine, beer and all kinds of spirits that the sheeple can only dream about.

Increased emotions at the Feast time also soar.  For some, it is the struggle they have to go through to attend Feast sites.  Even though they cant afford it, they show up with a smile on their faces pretending all is right, while inwardly they are struggling.  Others get caught up in the crowd emotions at Feast sites as certain "favorite" speakers show up in all their grandiose glory.  Tears stream down some of the faces of members when they see these men.  They did it for Herbert Armstrong, and they still do it today.

COGWA goes on to warn us about getting ensnared in "pagan" worldly celebrations, even though they celebrate harvest festivals and other days taken straight from pagan ways of those nations surrounding them during their evolution as a people.  The self-righteous leaders and members bitched and moaned when Tkach and others who claimed that God could take pagan days and make the Christian observances, like Christmas and Easter, yet they turn right around and do the exact same thing when they celebrate the Feast and other days.

As usual in the COG, they spend their energy majoring in minor subjects, which in the long run actually do not matter, while ignoring that inconvenient dude they claim to follow.

COGWA continues with this:

Playing with paganism isn’t cute—it is corrosive to our relationship with the true God. When God calls Himself a “jealous God,” it’s actually a sign of His love and desire for the best for us (Deuteronomy 6:14-15).

And consider the apostle Peter’s call to avoid sinful celebrations where there is “lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3). Peter acknowledged that our friends may think it strange we no longer party with them, but in the end we must answer to God.

For all these reasons, celebrating the pagan holiday of New Year’s Eve is not pleasing to God.

All of the things mentioned in the second paragraph above are the exact things that still go in in COGWA, UCG, LCG, PCG, RCG and other groups.  None of these groups are pillars of virtue when it comes to being standard bearers for Christian principles. Their divisive 20+ year track record has proven that

Ron Weinland: "I am the counterpart of John who wrote the Book of Revelation"

Where would the Church of God be without all of its apostles" and "prophets?"  They somehow believe their god has appointed them to this position, but each and every one of them has self-appointed themselves to a non-existent position in the church.  It really frosts all of their pampered privileged butts that Herbert Armstrong declared that there are NO prophets in the church today.

Ron Weinland goes on to proclaim:

As time continued on, I knew and was then able to accept the fact that I was a full prophet of God. I had come to see many things God was giving me to know that only a full prophet could fulfill. However, that still was not an easy thing for me, but instead, a very uncomfortable one. Even then I did not realize that He had first made me an apostle to His Church, even before being made a prophet. God had raised up one last apostle to lead the Church from the destruction it had begun to experience in December of 1994. I was given charge to raise up a prophesied remnant of the Church that would continue on to Christ’s actual coming. 

So yes, I am both an apostle and a prophet of God and of Jesus Christ to the Church of God, and to the world, in this final period of the end-time. I am the last apostle in this age of mankind’s self-rule. 

Then, not satisfied with his role as a prophet, he claims he is the modern day John, the NEW author of revelation.

Yet even more, I am the counterpart of John who wrote the Book of Revelation. He was the only other apostle whom God also made a prophet. John wrote the book, but did not understand the revelation it contained. It was not for his time, but for the end-time that would lead up to the return of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God that will reign over all mankind for 1,100 years. Nearly all of the Book of Revelation is about those things that would occur in the end-time which lead to the Kingdom of God being established on earth for 1,100 years. 

Then to PROVE he is the same as John he writes:

Just as John was imprisoned and placed on the Isle of Patmos and then given the contents for the Book of Revelation that he wrote, I too am currently in prison as I am writing this book. 

When John wrote the Book of Revelation, he had no idea what he was writing.  It was not to be understood until Ron Weinland hit the scene.  Even Herbert Armstrong had no idea!

John wrote the book of Revelation, but God has given to me to show the full interpretation and full meaning of what is written in it. God gave some understanding to Herbert W. Armstrong concerning certain sections of Revelation, which primarily had to do with a great false church and a final revival of the European Roman Empire. It had six previous revivals that have often been referred to as revivals of the old Holy Roman Empire. The sixth one was primarily under the rule of Hitler during WWII. One more is prophesied to rise and has been forming for the past 66 years now. It is prophesied to become ten nations that will form the final configuration of a United States of Europe. 

UCG: In the world, but not of it

        

It is that time of year when United Church of God faithful and the not so faithful make their annual pilgrimage to Great Wolf Lodge for their Christmas week of fun time.  Like any good COG event, it has to have a theme.  This year it is, "In the World, but not of it."

Their theme is pretty hypocritical considering they want to be as close to Christmas as possible, look all the pretty lights, listen to the beautiful Christmas music and eat holiday food, but not actually "keep" it.  The Great Wolf Lodge's are known for the Christmas decorations in their facilities and events they put on.

The dates for Winter Family Weekend are December 22-26, and members may begin reserving rooms at Great Wolf Lodge using promo code 1712ucgw. Full information is available at: Winter Family Weekend.

This year’s theme will be “In The World, But Not Of It.”