Why Do The COG's Continue To Allow False Prophets In Their Midst?

This is a reposting of a 2013 blog entry, by request. Almost seven years later and the various ACOG leaders still do not speak out against ACOG leaders who are abusive and liars, like Pack, Flurry, Thiel and others.  They still consider them "brothers" and choose to let their god take care of matters.    So here we are seven years later and horrendous abuse is still being dished out and ACOG do not care.





The All About Armstrongism has an excellent blog entry today asking why it is that COG members continue to allow lying false prophets in their midst. Men like David C. Pack, Ron Weinland and Gerald Flurry, lie through their teeth with one false prophecy after another and yet the sheeple continue to support them.  Why?

And then there’s what happens when the prophecies completely fail. You would expect from Christian people a certain respect of what God says about false prophets. You would expect from Christian people to be intolerant of proven falsehoods. You would expect them to immediately withdraw from those who speak things that don’t come true in God’s name. You would expect Christian people to get as far away as possible from those that meet the criteria of a false prophet. But the reality is, there is little respect for God’s opinion in the COG’s when it comes to false prophecy and false prophets. Nearly every time, the prophecy and the prophet are excused by COG members – even when the false teacher’s own words condemn themselves as a false prophet. Then the “everybody makes mistakes”, “errors happen”. and excuses start up as the false prophet blasts excuses, clarifications, rewrites and reboots. And what do the members do? They excuse the person and fall for the reboot all over again, just to have it fail again, and again, and again.

They have no problems giving mainstream Christian leaders every judgement in the book as to what they are doing wrong, how they are doing it wrong, where they are weak, in error, in confusion, or just plain wrong – and every vile thing they have self-righteously judged others on – but when there’s something going on as serious as accepting false prophets and false prophecy when there is clearly no excuse to do so, there’s no fear. There’s no repentance. There’s no respect.

And this to me raises many questions. They claim to take God’s word seriously. But do they? Do they really and honestly? One thing I’ve learned from Armstrongism over decades in the religion is that they only take seriously what they want to take seriously. Armstrongism is a hodgepodge religion full of pickings and choosings, lines upon lines, precepts upon precepts, where certain things are taken VERY seriously, and other things are ignored or completely whitewashed away. Members are used to being told, thus, what is right and what is correct, not by the understanding given by the Holy Spirit to themselves, but by the understanding given to the Apostles then to the ministers and then to the members.

LCG Mentioned In Article on "War on Religion"

Jonathan Madison, in an article for The Daily Journal, out of San Mateo, CA, mentions the Living Church of God in an article about attacks on places of worship.  The mass killings at the mosque in New Zealand spurred on the article.

I am saddened to learn that 50 victims have been identified among those killed in the March 15 terror attacks on two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand. The tragedy marks the single deadliest massacre in New Zealand’s history.

One can only fathom why someone would take the lives of innocent and peaceful members of a congregation engaging in a worship service. It is no wonder why the tragedy has shocked the world and has marked a period of mourning. As shocking the event and its aftermath, history reminds us that terror attacks on religious institutions and congregations are much more common than one might think. 

The Roman Empire is notoriously remembered for its relentless persecution since 64 A.D. The empire made terror attacks on believers in Christ a blood sport. These persecutions would occur in public places such as the Colosseum, and also involved floggings, beheadings and crucifixions. 

More recently, church bombings and shootings are on the rise in America and abroad. According to research by Charles Chinn, a church security expert, more than 617 innocent victims have been killed on faith-based properties in the U.S. since 1999. These deaths occurred as a result of 18 fatal church shootings in that timeframe. Below is a list of some of the churches in which those fatal shootings occurred.  The war on religion

He then goes on to list many of the church related killings in the United States between 1999 - 2017.

Living Church of God is included in this list.

Living Church of God made the news in 2005 when one of its members went on a killing spree in the Brookfield, Wisconsin church.  Terry Ratzmann, an LCG member, shot and killed seven people at Sabbath services.  Numerous media reports and even LCG members said he was spurred on by the rage filled sermons by Rod Meredith about the end times.

That is the difference between the LCG killings and most of the other incidents reported.  It was the aberrant teachings of Rod Meredith that spurred on Ratzmann. His endless bellowing aberrant sermons on the end times, his appalling homophobia, and constant brow beating of members that they were not worthy in God's sight, slowly built up into an uncontrollable rage in Ratzmann.  After years of hearing this dangerous concoction of misery, doom and unworthiness, Ratzmann snapped.

Living Church of God, as have most of the other Armstrong Churches of God have still not learned their lesson.  How long will it be till a Restored Church of God member, or a recent fired employee goes on a killing spree? What about the Philadelphia Church of God?  They are on the verge of fleeing to Petra.  How long will it take for a disgruntled member to snap and kill PCG members? Then there is the blithering idiot Ron Weinland and his dingy second witless witness wife Laura.  Has the ACOG ever had two more psychotic people in charge than these two?  Even Bob Thiel is going to have issues with is little group.  Having no control over his African "members", how long will it be till one of his "evangelists" leads his followers into killing themselves like other "Christian" ministers have done in the tribal areas?

Persecution of ACOG members has always come from within.  Its top leaders are to blame. They all have mental health issues that they need to get treatment for, and in some cases, committed!

Restored Church of God: Are You A Maggot Like Jesus?

It is Passover time in the various Armstrong Churches of God.  It is a time to face the fact you are a worthless piece of garbage in God's sight, so much so that you are nothing more than a maggot.  The church has been very good and making members believe they are unworthy, but the Restored Church of God takes it further.  You are a maggot!

Rod Meredith loved to say we are all worms and loved to reinforce that idea at Passover time.

Reading further in Psalm 22, Christ stated a comparison that can better help us understand His emotional state: “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people” (vs. 6).

Let these words sink in.

A worm can describe many different creatures such as microscopic grubs and 5-inch-long earthworms. Yet all of them live under man’s foot. They are disregarded by all above them, and they are subject to being stepped on and crushed.

The God-being known as the Word had lived for an eternity before His birth as a physical human being. He, under the Father’s direction, created billions of galaxies and planets. His glory was like the sun in its strength. He had limitless power. And His joy never ceased.

Christ gave that up to become a mere, fleshy human being. Yet that was still far above a worm. Recognize what it took for Him to feel like a pitiful ground crawler.

Job, too, referred to himself as a worm to describe his emotional turmoil. He stated: “I have said to corruption, You are my father: to the worm, You are my mother, and my sister” (17:14).

The Hebrew word translated “worm” in this verse is rimmah, which is defined by Strong’s Concordance as “a maggot.”

Consider that Job had just lost all of his livestock, his children and his health. He was treated maliciously by his wife, and felt rejected by God. The best way he could summarize the crushing humility was by calling himself the son of a maggot.

How utterly worthless one must feel to compare himself to a larva that crawls on dirt and eats decomposing dead matter!

Because Christ labeled Himself a worm, He gave us a way to more deeply appreciate His sacrifice.

The term “worm” referring to Christ in Psalm 22 is different than the one Job used. The Hebrew word is tola. It also refers to a maggot but specifically “the crimson grub.”

When understood, this term sheds more light on Christ’s sacrifice.

Crimson grub is a species of scaled insect called Coccus ilicis or Kermes ilicis. Unlike most other worms, they are born with legs. However, females eventually lose the use of their legs, possibly giving them their worm designation.

The tiny insect—7 millimeters in diameter at largest—is notable for its color. Brownish-red when young, they become more reddish in color when maturing. According to The Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th Edition, when the insects reach maturity in March, they “appear full of a reddish juice resembling discolored blood.”

When the insects reach this state, they are collected and killed to extract a crimson dye. Crimson is a deep red color, with tinges of blue or purple, close to the dark color of deoxygenated blood.

In calling Himself a crimson grub, Christ described His state in two ways.

First, it represents His sacrificial body and the blood He shed for the sake of mankind (Matt. 26:28). Interestingly, the dye produced from the crimson grub was so valuable that it was used as tribute paid to conquering Roman armies. Landlords in the Middle Ages also accepted it as payment for rent. Christ’s blood is the ransom payment for our sins (Rev. 1:5).

It is this blood we symbolically drink during the Passover (I Cor. 11:25).

Second, the crimson grub comparison reveals Christ’s state of mind as He was despised and rejected by men and His Father (Luke 17:25).