If you have ever been associated with the Worldwide Church of God or one of its offshoots, I ask you to prayerfully read this letter.
It's between 25 -30 years now that numerous splinter cults of broke off from the Worldwide Church of God with men who had self-appointed themselves as church leaders and have spent decades lying to followers. From Rod Meredith to Dave Pack; from Ron Weinland to Bob Thiel, Victor Kubik to Gerald Flurry, the craziness knows no boundaries of rational thought. All of them imagine something they call god had appointed them as the one true heir to the COG. Every single one of them have been and still are, liars.
All of these lying con-artists believe that their message is important to the church and that as soon as COG members hear their message, they will jump ship and prostitute themselves at the feet of whichever guru you have joined up with.
Gerald Flurry, the goateed false prophet of the Philadelphia Church of God has a warning out to all of you Laodicean COG members. Shame on you for turning your back on God and joining up with Bob Thiel or Dave Pack! Shame! Shame!
Gerald Flurry writes:
Herbert W. Armstrong was part of something great. That Church was a work of miracles.
Do you remember that glorious history? Too many of God’s people don’t. God challenges us to always keep the big picture.
Over Mr. Armstrong’s 55 years in Jesus Christ’s ministry, the work blossomed. It started as nothing and grew into a huge, Spirit-led work that spread God’s beautiful truth throughout the world.
Mr. Armstrong oversaw a work that was based on the principle of give—which is what God’s love is. By the end of his life, each month the Church was giving 8 million free monthly copies of the Plain Truth newsmagazine (which the Trumpet magazine is patterned after). We gave 6 million copies of The United States and Britain in Prophecy, not to mention countless other magazines, newspapers, books, booklets, tracts and articles—all free. We made the World Tomorrow broadcast freely available on over 400 television stations.
Do you remember that history? God put our tithes and offerings to magnificent use, and we were happy to be a part of such a noble cause.
Armstrongism has always been about the "numbers" and never about Jesus Christ. Millions of magazines, booklets, articles, and offering totals, it was all about who was impressed and never anyone learning about grace, justification or mercy. God must have been so pleased.
The Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, which Mr. Armstrong founded in 1975, freely sponsored humanitarian projects including archaeological digs, schools and anthropological excursions. Its activities stretched from Bombay to Brussels; the Philippines to the Netherlands; Tokyo to Cairo. We hosted projects in Jerusalem, Jordan, London, Nepal and Okinawa. Why? Because Mr. Armstrong wanted to preach the gospel “for a witness unto all nations” (Matthew 24:14).
Ambassador Foundation was one of the biggest con jobs the church fostered off on the world and the church, itself. Tens of millions of dollars of tithe money were funneled into the Foundation in order for Herbert to never have to talk about his god to anyone. The good works of the Foundation trumped God and Jesus at every turn. Using tithe money to restore the Globe theatre in London, the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia, helping build the Ronald Reagan Library, operas erecting giant crucifixes in the Auditorium, ballet companies fornicating in the dressings rooms, to talk about a "strong hand from someplace" while witnessing to groups in the Philippines. Yes, that is some gospel message. Jesus must have really been impressed.
Using the international contacts Mr. Armstrong established through the cultural foundation, God opened doors for him to meet high-ranking officials around the world. Mr. Armstrong was invited to speak publicly on many occasions, and he took those opportunities to preach the gospel—to tell people about God’s master plan and about their incredible human potential. These events opened the way for personal appearance campaigns, where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of leading people in various countries.
Those "doors" God opened were done by greasing the hands of world leaders with money and expensive gifts, all meant to impress. That backfired with Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth, two people Herbert most importantly wanted to impress. Through it all, he did make some important friendships with some world leaders, something that not one single COG leader today has ever done or will do. Can you imagine Bob Thiel sitting down with the President/Leader of France, Egypt, or Japan? Lord have mercy upon us all!
There is only one reason how Herbert was able to do this and that was because of government in the church. Never has there been a COG so obsessed about government than the Flurry cult.
Now, did Mr. Armstrong do all that? Certainly he worked hard to implement God’s law and government and to walk by faith. But was the work so powerful and effective simply because of Mr. Armstrong’s intellect or advertising expertise? Did Mr. Armstrong swing open all those mighty doors?
No—the great God did that!
This is what "god" accomplished through HWA:
Family Education
What truly distinguished Mr. Armstrong’s accomplishments was that they were all built upon the foundation of God’s truth. God flooded Mr. Armstrong with biblical understanding, restoring all foundational true doctrine to His Church through that man. We learned and lived by the wonderful truths of God, and our lives were richer as a result.
Six months parked in a public library is NOT flooding him with the truth. Plagiarizing other's writings, rebelling in anger with other church leaders, and not working to support his family instead of them living on handouts from others. Yes, that was some "family education". It eventually led all of his children to turn their backs upon him and he died alone.
Right at the heart of Mr. Armstrong’s teaching was his instruction about the God-plane institution of family (Malachi 4:5-6). He taught us how to build beautiful marriages and to rear happy children. We educated our children with Youth Educational Services lessons; we provided our teens rich experiences through the Youth Opportunities United program—with its sporting events, talent shows and summer camps.
Due to insane divorce rulings, beautiful marriages were ripped apart by men like Rod Meredith and totally endorsed by Herbert Armstrong. Happy children had their lives destroyed by molestation and various forms of child abuse, including perverse child discipline polices. Children were sexually abused and beaten by various Imperial School teachers and administrators over the decades. It got so bad HWA shut Imperial down and then later, tragically reopened it, where the abuse started all over again.
Do you remember what life was like in the Church under Mr. Armstrong? If you were applying God’s family education, then you have personally experienced the blessings that come as a result! Do you remember that?
All one needs to see is the various horrific stories shared on various Facebook groups of the disgusting behavior that went on in far too many families to know that what Flurry writes above is a bald-faced lie.
Of course, there was only ONE entity to blame:
Naturally, the Church wasn’t perfect; there were problems. Some members and even ministers did not implement God’s loving family government the right way. But the problem went beyond simple neglect. Revelation 3:9 tells us that “the synagogue of Satan” was actually at work within the Church of the Philadelphia era—under Mr. Armstrong!
All of the crap that happened to tens of thousands of members was for one reason only, and that was to test the members and the church. Instead of following a God that lives in grace and mercy, Armstrongism followed a pissy god that was always mad and willing to push people over the edge just to test them. How disgusting is that kind of teaching? Not for the Church of God!
But never fear, there was a higher purpose going on. HWA was the Elisha/Elijah that had come in the flesh, just as Gerald Furry and Bob Thiel have taken on that mantle. Flurry now holds that "father" office and because of that, you too can now be a King.
Some people didn’t see Elijah’s office as one of importance, but Elisha saw that it was the only office that could lead and carry Israel forward! It was Israel’s only hope—then and now! He saw that, ultimately, all Israel would be governed by the teachings of Elijah. His statement, “My father, my father,” revealed a deep understanding and a beautiful attitude. God liked it so much that He used Elisha to succeed Elijah. God loved his attitude.
Some people today scoff at such an attitude, but it is very biblical. The Apostle Paul told the Church members in Corinth, “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you” (1 Corinthians 4:14). Paul considered his followers to be his spiritual sons. Why? “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (verse 15). Paul was their spiritual father because they came to God through him. He called himself their spiritual father.
Mr. Armstrong said the same to all of those who came to God, either directly or indirectly, through him.
The original Elijah and the end-time Elijah held extremely important “father” offices for God. The Philadelphia Church of God, like Elisha, recognizes that fact. This is the foundational issue that sets the pcg apart from any other Church of God group. If you follow the Elisha example in this respect, God will make you a king with a headquarters position forever. Why? Because this foundational truth points us to God the Father.
It will be a cold day in hell for anyone who follows Gerald Flurry or any of the other liars currently leading the major COG's out there. Not one single group points anyone to God the Father. Not one. They can all lie, as they do without regret, that they are doing God's work and leading people to him, but they are not. Self-appointed and self-absorbed men cannot do that.
Do you want to know how to do the work of God today? How to have doors open for you—even rivers, if necessary? Here is the formula. Elisha knew where the God of Elijah was, and he was following his spiritual father. So God opened up the river for him, just as He did for Elijah.
Where is the God of Elijah today? Where is the great Almighty God who did that powerful work?
Can you answer that question? Far too many of God’s people aren’t even asking it!
God did not die with Mr. Armstrong! Yet none of the scattered churches of God have that kind of power. They don’t receive and proclaim God’s revelation. They don’t have the right government. And their works are frankly devoid of the kind of miracles and wonders that were almost routinewhen the work was led by Mr. Armstrong.
What power does Gerald Flurry have? Or Stephen Flurry? How many world leaders have they met? How many "rivers" have opened for the Philadelphia Church of God? Other than endless swarms of earthquakes, not one single spiritually good thing has ever come out of PCG.
All baptized members of the Church of God during the Philadelphia era will be held accountable for the fact that they were with that God for so long. The tragic fact is this: Not only have most of God’s people left Him—most of them are not even interested in where He is! If they wanted to know, they would submit to God’s government and end up in God’s true Church.
Utter bullshit! No real Christian would be part of Gerald Flurry's group or any of the other major COG's out there today. It is an impossibility to be Christian and be part of most of these groups. Submitting to Jesus Christ and resting in that grace will NOT lead anyone into an Armstrongite Church of God. It just can not happen.
Notice the slick way Flurry deliberately lies to his floundering flock:
The Philadelphia Church of God, which prints the Philadelphia Trumpetnewsmagazine, has far fewer people than the wcg had in its heyday. But I challenge you to examine the miraculous work God is doing with this few!
The Key of David television program is broadcast to a potential audience of over 400 million worldwide. The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine has a circulation of over 240,000 and its website, theTrumpet.com, receives more than 2.5 million visitors every year. With the Internet, the Trumpet reaches into nearly every nation on Earth.
400 million people have NEVER seen a Flurry program and ever will. Just because a magazine is mailed to almost every nation or someone has received a letter does NOT mean any gospel message has ever been witnessed. It has never happened. Never!
Flurry continues on with more boasting. Notice what is missing:
The pcg has revived Personal Appearance Campaigns in the tradition of Herbert W. Armstrong, hosting over 50 campaigns in United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Over half of those campaigns came after we acquired a Gulfstream G450 jet in 2017, demonstrating how the work of the pcg only continues to reach larger numbers with greater impact.
We have four regional offices around the world located in Canada, the United Kingdom, Philippines and Australia. The headquarters of the Church is situated on a beautifully landscaped 170-acre property which includes a 22,825 square-foot administration building, Herbert W. Armstrong College facilities and the Armstrong Auditorium, the crown jewel of the campus.
Armstrong Auditorium, with its Swarovski Strass crystal trimmed chandeliers, Baccarat crystal candelabra, Spanish marble, Azerbaijani onyx and world-class acoustics, is one of the finest performing arts venues in the world.
Through the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, the pcgsponsors culturally enriching experiences, such as fine art performances and humanitarian projects abroad. The foundation sponsors archaeological excavations in Israel and has exhibited some of the most biblically important artifacts ever found in two exhibits, Seals of Jeremiah’s Captors Discovered and Seals of Isaiah and King Hezekiah Discovered.
Since 2001, our college, Herbert W. Armstrong College, has graduated over 280 students, of whom over 80 have been employed full-time or part-time in the Work.
What you read above, is the exact same thing Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Vic Kubik, and others do. Wild and outlandish boasting over physical works and not one single thing about that most inconvenient dude that embarrasses the hell out of them all. It is that same guy they leave on a high school gym floor or the local Masonic Lodge until Passover next year. The only time he is ever mentioned is when they seek to kill him, over and over and over, year in and year out, never once recognizing what was actually accomplished and settled once and for all.
And—most importantly—God has continued to bless us, as He did Mr. Armstrong, with new revelation. The living God did not stop speaking to His people when Mr. Armstrong died. He has continued to give us “present truth” (2 Peter 1:12) that builds upon the foundation of the truth He restored through Mr. Armstrong. The pcg produces over 100 books and booklets, the large majority of which contain new biblical understanding from the great God.
That is the single greatest proof that the God who inspired Mr. Armstrong is behind our work.
God is no more working through Flurry than he is with Bob Thiel. No new knowledge has been revealed, through dreams or visions to either of these self-appointed prophet wannabes. Not one single thing!
You can read Flurry's heretical crap here: An Open Letter to the Churches of God
