"In Other Words..."

 

"What are some things that many Laodiceans decide?"

 Dr Robert Thiel

"I said it. I believe it. That does it for ME"

God has not been using dreams to communicate in the 21st century, despite the view of the old Worldwide Church of God that God would use dreams in the future and the Apostle Peter saying they would be given by God in the last days (see Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18?).

In other words...  "Now I know that, as a man of science, dreams are just dreams, or at least I should know,  but since I need to be a prophet, going back to the age of ignorance on such things is important to my all about ME need and status in the Churches of God.  Being a prophet comes like way ahead of being a man of science for me. Thus, superstition, hearing the voices of God in MY head and magic serves ME. "

God is not using any prophets in the 21st century yet, despite the Apostle Peter saying God would use them in the last days (see also Church of God Leaders on Prophets).

In other words... "Look, here's the deal.  Since these definitely are the Biblical "last days" and since the Bible says there will be prophets in the last days, I simply must be a prophet since I have said I am and it's the Last Days! Duh!  What word don't you understand?" 

Being comfortable with their current situation is more important than being willing to support the main Philadelphian remnant because of limited local congregations (see also Congregations of the Continuing Church of God).

In other words... "Ok, here's another deal. It's obvious no one knows who I am, being a prophet and all that. I know I don't have any local churches for people to not forsake the assembly of our true selves in. I do recognize that I may not have support because few agree with me.  Lack of support is like that. But that shouldn't keep people from agreeing with ME and recognizing just who I am!  And too, I'm comfortable with my current situation and it is more important for them to support my insignificant self than for me to support their insignificant selves."

It is not necessary to learn to instruct many in this age, despite the prophecies in Daniel 11:33 (see also Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word).

In other words... "Instruction, as the only true Prophet in the Church of God cults today must obviously be from ME. How can they learn anything that's actually true, without hearing it from ME?  If they don't hear instruction from ME, then it's not instruction and can't possibly be true!  This ain't rocket science. Why is this so hard for people to understand?  Laodiceans!  That's why!  I get no respect!"

It is okay to believe various prophetic errors (for details, check out the article Do You Hold to Any of These Laodicean Prophetic Errors?).

In other words... "If I believe something to be so and they don't agree with ME, then OBVIOUSLY they believe prophetic errors! Hello!  It's them, not ME.  I imagine they think it's  also ok to belong to the FALSE CHURCH!  Though when I think about that, no one really thinks that way, but when you don't follow ME and agree with ME, that is exactly you are thinking is ok.  Oh sure, that's how I think about my own sliver created church too, which is ok, because it's MY CHURCH! And because I'm a prophet and it's MY  church, it has to be the true one . What? Do you think I'd believe errors?  Hello!  They are not errors precisely because I believe them not to be! I'm a prophet for God's sake!"  

Crackpot Prophet Says You Are A Laodicean If You Do Not Believe His Dreams Are From His God...WUT?

 

It's been a few days since we had our favorite self-appointed prophet to the Church of God featured here. Our day would not be complete without some wackadoodle comment from the Great Bwana to Africa and 299 Caucasians.

It still frosts his self-righteous butt that 99.99% of the Churches of God ignore the Great Bwana and refuse to heed his message, as convoluted as it is.

As the leader of the greatest Church of God in human history and the most highly educated man to ever lead a church, those that do not listen to him are labeled as the dreaded Laodiceans. Nothing frightens a wayward Church of God member more than being labeled a Laodicean and know in the back of the mind that the licking flames of the lake of fire are not too far behind.

According to the self-appointed prophet, these are the signs of wayward Laodiceans who have refused to follow him:

What are some things that many Laodiceans decide? 

 

God has not been using dreams to communicate in the 21st century, despite the view of the old Worldwide Church of God that God would use dreams in the future and the Apostle Peter saying they would be given by God in the last days. 

How dare we not recognize his nightmares as direct communication from God! Bad Laodiceans! Bad!!!  

God is not using any prophets in the 21st century yet, despite the Apostle Peter saying God would use them in the last days. 

According to the great Bwana, biblically illiterate church members who do not believe there should be prophets in the church are part of the problem today. 

Being comfortable with their current situation is more important than being willing to support the main Philadelphian remnant because of limited local congregations.

The Geat Bwana also is really perturbed that NO ONE and I repeat NO ONE in the COG movement supports him with their money.  COG members are not drawn to him because he has no local congregations in 99.99% of the United States and elsewhere. No one wants to sit in someone's living room and listen to two hours of the Great Bwana preach a boring sermon as he bounces in the chair and waves his arms.  

It is not necessary to learn to instruct many in this age, despite the prophecies in Daniel 11:33. 

 

It is okay to believe various prophetic errors.

All other COG leaders and prophets are wrong, except the Great Bwana to Africa. Laodicean COG members are being led astray by these false prophets. If they only would follow the Great Bwana, things would be ok and they would know the correct time to flee to the godforsaken deserts of Jordan. 

The 100% Failure Rate Of Prophecy In The Churches of God

In light of the recent post here about Gerald Weston's whitewashing of Herbert Armstrong, Rod Meredith, and the Church of God's abysmal track record on prophecy, I thought this would be a great separate thread.

Weston's explanation of HWA's 1975 in Prophecy booklet might be more believable if HWA hadn't already had a track record by then of making predictions and setting dates, which can be traced all the way back to early editions of the Plain Truth in the 1930s. For instance, the June 1934 edition of the Plain Truth had a chart in it where HWA labeled 1936 as the "end of the age." When that didn't happen, he simply kicked the can down the road a bit and made other predictions, and set other dates, much like Pack, Flurry, and others do today. For example, in the February 1938 Plain Truth, he declared Mussolini the "Beast" of Revelation, and in January of 1939 he further promoted this idea, saying that "MUSSOLINI UNDOUBTEDLY IS THE "BEAST" and "MUSSOLINI WILL FIGHT CHRIST!"

Weston also ignores the fact that HWA also promoted and taught the idea of 19 year time cycles, and made his own claims based on those time cycles. For example, in Chapter 24 of his Autobiography, he has this to say, 

"God set the earth, sun, and moon in their orbits to mark off divisions of time on the 

earth. One revolution of the earth is a day. One revolution of the moon around the earth is a lunar month (according to God’s sacred calendar). One revolution of the earth around the sun is a solar year. But the earth, the sun, and the moon come into almost exact conjunction only once in 19 years. Thus 19 years mark off one complete time-cycle!" 

He went on to use this statement to promote the idea that God timed his entry into the ministry based on the number of time cycles that had occurred since Pentecost of 31AD. 

It is both a double standard and rank hypocrisy to criticize the "speculations" of others, making the statement that "some never learn" while glossing over and excusing the same behavior in the very leaders you hold up as bastions of "truth" such as HWA and Meredith. 

It would be totally refreshing if just one of these guys was able to admit that HWA engaged in this behavior and was WRONG, as did Rod Meredith and others, and that we need to learn from the false claims and sins of our predecessors so we don't fall prey to repeating their mistakes. 

It is contradictory to claim out of one side of your mouth, as HWA did, that you were not called to "be a prophet" while also writing articles and booklets predicting specific events to be fulfilled by specific people, using titles such as "1975 in Prophecy" and also claiming that you are the fulfillment of an end time "voice crying out in the wilderness" as prophesied in Malachi 3:1. 

"John the Baptist was a voice crying out in the physical wilderness of the Jordan River area, preparing for the human physical Jesus' first coming to a material temple at Jerusalem, to a physical Judah. But that was a type, or forerunner of a voice "lifted up" (greatly amplified by modern printing, radio and TV), crying out in the midst of today's spiritual wilderness of religious confusion, announcing the imminency of Christ's SECOND coming as the spiritually GLORIFIED Christ, to His spiritual temple (the Church resurrected to spirit immortality)." Plain Truth Magazine, January 1980

If you claim you aren't a "prophet" that doesn't excuse you if you then go on to make false predictions, or engage in the same behavior that defines a false prophet.  

Concerned Sister

 In a second comment, there was this:

The date setting, and the abundant evidence of its ongoing denial, backpedaling, and rewrite is exactly why God would have to use a completely new and different group as His end time witness. Armstrongism has burned itself as a credible witness, and current members are just kidding themselves if they think otherwise. The credibility of other Christian groups has also fallen apart.

If you're just pulling into town from the feast, looking forward to a sabbath in your home town, and thinking to yourself "See? We have the truth about God's test commandment, the sabbath, so God will reveal His plans to us!", then you better wonder about the effectiveness of the sabbath as a signifier of God's True Church, because Armstrongism has a 100% failure rate in end time prophecy, dating way back to the WW-II era when HWA was preaching that the war would culminate in Armageddon, Hitler and Mussolini were the Beast, and Pope Pius was the AntiChrist. And, this was before Israel was even reborn as a nation, which was very necessary for the prophecies in Revelation to come to pass. For years, he denied that Hitler's body was Hitler, and preached that he was alive in South America, and would arise to complete the job. Sounds soooo much like a recent president, doesn't he? False leaders are always detached from reality!