Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
A few days ago we received a letter detailing a lot of issues going on in Bob Thiel's African churches that are being run under his so-called "evangelists". At this point, we have been asked not to share it, but thankfully there are comments slowly emerging detailing Bob's growing African church boondoggle.
We have long discussed here how various Sabbatarian groups in Africa regularly church hopped to whoever would give them the most money, computers, seeds, etc. This is a well-known issue that the SDAs, COG7, WCG, LCG, UCG, and other Sabbatarian groups have dealt with over the decades.
Then.......along comes Bob Thiel, the most gullible COG leader since the dawn of creation who embraced these Sabbatarian church hoppers with open arms. The more the merrier as it made his numbers look really important. After all, in COGland, numbers are a bigger thing than preaching the gospel. The more members, the more subscribers, the more booklets, the more magazines, the dollar amount of offerings, etc., the more important you look.
Bob Thiel has long expected us to believe his tall tales about how magnificent his church is and how all these dreams by people around the world justified his rebellion when he was kicked out of LCG, leading him to start his own splinter group. Never have we in the COG movement witnesses a more miraculous COG splinter than we are expected to see in the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god". No church has a more "pure" version of the so-called COG gospel than Bob does in his little group. Yet, in spite of the magnificence of his group, he has been virtually unable to draw in COG members in what he calls "British Israelite nations. The Churches of God en masse turned their backs on him swifter than any of us have ever witnessed when a new splinter church started up. Of course, Rod Meredith's public humiliation of Bob and the work of this blog have kept untold numbers away from Bob.
Bob Thiel's recent humiliating defection of his Serbian translator Veljic and house church leader has left a stain on Bob that he cannot shake off.
This has to be a humiliating thing for Bob to put up with. Now, things just get worse as to the real reason Veljic left Bob:
I don’t think Veljic moving has anything to do with his leaving CCOG. From what I gather it has everything to do with reported corruption in Africa. Bob’s chosen men leading Africa are constantly lying for more money, the so-called Evangelist has been caught soliciting sex from a woman who is not his wife. Also, these so-called COG leaders rely on witch doctors and spells to get what they want. All of this and evidence has been shown to Bob but he needs the numbers in Africa so he can pretend to be a “real” church of God.
Never have we seen in COG history a more pathetic Church of God than we see in Bob's group. As crazy and weird as Pack and Flurry are at least they have a dynamism that can keep their followers captivated with their preaching. Both Pack and Flurry at least present themselves to the public as effective speakers with a powerful message. Bob cannot do that. He can only bounce around in his chair as he bounces from one topic after another in his sermons. Covering 20-30 different topics in a single sermon parked in front of a file cabinet, crooked bookcase, faded curtains, or a wrinkled vinyl church sign does not make for a captivating picture to engage with.
With any luck, this will be the downfall of Bob's sad little church as it fades into useless oblivion. Bob needs to go back to peddling his vitamins full time and spend time with his wife and son and enjoy the remainder of his life instead of wasting it on the bullshit he keeps dishing out as "truth".
David C. Pack re-introduced Esther and Purim after a four-year hiatus to the brethren of The Restored Church of God during “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 425)” on March 4, 2023. Part 425 was the appetizer, but Part 426 was the main course.
That was only ten days ago, but it is an entire church era in the RCG prophetic landscape. The frequency at which biblical teachings are born and die requires measuring in mayfly years since dogs age too slowly.
Maybe Monday. Maybe Tuesday. Maybe Friday morning. But Purim came and went.
All that toil was for nothing. David C. Pack grasps the wind while the Headquarters hirelings kiss his ring. This is “the work” of The Restored Church of God.
Manage your expectations by not anticipating the arrival of the Kingdom of Dave before Friday, March 17. Nothing will happen. Wait for a Pathetic Update to be issued saying the same.
David C. Pack injects the brethren with false doctrines far beyond just being "biblical knowledge.” His infection attacks the core of their hearts and minds. He corrupts the god they serve and the Bible they read. Neither can be trusted.
Since Dave’s god intentionally put grossly-mistranslated verses in the Bible as a ruse to expose the faithless and impatient among them, the brethren are desperate to cleave to a mighty man they can trust.
As it just so happens, David C. Pack is here to save them. As he has been setting himselfs up to do.
Elijah hit the biblical lotto by being mentioned in the Bible nearly as much as Jesus Christ. As a lucky break for RCG members, David C. Pack also just so happens to be Elijah.
“No need to prove all things. I got this covered.”
By the grace of Dave’s god, he self-identifies where he appears in the Bible. The 12 Rules of Effective Bible Study are only for those outside the organization, just like the outdated literature.
This could be the RCG slogan:
“Believe me. Don’t believe your Bible.”
When god and the Bible falter, David C. Pack is here to make it plain. The Pester General of The Restored Church of Another god is the only man on earth who can adequately discern the Scriptures to teach people what god is really saying.
But do not give him too much credit, brethren. After all, he is merely a passenger of the ship alongside you, not the captain forging full steam ahead directly into the iceberg.
After writing an article and commenting in an interview with Dawn Blue that the Man of Sin sits in the Temple of God and “nobody sits more than David C. Pack,” he has not been seated at the table. Even once.
Part 397 on October 1, 2022, was the last time we saw him preach sitting. This is significant because he sat during weekday Bible studies for years. He sat during after-meal Bible studies for years. But not once since October 2022. Interesting.
It is as if he is going out of his way to NOT fulfill prophecy. But at other times, he goes out of his way to prove he DOES.
Flashback Part 170 – April 10, 2019
@ 1:11:18 A prophecy was fulfilled last night…I tell you, on God's authority, it happened.
Flashback Part 187 – June 21, 2019
@ 1:15:40 “…in the latter days, you shall consider it.” That’s a prophecy being fulfilled in this room right now.
Flashback Part 269 – October 3, 2020
@ 18:54 And God showed me a series of absolutely stunning points that proved a great prophecy was fulfilled.
In the past few weeks, the arrival of the Kingdom of Dave has depended upon David C. Pack speaking. The 1335 of Daniel 12:12 was only for him. And when he talked the next day, it was prophetic. The fact he spoke just before Purim was prophetic. The fact he talked before the Sabbath last week was prophetic.
The moad everyone is waiting for is triggered by David C. Pack opening his mouth.
It is also prophetic when he doodies in the toilet and not in his pants…but that is beside the point.
Dave teaches RCG is waiting for him to “call out the final message” before Jesus Christ can return the kingdom to Israel. David C. Pack is an all-important element in the Plan of God.
This is a narcissist’s wet dream.
During Part 425, the word “prophesy” was redefined. Forget reading Strong’s Concordance or any Bible dictionary because no other man is authorized to clarify what that word actually means.
On March 4, 2023, David C. Pack issued his most excellent “Get Out Of Jail Free Card” yet.
Part 425 – March 4, 2023
@ 00:47 How can I possibly be described by God as prophesying if I am not, have not, were not receiving the words from His mouth directly? How could that be? Turn over to Daniel chapter 10, and I'm gonna show you one of the most encouraging things I ever discovered in the Bible. Very comforting to me, and I think it will be to you. We know that prophesying can mean “inspired preaching," and so could it be that it's actually prophesying and by inspired preaching in a way that Daniel will reveal.
He found a biblical loophole in Daniel and jumped right through it.
@ 02:38 But, somehow, everything that was explained all through the long 45-verse chapter 11 and 12…is found in the Bible already.The entire Series did (and we learned) can come from God’s word already recorded in “the Scripture of Truth” without an oracle from God or Christ or Gabriel or Michael or anyone else.
He concludes that reading from the Bible is to “prophesy” and does not require divine guidance. David C. Pack just took the “inspired” out of “inspired preaching.” Catholics and Protestants around the world are rejoicing.
The greatest and most immediate implication of this new knowledge is chilling:
“I am NOT a false prophet!”
When you connect the dots he refuses to, that is the conclusion he wants the members of RCG to make. He is not a false prophet falsely prophesying…he is just reading what the Bible says. All criticisms and doubt can now be deflected because of Daniel 10.
@ 03:47 But I did not need an oracle or a revelation. I was simply noting what was already in the biblical record in a way that had never been done before. That’s all it was.
The word “prophesy” went from "uttering a prophecy of God" to a watered-down “inspired preaching” to a simply neutered “reading from the Bible.”
“The Greatest Simply Noting The Biblical Record! (Part 425)” is groundbreaking.
Of course, Dave was encouraged by this because he had a guilty conscience, which helped him find a way to get off the hook. His desperately wicked nature found a loophole, as all carnal minds long to do. Like an adulterer who anguishes over finding a way to alleviate the shame to unburden themselves without actually confessing to their spouse. Actions without consequences are RCG way.
How can we ALL know Dave’s heart in this matter? Because his own words have said it.
“…one of the most encouraging things I ever discovered in the Bible.”
How is uninspired, God-absent prophesying “encouraging” to him unless he knew he was in the wrong?
David C. Pack knows he is a fraud. He knows he is a false apostle and a false prophet. He would not spend time defusing the argument otherwise. He would blow it off rather than insert it as an unrelated point at the start of his message.
The man only talks about what is important to him. Countering legitimate observations about his preaching is important to him. Inoculating the brethren from reasonable conclusions is important to him.
He needs to convince himself that he is a servant of God. Even when ALL the evidence points out that he is not.
As of Part 425, nobody can ever be called a false prophet who falsely prophesied, claiming God's authority after physical reality proves them to be false. There is no way to judge between a false prophet and a true one because BOTH can be in error about the return of Jesus Christ.
This is a spectacular Get Out Of Jail Free Card for every nutcase in the world. The street corner preacher holding a cardboard sign that the SVB collapse is a sign of doom is just as legitimate as a guy at a wooden lectern wearing a suit. Neither one is truly false. They are only teaching what the Bible already says.
Dave looked for an out, and he found one. He no longer needs to worry about what the Bible says about false prophets. He no longer needs to worry about what HE said about false prophets.
I wonder if he will publicly apologize to Gerald Flurry for all the times he called him a blasphemer and antichrist. The man is now innocent of being a false prophet and a false That Prophet because Old Gerry was just preachin’ what the Bible says.
The ironic part of all of this is that Dave does not realize just how inspired his preaching actually is. Latching onto his mental illnesses, dark spirits have motivated him for quite some time.
That is the nature of deceiving while being deceived. Which is what the Bible already says.
@ 04:02 You’re all living proof that you can have the complete picture without me ever receiving a vision or hearing a voice from heaven, even once.
That is totally true because I say so. Ignore all the verses that refute this because…whatever.
The members of The Restored Church of God are all living proof that people will sit and listen to anything spoken by anyone, regardless of how fraudulent those teachings have proven to be 100% of the time. And now, with this Greatest Loophole, Dave can get away with ANYTHING. Forever.
That Card has real power. He can always be wrong about when Jesus Christ returns and never be a lying blasphemer. He gets the best of both worlds and retains his status at the top of the food chain.
Brethren, if you continue to doubt him, well then, you do not believe the Scriptures of Truth. You disbelieve your Bible. You got an attitude problem there. You better repent of that and write another check, or you will not go first into the Kingdom of Dave.
@ 18:30 So, I find very comforting some of those quick examples of how we have let the Scripture of Truth guide us. I did not need a voice.
Why would Dave need God when he has himself? He has need of nothing. He is like the Most High now. He can prophesy as Elijah the Prophet while being utterly wrong and still retain his authority. Is RCG a fantastic place, or what?
It was comforting because he was uncomfortable. It was encouraging because he was discouraged. Why? Because he knows what you and I know. The man is a walking biblical fraud.
This is not the first attempt of RCG’s Angel of Light to distance himself from what the Bible exposes him to be by using distortion and deception.
During Parts 373 and 374 in June 2022, he claimed he was “telling, not foretelling.” This was a direct response to the breaking Dawn Blue interviews WCTV in Wadsworth released.
In Part 375, he “demystified the office of Prophet.”
In Part 389, he removed “the mystery of what it means to be Elijah.” Elijah is only a “title.”
In each incremental step, David C. Pack removed God from being a factor in prophesying and being a prophet. He made those academic. In effect, he is taking an atheistic approach.
If you can be a prophet without God giving you direct guidance, and you can prophesy without direct guidance, what else in the Bible does not require God?
The implication of his Get Out Of Jail Free Card is there is no such thing as a false prophet. They are just mistaken. There are no consequences for falsely prophesying anymore because they simply explained what "is found in the Bible already."
To follow this logic, if being a prophet and prophesying does not require God to give directions, what do you call someone who DOES get instructions in a vision or a voice? Must we lump them together?
Group A all prophesied as prophets without hearing God.
Group B all prophesied as prophets directly from God.
Both are equal, according to Dave. He does not say that, but that is what it means.
As of Part 425, there is no way to judge a true prophet from a false one. Both can set dates and fail while still retaining the legitimacy of being faithful ministers of Jesus Christ.
If I were the devil, I would want Dave to teach that. He took God out of prophets prophesying and made inspired preaching Richard Dawkins-friendly. After all, it is just a history book.
David C. Pack issued himself a Get Out Of Jail Free Card that will live in his wallet. He may want to have it laminated because it will need to be pulled out a lot. It works in the Third Floor Executive Imaginarium. It works in his kitchen. It works at the lectern. It works in the hallway. It works at the urinal. It works on the interwebs.
David C. Pack is now above skepticism and reproach. He is not a false prophet, folks. He is not falsely prophesying. He is just teaching what the Bible says. Easy-peasy.
Private interpretation has officially become inspired preaching in The Restored Church of God.
Is the Living Church of God Right About a War Against Normal?
A friend recently brought to my attention an article which appeared in the January issue of LCG’s Tomorrow’s World. The War Against Normal by Wallace G. Smith asked “Is there any hope of a normal life in a society in which all ideas of ‘normal’ are under sustained and persistent attack by those seeking to make perversion the new reality?” Apparently, Smith and LCG believe that traditional moral values are under attack by the advocates of “Queer Theory.” Of course, in order for their narrative to work on any level (even to an ACOG audience), a great deal of what it means to be “normal” is ignored.
Smith begins with a vague assertion that it wasn’t that long ago that everybody clearly understood what constituted “normal” notions about marriage, gender roles, and sexuality. You may have already noticed that this nostalgia for a time of uniformity is a common theme for more conservative/traditional Christian communities. For these folks, the reality that society was NEVER uniform (or moral) is alien to them. The notion that minorities were actively shamed and oppressed in times past is either rejected by them, or they simply dismiss it as the way things should have been – the good folks keeping the bad folks under control or at bay! In other words, it was much more pleasant when homosexuals and transgender folks were in the closet where they belonged!
For Smith and his associates, the attempts of these minority communities to find their own voice and assert their rights to equal and fair treatment within society constitutes a direct attack on their values. He wrote that “we are living in the final stages of a long-running war against normality. Social engineers have mounted an aggressive campaign over multiple decades, seeking to eradicate any idea that some things should be seen as normal and some as abnormal.” Moreover, in Smith’s opinion, his side is clearly losing in the “war against normal.”
However, the problems with this narrative will be immediately apparent to anyone with an ounce of objectivity and fairmindedness. What is “normal” or “natural” for the average heterosexual is abnormal and unnatural for the average homosexual person! In other words, whose “normal” is really under attack here? Who is really trying to impose their normal on others? Moreover, if the traditional “normal” heterosexual narrative about sexuality, marriage, and gender is so great, why does that community have so many problems/aberrations extant within their own ranks? Why were women denied full legal rights and citizenship until well into the Twentieth Century? If everything is so hunky dory within the heterosexual community, why are things like abortion, domestic violence, depression, substance abuse, child abuse, and divorce so prevalent? Are there specific occupations or roles that should be exclusively the purview of men or women? If so, where is the agreement regarding that to be found within the heterosexual community? Is gay marriage a greater threat to the institution of marriage than heterosexual divorce and remarriage? Really?
As has already been noted, Mr. Smith sees this “war against normal” as a natural outgrowth of what he refers to as advocacy for “Queer Theory.” He wrote: “Like other critical theories, Queer Theory seeks to ‘deconstruct’ common ways of thinking, to challenge widely held norms, and to recast elements of societal structure into a paradigm of power: some cast as the ‘oppressed’ and others as the ‘oppressor.’” The very act of calling attention to the fact that your community has been oppressed or mistreated is cast by Smith as illegitimate and an attack on the very people who have been perpetuating those circumstances! In other words, how dare you bring attention to the fact that you’ve been oppressed or mistreated! In this way, instead of demanding that society treat a gay relationship in the same way that it treats a heterosexual one, the demand becomes an attack on the heterosexual one! Instead of demanding that society acknowledge that some folks are conflicted about gender and may need help in fully recognizing their gender identity, the demand becomes an attack on the notion of binary genders!
In what is arguably his most egregious use of fallacy, Mr. Smith unashamedly taps into the good old slippery slope argument. He wrote: “Among the final boundaries to remain—defining one of the final lands yet to be conquered by the war against normal—is the age boundary. Many people still consider childhood a time for protection from the incursions of modern sexual ‘liberty,’ yet our self-appointed social and academic superiors deem that this boundary, too, must fall. And disturbing signs indicate that it is, indeed, falling.” In other words, if you give into those queer and transgender folks, the kids are going to be next! Societal acceptance of pedophilia is right around the corner!
This, of course, whether deliberate or subconscious, taps into the old stereotype that all or most gay folks are also pedophiles. These wicked folks are just trying to groom your children for sexual relations with them! They can’t wait to exploit your children! They are “grooming” your children for their “perverted” uses/behaviors! Never mind, that things like pedophilia and bestiality are almost universally regarded within the gay community as perverse – as violating the fundamental principles of love and consent! And heaven forbid that gay people would like to see the next generation to be more tolerant and accepting of folks who are different from them! Green eyes aren’t “normal” either – does that mean we should label folks with green eyes as “abnormal” and exclude them from our fellowship or mistreat them?
Mr. Smith went on to assert that “The societal chaos created by the normalization of perversity and the perversion of normality does not reflect the mind of Almighty God, the Creator of human life, who established the institution of marriage as the foundation of family.” He pointed out that God “deals with chaos by creating boundaries.” Smith also noted that God had pronounced everything he had created to be “very good.” In Smith’s narrative, however, that apparently doesn’t include homosexuals and transgender folks. Despite a plethora of same sex behaviors in the natural world and an enormous lack of uniformity within the ranks of ALL living things, these occurrences are apparently somehow abnormal and unnatural – NOT good!
At least, Mr. Smith has the good sense to acknowledge that the traditional notions of “normal” are NOT consistent with what is predicted for God’s Kingdom! He wrote: “The Kingdom that Jesus will establish will not look like 1950s America, nor the Judea of Jesus’ day. Nostalgia for a better past is no substitute for the fullness of transformation called for in His Gospel, and the life to which Christians are called transcends what was ever lived in ages throughout history.” Finally, there is something in the article that I can give a hearty “Amen!” Mr. Smith and his associates within LCG may not understand homosexuals and transgender folks, but God does. Moreover, God’s Kingdom will wipe away all oppression, suffering, and confusion (including Mr. Smith’s).
In the meantime, I think that it would be both wise and Christian to NOT be so judgmental (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, John 7:24). Moreover, I would also like to suggest that it is an extremely desirable goal to encourage love and fidelity in both the heterosexual and homosexual communities. We need to ask ourselves: Why would a Christian wish to encourage or sustain promiscuous behavior within any community? Why would a Christian demand that someone go against their own nature or force them to remain alone in this life – without the companionship and support of a special someone? Why would anyone want to promote mental illness and perversity by ignoring and/or suppressing the things which make them human? I submit that these are questions which deserve consideration and answers! What do you think?
