Thursday, April 6, 2023

Gerald Weston: God Could Have Raised Up Stones To Do His Work, But Instead Chose Us

 


Isn't it special to be chosen above all other human organizations like the Living Church of God is?

Yes, God could raise up stones to do His Work, but He has not chosen that path. Rather, He has chosen you and me, and through our combined efforts, He is doing a notable Work. We too, must be bold and unafraid. To that end, I want to thank you again for fearing God more than men, as this Work is not popular in our woke world, and even in apostate Christianity. So, thank you dear brethren and co-workers for bravely participating in this end-time Work!

Poor Bob, always left behind, eating dust. 

Gerald continues on being the positive force that he is with another of his Debbie-Downer tirades:

But, do we comprehend why the Anglo-Saxon peoples (as well as much of the rest of the world) are going through so many crises all at the same time? Consider the United States. Even as I write, we may be entering a new banking crisis as Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and was taken over by the Federal government. Signature Bank on the opposite side of the country suffered a similar fate, resulting in concern over the stability of the banking system. We hope that all will calm down, but as we have learned in the last three years, situations that start small can escalate into something far worse. 
 
The west coast, most especially California, now faces flooding, following years of extreme drought. An elderly gentleman many years ago passed along this observation: “One extreme often follows another.” That has been true in Australia where alternating extreme droughts and massive floods have occurred over the last several years, and we are seeing the same happen in the western United States. 
 
Meanwhile, the U.S., the UK, and most of Europe have been drawn into a proxy war, the largest war on the European continent since 1945. It is difficult to know how this will play out in the short term. Both Russia and the West are so heavily invested at this point that neither seems able to back down. Will this end up as a humiliating defeat for one side, or will some kind of compromise bring it to an end? According to Bible prophecy, much has yet to happen, but as some thinking individuals are opining, “World War III has begun.” This does not mean that Armageddon is here. As often happens, smaller conflicts precede the spark that sets off a greater one. What we see right now is that this conflict is changing Europe and setting the stage for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and for mankind’s ultimate conflict.

Oh, the humanity! Trials and tribulations are around every corner but never fear these are all just minor things to worry about, those big bad GERMANS are soon to arrive and cause more problems than anything listed above! Big meanies!!!!!

Watch Europe! Revelation 13 describes the revival of a great military power. The symbolic language that the Apostle John used—about a fantastic beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns—depicts a recurring, evil political system which has greatly oppressed and heavily influenced the peoples in Western civilization, and through them, the entire world. 
 
The seven heads represent seven distinct revivals of this evil empire over a long period of time…. This final, seventh revival will be similar in form to today’s European Union—ten different nations or groups of nations will be represented by ten different kings or presidents. These ten heads of state “receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast” (v. 12). In other words, they will rule for a very short time along with the final “Hitler” (pp. 15-16). 
 
He also told us to watch for a narrowing from 27 nations to the final revival of ten: “So we can expect old national boundaries to shift, or some current EU members to quit” (p. 17). There may also be a “‘two speed’ Europe, with Germany and other key nations forming an ‘inner core’ of EU members, with closer economic, military, and political cooperation than other EU nations that retain misgivings” (p. 18). 
 
We see trouble on every side for the American and British-descended peoples: massive immigration problems, labor and supply shortages due to able-bodied men sitting on the sidelines, new alliances forming, South American countries turning Marxist, Mexico thumbing its nose at the giant to its north, China and Russia gaining traction in the Middle East as the U.S. and Britain are pushed aside, and the threat of war between China and the U.S. over Taiwan. Again, from Dr. Meredith: “A new world order is in the process of emerging” (p. 18). And remember, he wrote this in 2001, not based on human reason, but on Bible prophecy. 
 
Why is all this happening? Are we unable to connect the dots between our moral decay and our downward slide on the world scene? Cannot Australians connect the dots between their immoral behaviors and violent weather extremes? Cannot the U.S. do the same? And as the U.S. goes down the drain, cannot its allies—Canada, the UK, and others—read the handwriting on the wall?

This record has been skipping in place with this same mantra for decades. 

Then Gerald loves to whip in a little British Israelism to stir the die-hard faithful into a frenzy to keep them living in fear.

Dear brethren and co-workers, the United States and the British-descended peoples are none other than the leading nations of the lost ten tribes of Israel (see our free resource, The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy). God warned us that if we turn away from Him, He will turn His back on us. Disaster will come upon disaster with natural catastrophes, military setbacks, and diseases striking us as a wakeup call. It appears we are not yet connecting the dots between our sins and why everything is going wrong.

Gerald then goes on to say they have a warning to get out to the world, yet no one seems to know who they are. If people do not start listening to them the Germans will get them! Very soon!

Similarly, we have been commissioned to warn end-time Israel (not only the Jews, but all the tribes, especially the birthright tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh) to repent and turn back to God. The consequence for not doing so will be national disaster on a scale unimaginable. As with John the Baptist and all of God’s servants over the centuries, our message is not one that people want to hear. Yes, we have the positive Gospel of God’s coming Kingdom, the Family of God ruling over the earth in the near future, but sadly, we are in for a very rough time before Christ returns to save us from total annihilation (Matthew 24:21-22). We must not neglect our duty.

Then, like most other small COG's out there, Weston goes on to justify why they are so small...but, oh, they are doing such a mighty work! So powerful! So mind-bogglingly awesome.

So, although we are small, and we really are small, let us not despise the day of small things. When we consider how few there are of us as members and co-workers, it is astonishing what God is doing through us. Nearly 600,000 people receive an annual Tomorrow’s World magazine subscription absolutely free of charge. Then, there are the millions of free booklets, DVDs, CDs, and letters sent out each year. Our literature is translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Afrikaans, German and more. 
 
We are on eleven nationwide television networks in the U.S. with scores of additional stations. Tomorrow’s World also airs on nationwide networks in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago. 
 
We also support a worldwide ministry with hundreds of congregations. There is so much more God is doing through us, yet, we are truly a little flock. Most of our congregations are small and altogether we number about 12,000. We are most grateful for the few thousand donors and co-workers helping us. Dr. Meredith used to remind us that we are like “half a peanut shell in the midst of the Pacific Ocean.” How true, but we must not despise the day of small things. God will continue to do the Work through us to the degree He chooses, before the curtain of destruction descends upon this troubled planet.

So there you have it! The most awesome COG in history doing the most amazing work ever imagined (after Bob Thiel, of course), 

We must fear God and do the Work He has called us to. And, we must never forget that this life is temporary and that we are investing for a greater future when God will reward His faithful servants who see beyond the here and now. Brethren and co-workers, thank you for what you are doing.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,

Gerald E. Weston

Peace out brethren! Don't let the Germans get you and TRY to have a happy day. 

 

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Did You Evaluate Yourself For Passover? John Ogwyn Thinks You Should Have

 

Personal Evaluation Worksheet


Church of God history wants you to be on the far left of the evaluation as a worthless worm while the far right is the lofty goals that only the ministry can claim to be. Bob Thiel would score a 10 on each of these.

The Word of God?

 



The Word of God?

The Word of God is synonymous with the Bible for most Christians today, but that isn’t how it began. As William Schniedewind demonstrates in How the Bible Became a Book, in the biblical literature prior to Chronicles “the word of Yahweh” has little or nothing to do with written documents. Neither is the expression “the word of the Lord” used to refer to the Ten Commandments or the Law of Moses. The term instead applies to the oral proclamation of the prophets.

An intriguing illustration of this can be found in Jeremiah 8:7-9. The text speaks of those who have rejected the word of the Lord (v.9) in the same breath as “the lying pen of the scribes” (v.8). Jeremiah was bemoaning the fruits of literacy: authority was shifting from oral tradition to the written word. Where should authority lie, with the text or teacher? Schniedewind observes: "Once authority resides in the text, the teacher can be dismissed..." It is only in the late book of Chronicles that torah is understood as the written word rather than the oral word spoken through the prophets.

Even the word “prophecy” (nevu’ah) is a late innovation. It hadn’t been needed until the textualization process was well advanced, but once the word of Yahweh was understood as corresponding to the Pentateuch, a new term was needed for the proclamation of the prophets.

The growing authority of the text, which advanced along with the growth of literacy, put paid to the ability of opinionated individuals to rise up and speak as God’s mouthpiece: the prophets disappear from Israel. Their niche is filled in part by apocalyptic speculation with a focus on the future rather than the needs of the moment. Amos’ cry for justice in the here-and-now is drowned out by Daniel’s lurid fantasies of the future.

The word of the Lord is still spoken by troublesome individuals who speak fearlessly, but rarely by religious professionals: priest and prophet rarely complement each other. Interestingly, Jesus was remembered “as one having authority”, not like the scribes of his day (Matthew 7:28). In fact, it’s remarkable how little exegesis Jesus seemed to bother with. Needless to say, he wasn’t popular with the clergy of his day either. In Matthew's "great commission" (28:18-20) Jesus passes his authority on to his disciples, he does not infuse it into a text. Even Paul, that prolific letter writer, stresses that he was called to preach: he makes no claims for his writings.

To tie oneself up in knots over the interpretation of obscure passages has nothing in common with the genius of Israel’s faith in its formative period, or of Jesus for that matter. That’s not to say that scholars shouldn’t dig deep to understand them, or that Christians shouldn’t respect them as markers on the road taken and a source for reflection and inspiration. But to regard them with idolatrous “bible-believing” superstition - in effect a paper pope - is likely to miss the whole point. If we’re busy attempting to distill precise doctrine from ancient text, chances are we’ll miss hearing the authentic word of the Lord that engages us in everyday life.


Gavin Rumney