Last week we had Living Church of God worried about the most powerful god in COGland and this week it is United Church of God's time to weigh in the all powerful one. With UCG though, they toss in the magicians, 10 commandments, mark of the beast, UFO's, Fox Mulder, and Simon Magus to keep their members fearfully looking over their shoulders. Reading their missive you quickly see that they consider all Christians outside the minuscule COG fantasyland as blithering deceived idiots who are easily entreated by big meanie Satan who is always portrayed as more powerful than Jesus.
Revelation 13:16-17 says: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
The answer to how people will be misled and tricked is a remarkable thing to consider in this modern time. Deception comes from a direction most people wouldn’t suspect. Interestingly, this is precisely how Satan has worked to defraud humankind throughout history since Adam and Eve in Eden.
If you really want a test case in deception look no further than Church of Godland and batshit crazy church leaders we have today. No one could have ever imagined the agents of deception that litter the COG universe with the likes of Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Ron Weinland, and Gerald Flurry. But then they learned it from Gerald Waterhouse, Rod Meredith, GTA, HWA, and others that spoon fed lies and half truths to members for decades.
Revelation 12:9 warns us: “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Satan the Devil has interacted with mankind in various and sundry ways since humans came to dwell on earth. As a result, in the garden of Eden, Adam was misdirected to disbelieve God. So now we have a world which largely rejects God and His word. Most churches reject the Ten Commandments and teach their parishioners they are done away and nailed to the cross at the crucifixion of Christ.
COG leaders have an absolute meltdown of Christians who say thee 10 commandments are not in effect today completely ignore this:
In the early times of the Church, Philip successfully preached the gospel in Samaria. He encountered Simon who practiced sorcery or magic. Acts 8:9-11 says he had, “Astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.”
No doubt Simon not only was a master at magic tricks which hood-winked the inhabitants of Samaria, but he had demonic help as well which helped deceive people. Jannes and Jambres used magic when they confronted Moses and Aaron in Egypt (Exodus 7:11-12, 22; 2 Timothy 3:8-9). Incidentally, a possible meaning of their names in the Hebrew is “he who seduces and he who makes rebellious” (Gateway Encyclopedia of the Bible, Jannes and Jambres). Moses performed real miracles by the power of God, such as making his rod a serpent, which the sorcerers with their magic and satanic help also appeared to do. It is to these events that Paul is referring in 2 Timothy 3:8.
Who are our modern day hood winking seducers in the church? Look at Dave Pack and his endless stream of failed predictions, or Gerald Flurry and his Irish dance/prayer rock/coronation stone, or Bob Thiel and his endless half truths and outright lies about prophecy, and his right to be a church leader and the manipulation of his Africa followers. Also, how can we forget Rod Weinland? This fool has a track record of prophetic failures longer than Dave Pack's current list. Plus, Ron Weinland is our only convicted felon leading a COG today (well, maybe we should include Bob Thiel's African evangelists here). Who could have ever imagined the morons we have leading COG's today!
Next, Simon Magus enters the picture along with simony:
When Simon (Magus) the sorcerer saw this power being used by the apostles through the Holy Spirit as being genuine, unlike the trickery he had used to bewitch the Samaritans, he offered to pay money to the apostles so he could have this same ability to bestow the spirit to whom he chose by the laying on of hands. The apostle Peter’s words were resoundingly stout against his request; he rebuked him and said, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!” (Acts 8:20). The act of simony, or paying for position, is named after Simon Magus. He did not repent, and later in history he would play a role in the emergence of the false church of Rome.
The modern day version simony in the COG is tithing. People are taught that their salvation depends upon (which it doesn't). Buying their way into the kingdom, or as the great Led Zeppelin song says, "buying their stairway to heaven".
The guardian.com on June 9, 2023 published an article, “A whistleblower claims the US has alien vehicles. But where’s the proof?” The article states:
“According to the Debrief, Grusch’s knowledge of non-human materials and vehicles was based on ‘extensive interviews with high-level intelligence officials.’ He said he had reported the existence of a UFO material ‘recovery program’ to Congress and filed a complaint with the intelligence community inspector general. That complaint contained classified locations, program names and other data, the Debrief said.
“But in a follow-up interview with NewsNation on Tuesday night, Grusch said the US had also found alien pilots. ‘Well, naturally, when you recover something that’s either landed or crashed, sometimes you encounter dead pilots and believe it or not, as fantastical as that sounds, it’s true,’ Grusch said. Grusch said there was a ‘sophisticated disinformation program targeting the US populace’ to suppress information on UFOs, which is a common conspiracy trope in the UFO community.”
Many feel the intelligence agencies are suppressing this information and hiding it from the American people. The effect is, the more it is covered up, the more it is discussed. Many are tuned into Sci-Fi and the old X-Files television series which often showed the poster above Mulder’s desk which said, “I Want to Believe.”It is possible the UAP issue, in the form of an invasion from space, could be utilized to fool people into believing Christ has returned and by this means the Beast’s one world government could be brought to fruition. It is something many might think could not happen, but it is a strong possibility.
The apostle Paul states in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
Scary times are ahead for UCG members:
People will be swayed and deceived by unbelievable signs, and by Satan’s magic show will be made to believe. If they refuse to believe, the other option is death (Revelation 13:15). In like manner, the ancient King Nebuchadnezzar erected an image and commanded all to bow down and worship the image or be cast into a fiery furnace and die. Death will be used as a powerful motivator to submit to the Beast and what is coming (Daniel 3:16-18).
Tuck goes on to talk about how church members let people sway their lives, though he really means their people of the world since no real COG member could ever fall into such a situation.
People will be swayed and deceived by unbelievable signs, and by Satan’s magic show will be made to believe. If they refuse to believe, the other option is death (Revelation 13:15). In like manner, the ancient King Nebuchadnezzar erected an image and commanded all to bow down and worship the image or be cast into a fiery furnace and die. Death will be used as a powerful motivator to submit to the Beast and what is coming (Daniel 3:16-18).
Shadrack, Meshak and Abednego, as well as the prophet Daniel, set an incredible example for all those upon whom the ends of the world are come, to follow. When commanded by the king to bow and worship the idol they resolutely stated, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).
Our minds must be set, as Daniels friend's hearts were, to face the challenges we have ahead of us. Our love for righteousness and truth must be such that we would be willing to suffer and die for it if need be.
Real Christians have been willing to suffer and die for Christ for centuries, and still do to this day, but now COG member needs to suffer and die to support a COG minister or leader.
If your life is in upheaval because of COG leaders and ministers then remember this, there is another road you can take:
