Living Church of God Is The Only One Offering The True Hope For Mankind

 

Gerald Weston says the only hope any of us have is joining their highly chosen group. This must frost Bwana Bob's delicate sensibilities now that he is no longer part of the one true faith. Left outside the circle of truth, once again.

Dear members and co-workers, the world needs hope, and we in this Work are able to give the only true hope for mankind, the good news that Jesus came to bring. Those of us called now and who respond to that calling, will be born sons and daughters in His world-ruling Kingdom, with the opportunity to solve the problems we see here on earth today (2 Corinthians 6:18; Luke 19:11-19; Revelation 5:10). Who else is going to proclaim this truth of the Gospel to the world? Who else will give the world, not false hope, but living hope? 

 

Be prepared for 12,274 future gods and goddesses to be unleashed upon the world to spank it into submission.

Rick Shabi of UCG, The Same Old Tired Stuff

Rick Shabi of UCG, The Same Old Tired Stuff

A friend recently invited me to review two presentations by the President of the United Church of God, Rick Shabi. The first, The Man of Sin Revealed?, is the same old vitriol against the Roman Catholic Church which only Armstrongites and Protestants of three hundred years ago could truly appreciate. In this instance, he excoriated Pope Francis for allowing the blessing of same-sex relationships. According to Rick, homosexuals need to be kept on the outside looking in – that they are entirely undeserving of God’s blessing! For Mr. Shabi, the Pope has changed God’s Law and made good that which is perverted and bad.

The truth, however, is that the Pope’s recent declaration is far cry from an endorsement of same-sex relationships. As a recent article in America: The Jesuit Review pointed out, “As noted in ‘Fiducia Supplicans,’ Pope Francis’ response to the dubium on blessing same-sex unions ‘provided important clarifications for this reflection and represents a decisive element of the work of the Dicastery.’ While acknowledging that the church ‘has a very clear understanding of marriage...and it is much more than a mere ‘ideal,’’ the pope insists that ‘pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey an erroneous conception of marriage. For when a blessing is requested, it is expressing a plea to God for help, a supplication to live better, a trust in a Father who can help us live better.” In other words, the position of that church on same-sex relationships has NOT changed – the Pope was simply calling for a little more kindness toward the folks who find themselves in those circumstances. The article went on to quote Francis as saying: “in our relationships with people, we must not lose pastoral charity…. The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity.” (See How Pope Francis Reconciled Church Teaching with Blessings for Same-sex Relationships)

The not so subtle insinuation of Mr. Shabi’s message is that Pope Francis is probably the “man of sin” referenced in II Thessalonians 2:3. This is all part and parcel of the old Armstrongist message that the Catholic Church is the great false church spoken of in the book of Revelation. He reiterates the Armstrongist interpretation of the “little horn” mentioned in the book of Daniel and pointed to the pope and the Roman Catholic Church as the obvious fulfillment of that prophecy. Of course, he completely ignored the history of Herbert Armstrong’s modifications of God’s Law, and Mr. Armstrong’s horrendous record relative to relating biblical prophecies to current institutions and events. In other words, Mr. Shabi appears to be very comfortable with repeating the mistakes of the past and clinging to understandings which have been thoroughly discredited here and elsewhere over the last fifty years.

Mr. Shabi’s second presentation, A Biblical Worldview, was recorded for the church’s Beyond Today program. In the space of a little over twelve minutes, Rick asserted that the equally discredited notion that the English-speaking peoples of the earth are the descendants of the Israelites of old, and that this “fact” explains the current “decline” that those nations are experiencing. Not surprisingly, this observation centered around some comments by the notorious right-wing commentator, Tucker Carlson. In a speech to Canadians, Tucker noted that the nations of the “Anglosphere” are in trouble, and “they are on the brink of becoming not salvageable.” The former Fox News commentator, also humbly noted that he didn’t fully understand why this phenomenon was happening, “because I am not God.”

Mr. Shabi, of course, seized on the also long ago discredited Armstrong teaching about British-Israelism as the perfect explanation for the phenomenon that Tucker had so eloquently noted. For Mr. Shabi, God had blessed these nations (Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States) because of promises he had made to their “ancestor” Abraham in the distant past. Rick even expanded on Herbie’s teaching a tad by insisting that the United States had drawn its form of government from a passage in Isaiah. For him, this passage from that book demonstrated his point: “For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22, ESV) You know: judge – judiciary, lawgiver – legislative, king -executive. Don’t worry – it didn’t make sense to me either!

Mr. Shabi encouraged his audience to “Just look at the commonalities of these nations and their mindsets and their beginnings. Is there any other group of nations like them that share such ideals and success? All these nations are, or at least were, Christian nations, generally following the Bible and precepts outlined in it. Those principles, when followed, do result in blessings. And when a nation or individual departs from them, God justifiably takes away those blessings. It is a fact that you reap what you sow.” Of course, he completely ignored in these remarks the FACT that these “Christian nations” stole land and wealth from indigenous peoples all over the earth, engaged in the slave trade and slavery, ravaged the earth, denied status and rights to minorities, and imposed an imperial system on nations weaker than them. Never mind all that, those nations are CURRENTLY engulfed in wickedness and decline!

Yes, I’m afraid that as I listened to Rick Shabi’s messages, I experienced a little bit of déjà vu. Sure, the faces have changed, but the message of the United Church of God is like a blast from the past. The TRUTH is that these messages are basically the same old stuff that Herbert Armstrong preached in the last century. Sad, so sad!

Lonnie Hendrix

Gerald Flurry On How Not To Deceive Yourself

Considering that Gerald FLurry is not aging well and suffers continued health issues, the fun boys in Edmond had to drag up one of his old articles to repost. it is about finding true happiness and avoiding self-deception. 

Flurry writes:

Did you know that you can hear the Word of God and, at the same time, deceive yourself? Self-deceit destroys your happiness and deprives you of blessings. It makes your Bible muddled and confusing in many ways—in fact, God says He will actually hide His revelation from you! 

 

However, if you overcome self-deceit, you will have a strong spiritual house that can weather any storm. Your life will overflow with joy and happiness. God will pour out blessings on you. You will understand your Bible better. These are all promises from God!

So how do you not deceive yourself and remain happy? Keep the law!!!!!!!!

How many truly happy people do you know? Many reject Christ’s example and successfully gain temporary pleasures. But those pleasures do not bring real happiness, and they do not last. God created us to be continuously filled with hope, joy and vision! How much of those qualities do you see in the world today? A big reason for the prevalence of unhappiness is self-deception. 

 

Jesus also said, “[B]lessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:28). We must go beyond simply hearing God’s Word. We must guard it, protect it, live by it. When we do that, Christ promises we will be blessed.

When has Gerald Flurry or the rest of the Church of God ever "guarded, protected, and lived by the law"? Why is the god of the Church of God so impotent that it cannot guard and protect its word? The dude lost it for 1,800 years until Herbert discovered it in an Oregon library. Not a very powerful god, I would say.

Oh, by the way. Christ's blessings come from following him, not the law,

Flurry continues, describing the current state of affairs in the COG movement:

Some people were following Jesus and even calling Him “Lord,” or master.That surely seemed right and good. But here is what Christ said to them: “[W]hy call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). 

 

This is shockingly serious! These people felt very righteous! They followed Jesus around. They wanted to hear His words. They regarded themselves as His followers. But they would not do what He said! They were self-deceived! Christ boldly told them, I’m not your master if you don’t do what I say! There’s no point in calling me Lord unless you obey what I’m telling you to do!

They regard themselves as His followers yet do not do what he says or even understand what is accomplished. 

He then goes on to describe building your foundation upon a rock, something the Church of God movement has never done. They built their houses and still build their houses upon a man.

Christ went on to emphasize the importance of what we do with what God teaches us. “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke 6:47-48). 

 

What a marvelous picture! When you do as God commands, your life becomes stable and grounded—because you are building your life on the Rock! Hearing and then doing the word of God gives you great spiritual strength. Violent storms, difficulties and trials can arise, yet they will not shake you. No problem can cause you to leave Jesus Christ! 

 

What happens if you don’t do as God commands? “But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great” (verse 49). 

 

This man didn’t build on the Rock—Jesus Christ. He may have heard Him. He may have agreed with Him. But he did not do what He said. Matthew 7:26-27 say this man built his house on sand. When the flood came, the foundation of this house washed away in an instant. Many people who hear what God says fail to concentrate on applying it. Because they are not doing these words, they have no strength. Once a trial comes, their house quickly falls in, and they leave Christ.

At the first moment of "trial" in the Church of God all we have ever seen happen is people getting angry, then rebelling against church government, and then pitching a royal hissy-fit and starting their own group. Then, those same issues rear their ugly heads in the new group and more splits happen. Then more splits. All the while leaving Jesus sitting all alone in the local Masonic Lodge or local union hall as they split and splinter bitching and moaning about how bad things are. All of their houses are quickly falling apart.