Dave Pack: Doctrinal Distancing

Doctrinal Distancing

A disturbing trend in The Restored Church of God revealed itself long ago. The larger the distance between David C. Pack's speaking, the greater the shifts in his understanding of revealed knowledge.

Thirteen days of separation for “The Greatest Unending Story!” Part 491 from Part 492 resulted in the anticipated reinvention of the prophetic wheel. The glasses on the table were swapped. The timing picture was clarified. All of David C. Pack’s eating his own words left no room for dessert.

Right on cue, the thirteen-day respite between Part 492 and Part 493 yesterday garnered a highly-anticipated “big changes” Excuse-A-Thon.

If you want to know what changes in The Restored Church of God these days, scrub to the end of any video, keeping an eye on the table arrangement. Those spare Third Tithe dollars must have been used to open a Pier 1 account.

As of Part 493 on February 17, the table was drastically updated. That will be covered in another article.

 

At the end of Part 492 two weeks ago, and as is his custom, Dave suggested he grasped several new truths without proving them. He often accepts the glory before the battle is fought.

Part 492 – February 3, 2024
@ 1:27:54 But other subjects can be covered if there’s time.

@ 1:28:00 …how there are absolutely two, two, two different 144,000s at the same time in the Day of the Lord. I will break out how I figured that out. I’ve suspected it for 27 years. Now, I’ve proved it. I’ll explain a little more about how Third Tithe begins at the Feast of Tabernacles. Maybe a little more about timing if I learn something.

@ 1:28:30 “The Lord is in His Holy Temple.” What is God’s Holy Temple? Is it something we’ve not considered before? The answer is Yes. And maybe we’ll talk a little more about the Sixth King. “What happened to him?” Well, I have an idea. So, I’ll detail these points if there’s time. And I and you hope there isn’t. My not by last message is said to end the Mystery of God. Make everything plain.

@ 1:29:11 And you’d rather see the Kingdom than me up here anymore. But you now (at least) have an advanced summary of what could be covered if we’re if we here next Sabbath. I’m I’ll speak next Sabbath and that’ll be the way it is. But Godspeed His Kingdom.

Those who trust in the words of David C. Pack are proven fools time and again.

Despite how David C. Pack wants to spin it, the two-week lulls have not been planned. He said he was going to speak the following week…dooh!

The voices in his head change their stories faster than even he can keep up.

The reasons for the speaking gaps vary. We can all hope he did not get Prophetic COVID-19 again.

During the 2020 Feast of Tabernacles, David C. Pack mocked the members of The Living Church of God for not singing hymns and wearing facemasks during Services. God has a sense of humor and is a fan of irony. Dave came home with COVID. But it was very hush-hush at Headquarters.

I knew what was going on when Bradford G. Schleifer's sneaky obfuscation, “Mr. and Mrs. Pack are fine,” was declared to the church during Announcements. He knowingly blurred the truth. Whether this was voluntary or commanded, he knows for sure.

Either way, never trust the hireling enablers at Headquarters. The “Do as I say, not as I do” rule applies.

When regular brethren get sick, that is a consequence of their hidden personal sins. But when David C. Pack gets sick, there is prophetic significance. Being “sealed in his house like Ezekiel” meant there was a special reason for his illness. A Bible type needed to be manifested.

Brethren, when you get sick, God is allowing a trial to test your faith.

When David C. Pack gets sick, it is a predetermined, God-ordained event fulfilling a higher purpose.

Why else would such a thing happen? After all, he washes his hands more thoroughly than anyone who has ever lived. It is not his fault he is the only one at Headquarters who truly cares about personal hygiene. That is not bragging, brethren. It is just a fact we have to accept.

Illness aside, David C. Pack does not require extended interludes to make radical contradictions to his own statements. During the 2022 and 2023 Ministerial Conferences, teachings about Elijah, the length and number of kingdoms, and the 1335 changed wildly day after day after day.

Confusion in real-time is an RCG staple.

David C. Pack throws dozens of doctrinal ideas at the wall. Even when some do stick, it is not for long. Nothing within the sphere of madness at Headquarters is safe from further meddling.

 

Another way RCG retcons teachings they no longer subscribe to is by omission. When they need to distance themselves from obvious false doctrines, silence becomes a practical, embarrassment-free form of theological communication.

Instead of spelling out they no longer hold to a particular belief, Dave just stops mentioning it. Months or years can pass before a topic is referenced as an aside with an utterly revised angle.

Ideas that even Edward L. Winkfield privately winces at can return to their pre-2013 position without Dave spending twenty minutes un-explaining them as part of a non-prophesying inspired preaching process. That particular “present truth” was never intended to survive the journey to the Kingdom of God. It was just a temporary brick upon which the path was laid.

One example was revealed during “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 471)” on September 30, 2023. David C. Pack revealed that the White Horse of Revelation 6 was not false Christianity but the true Jesus Christ with a bow like Elijah had.

Interestingly, he has not mentioned it since. One might wonder why it has not been revisited or expanded upon for something so significant to end-time prophecy.

Claiming no authority and as an unordained non-prophet/non-psychic, my theory is that Dave backed away from this and is allowing ample doctrinal distancing to erase that from the brethren’s sleepy minds. It is as if his words were never spoken. 

RCG New Moons:
Trouble in Paradise™

Considering how often doctrines mutate in The Restored Church of Another god under David C. Pack's “leadership” and the techniques utilized for disseminating that information, this brief Headquarters update posted in Member Services and the Announcement Bulletin caught my attention.

Member Services/Announcement Bulletin
February 3, 2024
New Moon Update

Please note that with the new moon of Adar 1 falling on the Sabbath of February 10, there will not be a Friday evening Bible study from Headquarters on February 9.

The messages you will hear during Sabbath services will provide ample spiritual food, so there is no need for a separate new moon Bible study.

Has the Restored Church of God begun backing away from keeping New Moons?

Those two sentences speak VOLUMES.

RCG admits that New Moons are not commanded and do not need to be observed separately.

RCG is admitting that New Moons are optional services subject to the administrative judgment whims of men.

RCG admits that New Moon services do not provide “ample spiritual food” worthy of their own gathering.

RCG is signaling to the brethren that if they can skip one, they can skip them all.

RCG allows members to interpret for themselves whether they want to have a personal New Moon tradition.

The next New Moon is Sunday, March 10. That is way out there. All Headquarters needs is a bit of doctrinal distancing to let that concept sink in where neglect becomes policy.

Will March 10 come with another “I pray you have me excused” update?

Sure, Ed will leap at the chance to spend his Sunday preaching to an empty room, but I will put $20 on the table that a Sunday Bible study is not in our future. After all, if the Sabbath is "ample" to cover a Friday, the exact same concept applies to Sunday.

If Dave explains the abrupt moonwalking, he will dust off all the doctrinal papers and articles from The Worldwide Church of God archives that Herbert W. Armstrong sanctioned to list every reason brethren already knew from May 1999 until Part 479 on November 11, 2023.

Will we hear this? “The New Testament Church did not keep New Moons. Jesus Christ said not one word about New Moons. Thus, The Restored Church of God will not keep New Moons until the Kingdom of God arrives.”

After reading this update, this comment during Part 492 made more sense.

Part 492 – February 3, 2024
@ 03:50 I’ll show you some things that no one has ever understood [chuckles] about years and how to observe new moons (at least) on some occasions.

The stealth waffling was already creeping in. New Moons are to be kept on “some occasions.” Like Trumpets and Abib 1, no doubt.

Most brethren will have long forgotten what was taught recently because the information is so convoluted it is not meant for human retention. Adding a few weeks into the mix is like having a clean canvas on which to paint more prophetic malarkey.

We will see if New Moons fade into the background or if a bloated document is posted in Member Services.

David C. Pack has taught all members of The Restored Church of God that maintaining proper doctrinal distancing is the best way to keep things changing without signaling they are changing.

Oh boy, they are still changing.

Marc Cebrian

See: Doctrinal Distancing

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