Living Church of God and United Church of God are featured in an article in the
Deseret News out of Salt Lake City this week. Its an article about Christians flocking to Israel to celebrate the Christianized version of the Jewish celebration of Sukkot. Who better to interview than Church of God members since they are the REAL Christian keeping it the PROPER way.
UCG's Peter Eddington is quoted:
Eddington said members of the United Church of God — of which 14,000
are expected to attend events in the U.S., Canada and 37 overseas
locations — use the Sukkot celebration "to picture what (the world) will
be like when Jesus Christ returns, something humanity has never
actually seen, but it's coming. It's a visionary kind of a week."
That means finding venues where there's an abundance
of scenery and tourism opportunities. Resorts such as the Lake Tahoe
area; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; the Florida coast; Hawaii; and
Zambia near Victoria Falls in Africa have been prime spots in years
past.
"Some festival sites are in some very humble
locations, but wherever possible, we try to make it a millennial
experience," Eddington explained, "because the Feast of Tabernacles in
the New Testament understanding pictures a time when Jesus will rule on
Earth, instituting God's kingdom showing a life of prosperity, health
and happiness for everyone under His rule. Wherever possible, we try to
choose a location that inspires that feeling."
However, he added, "it's not just a vacation, but
also a religious celebration." Following Leviticus 4, the United Church
of God observes the first and last days (of the Tabernacles event) as
"high" observances, with day-long worship services. On the other days,
morning worship and Bible study take place to teach "what the Festival
observance is all about," Eddington said.
The afternoons are free time for families, barbecues or light meals and sightseeing. Evenings may host dances or talent shows.
The focus of Eddington is solely on the Hebrew understanding of the days and nothing on the guy they are supposed to be followers of. He along with UCG and the other COG's cannot and do not celebrate or talk about anything that pertains to Jesus and what he did. Their only focus is upon pretending to be Jewish Christian and being rulers in a world tomorrow where they imagine becoming God's and have their own planets where they will be rulers and enforcers of the law. Jesus be damned, the law is more important.
The article then goes on to quote Eddington again:
Eddington said, "There is a tendency in Christianity today to follow a
lot of tradition that's been passed down over the past 2,000 years that
quite honestly is not biblical." The United Church of God eschews
Christmas and Easter in favor of the Feast of Tabernacles, Passover and
Pentecost, as well as Rosh Hashana, which it calls the Feast of
Trumpets, and the Day of Atonement, known to Jews as Yom Kippur.
This is rather funny considering the tendency in Armstrongism to follow a lot of tradition in the Church of God passed on by Armstrongism that are quit honestly not biblical or required. The Church of God's prefer to live in the "shadow's" than to engage in something that has a richer and deeper meaning in Christianity.
The paper also quotes Rod Meredith in another telling comment:
For Meredith, the benefits of observing the annual event are chiefly
spiritual: "I have found that observing the Feast of Tabernacles makes
God more 'real' to me in many ways. Focusing on Christ’s return and His
millennial rule certainly helps one understand prophecy better. Being
surrounded by hundreds of individuals of like mind in worshipping the
Creator gives a wonderful spiritual uplift as well."
Apparently his "god" has failed to reveal himself to Rod Meredith for the last 60-70 years. Every single prophecy the man has uttered in the last six or seven decades has FAILED! Not one single prophecy he has predicted has happened.
Read the article here:
Why some non-Jews are observing Jewish holidays this month