Reading the Book of the Law At The Feast. Does God Require It Or Is It A Silly Demand Of Certain Self Appointed COG Leaders?

 

Over the last decade or so, various self-righteously zealous COG splinter cults have made a requirement of their few followers that they read and hear the entire book of the law during the Feast. Now that James Malm's demands have ended up in the grave it is time for the self-appointed and illegitimately ordained Bob Thiel to demand that his followers read the entire Book of Deuteronomy during his sad Feast. Instead of looking forward to the reign of Christ in the world to come and a time of joy, Thiel and certain splinter cults of the church look backwards at the law that was never meant to be a standard for Christians. The laws were a set of rules specific to the Jewish people to set them apart from those around them. It was for them only, not for any other tribe or group of people anywhere on the face of the earth.

The Feast of Tabernacles for 2020 is almost upon us. Services are to begin the evening of October 2nd and continue until the Last Great Day which is October 10th. It is a time we can meet as brethren each Fall as well as learn and exhort one another.

Notice also the following:

10 …”At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). 

Notice that this reading of the book of the law was to happen every seven years. Although this has been overlooked by most COG groups, in the CCOG we did this in 2013, and thus are intending to do it seven years later, which is this year, in 2020. ...

Different Sites, Different Recommendations

While ALL CCOG sites need to cover the Book of the Law in 2020, there are different ways this is expected to be done.

Sites with live sermon speaker (USA, Serbia, Africa, and India) are to have sermons that will, by the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, have covered the entire Book of Deuteronomy.

Those sites that do not have sufficient internet connections (such as the Philippines and parts of Africa) should watch the sermon DVDs that were sent a couple of weeks ago. In some cases, those sermons should be translated live into local languages. If the DVDs do not arrive (and they had not arrived in Ethiopia when I last heard), please at least have someone read the entire Book of Deuteronomy in the local language during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Various zealots in COG leadership have turned a once joyous time of the year into a time of drudgery. Is it any wonder why they cannot keep members?

Is How You Dress At The Feast A Salvation Issue?

 

The Feast of Tabernacles is underway for the faithful of the Churches of God. This has turned out to be a difficult year for most COG groups as Satan has actively thwarted some of their plans for certain Feast sites. Numerous sites had to be shut down this year due to COVID. Plus, no chruch members were able to transfer to any foreign country this year. In spite of all of this, many COG members were still looking forward to their annual fall vacation to resorts and interesting locations.

A select few COG groups set certain standards for their members on how to dress at the Feast. Apparently, LCG members still are too stupid or outright rebellious in what they choose to wear to services or at the resorts that they must be reminded AGAIN on what is appropriate to wear. Living Church of God has sent out their commands once again this year for their women to not dress slutty at church by wearing their belly exposing tops. As usual, women get bet up the most, men not so much.

Basic Principles of Dress for Sabbath and Feast Services and Activities
As we prepare to be “lights to the world” at the Feast, it’s good to review some basic principles about our outward decorum and dress. Jesus stated in a parable that some invited to the wedding supper will be turned away because they are not dressed appropriately (Matthew 22:8–14). We have taught for decades that when we come to Church services, we are coming before the God of the universe, and we should dress in the best we have, to show proper respect to God. In most Western cultures, coats, collared shirts, ties, and nice slacks are considered appropriate attire for men on special occasions. Jeans, T-shirts, tennis shoes, or other sportswear are simply not in good taste at special occasions or at Church services. This may vary in tropical climates, yet, in all climates there is a distinction between what is appropriate and what is not. 1 Timothy 2:9–10explains that ladies should dress “in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.” This does not condone the trendy and immodest apparel that is commonplace for many women in our society today: short, tight, form-fitting dresses, necklines displaying cleavage, bare shoulders, backless dresses, belly-baring tops, etc. We come to services to worship God, not to display our bodies. If women dress in a manner that attracts attention to their bodies, they become a distraction to others from the real reasons for being at services. Our challenge as Christian men and women is to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17) and recapture true values (Matthew 17:11) so we can be lights to a world that has lost its way (Matthew 5:14–15). This is especially true as we gather to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles—picturing Christ’s glorious reign on earth!

Why does the Living Church of God still treat their members as infants or as being too stupid to know what to wear to services? When Jesus returns he will not give a rats ass about what people are wearing to church. That subject is of no significance to the grand scheme of things and should not be an issue today in the COG.

Air Quotes Christianity: Gerald Weston - The Master of Doublespeak

Ever the master of double-speak, Weston begins his Trumpets sermon mocking human interest in disasters. He references how many disaster movies have been produced, including spoof versions like my favorite, Sharknado. BUT, then proceeds to show how Trumpets represents our own disaster movie in which we get off on annually and is the driving force behind the "work."

His first Biblical reference as an intro to the sermon was Amos 5:18

"Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness and not light."
The only real proof of conversion in the eyes of COG headquarters everywhere is tithes and offerings. If your Jeremiah 17:9 heart is not fully backing this "work" financially, well you can expect a gruesome death in just 3-7 years at the bloodthirsty hands of Germans.
Let not the irony be lost on anyone. The Hebrew word for "desire" in this verse means: to wish for, covet, lust after, crave, be greedy for.

It is the same word used in the 10th Commandment: Thou shalt not covet.
Emphasis on what makes one "Christian" in the Millerite movement for 180 years has been the expectation of Jesus return in your lifetime, often including set dates and urgent warnings of only having 3-7 years left to get it right. HWA turned this into a lucrative business, using the Day of the Lord as his primary message in whoring for so many "Christian" dollars. [Check out my post, "Whoring For Money"]

In the 9/17/2020 World Ahead (Weekly Update), Weston says,

"Mr. Richard Ames recorded a Tomorrow’s World telecast titled “What Happened to the Christianity of Christ?,” offering one of the late Dr. Roderick C. Meredith’s strongest booklets, Restoring Original Christianity." [Check out my review of this booklet in the post titled, "Narcissists Ruin Everything"]

Anyone who has spent any time in any of the COG's should know what is meant by Air Quotes Christianity. It is the unreal Christianity out there. It is mainstream Christianity. It is the way we automatically and always discern ourselves from this world's Christianity, even when we speak amongst ourselves. We can't help it. It is Pavlovian.

To discern ourselves from Air Quotes Christianity, Meredith initially was calling LCG Christianity, "Apostolic" Christianity. But fearing this might confuse people into lumping us in with Apostolic churches, he changed the label to "Original Christianity."

COG Christianity can be summarized as a sect that puts emphasis on tithing, the observance of days, and prophecy peddling. It relies on external conformity to the detriment of internal awareness and critical thinking. It relies on the sacrifice of self to an imposed greater good to the detriment of personal responsibility to your most intimate and cherished blessing, the family. COG Christianity is a fascist nanny state that usurps the sovereignty of a man in his own household. COG Christianity lives and will die by this one verse, Matthew 24:14.

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come."

Just what did happen to the Christianity of Christ, Dick?

LCG has been bragging for years about how they have the "more sure word of prophecy." I have no idea on what they are able to base this. The 2019 Behind the Work video made for the Feast of Tabernacles had this as the theme. These men are truly greedy for and coveting after global calamity. They spend all their time cherry-picking gloom and doom news headlines from the four corners of the earth. The Day of the Lord is their primary source of income. It is what they covet but not for the sake of mankind or that it would actually come but because it puts food on their tables, suits on their backs and braces on their children.
COGs love to cart out Amos 3:7 this time of year.

"Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals his secret to His servants the prophets."

The Millerite/SDA/COG movement came into existence rooted in the idea that they had a more sure word of prophecy. HWA staked his marketing on Matthew 24:14 and the support of his corporate nanny state as the surest way to escape the horrors of a Great Tribulation that is always 3-7 years away.

Weston goes on to complain about the echo chamber that is the internet and confirmation bias, the very things that butter his bread. He complains about brethren being on the internet and using platforms to communicate with one another (much love, Gary). He literally complains that brethren are getting caught up in "reasoning" with one another in the cloud.
BUT the cold hard truth everyone in COGs must face is that their God has revealed no secrets in 180 years. They must face the fact that their God has done nothing in 180 years. There has not been one single incident where anyone in the corporate COGs can cite as proof that they are true prophets and that they have a sure word of prophecy. No, not one.
This must lead any thinking person to come to grips with the fact that all COGs are just the same as all the other Air Quotes Christian churches out there. They all make up what can best be described as "Corporate" Christianity. They are all designed and used (to varying degrees) to control people and milk them of their livelihoods.

True Christianity cannot exist anywhere in any way other than in the sovereign consciousness of individuals.

"Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness and not light."
Organizations that peddle fear, using the Day of the Lord and using dollars to measure conversion are the very ones that need to heed this verse. There is going to be a very large number of individuals who are employed by and support corporate prophecy peddlers that will be surprised to find they have very little oil in their lamps when the time comes or find themselves unemployed in their Kingdom of God. Amos goes on to say in 5:21,

"I hate, I despise your feast days."
[I have taken Amos 5:18,21 out of context, just like the COGs do regularly, but my point is made.]

So what is required of all Christians? Is it to financially back Corporations that justify demanding tithes and offerings to support a fulfilling of Matthew 24:14? I will say this. Individuals, called by a God who has been silent for 180 years, may reveal secrets some day and be accredited to spreading the gospel at the end of the age. But just like Paul, they will do it on their own dime without any financial demands put upon others. There may be "a" Christian that will fulfill that calling. But as for "all" Christians who want to be in God's favor in that day of judgment, I recommend you fulfill what is so plainly given by Jesus Himself in Matthew 25:31-46.

Your daily walk with that God and how that God works through you in daily interactions with other human beings is what will determine who is a Christian and who is an Air Quotes Christian.

HWA (like many religious charlatans before and after him) duped a generation of well-meaning folks into breaking very fundamental verses required of all Christians to put their families first and instead, embraced a devastating lie to put Corporate Christianity first. Judeo-Christian wisdom cries out in both testaments.

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children" --Proverbs 13:22

"But if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." --I Timothy 5:8

As for Weston and the rest of the COGs, the writing is on the internet wall. You can cite all the clicks, likes and views that you want from your laptop "work." We all can see there are no new faces walking into services. We see the inflated feast attendance numbers you announce. (Dude, I'm right here!) Your conversion rates are essentially zero. COG growth today is measured only in births. 180 years of history is calling you out. And thankfully, that history will be there for them to read right here in the cloud when they come of age. The movement is over. Men...Put YOUR families first! Putting your family first is putting God first.

Stoned Stephen Society