The Dark Side of Dave Pack "Ending Your Financial Worries"

Never forget

 "I want to make a statement about...me...now, if I became deceived, I will never tell you what I'm going to tell you now...I am telling you  if I go off into strange ideas,  misconduct, rebellion, you name it, don't follow me. I want to tell you that now, because if I start doing that I'm gonna try to get you to follow me! I'm gonna come to you and tell you it doesn't apply, it doesn't mean me, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's OK to follow me because ABCD and XY and Z. Do you understand what I'm saying? Listen to me now, when I tell you don't follow me if I go off into weird ideas, or if I get off into other things that are total absolutely unscriptural conduct, because if I do I'm gonna paint it with a different face and try to get you to follow me. Do you understand what I'm saying brethren? Please remember that, because I promise you that if I become deceived, I'll forget it, and I'll want you to forget it...And  I hope you'll remember it well enough to quote it right back to me...But I'll tell you what, I'm not going anywhere."

David C Pack

December 12, 1998

Can Do!!!

 "Now let's talk about Wills. Naming the Restored Church of God in your Will sometimes might cause an individual to think they're doing the right thing. That's good, that's wonderful. But they feel comfortable that they've done their part. Think about it. How much faith does that require? The Church gets everything when you die and you don't need it anymore? Where did you sacrifice anything?? Now again, that's a nice thought. But all you're saying is since you're dead you don't need anymore financial security. No faith. Get it now— When it requires faith. When you're dead you don't need it. We have people who have hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars— some even millions— they're telling us they're going to give us in Wills. We're kind of put in a funny position when you think this through. Do we pray that people die so we can get it? We can't do that! I'm going to get an inheritance from my uncle some day. I don't pray that he dies— I can't do that...Don't put God in the position where you have to die, where He must say "I need that money" and you won't turn loose of it now. If you named us in your Will, it could take months or years, particularly if there's litigation before we have it. Think it through..." [talks about the natural "cycle of death" bringing funds to the church]

"We live in a strange, different, final generation—final generation. Don't look for excuses to hold on to your treasure! We don't have the luxury of waiting years...Today, leaving everything in your Will doesn't work!"

"The wives in the faith will say give everything you can...We don't have the luxury of waiting years...today, leaving everything in your will simply doesn't work"

" I've talked about using a Home Equity Line that I've used many times. And there are ways to do this. This is not something that's pie in the sky. Home Equity Line is for people who have a lot of equity in their home, or maybe have their home paid off. It's a great way to advance funds to the Work. You can also leave enough in the Equity Line, which could, in affect, for years – make your payment for you – so you literally don't feel it. For instance, you can get 20, 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars— or much more— and never feel a payment for years because you're also making your payments out of the Equity Line. I have done that. It allowed me to give a lot and never feel it. It takes faith..."

"The worst that can happen, and I'm prepared for this— is that you run it all the way up, and then you have to amortize it in a term loan after 10 or 20 years. It requires some faith, but not a lot. Now you just have a second mortgage instead of an Equity Line. It's converted into a term loan, paid over a period of 10 or 20 years, starting in 10 or 20 years. It's what I've done. I'm prepared to do it. And then, frankly, we flee before most of it ever comes due. That's just the way it is."

(Don't tell your mortgage lender)

"If you hold those riches, I'm telling you, you trust in them"

"Go get a big chunk out of your home. And put your money where your mouth is and send it here. And I'm not talking about one, two, three thousand either. How about ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, or one hundred thousand dollars? Go do it."

"Wives, you can be independent in this. You have 1/2 the worth of whatever you have in your house.

I'm officially telling you this...Wives, legally you have the 1/2 the funds. What are you going to do about it?...Husbands...'well, my wife is not in the church'...tell her...'you don't have a voice woman' "

"Go get those assets and get them here"

"Don't sit on vast resources that we can use now"

"We are not a splinter"

"I do not covet your silver or gold...the gold and silver is God's and He will get it someway"

"We do not have the funds...plans...bookstores...We need to redesign our web site...We need many hundreds of thousands of dollars to arrive at God's headquarters soon...the timing is now"

"This is different...ask Him for the faith to liquidate certain assets and give it to the work"

"I'll say it again, we are talking about liquidating existing assets...it all belongs to God and the brethren"

"We have a lot of plans so big going on in this office it would cause just this room to to rock and gyrate if you knew what was going on. We just need a lot of money and we need it post haste...I would give more if I had it"

"Herbert Armstrong wrote an article...'Prepare to greatly reduce your standard of living'...What he wrote by far, is more for us now than it was then... its all going to be taken away from us anyway brethren"

"There will be follow-up sermons. Time to bring in related points"

"Every year, believe it or not, a significant number of people either skip or forget one, two, even three or four of their holy day offerings. Now how is that possible? I might ask such people— and maybe this is you— who are you kidding? How can you possibly believe that you're going to sit on a throne beside Jesus Christ and be given power over the nations if you disobey a fundamental command like that, and particularly one attached directly to whether or not and how you feel you've been blessed? Who are you kidding? Go find a different church!! You simply don't believe God, and this one does."

"Some people adopt their own standard and frequency of when they'll pay God's tithes. If it isn't convenient, they'll simply "skip" months. They'll simply skip paying tithes. "Oh, it didn't add up this month," so they skip it. We see it every single month, there are people that profess to believe that tithes belong to God, and they just skip them..."

" If members do not take care of their fellow brethren through additional second tithe that they did not spend, and I'm saying "Follow my example," there are people who get to go to God's Feast— quite a few of them every single year— because I choose not to spend my excess second tithe, which I'm allowed to keep. [Starts yelling] And others, who are not allowed to keep it, don't send it in, and people can't go to the Feast! And that's wrong! That's wrong! We have people that make huge sums of money— where's the extra 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 thousand dollars in second tithe that they aren't sending in?? I'll tell you where it is— They're stealing it and pretending they're going to be in the Kingdom of God! And they're keeping others from going to the Feast. I know there's a certain latitude— you can spend it up to a certain reasonable limit. You need tires to get to the Feast, or an extra suit; you can do that sometimes. But people play games, sort of "It's mine and I can spend it. I'm using it to go to the Feast and I'm going to need my new laptop for the Feast. That's stealing! With tires or multiple suits, or get a new car, lots of clothes for the family, buy all the kids fall school clothes— I'm trying to use examples of what people do, who couldn't possibly use all their second tithe for the Feast. They just couldn't possibly do it. So they're stealing from other people and stealing from God because that money comes from God and it's keeping other people from going.

" There are others who don't pay third tithe. The church is not obligated to spend third tithe caring for the brethren that we do not receive. You are required— it is a command to you— every third and sixth year in a seven-year cycle, to send third tithe in and care for your brethren..."

"Let us know how much you plan to send and when you plan to send it...You must be willing to communicate... If you do need to counsel, please do that...If you are not ready to distribute what you have...you don't believe the flow of prophecy"

"This is announcing the last blast, the clarion call as it were, to finish the work...Whether it is 4,5,7, 9 years to go, God knows...This is liquidating assets...I have the authority to tell you to do it... I have the moral and spiritual, and ecclesiastical authority to tell you to do what I have also done"

"Get it now when it requires faith... when you are dead you don't need it... if you named us in your wills, it can take us months or years to get it"

"The wives in the faith will say give everything you can...We don't have the luxury of waiting years...today, leaving everything in your will simply doesn't work"

"Now you just have a second mortgage... and frankly we flee before most of it ever becomes due"

"...some may think that they want to tap their 401k--maybe you want to let us know that... why would you want to tell us? We are starting to prepare a budget now, the needs are now...it would be nice to know now"

"Think big...Pull big triggers"

"There is only two positions you can take regarding all that I have mentioned, only two, there is no middle ground. You're either going to yield, to submit and to follow, the clarion call that the time is now or you're not. And postponing a decision is deciding not to do it...It's saying I'm going to wait until it gets closer because it is not there yet...Don't say that I'm going to wait until it gets closer, when I can see...The decision is that my treasure stays on earth or I goes to heaven. Period. I will not lay up for times to come or I will. And this is the real test of Laodicea... either hold on to your assets... or give it... God is in this decision, no question. Testing the church's faith"

"We live in the most materialistic age in the history of the world. People trust in physical things. They trust in bank accounts...If you have excess and don't need it, those verses mean you...That's the Laodicean attitude...Put your money where your mouth is...Empty your assets"

"There is only one place He works...Where the...work is...that's where God is working...one elder commented here at headquarters, if people can't be motivated by a clarion call to finish the work such as this, why will those same people somehow believe the internal signal given to the church of the 1335? Why would they believe it?"

"This is the Laodicean age..."Be careful that you don't tell us how to spend your assets... It belongs to God.. You don't tell God or His servants how to spend it"

"Your faith is being tested. Think about that"

"We will all fast on November 17th...I have to...ask you for a very special financial sacrifice for God's work"

"The purposes of the fast...(a). To fast for God's intervention...(b).Fast for personal faith and courage to follow what I am asking you to do...(c). Fast for personal strength...(d)...Fast for faith and courage in others with more than you to give...Go get a big chunk out of your house...their assets, IRAs, and pension funds...(e). Ask God to move specific properties...that they have told us they want to sell. Pray that these properties move...that is part of what this fast is about"

David C Pack-The Clarion Call-November 3, 2007

 http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/artcls/clarion2.htm

Yes...for you and your family if you join the Restored Church of God

 Being a Delusional Pastor lying to the members

Absolutely and preferably with your feet

Ok..Let me take charge of your finances!

  "Be careful that you don't tell us how to spend your assets... It belongs to God.. You don't tell God or His servants how to spend it"

The Dark Side of Tithing

Gerald Flurry to Soon Transport Herbert's Prayer Rock to Petra Where He Will be Made King to the House of Judah

Armstrongism has always produced men who have had extreme beliefs that are on the far fringes of the movement, from what sounds logical at first glance to outright silly beliefs and actions.  None has been more silly and outrageous as Gerald Flurry wandering the backwoods of Oregon looking for a rock that Herbert Armstrong supposedly knelt at.  The sheer idolatry is astounding.

Gerald Flurry has no proof that Herbert actually knelt at this very rock, even so, he has declared this to be the holy stone that Herbert knelt at when he conversed with his god.  When you realize that at least half of the stone was buried in the dirt, it left very little for Herbert to kneel at and rest his arms on or to conveniently use as support for his bible or other materials.  None of that mattered to Flurry though, he dug it up and transported it all the way to Edmund, Oklahoma, where it was originally enshrined in an outdoor garden.

The myths that Flurry has created around this dirty rock is mind-boggling at the sheer stupidity that has evolved around it.

Here is what was said earlier this year in regards to this holy rock:

Herbert at his rock

Not long ago, Pastor General Gerald Flurry revealed exciting revelation about Herbert W. Armstrong’s prayer rock. God built up the Philadelphia era of His Church through the prayers of Mr. Armstrong. That rock represents the beginning of the great Elijah work, which we continue today. It shows the mind-boggling success that comes from a fervent prayer life!

The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong mentions prayer about 240 times—an average of once every three to four pages! That book gives many examples and lessons on how to pray. Mr. Armstrong knew how to get an answer every time he prayed. What power! His formula for prayer was tremendously successful. You can have that kind of success too—if you follow that formula. 

“But if small, it started with a burst of energy and inspiration. First, it started with intensive and earnest private prayer. To the rear of the Fisher farm home was a fair-sized hill. Running over this hilltop for exercise I discovered a rock about 14 inches high. It was in a secluded spot. It came to mind how Jesus had dismissed the multitudes, and gone up into a mountain ‘apart’ to pray—alone with God. I dropped to my knees before this rock, which seemed just the right height to kneel before, and began praying earnestly for the success of the meetings. It became sort of a daily pilgrimage, during my stay at Fishers’, to this, which became my ‘prayer rock.’ I’m sure that I drank in much energy, spiritual strength and inspiration at that prayer rock.” 

That was the beginning of God’s Work—and it started with these prayers at the prayer rock!

Here we see an important part of the formula: This was “intensive and earnest” prayer. It wasn’t routine, drowsy, mumbly, careless, apathetic prayer. Mr. Armstrong put his heart into it! He was sincerely determined to get through to God! 

In 1930, before those “prayer-rock prayers” that changed world history, Mr. Armstrong faced the most serious situation of his life to that point. God used this to begin teaching him how to pray through his trials and tests. It all started at a rock

That is mild as to what Gerald Flurry also claims about this rock.  In their vainglorious idea that they were going to head off to Scotland and gain possession of The Stone of Scone, which they believe Scotland will willfully give to them when the times of trial start, they bought a mansion in England to allow closer access to the stone and to Hill Tara where they expect to dig up the Ark of the Covenant where they believe Jeremiah buried it when he took his daughters of a trip to Ireland many centuries earlier.

That vision apparently hit a big snag when Scotland did not willfully hand it over to them.  this set Gerald Flurry's mind into a tailspin.  What was he to do? Never fear, the holy stone of Herb called out his name.  This holy stone was also a symbol of royalty.  This would be the new stone that Christ would return to when he is crowned King of Kings. Philadelphia Church of God members were told that they are royalty by the very fact they are PCG members.

If you are part of God’s Church, then you are royalty. This is a biblical fact. The Church is called a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Its converted members are called kings and priests (Revelation 1:6; 5:10)—and they are soon to fill those positions in a world-ruling government after Jesus Christ’s return. Even its youth are called “princes in all the earth” (Psalm 45:16), and its daughters are “honorable” princesses (verse 9).

PCG members are being taught to look upon Gerald Flurry as their "king."

For as long as all our teens have been alive, we have taught that the office of God’s end-time apostle and prophet—pastor general of the Philadelphia Church of God—was synonymous with that of a king, based on two verses in Micah (Micah 2:13; 4:9).

Because Gerald is now King, the symbol of authority has now been moved from the Stone of Scone to Herb's prayer rock:

That understanding was taken to a new level in 2017. Throughout the first half of the year, God revealed in message after message from the pastor general that He had moved the symbol of David’s throne—and even the throne itself—to the Philadelphia Church of God. 

The craziness only gets worse:

For this new truth—in addition to proving God’s existence, the validity of His Word, and the location of His one true Church—there are two other major prerequisites. 

The first prerequisite is understanding the spiritual office that Gerald Flurry fills as the pcg’s pastor general. The fruits bear it out to be the office of an apostle—the highest human rank in the true Church of God. Prophecies about God’s end-time Work also show that his office fills that of specific prophet to come on the scene just before the coming of the Messiah. 

With the purchase of the estate in England, this allows Flurry to transport Herb's rock on PCG's new jet and locate it in England when the time of Christ's return is close at hand.  There no longer is a need for the Stone of Scone.

The other prerequisite is understanding the material contained in Herbert W. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy—proving the United States and Britain to be the modern descendants of biblical Israel. What is significant about this is that it proves how David’s dynasty survived until modern times—being overturned three times (Ezekiel 21:27). These overturns were from Judah to Ireland, then to Scotland, and finally to Britain. Knowing where David’s throne went, and knowing about the symbol of that throne (the stone of destiny, or Jacob’s pillar stone), is vital to understanding the new truth that has recently been revealed to God’s Church.

God’s revelation that Mr. Armstrong’s prayer rock was the new stone of destiny had far-reaching consequences—as Mr. Flurry indicated it would in that sermon. As he continued to explain, the stone of destiny had been the object God used to represent the throne of David. Therefore, a new stone also meant a new throne was being established. This was further emphasized in a sermon just 14 days later. Mr. Flurry referenced the prophecy in Hosea 3:4 that foretells Israel being without the throne of David. He went to the verse in Micah 2:13 that shows how God rules His end-time Church through a human king and how that verse is about the Church fleeing to a place of safety just before Christ’s return. God reveals to the Church about this king just before the Church flees to the place of safety. 

Until 2017, the Church supposed that Jacob’s pillar stone would be present in the place of safety in order to establish the throne of David. But new revelation about the new stone of destiny clarified this verse for God’s Church. With the prayer rock as the coronation stone, the apostle’s office would now stand as that of king—not just symbolically or spiritually as a human leader of God’s “kings and priests”—but as the literal king on this new throne of David. 

 Understand: This throne is still the throne “of David,” as it is still occupied by a physical descendant of David: Mr. Flurry’s lineage traces back to an Irish king. Even Herbert W. Armstrong was a descendant of the Davidic house through the line of England’s King Edward I. And this throne is the same throne of David on which Christ will soon sit.

Can Armstrongism get any crazier?  Oh, just wait...

Gerald Flurry will soon the "father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah" and would be the "lawgiver."  Please tell me why the COG needs more laws enforced upon it?

As 2017 progressed, God continued to pour out deeper understanding about the various verses and implications of this new revelation in sermons and lectures from the pastor general.  

Most of these messages were written and compiled to be published in one issue of the Royal Visionmagazine, serving as nearly the entirety of the July-August 2017 issue. The issue shows ample scriptural evidence and basic logic regarding this specific end-time revelation about David’s throne.  

One of those passages is found in Isaiah 22, beginning in verse 20, which discusses an end-time Eliakim. For years now, the Church has applied these verses to the office of God’s last-hour apostle, who would be “A father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah” (verse 21), and upon whose shoulder God would lay “the key of the house of David” (verse 22).

Another verse that springs to life is found in Genesis 49. Verse 1 of this chapter shows that what is contained in this passage is prophecy for “the last days.” Verse 10 contains this prophecy about the house of Judah: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet [meaning, he would be a Jewish descendant], until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Shiloh refers to Christ, and the verse would be better translated: until He comes to whom it belongs. David’s throne really belongs to Christ. 

This shows conditions just before the time when Christ returns. A man who represents the scepter just before that time would also be a lawgiver. 

As other Bible translations make clear, the two offices—the lawgiver and the one representing the scepter—are combined into one in the last days. This reinforces what Isaiah 16 prophesied about the throne in the place of safety: The one on it would be known for “seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness” (verse 5), which only would be possible if the throne were at last working in conjunction with God’s law. 

 And it gets crazier still:

The new revelation even tied back to a significant period in pcg history. From 1997—2003, the Church was involved in a legal battle over the rights to print Mr. Armstrong’s seminal work Mystery of the Ages, as well as 18 other pieces of literature once published by him. What started that court battle was the pcg’s decision in November 1996 to print Mystery of the Ages. 

Back to the connection with the court case. Keep in mind that it was in late summer 2002 that Mr. Armstrong’s prayer rock arrived at God’s headquarters campus. That fall, God revealed some new truth about Habakkuk 2:11, which reads: “For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.” What was revealed was that Habakkuk (which discusses God delivering His people from injustice in the courts) talks about the “beam”—representing the literary centerpiece of the end-time message: Mystery of the Ages. Thus, the Church would win the rights to Mr. Armstrong’s literature—and all litigation did in fact come to an end on the following January 16 in 2003. 

But in 2017, 14 years later, God revealed more about the “stone” in Habakkuk 2:11. Though the “stone” there represents Jesus Christ, He had given His Church a physical symbol—a stone, in fact—that connected to the Church’s fight for Mr. Armstrong’s literature! This further explains the “double wonder” that Habakkuk 1:5 discusses: This new stone, which symbolizes the new throne, is the first wonder of the double wonder—which the pcg acquired in the final year of its court battle. Victory in this legal war gave the pcg Mystery of the Ages—the second wonder of this double wonder.

How in the world can PCG members sit there and listen to this crap and believe it?  What is wrong with them?

That throne is on this Earth today, under the stewardship of God’s true Church. It is David’s throne. Rulership has transferred to a different son of David. 

Christ’s coming and His overtaking of Earth’s throne is fittingly depicted in a prophecy found in Daniel 2. In a dream that depicted the succession of world-ruling kingdoms, Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar saw an imposing image. This figure, as the Prophet Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar, outlined the empires to rule the age of man. In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw the statue destroyed by none other than a stone. The stone represents the King of the Kingdom—Jesus Christ. 

This is the Rock upon which the Church of God was founded. This is the Stone shepherding the pcgtoday. This is the power behind the Work of God’s one true Church. And this is the Stone that becomes a mountain and fills the Earth. This stone and throne represent salvation for the entire world!  Just What Do You Mean … New Throne?

The Church of God is rotten to the core.  Eighty years of abominable doctrines and outright heresies have produced the climate that allows spiritual degenerate men like Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack, Bob Thiel, James Malm and others who willfully bastardize scripture to fit their own sick purposes.  These men are sick and no more speak for God than Herbert Armstrong did.  Great will be the day when these men are dead and buried and the Armstrongite version of the Church of God movement is no more.




SaveSave
SaveSave

Deep Time: Making the 6000 Year Plan of God Moot

The "6000 Year Plan of God" is a hallmark of the Churches of God.  Wow...6000 whole  years!  Aside from the fact that Gobekli Tepi in Turkey was abandoned 12,000 years ago shortly after the Ice Age and "modern humans" are currently and actually 100 thousand plus years old, and the plus is probably pretty large. The amazing 6000 year old plan of God persists as an error ridden and simplistic explanation of scientific reality that needs to be relegated to the dust bin of church history.  

 It is based baselessly on the concept of  "each day is to God as a thousand years..." and the thousand year Millennium Rest in Revelation.  Six thousand years for man  (LOL) and a one thousand year rest makes the sum total of God's plan.   

Seven Thousand years is .0000015556 % of  Deep Time.  In short, less than nothing.   The Seven Thousand year plan of God is also 0. 04375% of real human history.  What the Churches of God think they mean is that agricultural and city dwelling man has been around 6000 years, which is also inaccurate by a lot.  

There is no 6000 year plan of God.  That is a poetic construct at best based on the ignorance of reality and the limited knowledge of just about everything portrayed in scripture and what the authors had no idea was actually so.  The Churches of God not only make scripture mean what it was never meant to mean but cannot and does not mean.  

There is no mere 6000 year plan of God for mankind.  If there is a God, the "Plan" is much bigger and is not remotely defined by an insignificant cultic god worshipped by an insignificant cultic people living in an insignificant location on an insignificant planet in an insignificant solar system in an insignificant galaxy which is one of trillions.   

My personal  9 lb reminder the Solar System is 4.5 Billion years old.

Campo Del Cielo (Field of Heaven) Meteorite.  Found in Argentina in 1517 after lying around for 5-6 thousand years. 

I water jet cut it to reveal the iron/nickel nature of the meteorite.  Iron meteorites originate the last few minutes in the core of exploding stars and then spewing it into the universe where it regroups in the cores of planets which then are torn apart along the way. 

Hand polishing reveals the pure iron inside the brown fusion crust which formed when hitting earth's atmosphere at 40,000 mph. 

Not to mention....

9,000-9,500 years old. The cranium of Kennewick Man was discovered in the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, in late July of 1996 by Thomas and Deacy, two men who had gone to the river to watch a boat race. With the assistance of Dr. James Chatters, a local paleontologist and archaeologist who was serving as forensic anthropologist at the time, much of the skeleton was found. A stone spearpoint embedded in the right ilium of the associated skeleton is a Cascade Point, a representative of the Old Cordilleran Culture, which spread from the Washington coast to the interior Columbia Plateau shortly after 9000 years ago. Researchers estimate the individual to have been between 5' 7" and 5' 9", 160 pounds and approximately 40 years old at the time of his death. Morphological analysis at the time suggested the skull exhibited features similar to Polynesian or Ainu peoples. However in 2015, DNA analysis suggests close affiliation with Northern Native American groups, particularly the Colville, Ojibwa, and Algonquin. As a result of this analysis, the remains of Kennewick Man were repatriated to these groups in compliance with NAGRPA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) in February 2017. 

30,000 to 32,000 YA. This Cro-Magnon skull was discovered by L. Lartet and H. Christy on a cliff in 1868 (during the construction of railway lines in Les-Eyzies, France). Cro-Magnon, meaning "big cliff," represents the earliest modern humans from Western Europe. Classic modern human features include a large brain capacity (over 1600 cc), shortened face with rectangular eye sockets, a high forehead, hollowed cheekbones, and noticeable chin. Many feel Cro-Magnon is more similar in appearance to modern Africans than modern Europeans, suggesting that this population came from Africa or Asia. 

Didache Teachings Concerning True Prophets and Apostles

Most members of the Church of God were never exposed to the Didache, one of the oldest Christian documents from the 1st-century that was supposedly an amalgamation of the teachings of the 12 Apostles and was written as a "handbook" for new Christians. This was written sometime within 50-60 years after the death of Christ and was a tool for new converts to understand what was expected of them.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 11 concerning apostles and prophets in the church.  As you can see not a single COG self-appointed prophet or apostle follows these standards.  The implications laid out below for apostles and prophets is a life of poverty and simplicity where a man was regarded as a false prophet if they asked for money.  Also, if these prophets and apostles stayed in one place longer than 1 day they were to be considered false teachers. This presents a huge issue for James Malm, Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, and other COG prophets and apostles.

CHAPTER XI.
WHOEVER then cometh and teacheth you 1all these things, spoken above, receive him; but if the teacher himself, 2being misled, teaches another teaching, so as to overthrow this, do not hear him; but 3if he teach so as to advance righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord. But as regards the 4apostles and prophets, according to 5the decree of the gospel, so do ye. And every apostle who cometh to you, let him be received as the Lord; but 6he shall not remain more than one day; if, however, there be need, then the next day; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. But when the apostle departs, let him take nothing except bread enough to last him till he reach his resting-place for the night; but if he ask for money, “7he is a false prophet. And every prophet 8who speaks in the Spirit, 9ye shall not try nor test; for eve- ry sin shall be forgiven, but 10this sin shall not be forgiven. But not every one who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet, 11but only if he have the ways of the Lord. So from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be recognised. And 12no prophet who, in the Spirit, orders a Love-Feast, eateth himself of it, unless, indeed, he is a false prophet; and every prophet who teacheth the truth, if he practise not that which he teacheth, is a false prophet. And 13every approved genuine prophet, who summons assemblies for the purpose of showing an earthly mystery, but who does not teach others to do all that he himself doeth, shall not be judged by you; for his judgment is in the hands of God; for so did the ancient prophets also. But whoever, in the Spirit, says: 14Give me money, or anything else, ye shall not listen to him; 15but if for others in need he bids you give, let no one judge him. 

UCG's Mixed Messages To Its Youth Concerning Winter Family Weekend

United Church of God claims it is all for its youth and is concerned that they learn true messages when it comes to being a UCG Christian.  However, UCG continues to send so many mixed message to its youth that they are left confused.  One thing teenagers and youth quickly can see is when adults tell them one thing and practice another.  They see through the crap that adults blissfully accept as "that is the way it always been so why argue over it anymore."

Case in point, UCG's Winter Family Weekend.  The WFW was actually started by Jim O'Brien and the arrogant boys in Cincinnati did not appreciate him doing something that they had not thought of first.  O'Brien was called on the carpet by UCG and eventually terminated.

UCG was none too happy that non-UCG youth were invited to attend the WFW.  Whether they were from outside UCG in another COG or not even members, they found this wrong.  This upset many who rightfully wanted to know why it was happening.  Apparently, none of them ever thought what better role roll model could a non-COG youth have than to spend several days in a safe Christian environment where UCG members and youth could set an example for them.

There are many ‘family weekend’ events during the year, but by far the largest gatherings are at the WFW over Christmas – this year December 22-26. 

The 21st Lexington Winter Family Weekend, sponsored by the Cincinnati and Lexington churches, will be held at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort in Lexington, Kentucky. The event is open to everyone.

Its Facebook page says, “The Winter Family Weekend in Lexington, Kentucky has helped change the culture of the Church of God. Twenty years ago God blessed us with an event without borders. People quickly learned that it is what you believe -- not the name on the church door that makes the difference. It’s an environment where friends can meet as equals to worship together and celebrate the Faith that is common to us all.”

In 1997 these two churches were independent corporations affiliated with the United Church of God. By 2004 attendance had increased to 2000, up to 20% of whom were members of other ex-WCG groups. 

At that time UCG’s governance was a strict hierarchy, and the Home Office did not look kindly on large scale local events not being under its control, or including non-members. Furthermore, any form of congregational authority, such as local boards and advisory councils, was regarded as contrary to its founding principles.

The local pastor, Jim O'Brien, was suspended for comments he made during Sabbath announcements at Lexington on 13th March 2004, and was summoned to the Home Office, where he was interrogated about the WFW and his ‘difference of philosophies’ with UCG, by members of Ministerial Services. After breaking a demand not to discuss these matters, even with fellow ministers, his employment was terminated. The Lexington church voted to leave the UCG, while the Cincinnati church was split.  COGNews

Part of the problem UCG has always faced is that they are doing this weekend during one of the most widely observed Christian festivals of the year.  Beautiful bright lights, joyous songs filling the air, warm and wonderful smelling food, and so much more fill the entire complex that the WFW setting is in. Talk about sending a mixed message to its youth!

You are to hate Christmas, but ignore the fact we booked a hotel filled the glorious and beautiful Christmas decorations.  Just put your ear plugs in and blinders on your eyes.  Don't look at Satan or the pretty lights and above all don't eat any Christmas cookies.  Its all pagan, after all.  Look at all of the poor deceived people surrounding you who are being blinded by Satan and feel sorry that they don't know what fun it is to play games down the hallway while they could listen to Dwight Armstrong hymns being played.  After all, it is a foretaste of the Kingdom to come! 

Even with this mixed message being sent to the youth, there is an even bigger problem that UCG parents got upset about last year.  Apparently, there were people not in UCG attending the weekend with them!  Ghastly days!  God forbid if they were set an example for these people that might impress them so much they would want to join UCG.  Oh no, we can't have that!   Even worse, these vile cretins were playing games on Friday night!  OH, NOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But seriously, it is another mixed message being sent to the youth.  It is OK for the "outsiders" to play games on Friday night, but not you.  You have to sit in your hotel room and play The Talent Game and read Mystery of the Ages while they are all having real fun.  Just remember, handwriting out the Book of Deuteronomy as a Bible Study is more important that having real fun!

All was not well for some at the 2016 event, one ‘UCG Parent’ commenting:

“My family and I participated at winter family weekend this year in Ohio and was very disappointed when we found out that apparently people who are not in our church can participate in the sporting events, and these are people who are playing on Friday nights and are not even members or even go to UCG - they just show up for the perks!! This is very frustrating, because we try to raise our kids up that it’s not OK to play sports on Friday nights!! Our church is supporting people who do those things. I remember back in the WOU days, if you weren’t a regular church member, you didn’t play!”   COGNews

"Get Over it!"

Printed with enthusiastic permission!

Getting over "Get over it"

April 24, 2014 by Sylvie King Parris in Fundamentalism

I belong to a wonderful private Facebook group. What makes this group part of my daily social networking addiction is what we all share in common. We are all former members of a fundamentalist Christian cult.

We share our stories, really bad jokes, get brutally and often profanely honest, connect with old friends, and generally support one another as we all work through what growing up in a very controlled and toxic environment has done to us. Personally, it has helped me finally have a place to share with those who truly understand what my past was really like, something I’ve not been able to do completely until I found this crazy cavalcade of cult survivors.

Every so often someone joins our group, and is dismayed by the raw and painful emotions they encounter there. They don’t quite understand the anger and the pain displayed, often by people who escaped the cult years ago. And so they usually end up offering the same advice: Get over it.

I really hate that platitude.

How does one “get over” discovering that everything they’d been taught about God and religion since childhood was a lie? How does one get over needless deaths or prolonged illnesses brought on by church teachings? How does one get over being inculcated into a “religion” that fostered rape, child abuse, spousal abuse, forced divorce, abandonment of every sort—that created and insisted upon poverty?

How does one “get over” losing family members who will no longer have anything to do with you, because you walked away from “God’s True Church”?

How does one “get over” all the things, and all the ways, that have nearly broken us, when patching and sewing back together all the cracks, rends, and damage done to us is such an agonizingly slow process?

While it is true that time can soften the memories and ease the pain of past traumas, “getting over it” is an impossibility. Life-altering events forever change us—even positive ones. But it seems to be the negative events that we have such a hard time with. Maybe it’s because we suppress the emotions they bring up in us, and don’t share our stories, because we’ve encountered too many “get over it” responses. Maybe it’s because our culture and our churches tell us that we must forgive, must be strong, must move on, must stop “living in the past.”

So we try to do those things, by hiding our anger and anguish. Which only leaves us feeling fragile, stuck and alone.

Everyone wants to feel like they belong, even just a little bit, that they matter, that they are understood, that they are cared for who they are right now, where they are, how they are. Everyone needs compassion—or its more personal sister, empathy.

I sometimes wonder if being empathetic is becoming a lost art. Other people’s pains and struggles can make us feel uncomfortable, yes. And hearing of the pain of another can also make us prideful, insofar as we make the terrible mistake of assuming that we know what they really should be feeling and doing.

When that happens, the other person—the person who only needs to be heard and maybe even a little respected—finds themselves dismissed. Declared (however subtly) lacking and weak, they turn away, feeling just as bad, if not a good deal worse, than they did before they reached out.

Empathy does the opposite. Empathy doesn’t cower at the brutal honesty of pain. It doesn’t write off the sufferer as immature just because they fail to take pre-formulated steps to wellness.

Empathy embraces the person and the pain they are wracked with. It lets the sufferer have freedom to heal in their own way and time: it does not rush them, or immediately formulate a solution for them. It allows him or her emote, to vent, to feel like someone finally gives a damn about them.

People who are empathetic—empaths—often understand suffering up close and personal. They are coming from a place that is true to Jesus’ ancient and beautiful teaching of “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” They know how to do that. They know what that means.

All of us need empaths in our lives. They are, to me, a divine blessing, tools in the hands of a loving God, gifted to us so that we can feel less alone, less afraid, less misunderstood, less like giving up. Their examples of kindness and patience, and their capacity for loving so beautifully, are something that I strive to emulate.

I want to show others the love that I have been shown. If you would join me in this nurturing and passing along of empathy, maybe together we can bring a little bit of healing into the world.

---

Sylvie King Parris is an admin on the Unfundamentalist Facebook page.She blogs at It’s a Mis-fit.

"Wormwood" Has Been Identified and is a Church of God Member!

Forget everything you ever heard Herbert Armstrong tell you about "wormwood" from the Book of Revelation.  He was wrong!  Wormwood is alive today!  He has been identified and is a Church of God member!  Who knew??????

The THIRD TRUMPET ANGEL sounded on September 5, 2004 when Mrs. Barbara Flurry died. But someone may ask, Why would the death of Mrs. Flurry be connected with this “great star” in verse 10? Remember that the HEART is a symbol for the PCG ministry and someone specific from that ministry is being described in this prophecy as “a great star from heaven” who is being identified by God to be the root cause of the spiritual congestive heart failure of the PCG.

Who is this “great star from heaven”? We know that a “star” signifies a “member.” So this is referring to a MEMBER of the ministry in God’s Church. Who is this minister from the PCG being mentioned here?

And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. (Revelation 8:11)

What is “Wormwood” in the Bible?

Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; (Deuteronomy 29:18)

The introduction of paganism in God’s Church is “Wormwood” in God’s eyes.

But God is giving the name “Wormwood” to a minister in God’s Church in this last end. But why give the name Wormwood?

From The Philadelphia Trumpet, November 1995, Simon Magus History—Prophecy for Today

Here is what The New Concise Bible Dictionary states about Simon Magus: “In Acts 8:9 a pagan wonder-worker who had amazed the local Samaritans. He claimed to be a manifestation of God (v. 10)…when he saw Philip’s signs and wonders, and the Holy Spirit given when Peter and John laid hands on the converts, he offered cash in return for the gift (vv. 17ff.)… he was obsessed with the idea of power” (p. 517, 1989).

There is another type in this last end who was so obsessed with the idea of power. He is this Wormwood being prophesied in Revelation chapter 8. 

This last end Wormwood also thought to become a GREAT ONE just like his first century predecessor, Simon Magus. That’s why this spiritual Wormwood is being described by God as “a great star from heaven” or “a great member of the PCG ministry.”

That future is pertaining to this last end we are living in today. So another type of Simon Magus has infiltrated God’s Church whose influence far transcends his local region. This is the how paganism such as Mother’s Day, Irish Dance and Cremation was introduced to the PCG, because of this minister’s influence.

Who is this minister? 

Here is the 2017 version of "wormwood."  We all knew that the Philadelphia Church of God was evil to its core and now it has been confirmed!

John McDonald is "wormwood!"  This evil man is satan personified and has brought in such appalling evil as Irish Dance, Mother's Day observance and cremation!  Shocking!  Just shocking!

McDonald is also combining forces with Satan's other agent, Stephen Flurry.

Stephen Flurry and Brad Macdonald is already seeing their spiritual SICKNESS in the context of the Edstone work wherein it added nothing to the work of the PCG. At first when they went there, they thought that they would be able to acquire the Stone of Destiny in Scotland for themselves but God did not bless their efforts. So what have they done to save face or avoid humiliation? They concocted a plan to replace the real “Jacob’s pillar stone” in the minds of the PCG membership and came up with a very bright idea of making Mr. Armstrong’s supposed “Prayer Rock” as the new Stone of Destiny. Then to perfectly implement their plan, Stephen persuaded his father to give a sermon last January 2017 that made Mr. Armstrong a type of Jacob or Israel, while his father would claim the throne of the current physical royal household in Britain for himself, thus becoming its new king until Christ’s return.

You can read the full story of Wormy McDonald here:  THE SEVENTH SEAL: The History and Prophecy of the Philadelphia Church of God

Does God Let People Deliberately Die In Order To Save Them From Future Calamities?

Texas church shooter, 26, who killed at least 26 people - 

including eight members of one family

Today a Lutheran pastor and a conservative has set off a firestorm after he wrote the following concerning the church shooting in Texas this past Sunday:

"For those with little understanding of and less regard for the Christian faith, there may be no greater image of prayer’s futility than Christians being gunned down mid-supplication. But for those familiar with the Bible’s promises concerning prayer and violence, nothing could be further from the truth. When those saints of First Baptist Church were murdered yesterday, God wasn’t ignoring their prayers. He was answering them.

We also pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God’s will be done. Sometimes, his will is done by allowing temporal evil to be the means through which he delivers us from eternal evil. Despite the best (or, more accurately, the worst) intentions of the wicked against his children, God hoists them on their own petard by using their wickedness to give those children his victory, even as the wicked often mock the prayers of their prey."

"We also pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God’s will be done. Sometimes, his will is done by allowing temporal evil to be the means through which he delivers us from eternal evil. Despite the best (or, more accurately, the worst) intentions of the wicked against his children, God hoists them on their own petard by using their wickedness to give those children his victory, even as the wicked often mock the prayers of their prey. "

"So when a madman with a rifle sought to persecute the faithful at First Baptist Church on Sunday morning, he failed. Just like those who put Christ to death, and just like those who have brought violence to believers in every generation, this man only succeeded in being the means through which God delivered his children from this evil world into an eternity of righteousness and peace."

“We do not need to fear the day of persecution that’s coming to the church, because God said it’s going to come. He warned us over 2,000 years ago the day was coming. And rather than fear it, He said just endure it. Now ‘endure it’ is a hard word. ‘Endure it’ doesn’t mean that they might take your ice cream away today. ‘Endure it’ means it may be a rough day. It may be a rough few years. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.”   See:  When The Saints Of First Baptist Church Were Murdered, God Was Answering Their Prayers

The above quotes from the Lutheran pastor are by no means unique to him.  This has always been a common theme in the Church of God.  I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have heard ministers and members say that when a person has died from either a horrible accident or in their sleep, that God was saving them from the soon coming tribulation.  They had fought the good fight and God was saving them a little early.

Even when small babies or children have died, callous ministers and members have said the same thing.  God took their lives so that they might have a better life later.  Who in the hell wants to hear that shit when they are grieving?

While the Christian hope certainly is in a better life to come, God certainly is not letting unborn babies or 98-year-old women be murdered in church just to save them for something better.  This kind of thinking is just one more piece of rotten fruit lobed into the already putrid basket of legalism.