COGWA Unintentionally Reveals Who The True End Time COG Prophet Is

COGWA (Church of God a Worldwide Association) recently published an article to instruct their members on how to distinguish real prophets from false prophets - False Prophets by Chris Moen.  If there has been anything that the Church of God has been good at it, it is pumping out false prophets over the last 8 decades.

The article lists the following things that distinguish true prophets apart from all of the liars:

Four tests to prove whether a prophet is true

We need to carefully consider God’s Word—the Bible—in order to discern between false and true prophets. The Bible provides four tests to determine the genuineness of a prophet.

1. Does the conduct of the prophet reflect godly character?

Jesus and the apostles warned many times about deceptive prophets. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-17).

These prophets can be identified by their “fruits”—a term used metaphorically by Jesus to describe one’s actions and character. The law of God is the only standard we have to determine whether someone’s fruits are good or bad. True prophets will live in accordance with God’s law.

2. Do the predictions of the prophet come true?

Moses instructed ancient Israel: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22).

The Bible gives a few exceptions. It shows that God has the prerogative to change His mind, as was the case with Jonah’s prophecies about Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). Also, this does not mean that God’s true servants couldn’t be wrong about timing, as Paul was in assuming he would be alive at Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:15).

Except in circumstances like these, if a prophet’s predictions do not come to pass, then he or she is not a true prophet.

3. Are the words of the prophet consistent with Scripture?

God explained to those who foolishly seek knowledge from mediums and wizards, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:19-20).

Peter declared that the apostles could truthfully attest to many fulfilled Bible prophecies concerning the life and deeds of Jesus Christ. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ... And we have the prophetic word made more sure” (2 Peter 1:16, 19, Revised Standard Version).

Peter also stated that true prophets do not speak their own words. As Peter wrote, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20, emphasis added).

4. Do the people benefit spiritually from the prophet’s ministry?

God’s desire was that ancient Israel would serve as a model nation and represent Him to the nations around them. Israel would be blessed as it fulfilled God’s expectation.

With this background, God warned His people, “‘Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,’ says the LORD, ‘and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:32; also read verses 13-14).

The results of a prophet’s ministry can also indicate whether this person is a false or true prophet.

Given what COGWA wrote above, did you feel that it describes any of the countless prophets that have plagued the COG over the decades?

Most of those false prophets fall under the conditions listed below:

Another reason given in the Bible is that some people speak from their own imagination. God says, “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!” (Ezekiel 13:3-4). Throughout the centuries, numerous false prophets have arisen because of their own desires and Satan’s influence.

Every single prophet we have had over the decades has arisen because of their own desires.  Never once was God involved, but their pathetic narcissism was.

Well, that is until now!

There is one Church of God splinter cult leader who actually claims to fit every single description listed in the four categories above.

I will give you four guesses as to who it is but will give you two hints first.

It is NOT Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland or Dave Pack!

So WHO could that possibly leave?????

Yes, Ethel, it is our very own Almost-arrested but not-arrested, Elijah, Amos, Joshua, Habakkuk, Bitter Bawana Bob Thiel!  Who knew??????

Bawana Bob writes:

Although COGWA left out some criteria, even based upon the above criteria, there is one person in one of the COGs that meets all those criteria, and he is not part of COGWA, but physically heads up the (Improperly named) Continuing Church of God (CCOG). Yet, despite what COGWA is teaching, its members do not take proper action.

 Bawana Bob continues:

The Bible teaches:

6 “Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)

And here we go again with the dreams.  Bawana Bob's nightmares do not constitute revelations from God.  I know for a fact that God has NOT spoken to Bawana Bob and he is a liar when he says he did.

I had at least two such dreams, and others had dreams, essentially concerning those about me.

Bawana Bob, the false prophet to Africa continues stating that Church of God members need to heed the fact he is a prophet and leave their organizations and join up with him.  But alas, the members of the various Churches of God still laugh at him and refuse to join him or send him money.

Consider also that Jesus taught:

41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. (Matthew 10:41)

Jesus is telling His followers that if a true prophet is out there, that they need to follow. Yet, in this Laodicean time (Revelation 3:14-18), most real Christians will not listen to what Jesus said on this and many other matters.

No real Christian in the Church of God would EVER follow a narcissistic lying fool like Bawana Bob Thiel!  COGWA had no more intention of revealing Bob Thiel as a prophet than Gaylyn Bonjour secretly set aside Bawana Bob as another COG leader.

There is NOTHING that Bawana Bob claims as truth to support his office that is truthful.  God did not appoint him as a new COG leader. Bad dreams do not validate him starting a new group.  He is just as big a liar as Dave Pack, Ron Weinland and Gerald Flurry.

Anyone that joins forces with Bawana Bob is seriously putting their salvation at risk!  Run as fast as you can away!

You were BORN to be A King! Prepare to RULE!

When a reader here asked why Church of God ministers/leaders constantly stick noses into church members bedrooms and lives the following response was given. It all boils down to the belief that we would become God as God is God and sit at the right hand of the Father ruling in splendor and glory.

Anon replied:

This is the result of a specific kind of training that happened in Armstrongism. This is the "training" of the following programming methods:

1) You were BORN to be A King!

2) Prepare to RULE!

These principles appealed to the egos of men in Armstrongism for decades. For generations, it was the whole being of soul of a man to be the best ruler of the house, the best "prince" of the Kingdom of God, to do good enough and to "qualify" for the highest "positions" in the Kingdom. You would a city, five cities, ten cities, a country, a planet - MAYBE even a whole galaxy to RULE over. The male egos were salivating thirstily for this ability to control, to dominate, to rule over their dominions and their territories. This was the teaching and the reality. There are many, many articles and teachings that cover this thoroughly.

When the WCG collapsed and shattered into hundreds of pieces, the path to a higher position in the Church (which many believed would lead to a higher position in the Kingdom) literally fell off the table. Many who were on their way to deacons, elders, pastors, or employment in the church or the college found themselves without a path to promotion. But the ingrained philosophies which were so thoroughly applied within their minds - the programming - did not go anywhere. That thirst, that hunger for power built on pride and ego was now starved without a central organization. 

When the WCG divided, it fragmented into several core groups. There were those who left to form splinters, those who left religion completely, and those who went into mainstream Christianity. Of those groups were a few who were not going to give up the dream of power and rulership - and thought they could use Armstrong's Formula Of Success to accomplish what Armstrong did. What we are seeing now are the results of the few men who went rogue and are making an attempt to rebuild what was broken. What I am convinced we don't hear about, or know about, are the others who have tried but failed right off the bat, which is why we don't know who they are. 

So now, we have the stories of those who have tried. We have the stories of Flurry, Pack, Weinland, Thiel, a few larger splinters trying to hold their own - all holding onto that dream of being a king and ruling a city or a galaxy or whatever territory they'll get (I wouldn't want to see them fighting like cats over borders!!!). What have been the results? Just skim through this blog or the 'net for a day and find out the results. It isn't pretty. The whole meat of the matter is simple: When you focus on authority, ruler-ship, control, power, rank, and dominion, you lose focus on boundaries, what's appropriate, good fruits, loving character, and godly characteristics. What we see here is simply the aggressive cancer of uncontrolled authority spreading like wildfire. The fruit of presumptuous behavior gone wild. And, like it or not - it was all enabled by Armstrongism's core teachings and doctrines - powered by pride and the hope of promotion. 

Zealous Church of God Members Must Refrain From Sex Three Days Before Pentecost!

In the previous post, Dennis posted about the batshit crazy things people  (COG leaders) say".  The Church of God is always up to fulfilling that that task since it is filled with self-appointed men who think their god speaks to them and who has set them apart as teachers of the word.

The latest is from the Official Church of God Chief Zealot, James Malm, a man who has prostituted himself at the base of the "law" and who is totally ignorant about Jesus Christ and the New Covenant.  His god is the law of Moses.  He has elevated it to new heights that most COG members would never dream of.

Like any good Church of God leader, he has to stick his bible-thumping nose into the sex lives of church members.

Sex on Passover, Sabbath and High Days

    The man and woman were created without sin and it was only AFTER sin entered, that Sacrifices, a High Priest Intercessor and the Law of Clean and Unclean were instituted. 

    Even then, there were clean and unclean animals, but the further details only began at Sinai with God’s detailed instructions for Israel and a PHYSICAL priesthood.

    If one considers the laws given to Israel one cannot help but come to the conclusion that it is physically impossible to avoid becoming unclean for more than a very short time.

    A woman can be absolutely perfect yet she cannot overcome the female nature [natural cycle], a man can be absolutely perfect yet he cannot prevent an emission even if he restrains himself otherwise.

    This is meant to teach us that the physical state of man once Adam and Eve had sinned is antithetical to godliness, and only God can make us spiritually clean washing away our sins. Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

    In practical terms; yes, let a man and his wife enjoy each other to the full, but refrain from sex on High Days and Sabbaths [and on the Appointed Time of Passover day] so as to be clean on Holy Time. This principle is presented when God commanded Israel to refrain from their wives for three days before Pentecost at Sinai (Ex 19:15).

    I have been in error on this point in the past and I now realize that it is proper to rest from sex on the Passover, Sabbaths and High Days. This is not a burden since one can prepare on Friday afternoon and before High Days and wash before the Sabbaths begin. 

What the hell is wrong with Church of God leaders?????????  This is what happens when zealotry takes over the minds of the hypocritical Pharisees of the church.

In other words, it is ok to breed in sexual abandonment four days prior to the three-day restriction, then just make sure to wash up afterward AND before sundown so that the Holy Spirit can descend upon you on Pentecost.

God Told Me To Tell You...

How many times have we heard, and how many times have Church of God Prophets and Apostles peppered the brethren with...

"God told me," "God has revealed to me,"  "God has shown me,"  "God is now causing, " "God will now do this...," or "God demands that we...," and all the other "God speaks to me," concepts one can come up with?  Far too often and it is a lie.   

God tells a lot of people to do a lot of things evidently. Women have drown their children because "God told me to." Men have killed others, either as individuals or in whole groups because "God told me to." Ministers , falsely so called, in the Churches of God have with great authority announced what God is going to do or what God has revealed to them and now I pass it on to you only to make fools of themselves, again, with a false report.  Traditionally they salvage their butts with "God is giving us more time" but I think that is just an excuse for mucking up. 

I never heard a Church of God Prophet or Apostle say "God has shown me.... , however, I don't buy it and I am not going to pass it on to you because it is just rubbish."   Rather, how often that voice just happens to agree 100% with how the receiver is thinking on that topic as well. How convenient. I guarantee you that David C Pack has never passed on what God wants or has revealed to him without Dave first thinking it all up on his own. That's how it really works. 

Why can't we understand that when we talk to God, that's called prayer and relatively harmless. But that when God talks to us, we might be dealing with a whole new ball game here and some red lights might need to start flashing. How often do members of churches, sit "weakly"  and listen to their pastor recall how God has told him this or that and no one even considers what the man is really saying. And they certainly don't seem to take exception to it.  I find the ministry of Dave Pack's Restored Church of God to be the most either gullible or most kiss ass one can be in this regard.  They have plenty of proof that Dave Pack is blowing smoke and yet they act impressed and compliant to their Dave-illogical beliefs

Thomas Paine, in The Age of Reason, made some interesting observations about the obligation those who do not hear the voice of God directly have to obey the words of the one who says God did talk to THEM personally.

"No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication, if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it.

It is a contradiction in terms and ideas, to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second-hand, either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication -- after this, it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to believe it in the same manner; for it was not a revelation made to me, and I have only his word for it that it was made to him.

When Moses told the children of Israel that he received the two tables of the commandments from the hands of God, they were not obliged to believe him, because they had no other authority for it than his telling them so; and I have no other authority for it than some historian telling me so. The commandments carry no internal evidence of divinity with them; they contain some good moral precepts, such as any man qualified to be a lawgiver, or a legislator, could produce himself, without having recourse to supernatural intervention."

As teen and certainly as a minister I knew this tale that the Apostle Paul wove and always found myself asking,  "was that so?"  I found it hard to believe it really happened then and I know now it never really happened literally.  Yet Paul insisted...

1I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

…2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows. 3And I know that this man — whether in the body or out of it I do not know, but God knows — 4was caught up into Paradise. The things he heard were too sacred for words, things that man is not permitted to tell.…

ll Corinthians 12:2-4

Of course, Paul was talking about himself . But why bother telling us this happened when you can't reveal what happened or what you saw?  I always thought he just wanted to sound important or called and special so he makes up this "God showed me" story to give himself credentials and credibility of some kind.  

It's a familiar ruse. I grew up myself near Hill Cumorah, the place where Joseph Smith found the Golden Plates of Mormonism. 

"According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible)^[1] are the source from which Joseph Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith.^[2] Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds (14 to 27 kg),^[3] being golden in color and being composed of thin metallic pages engraved on both sides and bound with three D-shaped rings.^[4]

Smith said he found the plates on September 22, 1823, at a Hill, near his home in Manchester, New York, after the angel Moroni directed him to a buried stone box. Smith said the angel at first prevented him from taking the plates but instructed him to return to the same location in a year. In September 1827, on his fourth annual attempt to retrieve the plates, Smith returned home with a heavy object wrapped in a frock, which he then put in a box. Though he allowed others to heft the box, he said that the angel had forbidden him to show the plates to anyone until they had been translated from their original "reformed Egyptian" language. Smith dictated the text of the Book of Mormon over the next several years, claiming that it was a translation of the plates. He did so by using a seer stone, which he placed in the bottom of a hat and then placed the hat over his face to view the words written within the stone.^[5] Smith published the translation in 1830 as the Book of Mormon.

Smith eventually obtained testimonies from eleven men, known as the Book of Mormon witnesses, who said they had seen the plates.^[6] After the translation was complete, Smith said he returned the plates to the angel Moroni. Therefore, the plates cannot be examined. Latter Day Saints believe the account of the golden plates as a matter of faith, and critics often assert that either Smith manufactured the plates himself^[7] or that the Book of Mormon witnesses based their testimony on visions rather than physical experience."

The Golden Plates 

Wikipedia

I'm going to guess Joseph Smith was a liar.

Plainly put, if you didn't hear it from God, you don't have to believe it! How simple. How much misery could be saved if we could look those in the eye who say God speaks to them and say, "well, I'm glad for you, but don't expect me to give up my job, money, home, family, my vote or my life because God told you to tell me to....Because if he can take the time to have a direct chat with you about these, he can take a few extra minutes and come over to see me too." This way there won't be any room for doubt and I can make up my own mind as to whether that was really God or not. I'd tend to vote no.

Just because Dave Pack announces that now we all hold everything in common because that is what God wants, doesn't mean we have to do it.  Just because God tells his man of faith and power it's time to flee to Petra...well I hope you get the point. 

While we might kid about those through whom God channels his will to us, without verification, it's not all that funny when things go wrong with misdirected religious organizations and self appointed Apostles, Watchers and Prophets. We do have our Jonestown, Heaven's Gate and Waco to haunt us. But it is almost a habit of mind for those that follow others in their religious perspectives to agree with everything they say or do simply because they are told it the context of "God told me," or "God wants us to.."  and never think a critical thought asking if that really be so.

Remember what the scripture says..."In the last days, narcissists and schizophrenics shall wax worse and worse and shall deceive many...and if they say, "lo hath God told me this or that, believe it not, give not of thine shekels nor offer up thine children on hearsay and much speculation as if it were from God. For it prolly be not of God and thou shalt save thine self and all thy household with thee..."

Fake News COG False Prophet Claims US Government Hates Him And His Improperly Named Church

One of the Church of God's biggest self-absorbed false prophets claims that the U.S. Government is actively monitoring him and his website.  His message is supposedly so mind-boggling that the government is getting really really upset with him.

Do you think the USA is the land of the free and home of the brave?

I have contended for years it has become the land of the regulated and home of the politically correct.

The so-called Patriot Act eliminated pretty much all actual privacy rights in the USA.

The USA, which has long prided itself on being the bastion of free speech in the world, is becoming like nations it has criticized related to free speech.

While it is a well-known fact that the government has stuck its nose into many things in citizens rights, the idea that the government is monitoring Bitter Bob because he believes in the millennium is beyond silly.   According to the Fake News False Prophet, because he uses the Internet the government is actively monitoring his words and teachings. Also, because the improperly named "continuing" Church of God claims to be pacifists he is automatically on a watch list. Never mind the fact that the Quakers, Amish, Mennonite, Jehovah's Witnesses, SDA's and thousands of other groups are pacifists too, only Elijah Bob and his merry band of Africans are the true pacifists.  The government is specifically zeroing in on Bitter Bob.

With electronic media, “big brother” (the government) can watch you in ways that were not possible in the past. And, perhaps it should be mentioned that conceivably, everyone who posts on platforms such as Facebook is a blogger.

Please understand that some in the USA believe that ALL who believe in the millennial reign of Jesus are religious extremists and potential terrorists. Also, the message of the good news of the Kingdom of Godis also considered to be religious extremism by many. Freedom of religious speech is threatened on many fronts. And while you might think that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear from surveillance, consider that many in the government of the USA consider that not supporting homosexual marriages, etc. are extremist. I also saw someone once on a documentary that stated that people who believed in the millennium could not be trusted and should be considered as potential terrorists. The fact that we in the Continuing Church of God would be considered pacifists, does not change the fact that since we hold to millennial and other biblical views that we will not be improperly classified by government employees with various agendas. 

Jesus foretold in Scriptures that Bitter Bob would eventually be falsely accused of spreading fake news.  Those damn atheists are out after him.  As if...

While I fully expect technology will result in real and fake statements being attributed to me and others in the Church of God by evil people who hate the Bible.

Something similar, but worse is coming.

Jesus said:

4 … the night is coming when no one can work. (John 9:4, NKJV)
4… the night cometh, when no man can work (John 9:4 KJV

"When no man can work..."  When has a Church of God leader ever worked and gotten their hands dirty and covered with callouses?  Other than being on the dole, none of them can honestly claim a comparison to the above scriptures

The self-appointed enemy of the US Government continues with this:

So, the Bible tells of a time that will come when the word of God will not be found. And that would seem to be because it will be taken off the internet. In the 21st century, the internet is accessed by people in every country, and thus some type of internet restriction/suspension/site removal is coming–this will one day happen to the Continuing Church of God!

When...when, has the word of God ever been found in the improperly named "continuing" Church of God?  All we have seen is a fake man who peddles fake homoeopathic "nutritional" supplements and claiming he is God's end-time man with the best interpretation of scriptures yet to be uttered.  

The governments that truly should be concerned are the African nations that the fake self-appointed false prophet has members in.  It is their citizens who are being scammed and taken advantage of.  They are the governments that should be shutting Thiel down.  One can dream...

The Book of Pack 6:66: Thy Priests and Thy Servants Shall Be Fed By The Eagle

"And Lo, and Behold, Thou hast looketh unto the East, towards the Giant Eagle, and Said unto thy sheep, "Mine Stomach Hast Thou Gurgleth! Go Unto Thy Giant Eagle and Purchase unto Thyself Thy Folgers Crystals and Thy Krispy Kreme! Go Thou, Forth and Forward, and Exit this Land of Common, For Thou Shall bring forth thy Pastries into Thy Storehouse. And So the Priests and the Servants shall Be Fed By the Eagle. 

And Lo, the servant shall rise up, on the hills toward the Upside-Down Wedding Cake Building, toward the Temple of the Pack, and Shall Place Thy Krispy Kreme on The Desk of Absolute Magnificence. And Lo, and Behold, It was heard within Thy Temple a sound within. 

For what shall we Compare Thy sound To? What shall we behold? For The Apostle Picketh Up the Folgers and Thy Krispy Kreme. And Lo, It was Eaten. And I heard a sound like "Nom, Nom Nom." And Thus, the Apostle Had the Energy to Write Forth another Booklet, A Scroll of Such Magnificence, to be delivered Unto All Nations, and Peoples, and Tribes, and Tongues, that All shall know Who Is Pack. 

I'm Pretty Sure...

...the currently known Universe has never heard of Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry or Ron Weinland .

"We're gonna need a bigger Gospel"
Or
"When the Son of Man comes, forget faith, will he even find the earth?"

If they have persecuted ME, they will persecute YOU!

I was browsing through one of David C Pack's booklets today.  OK, I know, what a dumb thing to do, but...oh is it ever entertaining!  The booklet is, "Should Accusers Be Answered?"

One thing the various COG leaders of various personality cults receive is a LOT of criticism.  In the Internet age of today, as soon as they open their mouths or put pen to paper, everyone knows what they said.  It happens so quick sometimes that they are left stupefied.  Then, after being endlessly mocked and ridiculed, they attempt to pull their articles and sermons from the web (as Dave has done) trying to cover their tracks and save face.

Every single one of them blames dissidents, whom they imagine are influenced by Satan, as "persecutors of the brethren." None of them can ever stop and take an inventory of their words and actions and realized that much of what they say is a load of bull and they are being called out for their abuse of the brethren.

Most of them have told so many lies now that their brains cannot even grasp what it is to be an ethical, moral and grace-filled minister.  From outright lies about how God had placed them in their leadership rolls, to wild and blatantly idiotic prophecies, and to their sick whoredom to the law, the false leaders of the Church of God have become blind to their own perversions.  It is easier to blame the other than to examine their actions.

Christ described our time as the age of hatred, betrayal, offense and lawlessness (Matt. 24:10-12). Many today use and promote innuendo, rumors, outright lies and other forms of deception to confuse and divide God’s people, and defeat their confidence in Christ’s ability to govern His Church. When presented with such information, what do—what will—you do?

Christ said, “If they have persecuted ME, they will persecute YOU!” This means attacks, sometimes vicious, are a fact of life for God’s people. The true Church and especially its leaders stand squarely in Satan’s crosshairs. It will receive the brunt of persecution prior to the Tribulation, when Satan will turn on the “remnant” of Laodicea (Rev. 12:17). Should Accusers be Answered?

I don't think any of the so-called "dissident" sites have ever accused the brethren of things, but have held their leaders accountable.

We have leaders in the Church of God today, like Dave Pack, who wants all of his members to give them all of their money while making outlandish prophetic claims.  Gerald Flurry forbids family member from having contact with former members which immediately wrecked marriages and familial ties, while claiming he is in possession of the new coronation stone of Jesus Christ. Bob Thiel lies about God setting him apart to do a final work, after suffering major butthurt by being rejected by his "daddy" Rod Meredith, that will be greater than anything Meredith could ever have imagined.  James Malm has made a business of whoring himself out to the law so much that he has become blind to the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Gerald Weston expects church members to support him for a final push as he carries on envisioning the world filled with depravity while his own headquarters is a quagmire nepotism and spiritual depravity. Vic Kubik leads a church that is now known as the wishy-washy Church of God which cannot take a stand on anything because they still live in the past.

So just who are those that persecute the brethren?  Is it the "dissident" blogs and websites, or the corrupt leaders of the various Church of God's today?  None of us directly picks on members of the various groups, but we do have a fervent desire to see those people freed from the lies and vile abuse their leaders dish out on an hourly basis. There are may COG groups out there who are not even on our rader because they actually doing some good in peoples lives.  They don't make extreme demands or utter wild prophecies.  They actually seem to care for those who are part of their groups.

If you are a Christian, you know that there is an accuser of these men who is greater than Satan or some dissident web site. These men don't fear that One, because their narcissistic arrogance has blinded them as to whom the real abuser of the brethren is.

Dave Pack: I Know More Than Apostle Paul and I Am Here to Warn The World About A 15,000 Foot Mountain That Is Coming Down To Earth From Space

Dave Pack:  I Know More Than Apostle Paul and I Am Here to Warn The World About A 15,000 Foot Mountain That Is Coming Down To  Earth From Space

It is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread and EVERY COG Leader and Member Has Sinned

It is hard to imagine that just a short week ago that every COG leader and member was washed clean of sin, and now 8 days later, they are inveterate sinners once again. Not a single one of them overcame anything, even as hard as they tried. The very moment they walked out of that high school gym or Masonic Lodge on Passover night, sin entered their lives.  

They worried and fretted over finding leavening in their homes or cars.  And yet tonight, just a few seconds after sundown, COG members will be scrambling for some fresh hot bread at dinner or some luscious chocolate cake.  Sin draws them back and runs their lives once again.

Almost-arrested but not-arrested Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Joshua, Habbakuk, and perpetually bitter, Bob Thiel has words of wisdom for those sinners now that the DUB are over.

Do Not Put Yourself in a Place that You Are as Tempted to Sin 

There are also practical, physical, considerations that can help you overcome sin. 

When you pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13, KJV), the implication is that you do not intentionally place yourself in areas to be tempted. 

For example, if one is inclined to overly gamble, one should avoid going to casinos or visiting cities such as Las Vegas. 

One who is inclined to smoke should not hang out with others who smoke. Nor should they ever buy cigarettes. However, since smoking is a very difficult habit to break, sometimes one may find replacement behaviors or some other physical item helpful to break the habit. But if someone wants to stop smoking, they really need to stop buying cigarettes. They should also repent and ask forgiveness of their sins each time they smoke (or commit any other sin). 

As far one’s diet goes, God tells His people to “eat what is good” (Isaiah 55:2), thus Christians should be careful about their diets and not eat that which is not good for them.

When it comes to alcohol, one should not hang out with those that overly drink.  

Christians are not to run with the crowd and go along with the world. Sin grows (James 1:15) and spreads (Romans 5:12).

One flees sexual immorality by not getting oneself in a situation that could be somewhat expected to possibly lead to it, or immediately leaving a situation if it appears possible.

It is still quite obvious that Thiel, along with most other COG leaders think their followers are ignorant morons and too stupid to know how to manage their lives.  Members have been conditioned to expect such guidelines from their overlords.  It is much easier for someone else to do their thinking for them.

Even as a member separates themselves from bad influences there is one major sin that all church members are guilty of, at least in the inveterate liar Bob Thiel's eyes.  There is one more grievous sin that COG members routinely fall into. If you fail to support his work, you have sinned.

As Christians, it is not just enough not to sin, we are to do the work of God. Furthermore, consider that when you pray God is not limited to what He can give you–in other words do not neglect to pray for major change, not to just not sin, but to do and support His work.

Nowhere in any scripture can it be found that if one fails to support a COG leader and his ministry that one is committing a sin. Nowhere.

If Bitter Thiel knew anything about the New Covenant, he would know that the battle has been won and the struggle is not a day to day task of mercilessly beating one's self up for some indiscretion. 

What Bitter Bob should have said is this:

"If one is inclined to follow lying Church of God self-appointed false prophets, one should not associate with such people."

No Mention of Sabbath Untill Into Exodus Journey?

The Hebrews left Egypt on a Thursday night and marched and camped for a total of 38 days before they kept their first Sabbath, treating all the previous days of their journey the same in regard to travel and work. One week before observing the first Sabbath ever kept by anyone, they marched 20 kilometers from their camp by the Red Sea to the edge of the Wilderness of Sin, trampling on the 7th day of their week, arriving around 5 pm on the 31st day of their journey late that “Saturday” afternoon. That evening, God introduced the Manna Obedience Test to Israel, instructing them to gather daily an amount sufficient for their needs for one day, and that on the sixth day they were to gather a double portion in order to provide them with manna on the Sabbath, seeing as there would be none provided on that day. Critical thinking elicits the fact that you cannot keep the Sabbath holy without a preparation day before it. All the work has to be completed before sundown on the 6^th day.

At this point in the Exodus journey, the Sabbath represented nothing more than the second of two obedience tests. It was not until a few weeks later when, at Mt. Sinai, the Sabbath was incorporated into the treaty between God and Israel known as the 10 Commandments. Like the ordinance of circumcision and the Jewish dietary laws, the institution of the Sabbath was designed to set the Hebrews apart from every other society on Earth, forming a protective social barrier that would severely restrict their interaction with the Heathen. Regarding these cultic Jewish rituals, a scholar once observed that people who do not eat together seldom become friends. If the Sabbath were a Creation ordinance with truly moral qualities, God would not have led His children out of Egypt without provision for keeping it every step of the way. Once, because of their sins, God seems to have threatened to take Israel’s Sabbaths away.

Hosea 2:11 (NIV) - ¹¹ I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.

There is some evidence that this text may merely represent a prophecy of what would become of Israel’s sabbath system as a result of their disobedience, rather than an actual statement that God would specially intervene to take away their sabbaths. During their various captivities, Israel undoubtedly experienced disruptions of their Sabbath-keeping. In either case,  the adoption of the fixed calendar by their conquering nations made it impossible to keep the Sabbath as is was specified in the Law of Moses. In effect, they were forced to keep “Saturday” rather than the “Sabbath.” All of this Sabbath chaos illustrates the fact that the Sabbath is characteristically ceremonial rather than moral. For example, if Israel was committing adultery and fornication “too much,” God would not suspend the parts of the Law of Moses that forbid these sins. Not even God Himself can set aside or suspend moral laws because such laws are based on the natural laws of cause and effect.

Before the Hebrews left Egypt, the instructions God gave them regarding the keeping of the Passover Feast suggest that no Sabbath existed at that time. This feast was to last seven days, so whether a fixed or lunar calendar is used for our calculations, one of those days would have to have been a Sabbath-- if there had been a Sabbath in existence at that time. The preparation of food was allowed on all of the seven days of the Passover feast. By contrast , cooking on the Sabbath was forbidden. For the Sabbath, the cooking must be done on the Preparation Day, or the sixth day of the week. If there was no sixth day of preparation, there could be no seventh-day Sabbath because food would have to be prepared for the people on it. While permission to prepare food on the Sabbath may have been granted in connection with some of the Jewish feast celebrations that God added later, the only national feast week God had given them up to the time of the Exodus was the Passover.

As our study unfolds it will become painfully clear that Exodus 16 provides water-tight proof—not merely evidence--that no Sabbath existed before the giving of the Manna. We do not use the term, proof, loosely. What this fact means is that any argument for the existence of the Sabbath prior to the Exodus must be remarkably clear, or it is hardly worth discussing. Also, any pro-Sabbatarian arguments must be able to stand on their own with evidence gathered only from Genesis 1 through Exodus 16. In view of the absolutes of Exodus 16, Sabbatarians should not expect to be taken seriously if their approach involves taking references to the Sabbath from beyond the account of the Exodus journey and stuffing them back into Genesis 2. In order for them to provide meaningful support for their agenda, they must demonstrate clear Sabbath content in Genesis 2.

All it takes is a brief survey of Genesis through Exodus 16 to see that there is nothing of this sort available to Sabbatarians. At the same time, there is only a limited amount of evidence available to anti-Sabbatarians, such as the four of us, to actually prove that there is no Sabbath content in Genesis. This evidence in found in part in that Moses used special literary devices to limit the blessing, hallowing, and sanctifying (the setting aside) of that day to that ONE day ALONE. We will explain these indicators and how they work subsequently. Meanwhile, let us turn our attention back to the Exodus journey. God introduced the Sabbath to Israel as something new. The people acted as if it were something new— a stiff-necked and stubborn people testing the boundaries. Some individuals gathered firewood on that first Sabbath. They did so publicly. If the Sabbath had existed prior to Exodus 16, these offenders would have been stoned. The stubborn nature of the Hebrew people strongly suggests that if there were Sabbaths before Exodus 16, some of them would have tested God by breaking the Sabbath every chance they got; yet there is no record that God ever rebuked them for Sabbath-breaking prior to Exodus 16. Here is what the Law of Moses has to say about Sabbath-breaking:

Num 15:32 - 36 (NIV) ³²While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, ³⁴and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Think how bad the Exodus journey would make God look if the Sabbath had originated at Creation! Was He not powerful enough to control the events of the Exodus to provide for Sabbath-keeping, including, in each case, a Preparation Day? What kind of example would He have set for His people? Do God’s children only have to keep the Sabbath when it is convenient? Clearly, there was no Sabbath to break until day 38 of the Exodus. Sabbatarian apologist, Brendan Knudson, suggests the possibility that if there was Sabbath-breaking involved under God’s direction-- “The ox is in the ditch” principle excusing God for leading His people to trample on it. Our position is that God had enough power to halt all the forces of Evil and Nature to enable them to keep the Sabbath if there had been a Sabbath to keep, and that as a cognate requirement, He would have also given them preparation days to assure that they could keep their Exodus Sabbaths without preparing food or gathering firewood upon it. People get hungry on Sabbath whether food was prepared the day before or not.  

Everything we know about God’s character screams out that He would not lead His people to break an eternally binding moral law. This fact explains several mysterious things that honest-at-heart, thinking Sabbatarians have secretly pondered. Why is there no mention of the Sabbath in Genesis? Why did God give Abraham a surgical procedure (circumcision) as a “seal” for his descendants instead of the Sabbath, which was never even mentioned? Why was Sabbath-keeping not included in a list of basic laws that God gave to Noah around the time of the Great Flood? Why did St. Paul instruct the early church not to require Sabbath-keeping of the new Gentile converts (Colossians 2:14-17)? And why did St. Paul not list Sabbath-breaking in any of the several lists of sins he discussed in his writings? In Galatians St. Paul discusses the Christian's freedom from the “LAW,” and it is clear he is discussing moral, rather than ceremonial, laws because the example he cited was adultery. Yet in the same breath he explained that the Christian is not subject to the LAW, he gave a list of 15 sins that he said would keep a person from entering Heaven. Robert K. Sanders observes that in Romans 1:28-32 he listed 16 sins that were not mentioned in Galatians 5 and that he listed still more sins in Ephesians 4:25-32-- and that in all of these lists there is not a single mention of Sabbath-breaking. With all the sins that Paul’s writings mention-- which included sins of motive and omission in addition to the sins of commission that are the focus of the Decalogue-- it is difficult to imagine how an objective Bible student could think that the 10 Commandments were intended to represent a complete guide to morality or that the Sabbath-keeping should be transferred from Judaism to Christianity. Apparently God didn’t think so either because he gave additional moral laws to Moses after He wrote the 10 Commandments in stone, including prohibitions against fornication (a very different sin from adultery in Hebrew thought) and homosexual relationships.

------------------

Thanks to advanced studies in Hebrew linguistics we now know that there is no possibility that the Sabbath ordinance was imposed on God’s people until the time of the Exodus. We also know that Heathen societies that predated Exodus Era Israel had a “sabbath” concept based on the four phases of the moon and fertility themes. The next logical step requires the obvious conclusion, and that  is that the sabbath of propitiation and fertility associations that was so prevalent in the societies that predated ancient Israel could not have developed as the result of some kind of “dim memory” of the “original Sabbath” in the Garden of Eden. No such thing ever existed!  Additionally, some historians see evidence that this lunar-fertility sabbath was part of the Egyptian culture when the Hebrews were their captives.

The next logical step is to conclude that the evidence available to us suggests that when God gave Israel its sabbath system, His thinking was that He would take a useful but purely heathen concept, redeem it, wash it clean of its fertility and superstitious connotations, and present it to Israel in the glorious and holy form in which came down to them from Mt. Sinai-- The Mountain of the Moon.  It would appear that while it was washed of its Heathen connotations, its association with the four phases of the Moon was retained. After all, in Genesis, Chapter One, God stated that the sun and moon were given to the human race to determine “sacred times.” The lunar connection with the Sabbath, then, did not need to be cleansed as it reflected His provision for time-keeping for all peoples for all time from the beginning of time. The earliest societies on Earth had retained the memory of the lunar method of time reckoning that God had given to the world in the very beginning. And this memory was not a “dim” one either.  With each appearance of the Moon, all the people on the Earth recognized the existence of God's long-lasting timepiece.

From: Lying for God: What Adventists Knew And When They Knew It!

Gerald Weston: The World Is Depraved. Time Is Short. Give Us Your Money And Claim Your Heavenly Reward

From Gerald Weston's last co-worker letter.

This record has been skipping in the same spot for 70+ years now.

Nothing new is ever mentioned, even though we are in the 21st century now.

Same tired and worn out words. 

The world is still depraved, the same begging for money, the same "final push" malarkey.

I think we all know that our world is in trouble. Stock markets around the world may be up for the time being, people in some countries may have full wallets and purses, but this does not indicate all is well. Precious few people are alive today who remember the “Roaring ’20s” of the last century, but we might do well to remember that those days were followed by the Great Depression and World War II.

We are living in a world filled with conflicts, moral degradation, and in our Western World, a lack of awareness of God. God is lampooned at every turn, and those who stand up for morality and godly values are equally despised and put down. Where this is leading, is not good! God will not put up with this depravity forever! “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10).

Dear brethren and co-workers, let us work while it is day, for “the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Jesus referred to His own Work, but if He is living within us, it must surely be a message for us to take to heart. The Work He refers to is “the works of Him who sent Me….” God calls us to do a Work. It is difficult to see in every detail how events will play out, but free speech is under assault, and there is this sobering prediction: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). Is this a warning for us? 

Let us work the Work of God while we have time. And thank you for your prayers and generous support. I look forward to that day when we will stand together before the throne of God and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servants!” May that day come quickly!

Sincerely, in Christ’s service,

Gerald E. Weston

Life in a Cult

A reader here sent in this link to Radio National (Australia) concerning a program on cults that aired on Thursday.

You might think cult members are naive and easily led, but the psychology and group-think that holds the collective together is extremely powerful.

We examine how and why people get involved in a cult, what keeps them there and what happens when they finally leave.

Tore Klevyer spent a decade living in a Christian cult, and later trained as a counsellor who helps others recover.

Mary Garden is a former cult member who explored various sects in India during the 1970s and has written extensively about her experiences

Life in a cult: how I got in, how I got out