Billions Will Be Killed At The End Of The Millennium

The Church of God has always pictured the millennium as a time of peace and prosperity as people live in true harmony with God and Jesus walking among them.

Leave it to a Pharisaical COG turd to claim that the billions of people who will live this harmony while being ruled over by COG members, will all end up being killed AFTER the millennium. All that will be left will be the highly selected law keepers and zealots.  If that is all true, then why even try?  That is what happens when people start listening to the zealous liars and despots that run the various COG ministries out there today.

When Satan is released after the end of the millennium – AFTER the millennium ends; to complete the remaining months of his six thousand years of dominating mankind, he will deceive – probably many billions of people – nearly everyone on the planet except Israel [God will allow this to teach one final lesson to a mankind who after a thousand years of peace will have become complacent, lukewarm and lacking in zeal just like we have become today]. 

It is those vast numbers who are killed AFTER the millennium, but BEFORE the main harvest; who will be resurrected during the seventh and last; one thousand years of Tabernacles. James Malm

There Are Only 150 True Christians Left In The Church of God

Ron Weinland

Indeed, the first four seals of Revelation resulted in a great number of spiritual casualties in God’s Church. All that remains out of nearly 96,000 baptized people that experienced the Apostasy is about 150 people. Since that time (after the Sixth Seal was opened), God has been adding new people He has been calling into His Church who are being prepared to be the foundation of the Church at the start of the Millennium. 

Can you imagine a god that needs 150 Church of God members, who follow one of the biggest idiots the church has ever created, to start the millennium as rulers over human kind?  What kind of a cosmic joke would that be?

Can you imagine living in a world that is ruled by church members?  You know, the ones you have experience being around and have seen what they do to each other.  Just imagine that...

The Reluctant Prophet

Ron Weinland has always envisioned himself as God's greatest mouthpiece since Herbert Armstrong died. His role as a prophet has changed some since he made his epic failure in 2008.  He makes an excuse that he was "resisting" being a prophet.   Check out his convoluted reasoning below:

The Bible actually speaks of two different kinds of prophets in the sense of how God works with them and works through them. One is (as I have mentioned many times) stated in the book on the back page, back cover, about what a prophet is, in the sense of what I was at that time, what I could say to that point in time, because I couldn't say more because I was resisting, frankly. Yet that is the definition of a prophet, one who is able to be given inspired understanding or speaking to give those things that are a matter of prophecy, but not a matter of God giving them specific prophetic things in the future. There's a difference. So you'll find that throughout scripture, that God has used prophets in different ways, especially in the beginning of the Church. They weren't for writing things for the future, they were a matter of things with inspired speaking, inspired understanding of things of prophecy. So again:

A prophet’s job (function) is not like that of an apostle. A prophet simply writes or speaks what God has given him and he does not expound or elaborate on it; however, an apostle does teach and expound on “present truth,” doctrine, and prophecy to the Church.

Dave Pack: My Warning MUST Reach 600,035,000+ People

Did you know there is a specific number of people that need to be witnessed to in the world?  Dave Pack knows precisely how many need to hear his message. This also includes tens of thousands wayward Church of God members and ex-members.  Everyone needs to hear about his "jesus" that will be retuiring to walk the green hills of Wadsworth with him, since he is the most important human representative ever to run a Church of God.

Only those who will return to—or who come to believe—all of the truths that God taught His Church are candidates to join His final Work. Those firmly rooted in different ideas should attend one of the organizations that may still want to do some kind of “work,” but not be concerned about doctrinal precision. We bear such people no ill will, but know they will be more “content” elsewhere.

Partly because they do not see the crucial importance of doctrinal purity, all the big splinters also do not grasp the colossal importance of what is at stake in the true Work of God today. Only one or two organizations even begin to remember, let alone comprehend, that a powerful WARNING must reach 600 million Israelites throughout many nations and territories. And, again, no one seems to recognize another related warning must reach over 35,000 in the splinters or holding to some truths at home, with both of these to occur before the Tribulation. 

Dave Pack: I have not seduced my members to walk back into the world like UCG has done

So says Dave Pack:

If you are in the United Church of God (UCG), Living Church of God (LCG), Philadelphia Church of God (PCG), Church of God, a Worldwide Association (COGwa), or any other splinter or sliver that came out of the WCG, this will be among the most important reports you will ever read. But think as you read. So sadly, great numbers of brethren have become content to let their leaders do their thinking for them—and with ETERNAL LIFE at stake! This letter will not help such ill-informed, easily seduced, “obedient” people.

If there has ever been a group of Church of God that has let its leader do all of their thinking it is the members of the Restored Church of God.  Has there ever been a more subservient and obedient group of COG members?  No RCG member is capable of knowing what Dave does.  None of them have an inside line to God like Dave does.

Do you know what one of the identifying hallmarks of a backsliding church is?  Its dress standards!  Not the lying or abusive ministry, but the jeans or open collared shirts.

The United Church of God becomes a case in point. This organization has been marching directly back to the world for the almost 19 years of its existence. (I explain this in detail in many places. Dress standards alone in ALL of the groups are blinking neon lights to those with observant “eyes to see” that this march is happening everywhere—that many are even moving beyond Laodicea.) United’s journey is almost complete. Obviously, they deny this. But has anyone ever seen, or even heard of, a single church on Earth—EVEN ONE!—that admits it is of this world? Of course not. That United’s leaders are now working in a “cooperative” tandem with a large group that Mr. Armstrong’s son led away in rebellion over 35 years ago is merely the latest outrage they commit against God, Mr. Armstrong’s legacy and their docile membership who are so willing to let them get away with their deceit. This deception necessarily involves what they say about me and God’s true Church and Work! (That Mr. Armstrong’s long-time, professed-to-be-loyal assistant leads UCG’s charade and no one calls him on it is appalling. But none can confront when they are pushing from behind.)

Ouch!  Someone does not like Aaron Dean too well... but he does have a point.  He saw how all of the top men in LCG ran their congregations in Pasadena that were filled with spiritual and mental abuse, how they schemed and plotted behind the scenes to form United while on WCG payroll, and tin spite of all of that, he jumps ship to join up with those very same men HWA and Tkach were none too happy with.

Then Dave lobs another spot ball into UCG's backside:

So many remain seduced into believing God no longer has—or never had—just one church under one government and doing one Work, but rather is what Joe Tkach and evangelicals believe—that a divided Christ is working in many places under many leaders doing part of His Work here, there and the other place—who knows, maybe hundreds of places.

Dave also has a point above that nails UCG and every other splinter group.  There are well over 400 splinters and slivers that have broken off from the mother church, the Worldwide Church of God over the decades.  All of them claim to the one true church sticking to the faith once delivered.  Yet, NONE of them will ever call out some of the blatant lairs leading other COG splinters.  Inwardly they believe that they are all "brethren" on many different pathways to the same God, yet they will mock and condemn Christians of various denominations and/or religious traditions of believing the same thing.  The world is always wrong but COG leaders never are.

Is Bob Thiel Getting Conned By Some Of His African "Members"?

Almost, but not arrested Elijah Bob Thiel has been giddily proclaiming he has over 3,000 members now, of which 2, 996 live in Africa.  That all might sound impressive, if one had not paid any attention to the countless stories posted here and on other COG related sites on how many African Sabbath keeping groups have allegiances to many different parent organizations, all done in an effort to draw in as much money from gullible white Americans.  Thiel is such a narcissist that since God directly spoke to him in a dream, then his god would never allow people to take advantage of him. This seems to be a major issue in the Sabbatarian groups, from SDA, COG7 to the Armstrongite off shoots, including Thiel's.

Church of God News had this up about from Bill Goff who runs Voice in the Wilderness.  Bill has one of the few groups that actually seem to be doing some good in the world.  Ironically, most all of the other Church of Gods will not financially assist him in caring for others.

Voice in the Wilderness Church of God

Update from Bill Goff, April 21:

“Last week we were contacted by a church group in Canada. They were asking if we had any information concerning a church organization in Bungoma, Kenya, that they have been supporting the past few years. We offered to travel to Bungoma (located on the Uganda border) to investigate for them. Nehemiah and I traveled there on Thursday, and our trip was a success. We found the church group to be totally legitimate and caring for quite a number of orphans.

Over the past few years we have investigated quite a number of “churches” here in Kenya that numerous churches of God in the States had been supporting financially. The majority of them turned out to be “cons”.

So, we thank our Heavenly Father for enabling us to work together and help one another whenever possible. We may be of different administrations, but there are no barriers between us, because we are of the same mind and same spirit. And much can be accomplished when we work together in unity and strive for humility. Praise God for that!

This is also a busy day today. We are having combined Sabbath services in Ikenye. There will also be a number of baptisms. (There are 20 being baptized, most are from the border group next to the Maasai tribe). We have been counseling with them for some time now.”

Whack-a-doodle COG Chief Pharisee Begins What "Might" Be The Final Push

Where would the Church of God be without all of these prophets of doom predicting the eminent end of the age and the great persecution to soon begin?  The Church of God Chief Pharisee and law idolater, James Malm, has been wildly predicting the end times to soon happen for several years now.

One of Pharisee Malm's acolytes writes:

James–

This is all fascinating to contemplate and an exhausting workload for you to anticipate! Since you will be busy, busy, busy, it may seem like overkill to suggest yet another project, but I will do it anyway. That would be a study through the book of Deuteronomy (which book you have, as yet, steadfastly refused to revise and update in your survey of Biblical books.)

The Chief Pharisee is rewriting scripture in numerous articles and booklets/books as he works his way through the Bible with the ONLY correct interpretation ever imagined by a human being on how HE thinks it all should read.

As you know, Deuteronomy has 34 chapters and the Feast of Tabernacles and the 8th Day would give you approximately four chapters a day to cover. So what better study to cover as both a warning and preparation of the brethren during the Feast of Tabernacles and 8th Day that just may be the last one before the onset of great tribulation? (see Deut 34:9-12) And even if that turns out to not be the case, it is something profitable you have not covered in quite a while. Okay, that’s my nickle’s worth.

The time is at hand and the Chief Pharisee needs to warn ALL the brethren in all of the hundreds and hundreds of splinter groups that they are ALL wrong and he is right.  Leave your heretical laodicean churches behind and come over to where the light shines perpetually upon the law instead of Jesus Christ.  Oh, and bring your money as the final push is at hand!

Be patient I will get there! The Epistles and Prophets will take up until just before the Fall Feast with enough time left to do some posts on the Fall Feasts themselves; and for the Feast I have planned to do Deuteronomy and follow through with Joshua after the Feast. Somewhat like I posted on the Spring Festivals early and then posted on Salvation during the Spring Feast this year. James

PS I have not refused, it is a question of timing! I planned this year to be a big push to prepare the brethren.

Hoeh, I'd Like to Show You Something..

The Clovis Incident

(Just filler until Dave Pack , Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland or Bob Thiel says something incredibly stupid)

I went to a bit of trouble to get this 12,000 ish year old Clovis Point from my collection onto the plane and out to my last refresher program. I wanted to show it to Dr. Hoeh and get his comments on the Clovis people populating North America approximately 13,500 years ago.  

The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture, named for distinct stone tools found in close association with Pleistocene fauna at Blackwater Locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, in the 1920s and 1930s. The Clovis culture appears around 11,500–11,000 BCE, at the end of the last glacial period, and is characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools. Archaeologists' most precise determinations at present suggest that this radiocarbon age is equal to roughly 13,200 to 12,900 calendar years ago. Clovis people are considered to be the ancestors of most of the indigenous cultures of the Americas.

The Clovis Culture is thought now to have perhaps fallen victim to a comet burst or impact  over  the Northern Michigan and Canadian ice sheet, then two miles thick around 12,900 years ago..  The melt water may have been responsible for the Younger/Dryas cooling event around the same  time and the tens of thousands of elliptical ice splash circles in the Carolinas seen only in the 1930's when air travel was becoming popular. 

Carolina Bays near Fayetteville, SC

I approached Dr. Hoeh during the break and asked him about the Clovis people in the Americas while handing him the point to examine.  Of course, in the back of my mind was the church view that humans had been created a mere 6000 years ago in the form of Adam and Eve and this point presented quite a problem for that view, which I had long ago personally given up on. 

His reactions was telling and caught me completely off guard.

"

Dr Hoeh would not take the point in his hand. He simply said...

"That's lovely" 

...and walked away

I'm thinking he didn't wish to discuss the issue

Why Do COG Leaders Try To Rewrite History?

Click on above screen snap for full article

There was great discussion on  a Facebook page today about the Church of God propensity to rewrite history to fit the interpretation that the church was looking for.  There were only a few COG leaders who were actually educated in a "worldly" college and received their Masters and/or PhD's.  Most got their Masters/PhD's from the church run Ambassador Colleges which were not known for pumping out the most highly educated world visionaries or authorities on much of anything.  Though it should be acknowledged that quite a few AC grads went on to higher educational institutions where they received a real education and made something of their lives.  However, that does not excuse the COG historians.

The writer on FB said:

I had a discussion with my sister and bil a few weeks ago. I realized that the only way the cogs are surviving is that they've rewritten history and have convinced the sheeple that they're right.

Just because a self proclaimed authority figure writes a book doesn't make it true.

One of the biggest con-artists in church history rewriting was Herman Hoeh.  His PhD that he garnered from AC was purely based upon the Compendium of World History.  It was used to support the idea that the Church of God had a continuous linage through out history.  The church eventually pulled it from circulation.  Hoeh even admitted later in life the book was filled with multiple errors and that no one should use it as a real guide to world history.




The late Gavin Rumney had this up about Hoeh:

Having known Herman Hoeh (like many others) for nearly 20 years and worked for him for part of that time, if someone had told me that he had adopted elements of the edicts of Zarathustra, I can't say I would be surprised. An intensely private man, Hoeh was an enigma in the truest sense of the word.

If he was anything (and I actually write this with respect), he was an apologist for whomever was in power at the time in WCG.

1) For example, when HWA announced in the 1950s/1960s that the Egyptian pyramids couldn't have survived the Great Flood, Hoeh responded by simply rewriting history. Borrowing heavily from Immanuel Velikovsky's controversial work, Ages in Chaos, Hoeh reworked traditionally accepted Egyptian and Babylonian dynasty chronologies so they fit HWA's Flood scheme. He subsequently published them as "new truth" in the first volume of his legendary Compendium. When HWA later allowed for the pyramids to actually have "survived" the Flood, Hoeh looked like an idiot.

2) The "theology" for HWA's title and rank of "Apostle" came directly from Hoeh. HWA actually initially rebuked Hoeh for calling Armstrong an Apostle, but as we all know, gradually accepted it (although HWA didn't use the title openly for nearly 20 years).

3) In the last months while HWA was dying, Hoeh basically either flat-out hand-wrote sections or heavily edited prior HWA works for the book that became Mystery of the Ages. (Sheila Graham also played a significant role in the production of MOA, which should give Flurry fits). Mystery of the Ages would be more appropriately title "Herbert Armstrong's Greatest Hits," edited by Herman L. Hoeh.

4) Hoeh heavily edited HWA's original Authobiography after Armstrong's death (again with aid from Sheila Graham), adding in HWA letters and the initial pieces about Joe Tkach. The result was a politically tinged tone that produced a quasi-"balanced" view of WCG's founder and made it seem like the selection of Tkach as successor was an orderly process (which it was anything but same).

I had a great deal of respect for Hoeh (particularly in how he and his wife were true servants of humanity), but truly to really understand what he "believed" at any given moment was like trying to nail a wet noodle to a wall.  The Enigma of Herman Hoeh

Rod Meredith's current version of church history being published by the Living Church of God is another case in point.  The same goes to Almost arrested but not arrested Bob Thiel's take on COG history, Catholicism and world history. And then there is Ron Weinland, Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack's appalling take on church history and world events.  All of these foolish buffoons do this in order to make their church look like the "only true church."

All of them are church apologists that go out of heir way to support the teachings of Herbert Armstrong.  Without him none of them had the wherewithal to ever come up with an original idea so it is important to defend Armstrongism in order to stay alive as a group.

Only 10 Years Left Till Jesus And Certain Select COG Members Are Rulling In Jerusalem

These days, Church of God self-appointed false prophets are a dime a dozen.  So many now think they are conduits of secret knowledge from their pissed off little god who is perpetually angry about everyone and everything imaginable.

This is the latest from the sleazy false prophet Wade Cox.

6. 2013-2019 "Week of the battles against 'Amaleq"

These years did indeed see the wars of Amalek develop full scale and the Churches of God and the Chosen people will be engaged in pitched battles and conflict both spiritual and physical with those that seek to destroy them.

In  2012 we told the world of the Arab Spring and its spread into the wars which spread from North Africa all over the Middle East.

From the end of this period we expect the wars to develop to the wars of the Fifth and Sixth Trumpet and the sequence build up to the establishment of the Witnesses of God of Revelation 11 for the Fourth Reading of the Law and the return of the Messiah thereafter, and the last great battles of Armageddon or Meggido and the wrath of God.

The Biochemical war of the Fifth Trumpet is developing now in Syria and will explode into the nuclear conflict of the War of the Sixth Trumpet over the last year of the sequence.  This war will kill a third of mankind.

7. 2020-2026 "Week of standing at Mt. Sinai"

At the coming of the Messiah after the Witnesses between 2020 and 2024 Satan is placed in the Bottomless Pit of Tartaros. His religious system is then destroyed completely and the nations purged of the false religions both in Christianity and Islam.

No priest of the Sun system of Baal and the mother goddess Easter that does not repent will be left alive.

This week is the last period of the consolidation of the saints waiting on the Messiah as they did at Sinai when they spoke to him face to face and they had their leaders appointed over the tribes and the Council of the Elders of Israel were appointed. They were given the law progressively and their leaders were educated over the six months from Abib to Elul, where Moses went up the mountain six times to converse with Christ (see the paper.  

In the Seventh month they kept the feast and in this Seventh year the Trumpet is blown for the Atonement of the Sabbath year, and the Jubilee year begins and the restoration of all things is accomplished.

The Treble harvest follows the completion of The Wars of the End and the Vials of the Wrath of God (No. 141A).

In 2028 the Millennium begins and all people are back in their inheritance and the world is run by Christ and the Saints from Jerusalem for the next 1000 years.

2028 begins the Fiftieth or The Golden Jubilee and the Millennium (No. 300) of the millennial system measured from the final restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah. In this period the Temple will be rebuilt by Christ and the structure of Ezekiel will be established at Jerusalem. The Jewish false systems of the Rabbinical Priesthood and their false structures will be eliminated completely and those who say they are Jews but are not will repent and/or be removed. That involves over 90% of the Jewish people. They will be made to acknowledge the Philadelphian Church and the Calendar of God (No. 156) (cf. Rev. 3:9). The Hillel System and the oral traditions will be purged from Israel forever (see Hillel, Babylonian Intercalations and the Temple Calendar (No. 195C)).

We will explain how that will be commenced from the Witnesses in a subsequent series.

The Bible is clear that the only warning given is from the voice of Dan/Ephraim which forms the tribe of Joseph in Revelation chapter 7 (cf. Jer. 4:15-16), (see The Warning of the Last Days No. 044)). Then the warning is by the Two Witnesses for 1260 days.

These things will happen suddenly and God will deal with the earth for man’s sin and unrighteousness.

Can you imagine the pure hell of living through WWIII and then be put under the authority of Wade Cox and his little minions?

Living Church of God Education Classes: How To Waste A Year Of Your Life

That fun loving Jonathan McNair, who got his job because of nepotism, is back encouraging the young men of the Living Church of God to waste one year of their lives, taking classes he helped design. Seriously!  Why?

Living Education

One of the most common questions asked about our on-site program in Charlotte is this: “Why should a young man take a year out of his life to come to Charlotte to study the Bible? That won’t help me get a job.” This is a good question. For a young man, whether just leaving high school or in the young adult years, his focus should be primarily on acquiring skills, knowledge, and experience. Without these three elements, he won’t be able to lead and provide for a wife and a family. But here’s a challenge to you as a young man: Don’t get so caught up in the rush to make a living that you forget the importance of learning how to live. This is what makes Living Education unique. Your local community college, the university you’d like to attend, or the apprenticeship you’re applying for will not teach you how to live. We will. Give us one year and we’ll give you a foundation for a lifetime. What about young women?  We’ll address the benefits of Living Education for you next week!—Jonathan McNair

Is Rod McNair going to teach a class on how to find demons in nursing homes among the elderly? Or how about teaching the young men that they can't be proper witnesses of the gospel unless they have an org chart telling them who is in charge and what to believe.  Will they have a class on how to malign church members characters and reputations, from the pulpit, like they did the Scarborough's?

Next week we will be blessed by the highly encouraging message from McNair to the young women of the church on why they should attend for a year.  What better place to learn how to cook for their husbands to be or to learn how to set a pretty place setting for dinner.  Oh the joy!

Is This The Greatest Sex Book Ever Written, After The Bible?

So says Gerald Flurry:

Educator Herbert W. Armstrong authored the greatest book about sex of all time, after the Bible. It is called The Missing Dimension in Sex. “Now comes the big truth!” he wrote. “Sex was designed and created in humans for purposes other than reproduction—for purposes totally foreign to animal or plant life! But the world has continued in unhappy and wretched ignorance of these glorious and God-bestowed purposes!”

Mr. Armstrong wrote this near the end of his life. He knew and lived God’s purposes for sex, and he yearned to rescue mankind from the pain and suffering that comes from using sex the wrong way.  The Beautiful Truth That Would Solve The Sex Scandals

Herbert Armstrong did nothing of the sort!  The first issue of this book came out in the 1964's as God Speaks Out On The New Morality.  Charles Dorothy and others at Pasadena contributed to the book.

Then to dump the 1960's theme, the name was changed to The Missing Dimension in Sex in 1971.

Then, like Herbert Armstrong was prone to do, he took all credit and reissues the book under his name in 1980.

Who can forget those kinky pictures!  It was the Worldwide Church of God's official book of porn for the teenagers!

Anyway, back to Gerald Flurry's idolatrous take on the book is:

Look around. It is plain to see that humans have sex for reasons other than just reproduction. Some of these reasons are perverse and should be avoided altogether, or sex scandals may result.

“Now reproduction, merely as such, is, of course, common to animals and plants, as well as humans,” Mr. Armstrong continued. “But, in humans, reproduction has a sacred and God-plane meaning not applicable to any other kind of life!”

With animals, reproduction is nothing more than reproduction. With humans, reproduction points to a marvelous spiritual parallel. Human babies are very different from animal offspring. Only humans are born as heirs of salvation—heirs of God! Marriage, family and sex have God-plane meaning!

People have sex so they can become god's.  Who knew!   Oh, and that it might be pleasurable as something other than for reproduction.  Unless of course you were Rod Meredith and Gerald Flurry and sex was dirty (most of the time).

According to Flurry, sex is essential for salvation. Forget Jesus, a good romp in the sack will bring salvation.

Humans are not animals! We can be spiritually begotten by receiving the Holy Spirit, and then spiritually born as sons of God! No animal or angel has such a potential!

Satan works diligently to hide God’s purposes for sex from the world because they point to our salvation. He wants to hide God’s plan of salvation, which is all about family.

That's because you are going to marry Jesus and become a god!  Woo Hoo!

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (verse 32). These principles apply to physical marriage, but mainly they are about spiritual marriage (Revelation 19:7). We can marry Christ, if we obey Him today. Physical marriage and sex prepare us for that glorious future.

For a book that was supposed to illustrate godly sex, the church was sure filled with some of the biggest sex fiends imaginable, starting with Herbert himself.  Sex was the biggest occupier of time in the church hierarchy.  From Garner Ted's G3 flying  whorehouse, to Rod Meredith's frequent visits to the Le Sexxe Shoppe in Old Town Pasadena (only for research, of course), and how can we forget the wife swapping ministers. the child molesters, stalkers and rapists in the church.

Just one more sad legacy of the "One True Church" that was supposed to be practicing first century Christianity.

Why is the Church of God Fertile Ground for Baseless Conspiracy Theories?

There is one gospel message that many in the Church of God are good at and that is spreading conspiracy theories.  Due to the endless stream of sermons, articles and videos pumped into the minds of church members on the "Prince of the poser of the air" who was actively seeking to thwart humanity in every aspect of life. Church members found the bogeyman hiding all over the world in books, TV, movies, papers, magazines, music, businesses, religion, and in the minds of every human on the earth, except of course, in the enlightened  COG members.  They and they alone could see though all of the corruption and subterfuge going on the world around them.  Satan was busy as hell and they were having none of it!  Expose him and his agents of darkness with  everything you could. So stories were dreamed up, exposes created, all breathlessly whispered or broadcast on Facebook as truth.

Case in point is the photo above circulating on various COG members Facebook pages and on conspiracy laden  conservative Christian pages.

One of the hallmarks of the Church of God is that it always claimed it NEVER lied about things to the membership or the world.  It was all God's truth directly inserted in the mind of Herbert Armstrong and every single minister that ever preached a sermon.  Yet, church members post crap like the above picture on their blogs and FB pages in self-righteous indignation.  Never once do any of them ever check into the facts surround some conspiracy.  If there might be the slightest grain of "truth" in the story then it is good for posting.

Matthew Herper from Forbes Magazine writes about this controversy:

The fetus-derived cell line we’re talking about was created around the time I was born. This is 35-year-old technology. And it is widely used in cell biology. And there is no way you’ll consume them or that the cells would cause any health problems.
The cells, called HEK 293 cells (that stands for human embryonic kidney) were taken from an aborted fetus in the 1970s in the Netherlands. Bits of chopped up DNA from the adenovirus, a virus that causes a pretty severe cold. The kidney cells were forced to take up bits of DNA using a technique invented in 1973 that used a calcium solution. The resulting cells don’t act much like human cells at all, but they are very easy to work with and have become workhorses of cellular biology. That’s why they’re used in the development of drugs and vaccines. No new fetal tissue has been used to keep the cell culture going; the use of this cell line isn’t leading to new abortions.

A tiny company called Senomyx has been working to use this new technology to create food additives. Senomyx has isolated receptors found on cells that detect taste, and added them to the HEK cells. This allows them to test thousands of potential taste additives to see whether they might taste sweet or savory with a speed that would be impossible with human taste testers. Synomyx has announced collaborations with Pepsi, Nestle, and Coca-Cola.    Famous Food Companies Caught Using Aborted Babies for Flavor Additives

Philadelphia Church of God: So Paranoid They Are Now Using Technology To Automatically Delete Sermons

Remember the days gone by when local churches had tape libraries filled with hundreds of tapes from HQ sermons, feast sermons and local sermons?  Member who were not able to make services could check them out the following week to listen to them.   Those tapes soon disappeared as CD's entered the technology scene.  CD's were sent out from HQ to local areas who them lent them to members to listen to.  Then MP3's, podcasts and live streaming hit the scene and CD's were outdated.  Tech savvy member soon learned how to download those to CD's that they made for fellow members. 

All of these technologies have come back in one form or another to bite various COG's in their royal keisters. Living Church of God scrambled as fast as they could to delete Rod Meredith's sermons that drove Terry Ratzman off the deep end when he shot and killed LCG members one cold Sabbath morning in Milwaukee.  Then when Stephen Allwine, an elder in United Church of God, poisoned and then shot his wife, UCG quickly started erasing Allwine from UCG memory.  The same has happened in Philadelphia Church of God when horrific stories of abuse or the sermons on prohibiting members from associating with ex-member family members and friends started being circulated.    When the outrage piles on, sermons quickly disappear, but by  then someone has saved a copy somewhere.

This has led the Philadelphia Church of God to resort to a new feature regarding their sermons.  PCG has spend tons of money on new audio equipment for each of their congregations that automatically deletes the previous weeks sermon from HQ from any access.  Since only a few select people have access to this machine and the sermon it will no longer make it into the members hands. 

“In 2017, the field audio department purchased 151 mp3 players in bulk at a discount. Tauer and Information Services manager Patrick Hogan developed and installed a secure application on them for playing PCG recordings, and the units were distributed to all field congregations over the course of the year. (Regional offices purchased and distributed the devices for their respective congregations.)

The department uploads encrypted messages to the players, which are brought to services by contact people who have been assigned by regional directors. The devices plug directly into sound systems and play the recordings. The following week, old audio is automatically deleted and new audio becomes available.” News of the Church of God

All of this subterfuge in the various COG's to keep their sermons out of the public domain shows how embarrassing their messages truly are.  Deep down they know it.  Forget the fact they all claim to be boldly proclaiming a message of the Kingdom of God, that is soon to be coming. That message gets lost in between the idiotic sermons where members are castigated for one offense after another.  That is what they are afraid of the public hearing.  If the public finds out that they can't respect members, they are going to have second thoughts about joining up and bringing their money with them.  That is what embarrasses them the most.  The "love" they claim to have for their members is embarrassingly absent. If the public sees how they treat members then the public will have second thoughts about sending money in as co-workers or even listening to the "warning" message.

Special Investigation: Evolution

Atheism - How many gods do YOU not believe in?

Anonymous said...

"Atheists are just religious freaks like most other religious nutters. Enough said."

Since not believing  makes one a religious "freak" and believing makes one a religious "nutter", what's the third conclusion one can draw from experience with religion?  Believing, not believing and____________?

A-gnostic doesn't count.  Belief is a conviction as well as non-belief is a conviction.  If one is convicted about not knowing then they are also a a-theist or without a belief in God.  Hanging out in the middle is either a Theist between religious beliefs or an Atheist softening the descent by kidding themselves.  Also, friends and family are much more likely to give one a pass if they use the word Agnostic or "I don't know."  That at least sounds hopeful to them you will come to your senses when you finally know the right things and their truth.  They will not be so kind to one who has the conviction that they live and think "a", without, Theism. 

Church of God, The Eternal's Jon Brisby Sinks To A New Vile Low

One of the vilest teachings of the church that was brutally enforced over the decades was the "divorce and remarriage" doctrine/teaching.  Countless stories have been told over the decades of loving couples and families ripped to pieces by the Church of God's vile stance.  Most had probably thought those days were long gone, but it is not.

This letter was posted on Exit and Support and describes the vile and unChristian teachings of Jon Brisby:

I wanted to write and thank you for helping people who have left or will leave the "Armstrong cult groups." I was born into the WWCG. It helped to destroy my whole family--my parents, my siblings, and up until this year, even me. We all made some mistakes and bad choices on our own but Herbert Armstrong and his ministers, splinters, and even some members, helped destroy my family emotionally, just with the judgmental attitudes, being made to feel we were in "hot water" with God, telling us that outsiders were of the world, etc. My most recent minister Jon W. Brisby (Church of God, the Eternal) has even told me that my lack of financial comfort is the result of my "not living in a pleasing enough way for God." I was also told that my family is the "church" now and no longer my kids, since they are not members. Luckily, my kids grew up against the Armstrong teachings and have their own beliefs. As for me, I am finally what I consider to be "out of the dark" of these Armstrong worshippers. I emailed my minister two weeks ago and explained my decision to leave. He has yet to respond. 

Church of God, The Eternal (COGE) is a small group. The lead minister is Jon W. Brisby (age 55). He has some wild ideas. A married couple came to the group from LCG a few years ago. They had been married for about 18 years. Brisby soon found out that the man had been married briefly to someone else when he was a really young man. They divorced and his ex married someone else. Anyway, this married couple of 18 plus years were instructed to split up and live separately but not get divorced. Jon Brisby told him that if his ex wife happens to die then and only then can he and his current wife live as a couple again. The couple have remodeled their home and made it into a duplex. They each live in one of the side by side units. They are allowed to go back and forth to each other's apartment for meal times but not allowed to sleep, shower or linger at each other's place. At the Feast of Tabernacles and Pentecost they were not permitted to sit together for services. This couple is in their 50's also.

There is another man, a single man around age 60. This man was also married but years ago his wife left him and married a Seventh Day Adventist. Brisby told him he must never remarry. This man said God would not allow him to marry unless his ex died. Brisby stays in total control of the dating and marriage relationships in the group. He comes off as very intensely and genuinely kind, but if he feels you cross him, then he gets an attitude and can be very arrogant. 

--Kandice Cunning (Child survivor of WCG; Former member of COGE)

Church of God, the Eternal has on its page the following which is used as a weapon to stop members from writing such things as was done above.  They seek to create the myth that all of the things they teach are directly from Christ, passed down through the apostles to Bisby and others today.  To deny what they teach is blasphemy and denial of the truth which separates the "rebellious" from God.

What God gave to Moses, He gave to Christ. What Christ taught to the apostles, He commissioned them to proclaim in their designated areas. What Christ and the apostles taught was the same as was revealed to Paul. And what all those servants taught is exactly what was given to an end-time servant (Matthew 28:19–20). For those who will hear, our purpose is to honor and proclaim that same way of life—the faith once delivered. In that way is found no part of the way given to Gentiles—people of the world (Deuteronomy 12:1–3; 4:1–40, Acts 14:16). We want the ways of God. We are not interested in any of the traditions or customs of this world. God’s servant of these last days at no time made the pagan customs of this world a part of the doctrine. The spirit which introduces change, and/or a relaxation of the doctrine is as much at work today as it was in the past. The called of God must be on guard incessantly. That spirit is a deceiver. He will do anything to destroy.

One concluding observation seems to be necessary. Those who believed and loved the Truth of God have remained strong, loyal, and faithful. On the other hand, it seems that everyone who was “argued” into acceptance of the “faith once delivered” has failed ultimately. It, indeed, seems like God is separating those who believe and love the Truth from those who must surely have accepted only on the basis of their own personal intellectual prowess.

Satan and his demons hate the ways of God. They will do anything to disrupt, challenge, and destroy. Such behavior is a manifestation of who and what the true people of God are all about. They persecuted Christ. In like manner they will do the same thing to those in whom Christ lives. The faithful of God will count it a privilege to suffer for the cause of righteousness. They will be persecuted and lied about with abandon, but these chosen children of God will know who they are. They love the Truth and will for no cause allow themselves to turn from it. They are the ones who will endure to the end.

Who are we? We are estranged members—a remnant (Romans 9:27–33; 11:1–5, Isaiah 1:8–9, Revelation 12:13–17)—from the apostate body (2 Thessalonians 2:1–3) who sincerely love God’s revealed Truth from the heart (2 Thessalonians 2:10), willing to remain faithful to the end (Matthew 24:13). That Truth which was taught by Christ (John 14:6; 12:48–50), that Truth which Christ commissioned the Twelve Apostles to teach (Matthew 28:20). Which was the same message taught by the Apostle Paul (Galatians 1:6–16, 1 Thessalonians 2:12–14). Which was the same message taught by an end-time servant (Matthew 28:19–20). Which had significant beginning with Moses (Hebrews 4:1–3). The Truth which is now obeyed from a spiritual premise (2 Corinthians 3:1–11).

These are the people that God’s true ministry desires to serve. It is our purpose to give you our energy and our love.  Letter from Raymond Cole

LCG Member Asks: "Gerald Weston, if you are reading this, please wake up and do the right thing."

Rod McNair's file cabinet filled with details of 

LCG members lives.

For years now, Living Church of God members have shared stories of abuse at the hands of certain LCG ministers.  For years now, the LCG headquarters in Charlotte have been monitoring this blog.  For years now they have read first-hand accounts of the despicable ways LCG members are treated at times.  For years now, they refuse to correct the issues.  For years they continue to ignore the members while back-slapping one another for being such beacons of morality and spirituality.

LCG members see through all of that and are constantly asking when will they wake up and do something about the abuse?

Another reader here writes:

Anon says, "The ministers have the duty to instruct, correct and discipline the people".

LCG ministry, in particular Rod McNair do not practice righteous judgment. Their egos and vindictiveness taint their ability to be fair.

God says to leave the 99 to go after the 1. If a member is going astray, LCG MINISTRY SHOULD TRY TO HELP THEM not harm them by cutting them off from the body.

So often the "punishments" of these men is so heavy handed. So often they behave punitively when love, mercy and help/shepherding is what's called for. So often they react based on unconfirmed gossip or personal opinion instead of fact. 

I mean what kind of man keeps file folders in his office of every conceived misstep of the members he personally doesn't like? Year after year. I'm still not entirely sure how Rod McNair makes it through Passover services without a bold of lightening striking him.

Rod McNair, if you are reading this, take heed, you will reap that which you have sown. It's not too late. Make amends with those that you know you have treated unfairly. Apologize for you heavy-handedness. Repent.

Gerald Weston, if you are reading this, please wake up and do the right thing. LCG is hemorrhaging people because of this pharisaical behavior. The right message will get nowhere when the messengers are so corrupt, harsh and right in their own sight.

Is British-Israelism An Inherently Racist Teaching?

Is British-Israelism An Inherently Racist Teaching?

If you want to provoke the ire of folks in the Armstrong Church of God culture, then all you have to do is tell them that the doctrine of British-Israelism is inherently racist in nature. The staunchest defenders of this teaching take immediate offense at anyone who has the audacity to suggest that their belief is racist at its core. Sure, some of them will admit, that a "few" folks have carried the teaching "too far" and have manifested the classic characteristics associated with racism (they love to cite the dictionary definition of racism); but they will insist that they do not share those "extreme" views, and that it would consequently be inappropriate and unfair to characterize their belief as being racist in nature.

In February of 2005, the Church of the Great God attempted to directly address this question in an article on their website. In the article Is British-Israelism Racist?, Richard Ritenbaugh admits that some of the folks who adhere to this doctrine exhibit "a weak and prejudicial nature" and "could carry this to the point of snubbing, abusing, or persecuting individuals of these supposedly lesser ethnicities." He goes on to say: "Sadly, some advocates of British-Israelism have done just this, shining a bad light on other believers who do not share their racially motivated hatred and violence."

Unfortunately, this line of reasoning has obscured the issue of racism for many years and has allowed the phenomenon to continue to flourish among many "white" Americans to this day. It's a neat trick - If you define racism as extreme and associate it with hatred and violence, then you can disassociate the more subtle manifestations of the phenomenon as having anything to do with racism.

In his article The Easiest Way to Get Rid of Racism? Just Redefine It, Greg Howard noted how the definition of racism has evolved in America. He wrote: "Soon, nearly everyone could agree that racism was the work of people with hate in their hearts - bigots. This was a convenient thing for white Americans to believe. Racism, they could say, was the work of racists." He went on to say: "Racism ceased to be a matter of systems and policy and became a referendum on the rot of the individual soul. Calling people racist was no longer a matter of evaluating their opinions; it was an accusation of being irrevocably warped at the very core."

In his article defending British-Israelism against being labeled as inherently racist in nature, Ritenbaugh states that "the irrationality of a handful of kooks does not - or should not - malign the majority of sincere believers who base their understanding and practice on true biblical principles." He must marginalize the "handful of kooks" who hold extreme views so that the vast "majority of sincere believers" aren't tainted with the label of racism. For him and the other "sincere believers," it is crucial that we recognize that their beliefs are based on "true biblical principles."

Hence, we can see that Ritenbaugh's apologetics for the doctrine of British-Israelism depend on what I consider to be two very dubious premises: 1) a narrow definition of racism which eliminates any association of the term with systemic policy/thought, and 2) the notion that the doctrine is derived from God/the Bible and consequently cannot be characterized as racist. Ritenbaugh explains that: "God did not choose Israel because of anything they had going for them - in fact, they were a small, insignificant people. He chose them because He loved them, and that love has its basis in His relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Most Israelites have lucked into God's blessing, as it were, by being born of Israelite stock; they have done nothing to deserve what God has bountifully given. Their receipt of the blessings is based solely on God fulfilling the promises He made to the Patriarchs."

According to Ritenbaugh, the belief cannot be characterized as racist because the special status which these folks enjoy is derived from God. They simply "lucked" out! God decided to love them more than anybody else. How then can anyone dare to question God or characterize them (or anyone who accepts this teaching as legitimate) as racist? These folks enjoy this special status by God's choice - they don't have any voice in the matter. Hence, it is absurd to question their status or characterize anyone who recognizes this "truth" as racist!

Oh sure, Ritenbaugh goes on to state that the Israelites "are bound by their 'lucky birth' to be a model nation to the rest of the world of God's way of life," but that constitutes their responsibility in the matter as far as he's concerned (and he does go on to acknowledge that these folks have largely failed to do this). In fact, he goes on to say that "Because of Israel's rejection of God, He is now working with select individuals whom He calls, makes a New Covenant with, and converts to His way of life. To these He gives His Spirit, and they become His witnesses among the nations." In other words, Israel's failure to be that example to the world has resulted in a change of plans

Even so, Ritenbaugh continues to be oblivious to the implications of what he's saying and returns to the importance of the special status of these folks. He asserts that "God is not finished with the Israelites," and that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was intended mainly as a message for them. For those acquainted with the racist teachings of Herbert Armstrong and his Worldwide Church of God, that should sound familiar. And, if you still can't see that such a view is inherently racist, then you must be one of the unfortunate few who still adheres to the teaching of British-Israelism.

By Miller Jones from God Cannot Be Contained blog

Bob Thiel Tells Another Whopper About Rod Meredith

Almost arrested, but not arrested Elijah, Joshua, Thiel is back again telling another whopper about a supposed conversation he had with Rod Meredith.  I can guarantee you that Rod Meredith would NEVER have agreed with Thiel about this conversation or Thiel's interpretation on how it went down.

Notice the way Thiel phrases this:

04/17/18 p.m. The late Dr. R.C. Meredith used to state that LCG was only "half a peanut shell" in the Pacific Ocean. The last time I attended LCG in San Diego (in 2003, this is before the move by LCG to Charlotte, North Carolina), I came up with him and essentially said:

You've said that LCG is like a half of peanut shell in the Pacific Ocean. So, if LCG doubles its television coverage, then it is only about 1 peanut shell. I don't believe that Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled by buying television time. This is not second guessing your decisions to be on television stations, but your own words show that television like LCG has been doing is not enough.  

How Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled will be from one of us, like me, identifying the coming King of North, saying the Great Tribulnation is about to beging, and telling people that he is about to destroy the USA and UK, then the King of the South, and he will be in league with the Antichrist, as he puts forth a false message of peace by human means. The media will cover us, and this will get people's attention. Enough so, that this will fulfill Jesus' 'gospel of the kingdom to the world' prophecy.

Dr. Meredith essentially agreed with me then. This was something that I also covered with the then three other LCG HQ evangelists in meetings later in Charlotte, North Carolina--all of whom (Richard Ames, Dibar Apartian, Doug Winnail) gave me their concurrence.

How can anyone believe this conversation took place when no one believes God spoke to him in a dream and told him to start another splinter group? Even Gaylyn Bonjoir disagrees with Thiel's interpretation of events regarding the supposed double blessing.
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Special Investigative Report: Atheist Alert