I was looking at Rod Reynold's Church of God Messenger today and at an article about "finding and remaining in the true church". He is just like all the other splinter groups who started a group in direct rebellion against the mother church or, in his case, a double rebellion that was also against the Living Church of God and Rod Meredith.
Every single Church of God splinter group today justifies its existence on its belief that it has preserved the "pure original truth" passed off to it by Herbert Armstrong. None of these guys ever split off claiming they would be exclusively followers of Jesus and The Way. None of them.
There is a different spirit running all of the splinter groups today, and it is not good. They have come preaching "another Jesus" IF he is even mentioned at all.
Reynolds writes:
"Paul warns against those preaching another Jesus. He warns of receiving a different spirit, or a different gospel. “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” (II Corinthians 11:4). Or “... how well you put up with these things” (Bible in Basic English). “... then you listen too much” (Bible in Worldwide English). Paul is saying to them that ironically they are more willing to listen to false teachers all too often than to those who teach the truth. As Gill’s commentary remarks, they “receive his doctrine, submit to his authority, and prefer him to the apostles.”"
"There are ministers, or leaders of Churches, who claim that we can have access to God only through them."
"We are instructed, "Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge" (Proverbs 14:7). We are urged to "note those who cause division and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned [that is, the doctrine preserved in Scripture], and avoid them " (Romans 16:17). We are war‐ ned, "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed" (2 Peter 2:1-2). These are those who promise a false "liberty," causing those who had escaped the pollutions of the world to become entangled in them again. "For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them" (2 Peter 2:19-21)."
Tody's COG leaders are men who have caused and continue to cause division and offense contrary to scripture. Men like Pack, Flurry, Thiel, and Weinland are men occupied by a different spirit, a spirit of division and, in most cases, sheer blasphemy.
The idea of a “progressive revelation” that contradicts the teachings of Christ and the apostles and renders Scripture obsolete is a fiction of apostates who reject Christ's teachings.
Each of these guys mentioned above believes they have a direct conduit to God through which he sends endless updates and knowledge to them. Yet, through it all, they have remained nothing more than liars and false prophets. Churches conceived in a spirit of rebellion cannot produce good fruit.
