Philadelphia Church of God and Their Mystery of the Ages Con Job

 

For some insane reason, the Philadelphia Church of God is going into overdrive lately to promote the most useless book the church has ever published, Mystery of the Ages. 

Gerald Flurry makes this absurd claim:

Mr. Armstrong said, “I feel I myself did not write it. Rather, I believe God used me in writing it.” Those are inspiring and frightening words. If they are true, then those words flowed right out of the mind of the living, all-powerful God! Anybody who reads and studies Mystery of the Ages would surely have to agree.

Mystery of the Ages sums up God’s Work through Mr. Armstrong. Surely Christ must have personally directed and inspired such a critical, end-time message.

This kind of nonsense is reminiscent of the Mormons, who claim their Book of Mormon is a "new" testament that sits alongside the Bible. Both are needed to understand the Bible. Without either of these books being used, believers are too dumb to understand the Bible. Enlightenment and truth only come from Herbert Armstrong or Joseph Smith.

Both cults also make the same claim that Gerald Flurry makes:

I believe our greatest shame today would be rejecting that book!

Flurry goes on to claim that the most important thing the PCG can do today is to get MOA in the hands of as many as possible. Forget that inconvenient dude called Jesus and anything taught and accomplished with his death and resurrection! He is just some wimpy Israelite that stands in the way of the greatest truth teller to live, even greater than Bob Thiel, Herbert W Armstrong.

Mr. Armstrong wanted it to reach “the largest audience possible.” If you comprehend the message of that book, this has to be God’s desire also.We must let God use us to get this book to “the largest audience possible.”

I believe “the largest audience possible” should become our battle cry today! Now is the great moment for God’s Philadelphians. This is our most critical hour. We must pick up the dropped baton and finish the gun lap! We must stretch and strain to win the greatest race we will ever run!

This must be God’s supreme goal for His Philadelphian elect today. He inspired those words, “the largest audience possible.” That expression came from God’s own mind! You can see that clearly if you truly understand Mystery of the Ages. We must not fail God. So much hangs in the balance—even reaching into the universe and living for all eternity.

Then, Gerald Flurry, not to be outdone by Herbert Armstrong and Bob Thiel, has to promote his own writings as equally important to understand the Bible with:

My book Malachi’s Message was mainly revealed for Church members and those familiar with what Mr. Armstrong taught. So you can see how, suddenly, we now have a message for billions of people, not just a few hundred thousand!

Our work now is to get a final warning trumpet blast to every person on this planet, which is plunging headlong to its death! It will take a supreme effort from each member of the very elect to achieve God’s goal for us.

If God’s message is to be thundered around the world during the Laodicean era, the Philadelphia Church of God must do it! Nobody else will!

If we do, exciting and majestic miracles will accompany this work and your individual life. Remember, God says, “I am with you always.” The harder we work, the more powerful are God’s miracles. 

If Christ personally dictated to Herbert Armstrong, Joseph Smith, and Gerald Flurry everything they have all written, why have each of them or their church edited words out and added their own words to these sacred texts, completely changing the meaning of the original texts?

No one, and I mean absolutely NO ONE, needs to read any of these three books. None of them contains anything necessary for salvation. None of them can save you or create a relationship with Jesus that normal Christians understand.

Flurry ends with this complete nonsense:

In the midst of the Earth’s greatest suffering, we get to announce the return of Jesus Christ. If we properly do our job, our reward will dazzle God’s Family for all eternity!

The greatest single gift we can give to the world is Mystery of the Ages. Let’s think and work like God and give it to “the largest audience possible”! 

 

The Wickedness of the Philadelphia Church Of God Continues As They Destroy Another Family

 

UPDATED: This was sent in today by a father with children brainwashed by Gerald Flurry and his minions:

I HAVE BEEN PREVENTED FROM SEEING MY CHILDREN IN OVER 12 YEARS

I have a son, Nathan Moffett of Edmond OK. And a daughter Elise Salinas of San Antonio Tx. That have been prevented from contacting me in over 12 years. Elise has a son and a daughter that I have never seen.

WHY have they been prevented from contacting me all these years?
 

Because of a narcissistic, false prophet, tyrannical leader of the church they attend.
Because I am no longer a part of the church, they are forbidden from talking to me. They can’t even text me. 

 

They are told if they do, THEY WILL BE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE!.

MANY families have been destroyed, and members have even committed suicide because of this evil “no contact” ruling.

The group is THE PHILADELPHIA CHURCH OF GOD of Edmond Oklahoma.

The EVIL leader is Gerald Flurry.

Flurry calls himself, “that prophet”, along with many other titles including KING OF BRITAIN.
He has made MANY false prophecies over the years. He says he has the “final message to deliver to Christ”. By calling himself That Prophet, he puts himself in the place of Christ. Christ who IS That Prophet.

I urge you to have nothing to do with this cult “church”.

If you do you are complicit in the breakup of families and the suicide of members.

If you know my children, TELL THEM I LOVE THEM and would like to hear from them again. I forgive them and am here if they need me.

A follow up:

I sent this to my children..... Do you know that when you turned your back on me. 

 

When you chose to follow the man that calls himself whatever he calls himself. Rather than follow God, You turned your back on your mother, your grandmother, your grandfather, your great grandmother and great-grandfather all the way back. 

 

I am your father. The result of all those generations that caused you to be here. 

 

You chose a stranger over generations of family. 

 

You chose a narcissistic false prophet, at that.

I pray you will wake up and see how wrong you have been. I hope you wake up, repent and put God and family first in your life.

Crackpot Prophet: There has been over 479,927 earthquakes so far this year! Prophecy comes alive! Double Oh noes!!!!!!!

 

Our favorite crackpot self-appointed false prophet is getting all hot and bothered by hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Every day he turns on his TV or his computer, there is some natural disaster occurring somewhere in the world. It's prophecy coming alive! 

His hyperbole is pretty much like this week's rapture hysteria that happened in Africa and around the world. People were giving away furniture, money, pets, and other belongings in anticipation of the rapture. The Africans and other nutjobs who listened to their delusional ministers claiming the rapture was happening during the last few days have now been sorely disappointed, though, just like Church of God false prophets, they have moved the rapture date to October. This is what happens when people listen to idiot preachers lying to them, like Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, and Gerald Flurry do to Church of God members.

Somewhere in East Africa, a crowd gathered, waiting for the rapture 👀 pic.twitter.com/WiD8xZ2J3S

— Gistme9ja (@Gistme9j) September 24, 2025

The All-knowing One writes:

In Asia, hurricanes are called typhoons. And a very large one has hit and caused death and destruction:

Those affected by the typhoon have been in my prayers. 

 

The Bible shows that God controls the weather 

 

Wet weather is sometimes used by God for judgment and correction. Typhoons are consistent with prophecy. 

 

And then includes this idiocy: Repent and join the one true Philadelphian Church of God led by Bwana Bob! Your salvation rests upon it!

Your situation can change. You can perish. Do not put off full repentance as YOU may not have as much time to become a true Philadelphian Christian as you might think.

The All-knowing Great Bwana then moves on to earthquakes and quotes the Church of God's prophecy authority, their spiritual guru Michael Snyder, for the latest on earthquakes.

Speaking of changing situations, Michael Snyder posted the following related to earthquakes: 

 

The Earth Has Been Shaken By 466,742 Earthquakes So Far In 2025
September 18, 2025 

 

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that just hit Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula is just one of the 466,742 earthquakes that have rattled the giant space rock that we all live on this year. Simultaneously, dozens of volcanoes have been erupting and there have been all sorts of very unusual events in the heavens. If you think that what we are experiencing is “normal”, you probably have not been paying much attention. … 

 

I went to Volcano Discovery, and I learned that there have been 466,742 earthquakes so far in 2025… 

 

It has particularly been a banner year for large earthquakes. 

 

Normally we see between 110 and 125 earthquakes of at least magnitude 5.0 during a 30 day period, but earlier this summer we witnessed 494 in just 30 days. 

 

That is crazy. https://endoftheamericandream.com/the-earth-has-been-shaken-by-466742-earthquakes-so-far-in-2025/

Oh, noes!!!!!!!!!! Earthquakes! 

The Great Bwana continues on:

We know that Jesus prophesied earthquakes in various places (Mark 13:8)–and we are seeing them. 
 
Things can, do, and will change.

Rough weather issues, fires strong earthquakes, and civil disturbances would seem to fall under troubles and sorrows. …

Expect more extreme weather in 2025.

Severe weather actually should to be a motivator for us to change and be ready to face our Creator! 

 

Of course, people say, “The weather always changes.” And while it does, there are two points to consider about that. 

 

The first is that changes in the weather show us is that our environment and circumstances can quickly change. 

 

...consider that the severity of storms and their devastation has been increasing. Troubles are part of the beginning of sorrows (Mark 13:8; Matthew 24:4-8), and remember that the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21) comes in the same generation as does the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:34).

Then, extending his fear-factor game even further, he says earthquakes are going to cause super volcanoes! Oh, double noes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Earthquakes could trigger supervolcanoes

Then there are also smaller volcanoes, such as Mt. Rainer, which are believed to have massive potential for disasters themselves. 

 

Many moderns, ‘experts’ and otherwise, do not think such disasters could happen–at least not in their lifetimes. 

 

But they are wrong. 

 

Things will not remain as they have. Yellowstone could erupt–BIG TIME! … 

 

Ultimately, a massive earthquake will hit:

18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (Revelation 16:18-20)

Every single thing the Great Bwana writes about horrible end-time events is the exact same thing that has been happening for centuries. In fact, more earthquakes occurred in 2010 than we have had so far this year. Plus, the equipment used for detection gets more sophisticated year by year. 

The Great Bwana also fails to mention that the vast majority of those earthquakes are NOT felt by anyone other than the sensors. The site he refers to says all of this, but he leaves it out so that he can sound more "prophetic." Their site records everything from 1.0 or less up to 9.0+. 

We have hundreds of earthquakes here each month in Southern CA, most too small to feel; others 3.0 and higher, are felt, and everyone just goes on about their business. Sure, everyone knows a big one could hit at any time, but it is not because his angry little god is pissed off. It's called plate tectonics.

Crackpot Prophet: AntiChrist ChatGPT Claims True Believers Would Join Improperly Named "Continuing" Church of God

 

It is getting close to Feast time, and the usual Church of God (COG) frenzy slows down as leaders and members focus on planning their upcoming vacations. However, this does not apply to our resident narcissistic, self-appointed false prophet, the "Great Bwana" Bob Thiel. He has been sitting in Arroyo Grande, feeding prompts into ChatGPT until it responded in a way that best appealed to his narcissistic vanity.

For the past year or so, the "Great One" has been railing incessantly about artificial intelligence, claiming it would be weaponized against him and cause him to say things he never said. He even went so far as to call it an antichrist—until yesterday, when, after multiple prompts, it replied:

 

...Bible believers should be part of the Continuing Church of God, but those who prefer ‘authority of tradition’ the Roman Catholic Church

The Chosen One writes:

Although I have issues with artificial intelligence (AI) programs, sometimes they can be helpful when I do certain types of research. 

 

Earlier this month, basically for general inquiry, I asked ChatGPT the following question: 

 

Can you do deductive logic to come to independent conclusions, or does your programming essentially force you to give answers within a general consensus of majority scholars? 

 

It’s response began with the following:

Great question — and the answer is nuanced. 

 

✅ Yes, I can use deductive logic to reach independent conclusions. 

 

After asking some items related to doctrine, I told ChatGPT, then, to do the following:
Compare teachings of the Continuing Church of God to those of the Roman Catholic Church. 

 

It responded with the following:

Certainly. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) and the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) on a range of key doctrinal topics. These differences highlight fundamental theological and practical divergences.

The Chosen One then has a chart where ChatGPT compered his cult to the Cathoic Church.

After a long list of comparisons, ChatGPT then has this conclusion:

🧭 Conclusion
From a deductive and doctrinal standpoint:
The Continuing Church of God claims continuity with early Christianity and rejects what it views as post-apostolic additions by the RCC.

The Roman Catholic Church asserts itself as the original, continuous Church founded by Christ, with authority to define doctrine through time. 

 

Which one is “correct” depends on:
Whether you accept Scripture alone as the final authority (CCOG view),

Or you accept the authority of tradition and the Church hierarchy (RCC view). 

 

🧭 Final Notes:
CCOG sees itself as a faithful continuation of first-century Christianity, without additions from Greco-Roman or pagan tradition.

RCC sees itself as the historical Church established by Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit through centuries of doctrinal development.

I asked Grok if the Continuing Church of God, led by Bob Thiel, was a true chruch and this is what it replied back with:

Criticisms of the Continuing Church of God and Bob Thiel

Self-Appointed Prophetic Status:

Criticism: Critics, such as those on the Church of God Perspective blog, argue that Bob Thiel’s claim to be a prophet is self-proclaimed and lacks biblical validation. They cite Deuteronomy 18:22, which states that a prophet’s predictions must come true to be considered legitimate. Critics assert that Thiel has not delivered specific, verifiable prophecies directly attributed to God (e.g., a clear “thus saith the Lord” message) that have come to pass. They argue his predictions often mix biblical prophecy with speculative or pagan sources, lacking the specificity required of a true prophet. Additionally, they claim his prophetic claims are narcissistic, focusing on his own role rather than delivering messages for others. 

 

Example: The Church of God Perspective specifically states that Thiel fails four tests of a true prophet: godly character, accurate predictions, consistency with Scripture, and spiritual benefit to followers. They argue his ministry primarily elevates his own status rather than benefiting others spiritually. 

 

Doctrinal and Governance Issues:Criticism: 

Critics, including those at Banned by HWA, accuse the CCOG of promoting legalistic teachings rooted in Old Testament practices, such as mandatory tithing, observance of Jewish holy days, and Sabbath-keeping as New Covenant requirements. They argue that Thiel’s teachings overemphasize Old Testament law over New Testament grace and justification through Jesus, potentially aligning with a form of legalism rather than mainstream Christian theology. 

 

Church Governance: Thiel’s departure from the Living Church of God (LCG) is described by critics as rebellious, likening it to “Satan’s rebellion against God.” They argue his criticisms of LCG leadership and his decision to form the CCOG reflect arrogance and a lack of godly character, undermining his legitimacy. 

 

Association with Herbert W. Armstrong’s Legacy:

Criticism: The CCOG is seen as an offshoot of Herbert W. Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God (WCG), which some label a cult due to its strict hierarchical structure and unique doctrines. Critics argue that Thiel’s adherence to Armstrong’s teachings, such as the importance of the Sabbath, holy days, and a specific interpretation of prophecy, perpetuates problematic theology. They also claim Thiel’s assertion that the CCOG is the “most faithful remnant of the Philadelphia portion” of the church (Revelation 3:7-13) is unfounded and self-aggrandizing. 

 

Lack of Spiritual Fruit: 

Criticism: Some argue that the CCOG does not produce meaningful spiritual growth in its members, with Thiel’s leadership focusing on his own prophetic role rather than fostering a broader Christian mission. Critics claim the CCOG, like other COG splinter groups, prioritizes minor doctrinal issues over the core gospel message of salvation through Jesus. 

 

Alleged False Teachings:

Criticism: A list of supposed false teachings attributed to Thiel includes claims that God told him to start the CCOG, that he received a “double portion” of the Holy Spirit, and that he fulfills roles like Elisha, Elijah, or other biblical prophets. Critics argue these claims lack biblical grounding and that Thiel’s emphasis on minor issues (e.g., clean/unclean meats, Petra as a place of refuge) distracts from essential Christian doctrine. 

 

Splinter Group Dynamics: 

Criticism: The CCOG is one of many splinter groups from the WCG, formed after Thiel’s departure from the LCG in 2012. Critics argue that the proliferation of such groups, each claiming to be the “true church,” reflects division and confusion rather than unity in Christ. They point to Thiel’s exit from LCG as driven by personal ambition rather than divine mandate, especially since LCG leadership, including Roderick Meredith, publicly criticized him. 

 

Critical Analysis

Apostolic Succession and Continuity: 

Response: Thiel claims the CCOG traces its history to the apostolic church (Acts 2) through a “laying on of hands” succession, which he documents in CCOG literature. He argues that the CCOG is the most faithful remnant of the Philadelphia church, unlike other COG groups that have strayed from biblical truth.Critical Analysis 

 

Prophetic Claims: The biblical test for a prophet (Deuteronomy 18:22) requires specific, fulfilled prophecies. While Thiel claims accuracy in predictions (e.g., coronavirus warnings), these are often broad or based on existing trends, not necessarily divine revelations. Critics’ demand for a clear “thus saith the Lord” message is a high bar, but it aligns with biblical standards for prophets. Thiel’s reliance on LCG leaders’ statements and an anointing event may not suffice for skeptics, as these lack independent verification. 

 

Doctrinal Disputes: The CCOG’s emphasis on Old Testament practices is consistent with Armstrong’s teachings but diverges from mainstream Christianity, which views the New Covenant as superseding many Mosaic laws (e.g., Hebrews 8:13). Critics’ accusations of legalism reflect this tension, but Thiel’s appeal to early Christian practices and Scripture is not without precedent in COG theology. The debate hinges on differing interpretations of biblical authority. 

 

LCG Split: Thiel’s departure from LCG appears rooted in genuine disagreements over doctrine and governance, supported by his documented interactions with LCG leadership. However, critics’ portrayal of his exit as rebellious highlights the subjective nature of the dispute. LCG’s public denouncement without private resolution (per Matthew 18) lends some credibility to Thiel’s claims of integrity issues. 

 

COG Context: The COG movement is fragmented, with numerous groups claiming to be the “true church.” This context makes it difficult to single out the CCOG as uniquely false, as similar criticisms apply to other splinter groups. Thiel’s claim of unmatched growth may reflect effective outreach, particularly in Africa, but size alone does not validate truth (Matthew 7:13-14).