Crackpot Prophet: It Got Hot In Israel The Other Day - A Sure Sign Of The End Times! Oh Noes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God's most highly favored prophet to the Churches of God really got hot under the collar the other day, freaking out over a tiny little heat wave in Israel and immediately interpreting it as a surefire sign of the end times. Crackpot Bwana Bob fails to realize that Jerusalem and most of Israel sit on the same latitude lines as Los Angeles and the West Coast of California. Israel boasts a Mediterranean environment just like Central and Southern California do. Heck, we even share a ton of the same plants and crops as Israel.

Just as we endure heat waves here in Southern California during this time of year, Israel does too. It's nothing for us to hit 80-90°F while the rest of the country is freezing its butt off. Shush! Don't let our resident crackpot prophet in on this little secret!

Israel, just like the United States, has its fair share of crackpot rabbis and religious teachers—much like how the US and the Churches of God are blessed with crackpot prophets and assorted crazy religious nutcases.

God's most highly favored Crackpot Prophet scours the depths of the internet long and hard to unearth weird news that sends his brain into wild hysterics, usually over total nothingburgers.

This time, he quoted some nutjob from Israel365News, where a religious fanatic was losing it over a recent heatwave in Israel that had people flocking to the beaches. This loon equated the heat to Bible prophecy, and Crackpot Bob started slobbering in ecstasy.

The Israel Meteorological Service reported that Friday marked the single hottest late November day in Israel’s 77-year history as a nation. The heat wave persisted through the weekend, with temperatures across the country running 10°C (18°F) above seasonal averages. … 

The Bible repeatedly uses natural phenomena—drought, abundance, storm, and calm—as instruments of divine communication. When the expected patterns shift, when the seasons themselves seem confused, it demands attention. … 

Heat waves are hinted at in Isaiah as part of a Messiah-age healing process: 

And the light of the moon shall become like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall become sevenfold, like the light of the seven days, when Hashem binds up His people’s wounds and heals the injuries it has suffered. Isaiah 30:26 … 

Conversely, the Talmud in Nedarim 8b describes a form of global warming as a punishment, … Reish Lakish states: “In the future (in messianic times) there will be no Gehennom. Rather, God will remove the sun from its sheath; the righteous will be cured by it, and the wicked will be judged by it.” Pre-Messiah Heat Wave Shatters Israel’s 83-Year Temperature Records

This caused Bwana Bob to chime in with:

Yes, God does send messages using weather. These weather issues should serve as a wake-up call. The Bible is clear that God controls the weather and various calamities, but wants people to heed His prophets:

6… If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? 7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:6-7) The Bible tells of weather-related blessings for obedience and weather-related curses for disobedience. 

Weather is not as random as many people seem to want to believe.

And he keeps going with this gem:

8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. (Revelation 16:8-9) 

But, the above prophecy is for several years into the future–we are not too near that yet. But I believe that this will happen in the 21st century. 

The Bible shows:

30 God … commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30 And weather problems are one tool that God uses to urge people to repent (cf. Haggai 2:17; Amos 4:7-12). But most will not. Nor will most Christians as they should (cf. Revelation 3:14-18).

Now, if everyone would just repent and join the one true Philadelphian Church of God, they could all flee to Petra at the correct time and spend 3½ years of eternal bliss listening to Bwana Bob preach in the great amphitheaters of Petra. Oh, joy!

UCG: 30 Years On And They STILL Are Trying To Figure Out Where They Are Headed

Here we are, a whopping 30 years after the United Church of God boldly proclaimed itself the shiny, upgraded Church of God, ditching their dear old momma church, the Worldwide Church of God, because it dared to slide into what they oh-so-wisely deemed apostasy. 

Scores of ministers flocked over, some helpfully swiping membership lists, computers, and whatever else wasn't nailed down from WCG, dragging whole congregations along for the ride in certain spots. And let's not forget, a few of these stellar gentlemen weren't exactly paragons of ethics back in the day, so they graciously brought their deeply embedded "leadership" quirks right along with them.

They held endless pow-wows to slap together some semblance of organization and strut forth as a church peddling what they swear up and down is the true gospel. But oh, the irony—then and now, they've never quite nailed that whole "united" vibe as a bunch of guys. That little gem exploded spectacularly in 2010's disaster-fest, when 80 ministers and nearly 8,000 members dramatically stormed out of UCG to birth the Church of God a Worldwide Association.

Since that charming split, UCG's been valiantly wrestling with the profound mystery of what their "strategic plan" might look like as an actual organization. And look at them now, in 2025, where they're STILL fumbling around, desperately trying to map out a direction and—gasp—how to actually get there.

Another year, another thrilling meeting lined up for the Council of Elders to ponder their eternal quest for purpose. How utterly groundbreaking.

From the Chairman...

As a follow-up to my earlier video, I wanted to share a short update about the Council of Elders and Church administration meetings held last week in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of our meetings was to begin a refresh of the Church’s Strategic Plan for the years 2026–2029.

Our specific purpose in gathering was simple but vital: to clearly define our goals, objectives and strategies so we can continue fulfilling the mission Christ has given His Church. While our mission remains unwavering—to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, and to prepare a people to serve in God’s Kingdom—the world around us continues to change. Therefore, every three years, we take a fresh look at how to best carry out that mission in a shifting landscape of new technologies, evolving societal norms and emerging opportunities.

One of the highlights for me personally was meeting and working with our facilitator, Michael Wilkinson, who is the founder of Leadership Strategies based in Atlanta. Seventeen years ago he facilitated an earlier planning meeting with the Council. Only two of our current Council members, Victor Kubik and Aaron Dean, were part of that original session, yet Michael remembered the experience well.

Michael began our meetings with training on understanding the dynamics of working together to form long-term plans. We discussed how disagreements arise and the three levels at which they tend to occur: differences in information, differences in values, and conflicts rooted in unrelated issues. Exploring how to resolve each type was eye-opening and deeply beneficial.

We then spent most of our time doing the actual work of developing the Strategic Plan. We reviewed the distinctions between goals and objectives, and we examined the critical success factors and barriers that can influence our ability to achieve what we’ve set out to do.

Over the course of three days, we made great progress and will continue the momentum with follow-up meetings in December. From there, the president and administration will develop action plans and monitoring systems to ensure our strategies are carried out effectively. Ultimately the Plan will be sent to the General Conference of Elders for review and approval in May.

The meetings themselves were productive and energizing. Meals served in the adjacent room kept us moving efficiently, and a warm invitation from Jonathan and Bridgette (Sexton) Beam to dine at their home nearby added a much-appreciated personal touch. A few Council members who remained in the area through the Sabbath were also able to visit and speak in nearby congregations before heading home.

Overall, these days together were deeply encouraging. I’m grateful for the unity, dedication and thoughtful collaboration shown by everyone involved. With God’s guidance, I believe the plans we’re shaping will strengthen our efforts to carry the gospel forward and continue caring for those He calls.

In Christ’s service,

Tim Pebworth, Chairman

A New Ministry By Samuel Kitchen

 

Thanksgiving: Are You Giving Thanks to Ceres or God?

 

Are You Giving Thanks to Ceres or God?

My friend, xHWA, has been posting a great series of posts on Samhain over at the blog As Bereans Did. As my readers know, this blog has pushed back on an unfortunate phenomenon which began during the Protestant Reformation - a claim that has been advanced by certain over-zealous and mostly well-meaning folks that most of the holidays we celebrate are rooted in pagan practices of the past. And, as xHWA and others have pointed out, most of these claims are based in whimsy and apophenia (seeing connections or patterns in data which do NOT exist and consequently lead to false conclusions).

Now, while this phenomenon has focused more on traditional holidays (like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween), there are a few rabid individuals who have even attempted to paint the American Thanksgiving holiday with this pagan brush! Don't think so? Try typing "pagan origins of Thanksgiving" into your search engine and see what happens!

My Bing Copilot picked up this: "Thanksgiving has roots in ancient pagan harvest festivals, reflecting traditions of gratitude and celebration of the harvest season." It continued:

Historical Context
Thanksgiving, as celebrated in the United States, is often traced back to the 1621 feast shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. However, the concept of giving thanks for the harvest predates this event and is deeply rooted in various pagan traditions. Many ancient cultures held harvest festivals to honor their deities and celebrate the abundance of the season.
Pagan Harvest Festivals
Cerelia: In ancient Rome, the festival of Cerelia was dedicated to Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and grain. This festival celebrated the harvest and involved various rituals and feasting, similar to modern Thanksgiving practices.

Lughnasadh and Samhain: The Gaelic Celts celebrated Lughnasadh around August 1st, marking the beginning of the harvest season, and Samhain on November 1st, which signified the end of the harvest. These festivals included feasting and community gatherings, reflecting the themes of gratitude and abundance.

Harvest Home: In Britain, the tradition of Harvest Home evolved from pagan customs, where communities would celebrate the completion of the harvest with feasts and festivities. This practice continued even after the Christianization of the region, blending pagan and Christian elements.

The information was then summarized by noting paganism's "Influence on Modern Thanksgiving:"

The modern Thanksgiving celebration incorporates many elements from these ancient harvest festivals. The act of gathering with family and friends to give thanks for the harvest mirrors the communal feasting of past cultures. While Thanksgiving is now a secular holiday, its roots in pagan traditions highlight the universal human practice of celebrating abundance and expressing gratitude. 

 

In summary, while Thanksgiving is often viewed through a contemporary lens, its origins are intertwined with ancient pagan customs that celebrated the harvest and the changing seasons. These traditions have shaped the way we observe Thanksgiving today, emphasizing gratitude and community.

Google's AI Overview offered much of the same information. Their lead paragraph read:

Thanksgiving has roots in ancient pagan harvest celebrations from various cultures, which honored the earth's bounty through feasting and rituals. Examples include the Roman Cerelia festival for the harvest goddess Ceres and the Celtic Harvest Home, which featured parades and feasts for the final harvest. Modern Paganism, specifically Neopaganism, observes a similar celebration called Mabon, which marks the autumnal equinox with feasting and gratitude for the harvest.

"Well, they must be right! Thanksgiving is nothing but a pagan celebration to honor Ceres! True Christians shouldn't be partaking in this pagan holiday!" If that was your reaction, you may want to examine the AI sources behind these statements.

The actual history of this celebration is drilled into every school-aged child in America! Most Americans will tell you that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians in the fall of 1621. Surprisingly, many of them will also be able to tell you that Abraham Lincoln was the first president to make it an official national holiday. In other words, the genesis of the holiday is clearly found among a group of Christian people who wanted to give thanks to God for their survival and a bountiful harvest at the conclusion of their first year on this continent. The truth is that these humble folks didn't have a pagan thought in their heads at the time!

It is my hope that in pointing out just how absurd this notion about pagan origins can be - that it will give some of my Armstrong Church of God and Jehovah's Witnesses brethren some pause about our other holidays which have been painted with this brush. The real truth is that almost all of our current holiday traditions were founded in the Christian era and do NOT have pagan origins. The fact that pagans observed harvest festivals devoted to their gods and goddesses does not mean that we borrowed our celebration from them. If anything, this entire exercise should generate a little intellectual curiosity. and a willingness to dig a little deeper and engage our brains in some good old critical thinking and common sense! What do you think?

 Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix