If ever there was a prophet without honor in his own country, Bob Thiel is t! No one pays any attention to his fake prophetic claims. He is mocked and ridiculed throughout the Churches of God. Through it all the prophet stands by his claim that he is been doubly blessed with the Holy Spirit and there for is to be looked upon with favor.
Today he has an article up trying to prove his unique position in the Church of God as a prophet and Overseer.
He tries to use three Church of God men as his litmus test. It is their writings that he claims legitimizes him as a prophet.
...for today’s post, I would mainly like to include the positions of the late Herbert W. Armstrong, as well as L. Leroy Neff and William Ellis,...He quotes HWA:
In a radio broadcast, with a title listed as Proof of a True Prophet, the late Herbert W. Armstrong taught the following:
True prophet…Watch and see if it {what he says} comes to pass–and you can know that man has been called {by God to be a prophet. (Armstrong HW. Proof of a True Prophet. World Tomorrow Radio program. HA535B.MP3)Events confirming what the prophet said by one called of God is part of the proof. And that is consistent with Deuteronomy 18.
Self appointed prophet Thiel should take HWA's words to heart. If HWA did not consider himself a prophet he did not consider others in the Church to be one either!. He certainly would NOT be recognizing Bob Thiel right now as a prophet.I have definitely NOT been called to be a PROPHET…Emphatically I am NOT a prophet, in the sense of one to whom God speaks specially and directly, revealing personally a future event to happen or new truth, or new and special instruction direct from God — separate from, and apart from what is contained in the Bible. And I never have claimed to be. (Armstrong H. Personal from the Editor, The 19 Year Time Cycles. The Good News of Tomorrow’s World. February, 1972, p. 1)
Thiel wants you to realize that he does not have the capability to make things happen as a prophet. Therefore, you need to know that not all prophets make things happen or perform miracles. Since Bob cannot do so now, nor will he be able to do so in the future, he wants you to know that does not disqualify him from the roll.
It also needs to be understood that prophets do not have to perform public miracles to be genuine. John the Baptist was a prophet according to Jesus (Matthew 11:7-10), but he is not recorded as performing any public miracles. Actually, the Bible records, “John did no miracle” (John 10:41, KJV). Jesus told the Pharisees that an adulterous generation sought signs, beyond prophetic accuracy (Matthew 12:38-40).
Christians are to walk by faith and not be sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and SEEING miracles is not the final criteria that a Christian is supposed to have. Jesus’ clear requirements for determining a true vs. false prophet was the FRUITS not some sign or miracle (Matthew 7:15-20; 24:24).
Self appointed prophet Thiel next uses Leroy Neff to legitimize his roll as prophet.
But the Scriptures show that God’s servants have sometimes not had these qualities or credentials. They were not graduates of the recognized theological institutions of their day. Moses had trouble speaking in public (Exodus 4: 10). Jeremiah was “too young” (Jeremiah 1 :6). Paul lacked certain speech abilities (I Corinthians 2: 1, II Corinthians 10:10). Even Jesus Himself had no outstanding personal characteristics that set Him apart from others, as the religious leaders had to pay Judas to point Him (Matthew 26:47-49).
Since Thiel has no biblical education from a Church of God institution or a seminary he wants you to know that this should not be a stumbling block for you either. Just because his PhD is in homeopathic mumbo-jumbo you should not look less of of him for having no theological education.
Jesus said His followers would not be many in number, but would be comparatively few: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). (Neff LL. Imposter–or–True Prophet — Which? Good News, January 1986, pp. 10-11)
A true prophet would not need to be from a major theological institution, have the most magnanimous personality, or have a large or impressive Church, but would be the type willing to meet in members’ homes. He also does not have to have had a ministerial background. God chooses who His prophets are.Because self appointed prophet Thiel has no church as of yet he is nothing more than a house church that includes immediate family and a few friends. That however constitutes as Small church in his eyes and therefore legitimizes him again.
Because prophet Thiel's background is in homeopathic and naturopathic pills and potions he wants you to know that that also is what qualifies him to be a prophet. He is a prophet with a secular background.
So, a prophet also does not need to come from a ministerial family, but instead can be called if he has a secular work background.
Since self appointed prophet Thiel has made a lot of predictions over the years he wants you to know that just because they have not happened it does not disprove him as a prophet. Thiel quotes Leroy Neff again in order to make himself look knowledgeable:
Then there is the prophet or minister who says something will come to pass and it apparently does not. Such a one would certainly be labeled false by most observers. This is one reason, but not the only reason, why almost all of God’s prophets throughout history have been labeled by many as false!
Consider such men as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. They sometimes prophesied for many years, and yet what they said would happen did not come to pass immediately. Why didn’t these prophecies come to pass?
The answer was that it was not yet God’s time for their predictions to come to pass. At the proper time, sometimes years or decades later, the prophecies were fulfilled. And in some cases, what they prophesied has not yet come to pass even in our day, but will be fulfilled in God’s time. There is a time, after ample warning, when God will finally say, “None of My words will be postponed any more” (Ezekiel 12:28).
Thiel uses Paul next with one of his prophetic failures as proof that if his predictions are not accurate that is ok. If Paul can do it, so can Thiel!
It also should be noted that while the Apostle Paul considered himself to be a prophet, not all of his speculative predictions were accurate. He once claimed:
10 I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives (Acts 27:10).
As they rejected
In short, they would reject Him as a heretic and the leader of a new sect, just as some labeled his servant Paul “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5) . Undoubtedly some would call His religion a cult, as some label His true religion today. (Ibid, pp. 11-12)
Truly, most people will not listen to a true prophet of God in this age. And, even when God grants power to His two witnesses, most in the world will not only not listen to them, they will be deceived enough to support an army that will fight against the returning Jesus Christ (Revelation 16:13-14; 19:11-19)!
Next Thiel quotes Leroy Neff again. This time it is the "proof" that legitimate prophets of God preach the law. If you dare to preach grace and let people eat some tasty shrimp then you are a false prophet. Since Bob Thiel does not let people eat shrimp and preaches the law, and more law an m ore law, he therefore is a legitimate heir to prophet status.
If a prophet or minister does not speak according to God’s Word, according to His law and His testimony, there is no light in him, or, in other words, no truth in him. His message is false. Many claiming to represent God try to “do away” with God’s laws and commandments. They only accept a part of God’s Word and reject the rest…
Then comes Thiel's most pathetic excuse as to why he is a prophet. He has had hands laid upon him and a double portion of the holy spirit dumped into his head.
A true prophet is one called of God, teaches the same gospel that Jesus taught, has had hands laid upon him (cf. 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; Hebrews 6:2), keeps the commandments of God, AND has predictions that come to pass.He then quotes the 1965 Good News magazine with the following to legitimize himself:
Whenever a man is ordained to an office of greater service in God’s Work hands are laid on him. In the ordination ceremony God’s ministers lay their hands on those being ordained, and ask Almighty God-the Head of this Church-to continue to work in their lives…
The laying on of hands serves the purpose of setting apart anyone or anything in God’s sight, for a SPECIAL USE OR PURPOSE…Then Thiel lays it on the line as to why he is a true prophet of God. Take heed folks. If you mock him now you are mocking the power God that has been doubly poured into his head.
A true prophet is under God’s authority. A true New Testament prophet has had hands laid upon him/her and/or received special anointing. You can not anoint yourself or come up with doctrine that contradicts the Bible (cf. Revelation 22:18-19) like at least three self-declared supposed COG “prophets” (Gerald Flurry, William Dankenbring, and Ronald Weinland) and false predictors (like Harold Camping) have falsely done)–”Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
Thus far, none who have ever contacted me and claimed to have been a prophet of some type have had hands laid upon them to give them the type of anointing that a true prophet of God would likely have had in this church age–if God was selecting them. Hence, if the anointing from a true minister has not happened to you, understand that I do not now accept that you are a prophet or one of the two witnesses. Laying hands upon yourself is not enough.
In my case, in November/December 2011, I prayed that if I truly had a prophetic role from God that He would have something happen during a planned mid-December 2011 trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to confirm it or deny it if that were His will. As it turned out, on 12/15/2011 hands were laid upon me in Charlotte. The minister who did so prayed that I would be granted a “double-portion” of God’s Holy Spirit. The minister told me that he had not ever done this before but he felt that it was reminiscent of the time that the prophetic and ecclesiastical leadership mantle passed from the Prophet Elijah to Elisha (2 Kings 2:9-13). This minister had been unaware that I had prayed that God would have me anointed or somehow identified for a prophetic role on that mid-December 2011 trip if that were His plan for me and I had never discussed my possible prophetic role with him prior to this anointing. This 12/15/11 anointing appears to be the first biblically-appropriate prophetic anointing in the Church of God in many decades, if not many multiple centuries. And the legitimacy of this anointing has been proven by subsequent events–though many do not seem to understand how God works at times. And yes, I will add that I believe that I do have the appropriate prophetic fruits that Jesus discussed (Matthew 7:15-20) and that those truly interested in the truth can see this if they truly wish to prayfully look into this.
Theil then asks the million dollar question:
Will you believe or will you somehow allow yourself or others to talk you out of it (cf. Matthew 13:22)?
.
