Will Jesus Join The Improperly Named Continuing Church of God When He Returns?

 

One thing that has always fascinated me is why COG members have to ask other members and other splinter group leaders on which church they should belong to. I guess part of that illogical thinking is that the church never empowered members to think, either theologically or personally. The minister had the answer to everything.

In the Dayton area Bible Study night people could send up questions for the minister to answer. I remember my mother asking the question if it was ok for us as kids to drink water after recess on Atonement eve. His answer was, no. In our church area, no one was to eat after 12:00 noon on the eve of Atonement so that your stomach would already be empty and you would already be hungry by the time the fast started. This was to make you more humble.  Even elementary and high school kids were to do this. Others asked about proper car colors or the proper color a man's tie should be with his suit. One man asked what kind of vegetables were ok to paint in his garden. Seriously dude, grow a pair and plant what you want and enjoy!

As a result of the ministers making every decision for them, this led to a lot of members during the great upheaval of 1996 and later being unable to think for themselves as to which COG splinter they should join. People lived in fear of joining the wrong group endangering their chance of salvation. Such utter stupidity!

This brings us to today when our most highly favored crackpot prophet has another repeat of a letter he "claims" was sent to him by a COG member asking about which COG he should join. You can tell it was a man writing it because it is in all caps and asserts the authority this man believes he has.

The Great Bwana writes:

A while back, I received an email from a former Worldwide Church of God member that included the following:

I AM CONCERNED ABOUT SOME ISSUES OF MR. …. BELIEF AND APPARENTLY YOU DON’T AGREE WITH. I DON’T THINK THAT ANY OF THESE CHURCHES AGREE WITH OTHER SO WHO DO YOU GO WITH? …

The Crackpot then said this:

Anyway, here is what I responded to the former WCG member with:

Dear …:
As I have repeatedly written at COGwriter, I doubt that David Pack or Gerald Flurry are converted.
I consider that the only COG that is Philadelphian is the CCOG–though not all in CCOG are Philadelphian and there are Philadelphians not in CCOG–but no other COG represents the continuation of Philadelphia. 

 

You should use God’s criteria, and none other to decide. 

 

Here are two links you should read and pray about if you are truly serious: 

 

How does the Continuing Church of God differ from other Sabbatarian COG groups?

Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18? 

 

But most refuse to believe and use their own standards.
Best regards,
Bob Thiel

Our Crackpot prophet bases his entire hermeneutic on prophecy. Jesus be damned, it's prophecy or nothing! 

My response to the above was to tell him that the COG he attends as well as a group that came out of it do not teach much about prophecy. They also have a lot of prophetic errors.

Given the unadulterated FACT that not one single Church of God leader, wanna-be leader, church scholar, evangelist, pastor, elder, deacon, or self-appointed prophet has EVER been right about any prophecy proves them all to be wrong and NO ONE should join up with these agents of darkensss and give them their hard-earned money.

The answer that Jesus would give is, "DO NOT join any of them, but follow me and stop worrying about the silliness your minister has been telling you. Rest in me and enjoy your life!"

Indiana Bob and His Little Cult May Be The Ones To Find The Ark of the Covenant!

Every day in COGland you wake up imagining that they cannot get any crazier and then one of them opens their mouth and says something more ludicrous than the last time. 

This time it involves the Ark of the Covenant.

First, we had Stan Rader and Robert Kuhn claiming they wrote the original storyline that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg supposedly stole to make Raiders of the Lost Ark. SUIT ON 'ARK' CHARGES STEALING FROM A NOVEL

Then, several years ago the great prophet of Edmond, Gerald Flurry, went off to Ireland traipsing the green hills looking for the location of the Ark of the Covenant. He thought it was buried in Hill Tara centuries ago by Jeremiah and his daughters. This is also why he bought property in England to give him quick access when it came time to dig up the hill before Christ comes to sit upon Herbert's prayer rock to be crowned King of Kings as he lifts the original stone 10 Commandments out of the Ark and makes them the law once again.

This really popped the cork for the Great Bwana to Africa and the occasional 100 Caucasians. The Great Bwana has had to play second fiddle to every COG splinter group leader out there today and this was just one more insult added to the already growing list. The Great Bwana deserves to find this!

So...

Our most highly esteemed and God-appointed before the foundations of the world were ever whirled into existence, is back regaling us with more ludicrous comments about prophecy and the significance of the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god" in world and church history. He wants us to know that one of his crazy church members dreamed about this so it HAS to be true.

While Solomon wanted it to be in the temple he built to house the ark forever, God had David write Zion was the chosen location. If the ark of the covenant is found and now is below the Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill, known as Mt. Zion or perhaps another area called Zion, that would have ramifications for the world as well as the Continuing Church of God.

Fesilafai Fiso Leaana of New Zealand had a dream after going to bed on December 8, 2012. Here is a report that Fesilafai Fiso Leaana wrote about her dream:

A few months before my dream, my husband and I noticed a contradiction in practice, regarding the sabbath commandment in LCG, from there we started to pray continuously for God to lead us to where the truth is. It seems God has answered our prayers through the dream.

The dream began with myself and approximately 70 New Zealand Living Church of God brethren, then suddenly LCG vanished (I was wondering where is LCG?) and I was left standing with approximately 10 people excluding myself, on a very high building. We were standing on the very top of the building, where I couldn’t see the bottom, there were no other buildings, just this building. I could not see the bottom of the building but just clouds below the building and clouds surrounding the building which led to a beautiful white mountain – a mountain that had no ends on either side. The building was pretty close to the mountain, I could see the top of the mountain. The mountain was all white and so beautiful. I remember that I began to be filled with joy and peace. But also wondering how we got up on this building and confused why there were no other buildings but the clouds seemed like it was hiding the building and I felt protected or it felt like a safe place. I looked around there were still only about ten people there, the only person I could clearly recognize was Shirley constantly working, the approximate ten others were just sitting and standing around. So I walked around the building looking for the large crowd from LCG, but all I kept returning to was that Shirley was working and doing different types of work alone while the others were still sitting and standing around the building with me. I wondered why she was working a lot. I could not find LCG.

Then suddenly a message came to my mind: “There is a secret in the mountain”. And I was so happy to know that, I was still feeling elated and could still see the beautiful white mountain and wondered about the secret. Then I asked: “What is the secret?” Then the message said, nobody knows the secret in the mountain but only you have received this message that there is a secret in the mountain. Then I asked ‘what is the secret in the mountain?’ I received a message to my mind that told me that “the secret in the mountain is the Ark of the Covenant”. Then the dream abruptly ended because I woke up. And immediately, I woke up my husband and recounted the dream to him, and I told my husband that it reminded me of when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on the mountain and that the mountain was also covered with clouds.

Within several weeks of the dream, ten people in New Zealand, including Shirley Gestro (the Shirley above) began to attend the newly formed Continuing Church of God.

Biblically, mountains can symbolize government (Psalm 30:7; Isaiah 11:9; Daniel 2:35; Zechariah 4:7) and white purity or cleanness (Isaiah 1:18; Revelation 7:14, 19:14). Clouds around a mountain (or at least the top of it) could show a separation—maybe a separation that keeps many from seeing all of the truth (cf. Job 22:14; Lamentations 3:44) or recognizing top leadership?

The dream seemed to be a signal to confirm that the Philadelphia mantle was not with the Living Church of God, but instead was associated with someone that had something to do with the ark of the covenant.

In the Spring and Fall of 2013 (which is before I learned of Fesilafai Fiso Leaana’s dream), a couple of different people emailed me and asked if the Continuing Church of God might possibly be involved in actually finding the Ark–and those two people knew nothing about the dream that Fesilafai Fiso Leaana of New Zealand had related to the Continuing Church of God when they originally asked me about it as it was not reported publicly until November 2013. We may have future involvement on this ark matter.

Anyway, it remains my view that there is a chance that we will see the Ark or we will see a strong claim that someone has located the Ark within the next decade or so.

The last time the Germans tried this...

Besides, TRUE Christians know that the real Ark is in Mar-a-Lago.

 

New Book: The Six-Day War in Creationism: A New Critique of the Young Earth Reform Movement

 

The Six-Day War in Creationism: 

A New Critique of the Young Earth Reform Movement

Gene Nouhan's book will be featured at an upcoming literary event in Chicago that draws over 100,000 people.

ReadersMagnet, a renowned publishing and marketing company, will display Gene Nouhan’s The Six-Day War in Creationism: A New Critique of the Young Earth Reform Movement at the 2024 Printers Row Lit Fest (PRLF). This prestigious literary event, to be hosted by the Chicago Tribune, is scheduled for September 7-8, 2024, at Printers Row Park, 620 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL, USA. The PRLF is expected to attract a crowd of 100,000. 

 

During the historic reforms in the Worldwide Church of God, Gene played a significant role in moving a fringe group towards Orthodoxy. This experience prepared him to critique the Young Earth Reform Movement’s overreach following the Ken Ham/Bill Nye debates. His troubling encounters with zealots in the movement led him to write a comprehensive critique provided in his book, The Six-Day War in Creationism. 

The book focuses on where the Young Earth ReformMovement departs from historic Christianity. While Gene reassesses the literalism of Young Earth Creationism, he goes out of his way to show that the Reformist mentality in the movement is more serious.

The Six-Day War in Creationism unpacks many new insights on Genesis related to God’s nature, the Bible’s purposes, and the Church’s Mission. The book surprises readers with its credible template for resolving theological controversies, forever changing their perspectives on Creationism. 

Amazon Books has a similar statement: 

During the historic reform in the Worldwide Church of God, Gene wrote peer-reviewed studies, spoke at conferences, served as a Senior Pastor, and with many colleagues, helped move that fringe group to Orthodoxy.

It turned out that untangling a denomination's self-styled theology was preparation for sorting out the Young Earth Reform Movement's striking overreach. Following the Ken Ham/Bill Nye debates, Gene was awakened to a "war" in Christianity over six days in Genesis. After troubling encounters with zealots in the movement, he saw the need for a comprehensive and definitive critique. 

 

While Gene reassesses the literalism of Young Earth Creationism, he goes out of his way to show it is the Reformist mentality in the movement that is more serious. The Six-Day War in Creationism focuses on where the Young Earth Reform Movement departs from historic Christianity.

This book unpacks an impressive number of new insights on Genesis related to the nature of God, the purposes of the Bible, and the Mission of the Church. The surprising reward of this book is it serves as a credible template for resolving other controversies in theology. After reading the Six-Day War in Creationism, you will never look at the issues in Creationism the same way.

COGWA Declares That The Spiritual State Of Its Ministry Is The Best It Has Ever Been

 

There truly can be no greater church on the face of the earth than a Church of God. Everything about it, from its existence to its mission, occupies the most important moment in the history of humanity and they make sure to let us all know how glorious it is.

This is part of the latest statement on the health of the Church of God a Worldwide Association. Notice how they extend their reach all the way back into the glory days of old in the mother church, the Worldwide Church of God where everything's perfect and wisdom and truth emanated from it to the world, while inwardly it was a hotbed of corruption, immorality, and financial misappropriation, led by power-hungry men who left a trail of destruction in their wake. Some of those same men sit comfortably in COGWA where they went after their apostasy from the United Church of God.

God has apparently been shining his favor upon COGWA ever since, especially when it comes to its ministry.

In reviewing the modern history of the Church, we can clearly see that the spiritual health of the Church is at its best when there are dedicated pastors who have a passion for the truth and a genuine love for the brethren. If you take a small slice of our history, beginning in 1933 with the inception of the Radio Church of God and going forward 20 years, you will find a lot of people tuning in to The World Tomorrow program and many thousands of subscribers to The Plain Truth magazine but the Church was still primarily a radio ministry, even after 20 years. In 1953 there were only a handful of congregations in the northwestern part of the U.S., and none outside the United States. But in the next 20 years—from 1953 to 1973—things changed dramatically. The attendance at the Feast went from less than 1,000 in Big Sandy in 1953 to almost 100,000 in multiple sites in 1973. What changed? In 1952 the first graduates from Ambassador College began to be sent to the congregations, serving a year or two as ministerial assistants and elders before becoming pastors.

Later on, various educational programs were established to assist the ministry in upgrading their biblical knowledge and their abilities to better serve the brethren. At one time we had a program called DELS, or Deacons and Elders Lecture Series, and in the early 1980s the Refresher Program was established to provide this needed education.

In recent years we have seen additional programs established for ministerial education. Today we have four primary programs that we rely on for biblical education and the development of future leadership: the Focused Mentoring Program, to develop leadership in the United States; the International Leadership Program (ILP), to develop leadership outside the United States; the Pastoral Development Program (PDP), to provide continuing education for the U.S. pastoral ministry; and Foundation Institute, to provide a basic biblical education for all those able to attend the nine-month program.

In addition to these formal programs, there are various conferences that keep the ministry informed and provide additional classes. These include an international conference for the worldwide ministry every two years and a variety of regional conferences in other years. We also usually have daylong webinar classes for the ministry in the spring and fall of each year. And we have conferences annually for special groups—Feast coordinators, camp directors and the Ministerial Services team. All of these education programs create a lot of activity here in the office. It seems that each week I am either planning for an upcoming conference or in the midst of one.

Each group of the recently completed PDP had approximately 15 hours of classroom instruction—along with time for interaction and socializing between classes and in the evenings. To give you an idea of the topics presented in the PDP, here is a partial list of classes in each four-day session:

• The Importance of Integrity and Character in Doctrine and Christian Leadership.
• Your Relationship With Your Congregations.
• Divorce and Remarriage Issues: Doctrine and Process.
• If I Knew Then What I Know Now.
• The Pastor’s Role in Developing Leadership in the Local Congregation.
• Helping Gen Z and the Alphas.
• The War Against Truth.
• Preparing for the Tribulation.
• Technology for Today’s Pastor.
• Preparing for Retirement.
• Legal Considerations for the Ministry.
• Politics and Voting: What We Teach and Why.
• The Unique Stresses of Serving in the Ministry. Member letter

Um...Why Is LCG Warnng Us About False Teachers?

 

Living Church of God wants to warn us about false teachers. We know this was posted quite a while back in response to Bob Thiel's heretical blasphemies, but isn't it the pot calling the kettle black? Isn't the Living Church of God also filled with false ministers?

Sadly, the Church of God today is filled with wolves masquerading as true ministers of God who are dominant out one blasphemy after another. Great will be the day when Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry, Ron Wienland, and Dave Pack are silenced!

Beware of False Teachers: Warnings about false teachers are found throughout the Bible. Jesus warned they will come in “sheep’s clothing” (smooth-talking, congenial, appearing spiritual), but are actually “ravenous wolves” seeking to divide and devour the flock of God (Matthew 7:15–19). As the end of the age approaches, Jesus warned that “many will come in My name” claiming to be representatives of Christ “and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:3–5). The Apostle Paul warned that these false teachers would be guided by a different spirit and preach a different gospel about a different Jesus, and are actually ministers of Satan masquerading as ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:4–15). Peter warned they will promote “destructive heresies” that deny the truth of Scripture—and that many will follow their erroneous teachings (2 Peter 2:1–3). Let’s remember these warnings and ask God for the discernment to recognize false teachers and their misguided ideas (2 Timothy 1:6–7)—because we will all be tested in this crucial area.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail

The Philadelphia Church of God Lashes Out Against Modern Day Idolatry And Falls Flat On Its Face

 

The Philadelphia Church of God broadcast their complete utter hypocrisy really well today when they reposted an article from 2011 that Lil'Stevie Flurry wrote, The Sin of Idolatry - It’s more common than you might think. 

That is pretty rich considering how the PCG worships Herbert Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages, the Book of Malachi, and the supposed prayer rock of HWA, which is now the new coronation stone that Jesus will return to be crowned King of Kings upon. Also, don't forget how they dance around this rock in Celtic pagan ecstasy in their stage shows that travel the Midwest paying homage and honor to it.

But seriously, how could we expect anything less, considering how Armstrongism has failed to look inwardly at itself and its actions over the last eight decades. That is why we are where we are today, an absolute shitshow of idiocy and blasphemy.

Lil Stevie writes in the very first paragraph:

Of all God’s commandments, the ban on idolatry might seem the most outdated. It must be for another age, many assume—when people offered sacrifices before man-made statues or deified the sun, moon and stars.

Notice this from Shane Granger of the PCG:

Shane Granger of Armstrong Auditorium talks about the pagan roots of Irish dance and how the PCG celebrates the paganism:

Riverdance is based on the story of the Irish people. The beginning of the show deals with the first settlers coming to Ireland and realizing the power of the land. This part of the show incorporates symbolic elements representing the sun, the moon, thunder, lightning and water. The stories and themes are heavily influenced by Celtic mythology. The second half of the show deals with the Irish people’s emigration to America. Scenes depicting Irish immigrants and African-Americans sharing dance and song illustrate the unifying power of these human experiences. The Riverdance finale shows how the Irish people have joined the various communities of the world while retaining their heritage through music and dance.

Nothing like a little sun, moon, and nature worship to go along with the worship of Herbert Armstrong in the PCG!  The PCG talks about Riverdance in all its promotion when it comes to promoting its Irish dancing members.  The show has always had a great following regardless of the countries it has played in.  It's a fascinating evening of dance all filled with one pagan reference after another.

Some of the lyrics of Riverdance include this in its opening act:

Out of the dark we came
Out of the sea
Where the long wave broke on the shore
As the day broke and the night rolled back
There we stood
On the land we would call home
Out of the dark we came
Out of the night,
The first of many mornings in this new place
When the sun rolled back the mist
We rose like a strong wave on land
Now we were the people of this place
What burns through through the mist?
What banishes rain and dark?
What makes the children straight and bright?
What makes the mountain sharp?
The sun is our lord and father
Bright face at the gate of day
Comfort of home, cattle, and crop
Lord of the morning, lord of the day
Lifting our hearts we sing his praise
Dance in his healing rays

Blessed Beltaine

                                                                       Celtic Sun Worship 

From the 2014 article here on Banned: Are Philadelphia Church of God Elite Children Now Dancing to Honor the Sun - Their Lord and Father?

A little further down Lil Stevie writes:

Notice: “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 26:1-2).

Keep my sabbaths, God said, and don’t bow down to idols. These were the two great test commandments for the people of Israel. Now why would God emphasize these two? Because these two, more than the others, were designed to keep man in the closest, most intimate contact with his Maker!

Gerald Flurry's teachings and Armstrongism are designed to keep people isolated from the Christ they all claim to follow and yet do not know.

He continues:

Now notice how the Second Commandment flows right out of the great command to put God above all else. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God …” (verses 4-5).

This commandment obviously forbids the use of any physical substitutes or aids man sets up in order to “worship” God. But what about the spiritual idols we set up in our hearts, as it says in Ezekiel 14:3? We may not bow down to physical idols made of stone, wood or precious metals, but our modern world is filled with idolatry just the same!

How can we forget Gerald Flurry traveling to Oregon, traipsing around the woods, begging the land owner if he could buy the rock, digging it up, transporting it to Edmond Oklahoma, positioning it in a garden for meditation and contemplation, then encasing it in a display cabinet on a bed of royal purple velvet, and then later placing it in the coronation chair used in their traveling Irish dance stage productions. 

Idolatry leads to pleasure seeking which leads to wasting money on these pleasures instead of sending it all to Gerald Flurry and Lil'Stevie.

Pleasure-seeking also separates a lot of people from God—things like entertainment and sports or excessive television viewing. God’s way of life, after all, is demanding. Among other things, God expects us to observe His weekly and annual sabbaths, to tithe on all of our income and to seek Him daily through effectual fervent prayers and diligent Bible study. If we spend most of our leisure time pursuing things other than God, this might be an idol.

His article ends with this, proving once and for all that the PCG has failed miserably in its idolatrous lifestyle.

“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry,” Paul wrote to the brethren at Corinth, well over a thousand years after Israel had come out of Egyptian captivity. He knew well that the idolatry command was not meant for some bygone age. It was written for us. Like the rest of the Ten Commandments, it applies to our time today!

And it remains, even to this day, as one of two critically important testcommands. If faithfully obeyed, it automatically draws us closer to our Maker!

Keep yourselves from idols, as John wrote to conclude his first epistle. Give God first place in your life. Make your relationship with Him more important than anyone or anything else. Nothing in this material life is as important as that. 

:Same Fruit-Different Tree: The Bob Jones University Cult is WCG and Ambassador College on Steroids.

I spent more than two decades just down the street from Bob Jones University. My practice was just a few blocks down the same street the campus was located on.  It didn't take long to realize that BJU produced and continues to produce the same drama, scandal and blowback that WCG/AC did. Truly two birds of a feather if there ever was one. 

Bob Jones Sr was a contemporary of HWA and was said to detest HWA as both competed on the radio for the religious audience. Bob Jones Sr also detested Billy Graham, a graduate of BJU because Graham went him therefore into all the world and avoiding the world was classic BJU. 

A client told me of the sermon Bob Jones Sr gave assuring the students that it would be over his dead body when kissing was ever allowed on this campus. In time he died and ended up being buried on the campus. You guessed it. It is now the place where forbidden couples go to kiss. 

Bob Jones University has its own gay community that it is in complete denial over.  My gay BJU clients assured me that they did well on the campus. BJU has an excellent music program as well as theatre. Their art collection is incredible. I asked how they managed to lay low on the campus to which they said it was easy. Not wishing to date women, they looked like very compliant and obedient students concerning the prohibition against dating. Students were forbidden to stand around with the girls to chat. They had to chat on the move. I met a student who was expelled for catching a female student in a fall. He was told it would have been better to let her fall than to touch her. 

Dating was by permission and dating outside the campus required the couple to take a faculty member with them. In reality, I was assured that paying off the faculty member to not stick around was also not unheard of. 

As legalists, BJU graduates of go into ministry, police work or City Government in Greenville. Control and Bible based law and order was the goal. It drove the good old boys nuts when BMW and the Germans moved to Greenville and wouldn't have part in their control. 

When I asked clients, gay/male or female who found the experience authoritarian and controlling the answer was always the same. It's the only school my parents will pay for. As well, going against their local church connected to BJU was a death sentence spiritually. Guilt, fear and shame is a powerful control mechanism. 

I present this to those who might be interested in seeing the WCG/AC experience was and is not unique. It is the product of fundamentalism, authoritarianism and getting mixed up with the one-man founder and show where it becomes a family dynasty over time. 

Many a BJU graduate spends years overcoming the experience. 

This will resonate with most here on Banned