Greco-Roman Crackpot Prophet Feast Update: Some Of His African Members Were Held For Ransom And He Shames Canadian Members

 

It is another bright sunny day in California, where the greatest Church of God to ever exist in the history of humanity has its astounding headquarters. No Church of God has ever done as mighty of work as the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god" has been doing. Of course, none of this could be possible without the all-knowing self-appointed prophet who believes he was preselected by God to come in the 21st century to turn the hearts of the children back to their fathers, as the greatest work to ever exist, publishes hudnreds and hudnreds of the booklets in multiple languages.

The Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel starts off by mentioning his Galveston feast site with 34 followers in attendance.

Greetings from the Five Cities Region of California.

We are back from the Feast of Tabernacles which, in the US, was held in Galveston, Texas.

As it turns out, we met in what is called the “Training Room” for services at Moody Gardens. Of course, all Christians are being trained in this life and especially also at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Where would the COG be without "coincidences" popping up all around them to prove that they are the true church? 

However, things did not go well in the Congo with his followers there:

Congo Update

Last week, I mentioned that there were troubles at the festival site in the Congo.

Dear Pastor Dr Bob ,

Greetings .

We’re now in Rwanda and we’re safe all here in Rwanda.

Dear Pastor , when we arrived at Congo , we started the Feast of tabernacles properly, but on the seventh day Satan fought us again. The bad things that happened to us in Congo surprised us all because before we went there, Rwanika informed the leaders of a place where there was a house of prayer. Even when we were on the Feast , these leaders came to visit us. But then we were surprised to see 4 other leaders in the car they told us to go to the office to lock us up, others leaders went to take our sisters and ones is my wife where they were staying, they put us in the car but then they left brother Aaron Joel from Uganda and the rest of us took us to the government office and told us that an unknown person called them and told them that we have mistakes so they burned all our documents except for Aaron from Uganda.

When we arrived there at their office , they check our documents and Church documents after seeing that they are complete , they start to accusing us for fabricated crimes that Rwanika and his assistant in the Church called Mapendo that informed some leaders and left others them and that we are also many foreigners and every foreigner don’t have a document of to go to the mission in the Congo so we should all be imprisoned. Immediately they locked our documents and Church documents in the office they ordered us to leave at the temple and some for us to go to Rwanika home where you are imprisoned, then who called Mapendo was locked up in the local government prison then Rwanika and I were taken to the main office where the police were to pay the money they asked us . when we finished paying the money, they started threatening us and asking us about politics between the countries and about our races and trying to burn and check our telephones and saying that we have many crimes . Immediately they arrested Rwanika so that time I was the only one who was not arrested. Then they told me to go to get other money for the second payment. When I had seen all that and all the money had been spent, and it was evening that’s when I asked them to go to searching network and to get more money. For that I appreciate Pastor Evans who sent the money required quickly. However, when I had already paid the money again they only opened Rwanika {to let him out} and the another one stayed in the prison until morning  and they refused to give us our documents and Church documents. What we found out is that there is someone unknown did a cruel thing to us. We don’t know if is XXXXXX because we know that XXXXXX is with that group he joined they go to government in another territory to register their Church but in the name of Continuing Church of God and they had sent to me the picture of that group and XXXXXX is in that picture. For that I told Rwanika and brother Mapendo to go to that territory to ask and stopped about that.

So , for that all because the Congo is the country of corruption and injustice , we all decided that we will not go to Congo again like many people because Congo is bad country and we decided that while it not be possible to meet in Rwanda we will stay home or if it will possible next we will go to Kenya in the Feast of the Lord.

Attached there is a picture we took after from prison.

Thanks,

Moise. 

Sadly part of this looks like a smear campaign against Sasha's group that he started before he died. Bwana Bob has trained his African leaders well in smearing Sasha's church. 

The Great Bwana then ends his letter to his faithful by shaming his Canadian members because they did not attend one of his sites and instead chose to watch services by Skype.

Start saving your money boys and girls! The Great Bwana Bob EXPECTS you to attend in person. After all, he needs your money!

While we had thousands attend at our couple of dozen Feast of Tabernacles’ sites around the world this month, not all who should have attended, did attend.

There were some that mainly watched Skype services. Nadjia Fontaine, who hosted such a place in Canada, sent the following email comments to me:

The Feast went well for the faithful who attended/participated. Being able to use Skype to bring scattered brethren together was a joy.  But having been at Feast sites, it was not the same.  While the Holy Spirit that joins us is not hindered by time and space, our physical ability to sense and channel it can be hindered by distance.  The physical proximity of gathering for the Feast, and for eight days or more in succession and sometimes for extended periods on those days (sometimes all day), I believe amplifies and strengthens our connectedness and ability to tap into the Holy Spirit.  Sort of like exercising our spiritual antennae.  God knew what He was doing commanding us to gather for the weekly and annual sabbaths.

Whether or not you attended in 2024, you should plan and resolve to attend in 2025 if at all possible. The Apostle Paul wrote:

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

21 I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing (Acts 18:21).

Will YOU try to insure that BY ALL MEANS you will keep the coming Feast of Tabernacles next year as we see the day approaching?

It is good for you to do so.

The Feast of Tabernacles begins at sunset on October 6th and runs through (including the Last Great Day) sunset October 14th in 2025.

Plan to attend! You should not wait until next Fall to plan to do so.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel

Pastor and Overseer

Aljazeera Documentary on The Worldwide Church of God: Apocalypse Maybe

 With Dr James Tabor 

"You get the right person in charge of an insane script, the script becomes believable"

Why it is right, and even necessary to talk about our experience in the Doomsday Cult of our youth

The End of Fear - video

With Dr. James Tabor

The End of Fear

A look at the fear of growing up in a doomsday cult and believing that, any day now, the world may end.

In part two of our Apocalypse Maybe series, End of Fear, people raised with a belief in an impending apocalypse look back on their upbringing, and find some parallels in today’s increasingly unstable world.

Acclaimed author and professor Jerald Walker shares the story told in his 2016 autobiography, The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult, while writer and PR professional Fleur Brown connects past fears with the current day.

RCG's Bradford Schleifer - God Says FAKE IT!

Just when you think the spiritual degeneracy of the Restored Church of God cannot sink any lower, 

it does.

The Major Problems with Armstrongism

The Major Problems with Armstrongism 

(which this blog and others have identified)

The following teachings of Herbert Armstrong have been thoroughly refuted here and elsewhere:

1. The nature of God. His teachings about the Trinity, and more particularly those that were related to the Holy Spirit.

2. The nature of the human potential. His teaching that man would one day be equal to God.

3. The biblical origins of the English-speaking nations of the earth. His teaching that the people of the United States and Britain are the descendants of the birthright tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh).

4. That the return of Jesus Christ to this earth is imminent. He repeatedly engaged in date setting and misleading people about the signs of the times.

5. That Christians are obligated to observe the commandments of Torah (including the weekly Sabbath, Holy Days, tithing, and clean and unclean animals as food.

6. That the symbolism of the Holy Days reflected Armstrong's understanding of God's plan. More particularly, his understanding of the meaning of Atonement, Trumpets, and Tabernacles.

7. The nature, purpose, and fate of the angels. Especially, as it related to Satan and his demons.

8. The nature of the ekklesia. His teachings about government within the Church, the composition of the Church, disfellowshipping, and that traditional Christians were deceived members of a false church, a pseudo-ekklesia.

9. The influence of paganism on Christianity. More particularly, his teachings regarding Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Saint's Days, etc., and his rejection of the cross as a Christian symbol.

10. The interpretation of prophecy. More particularly, his headline theology and insinuating modern nations, institutions, and leaders into biblical prophecies.

11. The nature of the Gospel. More particularly, his de-emphasis on the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth and what all of that meant for humanity.

12. The nature of the Kingdom of God. He ignored the anti-authoritarian message of Christ and dismissed the fundamental change that was being wrought in the nature of humanity. Instead, he emphasized a literal government which would forcibly impose its will on everyone.

13. The nature and purpose of human sexuality. More particularly, his teachings about dating, marriage, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, child rearing, appropriate clothing, makeup, and what constituted sexual lust.

14. The nature and role of faith and works in the life of a Christian. His understanding of love, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, faith in Christ, and physical works was twisted and inconsistent with what is revealed in Scripture.

15. The way that Scripture was used and interpreted. Mr. Armstrong's insistence on literalism and proof-texting; and his rejection of all textual criticism, along with the way he ignored context, doomed his interpretations of Scripture to failure.

Lonnie Hendrik/Miller Jones

Musings...Medicine, Theology, Politics: It's all the same

 

This speech from "Patch Adams" has always resonated with me on so many levels applying to so many personal experiences and perspectives.  

"You were never one of them" is an evaluation I have heard all my personal life in being a WCG pastor. "You say the things I am only thinking" is also a quiet moment with another pastor at lunch. I believe that is true and why this speech resonates so much with me personally. 

Getting caught up with WCG, or any Cult of Personality or group beliefs not your own, though you felt they were supposed to be and riding through all the storms that others bring your way can make one feel they failed for not conforming and for not going along to get along. 

Not going along to get along has been one of my own personal life lessons. It's why I can say I now see myself as having been a salesman for the Armstrongs, in the past, and not a well-trained theologian and pastor. I let myself see the Bible through the eyes of others believing it was wrong to see it through my own. Those days are long over. 

But it is not so When you are "not one of them", you are free and, to you, and there be few that find that kind of freedom. And while the price, indeed, is high, for saying what others are only thinking, I find being authentic a much better road to travel.

Besides, life is too short to be someone else.

Is Your Faith So Shallow You Will Let Others Steal Your Crown?

Is Someone Trying to Steal Your Crown?

Over at Banned by HWA, in reaction to Dennis Diehl's post about the dangers inherent to trying to live one's life in accordance with a Divine purpose, a conversation was inaugurated about whether or not Dennis was trying to steal a Christian's metaphorical crown. Now, this is not the first time this charge has been leveled against the various authors of the posts which appear on that blog. Of course, we must first understand that the entire blog is devoted to holding Armstrongist "agents of deception accountable." In other words, everything which appears there is meant to expose the inconsistencies and errors inherent to the theology of the Armstrong Churches of God - to prevent THEM from "stealing your crown."

The concept of crown stealing is drawn from a passage in the book of Revelation. In the messages to the seven ekklesia of Asia, the congregation at Philadelphia was praised for its faithfulness to God's word and their perseverance in the face of opposition to their work (Revelation 3:7-10). Then, in the next verse, we read: "I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown." (Revelation 3:11, ESV) What did they have to hold on to? Wasn't it faithfulness to God's word and perseverance in the face of opposition? Are the Armstrong Churches of God faithful to God's word? OR Are they the agents of deception that we contend they are? In other words, if they aren't being faithful to God's word, then what do they have to hold on to?

In this connection, I have always thought that the message to the ekklesia at Laodicea was more appropriate for the Armstrong Churches of God. We read there: "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see." (Revelation 3:17-18, ESV) Indeed, they glory in the "truth" which they possess even as they completely misunderstand the nature of the "crown" they seek to protect and the kingdom which it represents!

The Greek word "stephanos" is translated into English as "crown." It is indicative of the wreath, garland, coronet which was worn by the Roman emperor or given as a prize to the victor in the public games of that time - a symbol of the honor due to a particular person. In his letter to the ekklesia at Corinth, Paul wrote: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." (I Corinthians 9:24-27, ESV) Likewise, he called the saints at Philippi his "joy and crown" in the Lord (Philippians 4:1). Paul also wrote to Timothy that a "crown of righteousness" was waiting for him "which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." (II Timothy 4:8, ESV) For those who endure trials, James said that they would receive a "crown of life" someday (James 1:12, ESV). Moreover, Peter wrote to the leaders of the ekklesia to: "shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." (I Peter 5:1-4, ESV)

In short, even the use of the "crown" as a metaphor in the writings of the New Testament undermines the teachings of the Armstrong Churches of God about the Kingdom of God and the reward that Christian's are intended to receive from God! Finally, I would also point out that this context makes abundantly clear that YOU are responsible for protecting your crown - NO ONE can steal it from you if you are doing what you're supposed to be doing!

Posted by Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix

Greco-Roman COG Con-artist Takes Questions At Feast And Acts Like It Is A Big Deal

God sure knew what he was doing when he was forming the foundations of the earth so that in these perilous end times, a prophet would arise who would be filled with all the knowledge that true believers need to know.

Never has the church had such a magnificent prophet/apostle/Joshua/Elisha/Elijah in its midst who surpasses all revealed truth from Herbert Armstrong?.

Our most highly favored God to be, the Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel had this to say about his question and answer session at the Feast on prophecy.

CCOG Q&A: Prophetic Questions in Galveston

For this sermon, Dr. Thiel took written questions from people attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Galveston, Texas. He did not see the questions until he saw them while doing the sermon. Questions/topics addressed included whether or not there would be a future Zerubbabel and Joshua, the “teachers of Isaiah 30:20, the timing of the ‘Day of the Lord’ and the 6,000 years, if there is a relationship between the timing of Habakkuk 2:6-8 and Daniel 11:39, the sequence of Daniel 11 and the King of the North, Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies and Satan’s plan, why Muslims will turn against the King of the North, when Satan is cast out of heaven, Sabbath matters, whether Philadelphians would be subject to deadly persecution, the canon of the Bible, the short work, forgiveness, whether or not the serpent Eve saw looked like a snake, the timing of Matthew 24:29, having servants and maids in the Millennium, and the timing of Ephraim and Manasseh turning against Judah, plus comments related to the Beast, Islam, crosses, and the Antichrist. Dr. Thiel commented on each and every question that was submitted.