Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Jon Brisby, head of the Church of God, The Eternal, has a clear message: skip church on Saturday, and you’re out of God’s Kingdom. In his doozy of letter found online (May 2025), he pushes Armstrongist legalism, calling the Sabbath part of the “final exam” for salvation, requiring rest plus a holy convocation at a minister-approved “designated place.” Miss it, and you’re not fully keeping the Sabbath—kiss your eternal future goodbye. It’s a classic control move: bind salvation to a rule, force compliance, and contradict biblical truth. Brisby’s teachings are morally wrong for burdening followers with fear, biblically wrong for ignoring salvation by grace, and historically wrong for clashing with early church practices.
We’ll also highlight the irony: the WCG taught assembling without a minister present was strictly forbidden, a rule Brisby contradicts with his own practices. Splinterland, stop letting these cult bosses guilt you into submission—reclaim your freedom.
The Setup: Sabbath as Your Salvation Ticket
Brisby claims the Sabbath is a non-negotiable blessing, demanding more than rest—it requires assembling at a specific place chosen by his ministers. He states that failing to do so means you’re not fully keeping the Sabbath, warning that dismissing this rule excludes you from God’s Kingdom. Staying home isn’t enough; you must show up where Brisby’s team directs, or you fail the salvational “final exam.”
This teaching is manipulative and biblically inaccurate. Brisby’s claim that salvation hinges on Saturday attendance at a designated place contradicts the biblical truth of salvation by grace, not works. Historically, the early church met in homes, on any day of the week, not rigid assemblies only on Saturdays. Biblically, the tradition from King David to the Apostle Paul points to Jerusalem as God’s chosen place for His name, not a minister-picked spot. David wrote, “In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. His tabernacle is in Salem [Jerusalem]” (Psalm 76:1-2), and God confirmed Jerusalem as His chosen place (2 Chronicles 6:6). Even in the New Testament, Paul and the early church looked to Jerusalem as the spiritual center (Acts 15:2). Brisby’s random “designated place” is a man-made invention, not God’s command, making his teaching historically and biblically wrong.
The Control Tactic: Ministers Decide, You Obey
Brisby declares that a holy convocation must happen at a minister-approved site, asserting that God delegates this authority to him and his team. He rejects at-home worship, stating only his designated assemblies count. If you’re scattered and can’t attend, he urges you to find a way, tying your eternal destiny to his rules. Yet his authority is suspect—he’s a splinter leader from the WCG’s chaotic fallout, with no clear divine mandate.
This stance is morally problematic, as it places an undue burden on followers, especially those isolated or financially strained, to comply with man-made rules for salvation. It’s also biblically flawed, as the New Testament emphasizes worship in spirit and truth, not specific locations. Adding to the inconsistency, the WCG, under HWA, taught assembling without a minister physically present was forbidden, as Herman Hoeh wrote in “Should You ASSEMBLE Without a Minister?” That rule aimed to prevent unguided groups from spiraling into error, yet Brisby allows “informal gatherings” with lead men or recordings—contradicting his own heritage while enforcing strict compliance.
The Fear Factor: Miss a Convocation, Miss the Kingdom
Brisby acknowledges that many members are scattered, with few congregations, a problem since the WCG’s 1970s collapse. He states you can avoid breaking the Sabbath at home but can’t “fully keep” it without convocation. He pushes attendance at annual Holy Days like the Feast of Tabernacles, using second tithe to travel, and weekly services when possible. If you don’t know where to go, he says to search harder—complacency isn’t an option.
This approach is morally wrong, instilling fear that missing a meeting jeopardizes your salvation, placing a heavy yoke on believers already burdened by tithing and isolation. Brisby’s contradiction with the WCG’s no-minister rule adds another layer of inconsistency—HWA demanded pastoral oversight, yet Brisby bends this for practicality while still claiming salvational stakes.
The Modern Twist: No Tech Allowed in God’s Plan
Brisby rejects virtual gatherings, stating a “designated place” must be a physical location, not a Zoom call. You can listen online if approved, but it’s not a convocation. His formula for arranging meetings isn’t something Armstrong taught—it comes out of his gray-matter mush.
This rigid stance is biblically unsupported, as the New Testament prioritizes the heart of worship over physical locations. It’s also historically inconsistent with early church practices, which adapted to circumstances without such strict rules. The WCG’s ban on minister-less assemblies further clashes with Brisby’s allowances, exposing his hypocrisy—he bends HWA’s rules while demanding strict obedience to his own.
Splinterland, Your Salvation Isn’t in a Building
Brisby’s letter is about control, not God. By tying salvation to Saturday attendance at his chosen spots, he burdens followers with rules that are morally, biblically, and historically wrong. Salvation comes by grace, not rituals, and biblical tradition ties God’s presence to Jerusalem, not Brisby’s Odd-Fellow halls. His authority is dubious, and his practices contradict the WCG’s own rules against minister-less gatherings. Splinterland, stop surrendering to these cult bosses—trust your freedom and ditch the legalistic trap.
::Armstrongism investigated:: takes a Deep Dive into the cultic murky world of the Worldwide Church of God and its offshoots. If you love investigating cults stick around and prepare to dive deep!
We grew up in the Worldwide Church of God — a high-control religious group that taught us to erase ourselves in the name of “truth.” Here are 5 specific ways the cult controlled our sense of identity, and how we’re unlearning the damage it caused. We are the Apostate Sisters - We talk about high control religion, what it takes from you, and how to take it back.
If you were taught that your joy was selfish, that your thoughts were dangerous, or that questioning was rebellion — this might hit home.
In this video, we unpack how high-control religion trains people to disappear inside themselves — and how to start reclaiming your voice, worth, and joy.
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Support & Resources for Losing Your Religion
Whether you’re freshly questioning your beliefs, stuck in the spiritual rubble, or years out but still carrying the weight — this list is for you. You deserve healing, clarity, and community as you untangle from systems that taught you to doubt yourself.
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Recovering From Religion (RfR)
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Free helpline, peer support, and secular therapy referrals for those dealing with religious doubt and trauma.
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Find therapists who use evidence-based methods without religious frameworks.
Janice Selbie, Divorcing Religion
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Follow creators who speak openly about spiritual abuse, embodiment, and liberation. (We’re there too. Come say hi.)
For the past few weeks, attention has been focused on David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God, who announced that his 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization had escaped corporate debt by quietly selling $3.1 million in church-owned real estate to members and widows.
Contrary to the Pastor General’s previous assurances, there will be plenty of time to spend his members’ fear-fueled donation money on “whatever we’d do," and the church employees did benefit financially. It is funny how an end-times urgent push for last-minute Common funds blends seamlessly with biblical fraud.
“You dropped your Financial Pressure Chocolate into my Prophetic Failure Peanut Butter.”
Just because the reporting of David C. Pack's teaching dates for the arrival of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God paused does not mean his date-setting paused. Because Dave’s gotta Dave.
Prophetic understanding in RCG takes on the shark’s tooth approach. After one fails, dozens are waiting in line to fill the space. Abib 1 on March 29 came into view. Then, it faded when Passover on April 11 came into view. Then, it faded when Abib 24 on April 21, came into view. Then, it faded when Pentecost on June 1 came into view. Then…oops. No spoilers.
During “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 571)” on April 19, 2025, David C. Pack taught the Kingdom of God would arrive a few days later.
Part 571 – April 19, 2025 @ 1:05:28 So, Moses and Daniel both point to the 24th of Abib and the Last Days.
@ 1:17:43 What would I tell you, brethren? How could I stand up here and say, “Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not the 24th.” If it’s not, you’re never gonna hear me say that.
@ 1:36:41 I guess you could say it could be the 24th next year. …And man, if it’s not the 24th, as I said before, I will never say that.
David C. Pack dons his magical backup parachute in 3…2…1…
@ 1:36:57 Unless the date passes and something extraordinary happens.
Something extraordinary did happen when nothing happened. Per usual. However, this did not deter David C. Pack from claiming a post-failure victory the following week.
Part 572 – April 26, 2025 @ 56:45 I knew before I went to bed last Saturday night, nothing was gonna happen on Tuesday. I knew it.
A few hours after he taught that the Kingdom would arrive on Abib 24 for 113 minutes on the Sabbath while claiming God’s authority and speaking in His name, David C. Pack blissfully rested his head upon his fluffy pillow, knowing nothing was gonna happen while the brethren of The Restored Church of God believed opposite.
@ 56:51 I realized I’d made a mistake. But it was a type of something. It was a hint of something.
David C. Pack Even my blunders are prophetic.™
However, it was not all bad news, brethren, because Dave’s ineptitude afforded him the opportunity to rediscover some forgotten recyclables in the bottom drawer.
@ 1:03:54 My goal is to electrify God’s people with the awesome, massive proof of when this is. We’ll inch our way in, and we’ll let the Scriptures and the facts show us.
David C. Pack Wrong last week, but right this week.™
@ 1:04:09 God would never simply say the date. He’d hafto and would tell us in many different ways. And He does. It must be when He’s done. It’s impossible to miss. Impossible.
@ 1:31:29 I absolutely know Passover is That Day, and I absolutely know Pentecost starts it.
@ 1:31:41 But there were certain mile markers, certain metrics that would come to bear into final fruition when it was time to go. The Series would end, and the mysteries that of the surrounding the Kingdom of God would would all be gone. That’s one of them.
@ 1:37:30 Last year, we got one date right and the other two wrong. We come into this Pentecost, we’ve got two dates absolutely locked up.
@ 1:39:51 I will prove this to the point where it’s airtight…
The Kingdom of God arrives on Pentecost. June 1, 2025. But.
The transition from Abib 24 to Pentecost was as smooth as oil. For David C. Pack, holding on to Pentecost proved to be less graceful. While it might be painful to watch a juggler lose their rhythm, fumble, and crash, it can be entertaining.
During the Sabbath double-feature, “The Greatest Untold Story!” Parts 573 and 574 on May 3, 2025, the Pastor General showed no signs of wavering on Pentecost. Yet.
Part 573 – May 3, 2025 @ 01:11 God would never just say, regarding the arrival of His Kingdom, “It’s Pentecost.” He wouldn’t do that. He almost does a number of times in ways that are impossible to misunderstand, but He would have to tell us in many different ways, so it's impossible to miss.
@ 02:19 But proving it’s Pentecost is falling over backwards without even being pushed. I mean, it’s just that easy.
Was Pentecost 2025 easier to figure out than Pentecost 2019?
Flashback Part 177 – June 6, 2019 @ 1:29:38 Wow, we're just learning this right now. What are the odds we’re learning it right in front of Pentecost because how long would you want people to know this?
Flashback Part 178 – June 8, 2019 @ 32:00 God waited three years and seven months to explain to me He’s gonna come 60 hours before He does.
A crucial life lesson Grammar and Randy Pack could never successfully teach their middle child was that you cannot claim something is easy while you keep getting it wrong.
Part 573 – May 3, 2025 @ 44:43 …nowhere does God say, “It’s Pentecost.” But He duddn’t have to. He says it in so many ways it’s it’s [chuckles] it’s almost silly to say, “You’ve got to tell me it’s Pentecost.”
@ 1:12:31 “Bring the season of refreshing in the midst of the years.” I was never going to get that right until God revealed that years start off Pentecost.
Part 574 – May 3, 2025 @ 53:40 We thought it might come last year, but we weren’t nearly ready. It wuddn’t plain enough. …We had a lot more things to learn.
The brethren of The Restored Church of God comfort themselves with the saying, “Mr. Pack only has to be right once.” But they fail to believe the biblical reality that he will never be right. Nonetheless, all eyes were still on Pentecost 2025.
David C. Pack has been regurgitating familiar phrases since 2013, explaining them with differing interpretations as he revisits the exact same ideas dozens of times.
RCG members muster all their might to refrain from openly rolling their eyes during services when they hear “rushing to call it out,” “midst of the years,” “the days of his voice," and the special crowd pleaser, "a day that cannot tarry.” Let the wincing commence.
Part 574 – May 3, 2025 @ 51:59 Pentecost 2025 is the only date that cannot tarry.
Flashback Part 422 – February 18, 2023 @ 06:52 Adar 1 cannot tarry.
Flashback Part 464 – August 26, 2023 @ 1:25:58 Hebrews 10:37 there speak Paul quoting Habakkuk …speak of a day that cannot tarry. You cannot go beyond a certain date. …Now, we absolutely know. It’s the Feast of Trumpets.
Flashback Part 470 – September 23, 2023 @ 1:39:55 “He that shall come will arrive and will not tarry.” Guess why He can't tarry. Christ cannot miss the Feast of Tabernacles.
Flashback Part 483 – December 2, 2023 @ 55:49 I said there’s no possible way we can go pastTevet 10. …You can’t go beyond it.It can’t tarry.
Flashback Part 506 – April 9, 2024 @ 34:01 So believe me, believe me, [chuckles] I'm telling you, …you can lock this down as Passover. That's what can't tarry.
Flashback Part 509 – April 20, 2024 @ 15:26 I’ve long wrestled with the kind the kind of delay God would be speaking of when He says, “Though it delay, wait for it. It will it will not tarry.”
@ 55:39 Apparently, He said you do it on Iyar 1.Not Abib 1. Iyar 1.
Flashback Part 550 – December 21, 2024 @ 1:24:40 “Though it delay, wait for it. It’ll surely come andnot tarry.” It cannot go past Shevat 1. It’s impossible.
Flashback Part 558 – February 15, 2025 @ 2:00:21 Only Abib truly can’t tarry.
@ 2:03:51 Cannot tarry is its own proof. It has to be the first year of application after learning Abib. Once you learn Abib, it can’t go another year.
Prophetically failing twelve years in a row does not seem to keep David C. Pack from throwing presumption darts at the guessing board, hoping that one day, at least one of them will stick.
Part 574 – May 3, 2025 @ 51:59 Pentecost 2025 is the only date that cannot tarry.
Brethren, it is perfectly appropriate to laugh out loud now.
With David C. Pack’s credibility tank fully maxed out, he concluded Part 574 with more absolutely definitive declarations because Pentecost falls on Sivan 5 this year.
Part 574 – May 3, 2025 @ 1:11:53 That’s one powerful point. If you drive fifth [of Sivan], fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth, and over here you say, Pentecost, Pentecost, Pentecost, Pentecost, all the way through the Bible, and then they line up as the Series is ending, then you're left with you're you you got one of two things is true. It’s a wild coincidence. Or it’s the year it happens. And if it’s the year it happens and doesn’t happen, you’ll never hear me say it’s other than Pentecost.
“Never” arrived at The Restored Church of God in Wadsworth, Ohio, seven days later during “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 575)” on May 10, 2025.
Part 575 – May 10, 2025 @ 01:02 What if the date is sooner than YOU now think? Everybody’s thinking Pentecost.
Everyone in RCG was thinking Pentecost because Dave told them it was Pentecost for three hours and forty-six minutes. What they did not know was that Dave found a new squeaky toy to gnaw on for a while.
@ 1:19:07 What an amazing time. Iyar 24 is truly a thief event.
The Kingdom of God arrives on Pentecost. The Kingdom of God arrives on Iyar 24. May 22, 2025. Oops.
@ 1:27:19 If it [the Kingdom of God] didn’t come on the 24th of Iyar, I’m just gonna give you a personal feeling. I’d hope for Pentecost. But I’d almost believe it’s the 24th of Sivan before I would believe it’s Pentecost or maybe Tammuz 1 or something. But, I would believe the 24th of Sivan, almost before Pentecost.
@ 1:27:37 And I wouldn’t stop watching till then. So, if you’re wondering what happens if it duddn’t come the24th? Well, then, [chuckles] then then I’d watch till the next 24th or till it’s impossible that it’s this year.
This is Dave-Speak for Iyar 24 on May 22, being a solid maybe.
@ 1:28:04 But the only day I can see that cannot tarry is half as far away as we thought when we walked into the hall.
Yes. Add Iyar 24 to the day that cannot tarry along with Adar 1, the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Tabernacles, Tevet 10, Passover, Iyar 1, Shevat 1, Abib, and Pentecost.
@ 1:28:11 But can I be wrong? Brethren, you’ve watched how hard dates are. Wow, it’s unbelievable. It’s just it’s just really [chuckles] a challenge.
If you survived until May 23, you lived to see David C. Pack fail another challenge. But that did not stop him from trying again the following week, even though he got wishy-washy during Part 576.
Part 576 – May 17, 2025 @ 04:44 We need to clarify the dilemma to the degree that we can that we faced last week between Iyar 24 or Pentecost ten days later. Or potentially, some other date.
@ 15:50 …we’re gonna take some incredible twists and turns today. And I I think I can pretty much put to bed the subject of timing.
RCG brethren must have rejoiced when they heard it was not put to bed last week. Or the week before.
@ 1:24:13 I’m not declaring the New Moon of Sivan to be the day. I’m not declaring the 15th [Sivan] to be the day. But Iyar 24 seems no longer to be in play as a possibility.
Iyar 24 on May 22 was never in play because David C. Pack will never be right about the return of Jesus Christ. Never. God is not guiding him to teach this. The Holy Spirit does not move him to give dates.
Even for the All-Believing Zealots, Part 576 was just 95 minutes of “I’m not sure. But I’ll keep wasting your time” from their human idol.
@ 1:34:19 I’ll keep you posted if I learn any more about timing. But for now, I would tell you we have need of patience. And maybe we're still yet learning more about, "Wow, you have need of patience."
The Kingdom of God arrives on Pentecost. The Kingdom of God arrives on Iyar 24. The Kingdom of God arrives at some point.
During “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 577)” on May 24, 2025, David C. Pack finally lands on the date that really, really, really cannot tarry: the full moon of Sivan 15 on June 11.
Part 577 – May 24, 2025 @ 04:19 But last week, we started looking at the subject of the 15th [Sivan] or a full moon. …And I wanna confirm today the 15th.
@ 05:42 So I wanna lay out some really powerful things that emerged once I had a whole week to think about it. And they they are so strong, they leave me completely unable, …and they will leave you completely unable to believe that the Kingdom begins any other date but the 15th [Sivan].
@ 1:01:13 Apparently, God only planned to reveal this extraordinary, mysterious date we’ve battled for almost a decade to find that we’ve now learned only when it was just ahead, and it would surely come with the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God arrives on Pentecost. The Kingdom of God arrives on Iyar 24. The Kingdom of God arrives at some point. The Kingdom of God arrives on Sivan 15. June 11, 2025.
Maybe Ed Winkfield should pay attention to Dave’s sermons rather than sleeping with his eyes open.
@ 1:19:10 Anybody beginning to see the day that cannot tarry?
@ 1:43:21 So, there cannot be there cannot be another year. Nobody can believe that.
@ 1:44:52 I’ve not heard an oracle that says it’s absolutely Sivan 15. But I cannot believe otherwise.
@ 1:45:14 And I fully expect, I fully expect Sivan 15.
I fully expect Sivan 15 on June 11, 2025, to be fulfilled as David C. Pack’s Prophetic Failure #129.
In The Restored Church of God, all eyes were on Passover, then on Abib 24, then on Pentecost, then on Iyar 24, and now rest on Sivan 15. That date will be as reliable as all the others. Keep an eye on that.
During "The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 573)" on May 3, 2025, David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God teaches that the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ will arrive on Pentecost this year at dawn on June 1, 2025.
For reference, David C. Pack taught that Jesus Christ would return on Pentecost in 2019
during Parts 177 and 178.
All credit to former member Marc Cebrian for this clip and description:
exrcg.org
If at first a pastor is wrong, does he try, try again?
Maybe not. A spokesman for a small church denomination in northern Ohio denies online claims that its leader is predicting the return of Jesus Christ will occur Sunday, June 1.
“That is not something that the Restored Church of God teaches, or that Mr. Pack is claiming,” Edward Winkfield said in a phone interview Tuesday, May 27.
David Pack, the founder of RCG, has been accused of setting failed dates many times in messages to his headquarters congregation. Former member Marc Cebrian has posted dozens of video clips from Pack's sermons to illustrate that.
“It is interesting that it was coming from someone who was being critical,” Winkfield said. “But I can say unequivocally that is not what we teach.”
Cebrian might respond by saying that's because Pack has revised the Pentecost date again. Cebrian's website showed two predicted return dates Tuesday: June 1 and June 11.
Cebrian's ExRCG.org blog did not explain the later date, except that it was a full moon. But one video clip dated Saturday, May 3 shows Pack defending his Pentecost reasoning.
“God would never say regarding the arrival of His Kingdom, 'It's Pentecost,'” Pack said. “He almost does a number of times, in ways that are impossible to misunderstand.”
But, Pack added, God stops short of providing a specific date in the Bible because “the whole world would know.”
An earlier article cited clips posted by Cebrian in which Pack predicted Christ's return on Sunday, March 30, the start of the Hebraic calendar year. He called that date “immutable church doctrine”.
“The second coming of Christ is a pretty foundational doctrine in any Christian, Bible-teaching church,” Winkfield said when asked about that. “We study prophecy... it's part of what we teach.”
Winkfield added RCG is a group which “remains hopeful... more than anything definitive.
“Maybe you could go as far as speculating different things, but I wouldn't take it as anything beyond that,” Winkfield explained.
Yet Pack's early May video claims that proving Pentecost as the return date is like “falling over backwards without even being pushed. It's that easy.”
Pack goes on to cite a main Bible verse quoted by opponents of prophetic date-setting. Jesus said of end-time events in Mark 13:32, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
“Well, we know both,” Pack claimed in the early May video.
Winkfield, RCG’s Publications and Media Director, admitted he doesn't know the motives of RCG critics. Cebrian's website says its goal is “exposing the truth” about RCG and Pack.
Pack would not be alone in expecting a second coming of Jesus on Pentecost.
Ron Weinland, leader of the Church of God-Preparing for the Kingdom of God in northern Kentucky, predicted Jesus would return first on Pentecost 2009, then Pentecost 2012.
Days after the 2012 prediction failed, Weinland was convicted by a federal jury on five counts of tax evasion. Weinland's website biography says he was “falsely imprisoned by the government of the United States,” with a sentence of 3.5 years.
But newspaper accounts of his trial say Weinland's attorneys admitted he moved church funds to a Swiss bank account. Weinland reportedly thought the U.S. economy was on the brink of collapse.
Both Pack and Weinland's groups are related to the Worldwide Church of God, made famous by Herbert Armstrong through The World Tomorrow broadcasts of the 20thcentury.
Both ministers left WCG (now Grace Communion International) after the denomination made major changes in doctrine years after Armstrong's death.
Not every WCG spinoff group preaches that the second coming will occur on Pentecost. Without setting dates, they hint a Biblical timeline of salvation points to Jesus possibly returning on the Jewish “Feast of Trumpets” or Rosh Hashanah.
As we wrap Season 1 of Black and CULTivated, I sit down with two of my childhood friends Jen and Genise — whom I grew up with in the Worldwide Church of God. 👀✨
In this episode, you’ll hear a little more about my story and how the three of us slowly realized… yeah, we were 1000% raised in a cult. 😅 It’s a straight up kiki — full of laughs and those “wait, did that really happen?!” moments.
This episode truly captures what Black and Cultivated is all about: telling the stories of Black and Brown cult survivors with humor, heart, and a whole lotta honesty.
Thank y’all so much for rocking with us this season. You can’t get rid of us that easy though — bonus episodes and a Season Two announcement are coming soon 👀🤞🏾.
Touch Not the Scroll That Gloweth: On the Spiritual Dangers of Electronic Bibles
By Elder Rev. Dr. Percival Thaddeus Grone
Beloved Saints and Those Yet Unplugged,
I have read with a mixture of gratitude and grave concern the recent ministerial report from Charlotte, in which Presiding Evangelist Gerald E. Weston raises a cautious hand regarding the use of electronic Bibles from the pulpit. While I commend Brother Weston—long respected for his efforts to preserve what remains of order in the Church—for identifying a potential spiritual compromise, I must note that his language bears the soft edges of a newer dialect, one more common among the cautious pragmatists than the prophetic remnant.
He speaks of “rare and legitimate exceptions.” He acknowledges the usefulness of digital tools. And thus begins the descent.
It saddens me, truly, to see even formerly unmoving pillars begin to lean—ever so slightly—toward the flickering glow of cultural accommodation. What begins as allowance soon becomes adoption; what is tolerated from the pulpit today is translated into doctrine tomorrow. Brother Weston speaks of “unintended consequences.” I speak of incipient digital abomination.
Let us be clear: this is not a matter of screen vs. page. This is a matter of scroll vs. sorcery.
Of Tablets and Temptations
It was upon stone tablets that the original Commandments were delivered. Stone, beloved. Not plastic. Not lithium. And certainly not something requiring a USB-C to receive divine power. To hold a glowing rectangle aloft in the pulpit is not merely poor optics—it is optical delusion. The flickering glow of an e-reader is no match for the weight of vellum and ink. A Bible app may contain the words of Scripture, but it is not the Word. It is a replica of righteousness, a simulacrum of sanctity, a backlit blasphemy.
Does the serpent not also illuminate? “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). And yet we bring forth light from our laps and call it holy?
Swiping Away the Sword
In the glory days, a man knew his Bible. He turned its pages, and the rustling of onion-skin parchment was as the sound of the Spirit moving over the face of the waters. Today, the page is replaced by the swipe—an action nowhere endorsed by apostolic hand. With each swipe, we lose our grip. The sword of the Spirit becomes not a double-edged blade, but a blinking cursor.
Shall we not consider how swiftly heresy spreads when transmission requires no ink? When a false gospel may be downloaded in milliseconds? When the red-letter words of Christ are displayed in Comic Sans, beneath a notification from TikTok?
Indeed, I recently witnessed a young minister attempt to quote Habakkuk, only to be interrupted by a push alert from something called “Fantasy Football.” I ask you: what is fantasy, if not doctrine divorced from discernment? The Scroll as Covenant
Brethren, the book—the physical, printed book—is not a convenience. It is a covenantal object. When a man opens the leather-bound Word, he is not merely reading; he is entering into a tactile pact. He feels the covenant. The crackling of the spine, the marginalia of his forebears, the faint scent of mildew and sanctification—all these things testify that the Word of God is not a thing to be streamed.
No revival has ever broken out over a Kindle.
The Rise of the Digital Beast
Let us now speak plainly: this is not just a technological transition. It is the soft preamble to the Beast System. When the Man of Sin arrives, he shall not wield a scroll. He shall brandish a device. And many shall say unto him, “Siri, open to Matthew chapter 24,” and it shall be opened—but it shall not be understood.
Revelation warns of a mark without which no man can buy or sell. Might we also imagine a future in which no man can preach or teach without first logging in?
Already I have heard whispers of algorithmic translations—Scripture adjusted in real time to suit the emotional needs of the reader. This is not exegesis. This is exe-gnosis—the hidden, digital heresy of those who seek to code the cross.
Prescriptions for the Elect
To those who are tempted by the convenience of glowing Bibles, I offer these apostolic remedies:
Preach only from a hard copy, preferably one bound in animal hide, not neoprene.
Never trust a verse that comes with a hyperlink.
Refrain from charging your Bible. The Word of God requires no adapter.
If your Bible requires a software update, throw it into the sea (Revelation 18:21).
If you must use an electronic Bible due to failing eyesight or weak lighting, cover the device with organic sackcloth when not in use, and make daily intercession for discernment lest you be led astray by the “scrolls of silicon.”
Final Exhortation
Brother Weston’s concern is not misplaced, only mismeasured. We cannot afford to manage this issue with administrative restraint when apostolic urgency is required. We must not settle for policies when the times demand prophecy.
Let the remnant remain watchful. Let us not trade ink for interface. Let us not exchange the scroll for the screen. For the Word was made flesh—not firmware.
Stand firm. Turn pages. Resist the swipe. And remember, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet”—not a blue light unto my face.
Steadfast in print,
Percival Thaddeus Grone
Elder Rev. Dr. Percival Thaddeus Grone
Senior Lecturer in Scrollology and Prophetic Interface Studies. Dean Emeritus of the Portable Tabernacle Technology Advisory Board Still Watching Since 1844
