LCG Asserting That Former WCG Members are "Returing to the faith"

Gerald Weston wants to give the impression that there are a lot of former Worldwide Church of God members returning "to the faith". Which "faith" is that?  Traditional Christianity? 1st Century Christianity? Other Church of God movements? To Theilism? Traditional Armstrongism?

Former church members who never really abandoned Armstrongist teachings are those minuscule numbers that may be returning. Many left WCG searching for the one true church and became wanderers in a sea of church splinters, filled with self-appointed men thumping their puny little chests about how great they are. Those wanderers then discovered that none of the groups really captured the lost fantasy they still held up as the standard.  So, they dug out old literature, watched online videos of HWA sermons, and kept flipping the pages of worn-out color-coded Bibles with a booklet next to it that claimed to PROVE how things were supposed to be. After many years of this lonely lifestyle and an occasional undercover visit to a COG Feast site, a few have returned to LCG and other COG groups seeking missing fellowship. That doesn't last long till they discover the same old crap that destroyed the Worldwide Church of God still infects the current COG movement. Soon, they will leave again and become stay-at-home true believers.

The nineteen men on our Council of Elders gathered this week for three days of deliberations. The first day was mostly devoted to updates from the men regarding their areas of responsibilities, and the reports were overall very encouraging. One trend we notice is that people with a past Worldwide Church of God association are returning to the faith after being away from it for several decades. We are also seeing people who never had such association coming along and progressing toward baptism. We had lively discussions on how better to reach the world with the message of the Gospel and with a warning of where our world is heading. Much focus was on how to broaden our appeal to a larger demographic and how to cut through the clutter of information available today, while realizing that our message will be rejected by the majority, just as was the message of the prophets of old. Some very interesting ideas were presented, and I am truly grateful to have these men of wide experience to give good counsel going forward. Thank you for all your prayers regarding these meetings. Due to the time-consuming nature of these council meetings, there will be no video update this week.
—Gerald E. Weston

The Didache: Church of God International and Armstrongism

The Didache According to CGI

As we have pointed out numerous times over the last decade plus, the Armstrongist historical and Scriptural narrative about how the vast majority of Christians came to observe Sunday as their day of worship does NOT fit the evidence available to us. Generally speaking, Herbert Armstrong and his followers have completely ignored this evidence; because it so clearly contradicts the narrative which they have created. Hence, imagine my surprise when the Church of God International (CGI) recently published an article by one of their ministers addressing the existence of an early Church document known as The Didache.

In an article for the latest edition of CGI's The International News, Horane Smith asked, "Does the Didache Support the Eucharist and the Sunday ‘Lord’s Day’?" The author began with a brief background of the document itself. He acknowledged that the writing belongs to the First or Second Century but went on to point out that it was eventually excluded from inclusion in the Christian canon of the Bible. Next, Pastor Smith shifted his attention to placing the document within the context of the Armstrongist view of early Christianity.

He wrote: Historians and Bible scholars generally agree that the primitive church of the first century was Hebraic in nature regarding its doctrines and practices. If the Didache was written in the first century, then in all probability, much of what it was conveying would be from a Hebraic perspective. The document has a lot of biblical quotations. And even if it was written in the second century, chances were some of those Hebraic practices would be followed as Christianity and Judaism didn’t part ways until after the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE under the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

To those of us who are familiar with the history of the early Church, a number of problems with this paragraph will be immediately apparent. First, historians and scholars are generally agreed that the first decade of the Church's existence was decidedly Jewish in character. After all, the original disciples of Christ were ALL Jewish! Even so, the book of Acts informs us that the Church eventually began to expand into Gentile lands beyond Judaea. Then, about the middle of the First Century, the early Church was forced to confront the issue of whether or not Gentiles would be required to observe the tenets of God's covenant with Israel (Torah). According to the book of Acts, a great council of the Church was held at Jerusalem to settle the matter. The fifteenth chapter of that book informs us that the council decided NOT to require Gentile Christians to follow the commandments of Torah.

Moreover, Pastor Smith's statement that "Christianity and Judaism didn’t part ways until after the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE under the Roman Emperor Hadrian" is blatantly inaccurate! For some reason(s), Horane Smith completely ignored the events of the year 70 CE (when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple). In other words, to suggest that the great council at Jerusalem and the Roman war of annihilation against the Jews didn't constitute a parting of the ways for Jews and Christians seems naive at best or downright deceptive at worst! Hence, the more prudent conclusion about the role of the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE would be to say that this event reinforced a parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity that had happened many decades before it.

Indeed, concerning the lasting legacy of 70 CE, a History Tools article titled The Destruction of Jerusalem: Inside the Brutal Roman Siege of 70 AD offered this assessment of that event:


The fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD marked a decisive turning point in Jewish history with profound and lasting consequences:

End of the Second Temple Period: The destruction of the Temple permanently ended the system of priestly rule and ritual sacrifice that had defined Judaism for a millennium. Rabbinical Judaism emerged to fill the void, emphasizing synagogues, scripture study and religious law.

Rise of the Diaspora: The Great Revolt accelerated the growth of the Jewish Diaspora across the Mediterranean and beyond. Millions of Jews would face centuries of persecution, massacres and oppression as a stateless minority, prefiguring later calamities like the expulsions and pogroms of the Middle Ages.

Reshaping of Judea: The Romans annexed Judea as an imperial province and initiated a crackdown on Jewish institutions. Much Jewish-owned land was confiscated, the Sanhedrin was abolished, and the Temple tax was diverted to rebuilding a pagan shrine in Rome. The very name Judea was erased when the Emperor Hadrian crushed another Jewish revolt and renamed the region Syria Palaestina in 135 AD.

Anti-Semitic Propaganda: Roman propaganda used the Jewish defeat to promote negative stereotypes of Jews as treacherous, fanatical and misanthropic. The Arch of Titus, still standing in Rome, depicts the sacking of Jerusalem and Jews as vanquished slaves paraded in a triumphal procession. These images would feed anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish subversion and greed that persisted for centuries.

Jewish-Christian Schism: The flight of the Judeo-Christian community before the siege, along with the elevation of Gentile converts and the repudiation of the Mosaic Law, marked a decisive break between Judaism and Christianity. The New Testament authors‘ vilification of Pharisees and blame of Jews for killing Christ inflamed theological hatred. Jews came to view Christians as heretical traitors; Christians came to see Jews as accursed Christ-killers.

Moreover, a number of other early Christian writings affirm this history. In The Epistle of Barnabas (80-120 CE), we read: He says to them, "Your new moons and your Sabbath I cannot endure." Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is which I have made, [namely this,] when, giving rest to all things, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead. And when He had manifested Himself, He ascended into the heavens. Likewise, in his Epistle to the Magnesians, Ignatius of Antioch (35-108 CE) wrote: Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be. Therefore, having become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this, is not of God. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the sour leaven, and be changed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be salted in Him, lest any one among you should be corrupted, since by your savour you shall be convicted. It is absurd to profess Christ Jesus, and to Judaize. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity, that so every tongue which believes might be gathered together to God.

In his Epistle to the Philadelphians, Ignatius had this to say about the Eucharist: Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to show forth the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever you do, you may do it according to the will of God. Likewise, in his First Apology , Justin Martyr (100-165 CE) had this to say about the Eucharist: And this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.

Interestingly, Justin's First Apology also establishes that Sunday observance was a well-established tradition among Christians by the middle of the Second Century. He wrote: And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons...But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

Thus, we have established that Christianity's estrangement from Judaism was a fact of the latter half of the First Century, not the Second. As a consequence of this historic fact, we know that the scholarly window for the authorship of The Didache (50-120 CE) did NOT correspond to a period of Christian history which could be characterized as "Hebraic in nature." This is critical in refuting Horane Smith's interpretation of The Didache's mention of the Eucharist and Lord's Day.

Hence, the statement which has been translated into English as, But on the Lord's day, after that you have assembled together, break bread and give thanks, having in addition confessed your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure, must be understood in this historical context. Moreover, its context within the sentence makes it analogous to other mentions of the "Lord's Day" (including the one in Revelation 1:10).

Likewise, The Didache's statement about the Eucharist is subject to the same considerations. We read there: But concerning the Eucharist, after this fashion give you thanks. First, concerning the cup. We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine, David your Son, which you have made known unto us through Jesus Christ your Son; to you be the glory for ever. And concerning the broken bread. We thank you, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have made known unto us through Jesus your Son; to you be the glory for ever. As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains, and after it had been brought together became one, so may your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth unto your kingdom; for thine is the glory, and the power, through Jesus Christ, for ever. And let none eat or drink of your Eucharist but such as have been baptized into the name of the Lord, for of a truth the Lord hath said concerning this, Give not that which is holy unto dogs. Moreover, while this characterization of the Eucharist is different from that which is portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels and Paul's letter to the saints at Corinth, it is certainly consistent with John's characterization of those symbols (see John 6:22-58 and 15:1-8).

Thus, our exploration of the available sources stands in stark contrast to the conclusions which Pastor Smith reached in his article. He wrote: How should we see the Didache then as it relates to these two modern-day teachings—the Lord’s Day and the Eucharist? The evidence is clear that it cannot be taken for granted that it’s an all-clear-cut proposition that the Didache indicates that the concept of the Lord’s Day being Sunday came as early as the first century. First, no one can say for certain that the Didache is a first-century document, and second, the insertion of the word “day” to read Lord’s Day robs the phrase of authenticity or accurate translation, because “On the Lords of the Lords,” the literal translation of the phrase, seems to have no link with a day, or a day of worship for that matter. For this researcher, the evidence suggest that The Didache provides clear evidence that the traditional view of the Lord's Day (Sunday observance) and the Eucharist began in the First Century, NOT later! What do you think?

 Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix

Crackpot Prophet Commands Tithing While Prominent Evangelist Admits Commanded Tithing Is Wrong

The Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel and his sidekick Steve Dupuie are back once again, lying to Continuing Church of God followers that tithing is a New Covenant command. This kind of convoluted reasoning comes from people entrenched in the law and the Old Covenant, and who do not recognize what was accomplished by Jesus with the New Covenant. Following the law brings comfort and stability to those weak and unable to think for themselves. The need to teach others what and how to believe is a powerful drug that the die-hard Armstrongists wallow in and so they will lie to followers day in and day out giving them all kinds of lists and things to do to make the god they claim to follow like them and given a "get out of jail pass" into the kingdom. Fear and guilt are the two main tools of control COG leaders have over members. It is time to break free from those shackles.

You need to throw away every book, booklet, article, and video made by any Armstrongite minister or church leader telling you that tithing is commanded. They are liars if they do.

------

The prominent African-American Creflo Dollar has admitted his tithing requirements were wrong. Those tithes bought him jet planes, fancy homes, etc., with which he has been widely mocked.

Listening to him below, he admits he woke up to the freedom of God's grace instead of being under the Mosaic covenants. 

The concepts he brings across are the same revelation that the Worldwide Church of God came to understand about tithing. It is not commanded in the New Covenant under grace. People give because they understand they are blessed by God. Tithing was used as a tool of guilt and fear in the church.

Dollar says: Religion is sustained by two factors: fear and guilt.

Challenging popular Evangelical belief, controversial televangelist Creflo Dollar, one of America's most flamboyant proponents of the prosperity gospel, has renounced tithing and all his previous teachings on the subject as "not correct."

He also urged his followers to "throw away every book, every tape and every video I ever did on the subject of tithing" but says he will not apologize for his error. 

 

In a Sunday sermon billed "The Great Misunderstanding," the founder and senior pastor of the nearly 30,000-member World Changers Church International headquartered in College Park, Georgia, said he is aware that his declaration will cause him to lose friends and invitations to speak at other churches. 

 

However, he said he is convinced, after studying Romans 6:14, that tithing is an Old Testament concept that has been retired in the dispensation of grace in which Christians should now be living.
"I want to start off by saying that I'm still growing, and the teachings that I've shared in times past on the subject of tithing were not correct," Dollar began in his June 26 sermon.

 

"And today, I stand in humility to correct some things that I've taught for years and believed for years but could never understand it clearly because I had not yet been confronted with the Gospel of grace, which has made the difference." 

 

"I won't apologize because if it wasn't for me going down that route, I wouldn't have ended up where I am now," he continued. "But I will say that I have no shame at all at saying to you, throw away every book, every tape and every video I ever did on the subject of tithing unless it lines up with this." Televangelist Creflo Dollar says teachings on tithing ‘not correct’ but won’t apologize to followers

It is interesting reading the comments tied in with the video above by people who want to continue to live under the bondage of tithing and the law. Just like many in Armstrongism, tithing is the one thing that the church has brainwashed members into believing they are commanded to do.  Tithing makes the COG merry-go-round function. Without this lie funding their so-called ministries would not be around today.

Updated 6/2/25

David C. Pack’s Blacker Kettle

 

David C. Pack’s Blacker Kettle

What David C. Pack is doing in The Restored Church of God is turning more bleak, and the brethren would do well to start paying attention.

The Pastor General is determined to prove to the world that God’s Spirit is working directly with him, providing special hidden knowledge that must be haphazardly rushed out before Jesus Christ can return.

Can you imagine trying to work with someone for ten years and they still keep getting it wrong? Talk about an exercise in perpetual frustration.

If you were attending The Restored Church of God and happened to be locked in a time loop vacuum from April 26 to May 3, 2025, you would have been fully anticipating the arrival of the Kingdom of God today at dawn because during “The Greatest Untold Story!” Parts 573-575, Pastor General David C. Pack gave all the assurances it would come on Pentecost. In fact, proving it was just so darn easy.

Part 573 – May 3, 2025
@ 02:19 But proving it’s Pentecost is falling over backwards without even being pushed. I mean, it’s just that easy.

@ 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.”

Part 574 – May 3, 2025
@ 51:59 Pentecost 2025 is the only date that cannot tarry.

David C. Pack is so spectacularly incompetent that he is incapable of following the laws of physics. Even "falling over backward" is a monumental challenge too daunting to be done correctly despite the proclaimed ease of such a maneuver.

David C. Pack
Failing at Easy Because Easy is Just Too Hard™

Despite his grandiose theological claims, David C. Pack is just a man and is subject to the psychological functions of the human brain. His brain may be utterly broken, affording him the self-permission to speak with ridiculous audacity, but his psyche has an understanding of what he really is.

David C. Pack’s personal psychological defense mechanisms occasionally surface during sermons, primarily when he attacks the nature of others that resides in himself.

Criticizing the behaviors of others that you hate within yourself is known as “The Pot Calling the Kettle Black.”

During “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 466)” on September 7, 2023, David C. Pack leveled substantial refutations against Gerald Flurry of the Philadelphia Church of God, even calling him a lunatic. While handing out disgusted proclamations for Flurry, Dave was preaching that the Kingdom of God would arrive on The Feast of Trumpets. In 2023.

Dave also capitalized on his sermon time to elevate himself as the Messenger of the Covenant and the Star Out of Jacob. The “Kettle Black” article documented the jaw-dropping blindness.

Flash forward to “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 577)” on May 24, 2025. PCG’s Pastor General escaped the deluge of ironic ire, but the Jewish scholars were taken to task.

Part 577 – May 24, 2025
@ 08:46 But the Jews saying that Exodus 19:1 is the New Moon almost made me doubt it. Well, I did more research to see where they came up with it, and it is really bad.

RCG’s resident false apostle is supremely insecure and craves attention like an 18-year-old Instagram influencer. Since his neurons fire along the same pathways as us all, he is a prisoner of his own psychology and has no control over how his psychosis manifests.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
A proverbial idiom from Thomas Shelton’s 1620 translation of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s “History of Don Quixote.” The phrase identifies a situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault that the accuser shares. Some resources claim this is an example of psychological projection.

Psychological Projection
As a defense mechanism, it helps protect the ego from anxiety-provoking thoughts or feelings. By attributing these unwanted aspects to someone or something else, the individual distances themselves from what they find unacceptable within themselves. This process helps reduce internal conflict and preserve a more favorable self-image.

Individuals attribute their own undesirable feelings, thoughts, or motives onto others. This process allows individuals to cope with their own insecurities by perceiving them in others instead.

David C. Pack is coping so hard during Part 577.

Spoiler Alert:
God has a sense of humor and is a fan of irony.

The Pastor General has a love/hate relationship with the Jewish people. He pivots from praising them for being the “oracles of God” to calling them Remphan-worshiping idolaters who killed Stephen for attacking their love of Christmas trees. Yes, he really said that.

Each highlighted point is precisely what David C. Pack does himself, but cannot see it. Read the highlights if you want to understand the broken mind of a self-delusional false apostle brimming over with self-righteous superiority.

Part 577 – May 24, 2025
@ 08:56 In fact, they actually have a false motive. Their goal is to put Pentecost on the 6th of Sivan every year. And so they they literally force the story of Exodus 19 to say that Pentecost comes on the 6th through a series of wild inventions. They're just inventions. But they're only made possible if you declare that to be Sivan 1 when Israel arrived at Sinai. You hafta do that. Then, you have to twist Moses' journeyings up and down the mountain and what happened to get to the 6th for the privilege of the Jews never, ever, ever keeping Pentecost [chuckles] on the right date. So, when when you when you when you pervert the story, I'm not saying they were they were corrupt to arrive at a perverted date for Pentecost. It makes me wonder if your understanding of Exodus 19:1 being a New Moon instead of the middle of the month is its own perversion that leads to to a worsening of the problem. So that was just suspicions. Well, after more time studying it, believe me, they are wrong. And you will not doubt it. You will not doubt it.

Dave was not done warming the backside of the Jewish scholars behind the woodshed. The exquisite blindness is almost divine as Dave acknowledges the blindness of others in 3…2…1…

@ 43:46 Now, I don’t know. I can't explain why the Jews don't see it, except there's a veil on their heads.They can look right at a series of miracles for years and say, “Kill the man who does that.” That’s the same mind. Yet, they’ll go on to be amazing people.

For the third whooping session, Dave took issue with how the Jewish scholars interpreted Ezra 3:8-10’s timing of the Temple being built.

@ 1:11:48 So, the Jews will tell you it was the third day. And you go read their their explanation for why it was the third day ‘cause it duddn’t say there. And I’ll be I’ll be I’ll be generous to their description. This–I’m gonna give them the I’ma put the best face on their description I can put on. This is the kindest I can be. It’s gobbledygook. That’s over, eh–I mean, it wuddn’t that good. They just invent a date.

Wow. Just…wow.

The Black Kettle Answers The Pot
The kindest I can be to David C. Pack is that he has been teaching gobbledygook for over 577 Parts. He just invents dates for the return of Jesus Christ and the arrival of the Kingdom of God. He provides his private interpretations of the Bible because he inserts what it duddn’t say there. He has false motives for preaching “The Greatest Untold Story!” which serves as a continuous self-focused platform to elevate himself. He literally forces the story of the Bible to fit whatever current narrative he desires through a series of wild inventions. They’re just inventions. He twists the verses to say what he wants, perverting the story of the Gospel into a corrupt present truth that is quickly abandoned despite claiming inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Believing he is David Passover, Elijah the Prophet, Joshua the High Priest, the Seventh Angel, the Branch, That Prophet, the Goodman of the House, the Messenger of the Covenant, and many others is its own perversion that leads to a worsening of the problem. His blasphemy against God’s Holy Spirit has reached astounding levels. Anyone in RCG studying their Bibles would know. Believe me, Dave is wrong. David C. Pack cannot see what he is, and his blindness is so complete and profound that he must have a veil on his head.

Luke 6:39
…Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Marc Cebrian

See: David C. Pack’s Blacker Kettle

Dave Pack: A Broken Brain

A Broken Brain

David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God has convinced himself that God is guiding him to teach “The Greatest Untold Story!” Series that began on November 14, 2015. For 577 messages, he has taught that he is found throughout the Bible and reminds the brethren weekly how pervasive his mentions are.

The dozens of biblical titles he claims only begin with being Joshua the High Priest, Elijah the Prophet, and the Seventh Angel of Revelation.

When you believe God is moving you to preach everything you do from the front of the Main Hall in the Hall of Administration, then every speculation, lie, and failure is merely part of the divine process for reaching the Kingdom of God.

Accountability is for suckers.

Until the brethren in The Restored Church of God recognize they do not attend "God's One True Church" and that David C. Pack has absolutely no authority over their path to salvation, they will choose to remain trapped despite their awareness that he is a false teacher, false apostle, and false prophet.

Insulating himself with cunning sycophants like Bradford Schleifer, Edward Winkfield, and Carl Houk, the Pastor General has reinforced the walls of self-delusion and madness.

When you reach that elevated level of unmatched human excellence and cosmic importance, blasphemy and idolatry are inevitable. It also means your brain is broken in an awful way.

The psychiatric phenomena known as Jerusalem Syndrome has been thriving in Wadsworth since 2005 when David C. Pack first claimed to be an apostle and then Joshua the High Priest in 2009. By 2015, unveiling himself as Elijah the Prophet and That Prophet were not stretches.

The Jerusalem Post has an extensive article about the theological illness that has spread to Ohio. Since none of the Headquarters enablers attempted to stop the prophetic lunacy from taking hold, it has since thrived and expanded.

The Cambridge University Press reports on a study with some elements of Jerusalem Syndrome that should ring familiar to the brethren of The Restored Church of God.

Individuals from [Type 1, Subtype I] strongly identify with characters from the Old or New Testament or are convinced that they themselves are one of these characters. Their conviction reaches psychotic dimensions.

People who suffer from Jerusalem Syndrome in Israel typically recover without specific medical treatment. All those people need to return to a normal mental state is separation from biblical sites.

Treatment and Recovery
Type III does not usually involve visual or auditory hallucinations. …Their condition usually returns to normal within 5-7 days; in other words, a short-lived episode followed by complete recovery. …but recovery is quite often spontaneous and not necessarily due to the treatment. Experience has taught us that improvement is facilitated by, or dependent on, physically distancing the patient from Jerusalem and its holy places.

The problem with David C. Pack’s broken brain is that he lives and “works” in isolation within his own created Jerusalem. The Campus is the World Headquarters for the Work of God, where Jesus Christ will come to start the Kingdom of God on earth and to bless His chosen servant with exousia to preach to the entire world. Billions of people will hear and obey the voice of David C. Pack, and it will be glorious.

I bet Dave can almost taste that sweet vindication. It is so very close.

No wonder Dave cannot wait for the Kingdom to come and desperately needs something prophetic to manifest on Sivan 15 on June 11, 2025. He will get to prove to Gary, Dennis, and me that he was right all along, and billions of heathens better do what he says, or they could be tossed into the Lake of Fire.

That is a lot to give up by admitting God was not guiding you and that “The Greatest Untold Story!” Series was a pointless flop with no biblical significance that consumed a decade of members’ time. After building a multi-million dollar business on the singular idea that "We are the only ones who know the truth," acknowledging it was utterly false after ruining countless lives in the process would be an exquisite horror worth recounting by H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker.

Any sane person facing that kind of pure abject failure after decades of misguided devotion and self-delusion would find the miserable experience brain-breaking.

It is a good thing that David Passover is the real deal, and he will never need to face the stark reality of being so fundamentally wrong about his core beliefs. Not just religious beliefs but excruciatingly wrong about the very nature of who and what he is.

Despite having over 300 articles on exrcg.org, there are still jaw-dropping moments leaking from Headquarters that shock and baffle by David C. Pack’s nth-degree blasphemy and audacious lack in the fear of God.

Two instances illustrate the point.

During "The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 571)" on April 19, 2025, David C. Pack told the brethren that in Revelation 10:6, when the angel swore to God, he was speaking of David C. Pack and the end of his Series.

Part 571 – April 19, 2025
@ 10:34 In Revelation 10:6, when it says “there’s time no longer,” Christ [the angel] raises His right hand and sweared swears by God and everything God ever made in the universe, everything He ever made, that “there’s time no longer” after a man finishes making the Mystery of God clear. Now, nowhere in the Scriptures does God ever invoke such an absolute swearing [chuckles] on a moment and then tie it to after a Series ends. So, if you were I, [chuckles] y–you would you you would be very attentive to that.

Bible scholars should note that Revelation 10 is all about David C. Pack.

David C. Pack taught that Jesus Christ swore
to God the Father about David C. Pack.

Just in case anyone wonders if the Pastor General misspoke or was unfairly quoted out of context, he repeated the concept again a few weeks later.

Part 574 – May 3, 2025
@ 01:03:01 There are only two places where Christ stands and swears. Once at the end of this Series. The end of this Series. He swears at the after in the days of the voice of the Seventh Messenger, when when the Mystery of God is finished, he he will he he’s about to sound and the Mystery of God is finished. And God swears there’s time no longer after that happened. It’s an absolute promise by the same Jesus Christ, who’s swearing there, that once it does start, there are three and a half years from a Pentecost, where there’s time no longer…

During this message, David C. Pack taught that the Kingdom of God would arrive on June 1, 2025. He was so convicted about Pentecost that he was willing to place God's name and an oath by Jesus Christ on that certainty.

@ 1:12:16 And if it’s the year it happens and doesn’t happen, you’ll never hear me say it’s other than Pentecost.

After exploiting God’s name for leverage, only a person with a truly broken brain would recant this one week later. The severe gravity of this act escapes David C. Pack.

Part 575 – May 10, 2025
@13:13 But the day is not May 31st [Pentecost begins at sunset], which is what we’re waiting for, becomes May 21^st [Iyar 24]. And we’d have to ask, “Wow, real simplicity in Christ.”

David C. Pack casually strolls into another religious danger zone without a care in the world. May God have mercy on him.

Despite being proven wrong since August 2013, David C. Pack fancies himself as the intermediary steward between God the Father and Jesus Christ. Likening himself to John the Baptist, Dave’s words usher the arrival of the Kingdom of God just around the corner. Time is running out to send in your money, so act fast before the doors are shut and you are left missing out.

He may be Patient Zero of Jerusalem Syndrome in Ohio, but the All-Believing Zealots inside RCG cultivate the toxic belief that their Pastor General is preaching the truth inspired directly by God when all tangible evidence concludes the opposite.

To further compound the risk of eternal consequences, David C. Pack claims God’s Spirit is the inspiration of his ever-changing prophetic doctrines, even when those “proofs” are repeatedly proven false.

David C. Pack makes God and Jesus Christ liars.

He preached the Kingdom of God would begin on Abib 1, 2025.

Part 559 – February 22, 2025
@ 1:11:18 Nobody's gonna see Abib 1 come and say, "I got this all figured out." I've been studying the Bible a long time, and it took a long time to figure it out. Nobody’s gonna figure out without the Holy Spirit what all eleven disciples combined couldn’t figure out.

He preached the Kingdom of God would begin on Passover 2025.

Part 564 – March 22, 2025
@ 1:01:34 I have to be smart enough that God's Spirit can work through me. I have to have a certain amount of talent, but it's His Spirit that showed me things.

Part 565 – March 22, 2025
@ 10:57 Now, brethren, I get these thoughts, and, again, it's simply God's Spirit working with me.

He preached the Kingdom of God would begin on Iyar 24, 2025.

Part 575 – May 10, 2025
@ 01:42 Now, I don’t know if I’ve ever explained it quite this way, but the learning process is for me is just try to follow where the still small voice of God’s Spirit leads. This sermon is the result.

He preached the Kingdom of God will arrive on Sivan 15, which is June 11, 2025.

Part 577 – May 24, 2025
@ 04:48 But, again brethren, I I I’m up here trying to listen to the still, small voice of God’s Spirit. I can go to four or five different verses that say that’s how He works with His with His leading ministers, apostles, and prophets on matters of truth.

David C. Pack is not a leading minister of Jesus Christ. He is not an apostle and he is not a prophet. The words from his lips are not matters of truth. History proves this.

RCG members who read this while still paying his salary should consider their ways. They are choosing to support a proven hypocritical blaspheming liar, false apostle, false prophet, false teacher, and human idol.

The Restored Church of God is not "God's One True Church," and Pastor General David C. Pack does not speak the truth with God's authority but instead continues to blaspheme the Holy Spirit with impunity.

His brain is broken. His brain is filthy. Flee from The Restored Church of God before you become infected by the same condition. For some sitting beside you, it is already too late.

[

Marc Cebrian

See: A Broken Brain

Restored Church of God/Ed Winkfield: Mishandling Vipers

Mishandling Vipers

The light, humorous style and colorful reporting about David C. Pack and The Restored Church of God may have mistakenly given the impression that the enablers at Headquarters are no more than docile idiots blindly following a proven false prophet because they have been unfairly duped and are innocent, unaware prisoners trapped in a subtly corrupt spiritual organization.

In actuality, the hirelings at Headquarters in Wadsworth, Ohio, are willful participants in the coercive deception and persistent biblical fraud committed by their human idol, Pastor General David C. Pack. These crafty and calculated opportunists remain on the payroll and in their comfortable Campus homes because they choose to.

They know what David C. Pack is, and they know exactly what they are doing.

When I was 13, I went on a family vacation to Florida. One of the stops was an alligator farm where trained guides fed these massive, scaly reptiles in front of an audience for entertainment. The hissing alligators would stay still with their mouths wide open. The trainer tapped them on the nose with a stick, coaxing them to perform his tricks.

The seasoned trainer demonstrated his years of experience and familiarity with the alligators. He placed his hand in an open mouth and touched its tongue. The alligator snapped its jaws shut. This was the coup de grace of the performance, causing the audience to explode with applause.

If the trainer makes it look too easy, a naïve individual might feel compelled to hop the fence and give it a try. After all, how hard could it be? After 30 seconds of toying with the alligators, that overzealous individual may incite screams for an ambulance rather than applause.

Something like that happened this week.

Getting into the water to exchange biblical truth with alligators is not a wise move and should only be attempted by experienced, fully prepared professionals.

Gary at Banned by HWA informed me that blogger Richard Burkard contacted Edward L. Winkfield at The Restored Church of God this week to ask him about information provided on exrcg.org and the YouTube Channel.

The bigger underlying story is that they spoke to him at all, regardless of the context or content of his article. According to Richard’s bio, he is a “90%-retired journalist, moderating ‘Weekly Watch’ faith-based teleconference from Haggai114.net.” Not exactly Fox News.

Headquarters must be desperate for the good press if they are willing to talk on the phone with an unknown writer for some obscure religious website. At least The Living God Ministries are Sabbath and New Moon-keepers, just like RCG. Their stances on Christmas and birthdays have not yet been vetted.

Maybe the folks at Headquarters felt a prodigal son kinship with this fellow micro flock outside the Body of Christ despite their use of sacred names. Or perhaps Ryan Denee was coveting that prime advertising space on the official Israel of God list and envisioned RCG being included next to UCG, COGwa, and CGG.

Apparently, you do not have a real ministry until you get on that list.

Richard and I connected via email, and he answered some questions for me to use in this article. He is an “old school” retired career journalist who contacted RCG through their main number and left them a voicemail. About an hour later, Edward Winkfield called him back for a 6-7 minute discussion. Richard mentioned the videos about Pentecost 2025.

Richard Burkard via email
"I cited one or two of Mr. Pack's quotes and specifically asked if Mr. Pack had made predictions about dates prior to Pentecost 2025. …I stuck to the Pack predictions and then offered him the opportunity to add any concluding remarks. He said only that he appreciated people reaching out to RCG directly."

It is unfortunate that Richard neglected to contact me to obtain the up-to-date details that are necessary before attempting such a bold move. An 80%-retired journalist would have known to confirm his current facts from all available sources before conducting an investigatory interview with the vipers’ nest.

I know he meant well, so I asked him what his motivation for contacting RCG was.

Richard Burkard via email
"I'd written an earlier Substack article in March about Mr. Pack's Abib 1 claims. So it seemed like a follow-up was in order - but I realized I had not been fair to RCG to get their side of the story.”

Getting both sides of the story is always recommended and fair. That is why reporting on The Restored Church of God and David C. Pack is accompanied by time-stamped quotes and video evidence. What Dave preaches ex-cathedra to his worshippers IS his side of the story.

Despite how I humorously tug on Dave’s pigtails, kick sand in Brad’s face, or tie Ryan Denee’s shoelaces together, those men are highly skilled manipulators worthy of extreme caution.

Edward Winkfield may be an incompetent manager who accelerated the demise of Media Production Services and the smiling, over-zealous New Moon mouthpiece, but make no mistake: He is a viper. He is a scorpion and a wolf and should be regarded as such.

Richard wandered into the petting zoo thinking he was mingling with passive "Christian" sheep but did not realize until it was too late that they were disguised ravening wolves. If you let your guard down for even a moment, the overwhelming attacks would come so quickly, with bites so deep you would not even feel them until blood was already on the ground.

Without having a fuller context of their shrewd practices and adept word parsing, Richard played right into their hands and gave them what they wanted: A free public denial.

Being “fair” to them worked out like gangbusters. Edward Winkfield was able to lie without lying. He answered to “the letter of the law” and not “the spirit of the law.” Like a lawyer would advise, he answered the questions that were asked and volunteered no more.

Pack Predicting Pentecost? Aide to Ohio Church Leader Denies New Date Set
Richard Burkard – May 27, 2025

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.
[Article Continues]

Ed was able to contort his answers to avoid a plain falsehood until the very end. What a rookie move.

Edward L. Winkfield knows precisely what the motives of “RCG critics” are. He supports a spiritually corrupt organization that has a proven false prophet as a figurehead who admits that preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God too loudly fights God's purpose while extracting monetary resources from members and widows under the threat of losing salvation so they can escape corporate debt while simultaneously preaching Jesus Christ is returning within days.

If you contact The Restored Church of God, you will be petting a snake. Do not be surprised at the speed at which you will get bit.

Richard may have wanted to be “fair” to RCG, but Ed was not “fair” with his slippery answers. His verbal sophistry was transparent as he dodged uninformed questions. Former RCG veterans are versed in the familiar subterfuge.

Richard greased up his own fingers. Ed just let himself slip out of his grip.

…denies online claims that its leader is predicting the return of Jesus Christ…

RCG and David C. Pack do not “predict” anything. Prediction is not part of their operation. He prophesies. Word selection is crucial, especially when Dave changes the meaning of words. According to him, a prophet no longer receives words from God's mouth, and prophesying is “just preaching what the Bible says.”

“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.

Ed answered the question in the present tense because that is how it was asked, and he was fully aware that starting on April 26 during “The Greatest Untold Story!” Part 572 until Part 575 on May 10, his boss WAS teaching that the Kingdom of God would arrive on June 1, 2025.

The new date they currently teach is Sivan 15 on June 11. Ed knew that. Richard did not. Ed knew Richard did not and was able to get away with that answer without a fruitful follow-up.

…has been accused of setting failed dates…

These are not accusations. They are documented, proven facts beyond refute.

Winkfield said. “But I can say unequivocally that is not what we teach.”

A present tense answer is framed with the word prediction in context. Ed is mastering disingenuous answers.

Cebrian might respond… Cebrian's ExRCG.org blog did not explain the later date…

Cebrian was not contacted and was busy reporting on RCG’s $3.1 million debt liberation.

“…Maybe you could go as far as speculating different things,
but I wouldn't take it as anything beyond that," Winkfield explained.

RCG members will either scream out the window or roar in laughter. Brad must have shook his head at that. With good reason. A massive logic sinkhole just appeared at the Headquarters Campus.

Edward Winkfield was not authorized to label Dave’s entire “Greatest Untold Story!” Series as 577 Parts of speculation.This might have been him winging it and diverting from Brad’s notes. Ed accidentally stumbled into the lying side of the ethics line.

What David C. Pack teaches from the table each week is enforced doctrine in The Restored Church of God. It is not speculation. If members do not “take it as anything beyond that," they will not stay in their seats. Ed Winkfield just described his Pastor General as being a biblical fan fiction cosplayer.

For fun, I challenge any current member to tell their field mollusk they do not take what their Pastor General says beyond more than just speculation. See what happens.

When David C. Pack inevitably bails on his Sivan 15 idea, he will not be preaching the next date as pure speculation. He will preach it under his god’s authority and in its name. If all he is doing is “speculating different things," then there is no rush to call it out or occupy the Sabbath with unenforceable prophetic pontifications.

David C. Pack has repeated that he is moved by God’s Spirit to teach what he does. What Ed foolishly said calls this into question, undermining the validity of anything the Pastor General preaches.

Now, that’s the Ed Winkfield I remember. Nice going, man.

Richard left the interview with his "fair" answers, but he had no concept of the gravity of the transaction because he did not understand the nature of who he was dealing with.

Richard unwittingly handed RCG a win with a flat denial without challenging Ed further. He may have left the call pleased, but not more than Ed.

I used to consider Edward L. Winkfield a friend and respected him, which is probably why my disgust became caustic due to his slobbering Dave-fawning during his sermons. I credit Ed for being the straw that broke the camel’s back, prompting my resignation from RCG in 2021.

Ed surrendered his critical thinking to pursue a career in false apostle advocacy and has not looked back. He defends his human idol passionately and reveals himself to be more interested in the false words of a twisted man than in the word of God.

With Richard’s easy access to Ed as proof, The Restored Church of God is now open to entertaining questions from anyone who calls if they perceive they have a chance to generate positive publicity. Let this article stand as a stark warning.

To the inexperienced outsiders, The Restored Church of God may appear to be a benevolent 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization that just wants to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world and worship in peace and harmony.

But it is a school that trains gaslighting manipulators, taking in millions of dollars each year. The people in charge will not allow an unknown 90%-retired writer from an obscure religious website to threaten that income or their seats of authority. If you ask a clumsy question, you will get a devious answer.

Kindly shepherds do not walk the grounds of the Headquarters Campus in Wadsworth, Ohio. There are no posted warning signs about the territory occupied by alligators, wolves, scorpions, and vipers.

Learn from Richard Burkard’s mistakes. Mishandling vipers is a dangerous business.

Marc Cebrian

See: Mishandling Vipers