Transformed by the 'spirit' in UCG. REALLY?????

United Church of God has a report up about it's recent conference.  Just typical "we are family" and "we all need to get along" stuff.  However, one "keynote speaker" was Ray Wright.

Later in the day there was another keynote address from Ray Wright, pastor of the Dallas, Texas, congregation. He spoke on being “Transformed by the Spirit of God,” showing that God expects a total transformation in us when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We become “a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I am appalled that this man is still being allowed to minister in a Church of God congregation considering his horrible background in Worldwide.  He was kicked out of Worldwide for embezzling money, not once, but TWICE!  He would be sent into exile and then a couple years later he would be back and some moron would allow him access to church money again.  He has been sued multiple times, and may have even spent time in jail, can't remember on that part. At one point in time he and his family were living in Texas over the top of one of his fake businesses that got him into trouble. Several WCG ministers were jailed for money scams involving cars and investments in the late 80's/early 90's.

He and his wife used to cause a stink every Saturday in Pasadena when they would show up for church fashionably late in the middle of the sermonette and saunter in their expensive clothes down the aisle to a front row seat that they EXPECTED to be waiting for them.  They soon became the laughing stock of the church.

But never fear, Wright is the authority on being "transformed by the spirit." He's a "new creation."  This man should NOT be ministering to any congregation, anywhere!

Official Spokesman of the Living Church of God Publishes New Book

Fatima Shock!

Bob Thiel, the Official Spokesperson of the Living Church of God on prophecy and doctrine, has just published another book.  This will most likely join a long line of screeds against the Catholic church that no one ever reads.  His biggest audience will be COGers and anti-Catholic evangelicals who think he knows what he is talking about.

The prophet writes:

For those unfamiliar with Fatima, Fatima was the name of Muhammad’s favorite daughter.  Muslims often name their daughters Fatima (similar to Catholics naming their daughters Mary).  A small town in Portugal was renamed Fatima after a Muslim princess named Fatima converted to Roman Catholicism.  In 1917, three children claimed to have a series of monthly visits from an apparition who finally identified herself with the rosary.  The apparition is known as “Our Lady of Fatima” or “the Virgin of Fatima” (she never referred to herself as Mary).  Hollywood did a movie about this decades ago called The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (which I have seen).

The apparition, which many in the Catholic world believe was Jesus’ mother Mary, gave various “secrets,” several of which were not written down until after they had apparently been fulfilled.  Many believe that Fatima holds the key to the future and that the forces of evil can be stopped if various portions of the messages of Fatima are heeded.

------

Although most non-Catholics do not think that Fatima can affect them, if they live long enough this century, they will find that this is not the case.  Fatima is a much bigger deal than people realize and seems to tie into a variety of prophecies throughout the Bible (e.g. Isaiah 47, Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 17).

The truth about Fatima, the messages of Fatima, the “secrets” of Fatima, the Vatican’s views of Fatima, and how Fatima is expected to impact the future are all covered in detail in Fatima Shock!

Fatima Shock! also, and mainly from Catholic writings, exposes where the “rosary” came from, where many “dogmas of Mary” came from, and explains how Satan has used apparitions in the past to interfere with the Church of God and to promote non-biblical “Christianity.”  Fatima Shock! also explains what appears to be Satan’s plans for apparitions in the future based upon biblical and other prophecies.

Dennis On "Is He Coming Again or is He Not?"

"Is He Coming Again or is He Not?"

If the Second Coming of Jesus was imminent and soon, over 2000 years ago, can it still be imminent and soon in our time?  I spent 30 years of my life believing this contradiction to be true.  I taught it was true.  I hoped it was true. However, it was and is not true.  

To the point.  Every scripture in the New Testament about the immediate return of Jesus was written to and for those people 2000 years ago. Not one scripture , comment, encouragement and declaration about the return of Jesus to make the world all right again was meant for the future.  It was not meant for us.  In fact, while meant for those who lived in and around the time of Jesus life and death, it turned out not to be true for them either.  

We today read an awfully lot into the Bible texts about the Second Coming of Jesus. I did it sincerely for decades.  There is this magical feeling that whenever the scripture says "to you it is given," or "you will see..."  or "we shall be changed.." it is talking to us today or even to me specifically.  Of course, it is not. It was spoken to "them" and not us.  We can make it all dualistic or type and fulfillment all we want, but in fact, no scripture on this topic is speaking to me or you in this day.

When Jesus is made to say in Matthew 23:34  "Behold I say unto YOU, THIS GENERATION shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled," he meant it.  He didn't mean this generation who sees all the signs for every generation has any number of same things going on to "see" as the sign of his coming.  Jesus was talking to THEM and to THEIR generation.  Frankly, it was a failed piece of non-truth for them as well.

Matthew 24 was never meant for us today and it was all about the experience they were having 2000 years ago under the Roman boot in Judea. 

Matthew 26:64

⁶⁴ You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.

The YOU was them, not us.

Matthew 10:23

^23" When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."

The YOU was them, not us.

Revelation 1:3

³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

"Time is near," or as Revelation 1:1 notes, "to show unto his servants the things that must shortly come to pass," was for them , not us.  It was their "shortly," not ours.

Revelation 1:7

⁷ Look, he is coming with the clouds,”^[a]
    and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”^[b]
So shall it be! Amen."

This plainly tells the audience of that time that EVEN THOSE or that Roman soldier who pierced Jesus would live to see him return.  And no, not in the future resurrection, but soon.

 Revelation 22:6

⁶ These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.

Revelation nicely wraps up and reiterates that it was soon for them, not us.  Just as we tend to take the word "you" in the Bible as meaning us today, so "his servants" are now long dead ones and not those who today define themselves as still "his servants."

Revelation 22:7, 12 and 20 remind the reader of that time and that generation, "behold I come quickly..."   It meant to the author what he meant it to mean...soon.

Whoever, and it was not Paul, wrote Hebrews 1:1-2 told that audience that in those last days then, God is now speaking to them through his son and not by the ancient prophets.  "These last days" meant exactly what the author meant it to mean for them, not us. 

1 John 2:18 goes even further to clarify that it is not just the last days, but they then were in 'the last hour."  Their last hour, not ours.

¹⁸ Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

1 Corinthians 10:11

¹¹ "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.

All the warnings derived from the past history of Israel were written for them to warn them upon whom the end of the age (not world) had come.  Paul never for a moment, until he had no choice, believed it was not him and them.  If we simply think Paul just didn't know it was a much bigger "YOU" or "US", then at least we have to admit that Paul mislead many, lied and didn't know what he was talking about.  Telling people then that they should be encouraged that soon means at least 2000 more years is not encouraging and no one would bother with such a teaching. 

1 Peter 4:7

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.

Read it at face value.  The end was near for them, not us.

I Cor 7:29
Brethren, the time is short...

1 Corinthians 7:25-28

^25" Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. ²⁶ Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this."

Paul was sure of the shortness of time that he made up rules for "time is short," behaviors .  He didn't forbid marriage, but he did discourage it. How sad that some ministers today do the same thing thinking "YOU" means "THEM."  How many relationships did the Apostle Paul screw up being wrong about his vision of soon?

 

The author of 2 Peter 3:3-10 was beginning to suspect the game was running into overtime, people were dropping out and scoffers were getting antsy and vocal over all these promises of "soon."  We all know that feeling don't we...  So, like a Ron Weinland, who must realize it is simply not going to happen in their lifetime, the author of 2 Peter spiritualizes what was literally true to date and says "well...you gotta understand, a day with the Lord is as 1000 years..."  In other words, time is spiiiiiiiiritual and "you people," have misunderstood.

 

1 Timothy 6:13-14

¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Paul was telling Timothy to hang in there until Jesus came back soon in his time.  He was not telling him to hang in there, die and see you Tim in the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

"We" means them, not us.  The dead spoken of were those believers who had died in the past few years not having received the promise, but not so late in the game that Paul had not given up on it meaning HIM and those that still were alive THEN.  Paul went on in I Thessalonians 4 to address the disappointment and sorrow THEY for those dying before this all took place.  It started to inject doubt, scoffing and loss of hope for THEM, not us.  When Paul said..."we who are alive and remain..." he meant himself and them, not us. 


2 Thessalonians was written to reinject hope even more with time grinding on and still no "soon" occurring.  The hope of soon has faded and not it is a matter of faith that no matter what, THEY win and the bad people who bother THEM will get the axe from Jesus.

James 5:7-9

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

James suspects time is not all that short after all. People have grumbling and discouraged. Waiting is now more important than ever since the Judge is "standing at the door."   But he was standing at their door, not ours.  Now the Second Coming is like planting a crop and waiting for the good harvest. In other words...."Ok, we understand that we may be wrong about this soon and shortly business."

Hebrews 10:37

³⁷ For, In just a little while,
    he who is coming will come
    and will not delay.

The sense of delay is now palpable in the church. Short has now become ,  "in just a little while,"  and "yes we understand it feels like it is delayed, but hang in there."  (When things don't happen for Ron Weinland, he uses a form of the disappointment of delay by saying God is being ever so much more merciful than WE (read he) thought and WE (read I) have ever so much more time to do the work.)


Finally, time overtakes shortly and later overtakes sooner.  The Apostle Paul gives it up and admits that he simply fought the good fight, kept the faith and will get his crown someday as will those that followed him. Time ran out and every one of those that used to be the WE and the US had to admit it was not so.  Apologetic took over and the We and US of the New Testament became every last person over the next 2000 years that read the Book.  We now read end time scripture meant for THEM as now meant for US today.  We are probably just as wrong and will relive this old lesson in life. 
Finally, and perhaps someone slipped this one in later when it was obvious...

Matthew 24:36

³⁶ But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[a] but only the Father.

...well and Ron Weinland and thousands of other ministers of the Gospel and zealous believers.

I don't like seeing things as I do.  But it is more important to me to see things as they are than to teach people that which is not so.  We do live in both the best of times and the worst of times.  As a kid I always wondered why Jesus had to come back if when, after a life lived, we all just die and go to heaven?  Why all the political drama, plagues, vials, wrath, blood, vengeance, rods of iron and confusion?  

Dare we say that even Jesus himself, as portrayed in the Gospels, was mistaken about himself, soon and shortly?  While we have an apologetic for "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me..", could not Jesus have finally realized he was wrong too and all that followed in the forming of the NT scriptures was designed to keep moving and keep the Church alive with the eternal carrot of the Second Coming? 

Perhaps we have to discard this religious idea of a Second Coming to go inside ourselves for a personal spirituality that does not lend itself to such disappointments.  If we wait and live long enough, we won't care if Jesus came back in our lifetime anyway.  We won't be here. 

That is up to each of us to figure out for ourselves I suppose...

I'd like to credit and thank Glenn L. Hill author of Christianity's Great Dilemma- Is Jesus Coming Again or Is He Not? for his own personal honesty as a former Pastor and his book clearly showing the context of the hopes and dreams that Jesus would return to those who knew him 2000 years ago and how we got to our misunderstandings of it all today. 

Dennis C. Diehl
DenniscDiehl@aol.com

Van Robison on "Religious Poachers"

Religious Poachers

Most all people are very familiar with the concept of animal poachers in certain areas of the world.  Few are aware that religious poachers are a common breed of people who prey upon the unsuspecting.  The church world is overrun with poachers of people who stand in pulpits.  Spiritual poachers are deceivers who take advantage of the gullible and the naive.  Pulpit poachers pretend that they represent God and they stand in pulpits speaking with a sense of "authority" as if they speak for God.  Simple minded church goers bow to pulpit poachers who prey upon their childish reasoning.

The religious "elite" have always taken advantage of the those who are easily convinced.  Those who stand in pulpits always present themselves as "ordained" by God to persuade those who sit in pews.  The persuasion of those who stand in pulpits is ALWAYS their personal opinion of what "truth" is.  Non-thinkers who sit in pews are almost always convinced that the frauds who stand before them represent God on earth.  They don't!  Religious poachers operate illegally, based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, but all church poachers default to a man called the "apostle" Paul, as if he was God in the flesh.  Paul himself was a religious poacher, but the church world thinks Paul was God.

Someday, if and when people come to their senses, they will have to realize that Jesus Christ HAS NO SUBSTITUTES, as in the FAKE "apostle" Paul, the FAKE Herbert W. Armstrong, and all FAKE splinter groups of the WCG.


Van Robison

PCG Says: "There are hundreds of Laodiceans in this region... [Netherlands]"

Just when I think Armstrongites can't say any more dumb things, along comes the Philadelphia Church of God's own Ronnie Staal.  It seems PCG is on a big push in Europe with stupid newspaper advertisements.   Ronnie had this to say about former and present COG members who live in the Netherlands (and Belgium) who are not follower's of God's most perfect, righteous and Holy, Philadelphia Church of God.

Ronald Staal, a PCG minister who lives in the Netherlands, believes that the new advertising will generate a good response.  “Since the campaign in the UK proved to be very successful, we have prayed for a similar campaign over here even more,” he said. “There are hundreds of Laodiceans in this region, and many more people who are at least familiar with the name of Mr. Armstrong, or who have read the Plain Truth.”

How stupid can this man get?

The PCG is also buying ad space in a conservative and slightly religious newspaper, the Trouw.

The church has also purchased four print ads in the Trouw newspaper. Trouw, which means "faithful" in Dutch, is a conservative and slightly religious newspaper. Its ads cost a little more than those in the UK, but they appear further forward in the paper, and Trouw accepts only a relatively small number of ads.

I see a letter writing campaign to the Trouw asking why they are letting a heretical American cult advertise religious hate language in the Netherlands.  PCG has already damned most of the Netherlands with Staal's inflammatory comment.

Perhaps the government of the Netherlands can be told about the "fake" chruch addresses that it set up to gather the information and money.

To process advertising requests, the church has expanded its presence in the Netherlands. Richard Howard created a Dutch-language website: www.thetrumpet.nl. The church also set up a Dutch 0800 number and post office.

It look like France, German and Scandinavia will soon be bombarded by this heretical cult's absurdities.

The advertising initiative in the UK is set to continue on an on-going basis. To control costs and to help the office with the increased workload, print advertisements will run every other week. Dutch ads ran until May 5. Mr. Robinson says that the church plans to run similar advertising campaigns in France and Germany. Dutch, French and German advertising campaigns would then rotate, with one month of advertising and then two months off. He also said that he hopes to run Google Adwords campaigns in other European countries, including those in Scandinavia. 

ht: Tom