Dave Pack's Search For The Holy Grail To Legitimize His Soon Coming Office As Joshua

Dave Pack was  on a treasure hunt a few years ago to try and find the original Elijah Cup that was produced by Steuben Crystal in the late 60's and early 70's.  This cup was given to Herbert Armstrong by the the Advisory Council of Elders in May of 1982.  The cup that was given to HWA was an original, #14 out of a series of 25.

Since Dave thinks he is the only legitimate heir to Herbert Armstrong running a Church of God, he has to have more physical things to legitimize him as the soon coming Joshua.  Despite many months of searching and pleading to the present owners of the cup, Dave had to settle on another edition.

Dave, never one to spend his own money of anything, conned a loyal church member to fork over $25,000 to buy this "gift" for Dave. A wealthy RCG members buys Dave the gift and presents it to him, instead of an Advisory Council of Elders, as an acknowledgment of his office.  What a disappointment that must have been for Dave.  How can the leader of the most super-duper Church of God ever to exist be so humiliated?  His members have had a good laugh over this one.

Leave it to Dave to also find spiritual significance in this cup.  Of course like anything involving Dave he has to be part of the equation.  Dave claims God had inspired him to preach a sermon nine days prior to the Advisory Council presentation.  Dave claims he is the one that called HWA Elijah first.  It was his sermon that brought this all to the forefront.  Dave wants you to think God was already performing a might work in him prior to his termination from the Church of God for a year.  Dave for some reason never mentions this gap in his ministerial credentials, but that is another subject for a later time.

My 1982 “Elijah” Sermon

On April 24, 1982, I first preached about Mr. Armstrong fulfilling the Elijah role. The Church had already known this since 1971, or earlier. The title drove home the point: “The Prophetic Significance of Mr. Armstrong’s Office.” It is posted on our website—and it proves that neither I nor anyone else “dreamed up,” after Mr. Armstrong’s death, what had been our long-held understanding. All who take the time to listen to this sermon will recognize there was once no doubt or confusion about who we believed had fulfilled the Elijah prophecy.

If you hear it, ask if I would have been permitted to give this sermon on my own authority. Certainly not! As mentioned, Mr. Armstrong was always uncomfortable with ministers artificially elevating him. We will later see he completely understood that a sermon like mine did not do that. Over 600 people heard it when I delivered it. (Also, I know of one senior evangelist who gave a similar sermon in 1979.)

I quote it so that you will have no doubt of its strength or clarity—or of my long-held position. Looking back, it also spoke directly to attacks that did come on Mr. Armstrong’s office, possibly even beyond what I even envisioned, and I was plain. For simplicity, an ellipse separates several short sections that are placed together:
“That office as we come to see becomes the focal point of all the prophecies about the warnings as we go through the scriptures. And because there is a two-fold authority that an apostle holds, that’s why from Satan’s point of view, all kinds of attacks have to ultimately be directed toward that office.

 “Look, if you knock out a deacon somewhere or a Church elder or a pastor or even an evangelist, and we’ve lost some of those, it may be a small ripple effect in the Church. Even a pillar member locally could cause a small ripple effect in the Church, but if you can knock out an apostle, if you can knock out an Eisenhower in World War II, you know, the general of the armies, the five-star general, or a MacArthur in the Pacific Theater, you’d have far greater effect than an infantryman who dies storming Iwo Jima. The effect is not the same.

“So it will become clear as we go on why these attacks have to continue to come against that man. If there is no other thing that’s accomplished, and I’m sure there will be after the sermon is over, than just to explain that one point to us—why those attacks must come, not as single rifle shots but almost in machine gun bursts, one bullet after another flying—then I will have accomplished what I wanted to do.

“Now turn to Matthew 17. We’re going to look at a couple of lengthy verses in Matthew…And again, brethren, I think we are going to begin to see that Mr. Armstrong’s office is far, far greater than any of us realize, far, far greater…

“There is one man at this point in time—not the human form of the man, we should say, that makes him special, but that particular office that that man holds, as a great servant of God, is the one that stands between utter destruction for this world and continuing on to the Return of Jesus Christ. Have you ever looked at it in that context? Have you ever seen the office of Herbert Armstrong as that big before? Does that sound blasphemous to you? Does that sound like we’re boasting of apostolic office? Brethren, I hope not. I hope we understand it. You could say, ‘That can’t be Herbert Armstrong…’

“It’s somebody in the spirit and power of Elijah. It is somebody, by the way, who, when you ask him, ‘Who are you?’ will not say, ‘I am Elijah,’ as we have had people say. He will say, just as John said, ‘I am John.’ I don’t think John called himself John the Baptist. Maybe he did. If you ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He will say, ‘My name is Herbert’ or ‘Mr. Armstrong’ or whatever.”

Dave was able to con his wealthy church member to buy the "gift for him in 2009.

It should be noted that in 2009, The Restored Church of God was able to purchase one of the other 24 cups made by Mr. Yenawine. It now sits prominently displayed in our Executive Office. A picture is on the opposite page.

The WCG Council of Elders spent $11,500.00 in tithe money to buy HWA this cup.  Dave's wealthy member had to dish out $25,000.00.

Dave is also not happy that all of the men on the Advisory Council all left to go to various splinter cults except his. For some reason Dave just CANNOT attract people to his group.  They all go elsewhere.  They abandoned the faith.  Only Dave, God's most superfantabulous Church of God  leader in human history has the correct faith.

Some on the 1982 Council were: Dibar Apartian, Aaron Dean, Roderick C. Meredith, Raymond F. McNair, Ellis LaRavia, Robert Fahey and Leon Walker. There may have been others who also slipped into a splinter. Of course, some others, like Dr. Hoeh and Dean Blackwell, never left the WCG, and both died having left the faith.

 Think! The entire 1982 WCG Advisory Council of Elders and senior ministry have sold out to numerous false doctrines. This is a fact, not because I say so, but because history proves IT IS A FACT! Though some assert otherwise, most of these men have abandoned many doctrines that Mr. Armstrong taught.

Dave fails to mention that he did the exact same thing. Not only did he leave to teach other doctrines but he also left for one specific reason, MONEY!  Dave's lust for money is legendary in the RCG.

By the way Dave. I don't know why you have such a problem in securing one of the books you were after.  I have two that were given to me last year, including one that has many pictures of HWA's other Steuben pieces.  HWA had several pieces in his home. Are you going to buy those to also impress yourself with?

I know you read this blog, Dave.  I know it for a fact.  Please keep us informed on how that "Joshua" thing is going so that we can buy you the latest Steuben piece, "The Toilet Bowl of Joshua."

Putting the Pasadena Ambassador College Lecture Hall To Good Use

Instead of baseless theology and poorly researched creationism being promoted in this room, the Dos Equis man puts the Science Hall lecture room to a better use.

Gerald Flurry Disfellowshipment Policy And How He Deliberately Destroys Families

Some excerpts from The Journal article about Gerald Flurry's stance on disfellowshipment and how it relates to family members.  Flurry is truly an appalling sick man.

In an hour-long sermon before the headquarters congregation of the PCG, Pastor General Gerald Flurry, 70, expanded church policy to prohibit any kind of fellowship with former PCG members and all "Laodiceans," even if they are members of a church member's immediate family.

 

PCG members may no longer associate with their own children, parents or siblings if their children, parents or siblings are disfellowshipped PCG members or members of the WCG or any of its splinter groups other than the PCG. 

 

Mistaken notion

In his sermon Mr. Flurry, a native of Oklahoma City, explained the new, or at least clarified, policy on fellowshipping and disfellowshipping.

"In the past," he said "some members" have operated under the mistaken notion that "relationships" with family members are permitted "as long as religion is not discussed." But "that is not what God says."

The Bible "makes it clear that there should be a complete cut-off" of contact with any family member, no matter how closely related, with only two exceptions.

• One exception is an apostate or Laodicean spouse of a PCG member. Scripture, Mr. Flurry said, dictates that "that relationship should be preserved as long as the [disfellowshipped or Laodicean] mate is pleased to dwell." He cited 1 Corinthians 7:10-14.

A wife who is "pleased to dwell" with her PCG husband is one who is willing to live peacefully with him, with no tendency toward hostility or contentiousness. 

"But if that mate becomes hostile or stirs up contention, it [the marriage relationship] should be cut off," Mr. Flurry said. "Where there is hostility you must cut off every time."

• The other exception to the disfellowship rule is "unbaptized children" and other former PCG attendees who may have been baptized but were not "validly baptized."

Mr. Flurry noted that Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, in whose footsteps Mr. Flurry conscientiously endeavors to walk, "had a relationship with his daughter" only because Mr. Armstrong "believed she was never converted." 

The fruits of Mr. Armstrong's daughter's lack of conversion "were there," said Mr. Flurry.

Mr. Armstrong had two daughters, Beverly Gott, who died in 1992, and Dorothy Mattson, who lives in Sun City, Ariz. 

Mr. Flurry did not say which of the two he was speaking of, but Mr. Armstrong did have working relationships with both his daughters in his lifetime. 

Mrs. Gott frequently traveled with her father on his trips to visit world leaders and the Ambassador College campuses in Texas and England, even though many members of the Radio/Worldwide Church of God did not consider her to be a member of the church. 

"As long as they [unbaptized or invalidly baptized former church attendees] were unconverted, we can have a relationship there," Mr. Flurry said, "but we do have to be awfully careful."

If church members aren't cautious in their dealings with these kinds of relatives and friends, they can fall into grave error by promoting fellowship--ungodly fellowship--with somebody who really had been converted. 

Therefore church members must make sure anyone they have contact with who formally attended the PCG was never converted--that is, was either never baptized or was invalidly baptized--because "we don't want to use this as a cop-out." 

Mr. Flurry said it again, just to make sure the brethren understood: 

Although they may associate with their children as long as they were never converted, "if your children have been baptized and left [the PCG], that relationship should be severed. We must obey God's command." 

He explained what he meant by "God's command" in this context by quoting the apostle Paul in Romans 16:17: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them." 

It just amazes me that PCG members would go to their minister to ask for help in the following areas.  What right does a minister have in telling you who you are allowed to visit with in your own family?

He did mention that the PCG could encounter some legal problems if church members prevent their Laodicean parents from visiting with their children; that is, the Laodiceans' grandchildren. 

In such cases, the PCG ministry could evaluate the situation and might allow the Laodiceans some contact with the members' children, as long as the Laodiceans are not hostile and contentious toward the Philadelphian church members. 

Mr. Flurry also talked about church members who work for Laodiceans. To preserve their livelihood, the members may continue their employment with Laodiceans (or, analogously, with employers who have been disfellowshipped), but they should work toward finding a new job as soon as possible. 

"The principle, remember, is this," Mr. Flurry said: "There should not be any contact with converted church members who have left, and that includes family members other than a mate."

Mr. Flurry did say that, when shunning disfellowshipped and marked former members and Laodiceans, PCG members should take care to be "as inoffensive as we possibly can and as kind and loving and as considerate as we possibly can, regardless of what attitude even they may have."

The exception to this rule would be if the ex-members or Laodiceans began "attacking" the PCG members.

In that case the PCG members do not have to be as inoffensive, kind and considerate as they would normally be.

Shunning, disfellowshipping, marking and avoiding Laodiceans serve the higher purpose, said the PCG leader, of sending an important message.

"Avoiding these people . . . get[s] a message across to them that they are influenced by the devil and we don't want to have anything to do with them."

If situations come up that he did not cover in this sermon, Mr. Flurry said, then members can check with their regional directors for more clarification of church policy. If a regional director cannot answer a question, he will pass it up the line to Mr. Flurry for a final resolution.

Gerald Flurry Causes Hail To Be Pelted On Edmond, OK.

Above is the hail that Edmond Ok, was pelted with last  week when the tornadoes raved the Midwest.  Was God punishing Edmond for allowing the Flurry cult to be in its midst?

More pictures here

E. W. King: WAAAAA! I Love Those Who Persecute Me...

Poor E.W., he is taking the martyr route whining about people picking on him and his message:

Through what we as true Christians [WCG ~ COGSR] have called “true science” or the Science of Christian Thought we have shared what is called repressive thought problems. Now what this can lead to is a “suppressive attitude” [Proverbs 6:19]. A suppressive person could be defined as a person who tries to destroy the betterment of a person or group [groups]. This type of person has a disastrous behavior. Fallen man tries to accuse the Christian of being “disastrous” because fallen man will always be at odds with Ultimate Reality [John 14:6].

Apparently the only logically thinking people in the world are the 15 or so members of King's personality cult.   Everyone else is a fallen human, specially those of us who pick on his message.

Please understand this important truth; just because we as true Christians believe in the Ultimate Reality and in the only true God does not mean that we have the personality disorder of being angry or upset to the point of disrespecting the person who is trying to invalidate our efforts of proclaiming the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, true Christians will meet with persecution and we (through Jesus Christ) have learned how to properly deal with persecution. As Christians we are taught to “love” our “enemies” and to “pray for those” who “persecute” us.

The only people on earth who have found peace in their lives are those in King's cult. Go figure.

Christians have found true peace in the true Church of God [COGSR]. We are the beginning of God’s Family!

As Christians we have to be around and work around many people who don’t care about what we believe in or our moral convictions. As Christians we work for God so in what ever we do we do it with true moral behavior. We have a static [sane] reality…we believe in true morals and values. Many may begin to do things differently around us. Their motive is not to please God…but ours is!