Dennis on: "But What If Dave Is Right and Stuff Happens?"

Come on...you've thought it.  "What if Dave IS right and he DOES have an inside track to God?  What then?"   First of all, not to worry, he's not and it won't but that being said, we all remember how the crowds mocked Noah, and for 120 years or so the story goes.  And it worked out just terrible for those folk.  (Don't worry about that story either.  It is a plagiarized version of the Sumerian Tale of Gilgamesh but that's a whole other story).  But we know somewhere, that story is being quoted to make the faithful say, "oh yeah...that's true."

 

The average Church of God member of any splinter has any number of examples burned into their minds of the bad results that can come from the common man speaking up to illogical power.  The entire Exodus is one big "Moses, no one believes you and we are thirsty" story.  Korah and his kin get a bit fed up with Moses, which in my mind would be natural, but that's not how the story goes.  We all know the last thing Korah heard from Moses was, "Well Korah, with ideal like that one, really big things are OPENING UP for you," and the rest is history, sorta but probably not.  Even Miriam and Aaron had to be taught a few lessons on picking on Moses for leading them all out into the waste howling wilderness without a map.  Did you know it only actually takes 9 days to walk from Egypt to Israel.  Men never read maps.

We all know naughty boys made fun of Elisha as they mocked and scoffed at him, as boys are wont to do, with "Go up, go up bald man," as his mentor Elijah did, in the story, probably not.  Those bad boys got eaten by bears.  Some like to sugar coat the story and say the bears just tore 'em up a bit, but knowing YHVH, I'm going to go with eaten alive.  Never scoff at the Man of God.

I'm sure time would fail us and the Bible could not contain all the mockings and scoffings the prophets endured, which actually they well deserved as many of their own imaginings did not come to pass.  Egypt never was vacated for 40 years and the Nile never really dried up and so on.  In the New Testament, you didn't pick on the Apostles but they were less aggressive towards the brethren.  They just called them names and as Paul said, he wished they'd cut off their binkies if they were going to be circumcised.  Paul  said he  blessed when he got cursed, but then in other places he pronounces curses on his critics so with Paul it depends on the day of the week. Pharisees got rather miffed at Jesus but he did not strike them dead or turn them into lepers as far as I can tell.  The gang of 12 wanted fire brought down on the scoffers, but Jesus calmed them down. Jesus was a gentle guy  and not given to revenge .  He did get a bit miffed at being called a bastard in John 8 however and said their father was Satan, so he was not above payback. 

The Apostle Peter is said, by Luke who was Paul's buddy, to have struck down two church members who didn't pony up with the funds promised from the sale of land.  I can see Dave trying this on some who have done the same with their pledges.  But if you know me at all, I think that was a private joke on Peter and a not so subtle bash that the readers of Acts would get and we don't after all this time.  Basically,  Annanias and Sapphira get struck down for saying they would do one thing, give all, and did another, held back.  This by the "Great Apostle Peter" who said he would do one thing, never leave Jesus and did another, denied him.  LOL   Don't follow Peter would be the message for those with ears to hear.  So we can dismiss this threatening case of take that you reprobate.  

At any rate, I know some of you are wondering what would happen if Dave is right?  What if the Field of Dreams fills up for the opening game at the Feast?  What if Three COG ministers literally die on the same day? Oh my oh my, we won't be able to explain that away.  (I suggest no three COG ministers ride together until September maybe?)  To be honest, I have been taking more care of myself this month than most.  Taking vitamins, walking Chewie my Shih Tzu a bit more and being nice to my friends.  I meditate a bit more and am getting my sleep.  But to be honest, when I feel a twitter or tweek in my chest or I cough, I do wonder if I am on the list.  While longevity is a trait in my family, if something happens to me, I didn't like it.  I'm just saying.  I willingly give up any chance I have for the big three to Dr. Bob Thiel who would probably be tickled to be chosen.  

So, off to work and didn't want to not address this topic that I KNOW lurks beneath the surface of the God Haunted.  

So hear we go....Oh Magic 8 Ball....Is Dave really Joshua the High Priest as spoken of by the Prophet Haggai and will this stuff he reports as being from you not him going to happen this month as he says?

 Contact Dennis at DennisCDiehl@aol.com

Philadelphia Church of God: Parents Must Start Reading Leviticus 23 to Children Who Cannot Read Prior to Feast

The spiritual abuse continues to run unabated in the Philadelphia Church of God. Children who cannot read have to be set down and read to from Leviticus 23 prior to going to the Feast this year.

PCG force feeds the law down their children throats but yet never reads to them about Jesus.  Don't expect any sermons at the Feast about Jesus either. I don't recall the name being brought up at most Feast sites I have been to over the decades, so it sure won't be happening at PCG's either.  If Jesus is mentioned it will be in passing and somehow tied to the law, or that he is coming back really, really pissed and is going to kill 2/3's of humanity because his Dad is pissed too.

Are the scriptures about God’s holy days, especially the Feast, deeply etched into your heart? Does knowing God’s masterful holy day plan give you goosebumps? If so, it will not be hard for you to want to pass that same knowledge, emotions and feelings on to your child. Remember, children are great imitators. If you talk about what God has taught you with excitement and joy with your children, they will want to know and talk about it too.

However, you must teach your children what God says about the Feast from His Bible. How deeply you go into the scriptures will depend on the age of your child. Yet, every child should know well Leviticus 23—the premier holy day chapter in the Bible. Older children and teens should have its salient parts memorized. In fact, memorizing the scriptures related to the holy days is great preparation for the Feast.

Don’t skip over your little ones. Take your youngest children, even those who cannot yet read, into your lap and read Leviticus 23 to them. Point to verse 1 to show your child that God personally spoke these words to Moses, the first leader of ancient Israel. Point to verse 2 and show them that God told Moses to teach the children of Israel about the holy days. Then be sure to instruct them about what a privilege it is to know about and be able to keep God’s Feast.

Leap then goes on with this:

Be sure to explain to your children that Jesus Christ is going to return to this Earth and build an entirely new world founded on God’s law of love, the Ten Commandments...

No he's not! The 10 commandments are not part of that new world, not as long as Jesus is around.

Even though the Feast is primarily for spiritual education (Isaiah 11:9), show your children that they can learn best about the millennium and the wonderful World Tomorrow by keeping the Feast. Explain to them that for eight days they will experience what it will be like to live during the millennium.

Yep, for eight days he gets to watch mommy and daddy revel in an alcoholic gluttonous frenzy of excess, particularly if daddy is a minister or elder.  Privilege does have its rewards. COG festival site restaurants and bars are well know in stocking up on their booze prior to the Feasts.


It's all about ingraining the law in your child so that they are to be obedient to the ministry of the PCG.  When they speak it is as if God is doing it.

Obedience will be the order of the day during the millennium. Show them specifically that you and your family attend the Feast in order to obey God (Leviticus 23:2). Discuss that your family is able to attend the Feast because you obey God’s tithing laws (Deuteronomy 14:22). Then explain to them that when your family goes to the Feast you will obey all the instructions and rules made during announcements. Carefully explain that they should strive to be obedient to you always, but especially during the Feast—not only for their safety and well-being but also for the welfare of everyone else attending the Feast.

Is it any wonder the COG's are facing an enormous 20/30 something drain?  Why would any young adult subject themselves to this kind of legalistic bullshit?

The End Is Coming In 2026!!!!!!!!!!

Armstrongism has always loved to set and/or speculate about dates.  You would think by 2013 that they would have sense enough to stop doing it.  Every single one of their predictions have failed.

Now some COGers are looking at 2026 as the big date when it all happens:

Something else to ponder along with this train of thought is that it has been long thought that The End had to come by 1996, this was based on the mindset that it would be 2,000 yrs since Christ's birth. You have 2k yrs from creation to the promise being made to Abraham. Now what was the next important event to unfold? Christ's birth? Personally I would say no. The next event that had to take place was Christ overcoming Satan and qualifying to take over the throne of the Earth. That would have to have happened sometime around 26 A.D. 2,000 yrs in the future will take you to 2026. 40 yrs after Mr Armstrong died will once again take you to 2026.