Bob Thiel Now Humbly Takes On The Elijah Mantle Because Rod Meredith Was Too Weak

Bob Thiel continues his fascinating mental meltdown into irrelevance in the eyes of the entire Church of God.  For a long time now Thiel claims to have had a double portion of the holy spirit pour out upon him by Gaylon Bonjour. Believing that he was somehow now highly enlightened spiritually he stabbed Rod Meredith and the Living Church of God in the back by starting his own "church."

Thiel has no credentials.  Has no meaningful theological training nor a degree in theology.  He was never ordained and never worked his way up through the ranks of the church.  None of that matters any more.  He has now bypassed the ranks of deacon, elder, minister and evangelist.  Bob now has become Elijah!


Thiel has to get in another dig at Meredith  and then moves on to his "doubly blessed" portion that is the same as Elijah's.

Elijah, however, over time seem to have lost the mental/emotional ability to properly lead (cf. 1 Kings 19:13-18). God later took him and replaced him with Elisha as the top ecclesiastical authority. Elisha then received a “double-portion” (two-portion literally) of the gift that God had given Elijah:

9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”
Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. (2 Kings 2:9-13)

The recipient of the double-portion, Elisha, was a type of Elijah. Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah (2 Kings 2:13) which God wanted him to have (1 Kings 19:16-19), did a similar miraculous dry river crossing (2 Kings 2:13-14), also did other miracles (2 Kings 4:30-35; 2 Kings 10:5-14; 2 Kings 6:16-18), as he replaced Elijah as God’s top ecclesiastical authority on earth (cf. 1 Kings 19:16).

A minister of the Living Church of God prayed and anointed Bob Thiel for a ‘double portion’ of God’s Spirit back in late 2011.

Then he trots out dead Herb to give himself more legitimacy.

The Church of God position has been that someone would come in the spirit and power of Elijah to “restore all things” and possibly be one of the two witnesses. While the late Herbert W. Armstrong (died in January 1986) sometimes indicated that he fulfilled that role, he told people that I have personally spoken with that there could be another other than he. Those with a WCG background might find the following quote from Herbert W. Armstrong of some assistance here as he wrote:

Those called into the Church were called not merely for salvation and eternal life, but to learn the way of God’s government and develop the divine character during this mortal life in the Church age…
Also Malachi 4:5-6 pictures the Elijah to come at the very end of the Church age (Mystery of the Ages. 1985, pp. 201, 349).

Now since the Church age has not ended, and the Day of the Lord has not yet come, then it follows that Elijah was to come on the scene publicly after this was written. His restoring of “all things” means that he is to be restoring information that the true Church of God once understood, but later must have lost or misunderstood (see also LCG on Prophets: Rare, But Look for the Fruits and Is there a need for a prophet now?).

Those of the true and genuine Philadelphian remnant will pay much attention to his voice.  Those who do not will not fare as well as they could (cf. Revelation 12:14-17).

We in the Continuing Church of God “have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).”

It is fascinating watching the mental melt down a wanna-be COG leader in front of our eyes.  What makes Thiel more fascinating is how he self created himself into a church leader while never having been a minister. Its easy to see how David C Pack and Gerald Flurry went off the deepened because they were already narcissistic ministers.  Thiel however, is a new breed.

David C Pack Cult Believes It Can Deny Salvation To Disabled Member Unless He Starts Giving More Money

David C Pack has always had an appalling reputation in the Church of God for mistreating people.  That mistreatment is even more profound now that he is the leader of the splinter personalty cult, the Restored Church of God.

Tacked on to that mistreatment is his outrageous demands for money to be sent in.  In order to divert attention away from his abysmal prophetic failure in 2013, he is dumping millions of dollars into his cult compound.  New buildings are springing up, large lots of land purchased.  Orchards planted and gardens landscaped.  Demands are constantly being made to members to sell their stocks, cash in their retirement funds, mortgage their homes, and sell their businesses and give every dime theyhave because it ALL belongs to him and his god.


Bob Thiel had the following up on his blog:

07/15/14 a.m. Spoke with a man who was recently part of RCG late yesterday.

He brought up his view that David Pack and RCG are highly focused on money. So much so, he stated that a disabled person had been told by an RCG representative that he had to get a job so he could have more tithes/offerings to give to RCG. He said this person was told that if he did not, although he would still be allowed to attend RCG services, that he would not be granted salvation.

The individual I spoke with was horrified by this, and then quoted Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast." He realized that RCG added a non-biblical requirement for salvation. He also mentioned other problems associated with David Pack and RCG.

While I knew that David Pack has long been obsessed with money, what I was told yesterday was even worse than I had heard before.

Years ago, in late 2007, David Pack basically told people to get into debt and cash out any retirement savings they had to give to him so he could build an impressive headquarters. David Pack indicated that this would be signal for all in the various COGs to come to him. 

David Pack later (in the Spring and Summer of 2013) stated that would happen by August 30, 2013. Of course, that date was proven to have been in error. But the obsession with money has not let up within RCG. 

As if this impotent little prick can deny salvation to anyone!

Jesus Christ, Coming On Pentecost of 2019...Prophet, Apostle and Convicted Felon Claims He Is Without Error In Proclaiming This New Date

The Church of God's most favored felon, Ron Weinland, has sent another inspiring letter from Birmingham jail.

After two previous embarrassing prophetic failures when Christ did not return on the dates Weinland predicted, the apostle spiritualized them away.  This time the apostle is CERTAIN that he cannot be wrong.

For some reason every single failed prophet has to come up with the same flimsily excuse when the dates fail.  The dates are turn into "spiritual" realities and and not a physical reality.  Its the same thing that the charlatan William Miller did in 1844 and the same thing that charlatans in the Church of God are doing today.

As God’s end-time apostle and prophet, I am now going to begin proclaiming a third date for the expected coming of Jesus Christ. At this time, this is obviously only for the Church. No one else will receive it yet, unless they are being called by God.

Does it matter that others do not believe now? No! But it does matter for God’s Church, as this has everything to do with following God wherever He leads His Church. It is for the learning, training, transforming, and greater growth of His people.

In God’s time, many in the world and the Church that has been scattered will begin to see, hear, fear, and change.

So what is this new date? It is necessary to properly set the stage for this, which concerns what God has revealed to me as a prophet. He has revealed that His purpose and design, beginning when the First Seal was opened on the day of the Apostasy (Dec. 17, 1994) to the coming of His Son to reign, contains “seven periods of 1260 days.”

The basis for establishing a third date is a matter of my function as an apostle, as I am utilizing all knowledge, clarification, and truth that God has given us to this moment in time. Since Pentecost of 2012, God has poured out upon us vast amounts of new, clarified, and needful knowledge, which has made it possible to teach and proclaim an incredibly beautiful, inspiring, and truly the clearest picture ever of what God has designed, purposed, and is now more fully bringing to pass concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, coming on Pentecost of 2019. The time from the Apostasy to the Messiah’s coming does contain 7 periods of 1260 days, plus some specific additional time that God has given as “signs” to accompany His design, revelation, and deep meaning in all that He is bringing to pass.

As a result of focusing on two previous dates, those in God’s Church have been mightily matured and strengthened through that experience, and we have consequently grown in greater wisdom and have been far more fully prepared for where we are now and where we are headed – far more than what we were before Pentecost of 2012. As a matter of faith and of seeing a clear, clarified, and completed picture of God’s purpose from the Apostasy to Christ’s return, I do not believe it is possible that this new date has any error or lack of understanding in its calculation (which will be addressed a little later). Having said that, if for any reason the timing were to go beyond this new date in 2019, then we can be certain that God will reveal much more to us in order to give us even greater understanding, just as He has in the past. If indeed this proved to be the case, we would simply continue moving forward, following Him wherever He leads His Church.

According to Weinerdude, it is mathematically IMPOSSIBLE for him to be wrong...this time....

6) Beginning with Pentecost 2012, the combined period of 42 months along with the final seventh cycle of 1260 days ends during the Days of Unleavened Bread in 2019. Not only that, but more importantly, it ends on the day of the “wave-sheaf offering” from when the count for Pentecost begins.

Again, the mathematical probability of this alone, along with the absolute impossibility of the combined previous 5 numerical fulfillments all working together in harmony and unison of purpose as they do, giving such exacting times and dates, simply magnifies the glory and power of God to purpose, design, and fulfill such a thing.

 Its time for the braying jackass to shut up.

The Pastor God

Check this out.  The blog seems to be no longer updated, but has a perfect description of the ministry in the Church of God.

Why Churches Suck

When the church is at its healthiest, many people contribute to the life of the body with gifts they’ve been given.  One of those gifts is “pastoring”, or care-taking.  Mixed with all the other gifts in the body, the whole community is healthy, alive, free, and an expression of God’s love in the world that is obvious and undeniable.

But this is very rare among church gatherings.

Much more often, the group is dominated and defined by the personality of one person: the Pastor-god.

The Pastor-god is not merely a contributor within the body; he is the voice, the face, and the authority in the church.  He is the boss, the CEO, the example, the teacher, the father-figure.

In the Cult of the Pastor-god, they are called “God’s anointed”.  They are the one who communicates God’s word to the followers.  They are the mouth, while the church is the ears.  Their part is to provide care and discipline to the people; the people’s part is to listen, honor, and follow.

And in many churches, this model works flawlessly.  People really want someone to lead and protect them—without it they feel vulnerable and lost.  And of course there are no shortage of people willing to assume this role of the Pastor-god.

The Pastor-god claims to not want adulation and adoration from the people, but inwardly they crave it.  The people claim they don’t believe their pastor is a god, but they treat him like he is.  When the pastor makes them proud, they heap accolades.  When the pastor does not live up to his god-like standard, they look for ways to take him down.

When the Pastor-god is there, the people feel safe.  When the Pastor-god goes away, the people are devastated. 

Of course this is nothing new—people are afraid to be leaderless, as was the nation of Israel when they demanded a leader:

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” (I Samuel 8:19-20)

God reluctantly gave them their leader, an outstanding young man named Saul.  Their craving for a leader was satisfied, but it was wrong; what resulted was anxiety, strife, war, madness, and death.

One of the reasons churches suck today is because they are much less like the body of Christ and much more like the Cult of the Pastor-god—or "the cult of personality."  More and more within the church are recognizing this disturbing reality:

“...evangelicalism is not so much a religion as a series of fast-moving personality cults.” ― Frank Schaeffer 

Thinking about this, I could not get the image of an old Star Trek episode out of my mind.  It’s called Who Mourns for Adonais and it’s about the Enterprise crew coming face to face with Apollo, one of the gods from earth’s ancient culture. 

Remember this one?

As the episode goes, back when the gods (turns out they were actually aliens) came to earth, the primitive people saw their power and naturally fell down to worship them.  Under their authority, people felt cared for--and the gods were happy to have the attention.  It was a comfortable, but immature and ultimately dysfunctional relationship.  The gods’ part was to provide care and discipline to the people; the people’s part was to listen, honor, and follow…

…just like in the Cult of the Pastor-god.

In those days, to defy the gods was a fearful thing—as Captain Kirk discovered when he dared to defy Apollo’s authority:

Kirk: “Apollo, we’re willing to talk, but you’ll find we don’t bow to every creature who happens to have a bag of tricks.”

Apollo: “Agamemnon was one such as you, and Hercules--pride and arrogance.  They defied me, until they felt my wrath.”

Have you ever been called “proud” or “arrogant” by a pastor-god when you questioned their authority? If you have, you have come face-to-face with the Cult of the Pastor-god.

Apollo expected these people to fall down and honor him just like people did in the ancient days.  But Kirk, recognizing the dysfunction of such an authoritarian relationship, continued to defy—and the conflict escalates:

Apollo: “I could sweep you out of existence with a wave of my hand, and bring you back again. I can give life or death. What else does mankind demand of its gods?”

Kirk: “Mankind has no need for gods. We find the one quite adequate.”

Apollo: “We shall not debate, mortal.  I offer you eternal rest and happiness according to the ancient ways. I ask little in return. But what I ask for I insist upon.”

The one thing he cannot handle outright defiance; he can only insist on its authority, and promise judgment upon the one who dares defy them.  If you do decide you need to escape the cult, understand one thing:

There is no gentle way to get out of the cult of the Pastor-god. 

If you are struggling to get free from a pastor-god cult, please re-read that last sentence a couple more times. This will be a battle of wills.

Eventually, Kirk and his crew had use force to disable Apollo’s source of power.  Apollo was reduced to his true, powerless nature.  

 In the end, Apollo lost everything and is reduced to tears:

Apollo: “I would have cherished you, cared for you. I would have loved you like a father loves his children. Did I ask so much?”

Kirk: “We’ve outgrown you. You asked for something we can no longer give.” 

And there’s the thing.  Even people who have been raised life-long in a pastor-god cult are realizing they can no longer give outright honor and obedience to a religious authority figure.  And they shouldn’t.  Our leader is Christ, not the one up front with the loud voice and the big platform.

 

More and more people in the body of Christ are finding true “body life” outside of the Cult of the Pastor-god--but it hasn’t come without a price.  The emotional turmoil that comes from separating from an old authority figure can be intense, even devastating. 

I’ll repeat: There is no gentle way to get out of the cult of the Pastor-god.