Can you guess the name of this church based on the following clues?

I found some old computer disks that had some save messages from the old WCGnet that was a great source of information for following the train wreck that was the Worldwide Church of God through all of the changes.  I don't know who the author was.

Can you guess the name of this church 

based on the following clues?

* It was founded by a businessman who had been raised in another religion and who had little formal education.

* He moved from the mid-West to southern California and became established in the Los Angeles area.

* He claimed to have new insights into scriptural truths for the present age.

* The church was Sabbatarian, millenarian, authoritarian and legalistic.

* The church heavily emphasized predictive prophecy and the imminent return of Christ to establish David's Kingdom in Palestine.

* Members and others who did not measure up to legalistic standards or display adequate zeal were term 'Laodicean'.

* The leader thought of himself as The Elijah and that his role was to restore all things before the return of Christ.

* The church obeyed the dietary laws of Leviticus.

* The church leadership had predicted the return of Christ for a certain date but was wrong.

* The church observed the Old Testament Festivals of Leviticus 23.  In fact, they thought they were very close to primitive, first century Christianity because of this.

* They believed they were the only true church.  The members believed they were  the first fruits and would play a special role in serving God and the nations when Christ returned.

* They published a monthly magazine advocating their beliefs.

* They had a rigid, top down, pyramidal governmental structure.

* Members were required to follow a rigid agenda of Bible study and prayer.

* The young men in the church were conscientious objectors.

* In recent times the heir-apparent, a young man of musical gifts, was involved in sexual scandals involving women in the congregation.

* None of its leaders had acquired any theological education from mainstream Christian colleges.

* They established a church facility in Texas, including a school, near a lake and had an uneasy relationship with the surrounding community.

* Membership was international, multi-ethnic and multi-racial.

* They believed deeply that they lived in the time of The End and their  preaching and spiritual concerns focused on this.  They referred to the secular world as Babylon and were strongly anti-Catholic.

* They believe they could identify the people of the United States as descendants of patriarchs mentioned in Genesis.

This list might go on but the church involved is known as the Branch Davidians, theologically, our first cousins, if not our brothers.  Their lineage may be traced, like the WCG's, to the Millerite Adventist Movement in the Nineteenth Century.  They were at one time known as the Davidian

Seventh-Day Adventist Association.  They differ from us on the last point above in that they believed that the USA was Assyria rather than Manasseh.

I have compiled this list for several reasons:

1. There is a mystique that attaches to the WCG in the minds of many of its members that is a carry-over from the days that we believed that we were the one and only true church.  This is to demonstrate that we were really just another Millerite Adventist group.  Recent articles in the WWN

confirm HWA's foundation in Millerite teaching and the third angels message.  Mrs. HWA dream or vision about the return of Christ and the work that needed to be done (see The Autobiography) is virtually an Adventist cliche in the spirit of Ellen White.  We are not special; we are rather commonplace.

2. We would all readily admit that the Branch Davidians were a cult but somehow, the WCG was not a cult.  How can this be?

3. People cite the fact that the Davidians hoarded weapons and had a shoot out with the ATF and true non-violent church members would not do that. But what would members of the WCG had done if a leader had risen up and said that it was time to go to the place of safety.  Everyone should sell

what they have and buy airline tickets to Jerusalem and with your surplus funds buy tickets for those who cannot afford it.  Might we not have done some extreme things under the circumstances?  The Davidians were traditionally conscientious objectors until they were staring into what they believed was the Apocalypse.  Does anybody remember the account of one of our leaders resorting to fists in the State of California occupation in the late Seventies?

4. We should all be filled with joy that a man, Joseph Tkach, Sr., while riding this train to whatever destruction it might have met, suddenly awakened in his seat, realized what was happening and pulled the emergency brake. Many bewildered passengers got off and had to look for a new train.

But the tragedy is that many stayed on the old train and, like the Davidians, will meet whatever their destiny will be.

All ExCOG Members Will Bow Down to Worship Wade Cox and His Minions

There has been a fun discussions on Facebook about Wade Cox, the "christian" Church of God leader that splintered off a couple decades ago as the one and only true church leader. The topic was brought up on how he took over a Facebook group that was for former Church of God members and those that had left various splinter groups.  It was an interesting group till Wade popped on and began to snarl and spit absolute nonsense.  It then disintegrated into pure hell as a group.  Group members were told that they would be FORCED by his god to bow to him and all of his church members in the end times.  We would actually bow in worship to him!  Even Dave Pack, who leads the most superfantabulous Church of God EVER, has never said people would worship him...though he gets pretty close since he has called himself everything but Jesus.

Someone pointed out another church blog that has many quotes about the guy.

They had this:

Date: early September, 2010
Wade Cox"Our worst persecution was within the WCG from among our own so-called brethren.They will be made to bow down and worship us. They left the faith for Trinitarianism and Binitarian/Ditheism and they will be punished. They keep the wrong Calendar as do the Jews of modern Judaism and they will be brought to account before us soon."

Wade Cox"The Babylonian system has penetrated everything from Judaism and the Trinitarian system to the WCG and the Offshoots and the COG (SD) Denver and the sDAs and SDBs in the US and whatever. They all keep the Babylonian Calendar with its system of intercalations as set in the Hillel Calendar which many of the white churches of god keep. There is no excuse for it. 

How can one keep a calendar which uses the Babylonian intercalations and the Babylonian date system with this year as 5711 and keep Atonement on Saturday a day late this year and the Holy Days a day late also and not be part of the synagogue of Satan. 

The Sardis and Laodicean systems are part of the synagogue of Satan andthey will bow down and worship the Phildelphian era but so will the others including rabbinical Judaism no matter what their lin

Group members struck back at him and his high horse kicked into gear.  He soon brought in other cCG members and appointed one of his minions as group administrator and then started threatening to sue every one.  Such fun!

He claims his "work" is the most amazing thing this side of Dave Pack and Bob Amos Elijah Elisha Thiel. You have got feel sorry for Wade, he was never doubly blessed or set apart by anyone.  But his group far exceeds ANYTHING the Church of God has ever seen.

Wade Cox"CCG is not an offshoot of WCG. It is far greater than WCG and the vast majority of its members have never seen the inside of WCG."

There there these  fun tidbit:

Wade Cox
"We have now the full facts that Hitler was a full blooded jew."

Wade Cox"When we say US people we mean mean those people in the WCG and offshoot system that are totally incapable of independent thought and of not following a man in the insane cult of the personality that permeates the US religious and political system.""Let us hold these bootlickers up to the examination and criticism they all so richly deserve." 

Wade Cox"When Messiah returns to take over the world, as we are told he will, the elect of the First Resurrection will take over from the demons in assisting Christ to rule the world." 

This all comes form a man who has converted over half of the African Continent into his church.  7th Day Adventists and others are flocking to him by the thousands.  He also is claiming that the will covert Muslims over to his side and teach them the laws of the Old testament.  What fund theism that would be!  Leave sharia law for old testament law where women, children and sinners would be stoned to death.  He might as well buy into Dominionism, the cult that is rising onto power in this country right now.  He would fit in perfectly.

Int will be a cold day in Petra before I bow down or anyone else here bows down to worship this agent of deception.

 

Rod McNair and Bob League: Why Are/Were They So Nasty?

I received this the other day.  It details once again just how nasty the leadership is in the Living Church of God.  More mistreatment by Bob League and Rod McNair.  Why do/did members put up with these two slim balls?

Hi!
I read some of your blog posts with great interest. Rod McNair is a very nasty, suspicious man. I truly hate to speak ill of the dead but, Bob League was an evil man as well.
My boyfriend is a former member of the WCG. He also used to work for Ron Dart & Ted Armstrong. He also graduated from Ambassador College.   

He would tell me all of the horror stories about Herbert & people being "disfellowshipped" for insane reasons. I begged him to take me to visit the LCG congregation in Charlotte.

He went on his own in the summer of 2014.  Now, understand, that he knows many of the members of the LCG in Charlotte because of his long history with the Church of God.  That was the first time he had been there in 4 or 5 years.

My boyfriend owns a bible college and we also have a Sabbath keeping congregation that meets in the morning.  He likes to be able to go to other churches to be fed, not to steal congregants.

One of the members of the LCG ran and "tattled" to Bob League that my boyfriend was there.  Bob and three other men took my boyfriend in to a room and proceeded to scream at him.  They told him that he had no right to start a college.  He didn't have the authority to do it.  Well, the state of North Carolina gave him the authority to open a bible college.  My boyfriend doesn't answer to the LCG.

I thought he was joking when he told me this.  It was just so absurd.  No, he wasn't joking.  Those men had the audacity to tell my boyfriend that because the LCG didn't authorize his college, he had no right to open it.

Summer 2015 I finally talked him in to taking me.  We got there late so, we slipped in the back.  When the service was over we went out to where everyone was having snacks.  Someone must have told Rod McNair that we were there because he made a bee-line for us.  He took my boyfriend in to a room to question him about why he was there  We were just there for fellowship.  No other reason.  No one would speak to us.  They treated us like leapers.

A month later, my boyfriend when back with one of the professors from our college.  Just to visit, no other reason.  As soon as Rod McNair saw him, he immediately started interrogating him about why he was there.  He tried again to explain that he was only there to fellowship.

A couple of days later, Rod McNair called my boyfriend.  We have NO idea how he got his number.  He told my boyfriend that he wasn't comfortable with him coming to their church.  The only reason he would give is that it was because he has his own congregation.  We weren't trying to "sheep steal".

Rod McNair was NASTY and mean.  He told my boyfriend that he can't come back unless he calls and asks permission first.  What church does this?  My boyfriend does have his own congregation BUT, everyone is welcome.  You don't have to go through a screening process to even be told where the meeting is.  If anyone wants to come to our church, they are more than welcome.  We want to share Jesus Christ with anyone that will listen.  We keep the Sabbath and Holy Days and if people want to learn, we help them.

I grew up Southern Baptist so, this behavior by Rod McNair and Bob League is completely bizarre to me. Southern Baptists open their doors wide to every one.  I never dreamed that so-called Christians could be so nasty.

It Hurts

From 1997 WCGnet:  This is just as applicable today to those leaving the Living Church of God, United Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God, Restored Church of God and other splinter groups.

"IT HURTS"

IT HURTS to discover you were deceived - that what you thought was the "one true religion," the "path to total freedom," or "truth" was in reality a cult.

IT HURTS when you learn that people you trusted implicitly - whom you were taught not to question - were "pulling the wool over your eyes" albeit unwittingly.

IT HURTS when you learn that those you were taught were your "enemies" were telling the truth after all -- but you had been told they were liars, deceivers, repressive, satanic etc  and not to listen to them.

IT HURTS when you know your faith in  God  hasn't changed - only your trust in an organization - yet you are accused of apostasy, being a trouble maker, a "Judas".

It hurts even more when it is your family and friends making these accusations.

IT HURTS to realize their love and acceptance was conditional on you remaining a member of good standing. This cuts so deeply you try and suppress it. All you want to do is forget - but how can you forget your family and friends?

IT HURTS to see the looks of hatred coming from the faces of those you love - to hear the deafening silence when you try and talk to them.  It cuts deeply when you try and give your child a hug and they stand like a statue, pretending you aren't there. It stabs like a knife when you know your spouse looks upon you as demonized and teaches your children to hate you.

IT HURTS to know you must start all over again.  You feel you have wasted so much time. You feel betrayed, disillusioned, suspicious of everyone including family, friends and other former members.

IT HURTS when you find yourself feeling guilty or ashamed of what you were - even about leaving them.  You feel depressed, confused, lonely.  You find it difficult to make decisions. You don't know what to do with yourself because you have so much time on your hands  now - yet you still feel guilty for spending time on recreation.

IT HURTS when you feel as though you have lost touch with reality. You feel as though you are "floating" and wonder if you really are better off and long for the security you had in the organization and yet you know you cannot go back.

IT HURTS when you feel you are all alone - that no one seems to understand what you are feeling. It hurts when you realize your self-confidence and self-worth are almost non-existent.

IT HURTS when you have to front up to friends and family to hear their "I told you so" whether that statement is verbal or not.  It makes you feel even more stupid than you already do - your confidence and self-worth plummet even further.

IT HURTS when you realize you gave up everything for the cult - your education, career, finances, time and energy - and now have to seek employment or restart your education.  How do you explain all those missing years?

IT HURTS because you know that even though you were deceived, you are responsible for being taken in.  All that wasted time........ at least that is what it seems to you - wasted time.

THE PAIN OF GRIEF

Leaving a cult is like experiencing the death of a close relative or a broken relationship.  The feeling is often described as like having been betrayed by someone with whom you were in love.  You feel you were simply used.

There is a grieving process to pass through.  Whereas most people understand that a person must grieve after a death etc, they  find it difficult to understand the same applies in this situation. There is no instant cure for the grief, confusion and pain.  Like all grieving periods, time is the healer. Some feel guilty, or wrong about this grief. They shouldn't -- It IS normal. It is NOT wrong to feel confused, uncertain, disillusioned, guilty, angry, untrusting - these are all part of the process.  In time the negative feelings will be replaced with clear thinking, joy, peace, and trust.

YES - IT HURTS BUT THE HURTS WILL HEAL WITH TIME,  PATIENCE & UNDERSTANDING

There is life after the cult.

Copyright (c) Jan Groenveld