Me not You...Us not them

Exclusivism and just how to perpetuate that specialness is a hallmark mindset and goal of most religious faiths. It is a mind virus that seems to be rearing it's rather ugly head again. One way, one belief, easily defined rights and wrongs, one law, and one common acceptable mind virus will provide all the comfort and security we need. The Bible in our culture is often misread and misapplied to perpetuate more harm than good. It's what exclusivists do best.

Most religions, denominations and even rival churches of the same denomination but with slightly different practices, teach that they are the one true path to salvation and all others will simply suffer the fates. I live and work close to Bob Jones University, where being consigned to hell for non compliance is an art form. Around here it is not uncommon to read "Love Jesus, or burn forever in Hell." Try that one one on your kids. "Love Daddy, or I will kill you." That's child abuse isn't it??? Ask a Bob Jones student what they believe and it usually comes out in some form of "whatever they say."

When intollerant fundamentalists. who are infected with exlusivism speak, the goal is to spread the virus and get others to agree and support it's propagation. Once you are in, everyone not in, is out, and the virus then endeavors to become immune from attack through bluster, fear, shame and guilt. I recently tried to read a copy of the Philadelphia Trumpet, but gave up and opted for chewing ground glass which felt ever so much more pleasant.

Tell one of God's chosen they are biblically ignorant and watch what happens. So many sincerely misguided Christians and ministers are piously convicted, to be sure, but marginally informed in their education and perspectives.

While preaching exclusivism, they tend to leave out the being ignorant of the bible part. Tell one of God's chosen they are biblically ignorant and watch what happens. Too bad the being more like Jesus and less like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Malachi, Elijah and Paul never really caught on in the many prophecy motivated and obcessed churches and denominations. The "we only" mentality is responsible for much of the division in Christianity today. Christianity seems to thrive on division for multiplication.

So how does exclusivism work? What must happen for it to be successful?

First of all it must do two things. It must ensure it can take up a long term residence in the host (Membership or maybe Meme-bership). A meme is an idea that is passed on from one human generation to another. It's the cultural equivalent of a gene, the basic element of biological inheritance. The term was coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. Secondly, it must bring about the proper conditions for spreading itself (Evangelism).

This is how it is done:

1. Promise reward for the effort, position, power, inside knowledge and specialness. It's better if the reward is "some day."

2. Threaten punishment for failure to grow, or pay, pray, stay and obey. This can take place almost any time now and/or in the future.

3. Convince them they are the chosen, exclusive and special people. Teach them that all others are false and there is only ONE right way to think or faith to express. Teach them that right way just happens be where they are.

4. Disable their ability to challenge or disbelieve the information given. Lower their immunity. Faith is superior to reason. "The wisdom of man is foolishness with God."

5. Establish a library of true literature and correct answers, for the faithful and discourage reading outside of this one true source, usually provided by the chief virus and his team of pathogens.

Once the parasite has been injected into the host, it will need to propagate itself or the virus will die. Follow these steps.

1. Emotionally, spiritually, psychologically or literally kill all immune persons. If you can't infect them, eliminate them.

2. Those you can't kill... intimidate and discriminate against. In religion, this is being disfellowshipped, demoted, censored or made to bring the watermelon to the picnic. Isolate them because such people, if not held in isolation can pass on immunity and resistance to the virus.

3. Encourage true believers to breed faster than false ones. Evangelism is a great tool for this.

4. Censor incoming information and remember to repeat "the wisdom of man is foolishness with God."..often, along with a lot of other scriptures that promote blind obedience. Most of these will be found in the Epistles of Paul.

5. Be prepared to give out disinformation and spread lies about your rivals. Demonize them. And remember, the bigger the lies, the louder you shout it at church and the more seriously concerned you appear for the welfare of the members, the more successful you will be.

 Exclusivism is really a rather inaccurate and evil mind set. Us vs. them, Me vs. You, Chosen vs. unchosen, Christian vs. Pagan, True vs. False as defined by one government, organization or person over another, is never going to turn out well.  

Dave Pack: "no one in the splinters—none—zero—are Philadelphian"

One of the biggest weapons the Church of God has used as a tool of fear was to claim that someone was NOT a true Christian, NOT a Philadelphian.  It is a weapon still used by various splinter cult leaders of the Churches of God to keep people in line.  Dave Pack claims that any one who is a member of ANY of the COG's is CANNOT be a true Philadelphian.  True Philadlphians are members of the Restored Church of God.

I promise you no one in the splinters—none—zero—are Philadelphian in condition, else they would not be in any of those groups. You can’t be a Philadelphian and be in groups that don’t even believe God has one Church. You’ve rejected His government. Obviously, they haven’t anointed their eyes, or they would have gotten out. They didn’t open the door and let Christ in. They haven’t bought gold, as they were told to do. They have not done God’s Work or come under His government. They paid His tithes to His enemies. There’s no possible way…And I’m going to get into this a little bit later, probably next week. I want to illustrate some other things. Maybe it’ll be the week after…There’s no possible way they’re Philadelphia now. So, to get back to that condition is a problem for the living……

Dave Pack: Unless You Spank Your Child, You Hate Your Child

It’s like the parent who says, “I can’t possibly spank my child. I love them too much.” God says He that spares the rod hates his child. “Oh no, I love my child!” God says, “I’m sorry, you hate your child. If you don’t spank your child, you hate your child…I am God, you are not…because your child will grow up and be an enormous problem to himself and others, if you don’t channel him and discipline him.” Now here is the way to make sure you never spank your children: Spank them. You will not have to do it many times and the child will say, “Two and two is four. If I do that, I’ll get spanked.” You do it a few times consistently…now you might have, you know, can have a little Korah for a son or daughter, and you might have to do it more often. But the tougher nuts to crack, will usually crack pretty soon, and you don’t have to do it very often.

Dave Pack: Parents Should throw the first stone at rebellious children.

If you have a rebellious teenager…violent, curses his parents. Teenager says “I don’t care if this is God’s government. I don’t care.” They are just rebellious and violent. Do you just let them run amuck through society? There is justice and judgment and equity in the earth under God’s government…

Under God’s government in ancient Israel, they would be put to death. They would have to be. Now, they would be warned…but, you know, if you cursed your father and mother, in Deuteronomy it says the parents threw the first stones. They had to say “This, our child, is rebellious. He will not do what we say,” and the judges condemn the child—the parents throw the first stone.

Eric King: Now A Seventh Message Mormon

It has been while since Eric King has been featured here.  King has went from being a Hari Krishna, to Church of God member, to communicating with alien beings, to now witnessing to Mormons.

SOCT History of the Church of the First Born

All Mormon Christians should read this and pay attention. This is a foundational understanding to becoming a Seventh Message Mormon. If you do not understand this basic outline of the Christian Church as it moves through time you will not truly understand the Seventh Message which has come forth to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and indeed to the entire world in this the seventh-time. You must grasp this message and all of what it contains. You must understand just where the church is in prophetic history. May you be brought here by the Holy Spirit and may you be sealed with this final day message.

Sixth Era

The sixth era is that of Philadelphia. This is the time that the true church holds to. This is the only church that Jesus Christ had no problems with. Even though we are in the seventh church era which is that of Laodicea we are trying to keep people in the spiritual state of Philadelphia. When God originally completed His work during the re-creation of our planet on the sixth day all was perfect and thus it was. This sixth church time is extremely important to understand and we urge all SOCT students to study this period of the church. ~

It was during this era which began in the 1930’s that God used the man Herbert W. Armstrong to restore 18 important truths to the church. God informed him to name the church, the Worldwide Church of God. This was indeed a remnant of the true church and we recognize that it was a branch of the true church. Herbert W. Armstrong was not a Mormon and neither he or his congregations accepted the Mormon message but that was not his mission. ~

*Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong also taught in agreement with the prophet Joseph Smith that America was made up and founded by the literal tribes of Israel. ~

He was an apostle who did receive secretly the priesthood but never came public with his authority to teach…instead Heavenly Father used him for specific things regarding doctrinal fulfillments. After his death the Worldwide Church of God was broken apart. This all happened for a reason. Those who experienced Christianity in the Worldwide Church of God were to go through many trials up until they were to accept the Book of Mormon along with many of the truths that God revealed to Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. This did not occur until October 7^th 2011 under the calling of Mr. Eric William King. ~

So the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been given a message from this remnant known as the Worldwide Church of God and has in fact been given this new name, Worldwide Church of God in our present seventh era. Through this movement Heavenly Father has restored even more truth to His church particularly regarding God’s true Holy Sabbath Day and true Holy Feast Days. The prophet Joseph Smith saw this day coming when it was revealed to him the following in the Doctrines & Covenants: ~

“And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars…All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and SET TIMES, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fullness of times…According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.” – DC, 121:30-32 (July 8^th, 1838) ~

Heavenly Father [Divine Intelligence] used the movement started by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to bring this revelation to fulfillment. These teachings have now been restored to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our present seventh church era…that of Laodicea. ~

The Seventh Era

Our present church era is the Laodicean era. This era comes in two parts: first the typical-Laodicean era. We are currently experiencing the typical-Laodicean era which started on October 7^th 2011 when two of the secret 12 apostles appeared to Mr. Eric William King and ordained and anointed him to bring forth what we now know to be the Seventh Message. ~

It was through Sir Eric William King that Heavenly Father merged the Worldwide Church of God reformation to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was prophesied to occur by Joseph Smith himself. It was revealed to Joseph Smith: ~

“God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now; Which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fullness of their glory; A time to come in which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods’ they shall be manifest.” – DC, 121:26-28 (July 8^th, 1838) ~

Our present Laodicean time is a time in which “nothing shall be withheld”. Only pride will prevent people from accepting this message. ~

“Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!” – 2 Nephi 28:27

“Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!” – 2 Nephi 28:29

We have yet to enter the second phase of the Laodicean era. The second phase is called the anti-typical Laodicean period and this will commence at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the finality of the end times. ~

We hope that this has helped you come to a better understanding of the Seventh Message for the Worldwide Church of God and the Latter-day Saints [LDS Church]. Christians who have accepted this message have become known as Seventh Message Mormons. ~

~May you gain peace profound.

Note: Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong was the first of the Secret Twelve Apostles to be brought to the public.
Continue to Understand

Dave Pack: No One In The Church of God Has Pastored As Many People As I Have

Dave, the ever so humble superfantabulous Church of God minister.  There has never been a pastor as good as he has been nor taken care of more people.  Dave knows this for a fact as he claims to track all of the ministers in all the various splinter groups.

Finally, I would use this example…and you can take it for what it’s worth, and that’s the lesson of my pastorates. As I’ve said many times, I pastored 11,000 people, personally. I don’t know, maybe there are others in the world who have had higher numbers. I don’t know. There’s certainly nobody in Worldwide Church of God in the 90 years since God called Mr. Armstrong who ever got to half that number. That I know for a fact, because I track those things. And I will just say, my experience was that I could pour my heart out in sermons, spend years working with people and get to know them, and I found over and over again most of them weren’t praying, studying, fasting, meditating at all. A few were doing it some; a very few, a lot. That was the story of those 3-by-5 cards…I wrote of in my autobiography.

Dave Pack: Joe Tkach Sr. "HAD NOTHING GOING FOR HIM"

Dave Pack is no fan of Joseph Tkach Sr.  He sound just like Bitter Bob Thiel.

Mr. Armstrong died, and a rather crude, ignorant, poorly spoken man, whose sermons were prepared for him by others—all of them—poorly educated, terrible grammar…arose, and in no time, people sprinted from the truth, in ways they would have fought you to the death, practically, if you had told them six months before Mr. Armstrong died, that in five years or 10 years, you’ll have Christmas trees up. Scores of thousands of them—but they did.

I’ve looked at Mr. Armstrong’s successor…I knew him and talked to him many a time—ignorant, couldn’t write, couldn’t talk without reading. Most people don’t know that man never wrote one co-worker/donor letter in his life—he never wrote anything. I know the man who wrote it. I know the man who wrote everything. He never wrote an article. He never wrote a booklet. He never wrote a letter. He never wrote the notes to his own sermon. He’s the closest thing to having nothing going for him you ever knew.

My best friend was in his close circle. I heard all kinds of stuff, and yet he turned people…like taking candy from a baby. It’s easy to turn people. This guy wasn’t some master debater, some sorcerer, some spiritual David Copperfield who came along. HE HAD NOTHING GOING FOR HIM. No one could figure out why he was the Pastor General, and the answer is God wanted Herbert Armstrong to pick him, as a type of a somebody as bad as that, as weak, and foolish, and biblically ignorant as he was could turn tens of thousands of God’s people on a dime, and have them sprint over a cliff like lemmings on the way to the sea. Will you be instructed by that? The answer is they never changed their hearts. Now that will be a warning to all for the future……

Dave Pack: The Plain Truth About Annie Green Springs Wine

Besides being a theological powerhouse, Dave Pack is also a fine wine connoisseur.  No Rothschild wine for this guy!  Only the best will do....

“Howl, you inhabitants of Maktesh, [a city] for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off. [That is, basically, the business owners and the bankers.] And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles…[to find any person who escaped]…and punish the men that settled on their lees…” (vs. 7-12).

Now here is what “lees” are…Lees is the sediment that appears at the bottom of a vat of mature wine. When you read the word “lees” in the Bible, it is associated with wines. It’s all the sediment. You, probably, have poured some quality wines out, and once in a while, there is a little bit of sediment at the bottom. That’s the lees, the lees of the wine that didn’t quite get filtered out. Annie Green Springs and some of these other cheap wines usually don’t have much lees in there, because they never settled. They, basically, were made at 2 o’clock and served at 3. Anyway…

Dave Pack: Only Ignorant, Unlearned and Unstable People Twist Scriptures, Unlike Me....

Dave Pack just admitted he is "ignorant, unlearned and unstable."  The Church of God has been filled with thousands of men who twist scriptures around to fit their OWN interpretations.  Dave has taken this a step further and created scenarios that no one else has ever come up with.  All lies.

God wants people who tremble at His Word, who don’t wrest it and twist it. I’ll tell you who does that—people who are ignorant, unlearned and unstable. So, brethren, don’t be discouraged if you see someone leave. A tiny number are—and will. The Church is booming. Wonderful things are happening in all directions. But a few people are vetting themselves out, as they have been doing for 2,000 years. Better they’re gone now than we have to watch them leave later. They don’t believe it. All this is laid out before them and they don’t want to be part of it. They don’t believe the Word of God. It’s so absolutely plain, it’s impossible to miss. I wonder how we missed it—except it was not our time.

Dave fails to see this scripture is about himself:

2 Peter 3:16The Message (MSG)

14-16 So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it. 

Dave Pack: We Believe in the Big Bang Theory Corrected

 Oops, wrong Big Bang theory....

Dave's god is ready to burn the soil of the earth till it turns into molten mass.  Notice his chortling believers.

Job: Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? You could go to all these verses. The foundation of the earth is forever—it’s settled—but God is going to burn down to that foundation and rebuild, much like He did after the devil’s destruction before Adam and Eve’s time; much as He will do again, to resurface the earth to open His rule from Zion—but this time He’s going to burn right down to the foundation and start over completely. Maybe, because nuclear weapons were used. I don’t know why He’s going to go as far, but He intends, of course, to bring an entire new universe. So fixing the earth is nothing.

To the God Who says that the entire universe, billions of light years across, will be gone with a single BANG, do you think He has a problem burning the earth down through the soil—the elements melting with fervent heat? No. No. Can He do it fairly fast? He can get rid of the universe with a bang. It’ll be the Big Bang theory corrected, [laughter] you see…because we believe in the Big Bang theory, too. It’s when the universe went away, not when it came, [laughter] and we’ll have to explain that. Maybe I’ll weave that into a broadcast someday. But anyway…

And, by the way, isn’t it pretty exciting to serve this God? And isn’t it pretty important to be on the right side of events with this God? So how long will it take God to rebuild the surface of the earth, if He just says, I call to the universe and it—just BANG—stands up together? We already saw with a bang it goes away. No problem. How does all that happen on a day? Well, you just found out a possible oblique application to Joshua’s long day. But I thought I should be specific and just explain to you that the foundations of the earth stay the same. Back to II Peter. Let’s keep reading. There’s more to see. II Peter 3 and verse 11. We finished with verse 10.

“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking [which means “waiting”] for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved” (II Pet. 3:11-12)… 

Dave Pack: Zombies: "...you’re forgetting the absolute avalanche, tsunami and earthquake, of additional details and knowledge we just got."

10 signs Dave Pack is a zombie

Now let’s have a little fun. Okay. We have to put a few things together. I haven’t gone too long yet. I don’t have a lot more to cover, but I have some, and I want to get a few things in.

……I can tell you, anybody who is upset because they wouldn’t know more details, you’re forgetting the absolute avalanche, tsunami and earthquake, of additional details and knowledge we just got.

Many great questions, I said a few weeks ago, will go away; a few small ones will remain. How God does everything on that day…It’s a challenge! It’s a challenge. Scores of thousands of spirits—of “just men made perfect”—have to come…Bearing all the personality and character development, and all that Mr. Armstrong taught about the spirit of man…have to come with Christ to be mergedback into bodies that, if they stood up ready for the resurrection without those spirits, would leave them basically just zombies. They would be people without “the spirit in man,” and we have a word for that—animals. They would be animals that look like people. But when Christ prepares His bride, He brings those spirits. So, that’s all part of the picture, and maybe it will elicit some questions for some later that we can cover in two weeks during the question and answer final part.

Dave Pack: I teach IMMUTABLE teachings like Peter and if people leave over that then they don't want to serve my god.

Immutable Awesomeness 

Dave says:

He told the people then that they were waiting for it. How could Peter say that if he believed it was after the Millennium? He told them they were waiting for it in their lifetime. Don’t fault Peter. I’ve told you that God’s apostles get things wrong. They can—but it’s usually timing. Mr. Armstrong didn’t say there is no New Heavens and New Earth; there is no New Jerusalem. He got the timing wrong. But I would say, we would all agree that he was a lot closer than Peter, who said it was going to come in the lifetime of that generation, because they thought they lived in the last days…

“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless [despite the fact there’s all this tremendous heat, and destruction], we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness” (vs. 12-13).

You cannot get around that. I’ve read that since I was 18 years old in college. How is that? But the Church taught otherwise. Brethren, I never left and said, “This can’t be God’s Church! They don’t even know when the New Heavens and the New Earth are.” I didn’t know either. I just looked at that and thought, is there some other day of the Lord, when these will pass away? Now I know. Now I understand. It wasn’t our time. We weren’t supposed to know it.

But you cannot get around these verses. They’re immutable. They’re impossible to get around. That’s why Christ keeps weaving into all of this, My Word stands forever. Don’t despise My Word. It’s purified seven times. Every word of God is pure, and so on and so forth…

“Wherefore, beloved…[a little motivation part here] seeing that you look for…[it means “wait for,” look it up] such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless…[How ready are you at this point on the Sabbath, brethren, to hear that? Boy, oh boy. Be found without spot, blameless.]…And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation…[He wants us to make it. If the scoffers say, “I don’t know where He is. God is slack.” Forget that! God is giving people a chance to make it. He wants everybody to make it!]…even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him has written unto you;

“As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood…[God wrote certain things in Paul’s epistles, so that people would go there and foul it up, if they are unlearned and unstable]…which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [which means “twist”] as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (vs. 14-16).

If people leave over this, they don’t want to serve God…They’re rebellious. They’re going to be out if they don’t repent. Let them go. I don’t know that any will leave. This is a big understanding. I repeat, it’s impossible to miss. It’s immutable. God has written it, as it were, in blood, stone, and steel. You can’t get around it with His Spirit revealing it to us. If they leave—saying “Mr. Armstrong didn’t teach this!”—then they’ve rejected his greatest teaching, which is, “Don’t believe me. Believe your Bible.” Hundreds of times I heard him say it.

Dave Pack: There Will Be Scoffers In The Last Days

Poor Dave.  People are ridiculing him and making fun of what he teaches!

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming…[Time is going on. Well, we’re in those times now. That’s one of the problems of the last days, by the way, there are scoffers]…for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word [the Word of God] are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (II Pet. 3:1-7). So there is a day that the heavens and earth are, sort of, being reserved and kept in the store against this day of judgment and destruction—that’s perdition, judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

It is always interesting to see Church of God ministers throw this verse around so freely, especially when most of the things they have preached have failed to happen.   All it takes is one failed prophecy to make everything they preach not credible.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22The Message (MSG)21-22 You may be wondering among yourselves, “How can we tell the difference, whether it was God who spoke or not?” Here’s how: If what the prophet spoke in God’s name doesn’t happen, then obviously God wasn’t behind it; the prophet made it up. Forget about him.

Everything Dave Pack, James Malm and Bob Thiel preaches been made up. Forget about them!

Dave Pack: My Illogical Logic. See The Problem?

Dave Pack has made so many absurd comments and predictions over the years that he constantly has to back peddle and set things "straight."

Dave has another "sermon" up online and it starts out with this silliness:

Okay, really quickly, I might throw out an interesting point of, we’ll call it the illogical logic. Imagine that there was no First Dominion followed by the Kingdom in Zion…and God wipes out an entire Earth for things they never knew. People of all nations and religions—no matter the ignorance—didn’t even know about Christianity, and God pours horrible plagues on them, and they had no idea why He did it.

According to what we read, He would have to wipe out everybody who didn’t believe the truth, and that would leave the Church…Now, think about this. Then He would turn the Church into spirit, and the Millennium would open with not so much as Adam and Eve to rule over. You wouldn’t have anybody. Based on all that you saw, if the few men left were merely the Church…and the Church is going to be turned to spirit…where are the nations in the Millennium? Never mind how unrighteous and unjust God would be for destroying people over things they never understood. On the other hand, all of that goes away if there is a First Dominion and a Kingdom ruling from Zion.

……So, if the elect were the only people on earth, then you’d wipe out the earth, turn them to spirit…nobody there and the Millennium is basically a wasteland for 1,000 years without even two people to start over. See the problem?

Never mind explaining away how God says, I’m not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to the knowledge of truth…and I would have all men to be saved, but I’m going to just blastand wipe them all out, and they’re not going to have a clue why I did it. You would wonder why, under those circumstances, they almost could blaspheme such an unrighteous god. 

It is no wonder his followers cannot understand what he teaches.

"The Time of Correction Is Almost At Hand!" So says the Chief Pharisee of the Churches of God

The second self-appointed false prophet of the Church of God (after Almost Arrested Bob Thiel) is the Chief Pharisee and bastardizer of the law, James Malm.  No one in the church has ever taken the law and abused it as much as Malm has.  Even Almost Arrested Bob Thiel pales in comparison.

Malm has self-appointed himself as the chief authoritarian on the law for the church.  No human on this earth understands the law more than Malm does, maybe except for his sidekick Constance, Blessed be!  No human has ever interpreted the bible more correctly than James Malm.  He works day and night in his little apartment pouring over scriptures and adding his own interpretations. Note these are his OWN interpretations and have nothing to do with God anywhere in the mix.

The lying false prophet is so sure the end is coming in the next few years that he is working over time to get some of his books published so people will be able to read them in the tribulation when the Internet goes down.  The Chief Bastardizer of the law claims he has been on a steep learning curve over the last several years in order to get these books out.

Announcements:  I am reviewing and updating all literature and the free Downloads page has been removed from the ashininglight.info site

I have been on a very steep learning curve throughout these past years and I want to do a final version of the books including all changes, updates and points learned over the years. 

Besides growing in doctrine over these years, the very purpose of writing these books – and making my mistakes – has been to learn to write and format books properly in preparation for publishing final solid doctrinal volumes just before the tribulation.

 The Chief Pharisee then makes this hilarious comment:

Besides a solid doctrinal refresher on the New Testament over the next months as the crisis approaches, I want the books to contain the most accurate and updated material possible.

There is NOTHING sound in the legalistic garbage that Malm pumps out daily, particularly when it comes to any New Testament teachings.  Malm is as embarrassed about Jesus as Almost Arrested Thiel is.  The things Jesus taught and accomplished is a major embarrassment to these two fools.

So why this sudden rush?  According to the liar and false teacher Malm, the abomination of desolation MIGHT be set up in 2017 and when it is then 75 days later the crap hits the fan and the Internet will go down and he will not be able to spread his "word."

There is no guarantee of steady electricity or internet in North America during the tribulation and most of the Ekklesia will be caught up in the tribulation. 

My goal is to have about ten solidly doctrinal books ready by the 2017 Fall Feast. The deadline is due to the strong possibility that the abomination may be set up late in 2017 and the tribulation will begin about 75 days after he is set up. If it takes another year, there are still many more things to do. 

I can guarantee you that it will NOT happen in 2017 and Malm will change his story again.  His god was not yet ready to murder millions of people.

Damn!

What a disappointment that will be!

Again!

Why Do People Remain in Abusive Churches?

By Don Enevoldsen

“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” (Genesis 2:18)

Who would have thought that the first thing God identified as not good would become the strongest tool of control and abuse in history? Human beings recognize how undesirable isolation is, and they prove it by their willingness to do anything to avoid being alone. That fact explains a wide range of dysfunctional behavior, from the tendency to stay in unhealthy relationships to a fanatical devotion to abusive churches and church leaders.

I was recently asked why people stay in abusive churches, not only refusing to leave, but actively defending the system, even when there is overwhelming evidence of hypocrisy, deception and unethical behaviors. A variety of factors combine to produce this state, and while motives can be complex, they generally revolve around the fear of losing connection with the community. Instinctively, most people prefer the familiarity of an unhealthy community to abandonment by the community. Better to belong to something, even if it’s bad, than to be alone.

The threat of being ostracized hangs over every part of abusive church systems. It has always been this way. Recall the parents of the blind man Jesus healed. They avoided defending their own son out of this fear of being cast out.

“His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.” (John 9:22)

All their son did was tell the truth. Their fear prompted them to distance themselves from his defense, even though they were his parents and they saw for themselves that he’d been healed.

Why is this drive so strong? Why is being alone so terrifying? There might be many reasons, but the one that dominates my experience can be seen by examining what causes members of an abusive church their greatest anxiety. Having spent many years in a church where the pastors understood how to push all the right buttons to keep people in line, I’ve had considerable opportunity to observe abuse at its most subtle and its most effective.

For many years I worked very hard at this church. I was head of the drama department, writing and directing plays, Easter pageants, Christmas musicals, and helping to create illustrated sermons. I taught Sunday School classes, did the midweek service for many years, acted as church liaison for many community and political events, and did hospital visitation.

Significantly I had most of those responsibilities before I was on the church staff. Like most volunteers, I sat on the edge of my seat every time the pastor talked about something I was involved in, hoping to hear my name mentioned, even if it was only in passing.

People work incredibly hard for the smallest pat on the back, in the form of some sort of public mention or a title or a small, inexpensive thank you gift. Anything to feel that our efforts were noticed. We see it as an acknowledgement that we have earned a position in the organization. We belong to something bigger than ourselves.

Conversely, we are terrified of what might happen if we do not perform well enough or if we make a mistake. Someone else might replace us and we will suddenly be on the outside looking in. We can’t conceive of not being part of the group. Our sense of who we are becomes so enmeshed in the organization that being kicked out would confirm our worst fears that we might not have much value. No identity and no connection. Alone and forgotten.

It’s not hard to manipulate such people. My pastor often said that they were the best employees because they worked so hard. They are often thought of as people pleasers, but it needs to be understood that the reason for people pleasing is the fear of being sent away. A pat on the back, balanced with the hint that failure to be good enough will result in removal of all approval, and such people will do almost anything. I can assure you that in those days, I would. And I saw it in many others.

Add to that a steady diet of sermons about obeying leaders and submitting to authority if you don’t want God to be displeased with you, and the result will be a loyal, devoted fanatic, for whom no amount of rational argument will be adequate to break the hold of the abusive system. They will defend the pastor and the church against all comers. Note the reaction of Creflo Dollar’s congregation as detailed in Part 13 of this series. The facts of the case don’t matter.

It is in our nature to seek community. A healthy community thrives on the diverse contributions of healthy individuals. Members of the group are encouraged to grow, to express themselves, to find their individual, unique identity and to discover their purpose in life—for the good of themselves and for the benefit of other members.

An unhealthy community thrives on hierarchical control that forces its members into subservient roles—for the good of the organization, not the good of the members within the organization.

It is in our nature to seek community, but it is also in our nature to seek individuality within the community. We must express our unique identity to ever find genuine contentment. Express yourself in an abusive community, however, and they won’t allow you to hang around. You are a threat to the power structure. Until you start questioning the authority, you might never see the overt hostility. Question leaders, however, and you are guaranteed to see it firsthand. Abusive leaders never react nicely.

Where you fit into this dynamic says a lot about you. People stay in abusive systems because the desire for community has overwhelmed all other needs. Fear of abandonment has obscured the necessity for individual expression. Fear of not being good enough has twisted commitment to the community into a self-destructive duty, devoid of personal fulfillment or satisfaction.

Why do people stay in abusive churches? Because they have been taught that disapproval by the church or by the leadership equals rejection by God. And if you’re rejected by God, where can you go? That kind of fear is not easily overcome.

Though difficult to understand or accept when you have been indoctrinated in an abusive church, churches that foster genuine community do exist. Healthy people are never alone for long. They find other healthy people and they form healthy communities. The irony is that until you risk being alone, you will likely never notice those people.

A Reminder to Those Caught Up in Their One Man Show

 The following are basic human, religious and spiritual rights any person has as a member of EVEN the Restored, Philadelphia , Living and Continuing Churches of God .

You have the right to expect the church to keep your personal contributions private and should be able to expect that any who deal with such things for accounting purposes will do the same.

You have the right to expect that your membership in any church or congregation is not contingent on how much you give or do not give. You should also expect that jobs, positions, opportunities or offices are not given based on the amount anyone gives to the church.

You have the right to say I can only give this even if it is not a tithe of your income gross or net.

You have the right not to be spiritually judged or have your loyalty or sincerity questioned based on what you are able or unable to give financially to the church.

You have the right to ask a Pastor if he checks tithes and offerings for any of the above reasons before giving to a church.

You have the right to say "I'm tired and won't be there, " to any and all activities, plays, fundraisers, studies, seminars, prayer groups, rehearsals, practices and sermons.

You have the right to say "I don't care about that."

You have the right to question the advice, counsel or sermon of any minister, elder, deacon or any other person in authority. You have the right to question authority and to still expect to be allowed to attend your church. You have the right to question a minister who declares himself one or both of the Two Witnesses of Revelation, a Prophet, the Supreme Watcher of Mankind for God, The Only True Apostle in this Age and any other title or position he can come up with to impress you as to why you need to support him.

You have the right to suggest a pastor get spiritual or psychological help should the need arise. You have the right tell him that the congregation is noticing a trend here.

You have the right to ask why the church believes what it does when the Bible might say otherwise, or why the Bible says something that the church practices that seems scary, weird, inappropriate for this time, out of date or controlling. You have the right to notice that ministers often quote scriptures out of context or fail to enforce or address the rest of the story that does not agree with the point they are trying to make.

You have the right to ask all the "how can that be," "how could that happen," "why does it say this here and that there," questions you can come up and expect an intelligent answer. If you are told that you are using human reasoning, ask the pastor what kind of reasoning he uses. If he says "God's," find another church.

You have the right to not want elders, deacons or your friends accompanying the minister on visits to your home to talk to you.

You have the right to discuss or not discuss your life with the minister as you see fit.

You have the right to expect absolute confidentiality and for your story not to show up in the sermon next week, even though "I won't say the name."

You have a right to be called ahead of time when the pastor wants to ask about stopping over.

You have the right, when he calls to say, "I'm tired," "I'm busy," "No, but I appreciate the call," without repercussions.

You have the right to keep a dirty home, grass not mowed perfectly, an older car, red in color and kids that don't say "yes sir, nice to see you sir," in just the right way.

You have the right to watch and read what you wish even if the pastor just got done bashing that particular program, movie or book from the pulpit in his sermon on "Demons in Your Home--Six Ways to Assure Your Eternal Death."

You have the right to ask the pastor not to call on you at work, even if you own the business.

You have the right to say, "I can't afford to take you to lunch." "I can't afford to give you free wood or brick." "I can't afford to fix your house up free," "I can't fix all your teeth," to your pastor should he expect professional courtesies, even if he offers to do your funeral free.

You have a right to expect free use of your church for weddings and funerals.

You have the right to expect these usages are not dependent on you, your parents or children living a sinless life six months prior to the date of the event.

You have the right not to answer questions your pastor may ask you or your children about your sexual practices. If he insists, then insist that you all share together.

You have the right to not let the pastor inform you as to who you can and cannot date or marry.

You have the right to enjoy your sexuality free of church or pastoral approval. Something that is wrong for the pastor is not necessarily wrong for you in how you express yourself to your partner. There is no Bible prohibition against....well you know. And if there were, you'd have the right to disagree with that too.

You have the right to not share which or if you are taking medications of any sort with the pastor.

You have the right to take such medication and not be judged as having a lack of faith or trust in God to heal you.

You have the right to seek professional help without informing your Pastor of the nature of the help and you have the right to not be helped solely by the pastor under threat of repercussions.

You have the right to insist the pastor get professional help should the need arise and the man is causing more harm than good. You have the right to remind him that God does not directly speak to him nor express His will only through the mind of the pastor and that makes you uncomfortable if he thinks that is so.

You have the right to be wrong about a many things.

You have the right to believe you are correct about many things without repercussions.
You have the right not to care about everything that others think you must care about to be a good Christian.

You have the right to tell the pastor he is wrong, mistaken or exaggerating.

You have the right to dress as you wish, wear the jewelry you wish and make up you wish or not wish without being labeled a whore or a goody goody.

You have the right to feel that dressing as if it was still 1957 and only watching Disney Movies or How the West Was Won as proof of your pureness is baloney. You have the right to not be told that the best times for entertainment, movies and TV was when the Pastor was a boy. You have the right to like the food he does not like and to not like the foods he does. You have the right to like the schools he doesn't and not like the ones he does.

You have the right not to bear your soul to the ministers wife.

You have the right to like or not like, agree or not agree with the ministers wife.

You have the right to not view the world through the pastor's eyes morally or politically. You have the right to hate the war while he believes the war in Iraq is God's will and thinks it's all in the Bible.

You have the right to expect him to speak clearly where he thinks the Bible speaks for us today and to walk slowly and drink cool water where it doesn't.

You have the right to tell the pastor that that is his opinion and not necessarily the only true opinion on earth.

You have the right for you, your children, your partner and your friends to be themselves.

These are but a few of the rights any member of any Church, congregation or religious organization has. In short, you have the right to not be required to check your brains, your insights, your perspectives and your free will at the door to be welcome and a member of any church