Hyperbole-- Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally

                 

synonyms:

exaggeration, overstatement, magnification, embroidery;

Example: 

Psalm 147:4New International Version (NIV)

He determines the number of the stars

    and calls them each by name.

(The author no doubt was looking at his night sky at the time without any knowledge of what this Universe was. On a clear night you can see about 6000 stars.  Even in the 1930's the known Universe was simply seen by most as our one Milky Way Galaxy. 

With our current understanding the number of stars would be 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (A Septillion )stars if we use our hundred billion star Milky Way Galaxy as the standard norm. 

This does not include the concept of parallel universes which may mean ours is just on grape on one cluster in one row of one vineyard of many

Current estimates put the number of galaxies in our universe at 10 trillion.

A rather small part of the Milky Way as recorded by Hubble

Hubbel Deep Field view of approximately 10,000 Galaxies of 100 billion stars each in the field behind a grain of sand held on your finger tip at arms length.

This does not include the billions of stars in the early universe that have come and gone, spewing their iron cores into the universe land out of whose debris we got our solar system and new sun. 

A piece of the early Solar System arrives on earth

My own piece of heaven . Nine lbs of Campo Del Cielo or "Field of Heaven"  iron/nickel star and asteroid core which I cut and polished.  At 4.5 billion years old, it's really cool to hold something that spent most of its time orbiting between Mars and Jupiter until bumped into the inner solar system 6000+ years ago and found 500 years ago. 

The scriptures use hyperbole to make its points not to reflect actual facts.  A 200 million man army of Revelation is hyperbole.  Seeing "all the nations of the earth" from atop the highest wall of the Temple is hyperbole (or reflects a small flat earth concept).  

“If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out…” Matt. 5:29 (I met a Christian who actually tried to pluck out his right eye because he had a lust problem. This is an example the kind of problem a Bible translation can cause if one is not informed of the various figures of speech found in the Bible.)

“If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother…” Luke 14:26 (The true meaning is one must put God first.)

“Behold, the world is gone after him.” John 12:19 (The whole world at that time did NOT follow after him, but very large crowds in Israel did.)

“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought to hell (Hades/sheol).” Matt. 11:23 (The city of Capernaum was never in heaven or hell/hades/sheol. But the city was exalted and made prominent because the very Son of God chose that city to do mighty miracles in, but then it went into the dust. The trade routes which made it prosperous changed bypassing the city. It became depopulated, brought to ruins and covered with dirt. It wasn’t until this century that archaeologists unearthed it.)

“The rock poured me out rivers of oil.” Job 29:6 (He had an abundance of good things.)

“The cities are great, and walled up to heaven.” Deut. 1:28 (They were very high.)

“Everyone could sling stones at a hair and not miss.” Judges 20:16 (They were very accurate.)

http://tentmaker.org/Biblematters/hyperbole.htm

Don't take everything you read in scripture literally. 

Don't take much of anything the Church of God Apostles and Prophets too literally true 

(Or at all true)

You could get hurt. 

Living Church of God: "...we are not to be wishy-washy, but rather we are to be firm—but always gentle and loving."

Living Church of God has an article up attempting to PROVE they are the correct Church of God for people to belong to. Get a load of the mixed message they send out in the very first sentence. They claim they are not trying to convince any one, but won't be to those who ignore the "CONCRETE  attributes and scriptural PROOF" they use.  But remember, they are not trying to convince you.  Concrete evidence, be damned, we are not trying to convince you though...but you need to realize we ARE the true church

The purpose of this article is not to convince anyone to believe these concrete attributes, though we will provide scriptural support to show why the Living Church of God believes and teaches these truths. The purpose is to provide four of the weightier objective, distinguishing qualities of the Living Church of God, which are provable from the word of God. If a person has proven these things from the Bible, and believes them, it becomes clear where he or she needs to be.

LCG tries to use the scriptures about the seven churches in the first century as PROOF that LCG is better than all the other splinter groups.

Revelation chapters 2 and 3 exhibit letters to seven Churches extant during the first century—each of them led by Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9–20). While they were all God’s Churches, they were not all the same. They each had distinct characteristics, and if we have “an ear, [to] hear what the Spirit says to the churches”—something we see repeated several times in Revelation 2 and 3—we realize it does matter where we are, and what we are a part of! 

LCG has set itself self up as the judge of all the other splinter groups, just like Almost-arrested and jailed Bob Thiel,  Dave Pack and Gerald Flurry have, though LCG is even better than those two.

In the November-December 2010 Living Church News, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith wrote an article entitled, “We are Different!” In it, he explained:

"Leaders in several groups seem eager to “dance” around these fundamental issues—to avoid clear answers, or even to deny the answers long taught by God’s Church and His word. The result of such spiritual neglect, and of their clever avoidance of these issues, is that their groups and the members become unsure about the nature of God, and about many other key issues that certainly are of importance to Almighty God! "

It all boils down to "church government" and its proper use.  Dave Pack claims he has proper church government, as does Gerald Flurry and Almost-arrested and jailed Bob Thiel.   Which one is right?  The fact is that NONE of them are right, but that has never stopped any of them from blatantly lying to their members.

So, in an effort to accommodate personal tastes, sidestep confrontations, and thereby avoid losing congregants who disagree, some reject or avoid various truths found in God’s word that were opened to the Church’s understanding through Mr. Armstrong. A few of these easily provable truths that some dismiss are proper church government, the identity of Israel’s descendants, who and what God is, and the Church eras of Revelation 2 and 3. God’s Church should be teaching all of the truth of the Bible. It should not evade certain truths because of personal taste, or to avoid conflict.

LCG still wants LCG member to believe that the various splinter groups are God's people, mainly because so many LCG members have family members and friends in the hundreds and hundreds of splinter group.

The next thing that LCG claims to be doing right is preaching the kingdom of God and the craziness they claim is the "Ezekiel message."

The second concrete, scriptural commission that the Living Church of God proclaims and seeks to fulfill, is the obligation of the Church to preach the Gospel of God’s coming Kingdom, as well as the Ezekiel Warning message. Claims that this Work has been “finished” and no longer needs to be done or that we only need to preach it to the members of the Church to “prepare the bride” are simply not compatible with Scripture. They deny the very mission of the Body of Jesus Christ!

LCG considers itself The Watchman, as does Almost-arrested and jailed Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, and Gerald Flurry.  I also can't leave out COGWA since it believes itself as the ONLY true bearer of the message.

God’s people would be neglectful if they knew the “sword was coming” but didn’t say anything! “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand” (Ezekiel 33:6). As God’s people, if we know what’s coming and do not say anything, the world’s blood will be on our hands (Ezekiel 33:1–11)! The Living Church of God believes and teaches it is our job to preach the Gospel to the world and warn of the coming troubles, before God sets up His Kingdom!

LCG has never gone out o all the world, nor has any other COG in existence today.  Even Gerald Flurry with his Throne of David transport plane cannot and will not go to world leaders.   Just because a few World Tomorrow or Plain Truth readers are in some countries does not mean any message has been proclaimed.  99.999999999999% of the world have no idea who any of the Church of God's are.

LCG is so confident in their message that they claim eternal salvation for all those who support them.

Christ says that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14)! However, not all of God’s people will be doing this in the end time (Revelation 3:14–22). Yet those who do participate in God’s Work to bring the Gospel to this dying world can reflect on the promise made through Daniel, that “those who turn many to righteousness” shall shine “like the stars forever and ever” at the resurrection to everlasting life (Daniel 12:3).

Since LCG is the epitome of all things RIGHT in the COG, they claim that they are able to do this because they are the Church of Love! Thousands of present day LCG members and ex-members disagree.

They claim that the ministry of the LCG are servant leaders filled with LOVE!  However, they will only love you so far and then buyer beware!

In explaining to His disciples how to execute God’s form of government mentioned above, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25–28). Peter also explained how the ministry is to serve the brethren: “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers… not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock…” (1 Peter 5:2–3).

Love includes keeping God’s Church clean of sinful practices (breaking of God’s Law, 1 Corinthians 5:1–8). At the same time, it does not include the invention of extreme and ungodly rules and regulations, such as the Pharisees added, that, if broken, will lead to disfellowshiping. We are not to be dictatorial or harsh in our approach. “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition…” (2 Timothy 2:24–25).

Any LCG member needs to look no further than the despicable treatment of the Scarboroughs over the last few years.  LCG is all about control, not love.

Note that LCG claims that the members of the church need to grow in love.  It always boils down to the fact COG leaders has always blamed the members for everything.  Never once do any of the abusive and lying ministers ever get blamed.

Notice what LCG claims its ministers do NOT do.  Try not to laugh too hard:

We are not to instill fear of men in God’s people, but we are to strengthen, encourage, build and edify (Ephesians 4:11–16). It is our job to build families, not tear them apart (1 Corinthians 7:10–16; 1 Peter 3:1–5)! Some unconverted family members may be troubled when God first calls us and may even become hostile toward us (Matthew 10:34–39). We should, in no way, be the ones instigating division by shunning our family members if they do not attend the Living Church of God with us (Matthew 15:6; Romans 12:18). God’s ministers should not point the members toward discord, separation and division, but toward peace and unity in the family (Malachi 4:6).

The Living Church of God believes and teaches as part of its mission statement, “Learn and practice Servant Leadership in all our dealings with others.” Dr. Meredith guided us toward a culture of love and servant leadership and wanted us to continue growing in it! We are to exhibit Christ-like leadership in faithfulness, steadfastness, humility, and love. If some want to dispute the truth, we are not to be wishy-washy, but rather we are to be firm—but always gentle and loving. 

LCG continues to use one of the biggest lies the church has taught. When it constantly get called a cult and that members live in fear of the ministry, they claim NO ONE is ever coerced into anything.  Members make their own choices.

God allows each of us to make our own choices, and He does not “make” us do anything. When it comes down to it, each of us must prove what God’s word teaches (1 Thessalonians 5:21), step out in faith, and do what it says. There are many organizations claiming to represent God today, each with its own twist. There are those that keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days, and many of them have at least some of the Truth, but they are not all the same. As Mr. Richard Ames asked in his sermon, “Churches Under Judgment,” we, too, must ask as we consider the churches of Revelation 2 and 3: Which church do we want to be a part of? The dead one? The corrupt one? Which attitude and spirit should we try to emulate?

We will not do it perfectly in this life, but we should strive to reflect the character of the one found in Revelation 3:7–13 and have an ear to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” If we claim that we are Philadelphian, what room for improvement is left? We would be wise to heed the warning in Revelation 3:17–18! We must continually examine ourselves, identify the wrong, and cast it out! Dr. Meredith frequently told us, “We are the Church of God in the Laodicean era, trying to do a Philadelphian Work.” It does matterwhere we choose to attend, and with whom. While there are other points that could be addressed, these four points are concrete and easily provable from Scripture. And the Living Church of God fully believes, teaches, and strives to live up to them. 

So does the Living Church of God really reflect the character of embarrassed usual?  Despite ignoring Jesus at every opportunity they can, they claim to be Laodiceans doing a Philadelphia work.

Dave Pack: My Sermons Are So Great Even Little Children Like Them

Dave says:

And one of the wonderful things that my condition brought about is…In these wonderful letters from people that are wishing me well and saying encouraging things and talking about their children and grandchildren, is also the fact that so many of them take occasion to tell me how this has opened up questions they could never see before; things that are just amazing to watch it all come together; they don’t want the series to end, and on and on. I’ve been hearing that all along but when you get a stack of cards…I mean, I sat last night, yet again, reading my latest stack of cards and some of them go two pages. And I’ve read every word.

I open them up, and here’s little butterflies that a little girl wrote me, who couldn’t spell her own name right. So cute. She had to be a little bitty thing. But there…but cute! “Get better Mr. Pack!” You know, and every letter in the word “Get better” is different size…You know how that is…and it trails off down the corner because they didn’t plan for spacing…It’s the cutest thing. And there’re drawings and flowers and pictures of me…not look-alikes, obviously…not photographs. But you know, I love it! It’s wonderful!

People love the things that they’re hearing and I’ve even had some children say they like the sermons which is…which is wonderful. “Now, say to Mr. Pack you like those sermons”…I can sort of hear that from the parents in the background. Maybe that’s the way that it gets in there. But I actually have had a few do that, so that’s wonderful, too.

Dave Pack: Paul Had It Wrong, I Am The Only One On Earth To Understand And Explain The Antichrist!

Dave Pack has declared he is the only one who knows what the book of Habakkuk is about and that he is the ONLY one in the entire world who understands the book or what who the Antichrist is.  This is going to cause Almost arrested and jailed Bob Thiel major butt hurt since he claims he is the only one who knows what Habakkuk is about and that he actually is the modern day Habakkuk.  Can these two get any sillier?

And I’m going to say what Paul did—because I know what Paul believed was right, in the wrong time setting. I look out and see wars, rumors, commotions of all kinds and I know time is close! And it is my job to proclaim it, because nobody understands Habakkuk or all of the verses. Have you heard anyone else on Earth explain the Antichrist? This horrific monster—no one understands him. One man read plain on the tables—that’s the reading part—and I rushed, I literally preached it at the conference over a year ago, the day I discovered it. And of course, I discovered much, much more and presented it to the Church the day before Pentecost a year ago.

I proclaimed it! And I’ve been doing it and you’re going to find hundreds and hundreds of thousands and millions of people are going to watch this. At some point, it’s going to go viral. We had more good financial news this month, without getting into it, besides the Pentecost offering. That’s not the only good thing that’s happened and we’re only on the 10^th of the month. And a lot of it happened before anybody even heard last week’s sermon, never mind this week.

Dave Pack: God Has Chosen Not To Heal Me Just Like He Did Not Heal Mr. Armstrong

Is Dave Pack starting to realize how mortal he is and that his prophecies and teachings are slipping out of his hands unanswered?  

But first, let’s go back to Hebrews 11 one more time. I’m having my faith tested. I guess, in some ways, it’s testing your faith that…my health. I regret that, but if God is putting us all through a little bit of a fire because of my health, my heart, you can see I’m preaching, I don’t fear. I don’t! I remind myself of Paul preaching on the island…Was it Melita?…and a viper bit him and he just shook it off into the fire and kept going. That’s the way I feel about it. I remind myself, and talk to my wife about that verse. We’ll see how it all plays out. If God for His own reason does not choose to heal me any more than He chose to heal Paul or Mr. Armstrong, I’m in good company. We’ll see.

But whether it heals naturally or…regarding these problems. I am told that with a simple procedure…I could possibly walk out and never have a problem again. So I’ve got an interesting two weeks ahead of me. I trust God, not men, but I’m going to go ahead with it. So I’m living by faith and I know we’re all in the saddle together.