Just a quick note from a Restored Church of God source:
Not many at services today because they were in close contact with an infected church member at Wadsworth feast site.
If Dave's "christ" had only returned when Dave said "it" would no one in Wadsworth would have ever needed to worry about catching COVID-19. Dave's invisibility shield he has put up around himself and the church is quickly falling apart.
Those wild and crazy boys in Edmond Oklahoma have been solving the mysteries of the Bible for many years now. As acolytes of God's one and only true prophet Gerald Flurry, these special men have access to Biblical mysteries that is theirs and theirs alone.
For many years there have been all kinds of speculation about the large fossilized bones that have been discovered in the Egyptian desert. From being giant whales to giant catfish, the speculation swirls around. Thanks to the Philadelphia Church of God this mystery has been solved and it is straight out of the Bible.
In the latest issue of Watch Jersualem, an online rag for the PCG, they have an article up about these bones, written by Christopher Eames:
Are These the Bones of Leviathan? What was the fearsome biblical ‘leviathan’? Could it be a terrifying sea creature discovered in the sands of the Near East—a beast whose scientific name aptly translates to ‘King Lizard’?
What kind of incredible beast was the biblical leviathan? Speculation as to the identity of this sea creature has gone on for millennia. Leviathan is mentioned in a handful of passages throughout the Bible, but is most well known for its description in the book of Job.
At weather-worn sites across the Middle East, and in Egypt in particular, erosion has been revealing a terrifying creature that may well fit the biblical description.
Some years ago, we published an article examining the identity of Job’s behemoth (you can read that article here). While both creatures are enigmatic, the leviathan surely takes the cake as most peculiar—or, shall we say, the most fantastic. Some say it is an allegorical myth. Some claim it simply represents a crocodile. Then there is Wadi Al-Hitan.
Why is it that Armstrongism has felt the need to solve every mystery of the Bible? Sadly our history of these needless speculations has been of one idiotic speculation after another. Much of this speculation lies at the feet of Herman Hoeh and his entirely disproved Compendium of World History. Even he admitted later in life that his book was a load of bunk, yet there are still so many in the church that look at his idiotic nonsense as gospel truth. Sadly, the PCG carries on that tradition of junk science and junk Biblical interpretation.
One particular species, whose remains are common throughout this area (and is also notable from other Middle Eastern sites), stands out: Basilosaurus, a creature whose scientific name means “King Lizard.”
Could this be the creature described by the Bible?
One peculiar scripture in the Psalms illustrates not only the beast but also a Wadi Al-Hitan-type setting. “Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness” (Psalm 74:14; Revised Standard Version). Perhaps this psalm was written by an author who had seen such a startling sight as the image to the right: The “crushed,” once-fearsome skull of a sea creature now strewn out in the wilderness.
Eames go on with this:
The original meaning of the Hebrew word leviathan denotes something “wreathed, twisted in folds” (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon)—again, of a serpentine nature. Yet the biblical leviathan was not merely a serpent. Job 41:12 describes limbs and “comely proportion”—something that would match the limbed, yet extremely long and serpentine Basilosaurus. Verse 22 describes this creature having a powerful neck (snakes, squid and whales in general are not distinguished for their “necks”). Basilosaurus did have a sturdy neck.
Verse 14 mentions “terrible” teeth. Verse 20 describes nostrils, indicating an air-breathing creature: “Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.” This paints a picture matching that of a whale blowhole (something that Basilosaurus likewise had), blowing water like steam out of a “seething pot.” Verses 31-32 describe leviathan in a deep sea environment (as does Psalm 104:25-26), befitting this creature.
Eames goes on to believe it was actually a different kind of animal than the Basilosaurus. Of course, this leads us to the leviathan. Even more, this creature still may be alive...somewhere.
Still Alive?
It would appear that God would describe a creature to Job that he would be familiar with—one that he, as a leader in a “wilderness” territory, would have either seen or heard described. Such would be the case with the scattered, ancient remains of Basilosaurus around the Middle East, including Jordan, Pakistan, Egypt and particularly at Egypt’s Wadi Al-Hitan—a location that Job may well have been familiar with, given the textual setting around the time of the patriarchal migration to Egypt.
Likewise, some form of “leviathan myth” is known throughout the ancient Near East. Are they related to these gigantic remains? Ugaritic texts (from modern-day Syria and fitting roughly with the timeframe of Job) mention a serpentine monster called Lotan—a word directly connected to the Hebrew leviathan. Mesopotamian myths describe a parallel beast.
But like the coelacanth, who’s to say that a leviathan creature such as Basilosaurus is not still alive? Much remains unknown about what lurks in the ocean depths, and new creatures are being discovered yearly.
Various allegations of sea monsters have continued to the present day (the Loch Ness monster is probably the most famous). Over the centuries, various artistic depictions have attempted to represent alleged descriptions of beasts witnessed by sailors. Several depictions actually match Basilosaurus quite well. To the right is a depiction of the “Hans Egede sea serpent,” named after a missionary who reported the creature his ship encountered in 1734. It looks suspiciously familiar.
Then as proof of this still-living sea creature Eames includes this video in this article:
The Point of Leviathan
But why the biblical account of leviathan? Why is a full chapter of Job dedicated to this creature? Why is it described in several additional biblical passages?
The context of the book of Job is clear: God was teaching Job a lesson in humility. A mortal man is no match for the mighty leviathan, monster of monsters. He neither created it nor can stand before it. Yet the beast is as nothing before the mighty God who created it. God has the capability to handle this beast. And Psalms and Isaiah describe just that—God’s destruction of the beast, in a metaphor of crushing the head of the great sea serpent—matching the prophecy made to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, a symbol of Satan: “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15; New International Version). God holds power over the physical sea serpent, just as He does over the spiritual serpent.
The lesson of behemoth and leviathan, then, is a humbling of self-righteousness and self-importance. If man is as nothing before these mere physical beasts, how much less so before God? God recorded the leviathan in Scripture for a reason. He wants us to realize just how insignificant we are apart from Him—and the power that we have, with Him.
No mortal man would stand a chance against a 20-meter Basilosaurus. Yet God is capable of plucking it from the water and leaving its bones scattered across the desert.
United Church of God recently did a member survey on how effective members thought the church was doing in its ministry to them and the world.
One thing came back loud and clear. Poor speakers and unwelcoming meeting facilities were a major concern for members.
The ministry needs to improve in its speaking skills and in what they deliver. This has long been a complaint by COG members regardless of which splinter group they are in. COG ministers are NOT well trained in speaking and get their training from Spokesman Clubs where men were/are belittled and mocked about their speaking skills, appearance, and knowledge. It is the blind leading the blind. Instead of encouraging their men to join REAL organizations that teach public speaking, like Toastmaster International which Armstrongism regrettably tried to imitate.
The ministry in the COG is also NOT trained in real counseling techniques. Again, it is the blind leading the blind when it comes to counseling members. It is usually men who have been in the ministry a long time who think they know it all and bring along younger men to watch their amazing counseling skills and learn from them, thus bad techniques are passed on and on.
Besides the poor sermons, some members are embarrassed by their meeting locations and the overall experience their guests may have when visiting church.
Back to UCG's survey:
While members do have high confidence in their understanding around fundamental beliefs and
truths, they continue to be hesitant in directly promoting UCG.
Across all groups, the quality of speaking and amount of manpower remains a concern consistent with results from prior years. Many are unwilling to recommend contact with UCG because they do not believe it is their role, or they have concerns over what the guest will experience at services. Specifically, that components from the home office (website, literature, Beyond Today) are polished, but the local halls or the congregation itself are not as welcoming.
Most of all, respondents are consistently very positive about their local pastor (and wife) and the amount of work and service they provide to members. This is notably higher than in prior years.
Next Steps & Conclusion
While there were many positive comments, surveys by their nature highlight areas to explore and additional work to be done. This year, the biggest takeaways focus on five key aspects:
1. Invest in improving speaking at services. Whether sermonettes or sermons, develop programs around continuing to improve the content and delivery of messages.
“One of the greatest weaknesses of my congregation— and most congregations—is the quality and effectiveness of the weekly Sabbath messages. Training should be conducted or subsidized for all those given the responsibility to speak in order to help them develop the skills and tools to speak effectively and in line with basic princip[les] of learning and development, not just technically doctrinally correct messages. I believe this is key for the church to continue to grow and to properly feed not only those veterans in the church but the newly converted.”
2. Establish a consistent and minimum standard toward the quality of meeting halls. This is new this year, along with a desire to own meeting halls, but is perceived as being able to help local congregations thrive and grow.
3. Explore the balance of programs and resources devoted to Preaching the Gospel and Preparing a People. The respondents understand these are hard choices.
4. The engagement at services, whether that be rich, spiritual conversations or involving more of the membership in service. Especially beyond elements of speaking, there is a real desire for more members to reach out and check in on one another and make sure everyone feels included in fellowship and activities. Many desire an experience similar to this comment:
“We are a close-knit family. Eating a potluck meal together every week after services and prolonging the fellowshipping has truly contributed to our closeness. Some of us have formed special ‘study-buddy’ relationships which continually stirs up the spirit within us, just as it should. I am so grateful to have been called by God and to be a part of this congregation I am with!”
5. There is deep admiration for the service and work pastors and their wives do for the members. There is a need to perhaps adjust expectation on how much can be done with smaller overall membership and concern they are spread too thin.
• “Although my pastor has more on his plate than most people could handle, I think he does an excellent job. However, I do worry that he is asked to do too much.”
• “Our pastor is one of the most humble and serving people I have ever met! We are very, very blessed to have him and his wife with us!!”
The survey administration team would like to express its appreciation to all those who took the time to participate in the survey. Many of the insights and findings included actionable and helpful ideas and the data represents a statistically sound representation due to the efforts of those that contributed.
While one of the comments stated, “I feel overall that considering our budget and man-power situation, we are doing a superb job...it is an honor to be asked periodically as is the case here,” it is just as important to recognize everyone who shared their thoughts. Thank you.
While The COVID-19 pandemic has led the world to an unprecedented despair, causing economic and social disruption, HWPL, an international peace organization, held “Online Prayer to Overcome COVID-19” on Oct. 17 with religious leaders from eight countries, including Myanmar, Thailand Rwanda and Burundi.
Attended by 37 religious leaders representing Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, the event was held with the intent of breaking down the walls of religion and denomination by praying in harmony to overcome the disaster under one common purpose for humanity.
Religious leaders took the opportunity to pray for those affected, the end of the COVID-19 along with pray for overcoming the crisis that is emerging throughout society. They also had conversations to share the difficulties in each country.
Eugene Sibomana, a pastor of Grace Communion International Burundi said, “It was a wonderful program and plan of linking religious leaders for a such prayer meeting and sharing ideas and experiences. I do encourage HWPL leaders to keep up this good vision and we pray for that your ministry be expanded around the World.”
Meanwhile, HWPL is an international peace organization founded for global peace and cessation of war. HWPL has partnered with citizens and organizations from over a hundred countries in order to advocate peace. The HWPL Interfaith Dialogue, the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office Meetings, has been conducted through virtual meetings in 253 offices in 129 countries. Religious Leaders from 8 countries pray online to end COVID-19
