Wednesday, February 16, 2022

LCG's Mario Hernandez Claims To Know Why So Many Are Getting Sick

 

The Living Church of God has produced a lot of crazy ministers over the decades and some of them we make fun of here, like Bobby Thiel. There is another crazy LCG minister running loose in LCG, Mario Hernandez. He had a poor reputation when he was in WCG so it is only natural that he jumped ship into LCG. He recently lectured students at the most astounding COG college ever to exist, Living University Education, on why people get sick.

Read this in awe and wonder at the magnificent thinking of Mario. You will be astounded!

Mr. Mario Hernandez opened his recent lecture by commenting on why he thinks so many people are getting sick.

He believes that God might be foreshadowing what is to come. He spoke about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, reminding the students of what each horseman symbolizes and the order in which they appear. He stressed the importance of knowing and understanding these things, since these horses will begin galloping in the future. We are to take the illnesses occurring around us as a warning, especially considering that the first horseman, symbolizing deceptive religion, has not yet intensified his ride. 

Now admit it, that made a lot of sense, right?  

He strongly urged us that we need to take the opportunities that are provided at Living Education seriously, because God will require more from us than He will from those who have not had these opportunities. We cannot allow the distractions of the world to keep us from doing what God wants us to do. We must have zeal to do the work of God. He mentioned that we live in a world filled with perversion, and that these sins are spreading like wildfire. He stated that God is being provoked by humans and that He will bring punishments once the children are completely corrupted. 

The god of LCG is such a weak impotent god that it is getting provoked, ignoring the fact that they believe that same god knew from before the foundations of the world that people would be rebellious and thus had to make a plan of redemption through killing Jesus Christ. If that god knew people would be doing these things in this age, why is it being provoked now?

Developing Integrity and Character 
 
Mr. Hernandez encouraged the students by stating, “Your future is bright.” If we are able to resist the temptation around us, we will be protected from what is coming. He mentioned that no society has been exposed to so much evil, in such concentrated amounts, and in such a short period of time, as our society today. We must have integrity and character, which are defined by what we do when no one is looking at us.

Mr. Hernandez pointed to Ezekiel 14:12–23 to show that God will punish the nations for their perversions and sins. In the days of Noah, God preserved him along with his wife, sons, and sons’ wives. Yet, in our generation, a father will not be able to save his son by his righteousness, but only himself. But, as Mr. Hernandez also noted, God does offer protection. 
 
Overcoming the Dragon 
 
Mr. Hernandez read 1 John 2:12–14, reminding the students of the importance of overcoming Satan, the dragon. He stated that even in many stories written for younger audiences, the dragon is slain with a sword, and this case is no different—we need our sword, the word of God, in order to overcome the adversary. Mr. Hernandez stressed the importance of “putting oil in our lamps” daily: “Do you know who the foolish virgin is? The one who does not read his or her Bible every day.” He urged the students that if we do not read our Bibles daily, our lights will be so dim that they will not be useful to us. 

Satan,  the devil, the dragon, etc, is the most powerful god of Armstrongism. Way more powerful than that guy they call Jesus Christ.  

We must offer our spiritual incense daily as well, by praying to God. Aaron physically offered incense to God in ancient Israel, and we are given the same duties as the priesthood on a spiritual level. He also encouraged the students to quickly go to the Scriptures whenever we enter temptation. He closed his lecture with this inspiring sentence: “The key to enjoying life is to obey God.”

Never once does Mario even mention finding rest in Jesus, that inconvenient dude that the LCG dislikes talking about. Resting in confidence in the one that redeemed humanity should be something that the LCG and Mario encourage the students at Living Education to be doing instead of living in fear. That is the belief of Christians around the world, down through the centuries, have consistently understood, but not LCG.

Instead, it is a constant stream of gloom, death, and damnation constantly lurking in the shadows just waiting to destroy people. 

Top Down Power In The Church

 

Church of God governance chart

We have all watched over the decades as the Worldwide Church of God and all of its hundreds and hundreds of splinter groups placed heavy emphasis on "proper church government" which translates power is at the top and trickles down till nothing is left for the members other than to submit and be treated like dirt.

Exit and Support Network has an interesting letter posted showing how this top-down government the COG has ties to Communism, all thanks to Herbert Armstrong. Dave Pack and Gerald Flurry have taken this power to the extreme end where it is truly communistic in its overreach.

Sickened to Find Out Where GF and HWA Modeled Their Organization After: 
 
February 16, 2022 
 
While listening to GF’s latest sermon given at HQ on February 5 (“The Antiochus / Obama Warfare”), I was just sickened when I realized where exactly HWA and subsequently GF modeled their organizations after. 
 
In the sermon, GF said HWA wrote some powerful articles on communism in the early 50’s and 60’s. Please notice this quote–an exact quote–of GF quoting HWA describing communism: 
 
“A ruthless totalitarian dictatorship. It is run with absolute power, a few men at the top, all of whom are completely subservient to one man who is dictator absolute. This one man dictatorship is supposed to be necessary because there may be different interpretations of the Marxist philosophy. Therefore, to prevent division they must have a supreme interpreter.” 
 
The above quote came from an article by Herbert Armstrong in the 1962 Plain Truth
 
“It is a ruthless, totalitarian dictatorship. It is run with absolute power by a few men at the top–all of whom are completely subservient to one man who is Dictator Absolute! This one-man dictatorship is supposed to be necessary because there may be different interpretations of the Marxist philosophy. Therefore, to prevent division, they must have a Supreme interpreter (“Communism, ‘Christianity’ and Double Talk” by Herbert W. Armstrong, February 1962 Plain Truth, p. 26) 
 
If this doesn’t describes the PCG “church” government precisely, then nothing does! And just like communism, everyone is required to protect the government structure at all costs. Anyone who questions or stands up against that government and its injustices that the government inflicts, are immediately “dealt” with. 
 
Upon further research from HWA’s own mouth. (Which I highly recommend everyone do). I came across a co-worker letter from February 1st, 1939. In this letter it shows HWA’s original form of governance–completely different from today. He later changed it when he realized he had to have complete control! [Note by ESN: You can also read it here: Did Christ Reorganize the Church? (February 1939 Good News article showing Herbert Armstrong condemned hierarchal church government in his early years.) [offsite article in PDF]

Then, notice a co-worker letter from November 24, 1967. In here, HWA describes in his own words how he began to study and research communism! Here’s a quote to get you started:

“I knew the Communist purpose and goal. I knew the Communists methods and tactics. I knew their philosophies and teachings. I knew how actual Party members are yielded completely to Communist Party discipline, obedient at any cost–willing to make any sacrifice for it.” (November 24, 1967 Brethren & Co-Worker Letter from Herbert W. Armstrong)

PCG members, did you know this?? Tell me you’re not living this? Prospective members do you know this?? 
 
HWA also stated in the above referenced co-worker letter that he had arranged to receive regular weekly bulletins, containing inside information in regard to communist’s activities in the USA.

Exact quote: 
 
“In the early years of The WORLD TOMORROW broadcast, beginning 1934, I had an arrangement with a secret investigator, working in connection with a major city police department, to receive regular weekly bulletins, containing inside information in regard to Communist activities in this country.” (November 24, 1967 Brethren & Co-worker Letter from Herbert W. Armstrong)

You can find these co-worker letters all over the internet, but I like to use this site because I know they are legitimate [Note by ESN: Dates to the co-worker letters are on the left side in the box.] This site has all HWA’s original material) Please do your research. Look into the history! 
 
PCG government was designed after communism. HWA and GF may claim that communism is the counterfeit of God’s government. Nowhere in the Bible is this form of government described or used.   
–TC

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Are You A Laodicean If You Refuse To Believe The Nightmares Of COG Crackpot Prophets?


Our eternally butthurt prophet of the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god" is back ranting today about how important he is and how God sent dreams to his confused mind telling him to apostatize in a fit of rebellion from the Living Church of God because Rod Meredith refused to acknowledge him as some spiritually significant person sent to correct the church. So in his fit of self-righteous anger, he started his own group, trying to poach LCG members and others to join him, which none of them did.

As usual, he trots our Loma Armstrong's dream and now claims that her dream also foretold of him starting a new end time "work". The stupidity can't get any stronger with this guy than this.

Loma and Herbert Armstrong were married in 1917. They were specifically told that they would have a work to do. Furthermore, the bright lights in the dream may have had to do with doing a work (cf. Matthew 5:16)–a work that seemed to vanish and return (flash). Thus, there was a dream from God given to a woman in the 20th century that preceded the start of the old Radio Church of God that Herbert W. Armstrong led. The Radio Church of God represented the start of the Philadelphia era and the Philadelphian work–a work that is not finished (cf. Matthew 24:14-15)–and Herbert W. Armstrong claimed that a dream given to his wife was from God, prior to the start of the Philadelphia era. 
 
Since the Philadelphia era was raised up years after that dream, a question to ponder is, would God do anything similar to point to the continuation of the end-time COG remnant of the Philadelphians? Consider that in Loma Armstrong’s dream that there were two sets of flashing stars–there were two parts to the dream. Herbert Armstrong is now dead and there was a pause between the work God had him to do and the completion of the final phase of the work to finally fulfill Matthew 24:14 (cf. Isaiah 29:14). 
 
Herbert Armstrong mentioned the dream from time to time publicly, here are two nearly identical accounts:

I’m usually pretty skeptical about God speaking to anyone today in visions or dreams. God speaks to us thru His Son, Jesus Christ — the WORD of God — and the Bible is the written Word. I didn’t really believe it then, 38 years ago, but subsequent events have verified that God did speak to my wife at that time, shortly after we were married, revealing thru an angel that He was calling us to the mission of WARNING the world of the fast-approaching END OF THIS WORLD, the Coming of Jesus Christ, and the world-ruling Kingdom of God. At the time I was unconverted, not bothering to attend church, interested only in business and making money. I was embarrassed — a little awed — but immediately tried to put it out of my mind. But at age 30 God took away my business, struck me down, took away my idol of money-making and business prestige. (Armstrong HW. Co-worker letter, November 25, 1955) 
 
I’m usually pretty skeptical about God speaking to anyone today in visions or dreams. God speaks to us thru His Son, Jesus Christ — the WORD of God — and the Bible is the written Word. I didn’t really believe it then, 38 years ago, but subsequent events have verified that God did speak to my wife at that time, shortly after we were married, revealing thru an angel in a vision that He was calling us to the mission of WARNING the world of the fast- approaching END OF THIS WORLD, the coming of Jesus Christ, and the world-ruling Kingdom of God. At that time I was unconverted, not bothering to attend church, interested only in business and making money. I was embarrassed — a little awed — but immediately tried to put it out of my mind. But at age 30 God took away my business, struck me down, took away my idol of money-making and business prestige. (Armstrong HW. Co-worker letter, February 21, 1956)

Notice that the dream was to go until the end of the world and the coming of Jesus–since Herbert Armstrong has been dead since January 16, 1986–if the dream was from God then, does it not make sense that the second half of the dream would be fulfilled by another in the 21st century? We in the Continuing Church of God are fulfilling that second part of stars. 
 
Eyes of a vast multitude suggest that the dream was saying that the work to be done was to have a witness to many. This happened with the old Radio and Worldwide Church of God under Herbert Armstrong’s leadership in the 20th century. The second set of stars in the dream, which he did not mention in the August 1958 Plain Truth, article, but did in his published Autobiography, may pertain to what I have called, for years, The Final Phase of the Work. But even if it had applicability to the ministry of Herbert Armstrong only, the dream, which shortly before his death he confirmed he believed was from God (per Aaron Dean, who I discussed this with on October 30, 2015), shows that one did precede the COG work he was involved in.

The Great Bwana to the Gentiles of Africa and 304 Israelitish Caucasians then trots out Dale Schurter as a reliable source. Given Schurter's track record of church hopping and ultimately embracing the Restored Church of God as the final true church proves Schurter has no credibility. 

Dale Schurter, a former WCG minister, reported that Herbert W. Armstrong stated the following in 1984/1985 (shortly before he died in January 1986). Here are two accounts of this:

“A few months before Mr. Armstrong’s death, my wife and I had the opportunity to spend several hours with Mr. Armstrong in his home in Pasadena. He spoke freely of the mighty work God had commissioned him to accomplish, and related certain heartfelt comments: ‘I can say that I have finished the work God has given me to do, and am at peace about it. I have preached and taken the Gospel of the Kingdom of God into all the world as a witness to all nations.’ 
 
“Mr. Armstrong went on to say, ‘I have come to realize there will be an even greater work to follow—to go again, to “prophesy again” to all nations tongues and peoples (Rev. 10:11) before the work of the two witnesses—but with more power and with a stronger warning message. But that will be for others to do.’ He continued, ‘It will be a short work (Rom. 9:27-29), compared with the longer time to complete the work I was given, and it will be cut short. That’s when the Great Tribulation will begin, as will the work of the two witnesses. These will last for three and one-half years, at the end of which Christ will return in glory.’” (“The Greatest Work Lies JUST Ahead…” as stated in RCG letter of May 31, 2013) 
 
When Mr. Armstrong was age 91 — about 1984 — Mona and I had opportunity to spend several hours with him in his home in Pasadena to visit and further report on work he had commissioned us to do. We were to report directly back to him. He talked freely of the mighty work God had given him to accomplish. He went on to tell us there was yet a bigger work still to be done, to go again and repeat what has been done, but with more power and with a stronger warning, just before the work of the two witnesses would begin. He said it would be a “short work” (Rom. 9:27-29) compared with the longer time to complete the work he had been given, and that it would be “cut short.” That’s when the great tribulation would begin, as would the work of the two witnesses. These would last for three and one-half years. (January 7, 2012 Dale Schurter Speaks Out: UCG Resignation Letter)

The Great Bwana then claims that because Herbert Armstrong did not preach about the second part of Loma's dream that it then points specifically to Apostate Bob as that "second set of stars".

Consider that since Herbert Armstrong did not teach that the second part of his wife Loma’s dream was fulfilled and that he also taught a greater work was going to happen after his death. It is greater because it will fulfill Matthew 24:14, etc. That is the work that we in the Continuing Church of God are leading. It appears that the second part of Loma D. Armstrong’s dream was pointing to the Continuing Church of God–the group that best represents the remnant of the Philadelphian portion of the Church of God.

Um, no it doesn't! 

The Great Bwana then continues his mythological storytelling of his major butthurt over Rod Meredith's rejection of him and how that justified his ascendancy as the one true final work.

Many years ago I had a dream, which while I did not understand it at first, as it became more and more fulfilled over the years, I began to understand it and believe it was from God.

I was 50 at the time (which essentially makes me an ‘old man’ per Numbers 8:25; cf. John 8:57). In my dream, there seemed to be two parallel lines. Living Church of God (LCG) evangelist Roderick Meredith was on the top line and I was on the line much below. In the dream, I kept calling up to Dr. Meredith, but he never would respond. This lack of response made no sense to me during the dream. Then after what seemed to be a long time, the lines-crossed with his line dropping and my line going up.

One reason that I did not understand it at the time was that I was on relatively close speaking terms with Dr. Meredith then (he repeatedly told me he considered me to be his friend, plus he had appointed me an adviser to LCG on matters of doctrine and prophecy), so that aspect of the dream made no sense. Also, since I had no intentions of leaving Living Church of God then (and certainly no plans to start a separate church), it was not clear what the dream was saying. Another reason I was unsure about the dream then was that I had not had any anointing for the Holy Spirit beyond baptism when I had that dream.

Right on cue, here comes Gaylyn Bonjour and his so-called double blessing.

But these matters changed eventually. For one, I was unexpectedly anointed for a ‘double-portion’ of God’s Spirit (cf. 2 Kings 2:9) on December 15, 2011 by an LCG minister named Gaylyn Bonjour.

Furthermore, over time, Dr. Meredith became more distant from me, would not keep various promises to me, and ultimately stopped speaking with me. And after I got a letter from him on 12/28/12, it was clear to me that there was no way that the Philadelphia mantle could be with him or any of his leaders. These subsequent events showed me that the dream was being fulfilled.

The butthurt and batshittery just keep getting deeper and deeper! 

Then he goes on to blame lazy Laodiceans and their bad attitudes for ignoring him:

Despite what the Bible supports, most Church of God groups do not seemingly accept that there are any prophets today, nor do they seem to accept that God actually sometimes speaks in dreams in the 21st century–some, oddly, seem indignant of the very idea. Part of the reason for this is that those self-proclaimed ‘prophets’ outside of the Continuing Church of God have tended to be proven to be false. 

Well, I wonder why? Is it because every single one of them has been lairs and certified false prophets? Could that be the problem, Bob? 

But that does not mean God doesn’t ever use dreams or have any in the office of prophet or ever pour out a ‘double-portion’ of His Spirit (cf. 2 Kings 2:9-15) as happened when an ordained minister so prayed and anointed me on December 15, 2011.

Gaylyn Bonjour had no idea Bwana Bob would twist this so-called blessing into using it to start a new splinter group of the Living Church of God. 

The Great Bwana then goes on to quote dreams of various African followers and stories to legitimize his apostasy. He then ends with this:

But many do not believe that God will work using dreams in the 21st century, despite the reality that most once part of the old WCG supposedly believed that God did in the 20th century. 
 
Of course, some will discount dreams and their confirmation as proper proof of anything they do not wish to believe. Many want more dramatic signs (Matthew 12:38; 1 Kings 19:11-12), but God does not always do it that way (Matthew 12:39-42; 1 Kings 19:12-14). 
 
Laodiceans seem to think that even though they claim to believe the Bible, that God really is not using dreams in the 21st century. According to Jesus, Laodiceans need to repent (Revelation 3:14-22)–yet, sadly, few will in time. 
 
Satan and his allies do not want you to believe that God has actually been using dreams–he wants you to rationalize away the prophecy in Acts 2:17-18–otherwise you might take action he opposes. 
 
Can you believe?

Bad Laodiceans! How dare you not believe the Great Bwana??????