Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
The Philadelphia Church of God cult has a new article up today on "How Can I Get My Finances in Order?". Remember, this is a splinter cult of Armstrongism that demands 4 tithes and commanded offerings, and numerous special offerings. The average Church of God member in these ultra legalistic groups will be dishing our 40-60 of their income to their dear leaders so that they can live lives of luxury and flit around the world in private jets away from the unwashed masses and Laodiceans.
Of course, there is only ONE reason why they want COG members to have good finances in their households. The less money going out in mortgages, car loans, bank loans, etc. gives church members more money to give to the church. THAT and THAT alone is the ONLY reason members should have good finances as far as they're concerned. Forget about leaving a legacy to your children or to local charities and organizations that do good for others. God will eventually fix the world's problems at some point in the future so DO NOT waste your money on the worldly heathens because "god's" so-called church needs it more than they do so it can spread some kind of "gospel" message that they think the world needs to hear AFTER they pay for their jets and luxury lifestyles.
This is what PCG editors wrote (approved by Gerald and Lil'Stevie FLurry):
Perhaps the most heavily stressed biblical principle regarding healthy finances is to give generously. While giving may seem illogical as a step toward financial stability, God promises that when you sacrifice and serve others’ needs in whatever way you can, you will be rewarded (Luke 6:38). Therefore, give generously to others as your means allow. As your hard work and financial planning provides increase, share that with the less prosperous (Acts 20:35; Psalm 41:1).
Most importantly, give generously back to God. He created all things, and He claims the earth and its fullness as His, including all silver and gold (1 Corinthians 10:26; Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 10:14; Haggai 2:8). God can make us poor or rich (1 Samuel 2:7). By giving mankind dominion over and allowing us to use His creation, God has essentially made every man and woman His business partner (Psalm 8:6; Matthew 25:14-30). Keep God as your partner by tithing on your increase (Leviticus 27:30).
When you give God His portion, one tenth of your income, He shares in your profits and then reinvests even more in you and your ventures. God loves, blesses and promises to supply the needs of a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7-9). As tithe payers and the wealthiest men of their ages, Abraham, Job, King David and Solomon all found out that you cannot outgive God (Job 1:1-3; Hebrews 7:1-2).
On Saturday, August 27, 2022, David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God blew the minds of his audience when he delivered, “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 390).”
The big takeaways according to Dave from the first half were that “God considers you a whole person at conception; A month in the Old Testament does not mean a full month, but merely a new moon.”
My big takeaways were, “Dave teaches the church things they already knew, but he forgot; He is right even when he is wrong; He corrupts the meanings of words to fit his latest theory.”
You are now caught up.
@ 23:12 I want to be exceeding careful with the Word of God.
At least the guy says he is trying. The fact that he is unable or not allowed to understand the Word of God is amazing and should be of concern to those in RCG.
2 Timothy 3:7
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
This is a perfect summation of the unending prophecy series. This and the next verse are so spot-on, they should give you goosebumps on your goosebumps.
Ephesians 4:14
…be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…
2 Peter 3:16
… some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest…
Daniel 12:10
…and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Should the folks in RCG have a more clear and more certain understanding of the coming Kingdom of God after 390 parts? Do they?
The con is only as good as the con man.
The magic trick is only as good as the magician.
A real man is only as good as his word.
@ 39:21 You’ll never figure it out. You can’t go there. Because all you’ll do is come up with some other date and I been there and done that. And I determined I would never do it again ‘til I ran headlong into all these verses about “a month” and didn’t have time to go pursue them and find out that’s the number from which the kingdom is docked off.
So much for apologies. So much for making declarative statements that spoil sooner than milk left on the counter. He is already moonwalking his apology of Part 389.
I have pondered about writing an article titled, “Is David C. Pack A Man Of His Word?” I have so many quotes of him saying one thing, but doing another. Saying he will “never” do something, but does anyway.
By this point, that article is redundant and obvious.
David C. Pack is NOT a man of his word.
That is a fact and not an opinion. An open-and-shut case that is provable in a court of law. Here are a few examples from the past:
Part 172 – April 27, 2019
@ 1:03:50 I’ll never ever ever again say the day.
Part 175 – May 29, 2019
@ 49:40 I didn’t preach on prophecy Sabbath nor will I ever again. At least, not for a long time, if we’re still here, but we won’t be.
Part 192 – July 6, 2019
@ 2:08:48 …from after Wednesday there’ll be no more Sabbath Bible studies and probably starting Wednesday I’m only gonna go 90 minutes…
Part 232 – January 20, 2020
@ 1:16:11 …the return of Christ…could only ever be this coming weekend. Now, I realized I said that, and I'm gonna pause and say if it's not, you'll never hear me be able to talk about metrics again.
Part 248 – April 11, 2020
@ 1:16:42 I don’t see any possible way I could come to learn that Christ does not come during Passover.
Part 276 – December 26, 2020
@ 33:29 And I will submit to you, Joe Biden will never serve a day in office.
I have many many many more.
The lesson for the enablers at Headquarters and all the members of The Restored Church of God is clear.
Do not believe David C. Pack then.
Do not believe David C. Pack now.
Do not believe David C. Pack tomorrow.
Brad, Ed, Jaco, Ken, Ryan, Tim, Carl, Frank, Salasi, Jim, Andy: Am I lying or distorting?
Softening his apology for setting dates that lasted until the very next time he spoke, Dave exemplifies the concept of death by a thousand pinpricks.
Part 388 – August 23, 2022
@ 1:17:52 We’ll finish tomorrow morning with a very short conclusion for an earlier post than usual.
Every single part of that statement was false. It was not recorded in the morning. It was not “very short” but went 57 minutes. It was not the conclusion. It was not posted “earlier” than usual.
The announcement in Member Services this past Friday also supports the concept.
You can look forward to a brief message of about half an hour tomorrow evening.
Dave spoke for 64 minutes.
Luke 16:10
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
How is anyone supposed to believe him with the “big” things if he cannot be trusted with the “little” things? So says the Bible.
David C. Pack tells you everything you need to hear to make a judgment call if he is true or not.
@ 43:09 So I think we have this other wonderful mile-marker that says, “Here we are.” So I don’t have to say the day and I mentioned to you that I was glad that I didn’t.
Glad that you didn’t? Who are you fooling here?
Dave has been setting dates since 2013. If he is talking about a one-time restraint last Wednesday, that seems like very little to be “glad” about.
Important considerations can be found when you are not completely overwhelmed by the continuous oral deluge. Ponder the weight of the next statement. He ties his own noose.
@ 43:27 I told you three days ago, I’m not commissioned to tell you the year. I’m not required to do that. It’s God’s job.Well, even better.
David C. Pack just admitted that he took on to himself a role that belongs to God. He just said that.
David C. Pack does not consider the profound implications of his own words.
Why did you assign yourself a commission that belongs to God? What other commissions are you still trying to fulfill that also belong to God? Does this mean God was NOT guiding you this whole time with date-setting? What spirit has actually been driving you to do so? What else do you attribute to God that is also just from yourself? How can anyone trust you if “God’s Apostle” cannot tell the difference between what belongs to God and what belongs to a man? How can you have spent the last several years speaking with certainty and then brush it off but still think you have any of God’s authority?
David C. Pack does not consider the profound implications of his own words.
He saw this as an excuse to weasel his way out of responsibility for failure after failure after failure. Maybe it is just the antichrist serpent in me, but I just heard David C. Pack throw God under the bus for the string of prophetic fraud going back to 2013.
God was not doing His job because Dave was doing it for Him. And doing it poorly.
@ 43:35 I’m not commissioned to give you the day. I’m commissioned to tell you it’s close. God supplies both of those.
How gracious that he is finally letting God do His job after almost ten years. I wonder how long Dave will be able to let God have the spotlight.
Letting the mechanic fix the car after you made it worse is not an optimal circumstance.
What he said here conflicts with his point at 39:21, “I determined I would never do it again ‘til I ran headlong into all these verses…”
How is it possible to say, “I’m not telling you the year” and “I’m not telling you the day” but also, “It’s close,” all at the same time?
Dave just invented his own biblical paradox.
You are not supposed to say “the day” or “the year”? Then who needs you? What good are you to anyone? I guess you will need to invent another slot in the Government of God to make sense of that.
If anyone inside RCG slows down to digest his words, they will be able to see the sheer ridiculousness of his premise. Do not buy into it.
Dave then ponders the prophetic elements of his speaking. The days of his voice. Three is the number of finality. Part 390. The final Sabbath ration. Micron. And more.
Listen to how many concepts of his own importance he can cram into 89 seconds.
Part 390 – Prophetic Speaking
Why is it that everything he does is somehow biblical? He speaks three times in a week, it is biblical. He speaks for less than an hour, it is biblical. He gets COVID, it is biblical. He refrains one time from declaring Jesus Christ is coming this (past) weekend and that is also biblical.
Oh my!
When Dave steps across the hall and forgets to wipe himself, is that biblical, too? The guys trapped with him in the Third Floor Executive Imaginarium would know for sure.
He continues to try to convince himself the series is over. But since he got something as monumental as to what his commission by God is, why would anyone in RCG fall for this again?
@ 44:59 …when you hear what I cover, you tell me if this doesn’t sound like finality.
This doesn’t sound like finality.
@ 45:03 I got the best news of the entire series, I’m gonna cover in just a minute.
Dave has this interesting habit of celebrating what he has not yet done. He is selling the audience that what they have not yet heard is a big deal. It is a psychological influence to prep people to accept it as a big deal. If they do not receive it as a big deal, then the fault is theirs.
@ 48:32 In Revelation 14:6, an angel flies through the heaven as I recall and calls out the gospel to the world. An angel does that on top of the Two Witnesses after the Kingdom has been here twice? I wish I had noticed those verses, it woulda changed my ability to see the first kingdom is the Kingdom of God.
Even Dave admits that careful reading of the Bible staves off problems. The great teacher of the Bible does not read the Bible carefully. Take note of that dear members of The Restored Church of God.
Here is a summary of his last two wowzers for the end of Part 390:
1) All miscarried and aborted fetuses since the dawn of time will be resurrected into the Kingdom of God.
2) The Kingdom of God will expand across the entire universe forever.
Fact-checking the statistics and medical science behind, “3 of every 4 conceptions spontaneously abort,” is beyond my scope.
I will cheat and say, "That is not my commission."
However, my commission as a non-prophet/non-psychic is to declare that the Greatest Unending series is not over. David C. Pack will not remain silent between now and the Feast of Trumpets. No way.
More “understanding” will be “revealed to him by God” making it necessary to “further end the Mystery of God” during even more “days of his voice” as he continues to “rush and call it out” as God’s apostle.
To really step out on the ledge, I am certain he will increasingly walk back (if not fully renounce) his apology for setting dates during Part 389. He started doing that here and that signals to me that he is not truly convinced.
He has been wrong since 2013.
He says one thing but does another.
He takes upon himself commissions that belong to God.
He changes the Bible to mean what he needs it to.
David C. Pack is floating through the prophetic cosmos untethered and unable to change his trajectory.
Rather than follow him, just wave as he passes by.
For some reason, certain Church of God leaders seems to imagine themselves finding the Ark of the Covenant and that when they do this will prove their legitimacy and prove the Bible.
First, we had Gerald Flurry, seeking to dig up Hill of Tara in Ireland where he foolishly believes the ark is buried. So sure of this he was, that he bought a property in England to give him better access to the hill. Never once did it cross his alcohol-riddled mind that there was no way that Ireland would allow a national treasure to be dug up by some lunatic American religious snake oil salesman. That was no more going to happen than Scottland giving him the Coronation Stone for his mythical creature to come back and sit upon.
This brings us today to our very own Great Bwana to Africa, the greatest Church of God leader since the 1st-century church leaders walked the earth. A man so important and significant that he was planned before the creation of the world by God and Jesus himself to arrive in these perilous end times to be doubly blessed in order to give a final warning to the world. A man who is so significant that he is the end times embodiment of Joshua, Amos, Zechariah, Elijah, Elisha, Micah, Zerubbabel, Moses, Aaron, David, Soloman, Paul, Peter, Simon, and Judas. As the greatest man ever sent to the world, he is the official church historian in all matters of church history, doctrine, and official church teachings. No man has a more correct understanding of doctrine than the Great Bwana. Also, as the world's foremost scientist and pill-pushing snake oil salesman, Bwana Bob Thiel fits in well with Gerald Flurry as they both are living in a make-believe fantasy world.
Check out his latest made-up fantasy about one of his trips to Israel and the Ark of the Covenant. In a LONG article that none of his African followers gives a rat's ass about, he goes into great detail about the Ark of the Covenant. As with all of his articles it involves a lot of Catholic and Muslim myths and legends that he tries to use as truth. None of it is new information until the Great Bwana starts talking about HIMSELF, as usual.
God's greatest gift to the world writes:
Back in October 2013, while attempting to take some photos and to video some of the remains of the Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill, I was approached by a Jewish rabbi named Avraham Goldstein of the Diaspora Yeshiva. He asked why I was there, so I explained it. He then asked me if the Continuing (sic) Church of God would like to be involved in an archaeological project related to that general area. He mentioned doing excavations related to what some believe is David’s tomb, located below. Many consider that only a legend and not the real location–though the actual location of David’s tomb has not been verified in many centuries. However a Jewish rabbi who claimed to visit it in 1163 A.D. stated it was below this particular Mt. Zion.
Avraham Goldstein also believes that the ark of the covenant may be directly below or near it via tunnels. He offered to take me below in the tunnels on my next visit to Jerusalem. I told him that I was interested, but I have not been to Israel since. Yet, I expect to go again within the next several years.
The Great Bwana expects you to believe that a Jewish Rabbi would walk up to him and immediately invite him to start helping with an archaeological dig. The sheer stupidity reigns supreme here! If anything, this rabbi saw another rich American Evangelical who would have money to dump into another archeological project that the Government of Israel was not interested in. Little did this Rabbi know that the one man in all of Israel that day that he decided to ask had no money and no real church to back any project.
This is the face of the Church of God today and why it is so totally irrelevant. Jesus is pushed to the sidelines while unimportant topics and fantastical beliefs are always at the forefront.
If You're Interested in Christ or the Gospel, CGI Is NOT for You!
The latest offerings from the Church of God International may be of interest to ultra-conservative Americans, but folks who are interested in hearing about Jesus and his message will be very disappointed! I can hear it now: "There goes Lonnie and his sour grapes again!" "Hasn't he got anything better to do?" "Why must he persist in ATTACKING Bill Watson and Adrian Davis?" "Those guys are living rent-free in his head!" "Why is he ATTACKING his family's religion?" "He is an accuser of the brethren!" "Satan is using him to ATTACK God's Church!" The responses are so predictable, because this is the way that Armstrongites have ALWAYS reacted to criticism. Since the days of Herbie, they can run traditional Christians and their beliefs into the ground; but you let anyone criticize what they're doing, and the howls of "persecution" are deafening!
In the latest edition of The International News, there aren't ANY articles wholly devoted to Jesus, his message, or salvation through him. Instead, we find there the following articles: Were the Ten Commandments in Force Before Moses? by Mike James, What Is Mankind's Option for Survival? by Bill Watson, Kung Fu Fighting by Jeff Flanick, A Brief Review of "Thin Again" by Michelle Algarra, What is an Abortion? by W. Adam Boyd, Enroute to the Kingdom by George Roper (at least George mentions Jesus and his teachings), Questions and Answers by Vance Stinson (What about imprecatory prayers? and Is cremation an acceptable option?), Male and Female He Created Them by Mike James, Feast of Tabernacles 2022 in Poughkeepsie, New York, an obituary for Kenneth Bounds, Why Baptize? by Robert Onsando, and Four Baptized in Sheridan, Wyoming.
In his article, Bill Watson wrote: "Consider for a moment the fact that the United States has just appointed a female Supreme Court Justice that cannot define what a women is!" <I think he meant "woman"> "How is that kind of nonsense acceptable? It is also now confirmed that the disgusting information coming out from Hunter Biden’s laptop and the revelation of his business and salacious shenanigans are legitimate and unlike originally portrayed as 'conspiracy,' is now shocking most of us that this is real! Why hasn’t he been arrested and indicted?" He continued: "Compound that with Ghislaine Maxwell’s disclosure of names and mountains of video evidence revealing 'highly influential' men and women participating in and guilty of statutory rape—and shockingly, not one of these powerful and famous political or business leaders, movie stars, or educators have been arrested, indicted, and convicted! How does this happen? Where is the outrage? Who is protecting these people? And what is really behind the 'curtain' that these leaders and elitists don’t want us, the people, to know about them? What evil has been perpetrated? It’s obvious: if the truth were to come out, as it has about Mr. Hunter Biden, Anthony Weiner, Bernie Madoff, and so many others, this would be extremely embarrassing and ruin their images and positions of influence, as was done to some of the above-mentioned men—and now, most recently, Prince Andrew. Frankly, it should lead to the conviction and incarceration of ALL those participants!" Of course, there isn't any mention of Donald Trump or his possible crimes!
Not convinced that Mr. Watson's article is too focused on the current political culture in the United States? Bill continued: "Presently, the United States is agonizing and languishing from misappropriated policies that are igniting inflation, interest rates, energy co-dependence, and the dilution of American culture due to immigration policies that are weak in managing restriction and restraint!" Still not convinced? Watson noted: "Never in our lifetime have we seen such negligence of law enforcement. The conditions surrounding the borders of the United States are now being characterized as an INVASION! The smuggling of fentanyl, meth and other drugs is out of control. And much of this is due to the Cartel dominating the human trafficking, drug, and weapons smuggling industry! In the meantime, government policies are weaponizing specific segments of the government, to reduce the rule of law—and the increasing crime rate substantiates this fact—“blood touches blood”—random violence is now common in many of the western cities of the USA, Britain, and Europe, due to the lack of law enforcement!" To be fair, he does go on to say that Christ is going to return someday and establish God's Kingdom on this earth.
But Pastor Watson's article for The International News was NOTHING compared to the sermon he delivered this past Sabbath at Medina! He insisted that the United States has an ethnicity problem, not a racism problem. He suggested that someone might have a problem if they married a "black lady, brown lady, or an Asian lady." He went on to complain about our modern usage of the word "gay." Apparently, Bill yearns for the good ole days when that word meant "happy." From there he launched into another diatribe about the "CCP" Virus (for those of you who may not be familiar with this terminology in referring to Covid-19, it stands for the Chinese Communist Party Virus). Bill insisted that the Chinese "seeded" the world with the virus. He noted that all of this used to be regarded as a conspiracy theory, but that now we know it's a "fact." He went on to say that Doctors Birx and Fauci have changed their minds again and are now saying that natural immunity is just as good as being vaccinated. Before finishing, he also mentioned the "87,000" new IRS agents, the Chinese threat to Taiwan, and the outrageously high gas prices (although they've recently dropped, I share his discomfort with those gas prices). He did, however, return to a semi-religious theme to conclude his message - He encouraged everyone to attend the Feast of Tabernacles to experience a foretaste of God's Kingdom!
Even so, Bill's sermon was mild compared to Pastor Adrian Davis' sermon just last month! The HOUR AND A HALF long sermon was a diatribe against the Biden Administration. He called his sermon "Build Bad Better" - you know, a not-so-subtle dig at Biden's "Build Back Better" slogan. Once again, one has to wonder why a Canadian pastor is so obsessed with the political culture in the United States! Then, like Bill, he returned to one of his favorite targets - the government's efforts to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 Virus. He said that government restrictions on large assemblies had directly contradicted the command in Scripture to assemble for worship on a regular basis! He even went on to suggest that a SWAT team would have descended on anyone who had tried to hold church services during that period! If that wasn't bad enough, he went on to talk in very graphic terms about the Monkey Pox virus. One has to hope that there weren't any children in his audience as he launched into a talk about how most of the current outbreak could be attributed to "men sharing their genitals with other men!" When he finally got back around to "Build Back Better," Davis claimed that "you will own nothing, but you will be happy!" And, just in case that wasn't explicit enough, he went on to say that it was really a return to communism and feudalism! Talk about over-the-top and inflammatory rhetoric! He went on to declare that "the American system of honoring the individual is dead!" Ironically, at times, it seemed like Pastor Davis was quoting Yuval Harari more than he was the Bible! At one point, he even challenged anyone to offer just one decision that the Biden Administration has made that makes America better. According to Pastor Davis, every decision that the current President of the United States has made has been calculated by him to DESTROY the nation he leads!
Whether or not you agree with these POLITICAL opinions is immaterial to the point this post is making - It is CLEARLY NOT the job of ANY minister of Jesus Christ to be offering such opinions from the pulpit! Most of us attend Church for spiritual enrichment, nourishment, and fellowship. If we want to listen to MAGA talking points, we can turn on our television sets and go to the FOX News channel or any one of a number of other conservative media outlets! A Christian Church should be preaching about the life, teachings, death, resurrection, and messaging of Jesus of Nazareth - period! You can't even call this stuff prophecy - it's just PURE politics!
And, just to cut my critics off at the pass, I have raised these concerns privately with Bill Watson, Vance Stinson, Mike James, Jeff Reed, Wynn Skelton, and others within the Church of God International's leadership team. You can clearly see from my latest report just how effective those contacts were! To be fair, CGI's leadership did make a feeble attempt to rein in Bill's and Adrian's messaging about Covid-19, but (once again) you can see just how much good that did! Also, please note, that I have used their own words - written and spoken - to criticize their messaging. I have NOT attacked personalities. My criticisms are focused on the messaging of these men.
In conclusion, for those Armstrongites who may be looking for a more reasonable, less political, and more spiritually focused organization with which to fellowship, the Church of God International is NOT that church! Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, and Bob Thiel have got NOTHING on these folks!
In a rare moment of complete honesty while delivering Part 390 of “The Greatest Unending Story,” David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God made a 30-second comment that gave a glimpse as to the type of man he really is. Some already knew this, but hearing it as part of a Bible study to the entire church adds the exclamation point.
This clip was not included in yesterday’s article because it warrants its own attention and should not be lost in the deluge of “the new moon” nonsense.
Here is a glimpse inside the heart of David C. Pack, the Pastor General of The Restored Church of God, the minister of Jesus Christ, an Apostle of God, the Messenger to the Seventh Era, the sometimes-Elijah, “this old shepherd,” the goodman of the house, the wise steward, the good and faithful servant, the angel who spoke with John in the Book of Revelation, a type of Ezekiel, a descendant of the ancient David, the faithful priest “rushing to call it out” and “making plain” to God’s people, David Passover:
@ 53:38 All God’s enemies are put down and the worst ones who hate Him are destroyed forever. It’ll be good to see the Lake of Fire put to good use for people who hate God and they would ruin the lives of others. They need to die.
Be careful what you wish for, Dave.
Here are some Bible verses Dave forgot to read carefully:
Proverbs 24:17
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth
Ezekiel 33:11
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked…
I can imagine him standing upon the edge of the Lake of Fire, looking down at those who burn in agony knowing they are being erased from existence. His eyes are unfeeling but a great joy fills his breast. A subtle smug grin betrays his face as people gnash their teeth while screaming because this is their end.
