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 has been very quick in trying to squelch rumors of the severity of Gerald Flurry's fall out of his bathtub. Cryptic messages went to members to pray for Flurry so that he could recover speedily and return to his awesome position as King of the Church of God. Flurry, like many other COG leaders, believes that he will be alive to help Christ usher in the Kingdom of God where he will get to sit at Christ's right hand and rule humanity. Can you imagine anything more revolting?
Exit and Support Network has a couple of notes up about how much more serious Flurry's injuries were than they initially let on.
November 23, 2022 Hello ESN,
I just heard from my friend who spoke with a PCG member that Gerald Flurry suffered contusion in one side of his lower back when he fell in the toilet during their FOT this year. [See October 25 letter above about this fall.] His inability to produce a new episode for his Key of David (KOD) program proved that his condition has further worsened after the Feast.
It is interesting to note that Gerald Flurry’s recent fall was his second. His first fall happened on January 4th, 2014 while delivering a sermon in Edmond.
His continuing absence from his KOD program and his deteriorating health condition are now causes of major concern to the whole PCG.
For the past four weeks after FOT, they have aired repeat episodes of the KOD. The latest one, which they labelled as “new,” was just a recording of GRF’s address from the September 4th opening of the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology. Last week they had to call in Brad Macdonald as a new presenter of KOD.
But why employ a new presenter if GRF is coming back? Are they trying to condition the mind of their members and the public that GRF’s time is almost up? –D. S.
For those outside the Philadelphia Church of God looking in and those who have been the recipients of his abuse, all of this new information coming out is not a bad thing. However, things could actually get worse when Lil'Stevie takes over. He has been maneuvering and manipulating things in the background for several years now for this transfer of power to take place. Some believe things will actually be worse under Lil'Stevie than they are under his dad.
Another ESN reader commented on how the PCG leadership is controlling the narrative
November 23, 2022 I am not surprised that the ministry is hiding the severity of GF’s fall and injuries. They are all about the image and controlling the narrative in a way that best suits them. I am curious as to what explanation they gave to the members who would be wondering why Brad is now doing the KOD. I would have assumed Stephen would have taken that roll. Maybe they think they can get some someone a little more charismatic. –T. C.
The COG was always been great at controlling the narrative, that is until the internet brought them ALL down. None of them have ever recovered and will continue to sink further into oblivion.
The most vitally utilized tool at the Headquarters of The Restored Church of God is the eraser.
David C. Pack spoke two days in a row last week, totaling three hours and twelve minutes. “The Greatest Unending Story!” Part 404 was followed by a “final” Part 405. (Insert snickering here.) Built upon a stack of pinkie swears, it was repeated that the Series was over. The Mystery of God was ended. The complete picture was simple. Watch and be ready. Mic drop.
A Friday night Prophecy Update got ahead of the eventual Sabbath morning failure when nothing biblical manifested in Jerusalem or Wadsworth, Ohio. (Insert gasp of shock here.)
Church Administration spends a lot of time managing expectations and soft-landing the members into another David C. Pack debacle. The Member Services Prophecy Updates and emails serve as quick and cheap mental erasers for the minds in RCG.
A Pathetic Update was posted last night, making clear that Turkey Day will commence without the threat of fire and brimstone from Dave's god. (Insert shrug here.)
Prophecy Update - Tuesday, November 22, 2022
As usual, additional knowledge has come. Do not be surprised if Elijah’s role is revealed and starts in the month of Kislev—and that in this month everything happens. Christ would come “as a thief” exactly when we expected with nothing occurring before this. We will see what hour of day or night this happens. We still cannot know. Enjoy Thanksgiving!
It still amazes me how over three hours of accurate, urgently-Livestreamed biblical revelation from God can be erased in a single paragraph.
The folks inside RCG are to erase all Dave said about when God’s plan for the Kingdom will start. Erase what Dave said about the sequence. Erase what Dave said about timing. Erase what Dave said about the duration of events. Just erase it from your brain as hard as possible, but be careful not to tear the paper while you are at it.
“As usual, additional knowledge has come.”
The complete, final picture is not so complete and not so final. The ever-learning cycle continues, as a non-prophet/non-psychic said. All former RCGers are saying it, too.
When you consult with Dave’s nemesis, the Dictionary, something interesting comes to the surface.
knowledge
1. facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject
2. awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation
While pondering “The Greatest Unending Story!” Series through the entire 405+ Parts, one conclusion is undeniable. No “knowledge” has been gained. The murderous Dictionary makes it plain.
knowledge—the rcg way
1. Falsehoods and disinformation expressing a complete lack of skills by miseducation; purely theoretical and non-practical misunderstanding of Bible subjects.
2. Unawareness of physical reality in the face of absolute failure gained by supposition of fraudulent understanding substituted for fact.
The antonym for “knowledge” is “ignorance.”
To be more accurate, CAD should rephrase that first sentence to read:
“As usual, additional ignorance has come.”
THAT is factually accurate. The hateful, attacking Dictionary agrees.
David C.raptacular Pack, the Pester General of The Restored Church of Another god is doomed to repeat the cycle of ignorance until the True God intervenes, holding the Coffee Kid and Pepper Boy also accountable.
“Do not be surprised if Elijah’s role…”
Do not be surprised when Dave fails again. Do not be surprised when Dave goes back to the drawing board and does another reset on his current biblical construct. Do not be surprised if everything you have heard since Part 400 needs to be erased. Just to be safe, erase Part 398 and 399.
10 days is really 3 ½ days, but then it is 10 days again. 30 days is exactly 30 days to the second until it is about 30 days. 7 years means 7 days temporarily when it is 7 years again. The events are consecutive until they are concurrent. The Mystery of God is ended until next time. Daniel is fully unsealed, but there is more to discover. The picture the brethren have is complete and will not change, but God has brought more clarity. Tammuz will not change. Cheshvan will not move. Kislev is the correct month. We cannot know the day and the hour, except we know the day and the hour.
Does all that come from a sound mind or confusion? That is an open-ended question.
Even Dave has accidental moments of honesty and truth.
Part 404 – November 15, 2022
@ 48:43 I’ve got it. But configurations change.And that’s what is so fascinating. And what was so perplexing.
Endless, endless, endless configurations. That is what the Packian Triad of Fraud has been doing. There are no new cards in the deck, just a continuous reshuffling because the hand dealt is a bust. Every time.
This magic trick has kept most people in their chairs, so why change the routine?
This update is removing the surprise for future installments. Dave will want to erase when he said this.
Part 405 – November 16, 2022
@ 47:33 There is no 406. There’s nothing else to talk about.
The Elijah mention brings forward the subtext of Parts 404 and 405 that were not directly addressed in the previous articles. A big-picture review of those two messages makes a more horrific point.
Skimmers: Please do not miss this.
David C. Pack spent a lot of time preaching about HIMSELF during those three hours and twelve minutes. Mentions of Jesus Christ were only an aside.
Part 404
·03:05 – Elijah comes first
·24:05 – The Elijahn period
·24:50 – Elijah is That Prophet
·25:20 – The Twig of Isaiah 11
·27:30 – The one making it plain of Habakkuk 2
·33:30 – David of Psalm 89
·36:30 – Joshua, the High Priest of Zechariah 3
·52:00 – David of Psalm 89 is exalted
·57:33 – Elijah is made a High Priest
Part 405
·04:00 – The Seventh Messenger of Revelation sounds the trumpet
·04:20 – He gives a warning of the sword of Ezekiel
·04:30 – In Isaiah 11, Elijah is working with the poor and needy
·06:05 – Elijah rises in Isaiah 41 as “the righteous from the east”
·08:20 – “A lot of nations don’t know me today."
·11:30 – Prophesy again from Revelation 10
·12:20 – Prophesy before Christ gets here. Maybe it is the Series. Maybe more.
·13:24 – Elijah is sent to all Israel per Malachi 3 and 4
·17:30 – He is the faithful priest of 1 Samuel 2
·27:30 – He is “the good man of the house” of Matthew, Mark, and Luke
·39:00 – Elijah preaches to 100 million resurrected people
·41:05 – The High Priest of Zechariah 3 kept his charge
·42:10 – Deuteronomy 18 and That Prophet
·46:40 – The Twig of Isaiah 11 goes forth
·47:10 – The days of his voice from Revelation 10
·48:46 – "I don't know when he's Elijah."
·48:58 – “I made plain to The Restored Church of God” per Habakkuk 2
·49:25 – The days of his voice would be about five
·51:03 – He rises and goes to Jerusalem per Isaiah 41 "I got this now."
·55:30 – Elijah is transfigured in Matthew 17
·1:01:30 – Elijah is a type of John the Baptist
·1:03:30 – The last Elijah deals with 8 billion people inside five days
·1:07:55 – The modern John the Baptist (Elijah) will be called the Antichrist
·1:09:55 – This man is talking to the world
·1:12:30 – "I'm not prominent today."
·1:16:32 – Like John the Baptist, God will speak to the modern Elijah
·1:21:00 – Elijah blew up the structure of the world
Wow. When you list it like that from just two messages, it takes your breath away.
David C. Pack cannot stop talking because he preaches about himself. The Restored Church of God members listen to Dave preach about Dave. The plan of God is all about Dave. Dave is all throughout the Bible, and he cannot preach without addressing his own role.
He can get around mentions of Jesus Christ but not himself.
This should be a clear illustration of what is happening inside RCG. This is what all the hireling enablers support. This is what all the mindless zealots get excited about. Their god is speaking to them. Their idol pours oil into their ears, and they love to have it so.
"The Restored Church of Another god" is not a cutesy wordplay. It is a spiritual disaster unfolding before our eyes. God is giving the members of RCG every opportunity to see who and what David C. Pack is. When the time is up, they will have no excuse.
God have mercy on these people.
“Enjoy Thanksgiving!”
Not so fast. This is a mixed message of biblical proportions. Those two words fly in the face of what Dave said one month ago.
Part 400 – October 22, 2022
@ 1:20:14 …God comes on…Thanksgiving. And destroys Thanksgiving…On a nation that is utterly ungrateful but keeps Thanksgiving so they can so they can indulge themselves and watch football and get drunk.
This repeated video clip shows Dave throwing a temper tantrum, lambasting the RCG staff. He accuses them of being lazy and ungrateful. He also threatens to not give them Thanksgiving off.
For all his loud whining, Dave always caves. He caved with the History Channel. He caved with the staff.
After tearing them apart, Dave gave the staff Thanksgiving off. Even though it happens on a Thursday. And Thursday is during the work week.
Part 400 – October 22, 2022
@ 1:28:05 God says, “Six days shall you labor.” That’s a command. That’s why I work all six days…Only, now that’s not really true. I work all day on the Sabbath, too…
See. David C. Pack is more righteous than you. He is more righteous than God.
His ears may turn red as he stomps his feet, but the guy lacks the strength to follow through with his own words. For all his threats, he is like the guard dog barking at you ferociously until you approach the fence, and then it backs away. But it continues to bark like a cowardly little bitch.
David C. Pack is all bark and no bite. He is not a man of his word or someone to be feared.
After all his church-wide impotent pissing and moaning, Dave gave the RCG staff the day off. That point is worth repeating. He complained but then capitulated. He caved. That speaks to what kind of man he is.
The staff may now enjoy the day God was going to destroy. The day celebrated by a nation of ungrateful people. A day interfering with the God-commanded work week. A day of football. A day of beer.
David C. Pack’s words are as empty as the Headquarters Trust Meter. His words mean nothing to him, and they should mean nothing to you.
$100 says Dave will have football on the TV with a beer in his hand tomorrow. He will sit at the Thanksgiving supper table and enjoy his wife’s cooking. The false prophet. The false apostle. The biblical fraud. He will do everything he cried against, and those in his house will witness it.
Ryan, remember to tell him, "No gravy for you."
David C. Pack wants to erase what he said a week ago. He wants to erase what he said a month ago. He wants to erase what he said a year ago.
Erasing the past gives him power and control. Do not forget that.
Elton John lit up Dodger Stadium for three nights this past weekend. It is hard to believe he played in this stadium 47 years ago in 1975, the year I came to Pasadena to attend the West Point of God's Church, Ambassador College.
I remember in 1973 and 1974 in the Dayton Ohio church area I grew up in listening to his songs at dances and on 8-track tapes in cars as we drove about. Most of us knew the words to his songs by heart. In 1973 and 74 we were all wondering if we were going to be able to graduate from high school because Herbert Armstrong had idiotically proclaimed that 1971 was the start of the tribulation and that in 3 1/2 the kingdom would be here. Yet, here we were in 1973/74 dancing away, and in 1975 attending his concert in Los Angeles
Recently on one of the church-related Facebook pages students from Big Sandy were reminiscing about a college dance they had where Elton's Crocodile Rock started to play over the speakers and how a self-righteous minister shut the dance down because of it. The stupidity of ministers in this church never ceases to amaze me.
"1975 in Prophecy" came and went and nothing happened. God's House was holding its first season of church-funded concerts and money flowed freely as the church was bringing close to $1,000,000.00 a day in tithes and offerings. HWA frequently hopped on his jet flying around the world so he could preach about a "strong hand from someplace".
Garner Ted and others in the upper ranks were busy bed-hopping. Gerald Waterhouse was cruising West Hollywood and evangelists' children were peddling drugs at Imperial Schools and at Ambassador. So much for armageddon and the miraculous conversion of church members to kings and priests so they could rule over planets!
The church, being the church it is, never learned from its mistakes as ministers, evangelists, and church leaders never learned to keep their mouths shut about prophecy.
Today in 2022 the church is infected with malignant tumors like Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, John Rittenbaugh, and Bob Thiel who spread one prophetic lie after another. Nothing these fools has ever said has ever come to pass and never will.
Listening to Elton John I could not help but look back on the absolute craziness the church taught and certain splinter cults still do. At 75 years of age, he is still going strong while the Churches of God are becoming irrelevant and insignificant in anyone's life. More and more people are waking up realizing they do NOT need a Church of God as a source of salvation in their lives. 80 years of heretical teachings have driven hundreds of thousands of people out of the church over the decades. The church has damaged more lives than the Armstrongite era of the COG ever made a positive impact upon. It has certainly damaged more lives than Crocodile Rock!
Since leaving The Restored Church of God in August 2022, my perspective on many matters has changed. As a baptized member, I forced myself to accept whatever I heard, read, or experienced without questioning it (most of the time) because I wholeheartedly believed it was where God was working. Any doubts or concerns that came into my mind I dismissed as "of the devil." I did not want to be a doubter like Miriam and Aaron, questioning the authority of "God's leaders."
Little did I realize how dangerous that mindset of blind trust would become when the prophetic teachings of The Restored Church of God began to change. "The Greatest Story Never Told!" Series by Pastor General David C. Pack started in November 2015. Part 405 was delivered last week.
The goal of this article is to help current or former members who are struggling with their thought processes. It is not intended to force people to "see things my way" or to rip apart the members and ministry still in RCG. There are some good, kind people still attending.
There is a misconception in RCG that ex-members are "bitter" and "dangerous" people trying to "make members leave the Church." I firmly believe we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," and it is not my place to pressure anyone into deciding to stay or leave. I can only encourage and help guide those damaged by the prophetic confusion and chaos currently occurring within RCG.
Here are some lessons I have learned since departing from The Restored Church of God.
Lesson 1—Never think that teachings/decisions by church leaders should not be questioned.
This mindset caused a lot of The Worldwide Church of God members to spiritually stumble when some church leaders told them not to question the doctrinal changes occurring in the 1990s. It was still touted as "God's government," and people who spoke up against it would get kicked out of the Church.
I recognize the act of questioning a leader must be done cautiously and respectfully, and I don't condone the "Miriam and Aaron" style of questioning. But telling people to just "sit down and shut up" and forcing the members to remain silent about their concerns is incredibly dangerous. It leaves members believing that they have to do what they are told no matter what or face the consequences, even in the face of flaming heresies.
This is called “obeying man rather than God.” Sadly, many in RCG have taken on this mindset, even though many have some degree of awareness that what is happening and being taught is blatantly wrong and unscriptural.
What makes things worse is that David C. Pack and the RCG leadership will claim that they are not doing what the WCG did in the 90s and that they have not changed the core doctrines of God or the "traditions and standards" of the Church.
The problem is that prophetic heresy is being woven in and passed off as "growing in grace and knowledge," similar to when WCG called their doctrinal changes "growing in grace and knowledge." Today, it is packaged as revealing The Mystery of God. It is almost the same thing; instead, it is “a falling away” from the prophetic teachings that were once taught in RCG and WCG. It was an apostasy then, and it is an apostasy now.
Pack even told the Church, "We have not changed one single doctrine." That is a flatly false statement.
We once believed that “no one knows the day and hour” of Christ's return, and the understanding was that Jesus Christ is "That Prophet" of Deuteronomy 18 and Acts 3. But now there are endless predictions of when Christ will return, and David C. Pack claims the title of Elijah, who is “That Prophet.” Not to mention changing the Father and Christ's roles and Pack seeing himself all throughout the Bible. That is far more frightening and dangerous than leaders deviating back into traditional Christianity. And this is coming from a man who is not very fond of Joseph Tkach.
Ultimately, the end result of both scenarios is creating an environment of fear and has led brethren into becoming content to stay where they are, even when the ship is clearly already underwater.
ALWAYS ask questions, and never let fear of what others may think block you from doing the right thing.
Lesson 2—Prove all things. Look into the scriptures to see if the teaching is valid.
Unfortunately, this is an area where I seriously failed later in my spiritual walk. When I first came into RCG, I would go into my Bible and look up each scripture listed in the RCG literature and see if the explanation was true or not. RCG actively encouraged this, and Pack often echoed Herbert W. Armstrong's words: "Do NOT believe me, BELIEVE YOUR BIBLE!" That slowly changed as DCP's sermon series continued, and things kept moving in the wrong direction. There was more emphasis on "just believing what God is revealing through His chosen apostle.”
Because what was being taught was so confusing, I began to become lax in studying my Bible. I questioned whether God was even with me because I struggled to understand the strange prophetic theories. It harmed my relationship with God and led me to believe He was a manipulative Being, constantly leading His "servant" into date-setting and having to change the dates when they would fail.
This is the "god" that Pack serves and teaches. This “god” tells people not to bother proving what you are being taught and to just "have faith" that God is leading "His apostle" to the full truth. There have been quite a few instances where Pack told the members to not open their Bibles but just listen to what he was saying.
Pack is not alone in this defection from truth. He has surrounded himself with enabling yes-men who perpetuate false teachings.
In December 2019, Edward Winkfield gave a sermon titled "Blessings—God's Quid Pro Quo.” At first, it seemed like a good message about what we can do to receive God's blessings. However, halfway through the message things took a sour turn.
Ed talked about how belief in Bible prophecy was tied to God's blessings and how one must be in "God's true Church" to understand it. He also talked about how one can believe what is being taught without fully understanding it.
He dropped a bombshell around the 45-minute mark: “Our job is not to interpret the scriptures. That's not my job. That's not your job. That's the job of an apostle (referring to DCP). Our job is to simply BELIEVE IT.”
...Whoa. Hold on. What?
First of all, no one, not even an "apostle," has the ability to "interpret the scriptures" on their own human steam. The Bible makes it very clear that no scripture is of a private interpretation. He would have been entirely correct if he had simply said none of us have that ability without God's Spirit leading us to understand the scriptures. It is through God and His SPIRIT that understanding of the scriptures can happen. Not through any human being alone. That encourages people to look to DCP as an idol, which a lot of members subconsciously do without admitting it.
Scriptures make clear God is not speaking through DCP because one failed prophecy makes a man a false prophet. And the trend of failed predictions has continued, thus proving that God is no longer revealing His truth through DCP.
The next point Ed Winkfield made is that "we are to be childlike in our belief." In other words, don't you dare question what is being taught and just sit down, shut up and be an obedient child. There is a grave danger in believing everything you are told without questioning and proving what you are hearing or reading.
I liken it to a parent telling a destructive lie to a child and leading them to think no harm will come to them for believing it. The biblical concept of "becoming little children" was twisted in the most deceptive way. Being "childlike" does NOT mean believing everything you are told, especially if it could harm you.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" of 1 Thessalonians 5:21 was tossed in the trash can because everyone was told to "just believe." This encouraged members to believe a man over the plain words of God in the Bible.
Ed explained how people "explode with pride" when they leave RCG due to confusion about Pack’s failed prophecies. Brethren who are genuinely concerned about following something God says is wrong are labeled as "heretics…full of pride."
This was the sermon that left me thinking something was very wrong in RCG. But I did not have a complete awareness of just how bad it was, and unfortunately, I forced myself to "just believe it," which did me much spiritual harm.
There is one last quote from this sermon that I want to address. It is among one of the worst lies ever told to the RCG membership by the ministry.
“God is not going to fault us for believing what we have been taught.”
In addition to “prove all things,” the following scripture dismantles Ed’s statement and everything else mentioned in his awful sermon, which was used to prop up DCP’s prophetic teachings.
1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Do not "just believe" what you are hearing. PROVE it to determine whether it is of God or not!
Prove ALL things and search the scriptures to see whether those are so before letting someone encourage you to look to a man and believe everything he says over God's word.
Lesson 3—Be wary when large numbers of people leave the Church.
This is a lesson I learned after carefully studying what happened in The Worldwide Church of God in the 1970s and 1990s. The 1970s was a period known as the "liberal years," where certain leaders began changing policies and watering down doctrines. They also threatened to fire any minister who reported this to Herbert W. Armstrong while he was traveling abroad. It was during this period that WCG membership stopped growing.
In a December 1980 Brethren and Co-Worker Letter, Mr. Armstrong mentioned that the lack of growth was a sign that God was not pleased with the Church and was not blessing it as a result.
In the 1990s, after core doctrines were changed, the WCG began to lose mass numbers of members. It was clear God was no longer blessing or working with that organization. Both attendance and finances experienced a catastrophic collapse.
Looking at the current state of RCG and how they have lost more members than they have gained reveals that something very similar is occurring now. Some congregations have lost close to half of their members, if not more. This is from personal observation, but I do not know the exact number of people leaving.
Anyone with eyes to see can tell that the false prophetic teachings have resulted in God's blessings being withdrawn from RCG. Recognizing that trend helped me jump off that sinking ship and spiritually clean myself up of the heresies that had stained and confused me for so long.
RCG claims the loss of members is a "shaking of the tree" removing "tares" from among the "wheat." It is actually quite the opposite. The accelerating loss of members is God's way of telling people to FLEE because something is VERY wrong. It is no different from what happened to WCG in the 1990s when many people departed from the organization. God did it then, and He is doing it again now.
So, while it is a "shaking of the tree," so to speak, it is meant to shake God's people out of the hands of a false prophet and heretic.
Significant loss of church membership means one thing and one thing only: the organization is under a curse, and God wants His people to GET OUT!
Lesson 4—Leaving a physical organization has no bearing on whether or not you receive eternal life.
Oftentimes, members will hear from DCP and the ministry that if they leave RCG, they will lose the Holy Spirit and their chance at eternal life. You will be cast into the Lake of Fire for rebellion against God. This keeps members paralyzed with fear and staying right where they are, even though RCG is now a place that God is no longer guiding.
I let myself get snared by these fears for a while until I began doing a deep Bible study on the subject of prophecy. God will not remove His Spirit from people for separating themselves from an organization led by a false prophet. If He did, then all of the scriptures telling His people to beware of false prophets and to not go after them would be meaningless.
DCP will go back and forth, claiming he is Elijah the Prophet. Then he is not. All the while continuing to set dates for Christ's return. (The latest is November 24, Thanksgiving.) This is the Biblical definition of an unsound mind. Denying you are a prophet while setting dates is deceitful and still makes you a false prophet, even according to his own literature.
“The heart is deceitful above all things," and this is a fine example of it. Would God punish His people for choosing to flee from someone like this?
The answer to this should be very clear.
Lesson 5—God comes first. No matter what.
Leaving RCG was not an easy decision by any means. Not only did I worry about God departing from me if I left, but I also was concerned about what others would think of me. I was apprehensive that DCP would blast me in a sermon as he has done with so many others who have left.
I finally got to the point where the fear of God became stronger than the fear of men. Reading through Pack’s since-removed book, "Is ‘That Prophet’ Alive Today? The Rise of False Prophets," helped me to recognize the dangers of being fearful of men.
Departing from RCG caused me to lose many good friends, while others have put labels on me. But it also brought the peace of God in a way I've never felt before. And that peace came immediately after praying if I had made the right decision by choosing to leave RCG. I continue to see evidence of God working with me and guiding my life. This is quite contrary to what we have all been told would happen when we leave RCG.
It is my hope that in the days ahead, more and more can experience the peace that comes when you choose to follow God rather than a man and that many inside RCG will see it for what it really is.
Until then, all I can do is exercise patience that God will soon intervene and end the confusion within the Church of God as a whole when Christ reveals Himself to the Church.
Week after week there is always something that LCG members are not doing right. Apparently this week they are unable to keep their hearts and minds focused on the "work". This has been an ongoing issue in the church since the early days of the Worldwide Church of God. There was always some reason the Big Boys found lacking in church members who were not totally engaged (i.e. sending in money). Boys and girls, get your hearts turned in the right direction and your desires will be fulfilled! Magical god will give you all you want, though for some reason it never has done so to LCG as a church.
Winnail makes the claim below that if your heart is in the "work?" you will become a godlet in the kingdom to come and reign with Christ over the rest of humankind. The trouble with his verses quoted is NONE of them say any such thing. All they say is to prepare the way. Touch the lives of people in the world and share the anticipation you have for a kingdom to come. Show mercy and grace now and it will be infectious and draw people in. Oh, wait. This is the LCG we are speaking about.
Where Is Your Heart? The Scriptures clearly reveal that God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and that He examines and tests our hearts and minds (Psalm 7:9). Our thoughts, actions, and priorities reveal what is in our hearts. This is why Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). When God sees that our priorities are focused in the right direction, He will provide many of our desires—in His time and way (Mark 10:29–30). Jesus set an example of being focused on His mission of preaching the Gospel, warning the world, and preparing a people to reign with Him in the Kingdom (Mark 1:14–15; John 4:34; Luke 1:17)—and He will receive a great reward (Philippians 2:5–11). Jesus’ heart was in the Work of God! We each need to examine our priorities and ask ourselves the question, “Where is my heart?” Have a profitable Sabbath, Douglas S. Winnail
