One thing you can say about Richard Ames is that he is soooooooooo encouraging. As the post-Feast blues set in Ames sends out this reminder that you had been "learning the FEAR OF GOD" at the Feast!
Living Church of God brethren observed the 2023 Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day at 89 sites in 49 countries. From Mr. Weston’s Opening Night message, reminding us that we are learning the fear of God, to his Last Great Day message proclaiming that the masses of deceived mankind will awaken to have their first real opportunity to learn God’s way of peace, we all rejoiced at God’s “master plan” of salvation for all of humanity. An inspiring Behind the Work video gave us the blessing of learning more about our brethren in South and Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
ANGRY GOD is so important to Armstrongism. With Angry God constantly angry, members need to be constantly on watch that they do not do anything to make IT angry at them. Of course, the church eagerly provides copious lists of all the things you can do to make ANGRY GOD really, really angry. The constant threat of losing one's salvation is a great control mechanism for church authorities.
Tied into that constant threat of losing one's salvation is the fact that you will also never become a god like the rest of the LCG elite. Then, since you're not a god you will NOT be allowed to teach people in the millennium, nor will you be King or Priest! More importantly, you will NEVER be able to judge them! Oh, the tragedy!!!!
What an amazing calling God has given us to train to be kings, priests, and judges for His coming kingdom and to assist Him now by helping to fulfill His “great commission.” I was personally moved to see, at the two Feast sites my wife and I attended—Branson and Lake of the Ozarks in the United States state of Missouri—how brethren generously served and loved one another as sons and daughters of the ever-living God, preparing to become eternal members of God’s royal family.
LCG members are encouraged to keep their army of faithful marching forward, being the militaristic church that Armstrongism is. LCG is always at war about something. All powerful big meanie Satan, the gays, the Germans, the Chinese, the Muslims, militant feminists, other Church of God groups, etc.
So what is a poor depressed LCG member to do as they combat the dreaded post-Feast blues?
READ YOUR SERMON NOTES! Good LCG note-takers will accomplish this:
When you are a student in a classroom, you know that it is important to take notes so you can study the material again and again after the class is done. You want to internalize what you’ve been taught so it becomes a part of you and changes you for the better.
Your Feast notes should help to remind you that the time is soon coming when the desert will blossom like the rose (Isaiah 35:1). As Christians today, we are preparing to become the firstfruits who will play a part in fulfilling that prophecy. Reviewing your Feast notes can keep you motivated and inspired about your future.
We are training to become kings and priests in tomorrow’s world. Priests in ancient Israel had many responsibilities, including that of
teaching the people.
We as the resurrected firstfruits will have that responsibility in the Kingdom of God. Almost certainly you heard someone during the Feast quote these important words from the prophet Isaiah: “And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (
Isaiah 30:20–21).
These self-righteous Armstrongites think so highly of themselves that when they are glorified gods in the millennium the people they will be teaching will be taking copies amount of notes on what they teach them. I kid you not! You cannot trust a COG member to write correct information about the New Covenant in this day and age so how can you trust them in some magic millennium teaching proper doctrines?
That’s a reference to our role as teachers in the Millennium, after we have been resurrected and have become members of the Family of God. The resurrected Jesus, too, taught His followers when He appeared to them in physical form. He even ate the fish and honey they gave Him (
Luke 24:42–43).
We will be teaching people who literally see and hear us as we guide them. Will they take literal notes at times? Very possibly. We look forward to the time when God’s way of life will be restored all over the earth, “and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (
Acts 3:20–21).
We will be helping to restore the truth, the true way of life and government of God.
At the Feast, God, through His ministers, has given us tremendous instruction to both inspire and prepare us for our coming roles.
And yet according to Armstrongite myths, there will be a great falling away at the end of the millennium when those who heard the teachings of the gods and goddesses that were Church of God members teaching them will rebel and will be destroyed. As usual, anything a COG touches ends up being a failure.
Ames continues by fondly looking back decades to when times were more innocent in COGland. Everything was always far more glorious back then, Truth ran freely from the fountain of truth that was fed by the streams of living waters utter by Herbert Armstrong. Jesus himself could never have surpassed the miraculous teachings coming out of HWA at that time.
Reviewing our notes helps us keep fresh the memory of what we learned in the past. But we must keep on learning—growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. To prepare to teach, we must never stop learning. In one of the first Bible Studies I ever heard Mr. Herbert Armstrong give, back in the Shakespeare Club building in Pasadena, he told us that we needed to learn the following scripture: “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:4–5).
At the Feast, we learned much about how to walk on God’s paths, in His truth. And that learning should continue. “Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction” (Proverbs 10:14). Are we continuing to store up knowledge? How well do we know our Bible?
Decades ago, first-graders at the Church’s Imperial Schools were taught to memorize more than a dozen short passages of Scripture, and to recite the Old Testament and New Testament books in order. They also had to learn the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and to recite the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17). It may sound almost impossible to us today, but first-graders were taught to memorize Psalms 1, 23, and 100; Matthew 6:9–14; 2 Timothy 3:15; Proverbs 3:1–35 (broken into four parts for easier recall); Matthew 5:1–20 (broken into two parts); and 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (broken into two parts).
So, what else can a faithful LCG member do to inhibit the post-Feast blues from getting them down?
Memorize the Psalms!
Don't memorize any verses in the New Covenant about grace, redemption, sanctification, justification, and how to be at rest in Christ. Instead memorize the Psalms where you will be going to war killing people, committing adultery, fornicating, smashing baby heads against the rocks, and other delightful delicacies. Armstrognites take great comfort in reading about the sins of David because they too will be able to use the David Defense to justify their sins. If Dave can do it and still be blessed by God so can I!
You may want to set a goal of learning one of the psalms before next year’s fall Festivals. We have our small and manageable goals, and they all should serve to help us attain our greatest goals. What is the greatest goal? The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the coming Kingdom of God, and our focus should be on preparing to serve in that Kingdom. How do we do that? “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Oh, and let's bring those gays in. They are always useful fall guys. Never mind the fact that LCG hierarchy and some of the members are a cesspool of power-hungry men where alcoholism, adultery, and other sins run rampant. When your own leaders wallow in the world there is no room to condemn others.
We should reject goals that would draw us away from God, and set goals that draw us closer to Him. How do we seek God’s righteousness? All of God’s commandments are righteousness (Psalm 119:172). As Mr. Weston has reminded us on many occasions, our world is sliding further and further toward a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet we must live in that world, without being of that world.
And, here are some more things to keep your Laodicean mind occupied:
You may want to set a goal of pursuing a career, or of learning how to manage a household. Some of our brethren earn technical certificates, or two- or four-year college degrees, or even advanced degrees in specialized fields. But be sure that you are seeking a godly goal; before you commit to engaging with the world’s ideas of truth, be sure you are deeply grounded in God’s truth. You may want to seek the advice of others with more experience before you set your educational goals.
Other goals, too, may be worthwhile, even if they seem difficult to achieve. You might want to make a plan to pay off a credit card debt in a year’s time. You might want to get a certification in first aid, or CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), or as a lifeguard. There are even babysitting certifications available for teenagers who want to increase their knowledge and skill in that helpful service.
Other goals can be more personal. Perhaps you have a habit or a weakness you are trying to overcome. Set a goal of overcoming that problem within a realistic but challenging period of time. Use all the tools available to help you overcome. Those tools may involve specific actions appropriate to your problem, but do not neglect the fundamental spiritual tools of prayer, Bible study, meditation, and fasting. Beseech God, call on Him for help, and resolve to accept the help that only He can provide. And do not hesitate to call on God’s ministers for their spiritual help. Resolve to overcome your problem, or at least make tangible progress, by next year’s Feast of Tabernacles.
Never once are they encouraged to study the words of Jesus or dig deeper into salvational insights. Nope, just keep looking backward at the law as they take CPR courses and pay off their credit cards.
While they are studying the Psalms they also need to be lights to the world, just like a lighthouse, shining forth.
Some of you may know that lighthouses have long been a special interest of mine. In my office I have a tapestry of a Thomas Kincade painting of a lighthouse, on which there is a scripture: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Christ expects each of us, like lighthouses, to radiate His light to others. We read, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (
Matthew 5:14–16).
How can LCG be a light on the hill when no one has heard of them? Here in Los Angeles, no one knows who they are. There is no presence in their local communities where members do good work and let their lights shine.
Ames even admits they do not go out of their way to do this! They however do practice God's way within their small church community, embarrassed to share it with the world.
It’s not that we go out of our way to show off to the world. We simply practice God’s way of life, which shows the world an example they just don’t see elsewhere. Every year, our Church Administration Department receives reports from hotels and convention facilities telling us that our brethren have been some of the kindest and most helpful, cooperative guests they’ve ever had—and we should keep up that example through the rest of the year. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (
Galatians 6:9–10). We should not grow weary practicing God’s way, as God’s commandments are not burdensome (
1 John 5:3). So, between now and next year’s Passover, be sure to keep your light shining toward your brethren and all those around you.
Next, they're encouraged to look towards Passover next year when they once again can renew their commitment and be washed from eh stain of this year's sins. Not being taught the New Covenant and its significance, they fail to understand that they do not need to be recommitting themselves every single year. Real Christians know that "committing" was done by Christ himself and is not something that they get to do. There is no need for the constant flagelation over seen and unseen sins as legalism requires. Sadly, LCG leaders need to keep members in prison to their warped theological stances.
At the Passover next year, we will in a formal way renew our commitment to our Savior. Notice that we don’t renew the covenant that we’ve already established, but we do—and must—renew our commitment, our desire, our energy to persevere, and our acceptance of His sacrifice to pay for our sins. True perseverance is an active process, not just passive tolerance of what befalls us. Paul urged the young evangelist Timothy, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (
2 Timothy 1:6–7).
LCG members also need to be stirring up the Holy Spirit, but not to stir it up so bad that it decides to bring the end times more rapidly than the church desires. Gerry expects it to happen within here next 15 years or so. At least he is 15 years out instead of Rod's 5-year stints.
Are you stirring up the Holy Spirit that God gave to you when hands were laid on you at baptism? Are you living each day with a spirit of “Thy Kingdom come”? As Mr. Weston has reminded us, we don’t want to make the mistake of “setting dates” of when we believe Christ will return. I personally don’t believe we will have to wait any more than 15 years or so, but that’s just my belief.
Of course, the final thing that LCG members need to be doing is sending in their money! God can't work without money clanging on the offering plate.
Ames also wants LCG members to never forget that the church has put the world on notice!
The Work of God’s Church today is helping to prepare our world for that glorious time pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. We know our mission, as Christ described it: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Though they won’t be converted in large numbers in this age, the nations and their peoples will be put on notice, receiving a powerful witness. And we should seek to have the sense of purpose Jesus exemplified when He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
LCG brethren need to start imulating Gerry Weston and all LCG leadership as they and they alone follow Christ the proper way. Not in the ways of Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, and Gerald Flurry, but in LCG leader's ways!
We are called to be future leaders. But, to be good leaders, we must first be good followers who both know God’s truth and willingly follow Jesus Christ. Paul told the brethren to follow, or imitate, him as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Christ is the Head of the body, and the Church is that body (1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:4). The head knows the body, and the body knows the head. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). If we are following our Savior, we know that He knows us intimately, and we hear Him through the inspired words of Scripture, as well as through the leadership He has placed in His Church. Some in and around God’s Church have “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). But God’s people know their Shepherd, who told us:
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers (John 10:1–5).
Beware though LCG members, Satan and his crafty band of thieves and robbers are out to deceive and distract you. Rebuke Bob Thiel and the rest of Satan's minions who claim to imitate and follow Christ as the Good Shepherd. Salvation only rests within the confines of the Living Church of God! It is vitally important that all LCG members read Gerry's "Personal" and "Dear Brethren" messages. By doing so you acknowledge that God is actively inspiring Gerry to send you those messages.
There are thieves and robbers who seek to deceive and distract God’s people, but those who persevere in the truth will recognize them and stay faithful to their Shepherd, and they will imitate and follow His human servants as they follow that Shepherd. When Mr. Herbert Armstrong was the human leader of the Church, the first item I read in every Plain Truth issue was his Editorial. I hope that when you receive each Tomorrow’s World magazine and Living Church News you are reading not just Mr. Weston’s articles but also his “Personal” and “Dear Brethren” messages. As Christians, we are developing in ourselves the character and mind of God, and we should want to know the “mind of the Church” in what God is inspiring Mr. Weston to share with us.
Ames ends with this, never once mentioning finding peace with Christ in this present age. It is more important to look backward and at a day that is not required.
What will you remember most about the 2023 Feast of Tabernacles? What inspiring vision of the coming Kingdom will motivate you to grow spiritually in the next few months? This year was my sixty-third Feast of Tabernacles and was my wife Kathryn’s sixty-sixth—and every year we have found something new to appreciate about God’s ways and how He is working in our lives and the lives of our brethren. Whatever may be the standout lessons and memories of your Feast, I pray that you will remain mindful of the messages you heard at the Feast—that you retain the vision that was shared, heed the warnings that were given, and put into practice the teachings that were imparted.
We are preparing for a great day, not that far off, when, the kingdoms of this world will “become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). So, let’s look forward in faith as we move onward from the Feast!
