It has taken a lot longer than we originally hoped, but finally we were able to approve a proof of The Bible Hymnal in the language of Kiswahili today. 

We would like to thank Aaron Dean, Mark Graham, and others at the United Church of God for their cooperation in providing us their translated music files.  

Northeast Men’s Training Camp 2016—August 26-28​  We live in a time of crisis for men. The role, identity and the very purpose for being a man is being called into question. How do we fight the demise of men... as a man? Here’s one way. Come and be part of this unique program this summer. Our spiritual “boot camp,” August 26-28, is specifically designed to build and strengthen men through eye-opening and interactive learning. We’ll learn what it takes to build bonds of brotherhood, serving God, our family and our brethren. It’s time to stand in the gap and take action against the tide of cultural correctness sweeping over our nation.

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Tribulation timeline

We know that in order for Christ to be in the grave 3 days and nights, He was killed on a Wednesday. The only year during the time frame of His ministry that has a Wednesday Passover with the corresponding moon, is 30 A.D. 

In our near future, again, the only year that parallels 30 A.D. is the year 2020.  

The two witnesses will be killed on Wednesday April 8, 2020, and 3 days later, April 11, Christ returns. 

Let's, for the time being, just see how the other prophetic times match up.The span from the Feast of Trumpets in 2016, to the day of Christ's return is 1290 days, thus fulfilling the Daniel 12:11prophecy. 

30 days later, (Hosea 5:7) Jerusalem is taken and the witnesses start judging the nations, hence the fulfillment of the 1260 day prophecy of Revelation 11:3. 

The last prophecy relating to those days is found in Daniel 12:12, that being: "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." It is exactly 1335 days from the Feast of Trumpets in 2016 to the day of Pentecost in 2020. 

Like Daniel 12:12, we find in Luke 24:49 where Christ told the disciples to "tarry" which means "wait""until ye be endued with power from on high", which happened on the day of Pentecost. 

The 144,000 from Revelation 7:4 will have been taught during the 3.5 years and just like the original Apostles, they tarry until Pentecost when they too will be given the Holy Spirit. Following exactly the pattern set forth by Christ and the Apostles. 

The time spans between the Holy Days of 2016 and 2020 are the only years in which they match perfectly with the times dictated by prophecy.

The prophet Isaiah was inspired to write: "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them"(Isa.3:12). He wasn't inspired to write that as a blessing to the nation but a curse. Today, unless all people have been struck by supernatural blindness, they cannot fail to see that a generation of young people have arisen, who cannot keep their own property nor allow others to keep theirs, and who have abandon all sense of decency and good behaviour. So, children indeed have become the oppressors of the elderly, who are afraid to go out day or night.

The prophet goes on to say: "and women rule over them." That prophecy has also been fulfilled. For today, in almost every home on earth, women rule over men; and that is shockingly true even in so-called Christian homes, where the wife is commanded by God to be obedient to her husband. But when we turn to the media and politics, we see women dominating TV and radio, pontificating lots of vacuous opinions, and running for the high office of president and Prime Minister, Yet, the Apostle Paul, lovely called by his Lord and master, "A Chosen Vessel," was inspired to write:"I suffer not( that is, I permit not) a women to teach, nor usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence"(1 Tim.2:12). Then he added: "For Adam was first form, then Eve." The narrative continues thus: "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." 

What does that mean? It means that women are more susceptible to deception than men, and therefore should not be in authority. Yet, In Pentecostal, Baptist and other false churches, women are permitted to teach and exercise authority over men, despite the fact that God forbids it. Now we have babes ruling countries or aspiring to high office. And God allowed this because the world has turned away from him. The Oppression of Children and the Rule of Women.

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The Church of God has always found life to be hard a fight to live.  We were constantly battling some evil force as we struggled to advance a few yards towards the kingdom.  Satan was always there in front of us fighting to take as many as he possibly could away from the truth.  Who can ever forget hearing ten thousand people or more at a Feast site singing, Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching Off To War in unison.  It was stirring and unifying at the same time.  We naively thought were helping fight the battle along side Herbert Armstrong as we journeyed onwards to Petra.

Our sermons and funerals were always filled with, "fighting the good fight." Not only was our Christian walk one big continuous battle, but an even larger battle was coming in the future when the wrath of satan would be unleashed upon the world in one final battle of Armageddon. 

Of the three larger Church of God splinter groups in existence today, three of them use battle cry as their rallying cry to rake in more money.  Dave Pack has been fighting his personal and religious demons for decades and  has brought that fight to his members encouraging them to be good soldiers ready to sacrifice for the common good of the church.  Rod Meredith is perversely attracted to the war motif and loves to talk in vivid details about torture and other atrocities at the hands of the German Army.  Noting is more gratifying to him than discussing concentration camps, fiery ovens and meats hooks that Americans will be strung up on. Gerald Flurry uses war, battles and fiery judgment to keep his dwindling flock under control.  Notice the latest below by James Brady that was posted on the PCG web site:

Army of Liberators

Here is one final, inspiring thought to sing and march to as we finish our war together. In this evil world, armies sometimes set people free from oppression. The most famous case in living memory is the Allied conquest of northwestern Europe, ending the Nazi menace. American journalist Andy Rooney said the day the Allies liberated Paris was probably the happiest day the world has ever known. The liberation of the Dutch city of Nijmegen by British Grenadier Guards was vividly and accurately depicted in the film A Bridge Too Far. Throngs of deliriously happy people pressed in on the tanks, offering flowers, kisses and hugs, waving Royal Union and American flags, singing in English, “The war is over!” Seeing this film as a boy, I was enthralled. I wished I could jump on a tank and liberate a third-world country from a dictator! 

Is that not the role of God’s Church in the near future? Like those troops, we have to fight heroically to be there for those people! 

Maybe you have straggled behind at times as this awe-inspiring army, the Church of God, conducts its “forced march” (no resting) to battle. We all have. But we do not want to be remembered as a straggler in the coming battle. As Gerald Flurry writes in How to Be an Overcomer, “What hope we can deliver to the world! We have the opportunity to win a glorious victory that we can savor for all eternity! We will never regret what we did for God … in this end time. That will be our joy forever.” 

Song of Songs teaches us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, bigger than our problems and desire for comfort! Empowered by God, this army delivers hope. We rescue entire nations! We fight in an epic war that shakes the heavens and the Earth! (Isaiah 13:13; Haggai 2:6). We march in lockstep, in unity and purpose, fighting together against all odds with valor and heroism.

As Mr. Flurry wrote in the last sentence of How to Be an Overcomer, “Let’s all be noble knights together and thank God that we have the opportunity.” We have the chance to fight as one for Christ and the Father and be an awesome bannered host! 

Matthew 11:30The Message (MSG)

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

It is my view that the USA no longer has the type of ‘freedom of religion’ or ‘freedom of speech’ or the freedom to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ its founders envisioned. 

Furthermore, the time will come when the USA, and likely some private companies (probably with direct or indirect governmental pressures), will apparently stop the efforts of websites like this one. As well as our numerous video channels on the internet.

Consider the following prophecy:

13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time. (Amos 5:13) 

The above indicates that even those that are doing nothing wrong will need to be silent at the coming evil time. The times are evil.

Yet, currently, it is still time to:

1 Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1) 

Which is what we in the Continuing Church of God are doing. We have denounced, not only sins that the world sometimes seems to consider politically correct, but also sins that many claimed 501(c)(3) COGs will not do, because of their own concerns about their political fates and/or fates that could happen if they offended their financial supporters if they told the truth to truly fulfill Isaiah 58:1 (cf. 501(c)(3)? Why the Continuing Church of God chose a better option).

Many in and out of the government have plans and are watching the internet with plans to deal with materials that they some day hope to silence. 

And while you might think that if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear from surveillance, consider that many in the government of the USA consider that not supporting homosexual marriages is an extremist position.

As mentioned before, I also saw someone once on a documentary that stated that people who believed in the millennium could not be trusted and should be considered as potential terrorists. The fact that we in the Continuing Church of God would be considered pacifists, does not change the fact that since we hold to millennial and other biblical views that we will not be improperly classified by government employees with various agendas. 

We are getting closer to this time. And consider that until this century (and perhaps theoretically, the latter part of the 20th century), it was not possible to really control buying and selling.  But certainly that ability exist now–and it will come to pass.

I believe that the USA is paving the way for the final European Beast power to spy on people and monitor financial transactions, as well as preaching restrictions. 

While the world becomes worse and worse, we need to become better and better in our interpersonal relationships both with God and man. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). That is a command from God to all of us. Recapturing the true value of respect is our responsibility as we prepare to teach it in the soon-coming Kingdom of God.

Disrespect toward God and His servants carries a heavy penalty. In 2 Kings 2 we read the account of a gang of youths who mocked God’s servant, Elisha. They disrespectfully called him “baldy” and mocked that he should “go up” (as in a whirlwind as Elijah had just experienced). They were actually disrespecting God, not just Elisha. Elisha cursed them in God’s name, and two hostile, fleet-footed, female bears came out of a nearby forest and savaged these delinquent hoodlums. They were torn in pieces by razor-sharp claws —a terrible consequence!

Parents must first demonstrate respect for God and also show respect toward each other. Children will learn more by the example set by their parents than any other way. To parents God says in Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath [frustration or resentment]: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Show them respect and require the same from them, especially when they are corrected. When an adult asks your children a question, let them answer. Don’t step in and do it for them as if they cannot answer properly or may embarrass you. 

Address another person by name or title, otherwise “Sir” or “Ma’am,” “Mr.” or “Mrs.”­—never “Mate,” “Love” or “Hey there.” Do not be presumptuous or take liberties in calling seniors by their first name unless you are invited to, and even then, use caution. Ministers and wives within the Church should be addressed as “Mr.” and “Mrs.”

Children should refer to and address adults by “Mr.”, “Mrs.” or “Miss,” or by their title. Adults should not invite children to call them by their first name, because it fosters disrespect and encourages taking liberties. Children should be reminded until it becomes natural. Look to the spirit and give people greater respect rather than less.

Don’t talk over others nor focus the discussion on yourself. Remember to “esteem others better than yourself.” Avoid informal replies such as “Yep,” “Nope,” “Dunno,” etc. Uplift others in conversation by listening and keeping it positive.

I mentioned to an elder here a few years ago that it is high time for the priests of Baal to be cut to pieces. That didn’t go over too well. I meant of course for them to be cut to pieces verbally. No one who wants to do an Elijah type work should leave this part out! I think that most don’t want to seem offensive to the purveyors of gross error that are partially responsible for the mayhem in the world. Since the proverbial pen is mightier than the sword this can be achieved except for the fact that now we have a lot of subjects that are deemed ‘Hate Speech’.

The Church of God, In Truth, has been sending out God’s wedding invitations for the last twenty three years beginning with the first PROVE ALL THINGS NEWS LETTER, dated December 1993. The way things are shaping up this year, it might be the last opportunity to accept God's dated invitation to His wedding . Are you ready? Are you going to be calibrating the wedding on the right date? Or are you going to be like the 5 foolish virgin having to go and buy God's truth [Pro 23:23] after the Bridegroom has come. Many are called, but too many are sitting on a fence waiting for someone else to make a decision for them before jumping to the right side, away from the wrong side! We are told, "Be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom.12:2). "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4:17)

The Church of God in Truth with James Russell? He said himself that “we haven’t learned anything new in 40 years”. He does claim that because the other Churches of God don’t keep the Feast Days at the right time, they will be those described in Revelation 3:9, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Yes, friends, all the other Armstrongists are the synagogue of Satan saying they are Jews but are not, will suffer in the Millennium while CoGIT members will be God as God is God, lording it over everybody else. With this ‘holier than thou’ attitude, there is no chance that there’s going to be much change: Expect stagnation. If there is an afterlife, someone is in for a BIG surprise! You should all get their flagship magazine, Prove All Things. It’s worth it for the misprints in every issue. For example, a favorite is “Herbert Armstrong Pasture General”. Replete with manure? Watch where you step? They have something every issue. It’s hilarious! They should Proof Read All Things.

Chairman Ward welcomed everyone. He commented on the smooth transition from the previous chairman, Robin Webber, to himself as chairman. Mr. Webber has cooperated in every extent of the word and so has Gerald Seelig, the secretary. Transitions can have rough edges, but he thanked them both for helping make it go smoothly.

Ambassador Bible College (ABC) will have 23 students begin classes next week. They are still waiting to hear about the student visa program for approval. New faculty members will include Scott Ashley, Randy Urwiller and Gary Petty.

The home office has seen improvement with new carpeting and painting and lighting in the entry way, hallways and conference room. There is also some new furniture. Much work went into it with a lot of work by Tim Sipes. Other improvements upstairs were done as well. There will be a glass sculpture designed with the Church’s Mission Statement for the entryway, to be completed soon. Mr. Kubik was thankful for the faithful service of all the home office employees, and he commented on the family atmosphere that is there.

Beyond Today window clings: We still have a supply of Beyond Today car window static clings for ministry and members to apply to their car rear windows. They are available to be shipped to any pastor who requests them for his congregation. They are also going to be provided at all U.S. Feast sites at the literature and information table.

Fiscal year-end: The Church’s fiscal year ended June 30. For the year, Church income exceeded budget by $250,000; but it fell short of fiscal2015 income. It was also noted that year-end cash balances and total assets for the Church were higher than they were in the previous year, for the fourth consecutive year.

Assets: The Church completed the purchase of the Portsmouth, Ohio, church building on Aug. 12. The Church also took ownership of a donated parcel of land for the church building in London, Kentucky. A complete listing of all the buildings and land owned by the Church was distributed.

95 baptisms so far in 2016, which is 38 more than at the May meetings

Average U.S. Sabbath attendance for June 2016 was 7,459. Attendance remains steady with no upward or downward trends.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil: 

Why does the ministry turn their back on abuse in the church?

Gary Leonard, the webmaster at the Banned By HWA site (an anti-Church of God website), seems to relish in posting false accusations and innuendoes against me and others.
Why do I think that?
Well, in my personal case, for some odd reason he likes to lump me in with others he apparently detests and then asserts that I have the same flaws he claims others have.  For example, here is something he posted yesterday:

The question that really needs to be asked is why do the leaders in various Churches of God keep silent as they watch Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack, Rod Meredith and others abuse their members.  Why do none of them speak out?

Flurry, Pack, Thiel, Malm, Meredith and many others are NOT their brothers.  These men are not brothers in the faith. They sit there and do nothing as one horrendous abuse after another is dished out upon COG people.   How many more need to die from suicide, die from lack of medical care, have their families ripped apart and marriages destroyed?

While I am not aware of all the details of the others listed above regarding all the alleged abuse, I would like to comment about myself (But as far as various positions and actions by the others listed above, readers can read the following articles Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God, Why Not the Restored Church of God?, Error-Ridden James Malm Not Doing an Elijah Work, Roderick C. Meredith’s Accusatory Letter to Bob Thiel, and What About the Living Church of God? Are there Doctrinal Differences with the ContinuingChurch of God?) 

In the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) I have repeatedly worked to NOT rip families apart, but to strive to keep them and marriages together (though not all who are married wish to listen). None I am aware of in CCOG have died from suicide, though that happens in and out of COGs.  And although I personally strive to avoid mainstream ‘medical care’ for myself, I have never taught members to not seek it if they wish. And I do care for the brethren (and pray for them daily). 

So Thiel claims he has makes an effort to never break families apart.  Well good for him.  The problem remains, which was the point of the entire original post was WHY do the ministers of the various COG's sit back and say NOTHING and DO NOTHING when they see the horrible abuses going on in the Philadelphia Church of God, the Restored Church of God, the Living Church of God and elsewhere.  Unnecessary deaths due to medical prohibitions, suicides due to aberrant teachings of sick ministers/evangelists, pedophile ministers who are mollycoddled by the big boys.

While Thiel may not do these things, the fact that he self-appointed himself as a splinter cult leader after a bitter row with his idol Rod Meredith makes him just as culpable of spiritual abuse as those who physically, and mentally abuse their members.

God no more appointed Bob Thiel as an end-time prophet/church leader, through the blessing of Gaylyn Bonjour during a simple prayer, than Dave Pack was personally educated at the feet of Herbert Armstrong.   Just because Thiel and a disturbed woman in the Southern Hemisphere had some nightmares, which they assume came from their god, it no more makes Thiel a prophet than the dream of my cat being made Supreme Leader of the Planet Argon I might have had several months ago.

The false prophet then writes:

Gary Leonard is an accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), and often a bearer of false witness (Exodus 20:16).

Accuser of the brethren?  If anything I would say accuser of the corrupt, self-appointed, lying  ministry that DO NOT represent God in any manner whatsoever.  Ministers who teach aberrant heretical doctrines that enslave their members and actually work to turn them away from the grace and mercy of the Jesus, that most inconvenient dude they claim to follow, yet know nothing about.

From taking tithe money from struggling members for their own benefit or to use it to publish theological mishmashes of heretical doctrines.

Its the brethren that suffer and pay the consequences of these lying prophets.  For a church that claims to be restored first century Christianity, that has made a cottage industry out of mocking Christianity and its various divisions, it has turned the lives of hundreds of thousands of members upside down over the last eight decades.

Bob Thiel is no more a prophet or agent of God than Gerald Flurry is.  I can say that in confidence and with no fear of pissing off the god they claim to follow.

It's not the brethren who are accused.  It is the snakes in the grass that occupy self-appointed church positions that lead 3.8 million visitors to come here to find out about and comment on how they are abused.  Of course self-appointed prophets claim those people have bad attitudes and everyone should ignore them.  We have seen how well that has worked over the last 20 years as tens of thousands have left the COG.

Thiel is like Flurry, Pack, Malm and Meredith.  They all have an obsession with having religious status in the church.  They want to be seen as the revealers of truth and store houses of exclusive knowledge.  Every single one of them are self-appointed, whether they like it or not.

Thiel is an addict.  A religious addict, which is just as destructive to the soul as alcohol, sex and drugs.

Religious AddictionAnything that can alter our mood can become addictive. Religious behaviors can certainly alter our mood. Is that a good thing? Of course! Just like sex and food and work can alter our mood in positive ways, religious behaviors can also alter our moods in positive ways. But can religious behaviors also become a problem—become addictive? Absolutely. It may be easier to imagine what religious addiction looks like if you think about extreme examples such as religious suicide cults or religiously motivated extreme self-deprivations or self-injury. Our experience, however, suggests that religious addiction is much more common than you would conclude from looking only at the extreme cases. A wide variety of religious behaviors have the potential for mood alteration and therefore the possibility of becoming addictive. Evangelism, worship, personal spiritual disciplines, church attendance, service, and many other behaviors that are important and praiseworthy in a general sense can be subverted by the addictive process into very harmful and destructive parts of our lives. This is an important point. Just because prayer is good does not mean that addictive prayer is good. Just because worship is good does not mean that addictive worship is good. Just because evangelism is good does not mean that addictive evangelism is good. The addictive process can destroy the most precious of God’s gifts to us. Except perhaps as loose rhetoric, even getting “addicted to Jesus” is not the solution to our problems with addiction. Addiction to Jesus is just another addiction. God’s desire for us is not that we find the “right” addiction—Jesus. God’s desire is that we find a way to live without being addicted at all. Sobriety is the solution, not being in an addictive relationship to God. The addictive cycle in religious addiction follows roughly the same stages found in other addictions. The process begins with preoccupation. We alter our mood up by thinking about, focusing on, obsessing about our next religious experience, the next evangelism opportunity, the next worship service, the next retreat or whatever. This preoccupation, while it may alter our mood up may also distract us from important parts of life. In most but not all cases, religious addiction also involves a major element of ritualization. Our pre–acting-out behaviors can become elaborate in religious addiction. We may repetitively recite memorized prayers or biblical texts, we may engage in what seems to others to be very Godly or pious behaviors. Eventually our preoccupation and rituals lead to some kind of religious acting out. As we have already emphasized, the specific behaviors that are part of the acting-out stage can vary. Evangelism addicts may experience an enormous rush when approaching a stranger with a presentation of some kind, and with even more of a rush if the stranger responds positively. Worship addicts may experience profound mood alteration when the “Spirit descends.” But all addicts eventually find that their addictions lead to a stage in which their mood is altered down. In some cases, questions or doubts may trouble us or even plague us. We may become obsessed with whether or not we have done well enough. Shouldn’t we try harder and do more to stay out of trouble with God? We may leave church on Sunday to face the next week determined to live the Christian life, only to return the next week and hear once again that it wasn’t good enough. And for many, even if the reminder doesn’t come this week at church, it comes readily from the echoes in our hearts and minds of past religious training. Addictive religion never leads to soul rest. It always leads to trying, trying harder and trying our hardest. It always leaves us tired, frustrated and depressed. Just like addiction to alcohol and drugs, the acting-out mood alters up, while the entire cycle mood alters down.   When Religion Goes Bad: Spiritual Abuse

Bob Thiel needs to set the right example and be the first Church of God leader to seek counseling with a licensed therapist  for the mental issues that lead him to think the is called out, set apart, and God's personal hand-picked representative on earth.   I would suggest that Bob check out some licensed Christian therapists in Arroyo Grande that can help him work through his addiction to self-made religion.   Christian therapists would at least have some communal understanding when it comes to religion.

Am I an accuser of the brethren? No! Accuser of lying, deceitful, abusive ministers?  Yes!

You can read his entire post here.