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Thanks for the Memories

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Helen Wheels (Claire Voighent) said...


"Dennis is not a scientist. If you are looking for a massage with a happy ending by all means go to Dennis."


Response
DennisCDiehlsaid... 
Well that's about as crass as it's ever gotten here except for perhaps me suggesting you go fuck yourself which I won't do as it is crass and not generally what I would say. It always sets me back reading the inane and downright ignorant comments many make here with regards to not only myself but the content of postings which never really get commented on with any depth or thought. Just look at the mostly ignorant, glittering generalities  and insipid comments made on my Whale of a Tale  posting.  (Which is my last)

One doesn't have to be scientist to agree with a scientific presentation and quote them you fool. It's what you or religious types do as well when you aren't theologians either but I guess that's different in you mind..

For the record I have two state therapeutic massage licenses and am Nationally Certified as a Master Therapist. I spend hundreds of dollars a year on continuing education on ethics, bodywork and medical issues with clients, young and old. I am specially trained in Oncology Massage for those in chemo and cancer treatment and specialize in headache and stress treatment which 99% of the population seems to suffer with.. I have a very ethical and successful practice here in Portland and work every day and will til I drop because of the love of Christ that flowed through the Tkaches who promised one thing over the years and did another to my harm and because of my naïve trust in fools.  
My clients are mostly professionals in a very wealthy part of Portland and are doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, financial advisors, professors and real estate types.  Some come to recover from abuses and life tragedies. I have clients who come to me to cope with  their Parkinson's' Disease or their debilitating headaches which interfere too much with their real lives. I love what I now do and where I now do it.  
It's been a long difficult transition for me personally from WCG to here.  I got here by way of drama, trauma, divorce, depression, anxiety , a few failures and some scary moments.  I've had my heart broken and that too was my fault.  I've sympathized with my few friends in ministry who took their lives by choosing a long term solution to short term problems. I understand the temptation.  

I was asked to start my own church back in the day and leave WCG and the Tkaches. No. Once was enough. Pastoring in Greenville, SC on the heels of Gerald Weston and his legalist cronies was enough to begin my wake up call. 
I joined no split, splinter or sliver. I did not set myself up to keep my ministry going at all costs because , as Joe Tkach said, "If you quit all you can do is get a job at Walmart." I worked hard to change careers and take care of myself only  and do every day to help good people. I earn every damn penny I make and deserve it.

I get insulted, labeled and scorned regularly here on the blog for speaking out on my experience but that was a cheap shot. I'm the ONLY former minister who writes by name,  posts a genuine pic ture and shares from the heart here. I have shared my struggle with anxiety and depression caused by working in the scandal riddled WCG way too long believing I could be an agent of change. I have admitted to my faults and failures during messy and difficult transitions. I have been about as open as I know to be with the sole purpose of helping those who may also be in messy mental, emotional and spiritual transitions.  
Why don't you give me a call, 864 905 9506 or give me your number and we can discuss it. Email me if you're incapable of using the phone. Denniscdiehl@aol.com  I will post the discussion between us.

Also, I am not the resident "minister." I am not a minister of any kind.  I wish I had never been one but I would not be here if I had not been there. I am me. An older and wiser non-believer  after decades of trying to believe the unbelievable and see clearly what is clearly not there to see. I grew up more religious than most here and could quote whole chapters of the Bible as a child because that's how Dutch Reformed Calvinists raise their kids. I'm only responsible for me in the final analysis of how to live  my life and neither you nor anyone else gets to live it for me as I don't get to live yours.  In short, I don't fucking care in reality what you think or say but it does take me back a bit obviously and punch my "screw it" button.  

I wrestle every week with dropping Banned from my "to do" list because, for me, there are really no meaningful exchanges or even friendships to build on. Thank you for your stupid comment and waking me up once and for all to the folly and foolishness of presenting topics beyond the ability of most to consider,  clinging rather to fables and myths drummed into their heads by Herbert Armstrong and now the raging fools of the splits and splinters.

Call me Claire. It will be a call you'll never forget.  I'll be home this evening waiting...  If you call I will report our outcome  here and be finished with it. 




He was a good man.

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For those who can get past the heaven comment, can you ever imagine a Church of God minister EVER being this gracious?  The inherent need of the ministry to condemn has extended to many in the church today, which has been exhibited in many of the comments directed towards those who are atheists on this blog.


Judah's Scepter and the Sacred Stone

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Neil Godfrey has an entry on his blog (Vridar) about a relatively new book of fiction out about that great Church of God legend about Jeremiah taking Jacob's pillar stone to the British Isles.  The entire basis of the Church of God movement is based upon this unsubstantiated legend.

Who would have believed it! Someone (namely D. A. Brittain) has actually written a novel about Jeremiah taking the stone of destiny, Jacob’s “pillow stone”, from Jerusalem along with a surviving daughter (Teia Tephi) of the wicked king Zedekiah to Ireland to marry up with another descendant of Judah in order to preserve the Davidic dynasty from extinction after the Babylonians captured the biblical kingdom of Judah in 587 BC. The novel is Judah’s Scepter and the Sacred Stone.
How could I resist! Belief in all of that stuff was once the focus of my life as a member of the Worldwide Church of God for so many years. One of our most exciting books was The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy (later changed to The United States and Britain in Prophecy as the decades took their toll on the unity and white racial dominance of the Commonwealth nations). Britain includes a bibliography that warms old memories with titles I also ferreted out from a dingy old room that housed the local British Israel society at the time. A Novel for Ex-Worldwide Church of God members and others once (or still) in love with British Israelism

“Many biblical scholars believe we will soon see what is called the ‘end of days,’” Jerome said. “Some say the promised Messiah will come on what is known as a ‘Jubilee year,’ in the fall of 2033, after the blood moons appears during Rosh Hashanah.”
“Well, it is not certain,” Timothy interjected. “What I mean is, no one is certain of the time of the next Jubilee year. Some rabbis believe the Jubilee year is somewhere between the years 2029 and 2036.” 
“Well, we do know that the next series of blood moons will appear in the years 2032 and 2033,” Jerome said. “All will see the red moon in the sky on the Feast of Passover, and then again during Rosh Hashanah, on the Feast of Tabernacles, in the year 2033.” 
“It sounds like you are talking about a tetrad,” David said. “I’ve studied astronomy, so I’m familiar with the two-year string of four total lunar eclipses. A series of four together is rare. After the sixteenth century, none even occurred until the twentieth century. However, the frequency of these events has accelerated, especially since 1949.” 
“Yes, very good— once Israel again became a nation in 1948,” Timothy said. “Israel has seen war come to their land during every tetrad that has occurred since then.
Brittain, D. A.. Judah’s Scepter and the Sacred Stone (Kindle Locations 4529-4540). First Edition Design Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Oh my god. In “my day” the year was 1975. Will they never learn. 

"Bleeding" Jesus for a New Jet [Updated]

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(CNN)A prosperity gospel televangelist from Louisiana says Jesus has asked him to buy a new private jet. And wouldn't you know it, Jesus has real nice taste in planes. 
Jesse Duplantis, leader of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the owner of three other private jets, is asking his followers to chip in so his ministry can purchase a brand new Dassault Falcon 7X, which runs about $54 million. 
In a video recently published on his website, Duplantis says the planes get him closer to the Lord -- both literally and figuratively -- and he had a divine conversation in which Jesus asked for the new aircraft by name. 
"It was one of the greatest statements the Lord ever told me, he said, 'Jesse do you want to come up where I'm at?'" the minister says. "'I want you to bleed me for a Falcon 7X.'"
    By "bleed," Duplantis -- er, Jesus -- apparently meant "ask for donations." This televangelist is asking his followers to buy him a $54 million private jet

    What is with the need for preachers that feel they need jets to whisk them around the world in laps of luxury that none of their followers could ever imagine? From it's Gulfstream's to a BAC 1-11, the Worldwide Church of God also "bled" its members in order for the "apostle" to fly around the world in the lap of luxury.

    [Joseph Tkach, Sr. said,] “As I have often explained, we are continually looking for ways to make the various operations of the work more streamlined and efficient. It appears that there may be a significant financial advantage to selling the g-iii and buying a used, but well-maintained Boeing 727.”
    Later in 1988, unsuccessful in locating a 727 he liked, Mr. Tkach settled for the British-made bac 1-11. It was only $3.4 million, a price tag he said would immediately “benefit” God’s work. He wrote, “Also, the bac 1-11 has room for all our necessary tv equipment and personnel, as well as any additional necessary personnel. The g-iii, as many of you know, was extremely limited in seating and storage capacity.” says Gerald Flurry

    FAA Records Show Evangelists Flying High During Fund Pleas
    March 23, 1987|United Press International
    DALLAS -- Shortly before TV evangelist Oral Roberts launched his life-or- death plea for $8 million in new donations his ministry got back an $850,000 private jet it had loaned to a fellow evangelist.
    A review of Federal Aviation Administration records by the Dallas Times Herald Sunday showed Roberts and several other evangelists are flying in luxury while they plead for donations from their followers.
    The most expensive jet on record is a $13 million Gulfstream III purchased new in 1984 by Joseph Tkach`s Worldwide Church of God in Pasadena, Calif.
    Others with expensive planes include Jimmy Swaggart Ministries in Baton Rouge, La.; Jerry Falwell`s group, the Lynchburg Christian Academy in Virginia; and Trinity Broadcasting of Florida.
    FAA records show Swaggart owns a Gulfstream II jet valued at $3.75 million, Falwell`s group owns a $2 million Israel Westwind II, and Trinity Broadcasting has a Gates Learjet 36 with a book value of $3.75 million.
    Roberts` association in Tulsa acquired its jet in December from Fort Worth evangelist Kenneth Copeland, whose International Church of the Word of Faith also owns a $1.2 million dollar Learjet.
    ``The main reason to have the airplane is for security for himself and anybody around him, and also getting in and out of the places he needs to be,`` said Jan Dargatz, a spokesman for the Oral Roberts Association. 

    COG members love to mock men like Duplantis for his tactic in conning his followers to dish out the money he is looking for, yet they turn right around and give HWA and Flurry all the money they want for their private jets.   COG members never batted an eye when HWA had gold plated faucets and doorknobs installed on his jet as well as decorating it with the finest decorations available at the time.

    1. Yes the church wasted money. Yes the big-boppers showered comfort on themselves. When I was a student at AC-PAS I asked the art dept. for some help with a project and was astonished to find several full-time employees working on (c.a.d) an elaborate project to emblazon designs in GOLD onto several mirrors which was part of the G3 redecorating. I think there were 6 guys working on the project. Who knows how much the remodeling project cost. I used to work at the San Jose Jet Center as a Limo driver and one wealthy businessman told me he spent over 2 million just remodeling the interior of his G3!!! Painful Truth
    Also see:  G-III Serves As Key Thrust Of End-time Commission

    To what benefit did Herbert Armstrong's many flights around the world ever accomplish? What good did the multi-millions of dollars spent and Steuben crystal handed out ever accomplish? Other than ongoing work in Thailand by the Sexton's, there is not a single proof that any of the trips ever had a lasting legacy on the leadership or the nations he visited.

    Of course, preaching about a "strong hand from someplace" is not a gospel message or the message of a mighty "work." HWA created the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation because he was too ashamed to say he represented a church when he travelled.  He claimed more doors opened for him as a Foundation member than as a preacher.  Imagine leading a church that claimed to be Christ's hand-picked church that was protected through centuries from persecution to end up being too embarrassed to mention Jesus' name.

    If there is no lasting legacy to Armstrong's international visits, then why did Gerald Flurry need to buy his own jet, other than for his own personal benefit and for his immediate family?



    Church of God leaders have bled church members for decades for their pet projects and silly prophetic threats. From Malm and Theil to Kubik and Pack, these men milk church members dry as they claim to be spreading a gospel message. In the end, they still have not produced anything worthwhile.  

    They are all still too ashamed of Jesus to care any more.










    SaveSaveSaveSave

    Terrified Mother Seeks Help In Getting Son Out Of Restored Church of God

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    I received this yesterday.  Any suggestions?

    Hello

    My name is Stephanie, my son fell into the RCG & David Pack when he was 18. I had never heard of this man or this "church", I didn't even know he was attending online until over a year later. Its now been 3 years & they have his mind so twisted that he believes that satan is working through his family to separate him from GOD, as we finally got wise & discovered the sick truth & have been trying to show him the lies Pack has told. 
    Such as Pack claiming to be THE Elijah, a "Type of Christ"& making false prophecies against splinter leaders... & then him removing the videos from his website & telling his followers he never said these things. 

    I don't know if you can help or if you'll ever see this, but i'm terrified. They convinced my son to leave our family home while everyone was gone. He IS an adult & can make his own choices, but this situation is out of hand & I dont know what else to do.. I'm desperate.

    Here are some general items that might help:



    My Childhood in an Apocalyptic Cult


    Steve Hassan is the leading authority for helping people rescue family members from cults:

    Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults











    When God Becomes a Drug: Book 1; Understanding Religious addiction & religious abuse
    This book was instrumental in my understanding of why I needed to leave the church.







    Rescuing Randy: A Family Determined to Rescue Their Son from a Cult





    How Can I Rescue My Child From a Cult?




    How to talk someone out of a damaging cult



    How Family Love Is Being Destroyed In The Church

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    One of the biggest challenges today in the Church of God is the various splinter group leaders who are ripping families apart because of their beliefs and insecurities.

    Gerald Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God are well known for ripping families apart due to their "no contact" ruling.  We have seen numerous times on here how Dave Pack and the Restored Church of God has also ripped families apart. Numerous people have shared how their children got wrapped up in Pack's lies and who will not speak to family members.  Even Dave's own children are no longer part of the organization.

    That sad track record goes directly back to Herbert Armstrong who alienated both of his daughters, their husbands, grand children and great-grandchildren.

    This is a sad track record for a church that claims to be 100% inspired by God while practicing 1st Century Christianity. If we were the one true church, led by a man who was directly inspired by Christ to say the things he said, then why were we such a mess?  Armstrongism has ripped families apart for 90 some years now.

    On a private Facebook page, there was a post about an article that discussed this disconnect that happens with children of adult followers:

    Six Ways Undue Influence Erodes Family Love
    Many people are shocked at how “easily” the natural bonds of family love can dissolve under the high-pressure undue influence of an abusive group or partner. They often ask: “How can a child shun their parents?” or, more poignantly: “Why would loving parents agree to cover up the abuse of their own child?”
    One of the hallmarks of a high-control group is the way they tear families apart: married survivors of cultic groups talk about the group being “the third person in the marriage bed,” and those born and raised in such groups know that they came second to the leadership in their parents’ lives, abandoned emotionally, if not physically.
    Worse, children in high-control groups who experience physical or sexual abuse at the hands of the leaders cannot expect the same love and support they would receive in a “worldly” family – their trauma is compounded as their parents cover up, deny, or, in extreme cases, encourage and even perpetrate the abuse, all in the name of the group, its reputation, and its goals. Open Minds Advisory Board member Alex Stein gives an excellent account of the disorganized attachment found in such relationships in her book Terror, Love and Brainwashing.
    Anyone who has been watching Leah Remi's exposes on Scientology see shocking similarities with the actions of that so-called church does to break up families with the Church of God.

    And yet, the members of high-control groups aren’t monsters; the “average” cult member is intelligent, well-adjusted, and capable of rational thought – about anything other than their group and its beliefs. Those who manage to escape are usually able to re-grow healthy family relationships with those outside the group.
    So how can a daughter be swayed to ignore her mother? How can a father be convinced to keep silent about someone in his church sexually abusing his son? Here are six of the most prominent ways an abusive group erodes the natural bonds of family love and loyalty:
    The article goes on to list 6 different points as to what happens.  Pay particular notice to #3:
    3. They use fear and spiritual blackmail. 
    Those who consider speaking out against the group or partner face many indoctrinated phobias: they will lose their relationship with Divinity or their chance for Eternal Life, they will betray the world-saving goals of the group, and turn their backs on the Truth, with a capital “T.” They will be betraying the Revolution, or the People, or their partner. Although these are “false” consequences, there are often real consequences to rebelling: those who speak out are often expelled, losing their families, their friends, and most, if not all, of their social support network. They are faced with the unhappy truth that those they have left behind now see them as apostate, evil, backsliders, or traitors.
    Children and regular members are afraid to leave these dangerous splinter personality cults of Armstrongism because it has been ingrained in them for decades that to dare to question the church and its leaders is tantamount to grieving the Holy Spirit and direct sin against God that will result in denial of salvation. Thus these men reign supreme and untouched by anyone who criticizes them.  It is always the person criticizing that is at fault, or the parents searching for a lost child, or grandparents looking for contact with a grandchild. Just look at the comments that were made about the mother looking for her son trapped in Dave Pack's cult. It is the family's fault, the mother's fault, etc.  Not one of these people who sent in some of the disgusting comments ever held Dave and the Restored Church of God accountable.

    For a church that claims to be God's only true church we sure have made a business out of wrecking peoples lives.


    Gone with the wind...

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    It was estimated at one time that the Radio/Worldwide Church of God had over 500,000 people pass through its doors over the 8 decades of its existence.

    This was before the massive defections from the church in the mid to late 1990's.

    Loyalists are quick to point out that these half million people were not converted
    and had no desire to stay with the truth.

    It always seems to be others fault instead of the institution's fault.
    Even the current "larger" splinter groups cannot stop the defections.

    On a good day, the Armstrongist Church of God movement is lucky to have 40-50,000 active tithe-paying members worldwide.







    New Poll On Blog

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    There is a new poll in the right-hand column under the revolving map.  Take a vote on the most BORING book that you read that Herbert Armstrong wrote.  It lists just the hardback copies published.






    PCG's Hezekiah Exhibit: Making Biblical Archeology "Sexy" Again

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    If you have been following Philadelphia Church of God's recent media blitz you would imagine that they have once and for all proven that they are the one true church because they have been participating in a dig in Jerusalem for several years with Dr Eliat Mazar. No other COG understands biblical archeology or truth better than the PCG.

    The Times of Israel is reporting about PCG's new exhibit in Armstrong Auditoriums lobby.
    Why a world premiere of precious biblical artifacts is in quiet Oklahoma
    A rare world premiere exhibit of ancient biblical-era artifacts was launched this week at the Armstrong Auditorium in Edmond, Oklahoma. Located in the middle of lush green fields, the massive, pillared auditorium — complete with a water sculpture at its entrance — is an unlikely forum for the first ever display of tangible proof of the biblical King Hezekiah and Prophet Isaiah.
    For the first time in the world, seal impressions or bullae discovered in 2009-2010 in Jerusalem’s Old City at the Ophel excavations conducted under Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar are on show to the general public in the exhibit “Seals of Isaiah and King Hezekiah Discovered.” Other finds, such as a large cache of 2,000-year-old coins from the Jewish revolt discovered earlier this year in a cave near the Ophel, are also having their premiere.
    Still more rare First Temple Period artifacts are also on display, largely taken from Tel Lachish and Tel Beersheva excavations. The weapons, ceramics and weigh stones are striking. But the explainer films, interactive programmed tablets, reproductions of key finds, including the British Museum’s Lachish relief, as well as a huge scale cross-section of Hezekiah’s tunnel in Jerusalem, all shore up the historicity of the biblical story and the 8th century BCE Assyrian siege. This narrative is clearly spelled out in the showcases throughout the attractive auditorium lobby.
    The article goes on to mention that the PCG has dropped over a $500,000.00 in putting on this production.  A half million dollars in tithe money that the poorer PCG members struggle to send in. 
    The exhibit is the fruit of a 50-year partnership between a group of steadfast Christians and generations of the archaeological Mazar family. And it is impressive.
    But who will see it?
    When the Ambassador Foundation put on exhibits from Thailand and China in the 1980's it had a ready audience by the fact it was in the middle of the Los Angeles basin.  Thousands came to see the exhibits.  PCG is right in the centre of cow pattie fields.

    Now take a look at how many the PCG expects to have in attendance:
    Edmond, a suburb of Oklahoma City, is located smack dab in the Bible Belt. Several church bus tours are already scheduled to make their way there, according to the exhibit’s curator, Brad MacDonald, bringing 40-50 visitors each.
    But in conversation in Jerusalem the day after the grand opening, vice president of the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation Stephen Flurry seems untroubled when he estimates that only some 10-15 individuals will trickle in each day.
    After the Herbert Armstrong College students and local PCG members all stop by to the see the exhibit, scant few of the public will ever see it. 

    The Times of Jerusalem goes on to state that far more will see it online than ever in person:
    That’s where the exhibit’s smart online presence takes up the gauntlet.
    Interested surfers can attend the exhibit virtually through its dramatic YouTube videos, highlighting the thoughtful artifact display and the surrounding explanatory material.
    In many ways, the Armstrong Foundation’s online presence is of much more relevance than its onsite exhibit.
    The Times of Jerusalem also states a fact that PCG refuse to acknowledge, what if their biblical "facts" are not necessarily true?
    Only a click or two brings a viewer to a seemingly endless font of information about the artifacts themselves and the biblical history. It is all housed on the WatchJerusalem.com website, one of the several media outlets connected to the foundation, its associated Philadelphia Church of God, and its seminary, the Herbert W. Armstrong College.
    There is no pretense of scientific skepticism in the exhibit. The foundation’s goal is to “bring the Bible to life,” says Flurry, who lives outside of Birmingham, United Kingdom, at a second Armstrong College seminary.
    The article also questions the disproportional amount of money spent on the Jerusalem digs:
    The Philadelphia Church of God poured half a million dollars into supporting the excavations this year, including student expenses. Flurry estimates many tens of thousands more were spent on this exhibit. These expenses are disproportionately large swaths of the church budget, which flows from a 5,000-strong membership and up to 20,000 additional donors.
    Brad McDonald justifies the money spent by stating that they want to get young people engaged in biblical history by making it "sexy".


    “We want to make archaeology great again,” laughs Australian exhibit head curator Brad MacDonald, sitting on a dainty couch next to Nagtegaal in the King David ahead of the Jerusalem event.
    “We are actively looking for opportunities to play a role or collaborate and make it sexy — something young people can get into,” says MacDonald. 
    The Times of Jerusalem also goes on to state that the PCG and Eilat Mazar may have "suspended belief" by some of their dogmatic statements about the artifacts.
    Suspension of disbelief
    Accuracy is definitely the goal in all research, including archaeology. But when the subjects of study are long dead, many facets are open to interpretation.
    The main stars of the Oklahoma exhibit, the Hezekiah and Isaiah seal impressions, are one such example. Could they really have belonged to the biblical king and his chief adviser? 
    Dr. Eliat Mazar says:
    According to Mazar, “the identification of the seal impression of King Hezekiah is very certain, beyond any shadow of doubt, as you can read for yourself.” She reads out the clear Hebrew inscription at the King David event, “‘Belonging to King Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, King of Judah.'”
    The other seal, she acknowledges, is much less certain. Upon its publication earlier this year as a goodbye present to the longtime, retiring editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review Hershel Shanks, the claim that the seal impression was connected to the famous prophet was met with skepticism. In her King David Hotel presentation, Mazar herself introduces the find as “maybe the seal impression by Prophet Isaiah.” 
    It's all a "may be!" Now there is a good Church of God statement!  That's standard operating procedure for most COG prophets who spout nonsense today.  

    Suspended belief, no pretense of skepticism, and over half million dollars spent. What more could we expect from a Church of God in 2018?

    Read the entire article here:  Why a world premiere of precious biblical artifacts is in quiet Oklahoma

    The Envoy

    Christ's Second Coming: "...is only a general, vague, ball park date, and is not a set in stone firm precise date."

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    For decades now we have seen one prophet after another rise up in the Church of God spouting their "inspired" interpretations of scripture and their dates of Christ's return.  Every single time they set a date, Jesus plays a game with them and delays his coming.  I can see Jesus sitting on his throne with a  reset button at his right hand; hitting it whenever a COG prophet runs off at the mouth.

    The official Pharisee of the Church of God, who spends every waking hour bastardizing the law to support his legalistic rants, is back again letting us know that Christ will be returning in 2022. But that "...is only a general, vague, ballpark date, and is not a set in stone firm precise date" even though it WILL be 2022.

    All of these buffoons in the church spout this nonsense every year and every year they end up looking like blithering idiots.

    The Pharisee James Malm writes:
    The Daniel 8 study on the 2,300 Day prophecy reveals that  Messiah the Christ would come to cleanse the sanctuary and build the Ezekiel Temple 2,300 years [at a day for a year] after the empire of Alexander was divided into four parts.  That happened in approximately 280 B.C. and counting forward 2,300 years brings the coming of Christ in early 2022.  
    The problem with this date is the word “approximately,”  because in fact pin pointing the precise date that Alexanders empire was divided into four parts is impossible and with the start of the count not precisely known, any count could be in error by a year or more.  Therefore the coming of Christ in early 2022 is only a general, vague, ball park date, and is not a set in stone firm precise date.  it is an approximation only.
    He then proceeds to do everything he can to "prove" his calculations are correct:
    We must now look for confirmation of the Daniel 8 2300 day prophecy in holy scripture and we find it in the Ezekiel 4 – 5 forty year prophecy.  
    God reveals to Ezekiel that in the latter days he would protect the Jewish state for forty years before giving her over to severe correction.  we all know that independence came in 1948 which is much longer than forty years ago so what does this forty years of protection mean? 
    In October 1978 a peace treaty was agreed between Egypt and  the Jewish state with the United States [the Anglo Saxon peoples of America being one of the ten tribes of Israel]  guaranteeing the security of the modern Jewish state against all enemies. 
    The treaty was actually signed on ‎26 March 1979, and became effective ‎January 1980.  IF this peace treaty is what is meant by the 40 year prophecy, then the tribulation could begin in either late 2018, 2019 or 2020 depending on the date used; either the agreement, or the signing date or the effective date.  
    Daniel 9 tells us that this tribulation or Time of Jacob’s trouble will last for 42 months; if we add forty years plus 42 months for the tribulation to the peace treaty between the Jewish state and Egypt we arrive at 2022, 2023 or 2024 for the coming of Christ.  
    2022, 2023, 2024......1971, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1986...one lie after another!

    The Pharisee ends his article with this:
    The US and the Anglo Saxon nations based on the US Dollar will quickly fall into economic collapse and escalating cascading catastrophes over the next 42 months (Dan 12:7) until they have been humbled and are ready to accept the King of kings when he comes.
    We must be very careful not to get carried away when this war comes, because a peace deal still has to be made and ratified which might be very quick or it might take many more months.  
    As always be vigilant and also be careful to wait for all the signs.  
    • When a Mideast peace deal is being finalized, 
    • When this man of sin is set up and doing miracles in the Vatican, 
    • When he calls for a New Order in Europe and 
    • Then schedules his trip to Jerusalem and 
    • God’s two are set up after the abomination is set up; 
    When these key signs are fulfilled, we can know that the tribulation is imminent.  While we wait, it is extremely important that we prepare by seriously studying doctrine of Holy Scripture and by turning away from idolizing men and corporate organizations to live by every Word of God; in the hope of being chosen for the resurrection/change.

    Studying doctrine, worshipping the law, making stupid speculations, etc. the modus operandi of COG false prophets.

    There is never any mention of resting in Christ which results in not having to worry about this useless crap.  They only part Jesus plays in these idiotic scenarios is that he is coming back really, really pissed and is going to slaughter most of humankind because, well...he's pissed! Pharisee Malm says so!



    PCG: "...why is Flurry allowed to prosper and live the high life--buying multi-million dollar jets while people are killing themselves? Why is his pampered and arrogant children/grandchildren getting great jobs/perks at Edmond HQ ..."

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    From Exit and Support:

    Gerald Flurry Will Face Judgment One Day (concerning recent suicide):
    June 16, 2018
    Just wanted to drop you a short letter to express my outrage and disgust concerning the recent suicide of the young man from the Philippines. [see May 31, 2018 letter above] How tragic that another death has to be announced because of Gerald Flurry's insane doctrines. I am so angry right now. I keep asking WHY?!?!
    Gerald Flurry will face Judgment one day because of what he has done. I have to believe in that. You see, many of my ex-PCG friends have turned their backs on God and have become atheists because of what they experienced in "God's church"--and because of what is continuing to happen in the PCG. Their mentality is that there is no God because of (what they perceive as) God's non-intervention in punishing Gerald Flurry for what he has done to people. All I can say to them is wait. God has his own timing. It is not God's fault. He has given us free will.
    I also read on your site how the people at HQ are feasting on fine foods and wine at the Night to Be Much Observed while some cannot afford to attend the Feast or Holy Days. Makes me sick!! I know we want to ask why is Flurry allowed to prosper and live the high life--buying multi-million dollar jets while people are killing themselves? Why is his pampered and arrogant children/grandchildren getting great jobs/perks at Edmond HQ while so many PCG members are pressured by sermons into writing checks they do not have the funds to cover? It makes us all so angry I know.

    Also, see:

    PCG: Gerald Flurry and Elite Grandkids Travel In Luxury While Members Stay In "...nasty fleabag motels."




    PCG: Fundraising For God. After All, It Is Always About The Money



    BREAKING NEWS! PCG Kieren Underwood - "I hereby renounce every article I have ever written for The Philadelphia Trumpet...one thing it does not do well is tell the truth."

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    I just received this concerning Kieren Underwood, a writer for The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine of the Philadelphia Church of God.


    This was posted by Kieren Underwood on theTrumpet.com website. He was subsequently fired and marked by the church for standing up to their injustices. 

    Hello all,

    I have been writing for theTrumpet.com for nearly three years, and have been a student at Herbert W. Armstrong College for nearly four. Many of you have spoken with me at services, invited me to your homes, and been my friends.

    But let me tell you a little bit about what I’ve learned.

    If you don’t believe any of the following, check DTSearch to see for yourself. Or better yet, go to the library in the Hall of Administration and check the physical Plain Truth archives.

    No man knows “the day or the hour” of Christ’s return, right? Well, Mr. Armstrong thought he did.

    • In 1934, Mr. Armstrong said the “Day of the Lord” would begin in 1936. (see attachment for his diagram)
    • "...the year 1936 will see the end of the Times of the Gentiles.... we may expect the present worldwide depression, time of trouble and fear of war to continue until the year 1936!... quickly after that time, we may expect to see the heavenly signs of the sun and moon becoming dark, the stars falling.... which shall be followed by the ‘Day of the Lord.’" (The Plain Truth, June-July 1934, Herbert Armstrong, p. 5)
    • In 1940, he said it was 3-4 years away:
    • "...Armageddon, we believe, must be at least three or four years away..." ("Democracy Doomed!" The Plain Truth, April-May 1940, Herbert W. Armstrong)
    • In 1953, according to Dr. Hoeh’s chronologies, HWA said it would probably come no later than 1982.
    • "Now HERE IS SOMETHING STARTLING! Herman Hoeh, in his eye-opening article you will read in the June number of The PLAIN TRUTH on the Times of the Gentiles shows that the Times of the Gentiles—if chronologies are correct—will come to their final end in the year 1982." ...
    • "IF THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES END IN 1982, in October, as Mr. Hoeh has it figured, THE INVASION OF AMERICA AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION MUST BEGIN NOT LATER THAT MARCH-APRIL, 1972!" (Herbert W. Armstrong, Co-Worker letter, May 22, 1953)
    • In 1969, it was only 25 years off.
    • "If that unseen Hand does not exist, humanity will not survive on earth another 25 years, or less! …” (The Ambassador College Correspondence Course, Lesson 5, 1969, p. 15)

    Mr. Armstrong made—literally—hundreds of these false predictions. (See: https://hwarmstrong.com/prophet-1.htm or http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/mike_ep/exam/dates.htm) Between 1934 and 1946, he prophesied that: the plagues of Joel would occur in 1935, Mussolini and Hitler were the 7th resurrection of HRE, WWII was the last war—leading to Armageddon, Mussolini (and later, Hitler) would unite the 10 kings of Europe, Hitler would “inflict terrible Tribulation upon God’s saints,” etc.

    Mr. Flurry (“raising the ruins”) continues in this manner:

    • Remember it was to be “one generation” after the death of HWA that Christ returned? Well, it’s been 32 years.
    • It was the “last hour” in 2001. And then it was the “last half of the last hour” in 2008. Let me do some quick math… (The back of the textbook says: 2015)
    • In a sermon in 2008, during PYC, Mr. Flurry said he believed the Tribulation would be here in “five years or less.” Go ahead, check your notes.
    • Remember the “Hebrews” revelation? Three or four years, right? Start counting down.
    • I hear that in the last ministerial conference, Mr. Flurry said it could be as soon as one year! Boy, better pack your bags!

    Ask yourself, how many times have I heard, “it’s only a few short years”?

    Remember President Obama was the Antiochus? (By the way, I’ll give $1000 to the person who can tell me where the Bible mentions THREE end-time Antiochus-like figures—you know, the church, political, and European ones.) Well, I guess the world didn’t end with Obama, so it’s time for Jeroboam!
    Yes, Jeroboam is surely President Trump. Never mind that there were TWO Jeroboams who ruled Israel. Jeroboam I turned Israel away from God (around 920 BC). Jeroboam II was the one who Amos prophesied against (around 780 BC). They are separated by nearly 140 years. Can someone tell me which Jeroboam is Mr. Trump? Also, set your countdown, because when Mr. Trump doesn’t send you to Jerusalem, this church is finished.

    But what about Brexit? Remember that 1956 quote on the front cover of the Trumpet: “Britain will not be part of it”? Guess where it came from. A book published in 1956 called “1975 in Prophecy.” Let me give you another quote from that book. Mr. Armstrong was writing of the famines which would hit America: “Indications of prophecy are that this drought ... will strike sooner than 1975— probably between 1965 and 1972!” Go ahead and check the book yourself—it’s on DTSearch. And the internet (http://www.herbert-armstrong.org/Books%20&%20Booklets/1975%20in%20Prophecy%20(1956).pdf).

    Modern-day Assyria is Germany, right? How do you know? Really, how do you know? Did you research it? Only a handful of people in this church could even give a semblance of an answer. (Maybe send Mr. Palmer or Mr. Vejil an email.) Perhaps they might mutter something about “they’re both warlike.” Mr. Armstrong spent a whole TWO sentences proving it in “The United States and Britain in Prophecy.” Go ahead, ask the people in your congregation how they know. Better yet, ask it as a Spokesman Club topics question. Or even better still, go ask one of those confused people in the Assyrian Church of the East. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_Church_of_the_East) They’re so deceived (Rev 12:9) they don’t even know what race they are! (Attached is a critique of theTrumpet.com’s “The Remarkable Identity of the German People.”)

    But Mr. Armstrong “restored all things,” right? Have a look at the Christadelphians—founded in 1848. Doctrines include: Bible is inspired word of God; rejection of Trinity; Father and Son are separate; Kingdom of God is to be set up on earth; reject immortality of the soul; death is merely sleeping for saints; full-immersion baptism; Christ will reign on earth 1000 years; must keep commandments; hell is just the grave; mainstream Christianity has been paganized. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christadelphians#Beliefs)

    Mr. Armstrong restored all these things—except that they were already established … 40 years before he was born.

    But he gave us the “master key” for prophecy, right? The United States and Britain are Manasseh and Ephraim, right? Did you know that theory was created in 1794, and was most popular in the 1870s? It’s called British-Israelism. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Israelism) And just like the Assyria-Germany theory, you probably don’t know much of the details. Did you check the Irish annals yourself? Did you check to see whether Tea-Tephi was a real person, or just made up? (“Tea Tephi” is NEVER mentioned in Irish history. She is a combination of two real people: one called “Tea” and the other “Tephi.”) And did you know that “Tephi” is called a “daughter of Pharoah” in one of the only times she is mentioned in the Irish annals? Did you know that Ollam Fodla (apparently Jeremiah) is mentioned in the Irish legends as a native “Milesian king”? And that he lived around 1000 BC (not 500 BC)? Did you check? Or did you take Mr. Armstrong’s word as gospel? See David Baron for a critique of British-Israelism—written in 1915! (https://archive.org/details/historyoftenlost00barouoft)

    Are you afraid to check? Wouldn’t want to check with the “scholars.” Oh yes, vain “scholarship” is a code word, meaning “disagrees with Mr. Armstrong.”

    Have you read Mr. Flurry’s “True History of God’s True Church”? Why not compare it with Andrew Dugger’s and Clarence O. Dodd’s “A History of the True Church” (1936). They are virtually the same. 
    What about Malachi’s Message? Hundreds of you have told me you knew it was “the word of God.”   Have you heard of the book “The Letter to Laodicea,” which was published--in stages--from 1986 to 1988? Jules Dervaes, who wrote it, began mailing them to WCG members in 1988—and even sent a copy to Mr. Flurry. (http://thehiddenyears.org/1990/09/26/letter-to-mr-flurry-from-jules-dervaes/)
    Try reading the book of Malachi. Maybe—just maybe—could it be that when it talks about “the covenant with Levi,” it actually means Levi? No, no, it must be Herbert W. Armstrong. Could Jacob and Esau really be talking about Jacob and Esau? No, no, it must be talking about Jacobite and Edomite LAODICEANS. Remember everyone, “the word of Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Flurry is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” (Hebrews 4:12).
    But Elijah must come and restore all things, right? Try reading Matthew 17:12 (without Mr. Flurry whispering commentary in your ear). “But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed.” Jesus is screaming at you: “I said he already came! How much clearer could I be?!”
    New Throne, New Stone? Hmmm… why is the British throne still around? Oh, right, it’s corrupt and crumbling, according to Mr. Flurry. The evidence? Prince Harry shenanigans, marrying Meghan Markle, and trying to help people’s mental health (how terrible!). How about Henry VIII having 6 wives and killing 2 of them? What about Mary 1 (“Bloody Mary”) trying to establish Catholicism in England and killing Christians? (That’s nothing compared to Meghan Markle!)
    What about our book “He Was Right”? Here’s the secret on how we produced that book: (1) find predictions Mr. Armstrong made, (2) ignore every prediction that was wrong, and (3) write about every prediction that may come true in the future.
    The whole theTrumpet.com website is an exercise in this type of logic. We scour the news for events that look like fulfilled prophecy (this is called selection bias). We ignore everything that does not fit with our framework (this is called dishonesty). You then read it and believe it (this is called confirmation bias).
    Mr. Flurry often says, “We have been warning American and Britain for 80 years!” He should be saying, “We have been wrong for 80 years.”
    I will no doubt be “marked” for this email. I might even get a mention in a sermon or two. They will say, “He is inspired by Satan.” They will warn you, “Look at how clever and powerful the devil is.” But they will not address the facts. They will not give a rebuttal—that would be too dangerous.
    But will you prove all things? (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
    Many of you have been my friends for years. This college has taught me many things. Its teachers have been generous and kind. This church does many wonderful things—I have many good memories.
    But one thing it does not do well is tell the truth.
    I hereby renounce every article I have ever written for theTrumpet.com.
    If you have any questions, please email me at: kierenjunderwood@gmail.com. Or for more information, see: http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/. Please forward this email to anyone who you think needs to read it.
    (I have scans of the Plain Truth from 1934-1946, where HWA makes all kinds of prophecies about 1936, World War II, and Mussolini and Hitler as the “last resurrection of the HRE,” if anyone would like to see them.)
    Thanks for reading,
    KIEREN UNDERWOOD
    EDITORIAL
    theTrumpet.com | Edstone Hall | Wootton Wawen, B95 6DDTel:
    +44 01789 581910 |
    kjunderwood@HWACollege.org

    FYI Kieren...I will post anything you want to send me!  Congratulations on achieving freedom!

    Philadelphia Church of God: Father Pleads For Contact With Children Inside PCG: "TELL MY CHILDREN I LOVE THEM, PLEASE!"

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    I received the following from visitor here who is a father with children inside the Philadelphia Church of God. If you have been a reader of this blog you will see Cal Culpepper mentioned a lot with postings describing his vile behaviour towards PCG members and his enforcement of PCG's "no contact" policy.

    I’ve been out of the PCG for 6 years now. I was put out by the demon Cow Cultpecker. 
    Since then my two children who remained in the cult have been forbidden to talk to me. 
    Thankfully 2 of my children have come out and I am able to see them. 

    In an effort to help cut off funding and make people aware of that this evil group is doing, I have been sending a message to all churches in Edmond and Oklahoma City. 
    The easiest way I’ve found to do this is through Facebook. 
    I’ve sent the following message to many churches. I’ve received positive supportive messages in  return.  
    People are agreeing to boycott events at Armstrong Auditorium. 
    I did include full names in the message. 
    I hope many will do the same to help warn local people that attending events at Armstrong Auditorium is supporting this family destroying cult.

    Thank you for all you do to help members and ex members of the PCG.

    ----------------------------------- 

    Please help a grieving father.  
    My wife of 36 years died 8 years ago and now Gerald Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God have taken my children from me. 
    I wish I could hear from them on Father's day. I haven't heard from them in 6 years. They are in the Philadelphia Church of God. A controlling cult that cuts children off from parents and parents from children. The dictatorial leader Gerald Flurry has issued an edict that says members can have NO contact with family members that have left the church. If you go against his rulings you will have to go through the tribulation and be cast into the lake of fire. Members have committed suicide because of this evil family destroying ruling. My oldest son Nathan M. and my youngest daughter Elise M. are in the cult and have been prevented from contacting me, my youngest son, my daughter and granddaughters. The cult has destroyed my family. When my oldest daughter and her family were told that they could have no contact with me, and told I was not allowed to see my granddaughter, they left the cult. 
    When you attend events at Armstrong Auditorium you support the family destroying cult. They don't allow interracial dating or interracial dancing. They believe they are God's ONLY TRUE Church and Gerald Flurry is THAT PROPHET, he is THE APOSTLE, God’s only representative  on earth. 
    Please do not support the evil group by attending events at Armstrong Auditorium  
    TELL MY CHILDREN I LOVE THEM, PLEASE!

    The Republican Church of God?

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    Growing up in the church I constantly heard how the church was supposedly non-political and that it was wrong to take political positions, mainly because Herbert Armstrong said God frowned upon it.  However, anyone growing up in the church quickly found out which side of the fence the church was on in regards to many social justice issues, race issues and local governance issues. Every year as election season started we were lectured that voting was wrong.

    As usual, with much of the things taught in the church, voting and politics depended upon where you lived and who you were.  If you were in Big Sandy or in Pasadena, members were encouraged to vote in if local policies and issues were to work in the church or college's favor.  One Big Sandy Mayor was a COG member, elected with a mass turn out of church member so that local alcohol rules could be changed.

    That leads us today to Bill Watson and the Church of God International .  Listening to Watson preach, reading his web entries, and his church magazines you would think he was the spokesman for the Republican Party.  Plus, he uses the WorldNetDaily as his go-to news source (as does LCG, UCG).

     
    International News

    ...The United States is positioning for a correction in its course of interaction with the world’s community of nations. It would appear by the actions of this President, that he fully intends to rebuild and rein- force the overall strength and posture of the United States on the world stage. His most recent passing of the Omnibus Budget Bill clearly indicates military spending is a top priority. The fact this $1.3 trillion bill has $720 billion earmarked for military expenditures plainly indicates he is refurbishing and expanding the military might of America, for whatever military action may be required. Actually, it appears he fully expects preparedness for war is justified, and that’s why more than half of this Omnibus Bill is devoted to military spending...
    ...The United States is relearning to express assertive leadership after decades of appeasement, apologies, and accommodation at the expense of its own national well being and security. The question is, Will the world’s community of nations, having been working an agenda of globalism, accept and adjust to this revived nationalistic approach the United States, United Kingdom, and a handful of others within the European Union are now adopting? That remains to be seen as to how it will all play out....
    As long as the politics being preached was one geared up for war, anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, anti-gay and anti-Catholic, certain COG leaders are in heaven.  They want to see a war happen, Europe rise up and attack the United States, horrific terrorism and all kinds of violence.  Because when it does, they think it is validating their Biblical interpretations.

    When a person listens to the sermons of these guys, reads their articles and blog entries it would be hard to mistake them as anything other than conservative or Republican.

    How is this really preaching a gospel message?

    hat tip JF






    Who has a better grasp of what authentic Christianity is?

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    Who has a better grasp of what it means to be an authentic Christian...

    Jefferson Bethke 

    or

    Bob Thiel, self-appointed church leader, apostle, prophet, and any other name you can dream up. The one who was soundly rejected by Rod Meredith 
    and all other COG leaders.

    James Malm, the self-appointed bastardizer of the law who places the law above grace, justive, mercy and Jesus himself.

    Vic Kubik, Clyde Kilough, Jim Franks, who connived and conspired while on WCG payroll to start a new church guaranteeing themselves and their cronies 
    a perpetual income stream.

    Gerald Flurry, THAT Prophet, money hungry HWA idolater who destroys families and marriages and needs his own personal jet 
    just because HWA had one.

    Dave Pack, who destroys families and who claims all income belongs to him as a representative of God. It is needed by him so he can make Wadsworth into a cool place for Jesus to walk around in when he returns for the 2 or 3rd time.


    Gerald Weston, the legalist who places emphasis on the law over 
    grace, mercy and justice. 

    And most every other COG leader out there you can name...

    _____________________________________

    _____________________________________

    _____________________________________

    Though to be fair, there are a slim FEW COG men out there who actually get it

    Update About Father Searching For Children Trapped In Gerald Flurry's Philadelphia Church of God

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    It’s been 6 years since I’ve heard from my children. I’m always searching the web for information or pictures of them. They are not allowed to contact me because of the evil no contact ruling imposed on them under penalty of death by the evil cult leader Gerald Flurry. 

    Just the other day a recently freed member of the PCG got in touch with me with information on my son Nathan and daughter Elise Moffett. Thanks to this person escaping the evil cult I was given some insight into what my children are going through. I am so thankful for the information and so thankful that this person took the time to send it to me. Because of it, I’m hopeful that my children will be among those that will soon be free from this evil mind-controlling cult.

    Let me say that I was not told this information was confidential. So I feel free to publish it in hopes that it will encourage and help others that are going through this loss. I hope to hear more from this courageous person.

    Here is some of what I was told (emphasis mine):
    “Elise was working for Mr. Turgeon, as his personal assistant. Before that, she was working in the AC kitchen. I think she was happy to get out of the kitchen…. Personally, I think it would be excruciatingly boring to work for a guy like Mr. Turgeon, but at least its not Mr. Davis.... Nathan worked landscaping for the college for a while, but then moved out to start his own business.
    There is one story I think you'll find interesting (and ridiculous). There used to be a rule about how much an AC student could drink when they were off campus. There was a 2-drink limit if you were over the drinking age, but if you were under it and you were at a married couple's house, you could have 1 drink. So I believe some freshmen went out and had two drinks at someones house, and it got back to Mr. Burns and Mr. Turgeon through the usual spies... (ugh... don't even get me started). So they came back and "reiterated" that the rules were you could only have 1 drink, and if you were under the drinking age, you could only drink if you were at a married couple's house. Now, since the rule had always been 2 drinks, some of the older students spoke up in their meetings and asked why it was being changed. Why punish responsible students by lowering the drink limit just because of freshmen? Mr. Burns and Mr. Turgeon replied that it had always been a 1 drink policy--which was clearly wrong, and every student could tell you that. Elise, being Mr. Turgeon's assistant, told him that it had originally been 2, but Mr. Burns told her "no, it has always been 1." Then, when Elise was telling this story to me she said "it was like 1984 up in there.""We're not changing the rules, it's always been a 1-drink limit!" 

    So, yes, the story and the rule is all a little bit trivial, but I could tell it was a time where Elise was just frustrated about the ridiculous micromanaging and dishonesty among the higher ups. I, for what its worth, actually think that they are so used to doing this kind of thing that they begin to believe their own lies. Elise and Nathan are both very smart, and I am waiting for a lot of smart people to leave in the next 2 years when Trump leaves office. I am not sure if you know, but GRF says President Trump is the Jeroboam of Amos 7 who will kick the church out of the US and into "Judah." So if any of my family members are still in the church after Trump leaves office, I'm going to be ******************  “ (redacted to protect identity. but lets’ just say “upset”.

    Again, THANK YOU to the caring person that sent me this information and congratulations that you had the courage to leave the cult. I pray that this person does not have to go through the loss of family because of their brave decision to leave. Let’s all pray for those newly freed and those still enslaved. We all know what they are going through.

    Dan Moffett

    Why do some COG members think this is OK?

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    Two stories about two different families in two different Church of God's and both involve children sucked in by abusive cult leaders who tell their members to do unchristian things that divide them from their families.

    Any thinking person would see that something is wrong with this picture, but many COG members defend these two groups and blame the parents and the children.

    Is this honestly what 1st century Christianity looks like?  The Church of God has always claimed it was practicing authentic Christianity just like they did during the 1st generation after Jesus death.

    Herbert Armstrong claimed to have turned the hearts of the children to their parents and yet every single one of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were estranged from him.  

    The COG has a sad track record of destroying marriages and families, now more so than ever in the past.

    And yet some church see nothing wrong with this.





    Satan attacks Philadelphia Church of God by using Hamas and Orthodox Jews

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    The Philadelphia Church of God has been working overtime in promoting their Hezikiah find from their archaeological dig in Jerusalem.  They claim that one miracle after another is happening because this dig has been blessed by their god.  However, Satan is also busy at work attacking the dig and the PCG.

    Satan hates the Philadelphia church of God!







    One day, Brianna Weeks was helping the dig registrar, Alexandra, collect and register finds. One small animal figurine leg had gone missing—the fear was that it had been thrown out near the washing area. Alexandra was desperately looking for the piece in that location, but returned without finding it. Brianna said a silent prayer, asking God to help Alexandra find it. I’ll let Brianna summarize the rest:
    It wasn’t long before Alexandra got up to go look for the leg again. She looked in the exact same spot that she had looked before—only this time, I heard a gasp. She had found it! She brought it over to me with a look of total disbelief on her face. She couldn’t believe it. She told me over and over how she just couldn’t believe she’d found it. Then she said that she knew it was a miracle. I was throwing a little party in my head; it was absolutely amazing to see God answer my prayer like that and to see that even she realized that this was a special thing that had happened. She came back to me for days after that, telling me over and over about how she had found the leg and how she still just couldn’t believe it.
    The miracles kept on coming.  
    Another was the general energy on the dig site. It is a rigorous routine, especially for the students: waking up around 4 a.m., beginning the dig at 6:30 a.m., finishing at 2:30 p.m., taking college classes throughout the afternoon and on into the evening. Yet somehow, we felt more energized than one would expect, considering the regimen. Callum Wood (a 2012 digger) recalled trying to maintain the (incredibly productive!) schedule after the dig was over—in his words, “Not a chance.” The ability to handle the intense workload “was one of the biggest miracles I remember from the dig,” he said. There are the general aches and pains, but it is common for the students to report that, upon entering the dig site, the aches and pains disappear—until the dig day is over and we walk back out of the gate. 
    Of course, anything that God loves, Satan hates. And so there are the clear satanic attacks that come with digging—particularly on this excavation. For that initial 2017 meeting for the dig to start, Stephen Flurry was originally intended to go—instead, he was grounded in the Philippines, his wife sick and unable to secure a doctor’s note to fly. One of the students who came in to participate on the dig was hassled at the airport by an immigration officer. Despite having the correct paperwork, he was lambasted as a “liar.” Archaeologist Brent Nagtegaal, waiting on the other side of Customs, talked on the phone with this officer—he was also castigated as a “liar.” One day there was a massive gas explosion just down the road from our apartment. We noticed what had happened as we neared home, returning from the dig site. The hunt for survivors was being conducted in the parking garage where it had happened; one person was killed and three injured.
    One day, a sinister event happened. A man stopped by the dig site to meet with Dr. Mazar—he had worked with her and us about 10 years ago during the City of David excavations. The meeting was nothing unusual. But just two days later, he was stabbed to death a few hundred yards away in the Old City. The tragedy struck us as particularly unusual—we had no contact for a decade, and within two days of meeting him, he was killed. It was a stark reminder of how much Satan hates these excavations and that we must pray for God’s protection. 
    And who could forget Operation Pillar of Defense, which occurred during our 2012 excavation? Hamas had, for the first time, fired long-range rockets at Jerusalem from Gaza. The air around us was sporadically filled with the howling of air raid sirens and the thump! of the rockets as they crashed in the distance, fortunately causing little harm or damage. Hearing the sirens was an eerie experience—that was the first time they had ever been used in Jerusalem. 
    Then there was the strong verbal abuse and protests by Orthodox Jews attempting to shut down the City of David excavation in Area G, accusing us (falsely) of digging up tombs. Hundreds of Jews had succeeded in shutting down an excavation there a decade before, pelting the excavators with rocks. This one, though, they couldn’t run us off. That area yielded up the important finds of the Gedeliah bulla and the exciting tunnel continuing underneath the Stepped Stone Structure. During later digs on the Ophel, we were on the receiving end of rock throwing—from Arabs atop the southern wall of the Temple Mount. The stones could have done immense damage had they hit their mark—yet we were protected and the dig was allowed to continue.

    PCG: Gerald Flurry will soon be sitting on a throne passing out judgment and hastening righteousness

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    The Philadelphia Church of God recently sent a new booklet out to their members called, The New Throneof David by Gerald Flurry. This book is now more important that Mystery of the Ages and Malachi's Message, the foundational books of the PCG.  This book was so important and significant that the loyal PCG volunteers came into help send out the booklet to the faithful.



    Never has the Church of God received such an important revelation from God as this.

    Every year before the anniversary of  Herbert Armstrong's death, PCG members seem to fast.  In November of 2017, Flurry called a fast to urge his god into making the PCG grow as a church.  It was on January 14th of 2018, that Flurry's god entered into his mind and revealed all kinds of new things.



    Gerald Flurry writes:
    In November 2016, I called a Church-wide fast for the growth of God’s Work to be held on Sunday, January 15, 2017. Those who had to work on that day fasted instead on January 14, the Sabbath day.
    I have said before that I have never received a vision from God outside of the Bible, and I still say that. But on January 14, I did have some interesting words come to mind about several scriptures. It has happened before that words come into my mind and lead me to a scripture. But this time, I heard a strong voice. That had never happened to me before. This voice said, 
    “There is a new stone of destiny and a new throne of David.”

    The stone of destiny is the stone over which British monarchs are crowned. It is also known as the stone of Scone, or Jacob’s pillar stone (read its origin in Genesis 28:10-22). We have written a lot over the years about the importance of the British monarchy and how it is actually a continuation of the royal dynasty of biblical King David. God promised to preserve his line forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16). The Bible shows that Jesus Christ will take over that governance Himself at His Second Coming! The stone has always been connected with the throne, so it is very important, biblically and historically. The stone is a symbol of David’s throne. It is also a symbol of our Rock—Jesus Christ—who is about to rule on that throne forever! You can read all about this in my book The Key of David.

    God has shifted the symbol of David’s throne and that royal line to a new stone, and there are scriptures to prove it.
    Flurry then recap's his version of the church under Herbert Armstrong. The glory days never seems so rosy as they do coming through the pen of Flurry, until his bitterness shines through when he tells us he and John Amos were fired and disfellowshipped on December 7, 1989.

    Flurry then goes on to write how he had to take a pilgrimage to the holy sites that HWA occupied, visited or touched.

    ...Umapine, Oregon. Mr. Armstrong wrote about Umapine in his autobiography. In this town, he and a minister from the Sardis era of God’s Church held evangelistic meetings. The meetings were a failure. But then that minister hastily left to tend to some business elsewhere. Only then, when Mr. Armstrong was left alone, did his efforts begin to produce fruit!
    The Autobiography describes the building where the meetings were held, so I traveled to Umapine to see if I could find it. It is quite a small town—you can drive through it in about a minute and a half. I found the only building that could have been used for Mr. Armstrong’s meetings.
    It was very inspiring for me to visit that place, which resonated with the fascinating history of God’s end-time apostle.
    Apparently, Herbert Armstrong was such a holy and important man that the PCG set out to find every single place HWA mentioned in his autobiography.  COG members love to mock Christians for their supposed devotion to "holy" sites that Jesus and the apostles supposedly had used, but this is exactly the same!
    I mentioned this experience to David Todd, a man I had known in the wcg and who became a minister in the Philadelphia Church of God (pcg). “That kind of sparked my interest to investigate,” Mr. Todd later told the Philadelphia News.“I always wanted to see some of the sites Mr. Armstrong spoke of. I thought it would be inspiring.”
    In August 1998, Mr. Todd moved to the eastern part of central Oregon, and he took the opportunity to begin searching for the sites described in the Autobiography. He enlisted the help of some local Church members, and they began looking for every site they possibly could. In every case—sometimes only after intensive investigation—they succeeded.
    Philadelphia Church of God members regularly make pilgrimages to these sites every year around Feast of Tabernacles time, much to the chagrin of local residents who occupy the homes and buildings.
    Their discoveries led to the development of a substantial and fascinating tour through Mr. Armstrong’s history in that area, covering the early beginnings of the Philadelphia era of God’s Church. We have members still giving these tours.
    One of the more important things in HWA's autobiography, at least according to the PCG, was the rock that HWA supposedly prayed at in the woods of Oregan. Because it was on private land, that presented a problem for the PCG faithful.
    It was 1933, and Mr. Armstrong was holding a series of Bible lectures at the Firbutte school in Eugene, near the Fisher farm where he was staying. “To the rear of the Fisher farm home was a fair-sized hill. Running over this hilltop for exercise I discovered a rock about 14 inches high,” he wrote. “It was in a secluded spot. It came to mind how Jesus had dismissed the multitudes, and gone up into a mountain ‘apart’ to pray—alone with God. I dropped to my knees before this rock, which seemed just the right height to kneel before, and began praying earnestly for the success of the meetings. It became sort of a daily pilgrimage, during my stay at the Fishers’, to this, which became my ‘prayer rock.’ I’m sure that I drank in much energy, spiritual strength and inspiration at that prayer rock.”
    After gaining permission, Flurry and his devotee's traipsed through the woods till they found a rock that fit HWA's description. It was the most mind-boggling thing they had ever seen! "Inspiring" was a word that hardly described it. They were on holy ground!  There was only one other stone on the face of the earth that Armstrongites stood in awe of, and that was the Stone of Scone, now located in Scotland.

    Mr. Todd found the former Fisher farm. He walked over the whole area and examined it closely, and there was only one rock that could have been Mr. Armstrong’s prayer rock. Remarkably, its dimensions were precisely as Mr. Armstrong had described.

    In April 2002, Mr. Todd took me on a tour of the sites of Mr. Armstrong’s early days in the Work. When I saw the prayer rock, I said it was “the most inspiring rock I’ve ever seen, second only after the stone of Scone.”
    from page 5 of book

    But trouble was afoot! It seems another COG group was looking to take the rock.  Imagine that! PCG quickly sprung into action. Plans to film it flew out the door and all attempts were made to negotiate in taking the rock into their possession.
    We thought that the rock was something we ought to have. We were going to hold off getting it until we could do a little filming there. But Mr. Todd said that someone else was trying to get it.
    Can you imagine the conversations the landowner had with his family and friends about all of these crazy Armstrongites traipsing through his land to stare at a dirty old rock!

    Flurry quickly opened up his tithe filled wallet and offered to buy the rock from the landowner.  Flurry's god had other plans and planted a seed in the man's head telling him to give the PCG the rock.
    So we hurried along. We offered to purchase the rock, but the man who owned the property gave it to us free of charge, and he was happy to do so. We brought it to our headquarters campus in Edmond, Oklahoma, and put it on display.
    Flurry's god has been sooooooooo impressed by PCG's devotion to HWA that it made sure that they got the rock as "tangible proof" that the work of HWA started at this rock.  It was the greatest work in human history.  Even Jesus, Dave Pack, and Bob Thiel pale in comparison.
    God wanted us to have this rock. The Bible has many examples of God using stones for special purposes (e.g. Genesis 28:10-22; 31:45-52; Joshua 4:1-9; 8:30-32; 24:26-27). A stone is tangible. Here we have something that I think is supremely precious to God and the Philadelphia Church of God! I believe God gave it to us because we honor Mr. Armstrong and believe in what he did. It is meaningful to us because it is a tangible symbol of the infinitesimal beginning of the Work of God in our day—the greatest Work ever on Earth in terms of the impact and the number of people reached! Mr. Armstrong reached millions of people with God’s truth, and it started at this rock. For this reason, the prayer rock holds great significance to God’s people. It also seemed so unusual that Mr. Armstrong had accurately recorded such precise details about it, and that we were able to find it. Surely God had something important in mind.
    Flurry's god had something important in mind.  Bigger and better things were ahead.  Flurry's god was not happy that the British government relinquished the Stone of Scone, which had formally been in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey in London, to Scotland. The day they did that, Flurry's god took his blessing off the stone and place it on another rock.
    Mr. Armstrong’s prayer rock has replaced the “stone of destiny.”
    The date on which I came to recognize this is signifi- cant. It was yet another example of God making something momentous happen on or near January 16, the anniversary of Mr. Armstrong’s death in 1986. God is continually reminding us that we are continuing the work of Elijah. We have proved that Mr. Armstrong was the end-time type of the original Elijah
    We must follow Mr. Armstrong’s example. The understanding that God has given me about this stone underlines this point emphatically!
    Just as Flurry's god took the mantle of the true church from the Tkach dynasty, it took the significance of the Stone of Scone and placed it upon HWA's rock.  Jesus Christ now loves this rock and is looking forward to the day he can come back and sit on it. Just imagine the warrior Jesus Christ coming to sit on HWA's dirty old rock after he slaughters most of humanity.
    This new revelation about the prayer rock will have far-reaching consequences. It is a major step toward establishing the rule of God on Earth!

    How?
    Jesus Christ is about to return, and when He does, He will take His place on the throne of David (Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:31-33). On that throne, He will rule and bring salvation to all humanity! We are living in the final phase of David’s throne just before Christ returns.
      Apparently, since HWA was a direct descendant of David
      After he realized how incredibly stupid it was to think that Scotland would give him the Stone of Scone to take to Petra, Flurry had to have another trick up his sleeve. One of the reasons Flurry bought his new multi-million dollar jet, was so he could fly HWA's rock to Petra and prepare the new throne for Jesus Christ to sit on.
      The stone of destiny is really the symbol of David’s throne—not the chair that sits in Westminster Abbey. ... God said there would never lack a man to sit on that throne—and here He says the throne will be established in a temporary, Tribulation setting, with God’s loyal people dwelling in a rocky fortress!
      Notice what Flurry says above,  "...there would never lack a man to sit on that throne..." so just who is that man? Is it Jesus Christ, a "god" or a human physical man? I will give you just ONE guess as to who that man is... That man is also a king.
      Isaiah’s prophecy says the individual sitting on the throne at that time will be “seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.” I wrote how this implies it will be occupied not by a member of Britain’s royal family, but by a Spirit-led member of God’s Church. I then pointed to the prophecy in Micah 2:13 referring to the leader of God’s Church as “their king.”“It shouldn’t be too upsetting to think of God calling a man in the Church a ‘king,’” I wrote. “After the 31⁄2-year period of the Tribulation, every converted member in God’s Church will be a king and a priest forever!” (ibid).
      King Gerald will soon be sitting upon that throne passing out judgment and hastening righteousness. 



      What Church of God member, Christian or fellow human being would EVER want to have Gerald Flurry passing out judgment upon them? There is not one single COG leader in ANY of the splinter groups that has that capability now or will ever have in the future.  That is a fact.
















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