Reading PCG's Booklet, Hosea and God's Adulterous Wife, Part 1

Let us now look through Gerald Flurry's booklet, Hosea and God's Adulterous Wife. Here Flurry uses the Book of Hosea to teach that the Great Tribulation is coming upon Britain and the State of Israel because of their sins. This booklet was first published in 1996. This booklet was later revised in 2007 and 2010. It has since been renamed Hosea: Reaping the Whirlwind. You can read the current version of this booklet on their website. However I am here reading through the original 1996 version.

The cover is illustrated by Steve Wilkins, the same man who made the cover illustration for Gerald Flurry's 1995 booklet, The Little Book. In the current 2010 version this has been replaced with a picture of a tornado.

Recently I have noticed that in so many of Gerald Flurry's booklets he essentially restates what he said in Malachi's Message, that (insert name of Biblical book here) is all about the Tkach changes, the rise of PCG in opposition to this, that PCG will go to the place of safety and all others will face punishment in the Great Tribulation. Will he talk about that in this booklet?

We now begin.

Like all of the minor and major prophets in the Old Testament, the primary focus for the book of Hosea is the end time. The message delivered anciently was only a type of what is occurring today. Hosea was written first of all to God’s adulterous wife in this end time. That is how the book is introduced in the very first chapter. That has not been understood before—not until now! God deals with His Church first because that is the most important issue—BY FAR. (Introduction.)

Of course when Flurry talks of "God's adulterous wife" he really means WCG and all his rivals among the other COG groups. Already he is repeating what he said in Malachi's Message.

Chapter 1

God has REVEALED to me a great deal more about the book of Hosea. We have shown in the past that Hosea is specifically addressed to the British peoples of the nations of Israel. ... The first part of the message is about God correcting His adulterous wife. God commands Hosea to take an adulterous whore as his wife. The main purpose for Hosea marrying this woman is to illustrate the behavior of God’s wife in “the latter days” (Hos. 3:5). Hosea, like all of the minor and major prophets, primarily focuses on the end time. ...

God’s Church has “committed GREAT WHOREDOM, DEPARTING from the Lord.” You can’t DEPART from God if you never knew Him! The nations of Israel have never known God since He divorced them. ...

Hosea is discussing GOD’S OWN CHURCH WHICH WAS MARRIED TO THE OMNIPOTENT GOD IN THIS END TIME! So, when they turn away from Him, it is no small sin—it is a GREAT whoredom! (pp. 1-2.)

Again, as suspected, this booklet is once again repeating what Flurry said in Malachi's Message.

We have proven in much of our literature that God’s Church entered the Laodicean era when Herbert W. Armstrong died. God heaps much praise on the Philadelphia era, over which Mr. Armstrong presided (Matt. 17:10-11; 24:14; Rev. 3:7-8; etc.). But when the Philadelphia era ended, the Church became Laodicean (Rev. 3:7-19). (p. 2.)

That is Flurry's stance on the issue of Philadelphians and Laodiceans. In HWA's WCG it was tended to be assumed that the Laodiceans would not be made manifest until the worthy WCG members ran away to the place of safety. All those left behind would be the Laodiceans. This is a change of teaching that Flurry has introduced. A "new revelation" that supposedly reveals (PCG's) God's special favor upon him. Flurry teaches that God only gives revelation one man at a time therefore it is necessary for salvation that one must submit to this one man. Of course he says the one man is himself, Gerald Flurry.

Only the Church is Christ’s wife today (Rev. 19:7). So Hosea’s wife of whoredoms is a picture of God’s Laodicean Church turning away from Him—after having a wonderful marriage during the Philadelphia era of Herbert Armstrong. This great whoredom is the same as the great falling away in II Thessalonians 2, written about extensively in Malachi’s Message (write for your free copy). There is simply no other logical explanation of the first chapter in Hosea. (p. 2.)

Was HWA's WCG the picture of "a wonderful marriage" with God the Father? Is that the truth? Let me quote these words from a previous post.

The unity everyone [supposedly] loved [from 1979-1986, which is often viewed as a sort of golden age among the COGs] was created by destroying friendships and relationships with anyone who failed to conform to WCG's demands or were accused of being in league with the "dissidents" and "liberals". ... [Observe the quote from Roderick C. Meredith here, for instance.]

Many WCG members continued to fear going to doctors or taking medicine because of HWA's anti-medicine superstition which he stole from the Jehovah's Witnesses.

HWA banned racial interracial marriage. It is very hard to get more racist than that.

Women were not allowed to wear makeup. In one article HWA even accused the problems of the 1970s were caused because WCG allowed women to wear makeup. HWA banned makeup because he saw his daughter Beverly wearing too much makeup one day and he disapproved so strongly he banned makeup. HWA reimposed this ban partly to coerce his wife, the former Ramona Martin (nee Crittenden) hoping this measure would compel her to divorce him. It did not work. He had to divorce her.

HWA claimed that Jesus Christ would return within the 20th Century. He even said this in Mystery of the Ages, a book so greatly revered among those who wish to follow HWA. It bears useless fear inducing false prophecy. (PCG erased those words in their copies so you will not find it there.)

HWA told WCG children that Jesus Christ would soon return, before 2000. [Link inactive.]

HWA was a divorced man.

In December 1984, HWA belittled a TV ad for a charity trying to feed staving children as "an emotional appeal for donations". [The link no longer works but you can read the letter cited here.] Unlike most people he could have done a lot to help that charity but, not only did he choose not to help but he unfavorably compared it to The World Tomorrow program and praised himself as the only one really working to solve the world's problems.

HWA claimed the Plain Truth had eight million issues in circulation. Actually it was never higher then "slightly over six million." (Larry Nichols and George Mather, Discovering the Plain Truth, p. 39) Why did HWA lie about this?

This is what Flurry seeks to portray as "a wonderful marriage"?

“So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son” (v. 3). The first child, a son, was named Jezreel. It says Gomer “bare him [Hosea] a son.” That expression is NOT used when referring to the other two children. In verse 6, it says she “bare a daughter.” In verse 8, it says she “bare a son.” The Soncino Commentary speculates that this indicates the last two children were not begotten by Hosea—they had other biological fathers. That is exactly right! Here’s why. God is telling us precisely what is occurring in His end-time Church. The first Church to be “cast out” or leave the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), was the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG). No other Church of any significance came out before we did. ...

The only other two significant groups to leave the WCG during the Laodicean era are the United Church and the Global Church. We have proven clearly how they have rejected God’s government and their Head—Jesus Christ. (For more information, write for our free booklets Colossians and God’s Family Government.) Spiritually, THESE TWO CHURCHES ARE ILLEGITIMATE! (p. 3.)

So there you have it. Hosea's three children are a prophetic sign that three main splinter groups will arise from the Tkach changes. Only the first one, PCG, is legitimate. The other two, the Global Church of God and the United Church of God, are illegitimate because they do not pay tithes to Flurry. Of course Flurry is simply repeating his "new revelation" that the various books of the Bible are all about the Tkach changes, the rise of PCG in opposition to that, that PCG members go to a place of safety while all others are left behind to endure the Great Tribulation.

I understand why he cites God's Family Government. That booklet was made in 1993 in direct response to the establishment of the Global Church of God. I am not so sure why he cites his booklet that uses Colossians, except to demonize "Laodiceans".  

Also the current 2010 version has updated "the Global Church" to "the Living Church" naturally.

In a little while, the nations of Israel are going to fall—and God’s Laodicean churches will fall with them. That means the PCG only has a very short time to warn the nations of Israel and God’s rebellious churches! That is why the emphasis of our message is a warning! The Great Tribulation is coming fast and soon. (pp. 3-4.)

It is now eighteen years since this booklet was published. Did those reading these words in 1996 except this present world to still be here eighteen years later?

Gomer had a daughter by an adulterous union. They are all “children of whoredoms” because they came from a Laodicean mother. But THE LATTER TWO CHILDREN WERE ILLEGITIMATE. Their biological father was not Hosea. And Christ is not the spiritual Father of the last two major churches to leave the WCG! That means God is not leading them. Christ is not doing His Work through them.

LORUHAMAH MEANS GOD WILL “NO MORE HAVE MERCY.” Please notice carefully. God once had mercy on them—BUT NO MORE! That is because they have rejected their Husband! As a penalty, God is going to “utterly take them away”—into the Great Tribulation.

“Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God” (vv. 8-9). Loammi means “you are not MY people.” They were God’s people in the Philadelphia era. But that is now history. Gomer “bare a son”—Hosea was not his father.

These are very ugly statements about God’s own Church. God help the people who take these terror-striking prophecies lightly! These prophecies are unfolding before our eyes. God’s own Church must heed or pay horrendous penalties!

The mother and her two rebellious children (representing all the dissenters) reject the GOVERNMENT taught by God through Mr. Armstrong! That means they are rejecting Jesus Christ as their Head—their Husband!

Hosea married this evil lady to illustrate that point. Hosea’s wife scorned his AUTHORITY. So did the latter two children, who followed their mom’s example. The whole subject is about a GOVERNING OFFICE being rejected by God’s own Church. (p. 4.)

So we see Hosea endured the humiliation of his wife bearing two illegitimate children simply to tell a small religious group in the 1990s (when this booklet was first published) that the Global Church of God and the United Church of God must not be joined or else one will not receive PCG's God's favor.

Christ is going to “betroth thee unto me for ever.” The firstfruits are going to marry the Son of God—FOREVER!

That is the most exalted reward ever given to mankind. And it is only offered to those who qualify to marry Christ, before He returns. (p. 6.)

It is a doctrine taught by HWA and in PCG that the resurrected church members will occupy a higher rank and be greater then all other members of the God Family who will be born afterwards. This is also taught by LCG as I personally saw in a sermon by Syd Hull.

How does it happen? Why this magnificent change? THEN THE WHOLE EARTH “SHALL HEAR JEZREEL”! Remember, Jezreel was the first son of Hosea. His wife Gomer “bare him a son.” The very message that is being taught today by the PCG, or Jezreel, IS GOING TO BE THE SAME MESSAGE HEARD IN THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD TOMORROW! THAT IS BECAUSE THE PCG IS THE ONLY CHURCH THAT IS LETTING CHRIST DIRECT US TO DO HIS WORK IN THIS END TIME! (p. 6.)

Here Jezreel, Hosea's first child, is claimed to be a prophetic symbol of PCG today.

Flurry is most anxious to persuade readers that he is the only legitimate continuation of HWA's WCG. Until he was fired in 1989 Flurry was just another minister, unimportant among the elite leaders of the "true church". He was unable to persuade any high ranking persons from WCG into his following. Instead Meredith and his collaborators then another large group of ministers left to form their own splinter groups ignoring Flurry. Most WCG members, whether they supported the Tkach changes or not, were unmoved by his "new revelation" that the Bible was all about the Tkach changes and the rise of PCG and so did not join PCG. Flurry knows this and consequently constant proclaims himself to be the only man who can grant people the protection of God.

God’s end-time Church committed adultery and whoredoms, shattering that wonderful marriage! This is the worst pain God’s Church can cause her Husband, Jesus Christ! We can see this if our view is through the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5). But we cannot think like a spiritual slut and expect to understand the pain that spiritual adultery causes our Husband. (p. 7.)

Here Flurry yet again condemns and demonize "Laodiceans" for refusing to pay him money. He will say anything to indoctrinate people into giving him money.

After all that Flurry claims that the Laodicean ministers fail to measure God's law, ignoring the fact that many of the other COG groups are quite devoted to enforcing the teaching most of the rules and regulations devised by HWA's WCG (pp. 7-9.).

People can give profusely to earthquake and hurricane victims, but that is not solving our foundational problems. People are being DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE—SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE FROM GOD! That is the raging, super-desperate need of this world!

God’s Church was given this knowledge and became His priests—His only true Church! His only Work! Now they scorn that knowledge—THE VERY SOLUTION TO ALL OF THIS WORLD’S PROBLEMS! (p. 9.)

Flurry does not like PCG members devoting themselves to charitable work. He wants them paying tithes to his organization. Flurry condemns Tkach's WCG for giving money to charity as has been noted in posts regarding 1990 version of Malachi's Message and the current version of Malachi's Message.

Also it needs to be stated that much of Gerald Flurry's new revelations in Malachi's Message are plagiarized from the writings of Jules Dervaes, specifically The Letter to Laodicea. In fact on September 26, 1990 Jules Dervaes sent a letter to Gerald Flurry in which he denounces Malachi's Message as "a direct and clear plagiarism" of his work.

Then Flurry proclaims that (PCG's) God has given PCG a commission to warn the royal family of Britain about the Great Tribulation.

We are sent by God to warn the nations of Israel. We have a specific commission to warn God’s own Laodicean Church. This is what Malachi’s Message is all about. We also have a specific commission to WARN THE ROYAL FAMILY OF BRITAIN—“GIVE YE EAR, O HOUSE OF THE KING”! THEY SIT ON THE MOST IMPORTANT THRONE THAT HAS EVER BEEN ON THIS EARTH! (p. 10.)

After this he talks of a trumpet-blowing work and says that PCG is fulfilling this command to warn the Americans, British and WCG members and ex-WCG members who do not pay tithes to Flurry.

At page 12 we reach the end of Chapter 1. The rest of the booklet will be looked at in a future post but here is a brief preview of the other chapters.

Chapter 2 uses the Book of Hosea to claim that Britain will soon be plunged into the Great Tribulation.

Chapter 3 ("Judah's Deadly Wound") uses the Book of Hosea to claim it condemns the State of Israel's participation with the peace process with the Palestinian Authority led by Yassar Arafat. Flurry condemns the peace process and says the State of Israel should have relied on God and they would have then overcame all obstacles if they did so. This was made before the second Palestinian intifada began in 2000. (Noticeably this chapter has been cut out of the current 2010 version and merged with Chapter 2.)

And Chapter 4 ends with Flurry's assurances that PCG's God does love everyone and that after the indescribable horrors of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord all will be well.

To be continued...