More on Hutaree and the COGs

The 'Christian' militia Hutaree, which stands accused of plotting to commit terrorism, had placed a link to Dave Pack's Restored Church of God's Real Truth magazine. That already been discussed here.

Well, there's more.

Hutaree's website also includes a page called Beast Watch. This page features as its background numerous pictures of C. Winston Taylor's illustration of the Beast of Revelation 13, which will be familiar to readers as the illustration on the cover of Herbert W. Armstrong's 1960 booklet, Who or What is the Prophetic Beast?

It contains links to some webpages written by members of Hutaree.

There's a page entitled No Pre-trib Rapture. This is similar standard COG doctrine which says there will be no rapture to heaven before the Great Tribulation. The COGs instead teach that the Philadelphia era of God's Church will be taken to a place of safety on earth (widely speculated to be Petra, Jordan.)

It's also of note that some racist 'Christian Identity' groups deny the doctrine of the rapture instead saying that believers must endure Armageddon on earth. This contributes to some Identity practitioners' adoption of a survivalist mentality.

This Hutaree Beast Watch also contains a long paper entitled '10 Horns of the European Super State, Mr. Europe and 7 years of peace in Israel'. This paper stated that the European Beast Power will have ten members. This is similar to COG doctrine that which states that the European Beast Power will be composed of ten 'horns'.

Seven years of peace in Israel is not an idea often stated in COG teachings. They focus more on the war rather than the peace before the Great Tribulation.

Again I do not blame the COGs for Hutaree's alleged plots. It is clear that Hutaree members' flirtation with COG teachings was rather superficial. For instance most COGs are radically pacifist. Hutaree did not adopt that.

The COGs teach and practice many unusual (and sadly some heretical) doctrines. Yet Hutaree still linked to other, non-COG websites. So they did not adopt the COGs' exclusivist attitude which denounce non-COG Christians as not true Christians.

So it is clear that Hutaree's adoption of COG ideas and doctrines were quite superficial. Obviously they were fascinated with COGs' prophetic teachings.

Hutaree Militia Read Dave Pack's Cult

[Update: More on this from Anderson Cooper of CNN.]

Eight members of Hutaree (pronouned Hut-a-ree), a 'Christian' militia group, have been arrested and indicted for conspiring to commit crimes.

The arrests have been widely reported. See here, here and here.

If true (everyone's innocent until proven guilty) this is a horrifying example of domestic terrorism thankfully avoided.

According to the indictment nine members of Hutaree (including one still out of custody) plotted to murder a law enforcement officer (become cop killers) and then detonate an Improvised Explosive Device at his funeral in order to incite a mass uprising against the US government.

Adherents of these far right militia movements often hold extreme anti-US government views, viewing federal authorities, and in some cases even State authorities, as illegitimate authorities conspiring to create a 'new world order'. Some within this wider movement even believe that the US state is planning to round up dissidents into FEMA camps. A wildly absurd conspiracy theory.

Now the reason I'm mentioning this here is because I went to Hutaree's web site and looked at their Information Sources page. That page features links to several webpages, Financial Times, Asia Times, website of the European Union, WorldNetDaily, EUObserver.com, Jack Von Impe Ministries, a counter-cult apologetics web sites.

And then, lo and behold, guess what I saw? A link to Dave Pack's Real Truth magazine website.

So it seems someone at Hutaree liked Pack's stuff enough to provide a link on their website.

This Dave Pack once exploitatively ordered his followers to hand over their assets to his organization. Here is part of what he said during that infamous and wicked, money grubbing blackmail sermon.

(1:11:35) If you hold those riches, I'm telling you, you trust in them! [chastising voice]...I am charged by God, reading this verse to charge all of you out there in the Work, in the church, who have assets. You have a home that's paid off? [yelling] Go get a big chunk out of your home and put your money where your mouth is and send it here! And I'm not talking one, two, three thousand either! How about ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, a hundred thousand dollars— Go do it!! Woo hoo, Mr. Pack, you got serious! [mimicking voice] You haven't heard anything yet— keep listening. [said with haughty attitude]

And he regards himself as an Apostle, just like the false prophet Herbert W. Armstrong.

Now considering that Hutaree also linked to more mainstream Christian web sites it seems a bit strange that they would link to an Armstrongite organization. This suggests to me that they may have been unaware, or perhaps not entirely aware, of the heretical nature of Armstrongism, which denies the Trinity.

Also, if what the indictment say is true, it seems some Hutaree members held very strong anti-US government views. That is quite unlike Armstrongism which if anything actually supports the US. The US is not generally viewed as a threat within Armstrongism, but rather as the heir of Israel based on the historically inaccurate and disproven theory of British Israelism. They are scared of the European Union due to HWA's false, fear inducing prophecies that Europe would conquer and enslave America and Britain during the Great Tribulation just before Christ's return. The specifics of which are often updated in order to further scare members.

Also Armstrongites are often pacifists, a practice HWA may have plagiarized from the Jehovah's Witnesses cult. Hutaree certainly did not know/pay attention to that part of Pack's teachings as the whole purpose of that militia was to survive the turmoil of World War III by being expert in the handing of arms. Armstrongism teaches that God will protect the Philadelphia era Christians from the Great Tribulation. A widespread idea was that they would be taken to Petra.

Now it would be absurd to try to blame Pack for Hutaree's alleged actions but the Armstrongite dogmas that Europe will arise to destroy America and Britain is perfect fuel for these extremist militias' fears that America is being threatened by (non-existent) world conspiracies.