Notes from Plain Truth Issues (1963)

Continuing from Post 1, Post 2 and Post 3 let us continue looking at what The Plain Truth was saying during the Kennedy Administration. Many Armstrongites tend to view the time between the founding of the unaccredited Ambassador College in 1947 and the first suspension of Garner Ted Armstrong over adultery in 1972 as a sort of golden age for Armstrongism. But when one actually looks at what was happening in that time it is clear that it was no golden age. In this time HWA's organization, which was then named the Radio Church of God, bore the seeds for Armstrongism's current splintered state. Dogmatism. False prophecies. Fear of a frightful future. Scorn for the outside world. Superstitious fear of doctors and medicines. Such terrible flaws were present within HWA's organization in 1963. In this post we look at issues of HWA's recruitment magazine, The Plain Truth, from its January 1963 issue until the January 1964 issue which was published after the assassination of President Kennedy.

(Please note: In regards to page the cover page is not included so when reading PDF files of these issues of HWA's recruitment magazine add two more pages to get the reference.)

And so we begin.

January 1963

A letter from an exchange student from Japan says his foster family describes HWA's organization as being "very fanatical." 

When I was in Denver, Colorado, as an exchange student from Japan, I listened several times to The World Tomorrow and wrote for a subscription to The Plain Truth; however my foster family in Denver said it was very fanatical and wouldn't let me read it or listen to the program anymore. But I still remember the three or four messages I got to listen to were such an inspiration and blessing to me and now that I am back home in Tokyo, I am writing you for a monthly subscription to the magazine. If you have any subject you need prayer for, do let me know, too.

Now I cannot endorse forcing people to not read or listen to what they want as this person say happen. In this instance it did not work as this person wrote for a subscription after no longer living with this foster family. This person needed to be persuaded that HWA's organization was not worth listening to. I have no direct experience with this situation. 

But this anecdote does illustrate how important it is to share what happened in the world of Armstrongism to encourage others not to walk on the path of Armstrongism. Back in 1963 there was little critical information about Armstrongism available to the public. This foster family would have little, if any, access to printed critical information. Nevertheless they knew enough about HWA's organization to warn this person that they were "very fanatical."

This letter shows that even in 1963 HWA's organization was gaining a bad reputation as being "very fanatical." Those words actually describe Armstrongism very well.

There is also a letter from Florida claiming a miraculous healing had occurred.

You will recall that my niece was in a terrible automobile accident. [Injuries are then described.]... On October 5th I took the anointed handkerchief and placed it on her forehead and all her injuries, asking for her full and complete recovery. She is almost completely well now!  

The editors of HWA's recruitment magazine then mention this.

This was written on October 29, 1962, only 24 days after an anointed cloth was received.

This is what is known as "faith healing." For decades HWA taught that it was wrong and sinful to rely on doctors and medicine for healing. Instead he told his followers to pray to the God of Armstrongism. Many people suffered because of this fanatical rejection of medical science that HWA taught for so long. Some even died. This is a particularly awful and dreadful aspect of Armstrongism that the public deserves to be warned about. 

HWA's personal article boasts that this issue celebrates the 29th anniversary of the start of his recruitment radio broadcast, The World Tomorrow. And yet at the time HWA taught his followers that were forbidden from celebrating the anniversaries of their births and that of their children, namely birthdays. Birthdays are the anniversaries of one's birth.

HWA has an article overseeing the political situation of the world and insisting that it points to the second coming of Christ happening in a very short time. From 1953 onward HWA taught that the Great Tribulation would begin in 1972 with Christ returning three and a half years later in 1975. He mentions Franz-Josef Strauss.

Gene Hogberg has an article discussing political developments in Europe.

David Jon Hill has an article about the Armstrongite hell. It is hell expect there is no consciousness of it for those sent to it. Functionally speaking these are the same.

Herman Hoeh has an article about Germany being present in his Armstrongite interpretation of the Bible. He cites some Iraqi official to claim that the Nazis did go underground and are hiding to seize power any moment now. No such conspiratorial rise to power ever happened.

L. Leroy Neff has an article condemning the ritualistic recitation of the Lord's Prayer.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article advising people how to have happy, enduring families. Garner Ted Armstrong had a prosperous life because he lived off of tithe payers for most of his adult life. 

Roderick Meredith has an article telling people how to understand the Bible. How is this to be done? By accepting the interpretation of the Bible provided by HWA's organization.

HWA's autobiography discusses the early days of the unaccredited Ambassador College. Features photo of the cover of the January 1947 issue of HWA's recruitment magazine, The Plain Truth, which promoted it before it opened.

February 1963

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article discussing Japan's rapid economic development since the end of World War II in 1945. And so began Armstrongism's long history of scare mongering against Japan in the post-World War II era. It continues in some of the more authoritarian Armstrongite splinter groups to this day.

HWA has an article reciting his peculiar version of the born again doctrine. HWA taught that a Christian is only born again after Christ's return when, according to him, all true Christians, the Armstrongites, will be supernaturally transformed into God beings. The transformation into God beings was taught by HWA to be the moment one is born again.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article hysterically insisting that Indonesia, then under the rule of President Sukarno, was plotting to conquer Australia. Little did he know President Sukarno would be overthrown in a military coup just two years later and the military rulers launched a purge killed about half a million people destroying the Indonesian Communist Party as a viable political force. Indonesia thereupon allied with the United States.

HWA's autobiography discusses his tithes funded trip to Europe in 1947 under the pretext of trying to establish a second campus for his unaccredited Ambassador College in Lugano, Switzerland. This installment discusses their journey through Britain and France. Page 27 features passport photos of HWA and Loma Armstrong.

Roderick Meredith has an article saying it is important to know what a true Christian is. HWA's organization taught that only the members of HWA's organization were the only true Christians. In this way a Christian is redefined to mean a member of HWA's organization, which was then called the Radio Church of God.

Albert Portune has an article discussing the topic of the secret rapture. HWA's organization taught that there is no secret rapture, instead they taught that members of HWA's organization would flee to a "place of safety" on Earth. Among the Armstrongites this "place of safety" is often identified with Petra in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The Question and Answer insists that the word Deutsch is derived from a name the Armstrongites insisted was given to Assur, the father of the Assyrians. The author stridently said, "By their own admission they are Assyrians!" (p. 45.) This is all nonsense. Germans are not Assyrians.

March 1963

Letters. One letter scare mongers that there are "pressure groups" out there conspiring to hamper the recruitment efforts of HWA's organization.

HWA discusses President De Gaulle blocking Britain's attempt to join the European Economic Community. President De Gaulle would continue to do so as long as he was in power.

Gene Hogberg has an article about winter weather.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article insisting that true Christians, by which he means Armstrongites, are still bound by certain Jewish religious rules such as observing the seventh day Sabbath. Neither HWA nor Garner Ted Armstrong were ever professionally trained in how to understand ancient Christian history so they failed to understand that early Christianity reached a consensus that those who were not Jews did not need to become Jews to be Christian. Their identity as Christians existed independently of the Jewish religion. The Armstrongs' promotion of their misunderstanding have caused thousands of people to badly misunderstand this issue.

The Question and Answer assures readers that the early Christians were not Communists, that is it is insisted that, according to HWA's organization, they did not live as a commune. Another question says that Rahab is rightfully counted as one of the righteous even though she lied to protect spies from the ancient Israelites.

Gerhard Marx has an article discussing political developments in West Germany with the goal of reinforcing HWA's dogma that Germany would in the near future transform Europe into a mighty European Empire fated to militarily conquer the United States shortly before Christ's return.

HWA's autobiography discusses HWA and Loma Armstrong's journey into Switzerland in 1947 under the pretext of trying to establish a second campus for HWA's unaccredited Ambassador College in Lugano, Switzerland. Here their journey through Switzerland is discussed.

HWA has an article about living the abundant life. It is easy to do so when one convinces thousands of people to tithe to an organization under his complete control.

Roderick Meredith has an article telling the readers it is important for them to know who is the "true church." Of course HWA's organization, which then called itself the Radio Church of God, taught that it was the "true church" and every other church was false. In this a Christian was redefined as a member of HWA's organization.

April 1963

In the letters section there is a letter mentioning earthquakes. Within Armstrongism it is taught that earthquakes and other natural disasters are a sign of divine anger against sinners. This is a superstition. Earthquakes happen because there are a lot of tectonic activity underground usually along fault lines. But some refuse to accept what is happening and scare people by exploiting natural disasters to insist that some supernatural force did it and that this supernatural force can somehow be manipulated into not letting an earthquake occur where you are. 

HWA has an article about colleges. He says most colleges will be obsolete in fifteen years. This is a reference to his prophecy of 1972-5, dates he taught to his followers since 1953.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article scare mongering about the "new Germany," continuing to promote the false prophecy that very soon Germany would lead a future European Empire into militarily conquering the United States. Franz-Josef Strauss is mentioned.

HWA has an article saying that Jesus Christ died on the cross on a Wednesday and was in a state of unconsciousness, which is known in related Adventist sects as "soul sleep," until being resurrected late Saturday afternoon. HWA taught that after death humans are in a state of unconsciousness until God resurrects later. In other related religious movements this is named as "soul sleep" but HWA always refused to use this name. This is similar to what is taught among the Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses, both of which are ultimately derived from the Millerite Adventists of the 1830s-1840s. 

Roderick Meredith has an article telling readers they need to be baptized by immersion as part of the process of joining HWA's organization.

HWA's autobiography discusses HWA and Loma Armstrong returning home via Britain and a particularly stormy Atlantic Ocean in 1947.

Raymond McNair has an article bemoaning the supposed decline and fall of the British Empire. Because of their embrace of British Israelism the Armstrongites have never properly understood the disintegration and subsequent reorganization of what used to be the British Empire. It fell because no one needed it anymore. The colonized peoples realized there was nothing special about British people compared with other people. Neither the colonized or the colonizers could justify why one nation should rule over so many others. Britain no longer needed a mighty military or to rule over the seas when they were allied with the United States and western Europe. Even the British 1% did not need it anymore. But the Armstrongites, blinded by British Israelism, think the fall of the British Empire was a terrible wrong and a sign of the Armstrongite God's wrath when it was no such thing.

McNair's article features a bigoted photo caption mocking a Hindu religious ceremony on page 27.

The teeming multitudes of India are part of the British Commonwealth--in name only. In this scene are thousands of religious Hindus in the Jumna River bathing on "body cleansing day." Waters are consider holy even if sewage-ridden.

J. W. Robinson has an article saying that farming is about to go down the drain due to genetic diseases afflicting livestock and other such things. Fifty-eight years later farmers continue to farm.

May 1963

Herman Hoeh has an article scare mongering about the rise of the United Arab Republic with Iraq agreeing to join Egypt and Syria in this union. These events are also used to scare monger about Germans working in the Middle East. Little did HWA's organization know this union of Arab states would collapse just a few months later. The union between Egypt and Syria only lasted five years (1958-63).

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article vilifying colleges as producing mental illness and making people mentally unbalanced. This is done to promote his own (unaccredited) college, Ambassador College. This is an exercise in discredited the accredited competition.

Raymond McNair has an article continuing to bemoan the supposed decline and fall of the British Empire.

Page 29 features a photo of Allied soldiers moving bodies of some of the victims of Nazi crimes from Bergen-Belsen in 1945.

Roderick Meredith has an article insisting that those who tithe to HWA's organization will be blessed with financial blessings.

Herman Hoeh has an article insisting that HWA's organization have all the answers you need regardless of what any historian should happen to say based on their analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Again this is an exercise of preemptively discrediting information that could contradict the teachings of HWA's organization 

J. W. Robinson has an article continue to say that farming is in big trouble.

June 1963

Garner Ted Armstrong had an article bewailing the supposed lose of power, influence and prestige for the United States in the Caribbean. Throughout the rest of the Cold War era the United States would exert much trouble to combat any perceived attempt among not only the Caribbean nations but in all of Latin America. To this day the United States maintains a dominant position within the Caribbean. In 1983 the US even invaded Grenada and deposed a leftist government there. The US blockade against Cuba remains in force to this day. The Armstrongites in 1963 completely failed to foresee such things because they cannot see the future.

David Jon Hill has an article scare mongering about volcanos. One is reminded of ancient wisdom: Do not be bewildered by the signs of the heavens. The same attitude should be taken in regards to natural seismic activity.

Roderick Meredith has an article saying the future European Empire fated to militarily conquer America is rising up and about to fulfill its Armstrongite devised destiny any moment now. Fifty-eight years the Armstrongites are still waiting for this supposed catastrophe.

Herman Hoeh has an article assuring his readers that there is a way of escape from the dire future the Armstrongites kept scaring everyone with. HWA's organization taught that their members would be supernaturally protected by the Armstrongite God and would be moved to a "place of safety," which was often identified with Petra in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

In Hoeh's article it is implied that Adolf Hitler was demon possessed. But Armstrongites seem to ignore a problem with this idea. If Adolf Hitler was demon possessed as Hoeh alleged here wouldn't that mean that Hitler was innocent of his countless crimes? If Hitler was demon possessed then that implies that he was not responsible for his crimes. Shame on the Armstrongites for minimizing the guilt of Adolf Hitler and the genocidal regime he led by claiming that Hitler was demon possessed.

Gene Hogberg has an article condemning brutality in sports.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article stating that Paul's writings are to be viewed as divinely inspired and condemning the idea that Paul was presenting his own ideas in his writings preserved in the New Testament.

July 1963

Gene Hughes has an article discussing France's plans to conduct nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article discussing the Abomination of Desolation.  

Roderick Meredith has an article claiming to reveal the true identity of the False Prophet mentioned in Revelation. He taught it would be the final Pope.

Raymond McNair has an article saying society outside of HWA's organization is uncivilized and uncouth.

David Jon Hill has an article stating that the Armstrongite interpretation of the gospel is embedded within the Old Testament. Many within the Jewish community would vociferously disagree with that assertion.

L. E. Torrance has an article seeking to refute evolution by saying the idea of evolution has itself evolved.

L. E. Torrance has an article advising readers how to get prosperous employment.

August 1963

Roderick Meredith has an article about race relations. It is hard to convey the madness and fanaticism of this article. Only by reading of the article can one grasp the horror of this article. Everything about the article is written under the assumption that in just a few years (1972-5) everything will drastically change after Christ's return. It is asserted that keeping races separate is the natural way to manage race relations from the perspective of humanity and the Armstrongite God. (By the way, that is wrong.) The Armstrongite God will solve race relations after 1975 by separating the races into their respective homelands. Meredith condemns the civil rights movement as a plot to permit interracial marriage. The article is presented as forging an enlightened third way beyond segregation and equality. It is no such thing. It is clearly in favor of segregation. Shame on HWA's organization for stirring up and encouraging opposition to the civil rights movement back in this time as was done in Roderick Meredith's article above.

Herman Hoeh has an article saying President Kennedy's visit to the Federal Republic of Germany did not go very well. It is insisted that the Germans applauded President Kennedy simply because they were ordered to do so. They only showed actual enthusiasm in response to a visit by President De Gaulle. President Kennedy's visit is portrayed as a desperate and futile attempt by President Kennedy to stop West Germany from getting closer to France.  

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article providing a brief background of HWA's organization. In this article he denies that HWA's organization was influenced by the Jehovah's Witnesses.

[Garner Ted Armstrong quotes a letter:] "My wife is a Jehovah's Witness and I am a Catholic. My wife thinks you are now or were at one time a Jehovah's Witness. I honestly don't have any idea what your religion is...," writes a man from Missouri. His wife is wrong--neither my father nor I have ever been remotely connected to the Jehovah's Witnesses--or any of their writings. (p. 9.)

Anyone familiar with the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses know that many things taught by Herbert Armstrong and his imitators are very similar to that of the former. Fixation on the second coming. Soul sleep. Not going to Heaven after death. Pyramidology. Jesus lacking divinity while living as a human. Denial of the Trinity. Relegating the Holy Spirit to merely an impersonal force. Condemning Christmas, Easter and birthdays. The superstitious condemnation of vaccines and medical science which the Jehovah's Witnesses also adhered to from 1921 until 1952. The God Family doctrine. Etc. 

Back in the June 1953 issue of his recruitment magazine, The Plain Truth, HWA also denied a link with the Jehovah's Witnesses. But in that article he admitted he had read some of their writings but he implausibly insisted that he arrived at similar conclusions independently of what the Jehovah's Witnesses said. What nonsense. It is quite clear that Herbert Armstrong was influenced by the Jehovah's Witnesses no matter how many times this quite evident link is denied.

Also Garner Ted Armstrong assures his readers that his father's autobiography can be trusted.

Herbert W. Armstrong ... strives to give readers of [The Plain Truth] the real inside story about himself! It's TRUE--It's ACCURATE! I know because I well remember many of these personal incidents he related. (p. 23.)

Garner Ted Armstrong was born in 1930. Many things HWA described in his autobiography occurred before Garner Ted Armstrong was even born or was too young to understand what was happening. There is of course no way Garner Ted Armstrong could possibly verify much of what his father stated in his autobiography. It is shameful that Garner Ted Armstrong would pretend otherwise.

Page 22 features a photo of recruitment writings being moved onto a vehicle after being produced by Ambassador Press. Page 26 features a photo of Garner Ted Armstrong in his office. Page 27 features a photo of Herbert Armstrong in his office. It also shows what is described as being the newly designed seal of HWA's unaccredited Ambassador College.

Dibar Apartian has an article insisting that the interpretation of Bible prophecy accepted within HWA's organization explains what will happen to France. He discusses widespread tax evasion. France's nuclear weapons program. He alludes to the date 1972 which was then taught by HWA's organization to be the year the Great Tribulation would begin. He also scare mongers about a future European Empire.

Knowing that Apartian spoke French fluently it is strange to see him write of a French speaking man's talk to him as though it were written by one unfamiliar with French.

[The French customs inspector] smiled with half admiration and half sarcasm. "Americans rich," he went on, "they do big things. But then, they have much, much money." (p. 12.)

David Jon Hill has an article asking, what is the Devil's religion? In the world of Armstrongism this is largely a question that cannot be answered in a straight forward manner.

Ronald Kelly has an article scare mongering about world hunger. Little did he know scientific advances in the Green Revolution already underway would prevent such a feared famine from occurring.

September 1963

Gene Hogberg has an article insisting that the United States will very soon suffer an economic catastrophe. Fifty-eight years later the Armstrongites are still waiting for this feared catastrophe. The economic downturn in 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is most emphatically not what the Armstrongites like Gene Hogberg warned about.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article complaining that society is falling apart by glorifying the "goof-off." He moans and complains about people on social welfare. He even indulges in fat shaming. This is yet another tirade that the economically deprived will have heard over and over again.

Herman Hoeh, doctor of an unaccredited college, has an article saying that archaeological discoveries agree with HWA's organization's interpretation of the Bible. He even says that the archaeologists are lying about their discoveries to prevent the people from following rules described in the Bible.

I am finding anew in this Ashdod digging that archaeological reports do not disclose all that is found in archaeological diggings. Archaeologists dig up much more evidence than you hear about. ... Neither archaeologists nor ministers want to accept anything that supports the Bible--because they are unwilling to accept the Bible at face value. (p. 7.)

What men dig up are facts. Facts are fine. But it is the THEORY of how facts are to be understood that is in error. They go to the Philistines to understand the Bible, not to the Bible to understand the remains left by the Philistines. I am finding that out here first-hand! (p. 46.)

Hoeh's article also features this photo caption that refuses to mention that it was the State of Israel which expelled "the Arabs [meaning the Palestinians] and Egyptians" from Ashdod. Many of the descendants of those Palestinians are now refugees living in the blockaded Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The village of Ashdod as it looked before the Arabs and Egyptians were expelled in 1948. Dr. Hoeh is assisting in the excavating of this Biblical city. (p. 7.)

Gene Hogberg has an article discussing the Sino-Soviet Split. It would be nine long years before President Nixon took advantage of this split and embarked on establishing diplomatic ties with China (and thus gained the possibility of playing off China against the Soviet Union).

Leslie McCollough has an article discussing the tragic and ever present problem of people dying by suicide.

HWA's autobiography discusses about "Christian Fundamentalism" while discussing an early faculty member of the unaccredited Ambassador College. HWA condemns Christian Fundamentalists for not obeying the law, namely certain rituals and rules as HWA selectively taught them. HWA failed to understand that Christians are under no obligation to observe Jewish rituals and rules to be a Christian.

Lynn Torrance has an article saying that evolution could not possibly be true because it contradicts the stance of HWA's organization regarding early history.

October 1963

HWA has an little article insisting that they, meaning his organization, do not take any stance regarding the civil rights struggle which is idiosyncratically referred to as "the race issue."

HWA has an article about the civil rights struggle that was then so prominent in the public affair of the nation. HWA condemns "forced integration." This is one of the most important and consequential challenges facing the United States and Herbert Armstrong, pretender prophet, failed his nation and society by choosing to side with racial segregation. His hollow denials of taking sides rings empty.

Roderick Meredith has an article written from the Middle East. He denounces President Nasser and says he has a lot of influence in Lebanon. He scare mongers about German scientists aiding the development of Egypt's military. He cites the division of Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan as being in accord with Armstrongite predictions of the future. He states that he will soon cross the armed border from Jordan into Israel in Jerusalem soon. He also presents an interpretation of the Second Coming contrary to what is often taught among the Armstrongites: Meredith said that Christ would return to stop the European Empire and the Communists (Russia, China and various allies) fighting each other at Jerusalem. 

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article encouraging people to have more self-confidence.

HWA has an article insisting that polygamy was not practiced in the Old Testament era even though it clearly was. HWA also advances a bizarre interpretation of II Samuel 11-12 while failing to note that those chapters are a foreshadowing of Absalom's revolt. In Talmudic Judaism polygamy was allowed but it was not viewed as a mitzvot (righteous deed).

The Question and Answer discuss how to talk about intimate relationships with teenaged children.

Robert Boraker has an article scare mongering that the Europeans are plotting to change things in Ireland.

November 1963

There is a brief article discussing the retirement of Chancellor Adenauer.

Herman Hoeh has an article discussing Pope Paul VI's call for church unity. The Armstrongites teach that the Roman Catholic Church are fated to seize control of the Protestant churches and impose a forced unity submitting to the final Pope who is identified by the Armstrongites with the false prophet mentioned in Revelation. In reality no such thing is being except in the minds of marginal fanatics.

C. Wayne Cole has an article discussing the establishment of Malaysia as an independent nation state. It is implied that Malaysia would soon fall to "Communists." More specifically it is implied that Malaysia would soon be conquered by Indonesia. At the time Indonesia was ruled by a left wing government that HWA's organization viewed as being essentially Communist. Very soon war would indeed erupt between Indonesia and Malaysia but, little did the Armstrongites know, peace was soon restored, Indonesia's President Sukarno would soon be overthrown with much bloodshed and Malaysia continues to this day as an independent nation.

Roderick Meredith has an article seeking to make the reader become doubtful about his or her own religion in order to convince them to join HWA's organization.

HWA has an article complains that many people do not view Jesus Christ in ways contrary to how HWA's interpretation of Jesus Christ. 

HWA's autobiography continues in this issue. Page 14 features a photo of the first four students of the unaccredited Ambassador College. One would split away from HWA's organization in 1974 after changes over Pentecost and Divorce and Remarriage, namely Cole. One would remain in WCG after the Tkach changes, namely Hoeh.

Robert Gentet has an article assuring his readers that dinosaurs existed before Adam because this aligns with what HWA's organization teaches. HWA taught that the Earth was created twice. There was a first creation in which the Earth was populated with Angels. That was when the dinosaurs lived. But then Lucifer rebelled against the Armstrongite God becoming Satan the Devil and caused the Earth to be destroyed. After that first catastrophe the Armstrongite God recreated the Earth but this time added human beings on it. This recreation, HWA and his imitators say, is what is described in Genesis 1-2.

Roderick Meredith has an article saying that women must not be placed in positions of authority over men in a church. He also states that prophets have no administrative authority over lay members. To this day many of the Armstrongites, which are mainly male dominated, do not allow women to be placed in positions of authority, such as being a minister, within their organizations.

Allen Manteufel has an article reporting from a conference of teachers in Chicago.

December 1963

Letters regarding the "race issue" published in this issue of HWA's recruitment magazine was discussed in a previous post.

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article fearfully warning Americans that West Germany is developing rapidly. The rise of Ludwig Erhard to the Chancellorship is also discussed. This is portrayed as a dire development. HWA's organization taught that Germany would lead a future European Empire fated to militarily conquer the United States in the Great Tribulation which was said to begin in 1972.

Roderick Meredith has an article presenting ten reasons why the Armstrongite Christ simply must return soon. It is insisted that many Western cities would soon be destroyed by nuclear weapons. Among other things Roderick Meredith insists that "race war" is about to occur.

Albert Portune has an article condemning Christmas just like the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Questions and Answer responds to a person who speculates that going beyond Earth is somehow contrary to religion. That is the sort of people HWA's recruitment magazine appealed to.

L. E. Torrance has an article saying the Great Flood described in Genesis 6-9 did happen because it aligns with what HWA's organization taught about this subject.

January 1964

This was the first issue published after the assassination of President Kennedy.

HWA has a personal article describing how he heard about the shooting and death of the President while teaching a class in his unaccredited college.

HWA has an article predicting what was likely to happen in 1964 in such a way as to promote his prophesies that the end of the world as we know would occur in 1972-5. He implies that the newly installed President Johnson might be the last President of the United States. (He was not.)

Garner Ted Armstrong has an article bemoaning the problem of killing in the United States.

The Questions and Answers discusses the allegedly impending fall of the United States and Britain which is falsely compared with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. That is a false equivalence. Also another question asks if there was any prophetic significance to the murder of the President.

HWA's autobiography discusses how his unaccredited Ambassador College allowed him to get his recruitment magazine reliably published every month by adding personnel from students of his unaccredited college.

Herman Hoeh has an article calling for people to respect governmental authority. The murder of the President is blamed on a widespread contempt for political authorities.

Roderick Meredith has an article discussing how the unaccredited Ambassador College heard about the assassination. He mentions how he and Garner Ted Armstrong heard about the assassination.

There is an article detailing how members of HWA's organization reporting reactions to the assassination in West Germany, Australia, the Philippines, Britain, Canada, apartheid South Africa and Switzerland.   

An article written back in the January 1956 issue of HWA's recruitment magazine by a "Wartime Naval Intelligence Officer" is reprinted to scare monger that the Soviet Union is plotting to make a more destructive nuclear weapons.

L. E. Torrance has an article continuing to promote the interpretation of the Great Flood taught by HWA's organization.

***

And so this post ends.

There was no golden age of the supposed Philadelphia era. All the ingredients for the current degraded state of Armstrongism were all well present back in the height of the "golden age" of Armstrongism in 1962-4.

There is no need to listen to false prophets.

God Family Doctrine Originated from Russellite Watchtower Cult

I avidly read J. Phillip Arnold's article about "Who Taught Herbert Armstrong?" in the last issue of The Journal, pp. 24-32. It was mentioned in Banned by HWA. I have long suspected that there was a connection with Charles Taze Russell's original Watchtower Society and the God Family doctrine.

Back in 2009 I was reading about the Jehovah's Witnesses to learn more about what HWA taught. I learned that the first leader of the Watchtower Cult, Charles Taze Russell, actually taught the God Family doctrine. The idea appears to have been in the air in that particular milieu. (Though, of course, that is no longer the case in that particular organization today.) Reading that I could not help but wonder if Russell was the source for the God Family doctrine, instead of Mormonism as some have proposed. I posted this thought at the time as may be seen in the links above.

Reading Arnold's article in The Journal I am now more firmly convinced than ever that Russell, not Mormonism, must have been HWA's source for the God Family doctrine.

***

J. Phillip Arnold also mentions that Ambassador College featured copies of Zion's Watch Tower magazine in its library. Back in 2009 a comment posted on this blog mentioned that very same fact.

***

Also J. Phillip Arnold's assertion that HWA adopted the God Family doctrine around 1943 discredits one claim Roderick C. Meredith made in a sermon he once gave which I watched once. He claimed he was there in Ambassador College when the God Family doctrine was "discovered" by HWA's organization. He said this teaching began after they read in Genesis 1:26 that God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," and from that they eventually concluded that humans are supposed to be God beings as fully God as God is God though of a lower rank.

If Arnold's claim is right then Meredith was wrong. He was not there when they "discovered" this idea. HWA adopted the idea about four years before Ambassador College started. If Arnold is correct then Meredith was completely wrong to claim that he was there when they began to teach the God Family doctrine.

Also LCG publishes a booklet by the late John Ogwyn entitled God's Church Through the Ages which claims that the God Family doctrine only began to be taught in the spring of 1953.

Throughout its history, the Church of God has been non-Trinitarian, never accepting the formulations of the early Catholic councils as a valid guide for Christians. However, in modern times, it was not until the spring of 1953 that Mr. Armstrong and the other ministers began to develop a clear understanding of the biblical teaching that God is a divine Family into which converted human beings will be born at the resurrection. At first, they attempted to prove this understanding false, from the Bible. Instead, they found this vital truth reaffirmed throughout God’s Word. Though this understanding was the clear implication of much that had previously been taught, Mr. Armstrong and the others found it challenging to accept this simple—yet profoundly important and overwhelming—truth. This key teaching of Scripture—that we can be born into the Family of God—is perhaps the single greatest truth that God restored, through Mr. Armstrong, to the Church of God. (John Ogwyn, God's Church Through the Ages, p. 48.)

If Arnold is right then Ogwyn was also wrong to make that claim.

***

J. Phillip Arnold also cites Russell as the source of the doctrine of the Great White Throne Judgment. I never suspected that the doctrine of the Great White Throne Judgment actually came from the early Watchtower Society. So now we know.

(This post is based on a comment of mine posted on Banned by HWA.)

Jehovah's Witnesses in Israel

Haaretz has recently published an article discussing Jehovah's Witnesses in Israel. It presents them in a neutral manner.

Both Armstrongism and the Jehovah's Witnesses are offshoots of the Millerite Adventists of the 1830s and 1840s.

It alludes to their practice of shunning ex-members.

A gathering of three or more elders has the authority to expel an errant believer from the community, a custom that recalls the Hasidic movement. This is rarely done, however, according to [a Jehovah's Witness elder]. “My rough estimate is that we’re talking about 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent of the believers a year,” he says.

In other words ex-members are shunned. It is sad to see that terrible practice occurring there as well.

In the course of the article it is mentioned that Jehovah's Witnesses are forbidden from celebrating birthdays.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that birthday celebrations have pagan roots – and the Bible condemns sorcery, fortune-telling, spiritism and the like. They believe it is not by chance that neither the Hebrew Bible nor the New Testament have a single mention of one servant of God who celebrated a birthday. After all, the birthdays of two people who did not serve God are mentioned negatively in the Bible.

HWA and his imitators used precisely the same argument to ban birthdays. HWA plagiarized this idea from the Jehovah's Witnesses. HWA would make this argument and yet Jews celebrate birthdays.

CUFI Wished Netanyahu a Happy Birthday

Back on October 21 Christians United For Israel, the leading pro-Israel organization within the evangelical community, wished Prime Minister Netanyahu a happy birthday.

Happy Birthday Prime Minister @netanyahu may you have a blessed day. We pray the coming year bring peace & prosperity to all #Israel pic.twitter.com/chzXaTy0JA

— CUFI (@CUFI) October 21, 2016

Seeing this I could not help but think of HWA's ban against birthdays which he plagiarized from the Jehovah's Witnesses. He certainly did not get such a prohibition from the Jewish community considering that one of the most solemn events for a Jew is one's bar mitzvah, which is a birthday. Because of HWA's prohibition Armstrongites are forbidden from even giving simple greetings such as this to their family members and friends.

(Or they could just ignore HWA's anti-social prohibition and, like PCG's Brad MacDonald during the Queen's birthday, give birthday greetings anyway.)

And even though Armstrongites refuse to celebrate birthdays it is written in Luke that the angels sang for joy at Jesus' birth.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2: 8-11.)

But somehow HWA and his imitators insist that it wrong to celebrate birthdays. What a terrible thing HWA did to those who trusted in him.

Overview of Jehovah's Witnesses' Awake! (No. 5, 2016)

Recently I got my hands on the Jehovah's Witnesses' recruitment magazine, Awake! Namely number five of 2016.

The Jehovah's Witnesses are often viewed as a cult due to various authoritarian practices among themselves such as shunning ex-members and refusing blood transfusions even if it causes death.

It is well known that HWA was heavily influenced by the Jehovah's Witnesses as he devised what became known as Armstrongism. Both the Watchtower Society and Armstrongism are offshoots of the Millerite Adventists of the 1830s-1840s.

Let's take a look.

The Watchtower Society was started up by white Americans in 1879 under the leadership of Charles Taze Russell, so naturally they portray Jesus as a white man. The main leaders of this organization such as Russell, Rutherford, Knorr and Franz, were mainly white. Even today the main leadership of this organization in Brooklyn, New York is still predominantly white.

On the contents page it is stated that this recruitment magazine has 57,761,000 issues in circulation in 106 languages.

There is an article stating that Jesus existed which every other church teaches as well (pp. 3-6).

While discussing this topic it slurs the Jewish rabbis who authored the Talmud as "Jesus' enemies".

This collection of Jewish rabbinic writings [the Talmud], dating from the third to the sixth centuries C.E., shows that even Jesus' enemies affirmed his existence. (p. 5.)

It also states that the following will happen after the Millennium comes.

Wickedness, including greed and corruption, will be gone forever, along with ungodly people. (p. 6.)

What a way for one to say that he or she does not want to hang out with people who religiously disagree

Watching the world talks about checking on e-mails less; ending over fishing in the Caribbean; and widespread violence in Brazil (p. 7).

There is a parenting article discussing how to teach sex to your children (pp. 8-9).

Then it discusses carbon (pp. 10-11).

Then it encourages people to show gratitude (pp. 12-13).

Then it features a profile on Aristotle. The topic is exploited to denigrate the Catholic Church, Luther and Calvin. (pp. 14-15).

Aristotle's notion that a stationary earth lies at the center of the universe became Catholic dogma. The teaching was also adopted by Protestant leaders, such as Calvin and Luther, who said it was biblical. (p. 15.)

The Watchtower Society claims they are the one, true church and historical facts such as the widespread misconception that the Earth was at the center of the Universe is used to reinforce the idea that one must not join any other church aside from the Watchtower Society.

And on the back cover there is an article boasting of how videos from their website is being used in classrooms in South Korea.

And so the Watchtower Cult has produced another issue to try and get more people to join them and to encourage those who are already members to remain in it.

The Tragic Death of Prince and the Jehovah's Witnesses

Silenced has a hard hitting post discussing the role that the Jehovah's Witnesses ban on blood transfusions seems to have played in causing Prince Rogers Nelson's tragic death. Much harm has been and will be caused by that anti-medicine dogma.

The Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Armstrongism are all derived from the Millerite Adventists of the 1830s-1840s.

May Prince Rogers Nelson rest in peace.

PCG's Robert Morley Promoting HWA's Anti-Medicine Superstition

Here is PCG's Robert Morley promoting HWA's anti-medicine superstition, a doctrine that has inflicted so much pain and suffering within the COGs. HWA plagiarized this idea from the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Many of those who have followed HWA and his imitators have followed HWA's teaching against taking medicines and instead trusting only in HWA's God to heal them believing that anything else would throw them into the Lake of Fire. Many WCG members and its offshoot groups have died because of this doctrine. Alas, this doctrine of death continues to be embraced to this day within PCG.

The following quote may seem innocuous to one unfamiliar with Armstrongism but Morley's quote below alludes to HWA's deadly teaching that he imposed on his followers, namely to abstain from medicine in order to prove one's faith towards HWA's God.

The following is from a 2009 article by PCG's Robert Morley.

An Ironclad Promise

The fact is, the medical industry is woefully inadequate. More pills just cause more problems.

But if modern medicine can’t be relied upon to fix society’s health problems, who or what can be?

There is only one Being who has all the answers: the one who designed and created man in the first place—who created the physical laws by which our bodies function correctly. Following these physical laws eliminates the causes of many of the diseases afflicting people today.

These laws include regulating what and how much we eat and drink, upholding cleanliness and hygiene, getting plenty of sunshine and fresh air, sufficiently and properly exercising, sleeping and resting the right amounts, avoiding bodily injury, and maintaining a positive mental attitude.

In addition, only God has the power to heal you—and in His Word, He has spelled out ironclad promises to heal those who satisfy certain basic conditions. Herbert W. Armstrong expounded upon these in his booklet ... which we offer to you free upon request.

In previous posts we have seen Gerald Flurry promote and even praise this deadly idea as well as Joel Hilliker.

We must not listen to HWA, Flurry, Hilliker or Morley on this matter. Go to the doctor. Take the medicine. Get vaccinated. Get your children vaccinated.

This teaching does not come from the God of the Bible but from men such as HWA, Flurry and Co. It ultimately stems from the Jehovah's Witnesses. We must no heed to this doctrine of death.

Overview of the July-August 2014 Tomorrow's World

The July-August 2014 issue of LCG's recruitment magazine, Tomorrow's World, is out. Let us see what LCG's leaders have to say.

(Incidentally the magazine cover is quite similar to the cover of the January-February 2014 issue of COGWA's recruitment magazine, Discern.)

Roderick C. Meredith has a personal article fear mongering that catastrophic times are ahead and asking the reader if he or she is prepared for the Great Tribulation soon to occur, which he has been saying is very soon since the 1950s.

Roderick C. Meredith has an article asking if the reader is seeking God and encouraging people to find God by studying the Bible. However LCG has a very specific and highly flawed interpretation of it.

Look at this amazing piece of double speak Meredith says in order to hide the authoritarian nature of LCG and of Armstrongism in general.

No! You do not need to rush out and “join our church” to be saved! But your very Creator says over and over in His inspired word that at such a time as this, anyone who truly wants the help, the guidance and the divine protection of Almighty God must at the very least begin to sincerely “seek God,” cry out to God and sincerely and earnestly let Him know that you do want the help and guidance of the One who gives you life and breath! Is that too much to ask? (pp. 5-6.)

Do not believe these words. They are very misleading. You don't need to join LCG? Was this true during the days of HWA's WCG? My word! So many ex-members of HWA's WCG and LCG wish they knew that. They joined because they thought they had to join in order to do the right thing and obey God. They paid the three tithes and extra offerings because they thought this was the right thing to do. They thought that because people like HWA and Meredith persuaded them that this was so.

Do not let Meredith's words fool you. LCG's recruitment magazine is simply made for this purpose: to get more members into LCG in order to get money money from more LCG members.

(This reminds me of a previous post which exposes how Meredith deceptively pretends on his TV show that only LCG presents the dogmas of Armstrongism by saying untrue statements such as, "You will gain precious insights and information available nowhere else." Statements like this makes viewers of his TV show falsely think they are seeing something unique and unobtainable anywhere else. That is a blatant lie.)

Stuart Wachowitz has a column telling the story of how some people (who did not know Armstrongism existed by the way), through many trials and tribulations, were able to create a beautiful garden in what used to be a quarry. Wachowitz uses this story to say that very soon the world will be glorified and all will know the truth (as defined by LCG's leaders).

Richard F. Ames has an article saying that the issue of whether to worship on Saturday or Sunday is vitally important. Of course this is done to preach that only Christians who worship on Saturday can be saved in order to isolate readers from mainstream Christianity so that they will start paying three tithes to LCG. This doctrine was inherited from HWA and in fact his understanding of these things was highly flawed.

Ames also claims LCG is descended from the Seventh Day Baptists. This is nonsense. Bruce Renehan quite persuasively revealed in his book, Daughter of Babylon, that the COGs are not descended from the Seventh Day Baptists. In fact the COGs inherited their Sabbatarianism from the Sabbatarian Adventists descended from the Millerites who taught that Christ would return in 1843-4 leading to the Great Disappointment of 1844. Many of these persons later formed the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Some of them however left and then formed the Church of God (Seventh Day) into which HWA later joined and was ordained a minister of theirs, despite his vehement denials to the contrary.

Rod King has a column insisting that British Israelism is true. This is nonsense. As Silenced.co recently showed British Israelism is built on a foundation of sand. In fact DNA evidence refutes British Israelism. King and everyone else within the COGs who thinks British Israelism is true do not know what they are talking about.

John Meakin has an article saying humanity cannot put a stop to wars but (LCG's) God will end war forever when Christ's return. It is written in commemoration of the start of World War I one hundred years ago.

Questions and Answers has a column insisting that one is not saved by faith alone and it is necessary to obey LCG's definition of God's law while misleadingly saying LCG does not teach salvation by works. The COGs love obfuscating this issue to persuade predominantly Protestant Christians to join them. Maybe one should look at these Articles on Grace and Law to see how flawed the COGs have been on this issue.

Douglas S. Winnail has a column insisting that Ecumenism is actually a sinister plot by the Vatican to seize control of the Protestant churches for themselves. What madness! As shown in a previous post Winnail constantly spreads fear inducing false prophecies in this column year after year regardless of what actually happens.

J. Davy Crockett III (he who said obelisks are evil, pagan sex symbols) has a column saying that the changing of the seasons reminds us of the greatness of God.

Phil Sena has a column for the youth saying you are not stupid and encouraging young people to be develop social skills.

Wallace G. Smith has a column praising the complex qualities of water and claiming it is a physical counterpart to LCG dogma which we supposedly need. Of course Armstrongism is largely nonsense.

Lehman B. Lyons, Jr. has a column saying that we all need a rudder in our lives and Christ is our rudder. However LCG says Christ can only be reached via LCG. And one of the requirements to be in good standing with LCG is to pay three tithes to LCG.

Some Letters to the Editor are also printed.

Your article “Who are the Irish?” ... was excellent! My ancestors are from northwest Spain, the region called Galicians. We divided the land like the Irish, eat lots of potatoes, speak a language that combines the Latin and Irish dialects, and the bagpipe is our main instrument in all our music.

And the Irish speak the Irish language which belongs to the Celtic branch of the Indo-Eurpean language family. Consequently Irish is of no relation to Hebrew which is a member of the Hamito-Semitic language family. British Israelism is built on a foundation of sand. In fact DNA evidence refutes British Israelism. The article under discussion was dreadfully in error on this issue.

As mentioned in a previous post Herman Hoeh tried to get around this inconvenient truth by claiming the Assyrians were Indo-European. Hoeh did this by saying the Assyrians were the same as the Indo-European Hittites. This is also untrue. The Assyrians spoke the Assyrian language, which is a Hamito-Semitic language related to Akkadian, Hebrew and Arabic. The Hittites were Indo-European but the Hittites and the Assyrians were not the same people as Hoeh claimed.

Also the potato came from the Americas.

My journey began about seven months ago. All the things I didn’t understand all of a sudden started to make sense. Me and my husband and kids no longer celebrate Christmas, Halloween, Easter, or Valentine’s Day. A lot of our family thinks we are atheist, because even with the evidence we show them they refuse to believe that Dec 25 isn’t God’s birthday.

Everyone knows December 25 is not God's birthday. Rather this topic is cunningly used by the COGs to alienate people from mainstream society in order to make them dependent upon said COG group.

I feel very sorry for those children. They are enduring a lot of unnecessary social pressure that they do not need to endure. It is very unfortunate that LCG's heretical teachings continue to draw in more people needlessly isolating themselves from their families and friends.

LCG inherited its Christmas ban from HWA who in fact plagiarized that teaching from the Jehovah's Witnesses. HWA plagiarized many teachings from them, including his anti-medicine superstition that caused so many WCG members to die and impair their health. Why would anyone want to drink from such a poisoned cup?

And so we see that once again LCG has produced a recruitment magazine designed to lure people into thinking that to know God they must join LCG and therefore leave themselves vulnerable to financial exploitation for the benefit of the powerful within LCG who live off of the three tithes and extra offerings of their badly mislead followers.

Part 3 of Reading PCG's Booklet, Ezra and Nehemiah

Let us now continue reading Gerald Flurry and Dennis Leap's booklet, Ezra and Nehemiah: Building God's Temple. This booklet was first published in 1997. It was later revised in 2005. You can read the current version of this booklet on their website. That is the same version I am reading for this post.

We now continue from Part 1 and Part 2.

Here we look at the last two chapters of this booklet which discuss the Book of Nehemiah.

Chapter 6

Starting in this chapter Flurry and Leap talk about Nehemiah. First they discuss how Nehemiah asked permission from the Persian Emperor to go to his homeland.

Flurry and Leap use this incident to tell PCG members they should pray before doing anything important.

Artaxerxes was an extremely powerful man and could have had him executed for even small mistakes. ... Before asking favor of the king, He prayed again—immediately—on the spot!

Nehemiah’s request to return to Jerusalem could have meant life or death for him. He instantly took the situation to God. This shows us the extreme importance of prayer. How often do we pray? How detailed are our prayers? Do we pray immediately when the need arises? When we face major trials and tests in our lives, do we take them to God before we act? Or do we act and then take the consequences to God? The Apostle Paul admonished the Romans to be “instant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Instant, faithful prayers get immediate results! (pp. 53-54.)

Flurry and Leap then discuss how Nehemiah gained permission to go to Jerusalem. The authors use this to say that (PCG's) God will provide help to PCG from non-members.

God will always come to our aid—even through people outside of God’s Church. We see a lot of this kind of help today with regard to our television program. There are many talented people, not part of this Church, who are giving the PCG very loyal support. This is from the good hand of God! As we persist in looking to God, the miracles will continue to come for this little flock. (pp. 54-55.)

Very likely these people do not know about how PCG shuns members of rival COG groups, or about how many PCG members are indoctrinated to believe doctors and medicine is sinful and consequently neglect their medical health, sometimes leading to death. They probably do not know how PCG members are socially influenced by PCG's leaders to pay three tithes and extra offerings to PCG in a blatant process of financial exploitation. They probably do not know that PCG claims to be the only true church. Very likely PCG leaders have deceived them into thinking that PCG is something that it is not. Quite possibly their are just doing their work and getting paid for it.

After this Flurry and Leap again fear monger that PCG ministers must always be on the look out for "enemies".

In order to protect God’s work, we must always be on guard for enemies. Jesus Christ warned us, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Nehemiah was wise as a serpent. So must we be. God’s ministry must also be on guard for the sheep. We are in a serious spiritual war. We must work as men at war. (p. 55.)

With paranoid rhetoric like this it is no surprise that PCG's ministers have earned such a bad reputation. They have been indoctrinated to look for "enemies" and whenever something goes wrong among the membership they have a ready made pretext to label any such person as "enemies" and treat them as such. No wonder the PCG ministers can order PCG members to have no contact with members of rival COG groups. They have been indoctrinated to believe they are at war with the other COG groups, that such cruel actions are needed to guard PCG members from leaving PCG, and other such self serving nonsense.

After this Flurry and Leap talk of how Nehemiah encountered obstruction by various Gentile leaders. Flurry and Leap use this to mock anyone who speaks of PCG disparagingly.

People today have also despised the work of the PCG. Many top Laodicean leaders have laughed us to scorn. That has not affected or stopped this work! We know God’s hand is with us. And we say to those who despise us, “Laugh on!” Because God is behind us, we are going to accomplish God’s work—marvelously! (p. 56.)

Notice how Flurry and Leap pretend that PCG is merely mocked, scorned and despised. There is here no attempt to address the many problems that many, whether COG or otherwise, have noticed about PCG. Anyone speaking of PCG disparagingly is dismissed as evil.

PCG's yearly income in 2012 was $19.5 million, only one-eighth of what HWA's WCG at its height had. Actually that does not account for inflation so PCG's income is even smaller.

Also some of the criticism is affecting PCG, although the authors like to pretend otherwise. We will never know how many other WCG members chose not to go with PCG after seeing someone mention the problems regarding PCG in regard to their legitimacy, their doctrines and their authoritarian practices. Also it is known that many PCG members have left despite Flurry and Leap pretending all is well.

After that Flurry and Leap talk about how the Jews grew discouraged after some of the Gentile leaders mocked the Jews' attempt to rebuild the walls. But despite this the Jews resolved to continue. Flurry and Leap use this to again condemn those speaking disparagingly of PCG.

The lesson for the PCG is the same. We are getting the job done because it is God’s work. Jealous people are going to criticize us. They are going to say all kinds of horrible lies about the ministry. People are always going to slander our reputations. We must recognize that when members of the PCG or the ministry are mocked, it is actually God who is being mocked. Though we may be made a laughing stock, we should never stop working. (p. 57.)

Wow. Flurry and Leap really do not like to be criticized it seems.

Notice how Flurry and Leap pretend there is no legitimate reason to criticize PCG. Any who criticize PCG are dismissed as jealous people. Are they implying that those who criticize PCG are trying to get PCG money?  They are accused of spreading "horrible lies about the ministry." What lies would Flurry and Leap be talking about? Anyway PCG members are being told to ignore any form of criticism directed at PCG. Flurry and Leap assert such persons are actually mocking God. What do you call people like that? Enemies of God?

After that Flurry and Leap talk about how tensions increased and the Gentiles prepared to wage war on the Jews. Flurry and Leap use this to again fear monger about "adversaries" inspired by Satan.

There are always adversaries who want to destroy the work. Here it says they will sneak into the midst of us. It should not shock us that Satan would try to get to sneak inside this Church.

We don’t want to be foolish about this. Expect attacks. Expect me to be attacked in every way. Expect this Church to be attacked with all kinds of lies—mixed with truth—including slander and everything you can imagine. The accuser of the brethren is cast down, and he is going to accuse us as long and as vigorously as he can. (p. 58.)

This is brainwashing, plain and simple. To say that anyone who criticizes you is inspired by Satan is a way to make PCG members indoctrinate themselves into learning to ignore any critical information about PCG. This is known as "thought stopping". It is a common phenomenon often seen in destructive cults. These words are teaching people to stop thinking. If they hear any information critical of PCG they automatically think that the words are uttered by an enemy or adversary trying to sneak into PCG. Once an indoctrinated person hear things contrary to what PCG teaches they simply ignore it thinking it is just an elaborate lie. Mixed with truth perhaps but still a lie.

This is cult like behavior.

Flurry and leap continue teaching PCG members how to do thought stopping.

Some people do come among us with the sole purpose of destroying the brethren. These kinds of enemies are easy to detect. But other brethren may let down spiritually or become bitter. Bitter people often become one of Satan’s most effective weapons of destruction within the Church. As time draws closer to the end, we must understand that the full force of Satan’s wrath will come against us as a Church and as individuals. Satan wants to destroy you! We all must stay spiritually strong. We must fight off bitterness. ... Spiritual bitterness is like heroin. Once you get hooked, it is a hard habit to break. Satan will destroy individuals with bitterness. (p. 59.)

These words basically forbid PCG members from feeling "bitter". What a way to get automatic compliance from PCG members. What a way to persuade and frighten people into ignoring their own feelings. These words are designed to get people to unquestioningly fall into line with the collective and ignore their own feelings and think that it is the right thing to do.

The PCG is entering into fearful times. As we succeed in the work of God, our angry enemies from outside the Church are going to wage all-out war against us. Our adversaries will come after us from every direction. (pp. 59-60.)

It is now seventeen years since this booklet was first published. Did the PCG members of 1997 anticipate that the world would still be here as it was then?

After that Flurry and Leap again talk about Nehemiah and say that he was a man who worked very hard and his industriousness and faith in God led the Jews to establish their national community in the land of their ancestors.

Chapter 7

Here Flurry and Leap continue to fear monger that terrible things are about to come upon PCG to make PCG members fearful.

Throughout man’s dismal history, God’s work has always been violently attacked. This should not surprise us. Satan the devil has always wanted to destroy God’s people and the work. The daily reality that the PCG must live with is that we are in a war until Jesus Christ returns (2 Timothy 2:3). (p. 62.)

This is nonsense. Flurry and Leap are simply cynically trying to create a sense of crisis among PCG members in order to get them to rally around PCG's leadership. Outsiders are a threat, but staying in PCG will save you, rally around PCG's leaders, that is what Flurry and Leap are trying to do here.

After that Flurry and Leap talk about how Nehemiah tried to alleviate the plight of poorer Jews who were stuck in poverty and debt ridden to rich people. What do Flurry and Leap have to say about this?

How does this apply to the PCG today? Are we very careful not to abuse our own brethren? There are times that we are not as careful as we should be. We should always avoid taking advantage of each other financially. All of us should be cautious in loaning or borrowing money. The ministry must help protect the flock from these kinds of problems. (p. 64.)

It is very strange that Flurry and Leap dare to preach at people to say one should not financially exploit people when PCG members are required to pay three tithes to PCG. Flurry and Leap live off of the tithes and offerings PCG members give to them. How is that not taking advantage of PCG members? Clearly it is.

Then abruptly Flurry and Leap talk about gossip.

Another sin that we need to be constantly on guard against is gossip. Because we are so scattered, people do spend a lot of time in fellowship on the telephone. If these conversations drift into a discussion of other people and their problems, we should learn to stop that immediately. What right do any of us have to discuss the problems of other people? ... This verse shows that reputation damaging gossip is as wicked as murder. ... In a similar vein, we must also be on guard against being condemning and critical of each other. Do we have the right to judge, criticize or put down another one of God’s people? Let’s all work hard to stop this abuse of the brethren. (pp. 64-65.)

Flurry and Leap are simply trying to control the flow of information to PCG members. One defining characteristic of destructive cults is that they try to control the information a cult member has access to or to persuade them to instinctively ignore any critical information that threaten the power of the cult leader. That is the real reason Flurry and Leap condemn gossip here

Also Flurry has been very "condemning and critical" of the other COG groups, even ordering PCG members to shun them and have no contact with them, even if they be close family members. Also in recent posts it has been shown that very often... 

• Flurry condemns the "Laodiceans" when he is actually talking about Tkach's WCG thus falsely implying the other COG groups are responsible for the Tkach changes. 

• Flurry condemns the other COG groups for changing "God's government" (which is actually a euphemism for "one-man rule") when in fact many such groups continue to practice one man rule just like HWA. 

• Also Flurry condemns the other COG groups for not teaching that HWA was the end time Elijah when in fact many COG groups happen to believe this doctrine. 

So Flurry has been blatantly misleading PCG members on these matters. And a major reason why he can do this is precisely because some PCG members believe what Flurry and Leap say here about gossip and do not pass on information that may cause PCG members to start asking hard questions about the nature of PCG.

 After that Flurry and Leap again condemn listening to rumors.

How much time do we invest in listening to rumors? The Worldwide Church of God doctrinal disaster and corrupt leadership have fed upon the rumor mill. We all must be careful not to get caught up in the rumor information connection. If we do, we could waste a lot of time and money on telephone calls.

From time to time, rumors are even spread about our Philadelphia Church of God headquarters. Some enjoy spreading lies about imagined internal struggles or politics here in Edmond. Please remember that the headquarters staff functions as a team. Although we all are imperfect human beings, we do strive to work well together. All of us recognize that we are here to support God the Father and Jesus Christ in their work. Sometimes it is very funny to hear from the field about what is going on at headquarters! Don’t let rumors eat up your time and money.  (pp. 68-69.)

The reason Flurry and Leap bring up money here is because they want that money going to them. They likely know that many PCG members are not in a good financial situation and seem to hope that mentioning money will persuade them not to talk to people about information PCG's leaders do not want publicized.

However PCG members have long been indoctrinated to believe it is necessary to pay three tithes to PCG. So although Flurry and Leap encourage them to be picky about even phone calls PCG members are still told it is absolutely necessary to pay three tithes and extra offerings to PCG. A large share of which has been used to build and maintain an expensive auditorium that relatively few PCG members can benefit from. 

We now continue.

Then after that Flurry and Leap talk about some other incidents related in the Book of Nehemiah. That Nehemiah was again challenged by one of the rival Gentile rulers, then he had to return to the Persian king in Shushan.

Then Flurry and Leap talk about a gathering held on the Feast of Trumpets in which Ezra talked about the Law. Flurry and Leap use this incident to tell PCG members they should have great reverence for Malachi's Message and other writings PCG produces and to condemn all other COG groups as being somehow deficient in doctrine. Flurry and Leap try really hard to persuade readers that they have no choice and must stay with PCG.

Those of us who have come together as the PCG should also have a very deep respect and worship for God. We have been richly blessed with a deep understanding of His law. Being a Philadelphian means that we are always striving to keep God’s law more perfectly. No Laodicean group has a full understanding of God’s law anymore. And, as time passes, they are losing even more of the understanding they still have. Do we have a greater appreciation for God’s law? We all should be eager to have more understanding of God’s law!

We need to have a stand-up attitude when it comes to Malachi’s Message, the Philadelphia Trumpet magazine and the many booklets published by the PCG. We have been given exalted revelation. All of us should be lifting up our hands, bowing our heads and saying, “Amen, Amen.” (p. 72.)

PCG members have long been indoctrinated into believing that Malachi's Message is extremely special. Just how special is only partially revealed in this booklet. In 1992 Flurry proclaimed it to be the Little Book of Revelation 10. In 1993 Flurry wrote that if one believes Malachi's Message he or she will be saved from the Great Tribulation. No wonder so many PCG members believe Flurry's assertion that Malachi's Message is special.

All this hides the fact that previously HWA taught that the Little Book referred to his numerous visits to world leaders. Later Flurry had taught that the Little Book was the Bible. Then it appears someone thought it was Mystery of the Ages. Then in 1992 he proclaimed his own booklet, Malachi's Message, to be the Little Book, and he has done so ever since.

However, it needs to be stated that many of the ideas within Malachi's Message were plagiarized from The Letter to Laodicea by Jules Dervaes, written December 1986-January 1988. It was sent to 237 WCG ministers including Gerald Flurry and John Amos. 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.

Considering that PCG started with Malachi's Message it is no wonder that those who live off of the tithes of PCG members should revere it so much. It gave them a continuous source of income and people indoctrinated to believe they must pay three tithes to them.

After that Flurry and leap bring up the matter of interracial marriage again.

Remember that Ezra had corrected the people for interracial marriage (Ezra 10). It appears that not everyone immediately complied. Nehemiah 9 includes the account of others who later also repented of this national sin. This chapter records the very moving, repentant prayer of the people. The people did deeply repent of some serious sins. If only our people could learn from their own history! The nations of Israel could be saved from a disastrous end if they repented of their sins like these people did anciently. (p. 73.)

British Israelism is untrue.

Again these Jews viewed the law as applying to Jews. The law did not apply to non-Jews because the covenant was with Israel, no one else. They would have viewed it as utterly absurd that a bunch of non-Jews were using their acts to justify banning interracial marriage.

It is extremely racist to forbid interracial marriage.

After this Flurry and Leap talk about another challenge Nehemiah endured. Flurry and Leap use this incident to claim that PCG is the sole legitimate continuation of HWA's WCG.

Isn’t this exactly what God has done with the PCG? When Mr. Armstrong died, the temple, or Church, began to be abused by some unfaithful men. But God has now restored the temple responsibilities to some faithful men. The ministry serving the Philadelphia Church of God is made up of men that are faithful to God’s doctrines. (p. 74.)  

Flurry and Leap then end the booklet with these words.

At the end of this book, Nehemiah prayed to God, “Remember me, O my God, for good” (verses 31). If you read and study this entire booklet, there should be no doubt in your mind that both Ezra and Nehemiah accomplished much good for God. Do we realize that the good they established did not die with them? If we do our part to use the lessons from these books, their good will live on in us. If we remain truly Philadelphian, when our work is finished, we can also honestly pray, “Remember us, oh our God, for good”! (p. 74.)

And so the booklet comes to its end.

Summary

So after reading this booklet let us now see what we have learned about PCG's leaders from this booklet.

Flurry and Leap falsely claim all the other COG groups do not believe HWA to be the end time Elijah (p. 17.).

Flurry and Leap try hard to get PCG members to disregard information that is threatening to the power PCG's leaders, even telling PCG members not to spend so much time talking on the phone about such things in order to save money.

Flurry and Leap claim "enemies" (their word) will sneak into PCG and they must be cast out to protect PCG members from deciding to leave (and stop paying the three tithes).

Flurry and Leap cite the advertisement promoting a Catholic polemic exposing the heresies of the Jehovah's Witnesses to claim people are out to get PCG. (pp. 26-27.)

Flurry and Leap condemn getting "involved in fruitless strife and debate". (p. 40.)

Flurry and Leap teach that interracial marriage is forbidden by God. This is extremely racist.

So we see that instead of talking about Ezra and Nehemiah Flurry and Leap use this booklet to further indoctrinate PCG members into remaining loyal to PCG by ignoring any information Flurry and Leap do not like, stoking paranoid fears that the world is out to get PCG and even banning interracial marriage for PCG members, which is extremely racist.

What madness Flurry and Leap offer to PCG members in this booklet. No wonder so many terrible reports should come from PCG when their leaders say things like this.

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...