Trump Elected President

Donald Trump has been elected President defeating Hilary Clinton.

I recall listening to one pollster who argued that this election was a transformative election that was not like normal elections, an election that happened only once a generation. He confidently predicted Trump would win.

PCG Demonizes Obama as Another Antiochus

It is nearly election time. President Obama's term in office will soon end. What better time is there to give him one final parting condemnation if him? PCG have released an article by Abraham Blondeau reminding PCG members of Gerald Flurry's proclamation that President Obama is "another Antiochus," an Antichrist like figure of Flurry's devising that compares him with the infamous Antiochus Epiphanes who oppressed Jews and placed an idol in the Temple in Jerusalem and with Tkach. (Abraham Blondeau, The Untold Story of Election Day 2016, November 7, 2016.)

Let's take a look at his vilification of Obama.

November 8 is decision day. Americans will choose who will be the next president of the United States: Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. There has never been an election cycle like this one. More than half of Americans dislike both candidates. The lies, insults, scandals and childish behavior of both candidates have been suffocating.

Although he presents himself as neutral PCG's leaders actually lean far to the right. PCG's 1% are somewhat uncomfortable with Trump nevertheless their hearts are, in general, with the Republican Party in regards to politics. I do not condemn them for choosing to view things that way but it is important to note that they do lean to the right.

Trump promises to “Make America Great Again!” Clinton promises to unify America with her slogan, “Stronger Together.” Yet both sides claim that if their candidate doesn’t win, it will spell disaster for America. Some label Trump as a fascist; some label Clinton as a criminal. Yet one of these two individuals will become the next president of the world superpower. Tensions are high, and disaster seems to be building on the horizon.

And why would some think Trump is like a fascist? He does not bother to discuss that.

Also it is necessary to convict someone in a court of law before one can be accurately called a criminal. Since Clinton has not been convicted of anything that label would be inaccurate.

He then seems to accuse the democratically elected President of the United States of attacking America for eight years.

There is an untold story of Election Day 2016. While America and the world focus on what America will be after the election, they are ignoring what America is now. President Barack Obama has changed this nation. America has been under attack for eight years. Whoever inherits the White House will preside over a radically transformed United States.

Back in 2013 Gerald Flurry published a booklet entitled America Under Attack in which he accused President Obama of being "another Antiochus," an Antichrist like figure of Flurry's own devising that compares him with Antiochus Epiphanes and Tkach. The article repeats that accusation.

The article then talks about the historical Antiochus Epiphanes, specifically the many terrible things to did to Jews which provoked an armed insurrection which led to the rise of the Maccabees.

He then accuses President Obama of being used by Satan and his demons to attack America these last eight years.

The Bible and secular history records Antiochus as a vile person, who had a deep hatred for the Jews. Daniel reveals that Antiochus was used by Satan to attack the Jews and to destroy the law! While this first Antiochus figure that Daniel prophesied about has come and gone, his prophecy also has an application for our time today! There were to be end-time types of Antiochus, who would attack God’s people. 

An end-time spiritual Antiochus has already come and dismantled God’s true Church. Satan used this man to attack the leadership of the Church and then destroy the rest. [This refers to the Tkach changes.]....

There is also a physical type of this end-time Antiochus who would attack America. Just as Satan attacked the Church’s leadership first with an Antiochus, so would Satan attack America in the same way. The reason for this attack is because America is one of the modern nations of Israel....

He means President Obama.

He then cites Flurry's recent booklet to insist that President Obama has somehow overthrown American law and the Constitution and has promoted "lawlessness" which will apparently lead to some sort of dictatorship and "a race war". Apparently President Obama has done all this with the aid of Satan and his demons.

In his most recent booklet, Great Again, Mr. Flurry writes, “When he became president, Barack Obama promised his supporters a radical transformation of the U.S. … 

“Mr. Obama is an outspoken critic of the Constitution and has long desired to cast off its restraints.” This is the process we have witnessed over the past eight years! Where is this all leading? Mr. Flurry continues: 

Do you realize how deadly dangerous this trend of lawlessness is? Very few people do. But it gives insight into the real nature of the threat facing America. 

THIS IS QUICKLY MOVING AMERICA TOWARD A RACE WAR AND RULE BY DICTATORSHIP OR TYRANNY.

This talk of "race war" refers to PCG's false prophecy of "race war." Since 1992, if not earlier, PCG's leaders have told their followers that in the near future African Americans will launch a wave of riots against the white majority. These riots by African Americans against the white majority are portrayed as somehow happening everywhere at once. If PCG members thought such riots would occur in some place away from themselves then this dire false prophecy would not scare them. This is but a false prophecy. It will never come to pass.

He then implies that President Obama plots to abolish democracy. He even seems to refer to President Obama as Antiochus.

President Obama and the radical left have been successfully weakening the checks and balances of American government to the point where a dictator could take power. It may seem to be a cruel fantasy that the land of the free would cease to be a democracy, but that has been the goal of Antiochus from the start.

PCG's leaders cannot predict who will win the election so Blondeau insists it does not matter who will win the election since President Obama already ruined everything. Flurry said so.

We do not yet know the outcome of Election Day 2016 and the future leader of America, but whoever wins the White House will inherit expanded powers and dangerous precedents that could further endanger the republic. That is the supreme danger: It doesn’t matter who wins the election or leads America, the damage to the Constitution and the rule of law has already been done.

He then excoriates President Obama for supposedly making America retreat from the world. He also criticizes President Obama for not going to war with the Assad regime over the mass gassing at Ghouta, making the nuclear deal with Iran, establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba and somehow being hostile to the State of Israel.

What has been most obvious is the administration’s anti-Israel sentiments. President Obama has repeatedly embarrassed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and disdained the opinions of the Jewish state. The current administration also has referred to Israel as an occupying force. Above all, it is this anti-Israel sentiment that reflects the character of Antiochus. As the Jewish state faces existential threats from Iran and other Middle Eastern neighbors, Mr. Obama diplomatically bows to the Jews’ enemies.

Actually the United States supplied 20% of the State of Israel's military spending during his presidency and earlier this year he made a deal with the Israeli government to increase this to 25% for the next ten years. Yet despite such aid PCG's leaders insist that President Obama hates the State of Israel's government.

Also he seems to ignore the fact that most Americans Jews support the Democratic Party. To demonize President Obama in this way does not help Jews in any way.

He then moans about the candidates and blames their nomination as presidential candidates on the American people.

For the past eight years, America has lived in the age of Antiochus. On November 8, Americans will choose who will lead them in their uncertain future. Trump and Clinton both have a history of corruption. Lies and accusations are the only campaign headlines. How did America get to the point where the only choice is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? 

The reality is that it is the fault of the American people. The only way moral corruption can triumph in government is when the people are morally corrupt.

What a way to get attention from his readers. Blame them for not putting forward candidates that satisfy PCG's author. Maybe he should have voted in the primaries. But PCG's leaders forbid their followers from voting.

Donald Trump’s rallying cry of “Make America Great Again!” has tapped into the anger and frustration of many Americans who have an inkling of what has happened to this country. Yet Trump is incapable of making America great again. So is Hillary Clinton. Times will only get worse for America in the days ahead. No matter who wins, America will lose—it will experience the worst suffering in human history.

And that perfectly illustrates why it is so problematic to insist that the United States will soon collapse. This takes away the motive to improve the United States. If the United States is fated to be conquered by a German led European Empire then why do anything?

Then after condemning his readers for nominating the two candidates that do not meet his expectations he then offers a tasty carrot to try and attract new members to join his PCG.

Yet there is a bright ending. America will be great again, but only after it repents, yields to God’s rule and the marvelous future that awaits mankind.

Only after being conquered by a German led European Empire and taken into captivity until Christ's return.

And so PCG delivers to their audience one last parting barb against President Obama. The article implies that President Obama would abolish democracy but nevertheless the author assumes that power will peacefully transfer to another person after the election which would contradict that accusation against President Obama.

HWA's Ban Against Voting

HWA banned his followers from voting. This benefited him in some way but it encouraged his followers to ignore participation in public affairs.

It benefited HWA by relieving him of telling his followers who to vote for. If his followers ask him who to vote for he has a ready answer for them that does not change. If he ordered his followers to vote for one political candidate it will repel those who are aligned with others. By telling his followers not to vote for anyone he can avoid making decisions about voting and keeping himself out of political affairs.

It also benefited HWA by making his followers disengaged from public affairs so that they could be more focused upon the organization led by HWA. Since they are forbidden from voting this discourages them from participating in political affairs. Since they will not be focused on such things they will be more inclined to focus on the organization led by HWA.

The voting ban was made for HWA's benefit. It is awful that he should have discouraged his followers from participating in political affairs thus making them isolated from mainstream society. It is wrong that he ordered his followers to forsake their responsibility as citizens to participate in public affairs including the hard won right to vote. This is yet another terrible thing he has inclined upon his followers.

Is St. Francis of Assisi to Sit on Lucifer's Throne?

In Mystery of the Ages HWA taught that Lucifer was given a throne to rule over the Earth but he rebelled against (HWA's) God but despite turning against God he is still present on that throne and will remain so until Christ's return.

HWA was not the only one to talk about this throne. Back in medieval times it was taught by some associated with the Franciscans that St. Francis of Assisi was destined to sit on Lucifer's throne. The following quote is from a 13th Century book entitled The Assisi Compilation promoting the Franciscan Order.

Here Francis and another monk, Pacifico, are described as being on a journey and stopped to spend the night at a church. While praying Pacifico is described as having the following vision.

Brother Pacifico was taken up in an ecstasy, whether in the body or out of the body, God knows, and he saw many thrones in heaven, one of them higher than the others, glorious, resplendent with every precious stone. As he admired its beauty, he began to wonder what kind of throne it was and whose it might be. All at once he heard a voice telling him, "This was Lucifer's throne and blessed Francis will sit on it in his place." (The Assisi Compilation, section 68, in Regis J. Armstrong, Francis of Assisi - The Founder: Early Documents, vol. 2, 2000, p. 168.) 

However, unlike Armstrongism, there was no mention of this throne being connected with authority over the Earth.

Anniversary of Red October

It is 99 years since the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Trotsky seized power in Saint Petersburg and proceeded to create a one party state under the rule of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

A few months later elections were held and the Bolsheviks could only get about 25% of the vote. This included the majority of voters in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. The Socialist Revolutionaries, a left wing party that catered to rural voters, gained about 50% of the vote. Unfortunately this result was eventually ignored by the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and they simply held onto power. The Communist Party would rule over the Soviet Union until 1991.

Looking back with hindsight it is very unfortunate that Russia became so authoritarian. This allowed for abuses of power to be inflicted upon the peoples of the Soviet Union that has caused much pain and suffering.

One resource discussing this event and its consequences may be seen in the following link: Lenin and the First Communist Revolutions.

The Fall of Ari Shavit

Ari Shavit, Haaretz columnist and author of My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel (2013), has lost a lot of respect after a journalist alleged being harassed by him. The initial article did not name him but his connection to this incident has since been confirmed.

Seeing this incident I could not help but wonder if the COGs have mentioned him.

PCG Quoting Ari Shavit

PCG mentioned him three times, twice in 2006 while discussing the war with Hezbollah and once in 2009 discussing the one year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead.

***

Israel’s political disunion is easily and accurately perceived by its many foes as being a vulnerability, something to exploit. With the cease-fire now being implemented, some analysts said that, Olmert’s boasting over Israel’s “victory” notwithstanding, this war has been sufficiently botched that the prime minister’s days in office are already numbered. As Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit wrote,

There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army’s original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented. And after arrogantly and hastily bursting into war, Olmert managed it hesitantly, unfocused and limp. He neglected the home front and abandoned the residents of the north. He also failed shamefully on the diplomatic front .… 

The day Nasrallah comes out of his bunker and declares victory to the whole world, Olmert must not be in the prime minister’s office. Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister. (Cease-Fire Follows Israeli Division Over War Strategy, August 14, 2006.)

***

As the UN-mandated cease-fire came into effect on August 14, voices within Israel descended upon the prime minister in crushing condemnation—even demanding he leave office. Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit, for example, wrote, “There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army’s original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented. And after arrogantly and hastily bursting into war, Olmert managed it hesitantly, unfocused and limp. He neglected the home front and abandoned the residents of the north. He also failed shamefully on the diplomatic front. … Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister” (August 11). (Joel Hilliker, Who Won?, October 2006.)

***

In an analysis of Haniyeh’s statement, Haaretz correspondent Ari Shavit wrote this:

In recent years, quite a number of experts have promised us that Hamas does not really mean it. Hamas is only playing tough, but its intentions are lofty: ceasefire, Green Line, coexistence. Live and let live. But no message conveyed by any senior Hamas member to any diplomat behind closed doors is equal in status to the message conveyed by Haniyeh to the masses. What counts is only the direct and open statement made by the Palestinian leader to his people. Palestine, all of Palestine. Every piece of Israeli land on which any Israeli citizen lives. His home, your home, our home. The land beneath our feet. (Remember Hamas?, December 18, 2009.)

***

Although Shavit gained much more attention with his 2013 book PCG's writers never mentioned him afterwards in their articles.

UCG Quoting Shavit

UCG has quoted Shavit two times. Once in 2002 while discussing violence during the Second Intifada of 2000-5 and once in 2014 in a little article.

***

The confidence of Israel is slowly ebbing away. Reporter Hammer quotes Ha'aretz newspaper columnist Ari Shavit as lamenting, “There is this feeling that we tried politics, we tried the army, we tried everything. What's left?” (Robin Webber, This Is The Way...Getting Underneath the Skin, August 1, 2002.)

***

He is also cited as a source in an article dated March 11, 2014 entitled "Israel: A Nation in Dire Peril" written by Jerald Aust and John Ross Schroeder.

LCG and COGWA does not appear to have quoted Shavit.

And so it is apparent that PCG and UCG have quoted Shavit previously but he appears to have gained little attention in the world of Armstrongism.

Who Murders Cops?

PCG has long scare mongered that some sort of "race war," in which African Americans launch a wave of riots against the white majority supposedly everywhere at once. will soon occur. But that racist false prophecy will never be fulfilled. In fact it appears that a majority of those accused of killing police officers were white men.

Black offenders are not more likely to kill police officers than are white offenders. And in terms of raw numbers, white offenders actually killed more police than black offenders. A recent study in the journal Violence and Gender found that in 2014 white men constituted 54 percent of those who killed law enforcement agents. ...

Using data from the Officer Down Memorial Page, New York Daily News writer Shaun King has shown that in the first part of this year white men constituted 71 percent of the alleged cop killers. This does not include the recent shootings of white police officers such as Dan Glaze, Darrell Spells, Joseph Zangaro and Ronald Kienzle allegedly by white suspects — incidents that did not receive a large amount of national coverage or cause a panic within the right-wing news-and-entertainment media.(Chauncey DeVega, Are white men waging the real “war on cops?”, Salon, November 4, 2016.)

FBI New York Field Office Versus Clinton

It turns out some FBI agents in New York are hostile to Clinton.

Two law enforcement sources familiar with the FBI's New York Field Office, which initially discovered the emails, said a faction of investigators based in the office is known to be hostile to Hillary Clinton. A spokeswoman for the FBI's New York office said she had no knowledge about this. (Reuters, November 3, 2016)

Who knew the FBI New York Field Office would get so much attention?

One Story of Loss in War Torn Yemen

BBC News has a heart breaking article about a man who lost 27 family members after an air strike by Saudi led coalition forces in the war in Yemen eighteen months ago.

May peace soon come to Yemen.

HWA's Cultural Appropriation of Jewish Festivals

HWA adopted certain Jewish festivals mentioned in Leviticus 23 as part of his doctrines. He was imitating a Church of God (Seventh Day) pastor named G. G. Rupert who taught similar things. But HWA was not Jewish so there were many things about these festivals that he was completely oblivious about.

For instance many of these festivals are celebrated for two days, not just one as HWA assumed.

Aside from the high holidays, which ended last weekend, there are three main Jewish holidays ... Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. In the Bible, Passover and Sukkot are seven days and Shavuot is one day. In America, for Orthodox Jews, the number of days goes up by one for each. ...

The upshot, however, is an extra day of prayer (and no work) for Jews who celebrate the holiday in places like America, Argentina, England, even South Africa. The only place the extra days aren’t observed is Israel. (Slate, September 18, 2013.)

The dates for the months of the years was determined in the Holy Land. Consequently it took time for Jewish communities elsewhere to learn when the dates of the months was set by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem so the annual Sabbaths were celebrated for two days outside of the Holy Land.

... everyone who lived outside of Israel started doubling up on their holidays—observing two days instead of one, just in case. This way, at least one of the days was correct. (Slate, September 18, 2013.)

 Armstrongism says the Feast of Tabernacles looks symbolizes the Millennium. But Jews do not view it that way. To them it symbolizes the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness.

One Jewish tradition connected with the Feast of Tabernacles is to wave the four species. But HWA did not know about that so it was never a part of Armstrongism.

What folly it was for HWA to ignorantly take these festivals which are precious to the Jewish people and crudely exploit these festivals to prop up his own organization of followers. What HWA did to these Jewish festivals was wrong.