PCG's Ron Fraser and Hip Hop

Back in July 2011 Ron Fraser mentioned his low regard for hip-hop.

With the release of the film Blackboard Jungle during the ’50s it suddenly became apparent that rebellion against parents and teachers by teenage youth in American society had become part of the developing postwar culture. That film started the rock ’n‘ roll phenomenon that has since devolved to the gutter “music” of hip-hop. (Ron Fraser, Trumpet Weekly, July 16, 2011 issue, p. 10.)

(For whatever reason the article as presented on their website has removed the negative reference to hip hop. But these words can still be seen in its Trumpet Weekly issue. The article is still quite strange though.)

Well, if Ron Fraser did listen to some hip-hop music he might have learned that many African Americans still remember the Iran-Contra scandal and use it to remember that.

And another thing: Hip hop is everywhere.

It is an art form that has been eagerly embraced by people all over the world, including, but not limited to, Russia, China, Iran, Vietnam, Peru, Montenegro, etc.

And Fraser would have us believe it is simply "gutter “music”". And blame a 1950s movie for it as well.

Actually that article of Fraser's is quite strange. Fraser also blames rock ’n‘ roll for causing a rise in pregnancies out of wedlock. (What about our naturally occurring hormones?)

The late Ron Fraser sure had a way with words. And a very narrow outlook on art. Quite sad to see, really.

Peoples' Casual Encounters with PCG

Thankfully most people who watch The Key of David telecast or even get a subscription and read The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine do not take the plunge and try to join PCG.

(Please note: I do not necessarily agree with what these websites say. They are merely mentioned because they discuss PCG's writings.)

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Here is one account by a person (January 25, 2006) who came upon PCG's Key of David telecast and looked into what this outfit really was.

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Here is one article posted on Freedom's Phoenix (October 27, 2009), some kind of right wing website which reproduces a 2009 article by Gerald Flurry claiming that leftists are waging "war" on the US Constitution.

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Here is one post from an anti-Muslim website (January 2, 2014) which notes some of the many articles PCG produced demonizing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and fear mongering that they would gain power in Egypt. The author appears unaware that PCG predicted that the Muslim Brotherhood would take over Egypt and that this prediction had failed miserably. At least the post has pretty pictures.

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Here is one post from a Serbian website (March 8, 2008) which reproduces a chapter from Gerald Flurry's booklet, The Rising Beast, which accuses Germany of conspiring to cripple Serbia during the Kosovo War in 1999. 

At the bottom are two comments. After looking through Google Translate it appears that both of them disagree with Flurry's assertion that Germany was the main instigator. Instead they blame America.

That booklet was discussed elsewhere on this blog. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

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Here is one Facebook post (April 13, 2014) from a Facebook account which promotes Islam. This post talks about the August 2001 issue of The Philadelphia Trumpet.

Final Crusade (holy war against Muslims) started on 9/11 (september 11, 2001).

The Philadelphia Trumpet has clearly stated about final crusade in it's last edition before 9/11.
The PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET is a monthly news and prophecy magazine published by the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG).

(Actually the last issue before 9/11 was the September 2001 issue. That was printed before 9/11. It was not until the November-December 2001 issue that they talked about 9/11.)

Now that is scary. Seeing how Gerald Flurry's ravings about a last crusade are needlessly causing some Muslims to be fearful. No good can come from this. Oh what bitter fruit this is. This disturbing trend was noted in a previous post.

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No doubt there are many other such instances.

1993 PCG Article from Gerald Flurry

Recently PCG has posted on their website an article Gerald Flurry made in 1993. It was originally written in The Philadelphia Trumpet.

Here Flurry asserts that PCG is just like Elisha.

Herbert W. Armstrong was a type of Elijah. And he followed Elijah’s example and the work was very successful (Matthew 17:10-11; Malachi 4:5-6). The Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) today is a type of the work Elisha did anciently. The PCG tries very hard to follow the works of Elijah, Elisha and Mr. Armstrong, and we succeed accordingly.

Just forget that PCG changes HWA's writings at will. Gerald Flurry's PCG has changed Mystery of the Ages, The Proof of the Bible and Who or What is the Prophetic Beast? There may very well be more.

Later in the article Flurry sees great meaning in the number twelve and use it to assert that PCG is now the one, true church. This is a tactic often used within Armstrongism to make people falsely think some sort of supernatural power is behind Armstrongism.

Elisha received the mantle of authority. He was to minister to the 7,000. There were 12 yoke of oxen with Elisha. The PCG began with 12 members. Twelve is the number of new institutional beginnings.

Elisha was a farmer plowing the field when the mantle was passed. Elijah didn’t go to some scholarly seminary to find a replacement!

One Worldwide Church of God evangelist didn’t think God would use Gerald Flurry as the physical leader to “hold fast” to His truth. He said if God chose another leader it would be from Pasadena. Who knows the kind of man God will choose for a job and from where he will come? Only God knows.

Of course the reason Flurry belittles education here is he is trying to make PCG members forget that Flurry was just another WCG minister while HWA was alive. He was only ordained in 1973. Many ministers were senior to him and would never look up to him. That is the real reason why, aside from John Amos, no WCG minister joined Flurry's new group. They viewed him as beneath themselves in the severely hierarchical pecking order among WCG's ministers.

Elijah was discouraged and thought he was all alone. Near the end of his life, Mr. Armstrong said to the WCG members, “I believe most of you just don’t get it!” He felt most of the Church members were not with him spiritually. He, like Elijah, felt somewhat alone.

Flurry is referring to HWA's Pentecost 1985 sermon. HWA was actually criticizing how (in his opinion) many WCG members and even ministers improperly misunderstood why the vast majority of humanity are not called to believe in HWA's teachings until after the Millenium.

The way Flurry presents this sermon here is very misleading. This article reveals he was telling this distorted story as early as 1993.

The Elijah work today is comprised of people who understand what Mr. Armstrong’s role was! The great sin of the Laodicean ministers is their rebellion against the Elijah office!

When prospective members come to the PCG, the first and perhaps most important question we ask them is, “Do you believe Mr. Armstrong fulfilled the role of the end-time Elijah?” If they don’t believe this then we don’t invite them. This is not done maliciously. We simply know they don’t have the understanding to be a part of the Elijah work.

This assertion was somewhat notorious among Armstrongites. The self appointed, unordained, false prophet Bob Thiel mentioned this quote in his article about PCG back when he was an apologist for LCG.

Flurry glorifies HWA to make himself stand out compared to Tkach's WCG which was in the process of changing into a (for the most part) a mainstream evangelical church.

Mr. Armstrong said many times that he was the father of us all either directly or indirectly! All of us were brought into God’s Work through his teachings. Today the WCG is destroying the very teachings that brought their members into the Church!

That doesn’t mean Mr. Armstrong was or is to be called “father.” It is not a title. It’s just a spiritual fact. It just means that God used him to help convert the rest of us. Elijah and Paul both understood this truth. However, neither Elijah nor Paul were addressed as “father.” That is forbidden by God’s law (Matthew 23:9). But God still used them as a “father figure” to call people into His truth.

Elijah, Paul and Mr. Armstrong were all used by God to raise up His Work. Then all the people came into the truth through them directly or indirectly. Only in that sense are they “fathers.”

Flurry ends this article by promising great power and glory awaits one if he or she joins PCG.

We are going to see the end of Satan’s great rebellion. We have seen how this great false religion has even made heavy inroads into God’s Laodicean Church today. Soon this satanic religion will be history.

Do you know deeply where the Elijah work is today? God praised a great woman for perceiving that God was doing His Work through Elisha (2 Kings 4:8-10).

Those who perceive where God’s Elijah work is today and support it are going to be rewarded with a headquarters job with God for all eternity! If we support God and His Work we can’t lose. What a glorious opportunity God has given us!

So just keep sending those three tithes to make PCG's income even bigger. In 2012 PCG made $19.5 million. They want even more.

Gerald Flurry Says President Obama is an "Antiochus-type" Figure Just Like Tkach

Did you know that PCG's leader, Gerald Flurry, says President Obama is just like the Man of Sin, Tkach, and is being heavily influenced by Satan to lead America into catastrophe?

Neither did I until I read his 2013 booklet, America Under Attack. (You can read this booklet at their website.)

President Obama is labeled as "another Antiochus-type" figure specifically.

Now for many years Herbert Armstrong taught that the final Pope would be the False Prophet and Man of Sin who would use the power of the Roman Catholic Church to help give birth to a European Empire that would destroy America in a nuclear World War III.

Often this Man of Sin was symbolically linked with Antiochus Epiphanes, who infamously desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem and placed an idol there. Under his oppressive rule the revolt of the Maccabees arose to liberate their country from his tyranny. This is the Antiochus referred to in Flurry's booklet. 

Then after HWA's death, one WCG lay member, Jules Dervaes, wrote a series of letters entitled Letter to Laodicea, condemning Tkach as a sinful successor and denouncing him as a spiritual Man of Sin fated to lead WCG away from (HWA's) God's blessing.

Afterwards Gerald Flurry, likely influenced by Dervaes' idea, wrote a booklet entitled Malachi's Message to God's Church Today, in which he denounced Tkach as the Man of Sin.

(It is well known that many of the ideas within Gerald Flurry's booklet, 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.) 

WCG's leaders, in responding to this booklet in an article in 1991, noted correctly that HWA's WCG had never taught that the Man of Sin would be a man within WCG.

Despite such inconvenient facts Flurry continued to propagate this teaching.

Later in 1995 Tkach died and was succeeded by his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr. It appears that Flurry then changed the identity of the Man of Sin from the father to the son. Having read PCG's early booklets I saw no evidence that Flurry viewed Tkach, Jr. as the Man of Sin. It was only after 1995 that Tkach, Jr. was asserted to fulfill that role. This is why Stephen Flurry, in his book, Raising the Ruins, keeps asserting that Tkach, Jr. was the real mastermind behind the Tkach changes and not his father.

But in all this Flurry never said that there would be another Antiochus-type figure until 2013 with the release of his booklet, America Under Attack. That is exactly what Flurry has done in this booklet.

This is the way Satan operates. In order to destroy God’s Church, he managed to plant a spiritual Antiochus right [Tkach, Jr.] at the top, who desecrated the spiritual temple and cast the truth to the ground. And in order to destroy the nations of Israel, Satan brings a political Antiochus [the European dictator] who will lead an army right into the Holy City, Jerusalem, to begin his physical assault (e.g. Daniel 11:31; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20). The United States, Britain and Israel (the Jewish state, biblical Judah) are all prophesied to fall together at the hands of that European power (Hosea 5:5).

Biblical prophecy shows that Satan leads both the spiritual Antiochus and this political Antiochus.

[Now Flurry introduces his new idea.]

Is it possible that he uses the SAME STRATEGY to weaken physical Israel in between those two attacks?

Does he have another Antiochus who undermines the nations of Israel and prepares them for their destruction by the Holy Roman Empire?

The highest office in the world’s number one superpower, which happens to be a descendant of ancient Israel, would have to be a big target for Satan, wouldn’t you think? I am certain of it. (pp. 14-15.)

Later on it is strongly insinuated that President Obama fulfills this newly created role.

Further on in the booklet Flurry discusses some executive orders President Obama issued following Adam Lanza's massacre. Flurry presents these executive orders in an alarmist way and as a sign that President Obama is disregarding the laws of America.

I am sickened by what Adam Lanza did. But what makes me sicker is somebody using that massacre to promote a political ideology! I think those 23 executive orders are just about getting around the Constitution and conditioning the minds of the people to accept the president saying, Don’t worry about the supreme law of the land! Listen to me! Just like Antiochus did. (pp. 30-31.)

And shortly after that Flurry insinuates that President Obama is being influenced by Communists. He then profess to be uncertain of that but then insinuates that President Obama is being influenced by Satan in the same way that Tkach, Jr. was in implementing the Tkach changes (so Flurry would have us believe).

In a sense, this plan has been coming to pass in America. I don’t claim to know the degree to which the Communists organized it, or that the president fits a Communist plan (though there is some evidence to suggest that).

But I DO KNOW ABOUT THE DEVIL! And I know he is doing EVERYTHING HE CAN TO SINK AMERICA. And I have seen him use a man at the top—an Antiochus—to bring down an organization. And I’m watching as this government takes one step after another that is weakening this country and hastening the fulfillment of some of the most terrifying prophecies in the Bible! And I know that the devil, who is a liar and who hates law, is BEHIND THAT! (p. 33.)

And so we see that Gerald Flurry has been saying some very silly things to his followers.

What will Flurry say once President Obama hands the reins to his successor in January 2017?

How is this any different from calling President Obama an Antichrist?

(Also Flurry also insinuates that Christ will return by 2023.

Everything is set for a new government to be in place on Earth very shortly—almost certainly in less than a decade. (p. 6.)

What madness! It will be 1975 all over again.)

Remembering Tragic Hate Crimes in the 1990s in Germany

While reading about the recent anti-Muslim protests in Germany I saw how German person alluding to the tragic wave of hate crimes within Germany back in the early 1990s.

Why I Am More Afraid of PEGIDA Than Islamization.

We experienced a similar wave of hatred and violence in Germany in the 90s. Back then, refugee homes were set on fire -- as in Rostock-Lichtenhagen -- with the applause of the "non-racist" population. Rather than being afraid of foreign infiltration or Islamization, I am afraid that something like that will happen again! 

Shamefully, although this wave of hate crimes came to dissipate itself because the vast majority of Germans are completely uninterested in such xenophobic hatred, events such as that are still manipulatively used by PCG in their booklet, Germany and the Holy Roman Empire, to frighten people into falsely thinking that Germany will soon destroy America and Britain.

PCG's Joel Hilliker Promoting HWA's Deadly Anti-Medicine Superstition

Herbert W. Armstrong taught that using doctors and medicine to heal yourself was sinful and forbidden. Because of this dogma many people who listened to him were persuaded to avoid seeing doctors or taking medicine or get vaccinations. Inevitably many people got sick and died prematurely because of this dogma HWA taught. Many people died and lost loved ones as a direct result of HWA's teaching on this matter. Hypocritically in his later years HWA used medicine and doctors to live as long as he did, even having his own personal physician. Without doubt this doctrine of death was one of the most abhorrent features of HWA's so-called ministry. 

There was one WCG minister named William Hinson. William Hinson's 1977 book, Broadway to Armageddon most graphically showed the results of this deadly teaching. The author's own son died as a result of this anti-medicine superstition.

Alas, despite the terrible results of this doctrine of death some Armstrongites still have not learned that you should see the doctor, take medicines, get vaccinated and get the children vaccinated as well.

And unfortunately to this day PCG's leaders boast that they continue to teach HWA's teaching on this matter and condemn Tkach for making this doctrine of death one of the first things changed. PCG's website has recently released an article by Joel Hilliker, "When Should You Seek Anointing?" (January 6, 2015).

The medical community is in the hot seat right now. Debate over stem-cell and other genetic research is raising ethical and moral issues that they are unequipped to answer. In their pursuit of greater “miracle” cures, they are meddling with the very building blocks of life—with nothing to guide their decisions but their own curiosity.

Despite the many people who died as a direct result of HWA saying using medicine and doctors are sinful, (including reportedly Brad MacDonald's brother, Garth MacDonald, who died aged 24 in 2006) Hilliker would have us believe it is the "medical community" in real strife at the moment. What poppycock.

This example clearly illustrates something that we in God’s Church are well aware of: This world is cut off from God and the knowledge of His ways, and has raised up its medical profession trying to take the place of God as Healer.

That is the exact same accusation HWA used to tell his followers not to go see doctors and use medicine. HWA said it was God's role to heal people physically therefore seeing doctors and taking medicine was sinful and forbidden. Many people have died or otherwise had their health badly affected as a direct result of listening to such toxic words.

But God gives special benefits to those in His Church. “I am the Lord that healeth thee,” He says (Exodus 15:26). God is our Healer—our Yahweh Rapha.

HWA often insisted that because this is a name of God we must only rely on (HWA's) God for healing illnesses. Many have died because of this teaching.

This was one of the first issues Satan attacked in the Worldwide Church of God after Herbert W. Armstrong’s death. It is a doctrine of tremendous importance because it is so vital for building our faith.

In the Philadelphia Church of God, we follow God’s teachings on healing. Our members are regularly anointed by the ministry—and we regularly witness genuine miracles of healing. God is healing today! We can all have faith in that fact.

What about all the people who died and suffered because they listened to HWA forbidding doctors and medicine for his followers? Their pain and suffering are simply contemptuously thrown into the memory hole.

The instruction is clear: When you are sick, call the ministry for an anointing. That is YOUR individual responsibility—no one is going to demand that you be anointed. We must not be shy or feel that the ministry is too busy to anoint. God is happy to intervene and heal us when we are sick. I’m also sure most ministers would agree that it is a special honor to perform an anointing, not a burden. It builds OUR faith as well as yours.

So it would appear that PCG members are expected to ask for anointing themselves.

In anointing, we ask God to forgive us our physical sin by applying those stripes as a substitutionary payment, so we don’t have to suffer the penalty of sickness or injury. It is an exact type of God forgiving our spiritual sins by accepting Christ’s death on the stake as payment for the death penalty we have brought upon our own head. Only God can forgive sin. Only God can heal.

HWA often asserted that only (HWA's) God could heal illnesses therefore one should not go to doctors or take medicines. Many people have died because of this very teaching that HWA promoted.

Our pastor general [Gerald Flurry] has instructed the ministry never to coerce or force anyone to be anointed and trust in God, because you can only be healed according to your faith. That is why it must be your decision when asking for anointing.

So when facing a difficult health trial, each of us must ask ourselves individually—BEFORE requesting the anointing—Do I have faith to put this sickness in God’s hands, and to PASS on some drug or procedure that would demonstrate a LACK of faith?

How grotesque it is to see Joel Hilliker advising people to not take medicine or not take a procedure simply for religious reasons. There is no medical reason discussed here. This is purely for (PCG's) religious reasons. This is very dangerous thinking. So many have died or been negatively affected within HWA's WCG and some of the other offshoots. It is truly appalling that despite these monstrous events Hilliker is still telling readers it is fine to neglect their health for (PCG's) religious reasons.

Here one is made to feel guilty for possibly "sinning" by taking "some drug or procedure". This is very dangerous. The problem is some PCG members will not think for themselves and discretely avoid the danger of neglecting one's health but will simply take the plunge and neglect their health resulting in tragedy.

Hilliker ends this deadly article with these words.

Let’s rejoice in the blessing of being able to be anointed and seek God for healing! And 98 times out of 100, if we answer these three questions honestly, we will know whether we should seek anointing in a particular case. Then when we do need anointing, we can come to the ministry—and before God—with confidence that we will be healed!

What deadly nonsense this article is. So often PCG's leaders belittle "the world" outside of PCG as evil and immoral. But at the same time they hypocritically do things like this. How frightening.

Let's end this post with a testimony from an ex-PCG member from Australia. (See September 2, 2006 letter.)

I attended PCG in Australia for approximately 10 years (as a child) and witnessed a number of members who refused medical treatment, and instead opted to rely on God to heal them, which in a lot of cases lead them to a slow and painful death. Not once did I see any miracles. Many of those members would still be alive today if they had of followed the doctor's advice and/or start treatment for their otherwise curable medical conditions. The PCG should be held accountable because of their healing doctrine. What they are doing to innocent and naïve people is just wrong. It's time for the PCG to come to an end once and for all. I hope and pray that becomes a reality before any more members die due to a lack of medical care.

What sinister works lie within PCG.

PCG's Ron Fraser Tell PCG Members: Look in the Mirror and Smile!

Even though Ron Fraser died on October 4, 2013, PCG continues to present his articles for PCG members to learn from what he wrote. Here is one article of his, "Experience Real Joy", reprinted on January 21, 2015. At present it is not possible for me to determine when this was written.

The wisest man who ever lived declared, “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy …” (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

Note the order of things here. The gift of joy follows the receiving of wisdom and knowledge. In order to receive the gift of joy, it is first necessary to receive the revelation of God that imparts wisdom from on high and the knowledge of truth. 

Ecclesiastes 2:26 does not say that. Here it is.

For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 2:26, KJV.)

There is no indication that there is some sort of order to these things. Fraser is reading this idea into Scripture. Fraser has put his own spin on what this Scripture is saying.

Fraser tells PCG members that they should be joyful whenever PCG ministers criticize them. Being criticized by a PCG minister is for the purpose of making lay members better people.

What about when we are under correction? Can there be real joy in that? ... The key to handling correction is to not be distracted by that which seems not to be part of the way of joy, and avoid focusing overly on the wounds that the correction inflicts. Have the vision to see beyond the correction to the wonderful fruit of growth in righteous character that it is designed to yield. In that there is, indeed, true joy!

The point is that true fruit of joyful elation, promised by God as a gift to the righteous, will be experienced by a converted servant of God in direct proportion to his possession of, use of and growth in the very first of the fruits of God’s Spirit, love! (Galatians 5:22).

If a minister treats you badly do not complain but tell yourself that getting criticized is for your own good.

But what if there is a real problem? What if the minister is the problem or at least contributing to it? What about that problem? The issue of abuse of authority by PCG ministers is never discussed in this article.

You can tell very readily the degree to which a servant of God is experiencing that real joy of the Spirit. For as Proverbs 15:30 declares, “The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart ….” The Hebrew word translated heart is leb. It literally means the center of all learning, of the feelings, the will and the intellect. It denotes the human mind, or, as we speak of it, the spirit in man! Thus, the psalmist is simply declaring here that the eyes express the inner feelings, thoughts and intent of the mind.

Why is Proverbs said to have been written by "a psalmist"? Shouldn't Fraser be talking about Psalms, not Proverbs?

Fraser tells PCG members that they can see PCG's God's Spirit working within them by simply seeing what their faces look like in the mirror.

We all know the difference between sad eyes and glad eyes. The eyes mirror the heart. Thus the real change wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit in a person is a very observable thing. You can see it in his eyes! As Jesus Christ declared of the ministry that He gave the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit will “open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light …” (Acts 26:18).

Look in the mirror. If you have God’s Spirit dwelling in you, do your eyes reflect the true joy of that Spirit? To what degree are your eyes truly lit up by the Spirit of Christ’s joy, literally the joy of the Father? The more that light truly shines in your eyes, the less the corners of your mouth will tend to droop, and the more the inclination to beam in a real smile of true joy to the world!

Sure, Fraser. Just ignore all the problems within PCG and forget the many inaccurate predictions PCG's leaders have proclaimed and just look at the mirror and smile. Forget about the problems caused by sending so much money to PCG by just looking at your face in the mirror and smiling and convincing yourself this is a sign that you are a true Christian worthy of going to the place of safety to avoid the Great Tribulation.

Here is the key to true happiness. Take on more of the love of God by submitting ever more directly, more carefully, more perfectly—by the power of the Holy Spirit—to God’s law. The reward will be growth of the fruit of Christ’s own joy within you and a dramatic increase in the expression of that joy, in return, to your heavenly Father, to your fellow brethren in the Family of God, and, indeed, as a witness of your faith to everyone around you!

"Here is the key to true happiness. ... submitting ever more directly, more carefully, more perfectly...to God’s law." In other words doing what PCG's ministers tell you to do is the key to happiness. Do as you are told and all will magically be better for you. Throwing away large sums of money is supposed to make everything in your life seem better.

What hogwash. PCG's leaders get the money of lay members and have the time of their lives and PCG's members learn not to complain because they think if they just obey PCG's leaders all their dreams will come true. They think this because articles like this tell them so.

How very sad. 

Reading PCG's Booklet, Jeremiah: Prophet of Doom--or Hope?

Let us now read Gerald Flurry's booklet, Jeremiah: Prophet of Doom--or Hope? This booklet was printed in 1993. Tkach's WCG was still in the process of transforming WCG into a mainly Protestant church. Meredith's GCG had only just started. It would be another two years before UCG's establishment.

However in 1999 this booklet was superseded by an expanded booklet entitled Jeremiah and the Greatest Vision in the Bible. That booklet was discussed previously on this blog: (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.)

Also on this blog is a post discussing how this booklet compares with the later booklet, Jeremiah and the Greatest Vision in the Bible.

Let us begin.

Chapter 1: The Warning

Early on Flurry appeals to British Israelism. However British Israelism is false. Silenced.co has shown how British Israelism is built on a foundation of sand. In fact DNA evidence refutes British Israelism. But based on this false teaching Flurry insists that America is about to destroyed.

Flurry says America are headed for destruction and catastrophe on an unimaginable scale.

IT'S THE WORST TROUBLE ISRAEL HAS EVER EXPERIENCED! Far worse then WORLD WAR II AND THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS! (pp.2-3.)

HWA and his various imitators, including Gerald Flurry, have constantly insisted that the end is just around the corner continuously since the 1930s.

Bank consultant Ed Furash said, "Everything is going to be up in the air until after the inauguration [of President Clinton]." Then he said, "We're going to have a lot of dead banks that need to be taken over!" The U.S. ECONOMY is in serious trouble and that means trouble for for the whole western world! (p. 3.)

This is yet another false prophecy by Gerald Flurry. Here he is, citing a consultant on the eve of President Clinton's inauguration, and whatever "serious trouble" the US economy was in then has long since passed into history. Since the US has gone through two major market contractions, namely the dot-com bust in 2000 and the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 which escalated into the Global Financial Crisis. So Flurry citing any troubles at this time has been proven to be false.

Wickedness is found in God's very own Church today! What is it? Write for free copies of Malachi's Message and the Doctrinal Changes booklet and you will see. God is concerned about evil in all Israel, but especially in spiritual Israel or the Church. That is where the worst crimes of all are being committed. (p. 4.) 

It is strange that while making such a fuss of condemning the Tkach changes PCG no longer publishes the booklet that most specifically discusses what the Tkach changes actually were.

And how dare Gerald Flurry belittles all the terrible things happening in the world by saying that the Tkach changes are "the worst crimes of all". No doubt many suffered during the Tkach changes but to use language like that is wildly disproportionate.

Unless God's Church delivers this message in the end time, then Jeremiah lived in vain! This message that he wrote in a book is for us to deliver today.  (p. 5.)

Clearly Flurry has no lack of self esteem. If Jeremiah was so dependent upon Flurry then why listen to Jeremiah? This means that Flurry is greater then Jeremiah. We might as well just listen to Flurry.

On page 7 Flurry quotes Jeremiah to say that "The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more." Contrary to this Gerald Flurry has apparently recently speculated that it is PCG's destiny to find the Ark of the Covenant in Britain.

Flurry then continues to insist that the most dire events are about to occur. Strange he should say such things so soon after the end of the Cold War.

This is God's Work. We must do it urgently. We must blow the trumpet because NUCLEAR WAR is coming on the nations of Israel unless they repent! (p. 7.)

Flurry then appeals to the place of safety.

If you want to escape the terrible trouble ahead, find the Zion or Church that God leads. Only then will you have a place of safety from the terrifying evil to come on Israel! This is not a message to be taken lightly. (pp. 7-8.)

The idea that only joining PCG will allow one to escape the Great Tribulation is often used within PCG to keep members within it despite the many problems within it.

The sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war! (p. 8.) 

Flurry sure is trying to get people scared, isn't he? When people are scared they cannot think clearly and react without having a clear view of the situation.

Israel is filled with adultery! It is the subject of thousands of movies and television programs. (p. 9.) 

Here Flurry speaks of America, Britain and the State of Israel. In theory other peoples are also identified as descendants of the Israelites but in practice "Israel" within mainly refers to America, Britain and the State of Israel.

This is referring to the ancient and famous warring nation, now called Germany. They have risen again to become a powerful nation and they are asserting that power even now. (p. 10.) 

Flurry has inherited this idea from HWA's WCG that Germans are the descendants of the Biblical Assyrians. This is complete nonsense. The Assyrians spoke a Semitic language related to Hebrew and still exist as a distinctive ethnicity in the Middle East. The Germans speak an Indo-European language totally unrelated to Assyrian.

HWA adopted this idea from British Israelism. At first British Israelism taught that the Germans, like the British, were also descendants of Israel. But after the horrors if World War I British Israelism abandoned that idea and began to teach that the Germans were descendants of the Assyrians, fated to once again combat the British. HWA adopted this idea as his own and propagated this idea among his followers within WCG.

Herman Hoeh used to confuse the fact that the Assyrians were Semitic while the Germans are Indo-European by insisting that the Indo-European Hittites were in fact Assyrians. This is nonsense.

We must see this and accept God's truth or pay a mind-splitting penalty! (p. 10.) 

Believe what I am saying or else go to the hell of the Great Tribulation. This is simply crudely intimidating people into joining his PCG and paying three tithes and extra offerings for the rest of their lives.

SO SOMEBODY HAD TO TEACH AND WARN GOD'S CHURCH AND ISRAEL ABOUT GOD'S WAY! Who was it? It was Herbert W. Armstrong and God's Philadelphia Church today. (p. 11.) 

HWA was a false prophet who made many false predictions which prove that God was not with him.

These prophecies are being fulfilled this very moment! (p. 11.) 

They are not.

The Laodiceans are sent "STRONG DELUSION" (II Thes. 2:11). Why is it such strong delusion? Because they are zealously sacrificing and giving offerings but failing to do the work God has given them to do. They give to HURRICANE AND EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS. They give tithes and offerings. They serve in the Church. They talk about love, love, love. Then they feel as long as they have done all those deeds, God couldn't reject them. But Jeremiah tells us that God is going to REJECT them with wrath! (pp. 11-12.) 

Here Flurry condemns giving money to charities. 

Here is a great nation, north of Jerusalem. They have a HISTORY OF CRUELTY IN WARFARE. THEY SHOW NO MERCY IN WARFARE. They are men of war. A very good description of Germany!  

Did Germany have mercy in WWI and WWII? Remember the concentration camps! The world is still mesmerized by their past cruelty captured on film. Again and again we watch it on television.  

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN AGAIN, UNLESS WE WAKE UP! 

This time God's own Laodicean Church or sinning Zion is going to be in the Great Tribulation. (p. 12.)

More anti-German fear mongering. HWA first said Hitler was the dictator who would conquer America. Then once Hitler was defeated he went into denial and claimed he had gone into hiding just waiting to suddenly make himself public and reunify Europe under his rule. Even as late as 1965 Meredith was still telling lay members that Hitler was alive and in hiding. Although they stopped claiming this absurd rumor to be true they continue to this day to vilify Germany as though it was still World War II.

Chapter 2: "You Can't Leave God's Church"

Here Flurry tries to tell the reader not to stay in WCG. He condemns the widely held assertion among WCG members that it is necessary to remain in WCG to be saved. (Soon enough he tells his followers that it is necessary to remain in his PCG to be saved.)

We often see a leader hugging kids and talking endlessly of "love, love, love," and we find it so hard to envision this person as being motivated by Satan. (p. 17.)

Claiming that Tkach was motivated by Satan was simply a way for Flurry to scare WCG members into joining his own following.

If we refuse to submit to God's inspired word, then our future will be like Zedekiah's fate! (p. 18.)

More crude fear mongering. Join PCG or your worst fears will come true. This is simply an attempt at phobia induction, making people have an unreasonable fear that causes them to join the group, in this instance PCG. Phobia induction is often used by high demand groups to recruit new members.

Chapter 3: Only One Work of God

Now that Flurry has insisted that WCG members have a duty to leave WCG he then tells the reader that there can only be one true church and that one must join this one true church or else one is not a real Christiam. Of course Flurry says the one true church is his own, PCG.

Today, some people get upset with us when we preach the truth. That doesn't shock us. It would shock us if some people didn't get upset! (p. 22.) 

People disagreeing or even getting angry at an argument proves nothing in and of itself.

If people persecute us, they are fighting against God. Every human being on planet earth must come to know that GOD IS BEHIND OUR MESSAGE! (p. 23.)

 Well clearly Flurry has no self esteem issues. All of humanity is to learn that PCG is the one true church.

We sometimes get accused of having the wrong approach in our message. Of course, that's what they told Jeremiah and all of God's messengers! Did that stop God's leaders? Of course not! We expect some criticism. BUT WE DEEPLY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS GOD'S MESSAGE AND IT MUST BE PROCLAIMED! GOD COMMANDS US TO DO SO! (p. 23.)

That is not even an argument.

This next section deserves quoting at length because it shows how Flurry redefines "faith in God" as joining PCG and paying the three tithes to PCG ("supporting His work").

There will be Urijahs who will rise up today also! Urijah prophesied in God's name and against Jerusalem and Judah. But there is no indication he was working with Jeremiah. He probably wanted his own following instead of supporting God's Work through Jeremiah. That really means he lacked FAITH in what God was doing through Jeremiah. Some leaders who leave the WCG today proclaim many of Herbert Armstrong's teachings, but reject the Philadelphia Church which God raised up to succeed him! What will happen to them? They don't have God behind them so they will panic when real persecution comes. Like Urijah, they don't stay with God and Jeremiah, but run--and it may get them killed!

They lack faith in the living God BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT SUPPORTING HIS WORK. God said He would raise up a Work in our day, which many wouldn't believe even when told (Hab. 1:5). If we can't recognize where God's Work is, THEN SOMETHING IS TRAGICALLY LACKING IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES!   

It's not enough to be preaching God's Word and prophecies. All of us must find Christ's true work--there is only ONE--and then back and support that endeavor. ONLY THEN WILL YOU HAVE THE FAITH AND POWER TO STAND AND FIGHT FOR GOD! God will support you only AS YOU SUPPORT HIM AND HIS WORK! (pp. 24-25.)

Chapter 4: Laodicean Ministers

After "proving" that one must join PCG Flurry then proceeds to denounce the ministers of Tkach's WCG and exploit the then ongoing Tkach changes to claim that one must join PCG to remain faithful to HWA's teachings.

It's so easy to twist what God has taught us and still act so righteous. But God calls rebels what they are. They can use all the scholarly deceit they want, but it's still rebellion! (p. 26.)

But what if you are wrong?

Do you and I know deeply that we can't direct our own steps? God says if you really know this, you will continuously ask God to correct you! Do you frequently ask God for correction because you know that no man can direct his own steps?

You can't even direct one of your steps. Jeremiah learned this lesson deeply. ... We must humbly seek God's correction to be used. This prayerful ATTITUDE  is so RARE today. This is the ONLY attitude God can use! Because religions of this lack this attitude, they are in a wilderness of religious confusion. (pp. 28-29.)

Here Flurry insists that one cannot do the right thing unless he or she joins PCG and does what he or she is told to do by PCG's leaders.

God's Laodicean flock today is driven away from God by over 35 major doctrinal changes since Mr. Armstrong died! (p. 30.)

Many doctrines were being changed within Tkach's WCG by this time. Many WCG members who had joined because they yearned to follow HWA's teachings were not happy about this and left to join splinter groups that left WCG in order to follow HWA's teachings as they understood it. Many more abandoned Armstrongism and moved on from it.

God is going to set up shepherds over them who will "feed" them His truth. They will teach them what Mr. Armstrong and the PCG taught! God is talking about us as His future shepherds! (p. 30.)

This refers to HWA's teaching that members are destined to be born into the God family and become a God being as fully God as God is God, though of lower rank. This God family dogma is untrue.

Why did Jeremiah express such horror? BECAUSE GOD'S OWN PROPHETS ARE NOT WARNING ISRAEL OF THIS TERRIBLE CAPTIVITY! All of Jeremiah's bones shook because of all the false prophets! He understood that they would refuse to warn God's own people in this end time. When Jeremiah read God's holy prophecies it made him feel like a drunken man. (p. 31.)

At the time this booklet was published in 1993 many WCG members who continued to believe HWA's teachings were distressed because Tkach's WCG had a lesser emphasis on prophecy. They thought they could sense World War III coming very soon. It is now twenty-two years since this booklet was published. Did PCG's members anticipate that they would still be waiting for the second coming when they first read this booklet?

Tactical nuclear weapons have been stolen form the Soviet arsenal and sold to nations in the Middle East. Soon Germany and Japan will also have nuclear weapons. (p. 31.)

This is total nonsense. Where did Flurry get this idea from? Twenty-two years later the State of Israel is still the only nation in the Middle East with nuclear weapons and Germany and Japan still have no nuclear weapons of their own. This is yet another false prophecy by Gerald Flurry.

Mr. Tkach has asked WCG members to pray for peace in the Middle East. But God has prophesied that the Middle East is going to be a cauldron of violence and have no peace until Christ returns! (p. 33.)

How pessimistic this is. This attitude is useless.

Why do WCG ministers usually tell their members not to read our material. The people are told to throw it away or give it to the minister unopened. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY THEY HAVE GIVEN SUCH A WARNING! Why? Because the truth we have is a fire that burns their spiritual chaff or worthless spiritual food. God's powerful truth is a hammer that breaks their false religious ideas to pieces! That is why the WCG ministers fear our message! That is why they strongly urge their members not to read it! (p. 35.)

In practice WCG members were widely discouraged from reading critical writings by peer pressure and admonitions by their leaders not to leave WCG. WCG members were told that if one left they could not be in the place of safety. So this kind of information control was widely used within HWA's WCG despite what Flurry here insinuates.

Everlasting reproach and perpetual shame that will never be forgotten is going to come upon them. Even the Laodiceans who repent in the Tribulation will have a certain eternal shame because they lost such a large share of their magnificent reward. (p. 37.)

And so Flurry insists that once the Great Tribulation begins those Laodiceans who had not joined PCG by then will forever bear shame that they failed to be in PCG at that time when they flee to the place of safety. This is just a fear inducing teaching designed to compel PCG members to stay despite the many problems within it.

Chapter 5: A Glorious End

The last few pages contain esoteric descriptions of Israel glorified by the returning Christ to lead humanity in the Millenium.

You and I must make GOD'S WILL a part of our individual lives. YOU CAN MAKE GOD'S WILL YOUR WILL. THERE IS NO GREATER MIRACLE THAN THAT! Knowing God's will helps us to understand who are true and who are false prophets. (p. 39.)

What this really means is that Flurry wants the reader to view what PCG's leaders say as though it were the word of (PCG's) God and do what PCG's leaders say. This includes paying three tithes to PCG for the benefit of PCG's leaders.

This verse tells us we are getting very close to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! There are still more thrills and excitement to come. ... David is about to be resurrected to rule Israel--under Jesus Christ. (p. 41.)

It is now twenty-two years (8030 days) since this booklet was printed. Were PCG "very close" to Christ's coming all that time?

In "the latter days" we'll understand it. This is a promise from God! Do you understand it? IF YOU FIND A CHURCH THAT TRULY UNDERSTANDS THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH IN THIS END TIME, THEN YOU HAVE FOUND GOD'S TRUE CHURCH! (p. 41.)

Many of PCG's teachings are factually incorrect, including the dogma of British Israelism. PCG has made many inaccurate predictions about world events thus proving they are false prophets. There is no need to fear that what they say might come to pass. God is not with PCG.

Afterwards Flurry advertises an article on this topic.

(For more information on this subject, write for our free article on "Germany in Prophecy.")

I suspect that article was the basis for Gerald Flurry's booklet, Nahum: An End-Time Prophecy for Germany.

After this Flurry speaks rapturously that America will be saved after the second coming. Here Flurry promises PCG members of the great glory and power that awaits them after the second coming if they join PCG.

The watchmen [glorified PCG members after the second coming] are going to see Israel coming back from captivity. They will signal each group to join the procession--saying "let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God!" Oh, if only we could see now what God has in store for us! The Church leads Israel to God. Then ISRAEL LEADS THE WHOLE WORLD TO GOD! At last, the world has peace. (p. 42.)

Some wonder why so many PCG members remain there despite the many problems there. This is part of the reason why they stay. They think this great future awaits them if they only stay within PCG. They are told they will lose this future power if they leave PCG.

Flurry ends this booklet with these words.

Even Jeremiah’s temporary “doom” contains great hope. He was not a prophet of doom. He was a prophet of incredible hope. If only the world could understand his wonderful message now, so much suffering could be prevented. Jeremiah talked about bad news only because of this world’s rebellion against God. But his overall message was filled with hope! (p. 45.) 

But one can only gain this hope by joining PCG and paying the three tithes.

At the end of the booklet is advertizing for PCG's booklet, Worldwide Church of God Doctrinal Changes and the Tragic Results. This booklet was the most explicit and detailed description and criticism of the Tkach changes published by PCG. But today it is out of print and it is not available on the Internet. It is strange to think that a group that so often boasts of opposing the Tkach changes has not bothered to continue using the most detailed condemnation of the Tkach changes they have produced. Maybe they were worried that PCG members would start wondering why PCG's leaders have made so many changes to HWA's teachings while euphemistically describing these changes as "new revelation". 

This is also advertizing for PCG's Philadelphia Trumpet magazine. Although at times they may deny it it's purpose is to It shows pictures of some of the early magazine issues.

The May 1992 issue is shown but its picture is obscured.

One issue has a picture of the LA riots of 1992. Thanks to The Ezekiel Watchman booklet I know that is the June 1992 issue.

Another issue has a photo of a Nazi parade from the time of Nazi Germany. Thanks to The Ezekiel Watchman booklet I know that is the July 1992 issue. Also because its photo is very similar to the original cover of Gerald Flurry's booklet, Nahum: An End-Time Prophecy for Germany, it is very likely that the article cited in that issue, 'Germany in Prophecy', served as the basis for that booklet.

The August 1992 issue is shown with the headline: "God's End-Time Church: "Bowed the Knee to Baal"". Clearly the main article was yet another denunciation of the Tkach changes.

The November 1992 issue features a picture of a Protestant church.

The January 1993 issue shows a portrait of HWA.

One issue shows the cover that is used for the cover of Gerald Flurry's 1992 booklet, The Ezekiel Watchman. It is not possible to determine the date of that issue from the picture.

And there are addresses for (1) "United States and Canada", (2) "New Zealand and the Pacific Isles", (3) "Australia" and (4) "United Kingdom and rest of Europe".

And so this booklet comes to an end. Yet again we see Gerald Flurry trying to scare people into despair and thinking that only by joining PCG can they have any hope of overcoming the many problems of the world. His hysterical warnings are now badly outdated and rendered meaningless and obsolete. No wonder PCG changed and made a new booklet in 1999.

President Obama Says Economy Improving But PCG Will Likely Deny This

So President Obama has delivered his State of the Union address. It is he had these words:

We are fifteen years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many.

But tonight, we turn the page.

Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before; more of our people are insured than ever before; we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we've been in almost 30 years. ...

At this moment – with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production – we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. ...

thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save $750 at the pump.

I strongly suspect that PCG's writers will nevertheless insist that the President is completely wrong. If they do it will be mentioned here. They will tell PCG members to disregard what is said here. Ignore what you see with your eyes they will be told.

Some of what they have been saying insisting that, contrary to all the evidence, it is still just like 2008 may be seen in this post.

PCG's Christopher Eames Says PCG is Criticized Just Like Israeli Soldiers

PCG's Christopher Eames has written an article ("The Young Soldiers of Israel", January 6, 2015) in which he talks about the soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force, some of whom he met while working in the archeological dig in Jerusalem which PCG sponsors in order to bolster their claim to be the one true church.

At the archaeological dig, I would ask my fellow workers—who were around my age in their early 20s—about what their jobs were while on duty. One, a tank driver. Another, an artillery man. One young woman was a commanding officer for a group of tank engineers. One young man had spent his time jumping out of airplanes as a paratrooper. These were ordinary young people working on the dig site—people who had never met before, but all connected by the common bond of military service. These youth were forced to grow up quickly, and had already experienced during their teen years things most other Westerners would never hope to experience during a lifetime. The experience matured them like nothing else.

My assistant supervisor told me about his military service. Some of his friends, who were conscripted slightly earlier than him, found themselves embroiled in the 2006 Lebanon War. He said his friends still suffer from haunting memories of that devastating conflict.

No doubt the war in 2006 must have been a most harrowing experience.

Eames says their training is like nothing else in the world.

The training process for Israeli soldiers is unique. Oftentimes at our excavation in Jerusalem, large groups of young Israeli soldiers in dark green military uniforms would come by and look in to the dig site from the perimeter fence. The young conscripts take tours around the significant historical sites. Why? So that they can better understand what they are fighting for. What other military does that?

As though Eames would know how to compare what the Israeli Defense Force does with other armies. 

But although Eames writes of these soldiers sympathetically he makes sure to insist to PCG members that taking up arms to defend one's nation is sinful and that PCG members are forbidden to imitate the Israeli soldiers' example.

The battles of those of us in the Church of God are not of this physical world (John 18:36). Should conscription be required in our own countries, it should be confidently refused, and we should be able to unashamedly state the biblical reasons why...

So since PCG members refuse to bear arms then why is it that PCG's leaders constantly call for war with Iran? Every political set back the US government endures is followed with wild denunciations of the supposed decline of America and bellyaching that America needs to be stronger. So often they talk as though they would like nothing better then to see America at war.  Most Americans as not hungry for war as PCG's writers so far often portray themselves.

PCG's leaders often claim to love the Jews and the Israelis. But what will PCG's leaders do to any Israeli Jew happens to think that negotiations and compromise should be more important?

Israel is on the back foot. The EU, papacy, liberal socialist media and certain quisling Israelis are all stacked against them. The Palestinians have world opinion heavily on their side. (Surrounded by Armies, Philadelphia Trumpet, August 2001.)

Why, according to PCG's leaders, such Israeli Jews who want peace are just like collaborators with the Nazis. So we see that PCG's leaders' love of Israeli Jews is actually quite selective. For any Israeli Jews who does not fit with PCG's leaders' ideal image are simply sullenly held in contempt like Nazi collaborators. What an inflammatory and vicious thing to say.

We return now to Eames's article.

Then Eames rather hilariously compares PCG members who refuse to bear arms as being criticized just like the soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force.

Israel’s military is often criticized by much of a media-frenzied, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel Western world. More often than not, these are just armchair critics who have lived a cushy, privileged life, failing to see a rare army of dedicated teenagers and 20-somethings fighting for the survival and livelihood of their beloved nation.

We receive similar criticism—criticism that doubtless will only increase as time progresses. That makes it all the more important to be firmly grounded in the knowledge of what we are fighting for. So remember your history. Understand what you are fighting for as a young spiritual soldier for Christ.

So Eames speaks of "armchair critics who have lived a cushy, privileged life". Strange, that sounds a lot like PCG's leaders. They very often simply comment on some news articles and insist that somehow from their perch in Edmond, Oklahoma, they know what is really going on. They do not go to talk with the leaders changing the state of the world today they just write about some news articles. Meanwhile they enjoy the adulation, respect and fear of their lay members. They live off of the tithes and offerings of their followers who gave them $19.5 million in 2012. How does that description not fit PCG's leaders?

PCG's leaders often claim to love the State of Israel, but they would never go to war for them. They would just moan that America should go to war and try to incite others to go to war. They would never send themselves.