Overview of the January 2022 Issue of PCG's Trumpet

Around late November 2021, before the escalation of the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, PCG published the January 2022 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. Let's see what the PCG leadership have to say this time.

Gerald Flurry had a personal article bad mouthing modern society for changing. However societal change is natural and normal.

Stephen Flurry had an article complaining children's books. He indulges in red baiting accusing the political left of being Communist.

Stephen Flurry had a side article insisting that various old Communist texts predicted this development. Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci are cited.

Rufaro Manyepa had a side article condemning various children's books. He mentions 14 books. One of them is a book entitled Antiracist Baby. What possible objection could the PCG leadership have against a book featuring a title opposed to racism?

Andrew Müller had an article scare mongering that measures to contain and mitigate the effect of the coronavirus pandemic are some sort of plot to change society somehow.

Richard Palmer had an article complaining about the negative effects of restrictions caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Instead of encouraging people to do what they could to make this dreadful pandemic not so widespread they chose to stir up hostility and resentment against governmental authorities for trying to mitigate this terrible crisis.

Andrew Müller had an article complaining about environmental reforms.

There is also a side article denouncing widespread concern about climate change which is here denounced as a scam. Pretending that global warming is not happening is not a solution.

The Infographic presents various graphs to insist that climate change is not really happening.

Joel Hilliker had an article reciting the doctrine that all governments will be replaced by the rule of (PCG's interpretation of) Jesus Christ after the Second Coming. Armstrongites have been promoting this idea continuously since the 1930s and yet it never happens and the world we live in continues to be.

Gerald Flurry had an article complaining that once Queen Elizabeth II passes away this will weaken ties to the UK monarchy in Commonwealth nations. (This article was written before she passed away on September 8, 2022.) Ironically Gerald Flurry was born and lives in a nation that overthrew that monarchy after six years of war (1775-81).

Jeremiah Jacques had an article scare mongering that Japan is building up its military. PCG constantly stirs up fear of Japan even though Japan has been allied with the United States for decades.

Gerald Flurry had an article saying "the key of David" unlocks one's ability to become a member of the God Family. In the context of PCG dogma what Gerald Flurry calls the key of David vision is essentially a phrase used to promote the alleged glorious afterlife of being a God being as fully God as God is God though of a lower rank.

SocietyWatch has a segment promoting an already debunked rumor (as may be seen in this October 8, 2021 AP article) claiming that Pfizer used cells from aborted fetuses in developing their coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine does not contain "aborted fetal cell lines." Rather the fetal cell lines are used to test drugs to check that it is safe for human beings. Many drugs go through this standard, routine safety measure. It is also implied that Pfizer hid this information. They did not. It will never be known how many people have suffered or even died of that dreadful disease because some people were hesitant to get vaccinated because of such rumors.

Joel Hilliker had an article telling people to stop coveting.

Stephen Flurry had an article complaining about Pfizer and accusing that company of having control over media outlets and politicians. It is awful that so many people chose to vilify and condemn vital medical treatments during the crisis caused by Covid-19. Those who refuse proper medical assistance risk harming their health and even risk death.

There is no need for anyone to be afraid of PCG's fear based statements about the future. Since its founding in 1989 PCG have made over 50 false predictions of the future. They clearly cannot see the future. There is no need to fear PCG's predictions of the future.

Overview of the November-December 2021 Issue of PCG's Philadelphia Trumpet

Around late October 2021 PCG published the November-December 2021 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. Let's see what the PCG leadership have to say this time.

Gerald Flurry has a personal article scare mongering that the European Union will suddenly transform into a frightful military power which will militarily conquer the United States just before Christ's return. Armstrongites have been shrilly insisting that this would happen any moment now since the 1930s. This prediction has never been fulfilled because they are but false prophets.

Richard Palmer has a side article exploiting France's anger over the establishment of the AUKUS alliance between the United States, Britain and Australia to make it appear more likely that the Europeans will soon turn against the United States.

Jeremiah Jacques has an article exploiting tensions regarding Taiwan. This is a tragic issue that is ever with us and Armstrongites have long exploited this issue to make their followers fearful of the future. 

Joel Hilliker has an article discussing commercial space travel. Armstrongism teaches that it is humanity's destiny to become God beings as fully God as God is God though of a lower rank. They often claim that such persons are able to traverse the Universe at the speed of thought. This teaching is drastically contrary to the Bible and what is taught in mainstream Judaism and Christianity.

Mihailo Zekić has an article discussing the civil war in Ethiopia. He speculates that it may be mentioned in the Bible. It is not. But PCG's interpretation of Daniel 11:40-45 makes the PCG leadership ever fixated on Ethiopia. They believe that Ethiopia will join forces with a resurgent Iran and provoke the future European Empire into conquering Iran, the Middle East and Ethiopia in the war the PCG leadership says will occur before Christ's return.

Andrew Müller has an article insisting that the infamous "audit" of presidential election votes in Maricopa County, Arizona revealed that things were wrong with the presidential election. PCG is committed to promoting what many experts, journalists and commentators often refer to as the big lie, namely the claim that Donald Trump somehow won the 2020 election. This claim has been discredited in the courts of law dozens of times but certain political demagogues know that most people do not tend to read such court rulings so they can get away with promoting this false claim. As a result many Americans do not realize that Biden won. 

Andrew Müller also has an article discussing inflation and the supply chain crisis.

Andrew Müller also has a side article (which is left with no byline in the print version for some reason) insinuating that the "radical left" is plotting to "exterminate" capitalism. The website lists this side article's author as Andrew Müller.

The side article makes the following polemical accusation against Saule Omarova.

Is it a coincidence that the woman Joe Biden nominated as comptroller of the currency is a Moscow State University graduate who received the Lenin Personal Academic Scholarship? It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that the radical left’s coronavirus response is revolutionizing the nation in ways that socialists like Bernie Sanders, Michael Moore and Rachel Maddow always hoped for.

Saule Omarova's nomination was withdrawn. Will the PCG leadership tell their followers that now there is hope to defeat those the PCG leadership view as the political left? Of course not. They will continue presenting events in a dire, heart rending manner because it is easier to move people to do what you want when people are distressed and afraid.

The side article also quotes Vladimir Lenin saying that he was producing too much money in order to destroy capitalism. However that quote can only refer to a brief period in the early history of the Soviet Union when the Bolsheviks imposed so-called "war communism." In 1921 the regime under Lenin moved away from this policy by adopting the New Economic Policy which adopted certain capitalistic features in society. Hyperinflation was not generally relied upon in the old Soviet Union. All this context is ignored in PCG's article. 

The Infographic discusses the supply chain crisis.

Joel Hilliker has an excerpt telling his male readers that they need to be manly men. At one point he complains that women and children are oppressing men.

When there are no strong men to lead, something else fills the void: “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them” (verse 12). Some say more work needs to be done to secure women’s rights. God says the opposite! He says women and children already lead society!

That passage of Isaiah was talking about the ancient Kingdom of Judah. To say that passage refers to modern American society is taking that passage out of context. Also Americans of European descent are not descended from the northern Kingdom of Israel. This dogma is named British Israelism and happens to be untrue. Nevertheless Armstrongites continue to base most of the prophetic predictions based on this incorrect dogma. 

Jeremiah Jacques and Mihailo Zekić have an article discussing the development of the Loess Plateau in China. Without doubt this is a great and praiseworthy achievement. But none of those responsible are Armstrongites.

The PCG leadership has included an excerpt from their Bible study course telling their readers that humanity is now existing in the "last days" just before Christ's return as Armstrongites have been constantly insisting since the 1930s.

Joel Hilliker has an article telling people that they need to focus.

Brad Macdonald has an article telling his readers that one does not necessarily need to be saddened by the current state of affairs because a new world will soon arrive following Christ's return.

In this article Macdonald unscientifically refers to Covid-19 as the "Fauci-China virus" associating that dreadful disease with a nation and an individual when medical practice is to not name diseases after nations or people. The Chinese government has made it clear that they object to having that dreadful disease be named after their nation. Since this pandemic began there have been numerous attacks against people of Asian descent. This wave of hate crimes is clearly motivated at least in part by blaming Chinese people for starting this pandemic.

The reference to Dr. Fauci refers to a nasty rumor that the political right was pushing at the time that Dr. Fauci headed some governmental department that funded the Wuhan Institute of Vironology. The insinuation here being that he funded the creation of that dreadful disease. None of these sensationalist claims can be proven. The lab in question has denied that there was any leak. 

Efforts to encourage people to get vaccinated are mischaracterized by Macdonald as "vaccine tyranny." To their eternal shame PCG has made it a habit to stir up hesitancy regarding the Covid-19 vaccines leaving their followers and readers more susceptible to contracting that dreadful disease.

Macdonald claims that "immanent civil war" awaits America but it is only the political right that contemplates such an occurrence happening.

Macdonald also alludes to the homophobia, transphobia and opposition to feminism that PCG so often promotes when he writes that the "new world" after Christ's return will have "no confusion about gender, sex or family." Some Republican led states 

And so we see that the PCG leadership has produced yet another issue of their recruitment magazine to keep their followers persuaded that PCG is worthy of loyalty and to try to persuade other people to join PCG. However since their founding in 1989 the PCG leadership have produced numerous false prophecies that prove that they cannot see the future. There is no need for anyone to fear their dire predictions of the future.

PCG Absurdly Compares USA to Sri Lanka Crisis

As is well known Sri Lanka is currently stuck within a severe economic and political crisis. PCG has published an article about this crisis. However instead of explaining what is happening the crisis is exploited to imply that the United States may also soon end up like Sri Lanka. (Richard Palmer, Could America Soon Look Like Sri Lanka?, April 20, 2022.)

Palmer says Sri Lanka has a corruption problem. But many nations have problems with corruption and they are not falling apart like Sri Lanka. That does not explain this situation in and of itself.

Palmer says Sri Lanka is allying itself with China. He says Sri Lanka has been making trade deals with China and not getting good deals with them. But many nations have made trade deals with China and they are not falling apart like present day Sri Lanka. That also does not explain this situation in and of itself.

Palmer says Sri Lanka has a lot of debt. But many nations have a lot of debt without falling apart the way Sri Lanka is. That also does not explain this situation in and of itself.

Then finally Palmer mentions something truly specific to Sri Lanka.

The government also made things worse, abruptly banning the import of pesticides and forcing the country to switch to organic farming last year. In the long run, moving away from pesticides and herbicides has a lot of advantages. But it’s not a change that can easily be made at the drop of a hat. Food output plummeted, and the country had to import more, worsening its economic situation.

That is what really set Sri Lanka onto its path to catastrophe. Back in April 2021 the Sri Lanka government banned certain pesticides and essentially ordered the nation's farmers to switch to organic farming. With this sudden switch productivity declined to such an extent that it began to cause many other horrible negative consequences that are now sorely evident to everyone. 

But PCG relies on a lay membership mainly based in the United States so Palmer has to scare monger that a similar situation will occur in the United States.

The big difference is, the U.S. dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Despite a series of horrible decisions, people are still willing to buy it: They need to, to engage in international trade. Even so, inflation is starting to bite, at 8.5 percent.

No one thinks that corruption, inflation or debt are good things. But it’s easy to lose sight of how destructive they can be. Sri Lanka shows that they have potential to be nation-destroying problems. And the U.S. is walking down the same path.

It is very unlikely that the United States could collapse in this manner. Especially since the US has not tried to impose all farmers to organic farming. It is unfortunate that PCG tries to scare a predominantly  American readership by absurdly implying that something similar to the crisis in Sri Lanka will soon happen to the United States. Since their founding in 1989 PCG have produced numerous false prophecies that have failed miserably. There is no need to fear PCG's dire predictions about the future.

Roe v. Wade Overthrown

Politico broke the story. The US Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade and let the individual states decide how to manage abortion instead of following the 49 year old precedent of respecting abortion as a right guaranteed by the federal government.

It is reasonable to assume that the Armstrongite groups will be pleased with this development. Similar to evangelical churches and the Roman Catholic Church the Armstrongites tend to teach that abortion is forbidden within their religion. (Fred Dattolo, "Is Abortion Murder?," Tomorrow's World, March-April 2001, pp. 14-17.) At times LCG even compare abortion to the Holocaust even though most American Jews support abortion being legal. (Douglas S. Winnail, "Abortion: A Modern Holocaust?," Tomorrow's World, March-April 2005, pp. 10-13, 29.) But despite this stance it does appear that the old WCG did encourage abortion under certain extreme circumstances as is evident in an article for The Plain Truth which was published in 1985.

Having read the draft opinion by Justice Alito it cannot help but be noted that there is little discussion about the inevitable negative effects of such a ruling upon women in the United States. One cannot help but think about Savita Halappanavar, a woman who died on October 28, 2012 in Ireland after her request for an abortion was denied. The outcry over her death help lead Ireland into legalizing abortion. 

Also noteworthy is what happened to Agnieszka T., a woman in Poland who died of sepsis after being denied an abortion on January 25, 2022. She was the mother of three children. Recently Poland passed a law making abortion very difficult to get. Because of that restrictive law tragic events like this are now happening in Poland.

Knowing of such events it seems certain that harrowing events like this will happen in the United States once a ruling allowing states to restrict abortion is made law. It is to be wondered at if the right wing judges in the US Supreme Court are not worried about these consequences of their ruling.

(Knowing how passionately views are held on this issue on both sides I am not interested in trying to change peoples' religious views on abortion. Many unconnected to Armstrongism also condemn abortion. So if one were to criticize the anti-abortion stance such a person would be criticizing many other people outside of the Armstrongite groups. On this blog I wish to focus on Armstrongism. But I cannot help but express sadness at what will inevitably occur under laws that severely restricts access to abortion. We need to see things as they are, not what we wish them to be.)

PCG Fails to Anticipate Diplomatic Tensions Between Iran and the Taliban

Recently Iran and the Taliban have been having a quarrel over accusations that Afghan refugees are not treated well in Iran.

DUBAI, April 12 (Reuters) - Iran summoned the Afghan envoy to Tehran on Tuesday, Iranian state TV reported, a day after protesters threw rocks at Iranian diplomatic missions in Kabul and Herat over what they called "mistreatment of Afghan refugees" in the Islamic Republic.

The protests began after videos posted on Twitter in recent days showed young Afghan refugees in Iran being harassed and humiliated by ordinary Iranians. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the videos. (Reuters, "Iran summons Afghan envoy after protesters throw rocks at diplomatic missions," April 13, 2022.)

The PCG leadership, who claim to know so much about what will happen in the future, failed to anticipate such disagreements occurring. When the Taliban conquered Afghanistan PCG produced an article saying that Iran and the Taliban are working together.

The Taliban and Iran are not enemies. They are fighting for the same team, and Iran is king. ...

The Taliban gaining power will not counter Iran’s hegemony in the region. In fact, not only did Iran plan for America’s eventual exit from Afghanistan—there is proof it also worked with the Taliban for almost a decade to bring it about.

The Taliban takeover gives the forces of radical Islam a massive economic, military and ideological boost. And the power that will benefit most is Iran. (Brent Nagtegaal, With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends?, October 2021.)

Back in 1998 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif were killed by the Taliban and there was much fear that Iran could have gone to war against the Taliban in retaliation. Iran and the Taliban are their own political actors but PCG is devoted to scare mongering about Iran. 

Since the 1990s Gerald Flurry has dogmatically declared that Iran will be the 'King of the South' fated to fight and get routed by the future European Empire. Consequently scare mongering about Iran is a way for PCG to portray their leader, Gerald Flurry, as one able to see the future. This motive makes PCG less inclined to pay attention to news that does not fit their dogmas about supposed future events such as Afghan protesters throwing stones at Iranian diplomatic property over rumors of mistreatment of Afghan refugees in Iran.

Reading Mark Mendiola's Article, The Bible: A Book for All Time (2001)

The fourteenth issue of LCG's recruitment magazine, Tomorrow's World (September-October 2001), featured an article by Mark Mendiola of Pocatello, Idaho entitled "The Bible: A Book for All Time." (pp. 16-19.) This was the twelfth of several articles Mendiola would write for this recruitment magazine. Here Mendiola praises the Holy Bible and cites Christians who disagreed with many of Armstrongism's dogmas to praise the Bible but then he says the Bible cannot be understood until one chooses to obey (LCG's interpretation of) God.

Mendiola quotes Queen Victoria, William Gladstone, George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Sir William Herschel and Sir Isaac Newton as persons who revered the Bible. However all of those persons believed things very different from what is taught in the Armstrongite organizations. They all belonged to churches that worshipped on Sunday, a practice Herbert Armstrong and his imitators insist is the mark of the beast of Revelation 13. Newton was alleged to have held dissident religious views. George Washington at times refused to take communion in his Episcopal church. Abraham Lincoln was alleged to believe in universal salvation. The British monarch leads the Church of England. William Gladstone was a member of the Church of England. Theodore Roosevelt was a member of the Reformed Church in America. Since they do not share the views of LCG why did Mendiola cite them in this article? How is this not a lie? Mendiola cites these famous persons to say the Bible is revered and true in a publication designed to get recruits for LCG, an organization that teaches things contrary to what those famous persons actually believed.

He extols the Old Testament and the New Testament and then he quotes a Jewish archaeologist even though Judaism does not view the New Testament as canon.

Dr. Nelson Glueck, a renowned Jewish archaeologist, observed: “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to discoveries” (Rivers in the Desert, Glueck, p. 31).

Dr. Glueck was also a rabbi of Reform Judaism. It is reasonable to assume that in the passage above Dr. Glueck was referring to the Hebrew Bible, namely the Old Testament. This is misleading to the readers. Mendiola glides over this flaw in his article and refuses this address the problem of quoting a Jewish rabbi while promoting the New Testament. Was he hoping that his readers would not notice this flaw? The fact that Mendiola did this indicates that this article was directed at people who only have a very superficial knowledge of Judaism.

Mendiola also cites some other persons like Jeffery Sheler and Grant Jeffrey but, again, they belonged to Christian churches which worship on Sunday thus, according to Herbert Armstrong and his imitators, they bear the mark of the beast. Why does Mendiola cite people who worship on Sunday when he belonged to an organization that teaches that worshipping on Sunday is a terrible thing?

He also cites Charles Sellier and Brian Russell but those men did not appear to have been affiliated with any Armstrongite organization. Mendiola cites all these people to praise the Bible but he does so selectively. He chooses to cite certain words of theirs to say the Bible is of religious importance and reliable but, at the time this article was written, he disregarded anything they say contrary to Armstrongism by choosing to be a follower of LCG.

Then after praising the Christian Bible he insists that the Bible cannot be understood unless one chooses to obey (LCG's interpretation of) God.

Amazingly, the Bible even predicts many would not understand it and would consider it cryptic. Most people in the world are drunken with false doctrine and ideas that blur the precious truths contained within its pages. Many consider it sealed. Others think they are not educated enough or must be fluent in Hebrew or Greek to understand it. Even ministers are confused about its teachings....

Jesus Christ said that His disciples would be given the spiritual discernment to understand the hidden truths of the Bible. He told His disciples that He spoke in parables so only they would understand the mysteries of God, and the world at large would not ....

The Living God who inspired the Bible must open our minds to understand it as we show Him a willingness and humility to obey His instructions. ... Obedience to God is the key that will unlock for you the truths of the Bible: a book for all time!

Among the Armstrongite organizations it is taught that one cannot join unless (Armstrongism's interpretation of) God open that person's perception to begin to believe Armstrongism. This explanation is quite useful in explaining away why most people do not convert to Armstrongism after learning about it.

This article seems to be merely a paean to the Holy Bible but it is actually deceptive in citing persons who revered the Bible while being used in a magazine designed to attract recruits into an Armstrongite organization. The people Mendiola cited did not adhere or believe in what was taught by Armstrongites including LCG. It is deceptive to cite these persons and then insist that they are wrong in every stance contrary to Armstrongism.

In September 2006 Mendiola left LCG and joined Dave Pack's Restored Church of God. Around 2008 he left RCG and joined Don Billingsley's Church of God-Faithful Flock. He was credited as helping to produce COG-FF's magazine, The Philadelphia Remnant, as late as 2012.

Reading Mark Mendiola's Article, A Powerless America? (2001)

The thirteen issue of LCG's recruitment magazine, Tomorrow's World (July-August 2001), featured an article by Mark Mendiola of Pocatello, Idaho entitled "A Powerless America?" (pp. 20-24.) This was the eleventh of several articles Mendiola would write for this recruitment magazine. Here Mendiola cites energy management issues as evidence that the United States will soon collapse.

Simultaneous energy and water shortages jeopardize the faltering U.S. economy’s chances for a strong recovery. Bible prophecy indicates that conditions may grow much worse before they improve.

Mendiola discusses strain upon the energy supply in west coast states of the USA. He cites President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. He also cites a future Governor of Washington.

“You can today see blackouts coming, as big as life, and an energy crisis going into the fall,” said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.

In the entire article there is no discussion about climate change.

He ends this article claiming that these energy supply problems are signs of an impending catastrophe about to hit the United States.

Is it merely coincidence that the U.S. is confronting major crises on several fronts that threaten to cause major hardships and suffering? Most experts are reluctant to cite it as a source, but the Holy Bible plainly shows a cause and-effect reason for what can accurately be described as curses plaguing the nation. Our actions— the choices we make—determine whether we are blessed or cursed. The Living Creator God who inspired the Bible warns of adverse consequences if we disobey commandments, but blessings if we are obedient to His spiritual laws. ...

God then describes curses that would result—including terrorism, disease outbreaks, farm disasters and defeat by enemies. He also describes a drought that symbolically turns the heavens and earth dry and hard. ...

U.S. energy, water and economic crises are worsening as snowpack, spring runoff and reservoir levels dwindle due to drought conditions gripping major regions of the nation. Those setbacks further weaken the nation’s power and prestige. ... Breaking God’s commandments brings national as well as individual curses on us. T he choice is ours.

LCG and the other Armstrongite groups teach that white Americans are descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Israel described in the Bible which was conquered by the Assyrians around 720 BCE. This idea is called British Israelism. This idea is used within the Armstrongite groups to insist that the frightful fate of military conquest and exile that the ancient Israelites and Jews endured will occur to the United States in the near future. The Armstrongites have been teaching this since the 1930s. But the idea called British Israelism happens to be false. Non-Jewish Americans of European descent are not descended from the ancient Israelites.

 

In this article Mendiola cites Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 11 as evidence that the United States will soon endure terrible things but those passages were describing warnings to the ancient Israelites and Jews. These warnings were alluding to the conquest of those kingdoms by the Assyrians and the Babylonians and the subsequent exiles they were forced to endure. Those Biblical passages were not talking about 21st Century America. Those Biblical passages were cited out of context. There is no need to fear the dire predictions of the Armstrongites.

In September 2006 Mendiola left LCG and joined Dave Pack's Restored Church of God. Around 2008 he left RCG and joined Don Billingsley's Church of God-Faithful Flock. He was credited as helping to produce COG-FF's magazine, The Philadelphia Remnant, as late as 2012.

Russia Launches Armed Campaign Against Ukraine

That which many feared has begun to occur. Russia has chosen to fight Ukraine. This is a terrible, awful moment the world is now witnessing. The potential death, destruction and humanitarian crisis this will cause is dreadful.

With such terrible news some within the Armstrongite organizations or their former members may start to fear that this is somehow the beginning of the dire predictions Herbert Armstrong and his imitators have taught. This is no such thing. Herbert Armstrong was a false prophet who made many false predictions thus proving that he is a false prophet. There is no need to fear his dire predictions. 

And since Herbert Armstrong was a false prophet then anyone seeking to produce prophecies and predictions based on what Herbert Armstrong said are also false prophets. There is no need to fear their dire predictions either.

PCG Creates an Archaeology Institute

PCG has announced the establishment of their archaeology institute, the Armstrong-Mazar Institute of Biblical Archaeology. (Brad Macdonald, Trumpet Followers, Meet AMIBA, January 20, 2021.) This move was largely expected after PCG's leader, Gerald Flurry, printed a co-worker letter promoting the idea back on November 1, 2021.

Macdonald says that the PCG leadership hopes to excavate again.

AMIBA will also continue to sponsor and participate in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. Even now we are working with Hebrew University and the various authorities and organizations in Israel to plan a new excavation. We hope to announce this new dig over the next few months.

Macdonald states:

The ultimate mission of this institute is to showcase and share Israel’s biblical archaeology with the largest audience possible, especially the people of Israel.

Let us note. PCG, an Armstrongite organization predominantly based in America, is going to all this trouble and expense to promote archaeology to Israelis. Why not let Israelis promote archaeology among themselves?

There can be no misunderstanding. PCG is doing this for themselves. This move promotes PCG. Presumably the PCG leadership hope this will give them an opportunity to gain respect and trust from Israeli society.

And there might be another reason the PCG leadership are devoting so much time and money to reaching out to Israeli Jews.

The State of Israel has plenty of problems. The best thing PCG could do to the nation is to leave. Leave them alone. The vast majority of Jews, in Israel and elsewhere, are not interested in joining the Christian churches or Armstrongites organizations like PCG. Also they do not need PCG to learn about archaeology.

May PCG's efforts in the Holy Land fail.

Vaccination Against Covid-19 is Necessary

The recent rise of Covid Omicron shows again the necessity of getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Millions have been vaccinated. I myself got vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine as soon as I could. I encourage everyone to be vaccinated against Covid-19 subject to medical advice. If anyone is concerned let them consult with their doctors.

Unfortunately some within the Armstrongite groups have chosen to scare monger about the Covid vaccines leaving their followers more vulnerable to getting infected with the dreaded disease. Sadly many people all over the world who were vaccine hesitant have suffered or even died when they could have avoided getting the dreadful disease by getting vaccinated.

All of us need to be responsible during this ongoing crisis.

Happy new year everyone. May the year 2022 be a happy and prosperous time for you.

PCG Using Vicious Rhetoric Against Barack Obama

PCG has long vilified Barack Obama. In 2013 Gerald Flurry called him "another Antiochus," comparing him to Antiochus Epiphanes and Joseph Tkach, Jr. PCG continued this theme on November 2, 2021 when PCG posted an article by Stephen Flurry in which he wrote the following about Barack Obama.

On October 23, Obama was campaigning in Virginia for Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Criticizing the opposing nominee and conservatives in general, he said, “We don’t have time to be wasting on these phony, trumped-up culture wars, this fake outrage that right-wing media pedals to juice their ratings—and the fact that he’s willing to go along with it? Instead of talking about serious problems that actually affect serious people? That’s a shame. That’s not what this election is about.”

And then Stephen Flurry discusses a tragic case of sexual abuse currently going through the justice system which has been used by the political right to attack transgender friendly policies. Unfortunately PCG has a long history of condemning transgender people.

While recounting this case Stephen Flurry names the victim's father. Many media reports about this case refrained from naming him to protect the victim's identity. And yet Stephen Flurry and the PCG leadership chose otherwise. Consequently I will refrain from linking to the article. 

Stephen Flurry then says:

Barack Obama, leader of radicals who have elevated grievance and complaining to a bizarre art form, says that if you are upset about this, your outrage is “phony.” He is not a normal person. He is a heartless monster.

Stephen Flurry is alluding to a statement by  Fox News' Tucker Carlson. He stated the following at the start of the article.

Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson recently condemned him as a “heartless monster.” Carlson is more right than he realizes.

Vicious, bitter rhetoric such as this reveals more about the PCG leadership than anything they were trying to say in this article.

Herman Hoeh's Tale of the Cannibal King

Herman Hoeh asserted in his presently discredited Compendium of World History that one ancient ruler of Egypt was a cannibal, namely Unis, who is also referred to as Unas, the last king of Dynasty V.

With Unis the dynasty comes to a catastrophic end. (He was a contemporary of the Pharaoh who perished at the Red Sea.) The king died the night of the Passover. Unis was a firstborn' He was also a cannibal! After Moses left Egypt, he commenced the frightful practice of eating the firstborn of his enemies. That is one of the reasons God slew the firstborn of Egypt. From the pyramid-tomb of Unis one may read this horrible account of his life, his blasphemous claims, and his deeds.

"Behold, Unas hath arrived at the height of heaven .... Ra is on one side and Horus is on the other, and Unas is between them .... Unas hath weighed his word with the hidden god who hath no name, on the day of hacking in pieces the firstborn .... Unas devoureth men .... He ... cutteth off hairy scalps ... the cordmaster hath bound them for slaughter. Khonsu the slayer of ... hath cut their throats and drawn out their inward parts, for it was he whom Unas sent to drive them in: and Shesem hath cut them in pieces and boiled their members in his blazing cauldrons. Unas hath eaten their words of power, and he hath swallowed their spirits; the great ones among them serve for his meal at daybreak, the lesser serve for his meal at eventide, and the least among them serve for his meal at night. The old gods and the old goddesses become fuel for his furnace. The mighty ones in heaven shoot out fire under the cauldrons which are heaped up with the haunches of the firstborn; and he that maketh those who live in heaven to revolve around Unas hath shot into the cauldrons the haunches of their women of the gods in visible form. UNAS IS THE FIRSTBORN OF THE FIRSTBORN existence is ... and the offerings made unto him are more than those made unto the gods ..." (from E. A. Wallis Budge's "A History of Egypt", vol. II, pages 83-88.) Compare King Unis and his blasphemous claims with II Thessalonians 2:3-4. A remarkable analogy. (Herman Hoeh, Compendium of World History, Volume 1, Chapter 3.)

Hoeh was wrong. This hymn for Unas, which is called the Cannibal Hymn, was an allegory.

... the hymn is best understood as a mythologization of butchery ritual. The sacrifice of a bull was a key element in many Egyptian religious ceremonies. In the Cannibal Hymn, it is the gods who are butchered, cooked and eaten by the king, so that he may absorb and deploy their powers to assist him in his resurrection and apotheosis after death. (Toby Wilkinson, introduction to Text 3.1, Writings from Ancient Egypt, 2016.)

How good it is to be free from misunderstanding and error. 

PCG Blaming Obama for the Taliban Takeover: Overview of the October 2021 Issue of PCG's Philadelphia Trumpet

(Warning: This recruitment magazine discussed in this post is produced by an organization that has chosen to take an anti-vaxxer stance against Covid-19 vaccines. Such a stance encourages people to leave themselves vulnerable to getting that dreadful disease. The easiest way to reduce the risk of getting that dreadful disease is to get vaccinated. Many are encouraging people to get vaccinated subject to medical advice.)

Disclaimer: Page 10 features a disturbing photo of a child injured during a protest in Afghanistan.

In early September 2021 the PCG leadership released the October 2021 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. In this issue the PCG leadership exploit the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan to vilify President Biden ignoring the fact that it was President Trump who made a peace agreement with the Taliban behind the back of the Afghan government. That agreement was what made the tragic Taliban takeover possible.

The editors of this issue are Gerald Flurry, Stephen Flurry, Joel Hilliker, Philip Nice, Brad Macdonald, Richard Palmer, Jeremiah Jacques and Dennis Leap.

This issue had a circulation of 240,656 issues. The September issue had a circulation of 240,596 issues, a difference of only 60 issues. The August issue had a circulation of 239,545 issues. For the July issue it was 241,917 issues. For the May-June issue it was 243,028. For the April issue it was 247,023. For the March issue it was 248,523. The circulation for PCG's recruitment magazine appears to be slightly declining.

Gerald Flurry has an article insisting that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is part of a plot to destroy America. He blames Barack Obama and Satan. Back in 2013 Gerald Flurry labeled President Obama as "another Antiochus" comparing him to Antiochus Epiphanes and Joseph Tkach, Jr. Consequently Flurry often brings up Obama in order to "prove" his earlier condemnation of President Obama.

In the article Flurry refers to the Taliban as "barbarians" and "thugs." 

In the article Flurry accuses the Taliban of letting the suicide bomber into Kabul airport even though so many Afghan citizens were killed as well.

He also claims that Obama somehow planned for President Biden to get blamed. Flurry is so determined to stir up anger and hostility against Obama even though he has not held public office since January 20, 2017.

I believe Barack Obama intended Biden to take the flak for what has happened here. (p. 31.) 

Joel Hilliker has an article seeking to explain why America was unable to prevent the Taliban's return to power. It is insisted that the fall of Afghanistan is a sign of (PCG's) God's punishing the United States for being unrighteous, that is behaving contrary to PCG's dogmas. This is magical thinking that serves to devalue attempts to understand and explain how the fall of Afghanistan happened. Because of this the fall of Afghanistan is presented as something that just happened. The Taliban takeover is many things but it is not an accident. There are many reasons why this happened, not the least of which being corruption within the Afghan government.

Brent Nagtegaal has an article scare mongering that the Taliban takeover will somehow work to the benefit of Iran. It is insisted that Iran has been working with the Taliban since at least 2015. Since the early 1990s Gerald Flurry has taught that Iran will be the future King of the South consequently PCG's vilification of Iran serves to "prove" to their followers that Gerald Flurry can see the future.

This article features the following paragraph which focuses on the headlines used to describe the rise of the Taliban instead of discussing what is written in these articles. Links have been added in for convenience.

Yet when Kabul fell to the Taliban, prevailing media opinion was that Iran feared what would come next. “Taliban Surge Will Force Iran to Forge a New Defense Strategy,” reported Haaretz on August 13. “Iran Braces for Life Next Door to the Taliban Once Again,” Bloomberg headlined on August 19. Germany’s Deutsche Welle wrote, “Afghanistan: Taliban Offensive Puts Iran in a Bind.” These three headlines represent the broad consensus that while Iran might be happy America is gone from Afghanistan, it is terrified of the Taliban. (p. 8.) 

Since the Taliban's rise to power there have been reports that the Taliban have been persecuting people belonging to the Hazara ethnic group. Most Hazaras are Shia Muslims like the majority of Iran's population. Such reports will do nothing to foster friendly relations between the Taliban and Iran.

Richard Palmer has an article saying that Europe is adversely affected by the Taliban takeover. At one point on page 11 Palmer quotes the right wing British columnist Melanie Phillips who is often reverently quoted by PCG's writers. For decades the Armstrongites have insisted that predominantly Catholic Europe will soon militarily conquer the United States. This dire prediction has never occurred.

The article features this passage scare mongering about immigration. One moment he says the fall of Afghanistan is a terrible thing. Next moment he says be afraid if the resultant refugees move to your nation. 

Even before the Taliban took over, 30,000 people fled Afghanistan each week. ... an aid worker in Afghanistan, warned, “We can assume that up to 3 million Afghans will make their way to Europe in the foreseeable future.”

Less than half that number of refugees from around the world—1.3 million—arrived in Europe in 2015. The resulting political crisis shook the foundations of governments across the Continent and sparked an outbreak of political extremism not seen since the 1930s. Can European politics as we know it survive the arrival of 3 million Afghans? What if, as has occurred repeatedly in Europe, that mass of refugees harbors even a few terrorists? (p. 12.)

Governmental authorities are empowered to manage these issues but PCG's recruitment magazine irresponsibly foster fear and panic over people fleeing the Taliban, even slurring them as potential terrorists. 

Richard Palmer also has an article speculating that the Taliban takeover will strain relations between the United States and the United Kingdom. It is insisted that Britain is so alienated with America's withdrawal that they are aligning themselves more closely with Germany and France.

In this article Palmer includes a quote which accurately notes that the agreement to withdraw American military forces from Afghanistan was made by President Trump as part of an agreement with the Taliban.

“The American decision to withdraw was not just a mistake—it was an avoidable mistake, from President [Donald] Trump’s flawed deal with the Taliban to President [Joe] Biden’s decision to proceed, and to proceed in such a disastrous way,” said Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats. (p. 14.)

Under the Trump Administration's plan this withdrawal was supposed to be completed by May 2021. However this information is presented as merely a quote. Palmer does not state that it happens to be true that it was Trump who made an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan. 

Jeremiah Jacques has an article insisting that Russia and China are happy that the Taliban have conquered Afghanistan.

The Infographic discusses the cost to the United States of waging war in Afghanistan. It is stated that the Taliban gained the equivalent of 116% of the military spending of India, the third largest military spender. This obscures the fact that the United States is by far the largest military spender in the world.

Josué Michels has an article scare mongering that Europeans' attempts to manage the spread of Covid-19 are paving the way for some sort of authoritarian rule instead of viewing them as being sincere attempts to contain and minimize the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. At one point he even refers to the current Covid-19 crisis as "the so-called coronavirus pandemic."

The global trend toward authoritarian governments has greatly accelerated during the so-called coronavirus pandemic. (p. 20.)

While condemning lockdowns Michels cites figures from California and Florida dating back to March 2021 before the more contagious Covid Delta variant began to predominate among American cases of Covid-19.

Comparing restrictive California with open Florida is telling. As of this past March, in Florida, 8,979 people per 100,000 were infected; in California, that number was 9,079. The death rate in Florida was 146 per 100,000; in California, 135. Clearly, lockdowns are not the cure-all they were purported to be. (p. 20.)

Michels cites a difference in death rates of 11 per 100,000 but all those people in California just got saved from dying of that dreadful disease. 

Josué Michels also has a side article scare mongering that the US dollar is on the way out. PCG so often uses this thought to scare their readers.

Gerald Flurry has an article saying that empires are great and wonderful. The inaccurate dogma of British Israelism blinds the Armstrongites from understanding why European Empires has now largely collapsed. It is hard to run an empire once the colonized realizes they are as worthy of respect and self rule as the colonizers. Why bother studying such things as decolonization when one believes such events are merely caused by the will of the God of Armstrongism?

WorldWatch discusses wildfires in Europe; France passing a law regulating religious groups; Italy introducing a green pass as a proof of vaccination; Iran getting a new Foreign Minister, namely Hossein Amir-Abdollahian; the announcement of the construction of a new terminal for an oil pipeline in Iran; Cuba shutting down the Internet in response to protests, which this recruitment magazine also blames on China; President Putin claiming that Ukraine is not independent; China making more nuclear missile silos; the cyberattack against Kaseya; and the passage of a $1.2 billion bill by the US Senate. 

SocietyWatch discusses how some companies have benefitted from the lockdowns; the Biden Administration's condemnation of anti-vaxxer misinformation on social media which is portrayed in PCG's recruitment magazine as an attempt to control social media websites; and an alarmist claim that the Biden Administration has somehow spent the American people's savings. The PCG leadership gives themselves so much time vilifying the political party they oppose.

Joel Hilliker has an article saying that being humble is the way to achieve greatness. 

The Discussion Board has letters. Four letters are persons stating that they used to enjoy listening to Herbert Armstrong and reading his recruitment magazine. This ignores the many problems concerning Herbert Armstrong and his organization. Much of what Herbert Armstrong was cobbled together from various sources like the Jehovah's Witnesses and British Israelism to create his own syncretistic system of belief. 

Joel Hilliker also has an article insisting that (PCG's) God will provide a way of protection from the future catastrophe PCG and the other COGs insist will soon occur. The Armstrongites have been insisting that some sort of catastrophe will soon occur since the 1930s. Such a catastrophe has never occurred. And even when this current pandemic is causing so much pain and suffering some within the Armstrongite organizations have chosen to minimize this crisis under the pretext that this is not the crisis they have been scare mongering about since the 1930s. PCG's leaders have made numerous false prophecies since the organization's founding in 1989. PCG's leader are but false prophets. There is no need to fear their predictions of the future.

Christians Do Not Need to Observe the Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles

On September 21, 2021 PCG released episode 1603 of their radio show, The Trumpet Daily. This episode was hosted by Andrew Locher. It featured a segment justifying the observance of the Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles.

Why We Keep the Feast of Tabernacles

Why is the Trumpet Daily staff away from their regular schedule and keeping the Feast of Tabernacles? This holy day is essential to see world news in its proper perspective.

In the segment Locher the description of the feasts in the Old Testament. He says they were to be observed forever. These people they are the true Christians and yet they choose to follow something else. If Christians were supposed to observe festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles why is it the vast majority of them have never done done so?

He then mentions that Paul stated in Acts that he needed to observe the fast and so he went to Jerusalem. Of course Paul observed such a thing. He was a Jew. But he did not expect the Gentile converts to Christianity to observe this.

If observing the Feast of Tabernacles was so important to the Christians of the New Testament era why is it that in the letter sent by the Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15, there is no admonition to the Gentile converts to observe Jewish festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles? Also Paul's Letter to the Galatians was evidently an admonition against Judaizers, that is early Christians who were telling early Gentile Christians that they needed to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses to be a Christian. 

Some within the COGs may think that this controversy over circumcision in the New Testament era was only about that ritual and has no wider implication for their practice of their religion. To say that one did not need to be circumcised meant that one did not need to convert to Judaism to be a Christian. In those days Christianity originally arose among Jews and only later Gentiles began to join. So the question had to be asked: Did Gentiles converting to Christianity need to become Jews as well to be a Christian? By the time the New Testament was written the question had been settled: Gentiles wishing to convert to Christianity did not need to become Jews as well to become a Christian. 

Seeing that there is no need to convert to Judaism to be a Christian therefore there is no need to observe Jewish festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles to be a Christian. 

(In time a consensus arose among both Jews and Christians that they were separate religions and they went on their separate ways. However that separation was not as well defined back in the New Testament era unlike the situation today. We need to respect other religions.)

Armstrongites insist that they are following the Bible and yet they ignore the implications of what is written in Galatians and Acts 15. Christians are under no obligation to observe Jewish festivals, such as the Feast of Tabernacles, to be a Christian. Herbert Armstrong was wrong on this matter.

Furthermore the Armstrongites insist on observing the Feast of Tabernacles in a manner utterly contrary to how it is described in the Old Testament and how it is observed among Jewish communities today. In the Old Testament it is festival observed at one's home. One way of observing it is by building a sukkah outside one's home. A sukkah is referred to as a tabernacle in the King James Version. It is a festival that brought much joy and happiness to the Jewish community throughout the ages.

The Armstrongites insist that the Feast of Tabernacles must be observed then they observe it in a wrong manner. Instead they gather themselves together in an eight day yearly convention. This practice is burdensome for many who work. It is also a burden for school children who have their school attendance disrupted for eight days. If they had observed it in their homes as the Bible says they would not need to endure such burdens. This is a terrible wrong that Herbert Armstrong has inflicted on his followers.

In our current Covid-19 era Herbert Armstrong's practice of holding an eight day yearly convention has the added burden of placing everyone in a potential super spreader event. In the ongoing crisis caused by Covid-19 it is necessary that we try to minimize risk wherever possible.

Horrifically Herbert Armstrong often denounced medical science. This bad example he set makes the Armstrongites vulnerable to being swayed by misinformation that could make them more likely to get infected with Covid-19. The easiest way to protect oneself from Covid-19 is to get vaccinated. If one is concerned they should consult with their personal doctor. 

I wish the Armstrongite organizations would have set a good example for society and not gather together while this pandemic remains a severe threat to people's lives, health and safety. They could have held it online. Alternative arrangements could have been made but some have chosen not to do so.

Again there is no need to observe Jewish festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles to be a Christian. Herbert Armstrong was wrong on this matter. Everyone relying on his example is also wrong on this matter.

Please keep safe during this Covid-19 pandemic.

The Horror of Vaccine Hesitancy with Covid-19 Vaccines

At present much of the world including the United States is in the midst of an epidemic of Covid-19. With the rise of Covid Delta the disease has become more contagious and more likely to cause hospitalization and death than earlier strains of Covid. Nevertheless many people are refusing to get vaccinated or are hesitant to get vaccinated. There has been a wave of misinformation causing many people to be unnecessarily reluctant to get vaccinated. Members of the COGs are particularly vulnerable to such misinformation since for decades Herbert Armstrong denounced medical science and made his followers fearful of seeking medical care. 

This year the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day will be held from the evening of September 20 until sunset on September 28. In contrast to the Jewish practice of celebrating these festivals at home Herbert Armstrong taught his followers to gather together in an eight day yearly convention. I cannot help but fear that during this year's Feast of Tabernacles Covid Delta will spread throughout the COGs.

Sadly some COG members fear getting vaccinated or listen to people who dangerously minimize the danger of Covid-19. Meanwhile that dreadful disease continues to inflict pain and suffering wherever it spreads. Recently Markos Moulitsas has been posting a series of blog posts detailing people who refuse or are reluctant to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Covid-19 is a dreadful and dangerous disease. Pretending it is not a major problem cannot protect anyone from Covid-19. It is tragic that some people have been mislead on this important issue.  

• The (tragic) timeline of an anti-vaxxer's COVID death

• Another senseless death by [Conspiracist] stupidity

• 'Let us die ... and y'all can defund the police'

• Basic parenting instincts are short-circuited, leaving 3 kids motherless

• A redemption story

• The blood of Christ versus COVID-19

• 'I refuse to believe anything different'

• Death by meme

• The grim reality of a slow COVID death

• That one family member who refused the vaccine

• In a battle between 'woke' and conservative America, who remains alive?

• The Cowboy Code wasn't a bad idea

• Should've listened to his friend Kyle

• A terrifying blow-by-blow recap of a COVID illness

• [Person] doesn't do vaccines, nor her family. What happens when COVID visits?

• Unvaccinated, unafraid, unbelievable

Vilifying "Science" as a "False Messiah": Overview of the September 2021 Issue of PCG's Trumpet

(Please note: PCG has recently chosen to promote an anti-vaxxer stance in regards to vaccines against that dreadful disease, Covid-19. The truth must be stated. This anti-vaxxer stance leaves people dreadfully vulnerable to getting infected with Covid Delta. This terrible strain, Covid Delta, is more contagious and more likely to cause hospitalization than earlier versions of Covid-19. The easiest way for people to protect themselves against Covid-19, including Covid Delta, is to get vaccinated. If any is worried about getting vaccinated then they should consult such concerns with their personal doctors, instead of reading some rant on the Internet from anti-vaxxers. Many people and organizations such as Voices for Vaccines are trying to counteract vaccine hesitancy. We need to listen to medical science to minimize the harm caused by this dreadful disease.)

In early August 2021 PCG released the September 2021 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. This issue was published before the fall of Afghanistan.

Shamefully the cover incites contempt and fear towards attempts to contain the ongoing epidemic of Covid-19. Science is simply analyzing what happens in reality. The only way to bring Covid-19 under control is to vaccinate against it but nevertheless the PCG leadership produces a cover which negatively portrays a medical needle. Also "science falsely so-called" is a reference to I Timothy 6:20 and in proper context actually refers to a rival religion, namely Gnosticism, not what we now refer to as science. That is why most modern English translations here say knowledge, not science. 

The editors for this issue are Gerald Flurry, Stephen Flurry, Joel Hilliker, Philip Nice, Brad Macdonald, Richard Palmer, Jeremiah Jacques and Dennis Leap.

This issue has a circulation of 240,596 issues. The August issue had a circulation of 239,545 issues. For the July issue it was 241,917 issues. For the May-June issue it was 243,028. For the April issue it was 247,023. For the March issue it was 248,523. For the February issue it was 246,497. The circulation for PCG's recruitment magazine appears stable at present.

Gerald Flurry has an article exploiting the discovery of a bulla from the time of King Jeroboam II to promote his bizarre lionization of the former Republican President, Donald Trump. 

Stephen Flurry has an article condemning lockdowns and related restrictions designed to slow down the spread of that dreadful disease, Covid-19.

Richard Palmer has an side article bemoaning the National Health Service as inefficient and as a cause for the dissolving of the British Empire. 

Josué Michels has an article saying that Germany is on the verge of going through a major transformation into a militaristic power soon fated to conquer the United States.

Richard Palmer has an article scare mongering that the Roman Catholic Church will soon change and lead a future European Empire to conquer America.

Abraham Blondeau and Mihailo S. Zelić have an article discussing protests over the recent discovery of the buried remains of hundreds of First Tribes children in schools as part of a frightful policy of assimilating them to be like people of European descent.

Harley Breth has an article discussing the planned launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Infographic discusses the satellite.

Gerald Flurry has an article insisting that PCG members will become God beings as fully God as God is God though of a lower rank after the second coming.

Brent Nagtegaal and Brad Macdonald have an article praising Donald Trump and comparing him to King Jeroboam II of Israel. According to the authors all was good and right while Donald Trump was President and all is bad and dreadful now that President Biden is in office. All problems and contentious matters concerning the Trump Administration is ignored. This article is a retreat from reality into fantasy. It is a shameless whitewashing of recent history.

WorldWatch discusses the Nord Stream 2 pipeline made to supply oil from Russia to Germany being almost ready; the Papacy preparing to canonize former French Prime Minister Robert Schuman, a politician instrumental with the founding of the European Economic Community; a mass murder in Wurzburg on June 25, 2021 in which three women were murdered; the establishment of a new government in the State of Israel which is denounced because it pushed Netanyahu out of power; US military strikes against Shia militias which are portrayed in this magazine as being too weak; Russia and China extending a cooperation treaty on June 28, 2021; Russia testing hypersonic missiles; and also claims that China is making weapons designed to destroy satellites in the event of war breaking out. 

Furthermore WorldWatch discusses heat waves in North America. The PCG leadership astoundingly denies that these heat waves are caused by climate change produced by human activity. They casually insist that climate change has been disproven even though the vast majority of scientists are warning the world that this major crisis is real and will negatively affect just about everyone.

What is the cause of these worsening weather conditions? Scientists point to man-made climate change. But many scientists have been exposed for manipulating data on historical temperature records that disprove this theory. (p. 30.)

Climate change is the major crisis facing human society. It is shameful that the PCG leadership are telling their followers that it is not real. 

SocietyWatch discusses deaths by drug overdose in the United States; fifteen Republican led states blocking the enforcement of federal gun laws; and a Scientific American article that denounces a literal belief in Adam and Eve as being motivated by racism against African-Americans.

Mark Jenkins has an article condemning popular culture as bad compared with classical Western culture. His bitter diatribe will do little except incite parents and older people into despising and being bitter against youth culture. His readers would have been better served if they were encouraged to understand that each generation defines itself with particular music and stories unique to themselves. If a youth are told to reject popular culture then it will be harder for them to socially connect with their peers. Shame on this recruitment magazine for sowing discord between the generations.

The Discussion Board has letters. Here's a letter from Mississippi from a person who recites PCG's stance that President Biden merely represents Barack Obama.

I have been reading your fine for 10-plus years, and I appreciate how you have explained how big business drive trends and the economy, but I never realized how much influence they had on the political front until I read [a PCG article by Richard Palmer]. ... With Biden in power (Obama, actually) things will only get worse. 

Here's a letter from a person who calls PCG's recruitment magazine as the only source of information this person trusts.

My father has been following you since the early 1980s. When the Worldwide Church of God fell apart, he was so confused and wondered what was going on. In the early-to-mid-90s, he randomly stumbled across Gerald Flurry on a Key of David program. He just so happened to mention Herbert W. Armstrong. He was instantly intrigued--mind-blown, I can imagine--and I'm pretty sure he knew he had found the truth again. That is one thing that has helped me build my faith, as well as many other world events almost rolling daily in our lives. Keep reporting real news. It is my only source; I do not trust any other reporter.

Joel Hilliker has an article telling his readers to take their "warning" seriously. Their "warning" message is that America is about to be militarily conquered by a future European Empire very soon. But this "warning" has not happened in decades. In fact PCG have made numerous predictions that failed miserably. These failed predictions prove that there is no need to fear their predictions. They are merely false prophets. We do not need to fear their predictions.

Reading PCG's Booklet, Daniel Unlocks Revelation: Part 2

Continuing from Part 1 let us conclude this reading of Gerald Flurry's booklet, Daniel Unlocks Revelation. The original 2005 version of this booklet is discussed in this post. The current 2019 version of this booklet may be read on their website.

Chapter 4

Gerald Flurry denounces an article by Herman Hoeh from the November-December 1987 issue of Good News (pp. 9-12) and accuses him of minimizing HWA's importance in producing (PCG's approved interpretation of) prophecy.

In an article he wrote less than one year after Herbert W. Armstrong's death, A Sealed Prophecy Now Open to Understanding," Herman Hoeh didn't mention anything about the many revelations that God gave to Mr. Armstrong. ... Dr. Hoeh wrote, "Some tried to explain this enigmatic prophecy before God's time came to reveal it." Those are strong words. He was implying that God had revealed this prophecy to him, for the Church. The truth is, God did no such thing. (pp. 77-78.) 

Flurry fails to mention that Hoeh's article was a denunciation of the Seventh Day Adventist interpretation of Daniel 8. Several times Hoeh mentions interpretations that link Daniel 8 to the date 1844. Hoeh's article is clearly criticizing the Seventh Day Adventist interpretation of this passage. However Flurry presented Hoeh's article as though it were an attempt to minimize HWA's contribution the Armstrongite interpretation of prophecy. Anyone who soberly looked up what Hoeh said in that 1987 article will see that is not true.

Even though Flurry states that Hoeh's article was written less than a year after HWA's death it was actually published over a year after HWA's death when it was published in the November-December 1987 issue of Good News.

Flurry then links Hoeh with the court case with Tkach's WCG which is melodramatically portrayed as an attempt to hang on to (what the PCG leadership calls) the truth.

In fact, we had to fight him [Herman Hoeh] personally in court depositions to hang on to that truth! (p. 79.)

How can these words be true? It is not legally possible for Tkach's WCG to prevent PCG from practicing their religion. It would have been easy for PCG to continue practicing their religion without using HWA's writings just like every other Armstrongite group like LCG, UCG, COGWA and the others. If PCG had done that they would have avoided a lengthy and expensive court case.

Flurry accuses Hoeh of making false predictions without authorization from HWA. However he does not state what prediction he is referring to.

Even when Mr. Armstrong was ill, Dr. Hoeh came out with some prophecies that were wrong and quite different than what Mr. Armstrong was used by God to restore. We must be certain not to make that mistake! Why would men of such high rank, to whom God had given such honor, make such catastrophic mistakes? (p. 79.) 

Moving on from Flurry's bitter denunciation he then insists that there is some mystical meaning in regards to Daniel's name.

As I emphasized in Daniel: Unsealed at Last!, the meaning of the book’s name is critical: “God is my judge.” (p. 80.)

That is the name of Daniel. To take his name and assume it reveals something about the content of the book is taking his name out of context.

Pages 81-84 is largely a rehash of Armstrongite dogma citing Daniel and Revelation.

Then came 10 resurrections of that beast. This power kept coming back. Here God says it received a deadly wound. We mustn’t have the misconception that it just degenerated and collapsed—it received a deadly wound and almost died. That is why the Roman Catholic Church had such a vengeance in resurrecting a strong empire—the last seven of those 10 horns (after the first three horns were uprooted). (p. 84.)

This is not true. The Papacy did not revive the Roman Empire. The Papacy did not trick the Byzantine Empire to conquer Italy. The Byzantine Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Justinian, chose to advance into what we now call Italy for their own motives. The claim that the Papacy caused the Byzantine Empire's expansion at this time is an Armstrongite myth made to promote Armstrongite false prophecies.

In A.D. 554, Justinian, Emperor of the East, from Constantinople, set up his government through an Imperial Legate at Ravenna, Italy, and brought about what is known in history as the “Imperial Restoration” of the Empire. (p. 84.)

The Imperial Restoration is practically only mentioned by Armstrongites to prop up their prophetic dogmas. Look up any account of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-65) in the history books. The Imperial Restoration as taught by the Armstrongites is a myth.

Flurry then praises "Philadelphians," in this context PCG members in good standing, as loving prophecy as opposed to "Laodiceans" in this context followers of WCG/GCI after the Tkach changes. And because Flurry thinks love and obeying rules are the same this leads him to make a call for his followers to follow rituals and rules derived from Armstrongism's selective adoption of certain Jewish rituals and rules. 

Flurry then goes back to "loving prophecy" by saying the future Germany and the future Papacy would be very scary and horrifying. Flurry insists that a scary German leader fated to conquer America is about to arise. At this time in 2005 the PCG leadership was fixated on Edmund Stoiber, chairman of the Christian Social Union.

This man doesn’t think he would do murderous deeds (Isaiah 10:6-7). But Satan is going to get to him—he will experience a mind change (Habakkuk 1:11).  

That man could be coming on the scene as early as this year--2005--or 2006. There has been a dramatic shift in German politics and new elections are scheduled to be held in September of this year. Watch those elections when they come! Or see how a man could manipulate the system. Regardless of when this "king of fierce countenance" appears, it is going to be for an extremely short span of time. (p. 96.)

Stoiber has been chairman of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria from 1999. He challenged Schröder in the 2002 election. He lost but the PCG leadership continued to scare monger about him to their followers. Contrary to PCG's prediction Stoiber left the chairmanship in 2007. From about 2009 onward PCG redirected their scare mongering on Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. PCG has quietly erased their previous speculation. Here is how this passage now appears in the current 2019 version of this booklet.

This man doesn’t think he would do murderous deeds (Isaiah 10:6-7). But Satan is going to get to him—he will experience a mind change (Habakkuk 1:11).  

 

That man could be coming on the scene very soon. Regardless of when this “king of fierce countenance” appears, it is going to be for an extremely short span of time. (2019 edition, p. 124.)

Clearly the PCG leadership cannot predict the future.

Flurry ends with this call to his readers for supporting PCG.

It is left to us now--you and me. This little remnant has been given that watch. We're all that is left, and God says, I want you to WATCH and PRAY, PROCLAIM my message and finish the work! Then, we will all STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN! (p. 102.)

However the PCG leadership have made many false prophecies since its founding in 1989 thus proving that the PCG leadership cannot see what will happen in the future. There is no need to be afraid of PCG's dire predictions of the future.

Overview of the August 2021 Issue of PCG's Trumpet

(Please note: PCG at present is taking an anti-vaxxer stance regarding vaccines against Covid-19. With the increasing spread of Covid Delta it is quite evident that this anti-vaxxer stance can easily lead to tragedy and loss of life. The easiest way for people to protect themselves against Covid-19, including Covid Delta, is to get vaccinated. Many people and organizations such as Voices for Vaccines are trying to counteract vaccine hesitancy. We need to listen to medical science to minimize the harm caused by this dreadful disease. We now begin with this post.)

In mid-June 2020 PCG released the August 2021 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. Let's see what the PCG leadership have to say this time.

The editors of this issue are Gerald Flurry, Stephen Flurry, Joel Hilliker, Philip Nice, Brad Macdonald, Richard Palmer, Jeremiah Jacques and Dennis Leap. 

This issue has a circulation of 239,545 issues. For the July issue it was 241,917 issues. For the May-June issue it was 243,028. For the April issue it was 247,023. For the March issue it was 248,523. For the February issue it was 246,497. For the January issue it was 247,820. The circulation for PCG's recruitment magazine appears stable at present.

Gerald Flurry has an editorial article remembering the late Dr. Eilat Mazar who passed away on May 25, 2021, aged 64. PCG had sponsored her archaeological excavations since 2007.

Brent Nagtegaal has an article about the late Dr. Mazar. He gives an overview of her career in archaeology.

Brad MacDonald and Brent Nagtegaal have an article about the round of violence that broke out in May 2021 between the State of Israel and the blockaded Palestinian Gaza Strip. While discussing this topic they also condemn the Biden Administration for not being Republican. On page 6 they write of what they hysterically call "the Biden Administration's war on Israel." The Armstrongites are constantly fixated on acts of violence that occur in what used to be Mandatory Palestine because they think such things might be a sign that the Great Tribulation is just about to occur. PCG insists that the Great Tribulation will soon occur culminating in the second coming and the imposition of a world government led by (PCG's interpretation of) Jesus Christ which will, presumably, dissolve the State of Israel as part of unifying the entire world. 

Joel Hilliker has an article complaining about women gaining too much power in society. Armstrongism tends to be very negative towards attempts to empower women in society. In this article Hilliker also complains about lockdowns in which he presents these attempts to minimize the spread of that dreadful disease as "a hysterical overreaction" which is negatively portrayed as "a spectacular demonstration of the feminization of our world." (p. 10.)

Jeremiah Jacques has an article about nuclear weapons. It is mentioned that China is making some new type of nuclear reactor (possibly to cut down on coal production). Thus we see PCG still scaring people with the thought of being killed by nuclear war. Meanwhile in the real world millions of people have died from that dreadful disease which has and will kill many people. However the possibility of nuclear war is at present quite unlikely.

Richard Palmer has an article about the problem of cyberattacks. Gerald Flurry has long scare mongered about cyberattacks somehow helping bring about the fall of America to the future European Empire.

Josué Michels has an article saying that farming is about to fall apart. He also scare mongers about various German companies historically connected to the Nazi-era company, IG Farben. PCG's recruitment magazine always says everything about society is about to fall apart any moment now. Even though the criminal Nazi regime was destroyed seventy-six years ago the PCG leadership continuously brings them up in their recruitment writings and their fear inducing false prophecies.

A side article scare mongers about Germany saying no one fears the Germans as they should. Once again, to their eternal shame, the PCG leadership exploits the painful memories of World War II to scare monger against Germans today.

The Infographic talks about agricultural issues.

Stephen Flurry has an article bemoaning immigrants at the southern border. President Trump's decision to cancel development aid to Central American nations is defended by Stephen Flurry. He does this by citing a statement he made in an interview with a host from Fox News. In this article it is hysterically insisted that the Democratic Party is conspiring to bring in these immigrants in order to get more voters for the Democratic Party. The PCG leadership have been saying such things for years. Here is some of Stephen Flurry's politically charged scare mongering.

To the radical left, the border crisis is a giant voter drive. They know that if they can encourage hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to pour into America, they can create a humanitarian crisis that can only be solved by mass deportations or mass amnesty. And they are betting that the American people will opt for the latter option. The government will be pressured into granting immigrants asylum, and the cycle will repeat, importing the Third World into the United States! (p. 24.)

However many people in Latin America are actually rather right wing in their political stances. For instance three Central American nations, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, have some of the most restrictive laws against abortion in the world partly due to the influence of the Catholic Church.

The Armstrongites have a particular reason to fear Hispanic people immigrating to the United States. People of Hispanic heritage would be less likely to believe in the Armstrongite dogma of British Israelism.

Andrew Müller has a side article about the illegal drug trade. While it is perfectly proper to warn people about the problems caused by the illegal drug trade usually such warning are not wrapped in an attempt to gain more recruits for an authoritarian, Armstrongite organization.

Andrew Müller has an article defending the Representative of the 14th District of Georgia (Republican) for praising "uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions" even though Anglo-Saxons, who settled in Britain at the expense of the Celtic Britons who were already there, has not existed as a distinct ethnic group for centuries. The norms and values that create and sustain liberal democracies such as the United States and the United Kingdom do not belong to any ethnic group but belongs to all who do and believe in that which is necessary to produce such societies. Müller also promotes the discredited dogma of British Israelism which is an idea that fuels much of Armstrongism's false prophecies of doom and gloom for the British and the Americans.

WorldWatch discusses President Macron saying nice things about Napoleon; former French military officers signing an open letter calling Muslims a threat to the unity of the French nation; a stabbing murder in Paris; Iran enriching uranium to 60% purity following the path of retaliating against President Trump's decision to break the agreement; Russia establishing thirty military bases to monitor the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia; France encouraging the establishment of a new government in Lebanon; the release of an app in China to encourage reporting people to the authorities; speculation that managing potential future conflicts against Russia and China could be challenging for America; scare mongering that if a true rate of inflation was allowed to occur the economy would collapse; and complaining about another dossier produced by Christopher Steele about the former President Trump. In regards to the Trump-Russia scandal the PCG leadership insists nothing scandalous happened despite what others have stated.

SocietyWatch discusses children being taught in too much of a left wing manner for the PCG leadership's liking; a law to regulate the Internet in Canada being proposed which is condemned; and over 120 retired military officers signing a open letter accusing President Biden of Marxism, whatever they mean by that emotive claim.

Joel Hilliker has an article telling readers to obey (PCG's interpretation of) God with happiness and enthusiasm. Obeying (PCG's interpretation of) God with reluctance or even resentment is not correct according to this article.  

The Discussion Board has letters. Here's a tragic letter from a person who has chosen to let his suspicion and fear of "big pharma" make him decline chemotherapy, a method often used to combat cancer, even though he was diagnosed with prostrate cancer. He also astoundingly insists he had not had any flu in over sixty years. However Covid-19 is a coronavirus not a flu. The letter is too vague to discern whether or not this person is a member of PCG.

Long before they even had a vaccine, I could see vaccine passports happening. I've been asked if I would get vaccinated, and replied NO! I'm almost 80 years old and haven't even had any flu in more than 60 years. I have prostate cancer and told the doctors there is no way I would do chemotherapy; I don't trust big pharma. (p. 34.)

Stephen Flurry has an article saying most people do not actually like the truth. However PCG insists that only they know the truth in regards to getting on the right side of their peculiar interpretation of the Christian God. Consequently the PCG leadership defines the truth for PCG members.

And so the PCG leadership's attempts to gain more recruits and to keep their followers continue even in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and the ongoing rise of Covid Delta. But there is no need to be afraid of the fearful predictions of the PCG leadership. However since its founding in 1989 PCG has produced numerous false prophecies that have failed miserably. There is no need to be afraid of PCG's dire predictions.