Reflections on Raising the Ruins II

(Before I start this blog I would just link to mention that I have made an addition to my January 16 post concerning how January 16, 1986 fell on Shebat 6.)

I heard of Stephen Flurry's book length recruitment pamphlet Raising the Ruins, and although I knew the true nature of PCG I wanted to read it. Later I found a website about the book but it only posted a few chapters. I read then proceeded to read up to the end of Chapter 3. I was distinctly unimpressed at what I read, indeed I was quite amazed at just how utterly lacking the book was. I summed up my feelings in a previous post. Even I was surprised at just how lacking it was. SF condemns the Tkaches' WCG as dictatorial and authoritarian, yet PCG is just as dictatorial and authoritarian as Stephen Flurry says WCG is; in Chapter 2 SF called Ambassador Auditorium a 'legacy that was neither heavy nor burdensome', a dangerously naive view that probably contributed to PCG's decision to build Armstrong Auditorium.

Later I discovered that practically the whole book can be read online. Only the last chapter is yet to be posted. Once I found this I read all that I had not read before in one 24 hour period. I took notes as I went along. That reading is what has instigated the last few postings about that book. Again, not too surprisingly, I found other assertions made that I had severe problems with.

However after reading that book I can no longer laugh at it as I did before. Because this book is so misleading. Many vital pieces of information of what life is like in there are cleverly, cruelly omitted. It is not a reliable guide to understand the true nature of PCG. Any unsuspecting reader looking for truthful information will not find it here. The fundamental premise that God is working through PCG is false and untrue. There are many issues of concern about this book, some I have already highlighted.

Stephen Flurry say PCG must expose WCG. The book almost completely ignores other critics of Tkach and the other Armstrongite churches, which also widely criticized and exhorted against the Tkachite Changes and how they were implemented. Heaps of people have done that, from other Armstrongites, to non-Armstrongites such as Exit and Support Network. But none of their hard work or insights are acknowledged in this book. He just pretends they do not matter. He just carefully ignores them and acts as though PCG alone is exposing the Tkachites to public scrutiny. This book pretends that only PCG and WCG matter. All others are hardly worth mentioning.

Stephen Flurry tries to give the impression that only PCG is trying to distribute HWA's writings. This is suggested with hyperbole such as this example in Chapter 18: 'But not for the Philadelphia Church of God, today Mr. Armstrong’s last will and testament [Mystery of the Ages] would be all but obsolete.' That statement of Stephen Flurry's is very difficult to believe seriously. It completely ignores the fact that many non-PCG websites out there which believe in HWA's doctrines have Mystery of the Ages posted online for anyone with internet access to read. I, myself, first came across HWA's writings in either late 2000 or 2001 on a website that is unofficially affiliated with David Hulme's COG-AIC sect. That website has always remained online regardless of the varied fortunes of the Court Case.

Other websites, some affiliated with other COG groups, have much of HWA's writings available online. One of which happens to be run by one Don Tiger, who used to be associated with PCG. While in there he worked on creating CDs that would contain much of old WCG's writings. However as Gerald Flurry saw the project progress he became infuriated and tried to suppress HWA's writings that Don Tiger was trying to preserve for posterity. How ironic that Gerald Flurry should try to repress Don Tiger for doing what he himself claimed to be doing: preserving HWA's writings. See Philadelphians Fight over HWA Writings here. Later he tried to do the same thing with Dave 'Send me your assets now!' Pack of Restored COG which also ended in the same acrimonious way. Unsurprisingly his story is not mentioned at all in the book. He, and the others who have posted HWA's writings online have been been cast into the memory hole.

Another thing I noted is that much of Chapter 16 is a nauseating 'tribute' to Mystery of the Ages that is way too far in praising a book, even saying that the book is required reading for prospective members. (The November 5, 2004 Pastor's General Report, on pp. 8-9, says the following in regard to 'Laodicean' prospective members: 'As a minimum, each Laodicean must also read and study Mystery of the Ages, Malachi’s Message and That Prophet BEFORE being invited to services. Remember, this policy has been set by Mr. Flurry.') Also throughout the narrative the words Mystery of the Ages are highlighted and linked every single time the title appears. It reminds me of how some Bible versions use red ink for Jesus' words. This also occurs when other writings are mentioned but MOA appears far more often than the others.

This book also contains many omissions. There is no mention of Gerald Flurry being 'That Prophet', no mention of Second or Third Tithes, no mention that Malachi's Message is taught to be the Little Book, no mention of Gerald Flurry's cruel 'No Contact with Laodiceans' rule, that if you leave PCG you will be shunned, that Flurry had maintained he gained MM from an Angel (you can see that ridiculous declaration in p. 7 of this PDF file of part of the September/October 1992 Philadelphia Trumpet. In reality he plagiarized Jules Dervaes to produce MM. No angel of God visited Gerald Flurry.), it very cleverly obscures the medicine ban, and doubtless there are other issues as well.

Another thing that was disturbing to me was Chapter 24: Victory Prophesied. The victory refers to the Court Case. Now that title is misleading. PCG did not win the Court Case, they lost it and then made a deal with the man they say is the Son of Perdition. That chapter details PCG's belief that the Biblical book of Habakkuk actually refers to PCG's Court Case. There are huge problems with this interpretation which the unsuspecting reader will not be informed of at all reading by this book.

When I read that chapter my mind went back to when Meredith's Tomorrow's World told me that HWA was an accurate prophet deceitfully hiding the many failed prophecies he made. PCG is guilty of the same thing claiming that 'He [HWA] was Right!' Although this Habakkuk interpretation is quite absurd, still, even knowing all the terrible things I know about PCG, I could all too easily see how a soul can get caught up in the tale and come to believe 'that God must be with PCG.' How that person sees the various scriptures cited out of context used to clumsily apply Habakkuk to the Court Case and is overwhelmed by them and decides that he or she can trust Stephen Flurry and the PCG.

Oh! if only that person knew the deceptive distortions this book contains, the hidden meanings which the unsuspecting reader is left unaware of. Those involved with PCG desperately need to repent of their vain fear-inducing preaching, of spreading false prophecies that needlessly cause fear. Those tricked into joining PCG will not be able to reach a Place of Safety. There is no refuge to be found in PCG. The unsuspecting reader will be unaware of what he or she is getting into if such a one is misled into PCG. There is no place of safety PCG can lead such a one to. May the Lord protect such precious souls. May he make them wake up and see what is wrong and get out of the PCG.

(Update: Exit and Support Network has just released another expose of one of 'That Prophet' Gerald Flurry's sermons, Revealing Satan (January 3, 2009). That sermon contains interesting comments concerning Raising the Ruins. 'But you see this man [the 'Man of Sin', Joseph Tkach Jr.] speaks of his own...that's his nature. He just lies, and lies, and lies and we've proven that throughout my son's book just over and over and over and over again and that is his nature. He's like the devil because, well, I think we have the devil possession.' Actually there are many problems with that book. In it PCG has proven itself to be rather 'economical' with the facts. That book has several misrepresentations that have been highlighted in previous posts.)

More on Raising the Ruins may be read here.

PCG's Recycled Prophecy

When Gerald Flurry wrote Malachi's Message he, inspired by Jules Dervaes' writings, he proclaimed the 'Man of Sin' of 2 Thessalonians 2 to be a man in the 'Laodicean' Church (WCG after HWA's death in 1986). HWA had previously taught that this would be the final Pope, he did not imagine him to be a part of 'Laodicea', but Flurry changed that. As far as I understand it Gerald Flurry identified Tkach Sr. as the Man of Sin. But Tkach Sr. died in 1995.

To prevent this from being seen as a failed prophecy the identity of the Man of Sin is now placed on Tkach Jr. Furthermore PCG now tries to portray Tkach Sr. as simply being a puppet and Tkach Jr. as being the real mastermind behind the Changes. This revision of their prophecy may be seen in Raising the Ruins. They were inadvertently helped in this prophetic revision by the fact that Tkach Jr. happened to be the man who fired Gerald Flurry and his assistant pastor John Amos, cating them out of WCG.

This desperate attempt to 'cancel out' Tkach Sr. as the Man of Sin and place Tkach Jr. in that position may be seen in Raising the Ruins. Notice what is written near the beginning of Chapter 14 of Stephen Flurry's work.

At his deposition, Tkach Jr. acknowledged that it was entirely his decision to fire these two long-time ministers on the spot. His father, the pastor general of the church, was not aware of the firings until after they had already happened.

Here Stephen Flurry tries to convince the reader that Tkach Jr. was the real mastermind, the real enemy, and Tkach Sr. was just a puppet. This is done to hide their earlier failure and indoctrinate followers in PCG's new identification of Tkach Jr. as the Man of Sin.

This attempt to attribute as much power to Tkach Jr. as possible is seen again later in the chapter.

It is interesting, looking back, that Mr. Tkach Sr. never once communicated with my dad during this whole ordeal [of disfollowshiping]. For the most part, Tkach Jr. and Helge handled the situation. And seven years later, when the WCG filed suit against us over printing Mystery of the Ages, Tkach Sr. would again be missing from the equation, having died of cancer in 1995. The two principle players, without question, in the case brought against us in 1997, were Joseph Tkach Jr. and Ralph Helge.

Again Stephen Flurry tries to relegate Tkach Sr. into just a puppet, a bit player, and tries to portray Tkach Jr. as the important man in the Changes. (Because they now say he is the Man of Sin.)

Also relevant is SF's discussion of Tkach Sr. using ghostwriters for his sermons at the end of Chapter 4. This further sends the message that Tkach Sr. was just a puppet. This further obscures their earlier prophetic failure.

The unsuspecting reader will be unaware that the purpose of these statements is to recycle Gerald Flurry's false prophecy identifying Tkach Sr. as the Man of Sin and say Tkach Jr. is the Man of Sin. Thus it is necessary to somehow explain Tkach Sr. away. It was necessary to belittle his role in the situation, to say he had no power because the Man of Sin was his son. The Man of Sin had the real power from shortly after HWA's death. No doubt when Tkach Jr. passes away PCG, or their successors, will just say the next Pastor General is the Man of Sin.

All of these details will be utterly undetected by the unsuspecting reader who is unfamiliar with the intricacies of Armstrongism. May the Lord save such people.

(Update: Gerald Flurry originally identified Joseph W. Tkach Sr. as the Man of Sin. 'Previously, GF declared that Joseph Tkach Sr. was the man of sin, but he is dead now.' Tkach Sr. died in 1995. The attempts of PCG to portray Tkach Sr. as just a puppet serves to hide this false prophecy.)

More on Raising the Ruins may be read here.

January 16

A peculiar belief within PCG is that January 16th, the day Herbert W. Armstrong died, will be marked by important events. This belief is generally absent from the rest of Armstrongism.

This belief is also continued in Raising the Ruins. From the end of Chapter 14 detailing the first mailing out of Malachi's Message to WCG members we read the following:

With me [Stephen Flurry] now added to the original group, 13 of us gathered at the Thompson home Wednesday night, January 10. We packaged 921 copies of Malachi’s Message, several hundred of which included the above letter....We delivered the bundles to the post office the next day, Thursday [January 11]. Many of those books from the first mailing landed in mailboxes on or just before [Tuesday] Jan. 16, 1990—four years, to the day, after Herbert W. Armstrong died.

The link this to January 16 here is quite week. There is nothing specific here that would cause one to pick January 16 as the important date unless one had already picked that date for another reason. The book is simply using a predefined belief that is artificially placed on events. The January 16 Myth.

In Chapter 23, part 2, under the heading 'Sealing the Deal', the date is again called upon in relation to the back room deals PCG was making with WCG to buy the books. (Again, PCG did not win the Court Case, it was an out of court deal with the man they say is the Son of Perdition.) 'On Thursday morning, January 16—17 years to the day after Herbert W. Armstrong’s death—the WCG agreed to sell us all the copyrights for $3 million.' The January 16 superstition again.

This belief comes from Gerald Flurry's Malachi's Message, which is believed to be the Little Book of Revelation 10. Raising the Ruins omits to mention that Gerald Flurry himself referred to the date in the first edition of Malachi's Message. 'This message is being received by many people on the very day of the anniversary of HWA's death (January 16, 1986). We didn't plan it, but we are very happy it happened that way. You are going to see the date of HWA's death take on more significance as time goes on.' (p. 82). Maybe Flurry did not plan it that way but he certainly took advantage of that anniversary and instantly latched onto that date even before Malachi's Message was first published. This is evidence that Gerald Flurry tried to sanctify the mailing out of Malachi's Message by appealing to the memory of the date of HWA's passing. This does not prove that God attaches any significance to January 16.

The first sentence of that part has been changed in the modern version: 'Malachi’s Message was first received by many people on January 16, 1990, the very day of the anniversary of Mr. Armstrong’s death (January 16, 1986).' He then tries to use the 19 year time cycles to pinpoint January 16, 1991 as an important date. Gerald Flurry then identified the Gulf War as the prophesied event, ever so conveniently ignoring the fact that fighting actually began a day later on January 17. See also the March 16, 2004 letter here. Thus this prophecy is a failure and furthermore is a misrepresentation of the facts.

The Jehovah's Witnesses have this peculiar belief that Jerusalem fell in 607 BC but everyone else knows that it happened in 587/6 BC. It is the same with PCG, insisting that the Gulf War began on January 16, but everyone else knows it started a day later on January 17.

This is similar to what happened with the infamous Northridge Earthquake which occurred a day late to be useful to Gerald Flurry, on January 17, 1994.

It is very interesting to note, however, that in Chapter 13 of Raising the Ruins Stephen Flurry relates that Gerald Flurry wanted to 'reveal' Malachi's Message in January 1991 to coincide with the end of WCG's third 19-year time cycle.

But believing it was from God, he [Gerald Flurry] fully intended to deliver the message to church leaders in Pasadena—perhaps in January of 1991—the end of the work’s third 19-year time cycle. That was still a year and a half off, I thought.

This is evidence that from the beginning Gerald Flurry was determined to sanctify his work with some sort of chronological pattern, to give the appearance of having divine favor. Gerald Flurry completely disregardedthe fact that the time cycles was invented specifically to devise the infamous 1972-1975 prophecy of Christ's return. Gerald Flurry completely ignored the time cycle's previous failure in 1972. World War III, the nuclear Great Tribulation that would destroy all humanity unless Jesus Christ came back in 1975, was supposed to begin then. Maybe he has, ever so conveniently, forgotten about that.

However events soon spun out of control too quickly for this timeline to be fulfilled. By December 7, 1989 Gerald Flurry and his assistant John Amos were fired. Soon GF was well on his way to establishing his own church, the Philadelphia Church of God. He was unable to pull off his original timeline scenario, so he needed to quickly latch onto another event to sanctify his removal and/or the establishment of PCG in order to appear to have divine favor. He quickly latched onto January 16. Even before Malachi's Message got published he had already sanctified January 16 as an important day.

There was nothing important for January 16 in regards to Malachi's Message. It was sent in the mail on January 11. Even if WCG members received it on January 16 why is that day special and not January 13 or 14 or 15 or 17 or any other day in which WCG members received Malachi's Message? Why should not the printing be important, or the mailing of it? Because it would not fit the highly artificial pattern that Gerald Flurry devised.

And why is January 16 important? Is that not the 'pagan', 'papal', 'Satan inspired' Gragorian Calendar? Why not use the date on the Biblical Calendar as an important date? Why is it that the Gregorian Calendar is viewed as flawed and yet PCG uses that date in order to sanctify its founding and give the appearance of divine favor with no reference to what they acknowledged as God's Sacred Calendar? (Addition: As may be seen here January 16, 1986 was Shebat 6 and in the 1987-2010 period it falls on January 16 only once in 2005. In 1989 HWA's anniversary according to what 'That Prophet' Gerald Flurry acknowledge to be God's Sacred Calendar Shebat 6, the true anniversary of HWA's death, was February 1. That is 22 days, over three weeks, after MM was first posted. In 1991 it was on January 21, so the Gulf War started four days too early. In 1994 it was on January 18, so the earthquake was a day early. It never falls on January 17 either in that period. And also where is any of this in the Bible?)

If God does attach any significance to January 16 why does PCG need to pretend that the Gulf War started a day earlier than it actually did? Where in the Bible does it say that January 16 is important? This is simply an extra-biblical superstition. It is simply further evidence that PCG is simply the work of MEN and that God is not in PCG.

More on Raising the Ruins may be read here.

Raising the Ruins and Medicine

One of the most disturbing issues with Stephen Flurry's book, Raising the Ruins, is how it tries to hide Armstrongism's long and tragic history of banning medicine to its followers, a practice which PCG follows to this day. A practice which continues to kill people to this day.

William Dankenbring, an Armstrongite preacher who to this day believes that HWA was a man used by God, is willing to confront this issue head on. He recalls the tragedy of this terrible doctrine in an article of his:

Also, [HWA] was a man who was extremist and unbalanced in his early view of condeming [sic] all medical science, calling all drugs "poisons," and insisting that people have faith in God for all healing, not acknowledging that in some cases God could work with and through doctors. Because of his extreme teaching about "faith," little children sacrificed their lives, and elderly men who could have preserved their eyesight by seeing a doctor instead went blind from glaucoma! I know of personal, tragic examples, heart-rending examples.

Examples of PCG's dangerous superstition in regards to medicine in response to this teaching may be seen here, here, here and here. This PCG member died following this doctrine. This attitude is inherited from WCG, as may be seen here, here and here.

And yet increditably this book tries to ignore all this! This issue is carefully sidestepped. The unsuspecting reader will be unaware that PCG practices this deadly doctrine. Notice how this burdensome fact of life is never categorically stated in this book:

Mr. Tkach Sr. [wrote about the Healing doctrine] in the March 18, 1987, Pastor General’s Report, sent to the ministers of the church. He explained the change one week later to the entire membership. Tkachism has led people to assume, incorrectly, that the “healing change” meant that it was no longer a sin for WCG members to go to doctors. But Mr. Armstrong NEVER said it was a sin to go to doctors.
[This is a very cunning statement that obscures what actually happened under HWA. This book now tries to confuse the unsuspecting reader by quoting statements of HWA's that appears to support doctors. This is actually a clever omission of the anti-medicine superstition that plagued WCG and PCG today. He now proceeds to selectively quote HWA from The Plain Truth About Healing in such a way as to hide the medicine ban from the unsuspecting reader.]

...[HWA] asked, “Do we ever need doctors?" Answer: “Yes we do—but the true people of God do not need them to compete with God as our God-healer ….” Mr. Armstrong’s teaching on this subject was similar to any other church doctrine: PUT GOD FIRST. [HWA's requirements sound very easy, does it not? Notice how the issue of the medicine ban in PCG is carefully sidestepped. Very selective quotation has been used to effectively hide the medicine ban from the unsuspecting reader.] And even then, if someone lacked faith in God, he actually encouraged them all the more to put their trust in doctors! [A quote by HWA used as evidence for this assertion follows.]
[Later on we come to this paragraph, which is the closest this book ever comes to acknowledging the existence of the medicine ban.]....With Tkachism...church members did often judge each other—and usually the ones judged most harshly were those who chose not to rely on doctors for “healing”! In some cases, ministers even refused to anoint members, despite God’s clear command in James 5:14, because the members did not first go to a doctor. [This entire section very cunningly hides from the eyes of the unsuspecting reader the practice of old WCG and PCG members today of refusing medicine even to the point of death.] (Raising the Ruins, Chapter 7, heading 'Jesus Christ's Sacrifice'.)

This topic is approached again in Chapter 21.

Feazell continued in the preface, “Based on Armstrong’s interpretation of biblical passages, WCG members were taught that use of prescription drugs and most forms of surgery constituted a lack of faith in God’s power to heal.” Yet another classic example of doublespeak. Notice what Tkach Jr. wrote to a member who was leaving the WCG in 1990: “Actually, if you carefully read the latter portion of his [Mr. Armstrong’s] own booklet on healing, it will become clear that he was acknowledging that there is much good that doctors can do.” Indeed, Mr. Armstrong wrote, “[I]t is true that today most doctors prescribe medicines that are NOT poisons but rather are designed to help nature do its own healing.” Today, of course, their story portrays Mr. Armstrong’s teaching as dangerous and fanatical. [Again this book has cleverly omitted mentioning the medicine ban. It has side-stepped the issue.] (Raising the Ruins, Chapter 21, heading 'And On It Goes')

These statements obscure and hides from the unsuspecting reader the long and tragic history of the medicine ban that has done so much harm to the followers of Armstrongism.

Stephen Flurry uses selective quotations from The Plain Truth about Healing that hides the history of the medicine ban. HWA in that booklet also compared medical vaccines to poison. Many people died and are forced to live with preventable afflictions to this day because of evil words such as these which are cleverly omitted in Raising the Ruins:

Medical "science" operates primarily on that method -- trying, with medicines, to prevent God's law from exacting its penalty. That theory says, in effect, we can transgress God's law and then prevent God's law from exacting its penalty. The theory is: The sufferer has in his body one poison, so we add another poison in the form of medicine. And one poison plus one more poison equals NO poison! (HWA, The Plain Truth about Healing, Chapter 3, heading 'The Scourging')

Later in Chapter 5, he also wrote 'Why do YOU go on PAYING THE PENALTY or else paying the DOCTOR BILLS or probably BOTH, when Jesus Christ paid it all FOR You?...Once more to the question, Did God raise up the medical profession for our day? EMPHATICALLY NO!'

These reassuring words HWA made did not end the deadly ban. PCG publishes the book Stephen Flurry cited and, contrary to what such seemingly accepting words to medicine may appear to mean, PCG continues to enforce this medicine ban as can be seen above.

How Stephen Flurry deals with this issue reminds me of this comment from AR 54 February 1994:

[The following words in italics are Stephen Flurry's in the September/October 1993 issue of the Philadelphia Trumpet.] Very few of these publications try to disprove the teachings, or THE MESSAGE Mr. Armstrong taught. Instead, they put down the man and then THROW OUT THE MESSAGE WITH IT.

...It is very difficult to view this statement as anything other than a calculated distortion of the facts. Obviously, the author is familiar with the AR, as well as the writings of Robinson, Tuit, Dankenbring, and others. AR has criticized HWA, not just for his life style, but for many of his teachings. Robinson, Tuit, and Dankenbring have criticized HWA's life style and, in addition, have been quite specific about where they thought HWA was doctrinally in error [such as Dankenbring's excerpt above] and where they thought he was correct. Nevertheless, isn't it interesting that the author nowhere attempts to disprove the serious and well-documented allegations made against HWA.

Woe to the unsuspecting reader who enters PCG unaware of this monstrous medicine ban!

These people have made the ultimate sacrifice and when PCG makes a book such as Raising the Ruins their sacrifice is simply hidden away like an embarrassment. That is all the thanks these devoted souls get in that book from the leaders they trusted to the point of death for trusting their lives to the PCG even unto death.

More on Raising the Ruins may be read here.

From the Beginning-A Call for Totalitarianism

During my brief encounter with PCG I heard Gerald Flurry asserting that the Apostle John had written a spectacular revelation in his Epistles, but the original church had not seen it but (guess who?) Flurry had. He reveals this 'revelation' in the 1996 booklet From the Beginning, the TV program breathlessly informed me.

Intrigued I got myself a copy of the booklet. However I found it utterly unreadable and I was unable to reach the end. I was only able to get into the middle of Chapter 2, and there are four chapters to go through. This reminds me of when John Trechak wrote these words in AR 54 February 1994, 'we don't plan any further detailed studies of his writings. The reason for that is simple - reading his "literature" gives us a headache.' Amen to that! (See also Ambassador Report on Gerald Flurry.) It was the only booklet they sent me that I did not read in its entirely. When I decided not to associate with PCG anymore I saw no point in trying to read it, but I still kept it. This booklet is still available and is still distributed today.

Then much later I renounced Armstrongism. This caused me to become a bit reflective about what had happened. So I decided to try and read the booklet again.

What I read there horrified me.

Satan's nature PERMEATES HUMAN INTELLECT AND HUMAN REASONING. We cannot TRUST OUR OWN MINDS. (p. 50). [This explains why PCG members do not leave despite the many absurdities that occur within PCG.]

There will be no STRANGERS ruling in the God Family. We cannot disagree on MAJOR ISSUES like God's Family government today AND STILL EXPECT TO RULE WITH THAT GOVERNMENT IN GOD'S FUTURE WORLD!...Remember, we are the bride of Christ. We must be in deep harmony with our Husband. ...Unless our fellowship is with the Father and Son, we are just another group not the bride of Jesus Christ. (p. 52).

If we cannot accept this most basic and important doctrine of all -- government -- we cannot fellowship with the Father and Christ. (p. 53)

The Father and Christ have never had a serious disagreement....It is not natural for man to submit to this government. It's very unnatural. (p. 54).

'So God usually refers to His government as Father and Son. (p. 55).

In p. 52 Flurry calls for his followers to be in 'deep harmony' with God. To the unsuspecting reader this seems a rather typical statement from a religious writer. However Gerald Flurry says that God is working through him. Could God be working elsewhere? Gerald Flurry says that God worked through Herbert W. Armstrong also and therefore God could only be working through HWA or his followers. So all the other non-Armstrongite Christians (Catholics, Sunday-keeping Protestants) cannot offer one a way to God. But PCG members are also required to shun any former or current member of HWA's WCG or members of any other Armstrongite group unless they are a member of PCG. This even applies to close family members. More can be seen here. This shows that PCG believe that God is not working through the other Armstrongite groups or the Tkachite WCG. So all the other Armstrongites cannot offer one a way to God. This means that PCG believes that God is working only through PCG. This actually mean that to be in deep harmony with God actually means to be in deep harmony with Flurry. 'God's Family Government' actually means the Government of Flurry.

Stripped of its confusing jargon this booklet is nothing more than a crass call for totalitarianism, for unquestioning obedience to PCG. It idolatrously places Flurry's PCG between the believer and the Lord above.

Because he is said to be God's only representative today PCG members are required to be in deep harmony with Flurry, so deep this horror story can happen on this false prophet's whim. And, rest assured, he is just a false prophet of which Jesus warned us about. 'Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' (Matthew 7:15)

You can read From the Beginning online but, to any reader who is not familiar with them, please be aware be aware that this is a Bible-based mind control cult that seeks to devour people's lives and wallets (courtesy of the Three Tithes) like the ravening wolves they are.

May all involved in PCG one day be free of this cult, just like this man who went into PCG because relatives of his received unsolicited writings from PCG.

Raising the Ruins and MOA

(Italics is in original, bolding is mine throughout this article.)

This is Mark Helm presenting an oral argument during the court case for PCG against WCG in the Ninth Circuit Court on December 6, 1999, where PCG would lose the Court Case to WCG: 'The PCG, he said, “believes that Mr. Armstrong was inspired by God when he wrote the book. There is no rewriting of the book that can happen. They believe that this is God’s word as was handed to Mr. Armstrong. So it’s not a question of, Oh, we’re going to now make up some views that we think are like it. Those are the views. And you can describe it either accurately or inaccurately, but those are the beliefs that they have and they can’t be rewritten.”' (Raising the Ruins, Chapter 19, under the heading 'Divine Inspiration').

That Prophet Gerald Flurry was obviously very impressed. Later on September 28, 2000, after the Court had revealed its decision for WCG That Prophet Gerald Flurry gave a motivational talk. 'He [That Prophet Gerald Flurry] reminded Dennis Leap and me about what we had seen....God inspired Mark Helm’s oral argument at the Ninth Circuit.' (Raising the Ruins, Chapter 20).

So Mark Helm was speaking under the inspiration of God, according to That Prophet Gerald Flurry, at that Ninth Circuit Court Case on December 6, 1999 where he said, concerning Mystery of the Ages by HWA and his other writings, 'There is no rewriting of the book that can happen...they can’t be rewritten.'

This is what is written in Mystery of the Ages on the PCG website, MOA Chapter 6 (PCG), under the heading 'One Church with One Government'.

The prophets set in the foundation of the Church are those of the Old Testament, whose writings were used to form a considerable part of New Testament and gospel teaching and functioning.

Evangelists were leading ministers...

This is the very same part of MOA Chapter 6 as HWA wrote it.

The prophets set in the foundation of the Church are those of the Old Testament, whose writings were used to form a considerable part of New Testament and gospel teaching and functioning. No prophets are mentioned as having either administrative, executive or preaching functions in the New Testament Church.
Evangelists were leading ministers...

The bolding has been cut out of the PCG version.

So, as others have pointed out before, That Prophet Gerald Flurry has changed that which Mark Helm, while inspired by God, according to That Prophet Gerald Flurry, said '[t]here is no rewriting of the book that can happen.' Obviously such things can happen therefore Mark Helm's inspiration was false and/or That Prophet Gerald Flurry got it wrong.

This teaching which That Prophet Gerald Flurry has sought to suppress was the teaching of the alleged end time Apostle and end time Elijah HWA from at least the August 1953, Good News, as may be seen in Herman Hoeh's article 'Government in our Church', pp. 3-4, 7-8.

Even though evangelists were next in authority under the apostles, next in spiritual order and above the evangelists are listed the prophets (I Cor. 12:28). Often in the Bible, prophet means preacher or poet. But in the New Testament history there are several instances mentioned in which prophets-both men and women-were used to foretell by special and personal revelation from God (Acts 11: 27-30; 21: 9-10). They spoke and exhorted the brethren and, if men, sometimes preached, although not usually evangelistic for the purpose of raising up churches.

Those who evangelized had authority over local churches, whereas the prophets had no government office or authority. Even in the Old Testament, where both men and women were used as prophets, none of the prophets had government authority unless they were also judges. In the New Testament, the only prophets with government authority were also apostles, evangelists, or elders (Acts 15:32; I Tim. 4:14).' (p.4).

And so we have That Prophet Gerald Flurry daring to do contrary to what Mark Helm said while he was, according to That Prophet Gerald Flurry, inspired by God. That Prophet Gerald Flurry has gone against what God supposedly inspired Mark Helm to say. That Prophet Gerald Flurry recognized Mark Helm's words to be inspired by God and he chose to go against them anyway. Such actions leave the following words sounding very hollow:

In truth, Mr. Armstrong NEVER said the book needed to be rewritten. [Why have you changed it then?] What he said was that more material could be added to the original text. [Then why did you cut material from it?]...The ONLY indication Mr. Armstrong ever gave about revising Mystery was the possibility of adding another chapter. [You have not done this either, you have cut words you did not appreciate. You have told 'Elijah', Shut up and tell the Truth the way I want you to tell it.']...Again, there is a huge difference between adding another chapter and wanting to rewrite the book because of major flaws.' [Oh, so you can rewrite the book if there are 'minor' flaws?] (Raising the Ruins, Chapter 11, heading 'Caught in a Tangled Web' [How very appropriate for the situation That Prophet Gerald Flurry has put himself into with his deceptive alterations. And they are not the only changes either.]).

If only the unsuspecting reader was aware of these things.

More on Raising the Ruins may be read here.

The Dark Century (50-150 AD)

In Chapter 4 of Stephen Flurry's Raising the Ruins he seeks to portray Herbert W. Armstrong as an enlightened church historian:

In Mystery of the Ages, Mr. Armstrong wrote, “Scholars and church historians recognize that events in the early Christian Church between a.d. 50 and 150 can only be seen in vague outline—as if obscured by a thick mist.” To support his conclusions, Mr. Armstrong relied upon the noted English scholar Samuel G. Green in his Handbook of Church History. He quoted from William Fitzgerald’s Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, William McGlothlin’s The Course of Christian History and Philip Schaff’s History of the Christian Church.

And so Stephen Flurry has subtly introduced to the unsuspecting reader the Dark Century (50-150 AD) doctrine. HWA quoted those persons to support his Dark Century (50-150 AD) doctrine. Is HWA's assertion that there was a Dark Century (50-150 AD) accurate? Did those cited historians believe there was such a Dark Century as HWA described?

Well, actually, those quotes of HWA's in his Mystery of the Ages were completely distorted. See this excellent article by Kelly Marshal which shows in great detail how HWA misrepresented those sources (See heading 'Lost History of the Church'). In reality none of them believed in a Dark Century from 50 AD to 150 AD.

• "Green [1937] states that church history was obscure (but not completely lost) for only 30 years—from 70 A.D to 100 A.D."(Kelly Marshal)

• Bishop Fitzgerald did not believe in a Lost Century, and after what HWA quoted in MOA Fitzgerald remarked that despite the Churches' lack of unified authority after the death of the Apostles they still retained doctrinal unity. That is very different from HWA's teaching of the Lost Century. Also HWA seems to have chosen that book because it was terribly obscure. Fitzgerald's book was published in 1885 and only 33 copies exist in all the libraries of the USA thus hampering any honest seeker of the truth in any attempts to verify what HWA is saying (see footnote 27).

• In Dr. McGlothlin's book (1919) he divides early Christian history into two periods, 30-100 AD, the second 100-323 AD. He did not believe in a Lost Century. He also believed that the Churches were democratic in governance, contrary to HWA's dictatorship.

• Schaff only believed there was obscurity from 70-100 AD. Certainly not 50-150 AD.

Kelly Marshal has shown that none of those historians believed in a Lost Century (50-150). All the details may be seen here

Also consider this, most of the New Testament was written after 50 AD. We are supposed to believe the Gospel was suppressed at that time. The very time Paul made his epic missionary journeys through Greece and into Rome, the Mother City itself, the Gospel was suppressed!

What poppycock!

So why did HWA latch onto those dates? I believe the reason why HWA latched onto those dates was because of 1953. He claimed that the first broadcast of the World Tomorrow in Europe on Radio Luxembourg that year meant 'the Gospel' was being preached 'to the world' (meaning not just 'Israel' i.e. the USA) for the first time in 1900 years. Observe what he wrote at the beginning of Chapter 6 of Mystery of the Ages: 'It is a fact to stagger the mind of the reader that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not proclaimed to the world from about A.D. 50 until the year 1953.'

Also note this from the beginning of Chapter 7: 'It ['the Gospel of the Kingdom of God'] had not been proclaimed to the world until the first week in 1953, when for the first time in about 1,900 years--a century of time cycles--it went out on the world's most powerful radio station. Radio Luxembourg in Europe.' He said the Gospel was suppressed 1900 years--100 19-year time cycles--before 1953. More on the significance of 1953 in Armstrongite teaching may be seen in a previous post.

This, I believe, is the real reason why HWA latched onto to 50-150 AD. He used those dates to conform with his highly artificial numerical pattern based on 1953, which he himself created.

This is very similar to HWA's assertion that he was ordained 100 19-year time cycles (1900 years) after the Pentecost of Acts 2. HWA was ordained in 1931, and HWA also taught that Christ had to have been crucified in 31 AD, justifying this assertion with his Wednesday Crucifixion belief. This may be seen in Chapter 24 of HWA's Autobiography.

This doctrine is so difficult to believe that even LCG seems to have abandoned the 50-150 AD dates. Observe their 'seven church eras' booklet God's Church through the Ages. Here, while they certainly teach the fundamental idea that there was a great apostasy after the Apostles' deaths, there is no obvious reference to the 50-150 AD dates. Even they recognize that HWA's dates were nonsense.

With all these facts in mind how dare PCG tries to pretend that HWA was right in this belief. How dare they quote his misleading assertion that “Scholars and church historians recognize that events in the early Christian Church between a.d. 50 and 150 can only be seen in vague outline—as if obscured by a thick mist” when Kelly Marshal has clearly proven that none of the historians cited by this supposed Apostle and end time Elijah believed in this Lost Century. HWA misused these writings to give his ridiculous numerological pattern a false air of respectable scholarship. I dare any Armstrongite (especially any follower of 'That Prophet' Gerald Flurry) out there to prove Kelly Marshal wrong in this matter. Attacks on myself or Kelly Marshal will not count as an answer.

More on Raising the Ruins may be read here.

HWA's Fear of JWs and SDAs

In relation to my earlier discussion on HWA's plagiarism from Jehovah's Witnesses I found these words from the PCG Pastor General's Report archive, specifically the November 5, 2005 Pastor General's Report, p.8:

Mr. Armstrong stressed that the ministry use extreme caution when inviting new prospectives with strong Pentecostal, Jehovah's Witness or Seventh Day Adventist background. Mr. Armstrong felt that these people very seldom come out of their former religion. (Emphasis mine.)

Can't let the ex-Jehovah's Witness or ex-Seventh Day Adventist see that so much of Armstrongism is pilfered from them! Or let them tell the members!

Both movements, it must be noted, are descended from the Millerites of the 1830s/1840s, just like Armstrongism. This is one reason why these religions bear some similarities to Armstrongism. The other reason is that HWA plagiarized (stole) some of his doctrines from them.

If the (Armstrongite) 'truth' is so powerful why did 'God's End Time Apostle' fear these people so much? Because they possess evidence that HWA just stole other ideas and they could see that and possibly tell others about it. They are an ever present reminder that HWA was not special at all in his alleged 'revelations', and this no doubt was the cause of this fear.

LCG's Latest Fast

On the Sabbath of March 28, 2009, the members of the Living Church of God (LCG) observed a day long fast summoned by their leader Roderick C. Meredith, as this post, Fast or Flick by Ambassador Watch commented on.

This fast seems to have been primarily summoned by Meredith to try and beseech God to bestow divine healing to LCG. Meredith's order for this fast may be seen from the February 19, 2009 update:

After reading quite a number of requests to have a Church fast for the last several months, I have talked with our leading ministers here and elsewhere and concluded that we should call for a Church fast on the Sabbath of March 28....Why a Church fast at this time? We feel that a Church fast would be especially appropriate at this time because so many of our brethren are getting weak and sickly, and deeply need God’s healing! I hesitated to call a fast because I did not want to focus on my personal problem. However, quite a number of other serious illnesses are coming to the fore and as I have studied and prayed intensively—more than ever the last few months—it is obvious that we should be drawing closer to God and crying out to Him for the “gifts” of healings, discernment of spirits and casting out demons (Mark 16:15-20).

This seems to be the primary motivator for this fast. Also observe this reminder March 26, 2009 update: 'Church-Wide Fast Reminder: This Sabbath, March 28, the Living Church of God will be fasting to draw closer to God in every way and to beseech Him to pour out especially the gifts of healing on His Church.'

No amount of fasting or works can hide the fact that Armstrongism is a proven heresy which God is not working through, or that the leaders are merely false prophets.

Meredith's Words of Wisdom III

Roderick C. Meredith writes a 'semi-annual letter' to subscribers of Tomorrow's World who have not given any money to them. As far as I am aware those letters are not posted online. Once one does start to give money to them they start to send monthly 'Co-Worker letters' to that one.

This comes the Semi-Annual Letter of November 2, 2005 (emphasis in original):

many of you write asking about this Work, who is behind it, and what we believe. So in this letter I want to answer some of your questions....We are a continuation of the Work which the living Jesus Christ did through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. (p. 1).

He is here responding to questions about what this 'work' is. Notice what Meredith says in his response to such questions:

Looking back, it is now obvious that God gave Mr. Armstrong the "gift" of really understanding biblical prophecy more than any other person in modern times. (p. 1).

How on earth does he expect a false prophet who made numerous false prophecies to have any genuine understanding of biblical prophecy is beyond me. This statement hides these false prophecies from the unsuspecting reader. HWA said Christ would return in 1936, then at the end of WWII, then 1975, then within two decades of the publication of Mystery of the Ages (2005, the very year Meredith is writing this). He made over 200 false prophecies as can be clearly seen online. How much understanding do these errors show?

The Bible is very clear about what such errors mean: 'When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:22)

But Meredith, to his peril, ignores these important facts, and furthermore, seeks to hide it from those he is trying to recruit into his organization. He continues to assure the unsuspecting reader that they have understanding of what is happening:

we at Tomorrow's World can be specific in our explanation of end-time events because...God has given us genuine understanding of these things. (p. 2).

The record says otherwise. Meredith is merely another false prophet. We are commanded by God not to fear such people. Let us be free of them!