Mark Armstrong on #ReleaseTheMemo

Mark Armstrong, leader of the Intercontinental Church of God, has released another one of his weekly updates (February 2, 2018). Let's see what he has to say. This week he insists that Robert Mueller's investigation is merely part of some sort of grand conspiracy involving leaders of the FBI and the mainstream media to attack his preferred president, Donald John Trump.

He begins by claiming a time of "mass deception" will occur before Christ's return.

The Bible tells of a period of mass deception that will characterize the last days.  Many wonder, particularly in this Internet era where there's been an explosion of available information, how such a thing could be possible.  How on earth could the whole world, save the “very elect” be conned into accepting, and acting upon a false and fraudulent premise?     

He then begins to condemn the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Despite the disturbing evidence of possibly criminal behavior fueling the Republican Robert Mueller's investigation Mark Armstrong assures his followers that it is just part of a vast conspiracy by the FBI and the mainstream media to attack his preferred president.

Recent history provides one incredibly glaring example in Germany, but everybody freaks out whenever it's cited, because (the argument goes) there's simply nothing which justifies invoking the Nazis.  However, we are living through the exposure of fraud on the part of supposedly incorruptible institutions.  Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity, are on the F. B. I. institutional Seal, and are supposed to guarantee equal treatment under the law and blind justice.  That is a basic part of the foundation of a system that guarantees liberty in the United States of America.

He has turned his ire towards the FBI because they are running a criminal investigation about his preferred president. He also claims that Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election was miraculous.

If the “Untouchables” can defraud Federal Judges to spy on opponents and undermine an election of a duly elected President, then the whole thing collapses.  It went on wholesale in the Soviet Union and in the eastern bloc nations they controlled.   Their media reported as they were ordered.  People had to parrot government propaganda to survive.  It is chilling, to say the very least, to see how close we came to the same situation.  Imagine for a moment how things would have transpired if not for the shocking, miraculous outcome in the election of 2016.  The fraud would have succeeded.  The conspirators would still be running the most powerful institutions of law enforcement on earth.  The media would be backing them, deceiving the public without consequence instead of being exposed as they are today.  Not that they'll admit it, they never concede a point even when their face is rubbed in undeniable truth.

Mark Armstrong then accuses the mainstream media of being part of a conspiracy against President Trump.

And that may be as big a revelation as anything else we are learning.  The mainstream media was (and still is) part of the conspiracy!  False information was leaked to the media by the conspirators in charge of fearsome agencies, and then the reports they instigated were taken before a Judge to bolster the legitimacy of their need for surveillance.  It was a circular echo chamber, and the mainstream media has been a willing accomplice to perhaps the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on U. S. citizens, and by extension, the whole world.  Now it's exposed.

Mark Armstrong assures his readers that there is nothing to worry about concerning Robert Mueller's investigation.

Do you think for one minute that the media will recant its more than a year of fraudulent reports?  Not a chance.  Not yet anyway.  But they're being forced to play defense for a change.  The “heroes” they were counting on to impeach a president have been proven to be dirty.  They defrauded a secret court (FISA) to frame a candidate and a campaign.  No doubt they figured that even if the Russia Collusion thing didn't work out, they'd undoubtedly find some other criminal intent or activity if they were able to listen in on meetings, phone conversations, read e-mails and texts etc.  Surely, they'd get something scandalous or illegal.  But alas, they didn't.  They've only been able to charge a couple of “process crimes” (General Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort) that would never have existed had they not had the ability to eavesdrop, spy and then interrogate to find a discrepancy.  Then they brought the full weight of the threat of prison time to achieve a plea of guilty in exchange for cooperation.

Calls by the FBI and the Department of Justice to not release the memo is casually dismissed as part of the conspiracy to hide "criminality" from the public, namely his imagined grand conspiracy against his preferred president.

Sources and methods.  That, they tell us, is why the intelligence community has kept criminality at the highest levels concealed.  We found out years ago, when the reviled Snowden ruined his life by releasing massive amounts of data and had to flee the U. S. for Russia or wherever he is languishing.

He then veers off topic to allude to the issue of government surveillance in general. While that is certainly a topic worthy of public discussion here it is crassly used to inspire revulsion and disgust among his followers toward the alleged grand conspiracy against his preferred president.

It just wouldn't do if the public found out that anyone with a security clearance has access to the NSA database, which has apparently been stockpiling every communication, domestic and foreign, phone calls, e-mails and texts.  Apparently, anyone with Top Secret clearance, including the employees of contractors, can pull up everything on anybody.  The fact that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of individuals who can abuse that capability is information that simply must not be public, even though it's the worst kept secret ever.  Therefore, much that should be known and released for public consumption must remain hidden.  Sources and methods must not be compromised!  Odd, nothing in today's release has anything to do with national security, even though that was used as the reason it should never see the light of day.

He then alludes to the Clinton emails which is actually another topic but again this is used to further inspire disgust and revulsion among his followers against the alleged grand conspiracy against his preferred president.

But here's the real kicker, and if you've paid close attention you may already have figured this out.  The reason Hillary Clinton HAD to be exonerated in the case of trafficking in classified information outside approved government systems is that the former President was communicating with her over her private server using an alias.  If she was found guilty, he would be too.  That may well be one of the places all this is headed.  He may have been aware, if not involved, in the perpetration of the whole scam.  Betcha we find out eventually.

Mark Armstrong then exults in the supposed humiliation of the "mainstream outlets" who he seem to view as part of the grand conspiracy against his preferred president.

The mainstream outlets can continue to play dumb, and probably will.  They've run out of confused, perplexed looks to get on their faces.  They spent weeks calling Trump crazy and a liar when he said his “wires were tapped.”  But they've wasted more than a year of their lives, stoking the hopes of angry progressives who mourned the outcome of the 2016 election, and spent nearly every minute of airtime promoting one fake story after another.  They relied on “highly placed anonymous sources” for the great bulk of their so called “reporting” and have been burned so many times we've lost count.  

He claims that negative media reports about his preferred president merely originated from a bunch of "disgraced turncoats".

The sources for all the fake news that have fueled headlines and excited predictions of an imminent impeachment may very well have been the disgraced turncoats who have been found to have used every trick in the book, first to change the outcome of a presidential election, and then to abort a presidency before it could succeed.

He again insists that Trump's election to the presidency is a miracle. He also insists that the Nunes memo will be merely the fist of many revelations which will somehow exonerate his preferred president.

The fact that Trump won the presidency, not just against the best efforts of his opponent, but in spite of a hostile media, fake polls, fake news and dozens of respected analysts who said he was a lunatic who was unfit, unhinged and conspired with “the Russians” to steal the presidency, is nothing short of a miracle.  That 2017 was a banner year in so many ways, in spite of the 24/7 impeachment drumbeat is another.  Many more are in store, as the hotly debated Memo is but the first salvo in an arsenal of revelations that will undoubtedly expose and embarrass a bevy of household names.  Embarrassment may be the least of their worries.

Mark Armstrong then ends his weekly update by insinuating that former FBI Director, James Comey, lied about Mark Armstrong's preferred president.

One of the Big Ten, as many refer to God's Commandments, is in play.  The ninth Commandment states, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”  It doesn't just say you shouldn't lie, though that's indicated too.  It says bear false witness against, and that is precisely what has been going on in the top echelon of American institutions of law.  Former Director Comey is known for tweeting Bible passages, but these are not among them.  Listed among seven things God hates are, “A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief.  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”  Looks like the Proverbs (6:17….) have ramifications for this life as well as the next!  Have a wonderful Sabbath,    

Mark

And so we see once again how Mark Armstrong has used his weekly update to promote his own, partisan political views.

Bill O'Reilly on the Third Temple

It was disappointing to read the following passage in Killing Jesus (2013) by (the now disgraced) Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard.

In A.D. 637, Muslim forces defeated the Byzantine and predominantly Christian army that occupied Jerusalem. The Muslims later built a mosque on the site of the former Jewish temple. As long as it remains there, Jewish hopes of rebuilding the temple on the original site will remain unrealized. (p. 269.)

After the destruction of the temple Jewish religious authorities came to the consensus that it would not be possible to rebuild the temple. It was taught that the temple would be rebuilt by God upon the arrival of the Messiah. The Jewish religious authorities ordered Jews not to approach the site of the temple lest they should walk upon the Holy of Holies.

It is only in recent times that a numerically small minority of Jews, often associated with the national religious community within the Holy Land, have chosen to overthrow this Jewish religious prohibition and have walked onto the grounds of a Muslim mosque seeking to have some of Jewish shrine on the grounds of the third most revered shrine of the Islamic religion, offending the neighboring Palestinian people. Some of them have even called for the creation of a third temple. One rally by these national religious Jews in 1990 set off a tragic chain of events culminating with about twenty Palestinians being killed by Israeli police personnel on Monday, October 8, 1990.

It is disappointing that this book which because of the popularity of Bill O'Reilly at the time, was widely sold and has gained over ten thousand reviews on Amazon.com, should speak of this inflammatory call among a numerically small minority of national religious Jews as though it was perfectly normal and unremarkable despite the tragedy this idea has helped to bring to pass.

Mark Armstrong's Weekly Update of January 19, 2018

Let's take a look at Mark Armstrong's weekly update of January 19, 2018. First he indulges in more crude name calling against the Pope.

Before wrapping the “crises” that we've come to expect on a daily basis, you've got to see this. The socialist, pro-gay, pro-Muslim and abundantly humble pontiff just bestowed the Vatican's highest honor upon an abortion on-demand activist. If you thought the pope was only in control of destiny in the afterlife, and of course the authority to re-organize Purgatory and Heaven at his discretion, you may not have heard of “Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great.” No, I didn't make this up. Apparently, it's the highest “honor” (this side of Heaven) the Vatican can bestow.  The pope saw fit to give it to a Dutch politician, Lillian Plouman, who actually received a medal direct from Rome.

He criticizes Pope Francis' decision to award Lillian Plouman.

She's not only a Dutch politician, she's also the founder of She Decides, an organization that raises money for facilities that provide abortion internationally. In case you hadn't noticed, abortion seemed to be the last moral principal the Vatican could stand on. This pope got busy defending homosexuality early on. There used to be some strict bother about divorce and communion, but with gay orgies among the priests in Vatican City, that probably died a quiet death. This “Francis” guy let the world know he was partial to socialism right off the bat. So, other than traipsing around in scarlet robes, mumbling Latin and waving crosses around, what's left of what the world regards as the seat of Christianity?

Despite his anti-Catholic hostility he seems to think this should have gained more attention. This news is also used to reinforce the organization's ban on abortion.

You'd think there would be an outcry heard 'round the world over this betrayal of the sanctity of life. It was the only “Christian morality” play the Vatican still had in place.But now that's gone, and it's not even close to being big news. So, it might be no surprise that there's nothing in the way of a reaction, when it seems that it would have been a huge deal bringing the pope's very belief in Christianity into question.

At this point Mark Armstrong shifts to his main topic: using the government shutdown to scare monger against undocumented immigrants.

Most have concluded that there will be a “government shutdown” at midnight tonight. It seems that the plight of illegal aliens (aka “dreamers” or DACA) is so important that “non-essential” services will not be funded unless illegals are given amnesty, citizenship and of course the right to bring in multiple family members from whichever third world… ah, paradise they came from.

Undocumented immigrants are unable to vote therefore they are a convenient target for demagogues since they cannot vote against politicians who speak against them. And even though he likely does not vote Mark Armstrong goes along with this trend.

He then mentions that it was reported that President Trump used a crude word to describe Haiti, El Salvador and African countries. Mark Armstrong suggests it never happened.

The whole “bi-partisan” cooperation thing blew up when Senator Durbin ran to the microphones to report the president used a bad, incendiary, RACIST term to describe the places of origin for the vast majority of U. S. immigrants. Initial assumptions were that the President probably uttered the term he was accused of using, after he realized the proposal he'd been presented was not even close to something he could support. But, given the source of the accusation and the testimony of others who were sitting right there, he may not have even used the term.

He then describes the reaction in the media.

The media went wall to wall with manufactured emotion. Several saw fit to shout angrily, some cried, nearly all agreed that Trump is an evil racist who let his guard down to show his true colors. They spent a week bringing on “experts” to react to something that may have been said in a meeting where, according to witnesses, a lot of colorful language was exchanged. The media broke into a free-for-all of repeating the “bad word,” saying it over and over again gratuitously. One network (you'll never guess) reportedly used it 165 times in just a few days, and may still be uttering it today. Surely that ought to be the end of the Presidency they said could never exist in the first place!

He complains that the media say most Americans want dreamers to have a pathway to citizenship. In response Mark Armstrong insinuates that polls are unreliable.

Now, that “mean, climate-denier, white-supremacist, RACIST, bigot, homophobe” looks ready to stand by and allow the government to be “shut down” rather than “help the dreamers.” Maybe that will do it, they hope. Their polls show that a majority want the “dreamers” given every imaginable benefit, including a “pathway to citizenship.” How dare the President stand against what the media(or university think tank) polls say is the “will of the people?” They apparently haven't noticed how foolish they've looked counting on their polls to make predictions. Every time one is publicized, you have to wonder how the question was worded, and to whom was it asked?

He scare mongers about immigrants. Implies that "we" might be outnumbered or even replaced by immigrants.

It is undeniably apparent that American demographics have been dramatically altered in recent years. Regardless of your sentiments, the transformation has happened, and the proof is everywhere you go. The only remaining question is whether the obvious influx will be the deciding factor in our future leadership and governance. It's already happened in California. Look who steps to the microphones to warn employers and local law enforcement of prosecution if they dare cooperate with immigration agents. Citizens, carrying the financial weight of all the health-care, education and welfare no longer have a voice. They've been outnumbered, or as some say, replaced. Many wealthy and middle-class families are fleeing to other states with lower taxes and fewer illegals.”

What crass demagoguery. It is a shame that Mark Armstrong chooses to be so hostile toward people who quite likely has less than himself. He bad mouths immigrants over and over again.

He scare mongers about those who are not hostile towards immigrants the way he is. Even though Republican legislators control both Congress and the Senate he is inclined to blame the shutdown on Democratic Party legislators.

We're left wondering whether the entire nation goes the way of California, again. Some in positions of national representation refuse to approve a budget unless they get their way. That means amnesty, citizenship, and the ability to bring the whole extended family. Otherwise, they claim the Trump administration will have a major failure on its hands, and non-essential operations will cease at midnight tonight. Who knows, somebody might blink, and we could face this “crisis” again a month from now. But it probably won't be President Trump, who'd betray the central theme of his campaign and presidency if he did.

He then complains about criticisms directed at President Trump.

Just to review, two weeks ago the world trembled on the precipice of nuclear war from “reckless tweets,” and the media was very afraid. Then they realized that he couldn't think straight, didn't recognize aides and babbled senselessly off-point. It was dementia, maybe early Alzheimer’s! Then he showed what a rotten RACIST he was by insulting whole countries and continents. All the while, they've known that he was guilty of COLLUSION with “the Russians,” not to mention abuse of power and obstruction of justice, and the special council would breach his “inner circle” at any moment.

Weary of criticism of his preferred president he fantasizes that some sort of day of reckoning awaits for those in the media who should dare to bad mouth his preferred president.

The mainstream outlets are pretending they know nothing of the bomb that's about to blow their life's work to smithereens. The question now is, how much crow can they stomach? It's impossible to know how the mainstream news outlets and social media giants will try to spin what's about to hit them. They pretend they, the arbiters of all public information, still don't know what we've known for ages, but the pretense continues. There are probably heated back room strategy sessions as to how in the world they're going to handle the TRUTH should it rear its ugly head. They'll have to act like they had no idea. It will have to be the biggest, most unwelcome surprise ever, and they'll be forced to apologize endlessly or simply exit the studios. It's hard to imagine how that will go.

Those in media who opposed Trump will be punished he exclaims. The president will not even have to do anything, Mark Armstrong assures his readers.

Networks may collapse. ... Flight to nations without extradition is a possibility for some involved. Reputations if not lives will be destroyed. And President Trump will have had nothing to do with it. The FAKE NEWS, FAKE INVESTIGATION, phony law enforcement bosses are going to be exposed for all to see, perhaps between now and next week's Update. They (we'll have to wait to find who all) conspired to prevent Trump's election, and kept the “insurance policy” in force to find something, anything, for which he could be impeached.

The (alleged) grand conspiracy against his preferred president corrupted the FBI, he assures his readers.

They destroyed the credibility and reputation of the most formidable, powerful law enforcement agencies on earth and used them like “secret police agencies” to spy, wiretap, and we'll see what else, to bamboozle the public and jerk the presidency around.

He indulges in some speculation that the (alleged) grand conspiracy is somehow worse than his audience suspects. While on this train of thought he complains that the media call Trump's "supporters a bunch of idiots." In other words this is implying that the media view people like Mark Armstrong's audience in this derogatory way. This is one way Mark Armstrong tries to maintain the loyalty of his followers: implying that remaining within this organization is a way to prove oneself as being in the right compared with the media.

Those who've seen the (still classified) evidence of the real “collusion plot” to prevent Trump's election, then to cripple his administration with dark suspicion and speculation,say we don't know the half of it. It's more extensive than we could have imagined.They're saying we'll be blown away when the evidence goes public. If we'll be blown away, imagine the poor, poor anchors and experts who'll have to face the cameras after a year and a half of calling Trump a criminal and his supporters a bunch of idiots. What will happen to the squints, the sneers, the pouts, the mocking laughter, the haughty glances?

He muses that this day of reckoning for those who dare to criticize his preferred president is a miracle from his (Armstrongite) God. An answer to the prayers of himself and his followers.

Is it possible that millions of prayers have been heard, and this is the reply? Or are the principles that God put in motion simply working relentlessly in the background to save, or at least prolong the blessings that we'd taken for granted for too long? It seems like the Proverbs have come to life, to the benefit of the innocent and great dismay of the wicked! If you find that explanation to dramatic, stay tuned. And have a very happy and thankful Sabbath! 

Mark

And his weekly update ends. Once again Mark Armstrong reinforced his views upon his followers.

PCG's Ron Fraser Called Shimon Peres a "Puppeteer" (2001)

So often PCG's 1% claim to be friends of the Jewish community, particularly Israeli Jews. But they only seem to like certain Israeli Jews. Shimon Peres was not an Israeli politician they favored. Once in early 2001 PCG's Ron Fraser even called Peres a "puppeteer who pulled the strings" within Rabin's government in regards to negotiations with the PLO. Fraser's terminology about Peres is eerily similar to one anti-Semitic epithet, "wire pullers," which was used by the Nazi regime to demonize Jews. 

Close investigation reveals that Peres is the prime link involved in the negotiations with the Vatican and the EU which are now resulting in the EU seeking to take over as the principle mediator and driving force in the “peace process,” marginalizing U.S. efforts. 

Peres’s bona fides were established with Yasser Arafat’s PLO in a dirty deal which allowed the PLO to dictate the outcome of the 1992 Israeli election. ... Arafat took the bait. ... Ever since, Arafat has sought his pound of flesh in terms of the fulfillment of the promises which Peres made to him. It is no secret that Shimon Peres was the puppeteer who pulled the strings of the assassinated Rabin’s government’s negotiations with the Palestinians. His initiatives led to the exchange of letters between Rabin and Arafat in September 1993 which in turn led to the signing of the “Declaration of Principles of Interim Self-Government Arrangements”—termed the Oslo Accord—signed by Rabin and Arafat in Washington that same year. The Oslo Accord became the foundation upon which the past seven years’ efforts to find a peaceful settlement in Palestine have been built. (Ron Fraser, Muscling Into the Mideast, March-April 2001.)

It is one thing to disapprove of a politician's proposal. But any reasonable argument can be advanced without using such vicious rhetoric.

Bill O'Reilly: Jesus Celebrated Passover a Day Early

Recently I read Killing Jesus by (the now disgraced) Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, which was released on September 24, 2013. While reading it I found this statement.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke make it clear that Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal a day early. ... Other scholars resolve the issue by arguing that the Synoptics base their calendar days on the Galilean Method (used by Jesus, his disciples, and Pharisees), from sunrise to sunrise; while John bases his calendar days on the Judaean Method (used by the Sadducees), from sunset to sunset. This resolves the discrepancy, as the different calendars will place Passover meals at different times. (p. 218.)

This is completely different from what HWA's organization so confidently taught. As may be seen in Herman Hoeh's 1961 article, "The True Reason Why the Jews Rejected Christ," they insisted that the Last Supper was the Passover. They insisted that Passover is to observed at the started of Nisan 14. They insisted that the Jewish community are in error by celebrating Passover a day later. They insisted that this alleged error originated from Hellenistic Egypt. But can we really be so sure that HWA's organization were correct on this matter?

It is clear that HWA had little idea of the complexity of the topic of determining dates for the Jewish festivals when he so cavalierly adopted them in his syncretist religion. There is no requirement for Christians to observe the Jewish festivals. We should leave these festivals alone and let the Jewish community enjoy these festivals without the COGs appropriating them for themselves and audaciously insisting that the Jewish community fails to celebrate them properly. We should leave these precious festivals alone.

PCG Promoting Fear of Iran

While listening to Melanie Phillip's lecture at PCG headquarters, which occurred on May 7, 2017, I heard this question from the audience from a man who is likely a member of PCG. It was sad to hear someone who appears to have taken PCG's scare mongering to heart. This question occurs about 1:36:50 in the video.

You have talked about getting to the issue which is stopping people from wanting to kill Jews and eradicate Israel. And you've mentioned several times what's going on with Palestinian Authority. What's going on with Mahmoud Abbas. What's happening in the north with Hezbollah. What's happening in ... with Hamas in Gaza.

How much of this is laid at the feet of Iran? And what they are doing to promote and to push the rest of the Islamic world to hate Israel. These terrorist groups that we mentioned here. We havn't really talked much about Iran but I'd really would like to hear your views on that. And their responsibility in this as well.

The fact that he uses the word "push" to describe Iran's foreign policy is a further indication that this person is a member of PCG. PCG's leaders often use that word to describe Iran and to associate Iran with their misinterpretation of Daniel 11:40.

Ironically Phillips then says that in relation to the State of Israel's relations with the Palestinians that Iran's influence is a symptom of the crisis, not in itself a cause of tense relations with the Palestinians.

Back in 1994 PCG's leader, Gerald Flurry, proclaimed Iran to be the King of the South and ever since then has scare mongered about Iran. This provides a powerful incentive for PCG's leaders to demonize Iran. By bad mouthing Iran they seek to prove that their leader can foresee the future. However PCG's numerous failed predictions prove that there is no need to fear their dire predictions.

Also just before that question Phillips mused that a simple change of signage would be enough to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Now that President Trump has announced that they will move the embassy it turns out that it will take a long time to finalize everything.

Overview of the February 2018 Issue of PCG's Philadelphia Trumpet

PCG's 1% have released another issue of their recruitment magazine to gain tithes paying members for their organization. (February 2018.) Let us see what they have to say this time.

The first thing to mention is the cover's use of the national flag of Saudi Arabia. It is disappointing to see that PCG's 1% have so little cultural awareness regarding that flag. It contains the Islamic declaration of faith, the shahada, which every Muslim is expected to publicly declare at least once in his or her life. It is saying deeply precious to Muslims all over the world. There have been controversies before over the handling of this flag which features the shahada. Didn't anyone within PCG's 1% think to say that this illustration should have been handled differently? And to think that PCG claims that they will rule the world after Christ's return yet they do not even know that using the flag of Saudi Arabia in this way might be a bad idea. PCG should have handled this matter differently.

This issue has a circulation of 248,247 issues. January 2018's circulation was 247,255 issues. November-December 2017's circulation was 246,769. October 2017's circulation was 245,780. September 2017's circulation was 245,925 issues. August 2017's circulation was 255,897 issues. July 2017's circulation was 267,569. May-June 2017's circulation was 263,551. April 2017's circulation was 267,569 (which happens to be the same as July 2017's figure).

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

Gerald Flurry has a personal article where he seems to suggest that the State of Israel's problems would all be solved in if they just trusted in God.

The threat against Jerusalem was every bit as great as the one facing that same city today. But how did that threat end? “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses” ... [2 Kings 19:35.] ... GOD SUPERNATURALLY WIPED OUT THAT WHOLE ARMY—185,000 SOLDIERS—IN ONE NIGHT! This is the ONLY way to protect Jerusalem today! (p. 25.)

What a sickening thing to say. He is also taking this passage out of context. 2 Kings 19 is talking about the Assyrian invasion under Sennacherib about 2,700 years ago. It is most surely not a recommendation for what the State of Israel should do today.

Brad Macdonald praises President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. It is insisted with excitement that President Trump's decision will make PCG's prophetic scenario more likely to occur.

Brad Macdonald also has a side article in which the US government's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel is described as an unremarkable decision.

Within PCG's writings it tends to be assumed that the tense relations between the State of Israel and the Palestinians are mainly about Jerusalem. This is a misconception which ignores many other issues, such as the State of Israel's refusal to let Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and elsewhere to return to their homes, the imposition of Israeli rule within Area C of the Palestinian West Bank among a population that never asked to be ruled by the State of Israel, the inconvenience of Israeli checkpoints within the West Bank for the Palestinian population, the fact that Palestinian controlled land is surrounded by Israeli controlled spaces thus letting the State of Israel control movement between the Palestinian territories and the rest of the world, the construction of Israeli settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the objections of the neighboring Palestinians, the disproportionate allocation of resources for the Israeli settlements at the expense of the Palestinian majority, and other issues. PCG's fixation of Jerusalem exposes how terribly limited and narrow their knowledge of this topic actually is.

Andrew Müller has an article scare mongering that the United States is retreating from its position of global leadership.

Gerald Flurry has an article downplaying the climate change crisis. PCG's 1% have taught for years that natural disasters are signs that their strange parody of the Christian God has cursed the United States.

TO SAY THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSING ALL THESE VIOLENT STORMS IS REJECTING EVERYTHING GOD SAYS ABOUT THIS SUBJECT. Those who believe in that wouldn’t all say they are anti-God or irreligious. But what they are saying is in direct conflict with what God says. (p. 11.) 

If they admitted that the excess emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane were causing the increasing severity of these natural disasters then those disasters could no longer to used to scare people into thinking that PCG's God is angry with America.

Richard Palmer has an article scare mongering that the US might cause severe economic distress for Germany. PCG teaches that Germany is fated to soon become a militaristic state which will swiftly conquer the United States and take Americans as slaves. PCG says those who follow them will be protected by their God by being taken to a place of safety, namely Petra, Jordan.

Edwin Trebels has an article discussing PCG's distribution of their recruitment writings in other languages such as "Afrikaans, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and now Hebrew." (p. 16.) Even though PCG's 1% recently decided to get a jet plane most of their translators are volunteers.

Jeremiah Jacques has an article discussing the life of a North Korean man who made the harrowing journey out of that land in 1995 and now works to send information about the outside world using balloons. He deserves better than being included in this publication designed to gain tithes paying converts for PCG.

Gerald Flurry also has an article mentioning King Hezekiah's bulla. PCG likes mentioning this bulla since the process of its discovery partly included their contribution. PCG plans to be sending more of their students in these excavations in the near future.

Jorg Mardian has an article condemning the use of cannabis.

Joel Hilliker has an article discussing how husbands can encourage their wives.

Brad Macdonald has an article insisting that the science capable of creating a back flipping robot lacks the ability to create a peaceful world. Only PCG's God can do that, according to PCG's 1%.

WorldWatch talks of the continuing coalition negotiations in Germany; scare mongering about a German plan to prepare for the unlikely eventuality of some sort of collapse within the EU; a Saudi arms firm hiring a German to be its CEO; German fighter planes participating in military exercises in the State of Israel; President Putin telling arms firms to prepare to expand production if war should occur; scare mongering about China's military strength relative to that of the United States; wildfires in California; the affliction of modern day slavery; and a report that some who had fought for the criminal network known as ISIL and had returned to Britain have not been prosecuted.

SocietyWatch talks of elementary school teachers resigning because of violence in school; scare mongering that people are still paying off their Christmas expenses; and complainig that nearly a third of births in the UK were among unmarried couples.

There are letters. Here's one from a person in Georgia who had been reading PCG's recruitment writings since 2003.

I want to thank you for your prompt responses to my questions. The answers you have given me hold true to the biblical account and teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong. When I was first introduced to your Philadelphia Trumpet magazine it was 2003, and I was 22 years old. Now it is 2017, and I am 37 years old. That is nearly 15 years of reading and rereading over and over again to show myself approved of the truths that God the Father has given to me as a gift through you.

Here's a letter from Maine.

Excellent job at the Trumpet. It is my only source of reliable, honest and accurate news.

One should not rely so completely on one source to learn about world events. It would be better to listen to a wide range of views in order to gain many perspectives and compare and contrast differing viewpoints.

Here's a letter from Oregon replies to an earlier article discussing the movement about raising awareness of the problem of sexual harassment. The person who writes the letter complains that it is being talked about too much.

This is a subtle and very dangerous way to take the American people’s focus off what is going on in the world—the urgent matters— and instead, focus continually on the petty details and behavior of movie and TV icons, airing our dirty laundry continuously for the world to see! That’s one sure way for the rest of the world to know that our backs are turned, and we’re not paying attention to anything but the trite. Of course, as you say, it is an important subject, but not to constantly be burying our noses in it so that we no longer see what’s happening in the rest of the world and who’s sneaking up on us!

It is awful that so often the testimonies of the victims of sexual harassment are marginalized. This is very unfortunate and fails to address the problem of sexual harassment. The current wave of activism on this topic is a most welcome development.

And so we see that PCG's 1% has produced yet another issue of their recruitment magazine to gain more tithes paying converts and to keep their followers in awe of them as being able to see the future. However since its founding in 1989 PCG has made at least 52 failed predictions. But despite such a poor record of predictions their talk of doom and gloom has gone well for PCG's leadership. Back in 2012 PCG had an income of about $19.5 million according to a booklet by their leader, Gerald Flurry. Even as early as 1996 PCG claimed to have more than $5 million in annual income. Recently PCG has even bought its own plane. It appears that this expensive purchase may be causing financial headaches for PCG's 1%. But PCG's many failed predictions clearly reveal that PCG's leaders are but false prophets. There is no need to fear their dire proclamations. PCG's leaders are but false prophets.

Tragedy in Afrin

It has been very sad to learn that Turkey is currently launching military operations against the Syrian Kurds in Afrin, the same Syrian Kurds who did so much to fight back against the criminal network known as ISIL and who had recently liberated Raqqa city from ISIL's tyranny.

It has long been known that Turkey has been suspicious of the Syrian Kurds because of their links with the Kurdistan Workers Party which has intermittently waged an armed insurgency against Turkey since 1984. But to think that those who had gained the admiration of the world in their struggle against the criminal network known as ISIL now face this military attack is a terrible state of affairs. It is to be hoped that a diplomatic solution that will stop this tragic round of violence will be found soon.

PCG's Ron Fraser Cited 1887 Book to Vilify Catholic Church (1998)

This is pathetic. Back in 1998 PCG's Ron Fraser (1941-2013) cited an 1887 book to prop up his scare mongering of the Pope in the present time. 

In the twentieth century, the strongest evidence of this political influence of the Roman Catholic Church is its drive to support and lead the nations of Europe into a European Union, dominated by its own spiritual influence. Yet this dogged commitment of the papacy to unite Europe has roots which go way back beyond this present century of man’s history. 

“A project is being mooted, which, if carried into effect, will have far-reaching consequences indeed…. It is nothing less than to erect a European Council with the Pope as president. This will be found a great stride towards grasping anew that temporal supremacy of Christendom which the pontiff wielded in the Middle Ages…. This proposal is a very specious one. It has come from the Roman side; it has been ventilated in the London newspapers by way, doubtless, of feeling the pulse of Europe. The object put in the foreground is confessedly a philanthropic one—the saving of Europe from ruinous wars. We are likely to hear more of this proposal in time to come” (Dr. J. A. Wylie, Which Sovereign—Queen Victoria or the Pope?, circa 1880). (Ron Fraser, Unholy Union, June 1998, p. 6.)

Dr. James Aitken Wylie's book appears to date back to 1887.

Many Armstrongite organizations, including PCG, teach that the final Pope will be a miracle worker empowered by Satan to prop up the future European Empire fated to conquer the United States shortly before Christ's return. This gives the COGs a strong incentive to demonize the Catholic Church and the Pope in particular. Fraser was so determined to do so he even cited a book published back in 1887.

Clearly there is no need to fear their declarations of doom and gloom. Let us embrace reality and make the most of it.

PCG's Ron Fraser's Alarmist Articles (1998-2004)

The following is a list of the articles by the late Ron Fraser (1941-2013) within PCG's recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet, from 1998 till 2003. His writings well exemplify the harsh manner in which PCG's 1% views the world.

Within the COGs PCG has a reputation of being particularly harsh and authoritarian. Seeing how PCG's 1% seem to insist to their readers that everyone outside their narrow, political bubble are a dire threat one can see how PCG has fallen into authoritarianism among themselves.

Here is one example of Ron Fraser's vicious view of the world outside of PCG's social bubble.

A recent decision by a British court will have Britain’s enemies all over the planet in stitches of laughter. In May, the court upheld a case brought against the Ministry of Defense by the parents of a British soldier who died of heatstroke on the battlefield. 

Thus, the nation once renowned for the code of honor within its regimental tradition and the lion-like bravery of its fighting forces in battle is reduced to the image of a silly dove .... 

One has to wonder if such a judicial attitude had prevailed during World War II—in which British soldiery often entered battle grossly underequipped—whether the rule of the tyrant who could have overwhelmed Britain would have produced results any worse than the present tyranny of the feminist, homophile, politically correct thinking that dominates the British judiciary. (Ron Fraser, 'Human Rights' in Warfare?, August 2009.)

The articles written from 1998 until 2004 by a man who say something as dreadful and vile as that may be seen below.

******

1998

March-April: The Third Way, pp. 23-26.

Anti-Catholic screed.

May: EMU Takes Off, pp. 19-23.

Scare mongering about the European Union as the euro was being prepared to become a currency in 1999.

June: Unholy Union, pp. 6-12.

Virulent anti-Catholic screed. Fraser even quoted a book from the 1880s to imply that the Vatican was somehow plotting to seize power within Europe. What vicious fanaticism.

July: Terror Triumphant!, pp. 11-13, 24-25.

Bitter scare mongering about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Strongly implied that it would fail.

July: Killing Off America, p. 28.

Here Americans are denounced as being like Nazis in the Holocaust for allowing abortion to be legal.

August: Africa: A Continent in Crisis, pp. 20-24.

Dire portrait of the situation in Africa, with particular attention towards Nigeria and South Africa and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

September-October: Crisis Point of Western Leadership, pp. 18-21.

Here the Kosovo War is presented as evidence that the United States is losing its power.

November: System Failure!, pp. 2-6.

Scare mongering about the Asian financial crisis of 1998.

December: Australia: The "Luck" Runs Out, pp. 9-13, 25.

Here he bewails the state of the land of his nativity, Australia. The topics mentioned in this article were discussed in a previous post.

1999

January: Facing the Dragon, pp. 2-7.

Discusses the border dispute regarding Taiwan.

February: "The Gates of His Enemies...", pp. 2-5, 12-13.

Bewails the handover of the Panama Canal to Panama.

March-April: The Other Hussein, p. 5.

A denunciation of Saddam Hussein.

March-April: Papal Call to Arms,  pp. 22-24.

Scare mongering about the Pope.

May: What's Behind the Crisis in Foreign Relations?, pp. 2-5.

In this article Fraser inaccurately implied that sexual promiscuity in the West was responsible for "giving birth" to HIV/AIDS. The disease originates from SIV, a disease that infects the Central Chimpanzee, which developed a strain capable of infecting humans sometime around 1908-1933, possibly in the Congo region, from whence it spread for decades until it was detected in 1981.

May: A Matter of Honor, p. 13.

Here he condemns President Clinton for his antagonism with Milosevic.

June: Divided We Fall, pp. 5-11.

July: Return of the Old World Order, pp. 2-6.

August: Return of the Old World Order: Part 2. Article.

August: The Search for a Compromise. Article.

September-October: No to NATO. Article.

November: Can the Blind Lead...? Article.

November: The Bear's Headache. Article.

December: Religion's Clash of the Century. Article.

December: Trials and Errors. Article.

2000

January: China's Three Card Trick. Article.

January: Israel's Wound. Article.

February: Atlantic Rift. Article.

February: Remember. (Written with Stephen Flurry.) Article.

February: Is a World Dictator About to Appear? Article.

March-April: Goodbye Friday Agreement. Article.

May: David Meets Goliath. Interview with Adrian Hilton. His 1997 book, The Power and Principality of Europe, has been promoted within the some of the COGs to promote fear and dread of the European Union. Meredith's LCG has also cited this book in their writings.

May: Europe Marches South. Article.

May: Spain Surges Right. Article.

June: Fascism Revives! Article.

July: Fascism Revives! Part 2. Article.

August: Fifty Years of European Union. Article.

August: Where is the "Third Way" Taking Us? Article.

August: Third Way (n.). Article.

September-October: Britain's Final Decline. Article.

November: A Cautious Relationship Builds. Article which scare mongers that Germany and Russia will ally against each other against the United States.

November: Taking Stock of Globalization. Article.

December: Yugoslavia Comes in from the Cold. Article.

2001

January: Disunited Kingdom. Article

January: Winners and Losers. Article

January: An Empire in the Making. Article. Interview with euroskeptic activist Rodney Atkinson. PCG first made contact with Atkinson during the time of the Kosovo War (1998-9).

January: Whose Holy City? Article.

February: The Denial of History. Article.

February: An Empire in the Making. Article.

March-April: Devious Alliances. Article.

March-April: Muscling into the Mideast. Article.

March-April: A Nazi Vision Realized. Article.

May: At the Crossroads. Article.

May: America's Colombian Folly. Article.

June: Is Russia Finished? Article.

July: The Politics of Energy. Article.

August: Lying Spirits. Article.

August: The Final Pieces Fall into Place. Article.

September-October: Is America Becoming Isolationist? Article.

November: The Battle Lines Broaden. Article.

November: Germany Moves to Front Lines. Article.

December: The Power of Religion. Article.

2002

January: The Coming World Crisis. Article.

January: The Rise, and RISE, of Europe. Article.

March-April: The Reality of God. Article.

March-April: Up for Grabs. Article.

May: The Grand Design. Article.

May: Anti-Semitism Revives! Article.

May: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Mother. Article.

May: What is Happening to the Middle East? Article.

June: How Deep a Wound? Article.

July: What was Missing at the Jubilee? Article.

July: A Frightening Equation. Article.

August: America The Cursed. Article.

August: Rising in the East. Article.

August: Return of the Royals. Article.

September-October: Shades of Hitler. Article.

September-October: Power of the Merchants. Article.

September: All That Glitters. Article.

November: The Demise of Democracy. Article.

November: Silence the Critic. Article.

December: Odd Man Out. Article.

December: 'It Won't Work Anymore.' Article.

December: Aftereffects of an Election. Article.

2003

January: 2002: The Real Stories. Article.

January: Can God Save the Queen? Article. (Written with Gareth Fraser.)

January: All Roads Lead to... Article.

February: A Union of Church and State. Article.

February: Japan's Place in the Future. Article. (Written with Gareth Fraser.)

March-April: World War Déjà Vu. Article.

May: From Communism to Catholicism. Article.

May: Apocalypse Now. Article.

May: Failing to Bring Peace. Article. (Written with Eric Anderson.)

June: Out of Chaos, Opportunity. Article.

June: The Polish Connection. Article.

July: The Gatekeepers of Europe. Article.

July: “Faster … Quieter … Deeper.” Article.

July: Retooling for War. Article.

September-October: The Lie That Broke Britain. Article.

December: Space Wars!, pp. 4-7, 28.

2004

January: 2004: A Look Ahead, pp. 24-26.

February: The Other America, pp. 11-13.

March-April: The Basest of Men, p. 37.

May: The Spanish Connection, pp. 8-11, 17.

May: Return of the Religious War, p. 37.

June: The Brink of the Unthinkable, pp. 13-16.

July: The Return of Imperialism, pp. 4-10.

August: The Latin Link Revives, pp. 7-10.

November: Land of the Free and Home of the Hated, pp. 2-5.

And so 2004 ended and the year 2005 began. Ron Fraser continued writing his articles for PCG's recruitment magazine.

To be continued...