* LCG News *  LCG 2006 Feast of Tabernacles' Information * Listing of Living Church of God Congregations *Sunset Times for the U.S. *  News of Those Once Affiliated with the Global COG * Prayer Requests * Official Living Church of God What's New? page.

Click Here for the COGwriter Home Page which has articles on various sabbatarian Churches of God (COGs) and articles supporting beliefs of the Philadelphia portion of the Church of God.

08/28/06 a.m. Yesterday, I add another update to the article Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God. Specifically, I reformated much of it and added to the section about PCG's teachings on Laodicea:

PCG often claims that those Christians not part of it are Laodicean and seems to sometimes use non-biblical definitions of Laodiceans:

Several different churches have been formed by former Worldwide Church of God ministers. All of these churches--including the WCG--are Laodicean except one (Flurry, Gerald. Malachi's Message to God's Church Today. Booklet. 1995. p.6).

Now there are two Churches of God--The Philadelphian and Laodicean. The Philadelphia Church of God started just 4 years after Mr. Armstrong died...The Laodiceans will die in the Great Tribulation discussed in Matthew 24:21 (Flurry, Gerald. Lamentations and the End-Time Laodiceans. Booklet. 1993. pp. 1-2.).

Fifty percent of God's own Laodicean Church will lose their eternal lives because they do not want to live by the giving spirit of the word (Flurry, Gerald. From the Beginning. Booklet. 1996. p.15).

God sends strong delusion to see if His people are Philadelphia or Laodicean...THE LAODECIANS DIE IN THE TRIBULATION AND CONSEQUENTLY ARE SEALED (Flurry, Gerald. Malachi's Message to God's Church Today. Booklet. 1995. pp.11,49).

The book that most forcefully condemns the end-time Laodicean rebellion is Malachi (Flurry, Gerald. From the Beginning. Booklet. 1996. p.29).

What is the main problem with God's Laodicean Church today? They do not want to face all the really hard questions like--why all of these doctrinal changes? They don't want to face the really hard question--is Mr. Armstrong God's end-time Elijah? Why? Because they want to be part of Babylon (Flurry, Gerald and Leap, Dennis. Ezra and Nehemiah: Building God's Temple. Booklet. 1997. p.4).

Who is skilled in the law? Is it the Worldwide Church? Is the Global Church? Is the United Church? No!. The PCG has the only people of God who are truly skilled in the law! The Laodiceans are no longer skilled in the law (Flurry, Gerald and Leap, Dennis. Ezra and Nehemiah: Building God's Temple. Booklet. 1997. p.34.).

Because the Laodiceans measure God's law and government so badly, they have to be put in the outer court. They were in the inner court, but they rebelled and God no longer does His Work through them (Flurry, Gerald. From the Beginning. Booklet. 1996. pp. 21-22).

Let me give you an example of how badly they measure God's law and government. One member of the board of directors in the United Church of God sent out a packet of their beliefs to many of their members...Here is a quote from one of those letters: 'We find it interesting that the only one of the '18 truths' restored by Mr. Armstrong which has not been changed by the apostates [referring to current WCG leadership] is the 'truth' about church government'...The first doctrine listed among the 18 restored truths is GOVERNMENT , which is built on God's law. This government directed the most successful Work of God ever on this earth--in terms of numbers of people! For over 50 years, God used this government to preach the Gospel around the world (Mat 24:14). All of these Laodicean ministers supported that government while Mr. Armstrong was alive! Now they somehow think God has commissioned them to change it! Somewhere along the line they were hypocrites, either then or now (Flurry, Gerald. From the Beginning. Booklet. 1996. p.22,23).

The Laodicean ministry ridiculed God's truth about the place of safety. They failed to teach the people about a future captivity and holocaust (Flurry, Gerald. Lamentations and the End-Time Laodiceans. Booklet. 1993. p.26.).

Where is God's temple today? It is within the PCG! On of the main tasks of the PCG is to help God's people locate God's true temple after the Laodicean destruction (Flurry, Gerald and Leap, Dennis. Ezra and Nehemiah: Building God's Temple. Booklet. 1997. pp.42-43.).

Micah 7:1 is a blanket condemnation of all God's Laodicean churches (Flurry, Gerald. U.S. Justice and our 'Evolving Constitution'. Philadelphia Trumpet. January 2001. p. 6).

Remember, the big Laodicean problem is God's law (Flurry G. The Prophecy of Habakkuk. PCG Booklet. 1995, p.5).

PCG had better read the Bible again and notice that Christ condemns the Laodiceans for having a different work than the Philadelphians (PCG itself admits that it has a different work than HWA's WCG did). The Bible makes it clear that the Laodiceans do obey the commandments of God (Revelation 12:17), thus the law itself is NOT the big problem for the Laodiceans.

Here are some of Gerald Flurry's comments about Laodiceans:

I mean you just cast them all out!, that sounds, I guess rather humorous to people in the (blank silence, edited?, probably Worldwide) Church of God and some of those laodicean Churches, BUT THAT IS IN FACT WHAT GOD HAS DONE, HE’S SAID ‘NOW YOU GET THEM OUT OF HERE’ AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT THEM!. We’ve got a different work, and it IS a work that’s going to qualify you to be in Headquarters forever, so let’s get busy and do it and DON’T WORRY ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE! ... BECAUSE I’M PUTTING THEM ASIDE! You cannot do this work in this last hour, especially with all those laodicean attitudes (Flurry G. Prophesying Again Part 4, November 1, 2003. Sermon transcript at http://www.pcog.info/, January 13, 2004).

PCG appears to forget that 'Philadelphia' means 'love the brethren'. Teaching that no one is to 'worry about' (or apparently have brotherly love or concern) about them shows that PCG has disqualified itself from being considered part of the true Philadelphia portion of the Church of God. Revelation 3:9 makes clear that simply calling oneself part of the Philadelphia Church does not make one part of it.

I mean, that synagogue of Satan became the Laodicean era. So that caused Mr Armstrong a lot of trouble (Flurry G. Prophesying Again Part 4, November 1, 2003. Sermon transcript at http://www.pcog.info/, January 13, 2004).

There is nothing in Revelation 2 or 3 that suggests the "synagogue of Satan" has to do with Laodicea.

In principle, God begins where His own sinning Church is, especially their headquarters in Pasadena. And in general, that principle applies to the state where God’s sinning headquarters is. So it is fitting that God begins the worst part of His punishing America in California. The headquarters of God’s own sinning, Laodicean Church is there (Flurry G. Is California Under a Curse? Philadelphia Trumpet, December 2003, p.2).

This is an area where PCG differs from LCG. LCG's R. Meredith, many years ago, stated that WCG was no longer part of the COG, whereas PCG seems to feel that it is the HQ for the Laodiceans. The Laodiceans are not promised protection from the tribulation, but still are part of the COG. Yet WCG does NOT meet the criteria of being part of the true COG as it is not part of "the rest of her offspring" for WCG is not among those "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17). WCG teaches against keeping the commandments of God and has changed Jesus' testimony to fit the Protestant view.

In many places, PCG has suggested that the Tkach administration is Laodicean. And beyond that in one of its booklets, PCG's G. Flurry makes this statement,

A Laodicean is one who will not obey God's law or follow His government (Flurry G. Zephaniah's Day of the Lord. PCG booklet, 2004, p. 11).

PCG has this only partially right. Laodicea is made up of two words which essentially mean the people decide, hence there would appear to be a rejection of government associated with Laodicea.

On the other hand, suggesting that the Tkach administration is Laodicean is not correct. Also, stating that the Laodiceans will not obey God's law is also incorrect. PCG teaches, correctly, that Revelation 12:13-16 is referring to the Philadelphians going to a place of safety. And that vs. 17 is referring to the Laodiceans.

Here is what Revelation 12:17 states,

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Two points here:
1) Revelation 12:17 includes the Laodiceans, and most likely the remnants of Thyatira and Sardis as it says 'the rest'.
2) These Laodiceans and others do keep the Law of God, specifically the Ten Commandments. The Tkach administration does not.

Hence, PCG may wish to re-look into its positions on these matters. PCG fails to realize that Jesus condemns the Laodiceans for their work--this is obviously a different work than the Philadelphians have (for the true Philadelphians only receive praise from Jesus)--PCG's writings clearly show that it has a different work than HWA's WCG had.

Articles of related interest might include: Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work?, The Philadelphia Church Era and The Laodicean Church Era).

08/27/06 a.m. On Friday, CGG posted this disturbing news item:

On Friday, August 18, 2006, the FDA approved a viral cocktail to be sprayed on foods we eat. This is the first time viruses have been approved for use as food additives. The FDA wants you to believe it will be safe to consume these viruses every day for the rest of your life with no adverse health effects. Not surprisingly, the FDA doesn?t want you to know which foods are adulterated in this manner, for fear you may not buy them; thus, no labeling will be required. This is a monumental announcement by the FDA, indicating they are throwing all caution to the wind regarding the safety of our food supply. Are you willing to stand in line for a virus-laden sandwich?

It appears that the USA is completely determined to contaminate every possible aspect of its food supply (it also allows irradiation of many foods, genetically-modified foods, and many unnatural practices to occur without labeling).

In other health news, COGaic reported:

The role of the large drug companies is also causing alarm. Ray Moynihan is a medical journalist for the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet. He and Canadian science writer Alan Cassels address the subject in their book Selling Sickness: “The marketing strategies of the world’s biggest drug companies now aggressively target the healthy and the well. The ups and downs of daily life have become mental disorders, common complaints are transformed into frightening conditions, and more and more ordinary people are turned into patients. . . . The $500 billion . . . pharmaceutical industry is literally changing what it means to be human”...

Moynihan and Cassels remark that in the United States, a small army of detailers (the sales representatives who introduce and promote new drugs to doctors and pharmacists) have “helped instill and reinforce the notion that depression is a widespread psychiatric disease most likely due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, best fixed with a modern group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, that includes Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. . . . Drug company spending on sales representatives and their free samples is the biggest component of the roughly $25 billion . . . now outlaid annually in the United States for promotion. . . . And at every opportunity, it is not just drugs being sold, but very particular views of disease.”

There is no simple answer to this issue of medicalization. Mental illness and clinical depression are very real and crippling conditions, and many people are greatly helped by medication. The issue is not treatment of very real cases of mental illness but the relationship between drug companies, medical practitioners and patients. These groups do not operate in isolation; however, the power of the juggernaut pharmaceutical companies is of growing concern...

Moynihan and Cassels state that “the epicentre of this selling is of course the United States, home to many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. . . . With less than 5 per cent of the world’s population, the US already makes up almost 50 per cent of the global market in prescription drugs.” Spending has increased by almost 100 percent in just six years, they add.

The reality is that mainly due to improper agricultural and social practices, there are increases in certain psychological disorders. Instead of fixing the causes, pharmaceutical companies focus on selling unnatural substances to deal with some of the effects. Since the pharmaceutical companies provide significant amounts of money to politicians (especially in the USA), there is little incentive to work towards real solutions to these problems.

LCG reported these news items:

Global Water Shortages Growing.  “More than two billion people already live in regions facing a scarcity of water, and unless the world changes its ways over the next 50 years, the amount of water needed for a rapidly growing population will double,” says researcher David Molden of the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka (New York Times, August 22, 2006).  Molden states, “we have to learn how to grow more food with less water” because land dependent on irrigation cannot be used to grow more food if we run out of water.  In China, a crop-withering drought has led to trucking water and rationing with up to 17 million people limited to two buckets per day.  The drought has caused produce prices to jump by 50 percent (Associated Press, August 16, 2006).  The Bible reveals that God controls the fate of nations and uses the weather to curse those who violate the natural laws that govern the environment.  Long ago, God warned, “if you do not obey Me [and My laws], then I will punish you seven times more for your sins… I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze” (Leviticus 26:18-19).

Islamism Trumps Arabism.  Reports from the Middle East indicate, “Hezbollah’s war with Israel has fed the growth of political Islam in Egypt and other Arab states” (The New York Times, August 20, 2006).  One Egyptian woman stated, “I have more faith in Islam than in my state; I have more faith in Allah than in Hosni Mubarak” (Ibid).  The “perceived triumph” of Hezbollah in Lebanon has produced a wave of pro-Islamic euphoria that is sweeping over the Middle East, where political Islam is seen as “the antidote to the failures of Arab nationalism, Communism, socialism and… the false promise of American-style democracy” (Ibid).  One Jordanian scholar observed, “The secular resistance movements are gone.  Now there are the Islamists coming in… the new nationalism is going to be religious nationalism, and one of the main reasons is dignity.  People want their dignity back… the losers are going to be the Arab regimes, U.S.A. and Israel” (Ibid).  The cry of “Islam is the solution” is voiced by zealous followers who want to export their religious ideas to other parts of the world—by violence if necessary.  This will be a growing threat to the secular and nominally Christian cultures of Europe and America (see Daniel 11: 40).  

The second item is consistent with biblical prophecy regarding the formation of a Future King of the South. Also, recent news reports (see News of the Living Church of God page, 08/25/06 update) show that significant amounts of gold have been found in Egypt, which is also consistent with biblical prophecy regarding the kings of the North and South as well.

08/26/06 a.m. Last night, ICG's Mark Armstrong reported:

According to one report, Osama bin Laden has announced “religious approval” for the mass murder of 10 million Americans in a coming attack.  CNN has been reporting from various industrial facilities, from shipping ports to fuel refining and storage facilities, from New Jersey to the gulf shores of Texas to Washington state, pointing out how vulnerable they are and what a devastating blow it would be to the entire nation if one of them were attacked.  It makes me uncomfortable to see them offering up one “soft” target after another over satellite television.  I wonder how the producers and reporters will feel if an attack is made on one of those locations they’ve recently exposed as vulnerable.

 

Iran is calling for “serious negotiations” as another deadline looms on UN insistence that they halt their uranium enrichment program.  After eight years of lying through their teeth to the Vienna based UN nuclear regulatory commission, headed by a man whose first name is Mohammed, now they’re ready for “serious negotiations.” The UN deadline is August 31, and Iran is hinting that further pressure on them will result in war. What else could there possibly be to talk about?!?  Some analysts fear that hostilities between Israel and the Iran controlled Hezbollah in southern Lebanon may well be re-ignited to create yet another urgent crisis and change the subject. 

The world is a dangerous place, and the dangers will continue to increase as we get closer to the end.

ICG's Mark Armstrong also reported:

We’ve just produced an additional six hundred copies of the Is God a Trinity?

Those outside the COGs may be surprised to realize that we in the COGs understand that God is NOT a trinity (we hold what is called a Binitarian View). And while we have many biblical proofs of this position, perhaps it may be worthwhile to show some admissions from trinitarian scholars (the first being from a prominent Protestant):

For Luther, as for the German mystics, God is Deus absconditus, the "hidden God," inaccessible to human reason...

By emphasizing the sole authority of Scripture and downgrading the work of the church fathers and the decisions of the ecumenical councils, Luther created a problem for his followers. One the one hand, Luther wanted to affirm traditional theology with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ, but on the other those doctrines are not explicit in Scripture. They are the product of church fathers and the councils (Brown HOJ. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), 1988, p. 314).

It should be remembered that NONE of the so-called "church fathers" prior to the end of the second century espoused any trinitarian position (an article of related interest might be Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther? What Did Martin Luther Really Believe About the Bible?).

And the following is from a Roman Catholic scholar:

In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together...The word trias (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180...Afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian ("De pud." c. xxi) (The Blessed Trinity. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight).

It should be understood, that claims of Catholic scholars to the contrary, that Theophilus of Antioch did not teach the trinity or that the Holy Spirit was a person (though Tertullian, who became a Montanist sort of did--the leaders of the churches in Asia Minor and Antioch opposed the Montanists--Montanists taught a type of trinity before the Romans ever did). It was not after until Tertullian (over 100 years since the Book of Revelation was written) that professing Christian writers suggested the concept of the trinity close to how it is now understood.

Notice these admissions from the Eastern Orthodox:

Orthodoxy professes its faith in a simple trinity...If we speak of a simple Trinity, this self-contradictory expression means the distinctions...God is unknowable about what he is (Clendenin D.B. ed. Eastern Orthodox Theology, 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2003, pp. 175,177).

Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologians agree in recognizing a certain anonymity characterizes the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. While the names Father and Son denote very clear personal distinctions, are in no sense interchangeable, and cannot in any case refer to the common nature of the two hypostases, the name Holy Spirit does not have that advantage. Indeed, we say that God is Spirit, meaning by that the common nature as much as any one of the persons. We say that he is holy...Taken in itself, the term Holy Spirit thus might be applied, not to a personal distinction...In that sense, Thomas Aquinas was right in saying that...the name Holy Spirit has been given to him...we find an image of the economy of the Third Person rather than an image of his hypostatic character: we find the procession of a divine force or spirit which accomplishes sanctification. We reach a paradoxical conclusions: all that we know about the Holy Spirit refers to his economy; all that we do not know makes us venerate him as a person (Clendenin D.B. ed. Eastern Orthodox Theology, 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2003, pp. 165-166).

In other words, even trinitarians admit that that teaching did not come directly from the Bible, and that they cannot really know God.

Should doctrine come from the Bible (as the Bible itself teaches, see II Timothy 3:16) or traditions of men? Those unsure should read the article The Bible and Tradition.

Articles of related interest may include:

Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning Is binitarianism the correct position? What about unitarianism or trinitarianism?
Is The Father God? What is the view of the Bible? What was the view of the early church?
Jesus is God, But Was Made Man Was Jesus fully human and fully God or what?
Virgin Birth: Does the Bible Teach It? What does the Bible teach? What is claimed in The Da Vinci Code?
Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? Or did they have a different view?
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it?
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah's Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning This is a shorter article than the Binitarian View article, but has a little more information on binitarianism.

08/25/06 a.m. In its September 2006 edition of The Trumpet, PCG reported the following:

French courts ruled that the Louis Vuitton flagship store must remain closed on Sundays in accordance with law. The suit was brought against the famous Paris fashion house by the French Confederation of Christian Workers. Three facts are revealing:

1) The union that sued has no employees at the store.

2) All 300 employees of the store voted in favor of opening on Sundays.

3) An Ipsos telephone survey in April showed that 75 percent of French citizens polled approve of stores opening on Sunday.

Those three facts—along with every fact associated with this case—changed nothing though...In this case, French law was clearly violated: Thou shalt rest on Sunday. But where does a law like that come from, especially when the citizens of the nation don’t want it? How can the French government defend that law’s existence?...

Enforced Sunday worship began with the Roman Empire—specifically Emperor Constantine...

Worship on any day except Sunday was illegal, as confirmed at the Council of Laodicea almost 40 years later, in a.d. 363. At that conference, it was determined, “Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath [that is, Saturday], but must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord’s Day. … But if any shall be found to be Judaizers, let them be anathema [cursed and excommunicated] from Christ” (emphasis ours throughout)...

Today, Louis Vuitton is unable to sell its handbags on the Catholic day of rest. In the future, as Europe becomes more integrated and the Vatican takes on a greater leadership role, we know that Sunday observance will be enforced as an identifying sign of the next incarnation of the Holy Roman Empire.

Sunday was not observed by the early church, and not was considered to be the Lord's Day by real Christians. PCG is correct that there has been a historical link between European governments and Sunday (see also the article Europa, the Beast, and Revelation).

08/24/06 a.m. Last week, I noticed part of the reason why the Eastern Orthodox know little about end-time prophecy. Even though ALL scripture is given by God and is profitable for doctrine (II Timothy 3:16), an Orthodox scholar noted:

It is interesting that the Book of Revelation--although it is accepted as part of the scriptural canon--is never read during public worship (Clendenin D.B. ed. Eastern Orthodox Theology, 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2003, p. 81).

The above is a major difference with the COGs--we do read from all books of the Bible, including the Book of Revelation during public worship. More can be found in the article Some Similarities and Differences Between the Orthodox Church and the Churches of God.

Pope Benedict has now commented about the book of Revelation. Zenit reported the following late yesterday:

Vatican City, Aug. 23, 2006 (CNA) - Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to be a people of hope and trust in the coming of God’s Kingdom in his reflections today on the Apostle John and his Book of Revelation...

Pope reflected again today on John the Evangelist – this time considering the title under which he is believed to have written the Book of Revelation.

“The seer of Patmos, identified with the Apostle, is granted a series of visions meant to reassure the Christians of Asia amid the persecutions and trials of the end of the first century,” the Pope said during his catechesis, the third on the beloved Apostle. The previous catecheses focused on the person of John, his Gospel and his letters.

The Pope noted that the Apostle did not mention his name or make a personal reference in his other writings. However, John refers to himself four times in the Book of Revelation, perhaps because he thought he could be easily recognized in his previous writings but not in his last, the Pope said.

“John’s central vision is that of the Lamb once slain, who now stands victoriously before God’s throne, sharing in the Father’s kingship and power,” he said encapsulating the last book of the New Testament.

John’s visions, the Pope said, were meant to encourage these persecuted Christians to remain strong in their faith and not to fall into pagan ways, the Pope explained. These victorious images are John’s way of urging Asian Christians (specifically those of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardi, Philadelphia, and Laodicéa), who were confused by God’s apparent silence to their persecution, to have faith in Jesus and not to be afraid.  

But the message is also relevant today...

Actually, it is more relevant today than it was during the first century. Revelation is a book that the Eastern Orthodox never read in their church services and that Roman Catholics prefer not to take literally. To better understand what happened to the churches John (and even Benedict XVI) mentioned, please read the following:

Churches of Revelation
The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 from 31 A.D. to present
1. The Ephesus Church Era was predominant from 31 A.D. to circa 135 A.D.
2. The Smyrna Church Era was predominant circa 135 A.D. to circa 450 A.D.
3. The Pergamos Church Era was predominant circa 450 A.D. to circa 1050 A.D.
4. The Thyatira Church Era was predominant circa 1050 A.D. to circa 1585 A.D.
5. The Sardis Church Era was predominant circa 1585 A.D. to circa 1933 A.D.
6. The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D.
7. The Laodicean Church Era was predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present
8. Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation discusses the largest church since the second/third century, which in a real sense is the eighth church mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Pope Benedict is correct that the Book of Revelation warns against pagan practices. Perhaps he will look into practices of his own church which have pagan origins (Sunday, Easter, Christmas, Priestly Duties, etc.).

WCG's Donat Picard provided the following report:

The WCG in Europe

In that social context, the WCG?s members in Europe are trying to do their job of living and sharing the gospel in order to make a difference around them. Twelve full-time ministers serve more than 2,000 members. Many local congregations are being taken care of by very dedicated bi-vocational pastors and leaders. Members are faithful to their reputation in being generous, giving not only of their material resources but also of their time. Links are being established with other Christian denominations as time and circumstances allow us opportunities for sharing our experience as a denomination. We realize that perfect unity among Christ?s disciples is still a goal to be achieved and prayed for.The ministry and members have largely accepted the doctrinal changes, although in a few areas, the truth has been traveling at a slower speed. The congregations are maturing in their relationship with Christ and their neighbors, thanks to a sound theology that has transformed their hearts. Numerical growth is slow to come, but mission work does produce scattered fruit across the continent. Small groups seem to be "the thing" of the future, as is being illustrated by some recently planted house churches.

We have our weaknesses as a denomination, and Europe is no exception. One of these is our aging leadership. Another is the slow decline in income...

Assuming that we include the UK as part of Europe, it would seem that there are probably more in Europe that are in real COGs than there are in WCG.

The above article missed discussing the real past and future of Europe. Those interested may wish to read the article Europa, the Beast, and Revelation.

08/23/06 a.m. The following was part of a news article concerning a WCG congregation in California earlier this week:

At Worldwide Church of God in Fairfield, podcasts are reaching a new audience.

If you can't make it to church in person, there's always church on the go, listening to sermons on a music player, Pastor Stephen Smith said.

"You can go to church on your time," Smith said. "In the gym or in the car, out running, they can listen"...

Smith, the pastor at Worldwide Church of God in Fairfield, said it doesn't matter if he never hears from a listener - what matters is people are hearing his message...

About a decade ago, about 240 regularly attended the Fairfield church, he said. Then, the church changed its doctrine to no longer require members to limit activities on the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Membership dropped. Today, it's about 20, Smith said. http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_4211322

While I have no problem with the idea of a "podcast", the way this WCG pastor is suggesting its use, as a legitimate alternative to church attendance, is in error. He may wish to read what Paul wrote:

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).

CG7 reported:

Michigan Youth Camp - 2006

Such was the camper anticipation and meteorological facts at the start of the 18th annual Michigan Youth Camp on Sunday, July 16, at Long Lake Camp near Hastings, Michigan.  The scorching heat welcomed some 64 campers, ages 9 through 17, to a week of daily chapel services, Bible classes, music classes, craft sessions, recreational activities, swimming, and campfire devotionals.  And this year, for the first time, there was a clown ministries class where campers learned the art of ballooning, face painting, and bringing cheer to saddened people.

I found this to be of interest as LCG also has a summer camp in northern Michigan.

Of course there are many differences between the teachings of CG7 and LCG. Many of those are documented in the article Church of God, Seventh Day

08/22/06 a.m. In its latest Mini Study, COGUK, a CGOM affiliate, reports:

An article of related interest may be Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality? There are also many other articles on the beliefs of the early Christians at the Early Christianity page.

In the latest issue of Together (the new name of the Worldwide News), there are several articles on WCG's camps. There are also three photos of crosses associated with those articles, including one of someone apparently carrying one intended to be how Jesus carried His death instrument.

While I noticed yesterday (I had been out-of-town and had not been to that site for a while) that xCG posted something about me and crosses (they do not like the fact that I hold the historical position of the COG--some of which can be found in the article The Pergamos Church Era, 450-1050 A.D.), I have noticed that WCG seems to really wish to emphasize that it has embraced non-biblical Christianity as promoted by most of the world's churches.

The latest issue of Tomorrows World has the following from Douglas Winnail:

Most Bible students do not realize that Scripture mentions today’s prominent nations. When you know how to find the United States, Great Britain, Germany and other nations in the pages of your Bible, you can understand prophecy more than ever before!

You can click here for the complete article.

08/21/06 a.m. CEM's Ron Dart correctly reported:

Some readers of the English Bible have a curious habit. They like to find the meaning of the words and then insist that they always carry exactly the same meaning, and no other, everywhere they are found. Why we do that isn’t clear. After all, English doesn’t work that way. Why should Greek and Hebrew?We understand that words have denotations and connotations, and the meaning of a word can vary with context. It can also vary depending on who is using the word.

I learned this about Greek and the term now commonly translated as Sunday in Greek. I even went to Greece last year to check out whether my view or the general Protestant/Catholic/Orthodox view was correct. Two related articles, which mentions the Greek, is Another Look at Ignatius and the Sabbath and Is Revelation 1:10 talking about Sunday or the Day of the Lord?

I had to chuckle when I read the following SCG ad in the latest Journal:

Some church members refer to the leader of their group with a title. Many times Mr. Armstrong spoke against ministers assuming titles for themselves. Still, some leaders today like TITLES! They want to have the pre-eminence, to be the “Top Man,” so to speak, to be referred to by a title such as “Senior Pastor.” Some label themselves as “Prophet.” One leader has taken multiple titles to himself including “That Prophet,” a title belonging only to Jesus Christ.

Why did I chuckle?

Because SCG's Arlen Berkey got all upset with me two or so years ago when I responded to one of his negative emails with the expression:

Dear Arlen Berkey:

He told me that he was a minister (which frankly I did not know at the time, and based upon his last email to me a week ago, he apparently is one with a temper and one who is not careful with the truth) and that I needed to address him as "Mr." He seemed very upset about that point.

I also chuckled when I saw this SCG ad headline this morning:

Ministry Should Bring
Unity, Not Division

And certainly, I feel that Arlen Berkey is one of the most divisive "ministers".

In this long ad, SCG also incorrectly states:

Not one evangelist today is known to be holding fast to this doctrine of make-up as taught by God’s apostle, especially the very ones trained personally by Mr. Armstrong himself. Most evangelists in God’s Church today say they are holding fast to all doctrines as taught by the apostle.

In other words, SCG's Arlen Berkey who had little, if any, contact, with HWA is convinced he knows more about what HWA really intended on the subject of makeup than all the surviving evangelists--thus he will not support any of the top leaders that HWA appointed--his form of logic certainly supports division and not unity. An article of related interest may be Makeup and the Philadelphia Era of the COG.

Anyway, years ago I wrote an article titled It's Not Stedfast. In many ways, Arlen Berkey reminds me of RCG's David Pack (a related article may be Why Not the Restored Church of God?).

Click here for previous COG news

Click here to go back to the COGwriter home page

Click here for the Early Christianity page

Volume 10, issue 18 COG writer B. Thiel (c) 2006