Ronald Weinland, Tim Carpenter, & James Malm Erroneous 2009 Predictions

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Regular readers are aware that I frequently denounce false prophecies by people who claim to be in or associated with the Church of God–and I did that several times in 2009.

One the most widely known false prophets is Ronald Weinland of CGPFK. He declared that the Great Tribulation began on December 14, 2008 and declared himself as an apostle on November 14, 2009 (see Ronald Weinland Apostle? Another False Declaration)–he had previously claimed to be one of the “two witnesses”. However, if the final 3 1/2 years, the time, times, and half a time, began in December 2008, massive Church of God persecution would have began on an unprecedented scale in late 2008 and continued throughout 2009 according to Daniel 7:25, but it did not. Thus, the Great Tribulation did not begin in 2008, nor 2009.

Additionally, Ronald Weinland claimed the following in 2008 and 2009 as a “restored truth” (bolding in the original):

God restored the following 18 truths to His church through Herbert W. Armstrong during the Philadelphia Era. These truths that are foundational to God’s Church also served to reveal that Herbert W. Armstrong was the prophesied end-time Elijah…

Herbert W. Armstrong was the prophesied “Elijah to come” who restored all truth essential to salvation to the Church of God during the Philadelphia Era. Very few in the Church that was scattered teach this today. Mr. Armstrong described himself as a voice crying out in the wilderness and stated in Mystery of the Ages that he had fulfilled the prophecies of the Elijah to Come.

Also, notice what Ronald Weinland published in 2004:

He was not only the end-time Elijah that was prophesied to come before Jesus Christ’s coming, but he was also the only apostle that God would give to the world at the end time…

Who was this man?…In January of 1986, the work of the end-time Elijah came to an end when he died. His name was Herbert W. Armstrong…the spirit of Elijah…One would come at the end time…

The end-time Elijah…That man was Herbert W. Armstrong—the very one who would fulfill the role of the prophetic end-time Elijah…It will become far more significant later, but Herbert W. Armstrong understood that he fulfilled the prophecies of the end-time Elijah to come, that he was the end-time apostle to the Philadelphian Era, and that his commission was summed up in Matthew 24:14. (Weinland R. The Prophesied END-TIME. 2004, pp. 73, 75, 85, 89, 106, 108)

Now this is a major problem for Ronald Weinland.

Notice that he wrote that there would be one Elijah to come, not two. Notice that he taught that God would only raise one end time apostle, not two. And since Ronald Weinland wrote that Herbert W. Armstrong was the one for both of those roles (and that the work of the end-time Elijah ended in 1986), then Ronald Weinland’s later declarations show that he has again contradicted himself.

Notice his writing of December 24, 2009:

Mr. Armstrong was a “type” of the Elijah:
Herbert W. Armstrong fulfilled a “type” of the Elijah to come as prophesied in the Old Testament and as prophesied by Jesus Christ…

Mr. Armstrong fulfilled a “type” of the prophetic Elijah to come. Yet, former pastors and evangelists in God’s Church are uncertain or fully disbelieving of this great truth!

The Fulfillment of the “Elijah to Come”:
The truth is that neither John the Baptist nor Herbert W. Armstrong fulfilled the complete prophecies concerning the “Elijah to come,” but they fulfilled a “type” of that prophetic fulfillment…

As God has made me both an apostle and a prophet for this end-time, He has also given me to fulfill prophecies being the spokesman of the two end-time witnesses of Revelation 11. In addition, He has given me to fulfill the prophecies of the “Elijah to come” and of Zerubbabel…Yes, I have come in the full spirit and power of Elijah…

God has clearly revealed to His Church that I am the “Elijah to come,” and not in “type,” but in fullness of spirit and power…Yes, time will prove I am who I say I am. And that is my commission to proclaim such a message!

Actually, time and his own pronouncements have proven Ronald Weinland wrong so many times. But he and his followers seem to overlook that.

Another who had claimed that the Great Tribulation would have to begin in 2008 or 2009, James Malm was also denounced by me (here is one example James Malm Now Predicts October 19, 2009). But at least he is not as delusional as Ronald Weinland appears to be as although Ron Weinland still seems to be claiming that the Great Tribulation began in 2008, James Malm admitted that it did not then or in 2009 (see James Malm Gets Something Right). But that did not stop James Malm from complaining about me (he misunderstood about my 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect book and made a bigger deal about his misunderstanding than he did about his repeatedly being wrong and I right about matters prophetic, see James Malm Continues to Mislead).

The person, however, who probably made the most erroneous specific predictions that I reported about in 2009 was COGMT’s Tim Carpenter. He, for example, claimed that Joe Biden would become USA President and the Antichrist. Here are several others that he had for 2009 that I also declared would not come to pass in 2009 (see COGMT: 2009 Erroneous Prophecies):

2009…

-Start of the final 42 months
-7 cities attacked, They call it “terror” and blame it on Iran. These 7 cities may come in the form of 3 attacks and then the other 4 at a later date. This is an inside job. “False Flags”. Ezek. 9…
-Dan. 11:20-21 will be fulfilled and the raiser of taxes will take his fall.
-Prince of the Covenant, the one they call Anti-christ, comes to power as an American president. Dan. 11:21-rest of chapter.
-Mark of the beast program announced (http://www.isawthelightministries.com/2008.html viewed 07/16/09)

Now, he was also wrong in 2008, but tried to imply that he was somewhat correct about his predictions then (Yes, There Was An Earthquake, But…). It would seem less likely that he will try that about his 2009 predictions, but those who make false prophecies have seemed to have had a tendency to continue their practices without proper repentance as far as I have been able to tell. Here are some other predictions that Timothy Carpenter made for 2009:

2009…

-Death rate of church (especially the Elders of the church) increases…
-8 pointer earthquake in California or off the coast…
-Rev. 12 Earthquake/Tsunami event occurs. This will either be the california 8 pointer or a later quake of 9 points in/around Oregon or Washington State…
-War against Iran.

Now with the above, I had written that he could get lucky on them, but that I did not believe he had any prophetic ability (many have indicated that, for example, a war involving Iran was possible). Perhaps it should also be mentioned that Tim Carpenter wrote the following for 2009/10/11 that will not come to pass:

estimated: 2009 OR 2010 OR 2011

-Gog/Magog War. Russia and China and their partners invade USA. Ezek. 38

There are some better known leaders who claim to be in the COGs who made other predictions in 2009 that will not come to pass (they did not put dates on them). And perhaps I will cover them later.

The problem that these self-appointed “prophets” have is that they are not appointed by God and their predictions do not properly line up with world events and/or the prophecies in the Bible.

Notice the warning from God about people claiming prophetic abilities:

…when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:22).

At this time, I do not believe that Ronald Weinland, James Malm, nor Timothy Carpenter are God’s prophets nor do they have particular prophetic insight. And according to the Bible, none of you should believe that they do either.

Some articles of related interest may include the following:

Concerns About Ronald Weinland’s Church of God-Preparing for the Kingdom of God Ronald Weinland falsely claims to be one of the two witnesses God is raising up and that the end will come in 2008 (first April 17th, then June 2008, now December 14, 2008). Why does the Bible show that Ron Weinland is a false prophet? He also has at least one other view that suggests that he is not part of the Church of God.
Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2010, 2011, or 2012? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord?
End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? Are there Mayan calendar predictions for change in 2012? Changes were centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans. Do Mayan/Hindu/Hopi/Buddhist/New Age/Nostradamus prophecies have any value here? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Does the Dresden codex show destruction of the earth by flood? Can the great tribulation start before 2012? How might Barack Obama be involved in 2012?
2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect This is a link related to a book by Bob Thiel (COGwriter). This also has YouTube videos related to 2012. The book is for those truly interested in understanding how prophecies inter-relate and who want to see a real sequence of end time events.