David Pack’s third-year non-anniversary: Will those with RCG finally wake-up?

Handwriting on the Wall (Rembrandt)

Today marks the third-year anniversary of the day that David Pack, leader of the improperly named Restored Church of God (RCG), falsely claimed that all in the COGs would come to him. As I repeatedly pointed out in that 2013 Spring and Summer, this was not going to happen.

Why?

Because David Pack simply did not trust Bible prophecy, but instead twisted it in ways it was not intended to be interpreted.

Here is some of what David Pack said and/or wrote about it in 2013 (the sermon comments were sent to me and I did not listen to that sermon myself):

Details may begin (and only begin) to come into view on the first of the month of Elul (in God’s calendar—August 7 in the Roman Calendar). A more complete picture will emerge by Elul 24 (August 30). Right now, all are urged to have in their thinking that they will be reassigned to a new nearby Feast site, and those who choose to return to the Body of Christ will attend with what becomes a much bigger organization—probably significantly bigger than the largest splinter! (Crucial Questions—Important Answers! July 19, 2013, http://rcg.org/sep/crucial-questions-important-answers)

Which three leaders are the greatest obstructionists to God’s stated purpose in Haggai—returning HIS people to doing HIS Work? (The Final Announcement. August 2, 2013, http://rcg.org/sep/the-final-announcement)

Next, the 2013 Feast of Tabernacles: This will also be among the most special and inspiring times in Church history. It will be a Feast of unity and harmony among all of God’s people. Everyone will keep this joyous occasion as members of The Restored Church of God in scores of sites across the world. At this time, we have 21 sites, but we anticipate adding many more. In some areas, former splinter brethren will attend our current sites. In other locations, we will have to quickly add new ones. In still other areas, splinter sites will simply become Restored sites. The total number of Feast sites, and where they are, will depend entirely on how many brethren answer the “stirring” of Jesus Christ to return to His Church, and in what areas they live. Details may begin (and only begin) to come into view on the first of the month of Elul (in God’s calendar—August 7 in the Roman Calendar). A more complete picture will emerge by Elul 24 (August 30). Right now, all are urged to have in their thinking that they will be reassigned to a new nearby Feast site, and those who choose to return to the Body of Christ will attend with what becomes a much bigger organization—probably significantly bigger than the largest splinter! (Crucial Questions—Important Answers! July 19, 2013, http://rcg.org/sep/crucial-questions-important-answers)

All Brethren United Soon Part 12 (Sermon)

How could so many things happen in 24 hours?

Minute 26. Three men die- Elul 24, then everyone makes a decision that day.

Minute 29. Certain things about this prophesy is very complex, others are very simple.

Minute 30. No way everything could happen in one day.

Minute 32. Do you care most how the 3 Shephard’s die? In their sleep, by fire?

Do you care who they are?

If God tells us then I want to know otherwise it doesn’t matter.

You are going to find out how they die and who they are.

Minute 33. I know their names 100% sure. Don’t want the names out yet. Now I’m certain I know.

Do you care where it happens? I don’t know where it will happen.

I know how they die and who they are. I’m certain.

Minute 34. How about when they die? They die sooner then we thought.

Do they die together or separately. I know they die together.

Two culminating events. The death of these men is the first. The central point is God is going to bring his people back together/unify his people.

In 2013, David Pack also claimed:

Saturday, August 31 will be a Sabbath unlike any other in history. It will be the first time in decades that all of God’s people around the world will be meeting together in the same locations for services. Words cannot describe the excitement and happiness that will be everywhere soon after this reunification. In many areas, much of or possibly even entire congregations might “roll over” into The Restored Church of God. Brethren will have had weeks to prepare for this and to “consider their ways” before God. Those who come will have been led to return to the Body of Christ the day before this Sabbath. Reread this last sentence.

Realize that a host of logistical details must be worked out for this to occur. God has been planning this event for thousands of years—at least 3,000—and His Church has been preparing for it for almost a year. Headquarters and our ministers will be ready to receive potentially a great many phone calls from splinter ministers and members even in the days and weeks before August 31. (Why Reunification THIS YEAR!, posted July 5, 2013 http://rcg.org/sep/why-reunification-this-year)

Of course, this simply did not happened. David Pack also claimed that God revealed to him that he was Joshua about five years ago. Yet, while the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV) may have done that, it certainly was not the Creator God of the Bible!

Notice what David Pack posted after it did not happen in 2013:

I will explain a week after the Feast EXACTLY what was misunderstood about the prophecy’s timing. It appears we will not be waiting a long time—not another year—for its fulfillment. (Pack D. How Long Will You Wait for God’s Prophecies? 09/06/13 http://rcg.org/sep/how-long-will-you-wait-for-gods-prophecies)

Of course, it still did not happen and will not happen. The Philadelphian remnant of the COG will not become part of RCG and certainly have not done so by the dates that David Pack pointed to. The changes required by RCG would be massive for something like that to possibly happen (David Pack would have to repent, RCG would have to change focus, RCG would have to change doctrine, etc.).

If people think that David Pack is past his dreams of delusion here, think again. In August of 2016, RCG still had at its website, something David Pack put up earlier in 2015:

A Vital Open Letter to All WCG Splinters

Identifying God’s Church, Truth and Work …

We expect to see thousands of you soon in The Restored Church of God. God has long planned to reunify what would become His scattered people at the end of the age.

The above from RCG shows that 1) RCG does not understand the message to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3 which does NOT allow for the type of reunification that David Pack is proclaiming and 2) that RCG is still clinging to the same nonsense it claimed would happen in 2013, and when it did not happen, indicated possibly would for 2014 and still is something RCG is hoping for. No matter how much David Pack insists on error, it does not change error into truth.

A related article, by David Pack, included the following:

Mr. Armstrong taught:

(1) God has one, unified, organized Church, also called the Body of Christ. …

All Will Come Here!…

History will record that The Restored Church of God gathered the flock, to be with Christ, rather than helped to scatter it—as UCG, LCG, PCG, COGwa, COGaic and so many others are doing! The distinction turns on which church has the full truth and much fruit to back up claims that God leads it, not to mention that this Church still must believe there IS only one Church.

Soon, all of God’s people will know what The Restored Church of God is. They will come to remember and recognize the Church that is the same as the one they used to know. They will return to it, or refuse and quench God’s Spirit forever. No one else is telling Christ’s brethren (YOU) this. This is in part because all other leaders have forgotten what God’s Church looks like. …

You have been duly warned.

I state emphatically, on God’s authority, that every last person—member or minister—throughout the world who is determined not to lose God’s Spirit—certainly many thousands—is coming to The Restored Church of God.

Actually, the Bible does not teach that all true Christians will be in the same corporate organization in the end. Revelation 2 & 3 show that there will be Thyatirans, Sardisians, Philadelphians, and many Laodiceans in the end, and the implication in the original Greek is that the Laodiceans will be in different organizations.

Despite David Pack’s appeals to writings from Herbert Armstrong, Herbert Armstrong never felt that those of Sardis were prophesied to come into the same organization as the Philadelphians, he believed the opposite.

It should be stated that people will NOT lose God’s Spirit by not coming into RCG like David Pack has claimed. Actually, since RCG is led by someone I doubt is truly in the Church of God, the risk of losing God’s Spirit tends to increase for those who do support RCG.

He also made a claim in a video in late July 2015 that all would come with him. RCG’s David Pack released a pompous false and arrogant video titled The Coming Signal to God’s People. In this seven-minute diatribe, David Pack claims that thousands in the Churches of God will be led by God’s Spirit to unite with him.

David Pack says that there will be a single event that will be impossible for those in the COGs to miss. He then gives three signals supposedly which prove this is about to happen:

Based on Zechariah 11:14, David Pack claims that there will be ‘a full rupture’ between the USA and Israel and this is something to watch for.
That because of its (often false) literature, websites, staff, and headquarters, that RCG is ready for the coming influx of thousands that will lead to an unbelievable work. Well, I certainly do not believe that David Pack is leading God’s end time work, so in that sense it is unbelievable. David Pack claims that Wadsworth will soon be ‘everybody’s headquarters.’ That is not true. David Pack wants people to ‘walk by sight related to his campus that he claims is so magnificent that it ‘staggers the imagination.’ Yet, the Bible says Christians are to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)–which is the opposite of what David Pack is essentially teaching.
David Pack claims that it is so obvious that world events have sped up, that God must do something with RCG soon. He claims that the time when no man can work, John 9:4, is getting close. While it is relatively close, RCG is not doing that work (see also Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word).

Let me add here that David Pack has misunderstood God’s work for a long time and falsely acts like the main RCG work is to draw COG members from other groups to RCG.

In the video, David Pack said that all (presumably other COG) leaders will call his message false. Well, his message is false. Yet, David Pack claims that all will realize that it is true.

David Pack then boldly stated that all COG members all say that they all want to get together, to reunify. That is NOT the case. I, for one, do NOT believe that the COGs should all reunify. The Book of Revelation is clear that there will be multiple COG groups around at the time of the end. Here are links to articles about four types of groups that Jesus indicated would be around at the end:

4. The Thyatira Church Era was predominant circa 1050 A.D. to circa 1600 A.D. The Church during the Inquisition.
5. The Sardis Church Era was predominant circa 1600 A.D. to circa 1933 A.D. Discusses early history of the Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and COG-7th Day.
6. The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
7. The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots. They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent.

David Pack ignores what the Bible teaches about unity. Just like Pope Francis, David Pack does not realize that unity of the faith will not happen until after Jesus returns. He and his followers need to properly study and understand Zechariah 2:6-12 and other scriptures.

Anyway, in the video, David Pack also misinterprets Habakkuk 1:5. He then claims when God intervenes with RCG, you will see this as it will be ‘impossible to miss.’ He closed his video with the following statement:

Do not worry about missing the signal–you won’t.

Yet, the main signal to notice about David Pack is the following:

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

David Pack has long used ‘covetous words’ and is a false teacher. He is NOT God’s apostle nor the Elijah to come as he also claims. David Pack’s prior prophesies related to reunification have been shown to be false in the past and will be so in the future. There is NO WAY that thousands of Philadelphian Christians will become part of RCG. See also the article Why Not the Restored Church of God?

David Pack is NOT a true watchman (watch also Go, Set a Watchman). David Pack will again be proven false.

Most in the COGs who hear about this ‘coming signal’ will realize that David Pack is wrong.

But David Pack, in my view, remains delusional, as do many who support him.

On January 30, 2015, RCG posted the following from David Pack:

I am posting a new message, “The MASS HEALING of God’s People—Just Ahead!” A spectacular, divine promise has been hidden in God’s Word, lost until it was God’s time to reveal it with 29 PLAIN PROOFS. This message explains—and conclusively PROVES!—that part of God’s “restoration of all things” (Matt. 17:11) involves completely healing ALL brethren who choose to return to His Church when He reunifies it. …

His Plan is MUCH BIGGER and begins MUCH SOONER!

Do not RCG members yet realize that this is not true? David Pack does not understand important aspects of biblical prophecy and continues to make outlandish claims that are not correct. He has admitted that he is not a prophet in the past (though he now falsely claims to be the ‘Elijah‘) and he still is not a prophet of God. Cannot those in RCG see the truth?

Thousands of years ago, the Prophet Daniel was asked to interpret some handwriting that was written on a wall by only a hand that the king of Babylon personally witnessed (which is why he ultimately called Daniel to see it). The moral trend in that kingdom was not good according to Daniel (Daniel 5:22-23). After stating that, here is the interpretation that the prophet Daniel gave of that handwriting on the wall:

24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

25 “And this is the inscription that was written:

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

26 This is the interpretation of each word. Mene: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 Peres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:24-28)

That kingdom was taken over that very night (Daniel 5:30-31).

Now, let us look at the words from the wall and apply them to David Pack.

Mene: Your days being on the top as you view yourself are numbered.
Mene: Despite signs of your failure, will you finally publicly repent that your understanding of Haggai and Zechariah are wrong, or instead will you take steps to speed your decline up? Will you finally repent?
Tekel: Your false interpretation of scripture and beliefs about yourself have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.
Peres/Upharsin: Your empire will some day be divided by those who will see more of the truth and leave and those who will accept your provably blatant falsehoods and stay. That cannot be the type of Church that God would want.

Now, a story I often like to tell people is the story about the Emperor who had no clothes. Basically, the Emperor was very vain about his outward appearance, and some shysters persuaded him to give them a lot of money to make the finest clothes. Somewhat similarly, David Pack wanted to build a facility so fine that all the “splinters” would see it and marvel–and he has built something that he has marveled about, yet Philadelphia-remnant Christians and even most of the Laodicean Christians are not impressed by it. In the story, the Emperor agreed to do this and then hold a public parade once the clothes were ready.

The shysters persuaded the Emperor and his supporters that the clothes that they were to make would be so fine that only those unworthy of their positions in life could not see them. When the shysters pretended to supply fine clothes to the Emperor (which in reality was absolutely nothing), the Emperor and his staff commented about how fine the clothes were (the staff apparently worried about losing their jobs or influence if they told the truth out loud). The Emperor then took off his clothes and pretended to put the new “clothes” on. He then went outside and walked in a public parade. A small boy, seeing the Emperor, shouted out, “The Emperor is naked. The Emperor has no clothes!”

People tried to shut the boy up. One or more in the audience said to him, “Boy, you are not worthy of your position as you cannot see these fine clothes.” Others said, “Wait, he is only a small boy. Of course, he is worthy of his position. The Emperor is naked.” Then, when the crowd realized that no one saw the non-existent clothes, they laughed and laughed. The Emperor was extremely humiliated.

Can those in RCG now see that David Pack is NOT GOD’S Apostle?

In the case of David Pack, he seemed to believe that if he had a new headquarters’ building that this would be enough to get people to come to him and that this was God’s plan. But it was never God’s plan, but the imagination and vanity of David Pack and many of his followers. Can they see the truth now or how many more false interpretations from David Pack will it take? Or is this three-year anniversary going to pass with people simply hoping that one day David Pack will be right about this?

David Pack’s interpretations and predictions about what was supposed to happen remain wrong.

Will you personally admit the truth? If any of you in RCG have actual facts that disprove or prove what I am writing here, please contact me. My email remains cogwriter@aol.com. Will you believe the truth and the Bible or David Pack?

If you are in RCG, can you see that your “emperor” is prophetically naked (which is my opinion what his improper interpretations show)? Can you see the handwriting on the wall?

Could the following apply to you?

15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:15-19)

Turning to God is the only answer–and it is not just those in RCG that need to do that. This is something you can do. Do not let your own vanity get in the way. David Pack is wrong.

Can you see the handwriting on the wall?

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Why Not the Restored Church of God? This group, led by David Pack, claims to be the most faithful. The information in this article suggests otherwise. Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Por qué no la Iglesia de Dios Restaurada?
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them. Here is a related article in the Spanish language ¿Por qué estar preocupado acerca de falsos y heréticos líderes?
The Elijah Heresies Does the Bible teach that there will be a future Elijah? Must it be Herbert W. Armstrong? Two related sermons are available Elijah: Prophecies and Heresies and Elijah, Herbert W. Armstrong, and CCOG.
How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God There are many false prophets. How can Christians determine who is a true prophet? There is also a sermon-length video titled How to determine if someone is a true prophet of God. Here is a related link in Spanish/español: ¿Cómo determinar si alguien es un verdadero profeta de Dios?
Leading the Final Phase of the Work Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled and RCG is not the group doing this. Who is leading the final phase of the work? What did Herbert Armstrong and the old WCG teach about that and about prophets? Does Bob Thiel meet the criteria that the Bible and the old WCG set? What is the proof? What has the Continuing Church of God been doing?
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now the remnant of that era is basically the most faithful in the Church of God, like who hold to the beliefs and practices of the Continuing Church of God.
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. The Laodiceans are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG or its offshoots. They do not properly understand the work or biblical prophecies and will face the Great Tribulation if they do not repent.
Are the Laodiceans the Modern Sadducees and Pharisees? Discusses similarities of the Sadducees and Pharisees to various COGs in this end-time.