Thursday 7 July 2011

Flee to the hills!

Aging American evangelist Rod "Spanky" Meredith seems to be advising his flock to 'flee to the hills.'  Meredith is 'Presiding Evangelist' over a small sect known as the Living Church of God (LCG).

Today unofficial LCG web-apologist Doctor Bob Thiel, a California naturopath, stoked up concern on his blog over an earthquake in the Kermadec Islands which, briefly, raised a tsunami warning in Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand, sagely observing:
Jesus, of course, warned about a time with such issues... [citing Mark 13:8] We may be at this prophetic point as all the earthquakes and other problems that have happened in the past year could be considered as “troubles”.
Dr. Bob then goes on to quote the sacred words of his Glorious Leader from a 2004 church editorial.
Events prophesied in your Bible are now beginning to occur with increasing frequency. In this Work of the living God, we are able to warn you about what is going to happen soon. We are not talking about decades in the future. We are talking about Bible prophecies that will intensify within the next five to 15 years of your life! Please understand. We are not “scaremongers.” We love our fellow man. So it is our responsibility to warn our peoples—ahead of time—to prepare for the future. Most of our advice is spiritual in nature. However, in this editorial I want to give you some common sense advice involving your physical survival and your financial well-being…So we must each examine our own situation to determine what action we should take. Are we living in a low-lying coastal area where we may be in danger at a time of increasing hurricanes, tsunamis or similar natural disasters?
Time to sell that beachfront property!  (Not that too many triple-tithing members of the LCG could afford beachfront property.)

"Spanky" has been predicting the Great Tribulation in the "next three to five years" since the 1950s.  Time to dig deep for the last great push to fulfil the Great Commission!  I suppose it's progress that he's now stretched the time period out to a much safer "five to 15". 

I feel a prediction coming on; a prophecy!  In fifteen years time Rod will no longer be with us, there still will be earthquakes, and Bob, having learned nothing, will continue promoting naive apocalyptic nonsense.

9 comments:

  1. Such interest in a group of people of only around 5,000 worldwide... tsk, tsk. It's not as if we're talking even millions of people, let alone a billion people.

    The rate of success of this infitesimally small and incompetent group teaching utter rubbish is nill.

    We're interested in Living exactly why?

    Well, OK. Saving the one lost sheep out of the 99. Right.

    Good luck with that.

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  2. Wise words Douglas, but they take me a bit by surprise my friend knowing some of the causes you've been known to "wade" into...

    Might I suggest the bigger problem, rather than the specific group, is the mentality and mindset.

    Shoot down one duck and the others are all "on notice".

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  3. It's not surprising that the end is coming soon - it's been that way ever since Jesus predicted that it would happen within that first century generation. Fail.

    Jesus did not return then and he won't return in 5 to 15 more years either. It was a failed prophecy then and it will be a failed prophecy tomorrow.

    Sure, I know that 2 Peter says that 1 day is as a thousand years to God, but I also know that biblical and historical scholars know that 2 Peter is a second century forgery.

    How can we know that? Well, the generation that Jesus predicted would see the destruction of the temple ended in 70 AD and Peter died before the first Jewish war (66-70) and therefore, before there were Xians saying, "where is the promise of his coming".

    Pretty simple when you think about it.

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  4. And speaking of the mindset, Gavin, you may want to roll in the clover by checking this out (Anger management: Dopamine Receptor Allele and Nuclear Receptor Genes Are Associated with Anger and Aggression).

    That, and the rest of the site pretty much explain Living and all the other organizations of their ilk -- and it is a wonderful site to wade in to.

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  5. Corky,

    You wrote: "...Well, the generation that Jesus predicted would see the destruction of the temple ended in 70 AD and Peter died before the first Jewish war (66-70) and therefore, before there were Xians saying, "where is the promise of his coming"..."

    I believe you are referring to Christ's words in Matthew 24:34

    "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

    I was taught that too, but there is an alternative view of that verse for what it is worth.

    Have you ever considered that the "generation" Christ was speaking about as being a reference to Satan and his angels?

    Here are some more of Christ's words earlier spoken by Him relative to a "generation:"

    Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
    34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
    35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
    36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

    The human religious leaders of Christ's day had nothing to do with the blood of Abel. The generation of Satan and his angels are still alive today, but they were made to be eventually taken and be destroyed...time will tell.

    You also said, thinking about so-called Spanky and his message that: "...It's not surprising that the end is coming soon..."

    Spanky is still as deceived as ever especially with timing of events mentioned in the Bible, but he does know that it is "his own end" that is coming soon. His lies have been obvious to most of us, but as Christ and Stephen said about others similar to Spanky: "...they know not what they do..."

    And time will tell on that too. The same thing applies to Bob T.

    Oh, another thought just came to mind regarding God's Church. It is also considered as one generation, a generation of sealed Firstfruits that God is making:

    "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" 1 Peter 2:9

    Peter is part of that generation, or nation, in a similar way that Satan and his angels are a part of another generation, or nation, of spirit beings, but they will be destroyed in the future. Peter will live again.

    John G

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  6. Any number of questions come to mind when reading Uncle Roddy's editorial. If we didn't have detailed information as to what really goes on in these ACOGs, the editorial would almost appear to be rational and well-intentioned.
    However, the rhetoric is very much dated, cliched, and well beyond its expiration date!

    Move from the lowlands? What about God's protection and the unique position a servant of God might find himself in from the standpoint of being a light to, and ministering to the afflicted? Most of the prophets, and all of the apostles remained right at ground zero throughout some of the most savage events in all of history! There are relatively fewer examples of people fleeing, or being supernaturally removed, although that is also sometimes the case.

    Armstrongism has always been a "save your hide" religion. It is an allegedly Christian sect in need of a greater concept.

    BB

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  7. Yet where do LCG and so many other COG's plant sites for the Feast of Tabernacles?

    In low-lying beachfront locations! Jekyll Island. Panama City Beach. Galveston Island. Myrtle Beach. Etc.

    And sometimes at the peak of Atlantic hurricane season to boot.

    Why would God "place His name" in such risky spots? To be the ultimate faith test of believers? Hmmmmm -- maybe so.

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  8. "Yet where do LCG and so many other COG's plant sites for the Feast of Tabernacles?"

    You know, I had that thought too, but you beat me to it, Richard. :-)

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  9. No, John G., I never considered that, and I'm glad. Especially glad, since I know that there is no "Satan and his angels" outside of a personification of sin in the flesh, that is.

    And yes, it was said that the first century generation was a chosen generation. It was also said that it was a "short work" (Rom. 9:28) and that those days were "the last days" (Acts 2:12-17; Heb. 1:2) but they weren't the last days, were they?

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