Armstrongism - What's Behind This Cult?
76Herbert W Armstrong
What Is Armstrongism?
"What is Armstrongism?" is the question many ask when they hear this word. It is actually the term referring to people who claim that Herbert W Armstrong (who founded the Worldwide Church of God - hereafter called WCG) was an end-time Elijah.
Among people who believe in Armstrongism, Herbert Armstrong was seen as a man who restored all things to the church of God. It was believed that all other churches were paganized to greater or lesser extent. Their doctrines were somewhat similar to the Seventh Day Adventists, but also with some elements from Jehovah's Witnesses - which caused some to believe he had been "inspired" by their doctrines.
Herbert Armstrong died on January 16th 1986 - now approximately 24 years ago. There has been great emphasis upon prophecy in the WCG, and break-out organizations have kept that emphasis. They see many symbols in dates and years, 19-year time cycles etc.
In the 1990s the successor, Joseph W Tkach, made numerous changes to the WCG which have been continued by his son who is now the current Pastor General - Joseph Tkach Jr. Today the WCG is known as "Grace Communion International".
In continuation to those changes, Gerald Flurry, broke off ties with the WCG and formed the Philadelphia Church of God. Some years later, Roderick C Meredith also broke off and formed the Global Church of God, and later the Living Church of God
Other dissidents have been David Hulme (who previously was a presenter on the World Tomorrow show which was financed by the WCG to get more members), David Pack andmany years before all the major changes, Raymond Cole formed the Church of God, The Eternal.
Gerald Flurry
Gerald Flurry and the PCG
Gerald Flurry is the man who acquired the entire library of literature written by Herbert Armstrong. It was purchased by the PCG from the WCG. Some of his followers have wondered why he would ever sponsor an organization he claimed had gone astray, but most who ask such questions are kicked out - the so-called "disfellowshipment" as we see in many other cults.
It was declared as a big victory to have acquired these materials, and many within that organization have great faith that this should be a signal of succession. Their tv-show The Key of David is seen in many countries, and is a continuation of the World Tomorrow program that was previously aired by the WCG while Herbert Armstrong was alive.
The PCG publishes The Philadelphia Trumpet and Royal Vision regularly - also a continuation of the publications of the WCG which were called The Plain Truth and The Good News.
Roderick C Meredith
Roderick Meredith and the LCG
Roderick C Meredith spent much time, in the beginning, emphasizing how he had worked very closely with Herbert Armstrong. He was one of the first students at the WCG-sponsored Ambassador College, and was among the first to be declared an Evangelist (one of the highest ranks in the WCG-ministry).
Roderick Meredith had acquired a doctorate at Ambassador College, and did at some point very often refer to himself as Dr. Meredith - in articles etc. Credibility lies in titles, some claim... :-)
David Pack had cooperated with Roderick Meredith, but at some point there wasn't enough room for both egos in the same organization, so David Pack formed the Restored Church of God. You can read more about David Pack below.
The Living Church of God publishes Tomorrow's World, which is also the title of their tv-show. So, once again, everything has to be done according to the WCG recipe.
Update: In the January 13th co-worker letter it has been announced that Richard Ames has been appointed as successor of the Living Church of God in case Mr. Meredith passes away.
David C Pack
David C Pack and the RCG
David C Pack previously collaborated with Don Tiger to secure all books, booklets and materials ever published in the Armstrong-era of the church. For personal reasons their cooperation ended, and it later became the doctrine of the Restored Church of God that all books (and booklets) had to be rewritten, by David Pack - of course.
David C Pack and his Restored Church of God publish The Real Truth magazine and they air The World to Come on television.
No mention is made of the cooperation with Roderick C Meredith. Only emphasis on being a succession of Herbert Armstrong.
Conclusions About Armstrongism
This hub is a continuation of the hub "Are You In A Cult?" and answers specific questions relating to the cult of Armstrongism.
As you can see everything is centered around a man - Herbert Armstrong. Being the "right" successor in their own minds - never considering what were the actual intentions by the man himself. He named a successor. Yet men, filled with ego, found reason to believe THEIR own ideas were better than the choice of the man they claim was inspired by God.
These leaders won't see that. Neither could Corah. Rebellion has many faces. The real losers are the many tithe-payers and contributors who allow this madness to continue.
They have the best of intentions, yet are caught up in a power struggle for money as happens in any cult on the face of the earth.
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Furthermore, if you want further information about David Pack there is an interesting article on EzineArticles from David Ben Ariel which you might like to read: http://ezinearticles.com/?David-Pack-and-the-Resto
I have now created a blog on Armstrongism for those exiting that cult. You may want to visit the blog which can be found here: http://armstrongism-ultimate-guide.blogspot.com
I have heard that abuse was built in to Armstrongism but so far have not read about this on any related web sites.
Was this sadly common practice?
Oh yes, sadly Ambassador Report documented this so well. I would recommend looking at Armstrongism - The Ultimate Guide. That blog has links to many sources that outline this abuse.
Thanks for your comment. :-)
Mind control? That says it all. Once you have control of someone's mind it's easy enough to get control of their money.
You're quite right. That has indeed been the method used for almost a century. Incredible to think that we are just over a decade from Herbie's "doctrines" surviving an entire century in the form of many splinters, offshoots etc.
What a mess indeed...
I am still confused about the true Church of God. Which is which? The real one. Please if you have any idea, tell me.
Only God knows. Presuming anything would be not only dangerous, but following in the same footsteps of mind-control...
Confused, The answer is in the Bible. Believers themselves are the true Church of God.
God does not live in buildings made by the hands of men.
how do i get a family member out of a cult?
I have given part of the answer in my hubpage "Are You In a Cult?" which you can find right here: http://hblunck.hubpages.com/hub/Are-You-In-A-Cult
Furthermore it is very important to be specific about which cult a person is involved with. Often cult leaders will have instilled a us-vs-them mindset in members that causes many of them to withdraw from critical questioning. Therefore using logic will often work far better than by using what will appear to members of cults as "attacks" towards their beliefs.
It is important to study any cult very deeply before engaging in questions, and in that regard searching for blogs from ex-members can be very useful indeed.
You are welcome to ask further questions if you have specific questions I may help you with, of course. :-)
Here is How Eliyah will restore all things (Matth 17:11), Before the coming of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus-Christ) (Mal 4:5-6; Act 3:19-21) !
(NB: All in this document is translated from French, so excuse for the approximate English)
"Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good" (1Thes 5:21)
God says in the Bible: “Do not keep the prophetic words of this book (the Bible) a secret, because the time is near.” (Rev 22:10).
With the help of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26; 16:13-14), God shows us today, the work Elijah has to do, just before the coming of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord!
(A) What are the Things to be restored, according to the Bible?
1) The Kingdom of God on the earth
Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God’s Kingdom governs no more the mankind.
*Gen 3: 22-23: “Then the Lord God said,’ now the man has become like one of us and has knowledge of what is good and what is bad. He must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live for ever. So the lord God sent him out of the garden and made him cultivate the soil from which he had been formed.”
NB: So, God’s Kingdom has been removed from the earth after the sin of Adam; but very soon, God will restore it through His Nation which will be born in a day, like a mustard seed, after the coming of the son of man who is Elijah (Ez 2:3-5; Luke 17:22; Mal 4:5).
*Matth 13 :31,38 : « The Kingdom of the heaven is like a mustard seed that a man takes and sows in his field…The field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the kingdom.”,
*Isa 66:8: “Has anyone ever seen or heard of such a thing? Has a Nation ever been born in a day? Zion will not have to suffer long, before the Nation is born.”
*Dan 2:44: “At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end.”
*Luke 12:32: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.”
*Matth 10:7,23: “Go and preach, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is near…you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.”
NB: It’s clear here that, the Kingdom of God will come, when the Son of man, who is Elijah, will come!
The coming of God’s Kingdom is closely linked at the coming of Elijah, who must restore all things Before the day of the Lord.
2) One Language
*Gen 11:1: “At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words.”, but God mixed up their language at the Tower of Babel , so that they couldn’t understand one another (V7).
Since there, the whole world has many and many languages; but as it occurred the day of Pentecost, at the foundation of the Church of God (Act 2:1, 4), a miracle of language will happen the day the Nation of God will be born: All those of the little flock who will belong to the Nation of God, will talk only one language, the language of Millennium!:
*1 Pet 2:9-10: “But you are the chosen race, the King’s priest, the Holy Nation, God’s own people…at one time you were not God’s people, but now you are his people.”
*Hos 2 17: “I will remove from her mouth the names of Baal.”
*Zep 3:9: “Then I will give to the people – it will be a change – a pure language, so that they all pray to me, and serve me by mutual consent.” (N.W.T.)
: “On that day I will purify the lips of all the people, so ,that everyone will be able to worship the Lord together.” (N.L.T).
3) Israel ’s kingdom or the House of David
After the death of Solomon, son of David, Israel’s kingdom fell into two kingdoms, as God announced to the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29_36 ;12:12-19).
However God has promised David that, at the end of the times, one of his sons (descendants) will restore his kingdom like it was long ago:
*2 Sam 7:12-13: “When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will strengthen the throne of his kingdom for ever.”
*2 Sam 7:18-19, 25: “Then the king David went into… Lord’s presence…and prayed: ‘…yet now you are doing even more, Sovereign Lord: you have made” promises about my descendants in the years to come…And now, Lord god, fulfil for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would.”
*Am 9:11: “The Lord says: ‘A day is coming when I will restorer the kingdom of David , which is like a home fallen into ruins…? I will rebuild it and make it as it was long ago.”
*Ps 89:33-35: “I will not stop loving David or fail to keep my promise to him. I will not break my covenant with him or take back even one promise I made him. Once and for all I have promised by my, holy name: I will never lie to David.”
NB: So, the descendant of David, who will restore his kingdom at the end of the times, would only be Elijah, the son of man who will restore the kingdom of God ; because, in fact, God’s Kingdom is and will be always in the hands of David’s descendants:
*2 Chr 13:8: “Do you really think you can stand against the Lord’s kingdom that is given to David’s descendants?”
*1 Kings 28:5: “...He (the Lord) chose Solomon to rule over Israel , the Lord’s kingdom.”
So, the coming of God’s kingdom is the restoring of Israel ’s kingdom, which will be ruled, for a short time by Elijah, the son of the man, a descendant of David, until the coming of Christ.
*Zec 6:12-13: “Tell him that the Lord Almighty says, ‘Here is the man (son of man) called the Branch. He will branch out where he is and build the Temple of Lord . He will build the Lord’s Temple and receive royal honour, and will rule as a king from his throne. He will also serve as a priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between the two.”
NB: Elijah, the son of man, the descendant of David, will be both king and priest; he will hold two offices that must not get interruption:
*Jer 33:17-18: “I, the Lord, promise that there will always be a descendant of David to be a king of Israel and that there will always be priests from the tribe of Levi to serve me…?”
NB: The throne of David is at the present time occupied by Queen Elisabeth II of England (Ephraim), and the Stone of crowning is in Scotland .
The Bible predicts a fourth and last reversal of this throne at the end of the times:
*Isa 28:1-3: “Ephraim (the kingdom of Israel ) is doomed! Its glory is fading like the crowns of flowers on the heads of its drunken leaders…The Lord has someone strong and powerful…who will come like a hailstorm… The pride of those drunken leaders (of Ephraim) will be trampled underfoot.”
*Jer 13:18: “Say to the king and his mother, ‘Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your crowns will soon be snatched from your heads.”
*Ez 21:26-27: “I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. Take off your crown and your turban. Nothing will be the same again. Raise the poor to power! Bring down those who are ruling! Ruin, ruin! But this will not happen until the one whom I have chosen…Then I will giver it to him.”.
NB: So, the throne of England (Ephraim), which is David’s throne, will be given for a moment to a man, Elijah (Zec 6:12-13) before Christ comes and takes it definitively (Luke 1:32-33).
This throne of David will be snatched from England , and given to the descendant of David, Elijah, who will sit on it at the Safety Place , in the upper mountains of Galilea, especially in Mount Hermon :
*Ez 34:11-14: “I, the Sovereign Lord, tell you that I myself will look for my sheep a
purplehymnal 2 years ago
Grace Communion International has not changed as much as they would like their evangelical bed-fellows to think they have changed. The church still operates on a hierarchical "church government", and has http://purplehymnal.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/435/ an unelected, appointed "dummy board" that http://purplehymnal.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/435/ Pastor-General-in-perpetuity, Joseph Tkach Jr, has full control over (and who he can disfellowship at will).
With 900 congregations around the world, now averaging at approximately 20 members each, the church is definitely no longer the force for thought-reform and mind-control that it once was, during its heyday. However, of those 900 congregations, http://purplehymnal.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/say-g 15% of all "voluntary" donations made by the members, are sent directly to Grace Communion International's Glendora, California headquarters, with http://purplehymnal.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/answe no financial accountability as to what is being done with the money. (Hearsay suggests that Joseph Tkach Jr., has assigned a salary of $180K per annum to himself.) Predictably, the thought-reform of those still in seems to be just as effective as it ever was, if http://purplehymnal.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/batte this minister's response is any indication. (The pastor in question was born and raised in the church during the Worldwide days.)
A small number of ex-members is agitating on the Internet, to make 2010 the year that Grace Communion International deposes it unelected and self-appointed dictator-in-chief Pastor General and "doctrinal President" (whatever that title means) Joseph Tkach Jr. We want 2010 to be the year the church obtains accreditation from the http://www.ecfa.org Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and 2010 is the year we want the church to provide FULL and PUBLIC financial disclosure, of what is being done with the 15% of all donations, being sent in from 900 congregations, to the church's Glendora, California, headquarters.
Interested parties can read more on this at the http://purplehymnal.wordpress.com Purple Hymnal website. The archives also contain deconstructions of the Dwight Armstrong (Herbert's brother) hymns that we used to sing, and how they reinforced the theology that we were in thrall to.
Thank you for your time in reading this comment.