The meaning of the word “Jerusalem”  was a topic of Ron’s sermon and also on this blog last weekend.  Last week I pointed out a web site that had some additional information as to the meaning, Mal took exception to this telling me that Ron was perfectly correct.  In his sermon this weekend, Ron stated that he had the “Jeru” part wrong, but when on about it not mattering.  I agree.  The meaning of “Jerusalem” doesn’t matter in the context of Ron’s continued prophetic failures.

Ron spent part of the sermon reading his latest blog post.  Ron admitted to another mistake, which has since been corrected in the posting on his blog.  In Ronnie’s second timeline, September 28, 2008 was not the opening of the seventh seal but was the sealing of the 144,000.  All this symbology is confusing even for the false prophet who made it up, as demonstrated on his own blog.  An explanation is that Ron may be under increased pressure from the IRS special agent conducting the criminal investigation.  Ron spoke of stirred up beings on the warpath.  In the past, spiritual warfare has been associated with IRS activities.  Ron was under so much stress that he slept over 12 hours Thursday night.  Perhaps he didn’t sleep well Wednesday night from stressful events that day and was catching up on Thursday night.

Ron explained the significance of the number 36 which is the count of the “truths” he has invented.  Ron has doubled the accomplishments of his spiritual idol, Herbert Armstrong, who only invented 18 “truths”.  How incredible!!

Ron took time to issue a fatwa against the use of two-piece bathing suits.  Somewhere in the sermon was a relatively brief pacifist rant.  Ron mentioned a cartoon in which someone asked God to smite his worst enemy.  The next frame showed the petitioner charred with smoke curling up. Ron should take a lesson from this, and be careful about calling down fire on those who harm him.  My Bible verse of the sermon is Romans 3:13.

The following excerpts are taken from the opinion rendered by the Michigan Court of Appeals in response to an appeal filed by Greg which contested various elements of his divorce decree. In the opinion written by the court, Greg is referred to as the defendant and his ex-wife is the plaintiff.

The parties married in June 2001 and had two children: [Child 1], born in November 2004, and [Child 2], born in November 2005. {Child 2 was born the same month that Ron kind-of-sort-of announced that he was one of the Two Witnesses before clearly announcing it the following month.}

In our case, the parties married on June 9, 2001, and defendant was earning approximately $121,000 working a full-time position and a contract position. At the time of the marriage, defendant was a member of the Church of God, and after the marriage plaintiff became a member as well. Toward the end of this turbulent marriage, in approximately February 2008, defendant [Greg] quit both of his jobs and took a position with the Church of God PKG, earning $36,000 per year. In this position, defendant traveled around the world proselytizing the church’s views. Indeed, it was a result of defendant’s choice to become employed by the Church of God PKG, as well as some of the effects emanating from the views held by members of that church, that led plaintiff to refile for divorce in March 2008. By the time the judgment of divorce was entered in April 2009, defendant had been working at the Church of God PKG for more than a year.

There was a previous divorce filing in August 2005 which was dropped early in 2006, shortly after Child 2 was born. Perhaps Greg’s ex-wife was distracted by the birth of her second child and the litigation, and the true impact of Ron’s announcements in November and December of 2005 of being a Witness didn’t sink in right away.  Some of Greg’s peculiar religious views were described in the opinion:

Plaintiff testified that defendant was reluctant to allow [Child 1] to attend preschool, expressing fear that “something would happen, and there would be like a lock down, where you wouldn’t be able to go and retrieve your children from school.” {Perhaps Greg feared that a lock down would be imposed when the 2nd Trumpet “nukular” bombs exploded in US port cities.}  Plaintiff also testified that defendant told the children that “[Christmas] is a lie” and “mommy put those presents under the tree.” Plaintiff testified that defendant would not let the children view carved pumpkins at Halloween and explained in front of the children why certain holiday traditions are “bad” and “evil.” Plaintiff testified that, regarding her new boyfriend, the children “say Phil doesn’t follow God; Phil’s bad; daddy doesn’t like him.”

Although we’re hearing this through Greg’s ex-wife in an adversarial situation, these statements are completely consistent with Rotten Ronnie’s goofy theology.  The opinion went on to discuss monetary issues.

The parties had $74,000 in a 401(k) account, $14,000 of which was defendant’s premarital property. Defendant “cashed out” the account, and, in doing so, subjected it to a 10% penalty. The court stated that defendant would be responsible for the penalty.

It’s my understanding that court-ordered property settlements from retirement savings can be handled by transferring the funds to the spouse’s retirement plan without the transfer being a taxable event.  I wonder if Greg’s 401(k) withdrawal was actually part of his “pitcher breaking” in response to Ron’s Total Resolve sermon.

Here are some statements concerning the court-ordered support payments:

In considering spousal support, the trial court found that plaintiff earned $40,000 a year working part-time and that “she should be able to return to full-time employment within two years.” It found that defendant has an income of $113,000…..   The court awarded $159 a month in spousal support for two years…   The court also based its child-support award on an income of $113,000 a year.

In looking over the child support formulas in Michigan, and assuming an income net after taxes of $70,000/year for Greg if he had not foolishly quit his job, and about $30,000/year of after-tax income for his ex-wife, then if I’m reading the tables correctly Greg would be required to pay 2/3 of total child support of around $2100/month, so around $1400/month would be the court ordered child support payments from Greg.  In addition to which Greg was ordered to pay $159/month in temporary spousal support for 2 years.  I could be in error in interpreting the tables, so you are welcome to study the formulas and supply any corrections to my estimates.  I suspect that if I’m in error in calculating the support payment, it’s on the low side.

Court-ordered payments of over $1500/month would be pretty tough to make out of $3000/month salary after paying taxes and first tithe and second tithe as well.  And would still be tough even if Ron has liberalized tithing requirements for employed elders and only taxes are taken out.  Living on that salary would be rather frugal even if Greg did not have his other unmet obligations.  The majority of the appeals court did not agree with Greg that his support payments should be based on the low salary that Ron pays him but instead on the salary he had demonstrated himself capable of earning.  The minority opinion gave the notion that support payments should be based on Greg’s current Ron-decided lower salary only moral support, not legal.  The court expects that a parent will make sacrifices for his/her children, even if that sacrifice includes keeping a higher paying job.

So Greg broke a pretty expensive pitcher when he quit his job to work for the Spokesman of the Two Witnesses.  Not only did he give up a well-paying job and his 401(k) savings, he gave up his family including children whose names also begin with “G”.

In listening to one of Ron’s sermon statements from 2007, it seems that Greg is one of the architects of Ron’s 15 minutes of fame on the Internet.  Previously, Ron had focused on old school promotion methods such as advertising in Readers Digest just like his spiritual idol Herbert Armstrong.  Greg persuaded him to try Google Ads starting in 2007 and the rest is history.

As far as Greg’s PKG salary, it seems to be a bit low even by Ron’s standards.   Daughter/senior elder/bookkeeper/personal assistant Audra owns her own home, on which property taxes are assessed based on a value of $140,000, which is likely about what she paid for it back in 2007 just before the first sealing of the 144,000.  I doubt that anyone could qualify for a mortgage of that amount with an income of only $36,000.  So there seems to be a benefit to being a member of the family through whom God is working — powerfully, powerfully so.  How is it that 24-year-old Jeremy is able to afford to travel to southeast Asia?  Does a starting graphic design career pay that well, even as talented as he seems to this lay person?

Who would have imagined that now over two years since the first opening of the seventh seal and over 15 months after we weren’t able to inaugurate a president to replace George W, that the court system would still be in business to handle divorce matters?  And who’da thunk-it that this blog would still be continuing 70 weeks after the End-Time Elijah and Spokesman Witness pronounced a speedy death curse on its author?

A personal note to Greg who may be among the PKG members and elders who read my blog:  Wake up and smell the Flavor Aid, man!!! You’ve allowed your spiritual idolatry to destroy your personal life, don’t let your commitment to this demonstrated false prophet continue to damage your obligation to and relationship with your children.  Your relationship with your children’s mother is obviously damaged beyond all repair.  But your relationship with your children should be cherished, not further abused by polluting it with the pathological views of a demonstrated exploiting false prophet.  Stop the madness!!!  I didn’t give your full name so that a potential employer Googling your name would not end up on this post.  End the madness, salvage what you can, fix it now!!!

Ron cautioned that associate elders are not to counsel.  People are to contact the elder in their region, who likely will refer the question to the FAQ section on the PKG website.  Anecdotal information that has reached me indicates that this has always been the prevalent practice.

I’ve recently been sparring with Aaron Robinson, a wordy person who types a lot but doesn’t say much.  He is yet another Weinland follower who is not a PKG member yet presumes to speak for Weinland.  I found this statement of his to be interesting:

When Mr. Weinland addresses his mockers, what he doesn’t do is make fun of them all over the place, and ridicule them, and just plain mocking them as like he is imitating somebody behind their back.

In today’s sermon, at 41 minutes in the version which includes the announcements, Ron discussed the pharisees trying to find fault with Jesus,  made the following statements:

You know, we have people listening to the sermons week after week, just to find fault.  They just can’t wait, they don’t get it, they don’t understand what God is giving.  But they just see human beings and they hate it.  They do just truly are stirred up and hate what they’re hearing.

And I think “Get a life!!! Why put yourself through that misery, if you hate it so much?  If you hate me, if you hate what you’re hearing so much.”

But it’s just like the pharisees here, they were going to lose something, because if they’re wrong.  So they’ve got to fight against it, to prove themselves right, to be right.  Incredible, the mind of human beings.   And so people that just try to find something that they can say that this is wrong.  This is bad, see he’s wrong again.  He’s wrong about this.  And they can’t wait to write about it, or tell others, or blog about it.  Because they just want to “bla bla bla” because they think that they’re so right.  And they just don’t get it.  They just have total inability to see. Sad.

Aaron, I wonder if you really listen to the sermons?  Can you hear the mocking tone that Weinland uses to address his critics? (And this is not the first time he’s done this.)   I expect that you probably don’t have ears to hear and will claim he wasn’t mocking.  Or you’ll just come up with a rambling explanation about how that’s OK, even though you said he doesn’t do that.

Ron had a similar riff earlier in the sermon, about 25 minutes into the current version of the recording.  Speaking of Jesus:

.. and people who are trying to find fault, and they were constantly trying to find fault.  We’re very accustomed to that.

You know people continually trying to find fault, trying to find something that’s said that they can find fault with.  That they can twist and distort, and they think they have a heyday.  Things that are written in the books, that they think that they have absolute understanding of.  They believe that certain things haven’t happened and they don’t get it.

They don’t understand the fast that took place.  They don’t understand God’s will and why God has done things the way he has.  They don’t understand the 50th truth.  They don’t appreciate, they don’t like those things.  And so they say, it’s like “nyah, nyah, nyah, we know”   So they’re just like little kids, playing games. And they don’t understand, they don’t see God. And you can’t give that to them.

But I do understand.  I understand that the 2-day fast was a ploy.  PKG was instructed to pray for death and destruction so people would be humbled and repent so God could show mercy.  If you don’t believe me, listen to the sermon of Jan 31, 2009. When none of the death, destruction, humbling, and repenting materialized, Ron then characterized it as God showing mercy, no mention of the lack of people being humbled and repenting.

And I do understand the 50th “truth”.  It was a desperate ploy, showing signs and lying wonders so that Ron could hang on to his flock and make them forget his promise to quit preaching if the 1st and 2nd trumpets weren’t powerfully and abundantly clear by July of 2008. At first PKG was to wait until Trumpets of 2008, but Ron quickly determined that PKG wouldn’t wait and had to deliver the sermon the following Saturday, 3 months ahead of schedule.

During the sermon, Ron went mentioned Jesus’ admonition to “pay unto Cesar that which is Cesar’s”.  Also stated that those who don’t pay their taxes are crackpots.  I expect that we’ll soon be finding out whether the IRS has determined Ron to be a crackpot by his own definition.

It seems that Ron’s allergies are getting more severe.  In the past Ron has instructed that visitors to Cincinnati should not wear perfumes and colognes because of sensitive people there.  Now he is instructing that people should not wear them when he comes visiting.  I wonder if someone were to attempt to do in the end-time Witness by throwing perfume on him, would he be drowned in a vat of perfume? (… he must in this manner be killed)? 

Aaron, before you try to paint this as a death threat by me on Weinland — no it isn’t.

Ron has done some plotting and planning to stretch things out.  Ron is still singing the same song about the 2nd trumpet that he was singing on Mike McConnell’s show just over a year ago — we might not have “nukular” explosions for another year, or even longer.  A number of 45-90 day periods since the first trumpet blew for the second time on Dec 14, 2008, and more to go.

The baptism ceremony has been modified so that it can be done mass production style.  Under the old ceremony, the inductee is pushed under the water by the officiating elder (Ron stays on the side of the pool) and then after coming back up the elder lays hand on the inductee and prays.

In order to allow 100 elders or so to baptize hundreds of thousands of people, or even millions, the baptism ceremony is modified.  One elder will be able to baptize dozens of people at once, as the inductees will immerse themselves as the elder calls out synchronized dunking.  After which, instead of providing individual attention by actually laying hands on the inductee during the prayer,  the elder will pray over the group and then have them walk by so he/she can tap them on the head.  Reminds me of my first day of military service.

Ron has reviewed the validity of baptisms performed in other groups outside of PKG.  According to his new rules, any baptism will be invalid which was performed by any other group after Pentecost of 1998 when the church was reorganized with Elijah-to-come Ron leading it.  The only groups performing valid baptisms before that date would be the United Church of God and the Global Church of God, and WCG prior to the abomination of desolation on Dec 17, 1994.  For those unfamiliar with these organizations, UCG was formed by ministers who left WCG after Tkach’s apostasy of 1994 and Weinland was in UCG until May of 1997.  Global CoG was formed by Rod Meredith prior to Tkach’s apostasy — Global is now defunct as it went down the tubes after Rod Meredith abandoned it and its debts in a power struggle taking most of the members with him into the Living CoG.  In a moment of irony, Weinland stated that Flurry’s Philadelphia CoG was invalid because it is headed by a false prophet.  Gee Ron, how do we know that what Flurry has prophesied is false?  Maybe it’s true, but just hasn’t happened yet, huh?

According to Ron, the book of Acts is not complete as it will need to be expanded to record events within PKG.  He said that the ranks of the elders would swell to 700 eventually as some of those baptized within WCG prior to the opening of the first seal on Dec 17, 1994 join Ron’s church.  People of that pedigree would be eligible to become elders.

It looks like Ron has mined out those with a doomer mindset that can be sucked in with an expensive Google Ads campaign, and is now looking to “the scattering” for fresh meat.  Ron, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.  I pointed out to my mother, who having been baptized in WCG well before 1994 is quite eligible, that she could be ordained an elder.  Her reaction was somewhat south of enthusiastic. Ron, not everyone is impressed by the signs and lying wonders of the Son of Perdition.

All this baptizing will be going on while the US conquered by the beast power, and Ron will be in Europe interceding with the beast to allow his followers to keep the sabbath. Next he’ll be calling himself Moses. “Let my people go!!” (Ron, let your people go.) I wonder if Ron’s exit will be advanced should the IRS put a case together soon.  Ron’s Witness powers are not to be used for trivial things like proving that he actually is a prophet of God.  But they can be used for issuing curses against mockers like myself for a speedy death.  Which I must have experienced shortly after he issued his sentence on me 64 weeks ago, because after all Ron is a true prophet of the God of Abraham.

Back when I was running the WW, an anonymous source passed along the interesting hearsay that PKG elder Sam Q, while he was a deacon in my source’s WCG congregation, actually went to jail for some type of fraud, possibly to do with real estate. Sam allegedly told church members at the time that he had fallen in with a bad influence, and that he was blameless (but of course), …….

I have found some reliable corroboration for this hearsay. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Thursday, November 30, 1989:

St. Louis: A banker from Shelbina, Mo., pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that he made false loan applications at Madison Bank in Madison , Mo. A federal indictment returned in August said Keith Mayes , who had been the bank ‘s chief operating officer, processed loans in 1984 for himself and Sam Qxxxxx, a business partner. U.S. District Judge George F. Gunn Jr. said he would sentence Mayes on Jan. 9.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Saturday, February 10, 1990

COURT ACTION

St. Louis: Samuel D. Qxxxxx of Madison, Mo., was sentenced Friday to six months in a halfway house for making false loan applications at Madison Bank, in Madison. Qxxxxx and a co-defendant, Keith Mayes, pleaded guilty in November. A federal indictment returned in August said Mayes, who had been the bank’s chief operating officer, processed false loans in 1984 for himself and Qxxxxx , a business partner. Qxxxxx was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George F. Gunn Jr. Mayes is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Further corroboration from typing Sam’s name into the search boxes at the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator

Name                             Register #   Age-Race-Sex  Release Date  Location

SAMUEL D Qxxxxx     21813-044   71-White-M     07-11-1990    RELEASED

The name (including middle initial) and age match that of a Sam Qxxxxx who lives in Columbia, MO (about 60 miles from Madison, MO) and who is also one of Weinland’s elders. I have redacted Sam’s last name so that someone Googling his name won’t end up on this post, but I expect that despite doing this and the sources I have that I will be accused of lying, twisting, and distorting.  Sam has an amiable grandfatherly presence as can be seen of this photo of him at the Last Feast organized by COG-PKG back in 2007.

A six-month sentence suggests this may have been a misdemeanor, which is also the case for a simple traffic violation.  But a false loan application is a bit different than going 5 MPH over the speed limit, which Sam also did and then some in 1984 when the national speed limit was 55 with a Missouri traffic ticket for exceeding 70 MPH, as reported by the Missouri court record web site. If the specific federal violation was of 18 USC 1014, Sam could have been sentenced to 30 years in prison and fined $1,000,000 which would make it a felony and Sam therefore a felon.  Despite Sam’s conviction for financial misdealings, there’s no indication that he has any involvement with PKG finances other than paying Ron his tithes and offerings and whatever pitcher-breaking he did before the first failed timeline.

So Sam joins Greg and Al as one of False Prophet Ronald Weinland’s elders known to have or have had legal difficulties.  And Ron and Audra as well.  Any more? So much for the qualifications in COG-PKG for religious office given in 1 Timothy 3.

This weekend is the training session for all the new elders.  I thought it would be nice for all the PKG members who were not able to attend to be able to see the location for this conference.

This hotel has a nice atrium which can also be used as an area to serve meals, such as the buffet which the new elders participated in after the riff raff was chased out at 12:30.  I wonder which catering options (200KB PDF File)starting at $17+service charge + tax they chose.

More photos below the fold.  Thanks to the elder who let me know where they are meeting this weekend.

After the meetings, the new elders can relax in the pool.

The new elders staying in the hotel can enjoy a complimentary breakfast before starting their day.

Ready for a day of learning to be an elder and how to dunk people.

During the fall of 2007, Weinland asked his members to show Total Resolve for his prophecies.  In his November 3, 2007 sermon, Weinland mentioned his own $381,000 house and stated:

And I think of all that equity in there, it’s not going to serve anybody any good whatsoever.  Serve the church in a very powerful way.  The more we can do as a group, those of us who are running down together, those of us who are part of the 144000.   If we have the means and the ability …  Don’t do it right now either.  Someone asked me this last week here, “If I withdraw a certain amount right now, I’m going to be penalized, by taxes and so forth.”  But see when January or February come around you’re not going to be penalized. (snorts) The following year you don’t have to worry about it too much, do you?

Al is old enough to have a WCG background and would thus being eligible in 2008 to be sealed (Feb 2) and resealed (Sept 30)  as part of the 144,000. Weinland often mentioned the example of Gideon and his army of 300 that sneaked up on the Midianite camp and defeated them, and described them as “running down the hill” (which they didn’t do, they crept quietly) and “breaking their pitchers” as a metaphor for what his members were to do, by cashing in their 401Ks and the equity in their homes.  Since the US was going to be down the tubes by 2009, not even being able to inaugurate a new president, the IRS wouldn’t be around to collect taxes.  Too bad for Weinland that the IRS is not cooperating with his prophecy even through they probably know all about it.

In his May 3, 2008 sermon, Weinland stated:

So if anyone who gave above and beyond – I just want to add this too, so you can examine your place and what you did.  Because I know how the human mind is, I know that some gave offerings that aren’t normal.  I hope that if there are some that are regretting that, having second doubts about that, I want to say something right now, real clear to you.  Ok .  I’ll return it.  Those of you who have given 10 thousand, 20 thousand, 50 thousand, 80 thousand, 100 thousand, and more because there are those of you who fit in those categories. Above and beyond normal tithes and offerings. But you need to let me know before Pentecost. Thought I’d give a week, I thought “no” I’ll just say it “’til Pentecost”.    Otherwise, to understand,  you are saying that you’re in full agreement of those monies being used fully to whatever I deem necessary.  Because we’re going to continue moving forward, putting everything into what we’re doing.

In a later sermon, he stated that the only request came for refund of tithes and offerings from an ex-member.  At another point in the 5/3/08 sermon:

We hit over a million dollars at one point. But we’re way below that right now. We’re not there any longer because of all the monies we’re throwing into Google, and everything else we’ve been doing. But for a small group like us to be able to do something like this, like we’ve been able to do on the Internet, to be out there, for people to be able to do a search and here we pop up, being this small?

And yet at another point in his May 3, 2008 sermon:

So if you didn’t believe that you have any mortgage payments after April the 17th, or you didn’t have to pay off your credit card, then you made a mistake! You know. You can’t blame me! I don’t know how long some of this is going to take place. Live life wisely.

This statement was only a few weeks after prophesying “nukular” explosions within 45 to 90 days after April 17, 2008.  Indicators are that Weinland did not throw down his own pitcher as did his members–he’s still paying the property tax on his $381,000 house directly to the county instead of through a mortgage company.  I expect that if he’d refinanced the equity from his house that the mortgage company would require him to pay into escrow.

Weinland, as he often does, has shifted all of the blame to the member for whatever happens to them as a result of throwing down their pitcher.  So I wonder how expensive the pitcher was that this elder threw down to light the torch of Google advertising for Ron’s fictional book “2008 God’s Final Witness”.   It’s sad that he’s losing this modest family business which was also the employment for another of Weinland’s elders, Tom, who has the same last name.  While Weinland blames the economy, and I expect that played a role in this situation, I also expect that pitcher-breaking also had a lot to do with it.  I wonder how many other PKG members are similarly suffering, but I doubt that Ron and Laura are among them.

Ron, when you respond to this by accusing me of lying, twisting and distorting, be specific.  Be very specific.  And no twisting and distorting of your own.

————–Ron Weinland’s Post  —————————————————————

The last posting on this site addressed God’s current revelation to the Church about His “Elijah to come” at this end-time. As was stated, that commission has been given to me to fulfill in its completeness and not as a “type,” which was partially fulfilled in John the Baptist and in Herbert W. Armstrong. God is now going to bring both rolls [sic] of these previous “types” into a complete and final fulfillment that ushers in the second coming of His Son as the Messiah (the Christ-the ordained ruler) over all mankind.

This posting cannot cover all of the exciting revelation that God is giving concerning what His purpose is and what is meant by the expression of “restoring all things” in the commission of the end-time Elijah. It is about a “work” that God is doing in and through His human instruments, primarily through His Church.

In order to receive a far greater understanding of the inspiration, plain truth, and excitement of what God is now revealing, I am encouraging every one of you (if you have not already done so) to listen to some of this new truth as it is covered far more thoroughly in the sermon on Dec. 26, 2009, entitled, “Restoring All Things,” and in the current sermon series entitled, “Ordinations & Baptisms.”

Finding Fault:
The numerous groups that have formed from the scattering that took place during the apostasy of the Worldwide Church of God in December, 1994, are busy responding to what God is currently revealing to the Church through me as His end-time Elijah. They are quick to find fault in order to belittle and ridicule what God is now revealing. [Can anyone find a response from other than mine and a few other blogs? (None of which are part of  "the scattering".]

Some are much like the Pharisees who were always so quick and eager to find fault in anything Christ taught. They seethed at the notion that God would work or say such things through a man like Jesus. Yet in actuality, they were finding fault with the very Son of God, their very Passover Lamb.

It is no different today. Much of the leadership and membership in such organizations are not able to contain themselves with glee over what they think they now see as far clearer proof that I could not be of God; yet I am (of God)! [I doubt that most in the other CoGs even are aware of Weinland, and much less his latest antics.]

The very thing they fight against and refuse to embrace is the very truth that could help them escape what is coming. Those who refuse to repent and listen to what God is telling them will not be blessed to see the “promised land” that has been prophesied to come for so long now. The millennium is almost here, and only a small percentage will be allowed to enter. Most will have to wait until a future time when they will be “spiritually awakened” after they are physically resurrected in the final hundred years of mankind.

As much as the Pharisees hated the thought of Christ being the Messiah, most of those from the Church that have been scattered loathe the thought that I could possibly be the “Elijah to come,” let alone be one of the two end-time prophets and witnesses of God. Yet it is true. It is just a reality that so many do not yet accept. Human pride is such a shameful thing. As with the Pharisees, who knew there were words of truth in what Jesus Christ was saying, but refused to listen because he was threatening their authority and their belief that they were the true custodians of the word of God, there are many scattered groups and their leaders who are of this same deceived attitude and spirit today.

A Curse On Women:
As talked about in recent sermons, which I referred to earlier, one of the first things to be revealed that God is now beginning to address to His Church is the need to restore a far better and more correct mindset toward the role of women in society, especially within the Church and the family. From the beginning, Satan led the first two humans into sin in his effort to begin his work of seeking to destroy God’s plan for His Family—Elohim—and did so by striking out at the first human family.

Satan’s success in leading these two people to sin (due to the selfishness and pride of human nature) led to consequences. It resulted in that which all sin leads, the opposite of being blessed for obedience, but instead reaping curses for disobedience. Curses are the result of not being blessed and given favor by God. It is a matter of natural physical consequences that God has imposed upon nature when His sustaining power of preservation and favor is removed.

Sin infects the mind and alters how a person thinks. It distorts the capacity for sound and practical thinking as it leads to perverted and distorted reasoning that is further fueled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. When Adam and Eve sinned, the mind of man began to turn farther away from sound mindedness that can only come from God. Only God can reveal the way to right thinking and right relationships among people, and that is especially true in the context of this posting of how men think toward women. Even in reading this, many men will “think” that their thinking is right toward women, and yet it is not, and much must yet be changed!

In marriage, the right relationship between a husband and wife should be the most exciting and most rewarding relationship in life. However, this “got off on a wrong foot” from the very beginning.

Ever since man chose the way of sin (as all have, except Jesus Christ), men have not rightly respected women, not even their own wives (when married), and have instead ruled “over” women in a wrong manner that is authoritarian, controlling and demeaning (looking down as being lesser). This is what constitutes a large part of the curse upon women that has existed from the beginning. Over the centuries, even within the Church, that curse has only partially been lifted to the degree that individuals have repented of mistreatment of others and have truly sought to “change” self and become more God-like in character and thinking (in harmony with the truths and laws of God). But women have still been suppressed by being morally mistreated, demeaned, and held to an inferior state by men. And most sad of all, this has been perpetuated by husbands because of male ego, lust and pride.

God is now starting the greater process (which only partially started in the Church over the centuries) of restoring the dignity and honor that He intended women should have from the beginning. This is part of the “healing” process that is prophesied to fill the earth in the Millennium, as Satan and his demons are removed from the presence of mankind, and as Jesus Christ receives rule of all the earth. This healing process is now beginning to be restored in God’s Church as we accelerate toward that new age for all mankind. In this context, this is the greater fulfillment of the prophecy that states, “And those from among you shall build the old waste places and you shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and you shall be called, ‘The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in’” (Is. 58:12).

Of even greater inspiration is the literal translation from Hebrew that states, “And those from among you shall build from the destruction caused of old [ancient times] and you shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and you shall be called ‘The repairer of the break, the restorer [Heb. – “to set again,” “to reestablish”] of paths to dwell in.’”

Those who will be part of this work are blessed to help restore the God intended role and purpose of both man and woman in marriage and in society. When God’s government, love, and true purpose are more firmly reestablished in the foundation of marriage, the structure of the family will become far stronger than ever experienced in the previous 6,000 years. The human family will be given a giant boost that more readily leads into the very Family of God—Elohim.

The liberation of all races and nationalities is rapidly approaching, and at the top of that list is the true liberation of women from the demeaning state in which they have been “ruled over.” This also produces a liberation for man that yields a more fulfilling and rewarding life, a greater unity and oneness with God, and the greater experience of what true masculinity was intended to be from the beginning.

Ordination of Women:
It is in the midst of this restoration that is coming from God, through His Church to this world, that God has now revealed that women can be ordained to ministerial service in His Church. As this latest sermon series (”Ordinations and Baptisms”) is giving the soundness and balance of how this will exist in His Church, there are distinctions of service that will be different between men and women. Such distinctions of service will not exist because of the lesser ability, insight, understanding, or stature of women. It is because of the differences God established that would constitute the qualities that are genuine and true in all that reflects a unique beauty in the femininity of women, just as there is service that is only intended for men that God has created which constitutes right qualities of true masculinity.

True masculinity and true femininity can only be understood by how God defines each. Such truth and spiritual sound minded understanding can only come from God through the power of His spirit working in us.

God has revealed that the role of preaching in the environment of the formal Sabbath service is that of a masculine role, as God has defined it to be. That is not a feminine role, and if women did speak in a formal Sabbath environment, it would make a woman appear to have characteristics of masculinity that are not edifying or natural (as God created it to be).

God has revealed that women are to be ordained into ministerial service as elders. There is to be no distinction within the Church for the term “elder” (spiritual service) that would differentiate between a man or woman. Even for the office of a prophet, the term is simply “prophet” without a distinction of gender.

Within the Church, a woman would not be ordained to an apostle, evangelist or pastor because of many of those duties that God has set aside as masculine in nature. A woman can be ordained to that of a prophet or elder (sr. elder, elder, or associate elder).

The understanding God is currently giving concerning the removal of a curse upon women (and men) from the beginning is to begin the fulfillment of the prophesied role (work) of the “Elijah to come.” That “work” is about final preparations God is making for the return of His Son, Jesus Christ.

As John the Baptist baptized thousands into a baptism of repentance in preparation for the first coming of Jesus Christ, God’s Church is now preparing for massive numbers of baptisms into the Body of Christ in preparation for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Women will play as crucial a role in this as men will. Both men and women who are ordained may lay hands upon a person after baptism for the purpose of the impregnation of God’s spirit. Such a role is neither masculine nor feminine, but of God through the power of His spirit.

As Paul wrote in Galatians 3:27 & 28, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The Family of God, including the begotten Family, is not a matter of gender. And so in ordination and the laying on of hands that God has chosen for His ministry to perform for the impregnation of His spirit for all who are baptized, this process in no manner reflects male or female in distinction, but the power of God to beget.

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