The Church of God Preparing for the Kingdom of God

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by asoapymessromances

by asoapymessromances

The Church of God, Preparing for theKingdom of God (COG-PKG) is an apocalypticist splinter sect ofthe Worldwide Church of God (WCG) that claims to provide "support,education and warning" to former members of the WCG. It isone of many groups that left the WCG after its sweeping doctrinalchanges in the late 1980s, and forms a part of the seventh-daySabbatarian Churches of God, following the teachings of the WCG'sfounder, Herbert W. Armstrong. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, theCOG-PKG is an international church which is mostly active on theInternet. It was founded in 1998 by Ronald Weinland, a former WCGminister.

Founder

The COG-PKG is led by its founderRonald Weinland (born May 30, 1949), a Colorado-born minister whoserved in the WCG from 1981 to 1995. When the church made majordoctrinal changes after Herbert Armstrong's death in 1986, Weinlandmoved to the United Church of God (UCG). He served the UCG's Toledo,Ohio, congregation until 1997, when he departed after issuing an openletter to the church criticizing its management. In 1998, Weinlandstarted publishing a newsletter called "News Watch",which ran for about four years and helped establish the propheticthemes of his later ministry. He founded the COG-PKG in 1998. OnAugust 4, 2005, Weinland suffered from a heart attack after which heproclaimed himself as a prophet and an apostle of God. Weinland'sdeteriorating health led him to suffer a second heart attack duringhis prison sentence on May 28, 2015.

Tax evasion trial and imprisonment

On November 10, 2011, Weinland wasindicted by a federal grand jury on five charges of tax evasion. Itwas alleged that he had understated his income on federal taxreturns, redirected COG-PKG church funds for personal use andconcealed the existence of a Swiss bank account.

Weinland admitted that church fundswere placed in a bank account in Switzerland and that his was one ofthe two names on the account, but denied that there was any taxevasion, and stated that all funds had since been repatriated to theUnited States and used for church advertising. Weinland informed hischurch before opening the account, in a December 2002 sermon entitled"Planning Ahead".

Weinland's trial began on June 4, 2012.On June 13, after less than four hours of deliberation, a jury foundWeinland guilty on all counts of tax evasion. He remained under housedetention and electronic surveillance until his sentencing hearing.On November 14, 2012, Weinland was sentenced to 42 months'imprisonment and a $245,000 tax restitution; his prison term ended in2016.

Church history

Development

Weinland founded the COG-PKG in 1998,drawing followers from UCG's Toledo congregation and ex-WCG membersin Georgia and Texas. Prior to his imprisonment, Weinland deliveredhis sermons weekly on Saturday afternoons to church membersthroughout the United States and Canada via live streaming audio onthe Internet. The COG-PKG also has a number of members overseas wholisten to recordings of the sermons. The church's headquarters arelocated in Cincinnati, Ohio. In a 2009 sermon, Weinland warned thatcritics who mocked him or the COG-PKG would be divinely cursed with"a sickness that will eat them from the inside out".

Predictions

Under Weinland's tutelage, the COG-PKGhas adopted an apocalyptic belief in the imminent end of the existingworld order. Weinland has repeatedly predicted the swift return ofJesus Christ, whom he believes will set up the Kingdom of God uponthe Earth. This view was expressed in Weinland's books, TheProphesied End-Time and 2008 – God's Final Witness. In 2006,Weinland identified himself to be "the spokesman of [God's]two end-time witnesses", who are mentioned in the Book ofRevelation. In an April 2008 sermon, he identified his wife, Laura,as the other witness of Revelation, and called Pope Benedict XVI a"false prophet". Weinland furthermore claimed thathe was "an end-time apostle to the world" and "theend-time Elijah to come", as mentioned in Malachi 4:5-6.

2012–2013 prophecies

In 2008, Weinland wrote that "thefinal countdown has begun, as the 1,335 days before the actual dayJesus Christ returns began on Tuesday, September 30, 2008."Weinland later changed his prophesied date for the return of Christto Pentecost of 2012, which fell on May 27. Prior to this date,Weinland declared that 7,000 ministers and leading members of theSabbatarian Churches of God would die in the Great Tribulation.

May 27, 2012, passed without Weinland'spredicted apocalypse. In a blog posting dated May 26, 2012, Weinlandacknowledged that "nothing has begun in the world that wouldsignal the need or purpose for ... Christ's return". Heurged his followers to "move forward", and suggestedthat God had been, and continued to be, merciful to his people. Helater stated that the end of the world had indeed begun on May 27,2012, but would take "oneyear to become fulfilled". Weinland next assertedthat Christ would return on May 19, 2013 (Pentecost Sunday), butlater withdrew this prediction. In a blog post dated May 13, 2013,Weinland stated that Christ would return on some future PentecostSunday, but only when the Earth had endured "much suffering";he did not give a specific year. He expressed hope that members wouldremain with the church after May 19, 2013, which passed without anyapocalyptic event.

Predictions for 2019 and beyond

June 9, 2019 is the date prophesied byWeinland in his book Prophecy Against the Nations as the secondcoming of Jesus Christ, which would be preceded by several biblicalevents in conjunction with the start of World War III. During thetime leading up to this date, Weinland began to express uncertaintiesin his prediction by issuing statements such as "noteverything is going to pan out the way you thought" or "IsChrist About to Return?" on his website. On his church'swebsite, Weinland continues to make predictions about end time eventsthat range within the coming months and years.