Gerald Flurry Spends $107,500 for Items
Auctioned Off by Worldwide Church of God
| On July 17, 2004 Gerald Flurry gave a sermon to all Philadelphia Church of God congregations. Following is basically what he said, along with quotes from the Bible and Malachi's Message. First, he informed the membership that he had bought at an auction a nine foot long concert grand piano made by Steinway, and two seven foot tall crystal candelabra. These items were among others that were being auctioned off by the Worldwide Church of God and had been in the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. Second, he gave a detailed account of the history of the building of the Auditorium and how Herbert W. Armstrong picked out the piano himself. He later told that HWA had acquired the candelabra in Britain at Harod's. He also went into some of the history of the artists who had performed there. During this part of the sermon, he made a statement that we need to keep in mind "Satan finally did take over God's House and made it HIS HOUSE." He again stated, "Satan did indeed take over the Church of God." Third, GF gave details of the auction itself. He stated that he was prepared to pay $50,000 for the piano and $55,000 for the candelabra. A PCG minister named Craig Winters was representing the PCG at the auction. He was stationed in a back corner with a cell phone to receive orders from GF. The piano was auctioned first. When the bidding slowed down, GF got involved in it. The bidding went over $50,000, but GF made a last bid of $52,500 and won the bidding. [Note: Others have stated that the piano was from the auditorium, but not the one that HWA had played himself.] The candelabra were next. GF was prepared to pay $55,000, and that is what it took to win the bidding. The grand total was $107,500. I now quote the 1992 edition of Malachi's Message, which has been revised five times since it was "delivered by the Mighty Angel." I know for a fact it has been revised since then, so others may have a different copy. In the chapter, "Prophesy Not," GF relates that the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) donated $100,000 to the Hurricane Hugo Fund and again to the San Francisco Earthquake Fund.1 GF's words: "Wouldn't the WCG's $100,000 have been better spent on a special booklet or article revealing WHY THIS WHOLE NATION IS ON THE VERGE OF A FINANCIAL EARTHQUAKE? The worst in the history of man! Are they trying to smooth over the correction and chastisement God is sending to this world?!" In GF's July 17, 2004 sermon, what did he say about the "goods" just acquired by the PCG? "Really, brethren, I think if you, if we, had the money, I would think $100,000 would still be a bargain for those candelabras." By buying the candelabra, the PCG has made some very dangerous enemies. This is what GF said about them: "The candelabra was used by the late Shah of Iran during the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. The Shah had it made for that very, very special celebration. Then somehow it was sold to Harod's in Britain." That is where Herbert Armstrong bought them in 1973 for $23,000. A further quote: "The man that was bidding against us, of all things, was an Iranian. He worked with the Shah and had something to do with creating and crafting these candelabras. And he was really, really angry. So much so that (Craig Winters) was worried about the way they were all acting. He had two other Iranians with him and they really, really, deeply wanted those candelabras." Of course, Iran is the country that GF has named as the "King of the South" (which goes against what HWA taught). GF has stated and put in print that Iran is the "Head of the Snake" which should be "CUT OFF." Later in this same sermon GF stated, "They have degenerated today into such beasts. They are like animals only worse." GF also stated, "We are going to be labeled a cult by a lot of our enemies. We need to fight that in every way we possibly can. And I think the best way to do that is through having God's House." Jesus stated in John 13: 35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Just how much will be spent on things and how long will it take before any concerts raise any money for charity to prove that the PCG is a "real church" and not a "cult"? Did the Ambassador Auditorium really convince cult-watchers that the WCG was not a cult? Did it really "change the world" as stated by GF? Tour guides in the city of Pasadena used to tell tourists that the "cult members" lived on the campus and "sacrificed animals." How can GF expect 6,000 people (at most) to build anything like what 52,000 WCG members3 did in the 1970's? He admitted in the sermon, "We expect to have one considerably smaller than that." I expect, though, that it will cost the members all of the money that they can possibly spare. Acts 7: 48-50: "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" Gerald Flurry said: "If we're going to thrive spiritually, I'll tell you one way we can do it. We can keep our minds and our eyes on God's Work and God's House and that Light that's shining out from this little church." By K. J. (former member of the WCG and PCG) Also read: What Has Happened to Gerald Flurry?? (concerns from a former member regarding Flurry's spending) Footnotes by ESN: 1 If WCG indeed donated $100,000 to charity causes, massive numbers of former members and exiters who were exploited and deceived could ask why WCG was not able to reimburse them for the money they were cheated out of? At the time of the WCG new changes, the leadership's answer was, they couldn't because "the money was spent." 2 Construction on a Hall of Administration began in 2004 (a 2005 photo of it may be viewed here) and plans were finalized in 2005 for an Auditorium (called a "House for God by Flurry) to be built on 170 acres. (Update: Read: Gerald Flurry Plans to Build a "House for God") 3 Mike Hollman, director of data processing 1972-1973 clearly documented on his tape "Armstrongism: An Insider's View" that in 1973 the WCG had no more than 53,000 members at maximum. (Hollman was director of data processing in WCG from 1972-1973.) This was before the 11,000-member fallout in 1974. (Read: Myth 1 & 2 and "discrepancies with the growth picture starting around 1978" for more.) Gerald Flurry Plans to Build a "House for God"! What Has Happened to Gerald Flurry?? (concerns from a former member regarding Flurry's spending) Herbert W. Armstrong: The Rich Apostle (Is requiring accountability of finances wrong?) Questioning Herbert W. Armstrong (was he who he said he was?) (Many articles) Articles on Understanding Mind Control and Exploitive Groups |