Who Are You Going to Believe, Me or Your Lying Eyes?

Note: Dennis Diehl has written a humorous post that captures the essence of Weinland's foolishness.

False Prophet Ronald Weinland was in Bloomington IL this weekend. He read a letter from his Australian evangelist Wayne Matthews which proof-texted the 3rd thunder describing the drought in Australia. While the fires there are certainly significant to those affected and should not be minimized, they should not be elevated to an event of biblical proportion. Wayne took time to mention that "no one died" as a result of the fast in Australia, which is certainly good news. I hope that's also true for the PKG members in the US, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, and anywhere else that there are ensnared followers of this false prophet. Ron went on to read selected news articles with unemployment statistics to support his 4th thunder. There's still no mention of dead ministers relative to his 5th thunder nor any mention of the other 2 phases of his 5th thunder. And nothing on the other thunders which Weinland presumptuously defined.

Reference was made again to Mike A (Washtay) who was described as a 3-year member (now disfellowshipped) who camouflaged his true feelings. I didn't get the impression from Washtay's emails that Washtay is part of the "scattering" (ex-WCG). Perhaps he was recruited by reading Weinland's first book "Prophesied End Time". Three years ago is about the time Ron claimed to be an End-Time Witness (Dec 17, 2005) and also put out his origin of Christ doctrine at the 2005 Feast of Tabernacles. At another point in his sermon Ron mentioned being blamed for a member's family problems, etc. I didn't see anything of that sort mentioned in the emails Washtay shared. So perhaps there's et another exiting member besides Washtay. And there maybe yet another exiting member given Ron's mention of his $381,000 home which was not referred to by Washtay. In fact, Washtay seemed willing to take on blame for whatever failings he had without transferring them to Ron. The problem for Ron was that Washtay wasn't willing to take on the blame for Ron's failings as well. I invite Mike (Washtay) to share to the extent he is comfortable his experiences as a COG-PKG member in comments here on this blog.

Weinland's theme and sermon title related to his commission, of which he has none. Reference was made to a January 1972 "Good News" writeup by Herbert Armstrong on his commission (which he also did not have). I looked at the Jan/Feb 1972 "Good News" and didn't see any article or personal by HWA inside it. Perhaps Ron can clarify, maybe it was a simple misstatement. Co-worker letter maybe? For those uninitiated in things-Armstrong, the "Good News" was a magazine sent out by HWA's WCG only to WCG members.

Ron finally dared to read Deuteronomy 18:20-22 but claimed that it didn't really apply in his case. Let's review Deuteronomy 18:

20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

So Ron would have you believe what he prophesied is true yet ignore when he prophesied that it would become true. Let's review for example what he said in his Dec 15, 2007 interview with Daniel Ott on "The Edge" radio program. At the beginning of the program, Daniel asks Ron if he is a "direct and ordered prophet of God". Weinland answers in the affirmative: "that is true". So everything Ron says during the entire interview is speaking in the name of God. Toward the end of the interview, Ron makes his statement that the USA would be "so far down the tubes" by last month that we wouldn't be able to inaugurate a president. Sorry Ron. The "thing" you prophesied includes not only the "what", but also the "when". During the interview, Ron promised to return to explain the failures of his prophecies, but that didn't happen. Daniel had something to say about that. Seems that Ron refused a reinterview back in July and Daniel Ott properly characterized him as a fraud. Not only is Ron a false prophet, but he doesn't keep his word. No wonder that the IRS is investigating him.

Ron went on to blather in his sermon that everything he stated in his radio interview was correct other than that the timing was changed by 8 months with the 50th truth. Somehow the "6-month marginal window for events" mentioned on the last page of "2008 God's Final Witness" morphed into "6 to 9 months" before settling on the approximately 8 month difference between his first and second timeline.

For his first timeline, Ron predicted "nukular" explosions 45 to 90 days after he "began his job" as a Witness at the 1260 day point (April 17, 2008) or by mid-July. In this his second timeline, he "rebegan his job" on December 14. Forty-five days after that was Jan. 28, and 90 days after that is this coming March 14. Also in his "Three More Weeks" sermon on March 29, he issued his "If by Pentecost" declaration in which he promised to stop preaching if evidence of the First Trumpet (destruction of vegetation and animals) was not clearly evident by Pentecost, which was less than 45 days later. So far we see no widespread destruction of plants and animals, but Ron would have you believe that our economic woes fulfills this since printed money happens to be green. The US currency does happen to be green -- is that the case in all the scattered nations of modern day Israel? (UK, Australia, Canada, and others.) It's been awhile since I traveled internationally, but as I recall foreign currency is a rainbow of colors.

Despite the obvious failures, Weinland maintains that he still a prophet of God. For a follower, it all hinges on whether you believe that Ron Weinland truly speaks for God. What evidence of that has he offered? Only his failed prophecies. The test that he defined for himself in his book, the deaths of 5 specific ministers, has not materialized. Not even in part, even though the first minister Ron predicted to die (Rod Meredith) is about 80 years old and has suffered a stroke.

Regarding Ron's attempt to disconnect himself from the "when" of his failed prophecies, where's the time limit? Otherwise, everything he's said will probably come true in the future, though probably not at the same time. Cataclysmic comets have struck the earth in the past, and may again in the future -- thousands or millions of years in the future. Ron, let's draw a definite line in the sand. Oh, scratch that -- you already have.

And then we have Ron's death curse against his critics and mockers who were to speedily die from the inside. His death curse obviously, clearly, includes yours truly. This is the 50th day since he reissued his fatwah, and despite that you see this post. So much for speedily. Those who still believe him are those who believed him initially and "threw down their pitchers" by handing over their life savings to him and breaking family ties with those who didn't follow them into Ron's PKG money pit to finance his prophetic delusions and his country club home. Also still believing him are those who were attracted by his Google ad campaign and are of an apocalyptic mindset.

I hope that Ron's followers will soon open their eyes to clearly see reality and depart from this false prophet before yet more damage is done. And that they will also ignore Weinland's mind-gaming characterization of anyone who dares to think for himself as a sinner. However, I expect that they will follow him into the 51st "truth" whatever that turns out to be and will also follow him into his 3rd timeline.