To All Who Are Considering Joining the Restored Church of God

Do you feel you have finally found “God’s true church” and that it is Restored Church of God? Have you been thinking that David Pack teaches directly from the Bible and it all makes sense? Is he telling the truth when he proclaims that, “God’s Truth has been Restored” or “Learn where God’s Work is,” and it’s found in RCG? Does he say his organization is “the original WCG”? Would you not be afraid to declare that you have subsequently proved everything he says is true?

If you don’t understand the proper biblical methods to use in discerning truth from error, and don’t know how to detect a false teacher / false prophet, you are left at the mercy of those who are able to deceive you for their own power and gain. You will be unaware when scriptures are cleverly taken out of context and reinterpreted (twisted) for the sole purpose of exploiting you financially and controlling your life, including the way you think and behave!

What Will Happen?

Let’s understand some of the things that will happen once you decide to become a member of the Restored Church of God.

First, you will be expected to obey and believe everything David Pack (who believes he is unique) tells you. You will have to agree that Pack is an Apostle and that he is the Elijah (he previously believed that Herbert Armstrong was the Elijah).

In order to attend RCG services, you will have to first have a RCG minister contact you and you will also have to tell what you have read or viewed from the RCG library.

You will be taught that the United States and Britain are modern-day Israel.

You will discover that you have to pay not just one, but three tithes. This means not only a first tithe to RCG headquarters but you will be expected to save a SECOND tithe during the year in order to attend the Feast of Tabernacles (an O. T. festival given to the nation Israel), where you must take time off from your job, travel miles away to attend, listen to daily sermons for 8 days, and turn in generous offerings (which go to David Pack). Offerings are also expected during the year, including special ones on all seven O.T. feast days which are observed. If this wasn’t enough, you will also be commanded to send in a THIRD tithe every third and sixth years out of seven. (But yet you won’t be given a detailed financial statement so you can see how all this money is being spent.)

And if you have young children who will be brought into RCG with you, you might want to read some of the testimonies on our Child Survivor section because what they endured is most likely what your own children will experience since RCG strictly follows Herbert Armstrong’s teachings. RCG runs Ambassador Youth Camp for their teenagers in the summer (which would be similar to Worldwide Church of God’s S.E.P. )1 and publishes Ambassador Youth a bi-monthly magazine for their teens. RCG’s two-year college is Ambassador Center (AC). RCG’s goal for the youth is to recruit them into their exclusive organization.

If You Fail to Obey

If you fail to obey everything the RCG minister instructs you to do (which is all that Pack teaches), you will either be told you have a bad attitude and you need to repent, or you will be told you are not, and have never been, converted and hence never received the Holy Spirit. In the latter case, you will have to be re-baptized or you will be put out.

If you are baptized and you ever leave RCG, or are disfellowshipped, the teaching is that there will be no more opportunity for salvation for you because you have already had your “one and only chance” or calling (through Dave Pack and “the only Church in which Christ is now working”). If you don’t repent and come back to RCG, according to them, the only thing you have to look forward to is the Great Tribulation and the Lake of Fire.

You will also learn that obedient members in Restored Church of God will “be taken to a place of safety” before the Great Tribulation (which is what Worldwide Church of God taught, and now many of the other splinter groups), but if you have not been faithful you will be “left to suffer the horrors” and perhaps even the wrath of God. (Also read: Philadelphia Church of God and the Place of Safety which includes some logical questions that will help us see that none of these “churches of God” will be “fleeing to a place of safety.” In addition, be sure and read: Did Herbert Armstrong Set Dates?)

These are fear tactics and lies and we show on many places on our site that Christ will never forsake those who have accepted and trusted in Him as their personal Savior.

Research the Background

Take time out to research the background of Restored Church of God and Herbert W. Armstrong. RCG is an offshoot of Worldwide Church of God which was founded by Herbert Armstrong in 1934. Find out who Herbert Armstrong (whom Pack highly reveres) was, including where he got his unique doctrines from, whether or not he was a hypocrite, and how he treated those under him, as RCG will not be upfront with you concerning this. We have much information on both subjects in our Herbert W. Armstrong section and in Worldwide Church of God Expose`.

Perhaps you started out searching for “the truth,” or were disappointed in other churches, confused or lonely, or simply became interested in the end time prophecies Dave Pack speaks on. (NOTE: David Pack is considered a false prophet and it only takes one false prophecy to make a false prophet. Read: David Pack Rewrites His Special Announcements After Prophecy Fails and also see Update at the end)

We hope you will heed this warning now in order that you may be spared the heartache and broken promises you will surely receive in due time!

Much Discernment is Needed

Pray for the spirit of discernment and let the Spirit of Christ open your mind.

Below I have posted the same words found at the end of the above mentioned article except it has “Philadelphia Church of God” changed to “Restored Church of God” since it is applicable to RCG.

By D. M. Williams
Exit & Support Network™
Updated February 5, 2018

Footnote:

1 In 2019 Grace Communion International (GCI) cancelled all future S.E.P. regional camps. In 2021 they were open again.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ”
~Matthew 7:15

What if I Am Becoming Hooked on Restored Church of God Literature and Videos?

Be sure and educate yourself on the mind control methods that are used in exclusive groups to draw people in and to keep them from leaving. Understand that there are many others besides Restored Church of God (not just Armstrong offshoots) that also believe “the Kingdom of God is coming soon” and which declare their church is the “only one” which has received “God’s truths,” the “restored gospel,” etc., and are the “special and chosen,” “the only true Christians,” and who alone are “doing the Work of God.” These groups also all teach that members who leave their fellowship (and who do not repent and return) have lost their chance at eternal life. With their teachings come guilt, shame, and fear to compel people to send in tithes (in most cases three tithes are commanded) and offerings, spend lots of time doing things for the group, and believing that all who don’t follow their beliefs and teachings are “deceived by Satan” and are lost.

The pull to believe David Pack’s teachings and to think you are finding hidden mysteries, truths, or understanding prophecies for the last days, can be very strong, almost like an addiction, but look at the fruits. Even in the early years when HWA was teaching all the things that the leadership said was from God, he was living a hypocritical, immoral life and his ministers under him were abusing thousands of people. (See our Booklist to learn more about this.) Many of us who went into WCG in those years were thrilled to find these teachings, which we called “God’s truth.” We did not know upfront what the organization was all about; we didn’t understand thought reform and how it was being used on us, and we didn’t know we were going to be used and manipulated as deceptive, abusive groups keep much of their information hidden until one becomes a member.

Will Not Receive What is Promised

Most who are drawn to these exclusive groups desire to become highly dedicated Christians, with a goal and purpose in life, but they end up receiving something entirely different than what they were promised–psychological and spiritual abuse, along with financial exploitation. Read some of the true letters and stories on our site about what others have said happened to them after they went into RCG (or were involved with it). The control that RCG (and a similar authoritarian splinter group) exerts over people’s lives ends up crushing them.

Right now, you are freely reading these webpages, but realize that if you join RCG, you will be forbidden by the RCG ministers to even look at any articles on the Internet that are considered critical of the group or the teachings. This is what is known as “milieu control,” and high demand, deceptive religious groups all use it. Once you become a member, if you go against their teachings and instructions, you will be warned of your “government problem,” and if you still don’t change, you will be disfellowshipped and told you are headed towards the lake of fire. These are all things you need to consider now, instead of waiting until it is too late.

Jesus said His burden was light. (Matthew 11:28-30) He tells us that no man can take us out of His hand. (John 10:28) But Restored Church of God will end up making you believe that your salvation is contingent on your staying in their “one true church.”

God Will Speak to You Through His Word

God will speak to you about His true gospel if you ask Him–and He speaks through His Word, not through additional literature that is considered “the Truth.” You can sincerely pray and ask Him to show you the way to eternal life. The message of salvation is the same as it’s been down through history: Turn to God and trust Jesus as your personal Savior. Jesus will come to live in you and you will have loving, close fellowship with Him. God will see you as in Christ. Look to Him, not to any man who makes you think he has all the answers and who will end up controlling every aspect of your life. Jesus will never forsake you and will always be there for you.

By D. M. Williams
Exit & Support Network™

UPDATE: Abiding Church of God is a splinter group of Restored Church of God (2016 letter to ESN)

“…that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”
~II Timothy 2:26