The UCG believes that Jesus is God. It’s just that, they think that they will be too. From Herbert Armstrong:
“By a resurrection, we become born God personages — personages just as our God the Father and Christ the Son! We shall have the entire universe put beneath our feet (Hebrews 2:8).” (Herbert Armstrong, The Plain Truth (September 1980): 40)
From the UCG website:
“Above these in the spirit realm is the angelic kingdom. And above all is the God Kingdom. God intends to raise man from the human kingdom, over the angelic kingdom, to the God Kingdom—the Kingdom of God. Indeed, in an ultimate sense, the Kingdom of God is synonymous with the ruling family of God, all members of which will share the full nature of God.”
http://www.ucg.org/booklet/what-your-destiny/life-gods-family/
They believe that they will “join” the ‘God family,” because the name “God” is a common noun, referring to many different people. Thus, “God”, according to them, or the “family” anyway, is reproducing new God Personages who will “join” the family. In other words, they believe the Godhead is open. Though, they make the Holy Spirit a “force” rather than a person.
“Now what could that mean? Well let’s tear it apart. If you’re filled up to all the fullness of God and your family’s last name is now God, in other words you are named a part of God’s family, well that can only mean that you can become a literal son or daughter of God, a full fledged member of His family, a divine spirit being like God in His eternal family.”
More:
“Your Bible shows that people were created according to the God kind, to be a part of God’s spiritual family. Now this may seem astonishing to you, that God is in fact reproducing spiritual children after His kind through humanity.”
http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-program/doctrinal-beliefs/family-destiny
I don't think you understand that the Worldwide Church of God and United Church of God are different churches and different organizations. Herbert Armstrong was dead for almost a decade before UCG started. They are different legally, in their government structure and philosophically.
I was never a member of Worldwide but from my understanding it had big problems brought about by many factors. Primarily I would say that it was caused by the very structure...of having one man being "in charge" of the church in what amounted to a lifetime appointment. When he dies, he "passes" it on to someone else. This is still a problem with some other churches of God in which the "leader" has set themselves up.
This is not the structure of United. United is administered by a 12 man board, a council of elders, with Christ as the head of the church. The board members are voted into office by their fellow elders. Each term is 3 years. The composition of the board can and does change. The board appoints the President and the president runs the corporate church. The position of president serves the will of the board.
The structure works to circumvent those who might attempt to gain control of the church and try to run a one man show based on their beliefs. In the history of United there have been some who have tried this and failed.
About the only thing that Worldwide and UCG have in common is some shared doctrine. However even that is a stretch. Much of what the ministers of Worldwide taught was speculation, based upon doctrine. In many ways this was the equivalent of the oral law...or perhaps oral tradition.
When you bring up stuff like "they believe they'll have their own planet" and other such nonsense it's based on speculation that apparently ran rampant and was often taught as doctrine.
The following is from A Brief History of United Church of God:
The United Church of God, today active with congregations in more than 50 countries, began as a formal assembly in 1995.
Doctrinal distinctives of the Church include the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, a New Testament application of God's Holy Days (which Jesus also kept and which the Church believes are a literal representation of God's plan for humanity) and a firm belief that Jesus Christ will return to earth to institute a benevolent, world-encircling Kingdom of God.
As authoritative historical records clearly show, a number of extra-biblical practices entered the early church within a century after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Recognizing that fact, the United Church of God strives to directly mirror the beliefs and practices of the first-century teachings of Jesus and the original apostles. This leads the Church to choose not to participate in common worship practices that were added without biblical mandate, including the observance of Christmas and Easter.
Many of the current ministers and members of the United Church of God were once members of the Worldwide Church of God, a nonprofit corporation under the leadership of Herbert W. Armstrong until his death in 1986. A subsequent unwarranted shift toward nonbiblical practices and beliefs led numerous ministers and members to leave the fellowship of that organization.
Concerned with uneven administrative practices of the former assembly, more than 100 ordained ministers developed a new administrative structure that was more directly accountable to members and the ministry. A new 12-person Council of Elders, elected by a general assembly of all ordained ministers in United, was tasked with reviewing and independently documenting all core beliefs and doctrines of the Church, which above all must be true to the biblical record and not reliant on later divisive philosophical and theological traditions that were developed centuries after the original apostles. That task has been largely completed, and the Church's formal Statement of Fundamental Beliefs is published for all to see on our website.
Both biblical and secular history record that Christians in the first century possessed a strong focus on what Jesus described as the "good news" of the coming Kingdom of God. In its efforts to mirror that first-century Church and its original apostolic focus, the United Church of God fully embraces and teaches the same message that Christ and the apostles taught. Indeed, the open mission of the United Church of God, reflecting the direct commands given by Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15, focuses on this dual goal: "preaching the gospel, preparing a people." To achieve this end, the Church publishes a considerable amount of literature explaining and outlining biblical and historic records concerning the plan of salvation and the role of Jesus Christ in that plan. The Bible makes it clear that the ultimate reward of the saved is to enter the Kingdom of God.
However, as the Church encourages and supports its prophetic ministry, it insists that any speculative comments regarding biblical prophecies be labeled as such and not taught as authoritative doctrine. For example, while the prophetic consequences of rejecting God's law are made plain in the biblical record, the timing of when these events will specifically occur is not. As Jesus Himself told the apostles regarding this, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority" (Acts 1:7). Jesus did instruct those who would follow Him to have a sense of urgency toward overcoming sin through the power of the Holy Spirit and to prepare themselves as if the Kingdom could return at any moment, regardless of when Jesus might actually return to set up the literal Kingdom of God. "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming… Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:42, 44).
United's Council of Elders, which also elects the president of the assembly, oversees the strategic direction and activities of the Church. In its commitment to positive accountability, detailed reports of Council meetings and other relevant information are regularly published on our website. In addition, the Church strongly believes in fiscal accountability, and its financial records are externally audited annually by a qualified independent accounting firm. The unqualified opinions of the accounting audits are freely available online for review.
I hope that helps you with your understanding of the relationship between church organizations.
On the other hand these are fairly accurate summaries of what I think scripture teaches.
Your explanation of my beliefs though is lacking in that you've added your own "spin" and tone. And you've left out all scriptural proofs. However I will grant that you did link to relevant information.
I would urge that anyone who has questions to follow the links and look at the proofs from the bible for themselves.
Bottom line is that I believe in absolutely what the bible teaches on these things as does my church. I'm proud to stand up for the practices of and beliefs of Jesus Christ and the first disciples and proud to belong to a church that does that.