Letter to the Brethren: September 18, 2014

Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

It has been said that the older one gets, the faster time seems to fly.  It is hard to believe that the Feast of Trumpets for 2014 will already be here next week.  Because of that, I plan to send out a very short letter next Sunday or Monday with a recommended service for that Holy Day (which is expected to be a new one I will video this Sabbath in California).

Although I gave a new sermon the past Sabbath, that one is not the recommended one for this week.

Why?

Well, because of the proximity of the Holy Days, I thought repeating a sermon I gave about them last year was the timeliest decision to make at this time.

CCOG Canadian Registration

After coordinating information with members in the Province of New Brunswick, I put together 20 pages of information this week for the Continuing Church of God in Canada to be recognized as a registered charity.

The documents were dropped in the mail yesterday, and first need to be signed by two directors in Canada, and then need to be mailed to the appropriate government agency in Canada.

Presuming approval, this will allow those who make donations to the Continuing Church of God to be allowed to deduct these for purposes of income tax calculations.  This would be of great assistance to our scattered brethren in Canada.

We currently have similar approved registrations for the Continuing Church of God in the USA (via California), New Zealand, and Kenya.

New Booklet & Magazine

Last week, I mentioned that we finished another booklet: Where is the True Christian Church Today?  This week we got it back from the printers and sent a couple of hundred of copies of it to Africa (mainly to Kenya for distribution there, as well for those of Tanzania and Uganda, but one was also sent to Malawi).  We also sent copies to New Zealand, Malawi, Kachinland, and elsewhere.

We plan to send them out to most of the rest of you tomorrow or early next week along with the next edition of the Bible News Prophecy magazine.

Reminder on the Dates for the Fall Holy Days

World News Events

The Ebola outbreak keeps making the news as the threat from it seems higher than many have realized (see Scientists warn that Ebola danger is greater than most realize).  Jesus told of various problems, including pestilences to occur in the times near the end, but we are not quite to that point yet. And while I expect much greater problems than the Ebola virus to hit countries like the USA, Ebola may become difficult, including in other parts of Africa.  The U.S.A. and United Nations have pledged additional support to try to deal with this (see USA and UN both claim to be taking the lead in battling Ebola).  Consumption of biblically unclean animals, such as fruit bats, seems to be a factor in the transmission of the disease in Africa, though it can also be contracted in other ways.

The USA and others in the international community are trying to get the Arabs and Turks together to deal with the Islamic State (see Ten ‘King of the South’ nations agree to coalition after ten non-Arab nations agree to a separate anti-ISIS coalition).  This week’s sermonette is related to that.  In the Middle East, the USA has done some bombing, and there is a report that the Islamic State plans to try to kill Pope Francis (see US bombed near Baghdad, ground troops might be needed for ISIS, and ISIS reportedly threatened Pope Francis).

Another report became public showing how much permanent brain damage is expected for professional players of American tackle football (see NFL admits nearly 1 in 3 players will develop cognitive problems).  The sport is violent and harmful and should not be encouraged by true Christians, though many Laodicean churches oddly seem to support it.

Financial concerns and Scotland have been in news (see Interest rates to rise? Short and long term ramifications).  Today, people in Scotland were voting on whether or not to become independent of the United Kingdom.  The answer to the economic problems in Scotland itself or the rest of world will not be resolved no matter which way the Scottish vote.  Scotland and the world needs the kingdom of God, but most improperly believe there is a better, human, way.

Pope Francis indicated that World War III is happening already on a piecemeal basis, while Ukrainian Catholic bishops denounced Russia (see Pope Francis objecting to current ‘piecemeal’ World War III; Vatican radio reports bishops blasting Russia for blood in Ukraine).  Shortly thereafter, the Kiev government in Ukraine announced steps to increase autonomy for the eastern region of its country, it also hosted NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) exercises this week, despite not being a member of NATO (see Kiev proposes more autonomy for its east, while it tries to get closer to the West).  Ukraine also made additional overtures towards the European Union.  The steps that Ukraine has taken, to use an American expression, are putting itself, “between a rock and a hard place.”  It wants to be in the European Union, does not want to lose its eastern region, nor does it want to provoke Russia so much that it will simply takeover/annex the east, or even more, of Ukraine.  Prophetically, the leaders of the descendents of the Medes that are in Russia, Crimea, and Ukraine will turn against the end time European Babylonian beast power (Jeremiah 51:11-30).  War is in the future for the Europeans, Ukrainians, and Russians.

Counter Terrorism Measures May Eventually Affect the Work

While we deplore the killing and destruction caused by groups like the Islamic State, some of the solutions that governments propose will likely affect the work.

Government officials are growing increasingly concerned about the Islamic State, its use of the internet, and what are called ‘homegrown’ terrorists.  Notice the following:

How Islamic State is wielding the Internet in new ways

September 17, 2014

New York —  American law-enforcement officials have expressed growing concern about the threat of homegrown terror this week as federal prosecutors announced the indictment of a New York man, Mufid Elfgeeh, who is accused of having offered support to the rogue Islamic State, which is creating havoc in Iraq and Syria. …

New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said the nation’s largest police force has been trying to stay ahead of an “evolving world of terrorism” – especially terror groups’ growing sophistication with the use of social media to promote their message and recruit potential “lone wolf” American terrorists.

On the one hand, experts caution that terrorist propaganda and recruitment efforts online is nothing new. But even as a handful of Americans attempt to get more engaged with extremist groups, media observers say IS has become one of most sophisticated social media operations yet seen. …

“I think that what’s new is the sophistication and focus of the groups like ISIS,” says Nicco Mele, a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in Boston, who focuses on the intersection of media, politics, and power in the digital age. “The frequency and quality and quantity of what’s happening here is significant – it’s sophisticated, clearly planned, and executed with a well-oiled team.”  http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Cyber-Conflict-Monitor/2014/0917/How-Islamic-State-is-wielding-the-Internet-in-new-ways

September 15, 2014

The Department of Justice and the White House have launched a program in some U.S. cities to identify and apprehend violent extremists and homegrown terrorists before they strike.

The effort brings together community representatives, public safety officials, religious leaders, and federal law enforcement in support of the nation’s counter-terrorism effort, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder said the emergence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, where some American have attempted to go in order to join the extremist militants, underscores the urgent nature of the threat Americans face from violent extremists.

The new security program is a coordinated effort of the U.S. Department of Justice, the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center.  http://www.voanews.com/content/us-launches-program-to-apprehend-homegrown-terrorists-/2450449.html

The Bible talks about the fact that God will finish the work and cut it short (Roman 9:28). Notice also the following which could be related to that:

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)

The above could only happen in the 21st century if something like the internet was down and/or internet content related to the truth of God was no longer permitted. Governments are taking steps, including espionage and cyber warfare research, which could bring that about. Having a new security program.

I believe that the warning in Amos 8:11-12 is a reference to at least a coming internet censorship. This is likely to start just before the start of the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), also called the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21).

Perhaps under the guise of “The Patriot Act,” perhaps under the guise of “public welfare,” perhaps because of alleged “intolerance,” calling parts of the COG message “hate speech” and/or national security threats/terrorism/concerns/issues, something will be done to stop perhaps all of the organized media efforts to proclaim biblical truths. A short work will be done (Romans 10:14-15), which will trigger the end (Matthew 24:14), and likely then the famine of the word (Amos 8:11-12).

Those on Satan’s side will try to silence those who stand for the Bible (cf. Daniel 7:25), and while there will be some ‘successes’ that way, God’s plan will be implemented and ultimately, His kingdom will come (cf. Daniel 7:26-27).

The ‘political correctness’ movement has already affected the UK and USA, but, sadly, has more steps to go (see also The Final Phase of the Work and Persecutions by Church and State).

Even though the Islamic State is a terrorist threat, the end result of items such as the new coordinated security program that the USA is implementing to monitor potential ‘homegrown terrorists’ will be an improper use of government authority.  Part of this will ultimately hurt the USA and UK as those governments will also take steps in the future to discredit more and more of the message of the Bible.

We are getting closer to the time of the final fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 and the ‘famine of the word’ that Amos the prophet described. Until then, we in the Continuing Church of God will continue to work to get the message out.

Suggested Sabbath Service

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services this week:

• 2-3 hymns (our songbook, The Bible Hymnal, contains the materials from the 1974 Bible Hymnal from the old WCG with new covers, plus ten additional hymns; there is also some Choral Accompaniment online).
• Opening prayer.
• Sermonette, which for most who receive this emailed-letter will be a recorded one:Obama Administration Pushing for an Islamic Empire? A distantly related written item would be: Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel. Other sermonettes are also available at the Bible News Prophecy channel.
• Announcements (if any; though for many it will be this letter) and one hymn.
• Sermon, which for most who receive this emailed-letter will be a recorded one. The one suggested for this week is: Should you keep the Fall Holy Days? A related written article is titled: Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days? Other sermons are also available at the ContinuingCOG channel.
• Final hymn.
• Closing prayer.

Note: If you have a slow internet connection, you can watch these by starting the video, then below it (and towards the right) look for an outline of a gear–if you click on that, it will allow the YouTube video to be played with lower video quality, but at least it will not stop often–you can select a quality as low as 144p.

If your internet connection is still too slow (as my home one is) and/or you prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played. This is an option we have made available (but we are also looking into ways to improve that as well)–and, of course, we have written article options that we list each week.

Concluding Comments

Notice that the Apostle Paul wrote: