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Letter to the Brethren: September 22, 2022

Letter to the Brethren: September 22, 2022

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Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

Greetings from Grover Beach, California.

Our recommended sermonette video for this week, 5 Red Heifers and Year 5783?, has done well with over 6,000 total views on our internet platforms, such as YouTube, Brighteon, etc. since it was released on Sunday.

While we are being shadow-banned (made so we are hard to find) by Google and YouTube (otherwise that video may have had ten or more times that number of views), we have about 6,000 subscribers on the YouTube channel that would have received some notification and apparently most viewed it.

By the way, to see if we were still being shadow-banned, yesterday I did that a search which showed our video in the number 2 spot and a related article on the number 3 spot of the first page of Duck-Duck-Go. Yet, we do not come up until the sixth page with a Google search of the same search terms, even though our YouTube video had more views than all but the first search result on the first page of Google.

Big Tech is working to suppress our messages, which, as mentioned before, we are looking more at other media, like radio. Yet, Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled.

The Feast of Trumpets

Blowing of a Shofar


Statue of a man blowing a shofar trumpet

The Feast of Trumpets is almost upon us. This year it starts at sunset September 25th and runs through sunset September 26th. Basically, with the exception of offerings, it is observed like a regular weekly Sabbath.

Most of the Greco-Roman churches do not keep the biblical holy days that occur in September/October on the Roman calendar. Yet, these Holy Days portray many pivotal events in God’s plan.

The Feast of Trumpets not only pictures the coming of Christ to resurrect the firstfruits from the dead, it also pictures the terrible time of devastation just ahead and the intervention of Jesus Christ to save the living from total annihilation and to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

Let’s understand how this festival fits into God’s great master plan.

Consider that there is a major time gap between the Day of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets.  Since the New Testament church began on Pentecost and basically ends when Jesus returns at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:51-57), in a sense the period of time between Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets can be considered as representing the church age.

The fourth Holy Day, the Feast of Trumpets, is observed in “the seventh month, on the first day of the month” (Leviticus 23:23-25).

The number seven in God’s plan signifies completion and perfection. The seventh month of God’s calendar (occurs in September and/or October) contains the final four festivals, picturing the completion of God’s great master plan for us. The festival that falls on the first day of this month marks the beginning of the final events in God’s plan.

It is another annual Sabbath of rest from one’s regular work, and it was to be a memorial of blowing of trumpets (Leviticus 23:24-25). It is also a time to learn God’s ways (Nehemiah 8:2-3; cf. Ezra 3:1-7). Much of what happened to the children of Israel was written for our “examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

It is from the blowing of trumpets that the Feast of Trumpets draws its name.

There is a great deal of symbolic meaning tied in with the blowing of these trumpets, especially with regard to the end times in which we’re living. It should be noted that the modern Jewish name for this date, Rosh Hashanah, is not biblical nor even original for the Jews. It was something that they adopted centuries after God gave it to them and after the Old Testament was written (Kramer, Amy J. Rosh Hashana Origins. Copyright © 1998-1999 Everything Jewish, Inc.).

The Bible teaches that Trumpets were blown to announce God’s feasts, as well as to call people to assemble (Numbers 10:1-3, 10).

Interestingly, Jewish scholars have tied the Feast of Trumpets in with the ‘Book of Life’ (Peltz M, Rabbi. What is in a Rosh Hashanah greeting? Haaretz, September 17, 2012). Why is that of interest?

Well, the Bible teaches that those who are listed in the ‘Book of Life’ (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5) will be resurrected (Hebrews 12:22-23).  When? At the seventh and last trumpet:

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed —  52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

The Book of Revelation clearly teaches that seven trumpets will be blown (8:2), punishment comes upon those who are not protected by God (9:4), and then God’s kingdom and judgment will come (11:15-18). Finally it teaches that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will experience the second death (Revelation 20:14-15).

Furthermore, consider that the Bible shows that during Israel’s history, which was heavily punctuated with conflicts and rebellion, trumpets continued to be used as warning devices, to call to arms or as preludes to important messages — always to mark an event of tremendous import to the whole nation.

God also used the prophets, among them Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Joel, to warn Israel about punishments He would bring upon them for their constant rebellion against His laws. These prophets were to use their voices like trumpets to blare their warnings to God’s people.

1 Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)

We in the Continuing Church of God are working to do that today. We boldly tell of the sins of society and how world events are aligning with properly understood prophecy–which we also strive to explain.

But there will also be literal trumpet blasts coming in the future as the Book of Revelation teaches (Revelation 8:1-13, 9:1-18).  But most will not heed those warnings.

Many are blown in the Book of Revelation, and a lot were to be blown on the Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24)–hopefully many can see the connection.

But the most important trumpet, in a sense, could be the last, the seventh one. Here is what Revelation teaches about that:

15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:15-19)

The Feast of Trumpets pictures the future blowing of trumpets and the reality that Jesus will come and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth. The good news of coming Kingdom of God is a big part of what Jesus wants His servants to proclaim now (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20), and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). The Feast of Trumpets points to Christ’s victory over this world.

Greco-Roman historians, such as Jerome and Epiphanius (Catholica Omnia Tabulinum De Ecclesiae Patribus Doctoribusque Materia Migne JP Argumentum Patrologia Latina Volumen MPL025 Ab Columna ad Culumnam 1415 – 1542A, pp. 922, 930 and Epiphanius (Ephiphanius. The Panarion of Ephiphanius of Salamis: Book II (sects 1-46) Section 1, Chapter 19, 7-9. Frank Williams, editor. Publisher BRILL, 1987, p. 117-119), recorded that the ‘Nazarene Christians’ continued to keep the Fall Holy Days into the fourth and fifth centuries. They were also kept by the faithful Christians in Jerusalem who claimed the original Christian building in Jerusalem into the fourth century until they were stopped by Imperial authorities (Pixner B. Church of the Apostles Found on Mt. Zion. Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1990: 16-35,60).

The anti-Semite John Chrysostom specifically attempted to stop people from keeping the Feast of Trumpets in the late fourth century (John Chrysostom. Homily I Against the Jews I:5;VI:5;VII:2). However, those trying to be faithful continued to do so throughout history. The Continuing Church of God does so now.

Feast of Tabernacles, Tanzania, and Rwanda

The Feast of Tabernacles for 2022 is fast approaching.

Services for the Feast of Tabernacles are to begin the evening of October 9th and continue until the Last Great Day which is October 17th in 2022.

God commands His people to observe it, so if you have not already done so, please email the appropriate person for the site you want to attend.

For information on CCOG sites, check out the article: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2022.

On Monday, evangelist Evans Ochieng sent the following:

Pastor Dr Bob,

Greetings from Kenya.I’m back from Tanzania.The burial was well done. The body arrived home on Monday night and was burred on Tuesday. Martin has got a problem that needs more prayer.  One of his daughters was paralysed and is a great problem to him.  Because he is the only person who is looking after her. She becomes abnormal and needs more attention. So let’s pray for Martin always so that his daughter can be healed.I’m planning to travel to Rwanda next week and I’ll try to take a banner to our brother Moise. I will also carry some books with me and song books.I’ll give more details about them after meeting them. Though I used to talk with him through WhatsApp.

Evans.

Please pray for Martin Wanga, whose wife was just buried as well as his paralyzed daughter.

Please also pray for the success of the visit to Rwanda. I had suggested to Evans Ochieng that he bring a CCOG Feast of Tabernacles banner to give the Rwandans on this upcoming trip and he is now planning to do so, presuming he is convinced on their intention to truly be part of the Continuing Church of God.

Bibles to Haiti

Herb and Giselle Haddon attempted to get Creole language Bibles to Haiti, but the supplier would not ship there.

After speaking with them, I ordered Creole language Bibles from another source, then was told they would not end up where we wanted them. So, after cancelling that order, we were able to find Creole language New Testaments, with the Book of Psalms. And while the original promise delivery date to our Grover Beach office was supposed to be tomorrow, the supplier changed that date to sometime in late October 2022.

Hence, they will arrive too late for the Feast of Tabernacles.

It is now our intent to send Creole New Testaments to Haiti hopefully by the end of October.

Church of God News Email Newsletter

As many of you realize, a free email newsletter of COGwriter Church of God News is sent basically daily for those who sign up for it.

However, because of how the automated service company handles it, some who signed up in the past no longer are receiving it. For a week or so, I was communicating with the company behind it in order to figure out what to do.

To make a long story short, if you once got the daily email of COGwriter Church of God News and stopped getting it or if you never received it and would like to get it, then please:

  1. Go to the COGwriter Church of God News page,
  2. Look to the right side of the page,
  3. In the box below the statement “Get these news items sent to you on a daily basis” enter your email address,
  4. Then click the box that says GET UPDATES!
  5. An email will be sent to your email address,
  6. Then click the appropriate link in the email to confirm.

From then on, you should receive the updates. The updates are basically the headlines and first paragraphs of the news items at the COGwriter Church of God News page, with links so you can see the entire posts of those you wish to see.

Suggested Sabbath Day Service

Here is a suggested Sabbath day service for our scattered brethren and other interested people:

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. Some people have found that if their internet connections are not fast enough, that they can simply listen to the messages that are found at the Bible News Prophecy online radio channel.

IN CASE YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A ‘LETTER TO THE BRETHREN’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE MANY SERMON MESSAGES ON THE ContinuingCOG channel AND MANY SERMONETTE MESSAGES ON THE Bible News Prophecy channel. There are also some messages at the CCOGAfrica channel. There are also messages in the Spanish language at the CDLIDDSermones channel.

Suggested Feast of Trumpets Services

Here is a suggested Feast of Trumpets service for our scattered brethren and other interested people:

Here is a suggested Feast of Trumpets service for our scattered brethren and other interested people who prefer to have two services:

As far as information on how to keep the biblical holy days, check out the online article: How to Keep God’s Festivals.

World News Items

Despite setbacks, Russia plans to apparently increase troops in Ukraine as well as support referendums in eastern Ukraine for various territories to decide if they want to be part of Russia (see Putin sets partial military call-up, won’t ‘bluff’ on nukes, and referendums in the Donbas). The West’s belief in democracy is questionable as the USA and others have said they will not accept the results of a vote that has not yet even taken place in eastern Ukraine. That said, presuming some territories in Ukraine align more with Russia, that will be consistent with a sermonette video we put out just prior to Russia’s “special military operation” into Ukraine–here is a link to that video: Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy.

The Temple Institute’s announcement that “5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA” looks to be of prophetic significance (see Temple Institute reports ‘5 perfect, unblemished red heifers’ arrived in Israel–this could be a BIG DEAL!). Yet many misunderstand and jump to non-biblical conclusions (see also Protestants ‘weigh in on the relevance of the red heifer’ and Red heifers, MBS, and prophecy). Presuming that once the heifers (unmated female cows) get to be at least two years old and one meets the Sanhedrin’s red heifer requirements, this will result in additional pressure on Israeli authorities to allow the resumption of daily sacrifices. We know this resumption must happen, since the Bible says that they will be stopped (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11) just prior to the start of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22; cf. Daniel 11:39).

Supposedly, there has not been a qualified red heifer in over 2000 years, hence actually having one could be sign that we are getting very close to the start of the Great Tribulation as it may strongly motivate some of the religious Jews.

That said, the United Nations General Assembly began to meet in person on Tuesday to discuss its views on how to deal with various sorrows and troubles in the world (see CNN: World leaders gather ‘at time of great peril’ at UN; COGwriter: War, Food Shortages, Disease, and Talk at the United Nations General Assembly).

But they do not wish to try to look at it from God’s perspective, which brings the following to mind:

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows; (Psalm 127:1-2)

Yes, sorrows are prophesied for those who leave God out of the picture. Jesus said there would be sorrows (Matthew 24:4-8) that would then lead into the time known as the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21).

And yes, we are getting closer.

Concluding Comments

The Bible teaches:

2 … The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. (Leviticus 23:2)

Brethren, the festivals that occur in September and October are almost here.

The Bible teaches:

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

If you think you are a Christian and obey God, do not make excuses–be a Christian with all your might.

Jesus taught:

37  ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)

As Christians, let us not take the name of Christ in vain, but observe the same Holy Days that Jesus and the Apostle Paul did.

Do not be lukewarm (Revelation 3:14-21) nor deceive ourselves as we are Christians if we hear but do not take action (cf. James 1:22).

These are God’s festivals and we should rejoice that we have the knowledge about them and ability to observe them.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer