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Letter to the Brethren: January 18, 2024

Letter to the Brethren: January 18, 2024

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Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

Greetings, we hope you had a spiritually productive week.

We have been working on many things.

We received another 25 translations of our English booklet titled The Gospel of the Kingdom of God this week. The work of reaching the world with a witness of the good news of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:14) continues.

Tanzania Trip

Kenya-based evangelist Evans Ochieng sent the following related to his trip to Tanzania:

(Martin Wanga wearing green shirt)

Pastor Dr Bob,

Greetings from kenya.My Trip in Tanzania was successful. I met martin wanga and Daniel segera and other members. We discussed more about the growth in TANZANIA. As far as concerns the Church Hall in Tanzania, we came to conclusion that we are going to build it parmanent with bricks. So that it cannot fall again. The rainfall was too much this year in East Africa. And since the hall was semi-parmanent, it fell down. That is the reason why we came up with decision to build it permanent. I left the money for bricks and cement so that the building should have just started. Martin Wanga was having backache and he was asking for prayer request. Let’s pray for Martin.

Evans

Martin Wanga is an elderly man that I met in 2017. About 10 years ago, someone contacted me claiming to be him, apparently concluding that since I had not met Martin back then and since Martin had a good COG reputation, the imposter could extort funds, but that I saw through that and did not go with the false Martin. The real Martin Wanga got a chuckle out of that story when I told it to him (with some translator assistance).That said, we had been debating how to assist with the building situation for some time in Tanzania, but now think we have a plan we can afford that will work.

Another leader in Malawi has returned

Back in 2022, there were issues with Malawi deacon Louis Wahela, so we put him out of the CCOG. In 2023, he was recruited in the Sunuzi area by a ‘Hope of Israel’ representative. He has since repented, turned down a financial offer from Hope, and asked to come back to the Continuing Church of God. His stated reasons earlier this month included Hope not truly preaching the gospel, Hope having a negative and wrong focus, and that one of its leaders continued to display what could be called inappropriate behavior against the truth.

Louis Wahela and his related congregations came back with us a week or two ago, and he sent the following email yesterday:

\From: Louis Wahela <louiswahela@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2024, 12:15
Subject: I have decided to go back to ccog
To: <cogwriter@aol.com>Greetings pastor Bob, how are you doing today. I am totally fine and goodI write this letter to tell you that am no longer a pastor of hope of Israel church of God because I have seen that Terry and Alexander are not preaching the gospel but they are discussing how to break continuing church of God and use money to arrest mulozowa without proper reasonWhen he came to Malawi the meeting we had was about radson not spiritual and I told radson all that were discussed in the meetingHe further shouted at Priscilla for allowing his children to attend the youth camp meeting but in answer Priscilla told Terry that the children are worshipping with their fatherTerry has been telling us to witness in court so that mulozowa can be arrested and give way for the church to progressSince I refused to say that together with Priscilla he decided to take the motorcycle from me and they are planning to take back phone he bought for Priscilla and chiphangwi.The truth is mulozowa did not sell the Bible’s but Terry told us to witness about that so that after everything a reward will be paid …Thanks for welcoming me into the gospel remember that radson is very innocent but the only problem is hope of Israel is afraid of himI have done several meetings with radson and have explained many things to him and I believe he will tell you muchI have talked with pastor Evans on video call and he totally encouraged meNow that for me to know the gospel it’s because of radson not fosterFor example foster is a Sunday keeper, how can that one lead the work of GodYours faithfully

Louis Wahela

Note: The above are his comments with his opinions on matters that affected him and others in Malawi. Basically, he has confirmed a lot of what I have believed and have been reporting here on several of those topics. Foster, despite not keeping the bibical Sabbath, has been an advisor to Hope of Israel for some time now.

Here is a photo of Louis Wahela along with Radson Mulozowa and Luka Likuhava.

Louis Wahela, Radson Mulozowa, Luka Likhuva

Luka Likuhva is the CCOG representative in Zomba, Malawi. Despite improper criminal and other accusations that people should not have believed about him (cf. 1 Timothy 5:19), Radson Mulozowa remains our paster over thousands in Malawi and Mozambique.

Regarding ‘Hope,’ many there have believed and passed on tales in the past year that were not true. Hope is not thriving in Africa as many there have seemed to believe. Actually, it is my understanding that Hope has lost most that came with them there. And despite Hope’s leadership saying that the CCOG lost entire countries in Africa to them, that never happened. Furthermore, despite some of their assertions, the CCOG did not suffer thousands of losses in Africa–to the contrary, we gained a thousand there in 2023. Additionally, that does not count those who came with us with Sosten Libungwa (we have not fully assessed the number with him yet).

Spending in Calendar Year 2023

One project here has been finalizing our year-end accounting. We also have mailed out donation receipts to our USA supporters.

Regarding funds, Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21) and “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink … inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me (Matthew 25:35,40) and “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

In the Roman calendar year of 2023, ordinary USA income we received was down 1/2 of 1 percent. Our spending mainly increased in radio and literature production, and we were basically able to do that because of some extraordinary donations we had received in 2022 as well as no longer needing to provide financial support to Serbia.

We ended the calendar year with an additional thousand congregants in Africa, compared to the start of 2023–and that is consistent with prophecies such as Romans 11:25 (see also What About Romans 11:25 and the Full Number of the Gentiles?). The CCOG remains the fastest growing x-WCG group in the 21st century, hence we do have the fruits of a prophet (cf. Matthew 7:16-20).

So, how were funds spent?

In the CCOG we really do focus on others and reaching the world with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In 2023, we traveled to make and teach disciples in many lands (cf. Matthew 28:19-20), produced more literature, massively expanded our radio presence, helped the poor, made future contacts related to the final phase of the work, and took major steps preparing for the short work of Romans 9:28 (see Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word) as we work towards the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14.

In 2023, we passed having our English-language booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, translated and available in over 1000 languages/dialects (see also Preaching the Gospel in Over 1000 Languages). Nothing close to this has ever been done in the history of the Church of God from Acts 2 to present. This is something that is needed to help support the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14, Romans 9:28, Romans 11:25, the ‘Ezekiel warning’ (see What is the Ezekiel Warning?), and the ultimate fulfillment of Revelation 7:9. We also put out a free online book, Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?, which supports the ‘”Ezekiel warning,” as well as offering covering prophetic information related to the Gentile nations.

Overall, if you sent the CCOG a check for US$100.00 in 2023 here is how it was spent:

  1. Internet proclamation 7.30
  2. Literature 21.86
  3. Video and animation production 2.95
  4. Foreign final phase of the work 10.45
  5. Broadcast Radio 7.30
  6. US Feast of Tabernacles’ costs and US travel 2.65
  7. Administration and legal expenses 0.47
  8. Salaries, health insurance, and retirement plans for US leaders 0.00
  9. Support to Europe 0.23
  10. Support to or for Africa 46.79

Yes, our income goes to support the physically and spiritually poor as we work to fulfill Matthew 24:14, Romans 11:25, the Ezekiel Warning, and Matthew 28:19-20.

Here are some longer explanations of each of the categories:

  1. Internet proclamation includes paying for servers, URL fees for websites, video platforms (like Vimeo), and our Google and Microsoft campaigns to reach people around the world. The Google campaign made over 80 million impressions on personal computers, laptops, tablets, and ‘smart’ cellular telephones with parts of the Philadelphian message in 2023–this would have been much higher, but because Google changed its rules, the aspects of the campaign were put on hold by Google for many months in 2023. The Microsoft campaign, which targets 7th day Sabbath keepers, has had over 395,684 computer impressions since 2021, with 99,040 in 2023.
  2. Literature include the production costs, printing, certain translation costs (CCOG member translators are volunteers, but we also have an arrangement with an orphanage in Pakistan that we pay for those who volunteer to help it via doing translations for us), and distribution of the BibleNewsProphecy magazine in various languages as well as various books and booklets. The costs here also include formatting non-English literature in forms that it can be available on the internet as well as forms to allow it to be printed in the USA and Africa. This increased in 2023 as our number of gospel booklet translations went up dramatically. The good news is supposed to be “published” (Mark 13:10, KJV/AFV) and we are doing that in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
  3. Video and animation production covers the costs to produce the BibleNewsProphecy videos, CCOG animations, the Behind the Works video, and the creation of DVDs that are sent to some international locations for the Feast of Tabernacles. It also, sometimes, includes cost for sermon production–but those costs are normally negligible. These videos are one of the major ways we reach people in different nations around the world (as we also do via radio and literature). Because we mainly use free platforms, we do not have to spend massive amounts here.
  4. Foreign Final phase of the work expenses (professional fees, project support, government fees, and travel) are generally for non-USA matters (essentially long-term proclamation matters related to Romans 9:23-28 and 11:23-28; see also The Final Phase of the Work). We are making contacts and working with various government, NGO, and private organizations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. We were able to make (as well as better solidify) certain key contacts as well as attain information and opportunities which we believe supports the final phase of the work. US expenses related to the final phase of the work are in other categories (like Literature and Internet expenses).
  5. Radio expenses are basically fees we pay to broadcast the good news of the Kingdom of God on commercial radio stations. These costs basically doubled in 2023 as we increased our radio presence in 2023 by adding a USA network that decided we should not preach original Christianity, so we then went on another network as well as on a 50,000 watt FM station in the USA. We are also on AM and shortwave radio in Europe (which also covers parts of North Africa and the Middle East),  one radio station in Kenya, one station in Ghana (which is mainly paid for by the brethren in Ghana with some assistance from the USA), plus we are on a shortwave station in the USA that also covers parts of Asia (we are also on a radio station in the Philippines, which the brethren there pay for). Our online internet radio station expenses (we added one in 2023) are mainly covered by New Zealand (so not shown here).
  6. US Feast of Tabernacles’ costs include what the hotel charges for the meeting room and some travel and other expenses. This category also includes other US travel, which tends to be low.
  7. Administrative expenses. This tends to include a few office supplies, mandatory government fees, and telephone costs. My business office does NOT charge the CCOG for use of space, electricity, postal machine use, etc.
  8. Salaries are not paid to leaders in the USA. People such as myself, Steve Dupuie, Louis Rubin, Bill Wedekind, James Martenet, and our Spanish language translators like Carlos Aponte and Oscar Leal are also not paid—we all have freely donated our time. Nor have we paid wages for their spouses. Nor have we funded any retirement nor health insurance plans.
  9. Europe. We provided some financial ministerial support in early 2023 to Serbia. With changes there, this resulted in substantially less funds needing to go there in 2023.
  10. Support for Africa includes paying for ministerial expenses to reach and teach, travel to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, printing some literature, certain translation expenses, distributing literature, meeting space assistance, youth camps, supporting the poor (Galatians 2:10; Romans 12:13; cf. James 2:14-16; Hebrews 13:16; Isaiah 58:7; Proverbs 28:27), including widows and orphans (James 1:27). The vast majority of our members reside in Africa and many fruits are being produced. The Bible is clear that the fulness/full number of the Gentiles must come in before Jesus returns (Romans 11:25; see also What About Romans 11:25 and the Full Number of the Gentiles? ) and our spending reflects our seriousness in working to help this get accomplished. The results of these efforts continue to bear fruits (cf. Matthew 7:16-20).

The vast bulk of funds are spent to preach, witness (Matthew 24:14), reach, prepare for the short work (Romans 9:28), and teach, with nearly all the rest to support the poor and widows. It appears that never before in Church of God history have so few helped so many with so little for so long in order to have the impact that the Continuing Church of God is having.

More on our presence in various media can be found at the Continuing Church of God Multimedia page.

We strongly believe that whatever you send is well spent to support the Philadelphian remnant as we work on Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19-20 while we strive to be ready for the short work (Romans 9:28) and our part in the final phase of the work (e.g. Daniel 11:32; Luke 21:12-17).

The Continuing Church of God accepts tithes, offerings, and other financial donations.

Those who wish to voluntarily aid and support this worldwide Work of God are gladly welcomed as co-workers in this major effort to preach and publish the gospel to all nations per Matthew 24:14 and Matthew 28:19-20.

Our mailing address is Continuing Church of God, 1036 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach, CA 93433. Telephone is 1-805-574-1818.

Some have sent checks, others cash, others money orders, and even have used Western Union to donate. We also accept bank transfers.

We also do have a way to accept donations via VISA/MasterCard/Discover which is directly or indirectly through PayPal (which can handle many major credit cards). PayPal is a major way that many use to send donations. Simply click on the Donate button below and you can enter any amount that you wish to donate to the Continuing Church of God:

And yes, in the USA, donations are immediately tax deductible as we have full IRS tax exempt status per Title 26 IRC 508(c)(1)(A). For those who in live in the State of California, we were specifically-approved in writing for our request for tax exemption status there. California nonprofit corporation number C3558924.

Donations to the Continuing Church of God are 100% deductible in all the US states. Here is a link to the CCOG-USA office donations’ page: Donations.

Tax exempt status in New Zealand was also approved, and hence donations in New Zealand are also fully tax deductible. Check out CCOG.nz as you have to send donations to New Zealand for them to be deductible there.

Tax exempt status in Canada was also approved, and hence donations in Canada are also fully tax deductible. Check out CCOGCANADA.CA as you have to send donations to Canada for them to be deductible there.

Hear the words of Jesus:

 2 … The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10:2).

Pray for more laborers for the harvest as we push forward to do the work. Thank you for your support.

Suggested Sabbath Day Services

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.

World News Items

Some believe that the conflicts in the Middle East, Russia/Ukraine, and China/Taiwan shows that World War Three has begun (see MS: What Do You Call A War With China Plus A War With Russia Plus A Colossal War In The Middle East? WWIII. No according to Jesus: This would be part of ‘the beginning of sorrows’). It has not, but they are consistent with the beginning of sorrows that Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:4-8.

Speaking of Taiwan and China, Taiwan just elected as its president, the person that the People’s Republic of China was the most against (see BBC: William Lai, who China sees as ‘troublemaker’, wins Taiwan election). China has claimed that Taiwan will still become reunified with it, and I agree (see again BBC: William Lai, who China sees as ‘troublemaker’, wins Taiwan election).

There have been protests from farmers in the European Union (see ZH: The EU’s Worst-Nightmare: Pitchforks!). It is likely that protesters of various types will be a factor in the coming reorganization of Europe (Revelation 17:12) which will end up with power being turned over to a dictator that the Bible refers to as the Beast (Revelation 17:13).

The first official delegate selection for the Republican presidential nominees occurred on Monday. Do not put your confidence in any of them, but in God (Psalm 118:9).  Remember that Philadelphian Christians do not vote in carnal political elections (see also Should a Christian Vote?).

Concluding Comments

Jesus said:

8 Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:8)

38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)

Brethren, yes, we are to freely give.

With your financial support, we have been able to give the world many truths from the Bible, proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God in over 1000 languages, reach people all over the world on radio as well as the internet, teach the youth, support the poor, and preach around the world.

Please pray that we will be able to do more in 2024!

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer