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Letter to the Brethren: August 31, 2023

Letter to the Brethren: August 31, 2023

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Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

Greetings from Grover Beach, California.

We arrived back from Puerto Rico very late Tuesday night. Our first flight was so delayed, we were rerouted through different cities. Then in Miami, our second flight was canceled on the tarmac, then allowed–but it was delayed so much, it almost caused us to miss the third and last flight to get back. But we got back, so thanks to all of you who prayed about this trip.

Earlier this week, we received more translations of our English language booklet The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. So we now have it available in 63 more languages and dialects (cf. Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7:9).

Puerto Rico

Last Sabbath, we met with Carlos Aponte in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Carlos Aponte puts out sermons and sermonettes in the Spanish language as well as his mother Emilia who has been a long-time CCOG supporter, as well as a friend of the late deacon Richard Close.

We also met with an influential non-COG leader who has expressed interest in our teachings. I have been communicating with him for a couple of years now. He has claimed that there are many interested in our teachings in Puerto Rico. He has received most of our Spanish-language booklets and recently has been going over a Spanish-language translation of our English language book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Some additional seeds have been sowed (cf. Mark 4:3-20).

Please pray for more laborers for the harvest as Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38.

Rwanda

Moise Nshimiyimana sent the following from Rwanda:

Dear Pastor and General Overseer Dr Bob.

Greetings from CCOG Rwanda .We continue to thank you for the way you continue to support God’s work in Rwanda because Pastor Evans visited us last week and we were able to understand the gospel better. He trained us to look at the gospel of the kingdom of God , the history of church of God and leadership until Armstrong continues to now , the prophecies of the revelation , the difference between the church of God and the protestants , about marriage and the Christian family , how to lead the church as a real leader and the meaning of John 17:11-12 , Zechariah 14:4-5 and Isaiah 66 especially verses 18-20 .And then he trained us again on the topic that we were too late regarding the feasts of the Lord especially the feast of tabernacles , which we also understood better .However , in the meeting we held today morning on our WhatsApp group where we meet and talk , with brothers from Rwanda and Ezekiel from Congo , we decided that it is necessary to request that Pastor Evans come back to help us in the feast of tabernacles because it will be the first time we do it and we meet a lot of people . So that it will also help us , as value of CCOG in the administration in Rwanda because the laws of our country are strict about religion and church .We are satisfied and well placed in the Continuing Church of God.

Best Regards,

Moïse.

While we are glad that Evans Ochieng’s trip to Rwanda went well, we will not be able to send him to Rwanda to help during the Feast of Tabernacles as he is needed in Kenya–and I told Moise that after getting his email.

As I wrote earlier, yes, please pray for more laborers for the harvest.

That said, the group in Rwanda has a CCOG YouTube channel. Here is a link to that page: https://www.youtube.com/@ccogrwanda2493

Wallet Size Holy Day Calendars

We have long had the Roman calendar dates that of the Holy Days and other times the Bible refers to online. And that information remains available there. Here is a link: Holy Day Calendar.

While it shows date through 2033, the current Holy Day calendar from the Continuing Church of God that many of us have been carrying in our wallets shows dates through 2024.

For some time, I have wanted to put together a new wallet size “calendar” listing the first day of the sacred year (which is technically not a Holy Day, but is sometimes otherwise helpful to know), Passover, and the annual biblically-enjoined Holy Days.

Here is a scan of the front and back of the new cards we have now have:

We intend to distribute the cards at the Feast of Tabernacles in the USA and Canada this year.

We also intend to mail a card to the subscribers of our Bible News Prophecy magazine as well.

Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles will begin next month. We are getting very close.

Services are to start the evening of September 29th and continue until sunset ending the Last Great Day which is October 7th in 2023.

We ordered literature that is intended to be available for distribution at our sites in Canada and the USA. We are also in the process of sending out DVDs to the Philippines, India, and Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Rwanda) that will assist with some messages, including the Behind the Works video for 2023. We also included some Holy Day Calendar cards as well.

In the USA, we plan to hold services for the Feast of Tabernacles in the  Fairfield Inn & Suites Wisconsin Dells. Its address is 511 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965.


Fairfield Inn & Suites Wisconsin Dells

This hotel shares a parking lot, and has affiliation, with the SpringHill Suites Wisconsin Dells. Its address is 461 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965.

The hotel representative sent the following:

Hotel(s) offering your special group rate:
  • Fairfield Inn & Suites Wisconsin Dells for 99 USD per night

Book your group rate for CCOG Feast of Tabernacles

  • SpringHill Suites Wisconsin Dells for 109 USD per night

Book your group rate for CCOG Feast of Tabernacles

The SpringHill Suites Wisconsin Dells is supposedly a little nicer than the Fairfield Inn & Suites Wisconsin Dells and also is to have the option of having connecting rooms.

The rates for each include some type of breakfast.

The discount being offered to us is substantial as when we tried to book them for the period of the Feast of Tabernacles, the rates that came up online were about USD$50 more per night, so we feel that the rates being offered are quite good.

While we do not require that people stay at either of those properties, it is usually much easier for those who choose to stay where services will be held.

Congregants should already be saving second tithe so they can afford to go and observe the Feast of Tabernacles joyfully, as God’s word declares they should.

Do not put it off as time marches on fairly quickly.

You do not need to stay at the hotel it will likely be held at in order to attend the Feast of Tabernacles here. However, many will find staying at the meeting hotel convenient.

According to Tripadvisor, the Wisconsin Dells has about 118 restaurants and 110 places to stay.

The closest airport is Madison Truax Field (MSN), which is 40.56 miles away. The Milwaukee Airport (MKE) is 127.2 miles away.

If you have not let me know that you are attending, please do not delay and send me an email cogwriter@aol.com

The Apostle Paul wrote:

24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Heed the instructions above and attend if you possibly can.

Do NOT make excuses.

Anyway, for information on our sites around the world, go to the article: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2023.

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.

World News Items

Over in Europe, its Digital Services Act is in now place. It is intended to force Big Tech to remove words from the internet it does not want people to see (see EU ‘Digital Services Act’ in place: Yes, it is a prelude to the ‘famine of the word’). Consider that “the DSA bans targeted advertising based on a person’s sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs.” It appears that Google has now suspended ALL of our advertising campaigns with them. While I am trying to see if there is anything else we can do, the DSA is truly another step for the coming ‘famine of the word’ that God had the prophet Amos warn about (cf. Amos 8:11-12). I expect to report more about this next week.

The expansion of the BRICS alliance, especially because of the acceptance of the membership of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has caught the attention of the Europeans, particularly the Germans. Various German leaders are coming to the conclusion that the European Union needs to cooperate more with the current and aspiring BRICS nations as the USA is becoming less influential and its dollar less necessary for international trade (see German Strategies For or Against BRICS?).

While more around the world are noticing that the world order is shifting away from as much USA dominance, most in the USA and its British-descended allies are failing to see what is happening.

Concluding Comments

The Apostle Paul taught:

5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, (1 Timothy 1:5-6)

Brethren, yes, love is what the commandments are all about.

Because of that love, we strive to reach others and fulfill the commands of Jesus to reach the world (Matthew 24:14) and teach (Matthew 28:19-20).

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer