Letter to the Brethren: July 2, 2015

If you are planning on attending Feast of Tabernacles’ site in New Zealand, contact John Hickey, email john.h@vodafone.net.nz; his mobile phone number is 021 519 441.

If you are planning on attending in Tanzania or Kenya or Nigeria, please contact Pastor Evans Ochieng, email evochieng74@gmail.com.

For more information of the various locations of the for 2015, including in those in Africa & Asia, check out the updated article Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2015.

US Supreme Court Decision

Last Friday, the US Supreme Court decided, in Obergefell vs. Hodges, to attempt to redefine marriage and ruled in favor of homosexual marriages across the USA (see US Supreme Court declares in favor of homosexual marriage, in spite of the Constitution).  Various ones applauded the decision, while those who have a closer biblical view of this matter were disappointed.  The end result of the US Supreme Court ruling will be disaster (see Supreme Court tragedy and disaster).

Notice some comments in Time related to this ruling:

Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito explicitly warned religious traditionalists that this decision leaves them vulnerable. Alito warns that Obergefell “will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy,” and will be used to oppress the faithful “by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent.” …

The fundamental norms Christians have long been able to depend on no longer exist. …

To be frank, the court majority may impose on the rest of the nation a view widely shared by elites, but it is also a view shared by a majority of Americans. There will be no widespread popular resistance to Obergefell. This is the new normal. For another, LGBT activists and their fellow travelers really will be coming after social conservatives. The Supreme Court has now, in constitutional doctrine, said that homosexuality is equivalent to race. The next goal of activists will be a long-term campaign to remove tax-exempt status from dissenting religious institutions. The more immediate goal will be the shunning and persecution of dissenters within civil society.  http://time.com/3938050/orthodox-christians-must-now-learn-to-live-as-exiles-in-our-own-country/

The USA is not the land of the free and those who believe in a religion that the elites do not hold to are subject to problems.

A form of media censorship has started to emerge as many do not want the biblical view to receive press coverage (see Media censorship on homosexuality).  A ‘famine of the word’ is coming (Amos 8:11-12) and more seem to want to hear less about what the Bible actually teaches.

Now that homosexual marriage is ‘the law of the land’ of the USA, expect this to be a precedent for other nations.  In this USA itself, besides persecutions towards those who oppose this abomination, realize that this is NOT the end of the homosexual agenda.  The direction that the majority on US Supreme Court took opens the way for possibly allowing polygamy, bestiality, and a lowered ‘age of consent.’  The fruits of the ruling are not good, and disaster is ahead (Romans 1:18-32).

One of the reasons that I decided to make the sermon What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? on June 13, 2015 was precisely because I felt that the US Supreme Court would rule this way (as I had written earlier).  The time may well come when those type of sermons (and perhaps that one itself) will no longer be allowed on YouTube or certain other sites on the internet.

The US is going in the wrong moral direction and many of its leaders are causing people there to err (Isaiah 3:12; 9:16).

World News Items

The Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma declared that the Ten Commandments had to be removed from the capital grounds as the display is now considered to be ‘unconstitutional’ (see Oklahoma Supreme Court rules against the Ten Commandments).  Following the lead of Australia and a couple of other areas, the State of California now has a law prohibiting religious and personal objections for parents who do not want there school-age children to be vaccinated (see Time: Jim Carrey Brands California Governor ‘Fascist’ Over Vaccine Law).

These decisions, along with the pro-homosexual US Supreme Court, are part of a trend for governments to decide that religious views are not as important as government views.  The final Beast will take this even further per Revelation 13.

Pope Francis sent a letter of support to the World Council of Churches (WCC) on the occasion of its 50th anniversary this week (see Pope Francis fully supporting World Council of Churches).  The Church of Rome, for the longest time, was not officially part of the WCC, but now pushes its agenda as the two groups are basically identical on their religious, political, and environmental goals.

Related to this, Pope Francis, like the WCC, is not satisfied that fuller unity has not been achieved as he wrote to the WCC saying:

“Looking at the present state of the ecumenical landscape and the world at large, we have to confess that divisions among Christians are there, that we are not sharing the gifts of the Triune God and the fruits of the works of our hands through the holy Eucharistic fellowship.”

Of course, the Bible does not teach a Triune God nor the round ‘Eucharistic host’ that the Vatican now pushes.  Even the Church of Rome did not have those doctrines originally as their own scholars admit.  Yet now, the pontiff wants to unify the world’s false Christian faiths under those.

The Vatican signed a document officially recognizing the ‘State of Palestine’ (see Vatican signs official recognition of Palestinian state; Revenge for not turning over the ‘Church of God on Jerusalem’s Western Hill’?).  I believe that part of the reason for this is that Pope Francis was not given the type of control of the ‘Cenacle building’ was constructed on the foundation of the original Christian church building in Jerusalem.  This building, possibly, could be the place where the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet will be when it is time to flee per Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:15.  Anyway, the Bible indicates that part of the territory currently controlled by the tiny nation of Israel will end up under control of those of Gaza (Amos 1:6-8)–the Gazans are Palestinians.

Over in Europe, there have been various reports and plans about what to do related to Greece.  Greece said earlier this week that it would default (see Greece says it will default, stock markets drop, Puerto Rico also may default) and it did not make a debt payment that was due on Tuesday.  Unless there are major changes, Greece plans to have a vote on Sunday about whether or not its voters wish to accept European austerity plans or not.  The time will come when more civil unrest will occur in various parts of Europe, including Greece.

A German report came out encouraging Germany to have a military industrial complex that is more independent of the USA (see Germany military looking to be ‘Independent of the USA’).  The Germans also want to tap into American military technology and try to improve it.  Others in Europe have similar ideas.  The time will come when a German-dominated Europe will successfully invade the USA and UK (cf. Isaiah 10:5-11).

Over in France, an American factory which is providing jobs and technology to the French, was attacked by an Islamic terrorist (see Islamic terrorist strikes US factory in France).

In the Middle East and North Africa, terrorism continues.  The group calling itself the Islamic State completed its first year of existence with that name (see VOA: ’1 Year After Declaring Caliphate, Islamic State Remains Strong.’ Tunisia killings are related proof).  The actions of Islamic terrorists look like they will be catalysts to generate support from the West and the Arab world (with Turkish and Cushite involvement) for the rise of a confederation to be led by one the Bible refers to as the final King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43).  Such a leader will arise and the Islamic State is unknowingly pushing world leaders to want it.

Yesterday, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff admitted that the USA is losing some of its military lead as he expressed concerns about Russia, China, and others (see General Dempsey: USA losing military lead; Russia claims USA policy is confrontational).  He, and many other leaders in the USA, fail to understand Bible prophecy related to the USA.  Because of this, the USA  is taking steps to prepare for a war it will not fight, while arming European allies who will turn into enemies that it will be defeated militarily by (cf. Lamentations 1:1-2; Daniel 11:39; Revelation 13:1-4).

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 letter via email will be a recorded one titled: The ‘Harbinger’ and September 2015. A written article of related interest is titled: September ‘convergence’: a harbinger of potential disaster? Other sermonettes are 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 letter via email will be a recorded one. The one suggested for this week is: Why YOU? Why Do YOU Suffer?  A written article of related interest is titled: What is the Meaning of Life?  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.

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 new 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.

Concluding Comments

The Bible states:

9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)

United, we can fulfill Matthew 24:14 and accomplish the work that Jesus has set for His end-time Philadelphia remnant of the Church of  God.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God