The pagan holiday of Halloween is getting closer. Crime, at least in the USA, normally goes up on Halloween (see Halloween causes annual spike in crime).
In the past, we have noticed that we tend to get more than the average amount of views on our anti-Halloween sermons.
Therefore, last week, we produced another one.
As many of you are aware, the murdered Charlie Kirk wrote a forward to a book titled Pagan Threat.
So that, along with additional publicity related to Charlie Kirk this month, helped inspire the title of our latest sermon: Halloween: A Pagan Threat!
Feast of Tabernacles
Received the following email from Burundi:
Dear Pastor Dr. Bob Thiel,
Greetings from the brethren in Bujumbura, Burundi,.
We, the Church of God Continuing in Burundi, are grateful for how God’s works were accomplished during all the Holy Days observed in Burundi. We were greatly blessed by the teachings we received, which emphasized that people should be characterized by love.
We also learned that the Kingdom to come on earth will be ruled by Jesus Christ for one thousand years. Furthermore, we came to understand more deeply the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
During the Feast, we also shared these teachings with people from other denominations. Many of them believed in the good news of the Kingdom and repented. Among those we received and who repented, four are now newly converted members. We are currently teaching them the fundamental beliefs of the Church of God Continuing (CCOG). We can clearly see that God is about to perform great works here in Burundi.
We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to Pastor Bob Thiel, and also to Pastor Evans. We equally thank Pastor Moïse from Rwanda for his efforts in helping us become part of the true Church. After studying the Scriptures, we became convinced that this is indeed the true Church that still holds the testimony of Jesus Christ truths that no other churches teach today because they fear to proclaim or explain them.
Additionally, during the Feast of Tabernacles, we spent time with the sick and needy, sharing food and encouragement with them while also teaching them the beliefs of the Church of God. They were very thankful and asked us to show them where we worship so that when God heals them, they may come and worship together with us.
We kindly ask for your prayers as we are now preparing to go and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God which is coming soon.
With gratitude and blessings,
Pastor Augustin
That was the first time, we believe, that those in Burundi kept a Feast of Tabernacles.
Here is a photo from the Feast of Tabernacles in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
Here is a photo from the Last Great Day in the Philippines:
Let me add that the Lumpay family was involved in a costly automobile accident during the Feast of Tabernacles, but they were not seriously injured physically.
Jeremy Nicolas sent the following from Haiti:
Good morning dear Dr Thiel, I … hope you had a wonderful Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day with your family and other brethren. For us in Haiti we had a great Feast together but it was very rainy that disturbed a little cause our place is not correct at all, after that all went well. There is a hurricane here that’s make my internet is not good since the last week. We enjoyed the Feast and all brethren was happy and send greetings to CCOG.
May God bless your work abundantly by giving you strength to continue the beautiful work you do. I add some pictures of us under. Kind regards
Moise Nshimiyimana of Rwanda sent the following related to the Feast of Tabernacles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Moise Nshimiyimana also reported that they had 9 baptisms there.
Brazil
Adao de Amorim our host for Brazil was able to visit a small congregation that was 200 km from him. He sent the following photo:
Adao de Amorim wrote that they now wish to keep God’s commandments. That is great news!
Now as far as Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell goes, I suspect he is an apostate from a long line of Cottrells that originated in Italy.
Archbishop Cottrell officiated over this ceremony between the King and the Pope.
Let’s now, however, go over some historical items involving the Cotterells.
Now let’s look at some historical items involving the Cotterells.
Although the Roman Emperor Theodosius endorsed killing the faithful in the late fourth century, in the fifth century Pope Leo I (440-461) actually decided that killing those associated with the Church of God was not appropriate (Leo I Letter to Turribius). This was confirmed by the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which apparently decided that economic blackmail was better:
As St. Leo says, though the discipline of the church should be satisfied with the judgment of the priest and should not cause the shedding of blood, yet it is helped by the laws of catholic princes so that people often seek a salutary remedy when they fear that a corporal punishment will overtake them. For this reason, since in Gascony and the regions of Albi and Toulouse and in other places the loathsome heresy of those whom some call the Cathars, others the Patarenes, others the Publicani, and others by different names, has grown so strong that they no longer practise their wickedness in secret, as others do, but proclaim their error publicly and draw the simple and weak to join them, we declare that they and their defenders and those who receive them are under anathema, and we forbid under pain of anathema that anyone should keep or support them in their houses or lands or should trade with them. If anyone dies in this sin, then neither under cover of our privileges granted to anyone, nor for any other reason, is mass to be offered for them or are they to receive burial among Christians. With regard to the Brabanters, Aragonese, Navarrese, Basques, Coterelli and Triaverdini {17 }, who practise such cruelty upon Christians that they respect neither churches nor monasteries, and spare neither widows, orphans, old or young nor any age or sex, but like pagans destroy and lay everything waste, we likewise decree that those who hire, keep or support them, in the districts where they rage around, should be denounced publicly on Sundays and other solemn days in the churches, that they should be subject in every way to the same sentence and penalty as the above-mentioned heretics and that they should not be received into the communion of the church, unless they abjure their pernicious society and heresy (Third Lateran Council, Canon 27. 1179 A.D. Translation taken from Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ed. Norman P. Tanner).
The Coterelli moved further north because of this persecution, and ended up changing the spelling of their name.
Another report states:
Tradition persists that the family of COTTRELL (also spelled as Cotterell, Catterell, etc.) was among the first of the Albigenses to find refuge in England, predating the Huguenot movement (Bierce, Thurber Hoffman and Cottrell, Lisle. Ancestors in the United States of Byron H. Bierce and His Wife Mary Ida Cottrell of Cortland County, New York, 1962, p. 94).
It has also been observed that some of Coterelli (spelled Cottrell when Anglicized) moved to England and were also Sabbath-keepers who came to Rhode Island in the early 17th century (Nickels R.C. Six Paper on the History of the Church of God. Giving & Sharing, Neck City (MO), 1993, pp. 160-163 ) and some descendants continued at least three centuries longer than that with COG doctrines. Thus, it would seem that a succession through the laying on of hands has to have occurred, in at least one continuous family with Church of God doctrines, from 12th to the 19th centuries (Nickels, Six Paper on the History of the Church of God. pp.41, 161-163; Spalding , Arthur Whitefield. Captains of the Host: A History of the Seventh Day Adventists. Published by Kessinger Publishing, 2005, p. 198; The Memorial: Portraits of William Bliss [and others]. G.B. & J.H. Utter, 1874. Original from the New York Public Library, Digitized Mar 3, 2009, p. 127).
I have personally spoken with retired Seventh-day Adventist minister, Stanley Cottrell (who often lectures on church history), several times (7/29/08, 7/30/08 and in June of 2020). Stanley Cottrell specifically confirmed Richard Nickels’ account that his family came from the Albigenses in France, moved to England, Anglicized their name, came to Rhode Island in 1638, and were seventh-day Sabbath-keepers–though he was not sure if they we were in Italy, France, or England. I have also spoken to other Sabbath-keeping Cottrells who were related to Stanley Cottrell.
Some of the Cottrells, which seemed to be Church of God, arrived in North America from the British Isles in the 17th century. No later than 1692, we see a report that some were attending a Sabbath-keeping church (Leonard O. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS OF NEW JERSEY in Griffiths TS. A History of Baptists in New Jersey. Barr Press Pub. Co., 1904, p. 518).
I also personally saw Nicholas Cottrell’s name in a list of male, mainly, immigrants who settled in New England (mainly Rhode Island) and were Sabbath-keepers in what appears to be the late 17th and early 18th centuries (Dedication of Minsters’ Monument, Aug. 28, 1899. By Hopkinton (R.I. : Town). First Hopkinton Cemetery Association, First Hopkinton Cemetery Association, Hopkinton, R.I. First Hopkinton cemetery association. Published by Printed for the Association by the American Sabbath tract society, 1899, pp. 6,22).
A Sabbath-keeper in the 17th century, William Hiscox, endorsed the laying on of hands and mentioned one of the Cottrells (who apparently he had issues with) as he wrote:
The general meeting of the church at Westerly, Sept the 17th, 1698, being the Sabbath; Samuel Beebee and MaryCrandall submitted to the ordinance of hands, and were added to the church … John Cottrell, for some time stood as a brother in this congregation, and having for a long time neglected his duties in the church, … and having withdrawn his communion from us, the church do take themselves discharged, from their watch and care over him … (The Memorial: Portraits of William Bliss [and others]. G.B. & J.H. Utter, 1874, p. 127)
In the early 1800s, there arose another John Cottrell. Though considered to be a Seventh Day Baptist, he was not one in doctrine. Here is a report about him:
At Wende Station we found our aged Bro. Cottrell … Cottrell is nearly eighty years of age, remembers the dark day of 1780, and has been a Sabbath-keeper more than thirty years. He was formerly united with the Seventh-Day Baptists; but on some points of doctrine has differed from that body. He rejected the doctrine of the trinity, also the doctrine of man’s consciousness between death and the resurrection, and the punishment of the wicked in eternal consciousness. He believed that the wicked would be destroyed. Bro. Cottrell buried his wife not long since, who, it is said, was one of the excellent of the earth. Not long since, this aged pilgrim received a letter from friends in Wisconsin, purporting to be from M. Cottrell, his wife, who sleeps in Jesus. But he, believing that the dead know not anything, was prepared to reject at once the heresy that the spirits of the dead, knowing everything, come back and converse with the living. Thus truth is a staff in his old age. He has three sons in Mill Grove, who, with their families are Sabbath-keepers. (White J. Western Tour. The Review and Herald, June 9, 1853, p. 12,13)
The above are Church of God, not Seventh Day Baptist, doctrines–and he seemed to separate from the Sabbatarians who declared themselves SDBs and started to push, officially, for non-COG doctrines.
Let me add that John Cottrell is on the apostolic succession list of the Continuing Church of God for the period 1820 – 1850 John Cottrell–but he lost succession.
John Cottrell, based on a comment from his son Roswell, would have considered himself part of the “Church of God.” He did not have association with the organization known as Seventh Day Baptist for a number of years (presumably decades) because of differences of doctrine (Nickels R. Six Paper on the History of the Church of God. pp.41, 161-162). However, when he was elderly and influenced by his son Roswell, he fell to become a Seventh Day Adventist, so lost whatever succession he may have had by 1851 when he and Roswell both became SDAs. Note the SDAs were not trinitarian at that time, but well before then the Seventh Day Baptist organization was. Furthermore, it is not clear that the elderly John Cotterell understood various matters related to Ellen White, but perhaps mainly felt that James White’s idea to get Sabbatarian non-SDBs to cooperate was a good one.
There was also a Sabbatarian named S.G. Cottrell from Mill Grove NY that was NOT an SDA as he wrote in favor of the anti-SDA publication called The Hope of Israel (Cottrell SG. From Bro. Cottrell. The Hope of Israel, February 22, 1865, p. 5)–and he may have been John Cottrell’s son.
I would also add that, from another source in the 21st century, I was told that some Cottrels/Cottrells were in the old Worldwide Church of God in Canada in the 2oth century.
In the 21st century, a book came out by a woman with the name Cottrell that covered Sabbath-keepers in England in the 1600s, etc. (Cottrell-Boyce A. Jewish Christians in Puritan England. Pickwick Publications, 2021, p. 119). She reported on Sabbat-keepers like John Traske, who is on the apostolic succession list of the Continuing Church of God. She reported that John Traske claimed to get one or more dreams from God, was considered as some type of a prophet, kept the seventh-day Sabbath, opposed rote recitation of prayer, supported the poor, and stood for biblical literalism. She pointed out that some suggested that he had ties to the Lollards. Hence, that Cottrell pointed out that John Traske had doctrines consistent with those of the Continuing Church of God.
Also in the 21st century, the Continuing Church of God has sent literature to people with the name Cottrell who requested it.
So, why mention the Cottrells?
Several reasons:
They were condemned by the Vatican in 1179.
They went to France, then England, and some ended up in North America in the 17th century.
Some had the laying on of hands.
Some were Church of God.
Some apostatized.
We see a family that has had Sabbath-keepers from prior to 1179 through present.
One Cottrell, who seeming came from the apostates, Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, is now promoting unity between Protestants and Roman Catholics.
That said, more and more in the world are promoting the globalist ecumenical agenda.
When this happened in 1179, the Coterellis and others, resisted that.
We in the Continuing Church of God continue to resist that to this day.
Amazon Kindle
We were betrayed by ineptness and probably demonic influence from Amazon Kindle.
The Apostle Paul wrote that the faithful Christians “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Last Friday, Amazon Kindle said that they were suspending our account because supposedly we did not have the rights to publish the meditation book I wrote. This came up in the past, and although I did write that book and tried to show Amazon, they would not accept the truth, so we published that with another company.
When I appealed Amazon’s position on Friday and asked Amazon for specifics, it replied that they did not need to provide any. Early Sunday I wrote again, but Amazon further said its procedures allowed them to do what they wanted. Amazon, also, would not have me speak to anyone there to ask about the issues. And then Monday at 1:33 pm EDT, Amazon sent an email stating that they were removing all of our materials from their platform.
So, we are in the process of trying to figure out how to move all our books in multiple languages to another platform. This will be a monumental task and take a lot of time and resources. Although there are a few possible positives associated with leaving Amazon, this is a serious issue that may take at least a year to mostly (not entirely) resolve.
Coincidentally (?), I (without looking for anything bad about Amazon) saw that the following that hit Amazon within hours of it sending out a final cancellation notice to us:
Amazon said its cloud computing service was recovering from a major outage that disrupted online activity around the world. Amazon Web Services provides remote computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press. The first signs of trouble emerged at around 3:11 a.m. Eastern Time, when Amazon Web Services reported on its Health Dashboard that it is “investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US-EAST-1 Region.” https://apnews.com/article/2025-amazon-web-service-outage-zoom-roblox-down
The next day, I happened to have run across the following from the BBC:
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage on Monday made global headlines after knocking some of the world’s largest sites offline for hours. … the outage has also reignited the debate around whether countries, including the UK, are over-dependent on a handful of US tech firms. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jdgp6n45po
Interestingly, AWS typically accounts for 60–70% — or more — of Amazon’s total operating income (profit). If its latest disruption gets major clients to move, that will impact Amazon.
Anyway, that said, Satan does not want our information available and has influenced various other platforms to remove us and/or shadow ban us.
However, as the organization with the mantle of the Philadelphian remnant, we will move ahead. And working on functioning without Amazon Kindle is something that has taken up a fair amount of my time since Sunday.
Here is a suggested Sabbath day service for our scattered brethren and other interested people:
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).
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.
Scientists have announced that they have created a flu-virus which is 100% fatal to mammals (see Scientists invent a flu strain that kills 100% of mammals: Accidental 4th horseman of the Apocalypse?). I have long asserted that human bio-pathogen research was likely to be a major factor in the pestilential deaths associated with the ride of the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:7-8). This deadly flu announcement is further evidence that scientists look to be setting that up.
Yet, in the world, some seem to say, “Well the non-observance of Halloween is just from extremists as almost everyone in my area celebrates it.”
However, the Old Testament warns:
2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; (Exodus 23:2)
Jesus taught:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
So, God’s people are specifically told not to do something because the majority does something.
Actually, the Apostle Paul also made it clear that real Christians do not really fit in when he wrote:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
