Letter: June 21, 2013

Posted on June 21, 2013 by CCOG

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

My wife Joyce and I are still in Italy and are to fly back to California on Sunday.

Because of the schedule, very high heat, trying to keep up with emails, and traveling, it has been a full week.

We were able to go to Vatican City to video segments for one or more sermons.  Because of a scheduling conflict and changes with the new pontiff, I decided it was best to meet with someone related to church history at the Church of Santa Pudenziana instead of physically seeing Pope Francis in a crowed audience in St. Peter’s Square.

We hope to be able to do more video tomorrow in Italy for another sermon.

We were contacted by a COG-related group in Europe a few times this week who expressed some interest in the Continuing Church of God. At minimum, they appear interested in at least some type of cooperation with us.

World News Trends

There were two major news items in terms of trends to mention.

The first was there were a lot of protests in the nation of Brazil and still in Turkey.  There were also protests in other lands.  The time will come when  more serious protests will be seen in the USA.  There will also be protests in Europe.  It may well be that European protests will lead to the rise of the King of the North of Daniel 11.

Protests were a factor in the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ and hence seem to be playing into the rise of the prophesied King of the South.

The second (and related) major news trend to mention is that the current President of Egypt, Dr. Morsi, who ended up getting into office after protests in Egypt, made the news for something he said:

June 16, 2013…

Morsi, this week, called for a holy war on Islam’s Shia sect, which makes up nearly 40% of the Muslim population of the Middle East. Morsi referred to Shia Muslims as “unclean” and called for the extermination of what would constitute the majority of the population of Iraq, Iran, large portions of Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Nigeria, Ghana, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and a dozen other nations.

Morsi called for Egyptian “fighters” to begin a war on Syria, Iraq and Iran, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/16/309361/obama-morsi-plunge-middle-east-into-chaos/ (see also Egypt’s Morsi taking ‘King of the South’ steps, but…)

This is important because he is indicating that the Sunni Muslim nation of Egypt wants the Sunni Muslim nations to take over or somehow change the influence of the Shi-ite Muslim dominated Iran, Iraq, and Syria (though most of the people in Syria are Sunni Muslims, their President Assad is a Shi’ite Muslim).

I have warned for some time that the nations in the biblically-prophesied King of South are mainly Sunni Muslim, and hence this suggests some type of change in Shi-ite Muslim influence.  In my view, despite problems that he will have, Dr. Morsi helped set the stage for the King of the South this week.

Worldly Trend Toward Further Immorality

The next item I wish to mention is not a news item per se, but an item a sign of the times that I want to comment upon.  That subject is public appearance and dress of people, particularly females.

The Western nations no longer seem to highly prize modesty in female apparel (though female politicians tend to remain modest in their dress–and no, I do not approve of the trend of some males to show significant amounts of their underwear that their pants should be covering up).

The Bible teaches:

8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; 9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation…(1 Timothy 2:8-9)

Immodesty in dress is now mainly considered to be acceptable or simply daring, as opposed to being immoral by many.

What is considered to be acceptable dress for public display (mainly for females) continues to the trend to show more skin, more cleavage, and more of their figures.  This is not good.

Another trend, which is appearing in the USA as well as Europe (where I am writing this from) is the trend for women’s clothing to become more and more sheer.  So sheer, that one can often look through the clothing to the skin (slips and other covering items are often missing).  This is not a positive trend but is another that I wanted to mention.

The end-time sorrows and troubles in Western society are still in the beginning stages (Matthew 24:5-8), and will get much worse according to the Bible (Matthew 24:21-22; 2 Timothy 3:1-7), and the acceptance of immorality will lead to destruction (Romans 1:18-32).

Feast of Tabernacles

As a reminder, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles this year that you may wish to view from time to time as we expect to update it with more information as it becomes available: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.  Please think about where you hope to attend this year and let the coordinator for your Feast site know via email.

The Internet

Despite travels and research, we were able to make posts to the internet and handle most of the emails (though some email responses had to be delayed somewhat).  As mentioned before, we are reaching people in at least 215 countries and territories around the world with the websites and YouTube videos.

Suggested Sabbath Service for June 22, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on June 22 2013:

As the Apostle Paul wrote:

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.  (Philippians 1:9-11)

Brethren, you are in my prayers.  Please pray for our safe return.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: June 14, 2013

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

My wife Joyce and I arrived in Rome, Italy yesterday.  So, between that and various meetings, this has been a different kind of week for us.

We are scheduled to pick up tickets next week in order to see Pope Francis (in a public, not a private session) next week.  Since I wrote a book with him on the front cover, and have been keeping an eye on him, I believe that this visit can be helpful in many ways.

Feast of Tabernacles

As mentioned last week, the three sites that are currently planned for the Feast of Tabernacles (and more may be possible) are in nations of Kenya, New Zealand, and the United States.  There is also a group in India, and they will likely have something there as well.

We are working on the Feast and also sent an announcement out about the three of them toThe Journal: News of the Churches of God.  Hopefully, this may allow others with a Church of God background to possibly contact our leaders in each of those countries.

We also now have a link with information on the three Feast of Tabernacles this year that you may wish to view from time to time as we expect to update it with more information as it becomes available: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.

The Internet

We held meetings related to getting the non-English language websites up this week.  We also had meetings about how to better reach people over the internet.  We also worked on another English language site that we hope may attract others who are looking for the true church.

The www.ccog.asia website is now ‘live,’ but has only very limited information now.  This is intended to primarily be a Chinese language website.  Several articles are translated into Mandarin Chinese and we are working to improve this process and make more information available in the Chinese language.

The websites for the Tagalog and Spanish languages also have been worked on and we expect to report more on them later.

We have already reached people in at least 215 countries and territories in the past several months, but want to reach more people in them.  Matthew 24:14 is going to be fulfilled, and the internet is apparently going to be one of the major tools to better accomplish that.

World News Items

Weather extremes have continued to be in the news, mainly in the USA and Europe.

Also, there has been some backlash by the Russians (Orthodox) (see Russia takes a positive step against the worldwide homosexual agenda), Southern Baptists, and the Pope of Rome concerning the homosexual agenda this week (Southern Baptists condemn new BSA homosexual position; Pope Francis concerned about homosexual lobby and corruption in the Vatican).  Yet, June also being declared “Gay Pride” month with certain Protestant support (seeJune is ‘Gay Pride Month’ and lies are being spread) shows that the world’s churches have a certain division about homosexuality now.

The Pope himself keeps trying to push an ecumenical agenda, while also admitting that there is corruption in the Vatican (Southern Baptists condemn new BSA homosexual position; Pope Francis concerned about homosexual lobby and corruption in the Vatican).  He again made statements about his church being poor, which suggests that he intends to do some type of possible wealth redistribution.  If so, this may well play into the development of a religion that more of the world will willingly follow (Revelation 13:4,8), though others will essentially be forced to (Revelation 13:15-18).

Suggested Sabbath Service for June 15, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on June 15 2013:

As the Apostle Paul wrote:

18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.  (Galatians 6:18)

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: June 7, 2013

Posted on June 7, 2013 by CCOG

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

As the Apostle John wrote:

2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.  (3 John 2-4)

We had some encouraging news again from Kenya this past week as more there seem to wish to support the Continuing Church of God.  Also, the Bibles we paid for were purchased there, so now more people will have their own Bibles so that they can better study the word of God, and hopefully like all of us, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

We also heard from a couple of others in other areas interested in the Continuing Church of God.

Over here in the Five Cities region of California, we have been working on many matters, including the Feast of Tabernacles. While we plan to post more information in the future, this letter contains some information that we believe will help you with your plans for the Feast coming this September.

Feast of Tabernacles

Three sites are currently planned for the Feast of Tabernacles and more may be possible (we would love to have additional sites in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe).  The current three are in the nations of Kenya, New Zealand, and the United States.

Services will begin the evening of September 18th and continue until the Last Great Day which is September 26, 2013.

Some website links to outside sources are in this post, but this does not mean that they are endorsed by the Continuing Church of God.  They are provided as one source of information–and hopefully some of that information may be helpful to you and your family as you begin to make plans for the 2013 Feast of Tabernacles.

Ndhiwa, Kenya

In Kenya, it appears that the site will be in Ndhiwa.  This is an area in eastern Kenya and takes about four hours to drive from Nairobi.  If you are not from Africa and decide to attend here, please realize that this is not a wealthy area and is not a site for those who expect various Western comforts.  However, this is likely to be the largest CCOG-affiliated site, and will be a unique experience for any who do decide to attend here.

Here is what one website says about it:

Western Kenya is a beautiful region of great geographical, agricultural, cultural and natural diversity, with many tourist activities to be explored.

The people of Ndhiwa belong to the Luo tribe, a warm welcoming community with a strong spirit despite the challenges they face. Many lack things that we take for granted such as electricity, running water, sanitation, labour-saving devices, easy transport, medical care and educational opportunities. http://www.karibunicottages.com/

Our Deacon George Otieno sent the following today:

The hotel management are expecting us to book the rooms next month, to enable them do the necessary arrangement on time. This year the Feast of Tabernacle will be held at the Prudence Hotel in Homa Bay on the shore of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. Single rooms will be $ 6 and double rooms will be $ 12 per day. Children 18 and under stay free. The meeting hall and hotel are on the same complex.

Some call Ndhiwa the “real Africa.”  There are also safaris and other activities in the general region.  Ndhiwa is also close to the famous Lake Victoria as the above shows.

Whangarei, New Zealand

In New Zealand, the city of Whangarei has been chosen. Whangarei  is the northernmost city in New Zealand (though there are towns north of it.   Whangarei is the regional capital of Northland Region of New Zealand.  It is surrounded by some of the region’s most spectacular beaches and scenery, and is a relatively short drive from Auckland.

Here is some of what one website says about Whangarei:

From sand dunes to volcanic cones, from rolling pasture to craggy headlands fringed by picturesque Pacific beaches, our environment supports people producing fine foods and wide ranging art works, busy professionals and talented youth, all in a classic kiwi lifestyle.   http://www.whangareinz.com/about

For outsiders, you will want to fly into the airport in Auckland.

Santa Maria, California

As mentioned last week, my wife Joyce and I visited five potential locations in Santa Maria, California.  This week we spoke again to two hotels and are getting closer on deciding which one.

As far as information about Santa Maria, its Chamber of Commerce & Visitor and Convention Bureau states:

The Santa Maria Valley is nestled in the foothills of Santa Barbara County wine country. Located in the heart of California’s Central Coast, here you will discover beautiful scenery, championship golf courses, nationally recognized live theater productions, bird watching, pristine beaches, performing arts, world famous barbecue, our succulent strawberries, nearby missions, hiking, festivals, special events, and award winning wineries.   http://santamariavisitor.com/cm/Home.html

I would add that Santa Maria is not too far from the ocean or Pismo Beach (which has other activities) or the ‘Danish” town of Solvang.  Although Santa Maria does have its own (small) airport, many will probably find that it is easier and/or more cost effective to drive to Santa Maria, either from their homes or from the Los Angeles or Santa Barbara, California airports.

Reaching the World through Radio and the Internet

Because of an upcoming trip, I decided it was necessary to make three Bible News Prophecyvideos this week, instead of the usual one, as travel plans for the next couple of weeks would tend to make that very difficult.  This also means that some videos are being released sooner to the world via the internet than usual.

In terms of direct gospel proclamation this week, in addition to our websites and YouTube channels, I was able to be a guest on a syndicated radio program.  On it, I was able to discuss the Bible and weather, the moral decline of the USA, how certain events in the Middle East will turn out, and some of what has been going on with the new Pope Francis.

Regarding the internet, a couple of new articles were added in the English language.

Additionally, quite a few more articles were translated and posted to the main website in the Spanish language.  Also, more steps were taken to develop a separate website mainly in Spanish.  Because of the dedicated work of our translator, I believe that the Continuing Church of God has the potential to have the most widely read COG internet presence in the Spanish language, God willing.

Some progress was also made with the Tagalog and Mandarin languages since my last report.

World News Trends

Turkey was in the headlines a lot this week (Turkish protests: What’s ahead for Turkey?), and will be the topic of the recommended sermonette for this week.

In the USA, its Supreme Court decided that taking DNA evidence from people does not violate its Constitution (Supreme Court further gets rid of another right), while the Obama Administration defended its current review of the telephone records of millions (and more on the internet), and Scotland has its own database plans (Obama Administration admits to spying on residents telephone records; and then there is Scotland).   In my view, the USA in particular (with some assistance from its Anglo-allies) is helping set the stage for the European Beast power to rise up and control buying and selling (Revelation 13:17), and more (cf. Revelation 13:15-17).

Suggested Sabbath Service for June 8, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on June 8 2013:

I am striving to provide a balance of sermonettes and sermons on matters of doctrine, prophecy, and church history, Christian living, both to help better prepare our people to be able to support the final phase of the work as well as to help us all build the type of character that God wants us to have.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: May 31, 2013

Posted on May 31, 2013 by CCOG

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

It has been another full and busy week here.  In addition to keeping up with the thrice daily posts at www.cogwriter.com, handling multiple emails, and making the Bible News Prophecy channel video this week, we also began to visit hotels for a Feast of Tabernacles’s site in California.

Sites in Kenya and New Zealand have been finalized and I plan to report more on them later.

My wife Joyce and I visited five potential locations in Santa Maria, California.  We plan to announce the actual hotel later (it has not been decided yet–we are awaiting pricing and other information).   Although Santa Maria does have its own (small) airport, many will probably find that it is easier and/or more cost effective to drive to Santa Maria, either from their homes or from the Los Angeles or Santa Barbara, California airports.

Speaking of my wife, I received a report this week that the Fine Arts Hall, of the old Ambassador College campus, was in the process of being demolished (More Ambassador campus demolition).  Joyce and I were married in that building.  More and more of the old campus is being eliminated and there will be little physical trace of the old Ambassador campus after a while.

But the work of God is not confined to any building and must continue.

Reaching the World through the Internet

Here in Arroyo Grande, we continue to strive to reach the world with Christ’s gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14).

It addition to the news posts at the www.cogwriter.com website, some additional articles on the main page were added in English.

Also, more information is now available in the Spanish, Tagalog, and Mandarin Chinese languages.

World News Trends

Last Friday was initially to be called “Gender Bender” day at an elementary school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.  While they changed the name, they still encouraged boys to dress like girls and girls to dress like boys.  This, of course, is in violation with scripture (Deuteronomy 22:5).  This week’s sermonette deals with this and other topics related to the agenda of the homosexuals to reach children.

Somewhat following the lead of Australia and some other countries, New Zealand reported that it is considering having direct trade with China using with its NZ dollar and the Chinese currency (China and New Zealand discussing trade without US dollars!).  While this is not good news for the USA dollar, ultimately it will not be good for New Zealand either (though there are temporal benefits for now).

The USA discovered that some “unexpected” genetically-modified wheat was growing in Oregon (USA finds unapproved GMO wheat growing in Oregon).  This is of prophetic concern as I believe it shows that USA scientists do not truly understand what they are doing related to GMOs, and that the increased reliance on GMOs is setting the USA up for future crop failure and famine.  But it and its scientists are mainly overlooking that risk.

Suggested Sabbath Service for June 1, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on June 1, 2013:

We continue to do the work and try to support you, our scattered brethren.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Bible News Prophecy Magazine: Korea in Prophecy: Any Witness?

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Download PDF: Bible News Prophecy, July-September 2013 edition

3 Who is the Man of Sin? Is the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2 the Beast or the False Prophet? What does the Bible really teach?

6 Disproving Evolution as the Origin Of Life Many wish to believe that life randomly sprang up.  But what does the Bible and real science show?

9 The Canon of the New Testament   Many try to claim that the Church of Rome canonized the New Testament, but really was it not first known in Asia Minor by Church of God leaders?

17 Overcoming is Important  The Bible does not teach that we need to do nothing.  It teaches that God’s people are to be overcomers.

20 Korea in Prophecy: Any Witness? Korea has been in the news a lot in 2013. The Bible reveals the origins of the Korean people and their role in prophecy.  What is God’s plan for the Koreans?

28 The Fall Holy Days  This article has information about the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day.

35 When are God’s Biblical Holy Days? Here is a calendar of God’s Holy Days from 2013 through 2017.

Back Cover: Internet and Radio This shows where can people find the message from the Continuing Church of God.

 

Bible News Prophecy Magazine: Is Pope Francis the Last Pope?

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Download PDF: Bible News Prophecy: April – June 2013

3 Damascus Will Be Destroyed There are many problems in Syria. What does the Bible show will
happen to its capital Damascus?
4 Could Pope Francis be the Final Antichrist? 
On March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio
became Pope Francis. Could he be the final pope and antichrist?
8 Pentecost, God’s Spirit, Firstfruits, and God’s Plan 
In the Book of Acts, Pentecost
represented the granting of God’s Holy Spirit and the start of the church age. How else is in part of God’s plan.
18 What Should I Pray About? 
Christians should pray. This article gives some ideas of what to pray about.
21 The Canon of the Old Testament 
Many try to claim that the Church of Rome canonized the Old
Testament, but really was it not first known in Asia Minor by Church of God leaders?
29 Apparitions Claiming to Be Mary 
Multiple millions visit Fatima, Portugal from May to October each year because of an apparition. Did Mary appear in Fatima or anywhere else? Will apparitions later deceive much of humanity?
Back Cover: Internet and Radio 
Where can people find the message from the Continuing Church of God?

 

 

 

Bible News Prophecy Magazine: Continue What?

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Download PDF: Bible News Prophecy: January – March 2013

Table of Contents:
Continue What? The Continuing Church of God was recently formed as a corporation entity, but the Church of God has actually continued since Acts chapter 2. What is continuing?
Habakkuk’s Warning is for Us Today Around 2400 years ago, the Hebrew Prophet Habakkuk was inspired by God to write messages. Are they really for our time? What are the ramifications?
It’s All About Love This is a summary of the first official sermon of the Continuing Church of God.
12 Germany Wants its Gold Back Bible prophecy shows that the King of the North will get gold. Germany wants some of its gold back now.
13 Valentine’s Day: Should Christians Observe It? Where did Valentine’s Day come from? What are some of the ramifications of observing it?
19 2012: The Year of Extreme Weather According to various meteorologists, 2012 was the hottest and the most extreme year on record in many places.
21 How often should we partake of THE LORD’S SUPPER? Should it be weekly, monthly, annually, or?
24 The Days of the Unleavened Bread  Should Christians observe it?
Back Cover: What’s New?

Sermon: The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up?

Sermon: The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up?

This sermon answers questions such as:

Did God give humanity 6000 years to rule itself?  What have Jewish scholars taught?  What did professors of Christ teach in the second, third, and fourth centuries about this?  Does the weekly cycle tie into this?  Is the millennium the last 1000 years, for a total of a 7000 year plan?  When did the 6000/7000 years start?  What does the Book of Genesis help with figuring this out? When might the 6000 years end?  Did the Anglican Archbishop Ussher make errors when he claimed the creation was 4004 B.C.?  What does the Bible teach about this?

Details are also in the article: Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?