Dear Friends,
I am about to commence the trek to the Feast going to the various churches in
Asia and Africa, and to Turkey and Europe and then on to North America and on
home.
I will be going to Bali on a reconnaissance for next year's feast. I am hoping
we can have an Asian Feast site at Bali and sponsor the international singles
groups to attend there.
We will be able to get 9.5 night stays at cheaper rates with discount fares.
It is an interesting place and I would recommend that all singles start saving
now to attend.
We have the reading of the Law in 2005 and so 2003 is the last time we can spend
money in travel, so we can save for the Reading of the Law, which we are hoping
to hold in a place like Jerusalem if it is still there.
I am travelling to do a number of things this next month. I have a meeting with
a professor of Hebrew and Semitic Studies. He has found our works very meticulous
and compelling. We are to commence the planning for the publication of the new
translation of the Koran with the Hadithic false doctrine removed, and the original
version restored as the prophet gave it. We will then tie it into the Bible
and correct some of the English and other language errors in translation.
In Africa I will be holding a seminar of the leaders of the churches in the
African countries. It appears we have church groups now in South Africa, Togo,
Benin, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya with expressions of interest from two other
countries and Tanzania in two areas. I think that this is the first international
conference of the leaders of the African churches of God.
In Turkey I will make a series of videos and the Canadian Feast site will view
those videos and power point presentations on a number of topics.
At the feast in Canada I will deliver papers on the Original Doctrines of the
Church up to the Great Schism of 192 CE. In that work I will address the first
known creed and how it relates to the faith.
I will have power point deliveries on The Palace at Knossos and the Thera Eruption.
I will show the place of Paul's sermon in Athens. I will also discuss the Oracle
at Delphi with Power Point presentations. We will view Patmos and Samos and
The Palaces and temples of Ancient Greece.
I hope to have a presentation with videos on the seven churches of Asia Minor
and the Philadelphian system.
I will deal with Ancient Troy and the spread of the Nations after the Trojan
Wars. There will be a video on Troy and the Iliad that I will make with our
team in Turkey.
I hope to commence the history of the Celts there as well.
I will also discuss the consequences of the defeat at Gallipoli with a video
of the Commonwealth war graves there.
After Turkey I will deliver a paper at a prominent Scandinavian University at
which I have been invited to speak. I am taking Dr Vilks from the Baltic church
with me to speak also. I will deliver his thesis in English to the feast in
Canada.
I will then proceed to North America. This year I will work with James in Toronto
and with Dave in Sacramento and I am afraid that I will have to see the rest
of you at the feast.
I will proceed home after North America and I will send out the tapes and videos
to the other churches after the feast. Some papers will be sent early so they
can hear some, but the rest will have to wait until we have made the videos
and presentations.
I would like to draw your attention to some very important matters.
The capacity of the church to survive this coming tribulation is vested in our
capacity to work together and our capacity to agree on doctrine. The church
has the power vested in it to bind and to loose on earth and that is bound or
loosed in heaven.
If you can't see a reason for something then pray about it and ask for guidance.
If you can't take guidance then you had better look at your own spirituality.
I have said again and again, if you can find someone on this planet doing more
than we are more accurately then go an join them, as they must be the true Church
of God. More importantly tell us and we will go with you and put our weight
behind them as well.
It is forbidden to us to bury our talent.
I have noticed that we are often faced with new prospectives who wish to join
us and in so doing they wish to bring with them some pet theory that will alter
what we believe or teach. That was done to us recently and when put to the test
it was obvious what they were doing.
Most of these people do not consider that the pet theory they have is theirs
alone. Many of them are held only by them or are carryovers from the errors
of Armstrongism. Some he would not have tolerated at all.
Sometimes the theories are obviously logically invalid or should be.
Examine the motives behind a pet theory. For example, Melchisedek was an obvious
error that should have been seen by all. Armstrongism taught that Melchisedek
was Jesus Christ. Now let us look at the errors in logic and Scripture of that
proposition.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever
shall believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16).
For a virgin shall conceive a son.
He shall be named Immanuel.
Why would God send his son twice? Why would Christ be in Salem as king at the
time of Abraham accepting tithes as priest of the Most High God and then be
incarnated again in Mariam as the son of God?
Why would he need to be here twice? What implications does that hold for sin
and salvation and the doctrine of eternal life? What does that imply about the
priesthood of Melchisdek?
The answers are contained in the paper Melchisedek (No. 128) at www.ccg.org/english/s/p128.html
Another chestnut is the Jewish and Roman Catholic doctrine of the start of day
at the civil twilight called sunset when the sun was immediately below the horizon
when the medieval system closed down for the evening prior to its occurrence
rather than evening nautical twilight.
The Roman Church introduced this only a few centuries ago and the Jews had taken
it on board even earlier to enable a twenty five hour Sabbath and the traditions
of men.
No other nation observed this error even two to three hundred years ago. The
dictum was that day began at evening twilight. This was so universally. The
case is summed up simply as this There was evening and there was morning the
first day. There was no part of day in the beginning and there is no record
of slippage (See God's Calendar (No. 156) at www.ccg.org/english/s/p156.html
The logic here is simple. What does the Bible say?
What is the historical position?
What evidence do we have that this earlier time was ever used by the church
other than under Armstrong?
However, even he used to say that the day began when you can see the stars.
Other than Venus no stars are visible until EENT.
Both the Mishnah and the Koran are agreed that day begins at Dark when you can
no distinguish the colour of (blue and red thread (Mishnah) and morning when
you can distinguish the colour of black and white thread (Koran)). That was
the view of the entire Middle East for the first many centuries of the Church
and continued until the seventeenth century in England and is still the case
in the Middle East.
Where is the problem?
If one wishes to be dogmatic, one has an obligation to be correct. If the argument
can be sustained that the command to fast on Atonement is actually sunset as
interpreted by the civil dictums as determined by the Roman Catholics and Judaism,
which it cannot, the determination rests with the church to determine the actual
minute of the day.
Thus it is a matter of common agreement of the church, acting within the laws
of God, as determined by those charged with determining the matter.
Thus we are bound together in agreement. If one does not agree and one can prove
it then one is obliged to do so to the leaders of the church for its benefit.
If one cannot then one is obliged to let the church get on with the matter and
be silent. If one does not agree and cannot let it be determined, than one is
obliged to go somewhere else that does what that person believes. If they do
not exist, then you have to face the very real possibility that you got it wrong
and you have to repent.
If there is a church doing more tell us and we will join them as we say.
We have a saying, some people will render you every assistance short of actual
physical help. It is too true of the religious hobbyist. I have seen no end
of doctrine twisted to justify error among the hobbyists.
Please help and work together for the love of one another and the greater glory
of God.
Wade Cox
Coordinator General
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