Sabbath 27/8/28/120
Dear Friends,
We are called to the faith as servants of the One True God in Jesus Christ. Between now and the year 2027 we will all see a great struggle over the government of the planet and the implementation of God’s will on earth. The period of great turmoil is the cause of much speculation and misinformation. Make no mistake, the God of this world, who is Satan, is doing everything he can to undermine the coming transfer of administration and to negate the work of God under Jesus Christ in that process now ahead of us.
In the period ahead we will see a new system set up under Jesus Christ as King and Morning Star or Day Star in replacement of the current Morning Star, Satan, who is to be bound for a thousand years over the period of our administration. (See the paper Outline Timetable of the Age (No. 272)).
Satan and the demonic host are to be judged by our activities and the way in which we implement the tasks we are given to do (see the paper Judgment of the Demons (No. 80)).
How then should we perform or conduct ourselves? We are called and chosen from among the weak and the base of the world to confound the mighty of this age. We are called to be a nation of kings and priests. We are to be set aside as servants of the living God and the emissaries of the King of the age to come, namely Jesus Christ, to whom every knee shall bow. Christ himself, when he has subjugated the planet, will deliver the human creation to God who made him and set him over that creation. We ought then to carry ourselves as worthy ambassadors for God and Christ before all men at all times.
We should be all things to all men in the correct way. We should be able to give an answer of the hope that lies within us. Thus, we should be established in sound doctrine and able to expound the doctrines of the Church of God to all men. Not that we should be debaters or suffer debaters to harass us with their idle banter. The debater is worthy of death in his misuse of the word of God and disdain for the water of the word with which we are all washed.
What then should we as ambassadors of God and Christ do? We should be presentable before all men befitting an ambassador of God. We were given many instructions by God in regard to our deportment over time. When we were in the wilderness as the people of the Covenant and the Israel of God, we were not permitted to be sloppy in our tents and dwellings. Balaam, son of Beor, could not curse us and the neatness of our dwellings was the cause of wonder to the nations. We were to be hygienic and to carry an entrenching tool for the safe disposal of our refuse. In this way the people of God minimized disease and unnecessary loss of people.
There were specific instructions for the dress of the priesthood especially, and also for the nation. The instruction went down to how they were not to expose themselves by elevated platforms. They were to be modest and were to adorn themselves with good works. The men were to be sound and hardworking; working and teaching within the Laws of God. They were to instruct and care for their families in the Lord. The women were to be industrious and care for their families and the affairs they undertook in business. They were to be examples of the faith. In this way the family became the foundation of the nation and the Church of God (see the papers Proverbs 30 (No. 113) and Proverbs 31 (No. 114)). Eating together is also an act of our worship before God.
One cannot be an ambassador of a new way and a new system and be indistinguishable from the world. We must be dressed more befitting of our calling. We must be able to present ourselves as adherents of a new system by our dress and bearing. What comes out of our mouths must be true and just, and spoken in love and mercy. In all things we show who we are. We must be able to lead by example. It is God who justifies us and hence glorifies us, but we must be able to do our part in this process. We must be able to divide the word of God in truth and with power.
Much is made of us by the adversary and he is known as the accuser of the brethren for good cause.
Satan uses gossip against us and when we gossip about others we do his work for him.
We must uphold one another making no railing accusation against another. We must study and show ourselves faithful in the word of God.
In all things we should be temperate and kind. Love bears all
things and endures all things. That does not mean we should be doormats for
people to abuse, but it does place obligations on us in how we deal with people.
God gave us a system that is to be administered in love and mercy (see the paper
Love and the Structure of the Law (No. 200)).
Recently the Iranian leaders issued a statement that effectively called for
the genocide of the Israeli people. When they stood the chance of expulsion
from the UN, as indeed such an incitement of genocide requires, they issued
a weak apology from their embassy in Moscow. However, the real aim of the inflammatory
statement was to affect the political process in Iran and there was no mitigation
of the incitement there.
It is important to read the work Commentary on Esther (No.63) to understand what is happening in these Last Days. Haman was hanged on the gallows he erected for the Jews. The prince of Persia was able to withstand the Angel of the Host for 21 days. However, that was the limit of the time he was able to stand. God is able to intervene and to save whomever He wills. This same mindset is directed against all the people of God and especially against the Churches of God.
The case exists for the expulsion of Iran from the UN and for the indictment of its leaders on war crimes. The sad fact is that the formation of power blocks will ultimately see the destruction of that system and the advent of nuclear war. Terrorism is war and the world has been at war now for four years, as we said would happen from the issue of the paper in 1997 (see the paper The Last Thirty Years: The Final Struggle (No 219)). This war will be ongoing now reaching a deadly climax in 2012 and 2013 over the next Sabbath cycle ending in 2019. The system of the God of this world will accelerate its drive to deceive even the very elect at that time.
There is a change in the power bases of the world now occurring. Global Warming is going to affect the way in which many nations are able to function. The hurricanes now coming across the Atlantic are no longer turning north before they hit the Caribbean. They are going into what is now a warming Gulf of Mexico and causing large-scale economic havoc with unprecedented hurricane activity. The building industry will adjust and build more soundly or the nation will suffer the consequences and loss. These activities will affect all nations (see the paper Global Warming and Bible Prophecy. (No 218)). This Sabbath Year has seen a great refreshing of the land in Australia. Let us pray that we are able to continue on for a few years more.
In all these adversities we should be of good report. Our optimism is in the power of God to deliver us from all evil.
Over the last year we have concentrated on making sure that every person in the Church, no matter what their position, has been able to be exposed to and to cover the doctrines and teachings of the Church on a sound basis. In every case where a problem has arisen, it has been because a minister was not, or ministers were not, sound in the faith and the brethren in that area were not sound enough in the faith to deal with it quickly.
Remember we are from different backgrounds and thus from different indoctrination. Many of our people are new to the faith coming from pseudo Christian backgrounds embracing every wind of error, such as a belief in heaven and hell based on the immortal soul doctrine, Trinitarianism, the pagan calendar and a host of errors. They must be correctly prepared for the tasks ahead of them.
In the not too distant future we will place more onus on the ministry to deliver sermons based on subject matter that concerns the doctrines and teachings of the Church so that they might develop their skills, and the brethren also might be developed in the faith and the teachings and able to rightly divide the word of truth.
We must all be able to help those in search of the truth. God sends His chosen to us. However, a number that are called but not chosen also come and are not able to stand. We should try to make it easier for all to come to the knowledge of the One True God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, but we should not be the cause of their stumbling. God will judge us on that aspect.
We will issue instructions to the ministry in various parts of the world for their development. We hope that the brethren will take every opportunity to grow and be of sound doctrine and be able to develop the Church in the times ahead.
Love one another and help one another to grow in the faith.
Be faithful to our calling and to each other in the Church. Be trustworthy in
all things.
Wade Cox
Coordinator General
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