Sabbath 20/12/38/120

Dear Friends,

This Sabbath is the Second last Sabbath of the 38th year.  It is the Third Year of the Sabbath cycle and under the Law of God it is the Year in which the Second Tithe is handed into the Welfare Fund and becomes the Third Year Welfare Fund. These matters are explained in the paper Tithing (No. 161).

In the same way the CCG Calendar issued each year explains God’s Calendar and Tithing system.

Most of our people diligently tithe as it is a sign of the return to God.  We have watched as many people have tried to dodge their responsibilities and rob God as foretold by the prophets.
Mal.3 [1]"Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. [2] But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? "For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; [3] he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the LORD. [4] Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
The sons of Levi are to be completely purified and they will be refined in fire as He says.  Very soon Judah will be refined as by fuller’s soap and Judah will be cleansed from its impurity and its false teachers and brought to conversion.
[5] "Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. [6] "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
The return to God is a specific process.  All Israel have turned aside from God’s statutes and have not kept them and God stands as accuser against us.  He tells us to return to Him and then tells us specifically the sign of man’s return to God.

[7] From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, `How shall we return?' [8] Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, `How are we robbing thee?' In your tithes and offerings.  [9] You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you. 
[10] Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. [11] I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. [12] Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts. [13] "Your words have been stout against me, says the LORD. Yet you say, `How have we spoken against thee?' [14] You have said, `It is vain to serve God. What is the good of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? [15] Henceforth we deem the arrogant blessed; evildoers not only prosper but when they put God to the test they escape.'" [16] Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another; the LORD heeded and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and thought on his name. [17] "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.  [18] Then once more you shall distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 

The word of God is specific.  If you do not tithe you are a liar and a cheat and you rob God. You are a fake. Nothing you do is blessed by God and you will suffer God’s curses.  We have seen people leave the Churches of God and then teach against the Tithes in order to disrupt God’s Work and the Church of God.  If you do not wish to tithe and give excuse after excuse then you are not one of us.  This year the church has battled through with low employment and shortage of funds and we have done as well as we can and given our Second Tithe into the Church welfare fund as we are commanded by God and in two weeks at the New Moon of the First Month of Abib we will stand before God at the start of the Sanctification Period.  We are then able to place the Second Tithes in the funds for our feasts over the next sequence of the cycle of years.  At the Passover we are all commanded to appear before the Lord and bring one of three offerings each year.  If you don’t keep the Lord’s Supper and the Feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread you are cut off from God’s People. You will not be in the First Resurrection.

We are also faced with people wanting to come into the CCG system from Sunday systems on a regular basis.  You have a hard road ahead of you in understanding what God wants of you.  If you do not tithe even though you are poor and live in conditions of poverty you are wasting our time and yours, and you do not obey God’s laws. Why do you think you are in want and not blessed by God under His laws? You rob God and are under a curse. Soon the west itself will also be in poverty and will not be able to help even its own poor.  Do not expect any funds from the west and if that is the reason you approach us then you waste your time in coming to CCG in the hope of money. 

We have done what we were told and we obeyed God and we have paid our funds into the system and now we are to face a new phase in the work. Hard times are ahead of us and we have every right to go before God from this New Year and ask God to protect and support us so that we are able to complete our tasks as directed under the warnings of Jeremiah 4:15-16 (see the paper The Warning of the Last Days (No. 044)).

We look forward to the coming of Enoch and Elijah as promised also by God under the Prophets.  See the papers The Twelve Prophets (No. 021) and that series especially Commentary on Malachi (No. 021L) and The Witnesses (Including the Two Witnesses) (No. 135).

Wade Cox
Coordinator General