Greetings from Charlotte,
Mr. and Mrs. Meredith have returned from very profitable and inspiring visits to congregations in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas. There were more than 150 people at the combined service in Austin. This week Mr. Ames taped program #296 entitled, "Superpower Beast of Revelation." Last Sabbath, Mr. and Mrs. Apartian visited the Asheboro, North Carolina, congregation and I visited our congregation in Warsaw, North Carolina, that is attended by members living in Raleigh and Wilmington. On the return trip, I was able to briefly visit the campuses of Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Chapel Hill. It is very exciting to report that the regular donation income in January was the highest for any January since the Global-Living Church of God began in 1993 (over 25% increase). In addition, the responses for every TV program in January were all more than 4,000 with the highest at 4,942. We have also received more than 32,119 requests for the Prophecy Fulfilled: God's Hand in World Affairs booklet offered in Mr. Meredith's most recent semi-annual letter. We are very thankful for these encouraging developments. Those who want to return to the past need to open their eyes to see where and how God is working today!
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Follow-Up Public Lecture in Chattanooga
Mr. James Sweat reports: On Mr. League's follow-up Bible lecture last Sabbath, we retained 22 of the 33 new attendees from the first lecture and expect 10 to 12 of them to be in attendance this coming Sabbath. The atmosphere at the lectures was truly "electrifying" (to borrow a phrase from Mr. Dan Hall). Enthusiasm certainly did not wane with the second lecture. It is truly heartwarming to see the joyful response from those whom God is calling into His Truth!
News from Indonesia
Mr. Arius Nusantara reports: The activity of the local members in Indonesia is increasingly busier and busier. I plan to send out an offer to our subscribers informing them about our new Tomorrow's World programs and materials, including booklets and other available articles.
South Africa Update
Mr. Rod King reports: Mr. Christo Botha, the South African Office Manager, has informed us that since November 2006, we have mailed out 5,000 bi-monthly issues of Tomorrow's World in English and another 1,500 Afrikaans magazines. Along with these, we have also sent out 2,993 English booklets and BSC lessons and 1,446 of the same in Afrikaans. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Wallace from Pretoria work hard to translate all of our booklets and magazines into Afrikaans. They are both professional translators and are fully employed doing work for the South African Government and Parliament.
South Africa Area Pastor, Mr. Pieter van der Byl, sent in the following account from Mr. and Mrs. Canary, of an incident which happened in the first week of January: "My husband and I were on the road one evening when the unthinkable almost happened to us, a horrible crash. As we approached the traffic lights, it was still green for us to still go through. As we were about to turn right the car just suddenly stalled, the driver on the opposite side jumped the red light at terrific speed. If the car had not stalled when it did that car would've caught my side, being the passenger side. Either myself or both of us would've been killed instantly or perhaps critically injured, the other driver also perhaps killed. We are so thankful and grateful for God's miraculous intervention."
Northeast Family Weekend
The USA Northeast Area will be hosting a "Spring Family Weekend" on April 7, 8 and 9. The location will be near Kingston, New York, with the Shawangunk Mountains as our backdrop. The camp facility we will be using is situated on 160 acres of natural beauty, adjacent to Rondout Creek. We will be having a smorgasbord of activities over the three-day period, including Sabbath and Holy Day Services, Bible Studies for all ages, indoor and outdoor activities, and lots of food and fellowship. Sabbath evening will feature a family dance with the theme "Coming out of Egypt" (i.e. Don't "Walk Like an Egyptian"). Accommodations are in heated lodges—rustic but comfortable. The cost is only $20 per day per person, with reduced rates for children. Registration is first come/first served, so register now by going to http://www.northeast-lcg.org/pastors_corner/Family_Weekend/, or by contacting Mr. Jonathan McNair at [email protected].
MEDIA
Please note that after the telecast listings were printed on page 20 of the January-February 2007 Living Church News, we made a couple of changes to the schedule. "Danger in the Middle East" will air on February 11; "Satan's Attack on the Bible" is now scheduled to air on March 4.
Mail Tracking Program (Repeat Announcement)
The latest issue of the Living Church News was mailed last week. To more accurately document and monitor the delivery times that we receive from the U.S. Postal Service, we have developed an online delivery reporting program. This will allow us to more consistently report delivery delays to the USPS so they can work to resolve them, and it will also allow us to predict delivery times for our mailings much more accurately. This will be especially useful as we try to ensure that time-sensitive mailings actually arrive in a timely manner. For our new reporting program to work, we need your help. When you receive the January-February 2007 LCN, and all future Church-wide mailings, please log in to the members (MyLCG) section of the Church website (www.cogl.org), where you can select the piece of mail you have just received and enter the date when you received it. This will be a great help to as we are trying to improve the timely delivery of our literature and other Church mailings.
COMMENTS
Pay Attention to Prophecy: Jesus told His disciples to stay alert and watch for the fulfillment of specific prophecies that will mark the approaching end of this age (Matthew 24). He also warned in the parable of the foolish virgins that many will be caught napping and unprepared by the surge of events that will precede the return of Jesus Christ to this earth (Matthew 25:1-13). It is truly amazing how God has given His Church a "more sure word of prophecy" (II Peter 1:19) so we can warn this world about the prophetic significance of both current and impending world events (Ezekiel 3; 33). Yet, misguided teachers have ridiculed the Church's understanding of prophecy and accused members of suffering from "prediction addiction." As we see world events building to a prophetic crescendo, let's make sure we are building a closer relationship with God and that we are learning to really live by every word of God (Matthew 4:4).
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
NEWS AND PROPHECY—February 2, 2007
Are the "Times of the Gentiles" Beginning? Last week, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's party and one of his close confidants proposed transferring control of the West Bank to a "European Authority." He suggested that the EU, assisted by Jordan, take control of the area until a future date, when control can be returned to the Palestinian Authority. He also suggested evacuating Jewish settlers from the area (WorldNetDaily, January 25, 2007). Jesus prophesied that prior to His second coming, "Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). This week's proposal could lead to something the Roman Catholic church has desired for centuries—the ability to occupy and control the Holy Land and the "world city" of Jerusalem. Daniel predicted that at the time of the end, a major seven-year peace treaty will be signed enabling a powerful prince or nation to control Jerusalem and also allow the commencement of sacrifices by the Jews (Daniel 9:24-27). This newly proposed involvement of the EU in the Holy Land could open the door to the Beast Power and the Roman Catholic church's future occupation of Jerusalem.
Weeds Becoming Herbicide Resistant. The U.S. cotton industry is facing an alarming new problem. The herbicide glyphosate has long been effective against a type of pig weed that grows six to ten feet tall. Recently, however, scientists identified a new herbicide-resistant strain of this weed, the arch-enemy of cotton farmers. Alan York, a weed scientist at North Carolina State University says: "It is potentially the worst threat since the boll weevil… If someone were trying to design a particularly nasty weed, Palmer amaranth could be the model… It's extremely prolific. It's an efficient… bad weed." The newly herbicide-resistant plant can damage the large cotton-picking machines that pluck the fiber from cotton bolls. "The financial and environmental consequences would be nothing short of catastrophic," if this new strain proliferates, said Georgia cotton farmer Eddie Green (Forbes–Associated Press, December 18, 2006). Because Adam sinned in following his wife into sin, God said to the man, "Cursed is the ground for your sake... Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you" (Genesis 3:17-18). God also warned that if Israel departed from Him, He would curse them with land that "shall not yield its produce" and earth that shall "be like bronze" (Leviticus 26:19-20). As the U.S. and British-descended nations depart further from God, these curses will become more obvious. Our mission is to explain why these events are happening—as we also preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.
Heat-Ray Gun Delivers Pain, Not Death. The "Active Denial System" is what the United States military is calling a revolutionary new heat-ray weapon, meant to repel enemies or disperse rioters. Its invisible high-energy beam penetrates clothing and heats a tiny depth under the skin to 50◦C (122◦F), causing a sudden burning feeling. Military officials, who say the heat-ray causes intense discomfort but does no lasting harm, believe this new weapon has a wide range of applications, and could be used as a non-lethal way of making enemies surrender or run away. In a demonstration at the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, a prototype fired a beam 550 yards (500 meters) from a large rectangular dish mounted on a Humvee, exceeding the range of non-lethal rubber bullets (BBC News, January 25, 2007). This new technology of non-lethal, pain-inflicting weapons resembles prophecies in the book of Revelation, "And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them" (Revelation 9:4-6).—Don Davis, Scott Winnail