Weekly Update

September 13th, 2018

Greetings from Charlotte,

We are now in the final Festival season of the year. Trumpets is over, Atonement is in a few days, and some have already left for the Feast of Tabernacles. Satan hates these days and what they picture, and it is not unusual for him to try to disrupt them. This year is no different. Large and very dangerous Typhoon Ompong is set to hit the Northern Philippines this weekend with some 10 million people in its path. Wind gusts are expected to reach 167 miles an hour (270 kilometers) with a storm surge of 7 meters (23 feet). Hurricane Florence is also expected to hit North and South Carolina at this time. While it has been downgraded from a category 4 down to category 2, the problem is expected to be the massive amounts of water dumped on the area: 20–40 inches (51–102 cms.) in some places. While no one knows for sure how these storms will materialize (they can be unpredictable), the dangers are real. Ompong's strong winds will devastate anything in its path. Here in the Carolinas, when you combine high winds, the ground saturated from rain measured in feet instead of inches, and large trees, serious damage can occur and become disruptive to our members at this critical time right before the Feast. The greatest danger is to the members living very near the Carolina coasts, but the extreme winds of Ompong will seriously affect people even in the mountains of the Philippines near where it passes over. We will keep everyone updated on this. While hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are natural phenomena and sometimes bring drought-ending rains, they can also be quite violent and cause much damage. We pray that all of you will have a most rewarding Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and Last Great Day. Please be careful in all your travels and allow God's love to shine through each of you as you relate to one another and the locals at the site you are attending.—Gerald Weston

Living Education

Pilot Unit of "Life, Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ" Complete—Repeat Announcement

The pilot unit for the "Life, Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ" is now fully available to all members. As an additional feature, once you have completed all the lessons, you can go back and watch or listen to the lectures as part of a "playlist," without having to go through all the lesson material. Just click on "Conclusion" at the bottom of the menu, and then click "Audio Playlist," or "Video Playlist." Again, you can move at your own pace through the lessons, so enjoy the learning experience! Our next unit will begin after the Feast of Tabernacles. The first lesson of the second unit will go live on October 7. Happy studying!—Jonathan McNair

Internet Department

New Portuguese-Language Website

You may already know that Chinese, Spanish, and English are the top three most spoken languages in the world, but you may not know that Portuguese is ranked the sixth most popular language, with countries ranging from Portugal to Brazil and Angola to Cape Verde being Portuguese-speaking nations. God has commissioned His Church to preach the Gospel as a witness to all nations (Mark 16:15), and with that in mind, we are very pleased to have recently launched a brand new Tomorrow's World website in Portuguese: omundodeamanhã.org, with telecasts, booklets, articles, and more. We pray that this new website will be another effective tool, along with the telecast in English and translations into Spanish, Russian, Dutch, and others, as well as the many other Tomorrow's World websites, including French, German, Afrikaans, Ukrainian, and more. Please check out the new Portuguese website. You can find links to some of the other primary Tomorrow's World websites in other languages at the bottom (the "footer") of the TomorrowsWorld.org website.—Wyatt Ciesielka

Feast of Tabernacles

Hilton Head Island Feast Site Update

As of midday Wednesday, September 12, Hurricane Florence continues to threaten the East Coast of the United States. As a result, we are watching closely in regard to our Feast site on Hilton Head Island. We are in communication with the Hilton Head Island Beach & Tennis Resort, and at this point, they plan to remain open unless there is damage from the storm and/or they are closed by the county or state. So, unless we hear otherwise, we plan to keep the HHI Feast site open.

At the same time, because there is a possibility it could be closed, we are making preparations and looking at other options. We will be sending updates to those who are registered for Hilton Head. As soon as we know more, we'll let you know.

Let's continue to pray that God guides the storm away from the coast altogether.

PayPal Payments Deadline Postponed to Monday, September 17

The Festival Office has postponed the deadline for pre-payments for Festival activities for U.S. Feast sites to Monday, September 17. Please note this new date. After this date, brethren attending U.S. sites should wait until the Feast to pay for any additional activities. Please check with your local Festival Site Coordinator for other details of payment options at the Feast. For international sites, please check with your Festival Site Coordinator for more information.

Instructions for Accessing Feast Services by Internet and Telephone

While many of us prepare to leave our homes to attend this annual highlight of the year, let us not forget those who cannot attend the Feast because of health reasons. Our shut-ins will be in our thoughts and prayers throughout the Festival season, that they may be uplifted and inspired, though under less-than-ideal circumstances. If you will not be able to attend the Feast, please take note that many of our Festival sites will offer remote, live services to shut-ins in the areas assigned to that Feast site. Some sites will offer either live stream (Internet), telephone hook-up, or both. Here are instructions for connecting to video or audio live streaming:

Live-Stream Access to Services During the Feast

1. Go to the website: www.lcgwebcast.org.

2. Click on the "Request Password" link in the top center of the page.

3. Find your assigned Feast site and select the password contact for your site. Please e-mail him at the e-mail address listed to request a password.

4. Once you receive the password, go back to www.lcgwebcast.org and click on your Feast site from the list of Feast sites, then enter the password to access services. Please follow the instructions to enter your full name and the number of people viewing the services.

Telephone Access to Services during the Feast

Some sites will be offering telephone hook-up services for those assigned to the site but who cannot attend. For information on how to connect to services, please contact the Festival Site Coordinator directly. The names and contact information for the U.S. Festival Site Coordinators are below. For international sites, please contact your Regional Office.

Living Youth Program

Adventure Camp Photography Contest Deadline: September 14—Repeat Announcement

The deadline to submit entries in the Adventure Camp Photography Contest is September 14. All campers and staff from the Adventure Camp are encouraged to submit up to five photos each, to Mr. John Robinson at [email protected]. Winners will be announced on October 19.

Finance

U.S. Deadline for Payments Before Feast—Repeat Announcement

Please note that our last scheduled day to print checks will be Tuesday, September 18. After that date, we will not be able to print any checks again until Thursday, October 4. Any invoices we receive before September 14 will be paid before the Festival break. Any invoices we receive after September 14 may not be able to be paid until October 4.

If you have any questions concerning specific invoices or payments, please contact Ms. Lanna Moluf in the Accounts Payable Department at 704-708-2234 or Mrs. Meagan Meredith at 704-708-2237. You can also e-mail [email protected].

Comments

Be Lights at the Feast: The Feast of Tabernacles is the highlight of the sacred year. It pictures the coming rule of the Kingdom of God, when the saints will rule with Jesus Christ and bring peace to this troubled world. It will be a truly joyous time! To keep us mindful of this major step in the plan of God, we are commanded to "keep the Feast of the LORD for seven days" and to "rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.… It shall be a statute forever" (Leviticus 23:39-44). The New Testament clearly indicates that Jesus kept the Feast and told His brothers, "You go up to this feast" (John 7:2-39). We also read in Zechariah 14:16 that "all the nations" will keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the coming Kingdom of God. As we rejoice at the Feast, we need to remember Jesus' instruction that we should be "lights" and examples to those around us (Matthew 5:13-16). How we talk, how we dress, how we conduct ourselves and how we relate to everyone we meet—in services, in hotels, at restaurants—will reflect either positively or negatively on God's Church and His way of life. We are called to be "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20), so let's strive to let our light shine to everyone we come into contact with.

Have a profitable Sabbath and a wonderful Feast,

Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy—September 13, 2018

Giant Russian War Games: Over five days, beginning on September 11, Russia, China and Mongolia will hold their largest "war games" exercise since the Cold War (BBC, August 28, 2018). "The scale of Vostok-2018 is equivalent to the forces deployed in one of the big World War Two battles" and will involve over 300,000 troops, 36,000 tanks, 1,000 aircraft, all of Russia's airborne units and two of its fleets. Russia's defense minister noted that "the involvement of Chinese units showed Russia and Beijing were co-operating in all areas." The defense maneuvers will occur in Russia's eastern territories and Siberia.

Why such a massive military drill? This military initiative occurs at a time of growing unrest between Russia and the NATO nations in Europe. China has noted that the military exercises will not target any particular third party.

Bible prophecy give unique insight into the future of Russia and China. Although the two nations are not explicitly named, Bible prophecy details that a massive 200-million-man army will fight against the "beast" power of Europe in a conflict that will kill one-third of humanity at the end of the age (Revelation 9:13–19). What nations on earth have both the populations and military technology to support such an army? God also reveals that, sometime after that conflict, the great Euphrates River will be dried up to make way for the Asiatic army of the "kings from the east" to gather at Armageddon with other nations preparing to fight against the returning Jesus Christ (Revelation 16:12–14). What we are witnessing with these Russian war games may picture something far greater that is prophesied in the pages of the Bible. For more insights, be sure to read or listen to Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled!

Germany Is Rising: Two Politico journalists recently wrote the following compelling statement: "Get ready for an even more German Europe" (August 25, 2018). The article refers to the possibility that Germany may drop its bid for the presidency of the European Central Bank and instead pursue the presidency of the European Commission—a post Germany has not held since 1967. This course of action might cause less of a political backlash and could give Germany more influence in Europe.

Germany is Europe's wealthiest and most populous nation. It is not merely Europe's leading nation economically, it is also one of the primary nations pushing for a European army. Germany already carries a great deal of political weight in Europe, and a European Commission presidency would only add to German political power.

Where might all this maneuvering lead? The Bible has long prophesied that Assyria (modern Germany) would lead a European Beast power with links to the ancient Roman Empire at the end of the age just before the return of Jesus Christ (see Isaiah 10:5–11; Daniel 2:40–44; 7:23). Eventually, Germany will take the top spot in Europe and play a major role in fulfilling these ancient prophecies that will come to pass (Daniel 2:20–21, 45). This is something that should inspire students of Bible prophecy to watch world events carefully. For more information on Germany's future within Europe and around the globe, be sure to read "Resurgent Germany: A Fourth Reich?"—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater, Chris Sookdeo, and Daniel Bennett