Weekly Update

October 26th, 2017

Greetings from Charlotte,

Most members have returned from the Feast and reports indicate that God blessed our Festival sites this year. Panama City, Florida, was threatened by Hurricane Nate, but it moved westward and did not disrupt the Feast other than to shut down swimming in the Gulf for a couple days as the "waves roared." In our Executive Luncheon this week, Mr. Mario Hernandez gave us a very inspiring report on the Feast conducted by non-U.S. affiliates in Cuba, where there were 60 locals and ten visitors for a total of about 70 at the first Feast held on that island nation. It appeared that it would be shut down the day of the Opening Night, but God intervened in a powerful way and the Church was shown great favor by the end of the Feast. We have been in contact with Mr. Raul Colon, our minister in Puerto Rico, and although the island was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, all our members are okay and no one has sustained any serious loss. (See report below for more details.) The Church is working with Mr. Colon to provide disaster relief assistance to members who have need for it. We are also encouraged to learn that all our members are safe with homes intact in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is remarkable, considering that 90 percent of these islands were destroyed. Life is not going to be easy for those affected by these powerful storms, but our members are doing well under the circumstances and the Church is monitoring the situation.—GEW

Church Administration

Report from Puerto Rico

Mr. Raul Colon, our minister in Puerto Rico, reports that our brethren there are safe and did not sustain any serious damage to their homes as a result of the recent hurricanes. However, much of the island is without electrical power, except for those with generators. While our members have food and are able to get water to drink, the water supply to homes and businesses is intermittent (on one day and off the next). Transport around the island is difficult and traffic is congested due to no traffic lights. Hotels that are open are filled with aid workers, while others are closed due to the lack of utility services. Flight schedules are being restored, but getting a seat on flights can still be a problem. Please remember our brethren in Puerto Rico and the other islands impacted by the recent hurricanes in your prayers. 

Deaths of Two Long-Time Elders

We are saddened to report the deaths of two long-time elders in God's Church, Mr. Roland Glenn Travis, age 78, of the Rolla, Missouri, congregation, and Mr. Jove Jean-Pierre, age 72, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Mr. Travis, an elder since 2003, died of heart failure on October 7. Mr. Jean-Pierre, who served as a deacon for almost forty years and as an elder since 2012, died of cardiac arrest on October 22. Please remember the wives and families of these servants of God in your prayers, as well as the brethren whom they loved and served. They will both be very greatly missed.

Charlotte Family Weekend December 22-25—Corrected Phone Number

The annual Charlotte Family Weekend is just weeks away, offering four days of physical and spiritual rejuvenation. This year's event will begin on Friday, December 22, with a Bible Study. After services on the Sabbath, we will have a lovely evening of dinner and dancing. On Sunday, we will host the ever-popular sports day, featuring basketball and volleyball tournaments, children's games, a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs, and all topped off with lots of fellowship. Sunday evening will feature a games night at the hotel. On Monday morning we will have seminars for teens, singles, mature singles and married couples. In the afternoon there will be a fun activity for all ages. The weekend will be capped off on Monday night with a casual dance for everyone.

The host hotel for this weekend will once again be the Renaissance Charlotte Suites. This lovely, all-suite hotel has offered us a special $99 per night room rate, which includes breakfast for two adults. You may make your reservation by calling 1-800-468-3571(an incorrect number was listed last week), or you can make your reservation via the online booking link that is posted on the Charlotte Family Weekend Facebook page.

Internet

TW Websites in Multiple Languages Experience Traffic Growth

In August and September, we saw unusual year-over-year increase in visitors for all of our main various-language Tomorrow's World websites, for all types of content (booklets, articles, telecasts, commentaries, etc.), and for all types of web traffic (organic search, direct traffic, and advertising). This was very encouraging, especially because we had not increased advertising spending! We want to share with you the following increases in "August-September 2017 compared to August-September 2016" website traffic:   

Other TW websites, such as our Russian, Afrikaans and even some of our smaller regional websites, also showed significant increases. We do not know if these year-over-year increases will continue, but we are very thankful that the last two months were very strong as far as worldwide Internet reach goes! As always, we thank you for your prayers and your support.—Wyatt Ciesielka

Feast of Tabernacles

Feast of Tabernacles 2017

The Festival Office would like to take one last opportunity to thank you, brethren, for all your efforts in making the Feast of 2017 a success! We know that many hundreds of you devoted many hours at the Feast in serving: in ushering, greeting, set-up or take-down, practicing and performing special music, helping to organize activities, working at the Information Tables or the Business Offices, and many, many other duties. Your service is appreciated! Our Festival coordinators are reporting that this year's Feast was overall very positive and uplifting. Everyone's effort, with God's Spirit working through us, makes it so—so, thank you!

Once again, if you haven't filled out the online Festival Survey, there is still time! The deadline to complete the survey is Monday, October 30. You can access the Feast Survey at fotsurvey.lcg.org. You can also find the survey on your MyLCG page.

Comments

Watch Bible Prophecy! Many today recognize the world is heading down a dangerous road politically, morally and militarily. While the news media report on events and trends, reporters and commentators do not understand the real significance of what they see or where these events are leading. This is why 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). Jesus also warned in the parable of the ten virgins that many will be caught napping and unprepared by the surge of events that will precede His return to this earth (Matthew 25:1-13). God has given His Church a "more sure word of prophecy" (2 Peter 1:19, KJV) so His Church can warn the Israelite nations and the world about the real significance of both current and impending world events (Ezekiel 3 and 33). However, misguided teachers and preachers discount the importance of Bible prophecy and instead prefer to entertain and make people feel good. 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 live by every word of God—as we continue to watch world events and pay attention to Bible prophecy.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

News and Prophecy—October 26, 2017

Will Japan Militarize Again? Last week's re-election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seen by most as a referendum on his political objectives. One of his key aims is to revise the constitution to allow for the development and deployment of offensive military power. "His goal is to rewrite the war-renouncing Constitution by 2020" (Japan Times, October 23, 2017). With the growing threat from North Korea, this issue is of increasing importance to the leaders and people of Japan (Reuters, October 23, 2017). Bible prophecy reveals that at the end of the age, prior to Christ's return, a massive 200-million-man army from the east will be one of the major end-time powers making war (Revelation 9:13-20). This Asian superpower will likely involve China, Russia and other eastern nations with the military and economic power to support such an army. Japan could be part of this group, but it will need to rearm in order for this to happen. To grasp the real significance of current events and where they are leading, it is important to be aware of end-time Bible prophecies. For more prophetic insights about the future, read our commentary "Japan—and the United States and Great Britain in Prophecy."

Greater Terror Threats Ahead for Britain: The UK's "spy chief" and head of MI5 recently observed that the threat for terrorism in Britain "is multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly and operating at a scale and pace we've not seen before… It's at the highest tempo I have seen in my 34-year career. Today there is more terrorist activity, coming at us more quickly, and it can be harder to detect" (The Guardian, October 17, 2017). He went on to warn that Britain will, in the future, face its most dangerous terror attacks ever. Students of Bible prophecy should not be surprised by these latest warnings. Long ago, God warned the Israelite-descended nations that if they did not obey Him and His commandments, and despised His statutes, "I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you… I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you" (Leviticus 26:14-17). God is not a hateful or vindictive God. However, His warnings apply to those who reject Him and His commandments. Failure to honor and obey God will result in a loss of His protection from one's enemies (Isaiah 5:5). Sadly, we will see terrorism continue to increase before Jesus Christ returns and finally brings peace to this troubled world. For more information on this topic, watch our encouraging telecast "Will Terrorism End?"

More Concerns About Tattoos: Scientists have long known that pigments in tattoo ink make their way into lymph nodes, as the immune system works to remove foreign material (ink) from the underside of the skin. New research now demonstrates that nanoparticles in the ink, including toxins, also make their way to the lymph nodes, possibly causing chronic inflammation throughout the bodies of tattoo recipients (NewsAtlas.com, September 13, 2017; Scientific Reports, September 12, 2017). More research is needed to demonstrate the extent of the impact of these nanoparticles in tattoo ink. God commands His people not to tattoo their bodies (Leviticus 19:28), because the human body is intended to be the "temple of the Holy Spirit" and should not be desecrated by disfigurement (1 Corinthians 6:19). Science is now showing that there are significant health benefits to keeping God's commands about this practice. Contrary to popular misunderstanding, God's laws and statutes are intended to bless and protect those who obey them, and science continues to bear out this profound truth. For more information on God's view of tattoos, be sure to read "Body Ink: What Does God Think?"—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater, Chris Sookdeo and Wyatt Ciesielka