Letters – Page 23 – Church of the Eternal God

Letter to the Brethren – July 13, 2004

July 13, 2004

Dear Brethren, Co-workers and Friends!

At the very beginning of this letter, my wife Johanna and I would like to thank all of you, from the very bottom of our hearts, for the generous outpouring of love extended by you to my family and me, in regard to the death of my father. My dad died on June 13, 2004, and I was able to attend the funeral in Germany on June 18. Although my dad lived a long life of 95 years, it is still very difficult to accept his death, especially for my mother who is suffering tremendously because of this loss. She is presently visiting with us at our place in Ramona, until the end of the month, and I know how much she would appreciate your prayers for strength in these difficult times.

While in Germany, I reflected on the awesome job, which God gave His Church, the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God in all the world as a witness or testimony, so that Jesus Christ can return to this earth. Do we realize how much this world needs to hear the good news or gospel message, the same message that Jesus Christ preached, when He was here on the earth?

Letter to the Brethren – June 15, 2004

June 15, 2004

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Dear Brethren and Friends:

I am writing this letter from Canada. Delia and I are looking forward to meeting with our brethren at the Feast of Tabernacles 2004 in California. We are busy, with the help of competent volunteers, with the translation of some of our English booklets into French. At this time, two French booklets plus other French articles have been posted on our Websites (www.eternalgod.org; www.churchofgodacf.ca; and www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk). We are also investigating the possibility of printing hard copies of some of our French booklets for our French readers around the world who don’t have access to the Internet.

In Canada we will very shortly have a general election to select the next government for the next three to four years. I find it most interesting that the two major issues that have surfaced are not the economy or health care, but same sex marriages and abortion rights for women. It is really a travesty when governments rise or fall on issues like these. What are our countries coming to? I know similar issues are being faced in the United States and Great Britain, where the legal right to kill unborn children or to marry someone of the same sex are also major issues in the elections of their future governments.

Letter to the Brethren – May 21, 2004

May 21, 2004

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

In the very short history of the Church of the Eternal God and its affiliated associates in both Canada and Great Britain (Church of God a Christian Fellowship and The Global Church of God), we have witnessed sweeping changes in the world! Now, East and West Europe are uniting! America has been effectively more and more REMOVED from world dominance in terms of its international prestige! We are beginning to see a more dominant role emerging for the Pope and Catholicism!

All of these things – and more – are the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The unfolding timeframe of Matthew 24 that Jesus Christ gave for His disciples – especially for those faithful to Him at the end of the age – is playing out before our eyes! In Matthew 24 and 25, we are told by Jesus to WATCH and to BE READY!

Letter to the Brethren – April 19, 2004

April 19, 2004

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Dear Brethren, Co-workers and Friends:

The people of God are truly well blessed. We have been given so many answers to the big questions & answers that even the most brilliant minds of this world today can’t understand. The booklets that we produce are a gold mine of information and truth as they faithfully reflect our understanding of the Bible.

However, we can learn positively from some of the ways in which people in the world conduct themselves. Christ encouraged us to learn from the “unjust steward” (Luke 16:1-8), and He told us that the people of this world, in their generation, are even smarter or more shrewd than the children of light. That is why we are to be harmless as doves, but at the same time “wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16). Recently, the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom as well as the President in the USA have been locked in debate over the validity of the war in Iraq. The term, “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD),” has become a phrase commonplace in the vocabulary of most people. In the UK, we are to have yet another inquiry, and the Prime Minister and other leading politicians on both sides of the divide, have toured the radio and television studios to promulgate their case. We are confronted with claim and counter claim.

Letter to the Brethren – March 18, 2004

March 18, 2004

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Dear Brethren and Friends

The third annual ministerial conference is now behind us as we approach the upcoming Passover season. The meetings, held in San Diego, began the evening of March 6 and were completed on March 10, 2004. Those attending the conference sessions were: Edwin and Joan Pope; Norbert and Johanna Link; David and Peggy Harris; Rene and Delia Messier; Brian and Jill Gale; Margaret Adair; and Wray and Jule Zehrung. Church representatives were present from the UK, Canada and the US.

Our meetings were extremely successful. Following an extensive review of the Church’s Internet activities, plans for new design elements and greater use of Church web pages occupied the first part of this conference. The STANDINGWATCH program, which is currently available at the Church of the Eternal God website (www.eternalgod.org), will soon be available at an additional site now under construction (www.standingwatch.org). These video programs, presented by Norbert Link, highlight news events relating to prophecy along with commentary on Christian living.

Letter to the Brethren – January 7, 2004

January 7, 2004

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Dear Brethren and Friends:

As most modern societies count the years, we have entered the year of 2004. When reflecting on what the world experienced in 2003, chances are, the year of 2004 will hear more of the same bad news, except, perhaps, in an even worse way. Let us briefly remind ourselves of some of the news in 2003 (You might want to ‘read along with us,’ by looking at the headlines in our Current Event sections of our weekly Updates of 2003):

January 2003: Worldwide Times of Terror; Captivity-Beyond the Pale; Big Brother in the U.S.; The European Union and the United Nations vs. the U.S. and Great Britain; U.S. Divided Against Itself; The Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches vs. U.S.

February 2003: America’s Troubles – And No End; America and Europe – a Great Divide; Is the World Facing World Destruction?; Droughts in Australia and the U.S.

March 2003: Assassination in Serbia; Moab – the Mother of All Bombs; Ongoing Conflict with North Korea; Will There Be Peace?

April 2003: Victory – but at What Price?; Cold War in Asia; How Safe Is This World?

Letter to the Brethren – December 10, 2003

December 10, 2003

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

The Church of the Eternal God came into existence because of issues of compromise. Likewise, both the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom have had to withstand these unacceptable alterations to Godís revealed truth. All of us were unwilling to settle for some very critical changes in doctrine as well as doctrinal approach, explanation and practice that would begin to erode the true teachings and administration of Godís Church. In that tumultuous time of transition, each of us made difficult decisions about our individual involvement in the future Work that God has so clearly called us to complete – at least, our part in it!

Weeks, months and now years have passed since we first organized together in order to carry on in the calling we have been given. Some who began with us have not continued. God chose to add others, in their stead, to our fellowship. Little by little -almost incrementally- God has rewarded our efforts to faithfully serve Him.

Letter to the Brethren – November 6, 2003

November 6, 2003

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

As we return to our daily activities and begin to face the season ahead, having enjoyed immensely the fall festivals, we now must endure these next five months before the spring festivals begin and, we must not let down in our pursuit of God’s Way in our lives. Our purpose must continually be in the forefront of our thoughts, which purpose is to see God’s Kingdom established on this earth and our part in it.

Church doctrine remains critical to God’s Way of life, yet so many seem to have abandoned the teachings we have received. Eternal life hinges on sound doctrine as outlined in God’s Word. We must prove these things to ourselves over and over and we must reject anything that contradicts these truths.

Paul addresses these things in his two epistles written to the young evangelist, Timothy. Paul cautioned Timothy to be certain those under him were not teaching contrary to the doctrine as he had been taught (1 Timothy 1:3ñ4). He continued this line of thinking in 2 Timothy 3:1ñ5, where he stated that at the end time (our time today) there would be those in the Church who would go contrary to these teachings and would cause much trouble for the people of God.

Letter to the Brethren – September 29, 2003

September 29, 2003

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

In this third and final season of the dramatic master plan of God as revealed in His commanded Holy Days, we will soon be assembling together to observe these deeply meaningful annual Feasts. This is a time when we as brethren appear before God with both an attitude reflecting the seriousness as well as the joyous aspects of what lies ahead for all of humanity.

In particular, this is a very special time for Church members to come together in unity. As never before, this world is divided. In Matthew 24 Jesus prophesied of this time in which deception would reign and in which there would be wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes. He also warned of betrayal and persecution for those who believed in and followed Him. Just as we now see, truth is overwhelmed and violence among men and even in nature is the order of the day—all things that will increase more and more in the days immediately ahead. Obviously, we are all in one way or the other touched by these things.

Letter to the Brethren – September 5, 2003

September 5, 2003

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Dear Brethren,

We are all looking forward with anticipation as the time for the Feast of Tabernacles rapidly approaches. Even before the Feast, which is just five weeks away, come the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement.

These two days, which we observe annually based upon the instruction and command of the Eternal God, picture very important events we commemorate each year at the appointed times for our edification.

The Feast of Trumpets, of course, portrays the very return of Jesus Christ to the earth for the purpose of establishing the Kingdom of God here on earth and to save mankind from total destruction. Today, conditions on earth are totally contrary to what God desires for mankind. Yet, conditions will continue to worsen before the return of Christ. Then, there will come a point when God will determine that the time has come when Christ must intervene to stop man from destroying himself completely!