Download PDF Dear Brethren and Friends, In the closing days of 2008, life has again changed dramatically! This time, the world economy has been shaken to its very core. The once dominant role of the United States has collapsed under the weight of its own mismanagement, and the rest of the world is looking for new leadership. Following the terrorists’ attacks of September 11, 2001, many recognized that things would never be quite the same, and they haven’t! Now we are hostages of fear, and that is reflected in the mobilization to perpetual war status as the United States, Britain and their few allies seek to conquer a small but elusive group of terrorists. Traveling on airlines or across national borders serves as a constant reminder that danger may be in the shadows. Why is all of this turmoil happening, and why is the United States, along with Great Britain and its Commonwealth nations, so directly affected by these catastrophic events? It is because our nations are among the modern descendants of the ancient house of Israel. While we received the unparalleled blessings God had promised unconditionally to Abraham’s “seed” or offspring for his faithful obedience, we are now facing […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren, Co-Workers and Friends: What a joyous and spiritually uplifting Feast of Tabernacles 2008 it has been! Feast attendees in Derbyshire, England, and Tucson, Arizona, USA, overwhelmingly expressed their appreciation and thankfulness for the beautiful locations, the warmth of the membership, and the outstanding Feast messages and other activities Just read the following Feast reports from Brian Gale (England) and Dave Harris (Arizona): Feast Report from England: Against the backdrop of Chatsworth House in rural Derbyshire, the magnificent stately home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and with sheep and deer grazing safely in the surrounding estate, the Global Church of God in the UK held God’s Feast of Tabernacles for the ninth time at Chatsworth. Many of those who were there had attended many times over the years and yet never tire of the beauty and tranquility that is a feature of this Feast site. The house and gardens have attracted visitors from all over the world for many generations. It is worth mentioning that Derbyshire’s Peak District, where Chatsworth House is a main attraction, is now the second most visited National Park in the world after Mt. Fuji in Japan. Some of our visitors […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren, Co-workers and Friends, It is hard to believe that in less than two weeks we are going to celebrate the beginning of the Fall Holy Day season, commencing with the Feast of Trumpets on September 30. When we look at world conditions, it becomes more and more evident that man does not know how to rule himself, and things are worsening in every aspect of our society. The financial markets are close to a melt down with more large financial institutions—including some which have been around for over a century—seeking bailouts by the Federal government. Some are going under financially or are seeking bankruptcy protection. Drug use in the western world is increasing, and the U.S., which should be setting a positive example for the rest of the world, is the biggest drug user, or more appropriately, drug abuser. We live under the threat of another major terrorist attack against the western and democratic nations. Teen pregnancy in the U.S. is at an all-time high, with some 740,000 teen pregnancies in the last year alone. Half of all marriages end in divorce, with the emotional consequences being felt by the innocent children for decades, well into […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren and Friends, Recently we kept the Feast of Pentecost, which is the Holy Day that celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the birth of the New Testament Church in 31 AD (compare Acts 2). The next Feast day in God’s calendar is the Feast of Trumpets, which pictures the return of Jesus Christ. As will be more fully explained in this letter, there is a distinct connection for God’s people between the two. With the spirit of discernment that God’s Spirit gives to baptized members of His true Church, we can see the sign of the times (compare Matthew 24:32-33). We can surely see that the reality of Christ’s return is becoming more necessary by the day. How we need that reality! Even the truly wealthy nations in the world are starting to feel the pinch with big increases in oil prices affecting motoring costs and food prices through increased transportation costs. In the UK recently, it was announced that gas and electricity bills will probably increase by about 40% this winter, and the price of petrol continues to soar. The banking industry is in turmoil with shares in some of the leading banks […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren, Co-Workers and Friends: When you receive this letter, the annual Feast of Pentecost has almost arrived. The Church of God has understood for many years that Pentecost must be kept on a Sunday—counting 50 days from the Sunday, which falls within the annual Holy Days of Unleavened Bread. We explain how to count Pentecost (as well as the reasons why we have to keep it today) in chapter 3 of our free booklet, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days.” Not everyone in the Church understands or believes that we must keep Pentecost when most of us do, and some have begun to “observe” Pentecost at a different time. Some maintain and uphold a mistake, which the Church of God had made many decades ago (but which was corrected in 1974/75), when it erroneously concluded that Pentecost had to be kept on a Monday. Others count the 50 days leading to Pentecost from the Sabbath (not Sunday), which falls within the Days of Unleavened Bread. Still others reject the concept of postponements relative to the Hebrew calendar, and have therefore created alternate dates when to keep Pentecost. (And then, there are some who have changed the […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren and Friends, Worry that borders on outright fear has entered into the lives of people who live in even the most prosperous nations of the earth! No longer are the bad things just happening to other people! The reality so little understood is that this world has come to the generation that will mark the end of life, as we know it! Governments are destined to fail; nations will cease to exist, or, at the very least, they will be decimated; and the earth itself is going to suffer such destruction that life of any kind will be tenuous and in mortal danger! How can such ominous things happen? Is this just doomsday thinking—lacking any real proof or certainty? If you have come to believe God, and if you believe the prophecies He has left for His people in His Word, then you KNOW that human governments under the influence of Satan will be brought to an end. Along with this, Jesus Christ warned of awesome events on a scale never before experienced by mankind. One key element beginning to emerge at this time is the rise of a powerful religion with global influence and might. […]

Download PDF Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends: We have just finished our annual conference for 2008, and we would like to thank all of you who prayed for its success. When reporting about last year’s conference, we wrote the following in our letter, dated February 21, 2007: “Do we realize how much this world is in utter confusion; how close we are to the return of Christ; and how great our responsibility is to do the Work of God—the most important activity anyone could be involved in? But do we really understand that Christ will only return, when the true gospel of the Kingdom of God has been preached and when His wife—His true Church—has made herself ready (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 19:7-9)?” As we did last year, so we focused again during this year’s conference on our all-important duty and two-fold commission to preach the gospel and to feed the flock. In reflecting on what has been accomplished during this past year, we were encouraged to continue and excel with even more energy and zeal. Whatever God grants us to do, we must never forget to give Him all the credit and glory. We thought you might be encouraged as […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren, Co-Workers and Friends: It is hard to believe that next month baptized members of the Church of God will be keeping the annual Passover. Time seems to pass by so quickly, which is exactly the reason why God tells us in His Word that we should examine ourselves at this time of year, prior to Passover. God knew full well that if we did not have these annual stop signs or periods of time to reflect on His great master plan and our own development in Christian growth, we would soon forget about His whole plan of salvation for mankind—Passover being the very beginning step. If we get caught up in our jobs, work, pleasures and cares of this world, it is easy to forget what God’s plan is all about. Just as some who have left the faith find that in a very short while, they no longer recall when to keep God’s Holy Days and they no longer understand biblical principals associated with those Days, we too could find ourselves in the same position, if we are not careful. God, knowing human nature, designed in His wisdom a way by which we could bring […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren, Co-Workers and Friends, The year of 2007 has now passed, complete with the usual end-of-year spending and excess, which was just a continuation of what has become the norm in many nations around the world. However, financial clouds on the horizon, emanating primarily from the subprime mortgage crisis in the USA, cast a cloud over the normal festivities. Subprime lending is, put simply, the act of approving mortgages to those with a poor credit history at higher than normal interest rates, and many have found it impossible to meet their commitments, with the result of foreclosures and associated problems. In addition, the housing market has cooled significantly, which also brings along another set of problems. Add into that mix the ever-spiraling personal debt situation, and the prospects are less than encouraging. Because of their position on the world stage, whenever there are problems in the USA, these are reflected in the world economy, and the UK and continental Europe, and even countries in Asia, are feeling the same set of pressures. Recent figures in the UK have shown that personal debt has doubled since the year 2000. In spite of all this gloomy economic news, the […]