December 2013

December 17, 2013

Dear Brethren,

As the whole world rushes headlong into this year's Christmas celebrations, little do people realize that they have been spiritually blinded and deceived by Satan the devil. They believe Christmas is ofGod and accept it as Christian. They think it is good, but it is utterly evil! They do not realize that today's "Christian holidays"—Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, Halloween, etc.—are based on satanic lies. The Bible reveals: "And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is [actively] deceiving the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him" (Rev. 12:9).

Here is an astonishing reality: In spite of the fact that most people own Bibles and have the truth of God available to them—which warns them against worshipping God through abominable heathen practices—they celebrate these pagan holidays with zeal and gusto. And remember, if they don't read the Bible they have, it's not God's fault—they have been warned!

The Word of God tells us that these abominable religious/commercial celebrations come straight from the cauldron of "Babylon the Great." Indeed, they are the ancient Babylonianmysteries—dressed in modern garb. When the apostle John was given the visions of the Book of Revelation, he wrote of this widespread apostate system: "And one of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and spoke with me, saying to me, 'Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters [peoples, multitudes, nations and languages (verse 15)], with whom the kings of the earth [all the governments of the world] have committed fornication, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

"Then he carried me away in the spirit to a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, full of names of blasphemy. And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and was adorned with gold and pearls and precious stones; and she had a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominations and the filthiness of her fornication; and across her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH' " (Rev. 17:1-5).

The harlot represents the religions of this world—including today's "Christianity." Even now, the leaders of Satan's religious system are working with various national governments to bring about a one-world government—the final beastpower of Revelation 13. Through the powerful "elite" of this world, Satan is causing chaos and confusion in order to prepare the nations for this final world-ruling empire: "And I stood on the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns were crowns and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as ifit were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed [the coming antichrist—the "man of sin" or the "son of perdition" (II Thess. 2:1-12)]; and the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.

"And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?' And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear" (Rev. 13:1-9).

What Will Happen?Two primary causative factors will plunge the entire world into chaos and usher in this final world government and global financial system: 1) The collapse of the U.S. dollar because of debt—national, state and local, personal and corporate—and a stagnant world economy; and 2) The Federal Reserve's policy of printing money out of thin air—called quantitative easing—to the tune of 85-90 billion dollars a month to purchase U.S. government debt certificates—treasury bonds. That's between 1 trillion-20 billion dollars and 1 trillion-800 billion dollars a year—all of which is added to our national debt. This has already been going on for nearly 5 years and has added 10 trillion dollars to our national debt—now at $17 trillion. Eventually, the dollar will become nearly worthless. It's not a question of if, but when—for that day is coming! When it does, the power of the United States will collapse, as the prophesies of Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 tell us.

We have two examples of total economic collapse from the last century. First, after World War I, the German Weimar Republic printed money in order to pay war reparations to the Allies. This led to runaway inflation that got so bad it literally took millions of marks to buy a loaf of bread. By 1933, the entire German economy had collapsed. Millions were homeless, unemployed and starving. As the newly elected Chancellor, Aldof Hitler came to the rescue by introducing a new German mark; he then denied further reparation payments to the Allies. Economic stability returned with a booming economy and full employment. Thus, the stage was set for World War II.

Second, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1988. At that time, the value of the Russian ruble plummeted by about 3,000 percent. This meant that if someone had 3,000 rubles in a Soviet bank, their post-collapse value was that of only one ruble. Russia gradually recovered during the 1990s and into the 2000s.

These two examples of economic collapse give us a glimpse into what could happen in America when the dollar collapses—only it will no doubt be far worse. There is no question that the collapse of the dollar will usher in instant poverty, suffering and instability—with associated social and business upheaval around the world.

There are two proverbs that aptly describe this coming economic disaster: "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender…. Do not weary yourself to be rich … [for] when your eyes look upon it, it is gone! For surely riches make wings for themselves and they fly into heaven like an eagle" (Prov. 22:7; 23:4-5).

This coming economic catastrophe will distress all nations. Civil unrest will become rampant as people struggle to survive. The nations will demand an internationalsolution. And the answer will be the beast power of Revelation 13—a new world government and a new world currency (eventually leading to the "mark of the beast").

Is it Possible that these Events Could be Delayed? A "yes" answer hinges on several things: 1) If Obamacare collapses on the White House and the Democratic Party, Republicans could completely take over both houses of Congress in 2014; 2) If so, Republicans could enact sound fiscal policies to mitigate the pressure against the dollar for a time; 3) If Republicans also win the White House in 2016, the decline of the dollar might be further slowed or halted for a time; and finally 4) If these things did occur, there would be a resultant expansion of business activity—which could both reduce unemployment and increase tax revenue, perhaps enough to reduce the government's annual fiscal deficit.

But such an economic turnaround would only be temporary. Ultimately, only a genuine spiritual awakening with a wholesale return to biblical morality by Americans will lift God's hand of judgment against our nation. This would mean a return to keeping the commandmentsof God by a great number of people. There would have to be an almost complete end to abortion. Moreover, Sunday-keeping would have to be repudiated and the seventh-day Sabbath observed as the only God-ordained day of rest and worship.

In Jeremiah's Time, God Offered Mercy Upon Repentance: In the years leading up to the fall of Judah and Jerusalem to the Babylonians, God pleaded with the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah. He promised that if they would forsake their sins they would not see the fall of their nation or go into captivity. Jeremiah begins: "The Word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 'Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this Word, and say, "Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord" ' " (Jer. 7:1-2).

He continues: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in lying words, saying, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these [or today, "We are Americans. We are God's people."]." For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your hurt; then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.

" 'Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know; and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, "We are delivered to do all these abominations"? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it,' says the Lord" (verses 3-11).

Through Jeremiah, God called Judah to repentance and obedience: if they would repent and diligently obey Him, He would bless them and hold back His judgment. Notice what God said through His prophet: "Go and stand in the gates of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. And say to them, 'Hear the Word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the people of Jerusalem who enter in by these gates! Thus says the Lord, "Take heed to yourselves, and carry no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Nor carry out a burden from your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. But they did not obey, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, so that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

" ' "And it shall be, if you diligently hearken to Me," says the Lord, "to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy, to do no work in it; then kings and rulers sitting on the throne of David shall enter into the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their rulers, the men of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem. And this city shall remain forever"' " (Jer 17:19-25).

Today, the United States of America is confronted with a nearly identical condition—disobedience, sin and rebellion. And just as in ancient times, God warns us that if we do not repent and begin to obey Him, the consequences of national destruction and captivity will surely come. God warned Judah that their persistence in sin would mean the destruction of Jerusalem: "But if you will not hearken to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to carry a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be put out" (verse 27). Likewise, our nation is at a crossroad. What will we do?

What Should We Do? For our part, as the true children of God the Father, we need to walk in the way of the Lord. We need to keep in the forefront of our minds the first and great commandment, as Jesus declared: " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment; and the second one is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40). Moreover, we need to love the brethren as Christ has loved us (John 13:34).

New Booklet—Why "Christianity" Has Failed in America: Several years ago, our editor, Philip Neal, wrote the book Judaism—Revelation of Moses or Religion of Men? He has just completed a new booklet, Why "Christianity" Has Failed in America—which is based in part on a chapter from his forthcoming book about the United States and Britain in prophecy. As you will see, it is truly amazing how rapidly Protestantism is declining in America; indeed, churchgoers are denying God because they cannot resist the world!

Interestingly, Christianity's failure has contributed to the rise of atheist churches—that meet on Sunday! This new booklet includes a report on this godless movement; we will keep you updated on these "atheist churches" via future sermons and studies.

The idea of "churches without God" reminds me of a joke about a cowboy who visited a Sunday-keeping church. A cowboy visited this up-scale Protestant church one Sunday morning. He came with his cowboy hat, a cowboy shirt, a cowboy string tie, a cowboy dress jacket, cowboy jeans, and cowboy boots.

Taking note of him, the local pastor approached the cowboy as he was about to leave. After talking with the cowboy for a bit, the pastor informed him that when he attends this church he had better dress properly—with a proper suit, a proper tie, a proper shirt, and proper shoes. No cowboy hat and no cowboy garb. "After all," said the pastor, "when you come here, you come into the presence of the Lord." He then told the cowboy to go home and pray about it before he came again.

The next Sunday, the cowboy came back wearing his cowboy hat, a cowboy shirt, a cowboy string tie, a cowboy dress jacket, cowboy jeans, and cowboy boots.

Again, as the cowboy was leaving, the pastor pulled him aside. "Didn't I tell you that in order to come back you had to be properly dressed? Did you even pray about it?"

The cowboy answered that he had indeed prayed about it.

The pastor retorted, "Well, what was the Lord's answer?"

The cowboy answered, "The Lord told me that He ain't been in this here church for over 20 years." This joke tells the story of the fall of Christianity in America.

Brethren, as we are living in these difficult times, let us draw close to God every day in heartfelt prayer and in the study of His Word. This is the only way we can continue to grow in grace and knowledge as we develop godly character and love in preparation for Christ's return—so we can reign with Him as He rules and brings salvation to this world.

We thank God the Father and Jesus Christ for Their goodness and mercy for all of the brethren. Once again, we thank you for your love and faithfulness to God and to each other. Thank you for your prayers for us and for all the brethren. We thank you for your steadfastness in your tithes and offerings, especially in these difficult times. We pray that God continues to bless you in everything, and that God will watch over you and protect you in every way. Every day we pray for your health and your healing through God's love and grace.

With Love in Christ Jesus,

Fred R. Coulter

FRC

• < November 2013
• January 2014 >