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December 15, 2015
Dear Brethren,
We are nearing the completion of our new book, From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God—Why Were You Born? At the present time we are waiting on the finalization of the front cover artwork from the artist in England. This book will be a companion to the 12-part series we have by the same title at Church at Home (churchathome.org). It may well prove to be one of our finest and most important books we have published!
Several weeks ago, we received a wonderful letter from a lady who watched the complete 12-part series on Church at Home. She writes:
"Dear Dr. Coulter: I would like to let you know just how tremendously wonderful I found your series Why Were You Born? From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God. I thought I would watch just one or two of the programs last Saturday; but as it turned out, I couldn't stop viewing them, so I went through the entire series on that Sabbath. The images of the growth of the child in the womb were amazing to watch. The last program, that ended with the music and praises to God, so overwhelmed me that I cried for at least a half hour—in fact, my eyes are welling up right now just thinking about it.
"I wish the people who believe that abortion is a 'right' would listen to and watch this series, especially in light of the recent shooting in Colorado. But on the other hand, they would call it right-wing propaganda.
"I sincerely thank you for providing your sermons and videos online, as I hope and pray to God that I, along with members of my family, will become worthy enough to be called His children, and be part of the first resurrection of His Kingdom."—SB, California
When you receive your copy of the new book (in the first half of February, 2016), we are sure you will also be overwhelmed as you are able to comprehend more fully the awesome calling of God the Father and Jesus Christ. At the first resurrection we will become the literal sons and daughters of God—composed of immortal spirit!
Why God has Hidden this Knowledge: Today, there are nearly seven billion people in the world. Moreover, with over 6,000 years of human history, it is not possible to estimate how many billions of people have actually lived and died. Of that vast number, only a very few have ever had a clue as to why they were born! Yet the creation of mankind is the heart and core of God's incredible plan—His very reason for creating the heavens and earth!
After God created Adam and Eve, He intended to instruct them about His great plan for all of their descendants. But first, they would have to choose to love and obey God. This is why God placed the two trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden—the Tree of Life andthe Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Had they chosen to eat of the Tree of Life, God undoubtedly would have begun to reveal the purpose of human existence. However, they chose to not believe and obey God! Rather, they chose to believe the serpent's lies—that they would not die if they ate of the forbidden fruit. Indeed, they decided to use their own judgment and ate the fruit of that tree. Thus, sin and death entered the human realm. As God said, "[F]or in the day that you eat of it, in dying, you shall surely die!" (Gen. 2:17).
The sin of Adam and Eve has affected all mankind. As Paul writes: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way, death passed into all mankind; and it is for this reason that all have sinned…. [Indeed,] as in Adam all die…" (Rom. 5:12; I Cor. 15:22).
In Eden, God decreed His judgments, beginning with Satan the devil, because he is the author of sin: "And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman [Eve, and later the Church], and between your seed [those who would follow Satan] and her Seed [Jesus Christ]; He will bruise your head [the destruction of all the works of the devil], and you shall bruise His heel [the then-future crucifixion and death of the Messiah]" (Gen. 3:15).
Next, God pronounced His judgment upon Adam and Eve, then exiled them from the Garden of Eden so they could not eat of the Tree of Life. Thus, from that time forward their access to God must have been very limited (verses 16-24).
Consequently, while God promised a future Savior (Gen. 3:15), He deliberately hid the knowledge of His plan—calling it the mystery of God "hidden from the ages and generations" (Col. 1:26). In fact, God delayed revealing the fullness of His plan until well after the resurrection of Christ—over 4,000 years later. Thus, mankind has had virtually no knowledge of God's amazing purpose for creating human beings.
Yet, scattered throughout the Old Testament are many seemingly disconnected prophetic clues to God's plan for man—many involving promises of the Messiah. During Jesus' earthly ministry, God began to reveal more about His plan of salvation and the purpose for mankind. However, Jesus revealed a great deal of God's mystery to His apostles in 52 AD, over 20 years after His resurrection, beginning with the "sonship of God" (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:4-6).
Ten years later, when Paul was in prison at Rome in 61 AD, he wrote that Jesus had revealed the fullness of the mystery of God to all the apostles and prophets: "For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the ministry of the grace of God that was given to me for you; how He made known to me by revelation the mystery (even as I wrote briefly before, so that when you read this, you will be able to comprehend my understanding in the mystery of Christ), which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit…" (Eph. 3:1-5).
However, it was not until the New Testament was completed and canonized with the book of Revelation that the prophecies of the Old Testament could be unlocked. The Old Testament is like a locked treasure chest—containing the "hidden things" of God. The New Testament is like a key, which, when coupled with the Holy Spirit of God, unlocks the secrets of God's mystery—His true purpose for creating mankind in His image and likeness.
Even with the complete Bible—and there are billions of Bibles in the world today—one cannot simply read it, as one would read any other book, and expect to gain more than a superficial understanding of God's secret mystery. Why? Because if anyone reads the Word of God—but does not believe, love, and obey Him—their minds are automatically blinded to the truth contained in the Scriptures. John explained this by quoting Isaiah: "Although He had done so many miracles in their presence, they did not believe in Him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, who said, 'Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' For this very reason they could not believe because again Isaiah said, 'He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I would heal them.' Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him" (John 12:37-41).
Think of it! The Jewish religious leaders had the Word of God, the Old Testament. They saw Jesus in person—the prophesied Messiah. They heard Him speak and preach the Gospel and expound the Scriptures. Yet they could not understand what Jesus said because they did not actually believe God, love Him, or keep His commandments. Rather, they kept their own traditions (Mark 7:1-13; Psa. 111:10).
Thus, a profound truth is revealed: When people do not love God, believe, or obey Him, but follow the teachings of men, it is impossible for them to comprehend God's "secret mystery" hidden in the Scriptures—even though they may plainly read of it!
The priests and Levites were the keepers of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Yet, even when the prophesied Messiah was in their presence speaking to them, they could not grasp the truth. Indeed, the truth was hidden from them. Isaiah describes such spiritual blindness:
"Be stunned and amazed! Blind your eyes and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink, for the Lord has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes; He has covered the prophets and your rulers, and the seers.
"And the vision of all has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one who is learned saying, 'Please read this,' and he says, 'I cannot, for it is sealed.' And the book is delivered to him who is not learned, saying, 'Please read this,' and he says, 'I am not learned.' And the Lordsaid, 'Because this people draws near Me with their mouth, and with their lips honor Me, but their worship of Me is made up of the traditions of men learned by rote, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do again a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the wisdom of their intelligent ones shall vanish" (Isa. 29:9-14).
Now notice Jesus' indictment of the religious leaders of His day: " 'Why don't you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
" 'Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the truth, why don't you believe Me? The one who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God.' Then the Jews answered and said to Him, 'Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?'
"Jesus answered, 'I do not have a demon. But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. Yet I do not seek My own glory; there is One Who seeks and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My words, he shall not see death forever' " (John 8:43-51).
We see exactly the same spiritual blindness today! Especially during the pagan, traditional "Christian" holidays of Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc. Like the Israelites of old, "Christians" today flatter God with their words while actually doing the works of their spiritual father—Satan the devil!
This is why only a few—because God calls them and opens their minds—are given the understanding of the mystery of God. They are the ones who have answered God's call, have repented, been baptized, and received the Holy Spirit of God—because they love God the Father and Jesus Christ and, with true faith, keep God's commandments (Acts 5:32; Rev. 14:12).
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he reminded them of these fundamental spiritual realities: "For you see your calling, brethren, that there are not many who are wise according to the flesh, not many who are powerful, not many who are high-born among you. Rather, God has chosen the foolish things of the world, so that He might put to shame those who are wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world so that He might put to shame the strong things. And the low-born of the world, and the despised has God chosen—even the things that are counted as nothing—in order that He might bring to nothing the things that are; so that no flesh might glory in His presence. But you are of Him [God the Father] in Christ Jesus, Who was made to us wisdom from God—even righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; so that, as it is written, 'The one who glories, let him glory in the Lord' " (I Cor. 1:26-31).
Because the Corinthians were getting puffed up and arrogant about their spiritual standing, Paul also had to make it clear that, as human beings, we do not have anything, physical or spiritual, that we did not receive from God: "For what makes you superior to others? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you also received it, why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?" ( I Cor. 4:7).
On another occasion, when Paul witnessed to the great Greek philosophers of Athens, he proclaimed that their gods, devotions, and idols had nothing to do with the true God, the actual Creator of the heavens and earth. Today, this would be like standing before the Pope of Rome and his entire College of Cardinals and announcing to them that Saint Peter's Cathedral—with all of its idols, artwork, gold, and silver—was nothing but vanity and had nothing to do with the true God! Notice: "Then Paul stood in the center of Mars' hill and said, 'Men, Athenians, I perceive that in all things you are very reverent to deities; for as I was passing through and observing the objects of your veneration, I also found an altar on which was inscribed, "To an unknown God."
" 'So then, He Whom you worship in ignorance is the One that I proclaim to you. He is the God Who made the world and all things that are in it. Being the Lord of heaven and earth, He does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by the hands of men, as though He needs anything, for He gives to all life and breath and all things.
" 'And He made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having determined beforehand their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling; in order that they might seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after Him and might find Him; though truly, He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being…' " (Acts 17:22-28).
Everything that exists comes from God! And only God can reveal the knowledge of His secret mystery, which contains the "deep things" of God. Paul explains how we can comprehend these "deep things," which the world cannot receive: "And my message and my preaching was not in persuasive words of humanwisdom; rather, it was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; so that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
"Now we speak wisdom among the spiritually mature; however, it is not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. Rather, we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom that God foreordained before the ages unto our glory, which not one of the rulers of this world has known…. But according as it is written, 'The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things—eventhe deep things of God.
"For who among men understands the things of man except by the spirit of man which is in him? In the same way also, the things of God no one understands except by the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is of God, so that we might know the things graciously given to us by God; which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit in order to communicate spiritual things by spiritual means. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:4-14).
This is why, even today, the vast majority of people do not have the slightest clue as to why they were born! For God only reveals the "deep things" of His mystery to those "called and chosen" through His Holy Spirit and His Word by Jesus Christ!
However, this new book is written in such a way that it will help those who receive it to begin to realize, for the first time in their lives, why they were born! Then, if they are willing to believe God, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit, and keep His commandments, they can also become the very children of God the Father. For the brethren of God, this book will inspire us to more fully appreciate the greatness of God's creation of mankind. This is the reason for our calling—to become the immortal, spirit sons and daughters of God the Father!
Lawlessness Shall be Multiplied: In the world today, lawlessness is abounding exactly as Jesus said it would. The apostle John clearly defines lawlessness for us in I John 3:4. The KJV translates it this way: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law." However, the actual Greek indicates a much broader application: "Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness." This translation demonstrates the actual meaning of "lawlessness"—Greek anomia. This word has a broad meaning, ranging from total rebellion and anarchy to sanctimonious, compassionate-sounding religious practices that appear "good" but are actually evil. There is, however, another form of lawlessness: Men have modified or rejected some or all of the laws and commandments of God, substituting God's Word with humanly devised traditions that are actually contrary to the Bible—this too is lawlessness!
In Paul's epistle to the Romans, he shows that lawlessness develops into a way of life that degenerates into more and more sin. It all starts with rejecting God. "Indeed, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested it to them; for the invisible things of Him are perceived from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that were made—both His eternal power and Godhead—so that they are without excuse.
"Because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but they became vain in their own reasonings, and their foolish hearts were darkened. While professing themselves to be the wise ones, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed creatures, and creeping things.
"For this cause, God also abandoned them to uncleanness through the lusts of their hearts, to disgrace their own bodies between themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie; and they worshiped and served the created thing more than the One Who is Creator, Who is blessed into the ages. Amen" (Rom. 1:18-25).
This is how many people come to practice lawlessness as a way of life. They start by rejecting the reality that God exists—denying the evidence—and soon regress to depraved morals and lawlessness. While they profess themselves to be wise and enlightened, they become fools! Jesus describes the lawlessness of rebellion and anarchy that consumes everything in its path—just as we are witnessing in the world: "And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him alone, saying, 'Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the completion of the age?' Then Jesus answered and said to them, 'Be on guard, so that no one deceives you. For many shall come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ;" and they shall deceive many.
" 'And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you do not let these things disturb you. For it is necessary that all these things take place, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. Now all these things are the beginning of sorrows.
" 'Then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then shall many be led into sin, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another; and many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many.
" 'And because lawlessness shall be multiplied, the love of many shall grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come' " (Matt. 24:3-14).
We can see that these events Jesus prophesied are taking place today, simultaneously, in different parts of the world. In fact, Matthew 24 reads like our daily news! The Islamic terrorist attack two weeks ago in San Bernadino, California, is a good example. This past year there has been an increasing number of terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Europe, as well as in other places (not to mention the ongoing wars in the Middle East). These terror attacks are acts of depraved, lawless men filled with satanic hatred, cruelty, and viciousness! How can Islam be considered a "religion of peace"?
How can we as God's people cope? We must keep in the forefront of our minds and hearts the promise and hope of our calling—becoming the immortal spirit sons and daughters of God the Father. If we do, we will not be overwhelmed with anxiety or become depressed because of what we see taking place in the world. Remember, God has called us to serve with Christ—to help save the world when He brings the Kingdom of God to the earth. At that time we will reign with Him and truly bring peace to this sin-sick world! Notice what Paul writes: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Now you have not received a spirit of bondage again unto fear, but you have received the Spirit of sonship, whereby we call out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit itself bears witness conjointly with our own spirit, testifying that we are the children of God. Now if we are children, we are also heirs—truly, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer together with Him, so that we may also be glorified together with Him.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation itself is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God; because the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope, in order that the creation itself might be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Rom. 8:14-21).
This is our destiny! Let's keep it in our hearts and minds!
Brethren, once again, thank you for all your prayers, love, and encouragement. It is only with God the Father and Jesus Christ working in and through each one of us that we are able to feed the brethren the truth of God. Also, working together, we all have a part in preaching the Gospel to the world. We truly thank you for your tithes and offerings you so graciously give. We always keep in mind that the tithes and offerings are what God provides, and we endeavor to make every penny stretch as far as possible with His guidance and blessing. We continue to pray for you daily that God will bless you with His love, His healing, and the strength of His Holy Spirit. We pray as well for His angels to watch over you and protect you. May God continue to bless you in everything you do.
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
