June, 2006

Fred R. Coulter, Minister

June 12, 2006

Dear Brethren,

Our new book, Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which?, turned out to be quite a tremendous work—and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Everyone should be receiving their copy/copies very soon.

We hope that each of you had an inspiring Feast of Pentecost—a sort of “mid-point” in God’s plan, picturing (among other things) the coming marriage of Christ and the Church.

When we understand the true scope of the meaning regarding the holy days and feasts of God, we realize that God has used these days to reveal Himself to His people and to the world. In the Scriptures we find that each feast and holy day is either 1) a memorial or remembrance of activities and events that God has already completed and/or is continuing to fulfill, or 2) a prophecy of future events yet to be fulfilled. Here is a quick overview of the memorials and prophecies pictured by the Sabbath, Passover and holy days.

The Weekly Sabbath: From the beginning the Sabbath has been a memorial of God’s creation of the heavens and earth. It is thus continually being fulfilled, week by week, as we observe the Sabbath—a day wherein God the Father and Jesus Christ fellowship with us and teach us through their Word and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As a prophecy, the Sabbath pictures the coming Kingdom of God—“the rest of God.”

The Passover: As the initial step in God’s plan, the Passover was foreshadowed in Genesis fifteen—and is thus a memorial of God’s covenant with Abraham, promising physical seed through Isaac and spiritual seed through Jesus Christ our Savior. It is a memorial of God’s sparing of Israel’s firstborn and His judgment against all the gods of Egypt (Ex. 12:12, 27). For Christians, Passover commemorates the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (God manifested in the flesh) as the Lamb of God—Who died, as recorded in the gospel accounts, on the Passover day in 30 AD, as a propitiation for the sins of the world. It is continually fulfilled each year when we partake of the Passover and renew our Covenant of Eternal Life with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread: The first day of Unleavened Bread (a holy day) is a memorial of God’s promise to Abraham to bring the children of Israel out from Egypt—on the “very same day” after 430 years of captivity. Thus, this night is called by God “a night to be much observed” (Ex 12:42). It commemorates the beginning of the exodus of the children of Israel as God personally directed Moses and Aaron to lead them out of Egypt (Ex. 12:40-42). The last day (a high day) is a memorial of God’s final deliverance of the children of Israel—as they passed through the Red Sea on dry ground and witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh and his armies who drowned in the sea (Ex. 14 and 15). The Wave Sheaf Offering—held on the first day of the week during the feast—was first performed when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land (Lev. 23:9-14; Josh. 5:10-12). This day initiated the barley/wheat harvest and was the first day in the count toward Pentecost. Wave Sheaf was a prophecy of Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven to God the Father to be accepted as the Savior of the world.

In the New Testament, the first holy day is a memorial of Christ being put into the tomb. He remained there for three days and three nights and was resurrected near the end of the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On the first day of the week, the Wave Sheaf Offering day, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the wave sheaf of Leviticus 23:10-11.

The entire seven-day feast pictures our deliverance from Satan the Devil through the power of God, and our deliverance from sin through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ. It is continually being fulfilled as we come out of this world, grow in grace and knowledge, and develop the character and mind of Jesus Christ—that we might be unleavened in Christ.

Pentecost: In the Old Testament, Pentecost is a memorial of God audibly giving the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai (Ex. 20 and Deut. 5). Later, in the land of Israel, Pentecost was also a memorial of the firstfruit harvest of the barley/wheat crops (Lev. 23:15-21). In the New Testament, God used the day of Pentecost to send the Holy Spirit in power and thus begin the Church—spiritual Israel—at the temple in Jerusalem in 30 AD. It is a memorial of that tremendous event recorded in Acts two. Most importantly, Pentecost is a prophecy of the first resurrection—the resurrection of the firstfruits to God the Father, also called the Church of the Firstborn (I Cor. 15:22-23; Heb. 12:22-24; Rev. 14:14-16).

Trumpets: For the children of Israel, the Feast of Trumpets declared that God would fight their battles if they obeyed Him. It is also a memorial of the day of Trumpets in which God placed His presence into the Temple Solomon built (II Chron. 5:12-14; 7:1). In the New Testament, Trumpets pictures the direct intervention of Christ via the trumpet plagues of Revelation 8-10. Ultimately, Trumpets is a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon the Great, and of the final, great battle which will take place as Jesus and the saints return to the earth from the Sea of Glass to stand on the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:1-9)—from which they will destroy the armies of the nations led by the beast and the false prophet.

Atonement: In the Old Testament, this high day focused on God’s yearly atonement for the sins of the priesthood and of the children of Israel. The removal of the goat for Azazel (Lev. 16) is shown in the New Testament to be a prophecy of the binding of Satan in the abyss for a 1,000 years and of God’s final judgment on Satan and the demons (Rev. 20:1-3; 10-11).

Tabernacles: This festival was initially a memorial of the children of Israel’s dwelling in tents/tabernacles when they came out of Egypt, after which it commemorated the inheritance and rest God gave Israel in the Promised Land. Primarily, Tabernacles was a celebration of the great harvest of all crops at the end of the year. In the New Testament, Tabernacles is a memorial of Jesus having temporarily “tabernacled” with men as God manifested in the flesh. It also pictures the reality that true Christians are actually a tabernacle/temple of God with the Spirit of God dwelling in them. Prophetically, Tabernacles pictures the Kingdom of God on earth under the rule of Jesus Christ and the saints for a thousand years—at which time the great spiritual harvest will begin to take place, with sons and daughters born into the kingdom of God (Rev. 20:4-6). Finally, it is a prophecy of the time when God the Father and Jesus Christ will dwell with all the saints in the New Jerusalem—to which the nations that are saved will come (Rev. 21 and 22).

The Last Great Day: In the Old Testament, the Last Great Day was an extension of the Feast of Tabernacles as a memorial of all the blessings of God. In the New Testament, it pictures the completion of the great spiritual harvest through the second resurrection—wherein Israelites and Gentiles alike are raised to life during the Great White Throne judgment period to be given the Holy Spirit and an opportunity for eternal life (Lev. 23:36, 39; Rev. 20:5, 11-12; Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 7:37-39).

This overview of the Sabbath and the feasts and holy days of God helps us to understand why they are so important—and necessary for us to keep. It is through the keeping of these feasts and holy days that God the Father and Jesus Christ continually reveal Their will through the Scriptures and by the power of God’s Holy Spirit to His Church and to His people.

Now you can see why Satan and the leaders of his pagan religious systems hate these days. The forces of evil and darkness do not want people to come to the knowledge of the Sabbath, feasts and holy days of God—thus Satan has deceived the religions of the world to promote his occult holidays and attack God’s Sabbath and holy days.

The Elders’ Conference: In Cincinnati, Ohio, we held our Elders’ Conference on May 12-14. Our meetings dealt mostly with ministerial duties and responsibilities, as well as on how to handle problems and make righteous and merciful judgments. Such judgments should be made only when necessary—and it is always better to teach the brethren, to give them the knowledge and encouragement to solve their own problems, so they can better make decisions for themselves. This way, all of the elders and brethren can grow in grace and knowledge to develop the mind and character of Jesus Christ.

This is accomplished by teaching the Word of God and loving and serving the brethren, just as Jesus Christ admonished the disciples: “But Jesus called them to Him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the nations exercise lordship over them, and the great ones exercise authority over them. However, it shall not be this way among you; but whoever would become great among you, let him be your servant; and whoever would be first among you, let him be your slave; just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many’ ” (Matt. 20:25-28).

On the other hand, Jesus did not mean that the elders cannot use their authority in a firm and loving manner when problems do arise. In situations that are most difficult and require that people separate themselves from our fellowship because of sins or private doctrines, we always need to let them know that if there is repentance, then the door is open for them to return—as demonstrated in the parable of the prodigal son returning to his father (Luke 15:11-32).

Paul also instructed Timothy on how to handle himself and what to do with those who have extremely severe problems and need to be corrected: “But flee youthful lusts; and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and ignorant speculations reject, knowing that they engender arguments. Now it is obligatory that a servant of the Lord not be argumentative, but gentle toward all, competent to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting those who set themselves in opposition; if perhaps God may grant them repentance unto acknowledging of the truth, and that they may wake up and escape from the devil’s snare, who have been taken captive by him to do his will” (II Tim. 2:22-26).

We had an exceptionally inspiring Sabbath during the conference with nearly 100 brethren in attendance. The Elders’ Conference and Sabbath are best summarized by the two sermon tapes that you have already received—Are You God’s Policeman? and Our Relationship with God. Both reflect the overall theme of the entire conference. In addition to myself, the other elders in attendance were: Anse Cates, Glenn Daniel, Wayne Stenhouse, Marlin Fannin, Bob Hunnicutt, Roger Kendall and Norbert Bohnert. Ken Gee, our elder in Australia, was not able to attend this year, and neither was Carl Franklin, who recently retired but will continue to do some research.

The Parthenon Code: This is a tremendous book written by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr. and published in 2004. I learned of the book when one of the brethren sent me a copy of the book’s copyright page and the section describing the reemergence of the “Way of Cain” after the flood. This prompted me to order the book. After receiving it and seeing what a fantastic book it was, I had Ron Cary e-mail the author to see if I could buy a case of them. Much to my surprise Robert Johnson called our office and left his number. I then called him and ordered a case from him directly. Since then we have had several long phone conversations about what he has written. It is important to note that Johnson’s material adds what has been a missing dimension—making it possible to truly understand the origin of the Greek, pagan Zeus religion.

Johnson is an expert in ancient Greek mythological religion as told in the sculptured stone idols of the Greek gods and goddesses that decorated the temple of Athena. His book shows stone figures of men, women and animals that portray the story of the Garden of Eden, the flood and the beginnings of post-flood civilization—but all from Satan’s point of view.

The book reveals for the first time the “astonishing truth that Greek myth/art chronicles the reestablishment of the Way of Kain (Cain) after the flood. The meaning of the seven sculptural themes on Athena’s Temple [are] understood for the first time in more than 2,000 years.

“Adventurous believers of the truth of Genesis have searched the mountains of Ararat in modern-day Turkey for the remains of Noah’s ark, most recently using satellite cameras to aid in their quest. Their idea is that by finding what remains of Noah’s ark, they prove that Noah existed, that the Book of Genesis is true, and that the God of Genesis is the One, true God.

“Little did they realize that proof of Noah’s existence has stood atop a much smaller mountain—the Akropolis of Athens—in plain sight for nearly 2,500 years. The sculpture of Athena’s great temple, the Parthenon, celebrates the triumph of Zeus-religion over Noah and His Yahweh-believing children. All seven of the Parthenon’s sculptural themes (on the two pediments, on the four sets of metopes, and on the frieze) relate to Noah in some significant way. We may not have found the ark yet in Turkey, but in ancient Greece we have found Noah as painted on vase after vase, as sculpted on the Altar of Zeus at Pergamum, and as the specifically acknowledged but unseen background figure on the Parthenon” (from the dust jacket of TheParthenon Code).

I highly recommend this book, as one well worth the money. You may order it directly from the author at www.solvinglight.com (the cost is $19.95 plus shipping). Or, you may order it from Amazon.com (the ISBN number is 0-9705438-3-2). If you know how to use Power Point on your computer, you may prefer to order Johnson’s Power Point presentation for $39.95, which includes a free copy of the book. The Power Point presentation contains over 400 color photos of the Parthenon sculpted images and paintings on vases and containers.

The Da Vinci Code: Last week Dolores and I went to see the movie The Da Vinci Code. Technically, it was well done and served its intended purpose, which primarily was to cause as many as possible to reject the Bible and Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God—as God manifested in the flesh. While the attacks against the Catholic Church were well founded, the movie attempted to reduce Jesus to a mere human—who, of all things, had married Mary Magadaline—making Him neither the Savior nor the Son of God. It promulgated the lie that after Jesus died on the cross, Mary Magadaline—pregnant with a child fathered by Jesus—escaped to what is now southern France where she had a baby girl. As also contained in the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the movie then follows with the claim that there exists within the royal bloodlines of Europe the physical descendents of Jesus. At the end of the movie the leading female star turned out to be one of the last descendants of this supposed line of Jesus.

In the final scenes, Langston (the leading male star) contemplates what he perceived was the reality of his new discovery—that he had been with the woman who was supposed to be the last descendant of Jesus’ physical line through Mary Magdalene. The movie concludes with Langston—after reading from a book titled The Feminine Divine—going to a shrine in Paris to worship over the supposed resting-place of Mary Magadaline.

In many ways, the movie promoted the idea that it doesn’t matter what the Bible says or what religions have previously taught. The only thing that matters is what you believe. And if you believe it in your heart, then it is true—which is classic, Satanic, post-modern deceptive thinking. Not one passage of Scripture was used in the entire movie. But it well serves Satan’s purpose in continuing to destroy the knowledge of Jesus Christ—and in causing people to believe in lies and to reject all forms of Christianity.

The Da Vinci Code is only another step designed by Satan to deceive the world and prepare mankind for the acceptance the coming Antichrist and Satan’s occult world religion and government—all just before the true Jesus Christ returns to the earth in power and glory. This is why in recent years there has been so much that has come out concerning so-called Gnostic “gospels.” Satan is reviving such heretical teachings to completely undermine any belief in the true Jesus Christ.

To help give you a better understanding of Gnostic Christianity—truly a pagan Christianity—Alan Knight has written an eight-page article about The Gospel of Judas and Gnosticism’s challenge to all forms of Christianity. We have enclosed his paper in this mailing. His article is most insightful and helps us to realize that all of the various brands of worldly Christianity—to one degree or another—incorporate occult and Gnostic ideas into their beliefs.

We will have the Feast of Tabernacles Letter out next week. We are a little late because of finalizing some last minute details at the various feast sites.

Brethren, in my next letter I will make a wonderful announcement about how we are going to complete the entire Bible in its original order. In the meantime, we thank you for all your love, prayers and support through your tithes and offerings. We all need to work while we have the light. May God the Father and Jesus Christ bless you with their love, grace, healing and intervention in your life as we strive for the Kingdom of God and eternal life.

With love in Christ Jesus,

Fred R. Coulter

FRC