November, 2006

Fred R. Coulter, Minister

November 19, 2006

Dear Brethren,

In the United States, we have just completed mid-term congressional elections. As periodically happens, there was a change in the controlling party in both the House and Senate. The Republicans lost favor with the voters, and the Democrats won a majority of the seats. This has occurred numerous times in the history of America when the political party in power became complacent and corrupt. Authority is abused and the public reacts by electing another slate of politicians—who in turn likewise corrupt themselves. Political change is part of the history of all nations. And changes in governments don’t occur just through elections, they also take place because of war or revolt—or when a king, president or ruler is assassinated, allowing another party to come into power. Regardless of the specific type of government, some are good for a time, while others are only evil and oppressive. This cycle of political change and upheaval has continued throughout mankind’s history.

Today, in America, many Protestant “Christian Evangelicals” and Catholics are working together in an attempt to elect politicians who have “conservative moral values” like their own—in the hope that such politicians will bring about a better government and a more law abiding society. However, such actions can never bring about a lasting change for good because the values embraced by both voters and politicians are not truly God’s values as defined in His Word. Rather, their values are derived from man’s definition of good and evil. What happens all too often to politicians, elected or appointed? Though they profess to have high moral values, power, money and sex tend to corrupt them as well. Such is the history of the nations, governments and religions of the world—as well as those of the Bible.

Contrary to what people often think, government per se is not the problem; the problem is the people who run the government and those who elect them—the voters! For example, while there are many people today who are against abortion, the majority is in favor of abortion. This was recently made clear in the state of North Dakota when a measure to outlaw abortion was voted down by the people. Likewise, in California, as well as in other states, measures that would require a 48-hour waiting period in which to notify parents that their daughters were planning an abortion were voted down. As a result, the killing of the most innocent of all human beings will continue unabated. Since abortion was made “legal” in the USA, 47 million of the most innocent and helpless human beings have been killed in the womb.

The Bible reveals that all the problems of humanity and man’s governments are the result of human nature, which is a mixture of good and evil. Man’s nature is easily corrupted because of the downward pull of the law of sin and death, lust and deceit, under the sway of Satan the devil—the prince of the power of the air—who is actively deceiving all the nations of the world (Eph. 2:1-3; Rev. 12:9)!

Beginning with Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, this has been true down to our day. As a result, from that time to today, there has never been a human government that has been genuinely righteous and that has truly succeeded. They all have failed! While many rulers and governments start out with good intentions, and some with righteous causes, they nearly always end in disaster. It is just as the Bible reveals: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25). When people trust in politicians, instead of God, to solve their problems—regardless of their apparent good intentions—they are doomed to failure.

The Kingdom of Solomon: Witness the awesome righteous beginning of the reign of Solomon when he reigned over the twelve tribes of Israel. No other king or nation in the history of the world started out like Solomon, the son of King David, king over the twelve tribes of Israel. When David handed over the reigns of government to Solomon, God gave David this charge to give to him: “And He [God] said unto me, ‘Solomon your son, he shall build My house and My courts: for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he be constant to do My commandments and My judgments, as at this day.’

“Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you forever. And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek Him, He will be found of you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. Take heed now; for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it” (I Chron. 28:6-10).

After David died, Solomon sought God with humility and a tender, willing heart. This pleased God so much that He appeared to Solomon in a dream: “In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’ And Solomon said unto God, ‘You have shown great mercy unto David my father, and have made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let Your promise unto David my father be established: for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this Your people, that is so great?’

“And God said to Solomon, ‘Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked [for] riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of your enemies, neither yet have asked [for] long life; but have asked [for] wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people, over whom I have made you king: wisdom and knowledge is granted unto you; and I will give you riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before you, neither shall there any after you have the like” (II Chron. 1:7-12).

After Solomon had built and dedicated God’s temple, Solomon prayed to God for His blessing on all Israel and on the temple where He had placed His name and presence—as evidenced by the cloud that filled the temple and the fire that came down from heaven to devour Solomon’s sacrifices of dedication. Then the Lord appeared to him in a second vision: “And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, ‘I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people; if My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now My eyes shall be open, and My ears attentive unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever: and My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually. And as for you, if you will walk before Me, as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and shall observe My statutes and My judgments; then will I establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David your father, saying, “There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel” ’ ” (II Chron. 7:12-18).

In spite of the fact that Solomon started out better than any other king in the history of the world, power, wealth and sexual lust corrupted him. Not only did Solomon sin, the people sinned as well. True to His word, God then intervened to punish Solomon and all Israel for their sins: “But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, ‘You shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods:’ Solomon cleaved unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

“And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, ‘Forasmuch as this is done by you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant’” (I Kings 11:1-11).

The biblical history of the people and kings of Israel and Judah shows that they repeatedly experienced the cycle of sin and revival. Ultimately, however, their ancient kingdoms were brought to an end through war, famine, pestilence, captivity and, finally, exile into the land of their enemies. Israel was carried away into Assyria and Judah was exiled to Babylon.

Whenever a person, group of people or nation trusts in riches, power or politics instead of         trusting in God, they are doomed to failure and will ultimately come under God’s judgment. Notice the difference between those who trust in men and those who trust in God: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

“ ‘Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

“ ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jer. 17:5-10).

King David gives this admonition, which is good spiritual and political advise: “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psa. 118:8-9).

Modern Israel and Judah Today: The end-time nations of modern Israel—the USA, Canada, the UK, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Judah, the Jews in Palestine—all put their trust and confidence in men, armies and weapons instead of the true God. Thus, they will suffer similar consequences because of their sins and rejection of God.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God foretold the end result of Israel’s personal and national sins and rebellion against God: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel does not know, my people do not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should you be stricken any more? You will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers” (Isa. 1:2-7).

As did ancient Israel and Judah, their descendants of this modern age also profess the name of God, invoking His blessings and claiming His promises. Yet they will not truly live by His commandments and laws: “Wherefore the Lord said, ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men…. Therefore as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel’ ” (Isa. 29:13; 5:24 ).

Always remember this: If the general population is not righteous and is not genuinely following God—only embracing some of His commandments while rejecting most of them—all the voting in the world will never produce a righteous government. And all the confidence in men, money or defenses will fail as well. Their collective sins will bring God’s judgment upon them: “For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory. The show of their countenance does witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves. Woe unto the wicked! It shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths” (Isa. 3:8-12).

So we are confronted with the political reality that the more things change, the more they remain the same—all because of the sinfulness of human nature under the sway of Satan the devil. Very seldom do we see things get better for any prolonged period of time. Things will only tend to become worse because our leaders are systematically removing God from the government, from the schools and from public life.

Mankind cannot rule himself. All his governments have failed and will continue to fail. Even the final government of man—a soon-coming, one-world government led by the biblical beast and false prophet—will be the most colossal failure of all. Jesus Christ Himself will destroy that evil government system at His return.

The Coming Kingdom of God: The soon-coming Kingdom of God is the only hope for the world. When Jesus Christ returns, He and the resurrected saints will take over all of the governments of this world: “[And] the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You…. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and His name one” (Zech. 14:5, 9). When the final, seventh trumpet sounds for the first resurrection, all the nations and kingdoms are then transferred from the authority of Satan the devil to the authority and power of Jesus Christ: “Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.’ And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned. For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth’ ” (Rev. 11:15-18).

Jesus and the resurrected saints will deliver the world from the bondage of corruption and sin: “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. For we know that all the creation is groaning together and travailing together until now” (Rom. 8:19-22).

Under Jesus Christ we will rule the world in righteousness and godly judgment: “And I saw thrones; and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and those who did not worship the beast, or his image, and did not receive the mark in their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years…. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4-6).

Not only will we be priests of God and Christ, we will be given ruler-ship over cities (Luke 19:15-19). Jesus also promised that under His direction we will rule over the nations: “And to the one who overcomes, and keeps My works unto the end, I will give authority over the nations; and he shall shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces; as I have also received from My Father” (Rev. 2:26-27). This is why God the Father and Jesus Christ have called us! This is why we pray daily—“Your Kingdom come!”

Church at Home: In November 2002, as I was flying to Cincinnati, Ohio, for our Elders Conference, I was reading Christianity Without God by Lloyd Geering. In his book, Geering claims that it is possible to have Christianity without God and without Jesus Christ—the Son of God and Savior of the world. In the book’s closing remarks, Geering notes the removal of God from the public, private and religious lives of people: “During the twentieth century that ‘God’ [of the Bible] was slowly vanishing from the area of public consciousness and was no longer being appealed to by public bodies in times of pestilence, war and drought, as once was the case. Even in churches it is rare to hear prayers beseeching God…. All public bodies, national and international, are now fully aware that humans themselves must solve the problems of our time and that there is no ‘God’ out there who can be appealed to when all else fails. The once public ‘face of God’ has been forced to retreat to the subjective consciousness of devout individuals and traditional church gatherings. God has been privatized; what has remained public are the values inherited from the Christian past, values which to lead to fresh emancipation and new human ideals; and it is those values which constitute ‘Christianity without God.’ ” (p. 143).

While men may reject God and Jesus Christ, remove Them from schools, governments and churches, they cannot remove Them from our homes, our lives, our hearts and our minds! This is when God inspired me to think of “Church at Home.” In spite of what Satan and his agents do, we can still reach people in their homes. Furthermore, “Church at Home” is nothing new! That is exactly how the apostolic church began—with small groups meeting in homes (Acts 2:41-47; 10:2, 27, 30; 11:13; 17:5; 18:7; 20:20; 21:8; Rom. 16:5; and I Cor. 16:19).

When I got to Cincinnati, I immediately called Ron Cary, Webmaster for our church website, cbcg.org, and had him reserve the domain name churchathome.com (including .net and .org). All three were available—so we paid for those domain names and have retained ownership of them since that time. We knew then that, in the future, the Internet would become the most powerful way to reach the most people at a very low cost.

The message I gave that Sabbath in Cincinnati, in November 2002, on “Christianity Without God” was the origin of “Church at Home.” That message is included in this mailing.

Years ago, when godless, evil teachings began creeping into nearly all public schools, people responded by home-schooling their children. Today, hundreds of thousands of children are home-schooled by their parents with the help of Internet websites.

The same thing has been happening in the so-called “Christian” churches of this world. More and more people are leaving the traditional churches—because they are disillusioned by “mega-churches,” tired of the politics of religion, and turned off by endless “praise singing” and altar calls. Likewise, they are sick and tired of all the corruption, false doctrines and hypocrisy they find in churches—among members and ministers. They simply have not been able to find God in these churches.

As well, they realize that the building is not the church—the people are the church. It is estimated that as many as 10-15 million people have left organized religion over the past few years—and that 25 million have “church” in their homes today. They enjoy studying their Bibles in small groups in the privacy of their homes rather than in church buildings and cathedrals.

The growing power of the Internet provides us with the perfect opportunity to reach people in their homes—through churchathome.org. We are now in the process of building the “Church at Home” website. It will soon be up and running.

This past Sabbath, in Monrovia, California, I gave three new, shorter sermons for Church at Home. We video taped the sermons to make them available online with both audio and video. Included in this mailing is the 2002 Cincinnati sermon, Origin of Church at Home and one of the new “Church at Home” sermons, Jesus the Man # 1. The other two, How to Find God and The Simplicity of Christ will be included in our next trial CD, which you will receive in a few weeks.

The messages on churchathome.org will be shorter. For those who are interested in in-depth studies, we will have links to our regular church website—cbcg.org. There they will find all the sermons and messages we have done through the years. We are continually updating cbcg.org, adding new material, messages and transcripts. This means that those whom God is calling will have a vast resource from which to learn the truth—right at their fingertips. They will be able to begin keeping the Sabbath and holy days in their own homes via the internet. In the privacy of their own homes they will learn how to study their Bibles—and we will have the Bible in its Original Order for them—and they will learn how to pray. They will be able to find the true God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, without all the trappings of the Orthodox, paganized, Gnostic Christianity of this world. God will send His Holy Spirit to be with them and draw them to repentance and baptism so they can receive the Holy Spirit as a begettal from God the Father—so that they too can become the children of God (I John 3:1-3, 9).

Brethren, I am convinced that God will use this new website in a powerful way to call many to salvation. It is going to take a lot of work to build the churchathome.org website, but we pray that God will continue to bless us and lead us in this effort.

The Holy Day Transcript Study Book: We are nearly finished with the in-depth transcript study book, entitled God’s Plan for Mankind Revealed by the Sabbath and Holy Days. It will be over 300 pages, and is composed of transcripts of the best sermons of all the feasts and holy days of God that we have done through the years. It is designed for those who want the strong meat of the Word of God. It will not be a book for beginners. It will be the sequel to Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which? We will have nearly 30 sermons in MP3 format on 3 CDs. This will be a tremendous way to study and learn about the holy days, because everyone will be able to hear the sermons, and read along with the transcripts. By reading and hearing the messages at the same time, brethren will be able to learn much more than when simply attending church and listening to a sermon—or listening to an audiocassette or CD sermon. You will have your copy before Passover. In compiling the material for this book, it dawned on me just this week that the only reference and bibliography for this entire book will be the Word of God—the Holy Bible! No other books are referenced or used in these messages. They contain the pure Word of God only!

Brethren, once again thank you for all your love, prayers and continued support through your tithes and offerings. We are continuing to pray for you every day, that God the Father and Jesus Christ to be with you, to strengthen you, to heal you, to help you grow in grace and knowledge and in the love of God. And we always pray that God’s love, grace and blessings be upon you and all that you do.

With love in Christ Jesus,

Fred R. Coulter

FRC