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September-October Letter
September 13, 2016
Dear Brethren,
This year, because of the timing of God’s fall feasts and holy days as adjusted to the Roman Calendar (RC), we have made this letter for September and October. In fact, this raises the question, “Why do the fall holy days seem to be so late this year?” The answer is this: According to God’s sacred calendar, the Calculated Hebrew Calendar (CHC), the day before the Feast of Trumpets this year is the end of a 19-year time cycle. The 19th year is always leap year. In the RC, a leap year means adding a 29th day in February (once every four years). But in the CHC, it means adding an entire 13th month. Thus, this year’s fall feasts are later in the year on the RC. However, according to God’s sacred calendar, everything is right on time. (For more information on God’s sacred calendar, please request our booklet on the CHC.)
As you know, the Roman Calendar is exclusively a solar calendar, whereas God’s sacred calendar is a coordinated lunar/solar calendar wherein time and the seasons are governed by the combined movements and cycles of the earth, sun, and moon. Plus, the CHC is reckoned on the basis of a 19-year time cycle made up of 12 common years (each with an average of 354 days) and 7 leap years (each with an average of 384 days). This means that whenever there is a leap year, the holy days occur later on the Roman Calendar.
In addition, the sequence of days must always fit into the seven-day week, with the weekly Sabbath being the seventh day, which God established at creation: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And by the beginning of the seventh day God finished His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. This is the account of the heavens and of the earth when they were created; in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” (Gen. 2:1-4).
In blessing and sanctifying the seventh day, God ordained that we rest from our work and use the Sabbath to honor and worship Him as our Creator. This is the basis of the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it” (Ex. 20:8-11).
In the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, or the “Law”), God commands us to keep His annual Sabbaths in addition to the weekly Sabbaths (Ex. 12; 23:14-16; 34:18, 22; Deut. 16; etc.). In fact, in several passages God tells us that there are three seasons, or appointed times, each year in which we are to keep His feasts and holy days. Most of these passages do not specify the month or day of the month the annual Sabbaths are to be kept.
However, in Leviticus 23, following a reaffirming of the weekly Sabbath, God designates all of His appointed times or holy days in the order they are to be kept—including the month and the day of the month.
God declares that these annual Sabbath days are His—He owns them! He shows that each holy day is sanctified as a “holy convocation.” Notice: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, “Concerning the appointed feasts [or times; Hebrew moed] of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings” ’ ” (Lev. 23:1-3).
From verse four to the end of the chapter, God lists all the annual feasts and holy days in sequence, with their specific dates according to the CHC. He declares: “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim in their appointed seasons” (verse 4). These holy days are special annual Sabbaths—and may be summarized as follows:
- 14th day of the first month—Passover—a holy convocation, but not a holy day (verse 5).
- 15th thru the 21st day of the first month—Feast of Unleavened Bread—for 7 days. First and seventh days are holy days (verses 6-8).
- In 3rd month—Pentecost—a holy day; determined by counting 50 days (verses 9-21).
- 1st day of the seventh month—Feast of Trumpets—a holy day (verses 24-25).
- 10th day of the seventh month—Day of Atonement—a holy day (verses 26-32).
- 15th thru the 21st day of the 7th month—Tabernacles—15th a holy day (verses 33-43).
- 22nd day of the seventh month—Last Great Day—a holy day (verses 36, 39).
Please note: The first month of the CHC falls during the months of March/April on the RC. The third month (with Pentecost) falls during late May/early June on the RC. The seventh month occurs during September/October on the RC.
In the Beginning God Created the Appointed Times: On day one God created time on earth, light and dark—evening and morning. Since then, day and night has continued without fail. On day two, He divided the waters on the earth and above the earth and made the firmament or sky. On day three, God raised the dry land and gathered the waters together in seas and created all plant life. This we know.
Yet there is one aspect of the creation account that is often overlooked: God’s creation of His “appointed times.” And as we will see, their place in the creation sequence is also important. On day four God set the appointed seasons: “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide between the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for appointed seasons [Hebrew moed], and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And God had [previously] made two great lights, the greater light [the sun] to rule the day and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night; and God had [previously] made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were day four” (Gen. 1:14-19).
Here is what most people overlook: On day four God created the “appointed seasons”—before He created any form of life on earth (fowl, sea life, or land animals). Think of it! The appointed seasons or appointed times were created before God created Adam and Eve—before He made the seventh-day Sabbath! He did not create earthly life until day five and day six! This reveals the vital importance of Gods “appointed times”!
On day five He created all life in the waters and all the fowl of the sky. “And God said, ‘Let the waters abound with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly over the earth on the face of the firmament of heaven.’ And God created great sea-animals, and every living creature that moves with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.’ And the evening and the morning were day five” (Gen. 1:20-23).
Then, on day six, God created living things on the land. “And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind—livestock, creeping things, and beasts of the earth—each after its kind.’ And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and every creeping thing upon the earth after their kind. And God saw that it was good” (verses 24-25).
Finally, to finish day six, the crowning glory of God’s creation of the heaven and earth—He created Adam and Eve! “And God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that crawls upon the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’… And God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was exceedingly good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (verses 26-28, 31).
In addition to the weekly Sabbath, God’s annual appointed times are so important that He plans everything He is doing on earth according to the “framework” of His holy days! Indeed, His entire “master plan” for mankind is based on them!
This understanding counters any theological argument that God’s holy days are somehow “obsolete” under the New Covenant. Clearly, God’s appointed times or annual feasts are not inconsequential “ritual observances” that can be cast aside. Rather, they are so significant that it is impossible to comprehend God’s plan for mankind without first observing His feasts! It is also impossible to have a complete relationship with God apart from observing His appointed feast days—especially when the importance of the Passover and the sacrifice of Christ are considered!
The apostle Paul clearly understood this. Speaking to an assembly of Greek philosophers at Mars Hill in Athens, he 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” (Acts 17:22-27).
As used here on this occasion, the phrase “appointed times” does not refer to a Sabbath or holy day; rather, it is a set time designating when something should occur. For example, God told Abraham and Sarah that the conception and birth of Isaac would occur at a preordained set time (Gen. 17:21; 21:2).
In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul refers to the set time of Jesus’ birth: “But when the [appointed] time for the fulfillment came, God sent forth His own Son, born of a woman, born under law…” (Gal. 4:4). Indeed, every messianic prophecy from Genesis 3:15 to Jesus’ return has been or will yet be fulfilled according to God’s appointed or set times. Paul shows this as well in the book of Romans: “And the hope of God never makes us ashamed because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us. For even when we were without strength, at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, although perhaps someone might have the courage even to die for a good man. But God commends His own love to us because, when we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:5-8). The “appointed time” of Jesus’ death was the Passover day—the 14th day of the first month of the CHC, in 30 AD.
These passages demonstrate that God uses His appointed times for everything He has done, is doing, and will do in the future. In fact, when properly understood, the weekly Sabbath, the Passover, and the annual feasts actually provide the framework for God’s entire “master plan”—from beginning to end. Through Isaiah, God declares: “Who has planned and done it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first and the last; I am He” (Isa. 41:4). This point is verified in Revelation 13:8, where we read that “the Lamb of God [has been] slain from the foundation of the world.” This means that God had predetermined the exact appointed time of Jesus’ sacrifice even before He created Adam and Eve!
Through the scriptures and prophecies of the Bible, God challenges us to believe that He is carrying out all things according to His will. This is especially true today, in the end times, because we can clearly see God’s Word being fulfilled right before our eyes. Thus, as we observe current world events, we can know that God is actively carrying out His prophetic plan on schedule according to His “appointed times.” Notice: “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things which were not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.’… Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it” (Isa. 46:9-11; also see Isa. 44:6; 48:12).
In the book of Revelation, Jesus the Christ proclaims, “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending’ says the Lord, ‘Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come—the Almighty…. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last’ ” (Rev. 1:8, 11). Again, “And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things that must shortly come to pass. Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book’ ” (Rev. 22:6-7). Finally, “And behold, I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to each one according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Rev. 22:12-13). (We highly recommend the books God’s Plan Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days and The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah—both are available at no charge upon request.)
With this vital knowledge of God’s appointed times or seasons, we can understand how important it is to obey God by faithfully observing His feasts and holy days. May God the Father and Jesus Christ bless you with Their love and the Holy Spirit in keeping the fall festivals.
Dates for the 2016 Fall Holy Days and Feast of Tabernacles: Trumpets: Monday, October 3; Atonement: Wednesday, October 12; Feast of Tabernacles: Monday, October 17, through Sunday, October 23; and Last Great Day: Monday, October 24.
We Have Changed the Name of Our Main Web Site
As I mentioned in our last letter, we have changed the name or URL of our main Web site from cbcg.org to truthofgod.org. We will still retain the URL cbcg.org, since many have their digital devices keyed to it. This way people can reach our site using either URL. Ron, Aaron, and Randy have been quite busy updating our site—making everything more accessible, easier to download, and material easier to order. This past month we have already seen an increase in the number of distinct visitors using the site and downloading material. On average, visitors stay on the site for just over nine minutes. According to experts, nine minutes is unusually long. This shows that people are eagerly searching for the truth of God. Below you will find the new “welcome message” from the Home Page (we also have an audio version).
Welcome to the Home Page of Truth of God.org, sponsored by the Christian Biblical Church of God. We are dedicated to restoring original Christianity based on the true Gospel as revealed and taught by Jesus Christ and His personally chosen apostles, and as preserved in the God-breathed New Testament.
Thus, we are Scripturalists. We believe and practice the Word of God as inspired and preserved in the Holy Bible—Old and New Testaments. The Bible is the most important book in the world, because the Word of God is the truth of God from the God of truth. We strictly follow the Bible and strive to recapture the exact meaning of the Scriptures by comparing verse with verse (Isaiah 28:10) as we “prove all things.” As Jesus said, we are to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
Because God commands us to not add to or take away from His Holy Word, we do not accept, teach, or practice traditions of men—regardless of their claims, whether from Judaism, Catholicism, or Protestantism. The founding battle cry of original Protestantism—“sola scriptura”—has long been forgotten or rejected. Moreover, Catholic and Orthodox religions are based primarily on traditions and myths of men, with a few biblical passages thrown in. As a result, all of Orthodox Christendom has gone astray and is now merely practicing “Christianized” pagan traditions, teachings, and philosophies of men.
Leading up to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD, the subversion of the churches of God by false ministers and false teachings was gaining momentum. In his urgent epistle, the apostle Jude, the brother of Jesus, sounded the alarm of this insidious apostasy perverting the truth of God. He wrote: “Beloved, when personally exerting all my diligence to write to you concerning the common salvation, I was compelled to write to you, exhorting you to fervently fight for the faith, which once for all time has been delivered to the saints. For certain men have stealthily crept in, those who long ago have been written about, condemning them to this judgment. They are ungodly men, who are perverting the grace of our God, turning it into licentiousness, and are personally denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4).
The mission of Truth of God.org and the Christian Biblical Church of God is to faithfully undertake RESTORING ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY—FOR TODAY, including the authentic worship of God in spirit and truth. Our Web site offers both video and audio studies on a wide range of biblical subjects to help you come to a full understanding of the fundamental teachings of the Bible and of apostolic Christianity as founded by the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.
This site is designed to help you progress from basic biblical teachings to more advanced detailed studies. We have in-depth verse-by-verse studies of nearly all the books of the New Testament. All subjects are networked so that you may enter at any level of study and move with ease from one topic to another. The Truth of God.org site is continually expanding with new audio and video messages being added each week. We appreciate your suggestions and specific interests and needs. Please direct any suggestions, comments, or questions concerning this Web site to our webmaster. (End of welcome message.)
The new site ties all of our Web sites together. This helps us in getting the Gospel out to new people and can be instrumental in helping call them to God. Moreover, the brethren can use the sites to assist them as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ—as we all prepare for the return of Christ and the institution of the Kingdom of God on earth to bring salvation to all mankind!
As world conditions continue to deteriorate, it is vital that we all stay close to God the Father and Jesus Christ. We can do this with daily heartfelt prayer and Bible study. As we continue to live in love and obedience to God, He will bless us with a greater understanding of His Word, more of His Holy Spirit, and the protection of His angels.
Once again, brethren, thank you for your love and prayers. Thank you for your faithfulness in serving God and in helping the brethren and others. We are praying for you every day—for your health, your healing, the comfort of God in your trials, and the understanding of His Word, so you can grow in grace and knowledge and attain eternal life. Once again, thank you for your continued support through your regular tithes and offerings, which we put to work doing the will of God. Remember, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
P.S.: The offering message was inadvertently left off of the Atonement CD; please be sure to remember your holy day offering for the Day of Atonement.
