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September 9, 2020
Dear Brethren,
We are including with this letter the audio CD containing all the messages for the entire fall Festival season. The holy days are: Trumpets (September 19); Atonement (September 28); Tabernacles (October 3-9, the first day being a holy day); and the Last Great Day (October 10). As you all know, each holy day begins the previous evening at sunset.
Because of restrictions caused by the Wuhan Chinese pandemic, many of us will not be able to assemble for the holy days as we have in the past. However, God is not restricted. Jesus said that “where two or three are gathered in His name,” He would be there. Indeed, God and Christ will be with each of us through the Holy Spirit—actually in us spiritually. That makes a total of three—you, God the Father, and Jesus Christ—even if you happen to be physically alone.
So, despite all the problems in the world around us, we can still have a great Festival season—with God’s blessing!
Meanwhile, all nations are continuing to be set up for the greatest occult deception in the history of the world—a diabolical, all-encompassing final deception. Satan is accomplishing this in many different ways: First, he controls all religions, secret societies, governments, banks, financial institutions, stock markets, and commerce centers—including the massive drug business, both legal and illegal. Next, he controls nearly all media: book and magazine publishing, television, movies, video games, advertising, music—all forms of entertainment. This includes the enormous porn industry, which exposes even our children to unspeakable perversion. He controls all educational systems, and particularly uses government school systems to corrupt and morally pollute our children’s minds. Satan is behind the recent rampant murder, anarchy, and crime—looting and burning—coupled with the “defunding” of local police. It’s all part of his agenda of deception and destruction. Of great concern is the subtle destruction of our freedom of speech and the growing denial of our right to assemble and worship God—which will eventually lead to the martyrdom of true Christians.
The book of Revelation identifies all of this as the “Synagogue of Satan,” which today is commonly called the “Establishment” or the “Deep State”—part of every nation on earth! It is run by those who control the reins of power. They are the “super rich” of the world. But again, Satan is the source of this power and deception: “Then the devil led Him [Jesus] up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘I will give You all this authority, and the glory of them all; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I desire. Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours’ ” (Luke 4:5-7).
This “Synagogue of Satan” worships the devil directly—unknown to the public. Through this secret worship, Satan knows those who are his—and he rewards them.
We are not far from the time when Satan’s delusion will be so thorough and pervasive that the whole world will seem “possessed” (Rev. 12:9). We have seen in recent history a similar phenomenon occur in Nazi Germany, imperial Japan, the Soviet Union, Communist China, North Viet Nam, Cambodia, certain African countries, Iraq and other Mideast nations—whole populations oppressed yet blindly following seemingly “possessed” leaders who were fanatically bent on death and destruction. These Satan-controlled leaders are sadistic purveyors of evil, war, destruction, carnage, and cruelty on massive scales. Our minds would be numbed by the sheer magnitude of it all!
But in spite of all that is taking place in the world, we are not yet at the end. Many prophetic events must yet develop and take place before we reach the very end—the last seven years. Down through the centuries, men have wanted God to fulfill His prophecies during their lifetimes. So they set ill-advised dates predicting when the end would come—all of which have failed. They forgot that God does everything according to His timetable. This is exactly what Jesus told His disciples just before ascending into heaven: “So then, when they were assembled together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?’ And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has placed in His own authority; but you yourselves shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth.’ And after saying these things, as they were looking at Him, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:6-9).
In the Olivet prophecy, Jesus had previously explained to His disciples that the timing of all the prophecies of the end time were under the Father’s control: “But learn the parable of the fig tree: When its branches become tender, and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say to you, this generation shall in no way pass away until all these things have taken place. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away. But concerning that day and the hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Take heed, be watching and praying. For you do not know when the time is coming” (Mark 13:28-33).
Because we are close to the end, we do have a detailed understanding of events that are to take place. Also, the framework of the holy days gives us a good understanding of prophecies yet to occur. But we still do not know exactly when they will occur.
Consequently, we must watch for prophetic events as they transpire. Jesus revealed a key event that will signal the beginning of the Great Tribulation. He said that when the “Abomination of Desolation” stands in the holy place, then the Tribulation will begin (Matt. 24:15, 21). This means the Jewish Temple has to be rebuilt (Rev. 11:1-2). And, the “man of sin”—the “son of perdition”—must be on the scene. Proclaiming himself to be God, this powerful leader will go into the holy of holies in the Temple in Jerusalem where men will worship him as God—a false Messiah (II Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 13:3-8).
While some prophecies have continued to develop, many others have not even begun to take place. Jesus said, “When you see ALL these things, know that it is near, even at the doors” (Matt. 24:33). It cannot be half of “these things,” or two thirds or three quarters of them. We must see “ALL THESE THINGS”—then we will know that the end is near.
Two additional major prophecies have yet to be fulfilled: 1) The “king of the north” has not yet appeared; 2) likewise, there is no “king of the south.” Daniel writes that the final events of the end time cannot take place until these two kings come into power—and the “king of the south” pushes at the “king of the north”: “And at the time of the end, the king of the south shall push at him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and sweep through. He shall also enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hand: Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. And he shall stretch out his hand also upon the countries. And the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. And the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall alarm him. Then he will go forth with great fury to destroy and to utterly annihilate many. And he shall plant his royal tents between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even until that time” (Dan. 11:40-45; 12:1).
Today, the European Union is weak and in disarray—politically, economically, and religiously. A strong leader has not yet appeared on the horizon who could be the prophesied “king of the north.” Likewise, in spite of the recent peace agreement between the Jews and the United Arab Emirates, the Islamic nations are far from becoming a united entity with a “king of the south” to challenge Europe. Eventually, they will form a loose confederation. In fact, many Islamic intellectuals and economists desire to restore an Islamic Empire. But this will take time to develop. Perhaps they will use the League of Arab States as its foundation.
It is indeed apparent that many prophesied events dealing with the latter days will take considerable time to develop. Meanwhile, we need to keep in mind the apostle Peter’s warning that we will be ridiculed because it will appear to the world that biblical prophecy has failed: “Now, beloved, I am writing this second epistle to you; in both, I am stirring up your pure minds by causing you to remember, in order for you to be mindful of the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and Savior, spoken by us, the apostles; knowing this first, that in the last days there will come mockers, walking according to their own personal lusts, and asking, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the forefathers died, everything has remained the same as from the beginning of creation.’ But this fact is hidden from them—they themselves choosing to ignore it—that by the Word of God the heavens existed of old, and the earth came forth out of water and amid water, by which the world at that time, having been deluged with water, had itself been destroyed. But the present heavens and earth are being held in store by His Word, and are being reserved for fire in the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (II Pet. 3:1-7).
Recall that for many years Noah preached that God was going to destroy the world with a flood. But no one believed him. People undoubtedly ridiculed Noah and his family as they were building the ark. This is why Jesus gave us this warning: “Now as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man. For as in the days that were before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark; and they were not aware until the Flood came and took them all away; so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man” (Matt. 24:37-39). Just as Satan deceived the world before the Flood, he is now deceiving this end time generation.
Jesus further warned that the entire world would be caught off guard, just as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah: “Now as it was in the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the days of the Son of man…. And it was the same way in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. This is how it shall be in the day that the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:26, 28-30).
Accordingly, how can we prevent ourselves from becoming spiritually complacent and lazy—even partially deceived and blinded?
Stir Up the Spirit of God: In Paul’s second epistle to Timothy, he counseled him to stir up the Spirit of God: “I remember the unfeigned faith that is in you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice—and I am convinced that it dwells in you also. For this reason, I admonish you to stir up the gift of God that is in you by the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound-mindedness” (II Tim. 1:5-7).
We can achieve this through regular prayer and study—in a spirit of repentance. Thus we will continue growing in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3:18) as the Spirit of God leads us (Rom. 8:14). When we strive to do the will of God, rather than merely having good intentions, He will stir up His Spirit within us—just as He did with the people of Judah when they were building the second Temple in the days of Haggai the prophet. But first they had to repent of being slack handed in building the Temple and get back to work: “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared before the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the message of the Lord to the people, saying, “ ‘I am with you,’ says the Lord.” And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God” (Hag. 1:12-14).
While the Jews had a physical temple to build, we are a spiritual “temple of God” (I Cor. 3:16-17)—and we are being “built up” as we develop the spiritual character of God. We accomplish this by focusing our minds on the ultimate goal of the Kingdom of God—of becoming spirit beings in the resurrection. If we prioritize the spiritual—loving God, praying, studying, growing in grace and knowledge—then we will be able to cope with the stresses of this world and life in the flesh.
Jesus exhorted us to not become consumed with our physical needs, because God will provide for us if we seek Him first: “But as for you, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [our physical needs] shall be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall take care of the things of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil of that day” (Matt. 6:33-34).
Shortly before Peter died, he wrote his second epistle. At that time, the conditions in the world were similar to those we are facing today. In order to help the brethren, he made it clear that he was stirring them to keep their minds on the goal of their calling and on developing the character of God—thereby attaining the divine nature and entrance into the Kingdom of God: “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained the same precious faith as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and virtue; through which He has given to us the greatest and most precious promises, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
“And for this very reason also, having applied all diligence besides, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, endurance; and to endurance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly love; and to brotherly love, the love of God. For if these things exist and abound in you, they will cause you to be neither lacking effort nor lacking fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the one in whom these things are not present is spiritually blind—so shortsighted that he has forgotten that he was purified from his old sins. For this reason, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure; because if you are doing these things, you will never fall at any time. For in this way, you will be richly granted an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, I will not neglect to make you always mindful of these things, although you already know them and have been established in the present truth. For I consider it my duty, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by causing you to remember these things” (II Pet. 1:1-13). This key passage gives us a step-by-step formula for growing in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3:18).
If, however, one has slipped into complacency and negligence, he or she needs to heed the apostle Paul’s admonition to the brethren in Rome: “Now consider this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour that we should be roused out of sleep; because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near; therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk decently, as in the day: not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and emulation. But let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and not make any allowance for the flesh to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:11-14).
In a most heartfelt appeal to the church in Ephesus, Paul instructed the brethren on how they were to live before God: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, even as Christ also loved us, and gave Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
“But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, do not permit it even to be named among you, as is fitting for saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking or jesting, which are not becoming; but instead, thanksgiving. For this you know, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with vain words; for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be joint partakers with them. For you were once darkness; but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (because the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth) proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them; for it is shameful even to mention the things being done by them in secret. But all of these things being exposed by the light are openly revealed. Therefore He says, ‘You who are sleeping—wake up, and arise from the dead! And Christ shall shine upon you.’ So then, take heed that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as those who are wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. For this reason, do not be foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:1-18).
As we draw closer to the end, we need to prepare for the “long haul”—and not become weary in well doing or faint while fighting the good fight of faith. As we yield to Him, God will stir up our hearts and minds—our spirit. This will enable us to continue growing in faith, hope, and love—which will help us to confidently meet the challenges we face every day.
Brethren, despite all the difficulties we may be facing in keeping the Feast, we are praying that God the Father and Jesus Christ will be with you and bless you. We pray that you will have a wonderful Feast, one that is safe and full of spiritual inspiration. We are grateful for your love and prayers, as well as for your continued support in tithes and offerings. May God’s love, grace, and mercy be with you all.
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
