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05/18/07 a.m. Notice the following news item:

Putin calls restoration of Russian Church unity a historic event

05/17/07 a.m. Melito of Sardis is considered to have been a saint by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. His writings suggest that the Holy Spirit was simply the power of God as he wrote:

The tongue of the Lord-His Holy Spirit. In the Psalm: "My tongue is a pen." (Melito. From the Oration on Our Lord's Passion, IX. Online version copyright © 2001 Peter Kirby. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/melito.html 7/26/06).

The finger of the Lord-the Holy Spirit, by whose operation the tables of the law in Exodus are said to have been written (Melito. From the Oration on Our Lord's Passion. Online version copyright © 2001 Peter Kirby. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/melito.html 7/26/06).

Did you know that throughout history, the true Church of God, and even those of the early Greco-Roman faiths, did not accept that the Holy Spirit was the third person of a trinity?

The Statement of Faith for the Church of God (Seventh Day) states:

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the promised divine helper who proceeds from the Father and Son. The Spirit is God’s presence and power in the world and indwells believers. By the Holy Spirit, God inspired and illuminates the Scriptures; convicts and regenerates sinners; sanctifies, teaches, comforts, guides, and preserves believers; and empowers them for service. Evidences of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life are faith in Christ, obedience to God, and the spiritual fruit of love.

LCG teaches from its Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs states:

THE HOLY SPIRIT

God is Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very essence, the mind, life and power of God. It is not a Being. The Spirit is inherent in the Father and the Son, and emanates from Them throughout the entire universe (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7; Jeremiah 23:24). It was through the Spirit that God created all things (Genesis 1:1-2; Revelation 4:11). It is the power by which Christ maintains the universe (Hebrews 1:2-3). It is given to all who repent of their sins and are baptized (Acts 2:38-39) and is the power (Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:6-7) by which all believers may be "overcomers" (Romans 8:37, KJV; Revelation 2:26-27) and will be led to eternal life.

At least one Protestant trinitarian scholar has admitted:

The language of the New Testament permits the Holy Spirit to be understood as an impersonal force or influence more readily than it does the Son...The attempt to develop an understanding of the Holy Spirit consistent with the trinitarian passages...came to fruition at Constantinople in 381. There were a number of reasons why the personhood of the Holy Spirit took longer to acknowledge than the Son: (1) the term pneuma, breath, is neuter in general and impersonal in ordinary meaning; (2) the distinctive work of the Holy Spirit, influencing the believer, does not necessarily seem as personal as that of the Father...in addition, those who saw the Holy Spirit as a Person, were often heretical, for example, the Montanists; (3) many of the early theologians attributed to the Logos or Word, the revelatory activity later theologians saw as the special, personal work of the Holy Spirit (Brown HOJ. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), 1988, p. 140).

Notice what The Catholic Encyclopedia states,

Semiarians and Semiarianism
A name frequently given to the conservative majority in the East in the fourth century...showing that the very name of father implies a son of like substance...rejected the Divinity of the Holy Ghost (Chapman J. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter. Semiarians and Semiarianism. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIII. Published 1912. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

Towards the middle of the fourth century, Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople, and, after him a number of Semi-Arians, while apparently admitting the Divinity of the Word, denied that of the Holy Ghost. They placed Him among the spirits, inferior ministers of God, but higher than the angels (Forget J. Transcribed by W.S. French, Jr. Holy Ghost. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VII. Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight. Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

Although later Roman Catholic writers have had many definitions of those that they called Pneumatomachi or "Semi-Arians" (most of which disagree with the Church of God position), one that somewhat defines the view held in the early church would possibly be this one written by Epiphanius in the mid-4th Century,

Semi-Arians...hold the truly orthodox view of the Son, that he was forever with the Father...but has been begotten without beginning and not in time...But all of these blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and do not count him in the Godhead with the Father and the Son (Epiphanius. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80), De Fide). Section VI, Verses 1,1 and 1,3. Translated by Frank Williams. EJ Brill, New York, 1994, pp.471-472).

Another in the fourth century, the "Orthodox" Gregory of Nyssa, describes the beliefs of non-trinitarians as follows:

But they reveal more clearly the aim of their argument. As regards the Father, they admit the fact that He is God, and that the Son likewise is honoured with the attribute of Godhead; but the Spirit, Who is reckoned with the Father and the Son, they cannot include in their conception of Godhead, but hold that the power of the Godhead, issuing from the Father to the Son, and there halting, separates the nature of the Spirit from the Divine glory ( On the Holy Trinity. Excerpted from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two, Volume 5. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1893. Online Edition Copyright © 2005 by K. Knight).

Thus, the early Christians (and even later some who professed Christ) clearly did not believe that the Holy Spirit was a separate person in a trinity.

Several articles of related interest may include:

Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning Is binitarianism the correct position? What about unitarianism or trinitarianism?
Is The Father God? What is the view of the Bible? What was the view of the early church?
Jesus is God, But Was Made Man Was Jesus fully human and fully God or what?
Virgin Birth: Does the Bible Teach It? What does the Bible teach? What is claimed in The Da Vinci Code?
Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? Or did they have a different view?
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it?
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah's Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning This is a shorter article than the Binitarian View article, but has a little more information on binitarianism.

On other matters, in the past two days I have received emails from two sources who continue to not use proper email addresses and whose emails AOL spam filters have still not been able to block. These are from people who actually claim to be in the COG. Anyway, once again I will state here that I do not read those emails, but immediately report them to AOL unopened. If you really want to email me, use your real email address and comply with the guidelines at the COGwriter home page.

05/16/07 a.m. The following news item was of interest:

EU to snub Jerusalem Day celebrations

EJP - May 13, 2007

JERUSALEM (EJP)---The European Union will not attend Israeli celebrations marking the 40-year anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification, the Israeli media reported on Sunday.

The ambassadors from the EU member states will not participate in a special special of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, to mark next Wednesday what in Israel is known as "Jerusalem Day."

Israel has been informed by the German EU presidency in a diplomatic letter sent by the German embassy in Tel Aviv to the foreign ministry and the Israeli parliament.

Germany’s ambassador replied to the Israeli government’s invitation by saying all representatives of the European Union would boycott the festivities "due to the ongoing dispute between Israel and the Palestinians over control of eastern Jerusalem."

European countries do not recognize Jerusalem’s reunification. As far as they are concerned, east Jerusalem, which was occupied during the Six Day War, is an occupied territory. http://www.ejpress.org/article/16702

Of course, the fact that nearly all countries on the Earth today have the territory they have because of some past war or wars does not seem to apply to Israel. In spite of this obvious double-standard, the Bible indicates that the EU will ultimately make a deal with Israel regarding Jerusalem, that eventually will result in major EU influence in the Middle East. Various Catholic prophecies seem to confirm this, one of which is in the article Europa, the Beast, and the Book of Revelation.

WCG announced two Festivals for 2007:

Late summer festival on Sardinia Island, Italy—Aug. 25–Sept. 1...
Fall festival on Majorca Island, Spain—Sept. 29–Oct. 7

Neither of the above festivals covers the dates of the biblical Feast of Tabernacles. The first is way to early (since the FOT is a Fall festival) and the second, while covering part of the FOT, is a bit late. It remains to be seen in WCG will have any Fall Feast on the biblical dates (you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days based upon the Bible). Of course, even if they do, they no longer preach the biblical messages--please see the articles Unity: Which COG for You?, The Thyatira Church Era, Comments on the Teachings of Ron Wallen, Philip Neal, Kenneth W., GRUMPS, Jesse Arellano, and others who Profess(ed) that WCG has God's Authority, and There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God?

On other matters, it has been about a year since I announced the History of Early Christianity page. It, along with the many historical articles on that page, explains what happened to the Christian Church. I have updated most of the articles on it since that page was first announced with additional research on the early Church. By better understanding our past, we will be in a better position to understand what will come to pass.

Would you like to learn more about the History of Early Christianity?

05/15/07 p.m. AOL News reported the following AP story:

05/15/07 a.m. Last night CGOM reported:

The Feast of Pentecost in Acts 2 is considered to have been the beginning of the New Testament Church by most. For more on its significance for Christians, please see the article Pentecost: Is it more than Acts 2?

Legacy Institute's latest letter arrived last night. It stated:

One of the things I need to address...is the understanding that we are called NOW, in this life - not for our personal salvation only - but to be fully engaged in getting His Work done. Jesus started it - and WE are to finish it.

Although Legacy Institute does not fully understand the Work (please see the article Teachings and Practices of Legacy Institute), the points cited above are correct. Several articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and HWA expect from evangelists?
There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG members or any interested in supporting the faithful church.

On other matters, while researching more on the History of Early Christianity, I noticed another area where the Eastern Orthodox Church has a position closer to the COGs than do the Roman Catholics or the Lutherans.

In the early third century, Clement of Alexandria listed most of the ten commandments (note, he left out two commandments-- 3. cursing and 9. false witness):

The first commandment of the Decalogue shows that there is one only Sovereign God...

The second word intimated that men ought not to take and confer the august power of God (which is the name, for this alone were many even yet capable of learning), and transfer His title to things created and vain, which human artificers have made...

And the fourth word is that which intimates that the world was created by God, and that He gave us the seventh day as a rest, on account of the trouble that there is in life. For God is incapable of weariness, and suffering, and want. But we who bear flesh need rest. The seventh day, therefore, is proclaimed a rest...

Now the fifth in order is the command on the honour of father and mother...

Then follows the command about murder...

This is followed by the command respecting adultery...

And after this is the command respecting theft...

And the tenth is the command respecting all lusts (Clement of Alexandria. Stromata, Book VI).

It should be noted that Clement did not mention coveting your neighbor's wife within the tenth or did he give any indication that that could be a separate commandment from other lusts. Hence Clement endorsed the same order of the ten commandments that the COG still endorses.

In the fourth century, Aphraates wrote:

Clearly the congregation of the house of Israel, to which the ten commandments were given. They lost the first commandment—that in which He warned them saying:—I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt. And when they had lost this first commandment, also the nine which are after it they could not keep, because on the first depend the nine (Aphrahat. Demonstration 1 (Of Faith), Numbere 11).

From The Catholic Encyclopedia:

Called also simply THE COMMANDMENTS, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, or THE DECALOGUE (Gr. deka, ten, and logos, a word), the Ten Words of Sayings, the latter name generally applied by the Greek Fathers.

The Ten Commandments are precepts bearing on the fundamental obligations of religion and morality and embodying the revealed expression of the Creator's will in relation to man's whole duty to God and to his fellow-creatures. They are found twice recorded in the Pentateuch, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5...

The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day. The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians...

The system of numeration found in Catholic Bibles, based on the Hebrew text, was made by St. Augustine (fifth century) in his book of "Questions of Exodus" ("Quæstionum in Heptateuchum libri VII", Bk. II, Question lxxi), and was adopted by the Council of Trent. It is followed also by the German Lutherans, except those of the school of Bucer...According to this manner of reckoning, the injunction forbidding the use of the Lord's Name in vain comes second in order; and the decimal number is safeguarded by making a division of the final precept on concupiscence--the Ninth pointing to sins of the flesh and the Tenth to desires for unlawful possession of goods.

Another division has been adopted by the English and Helvetian Protestant churches on the authority of Philo Judæus, Josephus, Origen, and others, whereby two Commandments are made to cover the matter of worship, and thus the numbering of the rest is advanced one higher; and the Tenth embraces both the Ninth and Tenth of the Catholic division. (Stapleton, J.H. Transcribed by Marcia L. Bellafiore. The Ten Commandments. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV. Published 1908. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York).

Thus the Roman Catholic Church admits that the current numbering was done in the fifth century, that it changed the day for the Sabbath commandment, and that the ten commandments are binding. It should be noted that the Lutherans also accept the Roman Catholic order.

Which should be bound, the original commandments or the changed ones?

Three articles of possibly related interest may include:

Some Similarities and Differences Between the Orthodox Church and the Churches of God Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the COG is NOT Protestant.
The Ten Commandments and the Early Church Did Jesus and the Early Church keep the ten commandments? What are they? Here are quotes from the Bible and early writings.

05/14/07 a.m. This morning, PCG reported:

Europe’s answer to the United States’ Global Positioning System (gps), Galileo, is in serious trouble. The project has been plagued by underfunding and infighting among a syndicate of companies that can’t seem to agree on a company structure. In response, the European Union, at German prompting, now plans to bolster the project with more European tax dollars. The EU being willing to pay for Galileo’s high price tag shows how important Galileo is for Europe’s global ambitions.

Thanks to delays and cost overruns, to date Europe has only launched one of Galileo’s 30 satellites. Complicating matters is the fact that Galileo directly competes with free services America offers with its gps. Few are willing to pay for its services. Lacking a financially solvent business model, Galileo’s corporate partners are hestitating to fork over large amounts of money to move the project forward.

But Galileo has never been about building a financially solvent satellite company. No—it has been all about Europe’s ambitions to become a world superpower.

Relying on America’s gps puts Europe in a precarious position. America has the capability to, at any given moment, shut down its gps in any region of the world. Europe is all too aware of its commercial and military dependence. By jumping into the gap created by commercial cold feet, the EU will ensure Galileo is built, both to wean Europe off American technology dependence and deflect any threats to Europe’s superpower ambitions. If Europe can’t coordinate its own military without American satellite technology, it’s not much of a superpower—yet.

I agree with PCG that the EU will get some version of its Galileo GPS functional. Unless it can somehow end up controlling enough of GPS some other way, I do not believe that the EU will attack the USA until it has its own systems like this ). Anyway, I have been watching the Galileo project for some time and do suspect it is essential for the power of the Beast of Revelation.

In other news:

FRANKFURT, Germany (May 14) - DaimlerChrysler AG will sell 80.1 percent of its money-losing Chrysler Group to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP for $7.4 billion, the company announced Monday, undoing a 1998 merger aimed at creating a global auto giant.

The USA used to dominate auto making, but its influence has decreased much in the past 40 years, and especially the last ten.

05/13/07 a.m. UCG reported the following from its COE meeting:

Home Office Relocation

Since the relocation of the home office was approved during the General Conference of Elders meeting, Mr. Dick asked Mr. Kilough and Tom Kirkpatrick to update the Council on the steps that need to be taken at this time toward the purchase of property in Denton, Texas.

Mr. Kilough commented that the Council needs to travel down two distinct pathways. One pathway includes taking specific, concrete steps to fulfill the approved proposal. The second pathway is less concrete, involving dealing with the perceptions and feelings of members of the General Conference of Elders and identifying lessons learned during the process.

Mr. Kilough stated that since the move has been approved, the administration is ready to move forward to resolve issues related to the purchase of property.

The Council passed a resolution authorizing the administration to move forward with acquisition of the land once the following three items are accomplished:

• Zoning and traffic mobility factors required by the Church for the planned home office are secured.
• Detailed, professional engineering-based cost estimates of infrastructure developments are in line with original projections.
• Environmental assessment indicates that the proposed property is in compliance with appropriate environmental parameters.

Mr. Kilough noted that to this point, four Council members have seen the property under consideration. He said that he would like as soon as possible for the rest of the Council members to also visit the site to see it for themselves and get a "feel" for the location and surrounding area. Victor Kubik emphasized the importance of such a visit since only a handful of people have seen it. He feels that we should not rush the process for a decision of such magnitude that will impact the Church in so many ways.

Ten Council members voted in favor of the resolution. Aaron Dean abstained; Mr. Kubik voted against. Mr. Dean was not opposed to the resolution but felt there may be other issues besides those that were listed.

The Council then considered a resolution to establish a restricted fund to which members and other supporters of the work may make special donations, over and above regular tithes and offerings, for the purpose of helping to finance the relocation of the home office. The resolution passed by a unanimous vote.

And its Chairman, Bob Dick commented:

Monday Clyde Kilough, Tom Kirkpatrick and Jason Lovelady came to my room at the Holiday Inn to discuss, Where to from here? These things needed to be clarified before the beginning of Council business on Tuesday morning. We have a deposit on a property in Denton, Texas, and the owner knew the GCE vote was taking place Sunday. With the publishing of the ballot we obviously needed to contact the owner and make good our intent to move forward.

The original resolution contained vague language, and as we talked it became obvious that we needed to craft another resolution to spell out the intent of the earlier one. The original resolution contained this wording:

"It is further resolved, that, contingent upon the approval of a home office relocation by the General Conference of Elders and, upon satisfaction of the Council, approval will be granted by the Council of Elders to purchase…"

What do you mean, "upon the satisfaction of the Council"? These men asked that we clearly spell out what this phrase means in another resolution. If you will look at the first resolution passed on Tuesday you will see that it spells out the due diligence steps that must be taken before we purchase the land. Until the Council is "satisfied" with the results of these three steps, no purchase will take place. In fact, if any of these three do not meet Council satisfaction, there will be no purchase. On the other side of the coin, if these three are satisfied, the intent is to make the purchase.

We were also well aware that the second resolution we crafted on Tuesday could give a wrong impression. We both heard and understood the comment made at Sunday evening's Council Q&A that expressed the sensitivity to the appearance of applying pressure to members to contribute to a building fund for the relocation.

We do face a problem, however, in that there were already people asking if, when and how they could contribute. Without a restricted fund, however, there is no place to send it, and any contributions have to be returned. This resolution to establish a restricted fund was necessary for accounting purposes to give a place for people to send contributions. We are not currently planning any formal announcement to the membership until after the August COE meeting. The timetable for the steps in due diligence are scheduled to end about Sept. 1. Until all of these steps are satisfied, we are not ready to actually purchase the property.

So UCG apparently expects to move again.

UCG also reported:

Hymnal Project Update

Steve Myers, chairman of the task force that is working to prepare a new Church hymnal, gave the Council an update on the status of the project. Mr. Myers commented that the task force established criteria for evaluating the current hymnal and suggested additions. The review criteria include seeking God's inspiration in selecting hymns to praise Him and edify His people, text (including doctrinal accuracy), musical quality, musical accuracy and suitability. Mr. Myers commented that the task force had taken care to not include hymns that would be offensive to members, but pointed out that musical tastes and preferences are quite subjective, and members have had their own experiences with particular hymns.

Changes and corrections were made to a few hymns in the current hymnal to make them more acceptable. The task force has considered some 400 suggested additions to the hymnal and reviewed more than 200 original compositions from members.

The task force recommends publishing a 256-page hymnal that will include 194 hymns, 68 of which will be new. The proposed selection includes 20 additional hymns composed by Dwight Armstrong and 21 written by past or present Church members. Mr. Myers provided each Council member with a booklet that included a draft of all the suggested new hymns. He also demonstrated a number of the new hymns, assisted by pianist and task force member Janel Johnson, and then provided the Council with a number of samples for covers, colors and binding options.

The next major step in development of the hymnal is a doctrinal review, under the direction of Leon Walker, chairman of the Council's Doctrine Committee. The production and distribution schedule will be based on the completion of the review.

Although the article is not about UCG, an article of possibly related interest may be Praises to Jesus Christ or Biblical Hymns: Which Should Christians Primarily Sing?

LCG reported the following:

Baptisms

 

Between January 1 and April 1, 2007, we had 57 baptisms in the USA and 14 in Canada. In addition, we have been informed of 19 other baptisms in Australia, Martinique, Mexico, the U.K., Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago. Last year, during the same period, we had 39 baptisms in the USA and 4 in Canada. We are grateful to God for this harvest and for adding more members to His Church.

That is great to have 90 baptisms in a three month period. And it is great to hear that this is way up from 2006.

On unrelated matters, postage if the USA goes up tomorrow. A first-class letter rises from $0.39 to .$0.41, so you may want to remember that before you try to mail something :)

05/12/07 a.m. Last night, ICG's Mark Armstrong reported:

It’s hard not to feel good about the results of the election in France. News reports say that more than 90% of eligible voters turned out, resulting in the election of Nicolas Sarkozy. He has signaled a willingness to confront the domestic problem of vast ghetto’s of unassimilated foreigners who are prone to violence and determined to create their own society within the host nation. His Socialist opponent warned of an outbreak of violence if Sarkozy should win. Well, she (Ms. Royal) was right. Riots broke out, businesses were vandalized and cars burned. Presumably, Mr. Sarkozy will take steps to curtail these kinds of outbreaks that have become so commonplace there.
 
  France is not the only place this problem has taken root. It is also a major point of concern within Germany, and England, and one that may well warrant attention here in the United States. On the surface, this change in leadership looks like good news. How it plays out in the context of the overall situation in Europe may not be that simple.

Mark Armstrong's politics aside, it is of interest to note that there are Catholic prophecies that state that there will be civil unrest in Europe and a military leader (who is French but somehow also German) will arise to deal with it. While Catholic prophecies consider this leader to be good, he appears to be the prophesied beast of Revelation. Apparently the situation in Europe is setting itself up for this fulfillment.

In other news, was the following:

Perhaps, an article of related interest may be Women and the New Testament Church.

05/10/07 a.m. I have sometimes been asked about CBCG's "Sea of Glass" doctrine. Although I had some comments on it before, more are now available as CBCG just put out another book which discusses it. Here is some of what others, the Bible, and CBCG's God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days book mention about it:

'Sea of Glass' Doctrine

I was with Fred for 2 or 3 yrs. I am also disturbed by his “Sea of Glass Doctrine”. Isn’t it just another form of “Secret Rapture”? I suppose he still teaches that they are going to the throne at the last trump on Pentecost, 3½ years into the Tribulation to marry Christ, to be taught for rest of the Tribulation and return with Christ at the seventh trump. First of all, it has to be an extra resurrection—one can’t look at or marry Christ if human. God’s people have always suffered through tribulations but He didn’t take them to heaven! They are supposed to have extensive training there. I maintain that we are in graduate college now and if we don’t get it in this world, we may not get a chance to get it in the next (Name withheld, Florida. Coulter’s Sea of Glass Doctrine. Servants' News. May/June 2002).

Some church groups unashamedly teach that only members of their organization will be protected. Others teach a doctrine that is so specific that no other group teaches it (the “sea of glass” doctrine might be such a thing), and so their members logically conclude that they will probably be the only ones protected because only their group has the “true understanding” of “how God will protect His people”. I find it very difficult to accept such specific prophetic interpretations from anyone unless they have a clear track record of direct inspiration from God. If there was a Bible teacher who had shown me a prophetic interpretation of the Scriptures many months ago explaining why I should avoid Manhattan Island and air flights in September of 2001, I would be very interested in listening to some of their other prophetic interpretations. Most of the prophets of the Bible demonstrated miraculous signs in the present, as well as showing things to come. I have a hard time accepting someone’s extremely specific prophetic interpretation when they have either no claim or no proof that God has specifically shown it to them. I cannot prove that Mr. Coulter’s prophetic understanding is untrue. If Christ wants to take a certain group to heaven to marry and train them, He may. I would like to go. But just thinking it or getting a million people to believe it does not make it true. If nearly everyone in the Christian Biblical Church of God accepts this Sea of Glass teaching without question, I think they are following a man. I know that God loves everyone and works in the best way for each one. I do not wish trouble on anyone and I am not prophesying. But if present trends continue, I think it is likely that Fred Coulter may die before Christ returns, and those in his group will divide up along various doctrinal lines, one might be the Sea of Glass doctrine (Edwards, Norman. Coulter’s Sea of Glass Doctrine. Servants' News. May/June 2002).

The term 'sea of glass' is used in a two places in the Bible in the Book of Revelation,

Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back (4:6)

And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God" (15:2).

Apparently it was a subject of a two-part sermon by Fred Coulter in 1999, and then later ones. A book, by him released in 2007, has transcripts of those sermons. Here is some of what he is teaching (the first sermon barely mentions it and ends with the first statement below):

There's too many important things that I need to cover about the sea of glass (Coulter F. Pentecost and the Sea of Glass--Sermon I, April 17, 1999. Transcript in God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days. York Publishing, Hollister (CA), 2007, p. 386).

"...the colour was terrible crystal..." (Ezek. 1:21-22). So notice we're going to see that the sea of glass, and around God's throne, crystal is referred to as crystal...

When the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude are resurrected they come before the throne of God. What is underlying the throne of God? The sea of glass...

Now then, let me tell you why that Pentecost pictures the first resurrection and not Trumpets:...

5) 144,000 and great innumerable multitude equal the 50th day of the harvest of God.
6) We are raised at the seventh trumpet, the last trump. The trump, not trumpets.
7) We have the meeting with Christ in the air.
8) We are on the sea of glass. (Coulter F. Pentecost and the Sea of Glass--Sermon II, Mayl 1, 1999. Transcript in God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days. York Publishing, Hollister (CA), 2007, pp. 389, 394,397).

Now let's look at some other things...which take place after Pentecost...

Now so far, who have we identified on the sea of glass: God, the Father, Jesus Christ, twenty-four elders, and the four living creatures. That's it. When John saw this, no one was resurrected...

So the only thing we can conclude is that the throne of God and the sea of glass are probably closer to the earth than we have imagined. and if it's out there a little further at the present time; it's going to come closer. We'll see that next time, and maybe we can answer the question of the mystery of the sea of glass (Coulter F. Events after Pentecost --Sermon I, June 21, 2003. Transcript in God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days. York Publishing, Hollister (CA), 2007, pp. 437,449).

So, let's see what's going to take place on the Sea of Glass...The first thing that's going to happen when we're resurrected and see the angels and they take us up to meet Christ on the Sea of Glass...That's one of the first things that are going to take place. We are going to see Christ!...Christ proclaims us to the Father. Number Two: We sing the victory song...Number Three: We are going to receive a new name...Number Four: We will receive our reward...Number Five: There is going to be a new covenant...Number Six: will be the pouring out of the seven last plagues (Coulter F. Events after Pentecost --Sermon II, July 5, 2003. Transcript in God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days. York Publishing, Hollister (CA), 2007, pp. 450,453,455,457,459,460).

CBCG essentially teaches that Christ will return on the Day of Pentecost, Christians will be raised from the dead and will be initially on "the sea of glass", however, it does not teach that only those in CBCG experience this. Irrespective of other teachings CBCG has about the "sea of glass", the numbered events will occur (though not necessarily as CBCG suggests). An article of related interest may be The Christian Biblical Church of God and its Teachings.

A new set of telecasts on persecutions is now out:

Although two news articles I have seen state that the series began yesterday, in our area (via satellite) the series begins tonight.

Click here for previous COG news. Includes news on UCG's possible move, Germany and the EU, Evangelical call to study early Christianity, Pentecost, CG7 and Immanuel, a prophesied wheat blight?, death of ICG's Cecil Reese, early Christian teachings on the Godhead, WCG and the trinity, CGOM on doctrine, PCG and a dig in Jerusalem, court ruling against a UCG member and the Sabbath, UCG history, CG7-Meridian's STP, the latest edition of The Journal, death of Mary Hegvold, WCG in Latin America,a new Jewish proposal for building the temple, the SDAs and the UN, an award for COGaic, Spiderman movie, top 12 most popular articles, etc.

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Volume 11, issue 7 COG writer B. Thiel (c) 2007