Christian Biblical Church of God and its Teachings

By COGwriter

Christian Biblical Church of God (CBCG) is led by Fred Coulter. Many of the quotes shown in this article come from its website, with many coming from CBCG's Statement of Beliefs, such as its opening statement,

The Christian Biblical Church of God believes and practices the true doctrines of Jesus Christ and His apostles as revealed in the Holy Bible.

(Fred Coulter reviewed the first edition of this article, and this current edition also includes some changes based on his comments.)

When Mr. Coulter resigned from the Worldwide Church of God in the fall of 1979, he explained the reasons for his decision in a sermon to the congregation he was pastoring. In this sermon, entitled Call to Repentance and Resignation, he also warned of the dangerous consequences of the WCG's sinful practices. These warnings have come to pass in recent years (CBCG website).

Here is some of what Fred Coutler wrote about it:

When the constitution and by-laws for another Church of God in which I was involved was set up, we signed our own death warrant. A very rapid one, because we hadn't learned anything from our prior history. We hadn't learned the lesson we have just covered. We started out loving God, and doing what we should, but when we organized to the point that the corporation and the structure took us away from loving and serving God, it went down the tubes very rapidly. We failed even more than our former affiliation had, partially because we were smaller, but also because we had created committees. Instead of having a dictatorship of one man, we had dictatorship by committees, with men who believed they sat in the seat of God. They then made judgments, not only for things that they considered right or wrong, but on whether one's heart was right with God or not. Who knows whose heart is right with God? Only God knows...The greatest mistake in that other church of God {BCG}was this: we believed that the problems in our former corporate church were structure related. We believed that by changing the structure from a one-man rule to rule-by-committee the problems would be eliminated. But we failed to learn that the structure of an organization does not change human nature. (Coulter, Fred. Is the Ministry God's Government? Booklet. 2002).

What Is Happening to the Churches of God? Today, Satan is skillfully and subtly using one of his most powerful spiritual weapons against the churches of God, regardless of the size of the organization! It is one of Satan's most ancient and effective weapons, which he has so masterfully used time and time again with astounding success! ...

In many local churches, ministers and members are accepting these 'new teachings.' Shocking though it may seem, many of these ministers and brethren have admitted that they know these teachings are false! Yet they are going along with these doctrinal changes...

The foundation for this degenerate spiritual condition was inevitably laid when the churches of God began to follow two fundamental teachings which appear to agree with Scripture but which in reality are gross misapplications of Scripture. The first erroneous teaching has misled many churches of God into accepting and practicing a form of church government which is actually contrary to the express words of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. This false teaching is the assumption that God works through a hierarchical government...

The assumption that God works through a hierarchical government has led to a second fundamental error in some churches of God. Their members have been taught that God works exclusively through a single hierarchy of ministers and therefore a single church organization constitutes the ONLY TRUE CHURCH OF GOD ON EARTH...When false doctrines begin to enter the church of God, it is the responsibility of every Christian who loves God and His Truth to reject those false teachings and refute them with the sound doctrine of Jesus Christ (Coulter, Fred R. Lord, What Should I Do? Booklet. 1994, emphasis Coulter's).

The Philadelphia remnant of the COG believes the Bible clearly teaches that the government of God is hierarchical (The Bible, Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, Roderick C. Meredith, and Bob Thiel on Church Government; see also What is a True Philadelphian? and The Philadelphia Church Era).

We in the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) DO NOT TEACH that there is only one true corporate church on the Earth--though we do teach that although Philadelphians may be scattered in different groups (corporate or otherwise), the only 'Philadelphian' organization we are sure of is the CCOG.

The goal of this publication is to assist the reader to come to a greater understanding of the actuality of a worldwide conspiracy by bringing together some of the infrastructure and presenting an overview of the entire conspiratorial sphere...The first conspiracy began in the mind of Lucifer and eventually spread to involve one third of all the angels (Morgan, John. An Overview of the Worldwide Conspiracy, part one. Booklet. 1999).

Specific conspiracies that CBCG teaches about concern the Freemasons, Rothschilds, International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, the Kennedy assassinations, banking in general and international banking in particular, secret societies, Thule Society, Alien/UFO contacts, and eastern religions (Morgan, John. An Overview of the Worldwide Conspiracy, parts one and two. Booklet. 1999).

Most non-COG groups that believe in the same basic banking/Rothschild conspiracies appear to me to be anti-Semitic, but I have not detected that in any of CBCG's literature (it should be noted that no actual COG is anti-semitic).

One criticism that a CBCG leader mentioned to me about certain COG is that they were "not really into conspiracy theories."

That is true--the more faithful in the COG believe that Satan deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9, see also Satan's Plan), but that we should fear God and not be worried about 'conspiracy theories.'

Notice what scripture teaches:

Do not say, 'A conspiracy'. Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy. Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear. And let Him be your dread (Isaiah 8:12-13).

That being said, there are public plans by groups such as the Freemasons which are consistent with globalist ideas that the Bible warns against (see, for example,Freemasonry and the Destruction of Rome?).

Fred Coulter's books may be purchased at York Publishing. ... Special Note: For those who are widows or widowers, in need, or have a limited income, the Christian Biblical Church of God will assist you in acquiring these books (CBCG home webpage, 10/14/02).

Voluntary Offerings As Opposed to Third Tithe

CBCG teaches:

Christians are commanded by Jesus Christ to support the poor and needy among them with compassion and understanding. A Christian attitude of true love and service should be the basis for all giving. God desires each one whom He has prospered to give cheerfully and willingly from the heart as he or she is able (Christian Financial Responsibility. Statement of Beliefs).

For scriptures pointing to giving tithes for the poor, check out the article titled Is Third Tithe Still Valid Today?

Voting

CBCG taught:

If voting is unscriptural, then Rod's ordination and the ordination of every elder in the Worldwide Church of God is invalid (Franklin, Carl D. Rise of a Ministerial Hierarchy. Pt. 2. March 24, 1998/January 25, 1999).

For a different view related to worldly voting, please read Should a Christian Vote?

Note: Carl Franklin died on January 14, 2022.

Temple to Be Built

CBCG teaches:

It was clearly evident that Jesus’ prophecy of the “abomination of desolation” had not taken place before the temple was destroyed in ad 70. However, one of the visions Jesus gave to John—as recorded in Revelation 11—clearly reveals that a temple would exist in the end time. This is why John inserted this parenthetical statement: “ ‘Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (the one who reads, let him understand)” (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). Obviously, when Jesus originally spoke these words, He did not say “the one who reads, let him understand.” However, Jesus inspired John to insert these words into the text to inform future readers that in order for “all these things” of Jesus’ prophecy to come to pass, a temple had to first be rebuilt in Jerusalem—because the “abomination of desolation” did not take place when the temple was destroyed in ad 70...

Paul wrote: “Do not let anyone deceive you by any means because that day will not come unless the apostasy shall come first, and the man of sin shall be revealed—the son of perdition, the one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is an object of worship; so that he comes into the temple of God and sits down as God, proclaiming that he himself is God” (verses 3-4). John must have realized that Paul’s prophecy tied in directly with the prophecy of Revelation 13, which he had written. Therefore, they understood that in order for II Thessalonians 2 to be fulfilled, a future temple had to be built in Jerusalem before Jesus’ second coming.(Coulter, Fred. CBCG Monthly Letter. December 19, 2006).

This is a change from what HWA's WCG taught. The Philadelphia remnant of the COG teaches and the old WCG taught that while sacrifices will resume in Jerusalem, this does not require that a temple be rebuilt (though both allowed that a physical temple could be rebuilt).

HWA taught that since Paul taught that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that many of the prophecies concerning a temple should be interpreted in that light.

Perhaps that I should add that in order for 2 Thessalonians 2:4 to be fulfilled, this DOES NOT have to be referring to a Jewish temple in Israel--as the Jews could not in this age build the "Temple of God"-- but 2 Thessalonians 2:4 could simply mean a major place where true Christians meet or have met--and yes some physical location/building would seem to be associated with that (for more details, please see Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required? and/or the Church of God on Jerusalem's Western Hill.

Great Tribulation Prerequisites

Fred Coulter wrote:

Jesus warns: “Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation [this is an event, not a set date], which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (the one who reads, let him understand)…. For then shall there be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be again. And if those days were not limited [other prophecies show they are limited to 3½ years], there would no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be limited” (Matt. 24:15, 21).

Such passages are telling us that we are to watch for these specific events to occur; they are not intended to give us specific dates. We are to watch for three specific events:

• The coming of the final beast (Dan. 9:26; Rev. 13:1-10).
• The rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem (Dan. 9:27; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; II Thess. 2:1-12).
• The stopping of sacrifices at the temple and the setting up of the abomination (Dan. 9:27; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; II Thess. 2:1-12).

It is only when these three prophecies occur in this order that we will know the Great Tribulation has begun. We are not to let the predictions and declarations of men to the contrary mislead us. We are to follow the Scriptures and watch for prophesied events. While there are other prophetic events to occur, our focus should be on these three major events. The Great Tribulation cannot begin until these three events have transpired. (Coulter F. CBCG Monthly Newsletter, December 15, 2011)

Now, Fred Coulter is correct that once sacrifices stop and the abomination of desolation is set up, that this is the apparent final major sign that the Great Tribulation will begin, as that is what Jesus said.

However none of the verses that he mentioned states that a Jewish temple needs to be rebuilt in Jerusalem nor is it biblically-required for the Jews to have a temple to sacrifice--only an altar is required (Ezra 3:6), though a tent-type of temple or actual temple could be put together. (Yes, I do believe that some type of physical building will exist, based upon 2 Thessalonians 2:4, but I do not believe that verse requires a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem--for more details see Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?)

Although Fred Coulter referred to Daniel 9:27, that verse discusses a deal being put together, notice that when that deal is confirmed for seven-year by a prince who will later become the King of the North/Beast, then the countdown for stopping the sacrifices, hence to the start of the Great Tribulation, will have begun (and Fred Coulter does believe that as I confirmed with him in August 2017 and also something related in January 2022):

26...And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.  (Daniel 9:26-27)

Note: The individual that confirms the covenant is still then a prince, not necessarily recognizable to many then as the Beast (see also The 'Peace Deal' of Daniel 9:27).

Governance

CBCG teaches:

Hierarchical church government is NOT the Scriptural way and was never practiced by the true apostles of Jesus Christ in New Testament times. It was brought into the churches of God by false apostles, who set themselves up as dictatorial overlords, claiming to be the direct representatives of Jesus Christ (Franklin, Carl D. Rise of a Ministerial Hierarchy, Pt. 4. March 24, 1998/January 25, 1999).

We were told that the Church of God is a spiritual organization. True. It is likened to the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the Church. True. Next, we were told that the corporate church organization we were in was the only true church. This was a SLEIGHT OF HAND. Is Church Authority the Government of God? What happened after baptism? Then we assembled together with other baptized believers in various congregations, and then we were introduced to the government of God/Church authority, which was a SLEIGHT OF HAND. We were told that the ministers had rule over our lives. As time went on, that rule became more and more stifling...We were then ruled over by the church government, meaning the whole ministry, with authority from the top down. We were told that the ministry was the government of God. Why was this a SLEIGHT OF HAND?...What is the correct organizational structure for the Church? The only structure needed is one that meets the needs of the congregations such as: finding a place to meet, printing booklets and magazines, distribution and mailing, etc. (Coulter, Fred. Is the Ministry God's Government? Booklet. from website in 2002).

Similar to the United Church of God (Fred Coulter's comment, "Not similar--they are similar to WCG not us"), CBCG teaches a different form of governance than WCG did under Herbert Armstrong, (Fred Coulter asked me to remove the following comment: 'but understands God's future government will be more similar to what HWA used to teach'):

The kingdom of God currently rules the universe. Although the kingdom of God is not now ruling the earth, all those who have the Spirit of God are under the rule of God the Father through the lordship of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God will be reinstituted on the earth at the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords" (The Kingdom of God. Statement of Beliefs) and "It is the good news that when Jesus Christ returns to the earth, He will set up the kingdom of God and the government of God. He will rule all nations as King of kings and Lord of lords (Gospel. Statement of Beliefs).

In one of its booklets, CBCG quotes the following:

Mr. Herbert Armstrong felt that way also, though he always exhorted us that we should stay together 'in order to do a really BIG WORK' [through a centralized corporate church organization]--which he felt they were unable to do. Yet he always acknowledged that if this or any other church were somehow taken over by LEADERS UNWILLING TO PREACH THE TRUTH, we should ALL leave!" (Meredith, Church Government and Church Unity, pp. 3-4, emphasis added.) (emphasis added by CBCG; Franklin, Carl D. Rise of a Ministerial Hierarchy. Pt. 2. March 24, 1998/January 25, 1999).

Those interested in learning more about the biblically proper approach to church governance should consider reading the article The Bible, Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, Roderick C. Meredith, and Bob Thiel on Church Government.

Broadcast Media

In a CBCG sermon tape I heard (around Pentecost 2000), Fred Coulter announced that he believes that the open door of proclaiming the gospel (Revelation 3) through television and radio has been shut.

That is consistent with its statement:

What is the correct organizational structure for the Church? The only structure needed is one that mets the needs of the congregations such as: finding a place to meet, printing booklets and magazines, distribution and mailing, etc. (Coulter, Fred. Is the Ministry God's Government? Booklet. 2002).

I personally think that more needs to be done than that and that the radio door is currently open (see also The Final Phase of the Work).

How can CBCG do the Matthew 24:14 without broadcast media?

Fred Coulter's comment:

"Through the brethren, books, and booklets".

CBCG teaches:

The gospel must be preached to all nations as a witness before Jesus Christ returns to set up His kingdom. Through the preaching of the gospel, God is preparing saints for His kingdom by calling those whom He chooses to repentance and conversion (Gospel. Statement of Beliefs).

Yet, it requires an organization to accomplish the broadcast media effectively--CBCG's view on this may be why its type of governance is acceptable to them.

An article of interest may be Should the Church's Top Priority Be Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert Armstrong Change that Priority?

As far as that radio door still being open, check out the news post: COGwriter 101st radio interview since CCOG formation.

The door is also open for YouTube television: CCOG has several YouTube channels:

Bible News Prophecy channel. Dr. Thiel has produced many YouTube videos for the BibleNewsProphecy channel. And you can find them there.
ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced YouTube video sermons for this channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos.
CCOGAfrica channel. This has messages from African pastors in African languages such as Kalenjin, Kiswahili, Embu, and Dholuo.

Fred Coulter Translation of the New Testament

Fred Coulter has his own translation of the New Testament. He originally called it the Fred Coulter Version (FCV), which he said was "a precise translation from the Greek New Testament" and is "from the Stephens Text of 1550, the same text from which the King James Version was translated" (Coulter, Fred. The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. Not dated, introduction).

He also, in November 2004, announced that he revised his NT translation and now has a 2nd edition (mainly a second printing that also correct typos), which I have read and sometimes cited in articles. And it is now named, A Faithful Version (AFV). It is the only translation of the NT that I have seen that properly gets the pronoun grammar consistently correct related to the Holy Spirit (see also Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? ).

CBCG's main thrust seems to been to promote books written by those in various COGs (and not just CBCG). Fred Coulter has worked with several authors that I am aware of (and know to a limited degree) to assist them with the publishing and/or promotion of their COG-related books.

While I told Fred Coulter some of the translation problems in his version of the New Testament in 2007, I was not sure if he corrected them--though he might have (there was at least once the word "gospel" was in a place the Greek did not support, plus some governance issues--I do not recall what else I told him back then--I also told him about something in 2018). That being said, I do use the AFV from time to time and have read it.

And after a discussion he and I had related to Greek in August 2017, I decided to use it more, especially on teachings related to the Holy Spirit as it is the only translation that does not make pronoun errors in the translation of the New Testament related to the Holy Spirit (see also Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity?).

But, I really wish this AFV translation would have not have translated 'stauros' as cross--and although I am not certain I mentioned to him before, I told Fred C. my view on this on 1/29/18 (for more on 'stauros,' see What is the Origin of the Cross as a 'Christian' Symbol?).

CBCG Translation of the Old Testament

Fred Coulter reported:

The Old Testament Project: We are making excellent progress with the Old Testament project. Michel Heiss—who knows Old Testament Hebrew—is thoroughly going over the final copy of major sections of the text to ensure that we are as accurate as possible. We also have many other brethren who are helping edit the complete text so that we can get it as perfect as possible before it goes to press. (It may be interesting to note that it took 11 editions before publishers were able to eliminate all the typos from the King James Version.)

In translating from Hebrew or Greek into English, it is vital to convey as accurately as possible the whole meaning of the original text. In many cases—particularly with Hebrew—it takes several words in English to convey what is meant by a single Hebrew word. This means there are add words in the English translation in order to fully bring out the inspired meaning. Please understand that this is not in any way “adding to” or “taking away from” the original text (Coulter, Fred. CBCG Monthly Letter. December 19, 2006).

IT IS DONE! We have completed all the final editing and compiling of the new Bible—The Holy Bible In Its Original Order. Thursday, November 15, John and Hiedi Vogele shipped, via UPS Air International Express, the complete hard copy of the Bible text, commentaries and appendices—1416 pages total, plus two CDs—off to the printer. Additional “backup” copies of the CDs—which contain all the formatted pages of the entire Bible—were sent in a separate air express package. The manufacturer, LithoPak, Inc. of Hong Kong, China, will immediately begin the process of printing and binding this beautiful new Bible. It will be approximately 60 days until we receive them through the port of Oakland, California, and begin mailing them to you (Coulter Fred. CBCG Monthly Letter, November 20, 2007).

Fred Coulter sent me a copy of Special Second Edition, copyright 2011 that I received on August 7, 2017 that I do intend to completely read the NT and the appendices.

He told me on August 9, 2017 that while he did not translate the Hebrew to English for the Old Testament, that he did edit the English translation in the Old Testament. On January 29, 2022, he told me that it was a COG member who translated the Old Testament for him.

Off on His Own

Fred Coulter has served as an independent minister for many years. He has been a blessing to many people who left the WCG and other groups. He certainly works with original languages and history much more than the average CoG minister. A lot of his work is also useful to people who have not been in the Church of God Groups. He is against hierarchy and does not insist that members in his group attend only with him. However, he does discourage people who are members of other groups from attending his Feasts—he specifically asked me not to list his sites in Servants’ News. He does not often recommend the works of others that are not in his group. The biggest difficulty I perceive is that his isolation has allowed him to make mistakes and carry them on for a long time. He took a certain approach to the complex issue of the Passover, and every time he ran into a scriptural obstacle, he wove an elaborate web to get around it—hence the large size of his book, The Christian Passover. Readers frequently accept his arguments, not because they are simply and clearly true, but because proving or disproving his vast amount of writing is an exhausting task that few have the time to complete. In other places, Mr. Coulter deliberately avoids quoting parts of scriptures or other sources that disagree with his teaching. I sent him a copy of Mr. Beattie’s The Passover Controversy and received a letter back from him saying that he read it and all of the answers to our questions were in his book. He chose not to respond to any of the inconsistencies and misquotations that the paper pointed out in his book. I cannot judge if this is an oversight, or if he is actually being dishonest. Sometimes, as in the case of Deuteronomy 16, he simply claims that the scripture must be wrong because it does not fit his teaching. He cites no old manuscripts that have a different wording in the chapter—he just disagrees with what it says and claims that the Jews must have changed it. Fred Coulter needs to realize that God will still love him and that he can still serve the brethren if he admits these mistakes. Much of his other good work is quite valuable. It would be even more valuable if it did not promote his own group so heavily. He needs to realize that other teachers also make mistakes, but God still uses them. May God help all of us to work together more effectively (Edwards, Norman. Coulter’s The Christian Passover. Servants' News. May/June 2002).

Note: "Servants' News" is not affiliated in anyway with CBCG, nor me. It was a publication of Norman Edwards, a former GCG member who has embraced many non-Philadelphia era doctrines--and the comments above are Norman Edwards' opinions.

I do not know the details of the Passover issue that N. Edwards is raising, but will simply state that Fred Coulter does answer my questions (though we do not always agree on the answers) nor have I ever felt that he was personally dishonest in his dealings with me. I personally do not believe Fred Coulter discourages those in other groups from coming to CBCG Feast sites. I also would like to add that I do not believe that Fred Coutler is as isolated as Norman Edwards states and that Fred Coulter has promoted writings from those not affiliated with him.

It is, however, from Norman Edwards' "Servants' News" where I first heard about the CBCG 'sea of glass' teaching (see section below).

Perhaps I should add that from the beginning of the early Christian church to present, there have always been issues with those who choose to become independent of the governance that the Bible shows should exist within the faithful church. Two articles of related interest may include Independent Members of the COG: Herbert W. Armstrong Comments, Plus Questions and Answers and Herbert W. Armstrong and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government.

But as far as Fred Coulter goes, he has pretty much always displayed a willingness to discuss doctrinal matters when I have approached him on them--which I have done over several years.

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) (Edwards, Norman. Coulter’s Sea of Glass Doctrine. Servants' News. May/June 2002).

Fred Coulter stated the following to me in response to the above:

We do not teach a secret rapture. We teach that the saints will be be resurrected, in the first resurrection, to meet Christ in the air on the sea of glass then other things like the marriage supper will take place, then all of God's people from Able on will witness the seven last plagues and return to the earth on Trumpets (telecom 12/17/07).

The term 'sea of glass' is used in a couple of 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 (Revelation 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" (Revelation 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, May 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).

Irrespective of other teachings CBCG has about the "sea of glass," the numbered events will occur (though not necessarily as CBCG suggests). While I do not consider CBCG to be a highly authoritative source of prophetic information, it should be noted that that Fred Coulter is more open to consider his views may need to be modified than many in other COGs. Plus, he has figured out some mistakes that some other groups sadly cling to.

When the WCG observed a Monday Pentecost for forty years (from 1934 to 1974) they were observing it on the wrong day—a day late—because the day after the seventh Sabbath is a Sunday, not a Monday. Keeping Pentecost on the wrong day undoubtedly lead to a lack of understanding of its full meaning. While many understood the Old Testament harvest of the firstfruits of the grain harvest, they failed to understand that the true harvest of the spiritual firstfruits at the first resurrection also had to occur on a Pentecost. Instead, as so many still assume, they believed that the first resurrection would take place on the Feast of Trumpets. But the Feast of Trumpets is a memorial of the blowing of trumpets all day long. Trumpets is God’s call to war, not a day of the resurrection of the firstfruits (Coulter FR. Monthly Letter. Christian Biblical Church of God. June 8, 2007).

There are certain scriptural references that appear to be ignored by the proponents of this “Pentecost ressurection” teaching. Chief among them is 1 Corinthians 15:52. It links the last trumpet to sound with the resurrection:

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

Paul used the word “last” Greek: eschatos, which Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance refers to as a superlative “(in the sense of contiguity); farthest, final (of place or time): - ends of, last, latter end, lowest, uttermost.” The fact that this is the "last trumpet"could eliminate Pentecost as the date of the resurrection--but that is not certain (this is something my own studies on are not finished).

A Prophetic Understanding

In December 2007 Fred Coulter announced that following:

A New Look at Daniel Two: If we re-examine the prophecies of Daniel two, which began with Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold, it is possible to make more sense out of the final kingdom of ten toes. If we view the ten toes as ten “regional unions” of nations—partly weak and partly strong because of their alignments—it may give us greater understanding: “And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, forasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken [or weak]. And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle [or join] themselves with the seed of men [other nations]: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Dan. 2:41-44).

As we witness the development of these ten “regional unions” of the nations of the world, rather than simply ten nations in Europe, as has been postulated in the past. Remember, the EU currently has 12 members nations and will be adding over 12 more in the near future. This makes it impossible to interpret the ten toes of Daniel as ten European nations—five from western Europe and five from eastern Europe. Rather, we are looking at a worldwide system. Indeed, end time prophecies show worldwide events, not just those taking place in Europe and the Middle East.

The Seven Heads that are With the Ten Horns: Revelation 13 speaks of seven heads in addition to the ten horns. Who are these seven heads? It is very possible that the nations of the G-7—meaning Group of Seven—are the seven heads. In 1975, the seven most powerful economic nations of the world began holding annual meetings. But it was not until 1985 that they were officially established as an independent power block in the world. In 1998, the G-7 added Russia as a guest observer. These seven nations continue to meet without Russia on certain worldwide economic issues. The G-7 nations are: the United States, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and Italy.

We must also consider that another possible fulfillment of the seven heads could involve the seven permanent members of the UN Security Council. At present there are only five permanent members: the U.S., the UK, France, Russia and China. However, there have been recent proposals to add two more members—Japan and Germany—which would make seven permanent Council members (Coulter Fred. CBCG Monthly Newsletter. December 13, 2007).

Actually, let us look at the Book of Revelation as it gives us more information on the ten kings which seem to be the same as the ten toes in Daniel:

The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast (Revelation 17:12-13).

What this states is that there are ten kings who will receive a kingdom and turn over their authority to the Beast (the final king of the North in Daniel 11). And while Revelation 17:12-13 this does not rule out the possibility of this being mainly non-European, I believe that the totality of Revelation 17 and 18 clearly are referring to a European power which has had various kings in the past.

It needs to be pointed out that Revelation 17:12-13 does allow for the development of ten European regions to form, hence it is not impossible as Fred Coulter indicated above for Daniel to be referring to European-based regions as the Church of God has tended to teach. However he wanted me, when I asked him about it (12/17/07), to mention that he only intended to use the term "impossible" for the way that the EU is currently configured and that a ten-region area within the EU could be possible. He also confirmed that on August 2, 2017.

One point he is correct on is that the current EU will reorganize per Revelation 17:12-13 (see also Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations?).

Three Angels

Fred Coulter has posted various statements from sermons, etc. related to the messages of the three angels in Revelation 14. Here are some:

Prior to the third key event signaling Christ’s return are two important preparatory events—the “message of the three angels” and the enforcement of the “mark of the beast.” The messages of the three angels are powerfully given to the whole world prior to the start of the Great Tribulation. God will send these three mighty angels to warn the world ...

The first angel proclaims the gospel message to the whole world, warning all mankind to “fear God and give Him glory”--for His judgment is at hand. The second angel foretells of the imminent fall of “Babylon”--the entire political, economic and religious system formed by the nations led by the Beast and the false prophet. The third angel warns all of mankind to not worship the Beast or his image, and to not receive the “mark” of the Beast.

From the context of Revelation 13 and 14, the three angels must give their warnings before the worship of the Beast and his image begins, and before the enforcement of the mark. God always gives a warning before something takes place, not after it has already happened--that is clearly evident throughout the Bible. (Coutler F. Chapter Seven - The Appointed Time of Jesus’ Return--Part I. https://www.cbcg.org/the-appointed-times-of-jesus-messiah/chapter-seven-the-appointed-time-of-jesus-return-part-i.html accessed 01/27/22)

Fred Coulter and I discussed this on January 27, 2022. Basically, he stated that the three angels will give all their messages between the 1335 days and the start of the 1260 days--he says the three messages go out while the most faithful are in a place of safety, and essentially the messages are God's warning to the world that the Great Tribulation is about to begin, that all should repent, that Babylon is in the process of falling, and that people should not take the mark of the beast.

He may be right about the timing of the first angel's message--though its position in the Book of Revelation seems to point to later.

Fred Coulter and I did not agree on the idea that the second angel's message was that Babylon is falling that early. He said the statement "Babylon is fallen" as he also (like the NKJV) translated it in his New Testament transation called the A Faithful Version (AFV) means that Babylon is in the process of falling, not that it has fallen -- I told him that I had a problem with that as Babylon would be rising in power then and that I believed that the second angel was announcing that Babylon had fallen.

So, the next day, I decided to look at a translation edited by a Greek Orthodox priest and scholar that I knew (Laurent Cleenewerck) in what is called the Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB). In a footnote to Revelation 14:8 it states:

MT reads "Babylon the Great has fallen"

MT stands for the 'Majority Text,' of version of which is basically the text that Fred Coulter used for his translation of the New Testament. Hence, I believe my understanding of Revelation 14:8 makes more grammatical and sequential sense. That being said, I agree with Fred Coutler that the second message includes the concept of possibly additional falling to occur. It looks like when it is given, this is when the great Babylon harlot woman city Rome is destroyed consistent with Revelation 17:15-18.

Based on a number of scriptures, when the second angel proclaims that Babylong the Great is fallen, I believe that one particular aspect of Babylon will have fallen then, with the rest falling later. For example, there would be little reason for the third angel to warn against the mark of the Beast if the entire Babylonian system was gone by the time of the second angel's announcement.

As far as the third angel's message goes, Fred Coulter stated that it was his view that the mark of the beast will have been present prior to that angel giving the message, that part of the purpose of the message is to tell people who had taken the mark to stop doing so and repent, and that the enforcement of the mark of the Beast (cf. Revelation 13:15-18) would take place after that message is given. He may be correct that there will be a delay in the enforcement of the mark of the beast, as well as that there may be some who repent of the mark before Jesus returns.

More on the three angels' messages can be found in the article: Church of God on the Three Angels' Messages and 'Babylon'.

Dislike of Certain HWA Teachings/Practices

Likewise, if we preach the truth, God will draw the people. Preaching the basic Gospel to new people does not mean that we are to water down the truth. In our past church experience, we saw what happened when the Gospel of Jesus Christ was watered down. In its place a false gospel of "give" and "get," costing $24 million dollars a year, was preached. In order not to offend the government leaders of the world, the all-powerful visible return of Jesus Christ was changed to "the unseen hand" that was coming to save the world. This watered down gospel left out the cross of Jesus Christ and repentance. Remember, when the words are changed, the meaning is changed. What was the result? There were few if any conversions or baptisms because they did not hear the true Gospel of Jesus Christ--especially overseas among the so-called "world leaders" (Coulter Fred. CBCG Newsletter, July 20, 2004).

Fred Coulter initially objected to the sentence in the background section of this article that states (correctly) that he left 6 years before HWA died. Yet the quote from his newsletter clearly shows that he had major problems with some of HWA's teachings and practices.

Fred Coulter is mistaken if he believes that HWA did not teach Jesus Christ and repentance (please see the article on RCG)--but there were issues of emphasis. I also believe that HWA did get the Chinese to understand his basic message (the 'unseen hand' comment was from a presentation in China) as they also had access to the literature at the time and basically knew what WCG stood for, even though HWA was not as direct in person as many, including Fred Coulter, thought that he should be.

Calendar

In an article dated 6/30/05 titled Ambassador College and Recent Digital Calculated Hebrew Calendar History, and distributed to the CBCG membership by Fred Coulter with his 7/14/05 newsletter, Carl Franklin states:

Ambassador College issued an automated Hebrew Calendar that could be run on new microcomputer technology. (The program was written in DOS, which was the prevalent language of the day.) This calendar was a giant leap forward in that it was possible to generate a six-month calendar for any year back to 3761 BC and forward to 2034 AD. The Molad of Tishri was also displayed for the day of the week, the month, the day of the month and by Hebrew Calendar hours and parts. Although this Ambassador College calendar had great advantages over previous calendars, it also had great disadvantages. The calendar utilized the wrong intercalary cycle from 142 AD back through the time of Christ and into the BC period, thereby resulting in many errors. For example, Passover in 31 AD was placed on Wednesday, April 25, when in reality it took place on Monday, March 26. This particular error gave false support to the teaching that Christ was crucified in 31 AD....Since the middle 1980’s, others in the Church of God fellowship have written and released versions of the Hebrew Calendar in various programming languages. However, none of these calendars utilize postponements or the correct intercalary cycle, nor do they set the holy days based on the Molad of Tishri. Consequently, many of our brethren are observing the holy days on dates that differ from the God-given dates. Some of the most vocal adversaries of the calendar insist that Passover cannot be observed before the spring equinox....On November 9, 2002, while attending an elder’s conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, I approached Fred with the possibility of producing our own automated holy day calendar. After explaining the great need for such a calendar and the blessing it would be to our brethren, Fred agreed. As suggested, I contacted Alan Ruth, asking if he would be interested in working with me in the design, coding and implementation of a new calendar for the brethren of CBCG and the church at large. Alan readily accepted the challenge. I had been utilizing a Hebrew Calendar program in my research for some years, but it had a number of problems....The CBCG Holy Day Calendar Program is unique among the Churches of God and indeed, the entire world. Alan Ruth reports that he has visited more than 200 Church of God websites, and not one has anything to compare with this new calendar.

While CBCG has always correctly argued that Passover should be on the 14th, this as well as another article seems to represent a change in its approach to the calendar.

Internet and Reach

In its "About Us" webpage, CBCG stated:

The CBCG has since grown to minister to thousands in various fellowship groups and small congregations—as well as to thousands of scattered believers around the world. Over 40,000 people actively use the CBCG’s Web sites each month to assist them in their Christian lives and studies. (viewed 2011-03-23)

The amount of people that CBCG once claimed that reaches on its website, while better than many small groups, is not that high considering its size and the fact that it has no other significant electronic media to reach the world.

CGCG.org's ranking on Alexa (an independant source that ranks website popularity) was as 604,507 of 8/09/2017. This means that there were 604,506 websites more popular than CBCG's.

To put this into perspective, the Alexa ranking for COGwriter.com was 336,750 on 8/09/2017. Essentially, this means that COGwriter is much more popular (which is affiliated with the Continuing Church of God).

The "Over 40,000 people" each month accessing CBCG's web information was true years ago, but that was when CBCG had a much better popularity ranking. It would seem that either it does not have that many now, or they only visit for a very brief time. FWIW, there were normally over 100,000 unique visitors to the Continuing Church of God/COGwriter websites each month in 2017, before Google implemented a lot of shadow banning.

Concluding Comments

Fred Coulter and another CBCG member have stated that CBCG has 3000 affiliated with it. Less than 1/4 of that number seem to attend one the CBCG Feast of Tabernacles sites. CBCG's income seems to be disproportionately smaller than many other COGs on a per Western member basis. CBCG has explained that this is because it has more elderly and poor members than other COGs.

Now although I have tended to get along with Fred Coulter and normally find him cooperative when I speak or meet with him (though we do not always agree), I believe that CBCG is basically another non-Philadelphia COG which is doing its own work (though it may well have Philadelphians in it or even leading it).

CBCG's booklets on refuting various 'sacred name' beliefs or pagan holidays may be helpful for some. And it is interesting that it is produced in essence, its own translation of the Bible--and what appears to be the only complete Bible translated into English by those in a COG.

Yet, certain of CBCG's prophetic stances are in error and those who rely on them simply will not understand end time events as they should. However as Fred Coulter is not as dogmatic on several of them as leaders of some other COGs are about theirs, some with CBCG may be more open to prophetic interpretations than certain others. My hope and prayer is that CBCG will make certain changes in its prophetic teachings.

There are probably a lot of relatively minor doctrinal points where CBCG differs from the old WCG. But since I do not listen to its sermons (though did hear 3-4 and read over several others) it is difficult to document many of those differences. Those that prefer the CBCG differences will most likely be supportive of CBCG.

Although it has been reported that "The doctrinal differences among the Churches of God are minuscule. You can't get a knifes edge between us on doctrines" (Dart, Ron. CEM Founder Talks About Bickering, Bridges, the Future. The Journal. July 31, 1999. p.6), this author does not believe that one can examine the teachings of groups, such as CBCG, and come to that conclusion (nor apparently would Herbert Armstrong, for proof please check out some quotes from HWA on holding fast to doctrine).

Laodicean Warning for God's People If you have read this far you are probably a current or former member of one of the Churches of God and may be interested in reading this warning article.

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Thiel B. Ph.D. Christian Biblical Church of God www.cogwriter.com (c) 2002/2004/2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2017/2018 /2022 0201