Living Church of God World Ahead Weekly Update

Since a number of people from the office will be traveling to other congregations for the Spring Holy Days, this has been a preparation week to tie up a number of projects. Mr. Meredith has been writing and conducting several meetings. Mr. Ames recorded program # 348, titled “Heaven, Hell, and the Resurrection,” which offers the booklet, Is This the Only Day of Salvation? Mr. Gerald Weston, the Director of the Canadian Work, and Mr. Michael Heykoop visited the office here in Charlotte to discuss a number of very interesting ideas related to the use of the Internet, presenting Bible lectures and other subjects. Mr. Gary Ehman reports that March was another record month for the Personal Correspondence Department—701 requests for information were answered. This morning we had a meeting to discuss budgetary projections for the coming year. Please pray for God’s blessing on the Spring Holy Days and for the safety of all who will be traveling during this time. Mr. and Mrs. Apartian will be leaving for the French island of Martinique this Sunday; Mr. and Mrs. Ames will be heading to New York, and I will be going to Ohio. Please read the following announcement about the Spring Holy Days. Due to traveling staff, The World Ahead will not bepublished next week.

The Passover service will be held on Tuesday evening, April 7, and is for baptized members only. The service should not start before sunset. Please plan to arrive 20-30 minutes early so you have time to focus on the meaning of the service and review scriptures pertaining to the Passover—Isaiah 52-53, 1 Corinthians 11, Romans 12, Galatians 5, etc. The atmosphere for the service should be pleasant, but reflective. As we travel home, we should reflect on why Jesus Christ had to die for us and what changes we need to make in our lives in the year ahead. On the Night to Be Much Observed, the host or leading man may want to make a few comments about the meaning of the evening—after the “Comments” section of this issue, we have included a two-page explanation of the evening that can be consulted for any comments that are made. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, we each need to focus on identifying and removing any spiritual leaven that God enables us to see in our lives. Offerings will be taken up on the two Holy Days.

Mr. Robert Tyler, Australia Regional Office Manager, reports: During March, five Tomorrow’s World programs went to air. From these programs, we have currently had 1,228 requests for literature offered. Our highest-response program this month was “What Is the Kingdom of God?,” presented by Mr. Wallace Smith, which offered the booklet The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy. We received 209 requests for this booklet from the program. For the month of March, the office mailed 1,661 booklets, 3,270 The Power of Prophecy DVDs, 720 co-worker letters and 1,491 letters to subscribers offering them the bi-monthly Tomorrow’s World DVD which we produce here in Australia. With an additional 600 items mailed, this means approximately 7,742 items of mail were received by many who are potentially being called to be part of the firstfruit harvest. With the exciting news of the many baptisms this month, we now have a membership of 172 baptized members and a total of 271 attending weekly Sabbath services around Australia.

Mr. Bruce Tyler, Australasia Regional Director, writes: Mr. Rajan Moses reports from Malaysia that Mr. Thomas Tial Hoe, our Myanmar minister, left his home area, Kalaymyo, for a visit to our members in Sakhan Gyi, the delta region of Burma. He left on April 2 and will return home on April 17. Mr. Moses also reports that 36 members will keep the Passover in Malaysia—24 in Kuala Lumpur and 12 in Bahau. Next month we will feature a full report on the Work in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Here are some comments from Mr. Tial Hoe: “…there are 43 baptized members and 42 unbaptized members—a total of 85 attending LCG in Myanmar. Our Karen members are living in Sakhan Gyi village and nearby, but our Chin members are living scattered in Sagaing Division, Magwe Division and Chin State. I visit them twice a year. I sent them some sermons in Chin from LCN and Tomorrow’s World articles. I sent some sermons in Burmese to the Sakhan Gyi members. Our Chin members wanted me to visit them before the Passover and our Karen members asked me to keep the Passover with them this year because of Mr. Saw Khin Maung Gyi’s recent death. It will be the first year keeping the Passover without him (SKMG). They will be very lonely and sad….”

The “Festival 2009” flyer is a brochure which the Church produces to give those without Internet access general information about this year’s United States’ Feast sites. The flyer was mailed from Charlotte on March 27, and should be arriving in most U.S. households within one week. Flyers have also been sent to International Regional Offices, to distribute as needed.

As we continue to process international transfer requests—934 approved as of this writing—we are now gearing up for the USA/CANADA registration. USA and Canada registration will take place one month from now, Sunday, May 3 (12:00 noon, EDT). Festival Advisors, please check the MyLCG website for site information, updates and forms, in preparation for May 3. You may now access information about the following USA sites on the MyLCG website (Canadian sites to follow):

This week, we feature in The World Ahead abbreviated descriptions of the sites in Kenya and New Zealand. Unabridged descriptions of these and other sites can be found on MyLCG (www.cogl.org). As a reminder, International and Hawaii Feast registration is now available at the MyLCG section of www.cogl.org.

Living Church of God brethren from Kenya and Tanzania will, for the first time, keep the Feast of Tabernacles together in a small town known as Isibania in Western Kenya, near Lake Victoria. Isibania is situated on the border of Tanzania, a popular trade destination for Kenyans and Tanzanians. International guests should fly into Joma Kenyatta International Airport and take a shuttle to Isibania, about 400 km from Nairobi. On the way, they might see giraffes as they pass through the plains of Rift Valley. Brethren attending the Feast will have the opportunity to see large sugarcane farms. Huge rocks lay on top of each other, looking like an African hut from a distance. On the sides are private small-scale farms where varieties of crops are grown and indigenous livestock is raised.

Accommodations for all brethren, both local and international, will be available at the Isibania Border Point Hotel. International brethren will be on bed/breakfast at a cost of US$21 per person, per night. Meals are US$5 per person, per meal. There will be rooms for about 30 international transfers. Transfer applicants should be adventurous adults in good health. Vaccination and malarial medication are recommended.

Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of New Zealand‘s North Island. Feastgoers will generally fly into Auckland, from where it is just a three-to four-hour scenic drive over good roads. Taupo is also served by commuter air services. Services will be held at the Taupo Cosmopolitan Club, Taniwha Street in central Taupo.

Taupo is situated in an area of great natural beauty. There are rivers and lakes, forests, mountains, thermal areas and active volcanoes, all within reach over good roads. There are many fine restaurants and other opportunities to fellowship. Organized activities will include trout fishing for children, mini-golf, a visit to a lion park and a games evening.

There is available in Taupo a wide range of accommodations for all needs and budgets. Those who want to rent a luxury apartment or stay in a B&B, motel, hotel or even camp in a camping ground are all catered for. The accommodation is of a high standard and most Feastgoers will readily find a good, comfortable motel for two adults in the price range of US$45-70 per night. No Feastgoer needs to be more than five minutes drive from services and there are many motels within walking distance.

In March we reached a very exciting milestone, receiving more than 10,000 orders for literature through the Tomorrow’s World website. This represented a 37 percent increase over the previous month! Thirty-five percent of those ordering literature on the website last month were doing so for the very first time. During the month of March, there were also more than 35,000 booklet downloads.

It’s happened again—another first! The Ten Commandments booklet has never broken 4,000—until this weekend. And it is the second time for one of Mr. King’s programs to break 4,000. This weekend, we aired new program #341, “What Caused the Economic Crisis?” which offered the The Ten Commandments booklet. From Thursday through Sunday, we received 3,156 phone calls, and we are expecting the final count to go over 4,000 by the end of the week.

A Time to Reflect and Change: The Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread provide us with an annual reminder of the important initial steps in God’s great Plan of Salvation. The Passover reminds us that Jesus Christ died for our sins. When we come to realize that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, we must also take time to examine ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:28-32) and make every effort to eliminate from our lives any sins that God allows us to see. Our focus during the Days of Unleavened Bread should be on searching ourselves and eliminating any leaven (sins) that we find in our lives. To effectively carry out this process, we need to remember the biblical definition of sin—that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, KJV). The Scriptures can help us identify sinful attitudes and actions in our lives if we read and meditate on the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and the spiritual intent of God’s instructions (Matthew 5-7; Romans 12 and Galatians 5). If we do not use God’s word as a guide, we can deceive ourselves by thinking that we are OK—because our thoughts and behaviors may not as bad as others’ in the world around us. However, God has called us to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17) so we can be lights to the world (Matthew 5:14-16). The Passover period and the Days of Unleavened Bread are designed to help us in this vital process of reflection and change so we can become more like Jesus Christ.

Last night we remembered the Lord’s death through the observance of the New Testament Passover. We partook of small portions of unleavened bread and wine that were symbols of the body and blood of the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The question must then arise, what are we doing here tonight? What is the meaning of this evening? Why are we here?

God instructing Moses and Aaron about what they were to teach the people and what was going to happen. This instruction included the taking out of a lamb on the tenth day of this first month, called Abib, and saving it up until the 14th day when it was to be killed at twilight — the beginning of the 14th.

(Ex 12:21-22) Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

(Ex. 12:29-33) And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise and go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”

(Ex 12:34-39 --King James Version) And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

(Ex 12:40-42) Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years — on that very same day — it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

(Numbers 33:1-3) These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD. And these are their journeys according to their starting points: They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments.

We learn from this Feast that we cannot stay in Egypt. We are not to be part of this present evil world. Even as God separated His people from Egypt, we must be separated from modern day Egypt with all of its lures and attractions. Just as ancient Israel had to put forth effort to get out of bondage, so we too must put forth effort to remove ourselves from the bondage of this world. Tomorrow we will be hearing more about what it takes to successfully make this journey. Until then, let us rejoice on this very special evening. At this time Mr. __________ will lead us in a prayer of thanks for this occasion and the meal that is before us.

A Global Currency? Last week, the governor of China’s Central Bank suggested the need for a “global currency” in order to stabilize the current financial crisis. He suggested that the International Monetary Fund mediate this new world currency. However, both the U.S. and Europe disagreed with China’s proposal, with EU suggesting that the U.S. dollar should be the world’s reserve currency for “a long period of time” (Associated Press, March 24, 2009). However, the UN has recommended that the world reserve currency should be something other than the U.S. dollar (Reuters, March 18, 2009). Russia has also encouraged a move away from the dollar. While the Europeans may not favor replacing the dollar as world currency, they are in favor of highly regulating world trade. In a unique speech to the European Parliament, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown emphatically stated that the “old Washington consensus” of free and open markets had come to an end and that there must be great oversight in both national and international trade. Prime Minister Brown also stated that Britain was “proud to be at the center of Europe” (Daily Mail, March 24, 2009). While the exact form of the future world financial system is not yet clear, Bible prophecies describe an end-time economic system dominated by a European Beast Power that will benefit the merchants of the world (see Revelation 18). We could be watching the initial steps in the formation of that financial superpower.

U.S. Helps Build the Beast? A recent article in the London Telegraph reported, “Barack Obama heads to Britain and Europe in two weeks’ time as the leader of the first U.S. administration to wholeheartedly back the creation of a federal Europe. In contrast to earlier U.S. administrations… the Obama administration is avowedly Euro-federalist in outlook, and is keen to help build a European Union defense identity as well as support the foundations of a European superstate in Brussels” (emphasis ours). Actions to support the European superstate are in stark contrast with the traditional US support for national sovereignty among European nations (Telegraph, March 18, 2009). From a human viewpoint, supporting the development of a European superstate might appear to be in the best interests of the U.S., because it could add to stability in Europe, both politically and economically— ultimately benefitting the U.S. and the entire world. However, from a biblical perspective, knowing that a world-dominating Beast power must arise in Europe, it is sobering to watch the US support actions that will lead to a power that will ultimately be a tool in God’s hands to punish Israelite-descended nations (see Deuteronomy 28, Amos 5:1-3). Because the U.S. has departed from God’s ways and no longer reads or understands the Bible, it is very likely helping build the end-time Beast Power that will later destroy it.

The Vatican’s Growing Visibility. The month of May will bring the Pope to the Holy Land for visits with leaders of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (www.vatican.va, March 26, 2009). As the Pope works hard to increase the influence of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, the European Commission of Bishops recently held an assembly in which they dedicated a new headquarters. The president of the Commission of Bishops commented on his wish for the building to serve as the “soul and unity of Europe.” During the dedication ceremony, a German member of the European Parliament commented that “Churches have always been and remain important and reliable partners for policy makers,” harkening back to the Pope’s recent comments about the Church being part of the “roots” of Europe (www.comece.org, March 30, 2009). Bible prophecies have long predicted that a significant religious figure leading a world church will play an important role in end-time events and guide the actions of a European Beast Power (see Revelation 17). This once all-powerful European-based church is again on the rise and preparing for a grand and influential future.—Sue Bennett, Marc Arseneault and Scott Winnah