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Christian Biblical Church of God
Post Office Box 1442
Hollister, California 95024-1442
(831)-637-1875
Fred R. Coulter
Minister
December 8, 2005
Dear Brethren,
We have been working nonstop on the book
Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which? As
a result of new material and editing progress is
steady, howbeit slower than we anticipated.
This world is being set up for a massive occult
deception—a clever all encompassing deception.
Satan is accomplishing this through major book
publications such as the Da Vinci Code
and its coming movie, Harry Potter books and
movies, films, videos, television, advertising,
music, pornography, the corruption and moral
pollution of our children by the government
school system. We are not far from the time when
Satan’s delusion will be so thorough and
pervasive that it will be almost like a world
possessed (Rev. 12:9).
In the last century, this could be said of
Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, Communist
China and Cambodia—whole populations possessed.
They were all fanatical and seemingly controlled
purveyors of evil, war, destruction, sadism,
carnage and cruelty on massive scales that were
so horrific our minds and emotions were numbed
by the sheer magnitude of it all. Now we are in
the middle of World War III, the war on
terrorism. Likewise, its radical leaders are
fanatical, and ruthless, “possessed” lovers of
death and destruction.
As we view the world, in spite of all that has
happened and what is taking place, we are not
yet near the end. We are closer than in the
past—many prophetic things must develop and take
place before we reach the end time. Down through
the centuries, because men have wanted God to
fulfill His prophecies during
their lifetimes, they have artificially set
dates predicting when the end would come—all of
which have failed. They forgot that God the
Father will do every thing according to His own
timetable. This is what Jesus told His disciples
before ascending into heaven: “So then, when
they were assembled together, they asked Him,
saying, ‘Lord, will You restore the kingdom to
Israel at this time?’ And He said to them, ‘It
is not for you to know the times or
the seasons, which
the Father has placed in His own authority;
but you yourselves shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be
My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea
and Samaria, and unto the ends of the
earth.’ And after saying these things, as
they were looking at Him, He was taken
up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight”
(Acts 1:6-9).
In the Olivet prophecy, Jesus had previously
explained to His disciples that the timing of
all the prophecies in the end time were under
the Father’s control: “But learn the parable of
the fig tree: When its branches become tender,
and it puts forth leaves, you know that summer
is near. In the same way also, when you see
these things coming to pass, know that it is
near,
even at the doors. Truly I say
to you, this generation shall in no way pass
away until all these things have taken place.
The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My
words shall never pass away. But concerning that
day and the hour, no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father
only. Take heed, be watching and
praying. For you do not know when the time is
coming” (Mark 13:28-33).
Because we are close to the end times, we do
have a fairly detailed understanding about the
events that will take place. Also, based on the
framework of the holy days, we have a good
understanding of prophecies yet to occur. But we
still do not know exactly when they will take
place.
Consequently, we must watch for these events as
they transpire. Jesus revealed a major prophetic
key event that will signal the beginning of the
great tribulation. He said that when the
Abomination of Desolation stands in the holy
place, then the tribulation will begin (Matt.
24:15, 21). This means that the temple has to be
built (Rev. 11:1-2). The man of sin, the son of
perdition must be on the scene. Proclaiming
himself to be God, he will go into the holy of
holies in the Jew’s temple in Jerusalem and men
will worship him as God—the false Messiah (II
Thes. 2:1-12; Rev. 13:3-8).
During the past few years I have given a sermon
several times on
The Fourteen Things That Need to Happen in
Prophecy
before Jesus’ second coming. Since I do not plan
on repeating it again this year, you might
retrieve it from your tape library and listen to
it again to refresh your understanding. While
some things have continued to develop, many more
things have not yet begun to take place.
Remember Jesus said, “When you see ALL these
things, know that it is near, even at the
doors” (Matt. 24:33). It cannot be half of
the things, nor two thirds or three quarters of
them, but we must see “ALL THESE THINGS” then we
will know that the end is near.
Two additional major prophecies have yet to
be fulfilled: 1) There is not yet a king of the
north . 2) Nor is there the king of the south.
Daniel writes that the events of the end time
will not take place until they come into power,
and the king of the south pushes at the king of
the north: “And
at the time of the end shall the king
of the south
push at him: and the king of the north
shall come against him like a whirlwind, with
chariots, and with horsemen, and with many
ships; and he shall enter into the countries,
and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter
also into the glorious land, and many countries
shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out
of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief
of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth
his hand also upon the countries: and the land
of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have
power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt: and
the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his
steps. But tidings out of the east and out of
the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall
go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly
to make away many. And he shall plant the
tabernacles of his palace between the seas in
the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to
his end, and none shall help him. And at that
time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
which standeth for the children of thy people:
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation even to that
same time” (Dan. 11:40-45; 12:1).
Europe today is weak and in
disarray—politically, economically and
religiously. Furthermore, a strong leader has
not appeared on the horizon who could fulfill
the function of the king of the north. Likewise,
all the Islamic countries are far from becoming
a united entity with a king to challenge Europe.
Eventually, they will unite, perhaps in a loose
confederation. At the present time, many Islamic
intellectuals and economists desire to restore
an Islamic Empire stretching from the Atlantic
to India. This accomplishment will take a
considerable length time. Perhaps they may be
able to use the Arab League Organization as its
foundation.
Since it becomes apparent that the prophesied
end time events will take much longer to
develop, we need to keep in mind the apostle
Peter’s warning that we will be mocked and
ridiculed because it will appear to the world
that the prophecies in the Bible will not
happen: “Now, beloved, I am writing this second
epistle to you; in both, I am stirring up
your pure minds by causing you to
remember, in order for you to be mindful
of the words that were spoken before by the holy
prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and
Savior,
spoken by us, the apostles; knowing this
first, that in the last days there will
come mockers, walking according to their own
personal lusts, and asking, ‘Where is the
promise of His coming? For ever since the
forefathers died, everything has remained the
same as from the beginning of creation.’
But this fact is hidden from them—they
themselves choosing to ignore it—that
by the Word of God the heavens existed of
old, and the
earth came forth out of water and amid water, by
which the world at that time, having been
deluged with water, had itself been destroyed.
But the present heavens and earth are being held
in store by His Word, and are being
reserved for fire in
the day of judgment and destruction
of the
ungodly” (I Pet. 3:1-7).
Recall, Noah preached for 120 years that God was
going destroy the world with a flood. They
didn’t believe him. Undoubtedly, they mocked and
ridiculed Noah and his family while they were
building the ark. This is why Jesus gave us this
warning: “Now as it was in the days of
Noah, so shall it also be
at the coming of the Son of man. For as
in the days that
were before the Flood, they were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark; and
they were not aware until the Flood came and
took
them all away; so shall it also be
at the coming of the Son of man” (Matt.
24:37-39). Just as Satan deceived the world
before the Flood, so he is deceiving this end
time generation.
Jesus further admonished that the world would
become a Sodom and Gomorrah: “Now as it was in
the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the
days of the Son of man … And it was the same way
in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were
drinking, they were buying, they were selling,
they were planting, they were building; but on
the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it
rained fire and sulphur from heaven and
destroyed them
all. This is how it shall be in the day
that the Son of man is revealed” (Luke
17:27, 28-30).
Consequently, how can we avoid allowing
ourselves to become spiritually complacent and
lazy—partially deceived and blinded?
Stir Up the Spirit of God:
In Paul’s second epistle to Timothy, he
counseled him to stir up the Spirit of God: “I
remember the unfeigned faith that
is in you, which first dwelt in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice—and I
am convinced that it dwells
in you also. For this reason, I admonish you
to stir up the gift of God that is in you by the
laying on of my hands. For God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and
of sound-mindedness” (II Tim. 1:5-7).
We can achieve this through repentance, prayer
and study, so we can grow in grace and knowledge
(II Pet. 3:18) and let the Spirit of God lead us
(Rom. 8:14). When we strive and do the will of
God, rather than having good intentions, He will
stir up His Spirit within us, as He did with the
people of Judah at the time they were building
the second temple in the days of Haggai the
prophet. First, they had to repent of being
slack handed in building the temple and get back
to work: “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest,
with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the
voice of the LORD their God, and the words of
Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had
sent him, and the people did fear before the
LORD. Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in
the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I
am with you, saith the LORD. And the LORD
stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of
Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and
the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and
they came and did work in the house of the LORD
of hosts, their God” (Hag. 1:12-14).
While the Jews had a physical temple to build,
we have the spiritual character of God that we
need to develop and build up in our hearts and
minds because we are a “temple of God” (I Cor.
3:16-17). We attain this by focusing our minds
on the ultimate goal of the kingdom of God and
becoming spirit beings at the resurrection,
rather than on the problems and troubles that
confront us daily. If we actively pursue the
first things of loving God, praying, studying,
growing in grace and knowledge, we will then be
able to cope with our physical circumstances.
Jesus exhorted us not to become consumed with
our physical needs, because God will provide for
us if we seek Him first: “But as for you,
seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be
added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about
tomorrow; for tomorrow shall take care of the
things of itself. Sufficient for the day
is the evil of that day” (Matt.
6:33-34).
Shortly before the apostle Peter died, he wrote
his second epistle. At that time, the conditions
in the world were similar to those we are facing
today. In order to help the brethren, he made it
clear that he was stirring them up to keep their
minds on the goal of their calling and to
continue to develop the character of God,
thereby attaining the divine nature and enter
into the kingdom of God: “Simon Peter, a servant
and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who
have obtained the same precious faith as
ours by the righteousness of our God and
Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord,
according as His divine power has given to us
all things that
pertain to life and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him Who called us by His own
glory and virtue; through which He has given to
us the greatest and most precious
promises, that through these you may become
partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in
the world through lust.
“And for this very reason also, having
applied all diligence
besides, add to your faith, virtue; and to
virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge,
self-control; and to self-control, endurance;
and to endurance, godliness; and to godliness,
brotherly love; and to brotherly love, the love
of God. For if
these things exist and abound in you, they
will cause
you to be neither lacking
effort nor lacking fruit in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. But the one in whom these
things are not present is spiritually
blind—so shortsighted that he has
forgotten that he was purified from his old
sins. For this reason, brethren, be even more
diligent to make your calling and election sure;
because if
you are doing these things, you will never
fall at any time. For in this way, you will
be richly granted an entrance into the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, I will not neglect to make you always
mindful of these things, although you already
know them and have been established in the
present truth. For I consider it my duty,
as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir
you up by causing you
to remember these things” (II Pet.
1:1-13). In these verses, Peter gave a step by
step formula of how to grow in grace and
knowledge (II Pet. 3:18).
If we have really slipped into complacency and
negligence, we need to heed the apostle Paul’s
admonition to the brethren in Rome: “Now
consider this, knowing the time, that it
is
already the hour that we should
be roused out of sleep; because our
salvation is nearer now than when we
first believed. The night is almost over,
and the day is drawing near; therefore, let us
cast off the works of darkness and put on
the armor of light. Let us walk decently, as
in the day: not in reveling and
drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and
sensuality, not in strife and emulation. But
let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and not make any allowance for the flesh to
fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 12:11-14).
In a most heartfelt appeal to the Church in
Ephesus, Paul encouraged the brethren how they
were to live before God and in the world:
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved
children; And walk in love, even as Christ also
loved us, and gave Himself for us as an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling savor.
“But fornication and all uncleanness or
covetousness, do not permit it even to be named
among you, as is fitting for saints; nor
filthiness, nor foolish talking or jesting,
which are not becoming; but instead,
thanksgiving. For this you know, that no
fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous
person, who is an idolater, has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Do not let anyone deceive you with vain words;
for because of these things the wrath of God is
coming upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore,
do not be joint partakers with them. For you
were once darkness; but now you are light
in
the Lord. Walk as children of light,
(Because the fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
proving what is well pleasing to the Lord.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather expose them;
for it is shameful even to mention the things
being done by them in secret. But all of these
things being exposed by the light are openly
revealed. Therefore He says, ‘You who are
sleeping—wake up, and arise from the dead! And
Christ shall shine upon you.’ So then, take heed
that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but
as those who are wise, redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. For this reason, do
not be foolish, but understanding what the will
of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with
wine, in which is debauchery, but be filled with
the Spirit” (Eph. 5:1-18).
As we come to the end of this year 2005, we need
to prepare for the long haul and not be weary in
well doing or fighting the good fight of faith.
As we yield to God the Father and Jesus Christ,
they will stir up our hearts and minds—our
spirit. In this way we can continue to grow in
faith, hope and love in our lives to meet the
challenges of the coming year 2006.
Brethren, we are grateful for your continued
support of love, prayers, tithes and offerings.
May God the Father and Jesus Christ’s love,
grace and mercy be with you all. May He continue
bless you in everything.
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
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