Elders Letter
James Russell, Elder
To God’s Scattered Brethren and Co-Workers,
Greeting to all readers of the Prove All Things. I want to apologize for a mistake that was made on the Church of God, in Truth Holy Day pocket calendar. Pentecost 2012 is on May 27th not June 27th. Please adjust that on your Calendar! Thank you!
God’s word reveals to us, “Quench not the Spirit prove all things; hold fast that which is good [and] abstain from all appearance of evil [traditions of men] and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”(1 Thess 5:19,21-23). This can only be accomplished if God’s word overrides, the tradition of men.
Now that Passover and seven days of eating unleavened bread, that represents putting sin out of our live, is now written into the history books, are we to relax on examining our selves? Are we to put the things we read, sermons we have heard and meditated on, in our minds storage shelf until next spring season? Before shelving theses first two steps on God’s plan for man-kinds salvation, ask yourself, did I keep these appointed times of God on the correct dates and days? It never should be a bother to double check and “Prove All Things” especially when our salvation is at stake!
If God’s early chosen apostles and disciples had not followed Christ’s clear instructions before His death, they would have never received the promised Holy Spirit. “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, you have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (Acts 1:4-5). Without having God’s Holy Spirit given to these early called out “loyalist,” no one could have inherit eternal life. The Apostle John informs us, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
God’s Holy Spirit was delivered to His chosen called for the first time at His appointed time which was on the day of Pentecost. It was on this vital third step in God’s seven step plan, Jesus Christ founded the New Testament church. Had the Apostles and disciples not followed Christ’s instructions to be where He told them to be on that specific day and date they would have not received God’s promised Holy Spirit. This is why, this period of appointed time is not to be postponed! The birth of the Church at Pentecost and the baptism of its members with the Holy Spirit are both fulfillment’s of the terms of the covenant. It is through Israel all people have been privileged to have the Bible, which has been translated into over a thousand different languages and dialects so that people of all races and languages may know of God’s marvelous saving truth.
In the “Ambassador College Correspondence Course”Volume 35 page 3, it states by the writer, “These holy periods of time are not “Jewish.” One of the reasons the vast majority of Jews rejected Christ is that they failed to keep Passover on the right day. And they did not receive the Holy Spirit because they failed to keep Pentecost on the right day!” This comment is still in effect and applicable today.
Many Churches of God today follow the Jewish traditions that the Bible, God’s living word condemns! Yet there are churches of God that still insist on entertaining and following the Hebrew calendar that “postpones” God’s Holy Day Sabbath. They will be keeping Pentecost one week late this year. You might be asking yourself, how did that happen? It began by their postponing the first day of God’s new year, April 3, 2011 to April 5, 2011, two days after God’s true new moon [ new month and new year]. Request our free booklet “Postponement Another Mystery of the Ages” or our “Special Calendar Issue,” both equates information on God’s annual Holy Day Sabbaths!
When the house of Judah started keeping the wrong new moon and Holy Days during the days of Isaiah we find God wasting no kind words in correcting them. “Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them” (Isaiah 1:13-14).
As Judaism, practiced by the Pharisees continued to pollute God’s churches during Christ reign, He thundered at them again, reminding them that they were not heeding what He had said to them in the book of Isaiah! “He answered and said unto them, well has Esaias [Isaiah] prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And He said unto them, full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do Ye” (Mark 7 :6 - 13).
The Jews Hebrew Calendar added postponements to God’s true Holy Days about the same time the Catholic Church changed the true Sabbath to Sunday. Postponements of God’s Holy Days is a doctrine of the Pharisees which Christ condemns again! “Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the DOCTRINE of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees”(Matt 16:12).
That was not all, “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, (Judah) and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spake of them”( Matt 21:42-45).
Scripture reveals to us in Leviticus 23 how Pentecost is to be counted. “And ye shall count unto you from
the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations” (Leviticus 23:15-16,21).
There is only one Sunday within a week of unleavened bread. It is from this Sunday we are to start our count to find the commemorative day of Pentecost, that we are to keep yearly . This weekly Sunday within the days of Unleavened Bread is used by those who do not postpone the first day of God’s year--April 3rd. Using this date to count forward 14 days is Passover , April 16th 2011, then the Days of Unleavened Bread on Sunday April 17th 2011, will make God’s annual Holy Day of Pentecost fall on Sunday June 5, 2011. For those who believe Jewish traditional laws, and feel it is OK to postpone God’s important day of Pentecost to a week later, that is on Sunday June 12, 2011, is like the Catholics’s that changed the Sabbath to Sunday,
The Jews have changed God’s beginning Holy Days by one and sometimes two days. This is done by following the mean conjunction of the moon to find the waxing crescent moon for their counting to their holidays. God, when setting the pattern to find His Holy Days-did not show us that method.
When proving God’s first day count toward His Sabbath day of rest, Gen 1:1-5 we find no light – no Crescent moon--only day (light) and darkness, no image, to bow to! Notice, Deut 4:19, “And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven”.
Keeping God’s Sabbaths and annual Sabbath –“is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever;----” (Exo 31:17) Proving all things and acting upon it is essential for eternal life!
Church of God, In Truth: P.O. Box 1120 Kimberling City: MO 65686 Tel: 417-338-0033 Fax: 417-338-0031
James Russell, Elder: Tel: 417-3380033 E-Mail: cogit@flash.net
Pete Fleming, Elder: Tel: 830-885-5502 E-Mail: pmf06@gvtc.com
Spanish: Martin Martinez, Deacon: Tel: 787-786-5856 E-Mail: marty@ucint.com
Philippines: Romeo Samudio, Rep: Tel: 090-333-3148 E-Mail: romesamudio@yahoo.com
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