Living Church of God World Ahead Weekly Update

While much of the Western world prepares to celebrate Christmas, significant events continue to convulse Europe, as the long-prophesied Beast prepares to emerge! Here in Charlotte, Mr. Meredith held several meetings, completed another co-worker letter and taped a new television program titled “Will YOU Face the Antichrist?” Mr. Ames also taped a new program this week, titled “Seven Keys to Answered Prayer.” Mr. Pyle reports that the Tomorrow’s World telecast has received more than 5,000 responses for five weeks in a row! Mr. Rodger Bardo informed us that 26 visitors attended the follow-up Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations in Phoenix and Prescott, Arizona last weekend. In 2011, we conducted 149 TWSPs around the world. More than 121,000 invitations were sent out this year, and more than 4,300 visitors came to the presentations. We are currently scheduling n ew presentations for 2012. Your prayers and support for all these avenues for preaching the Gospel are greatly appreciated!

Many of the personal hymnals have already been shipped (in the USA) to each congregation. They are being sent directly to the Video Recipient (or, in some cases, other person designated by the Pastor). For those of you who ordered a copy of the personal hymnal, we hope you are enjoying yours! Check with your Video Recipient if you haven’t received yours, or if you have any questions about the shipment for your congregation. If the shipment has not yet arrived, don’t worry! The Mail Processing Department is sending them as fast as possible, amidst other mailings (the semi-annual, etc.). As a reminder, each order is separately wrapped and labeled, to avoid confusion.

If you are planning to attend the Charlotte Family Weekend, please download the Registration/Pre-Payment form at www.charlottelcg.org (not an official Church website), where you can also find more information about the weekend. Mail it (with payment for the dinner on Saturday night, December 24, made out to the Charlotte Local Activity Fund) by Friday, December 16. For additional information on the Charlotte Family Weekend, please contact Mrs. Dorothy McNair at 704-844-1960, ext. 2248, or send e-mail to dmcnair@lcg.org.

Just two weeks remain before we kick off the Kansas City Family Weekend, Friday, December 30, through Sunday, January 1. Come enjoy inspiring messages from our panel of guest speakers including Mr. Wallace Smith, Mr. Jim Meredith, and Mr. Richard Ames. Check out our website lcgkc.org/kcweekend(not an official Church website) to register and find all the information you’ll ever need! Registration deadline is this Sunday, December 18.

Rooms are available at the Pear Tree Inn for a discounted rate of $55 per night after taxes. What a deal! Just call 913-451-0200 to make your reservations by December 18, and be sure to say you are with the Living Church of God. Or you may opt to stay with local brethren by indicating so when you register and we’ll do our best to find a home for you! Register for the weekend, sign up to participate in the fun show, and register your sports team no later than Sunday, December 18! This can all be done at the website, so visit lcgkc.org/kcweekend(not an official Church website) and register today! We can’t wait to see you in Kansas City!

Attention All Pastors: In a few weeks we will be surveying all of you to find out who your Festival Advisors will be for the Feast of Tabernacles 2012. Please begin selecting a Festival Advisor for each of your congregations (and an alternate, if you wish) so you can give us this information in early January. Stay tuned for more information!

As registration for next semester continues, we will list below two more courses being offered this coming semester. Classes will begin January 11, so enrolling in the University and registering for courses should be completed as soon as possible in order to allow time for textbook orders to arrive. A complete listing of “Spring Semester” courses (Spring in the northern hemisphere) can also be viewed on the Living University website under the link “2011 Spring Schedule.” To make application to Living University, to register for courses, and to find out more, visit the www.livinguniv.com website. For additional information or questions, please contact Ms. Michelle Bottella at michelle.bottella@livinguniv.com, or call 704-708-2294.

THL 474 – Archaeology and the New Testament:This course deals with the pervasive influence of society, architecture, and religion on the peoples of the first century. The focus is upon the archaeology of sites associated with the ministry of Jesus, the journeys of Paul, and the seven churches of Revelation. Particular attention is devoted to the Judeo‐Christian synagogue on Mt. Sion in Jerusalem, now called the Tomb of David; the house of St. Peter at Capernaum; and the Constantinian churches of Judea and Galilee as they bear on our understanding of the New Testament period. Emphasis is on orientation to the geography and archaeology of the biblical world and the application of archaeology in biblical research.

THL 475 – Ancient Egypt and the Biblical World: This course deals with ancient Egyptian archaeology, history and culture from the Pre-dynasticPeriod through the Late Period. Emphasis is upon the interconnection of Egypt with the land of Canaan, the Exodus, the Conquest, and the Settlement. In this course the student will examine the most current Egyptological evidence and its support of the biblical record concerning Israel in Egypt.

What Does God Require? What is God looking for in those He calls? What has God always looked for? God told Abraham, “walk before Me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1)—and Abraham was blessed for keeping God’s commandments (Genesis 26:5). God told the Israelites that He wanted them to fear Him, love Him, walk in all His ways and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Solomon said that God looks for kindness in people (Proverbs 19:22), and Isaiah states that God looks for a humble and repentant spirit in people “who tremble at My word” (Isaiah 66:2). Micah reveals that God requires us to “do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly” before Him (Micah 6:8). Jesus continued this same theme urging His disciples to “be perfect [to become spiritually mature and blameless], just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Jesus also taught His disciples, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). The commandments of God show us how to love God and how to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). Prophecies about God’s Kingdom in Isaiah 2 and 4 indicate that the whole world will keep His laws—because this is what God requires!

Britain Vetoes EU Treaty Revision. Last Friday, EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss an intergovernmental treaty that will enforce stricter financial laws among EU members. Four nations initially rejected the treaty. But with “a strong diplomatic push… the Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden entered the fold later.” Britain was the only one of the 27 EU nations to reject the treaty. Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said that because the EU would not take action to protect Britain’s “vital financial services industry,” he was forced to veto the treaty. Mr. Cameron’s vote resulted in EU leadership restricting the agreement “to the 17 members of the euro zone,” and excluding the 10 non-eurozone members. Experts see Britain’s veto as an action that will act to further isolate the isla nd nation, and possibly force a “split” in Europe (New York Times [online], December 9, 2011). “The euro zone plus nine may hold a summit without Britain as early as January, diplomats said” (Reuters, December 9, 2011). The Church of God has long taught that most of the Israelite nations—especially Britain—will not be part of an end-time European Beast power. The Bible indicates that Israelite nations will eventually be taken into captivity by the Beast (Hosea 7:11-16; 9:1-17; 11:5-7; 12:1; 13:12-16) because of their national sins. Mr. Cameron’s action last week fits well with Bible prophecies. Ultimately, God will “bring back” His chosen people and bless them once again—when they repent and choose to fear and obey Him (Hosea 14:4-9). For more information on the future of the Israelite-descended nations, review our booklet The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy.

Behind the Scenes in Europe. Last Tuesday, Herman Van Rompuy sent a confidential report to all EU leaders asking them to “respond vigorously by immediate action” to financial issues in Europe. It directed them to take decisive actions to save Europe. For example, in order to quickly change financial elements of the Lisbon Treaty, “Changes to Protocol N°12 can be introduced by a unanimous decision of the Council on a proposal from the Commission after consultation of the European Parliament and the European Central Bank. This decision does not require ratification at national level. This procedure could therefore lead to rapid and significant changes.” The EU President was promoting actions that would quickly effect international change while bypassing national governments (Towards a Stronger Economic Union: Interim Report, December 6, 2011 cited in Le Figaro, December 6, 2011). Nations that joined the EU may find that they relinquished elements of their sovereignty they may not have been aware of. Now, leaders within the EU are prepared to use the powers at their disposal. As further changes are enacted within the EU, power will become even more centralized. These events make John’s prophecy all the more clear: “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. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:12-13).

U.S. Weather-Related Disasters of “Biblical Proportions” in 2011. “America smashed the record for billion-dollar weather disasters this year with a deadly dozen, and counting. With an almost biblical onslaught of twisters, floods, snow, drought, heat and wildfire, the U.S. in 2011 has seen more weather catastrophes that caused at least $1 billion in damage than it did in all of the 1980s, even after the dollar figures from back then are adjusted for inflation... Extreme weather in America this year has killed more than 1,000 people, according to National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes. The dozen billion-dollar disasters alone add up to $52 billion”—and 2011 is not quite over” (Associated Press, December 7, 2011). Long a go, God said He would bless and protect Israel and its descendants if they would obey Him, but if they would not obey Him, He would remove His protection and allow devastating events to punish them (see Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). Similar end-time prophecies are found throughout the major and minor prophets. Micah and Haggai both mention end-time famine (Micah 6:13-15; Haggai 1:10-11). John prophesied about similar famine in Revelation 6:6-8. Luke 21:25 speaks of seas and waves roaring as a “sign” of the end of the age. As weather events increase in power and frequency, God will use them to humble the rebellious Israelite-descended nations. For more on weather and prophecy, see our booklet Who Controls the Weather?—Scott Winnail, Floyd Spencer, Julius Hart, andVG Lardé