Church of God, New World Ministries

Monthly Letter - February-March 2012

6 March 2012
 
Greetings Everyone,
 
Easter or Passover, which? On April 8th millions of people will rise up long before sunrise and venture off to a sunrise church service “allegedly” honoring the resurrected Christ. In fact, many of you reading this letter may be preparing to participate in just such a service. I realize you may not be that familiar with the doctrines of The Church of God New World Ministries so it is important that I explain.
 
I recently went to the internet to look up a definition of Easter. Here is what I found from Wikipedia, “ Easter is really an entire season of the Christian church year, as opposed to a single-day observance. Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of reflection and penance and represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before starting his ministry, a time in which Christians believe he survived various temptations by the devil. The day before Lent, known as Mardi Gras or fat Tuesday, is a last hurrah of food and fun before the fasting begins. The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus’ last supper with his disciples: Good Friday, which honors the day of his crucifixion: and Holy Saturday, which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection. The 50-day period following Easter Sunday is called Eastertide and includes a celebration of Jesus’ ascension into heaven.”
 
It all sounds very religious, doesn’t it? But, did you realize the word Easter is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible? The only reference is Acts 12:4 and that is a mistranslation. The original Greek word used there is Pascha, which means Passover. I do not have space here to explain each of the traditions associated with Easter — lent, Easter eggs, sunrise services, rabbits, ashes, Friday crucifixion, Sunday resurrection. However, if you will visit our website, cognwm.org and type Easter into the SEARCH engine you will find information that comes directly from your bible that refutes the entire Easter tradition. And, you may send for our FREE CD, “The Mystery of Easter” to learn more about this “Traditional Christian Holiday”. Easter is NOT ordained by God! It has its origin in pagan traditions. Therefore, The Church of God New World Ministries does NOT observe Easter; but does observe the Passover, as Christ directed. “This do in remembrance of me” (I Cor. 11:23-26).
 
The Passover service is so important Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh (bread) of the Son of man, and drink his blood (wine), ye have no life in you (eternal life).” As we read in I Corinthians 11:26 we do this to remember Christ. And, to profess that we have acknowledged His sacrifice in our behalf. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Yes, without accepting Christ as our Passover (I Cor. 5:7) we are still in our sins and cannot enter into eternal life. That is how important the Passover is to mankind.
 
Don’t let anyone tell you the Passover is only for the Jews! Go back and read Leviticus 23:1-4. You will see in verse 2 that these feasts are the “feasts of the Lord.” Does this say the feasts of the Jews? Absolutely not! They are God’s feasts and God commands us to observe them. All of them.
 
This year the Passover falls on April 6th. That is a Friday. However, Christ assembled His disciples the evening before (I Cor. 11:23) and initiated the foot washing service (John 13) and the symbols of the bread and wine. (I Cor. 11:24-25). Since God’s days begin at sunset we will be observing the Passover service on Thursday night (April 5th) after sunset. Only baptized members of the Church of God should partake of the bread and wine. Unbaptized members may participate in the foot washing service.
 
Continuing to read Leviticus 23:6-8, we see that the first and last days of unleavened bread are to be observed as Sabbaths. This year the first day of unleavened bread falls on April 7th and the last day of unleavened bread falls on April 13th. Remember, you must remove all leavened products from your home and you must eat unleavened bread for seven days.
 
We are enclosing two holy day envelopes as God requires offerings on each of His seven annual Holy Days. (Deut. 16:16-17).
 
We will send a DVD with the Passover service, and the first and last day of unleavened bread to those who request it. If you would like a DVD with these services, please return the enclosed card as quickly as possible. We will ship them out to you immediately. We will send the DVD ONLY to those who request it, so please click here to request the DVD’s.
 
My friends, prophesied events are heating up around the world. The European Union nations are experiencing serious economic troubles. The nations in the Middle East are in turmoil and Iran is certainly fanning the flames. The United States is shifting more toward a Socialist State than the Republic designed by our founding fathers. Serious trouble lies ahead, just as Christ foretold in Matthew 24:21. I mentioned in my last letter to get your spiritual house in order. Please do not ignore that warning!
 
As always, in behalf of the Church of God New World Ministries, I would like to thank all of you who offer the sacrifices of your lips (prayers) in this Work’s behalf. And, to all of you who contribute financially. Thank you.
 
Sincerely,
George Trent
 
To request the material(s) mentioned in this month’s letter:
 
  Order the Spring 2012 Holy Day DVD’s Request the FREE materials online by clicking here
  Enroll Me In The Mini-Correspondence Course series Request the FREE materials online by clicking here
  Enroll me in the Traditional Christian Doctrines series Request the FREE materials online by clicking here
 
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