October 2, 2014 Member Letter

Dear Brethren,

Let me share a quote from an old Good News magazine article reporting on the Feast of Tabernacles in 1966: “Today’s world takes no notice of you. But this present evil world is now toppling to oblivion! Very soon, out of its ashes of decadence, corruption and rebellion against its Maker will rise the wonderful new, happy, peaceful God-ruled world tomorrow!”

There is no question that in 1966 we thought Christ would return soon and bring about the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. The fact that it hasn’t happened yet should not take away from our understanding or our excitement as we gather for the 2014 Feast of Tabernacles.

Today, just as in 1966, the world will take little notice of us as we gather in 40 sites around the world. Our impact on the locations where meetings take place will be minimal. Our largest site will be in Orange Beach, Alabama, where more than 1,500 brethren will gather for the Feast. Local residents may notice an increase in traffic and maybe a bit more congestion in restaurants, but the world will ignore us and the message that we preach.

As the article from 1966 states, this world is truly “evil” and filled with “decadence, corruption and rebellion against its Maker.” Wherever you look, there is clear evidence that this is true. After weeks of delay, the world community has finally taken action against the ISIS terrorists in the Middle East—individuals who are guilty of heinous beheadings and other inhuman acts of violence. But bombing targets in Syria and Iraq will not destroy terrorism or the evil that produces it. Bombs will fall, and thousands may die—many of them innocent civilians. And the terrorist threat to the world will continue. Man’s solutions to the problems that divide this world and proposed cures for the evil that exists have never been successful. As long as Satan is around, evil will exist. The meaning of the Day of Atonement provides the real answer to evil, the removal of Satan.

Man ignores the fact that his ways are not God’s ways and that he cannot succeed in the struggle against evil without Him. We are all familiar with the statement in Proverbs 14:12 that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Everything that man tries in his effort to rid the world of evil, no matter how well-intentioned, will fail.

In the September/October 2014 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine, journalist Francis Fukuyama has an article titled “America in Decay.” He writes about the “trend of political decay; [where] public administration specialists have documented a steady deterioration in the overall quality of American government for more than a generation.”

Fukuyama ends his article on a very depressing note: “The decay of American politics will probably continue until some external shock comes along to catalyze a true reform coalition and galvanize it into action.”

There is no political system in existence today that can remove evil or resolve the world’s problems. In fact, the very opposite is true! Political systems, created by man, are a major cause of the problems! It will take an “external shock” to resolve the deep divide that exists in our country and in the world. It will take the return of Jesus Christ to do so! This is the good news, the gospel message! Jesus Christ will return to this earth and put an end to evil. It won’t happen immediately; but after 1,000 years and the banishment of Satan, evil will finally be overcome by the Kingdom of God.

The Feast of Trumpets, the Day Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day (Last Great Day) provide the real answers to how evil will be eliminated. Man can’t do so by dropping bombs, starting wars or punishing people for what they have done. My point isn’t that these things should not be done in a carnal society, but simply that they will not solve the problem of evil. The real solution is found in Acts 3:19-21: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

As we attend the Feast this year, let’s pray for the “times of restoration of all things”—when the government of God, a very different system, will be set up on this earth. We also must recognize that it isn’t just the governments of this world that must change. The removal of evil requires that we repent of our sins so that the “times of refreshing may come.”

It has been almost 50 years since the 1966 Feast of Tabernacles. Attending the Feast in 2014 is evidence that after all these years we still understand the truth about the future. We don’t need to set dates for the return of Christ or declare that we have all the answers about prophecy. We must be aware of the evil that exists in this world and the true cause of that evil, but that awareness cannot take our attention off repenting of our sins and being converted. If we stay focused on what is truly important, I am confident that this Feast will be our best ever!

Please travel safely and enjoy the Feast! I look forward to seeing many of you at Orange Beach and Steamboat Springs in a few days!

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Jim Franks