Announcements for October 25, 2018

PCD Quarterly Report

July – September 2018

From Cecil Maranville: Our PCD total for the third quarter of 2018 was 649. That is down about 9 percent from the second quarter of 2018 and down about 31 percent from the third quarter of 2017. (This would at least in part be due to the Feast falling almost entirely in September in 2018.) Below are some of the questions we responded to this quarter.

• Will the Lord understand if you are infirmed or have a mental disorder that prevents you from being baptized? Or [if] you live in an area where there are no true ministers of God? But you live a true Christian life, observing the Sabbath, the holy days and His commandments. I am asking because I am afflicted with those problems concerning baptism. Please answer.
• If it’s true the Sabbath is on a Saturday, why are so many churches, not just the Roman Catholic Church, worshipping on a Sunday? If we are all wrong, so many souls are in jeopardy of going to hell.
• When were dinosaurs created?
• How can Jesus forgive me of my sins when He is not on earth? Can He forgive me my old sins? And in the Bible why is it that the word “Amen” was rarely used?
• Where does the soul go after death? I know the spirit goes back to God.
• I’m confused about the rapture, resurrection and what happens first, second and so on.
• I’m 16 years old and on May 23, 2018, 2 days before I turned 16, I asked God and Jesus into my heart. I had 2 times before but went back to my old sinning ways which included: pornography and swearing, which are problems I’ve dealt with since I was 7 or 8. … I still feel bad but noticed each time it gets harder to feel sorry. … I’ve been aware of all Hebrews warnings (6:4-6 and 10:26) … but they obviously weren’t enough to keep me from doing wrong. … I want to know if there is any hope for me or if it’s too late. … How could I live the rest of my life knowing I’m going to hell … when I could just kill myself and get it over with? … Tell me the truth.
• Where are you located in Tampa, Florida?
• What day of the week is the Sabbath day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday?
• Please comment on the Sabbath. Why do Christians gather together and worship on Sunday when Jews worship on Saturday? I have not read in the Bible that it should have changed. Justify why Christians began to worship together on Sunday?
• I’ve been reading and trying to study what the Bible says about the 10 Commandments being summed up in two! Are we still to observe the Sabbath today if we are under love?
• During the end of days, does the rapture of believers happen before or after the horsemen are released on the world?
• Were you associated with Mr. Armstrong and the Worldwide Church of God?
• Is President Donald Trump the Cyrus of Isaiah 45?
• I am searching to be baptized as an adult. Please contact me to advise if there is a congregation in Las Vegas.
• What are the requirements to be a baptized member of the Church of God?
• My question is: I’m not sure what I am or how I am in this, but I HAVE to relay a message from Gabriel, and I don’t know what the message is?!!!? How do I find out this information?
• My husband stays out all night every other weekend. I don’t trust him anymore. How do I gain his trust back?
• Re: FOT 2018. Hi, has your Victoria Feast site filled up? If not, do you accept newcomers?
• I am a born-again Christian, and Jesus is my Lord and Savior. (Praise God!) I am heterosexual, married and have 5 “straight” (as far as I know) children. However, I have dear friends who are not necessarily “gay,” but are fully onboard with that lifestyle. Furthermore, I have met and see people who openly practice the “gay lifestyle” on a regular basis. I don’t judge them (or anyone), as that is for God alone to do, but my heart breaks knowing that despite how “nice,” “good-hearted,” talented or accepted this lifestyle and people are, they are still lost, confused and going to eternal damnation if they don’t realize how wrong they are living their lives. Of course the same can be said for anyone living without Jesus, but for whatever reason, lately, the whole “gay lifestyle” has been fully accepted and seems to be everywhere around me. Does God send all homosexuals to hell? Even if they believe they’ve accepted Jesus but are still living that lifestyle? Thank you for your time, and helpful articles … and for promoting the Word of God to this lost world!
• I’m 51 years old. I’m a Christian [woman]. I have been celibate for 2 years. I have met many men but they are reluctant to have a relationship with someone who tells them upfront that sex is for marriage. … If I’m in a committed relationship with a Christian man, but not married, but planning to be married, is [sex before marriage] a sin, today? And if so, [were] the concubines in the Bible … sinning with David, Jacob, Abraham? Or not. They were in committed relationships but not married. Thank you for the clarification.
• Please explain what Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ.
• Are sports betting and playing the lottery sins as a Christian?
• Nine years ago, I was sexually assaulted, and I kept it a secret. … Just recently I shared this information with a couple of people I trust. I am a believer and experienced a believer’s baptism, but I would like to be rebaptized to wash that assault off of me. A spiritual shower, if you will. Is this totally unscriptural? I don’t want to violate anything scriptural.
• If hell destroys and does not torment as per the article “What Is Hell?” then could you explain Luke 16:19-31 (since this isn’t a parable), as here the rich man is aware of what’s happening to himself and Lazarus. Also the rich man clearly states he’s tormented in the flame. How come they’re already experiencing torment and Abraham’s Bosom even without the 2nd coming of Jesus? If it’s only the spirit that ascends to God, shouldn’t Lazarus and the rich man not have any consciousness and be in the grave?
• I keep seeing … in your articles … that no one but Jesus went to heaven nor will. Couldn’t that mean no one had ascended at that point? Not until after He ascends? How does John 14 reconcile with your teaching? If Jesus went to His Father’s House to prepare a place for us that where He is we may be also. Isn’t that heaven? He certainly isn’t here preparing a place. He attended to heaven to the Father, so this, to me, indicates He is preparing a place for us where He is, with His Father in heaven. Even Stephen said that He saw Jesus at the right hand if the Father (in heaven.) When he told the disciples that they couldn’t come where He was going, couldn’t that just mean at that time? Couldn’t Abraham’s Bosom have been a place where the saints went until after Jesus made a way into the presence of the Father, where He was going to prepare a place for us? Thank you in advance for helping me to understand.
• What are the days, months, seasons and years of Galatians 4:10? Please explain each one and what it means. Awaiting your reply.
• What’s the right formula for water baptism? Is water baptism safe?
• In your article on knowing God, please explain why the Holy Spirit is not included in the family of God. Is it not God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit (which is the Holy Spirit) and they are one?