73
NCW 45 Editorial
April 1997
Church News
May the Lord God of Israel be praised through His Son Jesus Christ as we welcome our readers to the Holy Week edition of the New Covenant Witness. We apologise for the delay in getting this edition out to you as this has been occasioned by the heavy load of time imposed on us by the completion of the last stages of the production of the Olive Branch which turned out to be a far larger project than any of us imagined. It is for this reason that no further issues of the B'rit Chadashah News Letter have been produced since December and why we are including news of the Church and BCEA in this magazine for the time being.
News of the Church and BCEA
Kadesh-biyqah turned out not to be the place we had hoped in Bergen. Three members of the Patriarchate visited the site in early April but even before we had driven up the drive way the Holy Spirit bore unmistakable testimony to all three that it was not the place. Though disappointed we were also relieved. The vision, however, has not diminished.
The Indian Orphanages, following their destruction by cyclones, face quite different problems than have faced us before. The Hindu-dominated governent have passed new laws making it difficult for Christian charities such as ourselves to send moneys to India, requiring an exhorbitant registration fee (quite beyond our humble means). The last financial contribution sent in January is still languishing in an Indian bank which both refuses to return it to us (contrary to the law) and to pass it on the our co- workers for the relief of the children. The situation is therefore rather desperate and your prayers are earnestly entreated. Added to this is the ongoing need to repair the devastated orphanage buildings -- a very large sum of money is needed straight away.
The Internet Ministry has yielded some unexpected surprises with a complete stranger being led to us by personal revelation in which the Lord revealed to him in a vision myself and two other members of the Patriarchate (who visited the abortive 'Kadesh'). In it he was given our email address and instructed to relay a passage of scripture from the Bible which reads as follows:
"And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days" (Mark 13:20).
Though completely meaningless to him the content is most revelent to us as New Covenant Christians. The full account, including a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem, will be published in the Olive Branch. The man, who is German, knew nothing about us and was very reluctant to write in the beginning, fearing that he would be laughted at.
The message, which is not entirely clear yet, suggests that we do not have as much time as we supposed until the Great Tribulation and Second Coming of our Lord.
Because the Olive Branch has taken considerably longer to produce, because of its enormous size, it looks as though we shall need to complete it. Originally scheduled for January or Februrary, its publication will, more realistically, be sometime in June or July. We apologise for all those who have been anxiously awaiting this, the Church's opus magnum. But we feel the wait will be well worth while.
We do not, therefore, know whether we will be moving from Kadesh-gesher this year as originally planned and ask for your prayers for guidance in this matter.
As some of you may know the Israeli Government is attempting to pass a new law making its illegal to preach the Gospel in Israel with the threat of imprisonment both for those who seek to convert and those who are converted. The Messianic Jews of Israel need your prayers and we ask you to remember them.
The leader of the Christian Mission, Moldova -- Vasily Ermakov, is soon to be released from prison and will need your prayers and (if possible) financial support to get him going. He has begun a vigorous ministry and offered hope to many with the message of Christ. The congregation, now a full part of BCEA, is expanding and a church building has been completed in Chisinâu, the Moldovan capital.
Finally, we pray that you will have a blessed Holy Week as we celebrate the most important events in the Christian calendar -- the birth and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This year there are no public Church celebrations.
Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ
who loved us enough to die for us (Rom.8:7, LB)
This page was created on 11 April 1998
Last updated on 11 April 1998
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