Human nature
Jer 17:9 Heart deceitful above all things.Rom.8:7 Mind hostile towards God Each human must make his or her own decision to reject Satan's way and to obey God's Government.Adam was compelled, therefore, to make the choice. God purposely allowed Satan opportunity to confront Adam with his way of rebellion.But He did NOT allow Satan to get to Adam first. God Himself instructed Adam in GOD'S way -- the way of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD based on the LAW OF GOD, just as Lucifer and his angels had been first instructed in the ways of THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.Then God allowed Satan to confront Adam. Satan got to Adam through his wife. Satan subtly deceived Eve into DISBELIEVING what God had taught them. Adam followed her in choosing rebellion and rejecting God's rule and government over them. They took to themselves the knowledge of what is good and what is evil -- deciding for themselves right from wrong.Then, something happened to the minds of Adam and Eve -- the eyes of both of them were opened (Gen. 3:7). The spirit and attitude of rebellion had entered their minds. Their minds (hearts) now had become perverted -- deceitful and desperately wicked.And THAT EVIL IN THEM CAME FROM SATAN, NOT FROM GOD! They were NOT created with this evil nature.Adam and Eve chose and acquired the "nature" or attitude of sin from Satan. It was not passed on by heredity.It's partly explained in the apostle Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church. He said he desired to present that church "as a chaste virgin to Christ. BUT I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Cor. 11:2-3).To the church at Ephesus, God said through the apostle Paul (Ephesians2:1-2): "And you [who] ... in time past ... walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience ...."GRASP IT! Satan is here called "the prince of the power of the AIR!" I could not have understood that 60 years ago. I did not then I realize how communication by sound and by picture can be broadcast instantaneously through the air.ave stressed the point that Satan, the former great archangel cherub Lucifer, was the most perfect and powerful being that God could create as an individual being. He was perfect as originally created.But he is composed of spirit, and thus he is invisible to human eyes.This great and powerful being, even though evil, has power literally to surcharge the air around this earth. HE BROADCASTS!Wherever you are as you read these words, chances are there are voices and perhaps music in the air around you. A radio or television set tuned to the right wavelength would make them audible to you.The spirit in every human being is automatically tuned in on Satan's wavelength. You don't hear anything because he does not broadcast in words -- nor in sounds, whether music or otherwise. He broadcasts in ATTITUDES. He broadcasts in attitudes of SELF-centeredness, lust,greed, vanity, jealousy, envy, resentment, competition, strife,bitterness, and hate.In a word, the selfishness, hostility, deceitfulness, wickedness,rebellion, etc. that we call "Human NATURE' is actually SATAN'S NATURE. It is Satan's ATTITUDE. And broadcasting it, surcharging the air with it, Satan actually NOW WORKS IN the unsuspecting all over the world today! That is HOW Satan deceives the whole world today (Rev.12:9; 20:3). Being invisible, Satan is not seen by people.This prince of the power of the air -- this god of this world -- IS THE REAL SOURCE OF WHAT WE HAVE COME TO CALL "HUMAN Nature"!Here is the real CAUSE of all the world's evils!But it seems nobody understands it, and therefore the world does nothing about it -- except to go along with it, blaming human nature and supposing it was GOD who created us with an evil nature. Actually,it is Satan's nature.People do not recognize the source of these attitudes, feelings,motives, and impulses. As I said, they do not SEE the invisible Satan.They hear no audible voice. They do not know the attitude comes from Satan (Rev. 12:9). But they come to FEEL such attitudes, impulses, and desires. That is how Satan DECEIVES THE WHOLE WORLD. So when you feel these attitudes..then they are from Satan.People will feel depressed and won't realize why. But those unaware of this phenomenon, with this self-centered attitude being broadcast and injected into their unsuspecting minds from earliest childhood, do, to a greater or lesser degree, absorb it until it becomes their normal attitude. It becomes habitual. It does not, of course, exhibit the same degree of effect in all minds -- one person will become more evil than another. But the natural tendency is there. They come to have it naturally. It becomes their very NATURE. And we call it "human nature."Conversion does not disconnect Satan's wavelength. The tendency to become resentful over real or fancied wrongs or injustices from others, the tendency to try to get the best of others, may still prove a temptation. THESE are the things the converted Christian must strive to overcome!When Jesus spoke of OVERCOMING, He referred to overcoming these attitudes and WAYS of Satan, which are contrary to GOD'S way. The Christian must, as Peter was inspired to write, GROW in grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ -- be a spiritual student.We read in James 4: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This is speaking of resisting these very self-centered thoughts, attitudes, tendencies, and ways which Satan injected into us from childhood and is constantly broadcasting and injecting into unsuspecting minds through the spirit in man.However, no man is IMPELLED to respond to and obey these impulses being broadcast by Satan. Satan has no power to FORCE anyone to think or do wrong. But the unsuspecting automatically do without fully realizing what is taking place in their minds. They drift along.Command him to go away and leave you alone.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Did God create Devil
Did God create a devil?
What does the Bible actually teach?To find out let's look back to the very beginning. Open your Bible to Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God ...." God was before all. The next word in the King James version is "created." "God created." He created the heaven and the earth.But the very next verse says this: "The earth was without form, and void." The Hebrew words for "without form, and void" are tohu and bohu. Translated into English they mean chaotic, in confusion, waste,and empty.When God created the heaven and the earth, did He create this earth originally in a state of confusion? Did He create it all topsy-turvy and chaotic?I Corinthians 14:33 that "God is NOT the author of confusion."Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened [margin, "sunk"]? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7.)Notice Isaiah 45:18. "Thus saith the Eternal that created the heavens;God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it,he created it not is vain." "In vain" is an inappropriate translation.In your Bible, if you have the marginal references, you will find inthe margin a preferable translation, "waste."In Genesis 19:26, the same Hebrew word hayah is used which is translated "was" in Genesis 1:2. (See also Genesis 2:7 and 9:15.) Andthere it is translated into the English word "became." In the firstthree chapters of the Bible, and many other places where you find theHebrew word hayah, in almost every case it denotes a condition that was different from a former condition. In other words, the earth"BECAME" chaotic. It had not always been that way. Plainly the word"was" (hayah) here has the meaning of "became." The Rotherham translation of Genesis 1:2, out of the original Hebrew language, is this: "Now the earth HAD BECOME waste and empty." It hadn't always been that way. In Jeremiah 4:23, Isaiah 34:11, and in other places in the Bible, you find the same words, tohu and bohu, meaning "chaotic"and "in confusion." In every case that condition is a result of sin.The original Hebrew word there is TOHU. This Hebrew word is the identical word used in Genesis 1:2, meaning "confusion," or"emptiness," or "waste" -- a result of disorder, a result of violation of law. In Isaiah 45:18 we have the plain statement that God created the earth NOT tohu, that is, not in confusion, not in disorder. But inGenesis 1:2, the earth was (because it had become) chaotic and in confusion! Then it became that way after it was created. Now, what could have caused that confusion -- that disorder? What sin could have wrecked the earth and brought it into the condition in which it was found in Genesis 1:2?Next, let's turn to II Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned ...." Here is the sin of angels mentioned.Now read the next verse, "And spared not the old world," between Adam and Noah, "but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly."There it mentions the sins from Adam to Noah, and it mentions the physical destruction to the earth as a result of the flood, a chaotic,physical condition brought about on the earth by the sins of those men.Was there a chaotic condition brought about on the earth as a result of the sins of angels? The sin of the angels is mentioned first, and it occurred first! There was a devil already there in existence by the time Adam was created. So the sin of the angels happened before the creation of man.Now quickly turn over to Jude. In the sixth verse, you read this: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [they had a place where they lived, a habitation, and state, and they left it], he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Notice! It is the sinning angels who are reserved in those chains under darkness,restrained from light, restrained from truth until the judgment of the great day.The devil is the leader of fallen angels, as you will find in a number of places (John 12:31; Matt. 12:26; 25:41; Rev. 12:9). In IICorinthians 4:4 the devil is called "the god of this world." He is the king or the prince of the evil world that we live in today Then in verse 12, the type -- this human king of Babylon -- lifts to the arch-antitype, Satan. Satan is to be removed and bound after the Messiah's coming. Ezekiel's prophecy, to be described later, reveals that he is the former archangel cherub, Lucifer.So continue, verse 12. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14). The 15th verse returns to the human king.Notice, this former archangel had been placed as ruler over the angels that sinned. He had a throne. He said he would exalt his throne above the stars (angels) of God. It already was exalted above the angels on earth -- the angels that sinned with him. Now he was going to exalt it over GOD'S ANGELS in heaven. He was going to invade God's heaven,knock God off the throne of the universe, and rule the whole universe!We learn much more about this cherub who became Satan in Ezekiel 28.Here, beginning verse 1, the human prince of Tyre is referred to,wealthy (chapter 27), surrounded by perfect beauty, saying in his vain heart, "I am a God," -- "I sit in the seat of God" (verse 2) --compare with II Thessalonians 2:3-4.Compare also Ezekiel 27:7 with Revelation 18:16. All these refer to the same system. However, Ezekiel 26 refers to the ancient Tyre, as a forerunner or type of the present and yet future system. Then, as in Isaiah 14, the human type lifts to the satanic antitype in Ezekiel 28:12:"Son of man, take up a lamentation [dirge] upon the king of Tyrus[Tyre] ...." The whole prophecy of chapters 27 and 28 refers, not to the ruler of the ancient city of Tyre (as does chapter 26), but to an important personage, in Satan's hand, of our time -- and immediate future -- just before the coming of the Messiah to remove Satan and bring in world peace. Therefore the prophecy points to the END of this great personage ruling spiritually over nations -- as well as to Satan's removal from swaying mankind on earth. Now, beginning with verse 12, and on to the middle of verse 17, it speaks of Satan himself.So, continue: "... And say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Eternal; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering... the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes [music] was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created."here was happiness, peace, joy on earth. Of Lucifer, the Moffatt translation reads: "From the day you were created, you lived a perfect life, till you were discovered doing wrong" (Ezek. 28:15). GOD DID NOT CREATE A DEVIL, but a beautiful, perfect superangel. But God did give to His angels free moral agency -- minds that were free to think and reason -- the right of free choice."Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so,"answers God. In Exodus 25:17-20, you will find the description of the very throne of God in heaven, from which He rules the entire vast limitless universe. On this throne are two cherubim -- superarchangels -- whose wings spread out and cover the throne. This personage, then, is the former Lucifer, who was at the very throne of the universe, thoroughly experienced in the Government of God over the universe. Now he is pictured as being on earth. But he had been,formerly, at the very throne of God, as the next words plainly say:"... Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity [lawlessness] wast found in thee."
What does the Bible actually teach?To find out let's look back to the very beginning. Open your Bible to Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God ...." God was before all. The next word in the King James version is "created." "God created." He created the heaven and the earth.But the very next verse says this: "The earth was without form, and void." The Hebrew words for "without form, and void" are tohu and bohu. Translated into English they mean chaotic, in confusion, waste,and empty.When God created the heaven and the earth, did He create this earth originally in a state of confusion? Did He create it all topsy-turvy and chaotic?I Corinthians 14:33 that "God is NOT the author of confusion."Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened [margin, "sunk"]? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:4-7.)Notice Isaiah 45:18. "Thus saith the Eternal that created the heavens;God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it,he created it not is vain." "In vain" is an inappropriate translation.In your Bible, if you have the marginal references, you will find inthe margin a preferable translation, "waste."In Genesis 19:26, the same Hebrew word hayah is used which is translated "was" in Genesis 1:2. (See also Genesis 2:7 and 9:15.) Andthere it is translated into the English word "became." In the firstthree chapters of the Bible, and many other places where you find theHebrew word hayah, in almost every case it denotes a condition that was different from a former condition. In other words, the earth"BECAME" chaotic. It had not always been that way. Plainly the word"was" (hayah) here has the meaning of "became." The Rotherham translation of Genesis 1:2, out of the original Hebrew language, is this: "Now the earth HAD BECOME waste and empty." It hadn't always been that way. In Jeremiah 4:23, Isaiah 34:11, and in other places in the Bible, you find the same words, tohu and bohu, meaning "chaotic"and "in confusion." In every case that condition is a result of sin.The original Hebrew word there is TOHU. This Hebrew word is the identical word used in Genesis 1:2, meaning "confusion," or"emptiness," or "waste" -- a result of disorder, a result of violation of law. In Isaiah 45:18 we have the plain statement that God created the earth NOT tohu, that is, not in confusion, not in disorder. But inGenesis 1:2, the earth was (because it had become) chaotic and in confusion! Then it became that way after it was created. Now, what could have caused that confusion -- that disorder? What sin could have wrecked the earth and brought it into the condition in which it was found in Genesis 1:2?Next, let's turn to II Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned ...." Here is the sin of angels mentioned.Now read the next verse, "And spared not the old world," between Adam and Noah, "but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly."There it mentions the sins from Adam to Noah, and it mentions the physical destruction to the earth as a result of the flood, a chaotic,physical condition brought about on the earth by the sins of those men.Was there a chaotic condition brought about on the earth as a result of the sins of angels? The sin of the angels is mentioned first, and it occurred first! There was a devil already there in existence by the time Adam was created. So the sin of the angels happened before the creation of man.Now quickly turn over to Jude. In the sixth verse, you read this: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [they had a place where they lived, a habitation, and state, and they left it], he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Notice! It is the sinning angels who are reserved in those chains under darkness,restrained from light, restrained from truth until the judgment of the great day.The devil is the leader of fallen angels, as you will find in a number of places (John 12:31; Matt. 12:26; 25:41; Rev. 12:9). In IICorinthians 4:4 the devil is called "the god of this world." He is the king or the prince of the evil world that we live in today Then in verse 12, the type -- this human king of Babylon -- lifts to the arch-antitype, Satan. Satan is to be removed and bound after the Messiah's coming. Ezekiel's prophecy, to be described later, reveals that he is the former archangel cherub, Lucifer.So continue, verse 12. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14). The 15th verse returns to the human king.Notice, this former archangel had been placed as ruler over the angels that sinned. He had a throne. He said he would exalt his throne above the stars (angels) of God. It already was exalted above the angels on earth -- the angels that sinned with him. Now he was going to exalt it over GOD'S ANGELS in heaven. He was going to invade God's heaven,knock God off the throne of the universe, and rule the whole universe!We learn much more about this cherub who became Satan in Ezekiel 28.Here, beginning verse 1, the human prince of Tyre is referred to,wealthy (chapter 27), surrounded by perfect beauty, saying in his vain heart, "I am a God," -- "I sit in the seat of God" (verse 2) --compare with II Thessalonians 2:3-4.Compare also Ezekiel 27:7 with Revelation 18:16. All these refer to the same system. However, Ezekiel 26 refers to the ancient Tyre, as a forerunner or type of the present and yet future system. Then, as in Isaiah 14, the human type lifts to the satanic antitype in Ezekiel 28:12:"Son of man, take up a lamentation [dirge] upon the king of Tyrus[Tyre] ...." The whole prophecy of chapters 27 and 28 refers, not to the ruler of the ancient city of Tyre (as does chapter 26), but to an important personage, in Satan's hand, of our time -- and immediate future -- just before the coming of the Messiah to remove Satan and bring in world peace. Therefore the prophecy points to the END of this great personage ruling spiritually over nations -- as well as to Satan's removal from swaying mankind on earth. Now, beginning with verse 12, and on to the middle of verse 17, it speaks of Satan himself.So, continue: "... And say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Eternal; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering... the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes [music] was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created."here was happiness, peace, joy on earth. Of Lucifer, the Moffatt translation reads: "From the day you were created, you lived a perfect life, till you were discovered doing wrong" (Ezek. 28:15). GOD DID NOT CREATE A DEVIL, but a beautiful, perfect superangel. But God did give to His angels free moral agency -- minds that were free to think and reason -- the right of free choice."Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so,"answers God. In Exodus 25:17-20, you will find the description of the very throne of God in heaven, from which He rules the entire vast limitless universe. On this throne are two cherubim -- superarchangels -- whose wings spread out and cover the throne. This personage, then, is the former Lucifer, who was at the very throne of the universe, thoroughly experienced in the Government of God over the universe. Now he is pictured as being on earth. But he had been,formerly, at the very throne of God, as the next words plainly say:"... Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity [lawlessness] wast found in thee."
CATHOLIC PROPHECY
CATHOLIC PROPHECY
by Rod King
Prophecy can arouse a variety of responses in us. For some it evokes fear of the future, whereas for others it is a fascination and can even become an obsession.
When God spoke through His prophets of old it was for a specific purpose—to proclaim in advance what He would do for those whom He would call to salvation.
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully,who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ [which] was in them was indicating....but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you...things which angels desire to look into"(1Peter 1:10-12).
The purpose of prophetic understanding must be the same for the Church today—to proclaim what God is doing for those whom he has called to salvation. To pursue prophecy for the purpose of superior knowledge simply puffs a person up. "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet ashe ought to know"(1 Corinthians 8:1-2).
In other words, we can only know what God wants us to know. Anything outside of His will is self-thought and not inspired. To pronounce prophetic understanding is an awesome responsibility and must not be taken lightly.
Who Understands Prophecy Today?
God is jealous about those to whom He will reveal prophetic understanding. The prophet Amos tells us: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets"(Amos 3:7). Only those who serve Him faithfully in all areas of their life can receive this special understanding. This also provides a benchmark for those of us wanting to read or hear about prophecy. We can ask the question, "Is this person obeying God's commandments'?" If the answer is negative we can know that they are not being led by God.
The preamble to the book of Revelation preserves this principle.Notice: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 1:1).These servants are identified as God's saints in Revelation 14:12,"who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
Peter warns us once again about private interpretation of prophecy:"And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of than, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Is All End-Time Prophecy True?
Most are familiar with the prognostications of soothsayers and astrologers. God clearly warns us to have nothing to do with them.What about Nostradamus or Mother Shipton? Some of their forecasts bear uncanny similarity to events that have occurred, while others are either so vague or ambiguous that one cannot be certain of their veracity. Others are clearly false and untrue.
There is a source of end-time "prophecies" made by religious people over centuries that serves as an interesting com n with clear biblical prophecies. These were compiled in 1956 by the Academy Library Guild of Fresno, California, under the title Prophecy for Today, and republished in 1984 by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., of Rockford,Illinois.
The book includes the prophecy of St. Malachy, the Irish priest who supposedly foretold all of the popes that would exist up until the destruction of the great church at the coming of Antichrist. His prophecy concludes: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there shall reign Peter the Roman who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, alter which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the terribie judge will judge the people" (page 9).
Chapter 5 is titled "The Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor." These two illustrious figures will supposedly unite civil and religious forces to bring a utopian peace and tranquillity to the whole world prior to the coming of Antichrist. Let us notice some of the predictions made over many centuries:
Saint Ceaser of Arles (469-543): "When the entire world, and in a special manner France and in France more particularly the provinces of the North, of the East, and above all that of Lorraine and Champagne[i.e., the region of the major battles of World War I], shall have been a prey to the greatest miseries and trials, then the provinces shall be succoured by a prince who had been exiled in his youth, and who shall recover the crown of the lilies. [The fleur-de-lis or"flower of the lily" has been the heraldic symbol of the kings of France for centuries.]
"This prince shall extend his dominion over the entire universe. At the same time there will be a Great Pope, who will be the most eminentin sanctity and most perfect in every quality. This Pope shall have with him the Great Monarch, a most virtuous man, who shall be a scion of the holy race of the French kings. This Great Monarch will assist the Pope in the reformation of the whole earth. Many princes andnations that are living in terror and impiety shall be converted, and an admirable peace shall reign among men during many years because the wrath of God shall be appeased through repentance, penance and good works. There will be one common law, one only faith, one baptism, one religion. All nations shall recognize the Holy See of Rome, and shall pay homage to the Pope. But after some considerable time fervor shall cool, iniquity shall abound, and moral corruption shall become worse than ever, which shall bring upon mankind the last and worst persecution of Antichrist and the end of the world" (page 30).
Monk Adso (died 992): "Some of our teachers say that a King of the Franks will possess the entire Roman Empire. This King will be the greatest and last of all monarchs, and after having prosperously governed his kingdom he will come in the end to Jerusalem and he willl ay down his scepter and his crown upon the Mount of Olives. This will be the end and consummation of the Empire of Rome and immediately afterwards Antichrist will come" (page 31).
Abbot "Merlin" Joachim (died 1202): "The sanctity of this beneficent Pontiff will be so great that the highest potentates shall bow down before his presence. This holy man shall crush the arrogance of religious schism and heresy. All men will return to the primitive Church, and there shall be only one pastor, one law, one master humble, modest and fearing God...because only God alone can and will pour down on the wounds of humanity the oily balm of sweetness...
"The city of Babylon shall then be the head and the guide of the world. Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall preserve her spiritual dominion and shall enjoy great peace. Six and a half years after this time the Pope will render his soul to God" (page 32).
A few prophecies talk about the end of the papacy and the church. Here are two such predictions, one from a modern Pope.
Brother John of the Cleft Rock (1340): "Toward the end of the world the Pope with the Cardinals will have to flee Rome under trying circumstances to a place where he will be unknown. He will die a cruel death in this exile" (page 39).
Pope Pius X(died 1914): "I saw one of my successors by name fleeing over the corpses of his brethren. He will flee to a place for a short respite where he is unknown, but he himself will die a cruel death."
The "Antichrist"
According to the writings of these "prophets," a man of Jewish birth will be Antichrist. Here are some of the private prophecies about this person who will destroy the power of the Papacy and the Great Monarch.
Saint Methodius (died 885): "In the last period Christians will not appreciate the great grace of God who provided a Great Monarch...Many men will doubt whether the Catholic faith is the true and only savingo ne and whether the Jews are perhaps correct when they still expect the Messiah"(page 75).
Saint Anselm (died 1109): "Antichrist will rule the world from Jerusalem which he will make into a magnificent city"(page 76).
Dionysius of Luxembourg (died 1682): "Antichrist will be an iconoclast(even against pagan images). Most of the world will adore him. He will teach that the Christian religion is false, confiscation of Christian property is legal, Saturday is to be observed instead of Sunday, and he will change the ten commandments. He will read people's minds, raise the dead, reward his followers and punish the rest."
"Antichrist will fight a successful battle at Megiddo in Palestine after which seven rulers, from fear, will subject themselves to Antichrist and he will thereafter become lord of the world"(page 85-86).
Be Not Deceived
The existence of these predictions over centuries provides a fascinating awareness that events of the end-times have captured the abiding interest of religious people. What is obvious to God's people is that we must be certain what God prophesies so that we will not be deceived.
Jesus Christ warned his disciples in Matthew 24:4, 5 and 24: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying,'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.... For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive,if possible, even the elect."
Are we sure of our ability to discern counterfeit prophecy? These and other "prophecies" will soon be foisted on an unsuspecting world.Notice what the apostle Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11: "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deceptionamong those who [are] perish[ing], because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie"(emphasis added).
Satan is the god of this world and he has deceived the whole world with his religious system. Part of that deception is false prophecy and, as we have seen above, the counterfeit is indeed clever. To twist the roles of the principle players in the future explains why the inhabitants of the earth will fight Jesus Christ at His return; they will believe He is Antichrist!
Notice the Counterfeits
These "prophecies" mentioned a Great Monarch and an Angelic Pastor.Who does the Bible say they are?
Notice Revelation 19:19-20: "And I saw the beast [the Great Monarch],the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus Christ] and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with Him the false prophet [theAngelic Pastor] who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped hisimage."
Notice also the interesting twist where the true s called "Antichrist"and "the terrible judge" in these prophecies. What a challenge awaits the resurrected saints in dealing with a terrified world that survives the horrors of the Day of the Lord.
A study of this, and other similar books, will reveal how we are responsible for maintaining a healthy reverence for God's word Our understanding is not of our own intellect; rather, it is a gift ofGod.
God's true servants have a great work to do before the famine "of hearing the words of the Lord"(Amos 8:11) comes upon this world. We still have freedom to preach and publish, but that will not always beso. "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthyto escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand beforethe Son of Man"(Luke 21:36).
by Rod King
Prophecy can arouse a variety of responses in us. For some it evokes fear of the future, whereas for others it is a fascination and can even become an obsession.
When God spoke through His prophets of old it was for a specific purpose—to proclaim in advance what He would do for those whom He would call to salvation.
"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully,who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ [which] was in them was indicating....but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you...things which angels desire to look into"(1Peter 1:10-12).
The purpose of prophetic understanding must be the same for the Church today—to proclaim what God is doing for those whom he has called to salvation. To pursue prophecy for the purpose of superior knowledge simply puffs a person up. "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet ashe ought to know"(1 Corinthians 8:1-2).
In other words, we can only know what God wants us to know. Anything outside of His will is self-thought and not inspired. To pronounce prophetic understanding is an awesome responsibility and must not be taken lightly.
Who Understands Prophecy Today?
God is jealous about those to whom He will reveal prophetic understanding. The prophet Amos tells us: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets"(Amos 3:7). Only those who serve Him faithfully in all areas of their life can receive this special understanding. This also provides a benchmark for those of us wanting to read or hear about prophecy. We can ask the question, "Is this person obeying God's commandments'?" If the answer is negative we can know that they are not being led by God.
The preamble to the book of Revelation preserves this principle.Notice: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 1:1).These servants are identified as God's saints in Revelation 14:12,"who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
Peter warns us once again about private interpretation of prophecy:"And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of than, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:19-21).
Is All End-Time Prophecy True?
Most are familiar with the prognostications of soothsayers and astrologers. God clearly warns us to have nothing to do with them.What about Nostradamus or Mother Shipton? Some of their forecasts bear uncanny similarity to events that have occurred, while others are either so vague or ambiguous that one cannot be certain of their veracity. Others are clearly false and untrue.
There is a source of end-time "prophecies" made by religious people over centuries that serves as an interesting com n with clear biblical prophecies. These were compiled in 1956 by the Academy Library Guild of Fresno, California, under the title Prophecy for Today, and republished in 1984 by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., of Rockford,Illinois.
The book includes the prophecy of St. Malachy, the Irish priest who supposedly foretold all of the popes that would exist up until the destruction of the great church at the coming of Antichrist. His prophecy concludes: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there shall reign Peter the Roman who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, alter which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the terribie judge will judge the people" (page 9).
Chapter 5 is titled "The Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor." These two illustrious figures will supposedly unite civil and religious forces to bring a utopian peace and tranquillity to the whole world prior to the coming of Antichrist. Let us notice some of the predictions made over many centuries:
Saint Ceaser of Arles (469-543): "When the entire world, and in a special manner France and in France more particularly the provinces of the North, of the East, and above all that of Lorraine and Champagne[i.e., the region of the major battles of World War I], shall have been a prey to the greatest miseries and trials, then the provinces shall be succoured by a prince who had been exiled in his youth, and who shall recover the crown of the lilies. [The fleur-de-lis or"flower of the lily" has been the heraldic symbol of the kings of France for centuries.]
"This prince shall extend his dominion over the entire universe. At the same time there will be a Great Pope, who will be the most eminentin sanctity and most perfect in every quality. This Pope shall have with him the Great Monarch, a most virtuous man, who shall be a scion of the holy race of the French kings. This Great Monarch will assist the Pope in the reformation of the whole earth. Many princes andnations that are living in terror and impiety shall be converted, and an admirable peace shall reign among men during many years because the wrath of God shall be appeased through repentance, penance and good works. There will be one common law, one only faith, one baptism, one religion. All nations shall recognize the Holy See of Rome, and shall pay homage to the Pope. But after some considerable time fervor shall cool, iniquity shall abound, and moral corruption shall become worse than ever, which shall bring upon mankind the last and worst persecution of Antichrist and the end of the world" (page 30).
Monk Adso (died 992): "Some of our teachers say that a King of the Franks will possess the entire Roman Empire. This King will be the greatest and last of all monarchs, and after having prosperously governed his kingdom he will come in the end to Jerusalem and he willl ay down his scepter and his crown upon the Mount of Olives. This will be the end and consummation of the Empire of Rome and immediately afterwards Antichrist will come" (page 31).
Abbot "Merlin" Joachim (died 1202): "The sanctity of this beneficent Pontiff will be so great that the highest potentates shall bow down before his presence. This holy man shall crush the arrogance of religious schism and heresy. All men will return to the primitive Church, and there shall be only one pastor, one law, one master humble, modest and fearing God...because only God alone can and will pour down on the wounds of humanity the oily balm of sweetness...
"The city of Babylon shall then be the head and the guide of the world. Rome, weakened in temporal power, shall preserve her spiritual dominion and shall enjoy great peace. Six and a half years after this time the Pope will render his soul to God" (page 32).
A few prophecies talk about the end of the papacy and the church. Here are two such predictions, one from a modern Pope.
Brother John of the Cleft Rock (1340): "Toward the end of the world the Pope with the Cardinals will have to flee Rome under trying circumstances to a place where he will be unknown. He will die a cruel death in this exile" (page 39).
Pope Pius X(died 1914): "I saw one of my successors by name fleeing over the corpses of his brethren. He will flee to a place for a short respite where he is unknown, but he himself will die a cruel death."
The "Antichrist"
According to the writings of these "prophets," a man of Jewish birth will be Antichrist. Here are some of the private prophecies about this person who will destroy the power of the Papacy and the Great Monarch.
Saint Methodius (died 885): "In the last period Christians will not appreciate the great grace of God who provided a Great Monarch...Many men will doubt whether the Catholic faith is the true and only savingo ne and whether the Jews are perhaps correct when they still expect the Messiah"(page 75).
Saint Anselm (died 1109): "Antichrist will rule the world from Jerusalem which he will make into a magnificent city"(page 76).
Dionysius of Luxembourg (died 1682): "Antichrist will be an iconoclast(even against pagan images). Most of the world will adore him. He will teach that the Christian religion is false, confiscation of Christian property is legal, Saturday is to be observed instead of Sunday, and he will change the ten commandments. He will read people's minds, raise the dead, reward his followers and punish the rest."
"Antichrist will fight a successful battle at Megiddo in Palestine after which seven rulers, from fear, will subject themselves to Antichrist and he will thereafter become lord of the world"(page 85-86).
Be Not Deceived
The existence of these predictions over centuries provides a fascinating awareness that events of the end-times have captured the abiding interest of religious people. What is obvious to God's people is that we must be certain what God prophesies so that we will not be deceived.
Jesus Christ warned his disciples in Matthew 24:4, 5 and 24: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying,'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.... For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive,if possible, even the elect."
Are we sure of our ability to discern counterfeit prophecy? These and other "prophecies" will soon be foisted on an unsuspecting world.Notice what the apostle Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11: "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deceptionamong those who [are] perish[ing], because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie"(emphasis added).
Satan is the god of this world and he has deceived the whole world with his religious system. Part of that deception is false prophecy and, as we have seen above, the counterfeit is indeed clever. To twist the roles of the principle players in the future explains why the inhabitants of the earth will fight Jesus Christ at His return; they will believe He is Antichrist!
Notice the Counterfeits
These "prophecies" mentioned a Great Monarch and an Angelic Pastor.Who does the Bible say they are?
Notice Revelation 19:19-20: "And I saw the beast [the Great Monarch],the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus Christ] and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with Him the false prophet [theAngelic Pastor] who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped hisimage."
Notice also the interesting twist where the true s called "Antichrist"and "the terrible judge" in these prophecies. What a challenge awaits the resurrected saints in dealing with a terrified world that survives the horrors of the Day of the Lord.
A study of this, and other similar books, will reveal how we are responsible for maintaining a healthy reverence for God's word Our understanding is not of our own intellect; rather, it is a gift ofGod.
God's true servants have a great work to do before the famine "of hearing the words of the Lord"(Amos 8:11) comes upon this world. We still have freedom to preach and publish, but that will not always beso. "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthyto escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand beforethe Son of Man"(Luke 21:36).
Notes
Where are we now in paranormal of world events But I hasten to add if this catastrophic World War III does explode,that will be the definite ASSURANCE that WORLD PEACE in the utopian WORLD TOMORROW is imminently to follow. I would rather picture to our readers a future of WORLD HOPE than of horrifying world disaster. But we live in a troubled world with unprecedented evils piled mountain-high. And the trend is foreboding - not reassuring. It will get darker before the DAWN. The important thing is that the DAWN is absolutely assured by the living Creator GOD!
To God I said, "YES, SIR!" In utter sincerity, I literally GAVE MYSELF to Jesus Christ. He had bought and paid for me with His life's blood.He OWNED me. I BELONGED TO HIM! I became a YES-MAN to Christ!
7 proofs of Church of God and gospel mal 3:1 1st coming Mark 1:1 quotes mal 3:1 2 thru 6 2nd coming Now came the urgent desire to find the ONE and ONLY true Church of God as founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ. He had said (Matthew 16:18) that His Church would not die but continue through the generations.My intensive biblical studies had shown me the basic evidences that would identify that continuing original Church.
1) It would have rightly discerned the revealed TRUTH of God as contained in His Word, the Holy Bible. I had learned that GOD is the Source of knowledge, and He REVEALS that knowledge through His written Word. This Word, remember, I had PROVED by irrefutable PROOF the divine inspiration and SUPREME AUTHORITY of the Holy Bible as the revealed Word of God. God is the supreme Educator - Revealer of TRUTH.
2) It would be, not a human secular organization, but a SPIRITUAL ORGANISM, yet WELL ORGANIZED on God's revealed pattern. It would be composed of begotten children of God - the "... household of God ...built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets," with Jesus Christ its guiding HEAD (Ephesians 2:19-20), as a "... building fitly framed together groweth unto an HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord" (verse21) "... from whom the whole body [is] fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth ..." (Ephesians 4:16).It would have UNDERSTANDING of GODS TRUTH. And it would be PRODUCING ABUNDANT FRUIT.
Proof 1 – Who and What is God
The true understanding of the very identity of God is one proof." ( Acts 17 verses 22-26). WHO IS GOD? CREATION is the basic proof of God. These Athenian Epicureans and Stoics did not even know that.Perhaps the adherents of many religions do not.But in chapter 2, Moses began adding another name for God - Yahweh in the Hebrew, usually combined with Elohim - as Yahweh Elohim. In the King James English translation it is rendered "LORD God," which is somewhat misleading.It is interesting, at this point, to explain this name Yahweh. There is no one word in the English language that adequately translates it.It means "the self-existent, eternal living creative one." The Moffatt translation renders it "the Eternal." The Ferrar Fenton translation uses "the Ever-Living." Personally, to use only one word, I prefer to use "the Eternal" instead of "the LORD."God Family(Elohim). Potential to be part of this family. Holy Spirit is power of God and Christ. Not a being. Improperly translated in KJV as he...should be it as is mentioned in some places. Christ is God of Old testament. Acts 10:45 John 1:1 Eph 3:9 God reveals that He is Spirit-composed (John 4:24). Unless supernaturally manifested, spirit is invisible to human eyes. Jesus said to His disciples, "... Ye have neither heard his voice... nor seen his shape." (John 5:37). Later, "Philip saith unto him, Lord,shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus answered "... Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:8-9). WHY? Because God the Father-if human eyes could see - looks like Jesus. And what did Jesus look like? Certainly NOT like pictures you have seen supposed to picture Him. For one thing, HE DID NOT HAVE LONG HAIR (ICorinthians 11:14). He looked like other Jews then in Judea, else the chief priests would not have paid Judas Iscariot 30 pieces of silver to identify Him. Now notice once again Genesis 1:26: "... God (Elohim)said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness [form and shape]..." God is described in the Bible as having eyes, ears, nose,mouth - hair on His head - arms, legs, fingers, toes. Jesus was "...the express image of his [the Father's] Person..." (Hebrews 1:3).
Proof number 2 - The government of God and the creation of holy righteous character As Creator, the most important feat of creation is holy, righteous CHARACTER.
That is so stupendous an accomplishment that even the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD, in all His matchless supernatural power, cannot create such character instantaneously or automatically by fiat. That ought to take the reader's breath! Is there actually something that even GOD cannot do - by Himself alone? Such character is the ability of a separate conscious, thinking entity with free moral agency - capacity for free choice - to come to KNOW the right from wrong, good from evil, to make the decision, and then with God's help exercise the WILL to DO the right or good, even contrary to self-desire.God's spiritual law is the way of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER.
Proof 3 - What and Why is man
WHY did the Creator God put MAN on the earth? To improve the physical earth as God gave it to man, finishing its creation, which sinning angels had deliberately refused to do. And in so doing to RESTORE THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD, with God's WAY of life, and, further, in this very process FINISHING THE CREATION OF MAN by the development of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, with man's own assent. Once this perfect and righteous character is instilled in man and man converted from mortal to immortal spirit, then is to come the INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL - man being BORN INTO the divine FAMILY of God and then participating in the completion of the CREATION of the entire endless expanse of the UNIVERSE!God creates, as previously mentioned, by the principle of DUALITY. So it is with the creation of MAN. It is accomplished in TWO STAGES:
1)the physical phase, which began with the first man, Adam; and
2) the spiritual stage, which begins with the "second Adam," Jesus Christ (ICorinthians 15:45-46).Remember God's PURPOSE in creating man on the earth:
1) to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on earth, and by regulating human life through that GOVERNMENT,
a) complete the physical creation of earth where angels turned it to ruin, and b) in the process complete the creation of MAN by developing righteous spiritual CHARACTER: and
2) establishing the KINGDOM OF GOD and eventually the incredible human potential of finishing the creation of the vast UNIVERSE. This supreme PURPOSE required:
1) that MAN reject Satan's WAY, embracing GOD'S WAY of LOVE,based on God's spiritual law, and
2) that man be made first of matter so that, if he was led into Satan's way of GET, he could be CHANGED,converted to GOD'S WAY of LOVE.Spirit, once a finished creation, as angels became evil characters,cannot be changed! Spirit is constant and eternal - not subject to change. But physical matter is constantly changing.The third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) on earth completed their creations by developing evil character - sinning (II Peter 2:4). The super archangel Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14) had been perfect in all his ways from the day of his initial creation, till iniquity - lawlessness- was found in him (Ezekiel 28:12-17). Lucifer was not satisfied with rule over only the one planet - as the testing ground to prepare him for all planets. He wanted to rule all at once. He said,"... I will exalt my throne above the stars of God..." (Isaiah 14:13). He had been created with exceeding beauty, which "lifted up his heart" in vanity(Ezekiel 28:17). He became lustful, jealous and envious of God,decided on a WAR of invasion attempting to overthrow God on the heavenly throne of the universe. He led his angels into rebellion.These angels "... kept not their first estate, but left their own habitations..." - earth! (Jude 6). But Lucifer and his angels were cast back down to earth (Revelation 12:4). The creation of this third of all angels was finished - creation of evil character within them completed. Once their creation was completed, being spirit, they could never change! And they are immortal! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD no longer was operative on earth! Lucifer's name was changed to Satan the devil.His angels became demons. Their minds had become perverted for eternity.Through God's master plan for His Spiritual creation, to be covered later, it had been master-planned by God and the Word that the Word would divest Himself of His supreme glory, and in due time take on Him the likeness of human flesh as Jesus Christ, making possible the spiritual phase of the creation of MAN - God REPRODUCING HIMSELF!The most universal false teaching, believed by virtually all churches called Christianity, except the one and only true and original Church of God is that ALL are automatically lost unless they profess Jesus Christ as Savior - and that now is the only day of salvation. Those cut off from God are NOT lost - unless called and then lost. They are simply NOT YET JUDGED! All so far called since Adam have been called,not alone for salvation, but primarily for special mission - and salvation goes along automatically if they do repent, believe, receive and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Proof 4 - The truth about Israel
The Holy Bible is essentially the book of and concerning the nation Israel. It is concerned with other nations only as they come into contact with Israel.One reason God raised up ancient Israel was to prove, eventually (not yet realized) to all humanity that the carnal mind with all its intellectual accomplishments simply will not accept and live by the revealed knowledge of GOD - even though God should reveal it to them.(Romans 1:20-21).God DID NOT give them His Holy Spirit. He gave that only to Moses and the prophets - all specially called. But God did give them His spiritual LAW. As a substitute for the shed blood of Christ, He gave them animal sacrifices, which could not remit sins - were only a reminder of sin. He gave them also, as a temporary substitute for the Holy Spirit, a law of physical rituals, meat and drink offerings andcarnal ordinances. These instilled the habit of obedience. Then, of course, as a civil nation He gave them His GOVERNMENT, with its basic spiritual law and its statutes and judgments. He gave them HIS SYSTEM of government - authority from the TOP DOWN. God Himself was their Congress, Parliament, Knesset or Diet. He, through Moses, was their Law-giver. Under God was "the Word" - Yahweh - who was to become Christ. Under Him was Moses. Under Moses were captains over thousands,captains over hundreds, over fifties. When Aaron and their sister Miriam wanted equal authority in the government with Moses, God punished! When Korah and his group wanted equal "say-so" and authority, God destroyed them. It was GOD - not the people - who chose and put Moses in authority. There was no democracy.God said to Eli, "Wherefore... honorest thy sons above me?..." (ISamuel 2:29) and decreed they should die. When news came to Eli, past 90 years, that his sons had been killed and the ark of God taken in battle, Eli fell backward, broke his neck and died! Perhaps another evidence of the Worldwide Church of God being the one original Church of God is that its apostle did remove his son, who was secularizing God's Church and college, besides other sins. It is a difficult and heartbreaking thing for a father to have to do. Eli honored his sinning sons, holding priestly office, above God. God's apostle of our day, crushing and heartbreaking though it be, was given the courage by the living Christ to do that very difficult thing.So here is another TRUTH unknown in the teachings of most churches called Christianity - Israel was divided into two nations - and the people of the kingdom of Israel were NOT Jews, nor are they ever called Jews in the Bible! The first place where the word Jew or Jews occurs in the Bible is in II Kings 16:5-6, where ISRAEL and ally Syria were AT WAR against THE JEWS!But the nation thereupon rejected King Rehoboam and made Jeroboam king. However, the tribe of Judah, with Benjamin, seceded in order to maintain David's dynasty and formed the new kingdom of JUDAH. Jeroboam established the capital over the kingdom of Israel at Samaria, north of Jerusalem. And so the Israelitish nation was now divided into two NATIONS - the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and the kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem its capital. Often, in biblical history, they were called, respectively, the "house of Israel " and the "house of Judah." Jeroboam immediately led Israel into idolatry.After a succession of 10 kings and seven dynasties of continuous idolatry and other sins, God drove the house of Israel into captivity.King Shalmaneser of Assyria conquered them in a siege from 721 to 718B.C., removing them from their land, carrying them as slaves to Assyria on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Shalmaneser there upon "... brought men from Babylon..." - and other cities following the Babylonian Mystery religion - "... and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof" (II Kings17:23-24). But those of the house of Israel did not remain more than a generation or so in Assyria. They migrated northwest. They became known as "the LOST Ten Tribes." And indeed they were doubly lost -lost in identity until they themelves, after a generation or more, did not know who they were - and lost spiritually from God.By about 604 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had become king over the world's FIRST EMPIRE - the Chaldean Empire, often called Babylon. In 604 to585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's armies captured the kingdom of Judah and moved the Jews into Babylonish territory as slaves. Seventy years later, the Persian Empire had succeeded the Chaldean. God caused King Cyrus, by communicating via "stirring up the spirit of Cyrus" (Ezra1:1) - his one "human" spirit to issue a decree sending a contingent of Jews back to Jerusalem to build the second temple. Zerubbabel was the governor of the contingent and builder of the temple to which Christ came, at His first appearing on earth as the human Jesus. Also,prophetically, this Zerubbabel was the type of one to come in the LAST DAYS of this world whom Christ would use in building the temple to which the glorified all-powerful Christ shall come at His second appearing. Apparently none but God's true Church understands the truth of the building of this temple. Some of Judah remained in and near Jerusalem - others were scattered into Russia, Poland, Yemen. Most of the Israelis in today's Israel have migrated into the original"promised land" from these countries.
Proof 5 -The gospel of the Kingdom of God
However, in Mark 1, the account continues describing John the baptist preparing the way before His first appearing, then, verses 14-15: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, The time is fulfilled,and the KINGDOM OF GOD iS at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel"(emphasis added). The Gospel Jesus brought from God, proclaimed and taught His apostles was the prophetic message of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus went all over the Holy Land teaching this same Gospel. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom... " (Matthew 4:23). He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus said "... Unto what is then KINGDOM OF GOD like?... it is like a grain of mustard seed..." (Luke13:18-19). Again the KINGDOM OF GOD "... is like leaven..." (Luke13:21). Again, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the KINGDOM OF GOD, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13:28). Jesus sent His 12 disciples out to proclaim the KINGDOM, "And he sent them to preach the KINGDOM OF GOD, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2). He sent another 70 disciples out on a special mission: "... the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two... into everycity and place whither he himself would come... And he said unto them... heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (Luke 10:1-9). After His resurrection"... unto the apostles whom he had chosen... being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to [concerning] the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2-3). The apostles proclaimed the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD. Philip, who became an evangelist, proclaimed it,"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..." (Acts 8:12). The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all,among whom I have gone preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul "... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and "Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(verse 31). To the Corinthian church Paul wrote, "Now this I say,brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel! Yet THAT GOSPEL was SUPPRESSED about or just past the middle of the first century and was not again proclaimed to the world until 1953 - 19centuries later - and THEN by the present living generation of that same ONE and ONLY true original Church of God, established by Jesus Christ A.D. 31! The proclaiming of that only true Gospel message taught by Jesus identifies the one and only true Church of God TODAY!The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching theKINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul"... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and"Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (verse 31). To the Corinthian churchPaul wrote, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel!Daniel 2 what is kingdom. There is no misunderstanding the interpretation. GOD gives His own interpretation through the prophet Daniel. The great metallic image represented national and international GOVERNMENTS - real, literal KINGDOMS. It represented a succession of world-ruling governments. First was the head of gold.That represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom - the Chaldean Empire.After him - later in time sequence - was to come a second, then a third KINGDOM, "which shall bear RULE over all the earth" - world empire!
Proof 6 What and why church
But the great commission was given to the apostles - not the Church as a whole - although as cited above, the Church completely, prayerfully,wholeheartedly backed up and supported the apostles. That was their part in the great commission.The Church is made up of the BODY of Christ. More on that a little later. But the BODY presented to Christ will not be a dismembered body, with an arm, a leg or other parts being separated! It is ONE Church - fitly framed together - not dismembered into many parts following many different men seeking to draw away disciples after them. This coming marriage is again referred to in II Corinthians11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." The new-covenant MARRIAGE will take place at Christ'scoming in GLORY: "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, ALLELUIA: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage ofthe Lamb [Christ] is come, and his wife hath made herself ready"(Revelation 19:6-7). It is enlightening at this point to remember Jesus came as "the messenger of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1). He came as the Messenger of the NEW covenant. The old covenant was a CONTRACT entered into between the children of Israel and the Word (who was to become Christ) - the God of the Old Testament. It was a MARRIAGE covenant. God "proposed" and Israel "accepted" (Exodus 19:6, 8). That"marriage covenant" also set up the kingdom of Israel as one of earth's nations. The new covenant also will be a MARRIAGE covenant marrying the Church, then changed to spirit immortality, to Christ.But that covenant also will set up the KINGDOM OF GOD, ruling all nations with the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. The old covenant was made with a carnal-minded people on their PROMISE to obey. The new covenant will be made with a Spirit-begotten and Spirit-born people who have ALREADYPROVED THEIR OBEDIENCE!Or, what about the one who follows a MAN, because of that man's personality, charisma or attractiveness, or some other group? Stop and THINK! Is Christ going to marry a number of differing groups, not incomplete harmony with each other - yet all "professing CHRIST"? Jesus said, "He that is not with me..." (and since He is the Head of God's one and only Church, He plainly meant with Him where HE is working -in God's one Church). Repeat, "He that is not with me [where He works]is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad"(Matthew 12:30). Jesus Christ is going to marry THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE CHURCH - not a number of scattered groups or scattered individuals.God's law and way of life may be summed up in the one word "LOVE" -which is outflowing - the way of "GIVE" - while Satan's way is that of"GET." The one who tries to GET his salvation apart from the one Church Christ is going to marry is on the "GET" way. Those loyally in the Church are GIVING of their prayers, loyalty, encouragement and support behind Christ's chosen apostle in GIVING the GOOD NEWS to the world - its ONLY HOPE! In other words, he that seeks to GET his own salvation without GIVING his part in the team effort of the Church -or follows a man or some other group - is surely NOT BUILDING ON THE ONE SURE FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Again, "Unless GOD build the house, they labor in vain that build it..." (Psalm 127:1). The Church is the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD and a BUILDING - the glorious TEMPLE to which Christ shall come!
Proof 7 the reign of the Kingdom of God
With Satan gone, the KINGDOM OF GOD shall be set up in power. Everyone whom God has called out of this world of Satan's has been called to a special mission preparing for this Kingdom! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD will be restored, worldwide! The humans left on earth will be ruled over.No mortal humans will rule - only those who PREPARED and QUALIFIED to rule during their earthly life after receiving God's Spirit."Human nature" will be GONE! The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the ocean beds are full of water (Isaiah11:9).
To God I said, "YES, SIR!" In utter sincerity, I literally GAVE MYSELF to Jesus Christ. He had bought and paid for me with His life's blood.He OWNED me. I BELONGED TO HIM! I became a YES-MAN to Christ!
7 proofs of Church of God and gospel mal 3:1 1st coming Mark 1:1 quotes mal 3:1 2 thru 6 2nd coming Now came the urgent desire to find the ONE and ONLY true Church of God as founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ. He had said (Matthew 16:18) that His Church would not die but continue through the generations.My intensive biblical studies had shown me the basic evidences that would identify that continuing original Church.
1) It would have rightly discerned the revealed TRUTH of God as contained in His Word, the Holy Bible. I had learned that GOD is the Source of knowledge, and He REVEALS that knowledge through His written Word. This Word, remember, I had PROVED by irrefutable PROOF the divine inspiration and SUPREME AUTHORITY of the Holy Bible as the revealed Word of God. God is the supreme Educator - Revealer of TRUTH.
2) It would be, not a human secular organization, but a SPIRITUAL ORGANISM, yet WELL ORGANIZED on God's revealed pattern. It would be composed of begotten children of God - the "... household of God ...built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets," with Jesus Christ its guiding HEAD (Ephesians 2:19-20), as a "... building fitly framed together groweth unto an HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord" (verse21) "... from whom the whole body [is] fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth ..." (Ephesians 4:16).It would have UNDERSTANDING of GODS TRUTH. And it would be PRODUCING ABUNDANT FRUIT.
Proof 1 – Who and What is God
The true understanding of the very identity of God is one proof." ( Acts 17 verses 22-26). WHO IS GOD? CREATION is the basic proof of God. These Athenian Epicureans and Stoics did not even know that.Perhaps the adherents of many religions do not.But in chapter 2, Moses began adding another name for God - Yahweh in the Hebrew, usually combined with Elohim - as Yahweh Elohim. In the King James English translation it is rendered "LORD God," which is somewhat misleading.It is interesting, at this point, to explain this name Yahweh. There is no one word in the English language that adequately translates it.It means "the self-existent, eternal living creative one." The Moffatt translation renders it "the Eternal." The Ferrar Fenton translation uses "the Ever-Living." Personally, to use only one word, I prefer to use "the Eternal" instead of "the LORD."God Family(Elohim). Potential to be part of this family. Holy Spirit is power of God and Christ. Not a being. Improperly translated in KJV as he...should be it as is mentioned in some places. Christ is God of Old testament. Acts 10:45 John 1:1 Eph 3:9 God reveals that He is Spirit-composed (John 4:24). Unless supernaturally manifested, spirit is invisible to human eyes. Jesus said to His disciples, "... Ye have neither heard his voice... nor seen his shape." (John 5:37). Later, "Philip saith unto him, Lord,shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus answered "... Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:8-9). WHY? Because God the Father-if human eyes could see - looks like Jesus. And what did Jesus look like? Certainly NOT like pictures you have seen supposed to picture Him. For one thing, HE DID NOT HAVE LONG HAIR (ICorinthians 11:14). He looked like other Jews then in Judea, else the chief priests would not have paid Judas Iscariot 30 pieces of silver to identify Him. Now notice once again Genesis 1:26: "... God (Elohim)said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness [form and shape]..." God is described in the Bible as having eyes, ears, nose,mouth - hair on His head - arms, legs, fingers, toes. Jesus was "...the express image of his [the Father's] Person..." (Hebrews 1:3).
Proof number 2 - The government of God and the creation of holy righteous character As Creator, the most important feat of creation is holy, righteous CHARACTER.
That is so stupendous an accomplishment that even the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD, in all His matchless supernatural power, cannot create such character instantaneously or automatically by fiat. That ought to take the reader's breath! Is there actually something that even GOD cannot do - by Himself alone? Such character is the ability of a separate conscious, thinking entity with free moral agency - capacity for free choice - to come to KNOW the right from wrong, good from evil, to make the decision, and then with God's help exercise the WILL to DO the right or good, even contrary to self-desire.God's spiritual law is the way of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER.
Proof 3 - What and Why is man
WHY did the Creator God put MAN on the earth? To improve the physical earth as God gave it to man, finishing its creation, which sinning angels had deliberately refused to do. And in so doing to RESTORE THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD, with God's WAY of life, and, further, in this very process FINISHING THE CREATION OF MAN by the development of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, with man's own assent. Once this perfect and righteous character is instilled in man and man converted from mortal to immortal spirit, then is to come the INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL - man being BORN INTO the divine FAMILY of God and then participating in the completion of the CREATION of the entire endless expanse of the UNIVERSE!God creates, as previously mentioned, by the principle of DUALITY. So it is with the creation of MAN. It is accomplished in TWO STAGES:
1)the physical phase, which began with the first man, Adam; and
2) the spiritual stage, which begins with the "second Adam," Jesus Christ (ICorinthians 15:45-46).Remember God's PURPOSE in creating man on the earth:
1) to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on earth, and by regulating human life through that GOVERNMENT,
a) complete the physical creation of earth where angels turned it to ruin, and b) in the process complete the creation of MAN by developing righteous spiritual CHARACTER: and
2) establishing the KINGDOM OF GOD and eventually the incredible human potential of finishing the creation of the vast UNIVERSE. This supreme PURPOSE required:
1) that MAN reject Satan's WAY, embracing GOD'S WAY of LOVE,based on God's spiritual law, and
2) that man be made first of matter so that, if he was led into Satan's way of GET, he could be CHANGED,converted to GOD'S WAY of LOVE.Spirit, once a finished creation, as angels became evil characters,cannot be changed! Spirit is constant and eternal - not subject to change. But physical matter is constantly changing.The third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) on earth completed their creations by developing evil character - sinning (II Peter 2:4). The super archangel Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14) had been perfect in all his ways from the day of his initial creation, till iniquity - lawlessness- was found in him (Ezekiel 28:12-17). Lucifer was not satisfied with rule over only the one planet - as the testing ground to prepare him for all planets. He wanted to rule all at once. He said,"... I will exalt my throne above the stars of God..." (Isaiah 14:13). He had been created with exceeding beauty, which "lifted up his heart" in vanity(Ezekiel 28:17). He became lustful, jealous and envious of God,decided on a WAR of invasion attempting to overthrow God on the heavenly throne of the universe. He led his angels into rebellion.These angels "... kept not their first estate, but left their own habitations..." - earth! (Jude 6). But Lucifer and his angels were cast back down to earth (Revelation 12:4). The creation of this third of all angels was finished - creation of evil character within them completed. Once their creation was completed, being spirit, they could never change! And they are immortal! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD no longer was operative on earth! Lucifer's name was changed to Satan the devil.His angels became demons. Their minds had become perverted for eternity.Through God's master plan for His Spiritual creation, to be covered later, it had been master-planned by God and the Word that the Word would divest Himself of His supreme glory, and in due time take on Him the likeness of human flesh as Jesus Christ, making possible the spiritual phase of the creation of MAN - God REPRODUCING HIMSELF!The most universal false teaching, believed by virtually all churches called Christianity, except the one and only true and original Church of God is that ALL are automatically lost unless they profess Jesus Christ as Savior - and that now is the only day of salvation. Those cut off from God are NOT lost - unless called and then lost. They are simply NOT YET JUDGED! All so far called since Adam have been called,not alone for salvation, but primarily for special mission - and salvation goes along automatically if they do repent, believe, receive and be led by the Holy Spirit.
Proof 4 - The truth about Israel
The Holy Bible is essentially the book of and concerning the nation Israel. It is concerned with other nations only as they come into contact with Israel.One reason God raised up ancient Israel was to prove, eventually (not yet realized) to all humanity that the carnal mind with all its intellectual accomplishments simply will not accept and live by the revealed knowledge of GOD - even though God should reveal it to them.(Romans 1:20-21).God DID NOT give them His Holy Spirit. He gave that only to Moses and the prophets - all specially called. But God did give them His spiritual LAW. As a substitute for the shed blood of Christ, He gave them animal sacrifices, which could not remit sins - were only a reminder of sin. He gave them also, as a temporary substitute for the Holy Spirit, a law of physical rituals, meat and drink offerings andcarnal ordinances. These instilled the habit of obedience. Then, of course, as a civil nation He gave them His GOVERNMENT, with its basic spiritual law and its statutes and judgments. He gave them HIS SYSTEM of government - authority from the TOP DOWN. God Himself was their Congress, Parliament, Knesset or Diet. He, through Moses, was their Law-giver. Under God was "the Word" - Yahweh - who was to become Christ. Under Him was Moses. Under Moses were captains over thousands,captains over hundreds, over fifties. When Aaron and their sister Miriam wanted equal authority in the government with Moses, God punished! When Korah and his group wanted equal "say-so" and authority, God destroyed them. It was GOD - not the people - who chose and put Moses in authority. There was no democracy.God said to Eli, "Wherefore... honorest thy sons above me?..." (ISamuel 2:29) and decreed they should die. When news came to Eli, past 90 years, that his sons had been killed and the ark of God taken in battle, Eli fell backward, broke his neck and died! Perhaps another evidence of the Worldwide Church of God being the one original Church of God is that its apostle did remove his son, who was secularizing God's Church and college, besides other sins. It is a difficult and heartbreaking thing for a father to have to do. Eli honored his sinning sons, holding priestly office, above God. God's apostle of our day, crushing and heartbreaking though it be, was given the courage by the living Christ to do that very difficult thing.So here is another TRUTH unknown in the teachings of most churches called Christianity - Israel was divided into two nations - and the people of the kingdom of Israel were NOT Jews, nor are they ever called Jews in the Bible! The first place where the word Jew or Jews occurs in the Bible is in II Kings 16:5-6, where ISRAEL and ally Syria were AT WAR against THE JEWS!But the nation thereupon rejected King Rehoboam and made Jeroboam king. However, the tribe of Judah, with Benjamin, seceded in order to maintain David's dynasty and formed the new kingdom of JUDAH. Jeroboam established the capital over the kingdom of Israel at Samaria, north of Jerusalem. And so the Israelitish nation was now divided into two NATIONS - the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and the kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem its capital. Often, in biblical history, they were called, respectively, the "house of Israel " and the "house of Judah." Jeroboam immediately led Israel into idolatry.After a succession of 10 kings and seven dynasties of continuous idolatry and other sins, God drove the house of Israel into captivity.King Shalmaneser of Assyria conquered them in a siege from 721 to 718B.C., removing them from their land, carrying them as slaves to Assyria on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Shalmaneser there upon "... brought men from Babylon..." - and other cities following the Babylonian Mystery religion - "... and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof" (II Kings17:23-24). But those of the house of Israel did not remain more than a generation or so in Assyria. They migrated northwest. They became known as "the LOST Ten Tribes." And indeed they were doubly lost -lost in identity until they themelves, after a generation or more, did not know who they were - and lost spiritually from God.By about 604 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had become king over the world's FIRST EMPIRE - the Chaldean Empire, often called Babylon. In 604 to585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's armies captured the kingdom of Judah and moved the Jews into Babylonish territory as slaves. Seventy years later, the Persian Empire had succeeded the Chaldean. God caused King Cyrus, by communicating via "stirring up the spirit of Cyrus" (Ezra1:1) - his one "human" spirit to issue a decree sending a contingent of Jews back to Jerusalem to build the second temple. Zerubbabel was the governor of the contingent and builder of the temple to which Christ came, at His first appearing on earth as the human Jesus. Also,prophetically, this Zerubbabel was the type of one to come in the LAST DAYS of this world whom Christ would use in building the temple to which the glorified all-powerful Christ shall come at His second appearing. Apparently none but God's true Church understands the truth of the building of this temple. Some of Judah remained in and near Jerusalem - others were scattered into Russia, Poland, Yemen. Most of the Israelis in today's Israel have migrated into the original"promised land" from these countries.
Proof 5 -The gospel of the Kingdom of God
However, in Mark 1, the account continues describing John the baptist preparing the way before His first appearing, then, verses 14-15: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, The time is fulfilled,and the KINGDOM OF GOD iS at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel"(emphasis added). The Gospel Jesus brought from God, proclaimed and taught His apostles was the prophetic message of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus went all over the Holy Land teaching this same Gospel. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom... " (Matthew 4:23). He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus said "... Unto what is then KINGDOM OF GOD like?... it is like a grain of mustard seed..." (Luke13:18-19). Again the KINGDOM OF GOD "... is like leaven..." (Luke13:21). Again, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the KINGDOM OF GOD, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13:28). Jesus sent His 12 disciples out to proclaim the KINGDOM, "And he sent them to preach the KINGDOM OF GOD, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2). He sent another 70 disciples out on a special mission: "... the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two... into everycity and place whither he himself would come... And he said unto them... heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (Luke 10:1-9). After His resurrection"... unto the apostles whom he had chosen... being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to [concerning] the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2-3). The apostles proclaimed the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD. Philip, who became an evangelist, proclaimed it,"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..." (Acts 8:12). The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all,among whom I have gone preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul "... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and "Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(verse 31). To the Corinthian church Paul wrote, "Now this I say,brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..."(I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel! Yet THAT GOSPEL was SUPPRESSED about or just past the middle of the first century and was not again proclaimed to the world until 1953 - 19centuries later - and THEN by the present living generation of that same ONE and ONLY true original Church of God, established by Jesus Christ A.D. 31! The proclaiming of that only true Gospel message taught by Jesus identifies the one and only true Church of God TODAY!The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the gentiles, "And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching theKINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25). Again, Paul"... expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (Acts 28:23) and"Preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (verse 31). To the Corinthian churchPaul wrote, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD..." (I Corinthians 15:50). To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE-curse to preach any other Gospel!Daniel 2 what is kingdom. There is no misunderstanding the interpretation. GOD gives His own interpretation through the prophet Daniel. The great metallic image represented national and international GOVERNMENTS - real, literal KINGDOMS. It represented a succession of world-ruling governments. First was the head of gold.That represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom - the Chaldean Empire.After him - later in time sequence - was to come a second, then a third KINGDOM, "which shall bear RULE over all the earth" - world empire!
Proof 6 What and why church
But the great commission was given to the apostles - not the Church as a whole - although as cited above, the Church completely, prayerfully,wholeheartedly backed up and supported the apostles. That was their part in the great commission.The Church is made up of the BODY of Christ. More on that a little later. But the BODY presented to Christ will not be a dismembered body, with an arm, a leg or other parts being separated! It is ONE Church - fitly framed together - not dismembered into many parts following many different men seeking to draw away disciples after them. This coming marriage is again referred to in II Corinthians11:2: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." The new-covenant MARRIAGE will take place at Christ'scoming in GLORY: "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, ALLELUIA: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage ofthe Lamb [Christ] is come, and his wife hath made herself ready"(Revelation 19:6-7). It is enlightening at this point to remember Jesus came as "the messenger of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1). He came as the Messenger of the NEW covenant. The old covenant was a CONTRACT entered into between the children of Israel and the Word (who was to become Christ) - the God of the Old Testament. It was a MARRIAGE covenant. God "proposed" and Israel "accepted" (Exodus 19:6, 8). That"marriage covenant" also set up the kingdom of Israel as one of earth's nations. The new covenant also will be a MARRIAGE covenant marrying the Church, then changed to spirit immortality, to Christ.But that covenant also will set up the KINGDOM OF GOD, ruling all nations with the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. The old covenant was made with a carnal-minded people on their PROMISE to obey. The new covenant will be made with a Spirit-begotten and Spirit-born people who have ALREADYPROVED THEIR OBEDIENCE!Or, what about the one who follows a MAN, because of that man's personality, charisma or attractiveness, or some other group? Stop and THINK! Is Christ going to marry a number of differing groups, not incomplete harmony with each other - yet all "professing CHRIST"? Jesus said, "He that is not with me..." (and since He is the Head of God's one and only Church, He plainly meant with Him where HE is working -in God's one Church). Repeat, "He that is not with me [where He works]is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad"(Matthew 12:30). Jesus Christ is going to marry THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE CHURCH - not a number of scattered groups or scattered individuals.God's law and way of life may be summed up in the one word "LOVE" -which is outflowing - the way of "GIVE" - while Satan's way is that of"GET." The one who tries to GET his salvation apart from the one Church Christ is going to marry is on the "GET" way. Those loyally in the Church are GIVING of their prayers, loyalty, encouragement and support behind Christ's chosen apostle in GIVING the GOOD NEWS to the world - its ONLY HOPE! In other words, he that seeks to GET his own salvation without GIVING his part in the team effort of the Church -or follows a man or some other group - is surely NOT BUILDING ON THE ONE SURE FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Again, "Unless GOD build the house, they labor in vain that build it..." (Psalm 127:1). The Church is the HOUSEHOLD OF GOD and a BUILDING - the glorious TEMPLE to which Christ shall come!
Proof 7 the reign of the Kingdom of God
With Satan gone, the KINGDOM OF GOD shall be set up in power. Everyone whom God has called out of this world of Satan's has been called to a special mission preparing for this Kingdom! The GOVERNMENT OF GOD will be restored, worldwide! The humans left on earth will be ruled over.No mortal humans will rule - only those who PREPARED and QUALIFIED to rule during their earthly life after receiving God's Spirit."Human nature" will be GONE! The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the ocean beds are full of water (Isaiah11:9).
Notes
Physical solutions do not work for spiritual problems. Turn from human way of solutions to God's way of solutions.God chastise us to correct our course....not to get even with us.God wants us to experience sin in this life and it's consequences. See problem of sin and it's wrongness.God creates....sin destroys what God creates.If you sin the primary one effected is going to be you. Sin destroys us. Sin destroys...as a result we have to be destroyed.When we miss the mark....destruction is the result. Sin rebounds to destroy the person. We will be destroyed because we are a part of this sin.Spiritual battlefield Satan wants to stop our spirit from working with God's spirit. Stop us from becoming child of God.Wants to stop the process that allow a child of God to be created.Resist the devil...he must flee James 4:7. Go away...leave me alone.Good spirit can have flesh and bones and can eat. Evil spirit cannot manifest themselves as righteous angels....cannot appear as flesh and blood..cannot eat and drink.Satan cannot get at us directly because he is chained in this area...he is limited. Attitude and others he can use against us.Begotten of spirit changes us over time. Human being into a God.Jn. 14:13. Satan had nothing in Christ. Same way we need to be.After baptism... spirit minuscule...then growth takes place...mind comes more and more converted..until we are born God beings.11 Cor. 3:3 Sin is violation of the principle or intended meaning of the law.If they persecuted Christ...they will persecute you. Counting the costs. Are you willing to suffer whatever He allows.Work started with 19 members. August 1933HEALING Either follow truth or suffer consequences.1Jn 3:22 We ask...we receive..because we keep his commandments.Ex 15:26 God is healer Healing is the forgiveness of physical sin.. None but God can forgive sin. None but God heals! God is a jealous God. He is not going to allow anyone else to heal. Medicine and drugs do not heal..cannotheal.God wants His people to rely on Him...to trust him. He wants to do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. He wants us to learn lesson of faith.There can be no law without a penalty for its transgression. God never compromises with His Laws or their penalties. Once a law is transgressed a penalty is incurred. Once a penalty is incurred it must be paid. God never suspends the penalty.Made of matter that function to physical laws. Those laws when transgressed,exact a penalty. When you get sick...lawtransgressed....could be accident or testing as Job. Neverless sickness and disease are the penalty being paid for physical broken law. God demands penalty be paid.Matt 8:16-17. Jesus paid the penalty in our stead. Isa 52:14-15 Isa53:3-6 1 Pet 2:22,24. Healing does not mean that God suspends the penalty so that no penalty is paid. Instead Jesus has already paid it for us. Therefore God may legally remove the penalty from the human sufferer.God allowed His Son to pay for our physical sin..beating..scourging.He was willing to let this happen to relieve us from pain, suffering or afflictions....so that without violating any principle of His law we may be healed. Ps 103:8-13. We need to realize God's love and compassion.Christ paid penalty for sicknesses. Go to God for the healing.Penalty has to be paid. Medical science tries to prevent God's law from exacting it's penalty.Doctors, medicines and drugs can no more forgive physical sins then spiritual sins. These cannot heal.Healing...be patient and assured that God will heal you. It is a promise.Spiritually believe in the healing. Do not let physical senses override.Faith is assurance that the things which God said in His word are true and God will act according to what He said in His word. This confidence is faith. Trust God! Quit worrying.God cannot break a promise. Claim promises. God promises to supply every need. Matt 6:33Get Christ faith by drawing close to God.Obey God's commandments....with God it is possible to obey with His spirit.Religions of world practice dead faith.Healing according to your faith. Do not look down upon others who have weak faith. Help those who are weak.God is a healing God.Insulin not a drug or medicine. Hormone that body needs. Have to be able to properly distinguish.Faith and being obedient is key to healing. 1 Jn 3:22 and James 5:15Doctors can help....child delivery....mending broken bones and the such Doubter in God' power to heal denies God's promises.How many millions die under medical care..yet people have faith in medical doctors and not God. People trust man.....but not God????Ps 103:3 How can believe one and not the other.
Notes
Dress for Sabbath in best you have. Fellowshipping with Christ and God Phil 4:11 Be content whatever the circumstances.Isa 58:13 Do not speak own words...talk about Bible.Do you put yourself above God's word. How prideful are you Only one passage in NT with direct instruction to assemble together.Heb.10:24-25."not forsaking the assembly" means not to abandon, desert attending, refuse to assemble. If you live where there is no Church...then you are not doing the above.."because attendance is not in your power.11 Thes 3:6,14 Rom 16:17 God is strict on this. Are some trying to be more kind and merciful then God. We must not compromise. God does not.It is a command. We convict ourselves of disobedience if we do not follow.
Revelation 3Key of David v7 is truth about Israel. V8 gospel going out as it did."Denied my name" kept name of true Church..Church of God.Little Strength...smallness of group...prove God's power.Kept word...is commands Synagogue of Satan Churches of world v9v9 worship how can a human worship another human and it not be idolatry.. Only way is changed from human to divine(those who are worshipped will have become as God. God's true ones know the purpose of life and the incredible human potentiality10 place of safety Rev 12:14v11 make sure no one else gets your reward v12 pillar have permanent position like a pillar. Leader. Never fall away from or lose our position..safe and secure write name...New name. Will have Family name of God and own personal name of honor and distinction...no one else will have. Mine alone.V13 understand the other letters written to the churches.
Is god above all else in your life or are there other idols.Unless God's own CHARACTER is being formed and developed in your mind and your life, replacing the carnality that is there now, you shall have missed your GOAL.God's PURPOSE is to CREATE within you, during this life, a new andperfect CHARACTER, so that you may be given eternal life -self-containing, inherent life.Have to develop character to have eternal life.You can only succeed if your GOAL is kept constantly - continually -before your eyes.When you drive a car, if you take your eyes and attention off what is in front of you (and sometimes coming from the side or behind) even for two or three seconds, you may find yourself "coming to" in a hospital, dying and saying "It all happened so suddenly!"Driving carefully means BEING ALERT - being DILIGENT every second -KEEPING YOUR EYE and your mind and attention on the matter of DRIVING- not on conversation or other things.In the same manner, if you let other interests, material pursuits,steal first place in your mind and heart and interest, even for a few days, you are in danger of a SPIRITUAL SMASHUP that will let you wake up being plunged into the LAKE OF FIRE, which will mean eternal DEATH.That's why God doesn't want you to have these other gods BEFORE Him.For your own sake - in your own interest - you must keep Him enthroned and enshrined constantly ABOVE ALL.You either GROW spiritually - in knowledge - in grace - in God'scharacter - or you deteriorate back toward becoming a mere physical animal, to die in ETERNAL PUNISHMENT in the lake of fire!But if God, and the things of God - His revealed knowledge - His law -His love - His WAY for you to live - are constantly foremost in your mind, your thoughts, your interest, then you are PRAYING ALWAYS - that is, in a constant SPIRIT OF PRAYER - a constant MENTAL ATTITUDE of prayer.The contact with God must be perpetual!This kind of Christian life - the only kind that truly is Christian -requires, as the Bible emphasizes repeatedly, zealous DILIGENCE. YOU must CONCENTRATE on it. You must be DEDICATED to it. It requires utterCONSECRATION. It requires total EARNESTNESS.He possessed LEADERSHIP, STRENGTH, PURPOSE, SUPREME STRONG WILL - andyet these masculine qualities of strength and power were perfectlyblended with wisdom, judgment, knowledge, understanding, justice and also patience, compassion and mercy. He was filled with PEACE, LOVE,FAITH.And His WILL, strong as it was, was totally yielded and obedient to GOD. All this was the character of GOD.He is our PATTERN. We must imitate Him - copy Him.God did not tell Abraham HOW or WHEN He would fulfill His promises. He will do it HOW and WHEN He wills, not when we will.What is purpose of ressurectionSo now, if and when you really REPENT of your transgressions, and whenyou BELIEVE, not only IN Christ, but also HIS GOSPEL, your penaltystands PAID IN FULL - you are RECONCILED to God - you have ACCESS toGod the Father!You are now JUSTIFIED. Your guilt is wiped CLEAN - up to THAT moment!You are UNDER GRACE - that is, undeserved PARDON for past transgressions.But that GRACE gives you no license to continue in sin! As the apostle Paul wrote: "What shall we say then? Shall we CONTINUE in sin[transgressing God's LAW], that grace may abound? God FORBID" (Rom.6:1-2). Justification refers only to a guilty PAST!The man who could not tithe Yet so many say, "I don't think it would be right for me to tithe while I'm in debt." Yes, it is right, and the other way is WRONG."There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereofare the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12, 16:25). God's Word tells us what is RIGHT, and God tells us to pay to His Work the firstfruits of all our income (Prov. 3:9-10).Regarding our material and financial needs, even debts, God says,"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). The tithe is the debt that you owe God. This debt is FIRST in time and principle. Pay your debts to God, make Him your PARTNER in your finances and receive His blessing in temporal affairs. This will enable you to pay your debts, or to get a job, or to have your needs supplied more quickly than if you evade His debt.Remember your ALL belongs to HIM, not to you (Deut. 10:14). You are in the position of steward handling that which belongs to another. He is your silent partner, and the first tenth, in addition to offerings, is His share. The rest He gives freely to you.But if you appropriate for yourself His share, you are stealing, and ROBBING GOD (Mal. 3:8). Would you pay your debts with money another man had left in your trust? If a man working in a bank does that, we call it embezzlement!How you can overcome We can't save ourselves — GOD must save us!But He does it by changing us, through His indwelling divine supernatural power, from what we have been into the holy, righteous characters He wills to make of us! He does it by forgiving past sins not only, but cleansing us from sinning now and in the future!He sent His Son into the world to be tempted in all points as we are —human as we are — to prove that a human can, with the help of the Spirit of God, live without sin — TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US THAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW HIS STEPS and live also without sinning!Receive God's power Jesus showed by His life that we can, if we rely upon God in faith for the power to do, live the way of God's will as expressed in His spiritual law! Of Himself, even Jesus said He could not do it — "the Father that dwelleth in me," He said, "HE doeth the works" (John14:10). And again, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also" (verse 12).And so it was that, almost the same instant the temptation to doubt the final result came to my mind, as I thought of my own weaknesses,faults and limitations, the answer flashed strong and firm:"GOD WON'T LET ME FALL! He may punish me more yet to chasten and teachme and make me righteous, but He won't let me fail — He will imputeHis very own righteousness by implanting it into my life until,through His power energizing me, I'm really living it — ETERNALLY!"And that comforting and definite ASSURANCE of the final result, based on God's own unbreakable PROMISES, just warmed my heart and made me feel good clear through — and so I had to share this glorious assurance with all of you! Read Jude 24 and II Peter 1:10.He can who thinks he can But wisdom is more than knowledge and under-standing. It is ability to use both,and come to a right and wise decision.I began to learn that there is something very practical in all this.I began to learn that, if I submitted my life to God's guidance, I was tapping a source of POWER millions of times greater than any resources within.I learned that there are the THREE DIMENSIONS — the within, the around and the above.Most people cheat themselves by utilizing only the first two. In their lives there are only these two dimensions on which to rely.Looking into the within is like looking into a well and finding it has gone dry.Relying on the within, they become self-centered. Their concern is primarily for self. So they become selfish.They develop greed, desire to have, to GET, to take, to accumulate.They measure success in terms of material accumulation. Toward others they are unconcerned, envious, jealous, suspicious. They live in a spirit of competition.Their self-centered thinking results in constantly shrinking horizons.They may develop latent talents, arouse ambition for self-gain,develop their own inner powers and resources, but those resources arecomparatively meager. They try to find happiness in material acquisition, but that is not the source of happiness.Then, of course, there is the pull of human nature to CONFORM — to BELONG. So the dimension of the around fills a big part of their lives.But those around them are self-centered too, trying to get the best of them in every deal. They, too, center their affections on material acquisition. They constitute an unhappy world. They are bent on getting, and too often you find they are jealous or envious or resentful toward you. You find that their concern is for themselves,rather than for your welfare or happiness. You trust them, and too often find them untrustworthy.There's not much in the way of resources to be found in the around,but many disillusioning disappointments.But what about the third dimension — the above? Could it be possible that most of humanity has been failing to tap the source of theg reatest resources and meaningful, rewarding benefits?In James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given tohim. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting."So I took God up on this promise through the writing of James. I asked for wisdom.I believed I would be given wisdom, since God had PROMISED it, on my asking — and God could not break His promise. I received wisdom."Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, theLord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. . . .those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isa. 40:12-15,17-18, 22, 26, 28-31).People often ask me why I stay young — and where do I get my energy?The above verses give me a promise — provide a source of resources that I rely on.Yes, I found, 56 years ago, a far more practical and resultful confidence than self-confidence. I found the confidence that isFAITH.It is reliance on the supreme great God, whose greatness is described above.His resources are total. They are unlimited. The wealth and the resources of the entire universe are His. He is the SOURCE of all power, of all good, of all that is desirable.He is not only the great Creator. He is the supreme RULER of the universe. He is the great educator, the source of basic knowledge.He is the great GIVER! He gave His only begotten Son — for our redemption. He gives power and strength. He supplies all our needs. He gives wisdom. He has EVERYTHING to give that is GOOD.James tells us to count it all joy when trials, ordeals, reverses,beset us (Jas. 1:2). Troubles a JOY? That's pretty hard to accept,isn't it? And, for the average person, a lot harder to put intopractice.Few find any pleasure, let alone JOY, in the obstacles and troublesthey encounter. Yet this biblical teaching says we ought so to countthem. There is a reason, although few understand it.In one of the Psalms you'll read that the righteous are going to haveto bear many afflictions. But, it promises, the Eternal will deliverus out of them all - if we believe and trust Him (Ps. 34:19)!Again, it is through much tribulation that we must enter the Kingdomof God (Acts 14:22). WHY? There's a reason!Such character is the attainment of the ability, in a separate,independent entity of free moral agency to be able to discern right from wrong - the true values from the false - truth from error - the right way from the wrong, and then to make the right CHOICE or DECISION, even against self-desire, impulse or temptation, plus the WILL and self-discipline to resist the wrong and to DO the right.A true Christian doesn't want to sin - should not. But sometimes he finds himself caught in the vise of habit, or overwhelmed by temptation or by circumstances from which he is unable to free himself.Surely, had such a one been continually praying, keeping himself close to God and detached from the world or its lures or the temptations ofthe flesh, he probably would have had sufficient divine help to haveprevented the sinning. But only Jesus Christ ever did keep that closeto God!God looks on the heart. In such a case, the Christian does not sinmaliciously, with malice aforethought. He is merely caught in the vortex of a temptation that sucks him helplessly down into the sin.Then he is terribly sorry. He is disgusted with himself. He repents.He goes to work to overcome. He may not succeed, due to human weakness, at once. But he remains determined and finally does, with God's help, overcome completely.Many a true Christian has had such a struggle over a particular human weakness and temptation, and after even several setbacks, finally,through God's power, won the victory and fought his way free.God looks on the heart. God FORGIVES in such cases. The living Christ,our High Priest, has compassion, is filled with mercy - as long as the attitude is right, the desire of the inner man is to conquer the flesh and overcome the temptation and be FREE from it entirely.In the end, it is GOD who gives the victory. But, in such a struggle,the Christian DEVELOPS CHARACTER.
Revelation 3Key of David v7 is truth about Israel. V8 gospel going out as it did."Denied my name" kept name of true Church..Church of God.Little Strength...smallness of group...prove God's power.Kept word...is commands Synagogue of Satan Churches of world v9v9 worship how can a human worship another human and it not be idolatry.. Only way is changed from human to divine(those who are worshipped will have become as God. God's true ones know the purpose of life and the incredible human potentiality10 place of safety Rev 12:14v11 make sure no one else gets your reward v12 pillar have permanent position like a pillar. Leader. Never fall away from or lose our position..safe and secure write name...New name. Will have Family name of God and own personal name of honor and distinction...no one else will have. Mine alone.V13 understand the other letters written to the churches.
Is god above all else in your life or are there other idols.Unless God's own CHARACTER is being formed and developed in your mind and your life, replacing the carnality that is there now, you shall have missed your GOAL.God's PURPOSE is to CREATE within you, during this life, a new andperfect CHARACTER, so that you may be given eternal life -self-containing, inherent life.Have to develop character to have eternal life.You can only succeed if your GOAL is kept constantly - continually -before your eyes.When you drive a car, if you take your eyes and attention off what is in front of you (and sometimes coming from the side or behind) even for two or three seconds, you may find yourself "coming to" in a hospital, dying and saying "It all happened so suddenly!"Driving carefully means BEING ALERT - being DILIGENT every second -KEEPING YOUR EYE and your mind and attention on the matter of DRIVING- not on conversation or other things.In the same manner, if you let other interests, material pursuits,steal first place in your mind and heart and interest, even for a few days, you are in danger of a SPIRITUAL SMASHUP that will let you wake up being plunged into the LAKE OF FIRE, which will mean eternal DEATH.That's why God doesn't want you to have these other gods BEFORE Him.For your own sake - in your own interest - you must keep Him enthroned and enshrined constantly ABOVE ALL.You either GROW spiritually - in knowledge - in grace - in God'scharacter - or you deteriorate back toward becoming a mere physical animal, to die in ETERNAL PUNISHMENT in the lake of fire!But if God, and the things of God - His revealed knowledge - His law -His love - His WAY for you to live - are constantly foremost in your mind, your thoughts, your interest, then you are PRAYING ALWAYS - that is, in a constant SPIRIT OF PRAYER - a constant MENTAL ATTITUDE of prayer.The contact with God must be perpetual!This kind of Christian life - the only kind that truly is Christian -requires, as the Bible emphasizes repeatedly, zealous DILIGENCE. YOU must CONCENTRATE on it. You must be DEDICATED to it. It requires utterCONSECRATION. It requires total EARNESTNESS.He possessed LEADERSHIP, STRENGTH, PURPOSE, SUPREME STRONG WILL - andyet these masculine qualities of strength and power were perfectlyblended with wisdom, judgment, knowledge, understanding, justice and also patience, compassion and mercy. He was filled with PEACE, LOVE,FAITH.And His WILL, strong as it was, was totally yielded and obedient to GOD. All this was the character of GOD.He is our PATTERN. We must imitate Him - copy Him.God did not tell Abraham HOW or WHEN He would fulfill His promises. He will do it HOW and WHEN He wills, not when we will.What is purpose of ressurectionSo now, if and when you really REPENT of your transgressions, and whenyou BELIEVE, not only IN Christ, but also HIS GOSPEL, your penaltystands PAID IN FULL - you are RECONCILED to God - you have ACCESS toGod the Father!You are now JUSTIFIED. Your guilt is wiped CLEAN - up to THAT moment!You are UNDER GRACE - that is, undeserved PARDON for past transgressions.But that GRACE gives you no license to continue in sin! As the apostle Paul wrote: "What shall we say then? Shall we CONTINUE in sin[transgressing God's LAW], that grace may abound? God FORBID" (Rom.6:1-2). Justification refers only to a guilty PAST!The man who could not tithe Yet so many say, "I don't think it would be right for me to tithe while I'm in debt." Yes, it is right, and the other way is WRONG."There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereofare the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12, 16:25). God's Word tells us what is RIGHT, and God tells us to pay to His Work the firstfruits of all our income (Prov. 3:9-10).Regarding our material and financial needs, even debts, God says,"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). The tithe is the debt that you owe God. This debt is FIRST in time and principle. Pay your debts to God, make Him your PARTNER in your finances and receive His blessing in temporal affairs. This will enable you to pay your debts, or to get a job, or to have your needs supplied more quickly than if you evade His debt.Remember your ALL belongs to HIM, not to you (Deut. 10:14). You are in the position of steward handling that which belongs to another. He is your silent partner, and the first tenth, in addition to offerings, is His share. The rest He gives freely to you.But if you appropriate for yourself His share, you are stealing, and ROBBING GOD (Mal. 3:8). Would you pay your debts with money another man had left in your trust? If a man working in a bank does that, we call it embezzlement!How you can overcome We can't save ourselves — GOD must save us!But He does it by changing us, through His indwelling divine supernatural power, from what we have been into the holy, righteous characters He wills to make of us! He does it by forgiving past sins not only, but cleansing us from sinning now and in the future!He sent His Son into the world to be tempted in all points as we are —human as we are — to prove that a human can, with the help of the Spirit of God, live without sin — TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR US THAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW HIS STEPS and live also without sinning!Receive God's power Jesus showed by His life that we can, if we rely upon God in faith for the power to do, live the way of God's will as expressed in His spiritual law! Of Himself, even Jesus said He could not do it — "the Father that dwelleth in me," He said, "HE doeth the works" (John14:10). And again, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also" (verse 12).And so it was that, almost the same instant the temptation to doubt the final result came to my mind, as I thought of my own weaknesses,faults and limitations, the answer flashed strong and firm:"GOD WON'T LET ME FALL! He may punish me more yet to chasten and teachme and make me righteous, but He won't let me fail — He will imputeHis very own righteousness by implanting it into my life until,through His power energizing me, I'm really living it — ETERNALLY!"And that comforting and definite ASSURANCE of the final result, based on God's own unbreakable PROMISES, just warmed my heart and made me feel good clear through — and so I had to share this glorious assurance with all of you! Read Jude 24 and II Peter 1:10.He can who thinks he can But wisdom is more than knowledge and under-standing. It is ability to use both,and come to a right and wise decision.I began to learn that there is something very practical in all this.I began to learn that, if I submitted my life to God's guidance, I was tapping a source of POWER millions of times greater than any resources within.I learned that there are the THREE DIMENSIONS — the within, the around and the above.Most people cheat themselves by utilizing only the first two. In their lives there are only these two dimensions on which to rely.Looking into the within is like looking into a well and finding it has gone dry.Relying on the within, they become self-centered. Their concern is primarily for self. So they become selfish.They develop greed, desire to have, to GET, to take, to accumulate.They measure success in terms of material accumulation. Toward others they are unconcerned, envious, jealous, suspicious. They live in a spirit of competition.Their self-centered thinking results in constantly shrinking horizons.They may develop latent talents, arouse ambition for self-gain,develop their own inner powers and resources, but those resources arecomparatively meager. They try to find happiness in material acquisition, but that is not the source of happiness.Then, of course, there is the pull of human nature to CONFORM — to BELONG. So the dimension of the around fills a big part of their lives.But those around them are self-centered too, trying to get the best of them in every deal. They, too, center their affections on material acquisition. They constitute an unhappy world. They are bent on getting, and too often you find they are jealous or envious or resentful toward you. You find that their concern is for themselves,rather than for your welfare or happiness. You trust them, and too often find them untrustworthy.There's not much in the way of resources to be found in the around,but many disillusioning disappointments.But what about the third dimension — the above? Could it be possible that most of humanity has been failing to tap the source of theg reatest resources and meaningful, rewarding benefits?In James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given tohim. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting."So I took God up on this promise through the writing of James. I asked for wisdom.I believed I would be given wisdom, since God had PROMISED it, on my asking — and God could not break His promise. I received wisdom."Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, theLord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. . . .those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isa. 40:12-15,17-18, 22, 26, 28-31).People often ask me why I stay young — and where do I get my energy?The above verses give me a promise — provide a source of resources that I rely on.Yes, I found, 56 years ago, a far more practical and resultful confidence than self-confidence. I found the confidence that isFAITH.It is reliance on the supreme great God, whose greatness is described above.His resources are total. They are unlimited. The wealth and the resources of the entire universe are His. He is the SOURCE of all power, of all good, of all that is desirable.He is not only the great Creator. He is the supreme RULER of the universe. He is the great educator, the source of basic knowledge.He is the great GIVER! He gave His only begotten Son — for our redemption. He gives power and strength. He supplies all our needs. He gives wisdom. He has EVERYTHING to give that is GOOD.James tells us to count it all joy when trials, ordeals, reverses,beset us (Jas. 1:2). Troubles a JOY? That's pretty hard to accept,isn't it? And, for the average person, a lot harder to put intopractice.Few find any pleasure, let alone JOY, in the obstacles and troublesthey encounter. Yet this biblical teaching says we ought so to countthem. There is a reason, although few understand it.In one of the Psalms you'll read that the righteous are going to haveto bear many afflictions. But, it promises, the Eternal will deliverus out of them all - if we believe and trust Him (Ps. 34:19)!Again, it is through much tribulation that we must enter the Kingdomof God (Acts 14:22). WHY? There's a reason!Such character is the attainment of the ability, in a separate,independent entity of free moral agency to be able to discern right from wrong - the true values from the false - truth from error - the right way from the wrong, and then to make the right CHOICE or DECISION, even against self-desire, impulse or temptation, plus the WILL and self-discipline to resist the wrong and to DO the right.A true Christian doesn't want to sin - should not. But sometimes he finds himself caught in the vise of habit, or overwhelmed by temptation or by circumstances from which he is unable to free himself.Surely, had such a one been continually praying, keeping himself close to God and detached from the world or its lures or the temptations ofthe flesh, he probably would have had sufficient divine help to haveprevented the sinning. But only Jesus Christ ever did keep that closeto God!God looks on the heart. In such a case, the Christian does not sinmaliciously, with malice aforethought. He is merely caught in the vortex of a temptation that sucks him helplessly down into the sin.Then he is terribly sorry. He is disgusted with himself. He repents.He goes to work to overcome. He may not succeed, due to human weakness, at once. But he remains determined and finally does, with God's help, overcome completely.Many a true Christian has had such a struggle over a particular human weakness and temptation, and after even several setbacks, finally,through God's power, won the victory and fought his way free.God looks on the heart. God FORGIVES in such cases. The living Christ,our High Priest, has compassion, is filled with mercy - as long as the attitude is right, the desire of the inner man is to conquer the flesh and overcome the temptation and be FREE from it entirely.In the end, it is GOD who gives the victory. But, in such a struggle,the Christian DEVELOPS CHARACTER.
You can have happy marriage
You can have happy marriage People simply do not want to admit that God created the marriage union! And unless those laws of God are obeyed, marriages will fail.Laws Govern marriage. And those laws are living. Gravity as a example-no gravity how swift and sure would penalties be? God invented marriage. The reason you have all the fighting and problems in marriage is because of laws being broken.Marriage is physical but divine in origin. Matt 19:4-6. Once bound in heaven,that contract is unalterably in effect until death.WIFE Eph. 5:23-Husband is head of the wife.Eph.5:22- Wives submit unto your husband.1 Cor. 11:3-Paul mentions again--head of wife.1 Cor.11:8-9- Woman was created for man.1 Pet 3:1- Wives be in subjection1 Pet 3:5-6 – Example of Sara, obeyed Abraham and called him Lord.She was humble to God....nowadays deemed old fashioned or outdated
HUSBAND
Husband is not to be tyrant but responsible Eph 5:25-26. Christ gave Himself for the Church. Husbands are to love their wives in the same manner.Eph 5:28-He that loves his wife loves himself1 Tim 5:8- God is provider,protector, and ruler over His Church. So is the man to fulfill that office towards his wife. God demands this.That he support,protect, and provide for His wife.Have deep understanding when unpleasant situations occur. It means overlooking some of the weaknesses, the faults, the mistakes. It does not mean condoning wrong conduct, but means totally different attitude in correcting such problems. Husband should be just as patient and loving as Christ is.A woman should not assume man's responsibility. Alot of men not brought up and shown how to be head of household. A woman should temp.step in and help...but encourage husband to get to where he needs to be without anger. She is a helpmate. 1 Tim. 2:121 Tim.3:4-5. Man is commanded to rule his own house.Isa.3:12- Is this how God indicts me Women should be in charge of housekeeping unless sick. Husband can help out. But she is in charge of housekeeping.Husband and wife are a team. But not 50-50. It is 100-100 proposition,it is all the way for each partner. All the time. Husband gives a 100%to wife and wife gives 100% to husband.Titus 2:4-5 Women keepers of home. That is the command of God.....so what is wrong then with that.1 Cor.11:3,8-9 Eph.5:22-24.....notice word "even as" Husband is head of wife even as Christ is Head of His Church. These verses aimed at husband. God holds the man responsible. God is pointing these commands directly to the man;who is to be the head. He is not the head because the wife says "ok" I will let him be the head. No God made him the head.Col 3:18 1Cor.7:12-14- Yes as "unfair" as it may sound to some women-God says that if the husband is totally selfish and not "God oriented", but if he is pleased to dwell with her and if he provides and supports her as his wife-she is commanded on the authority of the Word of God to honor him, to reverence him, to be humble and submissive to him and not leave him. She is to be subject to him in everything-so long as his commands do not directly conflict with the higher commands of God.Marriage is a profession-and it takes a lot of skill to really succeed at any marriage.Have bible study in morning with kids. Husband lead,wife follow second and the children maintain their place as God intended. Husband pray wife add then children. Do not let anything interfere with this.Is foundation of your home. God and his laws or the world and its ways.
HUSBAND
Husband is not to be tyrant but responsible Eph 5:25-26. Christ gave Himself for the Church. Husbands are to love their wives in the same manner.Eph 5:28-He that loves his wife loves himself1 Tim 5:8- God is provider,protector, and ruler over His Church. So is the man to fulfill that office towards his wife. God demands this.That he support,protect, and provide for His wife.Have deep understanding when unpleasant situations occur. It means overlooking some of the weaknesses, the faults, the mistakes. It does not mean condoning wrong conduct, but means totally different attitude in correcting such problems. Husband should be just as patient and loving as Christ is.A woman should not assume man's responsibility. Alot of men not brought up and shown how to be head of household. A woman should temp.step in and help...but encourage husband to get to where he needs to be without anger. She is a helpmate. 1 Tim. 2:121 Tim.3:4-5. Man is commanded to rule his own house.Isa.3:12- Is this how God indicts me Women should be in charge of housekeeping unless sick. Husband can help out. But she is in charge of housekeeping.Husband and wife are a team. But not 50-50. It is 100-100 proposition,it is all the way for each partner. All the time. Husband gives a 100%to wife and wife gives 100% to husband.Titus 2:4-5 Women keepers of home. That is the command of God.....so what is wrong then with that.1 Cor.11:3,8-9 Eph.5:22-24.....notice word "even as" Husband is head of wife even as Christ is Head of His Church. These verses aimed at husband. God holds the man responsible. God is pointing these commands directly to the man;who is to be the head. He is not the head because the wife says "ok" I will let him be the head. No God made him the head.Col 3:18 1Cor.7:12-14- Yes as "unfair" as it may sound to some women-God says that if the husband is totally selfish and not "God oriented", but if he is pleased to dwell with her and if he provides and supports her as his wife-she is commanded on the authority of the Word of God to honor him, to reverence him, to be humble and submissive to him and not leave him. She is to be subject to him in everything-so long as his commands do not directly conflict with the higher commands of God.Marriage is a profession-and it takes a lot of skill to really succeed at any marriage.Have bible study in morning with kids. Husband lead,wife follow second and the children maintain their place as God intended. Husband pray wife add then children. Do not let anything interfere with this.Is foundation of your home. God and his laws or the world and its ways.
Baptism
The BLOOD of Christ does not finally save any man. The death of Christ merely paid the penalty of sin in our stead -- it wipes the slate clean of past sins -- it saves us merely from the DEATH PENALTY -- it removes that which separated us from God and reconciles us to God.But we are SAVED -- that is, given immortal life -- by Christ's LIFE,not by His death (Rom. 5:10). Christ is a living Saviour! He is not dead -- He rose from the dead! We could never be saved by His blood alone, if He had not risen from the dead (I Cor. 15:17-18).We are mortal, without immortal life inherent in us, under penalty of eternal DEATH from sin -- unless saved. To be saved, we must be born of God, who is a Spirit. We were born of human parents, and therefore we are human -- flesh -- dust -- of the earth, earthy (John 3:3, 6;Gen. 2:7; 3:19; I Cor. 15:47-49). To be born of God, we must, first,now in this life, receive the impregnating LIFE -- the Holy Spirit --from God. We are then merely begotten, spiritually -- comparing to an unborn human babe still in its mother's womb -- not yet really BORN.We then become merely HEIRS of the Kingdom -- not yet inheritors.It is only those who, during this Christian Spirit-begotten life, have grown in knowledge and grace, have overcome, have developed spiritually, done the works of Christ, and endured unto the end, who shall finally be given IMMORTALITY -- finally changed from mortal to IMMORTAL at the time of the second coming of Christ (I Cor. 15:53-54).Romans 8:9 Do not live as your human nature tells you. You live as the Spirit tells you.Baptism is an ordinance symbolizing FAITH in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.What shall we do?" they cried out to Peter and the disciples. "HOW SHALL WE BE SAVED?"Peter was now inspired. The answer came straight and direct!"REPENT"! shouted the inspired Peter in great power, "AND BE BAPTIZED,EVERY ONE OF YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"! (Acts 2:38.)There are the conditions -- JUST TWO -- the same as Jesus gave them at the very beginning of His Gospel -- REPENT, and BELIEVE! For onecannot be rightly baptized except he believe (Acts 8:37). Baptism is an ordinance symbolizing FAITH in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.Once these conditions are complied with, God stands bound by a PROMISE to put within the repentant believer HIS SPIRIT -- which means HisLOVE, faith, understanding, gentleness and goodness, power, etc. --His attitude of mind -- the Spirit of a sound mind -- His very LIFE --the impregnation and begettal of eternal life, and the very characterof God! The HOLY SPIRIT in one CHANGES one!Jesus in all things set us an example, that we should follow His steps. He was the example for Christian living for the individual, and also the living example for His called ministers (I Peter 2:21).Jesus, though He had committed no sins to be remitted, was baptized,setting the example for us. You'll read of it in Matthew 3:13-17. In being baptized, Jesus was immersed in water (not sprinkled or poured upon) because "Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out ofthe water." Immediately the Spirit of God descended upon Him, in this case visibly, and a voice from heaven said: "This is my beloved Son,in whom I am well pleased." God help us, that by His help, power, and grace, we may be enabled to live such overcoming lives that He may finally say the same of us!Since some today are being baptized over again "in the name of Jesus ONLY" in order to eliminate the Father, and the Holy Spirit, this should be considered here. The contention of these people is that this passage in Matthew 28:19 is the only place in the Bible where the names of the Father and the Holy Spirit are commanded. They argue that a thing must be established "in the mouth of two or more witnesses,"and since they claim there is but this one witness to this command, itmust be rejected. All other passages mention only the name of Jesus.The explanation is that two or more witnesses are required only in the case of HUMAN testimony -- where one accuses another. That instruction does not apply to the divine Witness, as inspired by the Holy Spirit,and to assume it does is surely close to blasphemy against the HolySpirit! On the contrary, "ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable ...." And, THE SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE BROKEN! Ifyou can break, disprove, reject, or throw out this one scripture, youcan reject all the rest!In this passage, the word translated "in" should properly betranslated "into." The meaning, then, is that repentant believers arebaptized INTO God the Father, and into Christ the Son, and into theHoly Spirit. But the one who plunges the new believer under the water performs the act IN THE NAME OF -- that is, by authority of, JESUSCHRIST. Why? Because Jesus said "ALL POWER" -- and that includes all authority -- "is given unto me in heaven and in earth." He has ALL authority! Either we do it by His authority, or else we are doing it without any authority.The principle is that IT IS CHRIST WHO IS BAPTIZING YOU. The man who puts you under the water is merely performing this physical act for Christ, in His stead. You are not to look to the human man, further than to conscientiously try to go to one you honestly feel is a man of God, called of Christ, and used of Him in the work of His true Church.And if later he turns the wrong way, your salvation does not depend on that man or any other mortal man, BUT SOLELY UPON CHRIST! There is no cause to be baptized again by another man.Jesus also set the example for ministers. Did you know that Jesus baptized more disciples than John the Baptist?Listen: "After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized .... When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples) ... " (John 3:22 and 4:1-2).There is an important meaning here. Actually Jesus did not do the physical work of baptizing these people Himself -- He had His disciples do it for Him! And what they did, by His authority and command, is attributed to Him! So it was considered as if Jesus Himself had baptized them.Here is a most important truth. His disciples did the baptizing IN HIS NAME -- that is, in His stead -- they did it for Him, by His authority-- and that was considered just the same as if Jesus had actually done it Himself! In fact, the Holy Spirit actually inspired the direct statement that Jesus baptized more disciples than John. When, at His direction, and by His authority, His chosen disciples, chosen by Him,did it for Him, it is considered that JESUS did the baptizing. He did it, in other words, by and through His disciples!To ask for anything in prayer, or to do or perform anything, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, is to ask or do it BY HIS AUTHORITY. It is to act for Him. To do it for Him, in His stead. It is acting as if by power of attorney to act FOR Him. It implies He has delegated that authority to us. And indeed He has! For we are commanded to do all things IN THE NAME OF CHRIST!"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach THE GOSPEL" (the Message God sent and Christ proclaimed) "TO EVERY CREATURE. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16). Note these points: The GOSPEL to be preached was not the present-day message ABOUT the Person of Christ, but the Message He brought and preached --the Good News of the GOVERNMENT of God. What is it necessary to BELIEVE to be saved? That which is preached -- the GOSPEL! When even the preachers today do away with God's LAW, and therefore the government (Kingdom) of God -- for there can be no government without law -- they deny that which must be believed to be saved -- and their followers cannot be saved, but are deceived! And, also, it is "he that is baptized" that shall be saved. It's part of the divine Commission-- a required ordinance for salvation!The word "baptize" is not an English word. It is a Greek word. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. In translating it into English, the translators left this Greek word untranslated. Literally,in the Greek, the word is "baptizo". The definition of this word is"IMMERSE." It means to plunge into, put into, dip. It does not mean"to sprinkle" or "to pour." The Greek word for "sprinkle" is"rantidzo", and "to pour" is "cheo" in Greek. The Holy Spirit did not inspire the use of these words, but baptizo, meaning IMMERSE, PUT INTO.Therefore sprinkling or pouring IS NOT BAPTIZING!Baptism is a BURIAL, and a RISING from a grave. Notice Colossians2:12. "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are RISEN with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Neither sprinkling nor pouring is a burial, and one rises up out of neither. They do not picture the symbolic meaning of baptism, and therefore are meaningless.When one is plunged INTO the water, he is in a watery grave. He would not live ten minutes unless brought up out of the water -- unless RISEN from this watery grave. Therefore a person immersed in water is in a literal grave.Going down into the water pictures the DEATH of Christ, and of the old self. Burial in the water pictures the BURIAL of Christ, and of the old self. Coming up out of the water pictures Christ's RESURRECTION,and a spiritually resurrected person walking henceforth "in newness of life."Water baptism is the ordinance ordained of Christ by which we expressour FAITH in Christ as Saviour -- our ACCEPTANCE of His death, burial,and resurrection for us, and our repentance of the old life and burial of it, rising to new and higher life henceforth. It is a beautiful ordinance, full of meaning!Notice carefully, too -- we are "BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST" (verse 3,above), or, as Jesus expressed it in Matthew 28:19, into the Father,Son, and Holy Spirit -- NOT INTO SOME CHURCH ORGANIZATION OR DENOMINATION. We are to be baptized into the DIVINE FAMILY -- thefamily of God. And it is to be done "in the name" -- by the authority-- of Jesus Christ.Paul says God's Law "IS SPIRITUAL," and that the carnal (unconverted)mind is not subject to the Law and CANNOT be (Rom. 7:14 and 8:7). The order of God is: 1st) preach the Gospel, leading to a conviction of sin in the hearts of those God calls, leading to REPENTANCE and FAITH in Christ; 2nd) BAPTISM; and 3rd) they shall receive the HOLY SPIRIT,which renews their minds, teaches them, reveals spiritual truth. Since one cannot spiritually understand God's spiritual Law or spiritual things UNTIL he receives the Holy Spirit, and he must be baptized before he has a promise of the Holy Spirit, he should be baptized first. EVERYONE knows he has sinned, and lived contrary to God's will,though he may not have spiritual understanding of God's will. God can grant repentance to a carnal mind before the conversion of that mind.One does not need a spiritual college education in Bible knowledge torepent and be baptized into Christ. Jesus' order of events was, 1st)PREACH THE GOSPEL, 2nd) BAPTIZE repentant believers, 3rd) TEACH THEM THE COMMANDMENTS (Matt. 28:19-20).Therefore, how long should baptism be put off?The answer is, just as soon as one has been convicted in his heart ofhis past sins and sinful life -- just as soon as one realizes his own way of life has been WRONG, and becomes sick and tired of it, and turns from his own ways and wants to find GOD'S WAYS and live them,truly REPENTS of his past life of sins, and BELIEVES in and ACCEPTS Jesus Christ as personal Saviour, and the One whom he must obey henceforth, and WANTS TO TURN TO THE CHANGED, DIFFERENT, NEW AND HAPPY LIFE OF FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, and to become a child of God -- then that person should be baptized IMMEDIATELY if possible -- and if this is not possible, then AS SOON as a true servant of God is available to perform the baptism.In every case recounted in the New Testament, repentant believers were baptized IMMEDIATELY.Consider now Christ's teaching. Those who go forth teaching, orpreaching, His Gospel (most popular denominations preach a differentgospel) are the ones He commanded and commissioned to do the baptizing(Matt. 28:19-20).Consider the example of the inspired early Church. Philip was not an apostle, or a regular minister, but merely a deacon commissioned by the Church only to perform physical acts, such as waiting on tables(Acts 6:2-5). Yet he went down to Samaria and preached Christ and His Kingdom, and the people who believed were baptized (Acts 8:5-6, 12).The text does not even state that Philip did the baptizing -- he may have had some of his new converts do it.If you study the New Testament on the point, you will see it does not appear to attach great importance as to which man puts the believer under the water, since it is considered by the one baptized that CHRIST does it. The Holy Spirit sent Philip later to baptize the eunuch (Acts 8:26-39).However, notice that the one performing the baptism ceremony was a representative (though not necessarily an ordained minister) of the true Church of God in every New Testament case. This was the Church Jesus founded (Matthew 16:18).
Notes
There has to be a leader....with the Law of Love it is fine. It works.Two can't walk together except they be agreed. They were in total agreement and cooperation. Also two can't walk together in continuous peace except one be the head, or leader, in control. God was leader.
Character is ability to choose the true values from the false, right from wrong, and to WILL to do the right -- even against self-desire.Character may be defined as the ability of a conscious thinking entity to choose the way of life of outflowing LOVE -- God's law -- and to will to live that way of life, even under outside contrary pressure or contrary self-desire.
Once CHARACTER had been formed and lived, angels, composed of spirit,could never change. I compare it to the pouring of cement or concrete.When first poured its form and shape changes -- but once "set," it is hardened and cannot be reshaped or formed.Lucifer had been trained in the administration of God's government on the very throne of God in heaven. He was supremely beautiful, dazzling in brightness. Vanity seized him. Vanity is self-glory,self-centeredness, concern for self even to the point of hostility toward others. He became jealous, envious, resentful and hostile against God his Creator. He turned hostile to the law of God. He turned to a way of life of vanity, covetousness, envy, rivalry,competition, violence and destruction. And this hostile way of life is itself a LAW. It is the law of vanity, self- concern, "do your own thing," rebel against the authority of God. That, then, became the basic LAW of the GOVERNMENT of Lucifer, whose name was changed to Satan the devil. The name Satan means "adversary."
We were created to become part of God's family. Image=character Gen 1:26
Jesus, in referring to the present evil world, said it is built on a foundation of the sand of Satan's way of vanity, covetousness, envy and jealousy, competition and strife, violence, rebellion, contention,unhappiness, suffering and death. THIS WORLD IS DOOMED TO CRASH! And great shall be the fall thereof.
Character is ability to choose the true values from the false, right from wrong, and to WILL to do the right -- even against self-desire.Character may be defined as the ability of a conscious thinking entity to choose the way of life of outflowing LOVE -- God's law -- and to will to live that way of life, even under outside contrary pressure or contrary self-desire.
Once CHARACTER had been formed and lived, angels, composed of spirit,could never change. I compare it to the pouring of cement or concrete.When first poured its form and shape changes -- but once "set," it is hardened and cannot be reshaped or formed.Lucifer had been trained in the administration of God's government on the very throne of God in heaven. He was supremely beautiful, dazzling in brightness. Vanity seized him. Vanity is self-glory,self-centeredness, concern for self even to the point of hostility toward others. He became jealous, envious, resentful and hostile against God his Creator. He turned hostile to the law of God. He turned to a way of life of vanity, covetousness, envy, rivalry,competition, violence and destruction. And this hostile way of life is itself a LAW. It is the law of vanity, self- concern, "do your own thing," rebel against the authority of God. That, then, became the basic LAW of the GOVERNMENT of Lucifer, whose name was changed to Satan the devil. The name Satan means "adversary."
We were created to become part of God's family. Image=character Gen 1:26
Jesus, in referring to the present evil world, said it is built on a foundation of the sand of Satan's way of vanity, covetousness, envy and jealousy, competition and strife, violence, rebellion, contention,unhappiness, suffering and death. THIS WORLD IS DOOMED TO CRASH! And great shall be the fall thereof.
Why Church
Haggai 2:6 Glory of latter house shall be greater then the former....speaking of end time.Eph. 2:19-22 Church spiritual temple...Christ shall return to.Acts 4:23-24 Function of Church. Church lay member did not go forthwith the message-they backed up, unitedly, the Apostles who were charged with the Great commission. 31-32-loyal to Apostle "one heart one mind" Acts 12:1-5 Prayer for Peter. Backup leaders of Church.
1) To provide a united body of Spirit-led believers to 'back up' the apostles (and evangelists) who had been specially trained to GO FORTH into all the world with Christ's Gospel message. ALL this, was their part in THE GREAT COMMISSION. Theirs was a WORK OF GIVING, giving of their prayers, their encouragement and financial support of the ORGANIZED Gospel WORK. And this is GOD'S means of, and the training ground for:
2) The overcoming of Satan, and the constant development of that holy,righteous CHARACTER - thus qualifying them to sit with Christ on the throne of earth wide GOVERNMENT.GOD'S WAY of developing His holy character was THE GIVING WAY. GOD's way of life is the GIVING way of outgoing LOVE. Satan's way is INcoming self-advantage - hostility to God's way and to His Church.Satan has power to do ONLY what God ALLOWS!GIVING in the Church, he receives an increasing amount of God's Spirit.Jesus has called His people out of the world-to live in-but not to be part of.What you might not know TRULY, it's time we begin to sing - and even shout - "GLORY!HALLELUJAH! PRAISE OUR GREAT AND WONDERFUL ALMIGHTY GOD!" For each day we are just ONE DAY CLOSER to GLORY in the Kingdom of God with PEACE,joy and happiness over all the earth!I have sensed that some of God's ministers felt that THEY were SO STRONG that they were BEYOND BEING DECEIVED BY HIM OR THAT SATAN could actually WORK IN THEM as I have described above. Brethren, I am Christ's chosen apostle, and I know Satan is a thousand times stronger than I. I have to rely on CHRIST, Who is MORE POWERFUL than Satan.Those ministers WENT OUT from us. Satan DID deceive them and WORK IN THEM!But LISTEN CAREFULLY! A DECEIVED man does not KNOW he is deceived. He THINKS he is RIGHT. If he KNEW he was deceived, he would not be, would he? Satan is MORE POWERFUL, and, in addition, MORE CUNNING, MORE CLEVER, MORE SUBTLE, THAN ALL OUR MINISTERS PUT TOGETHER!In Ephesians 2:2 is a very crucial statement. SATAN BROADCASTS! He broadcasts worldwide - as far as there is air. What he is broadcasting is IN THIS SAME ROOM NOW! I don't HEAR it - I don't SEE what he is pushing out OVER THE AIR, as PRINCE of the POWER of the air - but my spirit with my mind Is TUNED to his wavelength.But even though I AM automatically tuned in on his wavelength (as every human is), I'M NOT LISTENING! Because I'm keeping MY MIND CONCENTRATED ON WHAT I AM WRITING AND ON GOD'S MESSAGE IN GOD'S WORD,IN THE BIBLES that lie (two different translations) here beside me on the table.You can tune in on either radio or TV. The SOUNDS come in. THEY WERE ALREADY IN THE ROOM - IN THE AIR - but now you're tuned in on their wavelengths with your radio or TV set; the sounds and pictures became audible and visible. But I can concentrate my mind on SOMETHING ELSE -like THE BIBLE - and focus my mind on THAT, become oblivious to what's coming in on radio and TV. So also I can ignore Satan's impulses. He does not broadcast in words or pictures - neither audibly or in video- but in ATTITUDES of SELF-centeredness, of vanity, lust and greed, of jealousy and envy, of competition, strife and violence, of hate,resentment, bitterness, of rebellion and resentment against authority.We call it HUMAN NATURE but it is actually Satan nature.The spirit in man is merely spirit essence - not a spirit person or ghost - and it cannot see, hear or think. The BRAIN sees through the physical eye. The human spirit acts as a computer, retaining as MEMORY all the facts and knowledge the eyes have seen and ears heard during your lifetime, and it gives instant recall of that knowledge to the brain. With this instant recall the brain THINKS. Thus this human spirit imparts to the physical BRAIN the power of INTELLECT.If we allow ourselves to LET DOWN just a little - in our prayer, Bible study or Church attendance and tithing, we begin to let our minds become interested in the things or ways of this world - TV or movies,perhaps - some have been seen gambling in casinos. Then we wonder why we find ourselves irritable, mentally on the defensive, suspecting others - getting conceptions of competition or division or sides in the Church - suspicious of the motives of others, controversial,cynical, and we do not realize WHAT IS CAUSING ALL THAT! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT CAUSED IT - SATAN WAS BROADCASTING IT, AND BECAUSE YOU WERE NOT VIGILENT IN PRAYER AND KEEPING CLOSE TO GOD AND HAVING GOD FILL YOUR MIND AND HEART WITH THE WARMTH OF HIS LOVE, these negative attitudes of Satan were taking hold of you!That's why GOD WARNS US, through Peter, "Be sober, BE VIGILANT,because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8).Just think of that sentence, LITERALLY. If you were alone and a savage, roaring lion came running at you, you'd be FRIGHTENED to death, to use a common expression. God meant for us to realize that we SHOULD BE JUST AS FRIGHTENED AT THE knowledge Satan is seeking to DESTROY this Church and all of us in it.Peter continues, "Whom [Satan] resist steadfast in the faith..." (verse9).Through James, Christ teaches us: "Submit yourselves therefore to God.RESIST THE DEVIL, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you..." (James 4:7-8). He meant for us to TAKE HEED!Yes, it IS possible - maybe Satan is using YOU - and you DON'T KNOW IT!CLEANSE US from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
Use God's word to counteract Satan as Christ did in temptation.Spiritual fuel...feed on it. Concentrate and focus on it.
1) To provide a united body of Spirit-led believers to 'back up' the apostles (and evangelists) who had been specially trained to GO FORTH into all the world with Christ's Gospel message. ALL this, was their part in THE GREAT COMMISSION. Theirs was a WORK OF GIVING, giving of their prayers, their encouragement and financial support of the ORGANIZED Gospel WORK. And this is GOD'S means of, and the training ground for:
2) The overcoming of Satan, and the constant development of that holy,righteous CHARACTER - thus qualifying them to sit with Christ on the throne of earth wide GOVERNMENT.GOD'S WAY of developing His holy character was THE GIVING WAY. GOD's way of life is the GIVING way of outgoing LOVE. Satan's way is INcoming self-advantage - hostility to God's way and to His Church.Satan has power to do ONLY what God ALLOWS!GIVING in the Church, he receives an increasing amount of God's Spirit.Jesus has called His people out of the world-to live in-but not to be part of.What you might not know TRULY, it's time we begin to sing - and even shout - "GLORY!HALLELUJAH! PRAISE OUR GREAT AND WONDERFUL ALMIGHTY GOD!" For each day we are just ONE DAY CLOSER to GLORY in the Kingdom of God with PEACE,joy and happiness over all the earth!I have sensed that some of God's ministers felt that THEY were SO STRONG that they were BEYOND BEING DECEIVED BY HIM OR THAT SATAN could actually WORK IN THEM as I have described above. Brethren, I am Christ's chosen apostle, and I know Satan is a thousand times stronger than I. I have to rely on CHRIST, Who is MORE POWERFUL than Satan.Those ministers WENT OUT from us. Satan DID deceive them and WORK IN THEM!But LISTEN CAREFULLY! A DECEIVED man does not KNOW he is deceived. He THINKS he is RIGHT. If he KNEW he was deceived, he would not be, would he? Satan is MORE POWERFUL, and, in addition, MORE CUNNING, MORE CLEVER, MORE SUBTLE, THAN ALL OUR MINISTERS PUT TOGETHER!In Ephesians 2:2 is a very crucial statement. SATAN BROADCASTS! He broadcasts worldwide - as far as there is air. What he is broadcasting is IN THIS SAME ROOM NOW! I don't HEAR it - I don't SEE what he is pushing out OVER THE AIR, as PRINCE of the POWER of the air - but my spirit with my mind Is TUNED to his wavelength.But even though I AM automatically tuned in on his wavelength (as every human is), I'M NOT LISTENING! Because I'm keeping MY MIND CONCENTRATED ON WHAT I AM WRITING AND ON GOD'S MESSAGE IN GOD'S WORD,IN THE BIBLES that lie (two different translations) here beside me on the table.You can tune in on either radio or TV. The SOUNDS come in. THEY WERE ALREADY IN THE ROOM - IN THE AIR - but now you're tuned in on their wavelengths with your radio or TV set; the sounds and pictures became audible and visible. But I can concentrate my mind on SOMETHING ELSE -like THE BIBLE - and focus my mind on THAT, become oblivious to what's coming in on radio and TV. So also I can ignore Satan's impulses. He does not broadcast in words or pictures - neither audibly or in video- but in ATTITUDES of SELF-centeredness, of vanity, lust and greed, of jealousy and envy, of competition, strife and violence, of hate,resentment, bitterness, of rebellion and resentment against authority.We call it HUMAN NATURE but it is actually Satan nature.The spirit in man is merely spirit essence - not a spirit person or ghost - and it cannot see, hear or think. The BRAIN sees through the physical eye. The human spirit acts as a computer, retaining as MEMORY all the facts and knowledge the eyes have seen and ears heard during your lifetime, and it gives instant recall of that knowledge to the brain. With this instant recall the brain THINKS. Thus this human spirit imparts to the physical BRAIN the power of INTELLECT.If we allow ourselves to LET DOWN just a little - in our prayer, Bible study or Church attendance and tithing, we begin to let our minds become interested in the things or ways of this world - TV or movies,perhaps - some have been seen gambling in casinos. Then we wonder why we find ourselves irritable, mentally on the defensive, suspecting others - getting conceptions of competition or division or sides in the Church - suspicious of the motives of others, controversial,cynical, and we do not realize WHAT IS CAUSING ALL THAT! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT CAUSED IT - SATAN WAS BROADCASTING IT, AND BECAUSE YOU WERE NOT VIGILENT IN PRAYER AND KEEPING CLOSE TO GOD AND HAVING GOD FILL YOUR MIND AND HEART WITH THE WARMTH OF HIS LOVE, these negative attitudes of Satan were taking hold of you!That's why GOD WARNS US, through Peter, "Be sober, BE VIGILANT,because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8).Just think of that sentence, LITERALLY. If you were alone and a savage, roaring lion came running at you, you'd be FRIGHTENED to death, to use a common expression. God meant for us to realize that we SHOULD BE JUST AS FRIGHTENED AT THE knowledge Satan is seeking to DESTROY this Church and all of us in it.Peter continues, "Whom [Satan] resist steadfast in the faith..." (verse9).Through James, Christ teaches us: "Submit yourselves therefore to God.RESIST THE DEVIL, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you..." (James 4:7-8). He meant for us to TAKE HEED!Yes, it IS possible - maybe Satan is using YOU - and you DON'T KNOW IT!CLEANSE US from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
Use God's word to counteract Satan as Christ did in temptation.Spiritual fuel...feed on it. Concentrate and focus on it.
Days of Daniel
What is the significance of the 1,290 and 1,335 days mentioned in Daniel 12:11-12?In verses 9 and 10 we are told, "And he [Michael] said, Go your way,Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."The prophecies God had Daniel record for us were to be sealed until the end of this age—or at "the time of the end." We are now very close to the time when these events will take place. Both the 1,290 and1,335-day periods end with the Return of Christ. The beginnings of these periods mark significant events for those living at this time.Daniel 12:12 states, "Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." At the 1335-day mark, which is 45 days before the abomination of desolation, the organized efforts of God's Work here on earth will almost certainly come to an end. Only those people of God who are doing that Work today—and holding fast (Rev. 3:11) to the full truth—will be protected.Notice what Daniel 12:11 states: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days."Although the daily sacrifices were put to an end in A.D. 70, and have not been in place since, this verse indicates that they will be reinstated and then stopped again in the near future.Forty-five days later, at the 1,290 days, marks the time when the abomination of desolation is set up. At this signal, the Church will begin its flight to the place of protection (Matt. 24:15-20). Thirty days later, the Great Tribulation begins (Rev. 12:14). Jesus speaks of this time in Matthew 24:21-22 and Mark 13:19-20. This period of"Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1) will span 3½ years—"a time,times, and an half"—or 1,260 days (Dan. 12:7; Rev. 12:14).The 1,290 days and the 1,335 days of Daniel 12:11-12 point to events preceding the tribulation. The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord (which occurs during the final year of the tribulation) complete the remaining 1,260 days prior to the Return of Christ.
19 year Time cycle
What is the significance of 19-year time cycles, pertaining to the Hebrew calendar?The calendar most commonly used today is the Gregorian calendar, which has its roots in Rome. It uses, as its base, the solar year (365 ¼days in length). Although the word "month" derives from "moon," this calendar's months are not governed by the phases of the moon.One of the basic principles of the Hebrew calendar is the observation that the sun, earth, and moon come back into the same relative position every 19 years—a fact of astronomy. In one lunar month, the moon rotates around the earth. In one solar year, the earth revolves around the sun. But only once in every 19 years do they come back into the same precise conjunction. Thus, every 19 years (the combination of12 common years with 7 leap years [235 months exactly]), the lunar cycle comes back into precise conjunction with the solar cycle.The 19-year time cycle is the standard by which the lunar and solar cycles are brought into harmony. It is in between these precise point sin time that the harmony between lunar and solar cycles is approximated by leap years, and other fine-tuning adjustments provided for by the calendar mechanisms. No man-made calendar maintains this balance. It is as if God uses this precise alignment, every 19 years,to continually remind us that His calendar is still dependable and "on time." An observation of Church history shows that many events and time periods have, in fact, shown undeniable 19-year patterns. Some are included here:A.D. 31 (beginning of true Church) to A.D. 50 (Paul goes to Europe) is one 19-year cycle.A.D. 31 (beginning of true Church) to A.D. 69 (Jerusalem church flees to Pella) is 38 years, or two 19-year cycles.
Why Christ Had to Die
Why Christ Had to Die - by Mr Jonathan Bowles - 22 March 2003(NB Headings are not part of original, but are added for clarity)
Why Christ Had to Die - and Not Another Way
By Jon Bowles
Bristol,UK
22 March 2003
(PLAY FROM START)
You know, undoubtedly part of the reason for attacking Iraq now as opposed to a different time of the month is that, if you've noticed up in the sky, there's a nice great big full moon in the last few days. I would imagine it is easier to travel by night with a full moon. I know they've got all the various night-vision goggles. They've got all the satellite-guided weapons and everything else that they have down there. But I still feel it would probably be a lot easier to be able to move under a full moon, or as my father used to call it" the parish lantern" -- which is, if you've ever lived out in the country, it really is a parish lantern because without that you can be completely and totally lost.
But it is interesting that, looking at that, it is now less than a month until the Passover (which was brought out in the sermonette today). It's not very long away. I was talking to Adele, I think it was, this morning; and she was talking about the various things that are happening down there in the Middle East. And it was interesting that she heard a report that France and Germany have been talking about the need for getting an army and a military force together within Europe to counterbalance the American force, because they feel America is too strong. Therefore that is very, very significant. And here we are a month to Passover, and we're watching what's going on down in the Middle East. But, you know, what we need to be looking at -- we need to be looking at ourself. We need to be examining ourselves on this lead up because, quite frankly, that is more important even than what's going down in the Middle East because, it is concerning the Government that is actually going to take over from those governments as they're slugging it out down there at the moment. We're not a member of any of them!
But, in this lead-up to Passover next week, I want to finish off the book of James in the Bible Study. The following week, I want to give a sermon on discerning the body of Christ. I was thinking about doing that this particular service today, but I figured that the subject I've got is more pertinent for us at this time. But "Discerning the Body of Christ" and also "John 6" (which was mentioned in a sermonette slightly. It was just touched on.) But John 6 largely isn't talking about the Passover. It's talking more about the Days of Unleavened Bread if you actually go back and read it and put the various bits together, which I'll bring out in about a fortnight's time. That's two weeks for everybody [laughs] that's on the other side of the water. A fortnight is two weeks. And then the following week -- that's the week before the Passover -- I'm hoping (if I can find it) is a Mr. Armstrong tape.
I actually saw a transcript this morning from a tape that he gave back in '82, just prior to Passover, which I thought was absolutely excellent. And I would like to try and get hold of that tape, if I possibly can, and play it; because it goes into examining ourselves in a way, really, that I am not qualified, or in any way, shape or form been assigned to give you. But Mr. Armstrong certainly was, and is to this day. So if we can get that tape on preparing and examining ourselves for the Passover, I would like to do that just before the Passover (in about three weeks time).
However, today I want to ask a question and, hopefully, answer it. It's a question which is a very interesting one and utterly fundamental to our belief. Utterly, utterly fundamental And yet, I remember sometime ago, listening to an evangelist in the Church that was then (that was before we actually separated), he said on camera, "I have no idea why Christ had to die." He could not understand why God had to have Christ die. Why couldn't He make it another way? Why couldn't He just forgive? And he came up with the conclusion that the idea must be to show that He really loves us. And that was the kind of essence of what he was talking about.
Now, my question is this: If it was 'just to show God loves us' that He actually had Christ die (rather than working it out in some different way, working out His plan in a different way), then it's almost like somebody who comes up to you and says, "I love you a great deal and just to show you," he gets this lighted cigarette and he stubs it out on his hand. And you think, "Well, there's something very, very wrong with that individual!" There's something unbalanced about that individual. And you'd probably run a mile from an individual like that, with due reason. And, in fact, it's somewhat blasphemous to say, "I had no idea why Christ had to die. It purely must be to simply show that He loves us." because it does give God and Christ ... It implies that He is deranged in some way.
So that's what I want to ask today. Why did God choose to have Christ die? Why didn't He have a different plan? Because he could! He was God. He could have said, "I forgive. On repentance, I can forgive." Why not? Why did He have to do it this way? He could have done anything that He wished to, and yet He chose to have this particular part of His plan. And it's a foundational part of His plan. And it is a good question. It's not an arbitrary question. As I said, this particular evangelist ... And the reason why he had no idea was that he lost his bearings. He'd lost the holy days. He hadn't put the Passover into the context of the holy days as to what the holy days were all about, and how the Passover begins the very holy days in the Plan of God.
I have seven points today (a bit different from my normal 4 or 5) and, hopefully, with fewer scriptures on each.
The first thing I want to deal with is why we are human. Why we are human. As I say, this is a foundational sermon, very much a foundational sermon.
Secondly, I want to ask the question: What does God want us to experience as human beings? What is it that He's trying to get us to experience?
Thirdly, I want to talk about man and his destiny; and, in doing so, I'll be talking about God and His Way -- because that's really what man's destiny is.
And then fourthly, I want to talk about Satan and his way. Satan's way, because Satan is a destroyer. That has a great deal to do with this particular subject.
Fifthly, I want to talk about the chaos. That you look back into in history, and you see Satan's way, and how the chaos results from that way.
Linked to that, I want to talk a little bit about the chaos in prophecy because we're looking forward as well at the prophetic chaos that will come about from Satan's way at the close of this age. And that also has a great deal to do with it.
And finally, I want to talk about our part. The part that we have today, and why God chose Christ to die, and didn't use another way -- because we are inexorably linked to this entire process.
WHY HUMAN? (PLAY FROM 8:02)
So, let's ask the question then: Why are we human? Let's turn over to Matthew 13. Why are we human? Christ gives a parable in verse 24.
Matthew 13:24-25 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: (25) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
So we're looking at the parable of the tares. If you'll notice down in verse 36 ...
Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away,
And this entire section of chapter thirteen deals with the subject of why He spoke in parables. He spoke in parables to hide the meaning from the multitudes.
Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house [So He's not a vagabond.]: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Matthew 13:40-41 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this [age]. (41) The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Now whether this is talking about the establishment of the Kingdom of God, or whether it's an overview going right the way through to the end of time as well, regardless, when you're looking at the Kingdom of God, you cannot have anything in there that does iniquity. And the way in which humans are dealt with -- to be excluded from that Kingdom -- is that they are destroyed. They are destroyed. So then, why are we made human? Why were we made flesh? Well, a very good part of it is so that we can be destroyed. So that we can be destroyed. If you'll turn over to Romans 8.
Romans 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die:
Again, that is part of being human. You and I, from here going back home, could quite easily end in an accident; and that would be our lot, humanly speaking. When you and I go to sleep each night, we close our eyes; and we disappear. I'm sure, I am personally convinced, that's why God has actually implemented sleep is so that it doesn't terrify us about death. Can you imagine facing death (Everybody faces death.) and have never slept? They came to the point of death and suddenly disappeared? But a merciful God gives us sleep so that every night we go to sleep, and we understand that we're going to wake up the next morning. So I am sure that is the reason why that we have sleep each night.
Romans 8:13-14 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do [put to death] the deeds of the body, you shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
It's those that are led by that Spirit that are going to go on into the future, being the sons of God, resurrected into the very Kingdom of God. And those that will not be led by that Spirit (those that are going to be led by the flesh, by the spirit that is linked up with that flesh, i.e. Satan's mindset and wavelength), they are going to die. That's the purpose of being born human. We are born human so that we might die, so that this attitude of mind does not have to continue.
Whatever the reason ... I mean, if you look at the entire creation. You look outside here. I mean, we see the sky. We see the sunshine. We see the leaves. We see the buds on the trees and the way everything is starting now. And you look at the detail that is there, and you look at the way in which this creation functions. And we're not just looking at, oh, a creation. We're looking even at time and space itself. We're looking at our entire existence. An incredible amount of effort has gone into our existence -- an incredible amount of effort, an incredible amount of detail. It probably did take millions and millions of years to come up with this that we see. And I'm not talking about a blind evolution. I'm talking about the design, the way in which this all came to be. The design process probably did take millions and millions of years to be designed and to be formed. And we're looking at this, and we look at this creation; and, if that creation is to have so much work done to it, whatever the reason for it, has got to be big. It has got to be huge. It has got to be monumental.
And here we find human beings. And we find then that, if we live after the flesh -- after the human way -- then we die. And the indication within Scripture is that that is the purpose. That is the purpose of being human. It's so that we can die.
WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO LEARN AS HUMAN BEINGS? (PLAY FROM 13:36)
So let's go into the second point then. What does God want us to learn? What is it that God wants us to learn? There's an interesting scripture over in Jeremiah 21. It almost lays out what Mr. Armstrong would bring to us on a regular basis. So here is Jeremiah speaking, and he brings them the message from God.
Jeremiah 21:8 And unto this people thou shall say, [This is God speaking to Jeremiah here.]Thus says the [ETERNAL]; Behold, [You look at this!] I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
There are two ways. There is a way of life, and there is a way of death. Now we just read that, if I live after the flesh -- this way of death -- I will die. There are two ways, two different ways of life, in Jeremiah 21:8. If you go back to Matthew 7, you find Christ also mentions exactly the same thing. He elaborates on this. It's the same Eternal who was speaking to Jeremiah. He says, "Now you go; you tell them from Me, "Thus says the Eternal." This individual became Christ.
Matthew 7:13 Enter you in at the strait gate:
The difficult gate. Remember, we are looking at a Way. We're looking at a gate that leads to that Way -- that road.
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, [to being destroyed, to dying and dying eternally] and many there be which go in thereat: [Now at the moment there are, they're going to die. Now there's a resurrection as well, and we understand that there's a plan for all of them.] (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way [the path], which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.
So we see two ways -- a way of life, and a way of death. And, at the moment, there are very few going the way of life. The vast majority of this world is going a way which leads to death, which will lead to death. And the reason for that, if you'll go over to chapter 3, the reason God has constructed this, this system that we find ourself in, this world in which we find ourselves (and we do -- all of us find ourselves in this world, this incredible detail we look out at each day of our existence)... Yet, at the end of our existence, there is death. My parents are both in the ground. They're both dead. And that is the end, as far as we are looking forward.
Romans 3:10-11 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.
So, you know, we've all gone that way of death. We've all gone down that road. Every single last one of us have gone that way. So what is God wanting us to learn? I mean, obviously, He's wanting us to learn something about that way of death, a great deal about that way of death.
Romans 3:11-12 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. (12) They are all gone out of the way [They've all left the path that God has for them, every single human being.], they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one.
Not a single individual.
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
He's talking about the people that have chosen this particular way -- which is all of us, at one time or another, have chosen that particular way.
Romans 3:14-17 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: (15) Their feet are swift to shed blood: (16) Destruction and misery are in their ways [That path, that direction in which they are going.]: (17) And the way of peace have they not known:
This is the natural human mind, as it said in Romans 8 that we read earlier -- that, if I live after the flesh, then I shall die. You shall die, if you live after the flesh; then you shall die.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
God has designed it this way. It's not happenstance. You know, this Being ... All you have to do is look at the creation and you say, "Look! This Being that made this that I find myself in, has a Mind that, as Einstein used to say, 'if you took the sum total of human consciousness, and compared it to the smallest item, as far as God is concerned, it would be absolutely nothing in comparison.'" And it is! Our entire consciousness, our entire scientific effort, has nothing to match what we are seeing out here in front of our eyes every day.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
So what is it that God is trying to get us to learn? If we've all sinned (all come short, all gone out of the way, all gone away from the way of God), then we have all got to learn about sin. That is what God wants us to learn. That is what God wants us to experience. It is an experience God has built in for us to experience, to learn about. This is not just an arbitrary thing. If we go on a little bit, just over in chapter 6 of Romans, just over a page or two:
Romans 6:15-18 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (16) Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves [slaves] to obey, his [slaves] you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (17) But God be thanked, that you were the [slaves] of sin, [He's talking to the Roman Church -- You were the slaves of sin.] but you have obeyed from the heart that form of [teaching]which was delivered you. (18) Being then made free from sin, you became the [slaves] of righteousness.
Now this is part and parcel of the Plan of God, that every single one of us experiences sin; and yet we're to turn from that way, into the way of God. And it's designed that way. It was designed so that we might experience it. So when we're asking the question: Why was Christ crucified? Why wasn't there another plan? Why did God have to put that individual through such an incredibly awful death? It is part and parcel of the very Plan of God. It fits into the very Plan of God.
"Well," you say, "Surely God could have worked it out in a different way? I mean Christ Himself prayed. He said, "Look, if it's possible, take this cup from Me; but not my will, but your will will be done." But you see, it was God's will. It was God's will that that death occurs, because there is a reason for it. There is something that is being impressed on our minds. The very fact is that we are going through a life where sin is inexorably bound up in with that life. We are witnessing it. We. Certainly within. We look out at the world; and we see it continually, daily, a way of life that produces a certain result all the time. We see it in our own lives. We behave a certain way to our wives, or to our children, or to our families or whatever. And we get a certain result as the result of it, and we are learning. Even now, we are repenting and turning continually as we go through this life. And it is that God wants us to learn this lesson. He wants us ... Really, He's rubbing our nose in it to a large degree. But it says that:
Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, you became the [slaves] of righteousness.
Romans 7:9 For I was alive [apart from] the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
In other words, I suddenly started to really recognize how off track I was. I think all of us, and I don't know about you ... well I do know about you. If you're here and you're converted, you will have recognized how off track we were as a Church those years ago. We were off track. We were away from the track that God had laid down. We were out of the way.
Romans 7:9-11 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. (10) And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. (11) For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
We cannot do this on our own strength; but the key, notice verse 13. If you want to answer the question "What does God want us, in this life, to learn?" -- the answer is in verse 13.
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
In other words, that God can actually rub our noses in it so that we can actually see it; and there's no shadow of doubt. So that we don't have any false illusion in our mind. We can see. We say, "Now look. I have sinned. I've come short. I've gone off the way."
Romans 7: ... But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good [i.e. the Law].
We can actually see. We can understand that we are off track, because we can see that we have broken the Law. The Law is the knowledge of sin. It gives the knowledge of being off track.
Romans 7:13 ... working death in me by that which is good that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
That verse, Romans 7:13, is a key verse that tells us "What is it that God wants us to learn?" I always remember hearing on the radio about this monkey. They were trying to potty train a monkey. Have you ever potty trained a monkey? So what they did, they got this monkey. And every time it messed on the floor, they'd grab it by the scruff of the neck, smack it's behind, and threw it out the window. And this was potty training a monkey, apparently [laughs]. So, finally, the penny dropped with this monkey. The monkey finally (and this is supposed to be a true story), whenever it messed on the floor, it smacked itself on the behind and jumped out the window. [everyone laughs]
But you see this is really it. If you've ever trained a puppy, that's what you do. You put pepper on the offending article, you go and get the nose, and rub the nose in it; or whatever else you happen to do. But you try and get the point across. That's what it says here.
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
That I could actually open my eyes, and see myself for what I really am, and see the problem -- the problem with going off track, with missing the mark, because sin is missing the mark,
Romans 7:13 ... working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
We can see that sin carries a penalty. When we miss the mark, there is a penalty there; and we're having our nose, basically, rubbed in it to a large degree. So the actual thing that is being brought across to us, you can see in Romans 6:23, is that the wages of sin is death. That it will work towards death. It will work towards destroying relationships, destroying ourselves that we die. We live with this death hanging over us all the time. But the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. That this gift is something that is then given to us, this freedom from what is naturally going to take place.
MAN'S DESTINY (PLAY FROM 28:27)
So what about man and his destiny? As I said in the beginning, I said, look, whatever it is that God is doing, it is big. Anybody going and looking out into this natural world should be able to see that the Plan of God is no half-baked measure. They should be able to see by the natural things that are made that it is something monumental. Something monumental is going on here. Now if we turn over to Colossians 1, we find this Being who talked to Jeremiah and said, "Look, you go and tell them about the way of life and the way of death." Turn to ... Hum, with Paul it's always difficult to know where to pick up.
Colossians 1:13-16 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (16) For by him [this is Jesus Christ, now] were all things created,
You see, when we looking at Jesus Christ, this Individual who came down and who died, whom God the Father decided -- right, both God the Father and Jesus Christ decided -- this is the way in which it must be within the Plan. There is no other way of actually doing it. This Being that came down is the Creator.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
He's going to be over them all, that He may be before all things; and by Him all things consist. His words hold what we have today together. His word -- that He sent out of His mouth when He said "Let there be light." -- that light is still. We're looking out here now. It's still there, and they're all made for Him. And this outgoing, this giving God ... And in Genesis 1 it talks about "and He looked at all that He made, and behold it was very, very good." What He had made was very good. And this was the Eternal God. This was the One that became later Jesus Christ. If you'll go back to Romans again, we find that this Being who was God before His birth, who went through and lived this life and died, and died that excruciating death that we're going to commemorate and have a memorial of on the day of Passover, the One that we're asking, "Well, why did God have to work it out this way? Why couldn't He work it out a different way?
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
Or He planned. He planned. Probably a better word to use for predestinate is planned, because it's not a case that individuals are going to be there. It's a case that some individuals are going to be there. Not necessarily you or me. It's up to us whether we respond to the calling that's been given to us.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [or planned] to be conformed to the image of his Son,
So we are to be like this Being who was the very Creator, Who spoke and it was. That is a phenomenal thought, an absolutely phenomenal thought!
Romans 8:29 ... to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now, this is the very Plan of God. This is the monumental thing that God is doing. This is why you look out your windows each day, and you see the creation, and we see the atoms and molecules and everything else -- the way in which this world is put together; and it is phenomenal. You open your eyes, and if you just stop and think and ponder a little bit about it, it almost blows you away that anything exists here at all. Just look at it. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing, what we look out of our eyes at, every single day of our life. And yet the One that did this says that we have got to be conformed to His Image. That He is going to be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. That we are part of that Family. That's what He wants.
Now we've just read, and we've just seen, how God wants us to learn something about sin. How sin causes problems; and He's built it in, in such a way that we cannot get away from it. That when we miss the mark that God gives, then we can see the result. When we see others missing the mark that God gives, and it's all around us, we can see the result. That's all part and parcel of it.
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, [So here is the Father, delivering Christ up for us all. This was part and parcel of the plan.] how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
You see, being conformed to Him. It talks about being the Firstborn among many brethren. All of creation, as He is Creator. We will be Creator. As He speaks and it is, we speak and it is. It will be. That again, this is the monumental thing that has been planned. And it's found within the pages of Scripture. We'll go back there later into I John 3, where it talks there about how we will eventually see Him as He is. At the moment, we can't; but, eventually, we will see Him as He is. Turn over to Philippians 3. I read this scripture in Over Haddon at that time. It is an astounding scripture to me.
Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body,
This is the Plan of God. The Plan of God is to change this body, with all its aches and pains that you and I have every morning; this body is to be changed.
Philippians 3:21 that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body
Now conformed to the image of Christ. It is literal, quite literal. Not only is it going to be that we are going to be conformed to His image mentally and spiritually, but spiritually in the sense of His body.
Philippians 3:21 fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
He speaks, and it is. What He says stays where it is. It goes out of His mouth through the very Spirit of God; and it stays in that Spirit, creating the very reality that we see. We, as the sons and daughters of God, will have the same kind of power through the body that is to be given to us. That, again, is a phenomenal thought! A destiny that is beyond all belief, almost, when you look at the aching human frame that we have got; and yet this is what it says. This is what this Word says. This Being -- this God -- who is outgoing, who is giving to such a degree that He designs a Plan whereby He can give to mankind such power and such incredible existence, beyond anything that we could possibly understand or realize. And yet that is what this Word explains very clearly. As we've been reading in James, where James says, you know, this Being -- this God -- remember is without variableness or shadow of turning. He lives a certain Way. His Way is a way of peace. His Way is different from the human way. It is diametrically opposed to the way that Satan has chosen for himself.
But in this scripture here in Philippians 3:21{1}, where it talks about being fashioned to His glorious body, you put that together with scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 13:12{2}, that talks about how we will then know, even as we are known. Not only will this change be of our physical bodies, it will change our minds as well. God knows through His Spirit. He knows us intimately through His Spirit. He seems to almost be able to feel through that Spirit. He can operate things through a distance through His Spirit. And it says we will know as we are known. So, we will know in that same way. This is the destiny that we are looking at.
Let's go over to John as far as this destiny that you and I have in front of us, in the context of why did Christ have to die? Why couldn't it be worked out in a different way?
John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, [or the Logos] and the [Logos] was with God, and the [Logos] was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) In him was life;[real, true Life] and the life was the light of men.
It lights up the Way in which we are to then walk, the Way we are to go in order to have the same kind of Life.
John 1:5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness [couldn't grasp] it.
The word comprehend is to both grasp hold of and understand, same thing. They just didn't grasp it at all.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
You see, their way was going the way which was natural to a man linked up to the very spirit of Satan. It is a way which is off track. It's missed the mark. And every single one of us have learned about that way.
John 3:20-21 For every one that does evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that does truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
So that there is a Way in which God has given us that allows us to counteract that. There is a Way that we've been illuminated to, through an individual sent to us. Not only Christ, but also a human individual through whom God revealed His Way. And that Way of life, as it says in John 10:10, is a Way of life that is more abundant.
John 10:10 ... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Now, that's man and his destiny; and it is inexorably linked up to God. It is inexorably linked up with the way God is. Yes, we have an experience of missing the mark. But the Plan that God has, the destiny that He has designed before us, is one that we become a Creator the same as Jesus Christ is a Creator. And this: Remember it talks in John, it talks about how He is Light.
SATAN'S WAY (PLAY FROM 42:34)
Now when you go on to the other side, and you say, "Well, let's have a look at this next point, about Satan." -- you see, Satan's way is the way of a destroyer, the way of destruction; and this is the heart and core.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
So we in our lives, built into this life that we are part and parcel of, is the fact that we miss the mark; and angels also missed the mark. Angels also sinned
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to [tararoo], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Or a place of restraint. So if they have been restrained, and it then goes in and gives a list, one after another. He lists one after another. He says ...
2 Peter 2:4-9 For if God spared not the angels that sinned ... (5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah ... (6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them ... (7) And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (8) (For that righteous man dwelling among them [couldn't put up] with their unlawful deeds;) (9) The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of [trials], and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
You see, each of these examples that we're given, previous to verse 9, shows us an example of missing the mark -- of sin. It shows one after another. It says, "Look, God knows how to deliver the righteous out of trials and reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment. He is able to sort this mess out." And he starts off with the angels (in verse 4) that sinned.
Now what actually happened? We know that when we sin the penalty is death. We can find that within Scripture. We just read it. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." But what about an angel? What's the wages of sin for an angel? Well, it's to be restrained (according to this). What's the result of sin for an angel? What actually happens? What's the penalty of sin? If an angel sins, or if a human sins, or if anybody sins, what actually happens? What is sin? Sin is transgression of the Law. It's lawlessness. It's going against the Way of God. It's going in a different direction. And the result? Remember, God is the Creator. God is the One who is outgoing, who creates, who gives, who has designed a Plan that you and I are part and parcel of, so that we might share that Life with Him. So what is sin? What actually is the penalty of it? What's going to happen?
Well, it's destroying. It's destruction. And really, when we're thinking of Satan, it's almost like the ripples in a pond. You've all thrown a stone in a pond. You throw it in a pond. And wherever that stone goes in, okay, that might be where the stone lands; but the ripples then spread right out from that point, and it goes into the entire area of the pond. Wherever you happen to be on the area of the pond, depending where you are, it depends on how great the ripple is going to be. But the influence is from that stone that goes in there. It's the same as when somebody misses the mark, when somebody goes against the Way of God. God is the Way of creation, of trying to up build, to try and lift up people, of outgoing. The nature of God is totally different from Satan. But where that is broken, where you've got somebody missing the mark, there are going to be penalties that then ripple out from that point; and you will find it throughout the world today.
The penalties that come out from the war in the Middle East today are in your forecourt. They're in the price you pay for petrol. They are in -- presumably it will be -- in the plastics that you have. They ripple out. They come out from whatever happens. It is not a case that it just happens in isolation. If we sin, it doesn't just happen in isolation. It ripples out from there to all around us as well. And the repercussions for an angel sinning (because an angel is able to sin in a way far, far greater than a human being can) ... You've got the repercussions as far as Noah, as far as Sodom and Gomorrah, as far as you and I. But as far as an angel, the damage that can be done, the destruction that can be meted out, the devastation that will come from the power that is there, is horrendous. Absolutely horrendous! And the ripples that come from that act are also horrendous.
If you get a stone and you throw it in a pond, you get a certain amount of ripples that come out from there. If you get an earthquake that drops halfway down underneath the sea over near Japan somewhere, the ripples that come from that lump of rock that disappeared into the sea are entirely different. You get TSUNAMIS! {} Hundreds of feet high. And it's not exactly getting a pebble and throwing it into a pond, but you just get one great lump of rock that disappears. And the tsunami then, the water goes down and the tsunami then comes across, hundreds of feet high. And in the case of an angel (the power that was there, the repercussions and the ripple that came out) the "tsunami" that rippled out from that was huge -- utterly, utterly huge.
You see, the penalty of sin is destruction. It destroys relationships. It destroys creation. It destroys creation. You see relationships have also got to be created. You have a relationship ... It's like I read last week. I read that the person that you call an idiot is a different person afterwards than he was before, because the relationship before was one way. You then call them an idiot, and the relationship afterwards is a totally different thing. That was from de Bono, and it's true. It is a destruction.
You have sin. You have a missing of the mark and you have a destruction that occurs. And it will destroy relationships, human relationships, yes; but it also destroys physically as well. You miss the mark. We drive too fast, we skid on the road, we hit some bus shelter with people inside -- we sin! And the repercussions are huge, on all sorts (on them, on us). The repercussions are huge! For us taking certain choices, the ripples from that are much, much greater than just yelling at the wife or the wife yelling at you. Depending, [as] that might be the final straw. But whatever, what actually could happen. You go out and you kill somebody, the ripples are going to be much greater.
But whatever it is, the penalty of sin -- of missing the mark -- is destruction. In the case of a spirit being, that destruction is a destruction of the creation because, you see, God is outgoing. Yes, it destroys relationships as well; but God is outgoing. He is up building. He is upgrading things. Whereas Satan, because he is going in a different way, he is pulling down what is being created. Now that is the essence of it. That is the essence of Satan being a destroyer. If we turn over to Revelation 9 ... If you want to put in your notes that Revelation 11:7{4} and Revelation 17:8{5}, you'll find that the Beast's habitation is this area here that we're about to read about. And also, you can read Revelation 20:1-3{6}, where Satan is actually put into the abyss.
Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
If we go over to verse 11, it talks about coming out of this abyss and it says:
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, [Now the king over them was Satan, or is going to be Satan, because he is over the demons.] which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue has his name Apollyon.
That is to say, if you look over in the margin reference, it is the destroyer. One of the very names of Satan is Apollyon, is Destroyer. That is one of his names because not only does he destroy relationships, which he does, because he's the devil as well (He's the slanderer, which destroys relationships); but that mindset, if it's unchecked, it destroys enormous.
I mean, you've seen on the news last night? In Baghdad, Rageh Omaar in his hotel, looking out, and all the panorama of the cameras looking at all the various bombs going off. Have you seen those palaces that Sadaam Hussein had? They were lavish. They were absolutely palatial. They were palaces after all and they're now lying in absolute, abject, utter ruins. It is total utter abject destruction.
And why? Wouldn't it have been better to have gotten together, and to have talked together, and to have resolved the difference? But they weren't about to. Why? Because there was a certain mindset. I look at Sadaam Hussein and I see Stalin. I think there's a satanic force there. I honestly feel there's a satanic force, within that individual. So why is that mindset there? Because it's coming from the king of them -- whose name is Apollyon, the destroyer. And the penalty of sin is that sin destroys what God creates. Sin destroys what God creates.
God creates this natural world. Sin destroys it. God creates our bodies functioning properly, healthily. Sin destroys it. God creates relationships between individuals. Sin destroys that relationship. And God wants a relationship between Himself and human beings; and sin destroys that relationship, as well. So sin destroys what God creates.
There is more to it than that, because God is a certain type of God. God, as the creator, He is a certain way. He creates in a certain way. You look at the natural world; and I mean, the Orientals have made it into a religion, the Yin and Yang -- that everything is in balance. You've gotta keep the yin and the yang; and you've gotta have all this, that, and the other. And they've made that into a religion. All they're looking at is the way in which God creates, the way in which God is. He is a balanced individual. He says, "Vengeance is mine, says the Eternal. I will repay." And He does repay. He does cause vengeance to balance things out. This is the kind of God He is. This is the kind of Being He is.
He creates things in such a way that things are in balance. If you've done any geography at all, you know you have the evaporation from the sea; and it condenses and goes on the land. It runs down. You have these cycles. There is the nitrogen cycle. It goes into the nitrogen in the air, and the nitrogen fixation bacteria, and the grass is eaten by the animal; and the animal dies, and up it goes back into the air again. You've got these cycles. You've got everything in balance; and, if something gets out of balance, then something else corrects it. And this is the way that God has made so much of this world. It is in balance and in harmony. That's the way He is. He is a God who is organized, and you can see it throughout the creation.
So when we look at this penalty of sin, the fact that sin destroys what God creates, He's made something else. He said, then, "Okay. If you are the one who sinned, and you are the one who goes ahead and drops that stone in the center of the pond, and the ripples go out from you, the primary one affected will be you. Somehow, that primary one affected is going to be you. That's the primary, well, not primary directive. [laughs] It is the way that God tends to work. And when you are looking at sin in a human being, we know that sin causes the destruction of the creation; but we are part of that creation. Sin destroys us! Because we're physical, sin destroys us.
CHAOS (PLAY FROM 58:38)
We look at the chaos that occurred after Lucifer became Satan, became the enemy; and we just see what it talks about in John 8:44{7}. It says about how Satan was a murderer, a destroyer, from the beginning. A murderer is a destroyer. That's his frame of mind. That's how he is. That's his entire modus operandi. But you see, God, as it says in I Corinthians 14:33{8}, it says He is not the author of confusion. He is the antithesis of that. He's an organized Being. He works in a different way. He's an outgoing individual. It talks in Psalms 104:30{9} how he renews the face of the Earth. He up builds. He constructs. He's not a destroyer. He's the antithesis of the destroyer. If it's destruction, it's within a cycle -- within a cycle of life -- so that there might be more life.
You look at the natural world, that's the way it's been designed. Nothing dies of itself in that regard. Isaiah 45:18{10}, it says specifically that God did not create in vain. Now the word "in vain" is the same word you find over in Genesis 1 where it says the Earth was without form, which is tohu in verse 2{11}. And that word in Isaiah 45:18, where it says it was not created in vain, is that same word. And yet it says here that the Earth ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.") and the Earth became without form. That's tohu and bohu, without form and void{12}. Desolation. Destroyed. That's really what we're looking at. If we go over to Jude 6, right before Revelation:
Jude 1:6-7 And the angels which kept not their first estate, [that first principality. In other words, they didn't stay where they were put. They weren't doing what they were told. The angels that kept not their first estate ... ] but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to [pornéo], and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of [age-lasting]fire. [from this fire that came down and destroyed them.]
So, we see these angels. Again, you see sin that occurred; and you see the chaos that actually was the result of that. That from this event, they didn't keep their first estate. They left their habitation. They ascended to try and presumably knock God off His throne. And, in so doing, caused destruction on a vast scale of the creation. And we see the creation becoming tohu and bohu -- without form and void. And as I said, we're looking at a destruction that is far greater, as far as an angel is concerned, as far as a spirit being is concerned, than a mere human being. The destruction that can be done to the creation is vast. It obviously was.
If you'll go back a few pages to I John to chapter 3:
1 John 3:1-8 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. [This is our destiny.] (3) And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. [So, we'll become perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.] (4) Whosoever commits sin [missing the mark -- breaks] the law: for sin is [lawlessness. It is the transgression of the Law. It's not just transgression of the 10 Commandments. It's a state of mind. It's lawlessness]. (5) And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (6) [Whoever lives in Him does not sin, or doesn't practice sin. He's not continually sinning; Whoever is continually sinning ... ] has not seen him, neither known him. (7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (8) He that commits sin is of the [slanderer, the] devil; for the devil sinned [missed the mark]from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, [This is why Christ came.] that he might destroy the works of the devil [of the slanderer].
So we see how the penalty of sin is destruction, how sin destroys what God creates; and we see this attitude of mind that's coming from Satan, from the enemy. And we see that Christ came, so when we're asking ourself, "Why was He crucified? Why not another plan?" We see that this has got to do something about the fact that He's destroying this work of Satan. If we have sin in us as spirit beings, we also would create the chaos and destruction that happened in the case of Satan. We would be exactly the same; and that has got to be utterly, utterly destroyed. So as we approach this Passover and we're examining ourselves, and I'll play the tape by Mr. Armstrong, he's talking there about how repentance is so vital -- about whether we have actually turned, you know, examining ourself. We're not examining ourself as to whether we are perfect or not. It's examining ourself as to whether we have TURNED or not. Have we effectively turned from that way to the Way of God? That's what we're examining ourself all about.
CHAOS IN PROPHECY (PLAY FROM 66:00)
It's interesting, if you do a Bible Study on the word tohu and bohu, something very interesting comes out of the Bible Study. There's about three times the word bohu is mentioned, which is meaning to be empty or void or emptiness. And sixteen times the word tohu is mentioned -- desolation or wilderness, or without form or confusion -- an empty place. But you tend to find that it's a time of war, when these words are being mentioned. And it tends to describe the end-time, the time that we're approaching now. That's the tendency. That's where you tend to find those words. I don't want to ... I don't think I'm going to really go into a great deal on that. Oh, we could. Yes we could.
Turn over to James 3, just a recap. We just read about how, in a Bible Study, how a fountain sent forth form the same place, sweet water and bitter in verse 11.
James 3:14-16 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. (15) This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. [It's coming from Satan. It's from his mind frame.](16) For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (2) You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. [There's no relationship there between yourself and God.](3) You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon [what you want].
You get on your knees, and you ask; but you only ask for what you want. Your mindset is different. Your mindset is going in a different direction. Notice over in Jeremiah 4. Notice I mentioned about how it's a time of war, and it describes the end time when you find these words being used.
Jeremiah 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the [shofar], the alarm of war.
We're looking at this time of war that is about to come upon us, unfortunately.
Jeremiah 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was [tohu and bohu] without form, and void
Exactly the same as you find at the end of Satan's rebellion. The result of sin is destruction. The result that we are going to see in the years ahead is going to come from missing the mark. And we are going to have our noses, and the world is going to have its nose, rubbed in this so that we fully and totally understand the process -- because, when the power is given to us, we've got to know. Absolutely got to know!
Jeremiah 4:23 and the heavens, and they had no light.
There was no light; and, again, you can look and see the analogies there.
Jeremiah 4:24-26 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. (25) I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. (26) I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the [ETERNAL], and by his fierce anger.
He allowed this to happen. It's coming from the results of man's ways, and God is about to step in and cause these problems.
Isaiah 34:1-3 Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. (2) For the indignation of the [ETERNAL] is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter. (3) Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
In other words, here is the recompense for living a certain way. The world is about to come into the Millennium, but that recompense has got to be put onto the world. God is a God of balance. The balance has got to be there.
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
The result of that balancing out will eventually flow into the very Kingdom of God itself, but you're looking at utter and total chaos. We'll leave that concept as far as the end of this age.
OUR PART (PLAY FROM 71:46)
Now, what about our part? We still haven't really answered, "Why does Christ have to be crucified? Why isn't there another plan?" Well, basically, sin causes destruction. We know that. We've seen scriptures that indicate that. We can see very clearly that, where we miss the mark, destruction is the result. If a spirit being misses the mark with the power that a spirit being has, it is a monumental destruction. We know that. But also, God tends to focus (just like the pebble in the pool, it focuses that, it rebounds) on the person actually causing that destruction, causing that sin. In our case, because we are human, then it is us that has to be destroyed. It's us that's got to be destroyed. We are part of this creation that is being destroyed by this way of life. Being part of this creation, we will be destroyed with it. We will actually suffer that penalty.
Remember what we stated at the beginning. God's purpose for making man human is so that we can be destroyed. It's so that we can utterly be wiped away. So we don't have to stay. But, you see, if there are some that turn, if there are some that understand a different way -- and we've all gone out of the way, we've all gone aside; but there are some that decide, yes, and their minds are open and they turn. But how can God possibly save them? Rescue them? That's why Christ had to die.
It's the destruction of missing the mark, of going away from that Way of God, that will destroy everything. It's not just human beings that are destroyed. It's not just the penalty of sin is death. The penalty of sin is destruction. It destroys the creation of God. The fact is that God has deliberately made us human, and made us human so that we can be destroyed. So that it does not affect ... The ripples coming out from the sin that will come from us will not be the kind of ripples that came from Satan. That that will never happen again.
But, if we are turned -- if we do, in fact, put ourself under the Government of God, under the way of God -- then something has got to happen. God is a God of balance. He does not change. You look at the creation, and you see this God of balance. There's got to be a penalty paid. A penalty has got to be paid. The destruction has got to take place. Otherwise, he's no longer a consistent God. He has no variableness, no shadow of turning{13}. When He says, it is. And if He says "This is the way it must be." and we go in a different way, destruction will occur; and it will rebound on us. So there's got to be a substitute.
If we look at the balance in nature, if you want to put some of these scriptures down in your notes,
Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Again, it illustrates the mind of God.
Matthew 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [Whoever takes the sword is going to perish by the sword.]
Revelation 13:10 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
We will see the destruction that happens in this Earth, but we know that God is this way. He's a God of vengeance. He's a God of balance. He's a God of recompense, and He will cause the recompense. The recompense will take place. Now (when we look at that, and we understand that), this is the faith and the patience of the saints. The saints are going to watch this. They're going to see it within this Earth. "He that leads into captivity must go into captivity." "He that kills with the sword MUST be killed with the sword." There's no compromise. But, you see, you and I sin. You and I go that way. You and I go the way that's got to end up in disaster, in destruction. So there has got to be built into that purpose something that will give us, well, turn over to John 3.
We read in Romans 7:13, we read the scripture that talks about how we must learn that sin becomes exceeding sinful. That we have our nose rubbed in it. We're like little puppy dogs that get our nose rubbed in it to teach us a lesson. It's built into the process. God wants us to understand this lesson. To have it abundantly clear in our mind so that the destruction does not occur in the future.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
That you and I may be rescued from the destruction that would naturally be there, because of sin. We've got to learn it. We've got to learn the lesson. We're living in a world that is absolutely steeped in it. We sin, continually. And we've got to go, in repentance, to God; and God is a God of balance. He insists on that penalty being paid (otherwise His Word is not valid) physically and spiritually. Physically and spiritually. And that's why there's a Passover. That's why Christ died.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
May be rescued from the destruction that would naturally occur if sin was left unchecked. And yet you see this love. It's not a case of getting a cigarette and saying, "Oh, just to show how much He loves you." It's not that. It's not some deranged individual. You look at the creation. This is no deranged individual. This is an Individual that has such high standards, and who absolutely insists on those high standards for anyone who is going to share those high standards with Him. I wasn't going to read this, but let's just do this. Let's turn over to Psalms, the fifth Psalm.
Psalms 5:1-4 Give ear to my words, O [ETERNAL] , consider my meditation. [my thinking about You and Your ways and everything else.] (2) Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. (3) My voice shall thou hear in the morning, O [ETERNAL]; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. (4) For thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
It's not just that it will be in God. It's that we, as wicked, will not dwell there. I think of the first Psalm.
Psalms 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
God will not allow sin to be present in that coming Kingdom, in His government with His way. This is the reason why God chose to have Christ crucified and not another plan. He's learned from His experience with Lucifer. We know that, if we go against that expression of God's will, sin will always -- but always -- carry a penalty. And that penalty of sin is the destruction of the creation of God -- be that creation a relationship, be that creation physical. For us physically, that destruction is going to, as we are part of that very creation, it's going to mean death; so the creation doesn't get destroyed, so we don't carry on living. But He wants us to learn. He wants us to get absolutely sickened, sick and tired of this system in which we find ourself today; so we completely and totally reject it. Forgiveness isn't enough. It always carries a penalty. God makes it that way and that destruction is got to, therefore, be there.
Christ therefore had to be crucified, had to die, had to be destroyed -- on our behalf. It was His body that was broken for us breaking His Laws that ends in our physical bodies being broken. It was His blood that was shed, so that our blood doesn't have to be shed when we break His spiritual laws, eternally. So, just a couple of scriptures in closing.
At the end of it all, this entire system that has been made, this entire effort that has gone in, the sacrifice that was given, which was a monumental sacrifice, but Revelation 16.
Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Now that, you know, on the surface "It's done." No, it's not "It's done." In other words, that phase is over. That phase can be finished. Satan can be put away, and the phase of which people have their noses rubbed in this destruction that comes from missing the mark. The mark that God has set. And, eventually, over in Revelation 21, we find exactly the same thing. We find a new heaven and a new earth in verse one, and the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven.
Revelation 21:4-6 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
That again is the next stage. It's a stage where the whole human experience is finished. But the human experience is to make sure we fully understand that fact that all sin carries a penalty. All sin ends in destruction. Let's make sure that we examine ourselves between now and Passover, and we really do understand that; and that we thoroughly, thoroughly learn that lesson.
Transcribed by JF, March, 2006
{1} Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.,
{2} 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.,
{3} Mr Bowles gets his words confused!: "You get ... What do you call them? Satsumis? That's not it [everyone laughs] but something like that. Satsuma? Yeah, that's right. This tawdry great Satsuma that comes right away across the sea. Great orange thing -- TSUNAMIS! That's what it was. Yes, I knew it was something like that. The tsunamis. But you get these things, what, hundreds of feet high."
{4} Revelation 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
{5} Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.,
{6} Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. [2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, [3) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.,
{7} John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father You will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it..
{8} 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.,
{9} Psalm 104:30 You send forth your spirit, they are created: and you renew the face of the earth.
{10} Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the [ETERNAL] that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the [ETERNAL]; and there is none else.,
{11} Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
{12} Genesis 1:2
{13}James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Why Christ Had to Die - and Not Another Way
By Jon Bowles
Bristol,UK
22 March 2003
(PLAY FROM START)
You know, undoubtedly part of the reason for attacking Iraq now as opposed to a different time of the month is that, if you've noticed up in the sky, there's a nice great big full moon in the last few days. I would imagine it is easier to travel by night with a full moon. I know they've got all the various night-vision goggles. They've got all the satellite-guided weapons and everything else that they have down there. But I still feel it would probably be a lot easier to be able to move under a full moon, or as my father used to call it" the parish lantern" -- which is, if you've ever lived out in the country, it really is a parish lantern because without that you can be completely and totally lost.
But it is interesting that, looking at that, it is now less than a month until the Passover (which was brought out in the sermonette today). It's not very long away. I was talking to Adele, I think it was, this morning; and she was talking about the various things that are happening down there in the Middle East. And it was interesting that she heard a report that France and Germany have been talking about the need for getting an army and a military force together within Europe to counterbalance the American force, because they feel America is too strong. Therefore that is very, very significant. And here we are a month to Passover, and we're watching what's going on down in the Middle East. But, you know, what we need to be looking at -- we need to be looking at ourself. We need to be examining ourselves on this lead up because, quite frankly, that is more important even than what's going down in the Middle East because, it is concerning the Government that is actually going to take over from those governments as they're slugging it out down there at the moment. We're not a member of any of them!
But, in this lead-up to Passover next week, I want to finish off the book of James in the Bible Study. The following week, I want to give a sermon on discerning the body of Christ. I was thinking about doing that this particular service today, but I figured that the subject I've got is more pertinent for us at this time. But "Discerning the Body of Christ" and also "John 6" (which was mentioned in a sermonette slightly. It was just touched on.) But John 6 largely isn't talking about the Passover. It's talking more about the Days of Unleavened Bread if you actually go back and read it and put the various bits together, which I'll bring out in about a fortnight's time. That's two weeks for everybody [laughs] that's on the other side of the water. A fortnight is two weeks. And then the following week -- that's the week before the Passover -- I'm hoping (if I can find it) is a Mr. Armstrong tape.
I actually saw a transcript this morning from a tape that he gave back in '82, just prior to Passover, which I thought was absolutely excellent. And I would like to try and get hold of that tape, if I possibly can, and play it; because it goes into examining ourselves in a way, really, that I am not qualified, or in any way, shape or form been assigned to give you. But Mr. Armstrong certainly was, and is to this day. So if we can get that tape on preparing and examining ourselves for the Passover, I would like to do that just before the Passover (in about three weeks time).
However, today I want to ask a question and, hopefully, answer it. It's a question which is a very interesting one and utterly fundamental to our belief. Utterly, utterly fundamental And yet, I remember sometime ago, listening to an evangelist in the Church that was then (that was before we actually separated), he said on camera, "I have no idea why Christ had to die." He could not understand why God had to have Christ die. Why couldn't He make it another way? Why couldn't He just forgive? And he came up with the conclusion that the idea must be to show that He really loves us. And that was the kind of essence of what he was talking about.
Now, my question is this: If it was 'just to show God loves us' that He actually had Christ die (rather than working it out in some different way, working out His plan in a different way), then it's almost like somebody who comes up to you and says, "I love you a great deal and just to show you," he gets this lighted cigarette and he stubs it out on his hand. And you think, "Well, there's something very, very wrong with that individual!" There's something unbalanced about that individual. And you'd probably run a mile from an individual like that, with due reason. And, in fact, it's somewhat blasphemous to say, "I had no idea why Christ had to die. It purely must be to simply show that He loves us." because it does give God and Christ ... It implies that He is deranged in some way.
So that's what I want to ask today. Why did God choose to have Christ die? Why didn't He have a different plan? Because he could! He was God. He could have said, "I forgive. On repentance, I can forgive." Why not? Why did He have to do it this way? He could have done anything that He wished to, and yet He chose to have this particular part of His plan. And it's a foundational part of His plan. And it is a good question. It's not an arbitrary question. As I said, this particular evangelist ... And the reason why he had no idea was that he lost his bearings. He'd lost the holy days. He hadn't put the Passover into the context of the holy days as to what the holy days were all about, and how the Passover begins the very holy days in the Plan of God.
I have seven points today (a bit different from my normal 4 or 5) and, hopefully, with fewer scriptures on each.
The first thing I want to deal with is why we are human. Why we are human. As I say, this is a foundational sermon, very much a foundational sermon.
Secondly, I want to ask the question: What does God want us to experience as human beings? What is it that He's trying to get us to experience?
Thirdly, I want to talk about man and his destiny; and, in doing so, I'll be talking about God and His Way -- because that's really what man's destiny is.
And then fourthly, I want to talk about Satan and his way. Satan's way, because Satan is a destroyer. That has a great deal to do with this particular subject.
Fifthly, I want to talk about the chaos. That you look back into in history, and you see Satan's way, and how the chaos results from that way.
Linked to that, I want to talk a little bit about the chaos in prophecy because we're looking forward as well at the prophetic chaos that will come about from Satan's way at the close of this age. And that also has a great deal to do with it.
And finally, I want to talk about our part. The part that we have today, and why God chose Christ to die, and didn't use another way -- because we are inexorably linked to this entire process.
WHY HUMAN? (PLAY FROM 8:02)
So, let's ask the question then: Why are we human? Let's turn over to Matthew 13. Why are we human? Christ gives a parable in verse 24.
Matthew 13:24-25 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: (25) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
So we're looking at the parable of the tares. If you'll notice down in verse 36 ...
Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away,
And this entire section of chapter thirteen deals with the subject of why He spoke in parables. He spoke in parables to hide the meaning from the multitudes.
Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house [So He's not a vagabond.]: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Matthew 13:40-41 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this [age]. (41) The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Now whether this is talking about the establishment of the Kingdom of God, or whether it's an overview going right the way through to the end of time as well, regardless, when you're looking at the Kingdom of God, you cannot have anything in there that does iniquity. And the way in which humans are dealt with -- to be excluded from that Kingdom -- is that they are destroyed. They are destroyed. So then, why are we made human? Why were we made flesh? Well, a very good part of it is so that we can be destroyed. So that we can be destroyed. If you'll turn over to Romans 8.
Romans 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die:
Again, that is part of being human. You and I, from here going back home, could quite easily end in an accident; and that would be our lot, humanly speaking. When you and I go to sleep each night, we close our eyes; and we disappear. I'm sure, I am personally convinced, that's why God has actually implemented sleep is so that it doesn't terrify us about death. Can you imagine facing death (Everybody faces death.) and have never slept? They came to the point of death and suddenly disappeared? But a merciful God gives us sleep so that every night we go to sleep, and we understand that we're going to wake up the next morning. So I am sure that is the reason why that we have sleep each night.
Romans 8:13-14 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do [put to death] the deeds of the body, you shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
It's those that are led by that Spirit that are going to go on into the future, being the sons of God, resurrected into the very Kingdom of God. And those that will not be led by that Spirit (those that are going to be led by the flesh, by the spirit that is linked up with that flesh, i.e. Satan's mindset and wavelength), they are going to die. That's the purpose of being born human. We are born human so that we might die, so that this attitude of mind does not have to continue.
Whatever the reason ... I mean, if you look at the entire creation. You look outside here. I mean, we see the sky. We see the sunshine. We see the leaves. We see the buds on the trees and the way everything is starting now. And you look at the detail that is there, and you look at the way in which this creation functions. And we're not just looking at, oh, a creation. We're looking even at time and space itself. We're looking at our entire existence. An incredible amount of effort has gone into our existence -- an incredible amount of effort, an incredible amount of detail. It probably did take millions and millions of years to come up with this that we see. And I'm not talking about a blind evolution. I'm talking about the design, the way in which this all came to be. The design process probably did take millions and millions of years to be designed and to be formed. And we're looking at this, and we look at this creation; and, if that creation is to have so much work done to it, whatever the reason for it, has got to be big. It has got to be huge. It has got to be monumental.
And here we find human beings. And we find then that, if we live after the flesh -- after the human way -- then we die. And the indication within Scripture is that that is the purpose. That is the purpose of being human. It's so that we can die.
WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO LEARN AS HUMAN BEINGS? (PLAY FROM 13:36)
So let's go into the second point then. What does God want us to learn? What is it that God wants us to learn? There's an interesting scripture over in Jeremiah 21. It almost lays out what Mr. Armstrong would bring to us on a regular basis. So here is Jeremiah speaking, and he brings them the message from God.
Jeremiah 21:8 And unto this people thou shall say, [This is God speaking to Jeremiah here.]Thus says the [ETERNAL]; Behold, [You look at this!] I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
There are two ways. There is a way of life, and there is a way of death. Now we just read that, if I live after the flesh -- this way of death -- I will die. There are two ways, two different ways of life, in Jeremiah 21:8. If you go back to Matthew 7, you find Christ also mentions exactly the same thing. He elaborates on this. It's the same Eternal who was speaking to Jeremiah. He says, "Now you go; you tell them from Me, "Thus says the Eternal." This individual became Christ.
Matthew 7:13 Enter you in at the strait gate:
The difficult gate. Remember, we are looking at a Way. We're looking at a gate that leads to that Way -- that road.
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, [to being destroyed, to dying and dying eternally] and many there be which go in thereat: [Now at the moment there are, they're going to die. Now there's a resurrection as well, and we understand that there's a plan for all of them.] (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way [the path], which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.
So we see two ways -- a way of life, and a way of death. And, at the moment, there are very few going the way of life. The vast majority of this world is going a way which leads to death, which will lead to death. And the reason for that, if you'll go over to chapter 3, the reason God has constructed this, this system that we find ourself in, this world in which we find ourselves (and we do -- all of us find ourselves in this world, this incredible detail we look out at each day of our existence)... Yet, at the end of our existence, there is death. My parents are both in the ground. They're both dead. And that is the end, as far as we are looking forward.
Romans 3:10-11 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.
So, you know, we've all gone that way of death. We've all gone down that road. Every single last one of us have gone that way. So what is God wanting us to learn? I mean, obviously, He's wanting us to learn something about that way of death, a great deal about that way of death.
Romans 3:11-12 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. (12) They are all gone out of the way [They've all left the path that God has for them, every single human being.], they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one.
Not a single individual.
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
He's talking about the people that have chosen this particular way -- which is all of us, at one time or another, have chosen that particular way.
Romans 3:14-17 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: (15) Their feet are swift to shed blood: (16) Destruction and misery are in their ways [That path, that direction in which they are going.]: (17) And the way of peace have they not known:
This is the natural human mind, as it said in Romans 8 that we read earlier -- that, if I live after the flesh, then I shall die. You shall die, if you live after the flesh; then you shall die.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
God has designed it this way. It's not happenstance. You know, this Being ... All you have to do is look at the creation and you say, "Look! This Being that made this that I find myself in, has a Mind that, as Einstein used to say, 'if you took the sum total of human consciousness, and compared it to the smallest item, as far as God is concerned, it would be absolutely nothing in comparison.'" And it is! Our entire consciousness, our entire scientific effort, has nothing to match what we are seeing out here in front of our eyes every day.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
So what is it that God is trying to get us to learn? If we've all sinned (all come short, all gone out of the way, all gone away from the way of God), then we have all got to learn about sin. That is what God wants us to learn. That is what God wants us to experience. It is an experience God has built in for us to experience, to learn about. This is not just an arbitrary thing. If we go on a little bit, just over in chapter 6 of Romans, just over a page or two:
Romans 6:15-18 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (16) Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves [slaves] to obey, his [slaves] you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (17) But God be thanked, that you were the [slaves] of sin, [He's talking to the Roman Church -- You were the slaves of sin.] but you have obeyed from the heart that form of [teaching]which was delivered you. (18) Being then made free from sin, you became the [slaves] of righteousness.
Now this is part and parcel of the Plan of God, that every single one of us experiences sin; and yet we're to turn from that way, into the way of God. And it's designed that way. It was designed so that we might experience it. So when we're asking the question: Why was Christ crucified? Why wasn't there another plan? Why did God have to put that individual through such an incredibly awful death? It is part and parcel of the very Plan of God. It fits into the very Plan of God.
"Well," you say, "Surely God could have worked it out in a different way? I mean Christ Himself prayed. He said, "Look, if it's possible, take this cup from Me; but not my will, but your will will be done." But you see, it was God's will. It was God's will that that death occurs, because there is a reason for it. There is something that is being impressed on our minds. The very fact is that we are going through a life where sin is inexorably bound up in with that life. We are witnessing it. We. Certainly within. We look out at the world; and we see it continually, daily, a way of life that produces a certain result all the time. We see it in our own lives. We behave a certain way to our wives, or to our children, or to our families or whatever. And we get a certain result as the result of it, and we are learning. Even now, we are repenting and turning continually as we go through this life. And it is that God wants us to learn this lesson. He wants us ... Really, He's rubbing our nose in it to a large degree. But it says that:
Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, you became the [slaves] of righteousness.
Romans 7:9 For I was alive [apart from] the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
In other words, I suddenly started to really recognize how off track I was. I think all of us, and I don't know about you ... well I do know about you. If you're here and you're converted, you will have recognized how off track we were as a Church those years ago. We were off track. We were away from the track that God had laid down. We were out of the way.
Romans 7:9-11 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. (10) And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. (11) For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
We cannot do this on our own strength; but the key, notice verse 13. If you want to answer the question "What does God want us, in this life, to learn?" -- the answer is in verse 13.
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
In other words, that God can actually rub our noses in it so that we can actually see it; and there's no shadow of doubt. So that we don't have any false illusion in our mind. We can see. We say, "Now look. I have sinned. I've come short. I've gone off the way."
Romans 7: ... But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good [i.e. the Law].
We can actually see. We can understand that we are off track, because we can see that we have broken the Law. The Law is the knowledge of sin. It gives the knowledge of being off track.
Romans 7:13 ... working death in me by that which is good that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
That verse, Romans 7:13, is a key verse that tells us "What is it that God wants us to learn?" I always remember hearing on the radio about this monkey. They were trying to potty train a monkey. Have you ever potty trained a monkey? So what they did, they got this monkey. And every time it messed on the floor, they'd grab it by the scruff of the neck, smack it's behind, and threw it out the window. And this was potty training a monkey, apparently [laughs]. So, finally, the penny dropped with this monkey. The monkey finally (and this is supposed to be a true story), whenever it messed on the floor, it smacked itself on the behind and jumped out the window. [everyone laughs]
But you see this is really it. If you've ever trained a puppy, that's what you do. You put pepper on the offending article, you go and get the nose, and rub the nose in it; or whatever else you happen to do. But you try and get the point across. That's what it says here.
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
That I could actually open my eyes, and see myself for what I really am, and see the problem -- the problem with going off track, with missing the mark, because sin is missing the mark,
Romans 7:13 ... working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
We can see that sin carries a penalty. When we miss the mark, there is a penalty there; and we're having our nose, basically, rubbed in it to a large degree. So the actual thing that is being brought across to us, you can see in Romans 6:23, is that the wages of sin is death. That it will work towards death. It will work towards destroying relationships, destroying ourselves that we die. We live with this death hanging over us all the time. But the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. That this gift is something that is then given to us, this freedom from what is naturally going to take place.
MAN'S DESTINY (PLAY FROM 28:27)
So what about man and his destiny? As I said in the beginning, I said, look, whatever it is that God is doing, it is big. Anybody going and looking out into this natural world should be able to see that the Plan of God is no half-baked measure. They should be able to see by the natural things that are made that it is something monumental. Something monumental is going on here. Now if we turn over to Colossians 1, we find this Being who talked to Jeremiah and said, "Look, you go and tell them about the way of life and the way of death." Turn to ... Hum, with Paul it's always difficult to know where to pick up.
Colossians 1:13-16 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (16) For by him [this is Jesus Christ, now] were all things created,
You see, when we looking at Jesus Christ, this Individual who came down and who died, whom God the Father decided -- right, both God the Father and Jesus Christ decided -- this is the way in which it must be within the Plan. There is no other way of actually doing it. This Being that came down is the Creator.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
He's going to be over them all, that He may be before all things; and by Him all things consist. His words hold what we have today together. His word -- that He sent out of His mouth when He said "Let there be light." -- that light is still. We're looking out here now. It's still there, and they're all made for Him. And this outgoing, this giving God ... And in Genesis 1 it talks about "and He looked at all that He made, and behold it was very, very good." What He had made was very good. And this was the Eternal God. This was the One that became later Jesus Christ. If you'll go back to Romans again, we find that this Being who was God before His birth, who went through and lived this life and died, and died that excruciating death that we're going to commemorate and have a memorial of on the day of Passover, the One that we're asking, "Well, why did God have to work it out this way? Why couldn't He work it out a different way?
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
Or He planned. He planned. Probably a better word to use for predestinate is planned, because it's not a case that individuals are going to be there. It's a case that some individuals are going to be there. Not necessarily you or me. It's up to us whether we respond to the calling that's been given to us.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [or planned] to be conformed to the image of his Son,
So we are to be like this Being who was the very Creator, Who spoke and it was. That is a phenomenal thought, an absolutely phenomenal thought!
Romans 8:29 ... to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now, this is the very Plan of God. This is the monumental thing that God is doing. This is why you look out your windows each day, and you see the creation, and we see the atoms and molecules and everything else -- the way in which this world is put together; and it is phenomenal. You open your eyes, and if you just stop and think and ponder a little bit about it, it almost blows you away that anything exists here at all. Just look at it. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing, what we look out of our eyes at, every single day of our life. And yet the One that did this says that we have got to be conformed to His Image. That He is going to be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. That we are part of that Family. That's what He wants.
Now we've just read, and we've just seen, how God wants us to learn something about sin. How sin causes problems; and He's built it in, in such a way that we cannot get away from it. That when we miss the mark that God gives, then we can see the result. When we see others missing the mark that God gives, and it's all around us, we can see the result. That's all part and parcel of it.
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, [So here is the Father, delivering Christ up for us all. This was part and parcel of the plan.] how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
You see, being conformed to Him. It talks about being the Firstborn among many brethren. All of creation, as He is Creator. We will be Creator. As He speaks and it is, we speak and it is. It will be. That again, this is the monumental thing that has been planned. And it's found within the pages of Scripture. We'll go back there later into I John 3, where it talks there about how we will eventually see Him as He is. At the moment, we can't; but, eventually, we will see Him as He is. Turn over to Philippians 3. I read this scripture in Over Haddon at that time. It is an astounding scripture to me.
Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body,
This is the Plan of God. The Plan of God is to change this body, with all its aches and pains that you and I have every morning; this body is to be changed.
Philippians 3:21 that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body
Now conformed to the image of Christ. It is literal, quite literal. Not only is it going to be that we are going to be conformed to His image mentally and spiritually, but spiritually in the sense of His body.
Philippians 3:21 fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
He speaks, and it is. What He says stays where it is. It goes out of His mouth through the very Spirit of God; and it stays in that Spirit, creating the very reality that we see. We, as the sons and daughters of God, will have the same kind of power through the body that is to be given to us. That, again, is a phenomenal thought! A destiny that is beyond all belief, almost, when you look at the aching human frame that we have got; and yet this is what it says. This is what this Word says. This Being -- this God -- who is outgoing, who is giving to such a degree that He designs a Plan whereby He can give to mankind such power and such incredible existence, beyond anything that we could possibly understand or realize. And yet that is what this Word explains very clearly. As we've been reading in James, where James says, you know, this Being -- this God -- remember is without variableness or shadow of turning. He lives a certain Way. His Way is a way of peace. His Way is different from the human way. It is diametrically opposed to the way that Satan has chosen for himself.
But in this scripture here in Philippians 3:21{1}, where it talks about being fashioned to His glorious body, you put that together with scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 13:12{2}, that talks about how we will then know, even as we are known. Not only will this change be of our physical bodies, it will change our minds as well. God knows through His Spirit. He knows us intimately through His Spirit. He seems to almost be able to feel through that Spirit. He can operate things through a distance through His Spirit. And it says we will know as we are known. So, we will know in that same way. This is the destiny that we are looking at.
Let's go over to John as far as this destiny that you and I have in front of us, in the context of why did Christ have to die? Why couldn't it be worked out in a different way?
John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, [or the Logos] and the [Logos] was with God, and the [Logos] was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) In him was life;[real, true Life] and the life was the light of men.
It lights up the Way in which we are to then walk, the Way we are to go in order to have the same kind of Life.
John 1:5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness [couldn't grasp] it.
The word comprehend is to both grasp hold of and understand, same thing. They just didn't grasp it at all.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
You see, their way was going the way which was natural to a man linked up to the very spirit of Satan. It is a way which is off track. It's missed the mark. And every single one of us have learned about that way.
John 3:20-21 For every one that does evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that does truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
So that there is a Way in which God has given us that allows us to counteract that. There is a Way that we've been illuminated to, through an individual sent to us. Not only Christ, but also a human individual through whom God revealed His Way. And that Way of life, as it says in John 10:10, is a Way of life that is more abundant.
John 10:10 ... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Now, that's man and his destiny; and it is inexorably linked up to God. It is inexorably linked up with the way God is. Yes, we have an experience of missing the mark. But the Plan that God has, the destiny that He has designed before us, is one that we become a Creator the same as Jesus Christ is a Creator. And this: Remember it talks in John, it talks about how He is Light.
SATAN'S WAY (PLAY FROM 42:34)
Now when you go on to the other side, and you say, "Well, let's have a look at this next point, about Satan." -- you see, Satan's way is the way of a destroyer, the way of destruction; and this is the heart and core.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
So we in our lives, built into this life that we are part and parcel of, is the fact that we miss the mark; and angels also missed the mark. Angels also sinned
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to [tararoo], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Or a place of restraint. So if they have been restrained, and it then goes in and gives a list, one after another. He lists one after another. He says ...
2 Peter 2:4-9 For if God spared not the angels that sinned ... (5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah ... (6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them ... (7) And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (8) (For that righteous man dwelling among them [couldn't put up] with their unlawful deeds;) (9) The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of [trials], and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
You see, each of these examples that we're given, previous to verse 9, shows us an example of missing the mark -- of sin. It shows one after another. It says, "Look, God knows how to deliver the righteous out of trials and reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment. He is able to sort this mess out." And he starts off with the angels (in verse 4) that sinned.
Now what actually happened? We know that when we sin the penalty is death. We can find that within Scripture. We just read it. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." But what about an angel? What's the wages of sin for an angel? Well, it's to be restrained (according to this). What's the result of sin for an angel? What actually happens? What's the penalty of sin? If an angel sins, or if a human sins, or if anybody sins, what actually happens? What is sin? Sin is transgression of the Law. It's lawlessness. It's going against the Way of God. It's going in a different direction. And the result? Remember, God is the Creator. God is the One who is outgoing, who creates, who gives, who has designed a Plan that you and I are part and parcel of, so that we might share that Life with Him. So what is sin? What actually is the penalty of it? What's going to happen?
Well, it's destroying. It's destruction. And really, when we're thinking of Satan, it's almost like the ripples in a pond. You've all thrown a stone in a pond. You throw it in a pond. And wherever that stone goes in, okay, that might be where the stone lands; but the ripples then spread right out from that point, and it goes into the entire area of the pond. Wherever you happen to be on the area of the pond, depending where you are, it depends on how great the ripple is going to be. But the influence is from that stone that goes in there. It's the same as when somebody misses the mark, when somebody goes against the Way of God. God is the Way of creation, of trying to up build, to try and lift up people, of outgoing. The nature of God is totally different from Satan. But where that is broken, where you've got somebody missing the mark, there are going to be penalties that then ripple out from that point; and you will find it throughout the world today.
The penalties that come out from the war in the Middle East today are in your forecourt. They're in the price you pay for petrol. They are in -- presumably it will be -- in the plastics that you have. They ripple out. They come out from whatever happens. It is not a case that it just happens in isolation. If we sin, it doesn't just happen in isolation. It ripples out from there to all around us as well. And the repercussions for an angel sinning (because an angel is able to sin in a way far, far greater than a human being can) ... You've got the repercussions as far as Noah, as far as Sodom and Gomorrah, as far as you and I. But as far as an angel, the damage that can be done, the destruction that can be meted out, the devastation that will come from the power that is there, is horrendous. Absolutely horrendous! And the ripples that come from that act are also horrendous.
If you get a stone and you throw it in a pond, you get a certain amount of ripples that come out from there. If you get an earthquake that drops halfway down underneath the sea over near Japan somewhere, the ripples that come from that lump of rock that disappeared into the sea are entirely different. You get TSUNAMIS! {} Hundreds of feet high. And it's not exactly getting a pebble and throwing it into a pond, but you just get one great lump of rock that disappears. And the tsunami then, the water goes down and the tsunami then comes across, hundreds of feet high. And in the case of an angel (the power that was there, the repercussions and the ripple that came out) the "tsunami" that rippled out from that was huge -- utterly, utterly huge.
You see, the penalty of sin is destruction. It destroys relationships. It destroys creation. It destroys creation. You see relationships have also got to be created. You have a relationship ... It's like I read last week. I read that the person that you call an idiot is a different person afterwards than he was before, because the relationship before was one way. You then call them an idiot, and the relationship afterwards is a totally different thing. That was from de Bono, and it's true. It is a destruction.
You have sin. You have a missing of the mark and you have a destruction that occurs. And it will destroy relationships, human relationships, yes; but it also destroys physically as well. You miss the mark. We drive too fast, we skid on the road, we hit some bus shelter with people inside -- we sin! And the repercussions are huge, on all sorts (on them, on us). The repercussions are huge! For us taking certain choices, the ripples from that are much, much greater than just yelling at the wife or the wife yelling at you. Depending, [as] that might be the final straw. But whatever, what actually could happen. You go out and you kill somebody, the ripples are going to be much greater.
But whatever it is, the penalty of sin -- of missing the mark -- is destruction. In the case of a spirit being, that destruction is a destruction of the creation because, you see, God is outgoing. Yes, it destroys relationships as well; but God is outgoing. He is up building. He is upgrading things. Whereas Satan, because he is going in a different way, he is pulling down what is being created. Now that is the essence of it. That is the essence of Satan being a destroyer. If we turn over to Revelation 9 ... If you want to put in your notes that Revelation 11:7{4} and Revelation 17:8{5}, you'll find that the Beast's habitation is this area here that we're about to read about. And also, you can read Revelation 20:1-3{6}, where Satan is actually put into the abyss.
Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
If we go over to verse 11, it talks about coming out of this abyss and it says:
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, [Now the king over them was Satan, or is going to be Satan, because he is over the demons.] which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue has his name Apollyon.
That is to say, if you look over in the margin reference, it is the destroyer. One of the very names of Satan is Apollyon, is Destroyer. That is one of his names because not only does he destroy relationships, which he does, because he's the devil as well (He's the slanderer, which destroys relationships); but that mindset, if it's unchecked, it destroys enormous.
I mean, you've seen on the news last night? In Baghdad, Rageh Omaar in his hotel, looking out, and all the panorama of the cameras looking at all the various bombs going off. Have you seen those palaces that Sadaam Hussein had? They were lavish. They were absolutely palatial. They were palaces after all and they're now lying in absolute, abject, utter ruins. It is total utter abject destruction.
And why? Wouldn't it have been better to have gotten together, and to have talked together, and to have resolved the difference? But they weren't about to. Why? Because there was a certain mindset. I look at Sadaam Hussein and I see Stalin. I think there's a satanic force there. I honestly feel there's a satanic force, within that individual. So why is that mindset there? Because it's coming from the king of them -- whose name is Apollyon, the destroyer. And the penalty of sin is that sin destroys what God creates. Sin destroys what God creates.
God creates this natural world. Sin destroys it. God creates our bodies functioning properly, healthily. Sin destroys it. God creates relationships between individuals. Sin destroys that relationship. And God wants a relationship between Himself and human beings; and sin destroys that relationship, as well. So sin destroys what God creates.
There is more to it than that, because God is a certain type of God. God, as the creator, He is a certain way. He creates in a certain way. You look at the natural world; and I mean, the Orientals have made it into a religion, the Yin and Yang -- that everything is in balance. You've gotta keep the yin and the yang; and you've gotta have all this, that, and the other. And they've made that into a religion. All they're looking at is the way in which God creates, the way in which God is. He is a balanced individual. He says, "Vengeance is mine, says the Eternal. I will repay." And He does repay. He does cause vengeance to balance things out. This is the kind of God He is. This is the kind of Being He is.
He creates things in such a way that things are in balance. If you've done any geography at all, you know you have the evaporation from the sea; and it condenses and goes on the land. It runs down. You have these cycles. There is the nitrogen cycle. It goes into the nitrogen in the air, and the nitrogen fixation bacteria, and the grass is eaten by the animal; and the animal dies, and up it goes back into the air again. You've got these cycles. You've got everything in balance; and, if something gets out of balance, then something else corrects it. And this is the way that God has made so much of this world. It is in balance and in harmony. That's the way He is. He is a God who is organized, and you can see it throughout the creation.
So when we look at this penalty of sin, the fact that sin destroys what God creates, He's made something else. He said, then, "Okay. If you are the one who sinned, and you are the one who goes ahead and drops that stone in the center of the pond, and the ripples go out from you, the primary one affected will be you. Somehow, that primary one affected is going to be you. That's the primary, well, not primary directive. [laughs] It is the way that God tends to work. And when you are looking at sin in a human being, we know that sin causes the destruction of the creation; but we are part of that creation. Sin destroys us! Because we're physical, sin destroys us.
CHAOS (PLAY FROM 58:38)
We look at the chaos that occurred after Lucifer became Satan, became the enemy; and we just see what it talks about in John 8:44{7}. It says about how Satan was a murderer, a destroyer, from the beginning. A murderer is a destroyer. That's his frame of mind. That's how he is. That's his entire modus operandi. But you see, God, as it says in I Corinthians 14:33{8}, it says He is not the author of confusion. He is the antithesis of that. He's an organized Being. He works in a different way. He's an outgoing individual. It talks in Psalms 104:30{9} how he renews the face of the Earth. He up builds. He constructs. He's not a destroyer. He's the antithesis of the destroyer. If it's destruction, it's within a cycle -- within a cycle of life -- so that there might be more life.
You look at the natural world, that's the way it's been designed. Nothing dies of itself in that regard. Isaiah 45:18{10}, it says specifically that God did not create in vain. Now the word "in vain" is the same word you find over in Genesis 1 where it says the Earth was without form, which is tohu in verse 2{11}. And that word in Isaiah 45:18, where it says it was not created in vain, is that same word. And yet it says here that the Earth ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.") and the Earth became without form. That's tohu and bohu, without form and void{12}. Desolation. Destroyed. That's really what we're looking at. If we go over to Jude 6, right before Revelation:
Jude 1:6-7 And the angels which kept not their first estate, [that first principality. In other words, they didn't stay where they were put. They weren't doing what they were told. The angels that kept not their first estate ... ] but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to [pornéo], and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of [age-lasting]fire. [from this fire that came down and destroyed them.]
So, we see these angels. Again, you see sin that occurred; and you see the chaos that actually was the result of that. That from this event, they didn't keep their first estate. They left their habitation. They ascended to try and presumably knock God off His throne. And, in so doing, caused destruction on a vast scale of the creation. And we see the creation becoming tohu and bohu -- without form and void. And as I said, we're looking at a destruction that is far greater, as far as an angel is concerned, as far as a spirit being is concerned, than a mere human being. The destruction that can be done to the creation is vast. It obviously was.
If you'll go back a few pages to I John to chapter 3:
1 John 3:1-8 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. [This is our destiny.] (3) And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. [So, we'll become perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.] (4) Whosoever commits sin [missing the mark -- breaks] the law: for sin is [lawlessness. It is the transgression of the Law. It's not just transgression of the 10 Commandments. It's a state of mind. It's lawlessness]. (5) And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (6) [Whoever lives in Him does not sin, or doesn't practice sin. He's not continually sinning; Whoever is continually sinning ... ] has not seen him, neither known him. (7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (8) He that commits sin is of the [slanderer, the] devil; for the devil sinned [missed the mark]from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, [This is why Christ came.] that he might destroy the works of the devil [of the slanderer].
So we see how the penalty of sin is destruction, how sin destroys what God creates; and we see this attitude of mind that's coming from Satan, from the enemy. And we see that Christ came, so when we're asking ourself, "Why was He crucified? Why not another plan?" We see that this has got to do something about the fact that He's destroying this work of Satan. If we have sin in us as spirit beings, we also would create the chaos and destruction that happened in the case of Satan. We would be exactly the same; and that has got to be utterly, utterly destroyed. So as we approach this Passover and we're examining ourselves, and I'll play the tape by Mr. Armstrong, he's talking there about how repentance is so vital -- about whether we have actually turned, you know, examining ourself. We're not examining ourself as to whether we are perfect or not. It's examining ourself as to whether we have TURNED or not. Have we effectively turned from that way to the Way of God? That's what we're examining ourself all about.
CHAOS IN PROPHECY (PLAY FROM 66:00)
It's interesting, if you do a Bible Study on the word tohu and bohu, something very interesting comes out of the Bible Study. There's about three times the word bohu is mentioned, which is meaning to be empty or void or emptiness. And sixteen times the word tohu is mentioned -- desolation or wilderness, or without form or confusion -- an empty place. But you tend to find that it's a time of war, when these words are being mentioned. And it tends to describe the end-time, the time that we're approaching now. That's the tendency. That's where you tend to find those words. I don't want to ... I don't think I'm going to really go into a great deal on that. Oh, we could. Yes we could.
Turn over to James 3, just a recap. We just read about how, in a Bible Study, how a fountain sent forth form the same place, sweet water and bitter in verse 11.
James 3:14-16 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. (15) This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. [It's coming from Satan. It's from his mind frame.](16) For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (2) You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. [There's no relationship there between yourself and God.](3) You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon [what you want].
You get on your knees, and you ask; but you only ask for what you want. Your mindset is different. Your mindset is going in a different direction. Notice over in Jeremiah 4. Notice I mentioned about how it's a time of war, and it describes the end time when you find these words being used.
Jeremiah 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the [shofar], the alarm of war.
We're looking at this time of war that is about to come upon us, unfortunately.
Jeremiah 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was [tohu and bohu] without form, and void
Exactly the same as you find at the end of Satan's rebellion. The result of sin is destruction. The result that we are going to see in the years ahead is going to come from missing the mark. And we are going to have our noses, and the world is going to have its nose, rubbed in this so that we fully and totally understand the process -- because, when the power is given to us, we've got to know. Absolutely got to know!
Jeremiah 4:23 and the heavens, and they had no light.
There was no light; and, again, you can look and see the analogies there.
Jeremiah 4:24-26 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. (25) I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. (26) I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the [ETERNAL], and by his fierce anger.
He allowed this to happen. It's coming from the results of man's ways, and God is about to step in and cause these problems.
Isaiah 34:1-3 Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. (2) For the indignation of the [ETERNAL] is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter. (3) Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
In other words, here is the recompense for living a certain way. The world is about to come into the Millennium, but that recompense has got to be put onto the world. God is a God of balance. The balance has got to be there.
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
The result of that balancing out will eventually flow into the very Kingdom of God itself, but you're looking at utter and total chaos. We'll leave that concept as far as the end of this age.
OUR PART (PLAY FROM 71:46)
Now, what about our part? We still haven't really answered, "Why does Christ have to be crucified? Why isn't there another plan?" Well, basically, sin causes destruction. We know that. We've seen scriptures that indicate that. We can see very clearly that, where we miss the mark, destruction is the result. If a spirit being misses the mark with the power that a spirit being has, it is a monumental destruction. We know that. But also, God tends to focus (just like the pebble in the pool, it focuses that, it rebounds) on the person actually causing that destruction, causing that sin. In our case, because we are human, then it is us that has to be destroyed. It's us that's got to be destroyed. We are part of this creation that is being destroyed by this way of life. Being part of this creation, we will be destroyed with it. We will actually suffer that penalty.
Remember what we stated at the beginning. God's purpose for making man human is so that we can be destroyed. It's so that we can utterly be wiped away. So we don't have to stay. But, you see, if there are some that turn, if there are some that understand a different way -- and we've all gone out of the way, we've all gone aside; but there are some that decide, yes, and their minds are open and they turn. But how can God possibly save them? Rescue them? That's why Christ had to die.
It's the destruction of missing the mark, of going away from that Way of God, that will destroy everything. It's not just human beings that are destroyed. It's not just the penalty of sin is death. The penalty of sin is destruction. It destroys the creation of God. The fact is that God has deliberately made us human, and made us human so that we can be destroyed. So that it does not affect ... The ripples coming out from the sin that will come from us will not be the kind of ripples that came from Satan. That that will never happen again.
But, if we are turned -- if we do, in fact, put ourself under the Government of God, under the way of God -- then something has got to happen. God is a God of balance. He does not change. You look at the creation, and you see this God of balance. There's got to be a penalty paid. A penalty has got to be paid. The destruction has got to take place. Otherwise, he's no longer a consistent God. He has no variableness, no shadow of turning{13}. When He says, it is. And if He says "This is the way it must be." and we go in a different way, destruction will occur; and it will rebound on us. So there's got to be a substitute.
If we look at the balance in nature, if you want to put some of these scriptures down in your notes,
Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Again, it illustrates the mind of God.
Matthew 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [Whoever takes the sword is going to perish by the sword.]
Revelation 13:10 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
We will see the destruction that happens in this Earth, but we know that God is this way. He's a God of vengeance. He's a God of balance. He's a God of recompense, and He will cause the recompense. The recompense will take place. Now (when we look at that, and we understand that), this is the faith and the patience of the saints. The saints are going to watch this. They're going to see it within this Earth. "He that leads into captivity must go into captivity." "He that kills with the sword MUST be killed with the sword." There's no compromise. But, you see, you and I sin. You and I go that way. You and I go the way that's got to end up in disaster, in destruction. So there has got to be built into that purpose something that will give us, well, turn over to John 3.
We read in Romans 7:13, we read the scripture that talks about how we must learn that sin becomes exceeding sinful. That we have our nose rubbed in it. We're like little puppy dogs that get our nose rubbed in it to teach us a lesson. It's built into the process. God wants us to understand this lesson. To have it abundantly clear in our mind so that the destruction does not occur in the future.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
That you and I may be rescued from the destruction that would naturally be there, because of sin. We've got to learn it. We've got to learn the lesson. We're living in a world that is absolutely steeped in it. We sin, continually. And we've got to go, in repentance, to God; and God is a God of balance. He insists on that penalty being paid (otherwise His Word is not valid) physically and spiritually. Physically and spiritually. And that's why there's a Passover. That's why Christ died.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
May be rescued from the destruction that would naturally occur if sin was left unchecked. And yet you see this love. It's not a case of getting a cigarette and saying, "Oh, just to show how much He loves you." It's not that. It's not some deranged individual. You look at the creation. This is no deranged individual. This is an Individual that has such high standards, and who absolutely insists on those high standards for anyone who is going to share those high standards with Him. I wasn't going to read this, but let's just do this. Let's turn over to Psalms, the fifth Psalm.
Psalms 5:1-4
It's not just that it will be in God. It's that we, as wicked, will not dwell there. I think of the first Psalm.
Psalms 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
God will not allow sin to be present in that coming Kingdom, in His government with His way. This is the reason why God chose to have Christ crucified and not another plan. He's learned from His experience with Lucifer. We know that, if we go against that expression of God's will, sin will always -- but always -- carry a penalty. And that penalty of sin is the destruction of the creation of God -- be that creation a relationship, be that creation physical. For us physically, that destruction is going to, as we are part of that very creation, it's going to mean death; so the creation doesn't get destroyed, so we don't carry on living. But He wants us to learn. He wants us to get absolutely sickened, sick and tired of this system in which we find ourself today; so we completely and totally reject it. Forgiveness isn't enough. It always carries a penalty. God makes it that way and that destruction is got to, therefore, be there.
Christ therefore had to be crucified, had to die, had to be destroyed -- on our behalf. It was His body that was broken for us breaking His Laws that ends in our physical bodies being broken. It was His blood that was shed, so that our blood doesn't have to be shed when we break His spiritual laws, eternally. So, just a couple of scriptures in closing.
At the end of it all, this entire system that has been made, this entire effort that has gone in, the sacrifice that was given, which was a monumental sacrifice, but Revelation 16.
Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Now that, you know, on the surface "It's done." No, it's not "It's done." In other words, that phase is over. That phase can be finished. Satan can be put away, and the phase of which people have their noses rubbed in this destruction that comes from missing the mark. The mark that God has set. And, eventually, over in Revelation 21, we find exactly the same thing. We find a new heaven and a new earth in verse one, and the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven.
Revelation 21:4-6 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
That again is the next stage. It's a stage where the whole human experience is finished. But the human experience is to make sure we fully understand that fact that all sin carries a penalty. All sin ends in destruction. Let's make sure that we examine ourselves between now and Passover, and we really do understand that; and that we thoroughly, thoroughly learn that lesson.
Transcribed by JF, March, 2006
{1} Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.,
{2} 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.,
{3} Mr Bowles gets his words confused!: "You get ... What do you call them? Satsumis? That's not it [everyone laughs] but something like that. Satsuma? Yeah, that's right. This tawdry great Satsuma that comes right away across the sea. Great orange thing -- TSUNAMIS! That's what it was. Yes, I knew it was something like that. The tsunamis. But you get these things, what, hundreds of feet high."
{4} Revelation 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
{5} Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.,
{6} Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. [2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, [3) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.,
{7} John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father You will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it..
{8} 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.,
{9} Psalm 104:30 You send forth your spirit, they are created: and you renew the face of the earth.
{10} Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the [ETERNAL] that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the [ETERNAL]; and there is none else.,
{11} Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
{12} Genesis 1:2
{13}James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Who Is Without Sin?
Once you've honestly answered the above question,
compare your projected behavior
to that of Jesus Christ in a similar
situation. John 8 records
how Christ was accosted by a group
of super-righteous scribes and Pharisees
in the Temple. They brought
before Him a woman who had been
"caught in adultery." Now you wonder
how these fellows happened to
catch her, but that's beside the
point. Trying to trap Christ into
contradicting the Mosaic law, they
inquired: "Teacher, this woman, has
been caught in the act of adultery.
Now in the law Moses commanded
us to stone such. What do you say
about her?" And Jesus, in His wisdom.
at first ignored them, but finally
replied: "Let him who is
without sin among you be the first
to throw a stone at her." And when
they heard this, "they went away,
one by one....
Then what did Christ do? Did He
say: "Woman, you've really sinned
- and we're going to put you on the
rack and stretch you from here to
next Sunday! And you're going to
pay! Boy, are you going to pay!
You're going to wish you'd never
done that!" That's not what He said,
IS It? If there was anyone on the face of
this earth who would have been justified
in putting that woman to
death, it would have been God in
the flesh, Jesus Christ. But this illustrates
that punishment was not what
Jesus Christ desired. That wasn't
His purpose. He said rather: "Neither
do I condemn you; go, and do
not sin again."
He didn't spend hours counseling her, but he did give some very
succinct advice that would produce life.
He said to go and live in the way
that produces not only fun and enjoyment
and happiness in this life,
but life forever. He didn't look
down His nose. He didn't stand up
in righteous indignation and pull up
His robes and start running toward
the hills screaming, "Sin! Sin!" He
didn't go to the Pharisees and stand
on the corner in the marketplace
and begin to spread the whole story
all over Jerusalem. He did what was
best for her at that time - He extended
mercy and kindness and forgiveness.
Does God Delight in Punishment?
We as human beings like to see "justice"
done. We like to see people punished,
especially if the fault or sin
has somehow impinged on our freedom,
hurt us, or taken something
away from us. The natural reaction
is, "Boy, I hope they get theirs '"
Here is another illustration: Say
someone you know has been gossiping
about you for years. You can't
make a false move without it being
broadcast all over the county.
Then this individual goes on vacation
one year, and comes back to find
his home has been broken into. Burglars
have walked off with everything
up to and including the kitchen sink.
You hear about it. and you get this
inward feeling of glee. You're bubbling
over with happiness and comfort
and joy in their adversity. God
has finally avenged you.
But is that the Way God works?
He does allow a lot of things to happen
- time and chance happen to
everybody. But God says He doesn't
even take delight in the death of a
wicked person. It doesn't make Him
happy to see misfortune happen to
anyone. He says: "I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn from his way
and live" (ezek. 33:11).
The basic point is that God's primary
purpose is not punishment for
wrongdoing. He didn't create humanity
with the potential for evil,
just so He could sit on the edge of
His throne with some sort of spiritual
fly swatter waiting to go swoof !
"gotcha!" everytime somebody gets
a little out of line. But sometimes we
human beings reason this way.
We don't think of punishment
like God does. God uses punishment
as a tool - as mercy. He
allows punishment to take' place
to get an individual to look at
his or her actions and evaluate
them.
When people find themselves in a
tight situation, they don't like it.
Their next logical step is to sit down
and try to figure out what went
wrong -_. what they did to produce
the situation they are in. Maybe the
situation isn't their fault - but then
again maybe they can say, "I did
this, and I did that, and now I'm in
this great. huge, ugly mess that
won't go away." God wants that
person to stop and think about the
way they are living, and to repent
and start living His way.
That is the main reason for punishment
to cause pain, because
without pain we would all continue
living the way that produces eternal
death. So the pain is there, but it's
there to produce life.
How to Help.
Now, how can we apply
God's thinking to our relationships
with other people? Suppose we see
someone "overtaken in a trespass"
(Gal. 6: I). He's not in that position
because God wants to provide us
with entertainment so we can
watch him squirm. God doesn't get
delight out of that and neither
should we.
God says that jf we are spiritually
minded we are going to go about
trying to restore that individual.
"looking to ourselves lest we too be
tempted." And being spiritually
minded means asking yourself if
what you are about to say or do
with regard to that individual is
something that is going to help produce
eternal life for him or her. If
you see someone with a fault, and
your basic interest is helping, serving
and seeing that person obtain
eternal life, then go ahead and try to
help them. But if it's not- if it's
anger, or superiority, or disgust, or
anything like that - then be careful.
because' perhaps you have no business
interfering. Just get out of the
way, and let someone who is spiritual
(perhaps God or another
human being) step in and try to
help them.
To recap: God is spiritual. If we
are spiritual, we will think the same
way God does, have the same purpose
He has.
Once you've honestly answered the above question,
compare your projected behavior
to that of Jesus Christ in a similar
situation. John 8 records
how Christ was accosted by a group
of super-righteous scribes and Pharisees
in the Temple. They brought
before Him a woman who had been
"caught in adultery." Now you wonder
how these fellows happened to
catch her, but that's beside the
point. Trying to trap Christ into
contradicting the Mosaic law, they
inquired: "Teacher, this woman, has
been caught in the act of adultery.
Now in the law Moses commanded
us to stone such. What do you say
about her?" And Jesus, in His wisdom.
at first ignored them, but finally
replied: "Let him who is
without sin among you be the first
to throw a stone at her." And when
they heard this, "they went away,
one by one....
Then what did Christ do? Did He
say: "Woman, you've really sinned
- and we're going to put you on the
rack and stretch you from here to
next Sunday! And you're going to
pay! Boy, are you going to pay!
You're going to wish you'd never
done that!" That's not what He said,
IS It? If there was anyone on the face of
this earth who would have been justified
in putting that woman to
death, it would have been God in
the flesh, Jesus Christ. But this illustrates
that punishment was not what
Jesus Christ desired. That wasn't
His purpose. He said rather: "Neither
do I condemn you; go, and do
not sin again."
He didn't spend hours counseling her, but he did give some very
succinct advice that would produce life.
He said to go and live in the way
that produces not only fun and enjoyment
and happiness in this life,
but life forever. He didn't look
down His nose. He didn't stand up
in righteous indignation and pull up
His robes and start running toward
the hills screaming, "Sin! Sin!" He
didn't go to the Pharisees and stand
on the corner in the marketplace
and begin to spread the whole story
all over Jerusalem. He did what was
best for her at that time - He extended
mercy and kindness and forgiveness.
Does God Delight in Punishment?
We as human beings like to see "justice"
done. We like to see people punished,
especially if the fault or sin
has somehow impinged on our freedom,
hurt us, or taken something
away from us. The natural reaction
is, "Boy, I hope they get theirs '"
Here is another illustration: Say
someone you know has been gossiping
about you for years. You can't
make a false move without it being
broadcast all over the county.
Then this individual goes on vacation
one year, and comes back to find
his home has been broken into. Burglars
have walked off with everything
up to and including the kitchen sink.
You hear about it. and you get this
inward feeling of glee. You're bubbling
over with happiness and comfort
and joy in their adversity. God
has finally avenged you.
But is that the Way God works?
He does allow a lot of things to happen
- time and chance happen to
everybody. But God says He doesn't
even take delight in the death of a
wicked person. It doesn't make Him
happy to see misfortune happen to
anyone. He says: "I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked turn from his way
and live" (ezek. 33:11).
The basic point is that God's primary
purpose is not punishment for
wrongdoing. He didn't create humanity
with the potential for evil,
just so He could sit on the edge of
His throne with some sort of spiritual
fly swatter waiting to go swoof !
"gotcha!" everytime somebody gets
a little out of line. But sometimes we
human beings reason this way.
We don't think of punishment
like God does. God uses punishment
as a tool - as mercy. He
allows punishment to take' place
to get an individual to look at
his or her actions and evaluate
them.
When people find themselves in a
tight situation, they don't like it.
Their next logical step is to sit down
and try to figure out what went
wrong -_. what they did to produce
the situation they are in. Maybe the
situation isn't their fault - but then
again maybe they can say, "I did
this, and I did that, and now I'm in
this great. huge, ugly mess that
won't go away." God wants that
person to stop and think about the
way they are living, and to repent
and start living His way.
That is the main reason for punishment
to cause pain, because
without pain we would all continue
living the way that produces eternal
death. So the pain is there, but it's
there to produce life.
How to Help.
Now, how can we apply
God's thinking to our relationships
with other people? Suppose we see
someone "overtaken in a trespass"
(Gal. 6: I). He's not in that position
because God wants to provide us
with entertainment so we can
watch him squirm. God doesn't get
delight out of that and neither
should we.
God says that jf we are spiritually
minded we are going to go about
trying to restore that individual.
"looking to ourselves lest we too be
tempted." And being spiritually
minded means asking yourself if
what you are about to say or do
with regard to that individual is
something that is going to help produce
eternal life for him or her. If
you see someone with a fault, and
your basic interest is helping, serving
and seeing that person obtain
eternal life, then go ahead and try to
help them. But if it's not- if it's
anger, or superiority, or disgust, or
anything like that - then be careful.
because' perhaps you have no business
interfering. Just get out of the
way, and let someone who is spiritual
(perhaps God or another
human being) step in and try to
help them.
To recap: God is spiritual. If we
are spiritual, we will think the same
way God does, have the same purpose
He has.
KJV TRANSLATION ERRORS
Translation Errors
Here is a partial listing of King James Version translation errors:
Genesis 1:2 should read "And the earth became without form . . . ." The word translated "was" is hayah, and denotes a condition different than a former condition, as in Genesis 19:26.
Genesis 10:9 should read " . . . Nimrod the mighty hunter in place of [in opposition to] the LORD." The word "before" is incorrect and gives the connotation that Nimrod was a good guy, which is false.
Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26 in the KJV is "scapegoat" which today has the connotation of someone who is unjustly blamed for other's sins. The Hebrew is Azazel, which means "one removed or separated." The Azazel goal represents Satan, who is no scapegoat. He is guilty of his part in our sins.
Deuteronomy 24:1, "then let him" should be "and he." As the Savior explained in Matthew 19, Moses did not command divorcement. This statute is regulating the permission of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts.
II Kings 2:23, should be "young men", not "little children."
Isaiah 65:17 should be "I am creating [am about to create] new heavens and new earth . . . ."
Ezekiel 20:25 should read "Wherefore I permitted them, or gave them over to, [false] statutes that are not good, and judgments whereby they should not live." God's laws are good, perfect and right. This verse shows that since Israel rejected God's laws, He allowed them to hurt themselves by following false man made customs and laws.
Daniel 8:14 is correct in the margin, which substitutes "evening morning" for "days." Too bad William Miller didn't realize this.
Malachi 4:6 should read " . . . lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction." "Curse" doesn't give the proper sense here. Same word used in Zechariah 14:11.
Matthew 5:48 should be "Become ye therefore perfect" rather than "be ye therefore perfect." "Perfect" here means "spiritually mature." Sanctification is a process of overcoming with the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 24:22 needs an additional word to clarify the meaning. It should say "there should no flesh be saved alive."
Matthew 27:49 omits text which was in the original. Moffatt correctly adds it, while the RSV puts it in a footnote: "And another took a spear and pierced His side, and out came water and blood." The Savior's death came when a soldier pierced His side, Revelation 1:7.
Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . . ." should be translated literally, "Now late on Sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward the first day of the week . . . ." The Sabbath does not end at dawn but at dusk.
Luke 2:14 should say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of God's good pleasure or choosing." That is, there will be peace on earth among men who have God's good will in their hearts.
Luke 14:26 has the unfortunate translation of the Greek word miseo, Strong's #3404, as "hate", when it should be rendered "love less by comparison." We are not to hate our parents and family!
John 1:31, 33 should say "baptize" or "baptizing IN water" not with water. Pouring or sprinkling with water is not the scriptural method of baptism, but only thorough immersion in water.
John 1:17 is another instance of a poor preposition. "By" should be "through": "For the law was given by [through] Moses . . . ." Moses did not proclaim his law, but God's Law.
John 13:2 should be "And during supper" (RSV) rather than "And supper being ended" (KJV).
Acts 12:4 has the inaccurate word "Easter" which should be rendered "Passover." The Greek word is pascha which is translated correctly as Passover in Matthew 26:2, etc.
I Corinthians 1:18 should be: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God", rather than "perish" and "are saved." Likewise, II Thessalonians 2:10 should be "are perishing" rather than "perish."
I Corinthians 15:29 should be: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the hope of the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the hope of the dead?"
II Corinthians 6:2 should be "a day of salvation", instead of "the day of salvation." This is a quote from Isaiah 49:8, which is correct. The day of salvation is not the same for each individual. The firstfruits have their day of salvation during this life. The rest in the second resurrection.
I Timothy 4:8 should say, "For bodily exercise profiteth for a little time: but godliness in profitable unto all things . . . ."
I Timothy 6:10 should be, "For the love of money is a [not the] root of all evil . . . ."
Hebrews 4:8 should be "Joshua" rather than "Jesus", although these two words are Hebrew and Greek equivalents.
Hebrews 4:9 should read, "There remaineth therefore a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God."
Hebrews 9:28 is out of proper order in the King James. It should be: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them without sin that look for him shall he appear the second time unto salvation."
I John 5:7-8 contains additional text which was added to the original. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." The italicized text was added to the original manuscripts. Most modern translations agree that this was an uninspired addition to the Latin Vulgate to support the unscriptural trinity doctrine.
Revelation 14:4 should be "a firstfruits", because the 144,000 are not all the firstfruits.
Revelation 20:4-5 in the KJV is a little confusing until you realize that the sentence "This is the first resurrection." in verse five refers back to "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" in verse four.
Revelation 20:10, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [correction: should be 'were cast' because the beast and false prophet were mortal human beings who were burned up in the lake of fire 1,000 years previous to this time, Revelation 19:20], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The point is that Satan will be cast into the same lake of fire into which the beast and false prophet were cast a thousand years previously.
Revelation 22:2 should be "health" rather than "healing."
Italics: Sometimes Helpful, Sometimes Wrong
No language can be translated word for word into another language. Hebrew and Greek idioms often do not come through clearly into literal English. Thus, beginning in 1560 with the Geneva Bible, translators initiated the practice of adding italicized clarifying words to make the original language more plain. The fifty-four King James translators did the same. Often, the added italicized words do help make the meaning clearer. At other times, the translators through their doctrinal misunderstandings added errors instead.
In Psalms 81:4, "was" is totally uncalled for and not in the original Hebrew. New Moons are still a statute of God.
We have shown how in Revelation 20:10 that the italicized "are" is incorrect and that "were cast" in italics would have been more appropriate. Another instance is John 8:28 where Jesus said (KJV), "I am he." The "he" is in italics and was not actually spoken by Jesus, completely obscuring the fact the Jesus was claiming to be the great "I AM" of the Old Testament, John 8:58 and Exodus 3:14.
In Luke 3:23-38, the italicized words "the son" are not in the original Greek. Actually, Luke gives the fleshly descent of the Savior through Mary, while Matthew gives the legal descent through Joseph.
Matthew 24:24 should not have the italicized words "it were". It IS possible for the elect to be deceived. We need to be on guard!
Romans 1:7 incorrectly has the italicized words "to be." The fact is, Christians are now saints.
I Corinthians 7:19 needs some italicized words to make the meaning clear. It should say: "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but [the important thing is] the keeping of the commandments of God."
Colossians 2:16-17 can be properly understood only if the KJV italicized word "is" in verse 17 is left out, as it should be. The message of these verses is: don't let men judge you as doing wrong when you observe the holy days, new moons and sabbaths; let the body of Christ (the Church) do the judging.
I Timothy 3:11 has "their" in italics, which is not implied in the original.
II Peter 2:5 should not have "person, a." Noah was the eighth preacher of righteousness.
I John 2:23 has "[but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also" in italics. This is an addition based upon the Latin text and not in the original Greek.
Punctuation Problems
Luke 23:43 has been erroneously used by some to claim that Jesus went straight to heaven at His death. The original Greek did not have punctuation marks as we do today. The KJV states, "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." The comma should not be after "thee", but "day." The believing malefactor would be with Christ in the paradise of the redeemed when he was resurrected far into the future.
Mark 16:9 does not say that Jesus was resurrected Sunday morning. There is a missing implied comma between "risen" and "early" and there should be no comma after week as the KJV has it: "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene . . . ." Thus, it should say, "Now when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene . . . ."
Here is a partial listing of King James Version translation errors:
Genesis 1:2 should read "And the earth became without form . . . ." The word translated "was" is hayah, and denotes a condition different than a former condition, as in Genesis 19:26.
Genesis 10:9 should read " . . . Nimrod the mighty hunter in place of [in opposition to] the LORD." The word "before" is incorrect and gives the connotation that Nimrod was a good guy, which is false.
Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26 in the KJV is "scapegoat" which today has the connotation of someone who is unjustly blamed for other's sins. The Hebrew is Azazel, which means "one removed or separated." The Azazel goal represents Satan, who is no scapegoat. He is guilty of his part in our sins.
Deuteronomy 24:1, "then let him" should be "and he." As the Savior explained in Matthew 19, Moses did not command divorcement. This statute is regulating the permission of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts.
II Kings 2:23, should be "young men", not "little children."
Isaiah 65:17 should be "I am creating [am about to create] new heavens and new earth . . . ."
Ezekiel 20:25 should read "Wherefore I permitted them, or gave them over to, [false] statutes that are not good, and judgments whereby they should not live." God's laws are good, perfect and right. This verse shows that since Israel rejected God's laws, He allowed them to hurt themselves by following false man made customs and laws.
Daniel 8:14 is correct in the margin, which substitutes "evening morning" for "days." Too bad William Miller didn't realize this.
Malachi 4:6 should read " . . . lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction." "Curse" doesn't give the proper sense here. Same word used in Zechariah 14:11.
Matthew 5:48 should be "Become ye therefore perfect" rather than "be ye therefore perfect." "Perfect" here means "spiritually mature." Sanctification is a process of overcoming with the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 24:22 needs an additional word to clarify the meaning. It should say "there should no flesh be saved alive."
Matthew 27:49 omits text which was in the original. Moffatt correctly adds it, while the RSV puts it in a footnote: "And another took a spear and pierced His side, and out came water and blood." The Savior's death came when a soldier pierced His side, Revelation 1:7.
Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . . ." should be translated literally, "Now late on Sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward the first day of the week . . . ." The Sabbath does not end at dawn but at dusk.
Luke 2:14 should say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of God's good pleasure or choosing." That is, there will be peace on earth among men who have God's good will in their hearts.
Luke 14:26 has the unfortunate translation of the Greek word miseo, Strong's #3404, as "hate", when it should be rendered "love less by comparison." We are not to hate our parents and family!
John 1:31, 33 should say "baptize" or "baptizing IN water" not with water. Pouring or sprinkling with water is not the scriptural method of baptism, but only thorough immersion in water.
John 1:17 is another instance of a poor preposition. "By" should be "through": "For the law was given by [through] Moses . . . ." Moses did not proclaim his law, but God's Law.
John 13:2 should be "And during supper" (RSV) rather than "And supper being ended" (KJV).
Acts 12:4 has the inaccurate word "Easter" which should be rendered "Passover." The Greek word is pascha which is translated correctly as Passover in Matthew 26:2, etc.
I Corinthians 1:18 should be: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God", rather than "perish" and "are saved." Likewise, II Thessalonians 2:10 should be "are perishing" rather than "perish."
I Corinthians 15:29 should be: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the hope of the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the hope of the dead?"
II Corinthians 6:2 should be "a day of salvation", instead of "the day of salvation." This is a quote from Isaiah 49:8, which is correct. The day of salvation is not the same for each individual. The firstfruits have their day of salvation during this life. The rest in the second resurrection.
I Timothy 4:8 should say, "For bodily exercise profiteth for a little time: but godliness in profitable unto all things . . . ."
I Timothy 6:10 should be, "For the love of money is a [not the] root of all evil . . . ."
Hebrews 4:8 should be "Joshua" rather than "Jesus", although these two words are Hebrew and Greek equivalents.
Hebrews 4:9 should read, "There remaineth therefore a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God."
Hebrews 9:28 is out of proper order in the King James. It should be: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them without sin that look for him shall he appear the second time unto salvation."
I John 5:7-8 contains additional text which was added to the original. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." The italicized text was added to the original manuscripts. Most modern translations agree that this was an uninspired addition to the Latin Vulgate to support the unscriptural trinity doctrine.
Revelation 14:4 should be "a firstfruits", because the 144,000 are not all the firstfruits.
Revelation 20:4-5 in the KJV is a little confusing until you realize that the sentence "This is the first resurrection." in verse five refers back to "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" in verse four.
Revelation 20:10, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [correction: should be 'were cast' because the beast and false prophet were mortal human beings who were burned up in the lake of fire 1,000 years previous to this time, Revelation 19:20], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The point is that Satan will be cast into the same lake of fire into which the beast and false prophet were cast a thousand years previously.
Revelation 22:2 should be "health" rather than "healing."
Italics: Sometimes Helpful, Sometimes Wrong
No language can be translated word for word into another language. Hebrew and Greek idioms often do not come through clearly into literal English. Thus, beginning in 1560 with the Geneva Bible, translators initiated the practice of adding italicized clarifying words to make the original language more plain. The fifty-four King James translators did the same. Often, the added italicized words do help make the meaning clearer. At other times, the translators through their doctrinal misunderstandings added errors instead.
In Psalms 81:4, "was" is totally uncalled for and not in the original Hebrew. New Moons are still a statute of God.
We have shown how in Revelation 20:10 that the italicized "are" is incorrect and that "were cast" in italics would have been more appropriate. Another instance is John 8:28 where Jesus said (KJV), "I am he." The "he" is in italics and was not actually spoken by Jesus, completely obscuring the fact the Jesus was claiming to be the great "I AM" of the Old Testament, John 8:58 and Exodus 3:14.
In Luke 3:23-38, the italicized words "the son" are not in the original Greek. Actually, Luke gives the fleshly descent of the Savior through Mary, while Matthew gives the legal descent through Joseph.
Matthew 24:24 should not have the italicized words "it were". It IS possible for the elect to be deceived. We need to be on guard!
Romans 1:7 incorrectly has the italicized words "to be." The fact is, Christians are now saints.
I Corinthians 7:19 needs some italicized words to make the meaning clear. It should say: "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but [the important thing is] the keeping of the commandments of God."
Colossians 2:16-17 can be properly understood only if the KJV italicized word "is" in verse 17 is left out, as it should be. The message of these verses is: don't let men judge you as doing wrong when you observe the holy days, new moons and sabbaths; let the body of Christ (the Church) do the judging.
I Timothy 3:11 has "their" in italics, which is not implied in the original.
II Peter 2:5 should not have "person, a." Noah was the eighth preacher of righteousness.
I John 2:23 has "[but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also" in italics. This is an addition based upon the Latin text and not in the original Greek.
Punctuation Problems
Luke 23:43 has been erroneously used by some to claim that Jesus went straight to heaven at His death. The original Greek did not have punctuation marks as we do today. The KJV states, "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." The comma should not be after "thee", but "day." The believing malefactor would be with Christ in the paradise of the redeemed when he was resurrected far into the future.
Mark 16:9 does not say that Jesus was resurrected Sunday morning. There is a missing implied comma between "risen" and "early" and there should be no comma after week as the KJV has it: "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene . . . ." Thus, it should say, "Now when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene . . . ."
Divorce and Remarriage
America leads the world in divorces. Divorce has become the nation's number one social and legal problem. The chances are almost one in three that your own marriage will end in divorce!
What are the real "Bible Grounds" for divorce and remarriage? What's the true significance of this alarming trend?
Here's a courageous straight-from-the-shoulder article daring to tell you the plain truth -- an article that will directly affect nearly every fourth reader!
The ALARMING rise in the divorce rate is not merely America's growing "Tragedy" -- it is America's growing SIN -- a sin which America could prevent, and for which she will PAY.
Every Fourth Home Affected!In telling you the PLAIN TRUTH on this vital subject, it is realized this truth strikes home to every fourth reader.
It's realized, too, that some will become offended at the truth. It is not our purpose, however, to offend people, but rather to please God and to carry out His solemn commission to us: "CRY ALOUD, SPARE NOT! LIFT UP THY VOICE LIKE A TRUMPET, AND SHOW MY PEOPLE THEIR TRANSGRESSION, AND THE HOUSE OF JACOB THEIR SINS!" Isaiah 58:1.
That we must do, no matter whom it offends -- and even though this sin reaches into, perhaps, every fourth home. This is an appalling national sin that reaches, also, to high Heaven and threatens to destroy this great nation and bring upon it the wrath of God.
But, if this sin exists in every fourth home, THAT IS THE MOST IMPELLING REASON FOR SENDING INTO THOSE HOMES GOD'S TRUTH!
Where GOD Places the Blame!Do you know where GOD places the blame for this colossal national sin? The Eternal places it squarely on the PREACHERS who have neglected telling the nation GOD'S TRUTH.
Listen to God's stinging indictment of the self-professing ministers! "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds (preachers) have caused them to go astray," Jeremiah 50:6.
In this article we propose to give you the plain WORD OF GOD, straight from the shoulder, hoping and praying you will not become angry at the truth. Those who do take offense will be offended at GOD and HIS WORD, because these laws are not ours, but GOD'S.
God's Laws Protect the HOMEDid you ever realize that God's laws are designed primarily to do two things -- (1) keep people in a close and right relationship with GOD and NEIGHBOR, and (2) protect the FAMILY -- the HOME?
God made the husband the head of the wife, and the parents the head over their children. The fifth command protects this relationship: "Honor thy father and thy mother." And, again: "Thou shalt not commit ADULTERY."
That command was given to PROTECT THE HOME! To prevent broken homes, juvenile delinquents, untrained children!
Marriage by God's Authority OnlyNow notice the first, original, fundamental, basic rule of all in the husband-and-wife -- the family -- relationship.
When God first created man upon the earth He ordained the marriage union. Marriage was not instituted by authority of a man-made court, or the laws of a legislature or a congress.
Notice: "And the Eternal GOD said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him," Genesis 2:18.
And Jesus said: ". . . from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be ONE FLESH . . . . What therefore GOD hath joined together, let not man put asunder . . . . And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery," Mark 10:6-9, 11-12.
There is the FOUNDATION of the marriage union!
There is the BASIS of family life! There is the DIVINE LAW upon which the fate of the nation rests!
Did you notice what that basis is?
Almighty GOD, not a human legislative body, created the human race -- made us male and female. When it is fully understood, and straightened in your mind, the whole question of divorce and remarriage will be clear.
It is GOD, not man, who joins husband and wife together!
We call marriage "HOLY matrimony," or "HOLY wedlock." Why? What makes it HOLY? Only the fact that it is a divine institution, ordained of GOD -- that it is GOD who joins the man and woman as ONE FLESH.
The minister doesn't "tie the knot." The minister, justice of the peace or other officer authorized by men, merely conducts the ceremony. It is ALMIGHTY GOD who "ties the knot." It is GOD who binds them as one flesh FOR LIFE.
It pertains to "saved" and "unsaved" alike -- to all races, creeds, and colors. It is not an ordinance of the CHURCH -- the marriage institution started with CREATION, long before there was any church. It is for MALE and FEMALE, regardless of the church. They become ONE FLESH, not one spirit. From Creation to now, every man and woman who have taken each other as man and wife have been JOINED TOGETHER as ONE FLESH by the Eternal GOD for the remainder of their natural lives!
One thing, and one only, can break that marriage union -- death!
Understand that BASIC FOUNDATION of the marriage institution, and everything else becomes clear. Marriage is not of human institution; it is not a political, a civil, a legal, or even a church institution -- it was originated with Adam and Eve from Creation; it was instituted by GOD, and not man; its authority is solely that of GOD, not man!
Therefore MAN-MADE LAWS CONTRARY TO THOSE OF GOD HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER MARRIAGE! Its only binding laws are those of GOD. And GOD HAS NEVER GIVEN ANY AUTHORITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY BODY OF MEN, CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL OR OTHERWISE, TO LEGISLATE ON MARRIAGE CONTRARY TO HIS MARRIAGE LAWS!
Since our human governments have legislated laws concerning marriage, and since we are to be SUBJECT to the government that is over us (but without breaking the laws of God), all couples naturally should satisfy the man-made laws so far as they conform to those of God, by securing a marriage license and having a legal ceremony properly recorded.
But every state legislature which passes laws authorizing divorce and remarriage is defying Almighty God, and WHOLLY WITHOUT AUTHORITY!
Any human judge who grants a divorce based upon such unauthorized man-made laws stands himself in contempt of the HIGHER court of the Eternal GOD! Anyone who procures a divorce from wife or husband from any such unauthorized human court receives a divorce which is INVALID -- not legal or binding according to the LAWS OF GOD!
When any person, holding such a "divorce," marries and lives with another, THE WHOLE PROCEDURE IS WITHOUT AUTHORITY FROM GOD -- and such a person is NOT in fact or in God's sight married to this second husband or wife, but instead is merely LIVING IN ADULTERY with this second person!
And any professing minister of Jesus Christ who performs such a ceremony involving such a divorced person is himself DOUBLY GUILTY, and will be so held in the final judgment!
Yes, the MAIN REASON for so much of this legally licensed (by man) ADULTERY in our land is the SILENCE of the ministers concerning the TRUTH -- their actual upholding and condoning of this SIN, their participation in it!
One incidental point should be made clear just here. The SIN is not the ceremony alone, but the SEX RELATIONSHIP which CONTINUES after the ceremony.
The Principal ScripturesThe basic Scriptures on the subject of marriage and divorce are these, in addition to those given above:
"It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I [Jesus Christ] say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery," (Matthew 5:31-32 -- part of Jesus' sermon on the Mount).
"The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be ONE FLESH? Wherefore they are no more twain, but ONE flesh. What therefore GOD hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto Him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery," Matthew 19:3-9.
Before quoting the other Scriptures, let us examine these more closely. Here are the ONLY TWO places in the New Testament where any exception whatsoever is given. Here, then, is stated the ONLY "BIBLE GROUNDS" for a second marriage (except, of course, after the death of a mate).
Notice, in speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus went back to the very beginning of creation for HIS AUTHORITY for the laws of God respecting marriage. The man-ordained laws in the nation Israel were contrary, and NOT BINDING TODAY.
But He did make one exception: "except it be for FORNICATION."
What is "fornication?"
Is it the same thing as adultery? NOT AT ALL! "Fornication" and "adultery" are two altogether different things.
Here is the Webster Dictionary definition: "Fornication -- Illicit sexual intercourse on the part of an UNMARRIED person." "Adultery -- Voluntary sexual intercourse by a married man with another than his wife or by a married woman with another than her husband."
"Fornication" is committed BEFORE marriage, and only by an UNmarried person. "Adultery" is UNFAITHFULNESS to a husband or wife.
Why did Jesus make this explanation about "except it be for fornication?" He was speaking to the strict, legalistically minded hypocritical Pharisees. They were questioning Him so closely about the laws of marriage in an effort to trap Him. They were familiar with every detail of the law. So to be explicit and legally exact in answering them, Jesus here referred to the laws as recorded in Deuteronomy 22:19 regarding marriage.
These laws provided that, if a man married a woman, and, after marriage found she had not been a virgin -- that she had committed fornication BEFORE marriage to him -- he was allowed to put her away. It was not actually a divorce but rather an ANNULMENT -- a canceling out of the marriage. The man had been tricked -- deceived -- the victim of a fraud. He had no way of knowing this until after the marriage ceremony. The assumption is that God, having known it, NEVER JOINED TOGETHER this man and woman at all. They are not bound in God's sight -- the ceremony is nullified, just as if it never had taken place. The man is left in the status of not having been married at all. He is, then, free to marry, just as if this fraudulent ceremony, now erased, had never occurred.
This is NOT strictly speaking a divorce, at all! It is not a separation, divorcing, or putting asunder of a couple joined as ONE FLESH by God, for in this case God never had joined them as one. WHAT God has actually joined together as ONE FLESH, God will not, and commands man not to separate. That is the principle.
The Old Testament ExampleTurn just briefly to the Old Testament scriptures.
"If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, and give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: . . . and the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; . . . because he hath brought an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and SHE SHALL BE HIS WIFE; HE MAY NOT PUT HER AWAY ALL HIS DAYS," Deuteronomy 22:13-19.
Notice, his EXCUSE for putting her away was that she was not a virgin -- that she had committed fornication BEFORE marriage to him. But in case the man accused her falsely and attempted by a lie to free himself from the marriage, the man was fined and punished and forced to take the woman as his wife for THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE -- because in this case she was a pure woman, NOT guilty of fornication but a virgin, and so GOD HAD JOINED THEM FOR LIFE, AND NO DIVORCE WAS PERMITTED FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER.
But, in case such a man rightly accused the woman he had married, notice how the law operates:
"But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's (not her husband's) house," verses 20-21.
This shows, too, how serious the sin of fornication is regarded by God. Today general estimates are that perhaps two out of three young women, and perhaps nine out of ten young men have been guilty of fornication before marriage! Yes, this is FOLLY IN ISRAEL TODAY! One a great proportion of young people today do not even consider seriously! This is just one of our popularly condoned SINS that is bringing DOOM to America today!
This shows HOW FAR this nation has drifted from God, and the low ebb of our morals! It paves the way for that still more serious sin, ADULTERY, with our national rampage of divorce and remarriage!
The NEW Testament ExampleThe New Testament example of this is in the case of the birth of Jesus Christ Himself.
These Christ-rejecting Pharisees, knowing that Joseph was not the real father of Jesus, and rejecting the truth that HE was conceived of the Holy Spirit, sneered at Him: "We be not born of fornication," John 8:41. By this they insinuated that His mother Mary was guilty of fornication before marriage, and Jesus of being illegitimately born. Plainly, they understood the meaning of "fornication" to be an act committed BEFORE marriage.
At first, even Joseph, Mary's husband, believed Mary to be guilty of fornication, and "with child" as a result, not knowing Jesus was begotten not by any human father, but by GOD through the Holy Spirit.
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused [married] to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband [they were already married, not just engaged], being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example [according to the law of Deuteronomy 22:20-21] was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit," Matthew 1:18-20.
Now notice carefully! Joseph knew God's laws regarding marriage. He supposed Mary guilty of fornication -- an act committed BEFORE marriage. He was going to put her away "before they came together" -- immediately! The point I want you to catch here is that if he were to take advantage of this one exception of fornication, he must do it BEFORE HE LIVED WITH HER AS A WIFE. He must not accept her as a wife at all, but before he does, if she is a fornicatress and he wishes to put her away, the marriage must be SET ASIDE -- erased, annulled.
But a man can, if he wishes, accept the woman he has married as his wife and live with her, in which case the union becomes valid in God's sight, and they are then BOUND TO EACH OTHER FOR LIFE. Undoubtedly, in a day of low morals and prevalent promiscuity before marriage such as exists today, the best course in such a case would be to forgive the sin of fornication, accept the wife or husband, in which case the marriage becomes binding, and live together.
A man or woman is not barred from marriage for life because of fornication. Although it is a sin, and very serious in God's sight, it is a sin that can be forgiven upon repentance by the blood of Christ, and it would be better, when two are in love, to forgive if either or both are guilty of fornication, and make the marriage binding.
Someone will be bound to bring up the question: "What if it is the MAN who was guilty of fornication -- can the woman put him away in the same manner?" While the scriptures are silent on this specifically, yet it is my judgment, and I believe I have the mind of God, that, since God has no double standard, and is no respecter of persons, that this law applies exactly the same to either sex.
Another question is bound to arise: "What if this fornication is not discovered for, say, two years, or ten or twenty years? Can the injured man or woman after all that time put away the mate on the grounds of something that happened BEFORE marriage?" Again, while the scriptures do not cover this point specifically, the PRINCIPLE revealed is that a marriage may be SET ASIDE when this pre-marital sin is discovered after marriage, but "before they come together," as specifically illustrated in the case of Joseph and Mary. In such a case the man must not live with the woman as his wife at all, or the woman with the man if he is the guilty one. But, if they do take each other in the marriage relationship and live together as husband and wife, they are then JOINED BY GOD, legally married, and there can be NO DIVORCE.
Certainly a man could not, for instance, continue to live with a wife as long as he pleases, KNOWING she had been a fornicatress, with a ready excuse any time he decides he would like to get rid of her. If he accepts her, HE IS BOUND TO HER FOR LIFE, and she to him if she accepts him. If a man or woman knows the other has been guilty of fornication, and marries anyway, then THERE ARE NO GROUNDS WHATEVER FOR DIVORCE. The only grounds are when the innocent party was deceived and defrauded.
Thus the ONE EXCEPTION mentioned by Jesus is not actually grounds for a divorce and remarriage at all -- but merely the annulling, or erasing, of a ceremony in which the parties were not actually joined by God at all.
Adultery Not Bible GroundsI have heard many people speak of "adultery" as "the Bible grounds for divorce." It will come as a great surprise to many, therefore, that ADULTERY is no grounds whatever for divorce! There are NO GROUNDS WHATSOEVER for divorce and remarriage, once joined by God for life!
Consider, now, the other principal New Testament scriptures on the question:
"And He saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery," Mark 10:11-12. Notice, it does not say "did commit adultery in the ceremony," but "committeth" -- that is, is NOW COMMITTING adultery by a sex relationship with one to whom he or she is not married in God's sight.
"Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery," Luke 16:18.
Is One Bound to a Sinning Mate?
A listener asks if he is bound to live with a non-Christian and sinning wife. The answer is, he is BOUND to her by marriage, and therefore is not free as long as she lives, to marry any other woman, but he is not required to live with her -- he may live apart from her, and remain unmarried, except to her.
Here is the scripture on the point:
"And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife," I Corinthians 7:10-11. It applies equally whether man or woman.
Further: " . . . If any brother [Christian] hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman [Christian] which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him . . . . But if the unbelieving depart, let him [or her] depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases," Verses 12-15.
It is a COMMAND of God, II Corinthians 6:14, that Christians shall not marry unbelievers, and trouble nearly always results when this command is broken. But IF one is married to an unbeliever, the marriage is a physical, not a spiritual union, and they are then BOUND as long as they live. The Christian is not forced, however, to live with the unbelieving mate, but must, in that case, live as one single. There are no grounds for divorce and remarriage.
Again, in I Corinthians 7:39: "The wife is BOUND by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."
Now Romans 7:2-3, "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married toanother man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from the law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man."
Some have written me that they were not converted when they divorced, or married, or remarried, arguing that since they were not then Christians the marriage didn't "count," or, that since the divorce and remarriage occurred before conversion, and the knowledge of the truth, that God should wink at it, and asking if it is not right for them to now continue living with one divorced. I repeat, MARRIAGE IS A FLESH UNION, instituted by GOD at Creation, before there was any Church -- it applies for ALL PEOPLE, from Creation, through all dispensations and ages, and is for Egyptians, Russians, Chinese or Indians, as well as for Americans and Canadians -- it applies to the unconverted as well as the converted. The only exception is that a converted person should avoid marrying an unconverted.
If a man was a thief before he was converted, is it right for him to continue stealing after conversion? Nonsense! The converted person must REPENT of sin -- must QUIT SINNING -- and living with one divorced and actually bound by God's law to another is LIVING IN ADULTERY.
Jesus was talking at a well to a Gentile woman from Samaria.
"I have no husband," answered the woman. Jesus said, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands'; and he whom thou now hast IS NOT THY HUSBAND: in that saidst thou truly," John 4:16-18. She was a divorced and remarried woman, and the man she lived with was NOT HER HUSBAND, though she had "married" him. Hollywood is full of such women today!
John the Baptist finally paid with his life, because as a faithful servant of God he warned King Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his brother Phillip's wife. Josephus tells us Herod had divorced his wife and married Philip's wife, who in turn had divorced Philip.
WHAT, Then, Shall We Do?I know full well that literally THOUSANDS will read this article, who have been divorced and remarried, or have married a divorced person. I know only too well that the question will come to thousands of you, for the first time: "Well, then, if I am living in adultery, WHAT SHALL I DO?"
My heart goes out to all such people. Being human, I wish I could spare them God's answer, but God helping me, I can't! He has called me to "Cry aloud, and SPARE NOT, and show My people their sins." He has called me to TURN YOU FROM YOUR SINS -- that isn't often pleasant for me, or easy for you. It is the greater pity that most such people are the innocent victims of either false teaching, or lack of teaching. GOD HOLDS THE PROFESSING MINISTERS TO BLAME!
But, hard as it may be to have to say it, all I can say as a faithful minister of Jesus Christ is: "COME OUT OF SIN" and "QUIT LIVING IN SIN!"
Adultery is SIN -- and if one of the two parties, or both, has been divorced, and the previous husband or wife is still living, then the present "marriage" is not a marriage at all in GOD'S SIGHT -- you are STILL BOUND BY GOD to the one from whom you were divorced, and the one you now live with is NOT your husband or your wife, but merely the one with whom you are LIVING IN ADULTERY!
Yes, I know, all kinds of complications arise. There is property involved. Perhaps there are children. Perhaps there is, now, a home with children by this second marriage. And it SEEMS wrong and unjust in human eyes to break it up. So human beings usually begin to argue that God isn't fair, and try to find a way around God's commands! But "there is a way that seemeth RIGHT to a man, but the end thereof are the WAYS OF DEATH." So says God's Word! We are to obey God, not human reasoning. No matter how it looks to us, no matter how we reason, GOD'S WAYS AND THE LAWS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT -- MORE FAIR BY FAR -- THAN THE WAYS THAT SEEM RIGHT TO US!
Remember, God's laws are not made to break up homes, but to establish and PROTECT them -- and if it SEEMS to human reason that in rectifying these sins that homes might be broken up, I can only remind you that it was the original DIVORCE which broke up a God-established home, and the home made by divorced persons is a home founded on ADULTERY, ugly as this fact may seem.
Marriage is not taken seriously enough in America today. Young people are not taught to realize its serious responsibility -- that it is for LIFE. Too many marriages should never have been made, in the first place. But, once made, they are BINDING! Too few know the difference between LOVE and LUST. We are attempting to found the American home today upon IGNORANCE, CARELESSNESS, AND SIN. No wonder we are becoming a nation of broken homes and juvenile delinquents!
God help all who are guilty of this sin, innocent of intentional wrong through ignorance of GOD'S TRUTH and His ETERNAL LAWS, to have the courage to PUT THIS SIN OUT OF THEIR LIVES, and to quit living in ADULTERY!
God help all such not to put human reasoning, or the false advice of ministers, in the place of the PLAIN LAWS OF GOD! It makes no difference how we REASON, as to what is fair or unfair -- it makes no difference how many MEN professing to be ministers of Jesus Christ advise you otherwise, THE MARRIAGE LAWS WERE ORDAINED BY GOD; they were ordained AT CREATION; they are binding UPON ALL MEN AND WOMEN OF ALL RACES, IN ALL AGES, WHETHER BELIEVER OR UNBELIEVER; GOD'S LAWS ARE INEXORABLE AND CANNOT BE CHANGED; AND LIVING IN A MARRIAGE AFTER DIVORCE IS LIVING IN ADULTERY -- THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS -- AND ALL HUMAN REASONING AND ASSURANCES OF THIS WORLD'S MINISTERS WILL BE OF NO AVAIL IN THE JUDGMENT!
It cannot be denied that, once entangled in this violation of God's marriage laws, an apparent injustice may be brought on innocent people by now OBEYING God's commands.
BUT I STILL SAY THAT NO MATTER HOW IT MAY APPEAR, NO MATTER HOW WE HUMANS MAY REASON, IT IS ALWAYS BETTER, IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCE, TO FOLLOW THE LAWS OF GOD AND OBEY HIS COMMANDS!
Yes, the horrible thing about sin is that the innocent suffer with the guilty. Penalties from past sins cannot always be avoided. But to continue in sin only brings further penalties!
What so few seem to realize is that THESE LAWS OF GOD ARE LIVING THINGS! These laws are actually IN MOTION! They are instituted and set in motion to BRING US HAPPINESS and to PROTECT our happiness. We never fare better by following some other way of human reasoning, no matter how the special circumstances of an individual case may APPEAR.
If we dare to break these laws of God, WE SUFFER! These laws are active, living things -- and THEY CRACK DOWN ON US when they are disobeyed! They are INVISIBLE laws. Perhaps it may SEEM to a man some other way is the better way. But always, in all cases, that other way that seemeth RIGHT to a man will only bring on more unhappiness and suffering!
God, who instituted these laws, IS ABLE TO ALTER CIRCUMSTANCES so as to BLESS those who put their faith in Him by following HIS ways, and obeying HIS laws, instead of the traditions, customs, and reasonings of mortal humans! Of course, where sins have been committed, there are penalties. But STILL the lesser of the two evils is to OBEY GOD'S LAWS in regard to the marriage relationship! If you permit human reason to lead you into transgressing
them, no matter how RIGHT that course may SEEM to you, God's INEXORABLE LAWS WILL PUNISH YOU and you will suffer far more -- be far more unhappy. Trust God -- turn to Him, OBEY HIM -- quit living in adultery; or, if you were contemplating a divorce and remarriage, put away that temptation -- AND SEE WHETHER THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR IS NOT ABLE TO WORK CIRCUMSTANCES OUT TO A REALLY HAPPY SOLUTION!
Suffering and unhappiness come ONLY from living contrary to God's laws! Happiness can come ONLY by living according to them. May God help each one to see this basic TRUTH -- to FEAR to go contrary to it -- and to PUT HIS FAITH IN GOD!
What are the real "Bible Grounds" for divorce and remarriage? What's the true significance of this alarming trend?
Here's a courageous straight-from-the-shoulder article daring to tell you the plain truth -- an article that will directly affect nearly every fourth reader!
The ALARMING rise in the divorce rate is not merely America's growing "Tragedy" -- it is America's growing SIN -- a sin which America could prevent, and for which she will PAY.
Every Fourth Home Affected!In telling you the PLAIN TRUTH on this vital subject, it is realized this truth strikes home to every fourth reader.
It's realized, too, that some will become offended at the truth. It is not our purpose, however, to offend people, but rather to please God and to carry out His solemn commission to us: "CRY ALOUD, SPARE NOT! LIFT UP THY VOICE LIKE A TRUMPET, AND SHOW MY PEOPLE THEIR TRANSGRESSION, AND THE HOUSE OF JACOB THEIR SINS!" Isaiah 58:1.
That we must do, no matter whom it offends -- and even though this sin reaches into, perhaps, every fourth home. This is an appalling national sin that reaches, also, to high Heaven and threatens to destroy this great nation and bring upon it the wrath of God.
But, if this sin exists in every fourth home, THAT IS THE MOST IMPELLING REASON FOR SENDING INTO THOSE HOMES GOD'S TRUTH!
Where GOD Places the Blame!Do you know where GOD places the blame for this colossal national sin? The Eternal places it squarely on the PREACHERS who have neglected telling the nation GOD'S TRUTH.
Listen to God's stinging indictment of the self-professing ministers! "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds (preachers) have caused them to go astray," Jeremiah 50:6.
In this article we propose to give you the plain WORD OF GOD, straight from the shoulder, hoping and praying you will not become angry at the truth. Those who do take offense will be offended at GOD and HIS WORD, because these laws are not ours, but GOD'S.
God's Laws Protect the HOMEDid you ever realize that God's laws are designed primarily to do two things -- (1) keep people in a close and right relationship with GOD and NEIGHBOR, and (2) protect the FAMILY -- the HOME?
God made the husband the head of the wife, and the parents the head over their children. The fifth command protects this relationship: "Honor thy father and thy mother." And, again: "Thou shalt not commit ADULTERY."
That command was given to PROTECT THE HOME! To prevent broken homes, juvenile delinquents, untrained children!
Marriage by God's Authority OnlyNow notice the first, original, fundamental, basic rule of all in the husband-and-wife -- the family -- relationship.
When God first created man upon the earth He ordained the marriage union. Marriage was not instituted by authority of a man-made court, or the laws of a legislature or a congress.
Notice: "And the Eternal GOD said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him," Genesis 2:18.
And Jesus said: ". . . from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be ONE FLESH . . . . What therefore GOD hath joined together, let not man put asunder . . . . And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery," Mark 10:6-9, 11-12.
There is the FOUNDATION of the marriage union!
There is the BASIS of family life! There is the DIVINE LAW upon which the fate of the nation rests!
Did you notice what that basis is?
Almighty GOD, not a human legislative body, created the human race -- made us male and female. When it is fully understood, and straightened in your mind, the whole question of divorce and remarriage will be clear.
It is GOD, not man, who joins husband and wife together!
We call marriage "HOLY matrimony," or "HOLY wedlock." Why? What makes it HOLY? Only the fact that it is a divine institution, ordained of GOD -- that it is GOD who joins the man and woman as ONE FLESH.
The minister doesn't "tie the knot." The minister, justice of the peace or other officer authorized by men, merely conducts the ceremony. It is ALMIGHTY GOD who "ties the knot." It is GOD who binds them as one flesh FOR LIFE.
It pertains to "saved" and "unsaved" alike -- to all races, creeds, and colors. It is not an ordinance of the CHURCH -- the marriage institution started with CREATION, long before there was any church. It is for MALE and FEMALE, regardless of the church. They become ONE FLESH, not one spirit. From Creation to now, every man and woman who have taken each other as man and wife have been JOINED TOGETHER as ONE FLESH by the Eternal GOD for the remainder of their natural lives!
One thing, and one only, can break that marriage union -- death!
Understand that BASIC FOUNDATION of the marriage institution, and everything else becomes clear. Marriage is not of human institution; it is not a political, a civil, a legal, or even a church institution -- it was originated with Adam and Eve from Creation; it was instituted by GOD, and not man; its authority is solely that of GOD, not man!
Therefore MAN-MADE LAWS CONTRARY TO THOSE OF GOD HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER MARRIAGE! Its only binding laws are those of GOD. And GOD HAS NEVER GIVEN ANY AUTHORITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY BODY OF MEN, CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL OR OTHERWISE, TO LEGISLATE ON MARRIAGE CONTRARY TO HIS MARRIAGE LAWS!
Since our human governments have legislated laws concerning marriage, and since we are to be SUBJECT to the government that is over us (but without breaking the laws of God), all couples naturally should satisfy the man-made laws so far as they conform to those of God, by securing a marriage license and having a legal ceremony properly recorded.
But every state legislature which passes laws authorizing divorce and remarriage is defying Almighty God, and WHOLLY WITHOUT AUTHORITY!
Any human judge who grants a divorce based upon such unauthorized man-made laws stands himself in contempt of the HIGHER court of the Eternal GOD! Anyone who procures a divorce from wife or husband from any such unauthorized human court receives a divorce which is INVALID -- not legal or binding according to the LAWS OF GOD!
When any person, holding such a "divorce," marries and lives with another, THE WHOLE PROCEDURE IS WITHOUT AUTHORITY FROM GOD -- and such a person is NOT in fact or in God's sight married to this second husband or wife, but instead is merely LIVING IN ADULTERY with this second person!
And any professing minister of Jesus Christ who performs such a ceremony involving such a divorced person is himself DOUBLY GUILTY, and will be so held in the final judgment!
Yes, the MAIN REASON for so much of this legally licensed (by man) ADULTERY in our land is the SILENCE of the ministers concerning the TRUTH -- their actual upholding and condoning of this SIN, their participation in it!
One incidental point should be made clear just here. The SIN is not the ceremony alone, but the SEX RELATIONSHIP which CONTINUES after the ceremony.
The Principal ScripturesThe basic Scriptures on the subject of marriage and divorce are these, in addition to those given above:
"It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I [Jesus Christ] say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery," (Matthew 5:31-32 -- part of Jesus' sermon on the Mount).
"The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be ONE FLESH? Wherefore they are no more twain, but ONE flesh. What therefore GOD hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto Him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery," Matthew 19:3-9.
Before quoting the other Scriptures, let us examine these more closely. Here are the ONLY TWO places in the New Testament where any exception whatsoever is given. Here, then, is stated the ONLY "BIBLE GROUNDS" for a second marriage (except, of course, after the death of a mate).
Notice, in speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus went back to the very beginning of creation for HIS AUTHORITY for the laws of God respecting marriage. The man-ordained laws in the nation Israel were contrary, and NOT BINDING TODAY.
But He did make one exception: "except it be for FORNICATION."
What is "fornication?"
Is it the same thing as adultery? NOT AT ALL! "Fornication" and "adultery" are two altogether different things.
Here is the Webster Dictionary definition: "Fornication -- Illicit sexual intercourse on the part of an UNMARRIED person." "Adultery -- Voluntary sexual intercourse by a married man with another than his wife or by a married woman with another than her husband."
"Fornication" is committed BEFORE marriage, and only by an UNmarried person. "Adultery" is UNFAITHFULNESS to a husband or wife.
Why did Jesus make this explanation about "except it be for fornication?" He was speaking to the strict, legalistically minded hypocritical Pharisees. They were questioning Him so closely about the laws of marriage in an effort to trap Him. They were familiar with every detail of the law. So to be explicit and legally exact in answering them, Jesus here referred to the laws as recorded in Deuteronomy 22:19 regarding marriage.
These laws provided that, if a man married a woman, and, after marriage found she had not been a virgin -- that she had committed fornication BEFORE marriage to him -- he was allowed to put her away. It was not actually a divorce but rather an ANNULMENT -- a canceling out of the marriage. The man had been tricked -- deceived -- the victim of a fraud. He had no way of knowing this until after the marriage ceremony. The assumption is that God, having known it, NEVER JOINED TOGETHER this man and woman at all. They are not bound in God's sight -- the ceremony is nullified, just as if it never had taken place. The man is left in the status of not having been married at all. He is, then, free to marry, just as if this fraudulent ceremony, now erased, had never occurred.
This is NOT strictly speaking a divorce, at all! It is not a separation, divorcing, or putting asunder of a couple joined as ONE FLESH by God, for in this case God never had joined them as one. WHAT God has actually joined together as ONE FLESH, God will not, and commands man not to separate. That is the principle.
The Old Testament ExampleTurn just briefly to the Old Testament scriptures.
"If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, and give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: . . . and the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; . . . because he hath brought an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and SHE SHALL BE HIS WIFE; HE MAY NOT PUT HER AWAY ALL HIS DAYS," Deuteronomy 22:13-19.
Notice, his EXCUSE for putting her away was that she was not a virgin -- that she had committed fornication BEFORE marriage to him. But in case the man accused her falsely and attempted by a lie to free himself from the marriage, the man was fined and punished and forced to take the woman as his wife for THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE -- because in this case she was a pure woman, NOT guilty of fornication but a virgin, and so GOD HAD JOINED THEM FOR LIFE, AND NO DIVORCE WAS PERMITTED FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER.
But, in case such a man rightly accused the woman he had married, notice how the law operates:
"But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's (not her husband's) house," verses 20-21.
This shows, too, how serious the sin of fornication is regarded by God. Today general estimates are that perhaps two out of three young women, and perhaps nine out of ten young men have been guilty of fornication before marriage! Yes, this is FOLLY IN ISRAEL TODAY! One a great proportion of young people today do not even consider seriously! This is just one of our popularly condoned SINS that is bringing DOOM to America today!
This shows HOW FAR this nation has drifted from God, and the low ebb of our morals! It paves the way for that still more serious sin, ADULTERY, with our national rampage of divorce and remarriage!
The NEW Testament ExampleThe New Testament example of this is in the case of the birth of Jesus Christ Himself.
These Christ-rejecting Pharisees, knowing that Joseph was not the real father of Jesus, and rejecting the truth that HE was conceived of the Holy Spirit, sneered at Him: "We be not born of fornication," John 8:41. By this they insinuated that His mother Mary was guilty of fornication before marriage, and Jesus of being illegitimately born. Plainly, they understood the meaning of "fornication" to be an act committed BEFORE marriage.
At first, even Joseph, Mary's husband, believed Mary to be guilty of fornication, and "with child" as a result, not knowing Jesus was begotten not by any human father, but by GOD through the Holy Spirit.
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused [married] to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband [they were already married, not just engaged], being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example [according to the law of Deuteronomy 22:20-21] was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit," Matthew 1:18-20.
Now notice carefully! Joseph knew God's laws regarding marriage. He supposed Mary guilty of fornication -- an act committed BEFORE marriage. He was going to put her away "before they came together" -- immediately! The point I want you to catch here is that if he were to take advantage of this one exception of fornication, he must do it BEFORE HE LIVED WITH HER AS A WIFE. He must not accept her as a wife at all, but before he does, if she is a fornicatress and he wishes to put her away, the marriage must be SET ASIDE -- erased, annulled.
But a man can, if he wishes, accept the woman he has married as his wife and live with her, in which case the union becomes valid in God's sight, and they are then BOUND TO EACH OTHER FOR LIFE. Undoubtedly, in a day of low morals and prevalent promiscuity before marriage such as exists today, the best course in such a case would be to forgive the sin of fornication, accept the wife or husband, in which case the marriage becomes binding, and live together.
A man or woman is not barred from marriage for life because of fornication. Although it is a sin, and very serious in God's sight, it is a sin that can be forgiven upon repentance by the blood of Christ, and it would be better, when two are in love, to forgive if either or both are guilty of fornication, and make the marriage binding.
Someone will be bound to bring up the question: "What if it is the MAN who was guilty of fornication -- can the woman put him away in the same manner?" While the scriptures are silent on this specifically, yet it is my judgment, and I believe I have the mind of God, that, since God has no double standard, and is no respecter of persons, that this law applies exactly the same to either sex.
Another question is bound to arise: "What if this fornication is not discovered for, say, two years, or ten or twenty years? Can the injured man or woman after all that time put away the mate on the grounds of something that happened BEFORE marriage?" Again, while the scriptures do not cover this point specifically, the PRINCIPLE revealed is that a marriage may be SET ASIDE when this pre-marital sin is discovered after marriage, but "before they come together," as specifically illustrated in the case of Joseph and Mary. In such a case the man must not live with the woman as his wife at all, or the woman with the man if he is the guilty one. But, if they do take each other in the marriage relationship and live together as husband and wife, they are then JOINED BY GOD, legally married, and there can be NO DIVORCE.
Certainly a man could not, for instance, continue to live with a wife as long as he pleases, KNOWING she had been a fornicatress, with a ready excuse any time he decides he would like to get rid of her. If he accepts her, HE IS BOUND TO HER FOR LIFE, and she to him if she accepts him. If a man or woman knows the other has been guilty of fornication, and marries anyway, then THERE ARE NO GROUNDS WHATEVER FOR DIVORCE. The only grounds are when the innocent party was deceived and defrauded.
Thus the ONE EXCEPTION mentioned by Jesus is not actually grounds for a divorce and remarriage at all -- but merely the annulling, or erasing, of a ceremony in which the parties were not actually joined by God at all.
Adultery Not Bible GroundsI have heard many people speak of "adultery" as "the Bible grounds for divorce." It will come as a great surprise to many, therefore, that ADULTERY is no grounds whatever for divorce! There are NO GROUNDS WHATSOEVER for divorce and remarriage, once joined by God for life!
Consider, now, the other principal New Testament scriptures on the question:
"And He saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery," Mark 10:11-12. Notice, it does not say "did commit adultery in the ceremony," but "committeth" -- that is, is NOW COMMITTING adultery by a sex relationship with one to whom he or she is not married in God's sight.
"Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery," Luke 16:18.
Is One Bound to a Sinning Mate?
A listener asks if he is bound to live with a non-Christian and sinning wife. The answer is, he is BOUND to her by marriage, and therefore is not free as long as she lives, to marry any other woman, but he is not required to live with her -- he may live apart from her, and remain unmarried, except to her.
Here is the scripture on the point:
"And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife," I Corinthians 7:10-11. It applies equally whether man or woman.
Further: " . . . If any brother [Christian] hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman [Christian] which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him . . . . But if the unbelieving depart, let him [or her] depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases," Verses 12-15.
It is a COMMAND of God, II Corinthians 6:14, that Christians shall not marry unbelievers, and trouble nearly always results when this command is broken. But IF one is married to an unbeliever, the marriage is a physical, not a spiritual union, and they are then BOUND as long as they live. The Christian is not forced, however, to live with the unbelieving mate, but must, in that case, live as one single. There are no grounds for divorce and remarriage.
Again, in I Corinthians 7:39: "The wife is BOUND by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."
Now Romans 7:2-3, "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married toanother man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from the law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man."
Some have written me that they were not converted when they divorced, or married, or remarried, arguing that since they were not then Christians the marriage didn't "count," or, that since the divorce and remarriage occurred before conversion, and the knowledge of the truth, that God should wink at it, and asking if it is not right for them to now continue living with one divorced. I repeat, MARRIAGE IS A FLESH UNION, instituted by GOD at Creation, before there was any Church -- it applies for ALL PEOPLE, from Creation, through all dispensations and ages, and is for Egyptians, Russians, Chinese or Indians, as well as for Americans and Canadians -- it applies to the unconverted as well as the converted. The only exception is that a converted person should avoid marrying an unconverted.
If a man was a thief before he was converted, is it right for him to continue stealing after conversion? Nonsense! The converted person must REPENT of sin -- must QUIT SINNING -- and living with one divorced and actually bound by God's law to another is LIVING IN ADULTERY.
Jesus was talking at a well to a Gentile woman from Samaria.
"I have no husband," answered the woman. Jesus said, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands'; and he whom thou now hast IS NOT THY HUSBAND: in that saidst thou truly," John 4:16-18. She was a divorced and remarried woman, and the man she lived with was NOT HER HUSBAND, though she had "married" him. Hollywood is full of such women today!
John the Baptist finally paid with his life, because as a faithful servant of God he warned King Herod that it was not lawful for him to have his brother Phillip's wife. Josephus tells us Herod had divorced his wife and married Philip's wife, who in turn had divorced Philip.
WHAT, Then, Shall We Do?I know full well that literally THOUSANDS will read this article, who have been divorced and remarried, or have married a divorced person. I know only too well that the question will come to thousands of you, for the first time: "Well, then, if I am living in adultery, WHAT SHALL I DO?"
My heart goes out to all such people. Being human, I wish I could spare them God's answer, but God helping me, I can't! He has called me to "Cry aloud, and SPARE NOT, and show My people their sins." He has called me to TURN YOU FROM YOUR SINS -- that isn't often pleasant for me, or easy for you. It is the greater pity that most such people are the innocent victims of either false teaching, or lack of teaching. GOD HOLDS THE PROFESSING MINISTERS TO BLAME!
But, hard as it may be to have to say it, all I can say as a faithful minister of Jesus Christ is: "COME OUT OF SIN" and "QUIT LIVING IN SIN!"
Adultery is SIN -- and if one of the two parties, or both, has been divorced, and the previous husband or wife is still living, then the present "marriage" is not a marriage at all in GOD'S SIGHT -- you are STILL BOUND BY GOD to the one from whom you were divorced, and the one you now live with is NOT your husband or your wife, but merely the one with whom you are LIVING IN ADULTERY!
Yes, I know, all kinds of complications arise. There is property involved. Perhaps there are children. Perhaps there is, now, a home with children by this second marriage. And it SEEMS wrong and unjust in human eyes to break it up. So human beings usually begin to argue that God isn't fair, and try to find a way around God's commands! But "there is a way that seemeth RIGHT to a man, but the end thereof are the WAYS OF DEATH." So says God's Word! We are to obey God, not human reasoning. No matter how it looks to us, no matter how we reason, GOD'S WAYS AND THE LAWS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT -- MORE FAIR BY FAR -- THAN THE WAYS THAT SEEM RIGHT TO US!
Remember, God's laws are not made to break up homes, but to establish and PROTECT them -- and if it SEEMS to human reason that in rectifying these sins that homes might be broken up, I can only remind you that it was the original DIVORCE which broke up a God-established home, and the home made by divorced persons is a home founded on ADULTERY, ugly as this fact may seem.
Marriage is not taken seriously enough in America today. Young people are not taught to realize its serious responsibility -- that it is for LIFE. Too many marriages should never have been made, in the first place. But, once made, they are BINDING! Too few know the difference between LOVE and LUST. We are attempting to found the American home today upon IGNORANCE, CARELESSNESS, AND SIN. No wonder we are becoming a nation of broken homes and juvenile delinquents!
God help all who are guilty of this sin, innocent of intentional wrong through ignorance of GOD'S TRUTH and His ETERNAL LAWS, to have the courage to PUT THIS SIN OUT OF THEIR LIVES, and to quit living in ADULTERY!
God help all such not to put human reasoning, or the false advice of ministers, in the place of the PLAIN LAWS OF GOD! It makes no difference how we REASON, as to what is fair or unfair -- it makes no difference how many MEN professing to be ministers of Jesus Christ advise you otherwise, THE MARRIAGE LAWS WERE ORDAINED BY GOD; they were ordained AT CREATION; they are binding UPON ALL MEN AND WOMEN OF ALL RACES, IN ALL AGES, WHETHER BELIEVER OR UNBELIEVER; GOD'S LAWS ARE INEXORABLE AND CANNOT BE CHANGED; AND LIVING IN A MARRIAGE AFTER DIVORCE IS LIVING IN ADULTERY -- THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS -- AND ALL HUMAN REASONING AND ASSURANCES OF THIS WORLD'S MINISTERS WILL BE OF NO AVAIL IN THE JUDGMENT!
It cannot be denied that, once entangled in this violation of God's marriage laws, an apparent injustice may be brought on innocent people by now OBEYING God's commands.
BUT I STILL SAY THAT NO MATTER HOW IT MAY APPEAR, NO MATTER HOW WE HUMANS MAY REASON, IT IS ALWAYS BETTER, IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCE, TO FOLLOW THE LAWS OF GOD AND OBEY HIS COMMANDS!
Yes, the horrible thing about sin is that the innocent suffer with the guilty. Penalties from past sins cannot always be avoided. But to continue in sin only brings further penalties!
What so few seem to realize is that THESE LAWS OF GOD ARE LIVING THINGS! These laws are actually IN MOTION! They are instituted and set in motion to BRING US HAPPINESS and to PROTECT our happiness. We never fare better by following some other way of human reasoning, no matter how the special circumstances of an individual case may APPEAR.
If we dare to break these laws of God, WE SUFFER! These laws are active, living things -- and THEY CRACK DOWN ON US when they are disobeyed! They are INVISIBLE laws. Perhaps it may SEEM to a man some other way is the better way. But always, in all cases, that other way that seemeth RIGHT to a man will only bring on more unhappiness and suffering!
God, who instituted these laws, IS ABLE TO ALTER CIRCUMSTANCES so as to BLESS those who put their faith in Him by following HIS ways, and obeying HIS laws, instead of the traditions, customs, and reasonings of mortal humans! Of course, where sins have been committed, there are penalties. But STILL the lesser of the two evils is to OBEY GOD'S LAWS in regard to the marriage relationship! If you permit human reason to lead you into transgressing
them, no matter how RIGHT that course may SEEM to you, God's INEXORABLE LAWS WILL PUNISH YOU and you will suffer far more -- be far more unhappy. Trust God -- turn to Him, OBEY HIM -- quit living in adultery; or, if you were contemplating a divorce and remarriage, put away that temptation -- AND SEE WHETHER THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR IS NOT ABLE TO WORK CIRCUMSTANCES OUT TO A REALLY HAPPY SOLUTION!
Suffering and unhappiness come ONLY from living contrary to God's laws! Happiness can come ONLY by living according to them. May God help each one to see this basic TRUTH -- to FEAR to go contrary to it -- and to PUT HIS FAITH IN GOD!
divorce clarified
Good News - Page 2 Oct/Nov 1979 SPELLING OUT THE OFFICIAL DOCTRINE ON DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE by Herbert W. Armstrong
page 2 Good News Oct/Nov 1979
It seems we never did "spell out" the details of how the 1974 decision on D & R should be applied in various cases. Result: There has been a grievous watering down.
THERE IS ONE great difference between the law of God and the laws made by human government. God has given us His law in form of general principles to be applied in various cases, whereas in national laws, state laws and city ordinances, MAN tries to make multiple thousands of laws, "spelling out" every little detail in a separate law.
It is made clear for us in the third chapter of II Corinthians. "[God] also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit" (verse 6).
God's law is given in one single word — LOVE. God is love, His law is love — that word sums up God's CHARACTER. The law then is amplified into the two Great Laws, love toward God, and love toward neighbor. God amplifies it a little further in the Ten Commandments — the first four giving the broad principles of how to love God and the last six how to love neighbor. But God intended us to understand the PRINCIPLE involved and apply it honestly.
Now it comes to my attention that many are finding gray areas in the D & R law. I will try to spell out a little further in a general way, and those who seek the WAY OF GOD instead of their own way will have, I hope, no difficulty in applying God's law properly according to its intended spirit. Otherwise, those who try to reason around God's law to have their own way will stand condemned in the sight of God.
GOD DOES NOT COMPROMISE WITH, OR WATER DOWN HIS LAW. Rather than that He GAVE His only begotten Son Jesus to pay the penalty of repented sin in our stead. Two major categories
Actually what happened in 1974 was not a CHANGE in the Church's definition of God's law, but the ADDITION of a second reason for divorce and remarriage we should have, but did not see before — so now we have the TWO categories.
First, just as we understood it in the Church before, Jesus gave fornication (prior to marriage) as the grounds for nullifying a marriage. This clearly was a form of fraud. When discovered (in nearly all cases) immediately after marriage, it simply meant God, knowing of this fraud, had actually not bound the marriage — and what followed therefore was actually an annulment, not a divorce.
However this did not apply in cases of marriage by unconverted people. God never bound them anyway — they were bound by man's law, and any divorce and/or remarriage would be according to man's civil law. But the Church would not apply this annulment if the couple had continued living together for a period of time. There could be other types of fraud — such as a marriage enforced at the point of a gun.
The second cause for divorce, affirmed by the Church through Christ's apostle in 1974, was based on I Corinthians 7.
This matter of D & R was the biggest, most troublesome problem in the Church. One day my son, Garner Ted, came to me saying it did not appear to be a problem in the early Church at all — according to the book of Acts and Paul's epistles. He asked why. Dr. Herman Hoch then added something to the problem, and we discovered this teaching in I Corinthians 7. We had been very familiar with I Corinthians 7 before, but had not recognized this D & R teaching in it.
Paul there speaks, verses 8-9, to the unmarried and widows. In verses 10-11 he speaks to the married. Beginning verse 12 he speaks to "the rest." If a converted man has a wife who is an unbeliever, causing trouble and disrupting the marriage because of the man's religion (NOTICE IT CAREFULLY), if she is pleased to live with him, he must not divorce her — he has NO GROUNDS for divorce and remarriage.
Likewise the woman in God's Church, if she has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to live with her despite her religion, she shall not leave him (verse 13).
But if the unbelieving one leaves — cuts off the marriage because of the Church member's religion — let him or her depart. Now NOTICE THIS! The believing Church member is not given grounds for breaking off the marriage. It is only IF the unbelieving one leaves - severs the marriage relationship — then and only then is the believer (Church member) no longer bound and free to obtain a divorce (verse 15).
I conceive of this occurring in at least two ways. 1) The believing Church member has been newly converted, and the mate refuses to live with him or her because of the religion. 2) Both had been in the Church, but one falls away, turns bitter against the Church, refuses to live as husband or wife with the still loyal member. In this case the embittered one, leaving the Church, has become an unbeliever.
Sanctified by the converted mate
Now Paul gives an important REASON for the converted mate CONTINUING in the marriage, IF the unbelieving one is willing. Notice verse 14: "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now they are holy."
"Sanctified" does NOT mean made sanctimonious or holy. "Sanctified" means "set apart" or put in a separate category.
To thoroughly understand this we need to go clear back to Adam and Eve. When God drove them out of the Garden of Eden, and with sword-flaming angels barred anyone from going back in — or having access to the tree of life (the HOLY SPIRIT) — God said, in effect:
"You have made your decision. You have rebelled against me, denied me as your GOD, your Revealer of knowledge, your Ruler. Therefore I sentence you and the WORLD that shall be born from you to 6,000 years of being CUT OFF from me — except for the VERY FEW I shall specially tall into my service to prepare for the KINGDOM OF GOD."
Jesus confirmed this when He said "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44).
Now the nation of ancient Israel was specially called by God the Father for a special purpose — even though they were still cut off from receiving the Holy Spirit.
But the unconverted mate is put in a special category — NOT CALLED NECESSARILY TO RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT OR SPIRITUAL CONVERSION — but simply NOT CUT OFF from God. They are free to seek God, IF THEY WILL, and to become converted. They are placed in a special category, neither converted, or CALLED for God's special duty in conversion — but, on the other hand, NOT actually cut OFF - not in the category Jesus spoke of, saying no such unbeliever CAN come to Jesus, except by special call to salvation by God the Father. They are free to SEEK GOD and to SEEK conversion IF THEY WILL — not CUT OFF! Applies to children also
This same status applies to the children of the converted mate. They are neither CALLED to salvation NOR cut off from God. They may be taught by the believing parent, and, reaching maturity, IF they will, to SEEK CONVERSION. They are free to seek it — no longer CUT OFF from Christ.
Notice I Corinthians 7, verse 16: "For what knowest thou, 0 wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, 0 man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?"
If the husband or wife who is IN the Church divorces the unbelieving non-member who is willing to continue the marriage, that Church member puts the unconverted mate in the CUTOFF category - whereas such nonmember mate might have been saved for eternal life in God's Kingdom. Don't twist God's truth NOW WHY — OH WHY? — do professing members of God's Church seek to reason their way around God's plain teaching, and those in the Church who are NOT eligible for divorce, seek to use human reason to TWIST these scriptures into allowing a divorce and remarriage that GOD'S WORD DOES NOT ALLOW?
Yet many, professing to be converted members of God's Church, have done just that! Brethren, have I labored IN VAIN to open your minds to GOD'S GLORIOUS TRUTH, and yet you despise the Word of God and twist a gray area situation by your own faulty reasons to HAVE YOUR OWN WAY, contrary to God's Word? Have I labored so long among you IN VAIN?
Some have falsely claimed theirs is a borderline case, and used their own selfish and erroneous REASON to enter into a D & R situation CONTRARY TO GOD'S WORD!
Even after the 1974 D & R ruling, my son Garner Ted Armstrong frowned upon D & R decisions made by the Church or its ministers. I am informed that Wayne Cole and Ron Dart, in offices of Pastoral Administration, tried to avoid committing themselves in any such case.
In cases where a man and wife have been married for almost a quarter of a century, human reason has been used by Church members to allow divorce and both parties to remarry! In one case, the wife of nearly 25 years, who had actually "pursued" her husband prior to marriage, claimed she just didn't love him anymore. Both she and her husband are now remarried!
Such cases are a STENCH in the nostrils of a just GOD! They are a disgrace to a church calling itself GOD'S CHURCH! Such liberal decisions and actions SHALL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED in the Church of GOD, preparing now for Christ's second coming!
The matter of fornication or other fraud prior to marriage CANNOT BE USED AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE, after the couple have gone on living together. Unless such fraud is acted on at once — as soon as discovered, IT IS NO GROUNDS for divorce and remarriage!
Jesus said plainly, "whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" (Matt. 5:32).
We are living in the LAST DAYS! Jesus Christ is COMING AGAIN — SOON! When He comes His Church shall have made herself READY for the one SUPREME MARRIAGE TO CHRIST! We are NOT yet ready! We are full of spiritual blemishes, spots and wrinkles. We have been allowing lust, coveting and serious SINS to invade this Church!
I am now calling on this Church to CLEAN UP!
page 2 Good News Oct/Nov 1979
It seems we never did "spell out" the details of how the 1974 decision on D & R should be applied in various cases. Result: There has been a grievous watering down.
THERE IS ONE great difference between the law of God and the laws made by human government. God has given us His law in form of general principles to be applied in various cases, whereas in national laws, state laws and city ordinances, MAN tries to make multiple thousands of laws, "spelling out" every little detail in a separate law.
It is made clear for us in the third chapter of II Corinthians. "[God] also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit" (verse 6).
God's law is given in one single word — LOVE. God is love, His law is love — that word sums up God's CHARACTER. The law then is amplified into the two Great Laws, love toward God, and love toward neighbor. God amplifies it a little further in the Ten Commandments — the first four giving the broad principles of how to love God and the last six how to love neighbor. But God intended us to understand the PRINCIPLE involved and apply it honestly.
Now it comes to my attention that many are finding gray areas in the D & R law. I will try to spell out a little further in a general way, and those who seek the WAY OF GOD instead of their own way will have, I hope, no difficulty in applying God's law properly according to its intended spirit. Otherwise, those who try to reason around God's law to have their own way will stand condemned in the sight of God.
GOD DOES NOT COMPROMISE WITH, OR WATER DOWN HIS LAW. Rather than that He GAVE His only begotten Son Jesus to pay the penalty of repented sin in our stead. Two major categories
Actually what happened in 1974 was not a CHANGE in the Church's definition of God's law, but the ADDITION of a second reason for divorce and remarriage we should have, but did not see before — so now we have the TWO categories.
First, just as we understood it in the Church before, Jesus gave fornication (prior to marriage) as the grounds for nullifying a marriage. This clearly was a form of fraud. When discovered (in nearly all cases) immediately after marriage, it simply meant God, knowing of this fraud, had actually not bound the marriage — and what followed therefore was actually an annulment, not a divorce.
However this did not apply in cases of marriage by unconverted people. God never bound them anyway — they were bound by man's law, and any divorce and/or remarriage would be according to man's civil law. But the Church would not apply this annulment if the couple had continued living together for a period of time. There could be other types of fraud — such as a marriage enforced at the point of a gun.
The second cause for divorce, affirmed by the Church through Christ's apostle in 1974, was based on I Corinthians 7.
This matter of D & R was the biggest, most troublesome problem in the Church. One day my son, Garner Ted, came to me saying it did not appear to be a problem in the early Church at all — according to the book of Acts and Paul's epistles. He asked why. Dr. Herman Hoch then added something to the problem, and we discovered this teaching in I Corinthians 7. We had been very familiar with I Corinthians 7 before, but had not recognized this D & R teaching in it.
Paul there speaks, verses 8-9, to the unmarried and widows. In verses 10-11 he speaks to the married. Beginning verse 12 he speaks to "the rest." If a converted man has a wife who is an unbeliever, causing trouble and disrupting the marriage because of the man's religion (NOTICE IT CAREFULLY), if she is pleased to live with him, he must not divorce her — he has NO GROUNDS for divorce and remarriage.
Likewise the woman in God's Church, if she has an unbelieving husband, and he is willing to live with her despite her religion, she shall not leave him (verse 13).
But if the unbelieving one leaves — cuts off the marriage because of the Church member's religion — let him or her depart. Now NOTICE THIS! The believing Church member is not given grounds for breaking off the marriage. It is only IF the unbelieving one leaves - severs the marriage relationship — then and only then is the believer (Church member) no longer bound and free to obtain a divorce (verse 15).
I conceive of this occurring in at least two ways. 1) The believing Church member has been newly converted, and the mate refuses to live with him or her because of the religion. 2) Both had been in the Church, but one falls away, turns bitter against the Church, refuses to live as husband or wife with the still loyal member. In this case the embittered one, leaving the Church, has become an unbeliever.
Sanctified by the converted mate
Now Paul gives an important REASON for the converted mate CONTINUING in the marriage, IF the unbelieving one is willing. Notice verse 14: "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now they are holy."
"Sanctified" does NOT mean made sanctimonious or holy. "Sanctified" means "set apart" or put in a separate category.
To thoroughly understand this we need to go clear back to Adam and Eve. When God drove them out of the Garden of Eden, and with sword-flaming angels barred anyone from going back in — or having access to the tree of life (the HOLY SPIRIT) — God said, in effect:
"You have made your decision. You have rebelled against me, denied me as your GOD, your Revealer of knowledge, your Ruler. Therefore I sentence you and the WORLD that shall be born from you to 6,000 years of being CUT OFF from me — except for the VERY FEW I shall specially tall into my service to prepare for the KINGDOM OF GOD."
Jesus confirmed this when He said "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44).
Now the nation of ancient Israel was specially called by God the Father for a special purpose — even though they were still cut off from receiving the Holy Spirit.
But the unconverted mate is put in a special category — NOT CALLED NECESSARILY TO RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT OR SPIRITUAL CONVERSION — but simply NOT CUT OFF from God. They are free to seek God, IF THEY WILL, and to become converted. They are placed in a special category, neither converted, or CALLED for God's special duty in conversion — but, on the other hand, NOT actually cut OFF - not in the category Jesus spoke of, saying no such unbeliever CAN come to Jesus, except by special call to salvation by God the Father. They are free to SEEK GOD and to SEEK conversion IF THEY WILL — not CUT OFF! Applies to children also
This same status applies to the children of the converted mate. They are neither CALLED to salvation NOR cut off from God. They may be taught by the believing parent, and, reaching maturity, IF they will, to SEEK CONVERSION. They are free to seek it — no longer CUT OFF from Christ.
Notice I Corinthians 7, verse 16: "For what knowest thou, 0 wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, 0 man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?"
If the husband or wife who is IN the Church divorces the unbelieving non-member who is willing to continue the marriage, that Church member puts the unconverted mate in the CUTOFF category - whereas such nonmember mate might have been saved for eternal life in God's Kingdom. Don't twist God's truth NOW WHY — OH WHY? — do professing members of God's Church seek to reason their way around God's plain teaching, and those in the Church who are NOT eligible for divorce, seek to use human reason to TWIST these scriptures into allowing a divorce and remarriage that GOD'S WORD DOES NOT ALLOW?
Yet many, professing to be converted members of God's Church, have done just that! Brethren, have I labored IN VAIN to open your minds to GOD'S GLORIOUS TRUTH, and yet you despise the Word of God and twist a gray area situation by your own faulty reasons to HAVE YOUR OWN WAY, contrary to God's Word? Have I labored so long among you IN VAIN?
Some have falsely claimed theirs is a borderline case, and used their own selfish and erroneous REASON to enter into a D & R situation CONTRARY TO GOD'S WORD!
Even after the 1974 D & R ruling, my son Garner Ted Armstrong frowned upon D & R decisions made by the Church or its ministers. I am informed that Wayne Cole and Ron Dart, in offices of Pastoral Administration, tried to avoid committing themselves in any such case.
In cases where a man and wife have been married for almost a quarter of a century, human reason has been used by Church members to allow divorce and both parties to remarry! In one case, the wife of nearly 25 years, who had actually "pursued" her husband prior to marriage, claimed she just didn't love him anymore. Both she and her husband are now remarried!
Such cases are a STENCH in the nostrils of a just GOD! They are a disgrace to a church calling itself GOD'S CHURCH! Such liberal decisions and actions SHALL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED in the Church of GOD, preparing now for Christ's second coming!
The matter of fornication or other fraud prior to marriage CANNOT BE USED AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE, after the couple have gone on living together. Unless such fraud is acted on at once — as soon as discovered, IT IS NO GROUNDS for divorce and remarriage!
Jesus said plainly, "whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" (Matt. 5:32).
We are living in the LAST DAYS! Jesus Christ is COMING AGAIN — SOON! When He comes His Church shall have made herself READY for the one SUPREME MARRIAGE TO CHRIST! We are NOT yet ready! We are full of spiritual blemishes, spots and wrinkles. We have been allowing lust, coveting and serious SINS to invade this Church!
I am now calling on this Church to CLEAN UP!
THE DAY THAT BEGINS THE END...
A Sermon Transcribed
THE DAY THAT BEGINS THE END...
(by: Mr. Keith Brittain)
Personal notes from Sabbath services of 7/28/90
Some very beautiful words to the special music, I know that had to be composed by one of our people. Certainly look forward brethren to the World Tomorrow when all the music will be beautiful. And you won't have to be selective anymore as you turn the radio dial. Instead, all the songs will be songs full of meaning; praise to God and of course gratefulness to be a part of the wonderful World Tomorrow.
Some of the brethren; as you realize I guess? This is my first sermon since I've been to England, and some of the brethren were asking me if I'd speak about England or say something in relation to the trip. I will in part in some ways indirectly brethren as I go through the sermon. You will perhaps of noticed that one thing I did make sure of this year when I went to England, I arranged my return date for July the 5th. This way I would not have to put up with any of that July the 4th nonsense! I was out of the country. Actually I was watching a football game on July the 4th when, England played West Germany, and lost. So when they lost I was glad to come back, you don't have to worry, I'm glad to be back here.
I'd like you to turn brethren to Daniel chapter 12 and the last verses of the book of Daniel, to a prophecy that has particular application to the Church of God today, to our future as it will be in a few years time. Daniel was told to go his way, that it was not for him to understand many of the things that he had written. But the angel having told him that made one last prophecy, a prophecy about our time , in verse 11 of Daniel 12: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days" (1290), which is a period of three years and seven months. And we know of course that the Third world war occupies a period of three years and six months, 1260 days. But two other lengths of time are given here; the twelve ninety days with the extra month and then verse 12: "Blessed is he who waits, or as Bullinger puts it: 'Is stead fast', some have believed that it has the meaning 'endurs', "and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days". An extra 45 days on top of the twelve ninety, because 1290 of course from 1335 leaves you with a month and a half (45 days).
Now we have shone you brethren, in the past, that the conclusion the Church has come to is that that 45 days from the standpoint of "he that is steadfast, he that endures" relates to a period of persecution on the Church of God just before it flees to the place of safety. And with regard to the extra month there in verse 11; as it says in Hosea 5 and verse 7 the next book, Hosea 5 and verse 7 and the latter part of the verse: "Now shall a month devour them with there portions". So the church will go through a special trial that last 45 days, and those that endure it will be accounted worthy evidently to go to the place of safety. And after the church flees there is a month, a month before the final and total desolation of the Anglo-Saxon peoples.....
Part of the question that I want to put to you today brethren is "during that 45 days" - What will be the attitude of the outside world to the Church of God? Lets turn to 1st Kings chapter 18 and beginning in verse 17. Because we are in this sermon brethren going to deal with the last day particularly of those 45, "The Day That Begins The End", and that is the title to this sermon. Because the last day of the 45 is "The Day That Begins The End" because that's when the Church flees to the place of safety; as we understand these prophecies in the Church of God. And at that point "they'll be no man standing in the gap" when God looks upon this nation; the Laodicieans will still be here, but they'll be no man spiritually qualified to stand in the gap - spiritually strong enough. And when that time comes God says in Ezekiel: "Because there is no man to make up the hedge or stand in the gap", then the beginning of the end will be here with our people.
But how will they regard us during those last 45 days? 1Kings 18 and verse 17. We are a part as the bible shows in the last verses of Malachi, of an Elijah like work. And these were the words spoken by the king of Israel to the first Elijah - aforerunner of our work of God today. "And it came to pass (verse 17) when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Are you he that troubles Israel?" Now, obviously, Elijah was not a criminal. Elijah was not an individual who had gone around robbing banks or shooting up people or being a part of terrorists activities, he had simply spoken the words of God! He had done nobody any harm. And yet, because he spoke the truth of God he was regarded by those who did not want to believe that truth, as one that troubled Israel. Now in verse 18 Elijah gave the truth of the matter, he answered: "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of God and you have followed Baalim". But of course people in this world will not blame themselves for the troubles that come upon the nation. And certainly, Elijah as we know from the story was responsible from God for calling a drought upon the nation of Israel back then, which will probably be repeated in future history of our nation before the end is over with. That we will be regarded as troubling Israel, because of certain of the prophecies we will be making at that time. We'll be regarded as a cult in the eyes of many, as a group certainly out of step with the rest of society, we will be despised and as Jesus Christ said: "In that day you'll be hated of all men for My name sake". So that when the Church of God does get up and leave this nation, the vast majority are going to be saying "Good Riddens"; with them go a portion of our troubles and our difficulties.
Psalm 69 brethren and beginning in verse 7, "Because for your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face". You want to know what it will be like during that final 45 days, verse 8, "I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mothers children." Christ talks of the time when we'll be betrayed of kinsfolk and even former members within the Church. It says why in verse 9, "For the zeal of your house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached you are fallen upon me." In reality they hate the truth of Jesus Christ, but they can't persecute Jesus Christ, as they did 2000 years ago , because He's not around so they persecute those who are His servants. As Jesus said to Saul: "Saul, Saul, why persecute you Me?". Saul was waging war on the Church of God, but Christ said your persecuting Me in so doing. And so the reproaches of those that reproach Jesus Christ, in the end time, fall upon us! "When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gates speak against me; I was the song of the drunkards." We will be ridiculed brethren, as well as hated, we will be despised, and people will have nothing but contempt for members of the Church of God during that 45 day period. And so clearly, we understand why it will be a time of testing and trial... and why we will have to endure and remain steadfast if we want to be accounted worthy to escape the things that are to come to pass.
How did they regard Noah, brethren, as he prepared for his place of safety? A hundred and twenty years, preaching to the people that the end was coming and building a huge ship out on dry land with no where for it to go; because he didn't need to build it near a river and he didn't need to build it near the ocean. It wasn't going to need that kind of proximity to water because water was going to come to this boat, the boat was not going to go to water! But of course the people did not believe the prophecies, and Noah's Ark was undoubtedly for a 120 years in the building the great tourist attraction in the middle east. You know, "Noah's Folly", as people came from miles around to see this crazy thing of the biggest boat that had ever been built and was being built on dry land, it had no where to go!! But it was a tremendous witness and an act of faith on the part of Noah; he was saying a great flood is coming and only those that are on that boat are going to escape when it arrive's. But of course, it was utterly ridicules, it was totally stupid in the eyes of people what he was preaching and what he was doing!... And so, just as Noah was ridiculed for his work brethren so we also will be ridiculed, and most certainly as Christ prophecied we'll be called the servants of satan and it will be said that we are doing the devil's work. You see part of the problem was that Elijah was troubling the moral of the nation. He was telling them that they were being punished for their disobedience - to God!!! And when we say the same thing, in direct contradiction of what all the Protestant churches in this land will be saying; when we say that the troubles American and Britain are experiencing is because God is punishing our people and calling them to repentance!!! There big question is what in the world do we have to repent of?? Were are a God fearing people, were a Christian nation!! You people are a bunch of weirdos and fanatics.... And truly in consequence, we'll be regarded as trouble makers, as dooms day prophets... And, we will be so hated, that when the time comes for the Church of God to flee to the place of safety, as I mentioned, people will be saying: "Good Riddens" to that group, we won't have to listen to them anymore. No more of their "Plain Truth", no more of their "World Tomorrow" telecast, we can have some peace at last as things are going to go right for us now because we got rid of these servants of the devil.
But if the world, brethren, will be glad to see us go on that last day of the 45, will we ourselves be happy to leave?
Now, through the decades gone by of this era of the Church of God there has been of course the speculation that the place of safety could be in Petra, and a lot of people have, you know, got themselves hung up on the Scriptures that can be used to indicate that. And, very much thought in terms of when they would go to Petra; sort of made it a great goal in mind, I called them "Petrified Christians". Through the years many brethren have got excited about going to this fabulous place of safety, a sort of Spiritual Eldorado for the Church of God - a Grand Shangrila. And certainly brethren there is the desire to escape this societies problems, the difficulties that we have in living in this world. Of wanting to get away from it all. And even for some there is a desire to go to the place of safety so they can prove to their relatives and to their former friends: 'See, the Church I joined was right after all, all along', which of course is a totally wrong attitude. Yes, it will be a relief to go brethren. It will be a relief to escape this world, it will be a relief to be accounted worthy in the sight of God, to be accounted Philadelphian. Every last one of us will be glad that we no longer have to live in satan's world. But over shadowing those concepts will be an awful feeling of sorrow, when we leave... because the day we go brethren, is "The Day That Begins The End".... All our former friends... and all our relatives... are going to suffer terribly, in what will follow, after the Church of God is gone. Because there will be nobody any longer to stand in the gap, before God.
You know it's not going to be a great day of celebration when you board a plane or whatever method of travel it is for our people to go to the place of safety. There will be that sigh of relief, that you have been accounted worthy to escape, but there will be a time of great sadness in your heart when you go.... When Noah entered the Ark brethren; yes it was a relief for him also to no longer have to suffer the ridicule of this world, to no longer have to suffer persecution... But you know when the rains came, after the doors to the Ark were closed, and that Ark began to lift up in the water and they could hear the screams outside of people drowning, and then finally the screams were stilled and there was nothing but the howling wind and the waves lashing against the Ark; there was a tremendous sense of finality.... and an emptiness and a deep heart ache undoubtedly, in every last one of those eight people on board.... The cold, the gloom, the half light and the knowledge as they sat there in that Ark, meditating, and thinking about people they had known - that every last one who had not boarded the Ark was now dead! All there former relations, friends, kinsfolk were gone. It was for them brethren, a terrible sense of loss in the day that they went and boarded their place of safety. You'll be glad when your on the plane to see fellow members on board with you. But as that plane takes off and you look out of the window at the land your leaving behind brethren, your thoughts will turn to those human beings, in that land, in that country, that you've left behind... to a land that you'll see no more in this world... Your thoughts will turn to what will happen to America after you are gone, and no prayer you can offer to God at that point will be able to stop the onslaught of the coming tribulation....
Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and beginning in verse 2, there are times when we a Ministers, brethren, have to bring to you sermons that are perhaps of a more sobering nature. But it's simply because of the times in which we live and also because of the command and the instructions given to us by Almighty God to do so. We sound a warning not to just the world, we also sound it to ourselves within the Church. We blow the trumpet not just to mankind... we blow it to ourselves here, because of the great danger that lies for us in the years ahead, because there will be those who survived the seventies who will not survive the nineties.... And there are those who are coming into the Church of God now who when the next major trial engulfs this Church will not have sufficient standing with God to survive it; who would not have applied certain of the things that were said for instance by Mr. Shaw in the sermonette, and in consequence will not have a strong enough hold on God to survive that which is to come... But God says to us in Ecclesiastes 7 and in verse 2: "It is better to go to the house of morning than to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of morning, but the heart of the fools is in the house of mirth." Now God intends brethren that we be Christians who are happy, who are rejoicing in our calling, who are looking forward to His wonderful World Tomorrow. But we also live in a time of terrible sadness, a time of trouble to come such as have never been before Jesus Christ said, and we cannot simply look forward in vision to the World Tomorrow without considering, all that is going to happen to human kind around us. Those who have not been blessed and not as fortunate as ourselves to be called into the Church. By the luck of the draw we are here!! And where the world is concerned: 'There but for the grace of God go you or I brethren,' if God had not called us. And God is saying that when an individual dies it's better to go to the house of morning than to consider the end of that person as it relates to yourself cause you and I also will one day die. There will be an end for each one of us brethren, whether it be before the return of Jesus Christ or whether it be when our bodies are consumed in spirit at the first resurrection when Christ returns. But today were not considering the end of a person, were considering the death of a nation.... and "The Day That Begins The End" for America and for Britain....
Though we don't like to consider some of these things brethren, the Bible obligates us to do so. Because God has given so many prophecies of what His punishment will be like, as a warning to us also, that we might remain faithful to our calling and escape what is to come to pass. Which is spoken of in Ezekiel 5 and beginning in verse 1: "And you son of man, take you a sharp knife, take you a barber's razor, cause it to pass upon you head and upon your beard; then take you balances to weigh and divide the hair." Now why was it, in this symbolism of Israel, that God said to the prophet Ezekiel, 'take some of the hair off your own head and some of the hair off your beard to represent Israel'? Because we have to understand brethren that those people out there are a part of ourselves, at least THEY OUGHT TO BE!! If we have the Spirit of God within us and we deeply care for the people in this world, as Jesus Christ cared for them, then they are a part, in one sense, of our own body. To represent the people of Israel who were against Ezekiel - God said to Ezekiel: "Take hair off your own head and off your own face", "And you shall burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are fulfilled", because there is going to be an economic blockade and a siege of the Anglo-Saxon peoples' in these coming trading blocks, before the end. "And you shall take a third part and smite about it with a knife, and a third part you shall scatter in the wind and I will draw out a sword after them." They go into captivity and many of them still die in slavery.....
But while your doing this, and before..... "The Day That Begins The End", "You should take also thereof a few in number and bind them in your skirts", those that represent the Church of God! "Bind them in your skirts", as a type of the protection that God is willing to afford His people. But some don't allow themselves to be accounted worthy of that protection, and so He says verse 4: "Take of them again", those that you bound up in your skirts, "and cast them in the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire." Because the Laodicean era, all of them, will die in the tribulation.... There will be no survivors... of that era of God's Church..... The Philadelphians will out live them in the place of safety. The sixth era out lives the seventh.... "For thereof shall come a fire forth into all the house of Israel". In conjunction with that great economic blockade will come a drought and a dust bowl all over again, such as was in the 1930's, but a dust bowl of far more reaching extent than what happened in Oklahoma and those surrounding states. And, we will be prophecying to the people when the drought and the difficulties come upon America: That this is the hand of God!! And the people are to repent and change there ways while there is still time for them to do so. But they will refuse, and because they will refuse they will hate the people that are telling them the truth, the "Plain Truth", and in consequence we'll be persecuted to the point where God if He did not take us to a place of safety we would die here in Israel, let alone in the tribulation.
Deuteronomy 28 and beginning in verse 22. This is your nation brethren, and you keep July the 4th to commemorate it's birthday. And I'm sure there's a feeling of patriotism in you, towards your nation, that if I talk in terms of America you can feel perhaps more deeply than you can for another nation of this world. It's the same with myself, we have to learn to rise above national borders. We have to learn to feel for all people. But obviously, your homeland has a particular place in your heart, the place you were born. And so, you can consider things more in depth, if I can use it that way, from the standpoint of the way you feel about your home, where you were born, and the people that you grew up with and your relatives that are still back there. Many of you don't have the kind of experience that I have or Mr. Orchard has, because we live in what to us yes, is a foreign country, even though you regard us as the foreigners. But each time we go back to visit our home country, when we get on the plane to leave we never know when it's going to be the last time for us. See, I don't believe at this point; because of the changes that are taking place on the world scene, and with the work of God and its move to Big Sandy, that I've visited England for the last time. There were times in the past though, particularly when the Church believed in 1972, when I did truly wonder "Was this the last time?" But if it wasn't the last time for me this year brethren there is a time coming when I will visit it for the last time, and there will be a last good-bye. And so there's something that, as a foreigner living here I experience when I go to my homeland and I leave it, that many of you have not yet experienced, and will not yet experience directly, until "The Day That Begins The End"!! Until it comes time for you to leave your homeland, the land in which you were born, the land that gave you your education, your culture, your prosperity and you've envied so many of the blessings that were promised to Abraham and to Joseph in this land in which you live.
Now I can think to times when I've gone back to visit England; there was a time after God called me - and I was working one summer before I went to Ambassador College. And I was new in God's truth and I was out working at a farm with some other men. And came lunch time, we were out; we went to visit different farms to pick up certain things so this was just a certain day that we were at this place, the other men decided that they would go to the pub in the village to get a beer. I didn't think that was necessarily appropriate for me so - cause I was new in the Church and I went ahead and just had a lunch with me. I went out to the back of this farm. And this village was way off in the English country side and at the back of this farm was a very deep valley; they've made a reservoir there now, since I've left England. But I remember sitting at one of the hedges there, overlooking this valley eating my lunch, and there was such a total peace in that English country side. The birds were singing, the valley was verdant and green; I had such a sense of tremendous peace.. it was just like you were there all alone with God. And it was a beautiful and a wonderful feeling. But you can find spots here in America brethren where you can look at tremendous beauty, a lavish verdant green as it is in certain areas of the country; not here in California I know but further back East, and you know that one day its not going to look like that anymore... That instead of a beautiful blue sky with white clouds God says it's going to be as brass above us. And the ground beneath your feet is going to be dry, it going to be dust, the ground is going to be parched and cracked. Instead of the song of the birds that gives that sense of wonderful peace when you sit some where as I did in that place in the English countryside near a small English village. The birds won't be singing anymore... because they'll be dying. You'll only here the cows bellowing in pain and in starvation, because of all that is happening to the land.
Deuteronomy 28 and verse 22, "The LORD shall smite you with a consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with extreme burning, with a sword, with blasting and with mildew; and they shall purse you until you perish. And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass and your earth that is under your feet shall be iron. Then God shall make the rain of your land powder and dust". The great dust bowls of the 1930's to come back once again in even greater magnitude. "From heaven it shall come down upon you until you be destroyed"..... Where England is concerned for me, the green, green grass of home is going to disappear, and a land that in the last 2000 years has never experienced, as far as we know, drought and famine, serious drought and famine... is going to finally experience the worst of all time. The rich, loamy soil, is going to become baron from the dryness in the land. Verse 68, and when that terrible time is over, where the land is concerned, then God says: "God shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I spoke to you, you shall see it no more again. And there shall you be sold to your enemies for bondsman and bondswomen, and no man shall buy you back." A Scripture that has not yet been fulfilled because Israel has never gone to Egypt in ships. Every time they've gone in the past, as I mentioned to you once before, they've always walked or traveled by camel. This Scripture at the end of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28, has never been fulfilled , and therefore clearly, it is a prophecy for the future.
But it goes beyond brethren the condition of the land, the trees that no longer have leaves upon them, the hedge rows that are empty of life and the cattle bellowing for lack of water and feed. It goes beyond the condition of the land to the condition of the people during this time. There's the witness of a man, God had it put in the Bible, who saw this kind of destruction, the first time it happened !! Lamentations chapter 2 and verse 11, and some of this we will witness brethren before we flee..... So that when you finally board that plane to leave, though you have a sense of relief, there will be that awful sense of finality - it's over.... there's no more work you can do to save them or help them... they are truly a doomed people..... Your relatives, your friends and some in the Church that your leaving behind, who have proved to be Laodicean - it will be a great time of sadness.... And so in Lamentations 2 and verse 11, Jeremiah says: "Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers. Where is the corn and the wine? When they swoon as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out in their mother's bosom. What thing shall I take to witness for you? what thing shall I liken you to, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equal to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion?", there's nothing, there's never been anything so bad, "for your breach is great like the sea: who can heal you?"..... Verse 20: "Behold, O God, and consider to whom you have done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and the children of a span long?" - shall they feed on their own children...... "shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Eternal? The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; you have slain them in the day of your anger; you have killed, and not pitted." Chapter 4, verse 3: "Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the sucking child (chapter 4 and verse 4) cleaves to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaks it to them"..... Verse 9: "They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field. And the hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they have eaten their own children in the destruction of the daughter of my people.......
You see brethren.... knowing all these things, there won't be any rejoicing in going to the place of safety. A sense of relief, yes. But otherwise, a tremendous amount of sadness and sorrow. When you board that plane and when you look out of the window, as that plane takes off, at your homeland, for the last time, there won't be a dry eye on board that plane.... And there won't be much conversation, just a silence and a thoughtfulness, because you know there's nothing more you can do to help them - it's over, for them.... And when I go back to England each time, as I say, there are memories for me, because of my childhood and my growing up there. But each time I've gone back, knowing that some time would be the last time, I've always considered, what it would be like... and wondered about the time I would make my last good-by?.... There's a school that I went to, and they have a cricket pavilion, and on occasion I've gone back to visit the school, to walk around it, to see the changes they've made. Its a sizeable place and occupies a good portion of acreage, in fact it's a very well known school in the county. And you can go to that cricket pavilion and on the wall you'll see the names of those that were the Captains of the cricket team, but they also include the Captains of those who played field hockey, the Captain of the first division of rugger. And for the young boys going there now when they walk into that cricket pavilion and they look at these names from say, 1957 or 1961, those names mean nothing to them. I mean there living in a different generation, 3 decades later, 30 years! So they weren't born at this time, they look at the names - it has no meaning at all. But I can stand there, and I can look at names written for the years of 57, 58, 60, 61, and those names conjure up for me faces, images of people I once knew. They conjure up experiences that we went through together, because those people were a part of my life at one time. And you remember, happy memories yes, but you think about those people and you wonder where they are now and what became of them. And you know that even if they had a successful life, sadly; though you don't know what has become of them now, you do know what will become of them in a few years time.
Now I don't mean brethren that in going to England each time, you know, it's an unhappy or an unpleasant memory. There are a lot of things that I can go back and enjoy; relatives and getting to meet one or two people that, you know, obviously I haven't seen for a distance or for period of time. And there are plenty of things to enjoy while I'm over there. In fact if you went to visit my home town you'd have some difficulty because you wouldn't even be able to speak the lingo. You think they speak your language over there - I'm afraid not. One of my kids went over there with me and said: "You know these people over here talk funny." Ah, if you think Mr. Orchard sounds strange brethren well, you should visit my home town. In fact you'll hear the greetings in the market place: "Ar u arth en?", this is a phrase that you don't choose to annunciate brethren. Annunciation is not one of their linguistic abilities, and so you simply have a greeting in the market place: "Ar u arth en?", now a lot of times it's prefixed with a "Al lo lortha', and then an "Ar u arth en". Now if you don't know what the latter part means, translated it is: "Are you all right then". And so that's what: "Ar u arth en" means, (quite a bit of laughter at this point!) because over the years they know they don't need to annunciate that to be understood. In fact some people will simply drop the "Al lo love" and part of the rest and they'll simply say: "Ar ryt en", and then there are those who believe in a totally economy of words and they'll say: "Ar ry". Now if you heard some of the other stuff you'd also have difficulty and you'd need a translator to go with you undoubtedly. My wife, the first time I took her over and she got to shop in the local market; and she got offended by this man that she was asking something about, the man serving at the store, when he called her "Ducky". And, you know, the men when there serving the ladies there it's just natural they use the term "Ducks or Ducky". But my wife had never heard this as so she thought the poor man was trying to be fresh with her, so she was a little taken back. Of course to me it's just a cute phrase, a duck is cute'er than a goose, but then whether your called ducky or goosey doesn't, you know, doesn't really matter to much brethren, it's a native familiarism and he's just being sociable and friendly, he wasn't trying to make a pass at my wife. Any lady that came by she was either "Ducks or Ducky".
So there are a lot of quaint things to enjoy in visiting you homeland, and I know some of you brethren have had opportunity to go to the Feast in England, and I hope you've enjoyed your experience there. But your experience will always be different from mine, because you have no childhood there, you have no memories there. Your childhood, your memories are here in America, except for some of the Philippino brethren of course who immigrated over here. But for the rest of you this is your homeland, and so the nostalgia and the feeling of patriotism, where a nation is concerned, is for you with America. And of course when you leave this country brethren, it won't be any July the 4th, it will be a time of great sadness and sorrow for you... One time when I left England in 1982, as I boarded the plane, well after I had boarded it, they played the movie "Chariots of Fire", which was the Oscar winner for that year in 1982. And, that movie was very hard for me to take having had a visit in England; because it's about England, the way it was shortly after the first world war, in fact many of you may have seen it. But there was so much in that movie that; because I was brought up in England, struck accord within me. Now when the movie was over I had to go back to the wash room to get control of myself because of the way I felt, about England and the way it had been and the memories that I had and the knowledge that one day it wasn't going to be that way anymore. That one day I would board a plane, and it would be for the last time... So when you board that plane brethren, for yourself to leave America, on "The Day That Begins The End", two emotions will predominate.... A deep sense of sorrow for those you leave behind, not just for the land, but far more for the people... and also, a deep sense of regret for yourself.... Now that latter may sound strange, but I do tell you that will be the case brethren... You won't only feel sorrow for the people you leave behind, you'll have a deep sense of regret towards yourself.... Because when your in that plane, thinking of your past life in this land, of the people you once knew who are now doomed to a terrible death; you will deeply regret the fact that you did not do more while you had the chance...... And all of us brethren, can do more, which is the crux of this sermon! Knowing what is going to happen, knowing that there will one day be a last good-by, knowing that one day we will leave this nation and never come back to it in this world, in this lifetime.... We need to be "motivated" by the warnings God gives in His word, some of which we've read today - that we are truly on fire for the work of God, while we have the time and the chance and the opportunity to do it!! Because as Jesus Christ said brethren in John chapter 9 and in verse 4: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day, because the night is coming, in the which , no man can work." And that night starts for us the day we leave, America...... If we are to do anything to help them brethren, it is now, TODAY!!
Proverbs 17 and verse 5, we need to understand that there's an attitude God wants us to have toward the end... that is up ahead of us. Proverbs 17 and verse 5 speaks of an attitude in this world that is all wrong, but sometimes finds it's way into the Church of God. "Who so mocks the poor reproaches his maker. And he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished." I say who that's glad at calamities. And we do and have had people in the Church of God, that when some disaster occurs, rather than being deeply moved for the people that are in that disaster, they have the attitude: "Well prophecy marches on, I mean God's word was written with these prophecies, we're seeing them come to pass, isn't it exciting!!" Have a tremendous earthquake over there in the Philippine's, and you've got 2 people buried for 11 days!!! Can you imagine the mental trauma that those people went through for 11 days??? There are hundreds of thousands of people who are going to suffer a similar fate, when we leave!!! - America.......
We have opportunity now to do something about it, to promote a work that can save as many of them as possible... from the kind of horror that lies up ahead of them. And God says if were not willing to do it then He'll leave us behind , to suffer the same fate with those people!! That's part of the problem with the Laodicean's, as it says here in Proverbs 24 and verse 11: "If you forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain". We live in a nation of millions of people who are waiting to die.... "If you say behold, we knew it not", verse 12 of Proverbs 24, you know if you turn a blind eye to the sufferings, and your attitude is simply: "Well prophecy marches on, were seeing God's word come to pass, those people deserve what they got"... Think there any worse sinners than us brethren??? That what Jesus Christ said about the tower that fell upon those people - as He mentioned it in Luke. 'Think those people were worse sinners than you', He said to the others that escaped??? No brethren.... Once again, there but for the grace of God go you and I. We would still be out there with those people waiting the same fate, except God had called us. If you and I turned a blind eye to human suffering - "Does not he that ponders the heart consider it? and he that keep your soul, does he not know it? and shall he not render to every man according to his works?" If we chose to be Laodicean in the way we serve the work of God brethren, then we will suffer with the same people we should have warned and helped. See, the attitude we have got to have, in the time that remains with us before the end, is an attitude of compassion and concern for a humanity that is soon to die... soon to die in the greatest and most terrible time that has ever been.... Many are concerned with themselves in the Church, with there own problems and their own difficulties; it is very easy for us brethren, I speak to myself as well as speaking to you, to get wrapped up in our own problems and our own difficulties and our own daily life... and forget about our calling!!! And about reaching all the people outside of our own little square yard of geography. We can worry about saving our own hide, by qualifying for the place of safety; but that's not the attitude God's wants brethren! The kind of attitude He wants is one that truly cares for the people that are out there - to the point, that we would give up our own salvation if necessary, that others might be saved.....
Romans 9 and beginning in verse 1: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart." I look around me Paul says, and I see suffering and hurt and the misery of a sin laden people.... And I feel terribly, deeply sorry, toward them.... "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites;" I'd be willing to give up my own salvation, if it would mean, that they could have theirs instead of me.....
Ezekiel chapter 9 brethren.... Ezekiel chapter 9 is a vision, of the time when the Church of God is separated into 2 groups; the Laodicean's and the Philadelphian's. It's a vision of "The Day That Begins The End".... He says verse 4: "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." Verse 6: "Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; yet begin at my sanctuary." - Begin with the Church of God..... Because not all members of the Church of God will have this mark. Not all members of the Church are truly Philadelphian, are truly filled with brotherly love towards their fellow man, that they sigh and cry for the abominations that are done in this nation today. On the contrary there are those who call themselves Christian in the Church of God who actually want to be a party to some of those things that are going on out there - even though they know the truth. It looks to tasty, to inviting, and so in consequence they go out to get a taste of it!! Well... they may get it, but afterwards as the Proverb says: "Their mouth will be filled with gravel."
You know there's a man that I read of brethren in the Old Testament, and every time I read of him, in that section of the Bible, I get the impression of a man who was a total cluts - and that was Lot. Nothing I read about Lot in the Old Testament gives me really a very high opinion of Lot. Basically He was on our side, and that we can be happy about. But other than that when you read the story of Lot there's nothing very laudatory in his behavior. First of all, Lot, when Abraham gave him the choice - you know the land wasn't big enough for both of them; for all their heards to be together, so Abraham said you go this way and I'll go that way, you go that way I'll go this way? You choose. So what did Lot do? You know, real generous, real unselfish - He took the best of the land. He chose what he thought would be really good for him, not good for Abraham. So in his selfishness he chose the plane of Jordan because it was well watered; he would be more prosperous in consequence. And as you know he got himself into the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah. By so doing he got himself into trouble because there was warfare between that particular land and another land from the north; and he got taken captive, and his family, by an invading army. So then Abraham had to build up an army of his own and go out and rescue Lot and bring him back home. Lot didn't learn the lesson; I think God was tring to tell him something - God forcibly took him out of the country by the invading army. But no he went back to Sodom and Gomorah to dwell there because he was concerned about having the best of the land.
Well, the day came for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah; this of course is recorded between Genesis 14 and Genesis 19. And the angels came to Lot, they were considered very good looking indivuals so the homosexuals wanted them... What did Lot, shiverous Lot do under that circumstance? He said: "Don't touch these men they are guests in my home, here you can have my two virgin daughters. You know once again I'm not impressed with Lot, as a man and a father. I realize by the tradition of that day that it was considered better to give a girl because it was a total perversion - homosexuality. But regardless, in my mind there wasn't a choice. You don't say: Well you can have my daughters instead of this man! As a father you get out there and your willing to die to lay down your life for your daughters. Now fortunatly the Angels intervienced and they smote everybody with blindness, and Lot and his daughters they tried to rescue them from Sodom. They gave him opportunity to go and speak to his sons-in-law but they wouldn't hear him, and they said: you get ready for tomorrow, we've got to leave the city its going to be destroyed. And what do you find? The next morning Lot was dilliydallying until finally the Angels had to grab him by the hand and forcably take him out of the city - you know, God's mercy once again. And they said: "Now we got you out; get up to that mountain where you'll be safe." He said: "Oh no, I'm to tired, it's to far (emphasis by Mr. Brittian); look there's this little city over here, just let me rest here, isn't it just a little city"? You know, you read his plaintiff cry there; I mean if the Angles had told him to get to the mountain he had the capacity to get there! They weren't telling him to do something he couldn't do. But of course undoubtably he was emotionally distressed with the loss of his sons-in-law and he was also going to be distressed with the loss of his wife.
But they stayed in Zoar, then the destruction came, they saw the destruction, they got frightened and so they did go out of Zoar (that little town) and went up into a cave. Ah, and then of course you have the pretty horrible story about where the 2 daughters committed incest with their father, because they said no man was alive on the face of the earth. That's a little suspect to me. Did they not believe that Abraham and Sarah had not been protected, by Angles also?? And what about this little village that they'd had just left that had been spared by the Angles - weren't there any men in that city?? Anyway for some reason they were convinced that nobody was left on the earth so they had incest in reverse and they got pregnant 2 nights in a row, one daughter one night the other the next, by their own father. They got him drunk, interesting thing? They left Sodom and Gomorrah and they took enough booze with them too.....
So everything I read in the story of Lot in the Old Testament brethren leaves me with the impression this man may have been a Christian but he was a total clutz, you know he most certainly wasn't of the caliber of Abraham and Sarah. But there's something that redeems Lot brethren and it's found not in the Old it's found in the New Testament. Despite all that I said to you and all that's recorded in the book of Genesis about this man, there was one quality that Lot had that many of us in the Church of God do not have today! Who also live, in a modern day, Sodom and Gomorrah!! And that quality is found in 2Peter chapter 2. 2Peter chapter 2 and beginning in verse 7. It talks in verse 6 of the destruction of Sodom and of Gomorrah, and then it says verse 7: "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conduct of the wicked: For that righteous man", despite all his faults brethren, despite all his dillydallying, despite all his wrong choices, "For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds". You know why God took Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah, because he cared..... He sighed and cried for all the abominations that were being done around him.... And so a mark of deliverance (Ezekiel 9 and verse 4) was placed on the forehead of Lot, and he escaped with his daughters.
You know, we live in a society brethren, as I said, that is so similar to the one back then. And because we've lived in it for a long period of time we can allow future shocks, so to speak, to take it's course in our lives..... To the point where we except what is going on, and we're no longer really bothered by it.... We don't consider how those people are suffering as a result of their sins, in this pornographic society. Sometimes we lose sight of just how bad it is getting as we go our daily round - and to a certain extent blind our eyes to what is going on. Well there's an editorial at the end of the U.S. News and World Report, July 30th edition - "Who Should Pay For Porn". YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW BAD IT'S GETTING IN THIS NATION?? Then take a look at the latest editorial at the end of the latest U.S. News and World Report:
As congress prepares to vote for new funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, leading artistic figures are angrily protesting any and all restrictions on federal moneys. A recent rejection of 4 grants, they claim, means that America is retreating into a dark age of censorship and Stalinist-style art.
What rubbish!! Amidst all the pieties coming from people who know better, there has been very little talk about exactly what the four "artists" in question would do with their cash. Let the protestors call off their press conferences and hold a town meeting in Main Street America where they explain why tax payers should pay to support these four? (And then it lists the abominations that these four individuals commit, publicly, on stage! It not a question of here of censorship, their not censored for what there doing.
Adults can go and watch it, its simply that they want to be funded by the government by the tax payer for the wretchedness of what they do publicly. And I'm not going to read it brethren, you can read it at your leisure, cause its to filthy to read publicly).
What is at issue is that some artist apparently believe they can have it both ways: They want to engage in wanton destruction of a nation's values, and they expect that same nation to pay their bills. Grow up, friends. No society, even one as tolerant as this one has usually been should be willing to go to pay for its own demise. The American people are rightly concerned about moral decay in our public life, from the thievery at savings and loans to the suppression of prayers in school. (But their not concerned enough!! They are slowly being sucked in the vortex of moral degeneracy themselves - and that's why they will hate us so much, all of them brethren..... Even your good Church going Protestant's out there).
To argue that in the name of freedom they must send in money for smut peverts the idea of freedom itself - taxpayers have rights too!!
Psalm 119 brethren verse 53, the psalmist says: "Horror has taken has taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake your law." You want to be horrified brethren, read the editorial at the back of the present U.S. News and World Report. But it shouldn't take that to horrify us. There's enough out there that we know of brethren.... that should really sadden us, because of what its going to mean for this nation in the future, and what its doing already to the people that are a party to those abominations and those disgusting things which they do..... Verse 136, "Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not your law." This is the emotion and the feeling that we have to have for the people out in this world brethren.... And yes it's God that's going to punish them, but God takes no pleasure in so doing. He says in Ezekiel: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. In Isaiah it says: "In all their affliction He was afflicted." "The Day That Begins The End", brethren, will also be a tremendously sad day for God..... God will hate what He has to do.... to help these people. To bring them to repentance and for those that are killed in what takes place when they come up in the second resurrection will have so learned their lesson, that they will willingly take hold of the salvation that God will help them then. But in the meantime brethren!! You and I are given the responsibility to serve those human beings. And to help as many as possible be a part of the Church of God; as we were helped by people who were in the Church of God before us. We have to have a zeal..... for all peoples, but particularly because you were brought up here you can relate it to your homeland......
I brought you a piece of memorabilia from England, souvenir if you wish, something that I can give to all of you - it's a poem. And it's the poem that's inside the bulletin that was handed out. I noticed that Leandra when she Zeroxed this for me she Zeroxed it in pink. I don't know whether that was by chance or by design, but I do have my suspicions as to which. This is a famous poem in England brethren, in fact, its a poem that's been made a hymn, and is on occasion sung in the Churches. As a young lad growing up in England, come veterans day; although it was called poppy day - weaver in the cadet's for the RAF or for the army would go to one of the Churches (remember this was before God called me) and we would sing this hymn based on the poem by William Blake. Because there is a tradition in England that Joseph of Arimathaea brought Jesus Christ there to visit during the 18 years that are missing in the Gospels. Ah, we know Mr.; I mentioned to you that Dr. Hoeh had speculated that Joshua went to England after he had established Israel in the promised land; to go work with those Israelites to Organize them - the original Kelt's that had already gone to England. Jeremiah of course went to Ireland. Ah, the Apostles some of them as I showed you in a past sermon on the key of David, went to ah England. And there is a tradition that in England, that Jesus Christ Himself came as a young lad with Joseph of Arimathaea who was His uncle and owned property in that area. Now there's a certain amount of documentation, the Church does not officially subscribe to that thought, that Christ was there, it may simply be fiction, we'll just have to wait till the World Tomorrow to find out. But William Blake in the 1800's, because this was more known back then, wrote this poem about it, and I give you the poem as a little bit of memorabilia from England because of the message in the poem and the way it can relate to us:
And did those feet (ref. to Jesus Christ) in Ancient time Walk upon England's mountain green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine Shine fourth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among these dark Satanic Mills?
(Possible reference to the industrial England at that time, others have other opinions as written below. Because there is the belief that Jesus came to south west England, and ah; my wife and I visited the town of Glastenberry which was built on that sight, we were supposedly there. And though the middle ages, well up to the middle ages till it finally burned down. For a good portion of that millennium the kings of England were crowned in the cathedral at Glastenberry and afterwards of course as you would know now in Westminster Abbey in London. And when you go to Glastenberry you see the tomb of King Auther; supposedly the tomb of King Auther, whether he's really there or not I don't know, once again we would have to find out. But based on this concept, whether true or false that Jesus Christ may have been in England - Blake was inspired. And so the next verse deals, as we have say in Ephesians 6: "Taking the armor of God", and he makes this the statement of his last verse:
I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green & pleasant Land.
You and I brethren are also called to a great work. And you and I, daily, must never cease from mental fight... Must never let our swords sleep in our hands, till we have finished the work that God called us to do in this nation... But you see, whether or not this is legend or fiction is irrelevant brethren.... we don't need to be inspired by some historical event, we are looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Whether He went there as a lad is immaterial. Certainly as God He has walked upon the pastures of England, and walked upon the mountains of America. And I'm not talking "Book of Mormon"; there have been times when Jesus Christ has come down to visit this land also, as a Spirit being. But we have to be inspired by what lies up ahead of us brethren.... Motivated..... to never give up..... on the mental fight, of working upon ourselves and of caring for all the people around us..... Before it's too late ...... before you have to say your last good-bye...
You know this time visiting England, leaving it was more difficult from the standpoint of saying good-by to my mother. Each time I have left I have found that I am always saying good-by for the last time to somebody over there. When I went in 1977 I got to see my favorite uncle that I hadn't seen for 14 years. And God worked it out for me to see him just in time... I didn't know it... he had cancer, and three weeks later he was dead. When I left the next time in 82, and said good-by to my father, to my step-father and to my mother, I didn't know then for sure that it was going to be the last time. And it wasn't from the standpoint of world events, but it was a last time for my stepfather... I didn't know that. I really though it would be my mother, because of her health, who would go first. And now visiting her alone... was particularly difficult, because when I said good-by to her at the house... this time there was a sense of guilt as I was leaving. Before she'd always had my stepfather to take care of her with her health problems and with her difficulties. Now... there was nobody there as a direct relative to be with her, to stay with her, to help her, through her loneliness. Everywhere we went during that 2¤ weeks my mother went with us, even to Church. When we went to Nottingham one Sabbath and Cambridge the next, she came to the Church. She didn't come in, but she sat outside for three hours both Sabbaths, just so that she could make the ride with us and make the ride back; she did not want to be left alone..... And this is the way your going to feel brethren when you say your last good-by.... A deep heartache for the people your seeing for the last time... Relatives who didn't come into the Church and relatives you deeply wish... you could take with you....
Luke 21 and beginning in verse 25, we have to, as Ecclesiastes 7 instructs us, "consider the day", that begins the end.... Not the day of the funeral of one person, but the day that involves the death of a nation..... And I've shone to you brethren that the time of our leaving will be a time of great sorrow. And we do have to work before that day comes, we have to face that day somewhere in the future... But when we face that day, God wants us to look beyond it. To face it yes, to handle it, to be ready for it. All the Scriptures that I've read to you have shone that we do have to be ready for that day!!!! But when it comes, despite all the sorrow of heart that we feel, God says there's another day... You've got to consider the one your a part of, the day of the last good-by, but I want you to look forward... beyond it... to another day, the day spoken of here in Luke 21. See Jesus Christ in Luke 21 gives the Olivet prophecy of all the troubles to come upon our people.... And He says verse 25, Coming to the end of those troubles: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear," (suffering heart attacks and strokes) "and for looking for those things which are coming upon the earth; and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. He finishes at that point - the tribulation - all that it's involved. I've only read you the last part of the verses that deal with the tribulation brethren, but now notice verse 28. He goes back to the beginning of the tribulation, to the last good-by, to "The Day That Begins The End".... "When these things begin to come to pass,".... when the tribulation starts, "then lift up your heads; look up, for your redemption draws nigh." There's another day coming..... a day of true rejoicing.....
In conclusion brethren, Psalm 126, this is that day beyond: "When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dreamed. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing". But to get to that day brethren, we have to go through this period of time first.... And so verse 5: "They that sow in tears".... they that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the land.... They that allow horror to take hold upon them, because of the wicked that forsake Gods way. They that sow in tears now, shall one day.... in that day beyond.... "reap in joy. He that goes forth to do God's work (verse 6) and weeps," in compassion for a dying humanity, "bearing the precious seed", of the truth Almighty God, the Gospel, "shall doubtless come again", in a new time, in a new day, "with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Bring the results of his work and of his labor. One day... you as Americans are going to pull up roots and leave the nation that has been your home... And the day you leave brethren will be the saddest day of your life.... But Jesus Christ says, despite the sadness and the heartache... look beyond... to a day far greater... the day of Jesus Christ's return..... The day when you can finally put all things right, the day as it says here in Psalm 126: "When you will be like them that dream.... When your mouth will be filled with laughter and your tongue with singing"....
End.
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THE DAY THAT BEGINS THE END...
(by: Mr. Keith Brittain)
Personal notes from Sabbath services of 7/28/90
Some very beautiful words to the special music, I know that had to be composed by one of our people. Certainly look forward brethren to the World Tomorrow when all the music will be beautiful. And you won't have to be selective anymore as you turn the radio dial. Instead, all the songs will be songs full of meaning; praise to God and of course gratefulness to be a part of the wonderful World Tomorrow.
Some of the brethren; as you realize I guess? This is my first sermon since I've been to England, and some of the brethren were asking me if I'd speak about England or say something in relation to the trip. I will in part in some ways indirectly brethren as I go through the sermon. You will perhaps of noticed that one thing I did make sure of this year when I went to England, I arranged my return date for July the 5th. This way I would not have to put up with any of that July the 4th nonsense! I was out of the country. Actually I was watching a football game on July the 4th when, England played West Germany, and lost. So when they lost I was glad to come back, you don't have to worry, I'm glad to be back here.
I'd like you to turn brethren to Daniel chapter 12 and the last verses of the book of Daniel, to a prophecy that has particular application to the Church of God today, to our future as it will be in a few years time. Daniel was told to go his way, that it was not for him to understand many of the things that he had written. But the angel having told him that made one last prophecy, a prophecy about our time , in verse 11 of Daniel 12: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days" (1290), which is a period of three years and seven months. And we know of course that the Third world war occupies a period of three years and six months, 1260 days. But two other lengths of time are given here; the twelve ninety days with the extra month and then verse 12: "Blessed is he who waits, or as Bullinger puts it: 'Is stead fast', some have believed that it has the meaning 'endurs', "and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days". An extra 45 days on top of the twelve ninety, because 1290 of course from 1335 leaves you with a month and a half (45 days).
Now we have shone you brethren, in the past, that the conclusion the Church has come to is that that 45 days from the standpoint of "he that is steadfast, he that endures" relates to a period of persecution on the Church of God just before it flees to the place of safety. And with regard to the extra month there in verse 11; as it says in Hosea 5 and verse 7 the next book, Hosea 5 and verse 7 and the latter part of the verse: "Now shall a month devour them with there portions". So the church will go through a special trial that last 45 days, and those that endure it will be accounted worthy evidently to go to the place of safety. And after the church flees there is a month, a month before the final and total desolation of the Anglo-Saxon peoples.....
Part of the question that I want to put to you today brethren is "during that 45 days" - What will be the attitude of the outside world to the Church of God? Lets turn to 1st Kings chapter 18 and beginning in verse 17. Because we are in this sermon brethren going to deal with the last day particularly of those 45, "The Day That Begins The End", and that is the title to this sermon. Because the last day of the 45 is "The Day That Begins The End" because that's when the Church flees to the place of safety; as we understand these prophecies in the Church of God. And at that point "they'll be no man standing in the gap" when God looks upon this nation; the Laodicieans will still be here, but they'll be no man spiritually qualified to stand in the gap - spiritually strong enough. And when that time comes God says in Ezekiel: "Because there is no man to make up the hedge or stand in the gap", then the beginning of the end will be here with our people.
But how will they regard us during those last 45 days? 1Kings 18 and verse 17. We are a part as the bible shows in the last verses of Malachi, of an Elijah like work. And these were the words spoken by the king of Israel to the first Elijah - aforerunner of our work of God today. "And it came to pass (verse 17) when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, "Are you he that troubles Israel?" Now, obviously, Elijah was not a criminal. Elijah was not an individual who had gone around robbing banks or shooting up people or being a part of terrorists activities, he had simply spoken the words of God! He had done nobody any harm. And yet, because he spoke the truth of God he was regarded by those who did not want to believe that truth, as one that troubled Israel. Now in verse 18 Elijah gave the truth of the matter, he answered: "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of God and you have followed Baalim". But of course people in this world will not blame themselves for the troubles that come upon the nation. And certainly, Elijah as we know from the story was responsible from God for calling a drought upon the nation of Israel back then, which will probably be repeated in future history of our nation before the end is over with. That we will be regarded as troubling Israel, because of certain of the prophecies we will be making at that time. We'll be regarded as a cult in the eyes of many, as a group certainly out of step with the rest of society, we will be despised and as Jesus Christ said: "In that day you'll be hated of all men for My name sake". So that when the Church of God does get up and leave this nation, the vast majority are going to be saying "Good Riddens"; with them go a portion of our troubles and our difficulties.
Psalm 69 brethren and beginning in verse 7, "Because for your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face". You want to know what it will be like during that final 45 days, verse 8, "I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mothers children." Christ talks of the time when we'll be betrayed of kinsfolk and even former members within the Church. It says why in verse 9, "For the zeal of your house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached you are fallen upon me." In reality they hate the truth of Jesus Christ, but they can't persecute Jesus Christ, as they did 2000 years ago , because He's not around so they persecute those who are His servants. As Jesus said to Saul: "Saul, Saul, why persecute you Me?". Saul was waging war on the Church of God, but Christ said your persecuting Me in so doing. And so the reproaches of those that reproach Jesus Christ, in the end time, fall upon us! "When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gates speak against me; I was the song of the drunkards." We will be ridiculed brethren, as well as hated, we will be despised, and people will have nothing but contempt for members of the Church of God during that 45 day period. And so clearly, we understand why it will be a time of testing and trial... and why we will have to endure and remain steadfast if we want to be accounted worthy to escape the things that are to come to pass.
How did they regard Noah, brethren, as he prepared for his place of safety? A hundred and twenty years, preaching to the people that the end was coming and building a huge ship out on dry land with no where for it to go; because he didn't need to build it near a river and he didn't need to build it near the ocean. It wasn't going to need that kind of proximity to water because water was going to come to this boat, the boat was not going to go to water! But of course the people did not believe the prophecies, and Noah's Ark was undoubtedly for a 120 years in the building the great tourist attraction in the middle east. You know, "Noah's Folly", as people came from miles around to see this crazy thing of the biggest boat that had ever been built and was being built on dry land, it had no where to go!! But it was a tremendous witness and an act of faith on the part of Noah; he was saying a great flood is coming and only those that are on that boat are going to escape when it arrive's. But of course, it was utterly ridicules, it was totally stupid in the eyes of people what he was preaching and what he was doing!... And so, just as Noah was ridiculed for his work brethren so we also will be ridiculed, and most certainly as Christ prophecied we'll be called the servants of satan and it will be said that we are doing the devil's work. You see part of the problem was that Elijah was troubling the moral of the nation. He was telling them that they were being punished for their disobedience - to God!!! And when we say the same thing, in direct contradiction of what all the Protestant churches in this land will be saying; when we say that the troubles American and Britain are experiencing is because God is punishing our people and calling them to repentance!!! There big question is what in the world do we have to repent of?? Were are a God fearing people, were a Christian nation!! You people are a bunch of weirdos and fanatics.... And truly in consequence, we'll be regarded as trouble makers, as dooms day prophets... And, we will be so hated, that when the time comes for the Church of God to flee to the place of safety, as I mentioned, people will be saying: "Good Riddens" to that group, we won't have to listen to them anymore. No more of their "Plain Truth", no more of their "World Tomorrow" telecast, we can have some peace at last as things are going to go right for us now because we got rid of these servants of the devil.
But if the world, brethren, will be glad to see us go on that last day of the 45, will we ourselves be happy to leave?
Now, through the decades gone by of this era of the Church of God there has been of course the speculation that the place of safety could be in Petra, and a lot of people have, you know, got themselves hung up on the Scriptures that can be used to indicate that. And, very much thought in terms of when they would go to Petra; sort of made it a great goal in mind, I called them "Petrified Christians". Through the years many brethren have got excited about going to this fabulous place of safety, a sort of Spiritual Eldorado for the Church of God - a Grand Shangrila. And certainly brethren there is the desire to escape this societies problems, the difficulties that we have in living in this world. Of wanting to get away from it all. And even for some there is a desire to go to the place of safety so they can prove to their relatives and to their former friends: 'See, the Church I joined was right after all, all along', which of course is a totally wrong attitude. Yes, it will be a relief to go brethren. It will be a relief to escape this world, it will be a relief to be accounted worthy in the sight of God, to be accounted Philadelphian. Every last one of us will be glad that we no longer have to live in satan's world. But over shadowing those concepts will be an awful feeling of sorrow, when we leave... because the day we go brethren, is "The Day That Begins The End".... All our former friends... and all our relatives... are going to suffer terribly, in what will follow, after the Church of God is gone. Because there will be nobody any longer to stand in the gap, before God.
You know it's not going to be a great day of celebration when you board a plane or whatever method of travel it is for our people to go to the place of safety. There will be that sigh of relief, that you have been accounted worthy to escape, but there will be a time of great sadness in your heart when you go.... When Noah entered the Ark brethren; yes it was a relief for him also to no longer have to suffer the ridicule of this world, to no longer have to suffer persecution... But you know when the rains came, after the doors to the Ark were closed, and that Ark began to lift up in the water and they could hear the screams outside of people drowning, and then finally the screams were stilled and there was nothing but the howling wind and the waves lashing against the Ark; there was a tremendous sense of finality.... and an emptiness and a deep heart ache undoubtedly, in every last one of those eight people on board.... The cold, the gloom, the half light and the knowledge as they sat there in that Ark, meditating, and thinking about people they had known - that every last one who had not boarded the Ark was now dead! All there former relations, friends, kinsfolk were gone. It was for them brethren, a terrible sense of loss in the day that they went and boarded their place of safety. You'll be glad when your on the plane to see fellow members on board with you. But as that plane takes off and you look out of the window at the land your leaving behind brethren, your thoughts will turn to those human beings, in that land, in that country, that you've left behind... to a land that you'll see no more in this world... Your thoughts will turn to what will happen to America after you are gone, and no prayer you can offer to God at that point will be able to stop the onslaught of the coming tribulation....
Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and beginning in verse 2, there are times when we a Ministers, brethren, have to bring to you sermons that are perhaps of a more sobering nature. But it's simply because of the times in which we live and also because of the command and the instructions given to us by Almighty God to do so. We sound a warning not to just the world, we also sound it to ourselves within the Church. We blow the trumpet not just to mankind... we blow it to ourselves here, because of the great danger that lies for us in the years ahead, because there will be those who survived the seventies who will not survive the nineties.... And there are those who are coming into the Church of God now who when the next major trial engulfs this Church will not have sufficient standing with God to survive it; who would not have applied certain of the things that were said for instance by Mr. Shaw in the sermonette, and in consequence will not have a strong enough hold on God to survive that which is to come... But God says to us in Ecclesiastes 7 and in verse 2: "It is better to go to the house of morning than to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of morning, but the heart of the fools is in the house of mirth." Now God intends brethren that we be Christians who are happy, who are rejoicing in our calling, who are looking forward to His wonderful World Tomorrow. But we also live in a time of terrible sadness, a time of trouble to come such as have never been before Jesus Christ said, and we cannot simply look forward in vision to the World Tomorrow without considering, all that is going to happen to human kind around us. Those who have not been blessed and not as fortunate as ourselves to be called into the Church. By the luck of the draw we are here!! And where the world is concerned: 'There but for the grace of God go you or I brethren,' if God had not called us. And God is saying that when an individual dies it's better to go to the house of morning than to consider the end of that person as it relates to yourself cause you and I also will one day die. There will be an end for each one of us brethren, whether it be before the return of Jesus Christ or whether it be when our bodies are consumed in spirit at the first resurrection when Christ returns. But today were not considering the end of a person, were considering the death of a nation.... and "The Day That Begins The End" for America and for Britain....
Though we don't like to consider some of these things brethren, the Bible obligates us to do so. Because God has given so many prophecies of what His punishment will be like, as a warning to us also, that we might remain faithful to our calling and escape what is to come to pass. Which is spoken of in Ezekiel 5 and beginning in verse 1: "And you son of man, take you a sharp knife, take you a barber's razor, cause it to pass upon you head and upon your beard; then take you balances to weigh and divide the hair." Now why was it, in this symbolism of Israel, that God said to the prophet Ezekiel, 'take some of the hair off your own head and some of the hair off your beard to represent Israel'? Because we have to understand brethren that those people out there are a part of ourselves, at least THEY OUGHT TO BE!! If we have the Spirit of God within us and we deeply care for the people in this world, as Jesus Christ cared for them, then they are a part, in one sense, of our own body. To represent the people of Israel who were against Ezekiel - God said to Ezekiel: "Take hair off your own head and off your own face", "And you shall burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are fulfilled", because there is going to be an economic blockade and a siege of the Anglo-Saxon peoples' in these coming trading blocks, before the end. "And you shall take a third part and smite about it with a knife, and a third part you shall scatter in the wind and I will draw out a sword after them." They go into captivity and many of them still die in slavery.....
But while your doing this, and before..... "The Day That Begins The End", "You should take also thereof a few in number and bind them in your skirts", those that represent the Church of God! "Bind them in your skirts", as a type of the protection that God is willing to afford His people. But some don't allow themselves to be accounted worthy of that protection, and so He says verse 4: "Take of them again", those that you bound up in your skirts, "and cast them in the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire." Because the Laodicean era, all of them, will die in the tribulation.... There will be no survivors... of that era of God's Church..... The Philadelphians will out live them in the place of safety. The sixth era out lives the seventh.... "For thereof shall come a fire forth into all the house of Israel". In conjunction with that great economic blockade will come a drought and a dust bowl all over again, such as was in the 1930's, but a dust bowl of far more reaching extent than what happened in Oklahoma and those surrounding states. And, we will be prophecying to the people when the drought and the difficulties come upon America: That this is the hand of God!! And the people are to repent and change there ways while there is still time for them to do so. But they will refuse, and because they will refuse they will hate the people that are telling them the truth, the "Plain Truth", and in consequence we'll be persecuted to the point where God if He did not take us to a place of safety we would die here in Israel, let alone in the tribulation.
Deuteronomy 28 and beginning in verse 22. This is your nation brethren, and you keep July the 4th to commemorate it's birthday. And I'm sure there's a feeling of patriotism in you, towards your nation, that if I talk in terms of America you can feel perhaps more deeply than you can for another nation of this world. It's the same with myself, we have to learn to rise above national borders. We have to learn to feel for all people. But obviously, your homeland has a particular place in your heart, the place you were born. And so, you can consider things more in depth, if I can use it that way, from the standpoint of the way you feel about your home, where you were born, and the people that you grew up with and your relatives that are still back there. Many of you don't have the kind of experience that I have or Mr. Orchard has, because we live in what to us yes, is a foreign country, even though you regard us as the foreigners. But each time we go back to visit our home country, when we get on the plane to leave we never know when it's going to be the last time for us. See, I don't believe at this point; because of the changes that are taking place on the world scene, and with the work of God and its move to Big Sandy, that I've visited England for the last time. There were times in the past though, particularly when the Church believed in 1972, when I did truly wonder "Was this the last time?" But if it wasn't the last time for me this year brethren there is a time coming when I will visit it for the last time, and there will be a last good-bye. And so there's something that, as a foreigner living here I experience when I go to my homeland and I leave it, that many of you have not yet experienced, and will not yet experience directly, until "The Day That Begins The End"!! Until it comes time for you to leave your homeland, the land in which you were born, the land that gave you your education, your culture, your prosperity and you've envied so many of the blessings that were promised to Abraham and to Joseph in this land in which you live.
Now I can think to times when I've gone back to visit England; there was a time after God called me - and I was working one summer before I went to Ambassador College. And I was new in God's truth and I was out working at a farm with some other men. And came lunch time, we were out; we went to visit different farms to pick up certain things so this was just a certain day that we were at this place, the other men decided that they would go to the pub in the village to get a beer. I didn't think that was necessarily appropriate for me so - cause I was new in the Church and I went ahead and just had a lunch with me. I went out to the back of this farm. And this village was way off in the English country side and at the back of this farm was a very deep valley; they've made a reservoir there now, since I've left England. But I remember sitting at one of the hedges there, overlooking this valley eating my lunch, and there was such a total peace in that English country side. The birds were singing, the valley was verdant and green; I had such a sense of tremendous peace.. it was just like you were there all alone with God. And it was a beautiful and a wonderful feeling. But you can find spots here in America brethren where you can look at tremendous beauty, a lavish verdant green as it is in certain areas of the country; not here in California I know but further back East, and you know that one day its not going to look like that anymore... That instead of a beautiful blue sky with white clouds God says it's going to be as brass above us. And the ground beneath your feet is going to be dry, it going to be dust, the ground is going to be parched and cracked. Instead of the song of the birds that gives that sense of wonderful peace when you sit some where as I did in that place in the English countryside near a small English village. The birds won't be singing anymore... because they'll be dying. You'll only here the cows bellowing in pain and in starvation, because of all that is happening to the land.
Deuteronomy 28 and verse 22, "The LORD shall smite you with a consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with extreme burning, with a sword, with blasting and with mildew; and they shall purse you until you perish. And your heaven that is over your head shall be brass and your earth that is under your feet shall be iron. Then God shall make the rain of your land powder and dust". The great dust bowls of the 1930's to come back once again in even greater magnitude. "From heaven it shall come down upon you until you be destroyed"..... Where England is concerned for me, the green, green grass of home is going to disappear, and a land that in the last 2000 years has never experienced, as far as we know, drought and famine, serious drought and famine... is going to finally experience the worst of all time. The rich, loamy soil, is going to become baron from the dryness in the land. Verse 68, and when that terrible time is over, where the land is concerned, then God says: "God shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I spoke to you, you shall see it no more again. And there shall you be sold to your enemies for bondsman and bondswomen, and no man shall buy you back." A Scripture that has not yet been fulfilled because Israel has never gone to Egypt in ships. Every time they've gone in the past, as I mentioned to you once before, they've always walked or traveled by camel. This Scripture at the end of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28, has never been fulfilled , and therefore clearly, it is a prophecy for the future.
But it goes beyond brethren the condition of the land, the trees that no longer have leaves upon them, the hedge rows that are empty of life and the cattle bellowing for lack of water and feed. It goes beyond the condition of the land to the condition of the people during this time. There's the witness of a man, God had it put in the Bible, who saw this kind of destruction, the first time it happened !! Lamentations chapter 2 and verse 11, and some of this we will witness brethren before we flee..... So that when you finally board that plane to leave, though you have a sense of relief, there will be that awful sense of finality - it's over.... there's no more work you can do to save them or help them... they are truly a doomed people..... Your relatives, your friends and some in the Church that your leaving behind, who have proved to be Laodicean - it will be a great time of sadness.... And so in Lamentations 2 and verse 11, Jeremiah says: "Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers. Where is the corn and the wine? When they swoon as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out in their mother's bosom. What thing shall I take to witness for you? what thing shall I liken you to, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equal to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion?", there's nothing, there's never been anything so bad, "for your breach is great like the sea: who can heal you?"..... Verse 20: "Behold, O God, and consider to whom you have done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and the children of a span long?" - shall they feed on their own children...... "shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Eternal? The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; you have slain them in the day of your anger; you have killed, and not pitted." Chapter 4, verse 3: "Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the sucking child (chapter 4 and verse 4) cleaves to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaks it to them"..... Verse 9: "They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field. And the hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they have eaten their own children in the destruction of the daughter of my people.......
You see brethren.... knowing all these things, there won't be any rejoicing in going to the place of safety. A sense of relief, yes. But otherwise, a tremendous amount of sadness and sorrow. When you board that plane and when you look out of the window, as that plane takes off, at your homeland, for the last time, there won't be a dry eye on board that plane.... And there won't be much conversation, just a silence and a thoughtfulness, because you know there's nothing more you can do to help them - it's over, for them.... And when I go back to England each time, as I say, there are memories for me, because of my childhood and my growing up there. But each time I've gone back, knowing that some time would be the last time, I've always considered, what it would be like... and wondered about the time I would make my last good-by?.... There's a school that I went to, and they have a cricket pavilion, and on occasion I've gone back to visit the school, to walk around it, to see the changes they've made. Its a sizeable place and occupies a good portion of acreage, in fact it's a very well known school in the county. And you can go to that cricket pavilion and on the wall you'll see the names of those that were the Captains of the cricket team, but they also include the Captains of those who played field hockey, the Captain of the first division of rugger. And for the young boys going there now when they walk into that cricket pavilion and they look at these names from say, 1957 or 1961, those names mean nothing to them. I mean there living in a different generation, 3 decades later, 30 years! So they weren't born at this time, they look at the names - it has no meaning at all. But I can stand there, and I can look at names written for the years of 57, 58, 60, 61, and those names conjure up for me faces, images of people I once knew. They conjure up experiences that we went through together, because those people were a part of my life at one time. And you remember, happy memories yes, but you think about those people and you wonder where they are now and what became of them. And you know that even if they had a successful life, sadly; though you don't know what has become of them now, you do know what will become of them in a few years time.
Now I don't mean brethren that in going to England each time, you know, it's an unhappy or an unpleasant memory. There are a lot of things that I can go back and enjoy; relatives and getting to meet one or two people that, you know, obviously I haven't seen for a distance or for period of time. And there are plenty of things to enjoy while I'm over there. In fact if you went to visit my home town you'd have some difficulty because you wouldn't even be able to speak the lingo. You think they speak your language over there - I'm afraid not. One of my kids went over there with me and said: "You know these people over here talk funny." Ah, if you think Mr. Orchard sounds strange brethren well, you should visit my home town. In fact you'll hear the greetings in the market place: "Ar u arth en?", this is a phrase that you don't choose to annunciate brethren. Annunciation is not one of their linguistic abilities, and so you simply have a greeting in the market place: "Ar u arth en?", now a lot of times it's prefixed with a "Al lo lortha', and then an "Ar u arth en". Now if you don't know what the latter part means, translated it is: "Are you all right then". And so that's what: "Ar u arth en" means, (quite a bit of laughter at this point!) because over the years they know they don't need to annunciate that to be understood. In fact some people will simply drop the "Al lo love" and part of the rest and they'll simply say: "Ar ryt en", and then there are those who believe in a totally economy of words and they'll say: "Ar ry". Now if you heard some of the other stuff you'd also have difficulty and you'd need a translator to go with you undoubtedly. My wife, the first time I took her over and she got to shop in the local market; and she got offended by this man that she was asking something about, the man serving at the store, when he called her "Ducky". And, you know, the men when there serving the ladies there it's just natural they use the term "Ducks or Ducky". But my wife had never heard this as so she thought the poor man was trying to be fresh with her, so she was a little taken back. Of course to me it's just a cute phrase, a duck is cute'er than a goose, but then whether your called ducky or goosey doesn't, you know, doesn't really matter to much brethren, it's a native familiarism and he's just being sociable and friendly, he wasn't trying to make a pass at my wife. Any lady that came by she was either "Ducks or Ducky".
So there are a lot of quaint things to enjoy in visiting you homeland, and I know some of you brethren have had opportunity to go to the Feast in England, and I hope you've enjoyed your experience there. But your experience will always be different from mine, because you have no childhood there, you have no memories there. Your childhood, your memories are here in America, except for some of the Philippino brethren of course who immigrated over here. But for the rest of you this is your homeland, and so the nostalgia and the feeling of patriotism, where a nation is concerned, is for you with America. And of course when you leave this country brethren, it won't be any July the 4th, it will be a time of great sadness and sorrow for you... One time when I left England in 1982, as I boarded the plane, well after I had boarded it, they played the movie "Chariots of Fire", which was the Oscar winner for that year in 1982. And, that movie was very hard for me to take having had a visit in England; because it's about England, the way it was shortly after the first world war, in fact many of you may have seen it. But there was so much in that movie that; because I was brought up in England, struck accord within me. Now when the movie was over I had to go back to the wash room to get control of myself because of the way I felt, about England and the way it had been and the memories that I had and the knowledge that one day it wasn't going to be that way anymore. That one day I would board a plane, and it would be for the last time... So when you board that plane brethren, for yourself to leave America, on "The Day That Begins The End", two emotions will predominate.... A deep sense of sorrow for those you leave behind, not just for the land, but far more for the people... and also, a deep sense of regret for yourself.... Now that latter may sound strange, but I do tell you that will be the case brethren... You won't only feel sorrow for the people you leave behind, you'll have a deep sense of regret towards yourself.... Because when your in that plane, thinking of your past life in this land, of the people you once knew who are now doomed to a terrible death; you will deeply regret the fact that you did not do more while you had the chance...... And all of us brethren, can do more, which is the crux of this sermon! Knowing what is going to happen, knowing that there will one day be a last good-by, knowing that one day we will leave this nation and never come back to it in this world, in this lifetime.... We need to be "motivated" by the warnings God gives in His word, some of which we've read today - that we are truly on fire for the work of God, while we have the time and the chance and the opportunity to do it!! Because as Jesus Christ said brethren in John chapter 9 and in verse 4: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day, because the night is coming, in the which , no man can work." And that night starts for us the day we leave, America...... If we are to do anything to help them brethren, it is now, TODAY!!
Proverbs 17 and verse 5, we need to understand that there's an attitude God wants us to have toward the end... that is up ahead of us. Proverbs 17 and verse 5 speaks of an attitude in this world that is all wrong, but sometimes finds it's way into the Church of God. "Who so mocks the poor reproaches his maker. And he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished." I say who that's glad at calamities. And we do and have had people in the Church of God, that when some disaster occurs, rather than being deeply moved for the people that are in that disaster, they have the attitude: "Well prophecy marches on, I mean God's word was written with these prophecies, we're seeing them come to pass, isn't it exciting!!" Have a tremendous earthquake over there in the Philippine's, and you've got 2 people buried for 11 days!!! Can you imagine the mental trauma that those people went through for 11 days??? There are hundreds of thousands of people who are going to suffer a similar fate, when we leave!!! - America.......
We have opportunity now to do something about it, to promote a work that can save as many of them as possible... from the kind of horror that lies up ahead of them. And God says if were not willing to do it then He'll leave us behind , to suffer the same fate with those people!! That's part of the problem with the Laodicean's, as it says here in Proverbs 24 and verse 11: "If you forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain". We live in a nation of millions of people who are waiting to die.... "If you say behold, we knew it not", verse 12 of Proverbs 24, you know if you turn a blind eye to the sufferings, and your attitude is simply: "Well prophecy marches on, were seeing God's word come to pass, those people deserve what they got"... Think there any worse sinners than us brethren??? That what Jesus Christ said about the tower that fell upon those people - as He mentioned it in Luke. 'Think those people were worse sinners than you', He said to the others that escaped??? No brethren.... Once again, there but for the grace of God go you and I. We would still be out there with those people waiting the same fate, except God had called us. If you and I turned a blind eye to human suffering - "Does not he that ponders the heart consider it? and he that keep your soul, does he not know it? and shall he not render to every man according to his works?" If we chose to be Laodicean in the way we serve the work of God brethren, then we will suffer with the same people we should have warned and helped. See, the attitude we have got to have, in the time that remains with us before the end, is an attitude of compassion and concern for a humanity that is soon to die... soon to die in the greatest and most terrible time that has ever been.... Many are concerned with themselves in the Church, with there own problems and their own difficulties; it is very easy for us brethren, I speak to myself as well as speaking to you, to get wrapped up in our own problems and our own difficulties and our own daily life... and forget about our calling!!! And about reaching all the people outside of our own little square yard of geography. We can worry about saving our own hide, by qualifying for the place of safety; but that's not the attitude God's wants brethren! The kind of attitude He wants is one that truly cares for the people that are out there - to the point, that we would give up our own salvation if necessary, that others might be saved.....
Romans 9 and beginning in verse 1: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit. That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart." I look around me Paul says, and I see suffering and hurt and the misery of a sin laden people.... And I feel terribly, deeply sorry, toward them.... "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites;" I'd be willing to give up my own salvation, if it would mean, that they could have theirs instead of me.....
Ezekiel chapter 9 brethren.... Ezekiel chapter 9 is a vision, of the time when the Church of God is separated into 2 groups; the Laodicean's and the Philadelphian's. It's a vision of "The Day That Begins The End".... He says verse 4: "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." Verse 6: "Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; yet begin at my sanctuary." - Begin with the Church of God..... Because not all members of the Church of God will have this mark. Not all members of the Church are truly Philadelphian, are truly filled with brotherly love towards their fellow man, that they sigh and cry for the abominations that are done in this nation today. On the contrary there are those who call themselves Christian in the Church of God who actually want to be a party to some of those things that are going on out there - even though they know the truth. It looks to tasty, to inviting, and so in consequence they go out to get a taste of it!! Well... they may get it, but afterwards as the Proverb says: "Their mouth will be filled with gravel."
You know there's a man that I read of brethren in the Old Testament, and every time I read of him, in that section of the Bible, I get the impression of a man who was a total cluts - and that was Lot. Nothing I read about Lot in the Old Testament gives me really a very high opinion of Lot. Basically He was on our side, and that we can be happy about. But other than that when you read the story of Lot there's nothing very laudatory in his behavior. First of all, Lot, when Abraham gave him the choice - you know the land wasn't big enough for both of them; for all their heards to be together, so Abraham said you go this way and I'll go that way, you go that way I'll go this way? You choose. So what did Lot do? You know, real generous, real unselfish - He took the best of the land. He chose what he thought would be really good for him, not good for Abraham. So in his selfishness he chose the plane of Jordan because it was well watered; he would be more prosperous in consequence. And as you know he got himself into the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah. By so doing he got himself into trouble because there was warfare between that particular land and another land from the north; and he got taken captive, and his family, by an invading army. So then Abraham had to build up an army of his own and go out and rescue Lot and bring him back home. Lot didn't learn the lesson; I think God was tring to tell him something - God forcibly took him out of the country by the invading army. But no he went back to Sodom and Gomorah to dwell there because he was concerned about having the best of the land.
Well, the day came for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah; this of course is recorded between Genesis 14 and Genesis 19. And the angels came to Lot, they were considered very good looking indivuals so the homosexuals wanted them... What did Lot, shiverous Lot do under that circumstance? He said: "Don't touch these men they are guests in my home, here you can have my two virgin daughters. You know once again I'm not impressed with Lot, as a man and a father. I realize by the tradition of that day that it was considered better to give a girl because it was a total perversion - homosexuality. But regardless, in my mind there wasn't a choice. You don't say: Well you can have my daughters instead of this man! As a father you get out there and your willing to die to lay down your life for your daughters. Now fortunatly the Angels intervienced and they smote everybody with blindness, and Lot and his daughters they tried to rescue them from Sodom. They gave him opportunity to go and speak to his sons-in-law but they wouldn't hear him, and they said: you get ready for tomorrow, we've got to leave the city its going to be destroyed. And what do you find? The next morning Lot was dilliydallying until finally the Angels had to grab him by the hand and forcably take him out of the city - you know, God's mercy once again. And they said: "Now we got you out; get up to that mountain where you'll be safe." He said: "Oh no, I'm to tired, it's to far (emphasis by Mr. Brittian); look there's this little city over here, just let me rest here, isn't it just a little city"? You know, you read his plaintiff cry there; I mean if the Angles had told him to get to the mountain he had the capacity to get there! They weren't telling him to do something he couldn't do. But of course undoubtably he was emotionally distressed with the loss of his sons-in-law and he was also going to be distressed with the loss of his wife.
But they stayed in Zoar, then the destruction came, they saw the destruction, they got frightened and so they did go out of Zoar (that little town) and went up into a cave. Ah, and then of course you have the pretty horrible story about where the 2 daughters committed incest with their father, because they said no man was alive on the face of the earth. That's a little suspect to me. Did they not believe that Abraham and Sarah had not been protected, by Angles also?? And what about this little village that they'd had just left that had been spared by the Angles - weren't there any men in that city?? Anyway for some reason they were convinced that nobody was left on the earth so they had incest in reverse and they got pregnant 2 nights in a row, one daughter one night the other the next, by their own father. They got him drunk, interesting thing? They left Sodom and Gomorrah and they took enough booze with them too.....
So everything I read in the story of Lot in the Old Testament brethren leaves me with the impression this man may have been a Christian but he was a total clutz, you know he most certainly wasn't of the caliber of Abraham and Sarah. But there's something that redeems Lot brethren and it's found not in the Old it's found in the New Testament. Despite all that I said to you and all that's recorded in the book of Genesis about this man, there was one quality that Lot had that many of us in the Church of God do not have today! Who also live, in a modern day, Sodom and Gomorrah!! And that quality is found in 2Peter chapter 2. 2Peter chapter 2 and beginning in verse 7. It talks in verse 6 of the destruction of Sodom and of Gomorrah, and then it says verse 7: "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conduct of the wicked: For that righteous man", despite all his faults brethren, despite all his dillydallying, despite all his wrong choices, "For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds". You know why God took Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah, because he cared..... He sighed and cried for all the abominations that were being done around him.... And so a mark of deliverance (Ezekiel 9 and verse 4) was placed on the forehead of Lot, and he escaped with his daughters.
You know, we live in a society brethren, as I said, that is so similar to the one back then. And because we've lived in it for a long period of time we can allow future shocks, so to speak, to take it's course in our lives..... To the point where we except what is going on, and we're no longer really bothered by it.... We don't consider how those people are suffering as a result of their sins, in this pornographic society. Sometimes we lose sight of just how bad it is getting as we go our daily round - and to a certain extent blind our eyes to what is going on. Well there's an editorial at the end of the U.S. News and World Report, July 30th edition - "Who Should Pay For Porn". YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW BAD IT'S GETTING IN THIS NATION?? Then take a look at the latest editorial at the end of the latest U.S. News and World Report:
As congress prepares to vote for new funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, leading artistic figures are angrily protesting any and all restrictions on federal moneys. A recent rejection of 4 grants, they claim, means that America is retreating into a dark age of censorship and Stalinist-style art.
What rubbish!! Amidst all the pieties coming from people who know better, there has been very little talk about exactly what the four "artists" in question would do with their cash. Let the protestors call off their press conferences and hold a town meeting in Main Street America where they explain why tax payers should pay to support these four? (And then it lists the abominations that these four individuals commit, publicly, on stage! It not a question of here of censorship, their not censored for what there doing.
Adults can go and watch it, its simply that they want to be funded by the government by the tax payer for the wretchedness of what they do publicly. And I'm not going to read it brethren, you can read it at your leisure, cause its to filthy to read publicly).
What is at issue is that some artist apparently believe they can have it both ways: They want to engage in wanton destruction of a nation's values, and they expect that same nation to pay their bills. Grow up, friends. No society, even one as tolerant as this one has usually been should be willing to go to pay for its own demise. The American people are rightly concerned about moral decay in our public life, from the thievery at savings and loans to the suppression of prayers in school. (But their not concerned enough!! They are slowly being sucked in the vortex of moral degeneracy themselves - and that's why they will hate us so much, all of them brethren..... Even your good Church going Protestant's out there).
To argue that in the name of freedom they must send in money for smut peverts the idea of freedom itself - taxpayers have rights too!!
Psalm 119 brethren verse 53, the psalmist says: "Horror has taken has taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake your law." You want to be horrified brethren, read the editorial at the back of the present U.S. News and World Report. But it shouldn't take that to horrify us. There's enough out there that we know of brethren.... that should really sadden us, because of what its going to mean for this nation in the future, and what its doing already to the people that are a party to those abominations and those disgusting things which they do..... Verse 136, "Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not your law." This is the emotion and the feeling that we have to have for the people out in this world brethren.... And yes it's God that's going to punish them, but God takes no pleasure in so doing. He says in Ezekiel: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. In Isaiah it says: "In all their affliction He was afflicted." "The Day That Begins The End", brethren, will also be a tremendously sad day for God..... God will hate what He has to do.... to help these people. To bring them to repentance and for those that are killed in what takes place when they come up in the second resurrection will have so learned their lesson, that they will willingly take hold of the salvation that God will help them then. But in the meantime brethren!! You and I are given the responsibility to serve those human beings. And to help as many as possible be a part of the Church of God; as we were helped by people who were in the Church of God before us. We have to have a zeal..... for all peoples, but particularly because you were brought up here you can relate it to your homeland......
I brought you a piece of memorabilia from England, souvenir if you wish, something that I can give to all of you - it's a poem. And it's the poem that's inside the bulletin that was handed out. I noticed that Leandra when she Zeroxed this for me she Zeroxed it in pink. I don't know whether that was by chance or by design, but I do have my suspicions as to which. This is a famous poem in England brethren, in fact, its a poem that's been made a hymn, and is on occasion sung in the Churches. As a young lad growing up in England, come veterans day; although it was called poppy day - weaver in the cadet's for the RAF or for the army would go to one of the Churches (remember this was before God called me) and we would sing this hymn based on the poem by William Blake. Because there is a tradition in England that Joseph of Arimathaea brought Jesus Christ there to visit during the 18 years that are missing in the Gospels. Ah, we know Mr.; I mentioned to you that Dr. Hoeh had speculated that Joshua went to England after he had established Israel in the promised land; to go work with those Israelites to Organize them - the original Kelt's that had already gone to England. Jeremiah of course went to Ireland. Ah, the Apostles some of them as I showed you in a past sermon on the key of David, went to ah England. And there is a tradition that in England, that Jesus Christ Himself came as a young lad with Joseph of Arimathaea who was His uncle and owned property in that area. Now there's a certain amount of documentation, the Church does not officially subscribe to that thought, that Christ was there, it may simply be fiction, we'll just have to wait till the World Tomorrow to find out. But William Blake in the 1800's, because this was more known back then, wrote this poem about it, and I give you the poem as a little bit of memorabilia from England because of the message in the poem and the way it can relate to us:
And did those feet (ref. to Jesus Christ) in Ancient time Walk upon England's mountain green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine Shine fourth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among these dark Satanic Mills?
(Possible reference to the industrial England at that time, others have other opinions as written below. Because there is the belief that Jesus came to south west England, and ah; my wife and I visited the town of Glastenberry which was built on that sight, we were supposedly there. And though the middle ages, well up to the middle ages till it finally burned down. For a good portion of that millennium the kings of England were crowned in the cathedral at Glastenberry and afterwards of course as you would know now in Westminster Abbey in London. And when you go to Glastenberry you see the tomb of King Auther; supposedly the tomb of King Auther, whether he's really there or not I don't know, once again we would have to find out. But based on this concept, whether true or false that Jesus Christ may have been in England - Blake was inspired. And so the next verse deals, as we have say in Ephesians 6: "Taking the armor of God", and he makes this the statement of his last verse:
I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green & pleasant Land.
You and I brethren are also called to a great work. And you and I, daily, must never cease from mental fight... Must never let our swords sleep in our hands, till we have finished the work that God called us to do in this nation... But you see, whether or not this is legend or fiction is irrelevant brethren.... we don't need to be inspired by some historical event, we are looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. Whether He went there as a lad is immaterial. Certainly as God He has walked upon the pastures of England, and walked upon the mountains of America. And I'm not talking "Book of Mormon"; there have been times when Jesus Christ has come down to visit this land also, as a Spirit being. But we have to be inspired by what lies up ahead of us brethren.... Motivated..... to never give up..... on the mental fight, of working upon ourselves and of caring for all the people around us..... Before it's too late ...... before you have to say your last good-bye...
You know this time visiting England, leaving it was more difficult from the standpoint of saying good-by to my mother. Each time I have left I have found that I am always saying good-by for the last time to somebody over there. When I went in 1977 I got to see my favorite uncle that I hadn't seen for 14 years. And God worked it out for me to see him just in time... I didn't know it... he had cancer, and three weeks later he was dead. When I left the next time in 82, and said good-by to my father, to my step-father and to my mother, I didn't know then for sure that it was going to be the last time. And it wasn't from the standpoint of world events, but it was a last time for my stepfather... I didn't know that. I really though it would be my mother, because of her health, who would go first. And now visiting her alone... was particularly difficult, because when I said good-by to her at the house... this time there was a sense of guilt as I was leaving. Before she'd always had my stepfather to take care of her with her health problems and with her difficulties. Now... there was nobody there as a direct relative to be with her, to stay with her, to help her, through her loneliness. Everywhere we went during that 2¤ weeks my mother went with us, even to Church. When we went to Nottingham one Sabbath and Cambridge the next, she came to the Church. She didn't come in, but she sat outside for three hours both Sabbaths, just so that she could make the ride with us and make the ride back; she did not want to be left alone..... And this is the way your going to feel brethren when you say your last good-by.... A deep heartache for the people your seeing for the last time... Relatives who didn't come into the Church and relatives you deeply wish... you could take with you....
Luke 21 and beginning in verse 25, we have to, as Ecclesiastes 7 instructs us, "consider the day", that begins the end.... Not the day of the funeral of one person, but the day that involves the death of a nation..... And I've shone to you brethren that the time of our leaving will be a time of great sorrow. And we do have to work before that day comes, we have to face that day somewhere in the future... But when we face that day, God wants us to look beyond it. To face it yes, to handle it, to be ready for it. All the Scriptures that I've read to you have shone that we do have to be ready for that day!!!! But when it comes, despite all the sorrow of heart that we feel, God says there's another day... You've got to consider the one your a part of, the day of the last good-by, but I want you to look forward... beyond it... to another day, the day spoken of here in Luke 21. See Jesus Christ in Luke 21 gives the Olivet prophecy of all the troubles to come upon our people.... And He says verse 25, Coming to the end of those troubles: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear," (suffering heart attacks and strokes) "and for looking for those things which are coming upon the earth; and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. He finishes at that point - the tribulation - all that it's involved. I've only read you the last part of the verses that deal with the tribulation brethren, but now notice verse 28. He goes back to the beginning of the tribulation, to the last good-by, to "The Day That Begins The End".... "When these things begin to come to pass,".... when the tribulation starts, "then lift up your heads; look up, for your redemption draws nigh." There's another day coming..... a day of true rejoicing.....
In conclusion brethren, Psalm 126, this is that day beyond: "When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dreamed. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing". But to get to that day brethren, we have to go through this period of time first.... And so verse 5: "They that sow in tears".... they that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the land.... They that allow horror to take hold upon them, because of the wicked that forsake Gods way. They that sow in tears now, shall one day.... in that day beyond.... "reap in joy. He that goes forth to do God's work (verse 6) and weeps," in compassion for a dying humanity, "bearing the precious seed", of the truth Almighty God, the Gospel, "shall doubtless come again", in a new time, in a new day, "with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Bring the results of his work and of his labor. One day... you as Americans are going to pull up roots and leave the nation that has been your home... And the day you leave brethren will be the saddest day of your life.... But Jesus Christ says, despite the sadness and the heartache... look beyond... to a day far greater... the day of Jesus Christ's return..... The day when you can finally put all things right, the day as it says here in Psalm 126: "When you will be like them that dream.... When your mouth will be filled with laughter and your tongue with singing"....
End.
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THE MARTYRDOM OF THE LAODICEAN'S
THE MARTYRDOM OF THE LAODICEAN'S
A Sermon Delivered byMr. Keith Brittain7/15/89
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Editor's Note:
To date, this remains the most profound message I have ever heard in the Church.Please do not read over it too quickly, but rather, consider the degree of inspiration contained therein, for your benefit . . .
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Good morning Brethren! Nice to have a cool day over here after the hot one's we've been having in Concord, and believe me, it does get hot in Concord. We seem to have many climates in the bay area, and things are upside down and backward, like San Francisco's summer that comes in the fall.....
If you were new to the church, brethren, and you were starting to really open up the bible for the first time in your life, what would you say you would consider to be the strangest prophecy of all? Because obviously when we come into the church, in this age, we are very concerned with bible prophecy, particularly as we understand that we are living in the end-time. But there are prophecies, particularly if you're new, that strike you as very strange - Ezekiel, as a prophet for instances, lying thirteen months on one side and forty days on the other, what a ridiculous thing for a person to do. Or it could be some of the prophecies in Daniel, the image of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar's image rather, composed of different metals, or some of the weird animals; and finally the beast, each one overcoming the other, one by one; as we understand representing different world empires. Perhaps Zechariah, the different colored horses riding off in different directions. And of course, the book of Revelation, with locusts coming up out of a bottomless pit.
There are many prophecies that, on initial reading brethren when you're new in the church, strike you as very strange. But really the strangest prophecy in the bible relates not to occasional strange actions on the parts of the prophets, nor to curious symbols used in prophetic books. It doesn't relate to weird looking creatures or to the Woe's or the trumpets of Revelation. In fact, the strangest prophecy in the bible does not relate even to the future of Israel or to the world's political events to come. The strangest prophecy brethren, relates to the Church of God itself! Now, before we get to that prophecy, I'd like to talk about three (3) great advantages that we, who are members of the church, have in this end time.
The First of those three great advantages is that we are a part of the greatest, and most extensive work of God in scope, of all of man's six thousand years of history. It's not just a worldwide church, it is truly a worldwide work. And there is the advantage then of the excitement of being a part of the most successful work of God that has ever been. We are excited by the growth that God gives to us, by the doors that He opens up to us. If you've been in this work any length of time you will know for a certainty that it is not a dull work, it is an exciting work to be a part of.
The Second great advantage we have in the Church of God today is that we have a greater understanding of the bible than ever before, and a greater understanding of bible prophecy simply because we live at the time of the fulfillment of many of the prophecies put into the bible - the things like locust we can identify with modern armorments, in fact many of the prophecies of the bible could not be understood until our time. And true the "Book of Revelation" was unveiled at last, to Mr. Armstrong, in this century. And it was something that could be understood not just because of the inspiration that God gave to him, but because of the technology of this end time that helps to explain some of those symbols in the Book of Revelation - a book that was not understood in the same way by precedings era's of the church. And so, we are watching prophecy of the end time unfold; it's related to us in the Plain Truth, we can study it in the Correspondence Course, we have the booklets, we have the television programs that explain to us what is going on in the world scene - the World Tomorrow broadcast.
The Third great advantage, and this is the greatest advantage of all, is that we are the generation who will see the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. For two thousand years, brethren in past centuries have prayed, "Your kingdom come", in obedience to Jesus Christ's command to do so. But of course, that kingdom never came; it came for them in one sense at the time of their death because, even though they're dead and buried, they have no awareness of the passage of time, for them it's as if they stepped into the grave and there they are at the first resurrection - that kingdom has come in answer to their prayers. But we understand that we are living in the generation that will literally see Gods kingdom come....... the return of Jesus Christ is just a few years down the line.
So these are three great advantages that we have in the end time era of Gods church brethren; and yet this brings us to the great paradox, the greatest paradox perhaps of the end time - that the closer we get to the return of Jesus Christ, the more some converted Christians are to become unexcited about that return. Now on the surface so many prophecies of the end time make sense.... except this one! This to me is the strangest prophecy of all, this one relating to the Church of God, that we who live in the end time, with greater advantages than any other preceding generation of Christians, should allow ourselves, with the eminency of Jesus Christ's return, to become unexcited about it, lackadaisical in our spiritual approach to life, and perhaps lose out on the great reward that is just a few years down the road.......
Let's turn to Revelation chapter 3, brethren. Revelation chapter 3 and beginning in verse 14; Now as has been explained to you in the past concerning the seven era's of the church; they were of course contemporaneous with each other - these seven towns on this mail route, and so the problems related were all a part of the apostolic era, though the major problem with the apostolic era was that of the Ephesus church. And as we come down through history there is the flow of the different era's and we realize that we are a part of the Philadelphian era today, with one more to come, the Laodicean. But as we would understand, and as has been explained to you in the past - Mr. Orchard went through the book of Revelation with you brethren in a bible study and explained these things, that there has always been Laodicean's in every era of the church. There was always a portion who had that particular lukewarm spirit and attitude. But what is made clear by the bible is that these problems are not just contemporaneous, they also follow one after the other - from the stand point of what is the biggest problem of that particular group in that particular century.
So we are faced brethren, with a whole era of lukewarm Christians to be formed. Yes, there have been Laodicean's in all the past 2000 years of the history of God's church, but here at the end time of all times...... with the eminency of Jesus Christ's return, we have an entire era of people that are going to be lukewarm Christians, unexcited about the greatest event in man's history. Truly this is, a strange prophecy..., when we live closer to the return of Jesus than ever before. Why brethren...? What factors produce an entire era of Laodicean Christians? I mentioned to you three great advantages that we have living in the end time in the church, now we need to examine three reasons for the rejection of these people of those three advantages. Three reasons why they don't take advantage of the advantages.
The First involves the prosperity of the end time. Lets begin with Revelation 3 and verse 14: "To the angel of the church of the Laodicean's write, "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning, (or 'the beginner' as it should be) of the creation of God". Now Jesus Christ addresses each church with a different introduction, so this introduction, verse 14, is unique to the Laodicean's. He says, "These things says the Amen". Now the Amen is a word that can be "sobeit", can have the meaning "I believe, I agree". And yet the Laodicean's - because Jesus Christ uses this particular introduction for a purpose, don't truly believe Jesus Christ, in a sense that their faith, to a certain extent, is a dead faith, it is not a living faith. They pay lip service to Jesus Christ and to the commandments, but they don't really act like Jesus Christ in their lives, if they did, they would be Philadelphian, they'd be zealous. Not that Philadelphia is the greatest of the churches by any means, each one has those who will be apart of the first resurrection, but just to simply contrast there. "The Faithful and the True Witness", because Jesus Christ set an example and was a witness to the Laodicean's of how to live zealously for God. And He was the Beginner of the creation of God. And there is a problem with the Laodicean's, with intellectual vanity - instead of the humility that recognizes God as their creator and look to Him daily because they recognize daily they need God, instead of the approach "I have a need of nothing". But also there's another application of this: Amen is the way you end something, and this is the last era of God's church. The Faithful and True Witness, because the Laodicean's who have not truly done the work of God are going to have to do it in order to make it into the kingdom. One way or other, if you don't do a work now you will have to do a work then!!! God will not take non-workers into His kingdom, and so they will have to do as we're going to see, a work of witness for God, after Philadelphia is taken to the place of safety. And there they will recognize their God and their true need for Him. Verse 17: "Because you say, 'I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing". I'm OK, spiritually I'm doing fine, but also brethren obviously there is the physical application as well as the spiritual. We live in the richest generation of all time. We live better than kings and queens of past ages lived. How many of them had color television? How many of them had refrigerators? How many of them had air condition - living in some of those drafty old castles, they would certainly envy some of the luxuries we have today brethren. We are a generation that is rich and is increased with goods, not that riches are wrong or goods are wrong, they can be a blessing from God. Abraham was a termendiously wealthy individual, but he always kept it in perspective: God first!!, material things way down the line. (continuing in verse 17) "and know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked". And the major thrust of this of course, brethren, as you understand... and we've been through it with you before, is spiritual. But certainly there is the physical application as well, that is not negated by the spiritual, they are both here. "You know not", they are deceived !! And people can be deceived by the comforts of modern day living, the ease of this life; in comparison to when you were grubing the ground for food stuff in past ages.
Let's notice Matthew 13, beginning in verse 19, the parable of the Sower and the Seed, and in verse 19 Jesus says, Matthew 13, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not", he's not really called of God, "then comes a wicked one catches away that was sown in his heart, this is he that receives seed by the wayside". Verse 20, "But he that receive the seed into stony places the same as he that hears the words and anon with joy receives it"; the curiosity seekers to a certain extent, "yet he has not root in himself", he's not truly, deeply, committed, he's just superficially interested, "he has not root in himself and lasts only a little while, when some tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he is offended" - that's what "by and by" means in the King James. Very thin, has no root there, so it's very easy for him to get offended. "But he also (verse 22) that receives seed among the thorns is he that hears the word, and the care of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word and he becomes unfruitful; which meant that he was bearing fruit for awhile. He was not unfruitful period, he had been, but then he had started producing fruit and then he became unfruitful; this is a person in God's church!!! But what were the major causes?? The care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches!! The Laodicean's know not, they are deceived!! Now they can be in the church today, but the deceitfulness of riches, the comfort of this present society has had it's effect upon them... has made them complacent and lukewarm. Proverbs chapter 1 brethren...... they have been lulled into a false sense of security. They think they're secure because they're in the church, because they hear the sermons and the bible studies - they're not truly aware of their spiritual condition - and some of that spiritual condition is as a result of the age in which they live. They're not having to beg God every day for their next meal, they've got enough stocked in their refrigerator and in their freezer to last them, you know, a couple of weeks. There were times when Christians in past ages were truly praying "Give us our daily bread", cause a lot of times they didn't know where their next meal was coming from - do we worry about that!! We all know where the next meal is coming from; we've already got it back home; we went out and bought it a week ago; or we can go out to a restaurant. It is very easy, with the comforts of this society, brethren, to get into a complacent attitude.
Now God here in Proverbs chapter 1 is talking about those who do not accept the way of wisdom. He talks in verse 26 of the calamity to come and He says in verse 27, "when your fear comes as a desolation, your destruction comes as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you", all those who have rejected the truth of God and the words of wisdom that is preached by this gospel message, "then in the tribulation they shall call upon Me but I will not answer, they shall seek me early and they shall not find me", verse 32, "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them", or if you have a center margin, "the ease, the easy way of life", the comforts of today shall slay them. Now does television, you know, reach out and grab a knife and stick it in you? Does television kill you brethren? Does, you know, your car, does it run over you? Usually you're at the wheel; you don't let it run over you. How do the comforts of this life slay you? They can kill us spiritually brethren, because we can be so much at ease that we don't really push ourselves spiritually in prayer and bible study before God. "The ease of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them, but who so harkens unto Me shall dwell safety and shall be quite from the fear of evil to come". Oh I realize for the most part these verses are dealing with people in the world in contrast with those in God's church, but also brethren, verse 32 can apply to the Laodicean's and verse 33 to the Philadelphians. Verse 33, "Who so harkens unto Me shall dwell in a place of safety," by extrapolation, and shall be quite from the fear of the evil of the Third World War. But if a person has a Laodicean attitude, then the ease of the simple shall slay them in the tribulation, as Laodicean's, and there prosperity shall have destroyed them.
So this is the First reason they reject these three great advantages brethren - the prosperity of the end time. The Second reason, is the evil of the end time. Matthew 24 and verse 12, what Jesus Christ had to say about this end time generation and because of the wickedness that is upon it, Matthew 24 and verse 12, "And because inequity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold". Now true we see a society that is becoming more and more heartless, more and more calloused, more and more dog-eat-dog, but once again brethren there is the application to the church - this book was written majorly for us, not for the world that is blinded. "Because inequity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold", there are those in the church who were hot in their love for God, who will allow themselves to wax totally cold and commit the unpardonable sin! But in between, going from hot to cold, is lukewarm. And there are those who allow themselves to become lukewarm - as Jesus said in Revelation 3 and verse 15, "I know your works that you are neither hot nor cold, I would that you were one or the other, and so then because you are lukewarm, verse 16 of Revelation 3, "I will have to spit you (or as it is in the Greek, I am about to spit you) out of my mouth. Now of course with that town of Laodicea there in Asia Minor, when Jesus Christ spoke those words to John, there were hot springs a certain distance away from Laodicea, and the water was transported from those hot springs to the town of Laodicea. But by the time the water reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm. Now, if you've ever tried to drink a cup of lukewarm warm coffee you know what your reaction usually is, you want it heated up. If you think it's hot and you grab it and it's lukewarm the chances are your going to spit it out. I can remember visiting a place call "Bath" in England, and they named it that because the Romans baths were there. And there were these waters that came up from the spring, but they were only lukewarm warm waters and they would have you taste it, and there was a faucet where you could actually taste the water, and it was good for you, it had medicinal values, and there were those who made themselves drink it. But you had to make yourself drink it, because being lukewarm it didn't taste enjoyable at all. Now some have felt you know, and it can be taken from Revelation 3 there verses 15 & 16 about the lukewarm water: "And that I would that you were hot or cold", that hot water is an enjoyable beverage; coffee or tea, and cold water can be refreshing on a hot day. And there is a Proverb that makes that statement about cold water, and so some have felt that it's not necessarily negative - the cold aspect, that on a hot day you need a cold drink of water, on a cold day you need a hot drink. But of course there is also the application spiritually, that a person can be on fire for God (hot) or they can be spiritually cold. And when Jesus Christ says in that case: "I wish that you were one or the other - at least with the cold of this world they are not being called, this is not their day of salvation, their time of calling is yet future. So if they die, terrible as that will be in the tribulation, at least it's not the end for them, they are not spiritually accountable because this is not their day of salvation. But a person that has God's Spirit and is lukewarm....... is in jeopardy, where their eternal life or death is concerned. And so you can see why spiritually Jesus Christ would say: "I would that you were hot or cold" - If you're hot, I know I can put you into the first resurrection, if you're cold, uncalled, OK, I'm going to wait for a better day to call you, after my return. But because you are called and you're lukewarm it's now or never!! And you put upon Me a terribly difficult decision, and that decision has to be, as He says: "Unless there is repentance I have to spit you out of My mouth", - implied, into the tribulation, because that's the only way I can save you spiritually... and get you into My kingdom.
Isaiah 5, talking about the evil of the age and its affect upon people in God's church - a slow, subtle, pernicious effect, because Satan has done his job well with this end time society, as it becomes more and more wicked all around us. Isaiah 5 and verse 20: "Woe to them that call evil good and good evil", like the homosexuals and the lesbians with their gay parades, who say that their perversion is a good and the rest of us should accept it, and what's more even join their parade!!!! "Woe to them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter,"!!! How apt a description of 1989, and our society. "And woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight, who have no need for God in their lives"!!!! Liberated individuals, in their own mind!! "Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine and many strength to mingle strong drink, which justify the wicked for reward", verse 23, "and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him". Now the actual meaning there is that they will justify the wicked for reward, for a bribe, and they will neglect to give the righteous their just cause, say in a court of law. However, by extrapolation, we could take it literally (verse 23) "who take away the righteousness of the righteous from him", because this society as it degenerates, if we individually are not close to God , will be gradually sucked into the vortex of this world, and swallowed up and gradually loose our righteousness brethren. This world can take our righteousness away from us, if we allow it to do so!!
Nehemiah, chapter 13 and verse 26. We have been blessed with the gift of God's understanding of the end time prophecy, the understanding of the commandments of God and the real way to live and the true Jesus Christ; tremendous wisdom and the principals for right living. But we can allow the world brethren, by its degeneracy and by its evil influence..... to begin to subtract from us righteousness before God!! Verse 26 of Nehemiah 13, "Did not Solomon, king of Israel sin by these things"? A man of tremendous wisdom, "Yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of His God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless (even him) did outlandish women cause to sin". Now in the truest analyse brethren no one causes you to sin,, we sin of ourselves, but what the bible is stating is, we can allow others to have this influence upon us, whereby indirectly they cause us to sin... and to give up little by little upon our righteousness. And so there are those in the church, who will as the bible says: "Grow weary in well doing", and gradually allow their love that was once hot to become lukewarm. So that's the Second reason why the Laodicean's reject the three great advantages of living in the end time Church, in the 20th Century......
The Third brethren, is the return of Jesus Christ. The third reason some people get unexcited about the return of Jesus Christ, is the return of Jesus Christ, or more accurately, the fact that the return of Jesus Christ doesn't come when they expect it to come. Matthew 24 and beginning in verse 42, now remember that this chapter brethren; we've already referred to verse 12, is the Olivet prophecy of the end time. What Jesus Christ said here had application to the apostles, to the apostolic era, to the Ephesian era of the church, and it did have a fulfillment, back then a type fulfillment , but the major thrust of this prophecy is for our time in the 20th century. Yes, it is applied to all Christians through the last two thousands years, but especially to us,!! Verse 42: "Watch therefore, Jesus warned us, "for you know not what hour Your Lord does come, but know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. If he had known the future to the point of knowing when Jesus Christ would return, if he had known the year of the tribulation, and the month when it would begin, he would have prepared himself, he would have been ready - and WE know it's coming brethren, we know it's close, we know it might be at the end of the very next decade.... But.... because it's still distant..... because it's not fully in our mind, because we don't know the exact time, we sort of play Russian roulette with our lives... and we take it easy, and we wait for events of the future to stir us up... But you see, the problem with the Laodicean's is, they wait one day, to long........ Verse 44: "Therefore be you also ready, for in such an hour as you think not!!, the Son of Man comes". For anyone of us brethren it could come today if we die on the road driving home. Obviously we will go to grave and have to await the resurrection, but from the standpoint for a person in their death there is no concept of the passage of time for them it's like the next split second when that resurrection occurs. "Who then is that faithful and wise servant whom his lord has made him ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. "Verily I say to you, he shall make him ruler over all his goods. "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart: "My Lord delays His coming". and certainly that was the problem with the Ephesian era - that's why Jesus Christ said: "they lost their first love". Because they had thought Jesus Christ was going to come back in their lifetime, and when He did "delay His coming" (in quotes), He never has truly delayed it; God is punctual; God will be on time. But because we made the mistake and they made the mistake of putting it too early, there were those who fell prey to this.
I had a friend who was a Local elder, up in Canada, although he was on the U.S. side while I was in Canada; but he attended one of the Canadian churches. He was zealous up until 1972, shortly thereafter he started to fall apart, and it wasn't long before he was gone. "He says, "My lord delays His coming, shall begin to smite his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunken - now if you literately do that your going to get yourself disfellowshipped, OK; if you start beaten up on the brethren and start, you know, ah, boozing at the local taverns, we're going to put you out. This is talking spiritually brethren, that he's letting go of his hold on God and he's starting to let sin creep into his life more and more - "The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrite's. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". Yes, it did apply too back then, it's applied to different centuries throughout the last two thousand years; But...! in the original there was no chapter breaks; "Then, chapter 25 and verse 1, "shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins; and Mr. Orchard was talking to you about the parable of the ten virgins recently, which is for our day. "Then", you see the scripture just flows on brethren. A lot of times we separate chapter 24 from chapter 25. They belong together, there is a flow here from verse 51 to verse 1 of chapter 25, "Then, shall the kingdom of God be likened to ten virgins", and it goes on to talk about the return of Jesus Christ.
So you see brethren, we have these three reasons why they reject the three great advantages of being called in this time: The prosperity of this age, the evil of this age, and the fact that Jesus Christ, in their minds, has delayed His coming - we've got a few more years left, you know, we can sort of take it easy now, then get stirred up when things start to get a little warm - but like I said, they're going to wait one day to late. None of this death bed repentance with God brethren, you can't wait til the last day and suddenly get zealous and say: OK God, I'm Philadelphian now, now you can take me to the place of safety tomorrow! God's going to say "forget it", I'm not fooled, the only reason you've gotten zealous is to save your hide!!! You haven't been zealous out of concern and compassion for a dying humanity!! You haven't been zealous for love of Me!! The only reason you've suddenly become zealous is for fear of what is to happen is for yourself!! That doesn't wash, that's not the character of Jesus Christ.......
Well, I mentioned earlier brethren that the Laodicean's have to do a work. They have to witness for God, in order to make it into the kingdom. Luke 17, verse 34: "I tell you, that in that night there shall be two in one bed: one shall be taken the other shall be left; two shall be grinding together, one shall be taken the other shall be left". So on one side of the earth it's night, people are asleep; on the other side of the earth it's day light and there working, it's still the same time with God. "One shall be taken and the other left; two shall be in the field, one taken and the other left. "And they answered and said: 'Where will they be taken Lord?", because they knew they wouldn't be taken to heaven - We're Not Going To Heaven!! He said to them, "Wheresoever the body is thither will the eagles be gathered together." Body referring to the church, and the church being taken to a place of safety. Revelation 12, verse 14: "To the woman (the church) were given the wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, where she is nourished for 3.5 years from the face of the serpent, from Satan". "So Satan cast out of his mouth water as a flood, (he sends an army after the woman, as she's fleeing) that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood, (destroyed)" "But the earth will help the woman, the earth will open her mouth and swallow up this army which the dragon casts after her". And in consequence, verse 17; the dragon who has failed to destroy the Philadelphian era, that was now protected from him utterly for 3 1/2 years, that remains before the return of Jesus Christ, the dragon was wrath with the women and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, (true Christians.... baptized members) which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. And the bible tells us that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy, so the Laodicean's understand the prophecies....... They keep the commandments.... but it's in a lukewarm fashion. They are members of the church. They are the seed (the children) of the woman, they are begotten sons and daughters of God.
So a part of the church, brethren, is left behind...... left behind to do a work that they would not do when they had plenty of opportunity to do it. And the work that they have to do is a 3 fold work. First of all, they will have to witness to God's way, by their refusal to accept the mark of the beast. They will testify to God's way, by their refusal to accept the mark of the beast, in other words, they will refuse to work on Saturday and they will refuse to accept Sunday. Secondly, the work of the Laodicean's will be to testify to the two witnesses being Gods true prophets, because remember the two witnesses will be doing their work during that 3 1/2 years, they will testify to the two witnesses being Gods true prophets. And the third aspect of the work they will do... will be the example, of courage, that they set through martyrdom. They will testify further to the truth of God's way by the ultimate sacrifice, martyrdom... You see, after a life of ease and spiritual lazyness.... the Laodicean's sadly are going to have to do a work of suffering and of martyrdom...... because it is the only way that a loving Father can get them into His kingdom...... and not have to destroy them forever. He loves them so desparately that rather than just destroy them and put them into the third resurection and finish it, He's willing to punish them with the tribulation, in the hope, that they will remain firm and steadfast so that He, their loving parent, can have them for an eternaty and never risk losing them again.....
Now there are Five stages brethren to this experience that the Laodicean's will go through. The First of these five stages I've entitled "Panic". Amos chapter 8 and beginning in verse 11; because after the Philadelphian era is taken to the place of safety, a state of termendious emotional distress will wash over those who are Laodicean's. A state of terrifying anxiety, knowing what they are faced with because they have the testimony of Jesus Christ; they understand prophecy; they have heard the same sermons as everybody else. Amos 8 and in verse 11: "Behold, the days come says the Eternal God, "That I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread or of thirst for water", though that is coming also, but He's putting the emphasis here on the greater famine, the Spiritual Famine, which is even worse than the physical one - In Gods eyes... "I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor of thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Eternal". Because they'll be no more "Plain Truth" magazine mailed out, they'll be no more headquarters of the Worldwide Church of God at Pasadena, they'll be no more World Tomorrow telecast, they'll be no more Watts line..... All kinds of people will be trying to ring the Worldwide Church of God at that point...... but they won't be able to find Pasadena or Headquarters, it will be emptied of our people. "They shall wander from sea to sea", from the Pacific to the Atlantic, "from the north even to the east; They shall run to and fro, to seek the word of God, And they shall not find it". And they'll be a panic for many people in the land; but they'll be a greater panic for the Laodicean's, because they, of all people, know exactly what is coming!!
God spoke as we read in Proverbs 1 and in verse 27: "When your fear comes as a desolation and your destruction comes as the whirlwind, when distress and anguish comes upon you", they will know what lies ahead, and they will know that they face the agony of being separated from their children in this tribulation to come. They know that if they had been Philadelphian their children, their young children, could have gone to the Place of Safety with them. But because they are Laodicean's, their children share their fate....... Can you imagine, the emotional distress that will bring upon a person ?? It's bad enough knowing what lies ahead for yourself, but your children...... Now some of the Laodicean's will not be able to face that, and they will commit suicide. They would rather come up to the third resurrection; and we've had people who have gone out of the church in a state of apathy. I can remember one minister' mentioning that he visited this couple, and they knew what was up ahead (the third resurrection) and they said: "Well, it's not like an ever burning hell fire, we'll just be destroyed and that will be it, it will be over with". And that's right, some of the Laodicean's will choose that route, but of course, suicide is the way of cowardice.
There is a work..... a good work, that the Laodicean's can yet do for a dying humanity. And there are those who will be affected by their work. The enumerable multitude will be affected not just by the work of the two witnesses, but by the example of the Laodicean's who are willing to die for the truth of God. People will be converted in the tribulation as a result of the work of Laodicea, not just the work of Philadelphian. But God would much prefer that we be Philadelphian for obvious reasons, brethren. After the panic, the full effects of the famine and disease - Ezekiel 5. verse 2; and Mr. Orchard went through this with you brethren in the bible studies, so I don't need to cover it in detail. Prophecy to Ezekiel: "You shall burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city", these were the hairs of his head and this as we find from verse 12 represents famine and disease. A third part of the nation; in the United States alone - 80 Million people are going to die of famine and disease.... Now can you conceive brethren, in your mind, what 80 Million people looks like....... It's beyond us, isn't it? But that is the extent of this initial stage of the third world war. "When the days of the siege are fulfilled", so there is an economic blockade, and it culminates with a terrible famine and disease. True, there would have been portions of famine and disease perhaps before, but the full climatic effects take place when the economic blockade is over, "when the days of the siege are fulfilled", and after that you shall smite take a third part and smite about it with a knife" - another 80 Million people are going to die by the sword.... they survive famine, they survive disease, but now they have to die by war. "And a third part shall you scatter in the wind", take them into captivity, and a good portion of those will die in that captivity, "I will draw out a sword after them". Until finally, only 10% of the nation is left...... If America numbers 240 Million, you're talking 24 Million people only, surviving...... An unbelievable catastrophe, unparalleled in all of human history brethren, over 200 Million people to die in this land..... Now the Laodicean's experience this, but they are protected by God from it. They live through it all, because they have to die over in another country.
So the Third stage brethren, is that of warfare. They've been through the famine and the disease, and then the Laodicean's experience the warfare where another third of the nation dies, because as I said, they are protected; and they do develop zeal through it, through all the suffering that they see, the terrible things; they do develop a zeal for God. And we can sometimes wonder how can God allow them to go through all of this if they are His begotten children? As I said earlier, it's because God has too. One time I was watching a television interview of Senator John McCain of Arizona; he was at one time a Vietnam POW, and they asked him about his experience and he said: "I would never want to go through it again, but, I know that I am a better person for the experience. He could look back on his sufferings in the Vietnam war and the way he was treated as a prisoner of war, and obviously as he said he would never want to have to repeat it, But!, he was glad that he had been through it, he said he was a better person for the experence. He didn't take things for granted the way he had before when he had all his creature comforts; all of that had been stripped from him as a prisioner of war in Vietman. And now he saw material things in a different balance and in a different perspective, life had a different meaning - he had seen both extremes, and now he was a better person for the experence; and so it will be brethren with the Laodicean's.
The Fourth stage is that of slavery, because then they are taken into captivity; to Europe and to elsewhere. In Deuteronomy 28 and verse 68 it says that our people are to be take in ships to Europe and to Egypt. And many people undoubtedly will die on route as they're crossing the Atlantic, but not the Laodicean's, God keeps them alive for this work of martyrdom that they must do. Once again they are preserved. They are put into concentration camps, they are sold as slaves and then comes the Fifth stage in their lives at this point - that of martyrdom.... Revelation chapter 6 and verse 8, deals with the effects of the four horseman of the Apocalypse, they are give power over a fourth part of the earth "to kill with a sword with hunger and with death and with the beast of the earth". And now verse 9: "When He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long O God, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth?". (verse 11 Revelation 6) And white robes, symbolically, were given to each and everyone of them; and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants", true servants of God now, because the Laodicean's are no longer lukewarm, they are Christians on fire for God to the point they're ready to die for God..... Until their fellow servants also and there brethren should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled". And after them come the 144,000 and the enumerable multitude; perhaps the church is the 144,000 (that has been speculated) if not, then their work would be continued by the 144,000 and the enumerable multitude, during the Day of the Lord. Before their martyrdom they will be faced with tribunals and inquisition. And they would have to give their account of why they refuse to recant of their heresy; why they refuse to give up on their religious beliefs. They will be called to account for there refusal to work on the Sabbath day. And though sometimes they'll be physically kicked and beaten when there brought to the inquisition, most of them will probably be subjected to refined forms of torture.... So that when they are brought out to be publicly martyred they will not look like they have been terribly beaten, because that probably would reflect upon the authorities; and in this day and age they have modern form of torture that do not leave marks on a person - they are no less painful, but that's probably what will take place.
But we do need brethren to pay tribute, at this point, to the courage of the Laodicean's - that they have come this far, because certainly it is harder in a Laodicean state to show this kind of character. But as they were influenced by this world now, and let it take away righteousness from them, so they will be influenced by the world then, because this society will be in it's death robes, and that will influence them then when everything is taken from them; then they'll become zealous for God, and they will no longer be lukewarm in spirit. Now God, as we said early, has to do this in His desire to save them from the third resurrection and eternal death. Because of His desire to share eternity with them, to have them in His kingdom forever, and in positions of rulership forever as kings and as priests. What God does here is not an act of cruelty, it is an act of love, an act of desperation; "I'm about to spit you out of My mouth - don't make me do it", but if I do it, I do it because I love you and I want you for all eternity to be with Me. Revelation 20 an verse 4, the method of death that will be inflicted upon the Laodicean's. Revelation 20 an verse 4: "And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshiped the beast neither his image nor received his mark upon there foreheads and in there hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." That verse, true is for all Christians of whatever era brethren. But it is a verse particular directed to the Laodicean's - "For those that were beheaded for the witness," because they have to do a work of witness, "of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshiped the beast".
In past ages, Christians were burned at the stake, rarely were they beheaded. True, John the Baptist was beheaded, Paul was beheaded, on the Apion way I believe outside of Rome. But for the most part even in Roman times they were burned at the stake or cast to wild animals and eaten alive. Very few have actually been beheaded, yet here it specifies beheading, "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and who had not worshiped the beast". The guillotine is coming back, and by coincidence this past week they celebrated the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, when the guillotine was used. So they'll use a modern version of it, and these people will be publicly beheaded; So the beast and the false prophet will give warning to the peoples of the land: "recant of any heresy, do not make the mistake that these foolish individual's have made......
Now we brethren, as ministers, can talk to you about the Laodicean era, and on occasion we do, and we know full well that when we speak to you that we're also talking to ourselves. We can give up on laying hold on God. We can grow lax in prayer and bible study. And there will be ministers in the Laodicean era of God's church, but all of us - anyone of us brethren, if we could go forward in time, to look directly at the tribulation, to see what Laodicean's are going through, then we might be really stirred to change...... I know full well that there are people who fit the category that we have talked about today sitting in this room, who will go away from this room and it will have no effect upon them whatsoever....... As Jesus said: "If the goodman of the house had known at what hour his lord would return, he would have been ready!! If he could have seen the future... OK, we've tried to portray the future brethren, we do that with sermons on prophecy, but time and again it doesn't grip people in a real way... because for them it is not yet a personal experience...
Now I've been going through the past year through my mid-life crisis, I'm beginning to wonder if it's ever going to end. And I look back over the last 20 years with the knowledge I have now; I realize if your only 19 or 20 years old this isn't going to mean anything - your life is before you yet, but how much I wish I could go back in time, 20 - 30 years, and tell myself then, what I'm going to experience through the years to come up until now 1989. And warn myself back then of what lies ahead, of certain mistakes that I could avoid, how I could be a better husband and a better father, and different things. The mistakes I've made in the past I could stop myself from doing by going back there and saying: "This is what's going to happen, you can avoid it". What if, 10 years down the line, I were a Laodicean. What if I was facing the last day of my life, Revelation 20 and verse 4, and I could come back in time to myself now, and tell myself, "this is the experience you're going to go through, you can avoid it all"... "if the goodman had known the hour of his Lords return, he would have prepared for it"...... What if a Laodicean member of God's church, about to die some year in the future in the tribulation, could come back now and not just tell himself, but tell all of us what lies ahead?? Would it make a difference??? Perhaps.., perhaps not......
Who I am, brethren, does not matter...... it's what I am that counts. I am a member of the Laodicean era of the Worldwide Church of God, and today, is the last day of my life........ I rise from my knees, beside the bunk where I've been kneeling and praying, and I walk over to the cell window, and I look down into the courtyard below. And there to the side I can see the machine of my execution, I have 2 hours left to live... As I stare down into that courtyard, I begin to think back over the events that brought me to this moment in time. And I remember that awful day, when the realization fully came to me that I was a Laodicean - the day after the Church of God of Philadelphia had fled to the place of safety, and I was one of those left behind, and my wife who was also a member of the church..... and of course our children.........
I remember the terrible knot in my stomach when that realization hit me with full force for the first time. I had suspected, I'd sort of known in my heart that I was Laodicean, but always pushed it back. But now it was facing me in full reality, and I was filled with a feeling of nausea.... For 2 weeks afterwards I suffered terrible chest pains. And during those 2 weeks my wife was filled with recriminations against me; why hadn't I'd been a better husband?? Why hadn't I'd shown more spiritual leadership?? And she was right..... I should have. But after a while she stopped her recriminations, because despite my lack of leadership, she could have taken hold on God; that did not effect how long she prayed or she studied. At least if only one of us had been Philidelphian then the children would have gone to the place of safety. But both of us had failed...... We'd had three children; one had died early, now we had a son and a daughter left. And after the initial panic and anguish and distress for myself I considered my children, and the terrible things that they were going to have to go through. And I didn't want to live with myself anymore, I wanted to end it, I wanted to die...... but for some reason I hung on. I remember the days of the famine that came, the full force of the famine afterwards.... I remember the riots in the streets, and seeing people go over to super markets and smash the windows and break-in; to fill their arms with food and put it into baskets, in some vain hope to stave off the full effects of the famine, but it was food that would only last a little while...... And people were even killing each other in the super markets, literally, for the food.......
Anarchy reigned throughout the nation. And then the disease epidemics, the disease that finally claimed the life of my second son..... I remember that day when I held him in my arms as he died, and his final words, "Daddy why....? And I couldn't answer him, emotionally, I could not answer him... I just choked up, but it didn't matter because he died after he said it. But within me at that point was formed a resolve!! I had put this upon my son, I'd allowed my child to go through this famine and through this disease when he could have been in the place of safety. And I formed a resolve in my mind, that when God brought him up to the 2nd resurrection I intended to be there... I wanted, no matter what lay ahead, to go through to the bitter end and be a part of the first resurrection, so that a thousand years later I could be there to meet my son. And instead of the misery and the suffering and the sickness that he had been through, to give him a hundred years of abundant living and health and well being, to try to make up with the happiness, then, for the misery he had suffered now........
Sometimes you'd walk down the streets and people would be walking towards you and suddenly they'd just fall to the ground, collapse and die where they fell, either through being so emancipated through lack of food or because of the effects of the plague.... There were some houses that you'd walk by, and there was this... sickening smell that came from it.... And you knew they were cooking human flesh..... fulfilling the prophecies in the bible of cannibalism in the land..... And you hurried by for fear that they might come out and try and take you. Then came the invasion, I knew what it meant if we were captured, so I took my wife and my daughter and we hid. And I begged God to be merciful to us, not to allow us to be captured... but God allowed it. And then I began to resent God all over again; I knew he was saving me up for martyrdom. He allowed me to survive the famine and survive the disease and survive the warfare so that He could take me to Europe and make an example of me. And I was filled in my mind with resentment toward God, but I knew that it came from Satan, and I remembered my son - I had to go through with this!!! They took my family and others by train to New York, where we would be disembarked by ship to Rotterdam. At the point that we got off the train that's when they separated the men from the women. As they took my wife and my little girl... she cried out to me: "Daddy, help me"!, and I moved toward her, but immediately a soldier put his rifle butt into my stomach and I fell to the ground, coughing and gasping. Another prisoner helped me to my feet but I was in so much pain I was doubled over and I never saw my wife our my daughter again. But those words: "Daddy, help me"!, haunted me like an echo in the back of my mind, day.... after day..... after day...... for months afterwards........
At this moment in my cell I want to cry, but I can't... because the guards will come for me soon and if they walk in and see that I'm crying they'll think that I'm afraid of having to face death, and that's almost humorous. I'm not afraid to face death, I want death..... I am so sick of this life and so sick of the hell I have been through... I want to die... and I can't cry, not today, lest they think I am afraid.... And then there is the knock at the door... the guard barks an order, and it's time for me to go out into the corridor. I remember thinking to myself, almost humorously, how I hate the German language... seems to be a language that can do nothing but bark orders. He walks me down the corridor and we begin to go down the steps to the ground floor, but I'm so weak and so emaciated through all the torture they've put me through and all the things they've done to me, that I begin to stager and to fall. From behind me the guard grabs me by my hair and yanks me upright. And beneath another guard seeing what took place laughs and says something in ridicule, and then they walk me out into the court yard.
There are five of us to be executed today, 2 women, 3 men. But we are not all members of the Church of God, one, the woman, is a Jehovah's witness. And I stand there and look at her with admiration.... I think to myself, here is a woman uncalled of God, without God's Spirit, who has such conviction for her religious beliefs (a religion of the world) that she's willing to do what we who are converted, are willing to do. And she without the help of God's Spirit. And what a waste, when she comes up to the second resurrection she will find that her religion was really not any better than the Catholic; and yet I look at her with admiration.... for her courage, for her character, for her conviction. I can see by the way they've lined us up that I am the last one who is to die today. In front of me is a young girl in her 20's, we had opportunity to talk briefly at one point. Her mother was a member in Chicago, her mother was divorced, came into the church, brought her daughter with her. The girl told me how many times her mother tried to encourage her to be a part of the youth activities and the other things in the church, and she would go along to a certain extent. And how her mother would encourage her to pray and study, but she just resented it, she didn't like her mother interfering in her life that way. And she said after her mother went to the place of safety and she was left behind, then she resented her mother for not pushing at her more, while she was still together with her. She too had to realize that with human nature we will always pass the buck to somebody else, but in the end, as this young girl recognized, you finally have only yourself to blame... Nobody stops you from praying and studying, nobody stops you from laying hold on God, because God won't allow anybody, not even somebody in your immediate family, to stop you from doing it. You can't point to somebody elses bad example, you can't say: "there was this problem and that problem", we were all called and all given even opportunity to lay hold upon God.......
The other three have been executed now, and they take up the young girl. I know it's my turn next, and after her head is decapitated I am filled with a terrible feeling of emptiness and loneliness. I know that after they have killed me they will put my body into a common grave or they will just burn it up, and there's 2 years left for the return of Jesus Christ.... But I know in my mind, it reads like the next split second of my consciousness I'm there in the 1st resurrection. And what will Jesus Christ say to me? Will He upgrade me from my lukewarmness before, from my folly and my stupidity, my refusal to heed the sermons that were given?? The guard pushes me forward, it's my turn. But as we walk toward the podium, where the guillotine is, I'm aware of another presents that walks beside me. And suddenly I'm filled with a strength in my legs that has not been there for a long, long, time.... And I remember the words: "I will never forsake you nor leave you". And almost a feeling of exhilaration comes over me, it's almost over..... and I'll be in the kingdom of God. We mount the podium, the catholic priest addresses the crowd that have come there to jeer us, and to cheer when our heads are taken. I've heard the rigamaroll before, the same old ritual about these heretics who would not worship the great leader of Europe, who would not bow to the will of the State - this will be the fate of all those..... I stop listening to him, I've heard it before. And in my mind I remember the last words of the martyr Steven, and I whisper them to Him whom I know stands besides me: "Jesus, forgive them"......... And then, the order is given...... I see the wet blood on the guillotine from the precedings executions and I think to myself... a year and a half ago that would have utterly nauseated me, but I've seen so much death and suffering and hurt and cries of pain it doesn't affect me anymore. After the order is given, they bind my hands behind my back, they kneel me down, they put my head in position.... it's almost over now. But just before the order is given, one other scripture comes to mind..... it's the scripture that most kept me going through all the terrible things of the months gone by. The one scripture that in the times of greatest duress kept me going and helped me hold firm and helped me make it through to this moment; but it's as if it's not a thought in my mind, it's as if the words this time are actually spoken by Him who stands beside me: "Be you faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life". ........
End.....
The Martyrdom of the Laodicean's / M.K.B.
A Sermon Delivered byMr. Keith Brittain7/15/89
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Editor's Note:
To date, this remains the most profound message I have ever heard in the Church.Please do not read over it too quickly, but rather, consider the degree of inspiration contained therein, for your benefit . . .
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Good morning Brethren! Nice to have a cool day over here after the hot one's we've been having in Concord, and believe me, it does get hot in Concord. We seem to have many climates in the bay area, and things are upside down and backward, like San Francisco's summer that comes in the fall.....
If you were new to the church, brethren, and you were starting to really open up the bible for the first time in your life, what would you say you would consider to be the strangest prophecy of all? Because obviously when we come into the church, in this age, we are very concerned with bible prophecy, particularly as we understand that we are living in the end-time. But there are prophecies, particularly if you're new, that strike you as very strange - Ezekiel, as a prophet for instances, lying thirteen months on one side and forty days on the other, what a ridiculous thing for a person to do. Or it could be some of the prophecies in Daniel, the image of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar's image rather, composed of different metals, or some of the weird animals; and finally the beast, each one overcoming the other, one by one; as we understand representing different world empires. Perhaps Zechariah, the different colored horses riding off in different directions. And of course, the book of Revelation, with locusts coming up out of a bottomless pit.
There are many prophecies that, on initial reading brethren when you're new in the church, strike you as very strange. But really the strangest prophecy in the bible relates not to occasional strange actions on the parts of the prophets, nor to curious symbols used in prophetic books. It doesn't relate to weird looking creatures or to the Woe's or the trumpets of Revelation. In fact, the strangest prophecy in the bible does not relate even to the future of Israel or to the world's political events to come. The strangest prophecy brethren, relates to the Church of God itself! Now, before we get to that prophecy, I'd like to talk about three (3) great advantages that we, who are members of the church, have in this end time.
The First of those three great advantages is that we are a part of the greatest, and most extensive work of God in scope, of all of man's six thousand years of history. It's not just a worldwide church, it is truly a worldwide work. And there is the advantage then of the excitement of being a part of the most successful work of God that has ever been. We are excited by the growth that God gives to us, by the doors that He opens up to us. If you've been in this work any length of time you will know for a certainty that it is not a dull work, it is an exciting work to be a part of.
The Second great advantage we have in the Church of God today is that we have a greater understanding of the bible than ever before, and a greater understanding of bible prophecy simply because we live at the time of the fulfillment of many of the prophecies put into the bible - the things like locust we can identify with modern armorments, in fact many of the prophecies of the bible could not be understood until our time. And true the "Book of Revelation" was unveiled at last, to Mr. Armstrong, in this century. And it was something that could be understood not just because of the inspiration that God gave to him, but because of the technology of this end time that helps to explain some of those symbols in the Book of Revelation - a book that was not understood in the same way by precedings era's of the church. And so, we are watching prophecy of the end time unfold; it's related to us in the Plain Truth, we can study it in the Correspondence Course, we have the booklets, we have the television programs that explain to us what is going on in the world scene - the World Tomorrow broadcast.
The Third great advantage, and this is the greatest advantage of all, is that we are the generation who will see the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. For two thousand years, brethren in past centuries have prayed, "Your kingdom come", in obedience to Jesus Christ's command to do so. But of course, that kingdom never came; it came for them in one sense at the time of their death because, even though they're dead and buried, they have no awareness of the passage of time, for them it's as if they stepped into the grave and there they are at the first resurrection - that kingdom has come in answer to their prayers. But we understand that we are living in the generation that will literally see Gods kingdom come....... the return of Jesus Christ is just a few years down the line.
So these are three great advantages that we have in the end time era of Gods church brethren; and yet this brings us to the great paradox, the greatest paradox perhaps of the end time - that the closer we get to the return of Jesus Christ, the more some converted Christians are to become unexcited about that return. Now on the surface so many prophecies of the end time make sense.... except this one! This to me is the strangest prophecy of all, this one relating to the Church of God, that we who live in the end time, with greater advantages than any other preceding generation of Christians, should allow ourselves, with the eminency of Jesus Christ's return, to become unexcited about it, lackadaisical in our spiritual approach to life, and perhaps lose out on the great reward that is just a few years down the road.......
Let's turn to Revelation chapter 3, brethren. Revelation chapter 3 and beginning in verse 14; Now as has been explained to you in the past concerning the seven era's of the church; they were of course contemporaneous with each other - these seven towns on this mail route, and so the problems related were all a part of the apostolic era, though the major problem with the apostolic era was that of the Ephesus church. And as we come down through history there is the flow of the different era's and we realize that we are a part of the Philadelphian era today, with one more to come, the Laodicean. But as we would understand, and as has been explained to you in the past - Mr. Orchard went through the book of Revelation with you brethren in a bible study and explained these things, that there has always been Laodicean's in every era of the church. There was always a portion who had that particular lukewarm spirit and attitude. But what is made clear by the bible is that these problems are not just contemporaneous, they also follow one after the other - from the stand point of what is the biggest problem of that particular group in that particular century.
So we are faced brethren, with a whole era of lukewarm Christians to be formed. Yes, there have been Laodicean's in all the past 2000 years of the history of God's church, but here at the end time of all times...... with the eminency of Jesus Christ's return, we have an entire era of people that are going to be lukewarm Christians, unexcited about the greatest event in man's history. Truly this is, a strange prophecy..., when we live closer to the return of Jesus than ever before. Why brethren...? What factors produce an entire era of Laodicean Christians? I mentioned to you three great advantages that we have living in the end time in the church, now we need to examine three reasons for the rejection of these people of those three advantages. Three reasons why they don't take advantage of the advantages.
The First involves the prosperity of the end time. Lets begin with Revelation 3 and verse 14: "To the angel of the church of the Laodicean's write, "These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning, (or 'the beginner' as it should be) of the creation of God". Now Jesus Christ addresses each church with a different introduction, so this introduction, verse 14, is unique to the Laodicean's. He says, "These things says the Amen". Now the Amen is a word that can be "sobeit", can have the meaning "I believe, I agree". And yet the Laodicean's - because Jesus Christ uses this particular introduction for a purpose, don't truly believe Jesus Christ, in a sense that their faith, to a certain extent, is a dead faith, it is not a living faith. They pay lip service to Jesus Christ and to the commandments, but they don't really act like Jesus Christ in their lives, if they did, they would be Philadelphian, they'd be zealous. Not that Philadelphia is the greatest of the churches by any means, each one has those who will be apart of the first resurrection, but just to simply contrast there. "The Faithful and the True Witness", because Jesus Christ set an example and was a witness to the Laodicean's of how to live zealously for God. And He was the Beginner of the creation of God. And there is a problem with the Laodicean's, with intellectual vanity - instead of the humility that recognizes God as their creator and look to Him daily because they recognize daily they need God, instead of the approach "I have a need of nothing". But also there's another application of this: Amen is the way you end something, and this is the last era of God's church. The Faithful and True Witness, because the Laodicean's who have not truly done the work of God are going to have to do it in order to make it into the kingdom. One way or other, if you don't do a work now you will have to do a work then!!! God will not take non-workers into His kingdom, and so they will have to do as we're going to see, a work of witness for God, after Philadelphia is taken to the place of safety. And there they will recognize their God and their true need for Him. Verse 17: "Because you say, 'I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing". I'm OK, spiritually I'm doing fine, but also brethren obviously there is the physical application as well as the spiritual. We live in the richest generation of all time. We live better than kings and queens of past ages lived. How many of them had color television? How many of them had refrigerators? How many of them had air condition - living in some of those drafty old castles, they would certainly envy some of the luxuries we have today brethren. We are a generation that is rich and is increased with goods, not that riches are wrong or goods are wrong, they can be a blessing from God. Abraham was a termendiously wealthy individual, but he always kept it in perspective: God first!!, material things way down the line. (continuing in verse 17) "and know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked". And the major thrust of this of course, brethren, as you understand... and we've been through it with you before, is spiritual. But certainly there is the physical application as well, that is not negated by the spiritual, they are both here. "You know not", they are deceived !! And people can be deceived by the comforts of modern day living, the ease of this life; in comparison to when you were grubing the ground for food stuff in past ages.
Let's notice Matthew 13, beginning in verse 19, the parable of the Sower and the Seed, and in verse 19 Jesus says, Matthew 13, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not", he's not really called of God, "then comes a wicked one catches away that was sown in his heart, this is he that receives seed by the wayside". Verse 20, "But he that receive the seed into stony places the same as he that hears the words and anon with joy receives it"; the curiosity seekers to a certain extent, "yet he has not root in himself", he's not truly, deeply, committed, he's just superficially interested, "he has not root in himself and lasts only a little while, when some tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he is offended" - that's what "by and by" means in the King James. Very thin, has no root there, so it's very easy for him to get offended. "But he also (verse 22) that receives seed among the thorns is he that hears the word, and the care of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word and he becomes unfruitful; which meant that he was bearing fruit for awhile. He was not unfruitful period, he had been, but then he had started producing fruit and then he became unfruitful; this is a person in God's church!!! But what were the major causes?? The care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches!! The Laodicean's know not, they are deceived!! Now they can be in the church today, but the deceitfulness of riches, the comfort of this present society has had it's effect upon them... has made them complacent and lukewarm. Proverbs chapter 1 brethren...... they have been lulled into a false sense of security. They think they're secure because they're in the church, because they hear the sermons and the bible studies - they're not truly aware of their spiritual condition - and some of that spiritual condition is as a result of the age in which they live. They're not having to beg God every day for their next meal, they've got enough stocked in their refrigerator and in their freezer to last them, you know, a couple of weeks. There were times when Christians in past ages were truly praying "Give us our daily bread", cause a lot of times they didn't know where their next meal was coming from - do we worry about that!! We all know where the next meal is coming from; we've already got it back home; we went out and bought it a week ago; or we can go out to a restaurant. It is very easy, with the comforts of this society, brethren, to get into a complacent attitude.
Now God here in Proverbs chapter 1 is talking about those who do not accept the way of wisdom. He talks in verse 26 of the calamity to come and He says in verse 27, "when your fear comes as a desolation, your destruction comes as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you", all those who have rejected the truth of God and the words of wisdom that is preached by this gospel message, "then in the tribulation they shall call upon Me but I will not answer, they shall seek me early and they shall not find me", verse 32, "For the turning away of the simple shall slay them", or if you have a center margin, "the ease, the easy way of life", the comforts of today shall slay them. Now does television, you know, reach out and grab a knife and stick it in you? Does television kill you brethren? Does, you know, your car, does it run over you? Usually you're at the wheel; you don't let it run over you. How do the comforts of this life slay you? They can kill us spiritually brethren, because we can be so much at ease that we don't really push ourselves spiritually in prayer and bible study before God. "The ease of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them, but who so harkens unto Me shall dwell safety and shall be quite from the fear of evil to come". Oh I realize for the most part these verses are dealing with people in the world in contrast with those in God's church, but also brethren, verse 32 can apply to the Laodicean's and verse 33 to the Philadelphians. Verse 33, "Who so harkens unto Me shall dwell in a place of safety," by extrapolation, and shall be quite from the fear of the evil of the Third World War. But if a person has a Laodicean attitude, then the ease of the simple shall slay them in the tribulation, as Laodicean's, and there prosperity shall have destroyed them.
So this is the First reason they reject these three great advantages brethren - the prosperity of the end time. The Second reason, is the evil of the end time. Matthew 24 and verse 12, what Jesus Christ had to say about this end time generation and because of the wickedness that is upon it, Matthew 24 and verse 12, "And because inequity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold". Now true we see a society that is becoming more and more heartless, more and more calloused, more and more dog-eat-dog, but once again brethren there is the application to the church - this book was written majorly for us, not for the world that is blinded. "Because inequity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold", there are those in the church who were hot in their love for God, who will allow themselves to wax totally cold and commit the unpardonable sin! But in between, going from hot to cold, is lukewarm. And there are those who allow themselves to become lukewarm - as Jesus said in Revelation 3 and verse 15, "I know your works that you are neither hot nor cold, I would that you were one or the other, and so then because you are lukewarm, verse 16 of Revelation 3, "I will have to spit you (or as it is in the Greek, I am about to spit you) out of my mouth. Now of course with that town of Laodicea there in Asia Minor, when Jesus Christ spoke those words to John, there were hot springs a certain distance away from Laodicea, and the water was transported from those hot springs to the town of Laodicea. But by the time the water reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm. Now, if you've ever tried to drink a cup of lukewarm warm coffee you know what your reaction usually is, you want it heated up. If you think it's hot and you grab it and it's lukewarm the chances are your going to spit it out. I can remember visiting a place call "Bath" in England, and they named it that because the Romans baths were there. And there were these waters that came up from the spring, but they were only lukewarm warm waters and they would have you taste it, and there was a faucet where you could actually taste the water, and it was good for you, it had medicinal values, and there were those who made themselves drink it. But you had to make yourself drink it, because being lukewarm it didn't taste enjoyable at all. Now some have felt you know, and it can be taken from Revelation 3 there verses 15 & 16 about the lukewarm water: "And that I would that you were hot or cold", that hot water is an enjoyable beverage; coffee or tea, and cold water can be refreshing on a hot day. And there is a Proverb that makes that statement about cold water, and so some have felt that it's not necessarily negative - the cold aspect, that on a hot day you need a cold drink of water, on a cold day you need a hot drink. But of course there is also the application spiritually, that a person can be on fire for God (hot) or they can be spiritually cold. And when Jesus Christ says in that case: "I wish that you were one or the other - at least with the cold of this world they are not being called, this is not their day of salvation, their time of calling is yet future. So if they die, terrible as that will be in the tribulation, at least it's not the end for them, they are not spiritually accountable because this is not their day of salvation. But a person that has God's Spirit and is lukewarm....... is in jeopardy, where their eternal life or death is concerned. And so you can see why spiritually Jesus Christ would say: "I would that you were hot or cold" - If you're hot, I know I can put you into the first resurrection, if you're cold, uncalled, OK, I'm going to wait for a better day to call you, after my return. But because you are called and you're lukewarm it's now or never!! And you put upon Me a terribly difficult decision, and that decision has to be, as He says: "Unless there is repentance I have to spit you out of My mouth", - implied, into the tribulation, because that's the only way I can save you spiritually... and get you into My kingdom.
Isaiah 5, talking about the evil of the age and its affect upon people in God's church - a slow, subtle, pernicious effect, because Satan has done his job well with this end time society, as it becomes more and more wicked all around us. Isaiah 5 and verse 20: "Woe to them that call evil good and good evil", like the homosexuals and the lesbians with their gay parades, who say that their perversion is a good and the rest of us should accept it, and what's more even join their parade!!!! "Woe to them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter,"!!! How apt a description of 1989, and our society. "And woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight, who have no need for God in their lives"!!!! Liberated individuals, in their own mind!! "Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine and many strength to mingle strong drink, which justify the wicked for reward", verse 23, "and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him". Now the actual meaning there is that they will justify the wicked for reward, for a bribe, and they will neglect to give the righteous their just cause, say in a court of law. However, by extrapolation, we could take it literally (verse 23) "who take away the righteousness of the righteous from him", because this society as it degenerates, if we individually are not close to God , will be gradually sucked into the vortex of this world, and swallowed up and gradually loose our righteousness brethren. This world can take our righteousness away from us, if we allow it to do so!!
Nehemiah, chapter 13 and verse 26. We have been blessed with the gift of God's understanding of the end time prophecy, the understanding of the commandments of God and the real way to live and the true Jesus Christ; tremendous wisdom and the principals for right living. But we can allow the world brethren, by its degeneracy and by its evil influence..... to begin to subtract from us righteousness before God!! Verse 26 of Nehemiah 13, "Did not Solomon, king of Israel sin by these things"? A man of tremendous wisdom, "Yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of His God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless (even him) did outlandish women cause to sin". Now in the truest analyse brethren no one causes you to sin,, we sin of ourselves, but what the bible is stating is, we can allow others to have this influence upon us, whereby indirectly they cause us to sin... and to give up little by little upon our righteousness. And so there are those in the church, who will as the bible says: "Grow weary in well doing", and gradually allow their love that was once hot to become lukewarm. So that's the Second reason why the Laodicean's reject the three great advantages of living in the end time Church, in the 20th Century......
The Third brethren, is the return of Jesus Christ. The third reason some people get unexcited about the return of Jesus Christ, is the return of Jesus Christ, or more accurately, the fact that the return of Jesus Christ doesn't come when they expect it to come. Matthew 24 and beginning in verse 42, now remember that this chapter brethren; we've already referred to verse 12, is the Olivet prophecy of the end time. What Jesus Christ said here had application to the apostles, to the apostolic era, to the Ephesian era of the church, and it did have a fulfillment, back then a type fulfillment , but the major thrust of this prophecy is for our time in the 20th century. Yes, it is applied to all Christians through the last two thousands years, but especially to us,!! Verse 42: "Watch therefore, Jesus warned us, "for you know not what hour Your Lord does come, but know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. If he had known the future to the point of knowing when Jesus Christ would return, if he had known the year of the tribulation, and the month when it would begin, he would have prepared himself, he would have been ready - and WE know it's coming brethren, we know it's close, we know it might be at the end of the very next decade.... But.... because it's still distant..... because it's not fully in our mind, because we don't know the exact time, we sort of play Russian roulette with our lives... and we take it easy, and we wait for events of the future to stir us up... But you see, the problem with the Laodicean's is, they wait one day, to long........ Verse 44: "Therefore be you also ready, for in such an hour as you think not!!, the Son of Man comes". For anyone of us brethren it could come today if we die on the road driving home. Obviously we will go to grave and have to await the resurrection, but from the standpoint for a person in their death there is no concept of the passage of time for them it's like the next split second when that resurrection occurs. "Who then is that faithful and wise servant whom his lord has made him ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. "Verily I say to you, he shall make him ruler over all his goods. "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart: "My Lord delays His coming". and certainly that was the problem with the Ephesian era - that's why Jesus Christ said: "they lost their first love". Because they had thought Jesus Christ was going to come back in their lifetime, and when He did "delay His coming" (in quotes), He never has truly delayed it; God is punctual; God will be on time. But because we made the mistake and they made the mistake of putting it too early, there were those who fell prey to this.
I had a friend who was a Local elder, up in Canada, although he was on the U.S. side while I was in Canada; but he attended one of the Canadian churches. He was zealous up until 1972, shortly thereafter he started to fall apart, and it wasn't long before he was gone. "He says, "My lord delays His coming, shall begin to smite his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunken - now if you literately do that your going to get yourself disfellowshipped, OK; if you start beaten up on the brethren and start, you know, ah, boozing at the local taverns, we're going to put you out. This is talking spiritually brethren, that he's letting go of his hold on God and he's starting to let sin creep into his life more and more - "The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrite's. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". Yes, it did apply too back then, it's applied to different centuries throughout the last two thousand years; But...! in the original there was no chapter breaks; "Then, chapter 25 and verse 1, "shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins; and Mr. Orchard was talking to you about the parable of the ten virgins recently, which is for our day. "Then", you see the scripture just flows on brethren. A lot of times we separate chapter 24 from chapter 25. They belong together, there is a flow here from verse 51 to verse 1 of chapter 25, "Then, shall the kingdom of God be likened to ten virgins", and it goes on to talk about the return of Jesus Christ.
So you see brethren, we have these three reasons why they reject the three great advantages of being called in this time: The prosperity of this age, the evil of this age, and the fact that Jesus Christ, in their minds, has delayed His coming - we've got a few more years left, you know, we can sort of take it easy now, then get stirred up when things start to get a little warm - but like I said, they're going to wait one day to late. None of this death bed repentance with God brethren, you can't wait til the last day and suddenly get zealous and say: OK God, I'm Philadelphian now, now you can take me to the place of safety tomorrow! God's going to say "forget it", I'm not fooled, the only reason you've gotten zealous is to save your hide!!! You haven't been zealous out of concern and compassion for a dying humanity!! You haven't been zealous for love of Me!! The only reason you've suddenly become zealous is for fear of what is to happen is for yourself!! That doesn't wash, that's not the character of Jesus Christ.......
Well, I mentioned earlier brethren that the Laodicean's have to do a work. They have to witness for God, in order to make it into the kingdom. Luke 17, verse 34: "I tell you, that in that night there shall be two in one bed: one shall be taken the other shall be left; two shall be grinding together, one shall be taken the other shall be left". So on one side of the earth it's night, people are asleep; on the other side of the earth it's day light and there working, it's still the same time with God. "One shall be taken and the other left; two shall be in the field, one taken and the other left. "And they answered and said: 'Where will they be taken Lord?", because they knew they wouldn't be taken to heaven - We're Not Going To Heaven!! He said to them, "Wheresoever the body is thither will the eagles be gathered together." Body referring to the church, and the church being taken to a place of safety. Revelation 12, verse 14: "To the woman (the church) were given the wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, where she is nourished for 3.5 years from the face of the serpent, from Satan". "So Satan cast out of his mouth water as a flood, (he sends an army after the woman, as she's fleeing) that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood, (destroyed)" "But the earth will help the woman, the earth will open her mouth and swallow up this army which the dragon casts after her". And in consequence, verse 17; the dragon who has failed to destroy the Philadelphian era, that was now protected from him utterly for 3 1/2 years, that remains before the return of Jesus Christ, the dragon was wrath with the women and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, (true Christians.... baptized members) which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. And the bible tells us that the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy, so the Laodicean's understand the prophecies....... They keep the commandments.... but it's in a lukewarm fashion. They are members of the church. They are the seed (the children) of the woman, they are begotten sons and daughters of God.
So a part of the church, brethren, is left behind...... left behind to do a work that they would not do when they had plenty of opportunity to do it. And the work that they have to do is a 3 fold work. First of all, they will have to witness to God's way, by their refusal to accept the mark of the beast. They will testify to God's way, by their refusal to accept the mark of the beast, in other words, they will refuse to work on Saturday and they will refuse to accept Sunday. Secondly, the work of the Laodicean's will be to testify to the two witnesses being Gods true prophets, because remember the two witnesses will be doing their work during that 3 1/2 years, they will testify to the two witnesses being Gods true prophets. And the third aspect of the work they will do... will be the example, of courage, that they set through martyrdom. They will testify further to the truth of God's way by the ultimate sacrifice, martyrdom... You see, after a life of ease and spiritual lazyness.... the Laodicean's sadly are going to have to do a work of suffering and of martyrdom...... because it is the only way that a loving Father can get them into His kingdom...... and not have to destroy them forever. He loves them so desparately that rather than just destroy them and put them into the third resurection and finish it, He's willing to punish them with the tribulation, in the hope, that they will remain firm and steadfast so that He, their loving parent, can have them for an eternaty and never risk losing them again.....
Now there are Five stages brethren to this experience that the Laodicean's will go through. The First of these five stages I've entitled "Panic". Amos chapter 8 and beginning in verse 11; because after the Philadelphian era is taken to the place of safety, a state of termendious emotional distress will wash over those who are Laodicean's. A state of terrifying anxiety, knowing what they are faced with because they have the testimony of Jesus Christ; they understand prophecy; they have heard the same sermons as everybody else. Amos 8 and in verse 11: "Behold, the days come says the Eternal God, "That I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread or of thirst for water", though that is coming also, but He's putting the emphasis here on the greater famine, the Spiritual Famine, which is even worse than the physical one - In Gods eyes... "I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor of thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Eternal". Because they'll be no more "Plain Truth" magazine mailed out, they'll be no more headquarters of the Worldwide Church of God at Pasadena, they'll be no more World Tomorrow telecast, they'll be no more Watts line..... All kinds of people will be trying to ring the Worldwide Church of God at that point...... but they won't be able to find Pasadena or Headquarters, it will be emptied of our people. "They shall wander from sea to sea", from the Pacific to the Atlantic, "from the north even to the east; They shall run to and fro, to seek the word of God, And they shall not find it". And they'll be a panic for many people in the land; but they'll be a greater panic for the Laodicean's, because they, of all people, know exactly what is coming!!
God spoke as we read in Proverbs 1 and in verse 27: "When your fear comes as a desolation and your destruction comes as the whirlwind, when distress and anguish comes upon you", they will know what lies ahead, and they will know that they face the agony of being separated from their children in this tribulation to come. They know that if they had been Philadelphian their children, their young children, could have gone to the Place of Safety with them. But because they are Laodicean's, their children share their fate....... Can you imagine, the emotional distress that will bring upon a person ?? It's bad enough knowing what lies ahead for yourself, but your children...... Now some of the Laodicean's will not be able to face that, and they will commit suicide. They would rather come up to the third resurrection; and we've had people who have gone out of the church in a state of apathy. I can remember one minister' mentioning that he visited this couple, and they knew what was up ahead (the third resurrection) and they said: "Well, it's not like an ever burning hell fire, we'll just be destroyed and that will be it, it will be over with". And that's right, some of the Laodicean's will choose that route, but of course, suicide is the way of cowardice.
There is a work..... a good work, that the Laodicean's can yet do for a dying humanity. And there are those who will be affected by their work. The enumerable multitude will be affected not just by the work of the two witnesses, but by the example of the Laodicean's who are willing to die for the truth of God. People will be converted in the tribulation as a result of the work of Laodicea, not just the work of Philadelphian. But God would much prefer that we be Philadelphian for obvious reasons, brethren. After the panic, the full effects of the famine and disease - Ezekiel 5. verse 2; and Mr. Orchard went through this with you brethren in the bible studies, so I don't need to cover it in detail. Prophecy to Ezekiel: "You shall burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city", these were the hairs of his head and this as we find from verse 12 represents famine and disease. A third part of the nation; in the United States alone - 80 Million people are going to die of famine and disease.... Now can you conceive brethren, in your mind, what 80 Million people looks like....... It's beyond us, isn't it? But that is the extent of this initial stage of the third world war. "When the days of the siege are fulfilled", so there is an economic blockade, and it culminates with a terrible famine and disease. True, there would have been portions of famine and disease perhaps before, but the full climatic effects take place when the economic blockade is over, "when the days of the siege are fulfilled", and after that you shall smite take a third part and smite about it with a knife" - another 80 Million people are going to die by the sword.... they survive famine, they survive disease, but now they have to die by war. "And a third part shall you scatter in the wind", take them into captivity, and a good portion of those will die in that captivity, "I will draw out a sword after them". Until finally, only 10% of the nation is left...... If America numbers 240 Million, you're talking 24 Million people only, surviving...... An unbelievable catastrophe, unparalleled in all of human history brethren, over 200 Million people to die in this land..... Now the Laodicean's experience this, but they are protected by God from it. They live through it all, because they have to die over in another country.
So the Third stage brethren, is that of warfare. They've been through the famine and the disease, and then the Laodicean's experience the warfare where another third of the nation dies, because as I said, they are protected; and they do develop zeal through it, through all the suffering that they see, the terrible things; they do develop a zeal for God. And we can sometimes wonder how can God allow them to go through all of this if they are His begotten children? As I said earlier, it's because God has too. One time I was watching a television interview of Senator John McCain of Arizona; he was at one time a Vietnam POW, and they asked him about his experience and he said: "I would never want to go through it again, but, I know that I am a better person for the experience. He could look back on his sufferings in the Vietnam war and the way he was treated as a prisoner of war, and obviously as he said he would never want to have to repeat it, But!, he was glad that he had been through it, he said he was a better person for the experence. He didn't take things for granted the way he had before when he had all his creature comforts; all of that had been stripped from him as a prisioner of war in Vietman. And now he saw material things in a different balance and in a different perspective, life had a different meaning - he had seen both extremes, and now he was a better person for the experence; and so it will be brethren with the Laodicean's.
The Fourth stage is that of slavery, because then they are taken into captivity; to Europe and to elsewhere. In Deuteronomy 28 and verse 68 it says that our people are to be take in ships to Europe and to Egypt. And many people undoubtedly will die on route as they're crossing the Atlantic, but not the Laodicean's, God keeps them alive for this work of martyrdom that they must do. Once again they are preserved. They are put into concentration camps, they are sold as slaves and then comes the Fifth stage in their lives at this point - that of martyrdom.... Revelation chapter 6 and verse 8, deals with the effects of the four horseman of the Apocalypse, they are give power over a fourth part of the earth "to kill with a sword with hunger and with death and with the beast of the earth". And now verse 9: "When He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long O God, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth?". (verse 11 Revelation 6) And white robes, symbolically, were given to each and everyone of them; and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants", true servants of God now, because the Laodicean's are no longer lukewarm, they are Christians on fire for God to the point they're ready to die for God..... Until their fellow servants also and there brethren should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled". And after them come the 144,000 and the enumerable multitude; perhaps the church is the 144,000 (that has been speculated) if not, then their work would be continued by the 144,000 and the enumerable multitude, during the Day of the Lord. Before their martyrdom they will be faced with tribunals and inquisition. And they would have to give their account of why they refuse to recant of their heresy; why they refuse to give up on their religious beliefs. They will be called to account for there refusal to work on the Sabbath day. And though sometimes they'll be physically kicked and beaten when there brought to the inquisition, most of them will probably be subjected to refined forms of torture.... So that when they are brought out to be publicly martyred they will not look like they have been terribly beaten, because that probably would reflect upon the authorities; and in this day and age they have modern form of torture that do not leave marks on a person - they are no less painful, but that's probably what will take place.
But we do need brethren to pay tribute, at this point, to the courage of the Laodicean's - that they have come this far, because certainly it is harder in a Laodicean state to show this kind of character. But as they were influenced by this world now, and let it take away righteousness from them, so they will be influenced by the world then, because this society will be in it's death robes, and that will influence them then when everything is taken from them; then they'll become zealous for God, and they will no longer be lukewarm in spirit. Now God, as we said early, has to do this in His desire to save them from the third resurrection and eternal death. Because of His desire to share eternity with them, to have them in His kingdom forever, and in positions of rulership forever as kings and as priests. What God does here is not an act of cruelty, it is an act of love, an act of desperation; "I'm about to spit you out of My mouth - don't make me do it", but if I do it, I do it because I love you and I want you for all eternity to be with Me. Revelation 20 an verse 4, the method of death that will be inflicted upon the Laodicean's. Revelation 20 an verse 4: "And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshiped the beast neither his image nor received his mark upon there foreheads and in there hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." That verse, true is for all Christians of whatever era brethren. But it is a verse particular directed to the Laodicean's - "For those that were beheaded for the witness," because they have to do a work of witness, "of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshiped the beast".
In past ages, Christians were burned at the stake, rarely were they beheaded. True, John the Baptist was beheaded, Paul was beheaded, on the Apion way I believe outside of Rome. But for the most part even in Roman times they were burned at the stake or cast to wild animals and eaten alive. Very few have actually been beheaded, yet here it specifies beheading, "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and who had not worshiped the beast". The guillotine is coming back, and by coincidence this past week they celebrated the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, when the guillotine was used. So they'll use a modern version of it, and these people will be publicly beheaded; So the beast and the false prophet will give warning to the peoples of the land: "recant of any heresy, do not make the mistake that these foolish individual's have made......
Now we brethren, as ministers, can talk to you about the Laodicean era, and on occasion we do, and we know full well that when we speak to you that we're also talking to ourselves. We can give up on laying hold on God. We can grow lax in prayer and bible study. And there will be ministers in the Laodicean era of God's church, but all of us - anyone of us brethren, if we could go forward in time, to look directly at the tribulation, to see what Laodicean's are going through, then we might be really stirred to change...... I know full well that there are people who fit the category that we have talked about today sitting in this room, who will go away from this room and it will have no effect upon them whatsoever....... As Jesus said: "If the goodman of the house had known at what hour his lord would return, he would have been ready!! If he could have seen the future... OK, we've tried to portray the future brethren, we do that with sermons on prophecy, but time and again it doesn't grip people in a real way... because for them it is not yet a personal experience...
Now I've been going through the past year through my mid-life crisis, I'm beginning to wonder if it's ever going to end. And I look back over the last 20 years with the knowledge I have now; I realize if your only 19 or 20 years old this isn't going to mean anything - your life is before you yet, but how much I wish I could go back in time, 20 - 30 years, and tell myself then, what I'm going to experience through the years to come up until now 1989. And warn myself back then of what lies ahead, of certain mistakes that I could avoid, how I could be a better husband and a better father, and different things. The mistakes I've made in the past I could stop myself from doing by going back there and saying: "This is what's going to happen, you can avoid it". What if, 10 years down the line, I were a Laodicean. What if I was facing the last day of my life, Revelation 20 and verse 4, and I could come back in time to myself now, and tell myself, "this is the experience you're going to go through, you can avoid it all"... "if the goodman had known the hour of his Lords return, he would have prepared for it"...... What if a Laodicean member of God's church, about to die some year in the future in the tribulation, could come back now and not just tell himself, but tell all of us what lies ahead?? Would it make a difference??? Perhaps.., perhaps not......
Who I am, brethren, does not matter...... it's what I am that counts. I am a member of the Laodicean era of the Worldwide Church of God, and today, is the last day of my life........ I rise from my knees, beside the bunk where I've been kneeling and praying, and I walk over to the cell window, and I look down into the courtyard below. And there to the side I can see the machine of my execution, I have 2 hours left to live... As I stare down into that courtyard, I begin to think back over the events that brought me to this moment in time. And I remember that awful day, when the realization fully came to me that I was a Laodicean - the day after the Church of God of Philadelphia had fled to the place of safety, and I was one of those left behind, and my wife who was also a member of the church..... and of course our children.........
I remember the terrible knot in my stomach when that realization hit me with full force for the first time. I had suspected, I'd sort of known in my heart that I was Laodicean, but always pushed it back. But now it was facing me in full reality, and I was filled with a feeling of nausea.... For 2 weeks afterwards I suffered terrible chest pains. And during those 2 weeks my wife was filled with recriminations against me; why hadn't I'd been a better husband?? Why hadn't I'd shown more spiritual leadership?? And she was right..... I should have. But after a while she stopped her recriminations, because despite my lack of leadership, she could have taken hold on God; that did not effect how long she prayed or she studied. At least if only one of us had been Philidelphian then the children would have gone to the place of safety. But both of us had failed...... We'd had three children; one had died early, now we had a son and a daughter left. And after the initial panic and anguish and distress for myself I considered my children, and the terrible things that they were going to have to go through. And I didn't want to live with myself anymore, I wanted to end it, I wanted to die...... but for some reason I hung on. I remember the days of the famine that came, the full force of the famine afterwards.... I remember the riots in the streets, and seeing people go over to super markets and smash the windows and break-in; to fill their arms with food and put it into baskets, in some vain hope to stave off the full effects of the famine, but it was food that would only last a little while...... And people were even killing each other in the super markets, literally, for the food.......
Anarchy reigned throughout the nation. And then the disease epidemics, the disease that finally claimed the life of my second son..... I remember that day when I held him in my arms as he died, and his final words, "Daddy why....? And I couldn't answer him, emotionally, I could not answer him... I just choked up, but it didn't matter because he died after he said it. But within me at that point was formed a resolve!! I had put this upon my son, I'd allowed my child to go through this famine and through this disease when he could have been in the place of safety. And I formed a resolve in my mind, that when God brought him up to the 2nd resurrection I intended to be there... I wanted, no matter what lay ahead, to go through to the bitter end and be a part of the first resurrection, so that a thousand years later I could be there to meet my son. And instead of the misery and the suffering and the sickness that he had been through, to give him a hundred years of abundant living and health and well being, to try to make up with the happiness, then, for the misery he had suffered now........
Sometimes you'd walk down the streets and people would be walking towards you and suddenly they'd just fall to the ground, collapse and die where they fell, either through being so emancipated through lack of food or because of the effects of the plague.... There were some houses that you'd walk by, and there was this... sickening smell that came from it.... And you knew they were cooking human flesh..... fulfilling the prophecies in the bible of cannibalism in the land..... And you hurried by for fear that they might come out and try and take you. Then came the invasion, I knew what it meant if we were captured, so I took my wife and my daughter and we hid. And I begged God to be merciful to us, not to allow us to be captured... but God allowed it. And then I began to resent God all over again; I knew he was saving me up for martyrdom. He allowed me to survive the famine and survive the disease and survive the warfare so that He could take me to Europe and make an example of me. And I was filled in my mind with resentment toward God, but I knew that it came from Satan, and I remembered my son - I had to go through with this!!! They took my family and others by train to New York, where we would be disembarked by ship to Rotterdam. At the point that we got off the train that's when they separated the men from the women. As they took my wife and my little girl... she cried out to me: "Daddy, help me"!, and I moved toward her, but immediately a soldier put his rifle butt into my stomach and I fell to the ground, coughing and gasping. Another prisoner helped me to my feet but I was in so much pain I was doubled over and I never saw my wife our my daughter again. But those words: "Daddy, help me"!, haunted me like an echo in the back of my mind, day.... after day..... after day...... for months afterwards........
At this moment in my cell I want to cry, but I can't... because the guards will come for me soon and if they walk in and see that I'm crying they'll think that I'm afraid of having to face death, and that's almost humorous. I'm not afraid to face death, I want death..... I am so sick of this life and so sick of the hell I have been through... I want to die... and I can't cry, not today, lest they think I am afraid.... And then there is the knock at the door... the guard barks an order, and it's time for me to go out into the corridor. I remember thinking to myself, almost humorously, how I hate the German language... seems to be a language that can do nothing but bark orders. He walks me down the corridor and we begin to go down the steps to the ground floor, but I'm so weak and so emaciated through all the torture they've put me through and all the things they've done to me, that I begin to stager and to fall. From behind me the guard grabs me by my hair and yanks me upright. And beneath another guard seeing what took place laughs and says something in ridicule, and then they walk me out into the court yard.
There are five of us to be executed today, 2 women, 3 men. But we are not all members of the Church of God, one, the woman, is a Jehovah's witness. And I stand there and look at her with admiration.... I think to myself, here is a woman uncalled of God, without God's Spirit, who has such conviction for her religious beliefs (a religion of the world) that she's willing to do what we who are converted, are willing to do. And she without the help of God's Spirit. And what a waste, when she comes up to the second resurrection she will find that her religion was really not any better than the Catholic; and yet I look at her with admiration.... for her courage, for her character, for her conviction. I can see by the way they've lined us up that I am the last one who is to die today. In front of me is a young girl in her 20's, we had opportunity to talk briefly at one point. Her mother was a member in Chicago, her mother was divorced, came into the church, brought her daughter with her. The girl told me how many times her mother tried to encourage her to be a part of the youth activities and the other things in the church, and she would go along to a certain extent. And how her mother would encourage her to pray and study, but she just resented it, she didn't like her mother interfering in her life that way. And she said after her mother went to the place of safety and she was left behind, then she resented her mother for not pushing at her more, while she was still together with her. She too had to realize that with human nature we will always pass the buck to somebody else, but in the end, as this young girl recognized, you finally have only yourself to blame... Nobody stops you from praying and studying, nobody stops you from laying hold on God, because God won't allow anybody, not even somebody in your immediate family, to stop you from doing it. You can't point to somebody elses bad example, you can't say: "there was this problem and that problem", we were all called and all given even opportunity to lay hold upon God.......
The other three have been executed now, and they take up the young girl. I know it's my turn next, and after her head is decapitated I am filled with a terrible feeling of emptiness and loneliness. I know that after they have killed me they will put my body into a common grave or they will just burn it up, and there's 2 years left for the return of Jesus Christ.... But I know in my mind, it reads like the next split second of my consciousness I'm there in the 1st resurrection. And what will Jesus Christ say to me? Will He upgrade me from my lukewarmness before, from my folly and my stupidity, my refusal to heed the sermons that were given?? The guard pushes me forward, it's my turn. But as we walk toward the podium, where the guillotine is, I'm aware of another presents that walks beside me. And suddenly I'm filled with a strength in my legs that has not been there for a long, long, time.... And I remember the words: "I will never forsake you nor leave you". And almost a feeling of exhilaration comes over me, it's almost over..... and I'll be in the kingdom of God. We mount the podium, the catholic priest addresses the crowd that have come there to jeer us, and to cheer when our heads are taken. I've heard the rigamaroll before, the same old ritual about these heretics who would not worship the great leader of Europe, who would not bow to the will of the State - this will be the fate of all those..... I stop listening to him, I've heard it before. And in my mind I remember the last words of the martyr Steven, and I whisper them to Him whom I know stands besides me: "Jesus, forgive them"......... And then, the order is given...... I see the wet blood on the guillotine from the precedings executions and I think to myself... a year and a half ago that would have utterly nauseated me, but I've seen so much death and suffering and hurt and cries of pain it doesn't affect me anymore. After the order is given, they bind my hands behind my back, they kneel me down, they put my head in position.... it's almost over now. But just before the order is given, one other scripture comes to mind..... it's the scripture that most kept me going through all the terrible things of the months gone by. The one scripture that in the times of greatest duress kept me going and helped me hold firm and helped me make it through to this moment; but it's as if it's not a thought in my mind, it's as if the words this time are actually spoken by Him who stands beside me: "Be you faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life". ........
End.....
The Martyrdom of the Laodicean's / M.K.B.
What Law?
But what law? This is explained in Romans 7. So next I read: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law" -- or, in the plainer English of the Moffat translation: "Why, had it not been for the Law, I would never have known what sin meant!" In other words, the Law defines sin. Sin is breaking the Law. But what Law? Continuing, same verse: "for I had not known lust, except the Law had said, Thou shalt not covet" (Rom_7:7). There we are told plainly what Law it is sin to transgress. It is the Law that says: "Thou shalt not covet." That Law IS the Ten Commandments. It is sin to break the Ten Commandments. In verses 12 and 14 of this same 7th chapter of Romans you will read that the Law is holy, just and good, and that it is a spiritual -- a Law of spiritual principles of living! : "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" (Rom_6:1). You are now under grace -- undeserved pardon! You deserved only death. You didn't earn forgiveness -- pardon from the death penalty. You received it by grace through Jesus Christ. Now, shall you continue in sin -- that is, continue transgressing the Law? The answer is "God forbid" (Rom_6:2).
True Conversion
True Conversion
There is a sense in which true conversion does take place at a definite time -- all at once. But it is also true that in another sense conversion is worked out gradually -- a process of development and growth.
There is a definite TIME when God's Spirit enters into one. At the very moment he receives the Holy Spirit, he is, in this first sense, converted. Yes, all at once! If he has Christ's Spirit, he is CHRIST'S -- he is a Christian! The very Life of God has entered into (impregnated) him. He has been begotten as a child of God.
But does that mean his salvation is complete? Is he now fully and finally "saved"? Is that all there is to it? Is he now, suddenly, perfect? Is it now impossible for him to do WRONG?
The Christian life is a life of spiritual GOING TO SCHOOL -- of training for a POSITION IN GOD'S KINGDOM, when and after we shall be changed from mortal to immortal -- when we shall be no longer flesh-and-blood humans, but composed of SPIRIT, with eternal life inherent.
The purpose of the Christian life is to train future KINGS to rule with and under Christ. How then, does one become a Christian? When? And WHY IS salvation a PROCESS, as well as an initial phase when he becomes a Christian instantaneously?
So a Christian convert, then, is one who has received God's Spirit, which is dwelling in him, leading him, and he is following GOD'S WAY of life. A converted Christian has forsaken his former habitual way of life -- his selfish way unconcerned with God. Now he lives in the habitual way of God's WORD -- in the light of the Word of God.
In still other words, the true Christian has turned from his former life of habitual sin -- and from his former attitude of selfishness, and self-seeking when he had no serious intention of living God's way. But now he has turned from his former way. His life, in general, now, is the habitual way of the Christian life.
But he is not perfect the minute he is converted and receives God's Spirit. He must GROW spiritually, in grace and knowledge of Christ, as Peter writes in 2Pe_3:18.He is the creature of habit, and all old former habits do not just automatically leave him without any effort on his part to overcome them. He must learn to overcome sin. It is inevitable that he may be caught off guard and make a mistake. So continue in I John 1:
Do you begin to UNDERSTAND the difference? The true Christian intends to live God's WAY. He wants tolive God's way. He tries to live God's way. And, in general, it now actually is his habitual NEW WAY of life. The occasional slip, or sin, does not mean that in his mind and heart he has rejected God and God's WAY. Continue:
" ... As He is in the light" -- if that is now our goal and purpose and habitual way of life -- then "we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us [us who are now Christians] from all sin. If we [Christians] say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (verses 7-8).
If we, now Christians, say that we are already perfect -- that we never slip up and make a mistake or commit a sin, we are deceiving ourselves. I knew a woman who deceived herself in this way. She claimed to be above sin -- claimed she never sinned. And although she was what most people would call a good woman, she actually was committing the biggest sin of all -- spiritual pride and vanity! She gloried in her "sinless" state. She lacked Christian humility.
But if, while walking down this lighted path with God, one stumbles and falls down, does God kick him aside?
Verse 9: "If we [we who are Christians -- it is not talking about the unconverted] confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
So notice the "IF." "If we confess our sins." When we stumble, we must admit it -- we must repent of it -- we must ask forgiveness. If we deny it, or blame it on somebody else, we shall not be forgiven. We must confess it -- to God!
"If we say that we [as Christians] have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." The context continues right on into the second chapter: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." In other words, we should not sin -- we must strive to avoid any sin. God gives us no license to sin. But, " ... if any man sin, we [we Christians] have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins [those of us who are Christians]: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1Jo_2:1-3). But, of course He is the propitiation for the sins of the unconverted in the world only when they come to real repentance, and faith in Christ.
Real Conversion -- A Process
Because many do not correctly understand the whole above-mentioned process, they become discouraged. And some even give up even trying to live a Christian life. And why? Because of the false notion that a Christian is one who becomes PERFECT at one fell swoop, or that one cannot become a Christian until he has broken all wrong habits, and made himself righteous.
It's vital to UNDERSTAND how true Christianity REALLY works!
The newly begotten Christian must grow up, spiritually. What would you think of a human baby, who became 6 feet tall all at once, without growing up? The growing up process requires TIME. There is an instant when a person receives the impregnating Holy Spirit of God -- when he first becomes a Christian. But he is only a spiritual infant. He must grow up spiritually.
The newly converted person, in his mind and heart, sincerely has ABOUT-FACED! He has actually gained contact with GOD, and received God's Holy Spirit. God's own divine NATURE has now been conceived within him. BUT THAT'S ALL: It is merely conceived -- not yet full grown! He is still human -- mortal -- flesh and blood. He is still composed of matter, not Spirit.
The Christian must develop the righteous CHARACTER to choose the right way, and resist the wrong -- to discipline the self in the way he ought to go, instead of the way of self-desire and vanity.
What is perfect character? It is the ability, in a separate entity with free moral agency, to come to the KNOWLEDGE of the right from the wrong -- the true from the false -- and to CHOOSE the right, and possess the WILL to enforce self-discipline to DO the right and resist the wrong.
Like muscle, character is developed, and grows by exercise. My name is Armstrong. I suppose I could make my arm slightly stronger, and develop the muscle, by constantly bending it back and forth at the elbow. But if I pull, or push, against some heavy weight or resistance, the muscle will develop much faster. There is within us this NATURE that exerts a heavy pull against that perfect righteous character -- to give us something to strive against for the VERY PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING AND DEVELOPING RIGHT CHARACTER!
So we now have THREE PULLS to RESIST -- to OVERCOME! We must now overcome these three: Satan, this world, and our own SELVES. We have to battle against these three, in order to develop and strengthen RIGHT CHARACTER within us. God says plainly it is THE OVERCOMERS who shall be saved -- who shall REIGN with Christ! (Rev_2:26-27;Rev_3:21;Rev_21:7.) God's Help
It's a constant BATTLE -- a struggle against self, the world, and the devil. The creation of CHARACTER comes through EXPERIENCE. It takes TIME!
This development is a PROCESS. It is a matter of GROWTH -- DEVELOPMENT. It requires, to become PERFECT, full and right KNOWLEDGE of the very Word of God; because Jesus taught that we must live by EVERY WORD OF GOD (Mat_4:4;Luk_4:4).
The truly converted Christian will find that he often stumbles, under temptation, and falls down -- even as a physical child learning to walk often falls down. But the year-old child does not get discouraged and give up. He gets up and starts out again.
THE TRULY CONVERTED CHRISTIAN IS NOT YET PERFECT!
GOD LOOKS ON THE HEART -- the inner MOTIVE -- the real intent! If he is trying -- if he gets up whenever he falls down, and in repentance asks God's forgiveness, and sets out to do his very best NOT TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN -- and to persevere with renewed effort to OVERCOME, God is rich in mercy toward that man in his striving to overcome.
A Christian may, from force of habit, or under weakness and temptation, sin. But if he is a Christian, he is immediately repentant, and on this repentance Christ's sacrifice cleanses his sin (1Jo_1:7-9).
Converted people often are under heavier temptation than before conversion. They are STRIVING against sin, STRIVING to overcome. But they are not yet perfect. Sometimes they are caught off guard. They may actually sin. Then they WAKE UP, as it were, and realize what they have done. They REPENT. They are filled with remorse -- truly sorry -- disgusted with themselves. They go to GOD, and CRY OUT for HELP -- for more power and strength from God to OVERCOME (Heb_4:16).
This is the WAY of the Christian!
It is the way of a constant BATTLE -- a striving against SIN -- a seeking God in earnest prayer for help and spiritual POWER to overcome. And if they are diligent, they are constantly GAINING GROUND. They are constantly GROWING in God's KNOWLEDGE, from the BIBLE. They are constantly rooting out wrong habits, driving themselves into RIGHT habits. They are constantly growing closer to GOD through Bible study and prayer. They are constantly growing in CHARACTER, toward perfection, even though not yet perfect.
What If One Dies?
But, someone may ask, what if one's life is cut off, and he dies before he has attained this perfection? Is he saved, or lost? The answer is that we shall never obtain absolute perfection in this life.
If, anywhere along this life's journey, that life is cut short, such a man will be resurrected -- saved -- immortal in God's Kingdom.
Never Give Up and Quit
It is only the one who QUITS and GIVES UP (Heb_10:38)-- who REJECTS God, and God's WAY, and rejects Christ as his Saviour -- who neglects or turns FROM this direction of GOD'S WAY, in his mind and heart (in his inner INTENT) who deliberately and intentionally in his mind -- or, from continued neglect -- TURNS FROM Christ -- who is lost.
If, once having been converted, having received God's Spirit, and TASTED of the joys of GOD'S WAY, one deliberately rejects that way, makes the DECISION, not under stress of
temptation, but deliberately and finally, NOT to go God's way, then God says it is IMPOSSIBLE to renew such a one to repentance. He would have to REPENT of that decision. But if he WILLFULLY made it, not in a time of temptation, but calmly, deliberately, willfully, then he just WILL NOT ever repent of it. But anyone who FEARS he may have committed the "unpardonable sin" -- is perhaps worried about it, and HOPES he has not committed it, and still wants to have God's salvation -- no such individual has committed it -- such a one MAY repent, and go right on to salvation IF HE WANTS To!
As long as one, in his heart, has the real desire to walk God's WAY with Him -- is deeply sorry and repents when he commits the occasional sin -- and is seeking to overcome sin, and to make God's way his habitual way of life, he will stumble on occasion, but if he confesses it and repents, he will be forgiven. But, if he is diligent in his Christian life, his occasional stumbling will become less and less -- he will be making good progress, overcoming, GROWING spiritually and in righteous godly character.
But remember, once you know you have really repented and been forgiven, don't repeat the sin(s), but FORGET it. As the Apostle Paul wrote, FORGETTING those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phi_3:13-14).
God Almighty, who designed, created, and sustains human life --including yours, says this: "ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom_3:23). That involves you!
Right now you probably have no conception of what is meant by "the glory of God" you have come short of. You'll really open your eyes in astonishment when that is made plain to you.
But, whatever sin is, you have sinned. ALL humans have! Christ, only, is excepted. You are involved. And since salvation is saving man from the consequences of sin (and the Bible affirms this, as we shall see), let God's Word tell you what the consequences are.
It is plain and simple. Here it is: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom_6:23).
There is a sense in which true conversion does take place at a definite time -- all at once. But it is also true that in another sense conversion is worked out gradually -- a process of development and growth.
There is a definite TIME when God's Spirit enters into one. At the very moment he receives the Holy Spirit, he is, in this first sense, converted. Yes, all at once! If he has Christ's Spirit, he is CHRIST'S -- he is a Christian! The very Life of God has entered into (impregnated) him. He has been begotten as a child of God.
But does that mean his salvation is complete? Is he now fully and finally "saved"? Is that all there is to it? Is he now, suddenly, perfect? Is it now impossible for him to do WRONG?
The Christian life is a life of spiritual GOING TO SCHOOL -- of training for a POSITION IN GOD'S KINGDOM, when and after we shall be changed from mortal to immortal -- when we shall be no longer flesh-and-blood humans, but composed of SPIRIT, with eternal life inherent.
The purpose of the Christian life is to train future KINGS to rule with and under Christ. How then, does one become a Christian? When? And WHY IS salvation a PROCESS, as well as an initial phase when he becomes a Christian instantaneously?
So a Christian convert, then, is one who has received God's Spirit, which is dwelling in him, leading him, and he is following GOD'S WAY of life. A converted Christian has forsaken his former habitual way of life -- his selfish way unconcerned with God. Now he lives in the habitual way of God's WORD -- in the light of the Word of God.
In still other words, the true Christian has turned from his former life of habitual sin -- and from his former attitude of selfishness, and self-seeking when he had no serious intention of living God's way. But now he has turned from his former way. His life, in general, now, is the habitual way of the Christian life.
But he is not perfect the minute he is converted and receives God's Spirit. He must GROW spiritually, in grace and knowledge of Christ, as Peter writes in 2Pe_3:18.He is the creature of habit, and all old former habits do not just automatically leave him without any effort on his part to overcome them. He must learn to overcome sin. It is inevitable that he may be caught off guard and make a mistake. So continue in I John 1:
Do you begin to UNDERSTAND the difference? The true Christian intends to live God's WAY. He wants tolive God's way. He tries to live God's way. And, in general, it now actually is his habitual NEW WAY of life. The occasional slip, or sin, does not mean that in his mind and heart he has rejected God and God's WAY. Continue:
" ... As He is in the light" -- if that is now our goal and purpose and habitual way of life -- then "we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us [us who are now Christians] from all sin. If we [Christians] say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (verses 7-8).
If we, now Christians, say that we are already perfect -- that we never slip up and make a mistake or commit a sin, we are deceiving ourselves. I knew a woman who deceived herself in this way. She claimed to be above sin -- claimed she never sinned. And although she was what most people would call a good woman, she actually was committing the biggest sin of all -- spiritual pride and vanity! She gloried in her "sinless" state. She lacked Christian humility.
But if, while walking down this lighted path with God, one stumbles and falls down, does God kick him aside?
Verse 9: "If we [we who are Christians -- it is not talking about the unconverted] confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
So notice the "IF." "If we confess our sins." When we stumble, we must admit it -- we must repent of it -- we must ask forgiveness. If we deny it, or blame it on somebody else, we shall not be forgiven. We must confess it -- to God!
"If we say that we [as Christians] have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." The context continues right on into the second chapter: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." In other words, we should not sin -- we must strive to avoid any sin. God gives us no license to sin. But, " ... if any man sin, we [we Christians] have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins [those of us who are Christians]: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1Jo_2:1-3). But, of course He is the propitiation for the sins of the unconverted in the world only when they come to real repentance, and faith in Christ.
Real Conversion -- A Process
Because many do not correctly understand the whole above-mentioned process, they become discouraged. And some even give up even trying to live a Christian life. And why? Because of the false notion that a Christian is one who becomes PERFECT at one fell swoop, or that one cannot become a Christian until he has broken all wrong habits, and made himself righteous.
It's vital to UNDERSTAND how true Christianity REALLY works!
The newly begotten Christian must grow up, spiritually. What would you think of a human baby, who became 6 feet tall all at once, without growing up? The growing up process requires TIME. There is an instant when a person receives the impregnating Holy Spirit of God -- when he first becomes a Christian. But he is only a spiritual infant. He must grow up spiritually.
The newly converted person, in his mind and heart, sincerely has ABOUT-FACED! He has actually gained contact with GOD, and received God's Holy Spirit. God's own divine NATURE has now been conceived within him. BUT THAT'S ALL: It is merely conceived -- not yet full grown! He is still human -- mortal -- flesh and blood. He is still composed of matter, not Spirit.
The Christian must develop the righteous CHARACTER to choose the right way, and resist the wrong -- to discipline the self in the way he ought to go, instead of the way of self-desire and vanity.
What is perfect character? It is the ability, in a separate entity with free moral agency, to come to the KNOWLEDGE of the right from the wrong -- the true from the false -- and to CHOOSE the right, and possess the WILL to enforce self-discipline to DO the right and resist the wrong.
Like muscle, character is developed, and grows by exercise. My name is Armstrong. I suppose I could make my arm slightly stronger, and develop the muscle, by constantly bending it back and forth at the elbow. But if I pull, or push, against some heavy weight or resistance, the muscle will develop much faster. There is within us this NATURE that exerts a heavy pull against that perfect righteous character -- to give us something to strive against for the VERY PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING AND DEVELOPING RIGHT CHARACTER!
So we now have THREE PULLS to RESIST -- to OVERCOME! We must now overcome these three: Satan, this world, and our own SELVES. We have to battle against these three, in order to develop and strengthen RIGHT CHARACTER within us. God says plainly it is THE OVERCOMERS who shall be saved -- who shall REIGN with Christ! (Rev_2:26-27;Rev_3:21;Rev_21:7.) God's Help
It's a constant BATTLE -- a struggle against self, the world, and the devil. The creation of CHARACTER comes through EXPERIENCE. It takes TIME!
This development is a PROCESS. It is a matter of GROWTH -- DEVELOPMENT. It requires, to become PERFECT, full and right KNOWLEDGE of the very Word of God; because Jesus taught that we must live by EVERY WORD OF GOD (Mat_4:4;Luk_4:4).
The truly converted Christian will find that he often stumbles, under temptation, and falls down -- even as a physical child learning to walk often falls down. But the year-old child does not get discouraged and give up. He gets up and starts out again.
THE TRULY CONVERTED CHRISTIAN IS NOT YET PERFECT!
GOD LOOKS ON THE HEART -- the inner MOTIVE -- the real intent! If he is trying -- if he gets up whenever he falls down, and in repentance asks God's forgiveness, and sets out to do his very best NOT TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN -- and to persevere with renewed effort to OVERCOME, God is rich in mercy toward that man in his striving to overcome.
A Christian may, from force of habit, or under weakness and temptation, sin. But if he is a Christian, he is immediately repentant, and on this repentance Christ's sacrifice cleanses his sin (1Jo_1:7-9).
Converted people often are under heavier temptation than before conversion. They are STRIVING against sin, STRIVING to overcome. But they are not yet perfect. Sometimes they are caught off guard. They may actually sin. Then they WAKE UP, as it were, and realize what they have done. They REPENT. They are filled with remorse -- truly sorry -- disgusted with themselves. They go to GOD, and CRY OUT for HELP -- for more power and strength from God to OVERCOME (Heb_4:16).
This is the WAY of the Christian!
It is the way of a constant BATTLE -- a striving against SIN -- a seeking God in earnest prayer for help and spiritual POWER to overcome. And if they are diligent, they are constantly GAINING GROUND. They are constantly GROWING in God's KNOWLEDGE, from the BIBLE. They are constantly rooting out wrong habits, driving themselves into RIGHT habits. They are constantly growing closer to GOD through Bible study and prayer. They are constantly growing in CHARACTER, toward perfection, even though not yet perfect.
What If One Dies?
But, someone may ask, what if one's life is cut off, and he dies before he has attained this perfection? Is he saved, or lost? The answer is that we shall never obtain absolute perfection in this life.
If, anywhere along this life's journey, that life is cut short, such a man will be resurrected -- saved -- immortal in God's Kingdom.
Never Give Up and Quit
It is only the one who QUITS and GIVES UP (Heb_10:38)-- who REJECTS God, and God's WAY, and rejects Christ as his Saviour -- who neglects or turns FROM this direction of GOD'S WAY, in his mind and heart (in his inner INTENT) who deliberately and intentionally in his mind -- or, from continued neglect -- TURNS FROM Christ -- who is lost.
If, once having been converted, having received God's Spirit, and TASTED of the joys of GOD'S WAY, one deliberately rejects that way, makes the DECISION, not under stress of
temptation, but deliberately and finally, NOT to go God's way, then God says it is IMPOSSIBLE to renew such a one to repentance. He would have to REPENT of that decision. But if he WILLFULLY made it, not in a time of temptation, but calmly, deliberately, willfully, then he just WILL NOT ever repent of it. But anyone who FEARS he may have committed the "unpardonable sin" -- is perhaps worried about it, and HOPES he has not committed it, and still wants to have God's salvation -- no such individual has committed it -- such a one MAY repent, and go right on to salvation IF HE WANTS To!
As long as one, in his heart, has the real desire to walk God's WAY with Him -- is deeply sorry and repents when he commits the occasional sin -- and is seeking to overcome sin, and to make God's way his habitual way of life, he will stumble on occasion, but if he confesses it and repents, he will be forgiven. But, if he is diligent in his Christian life, his occasional stumbling will become less and less -- he will be making good progress, overcoming, GROWING spiritually and in righteous godly character.
But remember, once you know you have really repented and been forgiven, don't repeat the sin(s), but FORGET it. As the Apostle Paul wrote, FORGETTING those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phi_3:13-14).
God Almighty, who designed, created, and sustains human life --including yours, says this: "ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom_3:23). That involves you!
Right now you probably have no conception of what is meant by "the glory of God" you have come short of. You'll really open your eyes in astonishment when that is made plain to you.
But, whatever sin is, you have sinned. ALL humans have! Christ, only, is excepted. You are involved. And since salvation is saving man from the consequences of sin (and the Bible affirms this, as we shall see), let God's Word tell you what the consequences are.
It is plain and simple. Here it is: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom_6:23).
Faith vs Works
Faith vs Works
For example. It is quite popular to quote Romans 3:20: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight," and from this passage alone assume that salvation comes by faith in disobedience to the law! Those who thus interpret this passage never tell you that in Romans 2:13 the same Apostle Paul was inspired to write: "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the DOERS of the law shall be justified."
Is there contradiction here? If the one Scripture is intended to reveal that we do not have to make an effort to obey God's Law to be justified and then saved -- but that we are saved by faith without obedience to God's Law, then, indeed, God contradicts Himself in His Word! And if you wish to make Romans 3:20 say that, you must consistently acknowledge there is contradiction in the Scriptures; and if this be true, you have no basis for your faith!
Let us understand it! "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight." No, certainly not! That Scripture is 100% true, and there is no contradiction! You cannot be justified by the deeds of the law -- not at all!
WHY? The last half of this same verse gives the answer -- why do most preachers never quote it? "For by the law is the KNOWLEDGE of sin," Romans 3:20. THAT'S WHY!
The purpose of the law is not to forgive, to justify, to wash away, to cleanse. Only THE BLOOD OF CHRIST can do that! Sin is the transgression of the law -- that's what sin is. The purpose of the law is to tell us what sin is -- to define it -- to REVEAL it, so we can quit it.
But, argues the "No Law" deceiver, "no man can keep the Commandments. It is not humanly possible! Since FAITH has come, we keep no law -- faith has made it VOID."
Thus even "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of LIGHT. Therefore it is no great thing if HIS MINISTERS also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness -- For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of CHRIST," II Corinthians 11:13-15.
"Do we then make void the law through faith?" comes the question, in inspired Scripture -- and the answer: "GOD FORBID: yea, we ESTABLISH THE LAW!" Romans 3:31.
Yes, faith establishes the Law! By keeping it is faith make PERFECT!
For example. It is quite popular to quote Romans 3:20: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight," and from this passage alone assume that salvation comes by faith in disobedience to the law! Those who thus interpret this passage never tell you that in Romans 2:13 the same Apostle Paul was inspired to write: "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the DOERS of the law shall be justified."
Is there contradiction here? If the one Scripture is intended to reveal that we do not have to make an effort to obey God's Law to be justified and then saved -- but that we are saved by faith without obedience to God's Law, then, indeed, God contradicts Himself in His Word! And if you wish to make Romans 3:20 say that, you must consistently acknowledge there is contradiction in the Scriptures; and if this be true, you have no basis for your faith!
Let us understand it! "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight." No, certainly not! That Scripture is 100% true, and there is no contradiction! You cannot be justified by the deeds of the law -- not at all!
WHY? The last half of this same verse gives the answer -- why do most preachers never quote it? "For by the law is the KNOWLEDGE of sin," Romans 3:20. THAT'S WHY!
The purpose of the law is not to forgive, to justify, to wash away, to cleanse. Only THE BLOOD OF CHRIST can do that! Sin is the transgression of the law -- that's what sin is. The purpose of the law is to tell us what sin is -- to define it -- to REVEAL it, so we can quit it.
But, argues the "No Law" deceiver, "no man can keep the Commandments. It is not humanly possible! Since FAITH has come, we keep no law -- faith has made it VOID."
Thus even "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of LIGHT. Therefore it is no great thing if HIS MINISTERS also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness -- For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of CHRIST," II Corinthians 11:13-15.
"Do we then make void the law through faith?" comes the question, in inspired Scripture -- and the answer: "GOD FORBID: yea, we ESTABLISH THE LAW!" Romans 3:31.
Yes, faith establishes the Law! By keeping it is faith make PERFECT!
Did Adam have an immortal soul
Did Adam Have Immortality? Was man created immortal in the very beginning? Notice Genesis 3:22. This is the story of our first parents. It reads: "And the Eternal God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil." This is after the man had disobeyed God, the Supreme Ruler.God had commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:16-17). The Man was mortal, or he would not have been able to die.Then along came the devil in the guise of a serpent. He beguiled the woman into reaching out and taking of the forbidden tree and in "effect stealing what was not hers. This was idolatry. It amounted to rebellion, disobedience and dishonoring her only parent. She then gave the fruit to her husband, and he ate it willingly and knowingly.Then God said: "... Man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life [that is, partake of immortal life], and eat, and live forever [lest he live forever!]: therefore the Eternal God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken." So God drove out the man from all access to immortality. "And he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. 3:22-24). Why? Lest man go back and gain eternal life.You can see very plainly from the account in Genesis that man had no immortality and no "immortal soul.
giving and treasure
giving and treasure
Give in secret and not out in open. .....your Father sees what is done in secret and he will reward you.
Your heart will be where your treasure is.......either laid up in heaven or laid up on earth.
Mat 6:18
............ and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Mat 6:19
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal,
Mat 6:20
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Give in secret and not out in open. .....your Father sees what is done in secret and he will reward you.
Your heart will be where your treasure is.......either laid up in heaven or laid up on earth.
Mat 6:18
............ and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Mat 6:19
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal,
Mat 6:20
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
agape
agape= love
1Cr 12:31
But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
This verse serves to bridge the subjects of I Corinthians 12 and 13. Chapter 12 deals with various functions and positions within God's church. Paul calls them "gifts" and instructs the Corinthians—and, by extension, all of God's people—to desire and pursue the "best gifts" earnestly. The Modern Language version renders it, "the more valuable spiritual gifts," and the Revised Standard Version reads, "the higher gifts." Then he tells us that he will show us a more excellent way and launches right into chapter 13, the well-known "love chapter."
What is God teaching us here in this powerful little verse? He is showing us that, from His point of view, true quality and excellence do not depend upon one's rank, function, or position in His church. God does not consider us to be of lower quality or to have less ability to exhibit quality just because we are not all apostles, elders, or deacons. Rather, as Philippians 1:9 says, a Christian's true quality is directly proportional to his or her outgoing love.
Phl 1:9
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.
1Cr 12:31
But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
This verse serves to bridge the subjects of I Corinthians 12 and 13. Chapter 12 deals with various functions and positions within God's church. Paul calls them "gifts" and instructs the Corinthians—and, by extension, all of God's people—to desire and pursue the "best gifts" earnestly. The Modern Language version renders it, "the more valuable spiritual gifts," and the Revised Standard Version reads, "the higher gifts." Then he tells us that he will show us a more excellent way and launches right into chapter 13, the well-known "love chapter."
What is God teaching us here in this powerful little verse? He is showing us that, from His point of view, true quality and excellence do not depend upon one's rank, function, or position in His church. God does not consider us to be of lower quality or to have less ability to exhibit quality just because we are not all apostles, elders, or deacons. Rather, as Philippians 1:9 says, a Christian's true quality is directly proportional to his or her outgoing love.
Phl 1:9
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.
Teach that Law was abolished
Teach that Law was abolished
They teach that the law was abolished. If there is no law, then there is no sin, "for where no law is, there is no transgression" (Romans 4:15), and "sin is not imputed where there is no law" (Romans 5:13) and "sin is the transgression of the law" (1JN 3:4). But the law of God is Spiritual, (Romans 7:14). God's law is based on love because he is love 1jn 4:8
Sin results from a wrong attitude, intent, desire, which is an attitude of mind. Yet sin is also an act. It is the act of yielding to an attitude, desire or purpose contrary to LOVE toward God or toward human.
After all , sin is not the thing, but the ATTITUDE and the use of the thing in response to a wrong attitude.
SIN is violation of God's spirtual Law, And that violation always is an ATTITUDE and intention contrary to love toward God and neighbor, and/or the acting upon such attitude or intention.
You use a thing in a wrong attitude. Sin is wrong attitude, intent or desire which is attitude of mind.
Attitude of selfishness...greed...anger...wrong intent wrong desire. When you act on that wrong desire or wrong intent ask yourself if it shows love to God...you....or your neighbor.....if not it is sin..
They teach that the law was abolished. If there is no law, then there is no sin, "for where no law is, there is no transgression" (Romans 4:15), and "sin is not imputed where there is no law" (Romans 5:13) and "sin is the transgression of the law" (1JN 3:4). But the law of God is Spiritual, (Romans 7:14). God's law is based on love because he is love 1jn 4:8
Sin results from a wrong attitude, intent, desire, which is an attitude of mind. Yet sin is also an act. It is the act of yielding to an attitude, desire or purpose contrary to LOVE toward God or toward human.
After all , sin is not the thing, but the ATTITUDE and the use of the thing in response to a wrong attitude.
SIN is violation of God's spirtual Law, And that violation always is an ATTITUDE and intention contrary to love toward God and neighbor, and/or the acting upon such attitude or intention.
You use a thing in a wrong attitude. Sin is wrong attitude, intent or desire which is attitude of mind.
Attitude of selfishness...greed...anger...wrong intent wrong desire. When you act on that wrong desire or wrong intent ask yourself if it shows love to God...you....or your neighbor.....if not it is sin..
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
If you have God's Holy Spirit then you have the power to resist sin and be obediant to His commandments.
God's Holy Spirit imbues you with God's characteristics.
Must be obediant and have a humble attitude.
1Jo 3:22
and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
1Jo 3:23
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
1Jo 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
God's will has to be done in your life....not your own.. You have to be submissive to Him.
Have to have self control if want to grow in Spirit
Gal 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Gal 5:17
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
Gal 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
Gal 5:19
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
Gal 5:20
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit,
Gal 5:21
envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23
gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26
Let us have no self-conceit, no provokingof one another, no envy of one another.
If you have God's Holy Spirit then you have the power to resist sin and be obediant to His commandments.
God's Holy Spirit imbues you with God's characteristics.
Must be obediant and have a humble attitude.
1Jo 3:22
and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
1Jo 3:23
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
1Jo 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
God's will has to be done in your life....not your own.. You have to be submissive to Him.
Have to have self control if want to grow in Spirit
Gal 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Gal 5:17
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
Gal 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
Gal 5:19
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
Gal 5:20
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit,
Gal 5:21
envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23
gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26
Let us have no self-conceit, no provokingof one another, no envy of one another.
Spirit of law
Spirit of law
11 Cor 3:6, it is written that we must obey the law according to the SPIRIT-that is, the principle or intent of the law not according to the specific letter.
nlt6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
ESV
6who has made us competent[c] to be(L) ministers of(M) a new covenant, not of(N) the letter but of the Spirit.
CEV
6 He made us able to be servants of a new agreement from himself to his people. This new agreement is not a written law, but it is of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Worldwide english new testament
6God has made a new start with people. He has given us a new way back to God. It is not a written law. The Spirit gives it to us. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
11 Cor 3:6, it is written that we must obey the law according to the SPIRIT-that is, the principle or intent of the law not according to the specific letter.
nlt6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.
ESV
6who has made us competent[c] to be(L) ministers of(M) a new covenant, not of(N) the letter but of the Spirit.
CEV
6 He made us able to be servants of a new agreement from himself to his people. This new agreement is not a written law, but it is of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Worldwide english new testament
6God has made a new start with people. He has given us a new way back to God. It is not a written law. The Spirit gives it to us. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Why
Why do I want to do this.....?To please myself?To please God?To please neighbor?Does it show love to God's Temple?To neighbor?Or To God?
Matt 5:11-37
Matt 5:11-37
Matt 511"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
9Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[d]
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Matt 511"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
9Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.[d]
27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[e] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Jevovah Witness
Jevovah Witness
For many deceivers (including "Jehovah Witnesses") are entered into the world ... Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not (obeys not) in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God ... If there come any unto you, and bring not THIS DOCTRINE (of Christ, and of God's true Church), RECEIVE HIM NOT INTO YOUR HOUSE, neither bid him God-speed: for he that biddeth him God-speed is partaker of his evil deeds." (II John 7-11)
A God commands you: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; FOR WHAT FELLOWSHIP HATH RIGHTEOUSNESS (keeping of God's Commandments) WITH UNRIGHTEOUSNESS? AND WHAT COMMUNION HATH LIGHT (TRUTH) WITH DARKNESS? ...WHEREFORE COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE, SAITH THE LORD." (II Cor. 6:14-17).
IN, But Not OF the World
All this does not mean that we cannot have any contacts with the world, or people of other beliefs. It does not mean that you cannot buy groceries or merchandise in a store staffed with unbelievers, or with professing Christians of other beliefs.
Paul clears this up: "I did not mean you were literally to avoid contact with the immoral of this world, with the lustful and the thievish, or with idolaters; in that case you would have to leave the world altogether. What I now write is that you are not to associate with any SO-CALLED BROTHER ... Associate with him? Do not even eat with him." (I Cor. 5:10-11 Moffatt translation).
We are not to have social or religious FELLOWSHIP -- close friendship -- with any except those who know and OBEY the TRUTH. We must not try to WORSHIP with them -- attend their churches.
Again God instructs through Paul "Have NO FELLOWSHIP with the unfruitful works of darkness." (Eph. 5:11).
For many deceivers (including "Jehovah Witnesses") are entered into the world ... Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not (obeys not) in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God ... If there come any unto you, and bring not THIS DOCTRINE (of Christ, and of God's true Church), RECEIVE HIM NOT INTO YOUR HOUSE, neither bid him God-speed: for he that biddeth him God-speed is partaker of his evil deeds." (II John 7-11)
A God commands you: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; FOR WHAT FELLOWSHIP HATH RIGHTEOUSNESS (keeping of God's Commandments) WITH UNRIGHTEOUSNESS? AND WHAT COMMUNION HATH LIGHT (TRUTH) WITH DARKNESS? ...WHEREFORE COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE, SAITH THE LORD." (II Cor. 6:14-17).
IN, But Not OF the World
All this does not mean that we cannot have any contacts with the world, or people of other beliefs. It does not mean that you cannot buy groceries or merchandise in a store staffed with unbelievers, or with professing Christians of other beliefs.
Paul clears this up: "I did not mean you were literally to avoid contact with the immoral of this world, with the lustful and the thievish, or with idolaters; in that case you would have to leave the world altogether. What I now write is that you are not to associate with any SO-CALLED BROTHER ... Associate with him? Do not even eat with him." (I Cor. 5:10-11 Moffatt translation).
We are not to have social or religious FELLOWSHIP -- close friendship -- with any except those who know and OBEY the TRUTH. We must not try to WORSHIP with them -- attend their churches.
Again God instructs through Paul "Have NO FELLOWSHIP with the unfruitful works of darkness." (Eph. 5:11).
Parable
Parable(From Forerunner Commentary)
What is a parable? Common theological reference books give us the basic facts:
u A picturesque figure of language in which an analogy refers to a similar but different reality. (The Oxford Companion to the Bible, p. 567)u A form of teaching which presents the listener with interesting illustrations from which can be drawn moral and religious truths. (The New Bible Dictionary, p. 877)u Stories . . . told to provide a vision of life, especially life in God's kingdom. Parable means a putting alongside for purposes of comparison and new understanding. Parables utilize pictures such as metaphors or similes and frequently extend them into a brief story to make a point or disclosure. (The Holman Bible Dictionary, p. 1071)u A metaphor or simile often extended to a short narrative; in biblical contexts almost always formulated to reveal and illustrate the kingdom of God. (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 655-656)
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has the most comprehensive definition and explanation:
Lit. denotes a placing beside. . . . It signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison. . . . It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed. . . . Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature. . . . Two dangers are to be avoided in seeking to interpret the parables in Scripture, that of ignoring the important features, and that of trying to make all the details mean something. (p. 840)
Jesus makes it plain that parables cannot be fully understood unless the meaning is revealed (Matthew 13:10-17). He gave parables to hide the true meaning. Because the people of this world have closed their eyes and ears to God's instruction, He speaks to them in mysteries that cannot be solved without His Holy Spirit. "But blessed are your eyes . . . and your ears" because we have the Holy Spirit (verse 16; see I Corinthians 2:6-16)!
From Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 840, under the article Parable:
Lit. denotes a placing beside. . . . It signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison. . . . It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed. . . . Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature. . . . Two dangers are to be avoided in seeking to interpret the parables in Scripture, that of ignoring the important features, and that of trying to make all the details mean something.
What is a parable? Common theological reference books give us the basic facts:
u A picturesque figure of language in which an analogy refers to a similar but different reality. (The Oxford Companion to the Bible, p. 567)u A form of teaching which presents the listener with interesting illustrations from which can be drawn moral and religious truths. (The New Bible Dictionary, p. 877)u Stories . . . told to provide a vision of life, especially life in God's kingdom. Parable means a putting alongside for purposes of comparison and new understanding. Parables utilize pictures such as metaphors or similes and frequently extend them into a brief story to make a point or disclosure. (The Holman Bible Dictionary, p. 1071)u A metaphor or simile often extended to a short narrative; in biblical contexts almost always formulated to reveal and illustrate the kingdom of God. (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 655-656)
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words has the most comprehensive definition and explanation:
Lit. denotes a placing beside. . . . It signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison. . . . It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed. . . . Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature. . . . Two dangers are to be avoided in seeking to interpret the parables in Scripture, that of ignoring the important features, and that of trying to make all the details mean something. (p. 840)
Jesus makes it plain that parables cannot be fully understood unless the meaning is revealed (Matthew 13:10-17). He gave parables to hide the true meaning. Because the people of this world have closed their eyes and ears to God's instruction, He speaks to them in mysteries that cannot be solved without His Holy Spirit. "But blessed are your eyes . . . and your ears" because we have the Holy Spirit (verse 16; see I Corinthians 2:6-16)!
From Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 840, under the article Parable:
Lit. denotes a placing beside. . . . It signifies a placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison. . . . It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed. . . . Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature. . . . Two dangers are to be avoided in seeking to interpret the parables in Scripture, that of ignoring the important features, and that of trying to make all the details mean something.
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