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From Mr. Armstrong About Us Prospective Members Contact Us Admin Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Welcome to the Vigilant CHURCH of GOD The Vigilant Church of God presents the Truth directly from the scriptures to help and guide the scattered Churches of God. The work of KNOCKING AND MEASURING is the work that Jesus Christ is doing in this final era and the Vigilant Church of God is committed to being a Messenger in the service of Jesus Christ. Sabbath services are held in an on-line meeting room. To join this service, Contact Us. How Are We Different? Latest Sermon on Spotify Visit Vigilant Radio podcast at: Spotify Featured video for former Worldwide Church of God members See all videos HERE View all YouTube videos Popular Videos Must Listen Jesus sends His leader Mr. Michael Venish 00:00 / 1:04:36 Handwriting-is-on-the-Wall Mr Michael Venish 00:00 / 1:19:50 As a member of a Church of God which splintered off of the Worldwide Church of God - Please listen to this message Latest Sermons The Will of the Father Mr. Michael H Venish 00:00 / 1:01:49 Zeal Mr. Mike Downing 00:00 / 11:10 Check Your Blind Spot Mr. Gerhard J Coetzer 00:00 / 53:21 The LOVE of God and YOU Mr. Michael Venish 00:00 / 52:44 The Inner Court - Occupied by the Church of God Mr Michael H Venish 00:00 / 1:10:10 Important Message In John 5:17 Jesus says ".... My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. " To find out what He meant, listen to the audio below... The Knock of Jesus Christ - Rev. 3:20 Mr. Ellery Burgess 00:00 / 29:06 Follow this link Listen to all Audio here Vital Study Aid SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH OF GOD This listing was composed by ministers of the Worldwide Church of God approximately 1984 or before and was used in the Graduate Spokesman's Club in the Chicago area and is presented here unchanged. While this listing is very detailed, it is not an exhaustive listing of the doctrines of The Church of God. View Doctrines Follow this link Do you remember Herbert W. Armstrong? Do you remember Herbert W. Armstrong? Do you remember Herbert W. Armstrong? Do you remember Herbert W. Armstrong? To help remind you click on image above. To help remind you click on image above. To help remind you click on image above.

Messages to the Churches of God And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein (Rev 11:1). Latest Video Previous Videos Where Does Their Mission Come From Play Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied All VCG Videos On Youtube The Last Apostle-2nd Peter Measuring the Church of God - Part 1 Measuring the Church of God -Part 3 Do you Remember Measuring the Church of God -Part 5 Mystery of the Ages WHO Lays the FOUNDATION? Hold fast to 20th Century TRUTH Measuring the Church of God -Part 2 Measuring the Church of God -Part 4 The Bride Measuring the Church of God -Part 6 The Church Measuring the MINISTRY

Sermonettes and Split Sermons Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3). Below is a small selection of our Sabbath Sermonettes and Split Sermon archive messages. Contact us, should you require full access. James 5 Dr. Burrus Smith 00:00 / 34:04 Split Sermon - Lessons from King Josiah LDUB Gerhard J. Coetzer. 00:00 / 32:19 Galatians 2:20 Mike Downing 00:00 / 11:38 Heed Your Spiritual RADAR Gerhard J Coetzer 00:00 / 10:38 Why One Doubts Mike Downing 00:00 / 12:19

Audio Books For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Act 4:20). A World Help Captive by Herbert W. Armstrong A World Held Captive - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 You live in world of awesome progress, but paradoxically of appalling evils. WHY? All About Water Baptism by Herbert W. Armstrong All About Water Baptism - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 Is WATER baptism essential to salvation? What about the "thief on the cross"? Was he saved without it? Are We Living in the Last Days? by Herbert W. Armstrong Are We Living in the Last Days? - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 How can you know whether we are near "the end of the world"? Can we prove it? Did God Creat a Devil? by Herbert W. Armstrong Did God Creat a Devil? - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Bible pictures the whole world under the sway of an invisible devil. Where did he come from? Did God create a devil to tempt us and lead us astray? Does God Exist? by Herbert W. Armstrong Does God Exist? - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 Can the existence of God be scientifically proved? Where did the first LIFE come from? Can we know whether God possesses MIND power? Ending All Your Financial Worries by Herbert W. Armstrong Ending Your Financial Worries - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 What concerns the average person most? War? The Space Race? Or making ends meet? The Incredible Human Potential by Herbert W. Armstrong The Incredible Human Potential - 1A - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential - 1B - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential answers mankind's most unanswerable question: Why were you born? The Incredible Human Potential - 2A - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential - 2B - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential - 3A - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential - 3B - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential - 4A - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 The Incredible Human Potential - 4B - HWA 00:00 / 00:00 Mr. Armstrong's audio book, MYSTERY OF THE AGES is available here. More books to follow. Please return soon...

ARTICLES Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation (Act 15:31). Should Women Preach? Millions have been mixed up on this important principle a principle more far-reaching than you have realized. Here is GOD'S ANSWER clearly revealed in His Word. HERE IS a vital subject which greatly NEEDS to be understood in every home, in every church, in every nation. Untold misery and suffering can be avoided if God's truth is understood and obeyed! The very fact of women preaching reveals a striking condition in our modern churches of which very few are aware. Thousands of people of both sexes have a prejudicial conception of this subject. In nearly every instance, they look on it as an isolated topic having little or no bearing on the gospel itself — or on the very purpose of our human existence. But they fail to realize that this subject deals with the very FOUNDATION of the gospel itself — and that its proper understanding carries an URGENT message to our present society. Before this world goes crashing to its doom, it's time to OPEN our minds to God's truth! One Clear Answer Where should a Christian look to find the truth on this important subject — or on any subject for that matter? Should you look to men, to groups of men, to the many differing churches of men? Where is basic truth to be found? As a Christian, you should know that there is only one source of spiritual truth. Jesus Christ said, "Thy WORD is truth" (John 17:17 ). And God's Word reveals — IF we are willing to receive the truth — that the subject of women preaching is more far-reaching and more fundamental than you have probably realized. It is VITAL that every Christian man and woman understand the truth on this matter. God's Word is clear and definite is revealing the status of women in the church, in society, and in the home. From Genesis to Revelation, the same principles are consistently revealed by God on this topic. Here is one subject upon which there is just no place for disagreement if we are to accept God's Word as truth. Yet here is a matter upon which whole church denominations disagree — a matter which is causing much of the wretchedness and rottenness in our toppling modern civilization. It's time to find the truth! Free your mind from blinding prejudice. Ask God humbly to open your mind to His truth as CLEARLY revealed in His Word, the Bible. Why Woman Was Created After God had created the man, He said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an HELP meet [suitable] for him" (Gen. 2:18 ). Finding that none of the animal creation fitted this need, God created woman our of a part of man. And Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Verse 23). Notice that the very purpose of woman's creation was to provide a help for the man. But on the first occasion when man had a severe trial and needed help, what happened? Genesis 3:1-16 shows that the woman allowed the serpent, representing Satan, to beguile her into disobeying her Creator, God. And she thereupon caused her husband, whom she was supposed to help, to disobey God also and cur himself off from God's blessings. The woman had taken the initiative. She had tried to lead the man — a thing for which she was not intended nor equipped — and as a result the whole human family was cut off from God until Christ came to obey God and make reconciliation. Because she had sinned in doing this thing, God told the woman, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall RULE over thee" (Gen. 3:16 ). Plain words, these. And these are God's words — not human opinion. God had made the man first — in His direct image, as God is always spoken of in the masculine gender. God had made the man physically stronger, and with every necessary quality to be the woman's leader. Adam knew that the woman was to be his helper — and he her head. But now that the woman had taken the initiative without consulting her husband, and had sinned and led him to sin in so doing, God made their status doubly CLEAR: "thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall RULE over thee." Adam had nor fulfilled his God-given responsibility to lead the woman in the right way, but had let her wrest the initiative from him. And so God told Adam, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life" (Gen. 3:17 ). Yes, Adam was punished "Because," God said, "thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife" — and so had been led to disobey God. It is easy for a man to bog down and let his wife "run things." Adam did — and Satan soon took over! Thousands of modern men are doing the same thing — particularly in America. And crime, almost universal corruption in every phase of life, broken homes, unhappy homes} and juvenile delinquency are abounding and growing EVILS which beset our society on every hand. It's something to think about seriously! In the final analysis, man will learn that when the God-constituted system of authority breaks down, real TROUBLE is in score. This pattern of authority is conspicuously violated today in the realm of the relation of men and women in society and in the home. Consistent Principle The examples and teaching throughout the Old Testament reveal that the man was recognized as the head of the house, and was always designated and used by God to carry our any group project. The genealogy always came down from father to son. When Jacob was inspired to give prophetic blessings (Gen. 49 ), they were given co his sons, not his daughters in any case. In other words, man was regarded as the direct representative of God over all the animate creation, and woman was recognized and respected as his helper. She derived her honor and blessings indirectly through her husband, her God-constituted head. God called Moses to lead his people our of Egyptian bondage. And when ir came time to institute God's physical priesthood, God chose Aaron and his son (Exodus 29:9 ). Note this point. In every case, God chose men — not women — to be the leaders and spokesmen, or preachers — if you wish to apply it that way. What a striking contrast to our society where women are conducting themselves in a way that would have made their great-grandmothers blush! But let's get the point and not try to excuse ourselves. The contrast is not between us and what is termed "old-fashioned." It is between our way and GOD'S way as revealed in His Word, God's Word is consistent in teaching that woman is to be in subjection to the man — never his leader or spokesman. Another point to notice is that while in both ancient and modern times the Gentile nations often had queens or women ruling over them, at no time did God ever appoint a woman as queen or to ANY administrative office either in the nation of Israel or in the church either in Old or New Testament times. That is God's way! If our own human idea or way is different, then it is we — not God — who should REPENT of this error and change our own carnal, human ways. Are we going to defy our CREATOR on this point? Prophetesses In both the Old and New Testaments, we find that God did use some righteous women in the office of a prophetess. If we study these examples carefully, we will see that their function has often been misinterpreted and that their office carried no administrative authority, but that they were simply used of God to convey a message to one of His servants. or to other people — but never in the capacity of preaching or exercising authority over them. Exodus 15:20-21 gives the account of Miriam the prophetess leading the women out to dance and praise God in song. But she is nowhere spoken of as having preached or having had authority of any kind over the men. And any honest Bible student knows that it would have been contrary to existing mode of conduct, and to God's command, for her to have done so. Deborah An unusual situation in Israel which in many ways parallels our own present day DEGENERACY is described in chapters 4 and 5 of the book of Judges. To properly understand this account, we need to realize that the entire book of Judges is primarily devoted to a history of Israel's mistakes because: "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6 ; 21:25 ). In Judges 4:1 we find that Ehud, Israel's present "deliverer" (Judges 3:15 ) had died, and the people began doing evil in God's sight. There seems to have been no man of real purpose and leadership to guide Israel at this time, and God sold them into the hand of the king of Canaan for their disobedience, At this point, we read: "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time" (Judges 4:4 ). Since no man had courage and leadership to master the situation and take the initiative, Deborah — being a prophetess and knowing God! will — reminded Barak, "Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded..." And she proceeded to remind him — not command him, because she had no such authority over the men — of what God had commanded should be done. Barak, being a weakling and too fearful to exercise his God-given-responsibility of leadership, told her, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go" (verse 8). Knowing full well that Barak ought to be man enough to carry out this responsibility without having to cling to the skirts of a woman, Deborah told him: "I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman" (verse 9). Deborah herself — a righteous and God-fearing woman — had no desire at all to usurp man's responsibility for leadership. And her own words betray how ashamed she must have felt of her men, who were so weak that she had to "mother" them along to get them to carry out God's will. She later sang of this national tragedy: "The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel. until that I arose a MOTHER in Israel" (Judges 5:7 ). Like Today This pitiful spectacle of men being too weak and too lazy to carry out their God-given responsibility for leadership is closely paralleled in America today — right now! And it is a growing trend in many other nations. It seems to be a part of our so-called "civilization." And it is wreaking havoc in our homes, our churches, our society. Women preachers constitute only a small part of this general problem. The big problem is that men and women have departed from the WAY of God in their lives. They have forsaken the knowledge and practice of exercising the God-constituted authority He set in the home, in the church, and in society. The divorce rate and the number of juvenile delinquents and criminals is constantly growing. And most people don't seem to know why. Asked to account for the rise in juvenile delinquency, an expert on this subject, Police Commissioner Gibbons of Philadelphia, answered: "Throughout the country there is a general disregard for CONSTITUTED AUTHORITY. I think that goes for the adults and is reflected in the thinking of the juvenile." Yes, Commissioner Gibbons and many other men and women who are constantly dealing with this problem have been forced to realize that proper understanding and respect for authority is rapidly disappearing from our society. In its wake, we find increasing violence, murder, rape, corruption! Commenting on America's problem of growing juvenile crime, a famous visiting British general said that he remembered that when he was a boy, father's word was law and disobedience was quickly rewarded by physical chastening. But now, in both countries, most fathers just don't seem to care, and the mother is either unwilling or unable to properly handle the situation. Yes, men used to feel their God-given duties as head of the house and exercise them. But now it seems they just don't care. In fact, the whole population seems to delight in ridiculing man's position as head of the house. This attitude of contempt for what GOD has ordained is prominently displayed in comic strips, movies, radio, and now television — all of which like to portray the husband as a big, helpless dumb brute who has to be "managed" by his intelligent, "modern" wife. A recent newspaper report says: "The United States is moving rapidly toward the 'woman's world' with diaper-changing husbands and independent wives." Yes, the weak, spiritless American husband is fast becoming the butt of every joke. The situation may strike some as being very funny, but it is an ABOMINATION to Almighty God! The lack of a real father and HEAD in every home is leading to more broken homes, broken young lives, and wretchedness than you have realized. It's time to wake up and get back to the WAY of God. Other Prophetesses There are a few other prophetesses mentioned specifically in the Bible, and in every case they were used as Deborah was — to impart knowledge to others as to God's will. In no case did they exercise authority. We read of Huldah the prophetess in II Chronicles 34:22-28 . Here we find that the King of Judah sent to Huldah to find out what Gods will was. But, upon learning be made the decision as to what should be done. In Luke 2:36-38 , we read of Anna, a prophetess, who was a widow 84 years old. She was a very righteous woman who "served God with fastings and prayers night and day." And so it was revealed to her that the child Jesus was the expected Messiah, and she was privileged to announce this to those who were gathered informally about Jesus and His earthly parents. The four virgin daughters of Philip the evangelist are mentioned in Acts 21:8-9 . The accounts says they "did prophesy," but we find an example of how this was often done in the following verses (10-12) describing Agabus, the prophet. Notice that Agabus did not preach to the group or have authority over them, but simply warned Paul personally, and those with him, of what God had revealed would befall him at Jerusalem. So, although the word "prophesy" means to "foretell for God," whether in the sense of a revelation of future happenings or of inspired preaching, we see that the latter function was never exercised by women prophetesses, who never held authority over the men or the congregation, but only spoke privately to convey a message from God. New Testament Teaching The New Testament teaching, example, and direct commands on this subject are very clear. In I Corinthians 11:3-16 , the Apostle Paul says (verse 3), "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the HEAD of every woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." Paul says the man "is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of man" (verse 7). Man stands in the direct image and as the visible representative of God, and so should not have his head covered as a sign that he is in subjection to any visible being — as he is in direct subjection to the invisible God. But the woman is to subject herself to the man; she was made "for the man" (verse 9). Therefore, she ought to have a sign, that she is under authority — on her head. If she acknowledges her subjection to the man by this outward sign, she will be granted special favor by the ministering and guardian angels, whose help the woman — as the weaker sex — is particularly in need of. Notice that this symbol of being in subjection — this covering or veil spoken of — is the wearing of long hair by the woman. Some interpreters have falsely assumed that this covering was a veil or scarf, but this was not the custom of Grecian women, as they assume, and Paul clearly defines the woman's covering as her long hair, which he says is a glory to her (I Cor. 11:15 ). Paul concludes this passage by saying that if anyone brings up a contrary idea, the churches of GOD recognize no such ideas of men. However, many of the churches of today have rejected these commands of God. Many unthinking modern women, kept in spiritual ignorance by their professing Christian ministers, now cut their hair short like a man — thereby dishonoring their human head, man and their spiritual head, Christ, whose command they are rejecting. It's time to realize that true Christianity means OBEDIENCE to God's commands! Paul's Inspired Commands The Apostle Paul was inspired to give directions for exercising spiritual gifts in chapters 12, 13, and 14 of First Corinthians. He concludes these instructions in I Cor. 14:34-40 by commanding: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law" (verse 34). Here is a direct command from God that women are NOT to speak in church even, in exercising the spiritual gifts of which Paul is speaking. The woman's praying or prophesying does not mean presiding over a group in these activities (I Cor. 11:5 ). Their husbands are to study God's word and to be their head, their leader, in spiritual as well as physical matters. Thus, if women wish to ask questions, "Let them ask their husbands at home: for it as a SHAME for women to speak in the church." Present circumstances are no excuse for disobeying the commands of God. Nevertheless, how many husbands are qualified to fulfill their responsibility as spiritual head of the family? The shameful answer is: far too few. But this is no reason for women usurping this authority. For in I Timothy 5:12 , God inspired Paul to write: "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." He continues (verses 13 and 14), "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." The woman is not to have authority over the man, for she was created to be his helper. And this passage and others (II Timothy 3:6 ) indicate that women do tend to be more easily deceived than men. They were not intended by God to be physical or spiritual leaders over men — and most God — fearing women realize this and would be thankful if the men would AWAKEN to their God-given duty to guide the family and instruct their wives in spiritual knowledge. But — alas! how far men have fallen short of this CHRISTIAN DUTY. God's Way Best Women preachers? Women leaders? The answer is abundantly plain if we seek God's way! This knowledge should certainly cause no "battle of the sexes," but rather bring both men and women to the sober realization of how far we have departed from the ways and commands of God. If men and women everywhere will both acknowledge the great error they have made, the great SIN they have committed in transgressing the commands of God in this matter — and will REPENT and turn from this wrong way, God will forgive and abundantly pardon. Yes, we need to restore God's system of authority in our homes, our churches, our nations. Then growing children will be properly trained for life by firm but loving parents. And wives — as many of them secretly realize — would have a new respect and love for their husbands. And with people understanding God's authority and why, our church life would become cleansed of all the mixture of paganism and human tradition with what is left of real Christianity — the kind found in God's Word. Society as a whole would be immeasurably benefited by a renewed respect for constituted authority — and the realization that authority comes down from God himself. God Holds Men Responsible Women — and women preachers have taken unto themselves much authority that is not rightfully theirs. But in most cases they have done so because men were too lazy or indifferent to carry out the responsibility as they should. And so it is a situation for which we should all repent. But you will have to realize that God at no time has used a woman as His minister in preaching or writing His word. Any woman usurping this authority was so doing in direct violation of the commands of God, and so cut herself off from God and from the Holy Spirit "whom God hath given to them that OBEY Him" (Acts 5:32 ). And any church or denomination which continues to REJECT this truth is not being used of God at all, for He says: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee" (Hosea 4:6 ). Jesus Christ said: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4 ). God's word is consistent. His will is clear. Where do you stand? A NEW Look At Revelation 3:11 By Mr. Ellery Burgess Revelation 3:7–13 is a message to the Philadelphia era (time period) of God's Church. But, verse 11 is directed to the following era, the Church of the Laodiceans. It is concerning holding fast to what was given in the Philadelphia era but it is directed to those in the Laodicean era. We are living in the Laodicean era. Whether we, individually, are a practicing Laodicean or not is determined by our conduct as well as holding faithfully to the truth once delivered. Revelation 3:11 says “Behold I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” We will focus on “that no man take thy crown”. We will look at that phrase in a way that you may not have considered before. The message to the Laodiceans starts with “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot” (Rev. 3:15). The reason that they are neither cold or hot is because Laodiceans do not understand what Christ's work is in this age. They are either trying to re-do the work of the Philadelphia era or just taking care of the people in their own groups, calling it “preparing the bride”. It is not wrong to preach the good news of the coming Kingdom of God or to take care of those in your charge, so it is not cold. But it is not hot because it is not the main thrust of the work that Christ is doing in the Laodicean era. The work that Christ is doing today is: “knocking on the door (heart)” of every person who has the spirit of God residing in them, and Christ is measuring those who open and let Him in” (Rev. 3:20 and Rev. 11:1), preparing the temple for His second coming. That is the work of God today. HOW CHRIST IS DOING HIS WORK TODAY. But how is Christ doing that work today? Exactly the same way that He has always done it! By using the government structure that He has always used. Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever”. Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed “. Now, turn back to Hebrews 13, verse 7 “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their (conduct)”. Verse 9: “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with (foods), which have not profited them that have been occupied therein”. How did God work in the past? How did He work in the time of the Philadelphia era, which I often refer to as our living history? The Bible tells us exactly how God works... “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph 2:20-22), read also Ephesians 4:1 – 6, 10-12. That is how He worked in times past, that is how He worked in the 20th Century, and that is how He is working today and forever. God never changes, Christ never changes, “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal 3:6). But, people sure do! Now, in this Laodicean age, people look at it differently. Herbert W. Armstrong died and the ministry, as a whole, sold out the truth. From evangelists, down through every rank of the ministry, all the way to church elders, turned from the faith once delivered to them, to fables and lying doctrines. Most of the ministry became all out apostates from the truth. So the Laodicean attitude set in. Laodicea means the people judge, rule, and decide. People caught up in this mind set just decided, well okay, we will become our own teachers. Lay members started their own churches, deacons started their own churches and became “preaching deacons.” Church elders started their own churches and declared themselves pastors. Notice what Mr. Armstrong wrote in a Brethren Letter February 25, 1974... “There are no apostles nor evangelists in the local churches. ALL ministers, from Apostle on down, are called Elders in the Bible. It is evident that the Apostle Paul ordained some elders who were preachers, in charge of one or more churches. Also, that some who were not preachers were ordained elders, who were teachers but not preachers in the sense of inspired or pulpit preaching. Sometimes these were in a small local church where there was no preaching elder, but who presided at meetings, and sometimes they were under a preaching elder. Although the terms "preaching elder" and "local elder" are not specifically used in this manner, there is sufficient biblical example that the Church in our day has used those titles for rank of office.” Mr. Armstrong also wrote in the same letter, about a liberal element that was creeping into the Church of God in 1974... “Those now advocating this Scriptural HERESY want to abolish all authority which Christ as our Head SET in His Church. Their contentions would lead to VOTING -- the "democratic way" – the very OPPOSITE of God's Way. They want to be "LIBERAL," and soon this liberality would lead into general and widespread SIN. They would become just a few more churches OF THIS WORLD – Satan's." These liberal ministers went underground, waiting for the apostle to die, as soon as he did in January 1986, they came out of their hiding and began to institute their evil agendas, and trap an unsuspecting flock. Their rebellion against God's government, is very evident in the United Church of God an International Association as well as COGWA and a few others. The lowest rank of the ministry that Jesus Christ established to pastor a Church is that of preaching elder. Those holding the rank of church elder are not authorized by scripture to be pastors. I am ordained to the office of church elder. If something happened so that Mr. Venish was no longer here, I could not and would not attempt to pastor this Church. Because I have no authority to pastor. So here, near the end of this Laodicean era, Jesus Christ is doing His work, the work described in the message to this era. He is knocking on the hearts door of each and every one of His people and if any will open, He will come in and begin the final preparing, the measuring if you will, of each one for entrance into His soon coming kingdom. That is the work that Jesus Christ is doing now! The work of knocking and measuring is the work of God in this final era. Back to Rev. 3:11...“hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”, I know that means to hold fast to doctrinal truth. But it also means to hold fast to following Christ as He does His work of knocking and preparing. To really follow Christ, we must be taking part in what He is doing, part of His work. The phrase in Rev. 3:11 “that no man take thy crown” does have a meaning that most have not considered. Look at it like this: If we have a leader who is not teaching false doctrine, who is upholding the faith once delivered, who is doing the work of knocking and preparing, but we don't like something about him personally. We may consider that he did something that we consider “rude”, because I have heard that said. Maybe we just don't care for his personality. If that ever is the case, will we just turn and walk away from the very work that Jesus Christ is doing in this Church ? If we do that, then I say plainly that we have let a man take our crown. There have been some who have left this little group knowing that here is where the truth is being taught. Knowing that the only true work of Christ is being done here, and to my knowledge, the only place where it is being done, but they still left because they did not like an administrative decision. That is putting a man's actions before the work of God and that is letting a man take away your crown. “Behold I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Rev. 3:11) The final thing that Christ said to His people in the message to the Laodiceans was “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3:22). God's Ultimate Purpose - WHAT is IT? By Mike Downing Just what is the overall work of Almighty God? This work of God has not changed. God is reproducing Himself through mankind. He is developing His holy, righteous character in each individual that has surrendered to Him. Jesus said, none can come to the Father, unless the Father draw them (John 6:44, 65). We are called by the Father for a supreme purpose. We have to keep this over-arching purpose firm in our minds, this is the reason why you were created. Notice Genesis 1: 26-27 “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His Own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” This is God’s overall, primary work. All the smaller secondary works, the great commission, Matthew 24:14, the knock of Christ and measuring, the work of the two witnesses, are all for the purpose of accomplishing God’s supreme feat: Reproducing Himself. God’s ultimate goal is that all mankind receives eternal life in His Kingdom. PREACHING THE GOSPEL The church's commission of preaching the gospel is the means by which the Father calls and draws us, as Mark 16:15-16 states “And He said to them, Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” As God calls the individual, He starts to create righteous character within him. The church is the instrument God uses to help develop that character (Eph. 4: 11-16). Through the ministry we are taught Gods ways and laws. The ministry's duty is to teach and serve the flock of God. We also learn from the example of our brethren, as well as encouragement. We are called now, in this church age, to be a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2: 9). We are to change our lives now, so that we in turn, can teach others when God opens salvation to them. Ask yourself if you are qualifying to do this? All those called today are accountable to God, we all have to improve spiritually and grow in Godly character and divine nature. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”(2 Tim. 2:15). We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We have to constantly be overcoming sin and our weaknesses. It is only by repentance and faith, that we turn our lives over to God, which He will mold and shape to be like Him, if we allow Him to do it. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). GET RID OF SIN Everyday we should be striving to rid ourselves of sin. And what is sin? As 1 John 3:4 states, sin is the transgression of the law, when put together with Romans 7:7 it is very clear that sin is breaking the Ten Commandments. We must put on righteousness, “...and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). To put away our human nature, which is the old man (Rom. 6:6, Eph. 4:22, Col. 3:9) and put on the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We should be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). But just what does this verse mean? I quote now from Herbert W. Armstrong in his booklet, "What is a real Christian"? “Being a real Christian involves developing the mind and attitude of Christ, thinking the way He did every moment of every day. Christ has revealed principles that bear on every facet of life. We are even to let our innermost thoughts be ruled by the Lord Jesus”. We have to continually get our noses into the Bible to enable us to become authorities in the word of God, so we in turn can help, serve and teach others in the future. Salvation is between you and God alone, we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). We have to get ourselves right with The Father before we can help others. We all need to look in the spiritual mirror at ourselves and repent accordingly, as 2 Cor. 13:5 instructs us to examine and test ourselves. Each individual has his own part to play in this character development. We have to choose God’s way, to allow Him to mold and shape us into His very nature. We do this by our willingness to obey Him. This is how we will be prepared and ready when Christ returns. God gives strong warnings to His end time church of the dominant attitudes that we, each individual need to be aware of (Rev. 3:16-17, 19; Luke 21:34: Matt. 25:5). MATTHEW 24:14 During the Philadelphia era of God’s church under Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, God raised up a mighty work to fulfill the prophesy of Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come.” God opened doors and supplied means (money, helpers, ect) for Matthew 24:14 to be fulfilled. As it was being fulfilled, the church was also making disciples of all nations, many were called during this time. But the majority that heard the message did not grasp it, “it was as a witness unto them.” God is not at this time calling all mankind to salvation. Mr. Armstrong had clearly seen that God did open doors for him and the church to fulfill Matthew 24:14. That door is now closed (Rev. 3:7). This fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 was a sign to the church that Christ’s return is very near and that the church needs to get prepared. The church continues to proclaim the gospel for all those God is calling. This is being done primarily today through the internet. There are numerous books, booklets, sermons and World Tomorrow broadcasts by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong explaining very plain the gospel of the kingdom of God and how we can be a part of it. The ministry also does this from the pulpit and each individual also does this by being examples and by our conduct. Also during the Philadelphia era of the church, God restored vital truths to His church to prepare them for the return of Jesus Christ (Matt. 17:11, Mal. 3:1-3, 5-6). The prophesied apostasy which occurred after Mr. Armstrong’s death caused great division and confusion among God’s church. We as Christians need to return to and hold fast to the unadulterated truths and standards that were restored in the 20th century. THE KNOCK OF CHRIST Christ is now knocking (Rev. 3:20) on the hearts of each person who has His Spirit. He is saying to His church “Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me”. He wants us to repent of the lukewarm attitude and become zealous for the faith once delivered (Jude 3). God is now sending out a midnight cry to His church (Matt. 25:6). He gives each of us counsel to help us which we can take now, or later during the time of Great Tribulation, the choice is ours (Rev 3:18). We have to make the decision now to allow Christ to work in us. We must strive with all our hearts and minds to fulfill God’s purpose for us, in creating His Holy, Righteous character within us. As we respond to Christ by opening the door, we also need to show real Christian love to one another and have "the love of God shed abroad in our hearts” (Rom 5:5). By applying what has been written in this article the bride will have made herself ready (Rev. 19:7). The church of God is a spiritual organism. It consists of all those who have God’s Holy Spirit who are scattered all over the world, regardless of which group they attend. There is only one true church, it is those with God’s Spirit living and working in them, they are the church. God is measuring each individual. Jesus Christ is the one performing the knock to the church in this end time. He convicts the mind of our need of repentance and where we need to overcome. Christ is at this time using a small group as a tool to deliver this knock and the midnight cry to His scattered church. To encourage them to repent, be zealous and to be watchful, to return to the truths that were restored. To hold up a measuring rod so that each Christian measures themselves to Jesus Christ and the truths and standards of Almighty God. We all in the Body of Christ are to model ourselves after Christ, He is our example, we are to copy Him, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (I Peter 2:21). This is what we have to be focused on. We have to allow Christ to chip away at us, enabling us to be fitted into the Spiritual temple He is returning to. We, in this Vigilant Church of God, are a group of individuals within the scattered, divided church who have come to see our need of repentance and of returning to the faith once delivered. We have a common goal, to prepare ourselves and help others prepare themselves for Christ’s return and entrance into the Kingdom of God. We are here to lead by example and by our willingness to obey and serve God. Hopefully this article helps each one of us to realize our purpose. That we “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:23) with all our being. Let us strive to fulfill God’s great purpose in us. To be born into the very family of God as children of Almighty God. In conclusion I quote from God’s word (Eccl. 12:13), “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man”. MAN'S INSOLUBLE PROBLEMS by Herbert W. Armstrong There seems to be no solution in sight today to the frightening world troubles with nuclear World War III threatening to blast all human life off this planet. But there is a solution and it's already underway, but the world doesn't seem to know it, or to understand it. Now the United States and the Soviet Union are not going to get together and solve it; the United Nations isn't solving anything; modern science is not going to solve it. They've only built the weapons of mass destruction that can erase all human life from the face of this earth, can destroy all human life. Now there are some religious broadcasters who seem to think that just accepting Jesus Christ, just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's going to solve all of our problems. But I want you to notice what Jesus Christ Himself said and it's in Mark the seventh chapter beginning with verse seven, He said: "Howbeit in vain do they worship me [not only accepting Him, not only believing on Him, but worshipping Him], teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Mark 7:7 ) If they don't live the way He said to live, and if they teach a different way of living, if they just teach about Christ. Unless you turn from the way you've been living it isn't going to help. And then He said: "For [leaving] aside the commandment of God..." (Mark 7:8 ) And they say that the commandments of God are done away, that Christ came and did away with His Father's commandments. But Jesus said He had kept His Father's commandments. He said; "Think not that I am come to destroy the law..." (Matthew 5:17 ), and yet they say He did. "For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men [the things that men say, but not the law of God, which they say is done away]... And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may [hold to] your...tradition." (Mark 7:8-9 ) So, we have what we call, 'traditional Christianity.' And I want to tell you, that while it is necessary to believe on Jesus Christ, and He is the solution; but just believing on Christ, just accepting Christ alone isn't going to do it. It's going to mean that you have to change your life, and that's what He said, and that's what He came to teach. That's what He came to have us understand. Now in Matthew seven and verse 21 He said: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord [then accepts Christ, that believes on Christ; not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, that just professes Christ, just says; 'I accept and I receive Christ'], shall enter into the kingdom of [God]; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21 ) He that does; "...not [just] the hearers of the law...[shall be just, as we read in Romans again], but the doers of the law shall be [saved]." (Romans 2:13 ) The Cause of Troubles and the Cause of Peace The troubles in the world have come from the way we have been living. We have been living the wrong way and that has brought all of our troubles on us; there has to be a cause for every effect. And if the world is in trouble today, if the world is unhappy today, if people are discontented all over the world, if half of the world is poverty stricken, living in filth and squalor, if half of the world is illiterate and can't even read or write, and that is true; then there is a cause. And it is the way people have been living, and it is because they have ignored the way of God. Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel; and there is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as I've read so many times on this program, in Mark the first chapter beginning with the first verse. And He... "came into Galilee, preaching the gospel [what Gospel? the Gospel] of the kingdom of God [that's the Government of God, to govern the way we live, to govern our lives], And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand..." (Mark 1:14-15 ) The time was fulfilled, because He had just conquered Satan who has been ruling the world. And the Kingdom of God was at hand, because He had come to build the Church which was simply the Kingdom of God in embryo. But not the literal Kingdom of God as yet; just the beginning of it. So, then He said: "...repent ye, [repent] and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15 ) Believe this Government of God, and the Way of life of God. It is all a matter of the way we have been living. So, the cause is the way we've lived, the cause is what we have done. We've been transgressing God's Way of life. And yet the Bible shows that we are going to have peace. Let me give you now the good news, it's in Isaiah in the second chapter, and it's also quoted in Micah, one of the prophets, just word for word. This is the second chapter of Isaiah beginning with verse two: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains..." (Isaiah 2:2 ) Here 'mountains' is simply a symbol for nations. In other words; the Kingdom of God, God's nation, the Kingdom of God. That's what Jesus Christ came to preach, that's what He came to teach us, about the Kingdom of God. A kingdom of people which are ruled by God, and God's Way of life. And you don't hear that kind of preaching today, except on this program, if I may say so. And that nation will be: "...established on the top of the mountains [or the nations, mountains is used here as a symbol], and shall be exalted above the hills [that's the smaller nations]; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain [or the Kingdom] of the Lord [and], to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways [the way we live, of God's ways of living according to the law of God], and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-3 ) And you read in Isaiah, the eleventh chapter, that the earth will be as full of the Word of God and the Way of God, the Way of living of God, as the ocean beds are full of water. That's how it will be in the time just ahead of us when we're going to have world peace. Now listen to this: "...for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among [many] nations [that's when the Kingdom of God is set up on earth], and shall rebuke many [nations]: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:3-4 ) We're going to have world peace! And the time is now near; because this is the generation in which Jesus Christ is coming to rule. Now Christ is the solution yes, but He's coming as a Ruler and as Government. But Jesus Christ came to start it, and it started on the way by His Church. Now Jesus came into a world ruled as the world is going today; man going his own way, and going the wrong way and the way that is causing all of the troubles; everything that we're seeing today. Christ's Church But, when Jesus came He said; "...I will build my church..." (Matthew 16:18 ). He said He would build His Church. But He didn't build the Church with calling hundreds of thousands and millions of people immediately. Jesus came into a world such as we are living in now only it had not grown as big as it is now, there weren't as many people. The evils weren't as great as the evils are today, evils have multiplied, people have multiplied. It is just bigger in every way, but it is just that much more evil than it was then. The word 'church' means; 'called out ones', the word 'church' means 'called out ones'. And so, you will read in Matthew four and beginning with verse 18. {1} Jesus didn't call thousands of people all at once but you will read how Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. I've walked by the shores of this same sea many a time - it has to be the same spot, there's only one spot where this could be. And He "...saw two brethren [brothers], Simon [who was] called Peter..." (Matthew 4:18 ) That is, he was surnamed Peter, and 'surname' is a title. It's the title of leader, he was the leader of the apostles. To be an apostle but he wasn't an apostle at the beginning; he was a student or a learner. Or, as the Bible calls it a disciple, which means a student, or one who is learning. So anyway Simon was surnamed Peter: "...and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers." (Matthew 4:18 ) They were fishermen. Now, they didn't want to be preachers, they didn't want to be apostles; they wanted to be fishermen. And Jesus was not asking now for volunteers, He was calling. And so, He said, He called out to them and He said: "...Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from [there], he saw other two brethren [two other brothers], James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, [and they were fishing there with their father in another boat]. And they immediately left their ships and their father, and [they] followed him. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in [the] synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom..." (Matthew 4:19-23 ) And you'll read in many other places how they were astonished at His teaching, at His doctrine, at the things He said; because He was teaching that they ought to live a different way. They were living the way that was causing all of the troubles in the world. And, He was calling them out of the world. The Church is merely the 'called out ones'. Now Jesus didn't begin by calling everybody, and asking for volunteers and saying; "If you just accept me you'll go to heaven." But He called disciples, and He began to teach them a better way of living. He began to teach them about the Kingdom of God, the Government of God, and the way of life of God, God's way of life. And God's way of life is the way Jesus Christ lived when He was on earth. It's the way He and God the Father have lived for all eternity because they have lived forever. There never is a time when they began living, they have always lived. Now let me explain something about the Church that you probably haven't heard before. He didn't just call for everybody to come to salvation; He called certain men, twelve men to be students, only twelve; and He began to teach those twelve. And after He had taught them for three and a half years, then He gave them the great commission, and I'm going to read that in just a moment. But Jesus was building the Church, and He was calling the Church out of this world, out of this way of living to God's way of life, as the beginning, and of the foundation of a different and a new world. The Result of Adam's Sin Now, to understand the world that Jesus came into - what's wrong with the world, why we're having all the troubles we're having in the world. And we still are, because it's still the same world, only as I said a moment ago it is greater. The evils are greater, the troubles are greater, the population is greater. There's just more of everything today. It all began with the incident of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Now in the Garden of Eden God had showed Adam and Eve the way of life, His Way of Life. Eve had strayed away just a little bit, and she came across a serpent, a snake. But Satan was in that snake, and Satan is the great former archangel, that is now Satan the Devil, who rebelled against God. Who was filled with vanity, who was filled with an idea of destruction, instead of construction and building. Who was filled with the way of rebellion against God, and God's way of living; against peace, against everything good, against happiness. And he misled her, he said: "'Has God said that you could eat of all of the trees of the garden?' And she said; 'Well, He said we could eat of all of the trees, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, He said; if we eat it we will surely die' [well then, here came the first lie; he said]. 'You won't surely die, you're an immortal soul, you're going to live forever.'" (Genesis 3:1-4 paraphrased) And do you know that people have been believing — and even traditional Christianity believes that lie today? That you are an immortal soul; you won't surely die, you are going to live forever. Well I nail that lie right here and now, in the name and by the Authority of Jesus Christ. Satan is a liar and he is the father of it. And that was the first lie told. Not by human man but by Satan himself. But Eve fell for it, and she swallowed it hook line and sinker. And she took of the forbidden fruit, and disobeyed God, and gave to her husband. She started the first ERA movement; and she took her husband by the nose and led him, when he was supposed to lead her in love, and in happiness, and in God's way. But he followed his wife and he disobeyed God; and that started another world led by Satan. They rejected God, and they rejected eternal life which God had offered them in the Tree of Life. And God would have given them eternal life by and through His Holy Spirit. His life had to be injected into them, begotten into them; because humans have been made from the dust of the ground. God formed man after His own image, after His likeness, after the God kind. God is reproducing Himself, and He made man to become like God. But He made man of the dust of the ground; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became - the dust of the ground - became a soul. The dust of the ground became a soul, matter, not spirit. But man disobeyed God, and Adam, the first man, could have taken of the Tree of Life. In other words, of the Holy Spirit of God, and that would have impregnated him with the life of God, and also with a mind like God, and with God's way of living. With an attitude like God, an attitude of love, of giving instead of getting, of obedience to God and God's way; which leads to peace, and happiness, and life, and good will, and joy, and everything that is pleasant and good, and wholesome and right. But he went the wrong way, and that began a human civilization. There'd never been such a civilization on the earth - it was the first man, the first human, but that began this world. It was the foundation of the world at that time. And at that time, you will read in Revelation 13:8 that Christ, there called :"...the Lamb [of God, was] slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8 ) In other words; it was determined that time would come when Christ would be the second Adam. That Jesus Christ would come as a sin bearer, and He would live a perfect life setting us an example that we should live as He did; following His Father's commandments, keeping the commandments of God, God's Way of life. A way that brings peace, that produces peace, and telling us to follow His example, and live that Way. And He would live in a perfect way, He would never commit a sin; therefore He would never bring a death penalty on Himself. But then He would give His life for you and me, and: "...God [Himself] so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son [Jesus Christ], that [we] should not perish..." (John 3:16 ) You are not immortal, you would perish otherwise, except for Christ paying a penalty in your stead. And Jesus gave Himself to pay the penalty of sin that we do not have to die, but that we may yet have the Tree of Life opened to us. And receive the Holy Spirit, which Adam could have received and didn't, and made it available. But at that time God closed up the Tree of Life, and you read of that in Genesis three, verses 22-24, the last three verses of the third chapter of Genesis. Now also at that time, as you read in Hebrews 9:27 , it was appointed that man should die because of Adam's sin, that human beings, man, should: "...once...die, but after [that] the judgment:" (Hebrews 9:27 ) Then in I Corinthians 15:22 you read, I Corinthians 15:22 , 23 , 24 , if you read right on from that point: "...as in Adam all die..." (I Corinthians 15:22 ) And all do die, and all have been dying ever since Adam up to now. After seventy, eighty, some even a little over a hundred years. I'm not too far from it now myself but God has still given me the strength to talk to you, and give you His Truth. After this the judgment, and: "...as in Adam all die...so in Christ shall all be made alive." (I Corinthians 15:22 ) Everyone who ever died is going to be brought back to life by a resurrection. God's Plan for the Future Now then, God had closed up the Tree of Life. It was not even open to ancient Israel, they had no salvation, no eternal life was ever offered to ancient Israel. But in Joel, one of the prophets, Joel 2 and verse 28 you read that the day will come, the time will come when God will again: "...pour out [His] spirit upon all flesh..." (Joel 2:28 ) Now, that time had not come yet, but it was just beginning in the time of Christ. He taught His disciples and after He had taught them for three and a half years you read in Matthew 28 and the last three verses beginning with verse 18: "...Jesus came and spake unto them [and this was after His resurrection, and], saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach..." (Matthew 28:18-19 ) Now remember He had taught them, He was a teacher and He had taught them as students. Now they had graduated from that college, so to speak, and now they were going to be apostles. That was their degree, their college degree, so to speak. Now He said: "You go, and teach [they now were to become teachers] all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them [they were to go and teach others, teaching them] to observe [what?] all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." (Matthew 28:19-20 paraphrased) That He had taught them! He taught them God's Way of life, and now He told them to go out and teach others God's Way of life. It's a lot more, my friends, than just believing on Christ and accepting Christ. That's the beginning. First you believe, or first of all you repent, and then you believe, and then you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now they started out on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came, and on that day the apostle Peter preached a marvelous sermon. And the people that were there, there were a few thousand people there, and they were pricked in their heart, and they said; Well: "...Men and brethren, what shall we do [now]? Then Peter said; Repent..." (Acts 2:37-38 ) That is, change your mind, admit how wrong you are. Admit the way you've been living, you've been living the wrong way. Repent; and it means turn around and go the other way, and start living a different way, and believe on Jesus Christ: "...and [you] shall receive the...Holy Spirit " (Acts 2:38 ) he said. Now when you receive the Holy Spirit you are not yet born of God, that is only the impregnation, you become a child of God, yes; but you are a begotten child. You are an heir, not yet a possessor of the Kingdom of God. So, then after that what does one do? They were starting the Church, the Church started with Christ, and it started then with Him teaching twelve. And then those twelve went out and they taught thousands. There were three thousand that were converted and baptized in water on that day, and they received the Holy Spirit on that day of Pentecost. About a day or so later there were two thousand or more and the Church began to grow. And the Church then become students. That is, they become disciples and the Church is founded on; "...the apostles and the prophets [the prophets of the Old Testament],...Christ...being the chief corner stone;" (Ephesians 2:20 ). And the Church itself will grow, and in the time of the Kingdom of God, when Christ comes very soon and Satan will be put away, the Church is going to teach the rest of the world how to live. And the earth will be as full of the knowledge of God and the Way of Life of God, as the ocean beds are filled with water, as I said awhile ago. And then at last we're going to have peace, and I read that prophecy just awhile ago. The Church is the Kingdom of God in embryo, but only in embryo; and when you were an embryo on your mother's womb you weren't born yet my friends; and we need to learn that lesson. Very few people understand the Church, and what it is, and why it is, how it was started, how it grows, the True Church of God. Oh, I wish people could just understand the real truth, if God would open our minds to see it. And certainly we can see the troubles all about us; certainly we can see the result of the way people have been living. And God's Way is a way that makes sense, it's a sensible way, and it makes sense, and it's the only way that does. And we're going to have to live the way that brings happiness, and peace, and joy. And then there will be great production and there will be everything good and that is the real Good News that Jesus came to bring, and the Gospel means Good News. Related Reading I can't give you but a little of it on this program. I have a booklet here that'll tell you a whole lot that I couldn't explain today: 'Never Before Understood - Why Humanity Cannot Solve Its Evils .' Why they're not solving them. This will open your eyes, this will tell you all about that incident of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and what has happened ever since. Leading up to the time of the beginning of the Church, and you need it. JUST CLICK ON THE LINK TO ACCESS THE BOOKLET WHO SHOULD GOD'S MINISTERS BE? If the Bible truth were known, thousands would never have "chosen" the ministry as their profession! Should you teach, preach, or "witness" for the Lord? How does God call His true ministers? "I'VE BEEN called to preach!" said the eager young man to the elder pastor. "HOW do you know you've been called to preach?" asked the dignified old gentleman. "Well sir, I saw a vision in the sky," began the hopeful youngster, "and it seemed the initials 'P C' appeared to me. I saw them with my own eyes!" "And what do you believe the vision meant?" asked his elder. "PREACH CHRIST! " was the enthusiastic answer. At this the old gentleman sadly shook his head. "No, my son — I'm afraid you've misinterpreted your vision." "Huh?" came the quizzical reply. "Yes — you see," he said gently, "the real meaning of the vision was that you should PLOUGH CORN"! "A 'Calling' to Preach" This story serves to illustrate the manner in which perhaps many sincere people decide upon the ministry as their life's work. Undoubtedly, a number of the students in the theological seminaries of this world feel they have been given a special "calling" of God to preach. Still, many others will readily admit they simply chose the ministry according to their aptitudes, much the same way a man might choose aeronautical engineering, civil service work, or farming. Perhaps some of YOU, reading this article, feel you have been given a "calling" to preach. But just what IS a CALL from God? Surely, should YOU be one who is presently teaching a Bible class, holding a study group, or in any way "witnessing" for Christ — you should want to know EXACTLY WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT IT, shouldn't you? God DOES CALL His Ministers! It is GOD, not man, who chooses and calls His servants. Jesus said, "I will build MY Church" (Matt. 16:18 ). Christ DID build that Church, and is its LIVING HEAD TODAY! Jesus intended certain GOD-GIVEN offices be established in His true Church for the CARRYING OF THE GOSPEL — which was the vitally important mission of that Church (Matt. 28:19-20 ). Notice how the apostle Paul describes the basic foundation of the organizational pattern of these offices: "Now therefore ye (Gentiles) are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone" (Eph. 2:19-20 ). Christ is the Head of the Church He built (Eph. 1:22 , 5:23 ), and therefore it is CHRIST who chooses His ministers and officers. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you..." said Jesus to His disciples (John 15:16 ). "But now hath GOD set the members every one of them in the body (of Christ — the Church) as it hath pleased HIM!" (I Cor. 12:18 ). False Ministers Prophesied Just as the early beginning of the true Church of God was fraught with many dangers from ravening men — men who would KILL because of religious hatred and bigotry — so IS OUR AGE! When Jesus told His disciples of the times just before His return to the earth, He warned, "Take heed that no man deceive you" (Matt. 24:4 ). In His warning about deceptions, Jesus talked of false ministers who would be masquerading as true ministers of the Gospel, who would "show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matt. 24:24 ). This warning is about OUR TIMES — NOW! And to WHOM was the warning given? To the people of God! The students, learners — disciples of Christ! Take warning now! There is a very grave danger that YOU, as a "babe in Christ" could LOSE your salvation by failing to understand and heed these warnings about false ministers. These false teachers who are working right now — as you read this article — will always despise the AUTHORITY of God's TRUE MINISTERS. They will PRESUME to 'themselves a position as leader and teacher of other people. Perhaps even in all sincerity, it simply begins as a Bible study group after a broadcast — but a certain dominant personality will always arise — and oftentimes today it is a woman — and begin to teach, explain and expound to the others — WHEN THERE HAS BEEN NO CALLING FROM GOD TO DO SO! In the early Church, there arose false ministers and lay members, who began to set themselves up (note this well) as "teachers" and "leaders" of the people. The whole theme of the New Testament, from the very inception of God's true Church to the end of the book of Revelation is one of APOSTASY, one Of God's true apostles and ministers constantly struggling against FALSE DOCTRINES creeping in, and against counterfeit ministers who were trying to lead off people after themselves. Notice, the council at Jerusalem was held for this very reason! "And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, 'Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved'" (Acts 15:1 ). Notice further that these men wanted to ARGUE about the small, physical question of circumcision. "When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question" (Acts 15:2 ), God's government went into effect, and, after hearing all the facts, and certain recommendations from other leading apostles, James, the chief apostle at Jerusalem (vs. 19) rendered a binding decision, which the others delivered to the churches as an authoritative DECREE! (Acts 16:4 ). Paul's Experience with False Ministers In Paul's letters of correction and exhortation to the early Church, he was often forced to show them, by the manner of his calling and training, the real authenticity of his office. Notice how many of his letters begin with statements of divinely ordained authority. (See Rom. 1:1-5 ; I Cor. 1:1 ; II Cor. 1:1 ; Gal. 1:24 , etc.) Almost immediately after the beginning of God's true Church, certain men arose who began to lead away followings after themselves. Perhaps they were sincere at first — wishing only to share with others their new-found truth. Perhaps they, like many today, only wanted to "witness" to others. But, they HAD NOT BEEN CALLED OF GOD! They let human nature, with its VANITY and LUST FOR POWER creep in. The apostle Paul was constantly being criticized by unthinking, carnal-minded people who did not really fear God's government as they should have. The Corinthians were accusing him of being covetous of what they supposed was their money (which was not theirs, but Gods). The whole underlying theme of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians was concerned with this problem. "Mine answer to them" he had said in the first letter, "that do examine me is this, Have we not power (authority) to eat and to drink?" (I Cor. 9:3-4 ). He then proved the ministry should be supported from God's tithes. The entire first chapter of Galatians is Paul's affirmation of the DIVINE AUTHORITY with which he spoke and wrote. The important thing to realize is that this defense was necessary only because of the false teachers and "leaders" who were teaching the people — leading them in humanly devised "ideas" and traditions — trying to bring discredit upon God's true ministers. It is part of your nature to want to be important, well thought of, and approved by other people! It has been said the busier a man becomes, and the more he accomplishes, the more criticism he will receive. God's word certainly affirms that statement! Jesus Christ was the busiest, and, at the same time, the most criticized man who ever lived. Paul's Warning In some cases even the true ministers of God grew luke-warm, and dropped out of the Church. "For I know this," Paul said to the Ephesian elders "that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of YOUR OWN SELVES shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples [students, learners] after them" (Acts 20:29-30 ). Paul told the young evangelist, Timothy, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times [now] some shall depart from the faith doctrine, body of beliefs, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons" (I Tim. 4:1 ). After describing the very conditions which will be extant during this time in which YOU LIVE — Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, warned, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived (II Tim. 3:13 ). Remember, these letters to Timothy were concerned primarily with Church Government. Never forget even false ministers APPEAR, as the ministers of Christ. "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for 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, whose end shall be according to their works" (II Cor. 11:13-15 ). Peter's Warning! Peter was not unaware of the undercurrent toward apostasy that was beginning then. He wrote, "But there were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction" (II Peter 2:1 ). Paul had said the "falling away" from true doctrine was a mystery of iniquity, or LAWLESSNESS, that was beginning in his time! (II Thess. 2:7 ). The entire second chapter of Peter's second letter is a grave warning against false teachers. Notice, however, that there is always ONE THING THESE TEACHERS HAVE IN COMMON. Even Korah, and the ones he led with him in his rebellion against the authority of Moses, showed the same traits (See Num. 16:1-3 ). "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh," who are concerned about the PHYSICAL SENSES, and the fleshly, carnal sensations, the vanity they might have in leading others — becoming their teacher — the popularity, or the money and the security they covet — "in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government" [AUTHORITY, RSV] (II Pet. 2:10 ). Do you see? "Presumptuous are they," continues Peter (II Pet. 2:10 ). Yes, they are always presuming to be a self-appointed leader over others, "self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities... but these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand HOT; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption..." (II Pet. 2:10-12 ). Surprising though it may sound — some individuals are not afraid to deliberately misrepresent, and to CLAIM they represent The World Tomorrow program, or The Plain Truth magazine. There have been cases of some deliberately lying, simply because they know the scope and power of this work of God — and wish to begin to SET THEMSELVES UP as TEACHERS when there has been no calling of God! God prophesied His true sheep would be SCATTERED, and FEW, the "salt of the earth" — not the great, organized, politically powerful machines of the world. It is because of this that many begin to yearn for physical fellowship with other human beings of like belief. This is natural. It is good. But, it is also something to be WARNED ABOUT FIRST! "BEWARE OF MEN!" said Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:17 ). And remember our first fellowship is with Christ! (I John 1:3 ). Those who begin to teach others apparently do not even faintly begin to realize the GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY of such an action. A Dangerous Position It is because the true ministers of God must labor in TEACHING OTHERS the WAY TO SALVATION — telling them of the things pertaining to ETERNAL LIFE, that God lays such a heavy responsibility on them. Notice Peter's exhortation: "The Elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder... feed the flock of God which is among you... neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock" (I Pet. 5:1-3 ). To cause another human being to LOSE SALVATION is the most dastardly act a person can commit! Notice what Jesus said of such an act: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences (causing another to stumble — to go back into sin!) for it must needs be that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" (Matt. 18:6-7 ). A minister can be responsible for converting people — for convicting them of sin and bringing them to Christ in real DOWN TO EARTH REPENTANCE! Or, he can, by teaching false ideas — by setting himself up as a leader when God has not called him — send people straight into the lake of fire — Gehenna fire! But it is not only those who deliberately masquerade as the ministers of God, but ANYONE, be he false minister, professing teacher, deliberate liar, or INNOCENT LAY MEMBER simply trying to "do good" to others, but who teaches doctrines which LEAD THAT PERSON ASTRAY — who comes under the condemnation of the word of God — which says WOE unto that man! (Luke 17:1-2 ). How God Calls His Servants It is GOD who chooses and calls His servants (Eph. 4:11 ; I Cor. 12:38 ). The WAY He calls them needs to be definitely understood! Notice, Jesus said to His disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you..." (John 15:16 ). When He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He said to Peter and Andrew, "FOLLOW ME, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19 ). Notice, NOT ONE of Jesus' disciples whom He called and ORDAINED to the ministry CHOSE THEMSELVES! I want you to think very carefully about this next statement! It constitutes a great principle of God's word — and a vitally important KEY to be used in God's true ministry! THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE — ANYWHERE IN THE BIBLE, WHERE A CALLED AND CHOSEN SERVANT OF GOD CAME forward and VOLUNTEERED for THE OFFICE! Moses argued that he was unfit for the job, Jeremiah said he was too young, Jonah ran away, Samuel was directly called of God, David knew nothing until Samuel announced it to him. All of the prophets say, "The Word of the Lord CAME unto..." them, not that they volunteered for the office! Jesus called and appointed His true disciples. Paul was struck down by a miracle. Paul "took" Timothy unto him, and so it is throughout the history of God's Church. My father fought vigorously against the truth of God before He was finally called. God Works Through Human Instruments But Jesus said, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them! (Matt. 7:20 ). The Scriptural QUALIFICATIONS imposed upon any person whom God is calling to the ministry are so absolutely RIGID. One great principle that seems so difficult for some few to understand is that the Creator who gives us every breath of air we breathe accomplishes His plan here below — yes, and even governs His Church — THROUGH HUMAN BEINGS — HIS INSTRUMENTS! God is now sending the Gospel of His soon-coming Government into many parts of this darkened world. But He is not yet shouting with His own booming, earth-shaking voice — He is sending the Gospel over the airwaves by the voice of HIS HUMAN INSTRUMENT, Mr. Armstrong! He is seeing to it that YOU are receiving this magazine, to feed and nourish you in His truth, to warn you of impending dangers, to try to HELP each hungry "babe in Christ" gain an entrance into His glorious Kingdom. But the magazine is written, edited, typed, printed, and mailed by human instruments. It is the same in calling His ministry! Many have assumed the apostle Paul was the exception to the rule that ministers were always ordained through HUMAN INSTRUMENTS, by the laying on of the hands of the ministry! That assumption is false! Paul's Ordination Read the account of Paul's ORDINATION by human instruments with your own eyes! Turn to Acts, the 13th chapter. Here, you see the gathering of the elders at Antioch, and the ordination of Paul. Paul had been struck down on the road to Damascus, blinded, and made willing to receive God's Spirit through a real REPENTANCE! He was able to "preach Christ" to the Jews at Damascus then, "proving that this is very Christ!" (Acts 9:20 and 22 ). But notice that Paul was not a MINISTER — he was not an active member in the Governmental body of the Church — he was merely doing what ANY of YOU should be able to do — "... be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (I Pet. 3:15 ). But notice — it entails giving an ANSWER TO THOSE THAT ASK — not the kind of door-to-door "witnessing" that is being done by many today. I remember a time when I was eating a meal in a restaurant. Two women entered, unnoticed in the crowd of others finding booths or chairs, and gradually made their way toward the rear of the small, somewhat crowded restaurant. Finally, taking up positions just behind the booth in which I was seated, with another minister, they began to SHOUT — at the TOP OF THEIR LUNGS, "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! is burning in the gates of HELL for every lost sinner!" The near disastrous results could have meant a severe lawsuit for both of them. The people in the restaurant were so shocked by the "FIRE" cry they didn't really hear the rest of it — which was just as well — and some of them began to hastily jump up to flee the place! They thought a customer had discovered a fire! Scenes of this type bring a REPROACH on the precious word of God! Should these women have been "witnessing"? Mr. Meredith answered this question, in the article "Should Women Preach?" appearing in the February-March, 1955, Plain Truth. Your Bible says NO! "Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a SHAME for women to speak in the Church" (I Cor. 14:34-35 ). After the short preaching at Damascus on the part of the apostle Paul, that Jesus was the true Christ, Paul went to Arabia (Gal. 1:17 ) and returned to Damascus (vs. 18). After three years (vs. 18), Paul then went down to TARSUS, the city of his birth. Prior to this time, however, Paul had been with the other apostles in Jerusalem, after Barnabas had told them of the miraculous way in which God struck him down. He learned from them how they carried out their offices in the government of the Church: "And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem" (Acts 9:28 ). PAUL was TRIED AND PROVED in the actual ministry. Notice how Barnabas, also a disciple of the Church, later took Paul with him when he went to Antioch, and they taught many people for another additional YEAR (Acts 11:25-26 ). It was only after this time of actual ministerial experience and training — having been alone with Christ in the desert of Petra — having been under the direct supervision of the headquarters Church at Jerusalem, then taken with Barnabas who was older in the faith, to Antioch, that God finally led His servants to ordain Paul! Notice, as the elders were ministering to the Lord at Antioch, they were FASTING (Acts 13:2 ). During this time as they were in fasting and prayer — the "Holy Spirit said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them'" (vs. 2). God's Holy Spirit directed the minds of His praying, fasting servants — His HUMAN INSTRUMENTS! For example, the Holy Spirit led Mr. Armstrong to separate Herman Hoeh, Roderick Meredith and others unto the work whereunto God had called them! He directly REVEALED to Mr. Armstrong — who could see by the FRUITS being borne of these men, by their consecration and dedication to God's work, by the need of the work — by their spiritual leadership and qualifications that God was doing the calling! And so it was with the apostle Paul! The ministers were told to "separate" Paul! A setting apart or a "separation" for an office is just another word for ORDINATION! Notice what happened! "And when they had fasted and prayed (as in all cases of ordinations), and LAID THEIR HANDS ON THEM, they sent them away" (Acts 13:3 ). There is the record of the ordination of the apostle Paul by HUMAN INSTRUMENTS, in the exact same way God always calls and chooses His true ministers — after conversion, a number of years of study and preparation, actual field testing and proving in the ministry, and final ordination when GOD shows His ministers His will! Some, however, who are always looking for ways to GET AROUND the set and established ways of their Creator and RULER, want to "have their own way," and so try to achieve their own goals by wrong means! False "Visions" and "Dreams" Frequently, some will get a certain "feeling" they are being called to the ministry! Setting their heart on the ministry, they DECIDE God has called them to be His stewards — and begin to FORCE THEMSELVES IN! Notice, they have NOT been trained — have NOT fulfilled the divinely imposed Scriptural qualifications, have NOT been observed, tested and proved by God's true ministers — they merely "make up their minds" and then VOLUNTEER! BUT NONE OF GOD'S TRUE SERVANTS HAVE EVER VOLUNTEERED ON THEIR OWN. Others have a "dream" and then come to the ministers, telling them God IS calling them to the ministry! But WHO HAD THE DREAMS IN THE BIBLE? The one being called? Or the human instrument used in the actual calling? Notice! In the case of the apostle Paul, the miraculous vision on the road to Damascus WAS ALSO COUPLED WITH A VISION WHICH APPEARED TO ANANIAS — a truly converted man, who was already in God's Church — whom God used as the instrument in baptizing Paul. Ananias DID NOT ordain Paul — he merely baptized him! God's true servants are not called by weird dreams and visions which God keeps HIDDEN from His already-called and ordained officers of the Church. A lay member will not be called to the ministry without the MINISTERS being the FIRST ONES TO RECOGNIZE IT — BEFORE THE LAY MEMBER EVER DOES! A Host of "Volunteers" The Bible is also explicit on a whole GROUP of men who "volunteered" for the ministry, or a prophetic office, or a position of leadership in the congregation! "Now Korah... rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel... against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, 'You take too much upon you, seeing ALL the congregation are holy... wherefore then lift ye up YOURSELVES above the congregation?" (Num. 16:1-3 ). Notice! Moses and Aaron were accused of having APPOINTED THEMSELVES and "lifting up themselves" over the congregation! You and I know, however, that Moses and Aaron were called of God! But — as is nearly ALWAYS the case when a presumptuous person tries to USURP authority, he repudiates the office of the one in the already-established position, and accused that person of having arrogated the office to himself! Let's never let this happen to any of us! Notice the fearsome END of Korah! "...the ground clave asunder that was under them, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods... and they perished from among the congregation" (Num. 16: 31-33 ). Satan "volunteered" to take over the office of God! All the FALSE prophets set themselves up, claiming to be the true prophets of God! Adonijah, Solomon's half-brother, tried to set himself up as King over Israel, and was finally killed for his presumptuousness! Simon, the sorcerer, wanted the power of God, and tried to buy it with money! Peter said, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money... thy HEART IS NOT RIGHT in the sight of God" (Acts 8:20-21 ). Any person who tries to arrogate to himself an office of the ministry joins ranks with Korah, with Adonijah and all the false prophets, and with Satan the Devil himself! REMEMBER! There is not one single example in your Bible where the true ministers of God VOLUNTEERED OF THEMSELVES FOR THE OFFICE! PROPHECIES Against PROPHETS! There are many thousands today who, even in innocence, have taken to themselves the prerogative of teaching God's word. And, it is a great SHAME to state the further truth — that HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF "TEACHERS" OF THE BIBLE TODAY KNOW LITTLE IF ANYTHING ABOUT THE BIBLE! THEY ARE IGNORANT OF IT, GROPING IN THE DARK, and because they have not realized the GRAVE WARNINGS about this very thing in the Bible itself — are heading for an awful END unless they REPENT of it, and CHANGE THEIR WAYS! James warns, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation" (Jas. 3:1 ). In the King James English, this verse is a little obscure, but by taking other translations, and the original Greek, the rendering, in modern English, is this: "Do NOT MANY OF YOU BECOME TEACHERS, KNOWING THAT WE (WHO TEACH GOD'S WORD) SHALL RECEIVE GREATER JUDGEMENT! " The entire third chapter of James — famous as the chapter about the tongue, and evil speaking of man — is directed as a warning to THOSE WHO DARE TO TEACH THE BIBLE TO OTHERS! Jeremiah was a prophet of God. God used Him to prophesy against other prophets — both past, PRESENT and FUTURE! In Jer. 23 , a startling prophecy is revealed concerning the' end times. You are now living in these end times — the time just before the INTERVENTION of Almighty God, and the return of Jesus Christ to this earth! Let's notice the dire warnings contained in this prophecy about false teachers! "WOE be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:1 ). Subsequent verses show God will bring the evil of their own doings upon them (even though they preach against any "works" ir is WORKS they'll be JUDGED BY!). But it is not only those who style themselves ordained ministers this prophecy is directed to. Notice! "I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed'" (Jer. 23:25 ). They say, "I know the answers! I can tell you what the Bible means" — but they DON'T KNOW! "How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal" (vs. 26-27), So they're not all standing in a pulpit, or holding an office — but some are simply teaching their neighbors! When God has NOT CALLED THEM! Here is what God says: "Behold, I am against the prophets... that use their tongues, and say, He saith. "Behold I am against them that prophesy false dreams... and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:31-32 ). Finally, when the KINGDOM OF GOD is established on this earth, we read: "It shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a hairy cloak (marginal reading) to deceive, but he shall say, 'I am no prophet! I am a FARMER, for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth!" (Zech. 13:3-5 ). YES! In that day a man will aspire to be a FARMER before claiming to teach others in the name of Christ when Christ has NOT SENT HIM! To those who CHOSE FOR THEMSELVES THE MINISTRY — WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR THE JOB — WHO SET THEMSELVES UP AS TEACHERS OF OTHERS — THESE SCRIPTURES GIVE WARNING! You have read this article. You are now RESPONSIBLE for it. May God give you the grace and wisdom to be obedient to Him in ALL things!

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Prospective Members Page ...not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others (Phil. 2:4). Prospective Member’s Guide Vigilant Church of God herewith welcomes you as a prospective member. Please study this guide thoroughly and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Contact details are at the end of this guide. Laodicean Era vs. Philadelphia Era While it is vital to understand the difference between the two Church Eras, if you do not understand Church Eras as it appears in the Book of Revelation, do not be overly concerned, as you will learn what they are by the end of this study (1 Tim 2:15). The first and arguably the most important to understand is that the Philadelphia Era ENDED in 1986 with the death of Mr. Armstrong, the last Apostle and also the type of Elijah (Mal 4:5). The commission of the Philadelphia Era was to take the Gospel to the whole world (Matt 24:14). Mr. Armstrong accomplished this and with his death that phase of the Work was finished. Many C.O.G leaders teach that this is still the Philadelphia Era OR at least that their organisation is a “remnant of Philadelphia”. THIS IS FALSE! The Bible does not teach this, but false leaders use this statement to continue taking tithes and drawing a salary, making merchandise of the brethren (2Pet 2:3) with feigned (fictitious) words. The very truth is that we are now, since the death of Mr. Armstrong, deeply into the Laodicean Era where both leaders and brethren are lukewarm and indifferent (Rev 3:16-17), not believing the Gospel has been preached and that Matthew 24:14 has been fulfilled. So, if this is true, what is the Work of God now, and what are the brethren of God supposed to do, since the Work of preaching the Gospel is complete? Well, here starts your exciting journey with Vigilant Church of God! The Work of the Church of The Laodiceans Notice precisely how your Bible address the final Era of God’s Church in Rev 3:14: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;” (plural) Yes, instead of Christ, the Leader of this Work, addressing the Laodicean Era as a whole, He address each believer individually, knocking on each one’s door (Rev 3:20), asking them to invite Him into their lives once again by “buying gold tried in the fire” (returning to the truth) and anointing their eyes (repenting from a lukewarm attitude) so they may once again believe as before, when Mr. Armstrong restored all things. Read or listen to his own words here . Please take time to study the following material as it will help you to understand the Work in this Era on VCG website: Read “About US” and listen to “The Knock”: https://www.vigilantcog.com/about-us Read or re-read “Mystery of the Ages” or listen to the audio book: https://www.vigilantcog.com/from-mr-armstrong Read the booklet “Tithing”: https://www.vigilantcog.com/_files/ugd/7e4368_d67f1f94721d44e89e6ce34c57e1a4b7.pdf Review VCG video “Save Yourself Brethren”: https://youtu.be/akOi0Vo_zjQ Review VCG video “The Greatest DOCTRINE – restored”: https://youtu.be/gDuXMitpUH0 Review VCG video “The Greatest Doctrine part 2”: https://youtu.be/f0JzgVO8s3M While the above material is given to understand the Work we are doing, there are many more items available on the website, so we urge you to review all you can in the time you have available. While a prospective member, you will be assigned an experienced preaching elder to help guide you through this path to full membership with Vigilant Church of God. Contacts: (Phone or Whatsapp) Mr. Gerhard Coetzer +27 64 248 5710

Apostates EDITED Literature without Mr. Armstrong's knowledge Mystery of the Ages Softbound - this version of the book arrived from the printer in November 1985. The soft bound is 66 pages shorter than the hardcover, this is understandable, as the smaller font size and line spacing allows for more text per page. However! Prior to the book going to print the editorial department at WCG decided to make some changes to Mr. Armstrong's statements regarding race. Compare pages 148-149 of the Hardcover to edits to pages 122-123 of the soft bound edits... Mystery of the Ages: On page 147 of the hardback version we read the following... "Proof of this lies in the meaning of the Hebrew word translated “perfect.” It may refer either to spiritual character (Gen. 17:l) or to physical characteristics (Lev. 22:21). Therefore Genesis 6:9 allows the translation that Noah was either “blameless” or “unblemished.” The context (Gen. 6:2) clearly indicates the latter is the intended meaning of “perfect.” So a good rendering of Genesis 6:9 is that Noah was the only “just” man (in spiritual character), and also “unblemished’ (in his genetic heritage) among his contemporaries. Notice the Subtle Corruption The softback version renders the same paragraph as... "Proof of this lies in the meaning of the Hebrew word translated "perfect." It may refer either to spiritual character (Gen. 17:1) or to physical characteristics (Lev. 22:21). Therefore Genesis 6:9 allows the translation that Noah was either "blameless" or of "pure strain." The context (Gen. 6:2) clearly indicates the latter is the intended meaning of the Hebrew word translated, "perfect". So a good rendering of Genesis 6:9 is that Noah was the only "just" man (in spiritual character), and also of "pure strain", unmixed (in his genetic heritage) among his contemporaries. Serialization of Mystery of the Ages: July 1985 Mr. Armstrong wanted Mystery of the Ages to reach the largest audience possible. He used the Plain Truth circulation which stood at 8 million. The original text in the Plain Truth was corrupted, especially obvious, was chapter 6 "Mystery of the Church" in the July-August 1986 Plain Truth. All the Plain Truth Magazines from Jul-August to November-December 1986 are available here Softbound version corrupted Restoration of God's Truth "From the year 1931, exactly 1900 years (a century of time cycles) from the foundation of the Church, this small remnant of the original true Church of God began to take on new life ." Mr. Armstrong wrote in the hardback version... "From the year 1931, exactly 1900 years (a century of time cycles) from the foundation of the Church, this small remnant of the original true Church of God began to take on new life as the Philadelphia era." The Bible Story Books were edited four years before Mr. Armstrong died and without his knowledge

Bible Correspondence Course Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course - Lesson 1 Lesson 1 - Why Study The Bible In The Space Age? Start Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course - Lesson 2 Lesson 2 - What Is The Message Jesus Brought From Heaven? Start Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course - Lesson 3 Lesson 3 - Where Is The Arms Race Leading? Start Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course - Lesson 4 Lesson 4 - Why Do So Few Understand The Bible? Start Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course - Test 1 Test 1 - Lessons 1 to 4 Start Test Please reload

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7 Proofs of God's True Church by Herbert W. Armstrong, The Plain Truth, 1979 WHERE is the one and only true Church today — the Church founded by Jesus Christ in A.D. 31? Seven major eye-opening proofs identify it unmistakably. YOU LIVE in a world of religious confusion. WHY so many different religions? Taoism, Shintoism, Hinduism, the Moslem religion and Christianity with its many denominations and sects. Religion is generally regarded as the worship of the Creator or the supernatural, although some Oriental religions are primarily philosophies. The largest religion in the world, in claimed number of adherents, is Roman Catholicism. It has won near universal acceptance in the Western world as being the original Church of Christianity. But where is the absolute AUTHORITY to identify the true religion and the one original Church of the Christian religion? Or is any authentic? Communism rejects religion, labeling it "the opium of the people." I seriously doubt if any has been put though the experience that came to me to settle this question with PROOF POSITIVE. WHY do most people believe the things they believe? The philosopher C. E. Ayers said truthfully that few, indeed, have ever stopped to ask themselves in retrospect why they believe the things they believe or HOW they came to believe them. I have answered many times that most people believe that which they have repeatedly heard, read or been taught, and have carelessly assumed those things to be true without question and without proof. Introduction: The duel challenge and research. Reading time: 9 min 35 sec The disturbing dual challenge I was born of stable and upright parents, with an ancestry in the Quaker faith that had emigrated from England to Pennsylvania with William Penn, a hundred years before the United States became a nation. At age 18 I dropped all but the most passive interest in religion. I had put myself through an intensive self-examination, coupled with a survey of the various occupations and professions to determine where I belonged — to avoid fitting the proverbial square peg in the round hole. This led into the advertising profession and a business life. I was unusually successful. I had continued through the years diligent study and application. I had planned that my business contacts were largely with the great and the near-great. Then, at age 34, I was assailed by very disturbing dual challenges. The first challenge - Sabbath My wife, after nine years of happy marriage, had begun keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. I was aghast! That, to me, was religious fanaticism! She claimed to have found this teaching in the Bible. My first upsetting thought was, What will my business contacts and friends say? It was a devastating thought, humiliating! All the arguments came quickly to my mind. They were of no avail. She said she found this teaching in the Bible. "But the Bible says," I protested, "'Thou shalt observe Sunday.'" "Can you show that to me in the Bible?" she asked. "No." I replied. "I don't know much about the Bible. My interest and studies have been in the area of business. But I know the Bible teaches Sunday observance because all these churches can't be wrong, and they receive their beliefs from the Bible." "If," she smiled sincerely — but to me exasperatingly — "you can show me where the Bible commands Sunday observance, I'll go back to it." There was no dodging the challenge. My marriage depended on it! The second challenge - Evolution Coincidentally a sister-in-law, newly married and fresh out of college, hurled at me a second humiliating challenge. "Herbert Armstrong," she accused contemptuously, "you are just plain ignorant! Everybody who has any education knows human life has come by evolution." I was proud. I had not neglected study and education. I thought I knew the facts about evolution, and I didn't believe in it. But now I had to admit I had never pursued a thorough, in-depth research of the question. The dual challenge drove me into a determined almost night and day research. That intensive study continued for six months before I found the proved answer. Yet the study to this day has never ceased. I was not only humiliated and angered by these challenges — I was determined to prove both my wife and sister-in-law wrong. Both challenges focused on a common starting point — the book of Genesis in the Bible — although that was only the beginning. These challenges came at a period in life when I had ample time on my hands. I plunged with intense concentration into the study. Evolution researched But I did not begin the research in Genesis. First I delved thoroughly into the works of Darwin, Lyell, Haeckel, Huxley, Spencer, Vogt, Chamberlin and Moore, and even into the earlier works of Lamarck and his theory of "Use and Disuse," which preceded Darwin's survival-of-the-fittest hypothesis. Immediately those writings appeared convincing. They necessarily are, to have won virtual universal acceptance in the world of higher education. I readily understood how the field of education had been gripped in the clutch of the evolutionary concept. Evolution, as I finally learned, is the atheists' attempted explanation of the presence of a creation without the pre-existence of a Creator. This initial stage of my research rudely shook my faith in the existence of God. It brought me to the realization that I had assumed the reality of God, because from childhood I had heard — and therefore assumed — it. For a while my head was literally swimming. Was all I had ever believed mere myth and error, after all? I was awakened to the realization that I had never seen PROVED the reality of God! Now I was determined to know the TRUTH! My mind was being cleaned out from ideas and beliefs previously taken for granted. Of all the writings on evolution, Moore alone had culled out many discrepancies in the theory. Yet he too went along with the doctrine overall. But now I had, first of all, to prove or disprove the existence of God. It was not casual or superficial study. I continued in this research as if my life depended upon it — as, in actual fact it did, as well as my marriage. I studied books also on the other side of the coin. Irrefutable proof of God. Suffice it to say here that I did find irrefutable PROOF of the existence of God the Creator — and I found proof positive of the fallacy of the evolutionary theory. I had the satisfaction of winning the admission of one thoroughly steeped in evolutionary thought — having spent years in graduate work at the University of Chicago and at Columbia — that I had definitely chopped down the trunk of the evolutionary tree, though like Dr. Moore, she had been so thoroughly brainwashed in it she had to continue in what she had seen and acknowledged was PROOF of its falsity. Also I had the enjoyment of being able to cause my sister-in-law to eat those words branding me as ignorant. All of which was mere vanity on my part, which I had not yet eradicated. I had proved the reality of THE GREAT MAJESTIC GOD! But my wife's challenge was still tormenting my mind. Already, in the evolutionary research, I had studied Genesis. I knew each of the world's religions had their own sacred writings. Once God's reality was proved, I had expected to continue in the pursuit of comparative religions — to see if any such sacred writings proved authoritative. Through which of these did GOD speak to mankind — if any? Research continues. Since I had to research the Sabbath question anyway and already I had delved into Genesis, I decided to continue my study in the Bible — intending to examine in-depth the writings of other religions afterward. In my biblical study I came across, early, the passage in Romans 6:23: "... The wages of sin is death..." I stopped, amazed. "Wages" is what one is paid for what one has done. Here I was staring at a statement diametrically opposite to my Sunday school teaching prior to age 18. "Why," I exclaimed, "how can that be? I was taught in church that the wages of sin is EVERLASTING LIFE — in an eternally burning hell." Another shock came on reading the last part of the same verse: "... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. " "But," I questioned in disillusionment, "I thought I already had eternal life — I am, or I have, an immortal soul. Why should I need it as a gift?" I researched the word soul by means of a Bible concordance. Twice I found the words, "... The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4 and Ezekiel 18:20). Then I remembered I had read in Genesis 2 how God said to the first human, "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." In Genesis 2:7 I read how God "... formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man (dust, matter) became a living soul." This stated plainly that a soul is physical — formed from matter. I found that the English word soul is translated from the Hebrew nephesh and that in Genesis 1 fowl, fish and animals, all three, were nephesh as Moses was inspired to write. Next, I happened to read where Jesus said, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man..." (John 3:13). I researched the heaven and hell teaching further. I saw where the inspired Peter, on the day he received the Holy Spirit said, "For David is not ascended into the heavens..." (Acts 2:34). Teachings opposite of the Bible I was, in utter astonishment, coming to realize that what I had been taught growing up in church was the precise opposite of what the Bible says in clear language. This is not the place for a lengthy, detailed account of my intensive search in the Bible — bent on proving to my satisfaction that "all these churches can't be wrong, for their teachings came from the Bible." The essential point here is the simple fact that I did find irrefutable PROOF of the divine inspiration and SUPREME AUTHORITY of the Holy Bible as the revealed Word of God as originally written. Even all the so-called contradictions evaporated upon unbiased study. Yet, to my utter dismay and chagrin, I was forced to "eat crow" in regard to my wife's supposed "fanaticism." It was not what I wanted to believe, THEN! But by now I had taken a real beating. I had proved truth contrary to what I wanted to believe. Let me pause here to add a point to what I wrote above, saying most people believe what they have repeatedly heard or read or been taught. There are two other psychological truisms in regard to WHY people believe what they do. One is, people carelessly accept what those around them believe. Most Thais are Buddhists because those around them in Thailand are Buddhists. There is the psychological tendency to go along with one's peers. One other reason for people's beliefs is that human nature tends to cause one to believe what he wants to believe, and refuse, regardless of proof, what he does not want to believe. There is the old saying, "One convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." God's Word is truth That is why I have said the experience I was painfully subjected to in this six-months' intensive study was UNIQUE in human life and conduct. I know of no world religious leader who arrived at his teachings in such manner. Perhaps that is why GOD'S INSPIRED WORD alone — as I proved — is TRUTH. Only GOD is infallibly correct! I was brought, by the spring of 1927, to a complete MIND-SWEEPING — my mind swept clean of previous assumptions and beliefs — surrendered to the WORD OF GOD, which by then I had proved TRUE, and the SUPREME AUTHORITY. More, I had been brought to realize my own inadequacy and nothingness. I had been brought to a real repentance — CONQUERED by the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD — and with a solid rock-based FAITH in Jesus Christ. I was baptized, and the infilling of God's Spirit opened my mind to the JOY UNSPEAKABLE of knowing God and Jesus Christ — of knowing TRUTH — and the warmth of God's divine LOVE! What I once hated I now LOVED. I found the greatest and most absorbing joy of my life in continuing to dig out those gold nuggets of TRUTH from God's Word. Now came a new enthusiasm in biblical study and receiving the REVEALED knowledge of God. Where is God's Church? 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" (verse 21) "... 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 GOD'S TRUTH. And it would be PRODUCING ABUNDANT FRUIT. I did not find such a church immediately. But in His due time, God led me to find that ONE AND ONLY original Church of God. I now reveal SEVEN MAJOR PROOFS that identify it. Proof One: Who and what is God? Reading time: 9 min 34 sec It seems utterly unbelievable! The religions of this world do not know WHO or WHAT God really is! Yet religion is the worship of God. HOW can one worship what is UNKNOWN? The only answer is that the Bible reveals that ALL NATIONS have been deceived (Rev. 12:9). The true understanding of the very identity of God is one proof that the one and only Church founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ is, today, the Worldwide Church of God. It seems inconceivable—but you live today in a world of religious CONFUSION! Among the largest of the world's religions are Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, with its hundreds of denominations and sects. The latter is the largest in number of adherents. And yet only one religion, neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant, knows WHO and WHAT God is! Modern science does not know. Higher education does not know or teach it. The intellectuals of the world in the first century were the Athenians. Certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered the apostle Paul. "What will this babbler say?" queried some in ridicule (Acts 17:18). Others sneered sarcastically, "He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods." They took Paul and brought him to Areopagus, the supreme tribunal, on Mars Hill. "May we know," they asked cynically, "what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears." Here were the world's most "scholarly." Paul was preaching the truth of GOD. "Ye men of Athens," said the apostle forthrightly and boldly, "I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions [idolatrous objects of worship], I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. GOD that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." 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 what of the real NATURE of God? Just WHO and WHAT is God? We need a more concrete understanding than to say, merely, that God is the Being who created all. That is the starting point. Only the one original Church Jesus founded in A.D. 31 has the full answer. It seems inconceivable that, of all the religions and churches in the world today, only ONE is unique in UNDERSTANDING the nature of the CREATOR of all that is! Mankind could know! God reveals Himself in plain language in His Word, the Holy Bible. But no book has been so distorted, twisted, and misrepresented as this ONE SUPREME AUTHORITY OF TRUTH! The generally accepted teaching of traditional Christianity is that God is a "Trinity"—God in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is designated as a "Ghost." By about A.D. 59 the gospel Jesus Christ proclaimed had been suppressed (Gal. 1:6-7). A counterfeit "gospel" had replaced it. From about A.D. 70 there ensued "the lost century" of Church history. All historic record of the true Church of God had been systematically destroyed during that hundred years. The curtain had been rung down on Church activities, and when the curtain of recorded history lifted, an entirely different church appeared, calling itself "Christian." Extreme persecution by powerful forces had driven the true Church of God underground. The church by the fourth century was more like the Babylonian mystery religion, having appropriated the name "Christianity" (Rev. 17:5). There had been two heated doctrinal controversies—one called the Quartodeciman controversy between Polycrates and the bishops of Rome on the observance of the spring festival (should Passover or Easter be celebrated?). The other, between Arius, a priest of Alexandria, and the Roman bishops on the Trinity doctrine. Emperor Constantine, the supreme head of the Roman Empire, called the Nicene Council in A.D. 325 and made both the pagan Easter (named from the goddess Astarte) and the Trinity doctrine LAW! The Trinity doctrine limited God to three Persons. More of that later. The King James biblical scholars translated the Greek words for Holy Spirit as "Holy Ghost," under the delusion that the Spirit of God was a third Person. Also the translators of the 1611 version usually used the pronouns "he," "him," etc., in relation to the Holy Spirit, but not always: The pronoun "it" also is used. But how does God reveal Himself authoritatively? If one should ask, "Where, in order of time sequence, do we find the real beginning in the Bible?" the reply probably would be Genesis 1:1, beginning with the words, "In the beginning God... ." RIGHT? WRONG! In order of time sequence the earliest prehistoric revelation is in the New Testament, in John 1:1-3: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." The Word was one Personage. God was another Personage. Yet the Word was a Personage separate from God—as shown in verse 14: "And the Word was [much later] made flesh, and dwelt among us... . " The Word became Jesus Christ. The English "Word" is translated from the original Greek Logos, meaning "Word" or "Spokesman." That all things were made by Him is confirmed in Ephesians 3:9, where it speaks of God "who created all things by Jesus Christ." "He spake, and it was done" (Ps. 33:9). Here are TWO Personages, yet both are GOD. How is that? A man named David Smith may have a son named Paul. But Paul, though a separate individual, is also a Smith. However, Jesus Christ did not become the Son of God until about 4 B.C., when born in human flesh of the virgin Mary. Prior to that, He had ALWAYS existed, even as had God. Christ was originally "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life" (Heb. 7:3). Now come to Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God... ." This was written originally by Moses in the Hebrew language. The English "God" is translated from the Hebrew Elohim—a uniplural noun. It is uniplural in the same sense as the words "family" and "church"—denoting more than one component forming the whole. Not two Gods—but ONE God consisting of more than one Person. When, only nineteen hundred-plus years ago, Jesus was begotten of God in the womb of His human mother Mary, He was the only human ever so begotten prior to human birth! Yet, as we shall see later, humans may become begotten children of God—after human birth, but preceding a spiritual birth. Throughout the first chapter of Genesis, the Hebrew name of God is always the Hebrew Elohim, which denotes both the Word and God. But in chapter 2, Moses began adding another name for God—Yahweh in the Hebrew, usually combined with Elohim: 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 which adequately translates it. It means "the self-existent, eternal-living, creative one." The Moffatt translation renders it "the Eternal." The Fenton translation uses "the Ever-Living." Personally, I prefer to use only the one word "Eternal," instead of "Lord." In any event, the English "LORD" in the King James translation refers to that Person in the Godhead who in John 1:1 is called "the Word"—the very one who later became Jesus Christ. Who Was the God of the Old Testament? That leads to an important point in the UNDERSTANDING of WHO and WHAT GOD is. Many if not most seem to believe the God of the Old Testament was the one Jesus prayed to as His FATHER. But many New Testament passages quoting from the Old Testament prove that the one of the Godhead who was born in human flesh as Jesus Christ was the Yahweh of the Old Testament and the Word of John 1:1. That knowledge is a portion of PROOF #1 identifying the true original Church today. Jesus came, among other purposes, to REVEAL the Father. Ancient Old Testament Israel knew of only ONE PERSONAGE in the Godhead—although their Scriptures contained the Hebrew Elohim. But to them, primarily, God was conceived of as not only ONE God, but only ONE Person! The truth is, Israelites generally knew nothing of God—the Person to whom Jesus prayed and the Father Jesus came to REVEAL. However, another technical point is: God only became the FATHER of the GOD FAMILY when Jesus Christ was begotten and born as a human. Yet He may become our Father in heaven when we are begotten by His Holy Spirit. More of that later. Now notice that God (Elohim) is more than one Person, even though only ONE GOD. In Genesis 1:26, Elohim said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... ." Notice! Not "Let me," but "Let US"—plural, or uniplural. Then, in Genesis 2:2-3, "On the seventh day God [Elohim] ended his work which he had made... . And God [Elohim] blessed the seventh day... ." Then, verse 4: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God [Yahweh Elohim] made the earth and the heavens." Again it was through the Word, in the Hebrew named Yahweh, that the earth and heavens were made—as GOD created all things by Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9). Does God Have Form and Shape? 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 at any time, 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 artists' renderings you have seen which are supposed to picture Him. For one thing, HE DID NOT HAVE LONG HAIR (I Cor. 11:14). He looked like other Jews then in Judea, else the chief priests would not have paid Judas Iscariot 40 [sic] 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, arms, legs, fingers, toes. Jesus was "the express image of his [the Father's] person" (Heb. 1:3). What Is the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit is not a Person—a "Ghost"—then what does the Bible reveal about the Holy Spirit? The natural carnal mind of man simply cannot grasp an understanding of spirit. It is not matter. The Hebrew word for spirit, ruach, and the Greek pneuma both are often translated into the English "wind," "air," or "breath"—because these physical words perhaps most closely explain spirit to the human mind—yet spirit is not physical or material. The Holy Spirit is the spirit (not Ghost) that emanates out from both God and Christ everywhere in the universe. Through His Holy Spirit, God projects Himself, in spirit, everywhere in the universe—yet both God and Christ have form and shape, even as man. The Holy Spirit is many things. It is the very LIFE of the immortal God, which, entering into a human, begets him with God-life. It is the POWER of God by which, when Christ "spake," it was done. It is the POWER by which God stretched out the heavens—created the vast endless universe. The Holy Spirit, entering into man as God's gift, opens the mind to UNDERSTANDING of spiritual knowledge, unknown to the human mind otherwise. It is the LOVE of God "shed abroad in our hearts." It is the FAITH of Christ which may be given to God's begotten children. It is the POWER of God, begotten within humans, enabling us to overcome Satan and sin. "How Great Thou Art" We have covered the nature of God. Now consider HOW GREAT He is. King David was meditating on this, and man's insignificance by comparison. He wrote: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Ps. 8:3-4.) Isaiah was inspired to write: "Who hath measured the waters [oceans] in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? ... Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance... . All nations before him are as nothing ..." (Isa. 40:12-17). Then God is quoted: "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? ... Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power ..." (verses 25-26). Yet, there is much more to come, in relation to David's comparison of God to man, and why God should be concerned about us, in a later installment—and fantastically thrilling it is! NONE but the Worldwide Church of God today possesses the REVEALED TRUTH and knowledge of WHO and WHAT God is! Proof Two: The government of God and creation of holy righteous character Reading time: 4 min 14 sec 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. Angels Created First Now for the moment go back to John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That is the very earliest prehistoric record. It could have been millions or thousands of millions of years ago. The two eternally living Spirit Personages, who together constituted the ONE God, were ALONE in empty space. There was no physical universe—YET! But, even as man thinks, and designs and plans before making—so did God, who much later made MAN in His own image. God—with the Word—first conceived the plan and design to create angels, also immortal spirit beings, composed wholly of spirit. So God created angels before creating the material universe, as revealed elsewhere in the Bible. The Duality in Creation There is the DUALITY principle in God's creative process. Angels were the first thinking, reasoning, separate entities created by God. Angels were created with minds—ability to know, reason, make choices. But their creation could not be a finished creation until CHARACTER—either good or evil—was developed in them. And this is a PROCESS, to be EXPERIENCED. That character development was the second part of the DUAL stage of their creation. God initially INSTRUCTED them in His WAY—that of righteous character. It was THE WAY of God's spiritual law—the basis of God's GOVERNMENT. Then came the time of the creation of the PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. There was a vital connection between the creation of angels and the creation of the material universe. For that, too, was created on the DUALITY principle. To illustrate, I compare this physical creation to the manufacture of unfinished furniture—sold in stores of most cities. Such furniture may be of fine quality, but lacks the finishing polish, paint or whatever. So God created the heavens and the earth—the universe with its countless planets in innumerable solar systems and galaxies, including planets such as our Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, etc. Genesis 1:1, where "heavens" is in the plural in original Hebrew and modern translations, together with Genesis 2:4, which speaks of "... the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Eternal God made the earth and the heavens," indicates the earth was created as part of the material universe—all simultaneously created. Other scriptures imply this. But, like the unfinished furniture, the universe, including the earth, was not at that time completed. Angels had been created prior to the universe, because they sang together and shouted for joy at earth's creation (Job 38:4-7). A Double Duality Now we come to the fact of a double DUALITY in the creation of angels and of the earth. For the earth was inhabited by angels prior to the creation of man. Apparently God placed a third of the created angels on earth. They were given opportunity to share in God's creating activities by FINISHING the earth—working in and with its many elements, improving, beautifying, completing it. This required harmonious teamwork—all working together toward the common God-ordained goal. The earth was the proving ground to QUALIFY them, by righteous CHARACTER development and finishing earth's creation, to share with God the same creative participation in completion of the myriads of planets of the vast universe. To regulate this effort of the angels, God placed on earth's THRONE the archangel, the cherub Lucifer, to administer the GOVERNMENT OF GOD over the angels. I repeat: That GOVERNMENT is based on God's spiritual laws—as all governments are based on a constitution of foundational law. God's spiritual law is the way of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER. Angels Led into Rebellion The third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) on earth completed their creation 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. "Thus saith the Lord God; 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 ... in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: 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 was found in thee" (Ezekiel 28:12-15). 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"—meaning this 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. Proof Three: What and Why is man? Reading time: 11 min 31 sec It must be as shocking to the reader as it was to me to learn that NONE of the religions or churches but the Worldwide Church of God understands both WHAT man is and WHY humanity was put on the earth! Science cannot give you the answer. Modern higher education does not know or teach the answer. And, along with these basic and important questions, WHY all the evils in this chaotic and sick world, now facing the number-one problem of whether human life can survive through the remainder of this 20th century? I ask, HOW can even the most highly educated be so IGNORANT of SO IMPORTANT a TRUTH? Earth's Face in Devastation Instead of improving, beautifying, completing earth's creation, the sinning angels brought it to desolation and ruin. Come now again to Genesis 1:1-2: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep... ." The original Hebrew for "without form and void" is tohu and bohu—meaning "waste, desolate, deteriorated." The word "was" may also be translated "became." All was oceanic surface —and light had been by angel lawlessness turned into darkness. Let me here interject a biblical principle. The entirety of a subject is often not stated within the context of one place. There is this instruction in Isaiah: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? ... For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:9-10). But most who try to apply this principle in biblical understanding take each "little" out of context, in order to interpret their own idea into it. Much directly concerned with what is revealed in Genesis 1 is filled in by other passages of Scripture in various parts of the Bible. So now, let's UNDERSTAND the background. Earth's angels had not completed the creation of this planet by improvement, development and beautification. Rather, they had brought it to desolation and ruin. The GOVERNMENT OF GOD had been nullified on earth. And now only God could be certainly relied upon never to depart from the way of His law and His government. No higher, more perfect kind of being could be created than Lucifer—and he had rebelled. Since GOD ALONE would never deviate or turn from GOD'S WAY, God now determined (or probably had already predetermined) to accomplish the SUPREME creative feat—to REPRODUCE HIMSELF! In God's supreme wisdom He knew this must be brought about through matter! Man in God's Image To prepare the earth for the creation of MAN, God first renewed the face of the earth. This is explained in Psalm 104:30: "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." Now back to Genesis 1:2. The earth was in a state of ruin. "... And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The first thing God did was turn darkness back into LIGHT as originally made. God said, "... Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). So in six days God RENEWED THE FACE OF THE EARTH (the six days in Genesis 1 is not the time of earth's original creation), preparing it for the creation of MAN! Once again the earth was a perfect creation—but lacking the finishing touches. The Purpose of Man on Earth 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, TO FINISH 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! So, on the sixth day of that (re)creation week, God (Elohim) said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:26). Man was made to have (with his assent) a special relationship with his Maker! He was made in the form and shape of God. He was given a spirit (essence) to make the relationship possible. Much more of that a little later. The Soul Is Mortal But God made MAN wholly of MATTER! This was necessary for the supreme accomplishment God willed. "And the Eternal God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [air] of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). Man, formed from material dust of the ground, upon breathing air BECAME a living soul. It does not say man is or has an immortal soul. What was formed from material ground BECAME a soul. Therefore the SOUL is physical, composed of matter, and can die. This is a TRUTH believed by very few denominations and probably by no religions other than Christianity—another PROOF that identifies the one true Church of God! How Human Mind Functions Now we come to another truth, so far as I know exclusive in the one true Church. Did you ever wonder about the vast difference between human mind and animal brain? This incidentally is another PROOF of the falsity of the theory of evolution! The physical brain of vertebrates in the animal kingdom is almost precisely the same in physical form, design, and constituents as human brain—and the brains of whales, elephants, dolphins are larger, and of chimps almost as large. Yet the output of human brain is indescribably greater. Few indeed know WHY! Many passages of scripture show that there is a spirit in man. Spirit is not matter, and man is wholly matter. But, as there could be a small metal object swallowed by mistake in man, yet no part of the man himself, so with the spirit within each human. It is in the form of essence—not a ghost or being of itself, and to distinguish it from God's Holy Spirit, I designate it as the "human spirit." Nevertheless, it is spirit and not matter. This "human spirit" imparts the power of intellect to the human physical brain. The spirit cannot see, hear, taste, smell or feel. The brain sees through the eye, hears through the ear, etc. The "human spirit" cannot of itself think. The physical brain thinks. What, then, is the function of the "human spirit"? It is NOT a "soul." But it 1) imparts the power of intellect, of thinking and of MIND power to the human brain; and 2) it is the very means God has instilled to make possible a personal relationship between human MAN and divine GOD. Two Stages of Man 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 (I Corinthians 15:45-46). So also, man was made from creation (and birth) with the one "human spirit"—but he is INCOMPLETE. He was made to need another Spirit—the HOLY SPIRIT of God, and when that gift of God is received, His "Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16)—in the begotten or first stage of the spiritual creation. This is most clearly explained in I Corinthians 2. "... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart [mind] of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (verse 9)—spiritual knowledge. The natural mind can know only what the brain can physically see, hear, taste, smell or feel. The natural mind is confined to physical, material knowledge! "But God hath revealed them [spiritual things] unto us by his Spirit..." (verse 10). "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? ..." (verse 11). A cow, sheep or dog cannot know the things a MAN knows—and neither could a man, except by the spirit of man which is in him. Likewise, the natural man with this one spirit is limited to material knowledge: "... even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (verse 11). ONLY when the Holy Spirit enters, combining with the "human spirit," can a man come to know that which is spiritual. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (verse 14). That is WHY the most highly educated are overall the most ignorant. They are confined to knowledge of the material. Knowledge of God and the things of God are foolishness to them. But, of course, God says, "... the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (I Corinthians 3:19). World Cut Off from God Now back to the first human, Adam. 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, to complete the physical creation of earth where angels turned it to ruin, and in the process to complete the creation of MAN by developing righteous spiritual CHARACTER; and 2) to establish 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 were led into Satan's way of GET, he could be CHANGED, converted to GOD'S WAY of LOVE. Spirit, once a finished creation, cannot be changed! That is why the one-third of the angels who followed Satan are forever demons. Spirit is constant and eternal—not subject to change. But physical matter is constantly changing. Through God's master plan for His spiritual creation, to be covered later, it had been determined 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! What a MASTER PLAN for the extreme ULTIMATE in creative accomplishment! How GREAT is our God—in mind, purpose, planning, designing, as well as CREATING—from the tiniest germ or insect to the most huge sun, dwarfing our own great sun to insignificance! And the incredible human potential is that the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD is, in MAN, reproducing Himself—man can be born into the GOD FAMILY! The first human, Adam, was created with the potential of qualifying to replace Satan, the former Lucifer, on earth's throne, restoring the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. But it was necessary that he resist and reject Satan's GET way and choose GOD'S WAY of His law—the way of LOVE (GIVE)! His Maker talked first to Adam and Eve—instructed them thoroughly in the GOVERNMENT and spiritual LAW of God—even though in Genesis 2 only the most condensed summary of God's instruction to them is revealed. Satan was restrained from any contact with them until God first had completely taught them. Two Symbolic Trees In the gloriously beautiful Garden of Eden, in which God placed them, were two symbolic trees. One was the "tree of life." Taking its fruit, freely offered, symbolized obedience and faithfulness to God's law of outgoing LOVE and receiving the gift of God's Holy Spirit. The other was the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Taking of its fruit was taking to themselves the knowledge of what is good and what is evil—deciding for themselves what is right and what is sin. This, of course, meant rejection of GOD'S LAW, which defined for them the right and the wrong. The glorious archangel Lucifer, as God originally created him, was the pinnacle of God's creative power in a single being. Few today remotely realize the great power, now turned to cunning deception, possessed by Satan. Apparently Adam completely underestimated him. The wily Satan got to Adam through his wife Eve. He did not say, "CHOOSE MY WAY." He appeared as a subtle serpent. He cleverly deceived her. He put DOUBTS in her mind about God's veracity. He deceived her into believing God had been unfair—selfish. He subtly injected vanity of mind. He misled her into thinking it was right to take of the forbidden fruit. Adam, not deceived, nevertheless went along with his wife. With her, he took to himself the determination of what is right and what is wrong—thus DISBELIEVING what his Maker had said, REJECTING God as Savior and Ruler—rejecting God as the Source of revealed BASIC KNOWLEDGE. He believed and followed Satan's WAY! Man's Sentence Pronounced When the Eternal God "drove out the man" from the Garden of Eden and barred reentrance—lest he go back and receive eternal life in sin (Genesis 3:22-24)—God PRONOUNCED SENTENCE! God said, in effect, "You have made the decision for yourself and the world that shall spring from you. You have rejected me as the basic Source of knowledge—you have rebelled against my command and my government—you have chosen the GETTING, TAKING way of Satan. Therefore I sentence you and the world you shall beget to 6,000 years of being CUT OFF from access to me, my revealed knowledge, my WAY of life—EXCEPT for the comparative exceedingly few I shall specially call for special service preparatory to my Kingdom. Go, and produce your own fund of knowledge with your carnal, hostile minds. Produce your own carnal scholarship and system of disseminating it. Go, and create your own gods and religions. Go, FORM YOUR OWN HUMAN-DEVISED GOVERNMENTS. Satan, in all this, will deceive your world into receiving his ATTITUDE of vanity, lust and greed, envy and jealousy, suspicion and disbelief, competition and strife and violence—into unrealized REBELLION against me and my WAY of outflowing LOVE! After your world has written the lesson of your WAY in 6,000 years of evils, troubles, frustrations, sickness, sorrow, suffering and DEATH, I will INTERVENE! I will by supernatural divine POWER take over the government and education of the whole world, calling all to me—to repentance from your false way, and to eternal salvation." Except for those specially called for special duty preparing for God's KINGDOM, ALL HUMANITY HAS BEEN CUT OFF FROM GOD THESE 6,000 years! I know and privately discuss world conditions with many heads of state—kings, emperors, presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors, men high in governments. They all have to deal with problems and evils with which they are utterly unable to cope. WHY? Few indeed know. But I have just told you the cause. This knowledge makes the one true Church of God unique in the world! The TRUTH that all are CUT OFF from God except those specially called by God was emphasized by Jesus. He said, plainly, "No MAN CAN come to me, except the Father which ... sent me draw him ..." (John 6:44). No scripture contradicts that. The Only Day of Salvation? The most universal false teaching, believed by virtually all churches called Christian, 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 for salvation alone, but primarily for a special mission—and salvation goes along automatically if they do repent, believe, receive and are led by the Holy Spirit. All still living will be called during the millennium, with Christ ruling all nations—and all others previously uncalled will be resurrected and called in the "great white throne judgment" following the millennium. There will be no Satan to overcome then. Just as Adam was required to reject and overcome the pull of Satan to qualify to succeed to the throne of the earth, so was Jesus Christ, the second Adam. Jesus Christ did qualify. Those converted prior to His return must also qualify, in order to sit with Him on His throne (Revelation 2:26-27 and 3:21). Proof Four: The truth about Israel Reading time: 9 min 26 sec 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. But the answer to WHY God called that nation and the fact of their division into the TWO nations — the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah — and the present-day identity of the house of Israel forms another vital PROOF that identifies the one and only original, true Church of God. God's true Church knows that ONLY those specially called by God for a special purpose have had access to Him from Adam until now. Certainly it is almost without exception that those called did not first seek God — He sought out and called them. Noah was not seeking God, but God called Noah to build a great ship on dry land away from any ocean. Noah carried out the assignment amid persecution and jeers. Abraham was not seeking God, but God called him — and without protest or question he obeyed and went on to become the "father of the faithful," to whom the promises of both the national birthright of Israel and eternal salvation through Christ were given. Moses was not seeking God, but God called Moses at the burning bush. He made excuse, protesting the assignment — saying he could not do it because he had an impediment of speech. But God called his brother Aaron to speak for him. The children of Israel, 430 years after Abraham, were groaning and crying out because of their slavery in Egypt — but there is no statement recorded that they were seeking a relationship with God. However, God heard their groanings and delivered them by supernatural miracles out of Egypt under Moses. There must have been two to four million of them — for there were 600,000 men, not counting women and children. At Mt. Sinai God proposed to them His covenant that they become His nation and His congregation ("... the church in the wilderness ..." [Acts 7:38]). God offered them, for obedience to His government, material and national rewards — but no spiritual salvation. The Holy Spirit was given only to the prophets whom God called and chose. Wonderful Abilities of Natural Mind Now WHY did God call a carnal, unspiritual people into a husband-and-wife relationship, designating them as His nation and giving them His government? Natural carnal MAN, with only the "human spirit" to impart materialistic intellect, has been — even without contact with and help from GOD — able to accomplish wonders in the physical realm. This is not testimony to the goodness of MAN, but to the wonderful creative ability of man's Maker! At the tower of Babel God said: "... this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do" (Genesis 11:6). Invention and production of the modern computer and sending men to the moon and safely back are two modern examples. Cut off from GOD — having only the one "human spirit" that empowers intellect — MAN has developed a scholarship that says, "Given sufficient KNOWLEDGE, we can solve every problem." The modern university is a KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION factory. Yet, I have said the most highly educated are the most ignorant — because their development of knowledge has been LIMITED — confined to the physical and material. Without the Holy Spirit of God, they are, in the vernacular, "not all there"! God says of this "intellectual" human mind, that it is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9); and, "... the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). God had shut man off from God's revealed knowledge. Why Carnal Israel One reason God raised up ancient Israel was to eventually prove to all humanity, the vast majority of whom do not yet realize it, 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). Other nations were cut off completely from God's revealed knowledge. But, as stated previously, God retained the prerogative of calling out of man's world a certain few in preparation for His Kingdom. So God deliberately called a NATION, and through Moses revealed to them the knowledge of HIS LAW, His WILL, His WAY OF LIFE, which is outflowing LOVE! 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 — they 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 and carnal ordinances. These instilled the habit of obedience. Then, of course, He gave them, as a civil nation. 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 and diet. He, through Moses, was their Lawgiver. 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 Moses' brother 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. How Did Carnal Israel Respond? But how did carnal-minded Israel respond to God's great generosity, love and blessings? Let God answer! He says: "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Eternal hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Eternal, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward" (Isaiah 1:2-4). After Moses After Moses, the Israelites were led into the promised land by Joshua. Israel served God — to a degree — until Joshua died at age 110. Then, true to human experience, when that generation died, "... there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Eternal... . And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Eternal, and served Baalim [a pagan god of the Canaanites]" (Judges 2:10-11). Repeatedly they would forsake God, turn to idolatry of neighbor nations, go into captivity, and cry out to God for deliverance. Then God would raise up judges (heroes, leaders) by whom He freed them, but then, after a degree of peace, idol worship was resumed, and when the judge died, God allowed them to be taken into captivity again. This continued for some few generations. Then Israel was ruled by the priest Eli. Eli had two sons, also in the priestly service. These sons were taking unlawful gain from the people, misleading the people, having immoral relations with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle. Now Eli was very old — near 90 — and said to his sons, "... Why do ye such things? ... Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father ..." (I Samuel 2:22-25). The sons continued the evils, and the priest Eli did not put them out of the priesthood. When Sons Go Wrong God said to Eli, "Wherefore ... honourest thy sons above me?" (I Samuel 2:29) and decreed they should die. When news came to Eli 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 was, was given the courage by the Living Christ to do the very difficult task of removing his son. Samuel had been trained as a prophet from a child under Eli. He was Israel's next leader. But the people rejected God as King over them and demanded a human king "that also we may be like all the nations" of Satan's world (I Samuel 8:4-7, 20). God gave them Saul, tallest man in Israel. But in due time Saul disobeyed God and sinned. God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse where God had chosen Jesse's youngest son David to be the next king over Israel. Samuel's sons had not continued in Samuel's ways. And now King David had sons who conspired to take their father's throne. First, Absalom, having been exiled for committing murder, on being received back by kind-hearted David, conspired to steal his father's throne. Later another son, Adonijah, conspired to seize it and overthrow his father. But God had chosen David's son Solomon to succeed to the throne over Israel. After Solomon's death his son Rehoboam became king. Solomon had reigned in splendor. Not only had he built the world's finest edifice, the Temple (as God had willed and approved), but he spent lavishly on great public works, buildings and other projects. He lived in gorgeous splendor, exceeding every king before him. For this he grievously overtaxed the people. He plunged, in old age, into idolatry and turned to women. After Solomon's death the people sent a delegation to King Rehoboam. "Reduce the excessive taxes," the people's delegation said, "and we will serve you" (I Kings 12:4). Rehoboam consulted the older, wiser men, who advised him to heed the complaint of the people. Then he sought advice from the younger men, whose advice he followed, saying to the people, "... My father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (I Kings 12:11, 14). Again, a younger son departed from the wisdom of older men and willfully sought to lead God's people on his own rebellious way. 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 19 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 718 B.C., removing them from their land, carrying them as slaves to Assyria on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Shalmaneser thereupon "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 Kings 17:23-24). Kingdom of Israel Not Jews! So here is another TRUTH unknown in the teachings of most churches called Christian: 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 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 themselves, after a generation or more, did not know who they were — and also lost spiritually from God. The knowledge of this, from the Bible, is ANOTHER PROOF of the one original true Church today! This mystery is cleared up in a substantial booklet, The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy — sent free upon request. It is one of the most amazing, exciting, eye-opening accounts ever written. Shocking — but TRUE! Meanwhile, the house or kingdom of JUDAH (the Jews) continued to an extent in God's ways, but within a hundred years were sinning more flagrantly than Israel had. Judah Driven Out By about 604 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had become king over the world's FIRST EMPIRE — the Chaldean Empire, often called Babylon. From 604 to 585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's armies captured the kingdom of Judah and moved the Jews into Babylonian territory as slaves. Seventy years later, the Persian Empire had succeeded the Chaldean. God caused King Cyrus, by "stirring up the spirit of Cyrus" (Ezra 1:1) — his "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 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 Five: The True Gospel Reading time: 18 min 14 sec Could anything sound more unbelievable? To say the true gospel of Jesus Christ was not proclaimed to the world during 19 whole centuries—from the middle of the first century until the middle of the twentieth—may sound preposterous! Incredible! But TRUE! The world has heard much preaching about Jesus Christ as a person. That is good—but the gospel of Christ is the MESSAGE Christ proclaimed and taught. Jesus Himself said that many would come in His name—claiming to represent Him—saying that He, Jesus, is the Christ—and deceiving the MANY (Matt. 24:4-5). Good News Proclaimed But the gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news—the message—He proclaimed and taught. The word gospel means "GOOD NEWS." Jesus brought the GOOD NEWS of the world's ONLY and SURE HOPE! And I do not mean an ethereal, spiritualized unreal hope. He brought the good news of a coming entirely new and real world. A time when the earth will be filled with PEACE, HAPPINESS, JOY and ETERNAL SALVATION! God's one original true Church is virtually alone in proclaiming that GOOD NEWS today! What was that gospel message? One of the proofs that identifies God's one true Church in our time is the fact that, as Jesus foretold, His Church would at this crisis end time be proclaiming that same gospel at last! But first, notice what was written in the book of Galatians around A.D. 53 to 58 to the churches in Galatia: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6-7). Again, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness SUPPRESS THE TRUTH" (Rom. 1:18, RSV). No wonder we read of "the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9). Gospel Prophesied The prophet Malachi foretold the proclamation of the gospel, saying, "... the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant ..." (Mal. 3:1). Jesus Christ was that Messenger of the New Covenant. Actually Malachi here is referring to the TWO appearings of Christ on earth—but verses 2 to 6 definitely refer to His yet-future SECOND coming. Yet, he did refer also (in verse 1) to Christ's first coming, because this prophecy is quoted in Mark 1:1-2: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." Actually, this latter statement applies to both Jesus' appearing more than 1,900 years ago and to preparing the way before His second coming in power and glory as WORLD RULER. The latter is now being prepared from within the one true Church of God! That is another evidence of its identity! However, in Mark 1, verses 14-15, the account continues describing John the Baptist preparing the way before His first appearing then: "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." Gospel of the Coming Kingdom The gospel Jesus brought from God, which Christ 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 ..." (Matt. 4:23). He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus said, "... Unto what is the KINGDOM OF GOD like? ... It is like a grain of mustard seed ..." (Luke 13:18-19). Again, the KINGDOM OF GOD "... is like leaven ..." (Luke 13:21). 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 twelve 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 seventy disciples out on a special mission: "... the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two ... into every city and place, whither he himself would come... ." And He said to 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). Gospel Proclaimed to Gentiles 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 "preach[ed] 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 Cor. 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" (Gal. 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—19 centuries later—and THEN by the present living generation of that same ONE and ONLY true original Church of God, established by Jesus Christ in A.D. 31! The proclaiming of that only true gospel message taught by Jesus identifies the one and only true Church of God TODAY! What Is the Kingdom of God? IF "traditional Christianity" has NOT proclaimed that gospel—when the Bible is replete with passages showing that was the gospel Jesus preached—HOW DO THEY EXPLAIN IGNORING IT? The Roman Catholic Church simply claims that their church is the Kingdom of God. It is not generally realized, but the pope's title, "Vicar of Christ," means, literally, "in place of Christ." Not one merely serving Christ, but one who has REPLACED Christ! The Kingdom of God was already here! The papacy had come IN PLACE OF Christ, to rule the nations for 1,000 years. And the papacy did rule the "Holy Roman Empire" of Europe 1,260 years—A.D. 554 to 1814! But the popes and all Catholics are flesh and blood, and flesh and blood cannot inherit or enter into the Kingdom of God! Many Protestant churches have simply designated the Kingdom of God as "the church" in general, not necessarily their particular denomination. Others have spoken of the Kingdom of God as an ethereal something (or nothing) "set up in men's hearts." But none of those ideas square with the teaching of Christ and of Paul about what the Kingdom of God is. The Prophet Daniel Knew The prophet Daniel, who lived 600 years before Christ, knew that the Kingdom of God was a real kingdom—a government ruling over literal PEOPLE on the earth. Jesus Christ brought additional knowledge about it, which the prophet Daniel might not have known. Still, Daniel knew there was going to be a real, literal Kingdom of God on the earth. Daniel was one of four extraordinary and brilliant Jewish lads in the Judean captivity. These four men were stationed in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldean Empire, in training for special responsibilities in the Babylonian government. Daniel was a prophet who had been given special understanding in visions and dreams (Dan. 1:17). Nebuchadnezzar was the first real world ruler. He had conquered a vast empire, including the nation Judah. This king had a dream so impressive it troubled him—moved him to tremendous concern. He demanded that his magicians, astrologers and sorcerers tell him both what he had dreamed and what it meant. They could not. They were baffled. Then Daniel was brought before the king. Daniel disclaimed any more human ability to interpret dreams than the Chaldean magicians. "BUT," he said, "there is a GOD in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days ..." (Dan. 2:28). First, God's purpose was to reveal to this world-ruling human king that there is a GOD in heaven; that GOD IS SUPREME RULER over all nations, governments and kings; that God RULES THE UNIVERSE—even though, during the past 6,000 years, God has allowed nations generally to be left altogether to their own devices. But God was giving Nebuchadnezzar a special opportunity to accept His rule. This Chaldean king knew only about the many pagan demon gods. He knew nothing of the true living ALMIGHTY God. Like people and rulers, even today, he did not know that GOD is the living, REAL, active, RULING and GOVERNING PERSONAGE who actually and literally governs not only what is on earth, but the entire UNIVERSE! The whole purpose of this DREAM was to reveal GOD'S GOVERNMENT: the fact that God RULES, the truth of THE KINGDOM OF GOD—the very thing that is the one and only true GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! And, secondly, to reveal—preserved in writing for us TODAY—what is to happen "in the latter days"—probably within the next two decades—this last half of the twentieth century! For Us Today This is no dry, dull, dead writing for a people of 2,500 years ago. This is living, tremendous, big news for our day! It is advance news for us, now. News before it happens—of the most colossal event of all earth's history. Read, in your own Bible, Daniel 2, verses 28 through 35. In his dream, this king had seen a stupendous statue—larger than any image or statue ever built by man—so tremendous it was terrifying, even in a dream. Its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, legs of solid iron, feet and toes a mixture of iron and clay. There was a time element. Nebuchadnezzar had viewed it until a supernatural STONE came from heaven, smashing the statue on its feet. Then the whole of the statue broke into small fragments and was actually blown away by the wind—it disappeared! Then this STONE expanded miraculously and quickly became a great MOUNTAIN—so great it filled the whole earth! What did it mean? Did it have meaning? Yes, because this was God's doing. Unlike ordinary dreams, this one was caused by God to convey the message of God's sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar—and, because it is part of the written Word of God to us today—to reveal important facts of the TRUE GOSPEL! "This is the dream," said Daniel (verse 36), "and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king." This, then, is GOD'S interpretation. Men ought never to interpret the Bible. The Bible gives us GOD'S OWN INTERPRETATION! Here it is (verse 37): "Thou, O king, art a king of kings [he was the first real WORLD RULER over a world empire]: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory." God was revealing Himself to this human world dictator as the MOST HIGH Ruler over all. today, like this Chaldean king, seem not to think of God as a RULER—as the Supreme One who GOVERNS—as the Head of GOVERNMENT. The Eternal was revealing Himself through Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar—and through the Bible to you and to me TODAY—as a sovereign, all-powerful, governing God who is to be obeyed! This knowledge is another PROOF of the modern identity of God's one true Church! "Thou," continued Daniel to this human emperor, "art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another KINGDOM inferior to thee, and another third KINGDOM of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth" (verses 38-39). What Is a Kingdom? Notice! This is speaking of KINGDOMS. It is referring to kingdoms that bear rule over the people on earth. It is speaking of GOVERNMENTS! It is not speaking of ethereal sentiments "set up in the hearts of men." It is not speaking of churches. It is speaking of the kind of GOVERNMENTS that bear RULE and AUTHORITY over nations of PEOPLE here on earth. It is literal. It is specific. There is no misunderstanding here as to what is meant by the word "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! Then, verse 40, the legs of iron represent a fourth world empire. It was to be strong, even as iron is strong—stronger militarily than its predecessors. Yet, as silver is less valuable than gold, brass than silver, iron than brass, though each metal was harder and stronger, the succession would deteriorate morally and spiritually. The two legs meant the fourth empire would be divided. After the Chaldean Empire came the still larger Persian Empire, then the Greco-Macedonian and fourth, the Roman Empire. It was divided, with capitals at Rome and Constantinople. Now—verse 44! Read it! Get your Bible. See it with your own eyes in your own Bible. Here, in PLAIN LANGUAGE, is God's explanation of what the KINGDOM OF GOD IS: "And in the days of these kings... ." It is here speaking of the ten toes, part of iron and part of brittle clay. This, by connecting the prophecy with Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17, is referring to the new UNITED STATES OF EUROPE, which is now forming out of the European Common Market before your very eyes! Revelation 17:12 makes plain the detail that it shall be a union of ten KINGS OR KINGDOMS that (Rev. 17:8) shall resurrect the medieval "HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE." So, mark carefully the time element! "In the days of these kings"—in the days of these ten nations or groups of nations that shall, in our time, resurrect briefly the Roman Empire—notice what shall happen: "... shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ... but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever"! Yes, in Our Time Now here we have described FOUR universal world empires—the only four that ever existed! Revelation 17 shows that after the fall of the original Roman Empire there would be SEVEN revivals that would be ruled over by a Gentile CHURCH—the "daughter" of ancient BABYLON—a church claiming to be Christian, but actually named by God "MYSTERY BABYLON the Great"—or, more plainly, BABYLONIAN MYSTERIES! Six of those have come and gone. The seventh is now forming—the last, final, brief resurrection of the "Holy Roman Empire" by ten European groups or nations. These are the ten toes of iron and clay mixed. In their days—and they shall last but a very short space, possibly no more than two to three and a half years—shall the GOD OF HEAVEN SET UP A KINGDOM. This, then, shall be THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Compare with Revelation 17. Here is pictured a church. Not a small church—a GREAT church. She rules over "many waters" (verse 1), which are described in verse 15 as different nations speaking different languages. She posed as the Church of GOD—which Scripture says (Eph. 5:23; Rev. 19:7; Matthew 25:1-10) is the affianced bride of CHRIST, to be spiritually MARRIED to Him at His second COMING. But she has committed fornication. How? By having direct political union with HUMAN GOVERNMENTS of THIS WORLD! She "sat on" (Rev. 17:3) all seven of these resurrections of the Roman Empire—called the "Holy Roman Empire." She RULED OVER the human kingdoms—as a common-law and unmarried "wife" ruling her paramour "husband"—a totally unnatural and ungodly relationship. She is, therefore, to "sit on" this last "head of the beast"—this final resurrection of the Roman Empire. It will be a union of church and state. It is to endure but a very short time. It is to FIGHT AGAINST CHRIST at HIS SECOND COMING! That will be its END. We see it in process of rising now. Therefore we are CLOSE to the coming of Christ! We are now very near the END of this world! When Christ comes, He is coming as KING of kings, ruling the whole earth (Rev. 19:11-16); and HIS KINGDOM—the Kingdom of God—said Daniel, is to CONSUME all these worldly kingdoms. Revelation 11:15 states it in these words: "... The kingdoms of this world are become THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; and he shall reign for ever and ever"! This is THE KINGDOM OF GOD. It is the END of present governments—the governments that rule Russia, China, Japan, Italy, Germany—yes, and even the United States and the British nations. They then shall become the kingdoms—the GOVERNMENTS—of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, then KING of kings over the entire earth. This makes completely PLAIN the fact that the KINGDOM OF GOD is a literal GOVERNMENT. Even as the Chaldean Empire was a KINGDOM, even as the Roman Empire was a KINGDOM—so the KINGDOM OF GOD is a government. It is to take over the GOVERNMENT of the NATIONS of the world. Jesus Christ was BORN to be a KING—A RULER! When He stood, on trial for His life, before Pilate, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world... ." But Jesus also said to Pilate: "... My kingdom is not of this world ..." (John 18:37, 36). His Kingdom is of THE WORLD TOMORROW! Have you not read what the angel proclaimed to Mary, the mother of Jesus, prior to His birth? Jesus told Pilate He was born to become a KING. The angel of God said to Mary: "... thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the THRONE of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be NO END" (Luke 1:31-33). These scriptures tell you PLAINLY that GOD is supreme RULER. They tell you in plainest language that Jesus was born to be a KING—that He is going to RULE ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH—that His Kingdom shall rule eternally. But all this is only part of the fantastic, amazing, actually SHOCKING TRUTH about the KINGDOM OF GOD. The KINGDOM OF GOD will rule over the peoples and nations of the earth. Yet these mortal peoples and nations will NOT be the Kingdom, not even in the Kingdom of God. They shall merely be RULED BY IT! We still have to learn OF WHAT or OF WHOM it is composed. Can YOU, as an individual, ever become a part of this Kingdom? Can Be Entered In Jesus' day, the religious leaders knew He was a teacher sent from God with GOD'S TRUTH. They branded Him a false prophet, heretic and seditionist. Yet they knew His was the voice of GOD! One of them, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, occupying an office of authority over the Jews, came secretly by night to see Jesus. "Rabbi," said this Pharisee, "we know that thou art a teacher come from God" (John 3:2). Yes, we Pharisees, he said, know that! He did not say, "I know it." He said, "We know"—we Pharisees! They knew He spoke the TRUTH—yet they not only rejected it, they crucified Him! But Jesus hewed straight to the line! He told Nicodemus about THE KINGDOM OF GOD. He told him some things you need to UNDERSTAND! Notice! "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Yes, notice! The Kingdom of God is something that CAN be seen, but only by those who have been "born again." It is something others cannot see! Request our free booklet Just What Do You Mean—Born Again? But what about the CHURCH? Can carnal people SEE A CHURCH? Of course! But they cannot see the Kingdom of God! So SAID JESUS! Then, if you believe Jesus, the CHURCH cannot be the Kingdom of God! Notice further: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (verse 5). The Kingdom of God is something that can be entered into—BUT, only those "born of water and of the Spirit" can enter into it! He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh IS FLESH; and that which is born of the Spirit IS SPIRIT" (John 3:5-6). Notice further! In the resurrection chapter of the Bible, we read: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (I Cor. 15:50). The Kingdom of God is something no human, of flesh and blood, can enter or inherit! In Hearts of Pharisees? Let's take a good look at this. First realize, if the Bible does say the Kingdom of God is found in men's minds or hearts, it is contradicted by all the other scriptures I am giving you in this article. If the Bible does contradict itself, you can't believe it anyway—so then it still would prove nothing. First, to whom is Jesus speaking? Read it! "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). He was speaking to the unconverted, carnal, hypocritical, lying Pharisees. Notice, "He answered them and said... ." It was the Pharisees who asked Him the question. Were they in the CHURCH? No, never! If one thinks the Kingdom was "within" the Pharisees—was THE CHURCH within the Pharisees? Such an assumption is rather ridiculous, now, isn't it? Notice again precisely WHAT JESUS SAID. Remember the CHURCH had not yet been set up. Jesus did not say, "The Kingdom of God shall be set up in your hearts." He said none of the things people interpret into this verse. He said to the Pharisees that "the Kingdom of God IS"—present tense, NOW! Whatever He was saying the Kingdom of God is, He made it present tense, not future. Luke wrote these words, originally, in the Greek language. The Greek words he wrote were translated into the English words "within you." But, if you have a Bible with the marginal references, you will notice that this is alternately rendered "in the midst of you" or "among you." The context indicates that this indeed is the better translation. If your Bible is a Moffatt translation, you will notice that the translation recognized that Jesus was talking of His reign or rule, at the head of government. This is the Moffatt translation of the same verse: "He answered them, 'The Reign of God is not coming as you hope to catch sight of it; no one will say, "Here it is" or "There it is," for the Reign of GOD IS NOW IN YOUR MIDST.' " The Revised Standard translation renders it: "... the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." All these translations render it present tense. Jesus was not talking about a church soon to be organized. He was not talking about sentiments in the mind or heart. He was talking about His REIGN as the Messiah! The Pharisees were not asking Him about a church. They knew nothing of any New Testament Church soon to be started. They were not asking about a pretty sentiment. They knew, from the prophecies of Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, that their Messiah was to come. The Two Fateful Alternatives This world trouble began in 1914, with World War I. There was a recess from 1918 until 1939. We are in a second recess now—although we have been in what we call "the COLD WAR." But now at last we have nuclear energy. We have hydrogen bombs stockpiled in such power and volume that they could blast all human life off this planet several times over. There are two other destructive weapons today in existence, either of which could erase humanity from the earth. Today world-famous scientists say only a super world government can prevent world cosmocide. Yet MEN cannot and will not get together to form such a world-ruling government. It's time we face the hard, cold, realistic FACT. Humanity has two alternatives: Either there is an almighty, all-powerful GOD who is about to step in and set up THE KINGDOM OF GOD to rule all nations with supernatural and supranational FORCE to bring us PEACE—or else all human life would be obliterated (Matt. 24:22). If the deceived religionists who think the CHURCH is the Kingdom of God were right, and there is not going to be any supernatural and all-powerful WORLD GOVERNMENT, which is the Kingdom of God, then humanity is utterly without HOPE. All human life is in danger of extinction. But notice what Jesus Christ said! Can you BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST? Where is your trust—in the Word of God or in paganized, empty, deceiving teachings falsely labeled "Christianity"—inherited as "Christian tradition"—which say the CHURCH is the Kingdom of God, or that the Kingdom is merely a meaningless, frothy and ethereal sentiment "set up in our hearts"? It's about time you come to know who are the false prophets, and WHO is speaking the true Word of God faithfully! Proof Six: What and Why the Church? Part 1 When we come to the question, WHAT and WHY the Church, it is indeed astonishing that the one original true Church of God, still extant after 1,900 years of persecution, opposition, martyrdom, remains UNIQUE in having the answer. The real PURPOSE and function of the Church is as little understood as the knowledge of who and what God is, what and why MAN is, what was the gospel of Jesus Christ, the government of God and His supreme creative achievement—holy righteous CHARACTER. Isn't it incongruous? Man invents numerous religions for the worship of God—yet doesn't know WHO or WHAT God is. Man does not know what HE is! Or WHY! Seven hundred million who do not know the purpose or function of the church join "Christian" churches! True, indeed it is, that the whole world has been DECEIVED! Church Error Number One The first and most widespread false belief in this world's churches is the assumption that this is God's world—that God is desperately trying to get everybody "saved," while Satan is trying to keep everybody "lost." If that is true, Satan is surely winning that battle! But 1) God is NOT trying to "get everybody saved" spiritually, now! And 2) those uncalled are NOT "lost"—just not judged—YET! We need first to understand the world out from which God's Church has been called to be a separate, holy people. Let me restate it briefly. The first man Adam was given two MUSTS: 1) to reject Satan's way of "GET" and 2) to give himself to God's way of "GIVE"—the way of God's law—outflowing LOVE, thus developing the holy, righteous CHARACTER to qualify to restore the government of God on earth. But Adam rejected God's way. He rejected God as the Source of basic knowledge and as the God to be worshiped and obeyed. But let it now be emphasized that when God sentenced man, on Adam's choice, to 6,000 years of being cut off from God, the Eternal retained the prerogative of specially calling to Himself those He chose for special service. And, ALWAYS—in every case—those specially called were called for a mission PREPARATORY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Understand this! Everyone God called was chosen for a special mission PREPARING FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD! God is no respecter of persons. He called no "favorites" merely to bestow upon them His gift of eternal salvation. Each has been called for service to prepare for the KINGDOM OF GOD. BUT, understand this also: That special mission or service to which each called-out one has been chosen was GOD'S MEANS of developing in him the holy, righteous CHARACTER to QUALIFY him to reign and rule with and under Christ in God's KINGDOM—in THE WORLD TOMORROW! In ancient Old Testament Israel only the prophets were called in this sense. The Holy Spirit was never made available to others in Old Testament Israel. The purpose for the special calling of that nation has been covered in proof number four. Remember, God creates in DUAL stages. The first stage of man's creation was the physical stage. It began with Adam. The second phase of man's creation is the spiritual phase and begins with Christ. As a group or nation, Israel was called under the physical stage of man's creation. The SPIRITUAL stage began through Christ with righteous Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets in Israel. But as a group-calling, the Church of God begins the spiritual phase. The Church was called for a very special PURPOSE in preparation for the KINGDOM—a purpose not fully realized from the first century until the present generation. Adam's Creation Not Complete The first Adam, formed altogether from the dust of the ground, was given a spirit to empower the human brain with intellect. This was explained fully in proof number three. But he was incomplete—he was created to need also a second Spirit—the Holy Spirit of God. Old Testament Israel was not given God's Holy Spirit. Man, possessing only the one "human spirit," is, truly, "not all there"—yet he is unaware of the fact. He is a natural-born carnal person. He has only the physical, carnal mind. And what says God of the carnal mind? It is hostile against God and not subject to the law of God, "... neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). Also, as Jeremiah explained, this natural carnal mind is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Hundreds of years of Old Testament Israelitish experience proved this! They were given God's revealed knowledge which was hidden from other nations, yet they rebelled and sinned even above other nations! The World into Which Jesus Came It was into such a world—and to such a people (Judah)—that Jesus came. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11). First, before teaching or preaching His gospel of the Kingdom, Jesus had to QUALIFY to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD and establish the KINGDOM OF GOD. In the most titanic battle ever fought for the greatest stakes in the universe, Jesus overcame Satan, rejected Satan's "GET" way, proved 100 percent obedient and loyal to God (Matthew 4:1-11). He called and chose the disciples He trained to be His apostles. Then He said, "... Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell [the grave] shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee [His chief apostle] the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19). Plainly Jesus was speaking to one man, His chief apostle, when He spoke of binding and loosing—not to the Church. For 3 1/2 years Jesus taught His apostles-to-be about the Kingdom of God. Church Members Must Qualify The first Adam, in order to qualify to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on earth, had to overcome Satan—Satan's way ("GET")—and prove obedient to God. Adam failed. Christ, the second Adam, had to qualify by overcoming Satan and proving loyalty to God and God's way. He QUALIFIED! Each one in the Church must also qualify in order to sit on Christ's throne with Him! "And he that overcometh [Satan], and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron ..." (Revelation 2:26-27). Again, "To him that overcometh [Satan] will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame [Satan], and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Revelation 3:21). I have shown that the whole world, except those specially called by God, is CUT OFF from God—cut off from access to Him who has eternal life to give. Jesus CONFIRMED THAT plainly and definitely. He said, "No MAN CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him ..." (John 6:44). No scripture can or does nullify that! All others are CUT OFF from God. No one of them CAN COME to Christ! The Church of God Founded Jesus was crucified, resurrected after three days and three nights in the tomb (another incidental proof of the one true Church), and after 40 days ascended to the right hand of God in heaven. Then, on the day of the Feast of Firstfruits (Pentecost), A.D. 31, God sent the Holy Spirit in an amazing display, founding His Church! The number of disciples who still believed after Jesus' 3 1/2 years of preaching was a mere 120 (Acts 1:15). "... They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-3). I have purposely emphasized certain words in this scripture, because it was a ONE-TIME-ONLY incident. It never occurred before. It never has since. Modern "Pentecostal" meetings and "tongues speaking" are emphatically not the same thing at all. Notice carefully! First, they were all of one accord—something often not true today. Second, the Holy Spirit came suddenly—they did not "work it up" by emotionally shouting, as is usual in such meetings today. Third, the Holy Spirit came with a sound—they heard it—like a blast of a rushing mighty wind. No such thing occurs today. Fourth, the Holy Spirit is here twice called "it," not "he"—not a ghost or personage. Fifth, they saw the Holy Spirit. It appeared as divided tongues like fire. This was actually seen, sitting on each of the 120. No such thing is ever repeated in so-called "Pentecostal" meetings today! Now, further, do they today speak with the same kind of tongues? Here again the REAL Pentecost experience is not. in any sense duplicated today. Read on: "... There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad [word spread rapidly of this once-only amazing experience—hearing and seeing the Holy Spirit], the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them [the 120] speak in his own language" (Acts 2:5-6). Study this again carefully. The Mede among these devout Jews who came running in heard them—the 120—speaking the language of the Medes. And he understood what they were saying! The one Mede heard and understood 120 Galileans speaking the language of the Medes! But the Parthian heard them—the same 120—speaking his Parthian language! And so on! It was not a gibberish—unintelligible—as "tongues people" speak in their meetings today! And it needed no interpreter. I well remember experiences in such meetings, where in service after service the same man rose to interpret—and although the gibberish of different ones was entirely different, the "interpretation" had been memorized, and in every case was the same! I saw that kind of experience drive sincere people hungry for God's truth away in disgust! Let me add here that God's Holy Spirit is the Spirit of a SOUND MIND (II Timothy 1:7). The one and only original Church of God was founded that day of Pentecost, A.D. 31. They were all of SOUND mind—like-minded—of ONE accord. God Adds to His Church The multitude who came running in were all amazed—in wonderment doubting and asking, "What does this mean?" Then God's chief apostle, Peter, stood up to explain—to deliver to these thousands the first inspired sermon by an apostle. These devout Jews were "pricked in their heart" by Peter's sermon and asked, "What shall we do?" Peter gave no twentieth-century "altar call"—pleaded with none to talk them into conversion—but answered their question, saying, "Repent, 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). It was the power of the Holy Spirit that had struck straight in their hearts. GOD HAD CALLED THEM! "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41). "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine ..." (verse 42). Note here this important point! They did not appoint among themselves a "doctrinal committee" to decide intellectually in which doctrines they could believe God's apostle. God gave them the true doctrine through His apostle, and they continued together with one accord in "the apostles' doctrine and fellowship." Now WHO added members to the Church? Not apostolic or evangelical salesmanship—but "the LORD added to the church daily such as should be saved [were to be saved]" (Acts 2:47). Apostles Preached; Church Backed Them But what was the FOUNDATION of the Church? It is referred to as a "building," and a solid building must be built on a solid foundation. Of course Jesus Christ is the foundational Rock. But the Church is built on the FOUNDATION of the apostles (New Testament) and prophets (Old Testament), Jesus Christ Himself being the chief CORNERSTONE (Ephesians 2:20). Jesus taught the apostles. The CHURCH followed the apostles' doctrine. Lay members were not free to set, change or decide doctrinal TRUTH—but only to receive and believe it. A day or two after the Church was founded, Peter and John went up to the Temple. At the Beautiful Gate entrance was a crippled beggar, lame from birth. Peter, being asked for alms, took the cripple by the right hand, lifted him up, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:1-6). "And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple ..." (verse 8). The beggar was known to all. This miracle drew a huge crowd. Peter, explaining, preached to them about the resurrection of Jesus. He proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom, saying the heaven had received Jesus until the time of restoration of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD by the KINGDOM OF GOD (Acts 3:20-21). As Peter spoke, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them and threw them into prison for the night. Next morning, Peter and John were brought before the rulers, elders, scribes, the high priest and his family. Peter spoke briefly but boldly to them. They then threatened the apostles, forbidding them to preach any further about Christ and His Kingdom. Peter and John, though now inspired by the Holy Spirit, were human, and naturally were somewhat shaken up and frightened. Being released, they went immediately for moral support and encouragement to "their own company" (Acts 4:23), the Church. The Church "lifted up their voice to God with one accord" (verse 24). And when they (the Church) had prayed, God answered by shaking the place where they were assembled, filling them with His Spirit, courage and power. Another incident: The apostles had continued preaching, healing the sick and performing miracles. God added to the Church, but also the persecution grew. Peter again had been imprisoned. Steven had been stoned to death. In Acts 8:1 "... there was a great persecution against the church ... and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles." By the following Passover, persecution had mounted. "About that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison ... intending after [Passover] to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison ..." (Acts 12:1-5). Why Members Called Now came another example of how the Church stood back of the apostles. Remember, the word apostle means "one sent forth." Jesus had given the great commission to Peter and the apostles. The other members of the Church were not sent forth with the gospel. They were called to support and encourage the apostles in getting out the gospel message, as GOD'S MEANS of developing in them God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, qualifying them for places as kings and priests in the KINGDOM! So here came another incident showing how the Church supported the apostles. Continue, verse 5 of Acts 12: "... but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him"—Peter. The brethren stood loyally 100 percent back of God's apostles. What happened when the Church so unceasingly prayed? "... The same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands" (verses 6-7), and Peter followed the angel on out of the prison. Peter fled on to Caesarea. Jesus gave His GREAT COMMISSION to the apostles—those sent forth with the message. The lay brethren were added to the Church to support the apostles. The Great Commission Notice the GREAT COMMISSION as recorded by Matthew: "Now the eleven disciples [Judas had left them] went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them... . And Jesus came and said to them [not the whole Church], All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. GO, THEREFORE, and make disciples of all nations ... . " Notice, "make disciples OF," or within all nations. A disciple is a student—one learning, being taught. "... baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... ." Notice here, this does not and cannot refute Jesus' own statement that "NO MAN CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." The GREAT COMMISSION was not a commission to try to persuade ALL in those nations to come to Christ. Jesus said plainly, "... make disciples OF [within] all nations." He referred to those whom God had called—and they were, comparatively, exceedingly FEW by proportion to the whole population. Then Jesus continued, "... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:16-20, Revised Standard Version). The apostles were NOT sent forth on a soul-saving crusade, but to TEACH those whom God had called and made willing to listen. That is what God's apostle does to this day. Today we are able to utilize modern methods of MASS COMMUNICATION—radio, television, the printing press. We TEACH the good news of the coming KINGDOM to those whom God calls and makes willing to listen. In this way we TEACH and PROCLAIM the true GOSPEL MESSAGE to many MILLIONS worldwide. Our magazine, The Plain Truth, has more than TWO MILLION subscribers, and estimates are that each copy is read by at least three people—actually reaching six or seven MILLION people! And we teach all who willingly listen to observe all that God commanded His apostles! Now notice Mark's account of the GREAT COMMISSION: "Afterward he appeared unto the eleven... . And he said unto them, GO YE into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:14, 15). Naturally Jesus did not mean every human being on earth—but all they might reach who would hear. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved... ." Yet only those God called would be able to believe—for Jesus meant they should believe what was SAID—believe the GOOD NEWS! However, this is quoted from the 1611 King James Version, but nearly all other translations omit it, saying Mark did not write the words beginning in verse 9 through the end of the chapter, but that they were added by some later editor trying to make it harmonize with Matthew 28:18-19. 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. Reading time: 13 min 13 sec Part 2 Now let's get our bearings and understand the PURPOSE of the Church—its function. Remember, the Church was called out of a world CUT OFF from God—a world, as Jesus said, in which "NO MAN CAN come to me, except the Father draw him." The Church was the "called-out ones"—called out from the world. "Wherefore come out from among them [of the world], and be ye separate, saith the Lord..." (II Corinthians 6:17). REMEMBER, too, that from Adam God had called out of this world only those He chose to USE in a mission PREPARING FOR THE KINGDOM! The archangel Lucifer and his angels had been disqualified—changed into Satan and demons. Adam had chosen Satan's WAY of "GET" and rejected God as Source of basic knowledge, as Ruler and as Savior. According to Adam's decision, God cut THE WORLD off from access to Him. BUT, since God cut them off before they were born, God does not hold them responsible—they have not been judged; the responsibility is GOD'S—not theirs—for that which has been hidden from their minds. But now the time had come when the "second Adam"—Jesus Christ—had overcome Satan and QUALIFIED to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD to earth and establish the KINGDOM OF GOD—which is the divine FAMILY OF GOD, ruling the world—and ultimately the UNIVERSE! Jesus DID NOT come on a soul-saving crusade. Those uncalled and unsaved were NOT "lost." Just NOT JUDGED—yet! They shall be in the millennium and great white throne resurrection and judgment. Jesus came 1) to overcome Satan and QUALIFY to establish the KINGDOM OF GOD; 2) to call and teach His future apostles; 3) to proclaim the GOOD NEWS of the coming Kingdom of God; 4) to pay the penalty of the sins of the world by His death on the cross with His shed blood, thus reconciling those called to God the Father; 5) to be resurrected from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb, making the resurrection to IMMORTAL LIFE possible for those who are God's; 6) to ascend to the throne of God in heaven, and there, as the HIGH PRIEST of the Church and ITS LIVING HEAD, to direct the Church and intercede for it with God; and 7) having received the Kingdom from God, to COME AGAIN as the KING of kings and LORD of lords, in supreme almighty POWER and GLORY, to set up and rule THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Jesus ANNOUNCED the fact of the coming Kingdom, which, by His overcoming Satan, was ASSURED! He specially called and trained His apostles, started the Church with them and the 120, and then ADDED to the Church such as He needed to back up the apostles' ministry to THE WHOLE WORLD. To those He called, upon complete repentance and faith, He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus they became partakers of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). The PURPOSE and FUNCTION of the Church is: 1) to back up with loyal support the apostles, as their part in the GREAT COMMISSION—and as GOD'S MEANS of, allowing them 2) to overcome Satan, developing God's holy, righteous CHARACTER within them through the Holy Spirit, thus qualifying them also to sit with Christ in His throne in Jerusalem, with power for ruling the whole earth (Revelation 3:21; 2:26-27). This latter promise applies to those CALLED OUT OF THE PRESENT WORLD—not to those who shall be called (as ALL will) during the millennium! Church a Spiritual Organism—Yet Well Organized At this point a bit of personal experience will help the reader to UNDERSTAND. Jesus had called His apostles and taught them IN PERSON. Jesus Christ is the WORD OF GOD in person. The Bible is the Word of God IN WRITING! As the personal Word of God taught the original apostles, so He called and taught His modern-day apostle by the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD—the same TEACHING—the SAME TRUTH! After calling, giving His apostle the initial teaching, having him ordained, God added the 19 members that started His Church of this Philadelphia era. Then Christ had opened before His apostle, as one "SENT FORTH" with the gospel message, the means of MASS COMMUNICATION of the printed word, radio and later television. With such vast mass communication facilities, one apostle could reach many times more people with the gospel message than the original twelve, plus the apostle Paul and others sent to Gentile nations. I soon saw the need, as God's Word sets forth for the CHURCH, of evangelists, pastors, other elders and teachers—as well as people trained in ADMINISTRATIVE responsibilities. So God raised up Ambassador College to provide training for the supportive functions behind the apostle in the GREAT COMMISSION. Remember, the Church is still in the six-millennia era of this PRESENT EVIL WORLD. We are "called-out ones"—called to be SEPARATE! Just as the angels on earth (pre-Adamic) needed the GOVERNMENT OF GOD to synchronize the various functions into a team unit, so was this necessary in God's Church. The operation of the GREAT COMMISSION, especially in this twentieth century, requires, as the New Testament clearly states, organization. So God set His GOVERNMENT in His Church. And God's government is authority from the TOP down. God the Father is in supreme authority over all. Next in authority under Him is Jesus Christ, living Head of the Church. On the human and earthly level, next in authority under Christ is His chosen apostle. God organized ancient Israel, under Moses, with captains over thousands next under Moses, then under them captains over hundreds, over fifties, etc., as God led Moses to choose. I will here inject an incident in point. Christ had led His apostle to appoint the apostle's son next under him, because he was the best qualified, in the office of executive vice president. Perhaps it was a mistake to use such a modern business title. Nevertheless the son, like David's sons, Absalom and Adonijah, began to simply take over. He initiated policies he was not authorized to set. He wanted to secularize the college, the magazine (The Plain Truth), and even the Church. He wanted this world's accreditation for the college. He demoted or shanghaied the top-ranking ministers who had been trained under and were loyal to Christ's apostle. Meanwhile, the apostle, as "one sent forth" with Christ's gospel message, was going into all the world—and was away from headquarters up to 300 out of the 365 days in the year. As the son departed from the ways of his father and of God (as did the sons of Eli and of King David), he SHUT OFF ALL AUTHORITY ABOVE HIM. He threatened with loss of their positions in the Work any under him who in any manner contacted or revealed to his father how he was departing from God's ways, watering down doctrines and teachings—first in the college, then starting also in the Church. Cowed with fear, those who knew how the son was destroying the Work of the living GOD kept silent. Finally, four leaders under him took courage and came to God's apostle, saying, "God forgive us for keeping silent so long, but we were afraid for our jobs. But now we have to report to you that your son is systematically destroying all that Christ has built through His apostle and is building something for himself. Like a spoiled child, he wants his own way." God's apostle, to be not guilty of Eli's sin, removed his son from all authority and disfellowshipped him from the Church. The son had represented that no one dare "take it over his head" by going to Christ's apostle—that ALL authority in a then great worldwide Work of God stopped with him!—that he had SHUT OFF all authority above himself. But even Christ's apostle has no authority to SHUT OFF the authority above him. In God's government, the one in lesser authority is still UNDER the authority of those over him. Authority does not END at any point under God the Father. The end of this incident in point is that all in God's Church now know that the door to Christ's apostle is always open to ALL under him! God's Church is NOT a worldly ORGANIZATION—it is a SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATION, called out of this world and its ways by Christ. Yet it is WELL ORGANIZED—it must be to function. The Church consists of the begotten children of God—the DIVINE FAMILY-TO-BE! The Household of God Actually the Church is, on the human level, the BEGOTTEN FAMILY OF GOD. To the Gentile converts at Ephesus, God inspired Paul to write: "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God"(Ephesians 2:19). In other words, of the begotten FAMILY of God. Continue: "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles [New Testament] and prophets [Old Testament], Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy TEMPLE in the Lord" (verses 20-21). So God reveals here that the Church is: 1) the HOUSEHOLD or begotten FAMILY of God; 2) a building—a HOLY TEMPLE—fitly joined together—that is, well organized (and, of course, on GOD'S pattern). As a building—the HOLY TEMPLE to which Christ will come—it is built on a FIRM FOUNDATION: the apostles, chosen by Christ, and the prophets. MUCH of the New Testament is simply quotations, or citations, from the writings of the prophets of the Old Testament. The things written in the Old Testament were "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (I Corinthians 10:11). Again the apostle Paul reminded Timothy: "... from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures [the only Scriptures Timothy could have known from a child were those written by Old Testament prophets], which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 3:15). The writings of the Old Testament prophets are part of the FOUNDATION of the Church of God! And, of course, Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone—the very HEAD of the Church. The Temple to Which Christ Will Come There has been much perplexity and discussion as to when the temple will be built to which Christ shall come. Malachi's prophecy speaks of Christ's second coming to His temple (Malachi 3:1-6). In Haggai's prophecy it is referred to prophetically. Zerubbabel had been sent as governor of a colony to build the second temple 70 years after the destruction of Solomon's temple. He built the temple to which Jesus came, though it had been enlarged and embellished by the Roman Herod. But speaking of this temple, as a type and forerunner of the temple to which Christ shall come at His second coming, it is written, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:9). It is inconceivable that the Israelis, in the present international turmoil over their possession of old Jerusalem, could ever demolish the Arab Moslem Dome of the Rock—now standing on the site of Solomon's temple—and build a new one there of greater splendor and glory than Solomon's! However, as the second temple Zerubbabel was building was a typical forerunner of the temple to which Christ shall come, even so Zerubbabel was the typical forerunner of one Christ would use in building the far more glorious temple to which Christ shall come in His GLORY! Zechariah 4:9: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it...." And as Zerubbabel's hands did finish that second temple, so shall the one Christ uses in building the temple to which He shall come in His GLORY! And the Church of God of the present day shall be a "building fitly framed together [and growing] unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:21). Church the Bride of Christ The one and only true Church, a spiritual organism well organized by Christ, is the affianced Bride of Christ—to MARRY Christ, after His coming and after the resurrection and change of the Church into immortality. In Ephesians 5 this is shown by analogy. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.... For we are members of HIS BODY, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:25-32). 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 Corinthians 11:2: "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's coming 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 honour to him: for the marriage of the 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 ALREADY PROVED THEIR OBEDIENCE! Modern Facilities for Mass Communication Today The Church members, as a whole, are not called to "GO FORTH" with the gospel message, but to back up, help, support the apostle in carrying the message into all the world. I mentioned that one apostle today, with modern facilities for mass communication—the printing press, radio, television, even the telephone by which one may reach another in any part of the world in a matter of minutes or less—can reach more people by far than all of the first century apostles combined. But this use of modern facilities in our day necessitates a considerable organization of people in various administrative capacities, besides evangelists, pastors and assistants, elders, deacons and deaconesses in local churches worldwide. In Jesus' parable of the talents (Matthew 25), He pictured Himself as giving talents to various ones left here on earth while He was in heaven. "And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability..." (verse 15). These "talents"—pieces of money—symbolized spiritual gifts and a measure of the Holy Spirit given each. He gave according to the natural ability of each. The twelfth chapter of I Corinthians reveals that there are various offices of administration in the Church—and that God gives various spiritual gifts for those various functions. The SAME PRINCIPLE holds, since God is consistent and never changes. He gives, through the Holy Spirit, special abilities, according to one's own natural abilities. I have often talked about "fitting the square peg into the round hole" to illustrate human failure because so many are NOT doing what by natural ability they are fitted to do. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit" (I Corinthians 12:4). All these various special talents, abilities or aptitudes, though several, are all given by the same Holy Spirit. "And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all" (verses 5-6). It is GOD working in us. "But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is ONE, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are ONE BODY: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into ONE BODY..." (verses 11-13). "And now are they many members, yet BUT ONE BODY" (verse 20). What about those who follow a MAN, outside that ONE BODY? God says we are not to follow a MAN. Paul said that "of your own selves shall men arise... to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:30). The apostle Paul had to correct the Corinthian church because they were following individual MEN: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing..."—and where did the Church receive that one same thing they were all to believe? From THE APOSTLES! And the apostles received it from CHRIST. And Jesus Christ received it from GOD the Father! Continue: "... that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (I Corinthians 1:10). The apostle reproved them, saying, "... there are contentions among you" (verse 11). "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ" (verse 12). CHRIST is NOT divided (verse 13). Reading time: 12 min 33 sec Part 3 What about the "loner" Christian who says, "I will serve Christ in my own way"? What about the one who leaves God's Church to have his own private relation with Christ—to get his own salvation—without giving his part of the Church's effort to send the true gospel into ALL THE WORLD? 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 in complete 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] 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 to 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 who 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, "Except God build the house, they labour 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! How Well Organized? Notice again how well organized is the one true Church for getting the GREAT COMMISSION to the whole world: "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Ephesians 2:21). Again: "From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted [pressed together, knit or drawn together, consolidated] by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part …" (Ephesians 4:16). "And he [Christ] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, TILL we all come in the UNITY of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13). The true Church of God has these offices, as the living Christ put them in His Church. A Tithe-Paying Church God's continuing original Church is also a tithe-paying Church. The Church receives that ONE SAME THING they all are commanded to believe—even as the Church beginning in A.D. 31 did—from the APOSTLES who received the doctrines and teachings FROM CHRIST! The Church of God under Peter, Paul and the first-century apostles was a Church which gave not only tithes but offerings! Tithing started BEFORE Moses and the Old Testament Israel. It started with Abraham, who, after the slaughter of the kings, gave the tithe of all to Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God (actually the one who became Christ). Write for the free reprint article "The Mystery of Melchizedek Solved." Tithing to God—PAYING a tenth of one's "increase"—became a law in Old Testament Israel. After both Israel and Judah had gone into captivity and slavery, the prophet Malachi, writing about 450 B.C., as one of the prophets who with the apostles and Christ form the FOUNDATION of the Church, wrote PROPHETICALLY concerning our time today: "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? IN TITHES AND OFFERINGS. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation" (Malachi 3:8-9). Both the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah had long before been taken out of their land as slaves. A comparatively small contingent was sent back to Jerusalem 70 years after Judah's captivity by King Cyrus of Persia under governorship of Zerubbabel to build the second temple. Some of these Jews were still in Judea when Malachi wrote, but the two nations, as a whole composing ancient Israel, were not there. THIS WAS NOT MOSAIC LAW—this was PROPHECY for OUR DAY! Malachi continued, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and PROVE ME NOW HEREWITH, saith the Eternal, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (verse 10). That is not "Old Testament stuff," as God's true Church KNOWS—and because it has TITHED, it has had God's blessing and prosperity. Speaking of tithes, Jesus said, "… these ought ye to have done …" (Matthew 23:23); Hebrews 7:4-12 binds tithing in the New Testament. I Corinthians 9:1-14 definitely upholds the principle of tithing and GIVING. Knowledge of God's Master Plan Of all the religions—and of all the denominations and sects in "Christianity"—God's true Church alone has understanding of the master plan of God for His spiritual creation of man. This is forcibly reminded every year in the Church by the seven annual holy days and festivals Christ instituted in the Church. Small as the Church is in numbers—Jesus spoke of it as the "little flock" and said that as they had persecuted Him so would they His Church—nevertheless the Church's great annual autumnal Feast of Tabernacles is the LARGEST church conclave, convention or festival held on earth! As God made the weekly Sabbath FOR MAN (Mark 2:27) when man was made, so He gave His Church seven annual Sabbaths and seven annual festivals when He first established the Church. In Acts 7:38, you will find the Old Testament congregation of Israel called "the church in the wilderness." It was composed of the human-born children of Israel; the Church of the New Testament is composed of the begotten children of GOD. As the Old Testament church was called the congregation of Israel, so the New Testament Church is called the Church of GOD. To the Church—both Old Testament under Moses and New Testament under Christ—God gave these annual occasions to emphatically remind His people, annually, of His master plan. No other church or religion, to our knowledge, observes these festivals or knows their tremendous MEANING! It has been stated before that as the physical creation of man began with the physical Adam, so the SPIRITUAL creation of man begins with the spiritual Christ. The first of these annual festivals is the Passover, observed on the eve of the fourteenth day of the first month of the sacred year. This is the year's most solemn service, on the anniversary—as a memorial—of the death of Christ to reconcile those called to God. This is immediately followed by the next seven days—the Festival of Unleavened Bread. All leaven must be put out of members' houses, and nothing leavened may be eaten. Leaven is a symbol of sin. It emphatically reminds God's called-out ones daily for seven days through their stomachs that we must put sin out of our lives. Also it is a memorial, on the anniversary of Israel's exodus out of Egypt. Egypt also is symbolic of sin—and Israel was taken out by God with miracles, as He delivers His people today from the bondage of sin. There are two annual holy days in this festival—the first and the last of the seven. The third annual festival is the Feast of FIRSTFRUITS, called in the New Testament of the Bible "Pentecost," because this is the one set-apart time of year when the Church COUNTS to calculate the proper day. It is 50 days, counted beginning on the "morrow after the weekly Sabbath" which occurs during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. "Pentecost" is simply the Greek for "fifty-count." This pictures the coming and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, begetting the "firstfruits"—those relative first few called to spiritual salvation. The Holy Spirit came on the very fiftieth day—the first time the Holy Spirit was given to a group, which formed the Church of God. This annual festive occasion reminds God's people yearly that they are merely the first to be called to spiritual salvation; that the world, except the few called, is CUT OFF from God—neither "saved" nor "lost"—just not yet called! Therefore not yet judged. Another incidental proof of the identity of the one true Church is the knowledge, that with the foundation of the Church of God, "the time is come that JUDGMENT must begin at the house of God." Those called into God's Church are now being judged. Others are not—YET! These annual festivals are built around the annual harvest seasons in Jerusalem. The first three portray the early grain harvest, typical of the first early spiritual harvest in the conversion of man. The last four correspond to the final great autumnal harvest. They all come in the seventh sacred month. Festival number four is the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah in Judaism), on the first day of the seventh month of the sacred calendar. The Feast of Trumpets pictures and reminds the Church yearly of the SECOND COMING of CHRIST to reign over all the earth. Largest Convention on Earth The fifth festival is the Day of Atonement, called in Judaism Yom Kippur—a solemn fast day. No food may be eaten from sunset to sunset. It pictures to God's people restoring man to AT-ONE-MENT with God. The world, cut off from God these 6,000 years, has been deceived and led by the god of this world, Satan. Jesus Christ QUALIFIED to replace the former Lucifer on the THRONE of the earth. When He comes as KING of kings, Satan shall be deposed, bound, shut up (Revelation 20:3) for 1,000 years. Without Satan, who has "worked IN the people of the world" (Ephesians 2:2), humanity at last may be made AT ONE with the true Creator GOD! The sixth festival is the Feast of Tabernacles—a seven-day festival, with the first day the sixth annual Holy Day. The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) is followed by an eighth day, a one-day holy day—making in all an eight-day festival. This pictures the millennial reign of the KINGDOM OF GOD, ruling all nations for 1,000 years. During this millennium, ALL living will be called to repentance and faith and eternal salvation through the reigning CHRIST—with no Satan to overcome. More of the details of this time will be given under PROOF number seven, to follow. This seventh and final holy day begins at sunset just as the Feast of Tabernacles is ending. As stated earlier, small though the Worldwide Church of God may be in numbers, this is the largest church convention or conclave held annually on earth—with festival sites all over the world. When the Billions Shall Be Called The final eighth day (the seventh festival) brings to mind again every year what is in God's master plan for the BILLIONS of people who have lived and died since Adam—cut off from God—UNjudged—neither "lost" nor yet "saved." They will be resurrected after the millennium in a special resurrection (Revelation 20:11-13). This is also described in Ezekiel's prophecy of the "valley of dry bones" (Ezekiel 37). All previously uncalled will be resurrected MORTAL, and with the 7,000 years of humanity now history, will face up to what their experience in sin really proved. All then will be called to repentance and ETERNAL LIFE. Final Fate of the Incorrigible There shall then be one more resurrection—of those who were called to salvation, but rejected it—the incorrigible wicked. They will be resurrected MORTAL to realize their fatal decision. They will be "cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Revelation 20:14-15). This "lake of fire" is pictured by Peter in his second letter. "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets [Old Testament] , and of the commandment of us the apostles [New Testament] of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (II Peter 3:1-10). Malachi adds, of that final destruction of the willful rebellious into unconscious (Ecclesiastes 9:5) annihilation: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch… . for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 4:1-3). The Name of the True Church The NAME of God's true Church is important—but not alone the exclusive proof of identification, because a small number of professing Christian sects use the name. Yet the one and only original Church founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ most certainly will have the true NAME! God names things and people what they are. The "church in the wilderness"—the Old Testament church (or congregation) was named the "congregation of Israel" because it was composed of the physically born children of Israel. The two-letter word of denotes ownership or origin. The New Testament Church organized by Christ is called, twelve TIMES in the New Testament, "the CHURCH OF GOD," sometimes with a modifying word or phrase such as "the Church of God, which is at Corinth," or the "Churches of God in Judea." Today it is known as the Worldwide Church of God. The English word "church" is translated from the Greek ekklesia, and the Greek word used in the original writing of the New Testament means, simply, a group, an assembly, etc., without specific reference to a church. At Ephesus, for example, the city council—political—was called an ekklesia, with no religious connotation at all. The ONLY FACTOR that makes the word "church" sacred is when it refers to the Church of GOD—in other words, the group, congregation, assembly or church that BELONGS TO GOD. It is GOD'S name connected with it that lends sanctity to the name. For example, the name "Roman Catholic Church" means a universal (catholic) church of Rome. The "Lutheran Church" is that group or body of people following or established by Luther. The "Methodist Church" means (in its name) a group or body of people following a certain method. The "Baptist Church" by name means a group or combination of groups who believe in baptizing and who follow John the Baptist. The name "Congregational Church" simply implies a group of people who believe the lay people ought to have the authority. The name "Presbyterian Church" means an associated group who believe the "presbytery" of officiating clergy have the authority. The name "Church of God" means that group of "called-out ones," called out from this world, who look to GOD as the authority—and who submit to government from God through Christ, through (on the human level) apostles chosen by Christ—NOT elected by the people! So there is vital MEANING to the name of the true Church. And the name is IMPORTANT! In Jesus' last prayer to God before being crucified, He prayed, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world… . And now … I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be ONE, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name … " (John 17:6, 11-12). Reading time: 11 min 50 sec Proof Seven: The reign of the Kingdom of God Reading time: 9 min 28 sec How incongruous! The churches calling themselves "Christian" do not know that the true gospel is the GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. They know nothing of what the earth will be like under the rule of the KINGDOM OF GOD! They know nothing of the only GOOD NEWS in today's world—of the world's only and sure HOPE! Don't laugh at the word "utopia"! It is regarded in today's troubled world as an impractical, impossible JOKE! Webster's dictionary defines it: "an imaginary and indefinitely remote place; a place of ideal perfection, especially in laws, government and social conditions; an impractical scheme for social improvement." Jesus Christ was no impractical dreamer. His gospel was the GOOD NEWS that a coming UTOPIA is REAL—it is SURE! Stop and THINK! WHY should it be impossible to have ideal perfection—in laws, government and social conditions? WHY? "Human nature," you answer? Yes, but as shown in a previous installment, human nature was NOT created in us by GOD—was NOT born in us. It has been injected into humans by the "prince of the POWER OF THE AIR," Satan, who is so powerful that he surcharges the air with his morbid attitude of gloom, resentment, rebellion, selfishness, vanity, strife. Satan broadcasts in self-centered attitudes, and the "human" spirit in every human is tuned in on his wavelength! Thus Satan is now actually WORKING IN the people of this disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). But when the glorified CHRIST comes in supreme POWER and GLORY to rule all nations, Satan will be totally restrained from humanity. ALL will be called to salvation and eternal life—and, as God's people now are, will become partakers of the divine nature! (II Peter 1:4). "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 (Isaiah 11:9). Science's Postulate of the Future World-famous scientists foresee three possibilities for the future. 1) Some optimists think we shall soon have the magic push-button century 21—with such an array of gadgetry produced by technology that human labor will be all but eliminated, and the world shall be entranced and bedazzled by material technology. But, of course, this would not rid us of human nature. Crime would escalate, family life would break down completely, morals would sink even lower—if possible! 2) We shall have more and more evils, and, with nuclear power and other means of mass destruction, humanity will soon be erased from the earth. 3) Some say the world's only hope, now, to escape cosmocide is to form one gigantic world government, controlling the only military power and weaponry—yet in the same breath they admit the impossibility of it. WHO would sit on the throne RULING the world? The United States and Europe would never accept a Communist in supreme command. The Communists would never accept an American or Western European. WHY?—yes, WHY should we have a world where more than half of all its people live in illiteracy, abject poverty, filth and squalor, racked with diseases and pains and without hope? WHY?—when the human mind can produce the marvels of technology, the computer, send men to the moon and back, transmit photographs from the surface of Mars and Jupiter to the earth? Can't we realize there has to be a CAUSE for all these evils—and that the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD has power to eradicate the causes and usher in a REAL Utopia? Don't sell God short! The Two Alternatives Let's face it! Right now there are two alternatives. Either there does exist the living almighty GOD of supreme mind and power, who will very soon intervene and SAVE HUMANITY FROM ITSELF, or else HUMAN EXTINCTION is now imminent! There is no other alternative! But thank God, there is the GOOD NEWS of the soon-coming PEACEFUL, HAPPY WORLD TOMORROW! When the supreme Creator-RULER comes again to earth, already crowned as KING of kings, in supreme POWER and GLORY and all the holy angels with Him, the Gentile nations actually will FIGHT to resist Him! But "... their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth" (Zechariah 14:12). The living CHRIST is coming to RULE WITH DIVINE FORCE! And one of His first acts will be to depose Satan! The CAUSE of the world's evils will be removed! Jesus, after His resurrection, ascended to heaven, in clouds taking Him up out of sight. He shall return in clouds. The mighty Lord shall descend with a SHOUT!—with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ shall rise in a glorious resurrection to SPIRIT IMMORTALITY! The living in Christ shall then be caught up in the air with them, changed to spirit immortality—to MEET the descending Lord in the air (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). Christ's feet shall stand that same day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4). The immortal saints shall be continually with the Lord—reigning with and under Him from Jerusalem over all nations! 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. The Government Organization God has not revealed in specific detail how His government will be organized. He does reveal that it shall be government from the TOP down. Christ will be KING of kings over all nations. It is specifically revealed that King David of ancient Judah, resurrected, shall be king over the nations descended from the 12 tribes of ancient Israel (Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24-25; Jeremiah 30:9). Jesus Himself revealed that the 12 original apostles shall sit on 12 thrones, each ruling one of these nations (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). As a theocracy, with government from the top down, it also is revealed that God the Father is the supreme LAWGIVER, and head over Christ and therefore ABOVE ALL. The Kingdom of God is the FAMILY OF GOD—and the Father is supreme head over His family! Jesus Christ is coming as KING of kings and LORD of lords, so the Kingdom of God shall combine church and state, as did ancient Israel—with Christ earthly King and LORD. NOTE WELL THIS PRINCIPLE: In a world cut off from God, God has called out of the world those predestinated. And in every instance the call has been to a definite DUTY, and also in every case that duty has been one PREPARING FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. God called Abraham. All the PROMISES of our eternal salvation were given to Abraham, and we inherit them from the fact Abraham is the "father of the faithful." This reveals that Abraham will have higher position in the Kingdom than David. He will be NEXT UNDER CHRIST. Then again, the Scriptures use the phrase "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," grouping them together as a team. All the PROMISES were repromised also to Isaac and to Jacob. This indicates they shall be a headquarters TEAM—next under Christ—over both church and state, with Abraham chairman of the team. In Luke 13:28, Jesus said definitely that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob shall be in that glorified Kingdom. One Government Over All When the KINGDOM—the divine FAMILY of God—reigns on earth, it shall be the ONE GOVERNMENT over ALL nations. There shall be ONE God, ONE government, ONE religion. In the transfiguration vision, Peter, James and John saw Christ transformed into the GLORIFIED Christ, His face shining as the sun (Matthew 17:1-7), and with Him in the Kingdom Moses and Elijah. These two, in the vision, represented the offices of church and state. Both Moses and Elijah, in their human lifetime, qualified for chief positions in church and state, respectively, next under Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—Moses over all national GOVERNMENTS—Elijah over church. It was Elijah who restored KNOWLEDGE of the worship of the true God. All these men, who were CALLED to special missions by God during their physical human life, were prepared and qualified for these positions in the KINGDOM. Actually, the preaching of the gospel and spread of religion IN THE KINGDOM will be primarily RELIGIOUS EDUCATION—since ALL shall be called, and the decision will be made individually by each person. It is significant that Elijah had founded THREE COLLEGES (II Kings 2:3, 5; 4:38) at Bethel, Jericho and Gilgal, teaching God's TRUTH in a world corrupted by false paganized education. The one original true Church of God is UNIQUE in the knowledge that THIS WORLD HAS BEEN CUT OFF FROM GOD—its inhabitants who were uncalled are therefore NOT BEING JUDGED—yet! They have been neither "saved" nor "lost." But THEY HAVE BEEN DECEIVED! As Jesus said, many would go out claiming to represent Him, proclaiming that Jesus was the CHRIST (Messiah)—yet DECEIVING THE MANY! (Matthew 24:4-5, II Corinthians 11:13-15). Millions have been deceived into a FALSE SALVATION. What about all these sincere people—are they "LOST"? Of course not. But neither did they receive the "salvation" they were deceived into expecting. They simply were not—YET—judged. THEY SHALL BE—all who have died—in the resurrection of the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-13). Salvation shall surely come to all who—once the TRUTH is revealed, and they are undeceived—are as willing as they thought they were in the false salvation they were deceived into accepting! This will include many whom our readers may have supposed were "lost." It is a GLORIOUS HOPE! Now notice Matthew 25:31 on. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." Combine that with other scriptures already covered. When Jesus comes in His glory, He will come as He went to heaven—in clouds. The dead shall rise first—in a resurrection—then the living in Christ shall be instantly changed to spirit immortality and be caught up in the air with them to meet the descending Lord. His feet shall stand that same day on the Mount of Olives. The resurrected and changed saints shall be continually from then with Him. Then He shall sit on the throne of His glory—in the City of David, Jerusalem. All the holy angels will be with Him. In Revelation 12 we find that a third of the angels followed Lucifer into rebellion. But what about all these HOLY angels—the other two-thirds? I have said angel creation was not COMPLETE until by their own decision CHARACTER—either righteous or evil—had been formed in them. What about this two-thirds of angels, here called HOLY! God does not reveal HOW their character, and therefore their creation, was completed. But, in some manner not revealed, it is apparent the two-thirds had formed holy and righteous character, for here they are called HOLY angels, and in many parts of both Old and New Testaments they are described as definitely holy and in God's service. All Nations Gathered Now continue, Matthew 25:32, "And before him [Christ] shall be gathered all nations ... ." This can refer only to the people in all nations still remaining alive at that time—all MORTAL, human, flesh-and-blood people. Remember, many who had been called and truly converted will then be sitting with Christ in His throne at Jerusalem. Continue: "... and he shall separate them one from another ... ." Remember the dead and living IN Christ had already been separated and risen to meet Christ in the air. This separation refers to the still-living MORTALS—who had not previously been called—who had, up to now, been cut off from God and from salvation. But now, with Christ on the throne and Satan gone, ALL are spiritually called! Now continue, still verse 32: "... as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then [verse 34] shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." All then still living will be called. Those who decide for God's Kingdom—with Satan then out of the way—will INHERIT the Kingdom of God—be BORN INTO IT! "Then [verse 41] shall he say also unto them on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels [demons]." That fire is described in 2 Peter 3:10-12—the face of the earth becoming a molten inferno—burning up the mortal incorrigible. However, this fire will not take place until the end of the millennium. Verse 46, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." That "everlasting punishment" has been construed by the deceived to mean "everlasting punishING—but it is punishMENT—and the wages of sin is DEATH (Romans 6:23). True, some few scriptures speak of the fire NOT BEING QUENCHED—and the deceived misconstrue this to mean an eternally burning hell. Often I have illustrated this before audiences by placing a small piece of paper in a metal pan and lighting it. I say to the audience, "Now watch! This fire shall not be quenched!" Then I put the remaining ash on the floor, step on it and quote Malachi 4:3, "... they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet ... ." WHAT A FABULOUS POTENTIAL lies ahead of all humans willing to BELIEVE when called! WHAT WONDERFUL TRUTH God has revealed to His one and only true original Church, small and persecuted, yet vigorously ALIVE with God's WONDERFUL TRUTH! The Plain Truth - 1979 The Seven Proofs written by Herbert W Armstrong as seen in the following issues: Plain Truth - Feb 1979 Proof One Plain Truth - March 1979 Proof Two and Three Plain Truth - April 1979 Proof Four Plain Truth - May1979 Proof Five Plain Truth - Jun/Jul 1979 Proof Six - Part 1 Plain Truth - Aug 1979 Proof Six - Part 2 Plain Truth - Sept 1979 Proof Six - Part 3 Plain Truth - Oct/Nov 1979 Proof Seven

Explore our in-depth churches of god bible study resources to gain insights into God's word. Discover the truth with churches of god bible study. Bible Studies Below is a small sample of our Bible Studies. To access the full collection, contact us The Book of James "Study to show yourself approved" "Study to show yourself approved" "Study to show yourself approved" "Study to show yourself approved" The Armor of God The Armor of God - Part 1 The Armor of God - Part 2 The Breast Plate of Righteousness - Part 1 The Belt of Truth - Part 2 12 Rules for Bible Study Pray for guidance Be willing to accept correction Prove all things Realize the Bible never contradicts itself Be sure to read the Bible as it is written Check the context carefully, that is read all the scriptures around the verse in question Get all the scriptures "let God be true and every man a liar" Don't put vague scriptures first Use several translations Don't establish doctrine with Bible helps Mark your Bible Why is the Bible the most misunderstood book in all history? The most twisted, distorted, maligned, misrepresented and lied-about book there is? Because people refuse to believe it means exactly what it says! This second installment explains twelve simple, basic rules to help you understand the plain truth of God's Word! Do YOU understand the Bible when you read it? Or, have you not even bothered to study your Bible because you felt it was out-of-date? Because the old English is difficult to understand? Or because you felt the Bible was supposed to be mysterious? You Can Understand! The Bible is the instruction book of the One who created you. It is His instruction TO YOU, explaining clearly and plainly how you can have a happy, filled-with-interest, abundant and successful life! God's Word reveals the purpose for your being! It explains the REASON for human suffering. It explains WHEN and WHY and HOW GOD IS going to intervene to relieve that suffering! It therefore ought to be the one book everyone should understand! But why has it been so grievously misunderstood? Because almost no one, it seems, has been willing to apply the twelve rules of Bible study. The First Six Rules To summarize, briefly, before going on to the seventh rule of Bible study, here are the first six rules: Rule 1 — Pray for guidance. Rule 2 — Be willing to accept correction. Rule 3 — Prove all things. Rule 4 — Realize the Bible never contradicts itself. Rule 5— Be sure to read the Bible exactly as it is written. Rule 6 — Check the context carefully — that is, read all the scriptures around any particular verse in question. This brings us to rule number seven. Up In last month's PLAIN TRUTH, the first six of the twelve simple, basic rules of Bible study were explained thoroughly. If you are a new reader and missed this first article because you were not on The PLAIN TRUTH mailing list last month, just write and ask for the August issue of The PLAIN TRUTH — it will be sent to you just as freely as you received this issue. Click on image for detailed first six rules. Click on Image for the last six rules. Bible Study Plain Truth Aug 1964_0033, _0034, _0043 and _0044 Rule 7 Get All the Scriptures No one scripture can OF ITSELF, taken OUT OF CONTEXT, be used to establish the Truth. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any PRIVATE interpretation" (II Pet. 1:20 ). God has put His Bible together in a very unusual manner. He has written it so that men could study it intricately in its original languages, poring over its pages for their entire lifetime — AND YET NEVER COME TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. Many people have memorized great sections of the Bible and yet not come to realize what those sections mean. You must take the whole Bible in its entire context, getting ALL OF THE SCRIPTURES in that Bible ON ANY ONE SUBJECT BEFORE you can come to the knowledge of that particular subject from God's point of view. "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little...." That is how the converted mind is to study the Bible. Yet, when the unconverted study God's Word a little here and a little there they are STILL NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND the Message of God's Truth because they do not have His Holy Spirit guiding them. That Holy Spirit — the very mind and understanding of God — is the power that inspired those words in the first place, and WITHOUT THAT SPIRIT TO INSPIRE THE UNDERSTANDING, THE DOOR TO THE WORD OF GOD REMAINS SHUT! (The Holy Spirit is given ONLY to those who OBEY God — Acts 5:32 .) Continuing from Isaiah: "... But the word of the Lord WAS unto them {those who DISOBEY} precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken" (Isa. 28:9-10 , 13 ). Oftentimes people think that the Bible is CONTRADICTING itself when actually all it is doing is SUPPLEMENTING itself. A good example of this is found in Matthew 27:37 as compared to Luke 23:38 . Here Matthew and Luke APPEAR to contradict one another in their statements as to what was written on the sign affixed to the stake upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. Now while you're going through this article, just take time to GET YOUR BIBLE and USE this example to PROVE that getting ALL of the scriptures on any one subject WILL give you God's understanding on it. In order to find out WHAT was written on that sign, WHO wrote it, and HOW MANY languages it was written in, you will need to put at least four scriptures together, not just two. So turn first to Matthew 27:37 , and WRITE DOWN what the Bible says was written on that sign. Then, GO RIGHT ON to Mark l5:26 and write beneath what you have written what MARK says was written on that sign. Then do the same with Luke 23:38 and also John 19:19 . Put them all together and you will see what was written on that sign. If ONE of these scriptures were left out you would not know that it was PILATE who did the writing. If TWO of these scriptures were left out you would not know that the writing was originally done in THREE LANGUAGES. These four bits of information, each from a different author, supply us with a complete record of what was written there originally. No one scripture contradicts the other — each only serves to complement and round out the information of the other. Click on Image for the last six rules. Bible Study Plain Truth Sept 1964_0014, _0015 & _0018 Up Rule 8 Let the Bible Interpret the Bible So many people write in to The WORLD TOMORROW and comment how much they enjoy MR. ARMSTRONG'S INTERPRETATION of the Bible. Over and over again you will hear Mr. Armstrong explain to the radio audience that it is NOT HIS INTERPRETATION that is being heard over The WORLD TOMORROW, BUT ONLY PLAIN BIBLE TRUTH! In your edition of the King James Bible the book of Revelation will probably be entitled, "The Revelation of ST. JOHN THE DIVINE." This is an excellent example of MAN'S INTERPRETATION. Now in order for you to understand WHAT the book of Revelation IS — WHOSE revelation it is, TO WHOM it was written and WHAT it is about — all you have to do is read the first few verses of THE BOOK ITSELF! In fact the very first words of the very first verse DIRECTLY CONTRADICT MAN'S INTERPRETATION of the Bible with the plain Bible statement that this book is, THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST!" (Rev. 1:1 .) Romans 3:4 is a good clear principle to live by in this EIGHTH rule of Bible study — "... let GOD be true, but every man a liar." This book of Revelation has long been an enigma to the people of the world — GOD SAYS it is a book of REVELATION. THE WORLD SAYS it is a book of HIDDEN MYSTERY. PEOPLE have come up with many weird interpretations for the book of Revelation — yet the book of Revelation is VIVID in its own clear description and needs no interpretation! Continue in Revelation 1: As you read in verse 12 that John saw seven GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS, you don't have to WONDER what these seven golden candlesticks are — all you have to do is READ ON until you come, in the CONTEXT, to verse 20 and that verse tells you plainly that the seven candlesticks ARE the seven churches. In verse 16 it states that John saw SEVEN STARS in the hand of the Son of man. There is no need to go into great, eloquent illustrations of what the seven stars are, because again verse 20 reveals the plain Bible truth — no interpretation necessary — that the seven stars ARE the angels of the seven churches. And so it goes through the rest of the Bible. All you have to do is be patient and search God's Word and you will come up with God's clear answers to the muddled questions of mankind. Up Rule 9 Don't Put Vague Scriptures First Perhaps a better general statement of this NINTH RULE of Bible study would be: NEVER ESTABLISH A DOCTRINE BY A VAGUE OR DIFFICULT-TO-BE-UNDERSTOOD SCRIPTURE. Too many people ASSUME that the vision which Peter had regarding the unclean beasts lowered to him on a sheet affirms that God "cleansed" unclean meat. Because they TAKE OUT OF CONTEXT a verse, unclean of itself, that says, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:15 ). However, all they need to do is read on TWO MORE VERSES and verse 17 very plainly says that PETER HIMSELF DOUBTED what the vision meant when he saw it — he didn't jump to any conclusions, but vague-scripture quoters are eager to! Further reading in the same chapter will explain what Peter finally came to understand about the vision — read verse 28: "God hath showed me {by means of this vision} that I SHOULD NOT CALL ANY MAN COMMON OR UNCLEAN." Don't overlook TENTH rule. Up Rule 10 Use Several Translations In Matthew 27:46 Jesus Christ, while hanging on the stake before He died, used the ARAMAIC translation of the first verse of Psalm 22. Even though the original Word of God was inspired in the Hebrew or the Greek, God has allowed it to be translated into nearly every language spoken by mankind. If we were going to be particular about which language we used or which translation, then we would all have to learn Hebrew and Greek and study the Bible in its original languages. The King James Version was written 353 years ago. In the time since, the English language has undergone many changes. Sometimes those texts which are vague and unclear in the King James can be cleared up very easily by just reading a MORE MODERN TRANSLATION, such as the Moffatt or the Revised Standard Version. There is one thing to note about the King James translation and that is regarding italics. This word ITALIC is written in italics. Words that look like this in your King James Version are NOT in the original languages but are SUPPLIED by the translators. So everywhere in the King James Version where you notice words in italics they are supplied to help you understand the meaning of the sentence. However, since the translators were carnally minded, they did not always supply the words correctly. So some of these words in italics are incorrect and do not help but rather hinder your understanding. On the other hand, NOT ALL OF THE WORDS WHICH ARE SUPPLIED by the translators are in italics. Take I John 5:7 for instance, where the reference to three who bear witness in heaven is a completely erroneous reference inserted by a monk-copyist in the Middle Ages. The fact is this particular verse appears only in the King James Version and is in NONE of the other translations of the Bible. Often these difficulties will be cleared up by merely reading another translation and comparing it to the King James. Any questions arising after a thorough reading through several translations of any one verse will be few, and can be handled by studying further in Bible helps. If there are WORDS that you have difficulty in understanding, remember not only to look them up in an English dictionary such as Webster's, but if possible in A BIBLE DICTIONARY OR IN STRONG'S CONCORDANCE so that you can see what the meaning of the word in the original is. Sometimes people will look up a word in a modern dictionary and find a definition that is not at all the SENSE of the word as used in the King James Version. Take for example the word "conversation" in I Peter 3. Conversation to us today means talking between two people. A modern dictionary will give this definition. However, in the time of King James this particular word meant THE ENTIRE CONDUCT of a person and that is the meaning in the BIBLEusage of this word. In order to understand it then, you need to understand the meaning of the ORIGINAL word, and not just the meaning in a modern dictionary. But this leads to our ELEVENTH rule. Up Rule 11 Don't Establish Doctrine With "Bible Helps" "Clarke's Commentary" and the commentary by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown are good reference works — as is Halley's "Pocket Bible Handbook". Sometimes in the back of Bibles there will be sections called "Bible Helps." Even the marginal references in your Bible, which SOMETIMES prove to be very helpful, are often misleading. These "helps" often turn out to be the insidious instruction of Satan himself and they may lead you astray. Therefore, all of these Bible helps should be used ONLY to establish historical or grammatical facts related to the Bible and MUST NOT be used TO ESTABLISH DOCTRINE OR TO INTERPRET THE MEANING OF THE BIBLE ITSELF. The chain reference in my Bible in the center of the two columns at Revelation 1:10 says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day..." and by the Lord's day there is a little "z". In the column by the "z" there are two scriptural references — one to Acts 20:7 and the other to I Corinthians 16:2 which both refer to the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK but have nothing to do with the Lord's day which is explained in the rest of the book of Revelation. Yet to find out what the BIBLE says about what day Jesus Christ is Lord of, read Mark 2:27-28 ! "And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore THE SON OF MAN IS LORD ALSO OF THE SABBATH." So, with Bible helps you must remember to use them only for technical facts and not for interpretative facts. And now, rule TWELVE: Up Rule 12 Mark Your Bible! Perhaps you have thought the Bible should not be marked. But realize that what is HOLY about the Bible is not the paper, ink and leather out of which it is made, but the WORDS OF TRUTH the SPIRITUAL FACTS! Any PHYSICAL tool you can employ — such as marking with a pen or colored pencils — to help you remember and apply the spiritual truths in your life, is right with God! He expects you to USE His written Word to worship HIM — not physical paper ant ink! Sometimes we hold back from marking the Bible and think that we'll do it later — especially when we're listening to a point that we need to remember about a particular scripture — but we never seem to get around to it. It's always so difficult to get out the pencil and ruler, and have our hands clean. So I have found over years of experience that the best way to mark the Bible is to JUST MARK IT! When you find out for instance that the word "conversation" in I Peter 3:1 ought to be "conduct," the thing you need to do is to IMMEDIATELY WRITE DOWN "conduct" in the margin and draw a little line and circle the word "conversation" in the verse. This way you will always remember. Use These Rules Apply these twelve rules diligently, and your Bible study will be both interesting and rewarding. And if you are not already one of the nearly SEVENTY THOUSAND students of the "Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course " — Click Link for it NOW! Don't put it off! This course is designed to help you study YOUR BIBLE. It employs all of these twelve rules of Bible study — it can help YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND YOUR BIBLE as you never have before. This course is entirely free of any cost to you! You'll always be glad you did! Up