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cr{APTER 6-|HEREFORE leaving ther principles of the doctrine of

Christ, let us go on unto per-fection; not laying again thefoundation of repentance frorndead works, and of faith towardGod,D Of the doctrine of baptisms,

and of laying on of hands, andof resurrection of the rlead, andof eternal judgmenL

THE FUNDAMENTALDOCTRINES

TESUS is the author (beginner) of

I our eternal salvat ion (Heb. 5:9).v He is the author and f in isher ofour fa i th (Heb. l2:2).

Jesus Christ is the Alpha and theOmega, the beginning and the end-ing. the f i rst and the last . He wi l l g iveto him who is th i rsty the fountain ofthe water of l i fe-eternal salva-t ion-freel l (Rev. l :8; 2 l :6; 22:13).

Jesus begins and ends every Chr is-t ian's cternal salvat ion. But i t is axio-:n.r i ic that everr th ing God begins: : i : i :ur l l r . through human instru-: in ' . : . must s lar t the smal lest .

\-r]u \r€re not separated from your:: ' :"riher's womb as a full-grown ma-:r-: 'e human bein-e. lt took anywhereirtrm thirteen to t\r 'entv rears for youIt ' r n1131n marimum growth in thephls ical sphere.

But the point is. 1'ou had to startsome\rhere. . \nd that start was when)our mother conceived. At that pre-cise momenl \ou \\ere no bigger than

a pinpoint or the period at the end ofthis sentence.

And it is, figuratively, the same inthe spiritual sphere. There was atime in the life of each true followerof Christ when he or she began to bea Christian. All start out as spiritualin[ants.

And if you are not yet a Christian,but do want to become one, you mustbegin as a babe in Christ-rot as afull grown, mature Christian.The First Principles. In the firstgrade a small child does not begin hisstudy of mathematics by solvinghigher equat ions. He starts witht+l--2.

ln l ike manner one must com-mence his Christian life by learningthe first principles of the oracles ofGod-the first principles of the doc-tr ine of Chr ist (Heb. 5:12: 6: l ) .

The newly begotten Chr ist ianmusty'rsl be thoroughly grounded inthe basics.

Every Christian, when first con-verted, is likened to one that usesmilk, being unskillful in the word ofrighteousness because he is a babe inChrist (Heb. 5:13).

But what are the first principles ofthe doctrine oi Christ? What is this"milk" of the word? What specificdoctrines should you begin to under-stand even in "boot camp," thatpreliminary period just before youbecome a Christian (and during yourearly conversion period)? Where arethey f,ound in the Bible?

The following are listed in He-brews 6: l -2.I ) Repentance from dead works2) Faith toward God3) The doctr ine of bapt isms4) Laying on of hands5) The resurrection of the dead6) Eternal judgment

A summary explanation of eachone of these fundamental doctrines iscontained in the following pages.

"Repentance From Dead Works"r.1'rHr \\ {GES cf sin is death," pro-

I c i . r imed the Apost le Paul . Andr ererr human beine has contr ib-

l:eJ lris or her share io the sins of: i :> i ro l [d. "For al l have sinned, and

-'.-=e short of the glory of God,"r-.::C Paul to the Romans (Rom.-

1\'e hateall walked contrarytoGod'ssa) tri life in the past. We have per-formed the sorks of the flesh-we havefulfilled the desires and 'lusts of ourminds and our bodies. We have walkedaccording to the course set for mankindb1'Satan the devil.

"Wherein in time past ) 'e u'alkedaccording to the course of this rrorld.according to the prince of the porverof the air [Satan], the spir i t that nowworketh in the children of disobe-dience: among whom also x'e all hadour conversation [conduct] in t imespast in the lusts of our flesh. fulf i l l ingthe desires of the flesh and of themind; and were by nature the chi l -dren of wrath, even as others" (Eph.2:2-3).

Pretty plain! We have al l per-formed works which have led onlr- toeternal death. As Paul put i t : "What

frui t had ye then in those things[sins] whereof ye are now ashamed?

for the end of those things is deoth"(Rom. 6:21). He also wrote that wewere "dead in trespasses and sins"(Eph.2: l ) .

We were, so to speak, on a sort ofspiritual "death row"-awaiting theexecution of a justly deserved ulti-mate capital punishment. We earnedthis penalty by simply doing whatcomes natural ly-s inning.

The death penalty for sins has tobe paid. But God in His vast mercyhas provided a way by which you

may avoid that extreme penalty."For God so loved the world, that

he gave his only begotten Son, thatwhosoever believeth in him shouldnol perish, but have everlasting life"(John 3:16). God is not willing thatany human being should have to paythat final penalty for sin (see I Timo-thy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9). He wishesthat all would claim the sacrifice ofHis Son, Jesus Christ, for the remis-sion of their personal sins.

This is the only means by which aperson may avoid having to pay thatterrible penalty. Jesus Christ becamehuman flesh, lived a sinless life, andpaid the death penalty on yourbehalf. He provided a way for you toenter into eternity!

But there is something /oa mustdo.You must accept that sacrifice onyour behalf by demonstrating thatyou no longer wish to continue in thatsinful way of tife which qualified youfor death in the first place. You dem-onstrate your acceptance of Christ'ssacrifice by changing your way ofliving. This change of direction iscalled "repentance" in Bible termi-nology.

A SPIRITUAL..POINT OF

NO RETURN''?Can a person ever reach a "pointof no return" in his relat ionshipwith God? ls there an unpar-donable sinT The booklet, Whatls The Unpardonable Srn? ex-plains the Bibl ical answers tothese questions. For your freecopy, write lo The Plain Truth,Pasadena, CA 91123. Or, i lyou l ive outside the UnitedStates, see back page for theaddress nearest vou.

But what do we repent of?Sin.The motions, actions or works

which lead to death are simplydefined as sin. Sin is the violation ortransgression of any of God's greatspiritual laws (I John 3:4).

To repent s imply means to"change direction." We turn fromthe way of self-indulgence to the wayof give. We stop serving the lusts anddesires of our own flesh and begin toserve others. We turn from selfish-ness to selflessness,

When we demonstrate our willing-ness to change, God applies the sacri-fice of Christ on our behalves. Weare then free from the crushing guiltof sin. We are forgiven and our con-sciences are cleared.

Paul explained it this way:"How much more shall the blood

of Christ, who through the eternalSpirit offered himself without spot toGod, purge your conscience fromdead works to serve the living God?"(Heb. 9:14.)

How beautifully simple!No amount of human works can

bring about the forgiveness of sin.Even the great sacrificial laws of theOld Testament could not bring aboutforgiveness and a clear conscience.Those laws were only a type of whatwas to come. Paul explained that theOld Testament sacrificial system was". . . a figure for the time then pres-ent, in which were offered both giftsand sacrifices, that could not makehim that did the service perfect, aspertaining to the conscience" (Heb.9:9).

These works also were "dead" inthat they could not produce eternallife. They could not forgive sin. Theycould not erase the record. They wereunable to purge the conscience of theguilt of sin.

But they did picture or typify thegreat sacrifice of the Lamb of God-Jesus. As long as those under the OldTestament administration kept thesacrificial law, they were depict-ing the sacr i f ice of the Son ofGod.

Final ly, when that great eventactually occurred, it was no longernecessary to portray it in type. Withthe destruction of the second Templein l.n. 70, the sacrificial system ofancient Israel also perished.

No amount of physical human

works can effect forgiveness of sin.There is no way we can "make up"for sin. Beads, indulgences, penance,fastings, or africting one's flesh insome other way will not erase theguilt of sin. You cannot punish your-self for sin. and thus avoid God'spunishment!

Only a repentant spirit will bringabout God's mercy. God looks tothose who are of a meek and contritespirit-those who tremble before thetwo-edged sword of His Word.God recognizes a broken spirit, ahumble seeking for forgiveness andmercy.

God will honor the attitude of allwho are willing to turn from worksand deeds which are sinful and whichresult only in death. We are admon-ished through the writing of Mat-thew: "Bring forth therefore fruitsmeet [fit to show] for repentance"(Matt . 3:8).

True godly repentance is a giftfrom God. It is not something thatcan be "worked up" from within thehuman psyche. God instructs Hisministers to be " in meekness in-structing those that oppose them-selves; if God peradventure u,ill givethem repentance to the acknowledg-ing of the truth . . ." (II Tim. 2:25).Paul said ". . . the goodness of Godleadeth thee to repentance" (Rom.2:4).

And in the book of Acts, we findthat God has ". . . also to the Gen-t i les granted repentance untolife" (Acts I l:18). Those desiring agodly repentance must seek it fromGod.

True repentance represents a per-manent change of direction, It is acommitment to a course from whichthere is no turning back. It is not atemporary sawdust-trail, tear-jerkingemotional response. It is somethingmuch deeper and vastly more pro-found.

Repentance represents a totalcommitment-a point of no return. Itplaces you on a course directly intoeternal life. It represents a completeforsaking of the dead works of yourformer way of life. It is the firstmajor step into eternity!

Is it any wonder then that God in-c ludes "repentance from deadworks" as one of the basic and mostfundamental of all Christian doc-trines?

"Faith Toward God"I-tAIrH is a foundational and fun-I damental biblical doctrine. It is

r- absolutely required for salva-tion. None may obtain eternal lifewithout it.

But what rs faith anyway? Is itjust blind confidence? Or is it basedon something much more substan-t ial?

Perhaps an example would providethe best explanation.

How was the faith of Abrahamexpressed? He has been called the"father of the faithful." His exampleshould tell us what constitutes realfaith.

God promised Abraham that hewould become a "father of many na-tions" (Rom. 4:17). And yet (exceptfor the illegitimate Ishmael) he was achildless 99 and his wife Sarah waswell past the child-bearing age.

But Abraham did not look to thestark fact of Sarah's previous meno-pause, nor to his own apparent impo-tence. He looked only to God's prom-ise to make him a father.

"And being not weak in faith, heconsidered not his own body nowdead, when he was about an hundredyears old, neither yet the deadness ofSarah's womb: he staggered not atthe promise of God through unbelief;but was strong in faith, giving gloryto God; and being fully persuadedthat, what ie [God] had promised,ne [God] was able also to perform"(Rom. 4:19-21).

There you have it: a biblical defini-tion of faith. It was expressed inslightly different words to JewishChristians: "Now faith is the sub-stance [assurance] of things hopedfor, the evidence of things not seen"(Heb. l1: l ) . The fact that God hadpromised was all the evidence Abra-ham needed!

You do not need faith for some-thing you already possess. Faith re-volves around something "notsssn"-sslnething you do not yethave. Romans 8:24-25 proves thepoint. "For we are saved by hope: buthope that is seen is not hope: for

what a man seeth, why doth he yethope for? But if we hope for that[which] we see not, then do we withpatience wait for it," wrote the Apos-tle Paul.

The Apostle to the Gentiles washimself an example of living faith.

As a prisoner, Paul boarded a sail-ing ship bound for ltaly. He warnedthe captain that the cargo and thepassengers would be in jeopardyshould they undertake the voyage.But, his warning went unheeded; andnot long afterwards, three days of se-verely stormy weather took away allhope that any aboard would survive.

Although al l the physical evi-dence-what they could see (theswir l ing temptest surroundingthem)-indicated the contrary, Paulstood up and said: ". . . There shallbe no loss of any man's life amongyou. . . . For there stood by me thisnight the angel of God . . . saying,Fear not Paul; thou must be broughtbefore Caesar: and, lo, God hath giv-en thee all them that sail with thee.Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer'. forI believe God. that it shall be even asit was told me" (Acts 21:22-25).

Paul had "faith toward God" be-cause he believed God. He had anunquestioning conviction that Godwould indeed do what He had prom-ised.

The Patr iarch Noah precededPaul as an enduring example of"faith toward God." The writer ofHebrews summarized Noah's faithin Hebrews I l:7. "By faith Noah, be-ing warned of God of things not seenas yet, moved with fear, prepared anark to the saving of his house: by thewhich he condemned the world, andbecame heir of the righteousnesswhich is by faith."

Hebrews I I is known in theologi-cal circles as "the faith chapter."And well it should be because it isfil led with "faith toward God" amplydemonstrated in the lives of God'spatriarchs, prophets, kings, judges,commoners, and even one repentantprostitute.

One very negative example servesto illustrate this crux point: "Faithtoward God" involves simply believ-ing what God says.

Our first parents knew God exist-ed; they knew He was their Creator.They saw with their own eyes andheard with their own ears thingswe, in this twentieth century, aresimply not pr iv i leged to hearor see.

God had told our first parents thatthey would surely die if they partookof the forbidden fruit. But, Adamand Eve did not believe God. Instead,they believed Satan. Adam and Evehad very little faith toward God, butthey ironically seemed to possess akind of perverted "faith" in the as-surances of Satan the devil.

Now that we understand, by bothpositive and negative examples. justwhat faith is. we need to define itsrelationship to salvation.

Again, faith is absolutell requiredfor eternal salvation. Not a singleperson will enter God's famill void offaith.

In summarizing his ministrr forthe Ephesian elders, Paul explainedhow he had testified to the Jewishpeople and the Grecians ". . . rep€n-tance toward God, and faith towardour Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts20:21\.

In order to even start the salvationprocess, you must have fai th inChrist's blood-His atoning sacrificefor your sins.

Of course, you must also believeand know that God exists. ". . . Hethat cometh to God must believe thathe is . . , " (Heb. I l :6). And you mustbelieve that one reason God sent HisSon Jesus Christ to this earth was toshed His blood in order to blot outyour past s ins (see John 3:16).

Paul put it this way: "Whom Godhath set forth to be a propitiationthrough faith in his blood, to declarehis righteousnesspr the remission ofsins that are past, through the for-bearance of God" (Rom. 3:25).

And so we must believe in Christ's

sacrifice as an historical event thatGod applies to the repentant sinner,now, at this present time.

Remember Thomas, the doubtingdisciple? "Jesus sai th unto him,Thomas, because thou hast seen me,thou hast believed: blessed are theythat have not seen, and yet have be-Iieved" (John 20:29).

You have never seen Jesus Christand neither have I. And yet our verysalvation depends upon our frm be-lief that He was a historical person;that He was a member of the God-head; that He suffered, bled and diedbecause of our sins; and that He roseagain to live forevermore.

Belief in Christ's blood-faith inHis sacrifice for past sins-involvesbelieving what Christ said. You can-not really believe in Jesus' sacrificewithout believing His message-thegospel of the Kingdom of God.

On Jesus' first evangelistic tour,

He said: ". . . Repent ye, and believethe gospel" (Mark l:15).

(If you have not yet received ourbooklets lAhat Is the True Gospel?and Just What Do You Mean-theKingdom of God?, please write foryour free copies immediately.)

Once a person has heard the truegospel of the Kingdom of God andhas acted upon it by repenting, beingbaptized, and receiving God's HolySpirit as a gift (see Acts 2:38), Godimparts to that individual the veryfaith of Jesus Christ.

"For by grace are ye savedthrough faith; and that not of your-selves: ir [the faith] is the gift ofGod," wrote the Apostle Paul (Eph.2:8).

You cannot work up this savingfaith toward God. It is His gift to youupon real conversion.

Not ice Galat ians 2:16, " . . . Aman is not justified by the works of

the law, but by the faith of JesusChrist. . . ."

Grasp the fact that Paul does nosay, "by a man's fai th in JesuChrist" (although that is the startinlpoint); he says, "by the faith of JesuChrist"-which means Christ ' rfaith.

In summary, how may you possesr"faith toward God"-this savinlfaith of Jesus Christ? First of all, yormust repent of dead works (see thrpreceding article). Then you must brbaptized as a symbol of your faith irChrist's precious blood. to blot ouyour past sins, burying your old selin a watery grave (see the next arti,cle).

Then you will receive a portion othe very fa i th of Jesus Christwhich-if properly nourished-wileventually result in your ultimattsalvat ion-eternal l i fe in God'rKingdom.

plain. He shows how Old Testamentritual finds full spiritual expressionin Christ. These Jewish people knewabout the washings (baptisms) of theritual (Heb. 9:10). They knew aboutthe prescribed cleansing of clothes,people, priests (Ex. 19:10-14; Lev.8:6).

But most people today have notunderstood the facts concerning thepre-Christ ian bapt ism of John.Recall that John the Baptizer wasaccepted by his community. This wasnot some new and unusual action.Pharisees and Sadducees would havehad no dealings with anyone contra-dicting the traditions of the elders(Matt . l5: l -2). Why, they even re-jected Jesus because they could notfathom the spir i tual appl icat ionwhich He made of Old Testament in-struction.

But they did accept John's teach-ing about baptism. Sadducees andPharisees-perhaps not yet havingheard of Jesus-flocked to John,wanting to be baptized. Evidently theunrepentant ones wanted only to re-ceive a mark of religious distinction.They wanted to advertise their "righ-

[gsgslsss"-to prate and brag aboultheir acceptance by this recognized,rustic, prophet of God (Matt. 3:l-7:Mark l :4-7).

But John was doing God's Work,He was calling his countrymen to re-pentance-change. He wanted proolthat they.were doing something tcchange their miserable and evil l ives.He culled out those who were notturning to God in heartrending con-trition and obedience.

He would have no part in baptiz-ing those who clung to their old evilways-sins-dead works. His bap-tism was for the purpose of symboliz-ing spiritually clean people-thosewho had changed so much that theycould take advantage of the Mes-siah's upcoming sacrifice for the re-mission-forgiveness----of their sins.

John was busily preaching andbaptizing when Jesus came on thescene. Jesus set His seal of approvalon John's baptism by undergoing thevery same rite as the people who weresick of their sins and longed enoughfor forgiveness that they "broughtforth fruit" proved by changed, righ-teous, obedient-to-God lives. Jesus

"The Doctrine of Baptisms"tT-tHE sIMpLE, unpretentious rite of

I baptism is meant to mark a mi-r raculous change in you. lt is to

testify that you have embarked on anew, clean, right way of life that willend in complete satisfaction, unre-stricted reward, total success andhappiness unending. God wants youto realize this and take full advan-tage of His generous offer.

Most of Christendom understandsin part that baptism is a fundamentaldoctrine of God's religion. But toofew capture the overwhelming con-cept which its symbolism is meant toinstill. Let's look back into the past,and come to understand more per-fectly what God is revealing.

From the beginning God haswanted men to be clean-physically,mental ly and spir i tual ly. He de-signed an elaborate ritualistic systemfor His Old Testament Church to im-press this grand lesson. He meant foryou and me to find in the New Testa-ment the brimming spiritual fulfil l-ment which comes through Jesus theChrist (Gal. 3:24).

Paul wrote the book of Hebrews toJewish Christians to help make this

4

said His baptism ". . . fulfil l[ed] allr ighteousness" (Matt . 3: l 5).

Later, after His death and resur-rection, He expressly commandedHis disciples to follow this very sameprocedure when they found peoplewho would really accept, believe anddo what He taught. "Go ye therefore,and teach all nations, baptizing themin the name of the Father, and of theSon, and the Holy Spirit" (Matt.28:19-20; Mark l6:16).

Baptism is the symbolic door torighteousness. You must go throughthat door if you are going to enterinto eternal life. There is no otherway.

Ritualistic washing can clean pots,pans, clothes and skin. But water cando nothing to cleanse the mind ofman-i t cannot reach himspir i tual ly.

But John's baptism added morecolor to the picture of God's plan ofsalvation. It pointed to the Jewishneed to improve in keeping God'seternal law. I t insisted that theyshould accept the government of thatlaw. John recognized their mentalapproach to life must be in accordwith God's direction.

People must develop the disciplineand volition to live by every word ofGod (Matt . 4:4; Deut. 8:3). Johnknew that even more than this wouldbe required if people were going tofinally enter into the Kingdom ofGod. He said: "I indeed baptize youwith water unto repentance: but he[Jesus] that cometh after me . . .shall baptize you with the Holy Spir-i t , and with f i re" (Matt . 3: l l ) .

Baptism with the Holy Spirit is theultimate baptism toward which wepress. This is the highest form of bap-t ism.

The only way that sin-which isthe result of distorted mental ac-tion-can be remitted, scrubbed out,paid for, is through death (Rom.6:23). If we were left to pay for ourown sins, death would descend uponus and there could be no hope for thefuture. Only black oblivion! But Godis mercilul.

Even while we were yet in our sinsChrist died for us. He paid the entiredebt which encumbers us. We arefree when we accept His payment inour stead and so can live (Rom.5:8-9).

But that is not to say we just use

the sacrifice of Christ and blithelypursue our own wa1-. A completechange is demanded when such agreat price has been paid so that wecan live-for we would have diedwithout this payment.

Since Christ has been willing todie for us, then we must be willing todie for Him. When we are baptizedwe picture our willingness to partici-pate in death, just as He did, in orderthat goodness, godliness (god-like-ness), will prevail in our lives (Rom.6:3). We will imitate the way Helived. He didn't break the law of Godin one l i t t le point (Matt . 5:18-20).Neither should we!

He died horribly, ignominiously inorder that people who recognize theirshortcomings could be washed cleanand given a new life-a changed, re-pentant, spiritual way of living.

Baptism pictures the burial of ourold ways. A willingness to let our oldways go down into the grave tomoulder away to nothing-the pu-trescence of our own ways coveredand eaten up by death. Read Romans6:4-6 with these thoughts in mind:

"Therefore we are buried with himby baptism into death: that like asChrist was raised up from the deadby the glory of the Father, even so wealso should walk in newness of life.For if we have been planted togetherin the likeness of his death, we shallbe also in the likeness of his resur-rection: Knowing this, that our oldman is crucified with him. that thebody of sin might be destroyed. thathenceforth we should not sene sin."

We, because we are sinners. die inbaptism from a spiritual point ofview. We no longer allow the inordi-nate desires of our fleshl1-. sensualexistence to dictate. Christ becamesin so we could live righteousl;*-without sin-without breaking thelaw ( I I Cor. 5:21).

You and I are to be spiritualll cru-cified with Christ. Then His mind-spirit-enters us. We live as Christwould live. He gave Himself for us tothat purpose (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6-7).The Christian is dead to the old wavsof the natural man (Rom. 6: l l -12).He no longer conforms to the waf inwhich people naturally respond tolife. His mind is renewed. He proveswhat God wants and does it (Rom.l2:2).

This way is entirely-different. The

spiritual immersion which accompa-nies water bapt ism cleanses theman's mind. Materialistic, egotisti-cal, vain, worldly, carnal, sensualstimuli no longer prevail. All waysthat are contrary to the spirit are nowabhorrent.

That spiritual immersion-bap-tism-is promised to all repentantpeople. On the day the New Testa-ment Christian Church was founded,conscience-str icken converts im-plored the apostles to tell them whatthey needed to do to get right withGod. Peter gave them the authorita-tive, simple answer: "Repent, and bebaptized. . . and you shall receivethe gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts2:38).

Those people, and all truly bap-tized Christians since, were baptized(immersed) into one body and haveall been infused with the Holy Spir-it-the holy mind of Christ.

To have that spiritual mind meansthat the filth of naturalness is washedout. The man now thinks, acts anddoes what God wants him to. He is abegotten spiritual son of God. Oneday he will be born into the very fam-

Sudden experlence...or lifelong process?How do you deline the wordconversion? An adootion of re-l ig ious bel ief? A "born-again"experience? Contrary to popu-lar belief, the Bible teaches thatthere is more to conversionthan a singular event, a one-t ime change. In the bookletJust What Do You Mean-Con-version? Herbert Armstrongsuppl ies valuable insights onthe subject. Request your freecopy by writ-ing to one ofthe addressesat the end ofthis publ ica-t ton.

ily of God to be with the Father andthe Son forever.

Baptism brings together, in sym-bolic grandeur, three wonderful giftsfrom God: l) the precious redeemingblood of Christ, 2) the water of re-generation, and 3) the Holy Spirit.

Baptism pictures the complete cover-ing of a dead body, placing it in a waterygrave. But as we have seen, much moreis pictured in this illustration.

Even as the old, dead body of theconvert is entombed in baptism, it isliterally washed and cleansed. Thiscomplete immersion and washing ofthe exterior symbolizes the inter-nal-mental-moral-washing andregeneration of the mind. A man iswhat his mind thinks.

The baptized Christian comes upout of his watery grave with an alto-gether different mind-a differentway of thinking about life and theway to solve its problems. It is as ifhe. like Christ. had been resurrected.The restrictions ofthe flesh no longerpredominate and encumber.

New values exist. A new life is be-gun. The old life-the old way-theold man-is left dead in the grave.Spiritual values take precedence.Every effort is made to satisfy God.

Not many people understand howGod has intended, from the begin-ning, that all men should be bap-t ized. You now know about thisglorious fundamental truth of theChristian religion.

We have a free booklet entitled AllAbout Water Baptism.The very nextthing you should do-to please Godand help yourself-is to send for it.The booklet answers such questionsasl- ls water baptism essential to sal-vation? What about the "thief on thecross"? Was he saved without it?What is the proper form, or mode-sprinkling, pouring or immersion?Should babies and children be bap-tized? Suppose you were baptized bya minister you have since lost confi-dence in. Should you be baptizedover again?

Even if you are already baptized,there is probably much more thatyou need to know and do if you trulydesire to serve God as He savs.

bring the young bull to the Taberna-cle, and Aaron and his sons shall /aytheir hands upon its head; and youshall kill it before the Lord, at the en-trance of the Tabernacle" (The LivingBible). Verses l5-20 state that theywere to do likewise with the two rams.

Why did they do this? Aaron andhis sons were commanded to lay theirhands on the animals' heads to sym-bolize their sins, their guilt beingtransferred to the animals whichthen suffered the penalty of s inAaron and his sons should havereceived-death.

Of course, this all had symbolicmeaning since only Christ's bloodreally atoned for sin.

The laying on of hands in this exam-ple symbolized thecleansing and purify-ing of the priests through the transferalof their sins to the animals.

We will soon see that the laying onof hands often symbolizes a transfer,transmittal or granting of specialgifts, blessings or authority-ele-ments that are literally priceless.Things that are only God's to give.

"Then bring the Levites to thedoor of the Tabernacle as all thepeople watch. There the leaders ofthe tribes shall lay their hands uponthem, and Aaron, with a gesture ofoffering, shall present them to theLord as a gift from the entire nation

of Israel. The Levites will representall the people in serving the Lord. . . .In this way you will dedicate theLevites from among the rest of thepeople of Israel, and the Levites shallbe mine. After you have sanctifiedthem and presented them in this way,they shall go in and out of the Taber-nacle to do their work" (Numbers8:9-l l, 14-15; The Living Bible).

Ofcourse, the leaders'hands had nomagical or mystical qualities. Theymerely symbolized and formally em-phasized that God, not man, gave themauthority and set them apart for a par-ticular job. God commissioned themand issued them authority and jurisdic-tion todo His work.

This again demonstrates one of thegreat lessons ofthe laying on ofhands-that God works through man----even inordaining His own servants.

The Worldwide Church of Godpractices this doctrine today in or-daining qualified men to be deaconsand ministers (and qualified womento be deaconesses).

Notice the New Testament exam-ple of ordaining deacons in Acts 6.The twelve apostles had chosen sevenmen to be deacons, "Whom they setbefore the apostles: and when theyhad prayed, they laid their hands onthem" (verse 6').

Acts l3:2-3 records the ordi-

"Laying on of Hands"T-rHrs doctrine is of critical impor-

I tance to Christianity because it

^ shows that God works anddeals with mankind through fallible,imperfect human beings He choosesand sets apart for His purpose.

From the books of Moses to thebook of Revelation, we find the lay-ing-on-of-hands ceremony used in awide variety of circumstances.

It was performed as an official cer-emony, generally by an individualordained or commissioned by God.

The ceremony centered aroundGod's servant praying aloud as heplaced his hands on the recipient ofhis petitions. It was a formal requestto God, usually for a specific bless-ing, gift or authority as in ordination.Usually a simple, short ceremony,but fil led with meaning.

Let's notice some of the interestingand varied ways in which men of Godhave used the laying on of hands.Ordination. One of the earliest re-corded biblical examples of this doc-trine is found in Exodus 29 during anordination ceremony. And strangelyenough, the hands were laid on ani-mals by the persons being ordained.Here is how it happened.

In Exodus 28:l God commandedMoses to set apart Aaron and hisfour sons to be priests.

In Exodus 29:10 we read: "Then

6

nat ions of Barnabas and Paul ."As they.ministered to the Lord,

and fasted, the Holy Ghost [Spirit]said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul

I for the work whereunto I have calledthem. And when they had fasted andprayed, and laid their hands on them,they sent them away."

Again, God's will was carried out byHis ministers praying and laying handson the ones He had chosen. This wasanother example of God's issuing au-thority through His already ordainedand chosen human servants.Receiving the Holy Spirit. Christeave the ministers of His Church the3uthorit!'to baptize those who have:rulr repented of their sins. Alongrith the ph1'sical act of baptism isrromi:ed the Holy Spirit-through:ke laring on of hands.

\ f i i l ions have supposedly been:,::::zed. but very' few have had

-:cs iaid on them for the receiving

f :he Holl'Spirit after baptism.\tltice the example in Acts 8.

P:riip nent to the city of Samaria topreach the gospel. Many believedand were baptized. When the apos-tles in Jerusalem heard that the gos-pel had been preached at Samaria,they sent Peter and John, "Who,when they were come down, prayedfor them, that they might receive theHoly Spirit: (For as yet he was fallenupon none of them: only they werebaptized in the name of the LordJesus.) Then laid they their hands onthem, and they received the HolySpir i t " (verses l5-17).

Notice, they had been baptized daysor even weeks before and had not re-ceived the Holy Spirit. God had with-held it until Peter and John had laidhands on them. God respected the orderand authority He vested in His minis-ters. He granted His Spirit when theylaid hands on them. (Write for our freereprints "How You Can Be ImbuedWith the Power of God" and "YouNeed God's Holy Spirit.")

An interesting sidelight to Acts 8is the story of Simon the sorcerer.

He too was baptized in Samariawhen the others were. After he sawthat the others received the Holy Spiritwhen Peter and John laid hands onthem and prayed, he desperatelywanted the power to do the same.

"And when Simon saw thatthrough laying on the apostles' handsthe Holy Spirit was given, he offered

them money, saf ing. Give me alsothis power, that on whomsoever I layhands, he may receive the HolyGhost [Spirit]" (verses l8-19).

The point is, Simon recognizedthat the apostles really did have God-given authority-authority which hesaw demonstrated through the layingon of hands.Healing. Christ set the example inhealing. Luke 4:40 states, "Nowwhen the sun was setting, all theythat had any sick with divers diseasesbrought them unto him; and he laidhis hands on every one of them, andhealed them."

Mark 6:4-5 relates another exam-ple. When Christ came to His owncommunity. He found such littlefai th that He remarked: " . . . Aprophet is not without honour, but inhis own country, and among his own

Godis. . .deal ingwithmankind today through aphysical group of humanbeings, a Church doing

His Work.

kin, and in his own house. And hecould there do no mighty work, savethat he laid his hands upon a fewsick folk. and healed them."

In Acts 28:8 we find that Paul alsolaid his hands on Publius' father toheal him.

Concerning His t rue ministersChrist stated: ". . . They shall layhands on the sick, and they'shall re-cover" (Mark 16:18). Whi le manyprofessing Christians know nothingof God's promise to heal, othersmake a public mockery and displayof what they think is the healingpower of God.

James 5:14 is a command fromGod to those who are sick: "ls thereany sick among you? Let him call forthe elders of the church: and let thempray over him, anointing him with oilin the name of the Lord." No minis-ter's hands are special or holy. Noolive oil has any mysterious power. Itis God Himself who heals through

His Holy Spirit; but He has pre-scribed a physical act to show ourfaith and trust in Him and to showour acceptance of the authority Hehas placed with His servants.

The book of Genesis contains a verymoving example of the laying on ofhands when Jacob blessed his twograndsons. Jacob was an old man andknew his time was short. He asked hisson Joseph to bring the two boys to him.

"Israel [Jacob] was half blind withage, so that he could hardly see. So Jo-seph brought the boys close to him andhe kissed and embraced them. And Is-rael said to Joseph, 'I never thought Iwould see you again, but now God haslet me see yourchildren too.'

"Joseph took the boys by the hand,bowed deeply to him, and led theboys to their grandfather's knees-Ephraim at Israel's left hand andManasseh at his right. But Israelcrossed his arms as he stretched themout to lay his hands upon the boys'heads, so that his right hand wasupon the head of Ephraim, theyounger boy, and his left hand wasupon the head of Manasseh, the old-er. He did this purposely.

"Then he blessed Joseph with thisblessing: 'May God, the God of myfathers Abraham and Isaac, the Godwho has shepherded me all.my life,wonderfully bless these boys. He isthe Angel who has kept me from allharm. May these boys be an honor tomy name and to the names of my fa-thers Abraham and Isaac; and maythey become a mighty nation" (Gen.48:10-16, The Living Bible).

Jacob went on to bless the boys in-dividually, handing down the bless-ings promised to Abraham. The lay-ing on of hands was symbolic of thistransferral by God's authority.

The laying on of hands ceremonyis very relevant to this society-toyou and me! God is alive and activelydealing with mankind today througha physical group of human beings, aChurch doing His Work. And He hasprovided in this day, as the Biblerecords He always has, spir i tualguides, ministers, to represent Him,to oversee His Church. And He hasgiven them a certain amount of juris-diction to carry out their jobs.

The laying on of hands is the out-ward ceremony used in the delega-tion and use of that authority. Godrespects it and we should too!

"Resurrection of the Dead"1 1 That is the real hope of the true\A/ Christian? Will he spendv v eternity lounging in idleness

and ease? Or will the resurrected,newborn Christian spend eternity inhappy, but productive, activity-faithfully serving his Creator?

Most professing Christians have arather foggy idea of what future lifein the Kingdom of God will be like.They know very little about biblicalteaching concerning the "resur-rection of the dead"-yet this is oneof the basic doctrines of the Bible(Heb. 6:2).

But do you realize you can knowwhat it will be like in the next life?

The Prophet Isaiah wrote: "Sincethe beginning of the world men havenot heard, nor perceived by the ear,neither hath the eye seen, O God, be-side thee, what he hath prepared forhim that waiteth for him" ( Isa.64:4\.

But the Apostle Paul explainedthat a Christian can comprehendwhat God has prepared for those thatlove Him. "But God hath revealedthem unto us [true believers] by hisSpirit: for the Spirit searcheth allthings, yea, the deep things of God"(I Cor. 2:9, l0). Many scr ipturesspeak of this "mystery" (Rom. l6:25;Eph. 3:3,5,9; Rev. l0:7).

Satan has deceived the wholeworld on this all-important subject ofthe resurrection of the dead (Rev.l2:9). Many scriptures reveal thatthe whole world is in darkness, igno-rance and superstition.

The plain Bible teaching on thesubject of the resurrection(s) hasbeen submerged in darkness formany centuries. There are no Biblecommentar ies or dict ionaries towhich you can go to get the truth onthis subject.

Invariably, you are given a noxiousmixture of truth and error-lightand darkness.

But it is high time for professingChristians to go directly to the Wordof God to learn the real. unadulter-ated truth.

I

How deceived has the world be-come on this vital subject of the res-urrections?

A common belief is expressed inthe 1972 edition of The lUorld BookEncyclopedid: "Most Christians be-lieve that on the last day of the worldall the dead will come to life. Theycall the day, Judgment Day, becauseGod will judge everyone" ("Resur-rection," XVI, p. 245).

Some believe that at death their"souls" go immediately to heaven,purgatory, limbo or hell.

"The Westminster Shorter Cate-chism (question xxxvii.) states thedoctrine that the bodies of the deadrest in their graves till the resr.rr-rection. but that their soals do imme-diately pass into glory Iheaven]. Thiswas the view of the Reformers"("Death," The New Schaf-HerzogEncyclopedia of Religious Knowl-edge, l9l l , p. 382).

According to this teaching the"body" must rest in the grave till the"soul" can be reunited with it at theresurrection.

If the righteous are already inheavenly bliss, is it logical to thinkthat they would be made to return tothis earth to be reunited with their"bodies"?

IEditor's note: For an in-depthlook into the false concepts of heav-en, hell and the immortal soul, writefor these free publications: "What IsMan?" What Is the Reward of theSaved? and Is There a Real HellFire?

There are several references in theOld Testament to the resurrection.but only the Prophet Daniel begins tohint that there might be more thanone resurrection.

Daniel wrote: "And many of themthat sleep in the dust of the earthshall awake, some to everlasting life,and some to shame and everlastingcontempt [or abhorrence]" (Dan.l2:2).

And in the New Testament, JesusChrist said: ". . . The hour is coming,in the which all that are in the graves

shall hear his voice, and shall comeforth; they that have done good, untothe resurrection of life [eternal]; andthey that have done evil, unto theresurrection of damnation [judg-mentl" (John 5:28, 29).

The Apostle Paul, when he wasspeaking before Felix, the governorof Judea, said that he had "hopetoward God" of a resurrection, inwhich, affirmed Paul, the Jews alsobelieved. He plainly told Felix "thatthere shall be a resurrection of thedead, both of the just and unjust"(Acts 24:15).

In none of the previous passages isthe time factor specified. However,other New Testament Scriptures doclarify it.

Paul wrote at length regarding theresurrection(s) in I Corinthians 15.

"For as in Adam all die. even so inChrist shall a// be made alive. Butevery man in his own order: Christthe firstfruits; afterward the1, thatare Christ's at his [second] coming.Then cometh the end. . ." (verses22-24).

Now if one turns to the twentiethchapter of Revelation, he can seewhat is meant by "the end." Paul wasreferring to the end of the one-thou-sand-year reign of Christ and thesaints on this earth. It will not be un-til sometime after the thousand yearsare over that the second resurrectionoccurs (see Rev. 20:7-12).

Jesus Christ is depicted in Revela-t ion l9: l l -21 as coming on "a whitehorse" and then "he shall [in the fu-turel rule them [the nations] with arod of iron" (verse | 5).

The resurrected saints (ioined bythe living saints) will be caught up tomeet Christ in the air at His secondcoming, and they as kings and priestswi l l "reign on the earth" (Rev.5: I 0) .

To these saints Christ promises:"He that overcometh. . . to him willI give power over the nations: and heshall rule them [under Christ] with arod of iron . . ." (Rev. 2:26,21).

But when and how will these glori-

f ied, then-made-immortal saints rulewith Chr ist ' l And lor how long?

The Apostle John was inspired togive the answer: "And I saw thrones,and they sat upon them, and Trzdg-ment was given unto them: and I sawthe souls of them that were be-hcaded . and they l ived andreigned Irulcd] wi th Chr ist a thou-sand . t 'ears '^ (Rcv. 20:4).

John. in v is ion. saw those who hadbcen bchcaded now resurrected (atChr ist 's t r iumphal second coming): ,nd s ivcn govcrning posi t ions or" 1ud-er lcnt . "

Paul s i r es inrrrc dct i r i ls o i th is glo-r iLrus rc{urrccl i r tn t ' r l ' thc saints. "For: i *c bc- l ierc th. i t . lesus dicd and rose.rg. : t : . C\L 'n \ ( ) :hent alsO $hiCh.r /eep,: / . , ' . i . Ci t ,d br ing rr i th him. . . .

F - : - . : I :c hintsel l shal l descend

-: . : : : r rchangel . and lv i th the'-

- ̂ : : G.rd: and the dead in Christ' : . ; . . r - i t ' l r r . r / : then we which are

, . , c - ' -nd remain shal l be caught up' . - !c ' rhc-r n i th thcm in the c louds toneet the Lord i l the air : and so shal l\ rc ever be with the Lord" ( l Thes.- l :1.1-17).

Note that i t does not say the saintswi l l go to "heaven" to mcet Chr ist ,but that Hc wi l l comeJ'retm "heaven"to thc atmospherc of th is carth, andthe saints wi l l r isc to meet l l im " lnthe tt ir."

Now not icc a prophecy back inZcchariah which shows where ChrisIand the saints wi l l go af ' tcr th is ren-dezvous in the air :

"And his feet I the Lord's-verseI I shal l stand in that day upon themount ol Ol ives . . . " (Zech. l4:4).

At th is t inre * , i l l Chr ist be aione?". . . And the Lord my God [wroteZcchar iah] shal l conte. and al l thesaints rv i th thee" (verse 5). Butwhcre wi l l Chr isr go' l Back to heavenwith thc saints ' l "And thc Lord shal lbe k ing ovcr al l rhe earth: in that dayshal l there be one Lord. and his nameone" (verse 9).

I t should not amaze us to f ind thatChr ist wi l l return to stand on theMount of Ol ives. Near ly two thou-sand years ago, His angels to ld thedisciples that Chr ist would return tothis earth just as He lef t i t -and Hehad been standing talk ing wi th Hisdisciples atop Mount Ol ivet just be-fore th is promise was given (Actst .4- t2) .

The Apostle Paul also spoke ofChr ist 's coming at the " lasttrump"-the time when He willgather His saints unto Himself ."Now this I say, brethren,thatfleshand blood cannot inherit the king-dom of God; neither does corruptioninherit incorruption. Behold, I shewyou a mystery; We shall not all sleep,but we shall all be changed, in a mo-ment, in the twinkling of an eye, atthe last trump: for the trumpet shallsound. and the dead shall be raisedincorrupt ib le, and we shal l bechanged. For this corruptible mustput on incorruption, and this mortalmust put on immortality" (I Cor.I 5:50-53).

These and other scriptures showthat it is only the righteous who areresurrected at Christ's second com-ing.

John shows that those who hadbeen martyred will be raised to lifeand to a position of rulership duringthe thousand-year rule of Christ. Butthe unjust will not be resurrecteduntil the end of this period: "But therest of the dead lived not again untilthe thousand years were finished.This [referring to those martyred-verse 4l is the first resurrection.Blessed and holy is he that hath partin thelrst resurrection: on such thesecond death hath no power, but theyshall be priests of God and of Christ,and shall reign with him a thousandyears" (Rev. 20:5,6).

Then, after the thousand years areexpired, Satan goes out to stir upmore trouble on this earth. And it isstill some time later before the GreatWhite Throne Judgment takesplace-at which time the others whoare still dead (years after the millen-nium has ended) are made to "stondbefore God" in the second resur-rection-when they have their y'rslchance.

What is your guarantee that youwill be resurrected when Christ re-turns to this earth? How can youmake sure you will be in the first res-urrection to immortality?

It is "they that are C&rist's at hiscoming" who will be in the first res-urrection (I Cor. l5:23).

But who are "Christ's"? Paul said:"Now if any man have not the Spiritof Christ, he is none of his" (Rom.8:9).

It is only those who are filled and

10

led by the Spirit of God who will bein the first resurrection. "For asmany as are led by the Spirit of God,they are the [begotten] sons of God'(verse l4).

God's Spirit in us is like a seedthat is developing into godly charac-ter.

Paul continues: "But if the Spiritof him that raised up Jesus from thedead dwell in you, he that raised upChrist f rom the dead shal l alsoquicken [make alive] your mortalbodies by [the power ofl his Spiritthat dwelleth in you" (verse I l).

There it is! If we have the indwell-ing presence of the Holy Spirit in uswhen we die. then we will be resur-rected through the power of thatsame Spirit-at the second coming ofJesus Christ.

Paul then explains that we are

The plain Bible teachingon the subject of the

resurrection(s) has beensubmerged in darkness

for many centuries.

earnestly waiting for that time whenwe shall be born as spiritual beingsinto the family of God. Remember,Christ said: "Ye must be born again"(John 3:7).

Paul explained this smn-comingnew birth: "For the earnest expecta-tion of the creature [man] waitethfor the manifestation of the sons ofGod" (Rom. 8:19). That is what thetrue Christian waits for----earnestly'longing for the time when he will beborn into the family of God-as adivine, glorified son of God.

He continues: ". . . Even we our-selves groan within ourselves, waitingfor the adoption [sonship], to wit [inother wordsl , the redemption of ourbody" (verse 23).

What did he mean by "the re-demption of our body"? Paul beginsto explain in the book of Philippians.

By way of background he men-

tions that he gave up everything inorder to serve Christ and becamewilling to suffer "the loss of allth ings" (Phi l . 3:7, 8). Why?

"That I may know him, and thepower of his resurrcction. . . If byany means I might attain unto theresunection of the dead" (verses 10,I I ) .

He then went on to explain that"our conversation [citizenship] is inheaven . . ." (verse 20).

And it is from there-from heav-en-that we "look for the Saviour.""Who [meaning Christ] shall changeour vile body'. that it may be fash-ioned like unto his glorious body,ac-cording to the working whereby he isable even to subdue all things untohimself' (verses 20. 2l).

This redemption of the body-thischange from mortal flesh to a spiri-tual body-is the only hope held outto the Christian.

The resurrected. glorified, immor-talized sains will live in eternal hap-piness for ever and ever: "And Godshall wipe away all tears from theireyes; and there shall be no moredeath, neither sorrow, nor crying,neither shal l there be any morepain. . . " (Rev. 2l :4).

Each of these sons of God, thenborn into the very God family, will"inherit all things; and I will be hisGod, and he shall be my son" (verse7).

Will they ever have to suffer anymore evil trials? "And there shall beno more curse. . . and his servantsshall serve him" (Rev. 22:3).

What will they do throughout eter-nity? Just sit back and bask in idle-ness, ease and luxury, lapping upnever-ending rivers of pleasures?

No, they wi l l be busy. " . . . Andthey shall reign frule or govern] forever and ever" (verse 5). And re-member. "his servants shall servehim"-throughout all eternity (verse3). Then will come to pass the in-spired words of Hebrews 2:8: "Thouhast put a// things under his [man's]feet. For in that he put all in subjec-tion under him, he left nothing that isnot put under him."

We should strive to be in the "firstresurrection" (Rev. 20:6). It is spok-en of as "a better resurrection" (Heb.I l:35). Those who rise in that resur-rection will be wonderfully blessed ofGod!

TERNAL judgment! I t scaressome.

Eternal judgment? It makesothers laugh.

To the religious, the forebodingthreat of "eternal judgment" por-tends a fearful apprehension of amajestic throne upon which sits astern judge condescendingly lookingdown upon a quaking skeleton of aperson who is barely able to keep hisknees from knocking against one an-other.

To those "modern sophisticates"not given to religious "superstition,"the archaic threat of "eternal judg-ment" is scornfully looked upon as anancient remnant out of man's distantpast, a useless appendage, a shriv-eled-up relic of a bygone age.

Yet in clearly listing "the princi-ples of the doctrine of Christ" in He-brews 6:1-2, the Apostle Paul con-cludes these absolutely foundationalprinciples of God's Word with thephrase "eternal judgment."

"Eternal judgment" in the SpaceAge? Sneers of ridicule----or perhapschills of fright! "Eternal judgment"seems to do evervthing to the modernmind except portra)" what it reallymeans,

Disregarding for a moment thefine distinctions between the Hebrewwords translated "eternal" (olam,ad) and the Greek word (aionios),let's for a moment consider what theEnglish word "eternal" means. Howcan we express it? A line that has noends, the progression of t imeforever?

How can the human mind everconceive of an1'thing without begin-ning and without end? Let your mindwander in space or in time-then inboth. Consider the earth. the solarsystem, the sun. our Milky Way gal-axy (in which the earth is but tuckedaway in one small corner), the gal-axies within our local galactic struc-ture, and then the universe of galax-ies on beyond-all engrossed in end-less eons of time.

But, the physical is finite, no mat-

"Eternal Judgment"ter how long, no matter how large.What God offers is eternal, beyondthe physical-incredibly beyond, in-comprehensibly beyond! Physicalevents and time spheres no longerhave meaning. When eternity is con-sidered, a million years spent on eachplanet in the entirety of the universebecomes but a moment.

Nothing in the physical creationeven approximates eternity. Nothingphysical is eternal; nothing physicalwill ever be eternal. Eternity by itsvery nature, by the enormous vast-ness inherent in the word itself,transcends the physical. Tirs is whatGod offers us! Eternity. Beyond thephysical.

The human mind can almost com-prehend the meaning of eternity.This is remarkable by itself. We canbegin to conceptualize eternity. Wecan think of that line with no begin-ning and no end; we can think of theunending vastness of t ime thatoccurred before our birth and will goon after our death.

We can consider eternity, but wecannot comprehend it. Whenever wetry, we become frustrated. Ourbrains balk, our gray matter turnsinto soup. We can understand justenough to understand that we cannever understand.

That's the uniqueness of the hu-man mind-almost but not quite ableto comprehend. It's there---+ternityis there-but just out of our reach,just beyond our grasp.

Is th is coincidental? Isn' t i tstrange that what our Creator holdsout to us as the ultimate goal of hu-man life-eternity-is something weare almost able to comprehend, butyet with awesomeness of mystery stillsurrounding it?

Even assuming the entirety of theuniverse is as old as cosmologists tellus-some l0 to l5 billion years old-the totality of this time (as incompre-hensibly endless as it seems com-pared to our short 70-odd year lifespans) is but a few fleeting seconds inthe endless vastness of eternitv. It is

far less than one small grain of sandcompared to the multiple billions oftons of sand on all the beaches sur-rounding all the oceans in the entireworld.

Eternity as a concept defines theboundary reaches of the humanmind; almost, in a manner of speak-ing, the interface between the physi-cal and the spiritual. Because noth-ing physical is eternal. The physicalby very definition is subject tochange and decay (see I I Cor.4: I 8) .

To those of us who are extremelybusy every day of our lives (whethercommuting to work, putting in a hardday at the office, getting our exer-cise, coming home at night, havingdinner, playing with the children,perhaps going out to a party or amovie and coming home to bed-areal packed day in a very busy week),a year,365 days, is an awfully longtime.

And yet the reality of eternity isalways there. It never leaves us; it isjust overshadowed by what may seemto be the more pressing needs of themoment: How much do eggs costnow? Will I have enough gasolinenext Sunday? Will I be promoted onmy job? What movie (or cinema)shall we see this weekend? When arethe in-laws coming to visit? How arethe children doing in school?

Yet, all the while, the absolute re-ality of the eternity of time that willfollow your death is ever-present andever-real. If you don't feel its pres-sure, you are deluding yourself.

But we are not left without hope.The Creator God-the God whocreated us, who designed our humanminds able to almost comprehendeternity, has given us the knowl-edge-knowledge that has had to berevealed----of what eternity can meanto human beings.

As Paul described in this culminatingdoctrine of God's Church-eternaljudgment--4od in His Word takes usbeyond, takes us to reality, takes us tosanity, takes us to eternity.

t1

To those steeped in the "heaven-hell Churchianity" so long offered asthe bibl ical model, " judgment"means a decision leached after care-fully considering every sin that youhave ever committed from the firsttime you ever hit your baby brotheror talked back to your parents untilyour last, wheezing gasp as an oldman or woman about to expire.

How many sins do you think youhave committed in your life? Howlong would it take someone to read adetailed account of every one ofthem?

Let's assume the average personsins about once a day, and since Godsays a sin is a sin, we'll include all the"little" sins as well as the horrendousones. Consequently, in the averugelifetime, the average person mightsin roughly 25,000 times. (Granted,some of these sins would take longerexplanations, covering three to fourpages of written material to describethe exact situation: other of these sinsmight just take one to two lines, ex-plaining why you "had" to utter thatunfortunate word in that unforeseencircumstance.)

Now,facetiozsly assuming that inthe future God would have to consid-er the lives of, let us say, ten billionhuman beings, and giving God thebenefit of the doubt that He could gothrough all the intricate details ofevery single sin in the fleeting instantof one second. it would still take Godroughly (and this is, of course, ex-tremely rough) 100 million years tofully analyze the totality of every-body's sins. And, of course, Godcouldn't make a 'Judgment" untilHe did such----or so we might be ledto believe.

Isn't it strange that when we hearthe word 'Judgment" we automati-cally feel bad? We have a negative,depressing mood overwhelm us. Whydoes the word 'Judgment" evokesuch a reaction? Is this what God in-tended His Word to portray? Isthis what Paul meant in Hebrews6:2, when he spoke of eternal judg-ment?

No it isn't!But, thank God, our God is the

real God! And the " judgment"taught by this world's religion is asfallacious as it is foolish.

When we read of "judgment" inthe Bible, we should experience

12

waves of elation and joy, great excite-ment, enthusiasm and expectationconcerning the fantast ic eventsawaiting us in the future.

To give what must be a very weakanalogy: Think of the graduation dayafter four years of high school or col-lege. That's the day when, after thou-sands of hours of hard work andclasses, homework, periods of ner-vous exhaustion, tension and con-cern-finally, after all that, a personhas made it! He has completed thecourse; he has achieved the goal. Fol-lowing each graduation, every indi-vidual has won some new place. Forexample, many high school studentshave been accepted at the colleges oftheir choice; many college students inthe medical, dental, law, or profes-sional or graduate schools of theirchoice.

There are generally few failures;although some each year do fail. Butgraduation for the vast majority is avery happy time-a time of confi-dence, achievement, success andjov.

So it will be with God's judgment.Only God's "graduation day" will befrom far more than a few years ofstudy; it will be from a lifetime-andthe rewards will be far greater thanany diploma or promotion. becausefrom God's graduation the rewardswill be eternal.

The 'Judgment" is really a deci-sion-a decision that your Creator.your personal Father in heaven. thevery God who gives you breath andl i fe, the Being that hears 1'ourprayers and loves you more than anyfather loved any son, makes for 1'ourbenefit.

The judgment is when God decidesor informs you of His decision ofwhat, where, and how you will bespending eternity. And for rhe vastmajority, this will surel;- be thegreatest moment in their ent i rel ives- incomprehensibly greaterthan everything they have done be-fore!

The marriage supper in Revelationl9:9 and the breathtaking new heav-en and new earth of Revelation 2lcan only begin to hint at the magnif-icent reality that God has planned forall human beings.

As God the Father has structuredall spiritual and physical reality,there are many areas of responsibili-

ty in the future that are needed to befilled by individual human beings.This is why Christ said in John 14:2,"In my father's house are many man-sions. . . ." The universe is a bigplace, and eternity is a long time.God has a lot to do (even though wemay not know much about itsee Hebrews 2:8-9) and He hascreated us to become sons to helpHim administer all reality forever.

How does God decide what indi-vidual responsibility or position (orwhatever God chooses to call it) eachof us will have in the future? Heknows and loves us personally, andwill choose the best possible situationfor every one of us. We will surelyeach have our own specific areas ofresponsibility, our own personal likesand dislikes-we will not be like sta-tues in a garden, or candles in a mon-astery, set up merely to adorn ormake God feel better. We will be realpersonalities doing real jobs, individ-ually and personally.

Our Father, your Father, knowsyou personally. He knows the type ofwork, recreation and situations thatyou enjoy the most. He has designedreality to give you everything thatyou have always wanted.

But you have a responsibility also.You have to qualify. You have to at-tain the requirements for "gradua-1isn"-nnd, as you do attain these re-quirements, God will determine howwell you have done and give you yourreward in direct proportion to howsuccessful you have been. As Christsaid in Matthew l6:27, referring tothe time of His spectucular return toearth: " . . . And then he [Christ ]shall reward every man according tohis works."

How long does it take God to" judge" an individual? Does Hequickly come to a decision in a fewminutes, upon being given the"pluses" and "minuses" of your en-tire life? Or is judgment a process?

I Peter 4: l7 states that "the time iscome that judgment must begin atthe house of God. . . ." In fact, judg-ment and development of the peopleof God toda;- must take place in or-der that God may, during this age,develop such a group to assist Him in'Judging," in ruling. in developing, inencouraging the vast multitudes ofpeople to be taught in the millenniumfollowing the return of Christ.

And what of the multitudes of un-told billions who have long since diedand who have forever been forgot-ten-from those who died in theNoachian Flood or perished from theBlack Death to those who were vapo-rized in the atomic-bomb blast overHiroshima? Are these people lostand forgotten? Is there a 'Judgment"reserved for them?

Remarkably and incredibly, thebiblical "plan of salvation"-whichis a religious-sounding term indicat-ing the process by which the EternalCreator works with the human be-ings He created to bring them intothe God family-will eventually bemade available to everyone.

That means everyone who has everlived, from a fifth-century, newbornbaby that died after two weeks of alabored life in some backward prov-ince in China. to old men who havelived beyond 100 years of age in theCaucasus of Central Russia.

All who have not been called ofGod in this life will eventually havethat opportunity as fully and com-pletely as anyone has ever had thechance-all will have their chance,their first chance, in the future.(Write for our free article "ls Thisthe Only Day of Salvation?")

But what of us who are participat-ing in this worldwide Work of God inone way or another? Many of us willnot be in future groups that will becalled of God. God only gives onechance to everv individual; but thatchance must be a real chance.

When a person knows and knowsthat he knows that there is a God inheaven. that that God inspired theBible and has opened that person'sway to be baptized and receive God'sHoly Spirit (Acts 2:38) and be putinto God's Church-then, in al lprobabilitl-. he has had his chance.

But u'e have both an opportunityand a responsibility: an opportunityto be called of God now in this age, tohelp do His work of witnessing to andwarning the world, and an awesomeresponsibility to commit ourselvesand our lives to God in toto now.

When Peter stated that judgmentmust begin at the house of God, hewas directing his comments to thosewhom God was calling.

How do you know if God is callingyou? You cannot know from anyanalysis of your blood. Examining

your brain waves won't help, nor willan electrocardiogram.

There are ways of knowing, how-ever. Are you moved deeply whenyou read your Bible? Do you reallybegin to see the plan of God as out-lined from Genesis to Revelation?Are you fascinated and excited byspiritual concepts you see expoundedand explained?

And what about your own personallife? Do you see yourself as God seesyou? Do you feel, on one hand, ex-cited and enthralled at the prospectsfor the future, at the reason why Godcreated you; and, at the same time,do you see yourself as a worthlessworm, a disobedient fleshly beingwho desperately needs to be forgivenof his sins by his Saviour?

Finally, do you yearn for the op-portunity to associate and fellowshipwith people who have similar feelingsto your own who are themselves thor-oughly captivated by the opportunityto participate in this worldwide Workof God?

God in this end time, as the returnof Jesus Christ soon approaches, asthe need to extend and establish HisWork over the entirety of the worldincreases, has raised up His Church.There are now hundreds of conse-crated and ordained ministersthroughout the world (and especially

in the United States, England, Cana-da and other English speaking na-tions) whose sole function is to workwith, encourage, help and to servethose people whom God is calling.

If you have any questions that youwould like answered regarding theBible, God's plan of salvation, God'strue Church, or your personal life,please do not hesitate to make use ofthese ministers whom God has pro-vided for you. If you want to meetpeople who have similar views toyours---others whom God has placedin His Church-y' God is callingyott, or if you simply want some spir-itual help and advice, please write toas and we will immediately informyou of those in God's ministry. Or ifyou would prefer faster service,please dial this toll-free number inthe continental United States: l-800-423-4444. (Readers in California,Alaska, and Hawaii may call 213-577-5225 collect.)

You may be very surprised to learnthat God's ministers are availablewithin or near your hometown.Again, if you want to meet a ministerof God, write to us. (Worldwidemailing addresses are on the backpage of this reprint.) If God is callingyou, it is your responsibility. For"the time is come that judgmentmust begin at the house of God."

lf t/ou'd Liketo Know MoreMany hundreds have written asking

if we have representatives in their localareas to counsel with them personallyand to answer their questions

The answer is yes, we doThe Worldwide Church of God sta-

tions personal representatives (mostare ordained ministers) in the UnitedStates and Brit ish Commonwealth andmany other areas of the world. Theselocal ministers wil l visit you, if invited,directly in your own home.

So if you have spiritual matters todiscuss or questions io ask about bibli-cal topics such as repenlance, bap-tism, etc., please feel free to write usand request a private appointment.Worldwide mai l ing addresses andphone numbers are as follows:. Uni ted States: P.O. Box 111, Pasa-

dena, Calitornia 91123 (or simply dialthis toll-free number in the continental

U.S,: 1-800-423-4444. In Cali lornia,Alaska and Hawaii call 213-577-5225collect).

. United Kingdom, Eire, Europe and Mid-dle East: P.O. Box 111. St Albans.Herts., England AL2 2EG (or dial thisnumber in U.K.: Radlet t I092 76126701.

. New Zealand and Pacific lsles: P.O.Box 2709, Auckland 1, New Zealand(or dial Auckland 686-114-reversethe charges).

. Austral ia: P.O. Box 202, Bur le ighHeads, Queensland 4220 (or dial thisnumber: 075-35-4233-reverse thecharges).

. Canada: P.O. Box 44, Station A, Van-couver, B.C. V6C 2M2

. South Alrica: P.O. Box 1060, Johan-nesburg 2000 (or dial this number:01 1-216406).