good news 1952 (vol ii no 10) oct

8/10/2019 Good News 1952 (Vol II No 10) Oct

1/16

OCTOBER, 1952

~

OL.

11

NUMBER 10

The

MARK

of

the BEAST

0

it is

here, NOW

Better be sure whether this brand is

upon you

W ithout i t ,

no m m

will

be able to

buy

or sell W itho ut it , you

will

be tortured even to death

But z c i t h it , yuu s h l l suffer the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES

by Herbert W . Armstrong

OME say this mystic m ark is the

fasces on our dimes. D uring World

S

W a r

I1

many said it was Hitlers

swast ika. During the Depression New

Deal many said it

was

Roosevelts NR A

No

subje ct has intrigued-and baffled

-more people in our gerieration. Thou -

sands of sermons have been preached on

it-by professed min isters and evange-

lists who themselves did

not

k n o w

what

it is Millions have been curious.

The average sermon on this subject

considers one text of Scripture,

only

O n l y T e x t

Usually

R ead

This is the sole passage ordinarily

quoted:

And hc (th e second bcast) causeth

all,

both small and great, rich and poor,

free and bond, to receive a

MARK in

their right hand, or in their foreheads:

and that no man might buy

or

sell, save

he that had the mark, or the name of

the beast, or the number

of

his name.

(Rev . 13:16-17

)

From

this one passage the speaker

customarily uses his imagination. The

general idea seems to be that since you

W i l l ~ i o r e able to buy or sell without

this mysterious

mark,

and since we all

wish to be able to buy and sell. there-

for e we oug ht to do all in our power to

receive

this

mark

But here is a n additional passage they

neglect to show you:

And I saw another sign in heaven,

gre at and marvelous, -seven angels

having the seven last plagues; for in

them is filled up

the wrath

of God . . .

And the seven angels came out of the

temple,

having the seuen plagges,

. .

And I heard a great voice out of the

temple saying

to

the seven angels, Go

your ways, and pour out the vials of the

WRATH O

G O D upon the earth . And the

first went, and poured out his vial upon

t h e earth; and there fell a noisome and

grievous sore upon

the men which had

the mark

of

the

beast,

and upon them

which worshipped his image. (Rev.

15:1,6,

and

1 6 : l - 2 ) .

If you do have the mark of the

beast, you will be terribly punishe d,

w ith ou t mercy , by GoD-you will receive

the S E V E N

LAST

PLAGUES

How

to T e l l W h a t I t I s

There are many more references to

this subject in the Bible. Instead of

looking ac

011r pasbagt. only, rhrn

turn-

ing away from Gods own revelation of

this mystery, and using human imagina-

tion and fancy to conjure up the many

ridiculous conclusions being foisted

upon

a

deceived public

by

men devoid

of understanding, let us see what GOD

says this M A R K really is .

Make

no

mistake, GOD

TELLS

us

PLAINLY wh at it is It is unmistakably,

clearly revealed and explained

IN THE

BIBL E But to find

GODS

ANSWER, e

must have before us

all

of

the Scriptures

referring to this subject

First, fro m the text universally quo ted

(Rev .

13:16-17),

notice this: the

mark is something that will be very

popular-something th e majority of

people will be in favor

of,

will seek-

which custom will approve

as

RIGHT-

because

no

man will

be

allowcd to buy

or sell, unless he receives this mark.

Everyone wants to be able to buy

or

sell. In this scriptural usage the expres-

sion buy

or

sell more literally indi-

cates

being able

to buy-not tha t stores

or

those from whom one might make

purchases of the

necessities

of life would

refuse to accept the money, but that the

one refusing the m ark would not be

able to buy, would not be able to earn

a l ivirig, to earri a wage

or

salary,

or

to

eng age himself in business.

The mark of the beast, then, has


2/16

Page

2

The GOOD NEWS

October,

1952

direct bearing

o n

ability to engage in

business,

or

to hold a job and earn a

living.

But lets look at all the facts God re-

veals

on

thc subject-ull th e Scrip tures

bearing on it.

W h a t Is t h e Beast?

First, then, the beast itself. The

m ark is the mark of the

BEAST.

This

is described in the first verse of this

chapter

.

And I stood upon the sand of the

sea, records John, speaking of his pro-

phetic vision, and saw a beast rise up

out of the

sea,

having seven heads aiid

ten horns, and upon his horns ten

crowns, and upon his heads the name of

blasphemy. And the beast which I saw

was like unto a leopard, and his feet

were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth

as

the mouth of a lion: and the dragon

gave him

his

power, and his seat, and

great authority . (Rev . 13 : 1- 2) .

W ha t is this weird be ast? A n arti-

cle in the June

P L A I N

TRUTH identi-

fied this wild animal-a co mp osi te wild

animal with the strongest characteristics

of the f our wild animals symbolically de-

scribed in Daniel seven, as THE R O M A N

E M P I R E . Space does not permit that full

identification here. A copy of the June

number will be mailed you, without

charge, upon request.

Daniel seven reveals that these

beasts

or

wild animals, symbolize civ-

il G O VERNM ENTS, or world Empires.

Daniels first beast was like

a

lion, and

it represented the Chaldean Empire of

Nebuchadnezzar, called Babylon. His

second, like a bear, pictured the Persian

Empire; his third, with four heads, like

a

leopard, represented Alexanders Gre-

cio-Macedonian Empire and its succeed-

ing four divisions after his death; and

his fourth beast, unlike any existing wild

animal , the Roman Empire which swal-

lowed up and absorbed all the others,

and em bodied the strongest physical and

military characteristics

of

all its prede-

cessors.

This beast

of

Revelation 13 had the

mouth, the strongest part, of th e lion;

the feet, the strongest part, of the bear;

the body of the leopard. It included,

in the ONE Empire ic represents, the

strength of A L L of Daniels beasts. It

is

the R O M A N

E M P I R E .

Notice, the dragon gave this Empire

its seat and power, and great authority.

Rev.

12:9

and 20:2 both tell us in plain

words this dra gon is S A T A N

TH E DEV-

I L . It is, then, the political insrrument

of Satan in ruling and deceiving the

world.

WHOS Mark?

Note this well Th e mark is the

mark of the BEAST-and the beast is

the RO M AN EM P I RE. In Revelation 17 a

later stage of this same wild beast is

pictured, and there a woman-a great

CHURCH-sits astride it, guides it, rules

over

it. But the MARK is the mark of the

ROMAN EMPIRE-not the Roman Cath -

olic CHURCH

That is fact number one. Keep that

in mind.

Now in verse

11

another

beast is

pictured, (Rev. 1 3 ) .This beast had

two

horns l ike a

lamb ,

but spoke

as a

dragon.

In the

GOOD

NEWS for July was an arti-

cle plainly revealing this second beast

to be the Ro ma n Catholic Church. This

Church is an ecclesiastical world Em-

pire-a gov ernm ent. See article Pa pa-

cy, Encyclopaedia Britannica.

It took over, exercised, wielded, all

the power of the first beast-the Ro ma n

Empire. After 554 A.D., the Roman

Church did d o this fo r 1260 years, as

prophesied

Notice, further, verses 15-16:

And he had power to give life unto

the image of the beast, that the image

of

the beast should both speak, and

cause that as many as would not wo rship

the image of the beast should be killed.

And he causeth all, . . . to receive a

mark in their right hand, or in their

foreheads. (Rev. 13:1 5 -1 6 ) .

Now here is a deceived Church-

both herself deceived by, and therefore

used by the devil, and also deceiving

the world. Notice, this Church did not

actually herself kill these martyrs-she

merely caused them to be killed. And

she

it

was, too, who CAUSES all under

her domination to receive the dread

M ARK

of the Beast.

T h e B r a n d of

Rome

Notice carefully what the above text

tells us:

1 He,-the Catholic Churc h that

formed the Papacy and originated hu-

man church government modeled after

that of the Roman Empire.

2 ) Causeth all to receive this mark.

I t is the Church, not the civil govern-

ment, which forces this brand o n people

3 )

It is the same power w hich

caused

the martyrdom of saints.

4 t brands on the people the mark

of the Beast-that is, the mark of the

R O M A N E M P I R E , not the mark of the

Church.

5 )

This mark is received in the right

hand, and in the forehead.

so the M A R K is that of the Roman

Empire, which the Roman CH URCH did

cause

or shall cause the western world

to receive.

TWO M a r t y r d o m s

Next notice w h e n these saints were

killed. This will sho w us w h e n the mark

of

the beast is enforced.

A n d when he had opened the fifth

seal, I saw under the altar the souls of

them that were slain for the word of

God, and for the testimony which they

held.

a d

hey cricd with a loud voice,

saying, How

long,

Lord, holy and

true, dost thou not judge and avenge

our blood on them that dwell on the

ear th? (Rev . 6 :9 -10) .

Here we find pictured the martyrs

of

the middle ages already dead, at the

t ime of this vision-which is the ap-

proximate present. They know Ven-

geance is M I N E , saith the Eternal. They

know Gods judgments against this per-

secuting, deceiving false Church, as de-

scribed in Revelation 18, are to

be

the

SEV EN

LAST P LAG UES, poured out in

the presence of the Lamb at the second

coming of Christ. Read of it in Revela-

tion 18. These dead saints are pictured

as

crying out to ask HOW LONG before

the Second Coming

of

Christ and the

seven last plagues w hich, will avenge

their martyrdom. History tells

us

be-

tween

fifty

and a hundred MILLION of

these saints were killed for their BIBLE

faith and obedience to God instead of

obedience to this church government of

man and the devil. Notice, now, what

must again happen before the seven last

plagues and the coming

of

Christ

A nd white robes (symbolizing right -

cousncss

and puri ty) were

given

un to

every one of them; and it was said

unto them, that they should rest yet a

little season, until their fel lowservants

also and the ir brethren, that should be

kil led as they were, should be fulfilled.

( R e v . 6 : l l ) .

Chrict will not rnme to take ven-

geance on this great false Church U N -

T I L another great martyrdom has taken

place

NOTE

IT

There was one martyrdom.

Those saints are already killed. Their

resurrection will occur W H E N Jesus re

turns to e a r t h - W H E N His judgments

are poured out on this false BABYLO N

and her daughter churches But there is

yet to be another universal persecution

and martyrdom of saints, just prior

to

Christs coming in vengeance against

the forces of evil He re are TWO univer

sal martyrdoms

This coming great martyrdom is THE

G REAT TRI BULATI O N (Mat thew 24 :9

2 1 - 2 2 ) . This T R I B U L A T I O N is not th

wr ath of God-the last plagues. It i

the wrath of Satan ( Rev. 12 :1 2) , in

flicted at the behest of H I S apostate

church

by

the coming Uni ted Na

tions of

EUROrL

and against the true

people of

GOD

It is a persecution-a

torturing-a ma rtyri ng of the saints

o

God-the very elect who can not be de

ceived (Mat. 24:24). Except those

day

of Great Tribulation be shortened,

no

Please continue on page 12


3/16

FLASH EXTRA

As w e

g o

to press these tw o f lash reports came over th e wires b y

Associated Press.

This s

t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t n ew s

in

years

ROM

Strasbourg, France: Under

date, September 13. Th e s ix-nat ion

F

chuman Plan Assembly today

changed itself into a constitutional con-

vention in order to bring about a

UNITED EUROPE. Work starts Monday

to draft a European Confederation.

The industrial problems for which they

met are sidetracked, and their full ener-

gies are now devoted to whipping

through a UNITED EUROPE-the resur-

rection of the

ROMAN

EMPIRE

From

VATICAN

CITY, Sept . 13: Pope

Pius, in a surprise major speech to-

day

publicly urged Europes nations to

combine in a gigantic, one-nat ion

U N I T E D EUROPE H e placed the power

of the Roman Catholic Church be-

hind the move for European unity . He

stressed the fact that the political per-

sonalities alone cannot achieve this

goal. H e called it a move for the peace

of Europe and the peace of the world,

and stressed the need of the unifying

power, and the spiritual strength of the

Roman Church in order to bring i t

about .

W e didnt expect th is move to come

ou t in to the open so soon. Unless a deal

is made with the Pope to unite these

nations, we pred i c t

the

likelihood of

th i s in i tia l ope n and publ ic ef fort to

restore the ROMAN EMPIRE may fa i l .

Such failure, however, will only set the

stage for another effort, which

u d

SIIC-

ceed as prophesied-a union in which

the CHURCH sits astride this BEAST

as it emerges now from the bottomless

pit. Many have set the year 195 3 as a

crisis year in prophecy fulfilment. This

is scheduled to be completed next

spring-in 1953

THINK. Against

all

opposition we have

WARNED you for twenty years that this

very thin g is prophcsicd-and thcr efo re

destined to occur Lets

AWAKE O u

days for proclaiming this warning-

for proclaiming the t rue GOSPEL of the

K ing do m of GOD-may be cu t short.

PROPHECY MARCHES ON

IT MAY BE MUCH LATER THA N WE

FASCISM

Revives in Italy

J

T h e U n i t ed S ta te s G o ver n m en t is spending bill ions in ta x dol lars

in

a f o n d hop e that economic ass is tance wi l l preve nt th e recurrence

of Fascism. But th e same causes tha t once produced Fascism still

exist. Our econoiizic aid i s not solving Italys problem; it i s merely

p o s t p o n i n g t h e u l t i m a t e

RETURN

OF F A S C I S M .

by H e r m a n L. H o e h

T IS vital that you know what is

really happening in Italy. How is

I

American aid being administered?

Have the Italian people altered their

ways of thin kin g since the days of Mus-

solini? Or is belief in Fascism still preva-

lent?

Whi le in Rome I had an important

conference with the press representative

of the ltalian Foreign Ministry. lhe

official explained the seriousness of

Italys unsolved p robl em of overpopula-

tion.

He

revealed

to

me

w h y

it will

pave the w y f o r the re turn of Fascism.

Italy is entirely dependent on Arneri-

can aid to prevent the collapse of her

weak economy. While traveling through

northern Italian cities, Dick Armstrong

and I saw many projects which have

been fostered by U nited States economic

assistance-modernized factories, new

apartment buildings, ultramodern rail

stations. Italy is definitely doing its part

with

every

dollar America is sending.

Despite th is amazing post-war expan-

sion of Italian commerce and industry,

her leaders well know that there is no

inethod by which American aid can be

reduced for many years without wreck-

ing Italian economy.

Th e real cause of Italys pligh t is

overpopulation, the very same cause that

produced Fascism under Mussolini. Only

slightly over one-half the land is capable

of cultiv ation , yet nearly e igh t t imes as

many people live in each square mile as

compared with the United States . This

presents a t remendous unemployment

problem which must be solved by emi-

gration.

What

Is Happening in Italy Today?

The large majority of Italians are

friendly to America. Officials in govern-

ment and industry are cooperat ing be-

cause they know that their country must

depend on U.

S.

aid: The pow erful Com-

munist influence has been broken by the

forma tion, in 1 948, of two anti-com -

munist labor unions. Italy is trying to

cooperate with other continental nations

so

as

to bring about European unity .

All this appears fine on the surface,

but everything is not wel l beneath .

The problem of emigrating Italy

masses is not finding adequate solution

Th e press representat ive with whom

conversed said that the responsibility fo

this failure RESTS

ON

OTHER NATION

BECAUSE THEY ARE FAILING TO OPEN

THEIR DOORS TO ITALIAN IMMI

GRANTS.

Italy demands the right to distribut

her emigrants throughout the world

without hindrance. She is seeking t

foster agreements with Australia, Can

ada, the United States and various Sout

American countries. So far no nation ha

permit ted unlimited Ital ian immigra

tion in fear of hurting its own interna

economy.

It is imperat ive that th is problem b

soon solved. American aid cant continu

year after year to support Italian unem

ployed who will be unable to find job

no matter how much money Americ

spends on improving Italys industr

and commerce. At present our fcreig

policy seems to be based upon the fool

ish idea that by spen ding money t

postpone

a

solution, a solution to th


4/16

Page 4

The

GOOD

N E W S

October, 1952

today.

And yet American policy

makers

confidently believe that Fascism died

and was buried in the grave with Mus-

solini.

Following this, I asked

why so

iiiany

Italians turned away from the Fascist

Party.

In reply, the official explained to

me that Mussolini received popular sup-

por t because of his victories. Wh en m ili-

tary defeats occurred in Greece and

North Africa and Ethiopia, the people

became discontented with his leader-

ship. You know how people are, he

said. They follow a man

i f

he can give

them a taste of victory, but in defeat

they quickly reject him.

T o p u t

it

plainly, Italians feel little

guilt for the wars in Africa. The

EiJ

tube

of the Fascist

Party

lay in its cor-

ruption and its failure to provide ade-

quately for the troops which had

to

de-

fend Mussolinis new Roman Empire.

Many soldiers were sent into Greece in

winter, clad only i n tennis shoes and

summer clothing.

In ov erthrowing the party, the present

Italian government decided on a policy

of cooperation with the Allies. This

meant an inevitable change in foreign

policy. The stripping of h e r colonies

forced the government to adopt a policy

of peaceful emigration to relieve the

country of its surplu s population bu rden .

To the Italian people che

success

or

failure of this plan is of utmost impor-

tance. If Italy can dispose of her people

peaceably through emigration, then they

will realize that it was a grave mistake

to have risked the venture of war for

colonies. But if it should fail-as it will

BUT TO ABIDE HER TIME UNTIL SHE

CAN AGAIN FOLLOW A PATH O F AG-

GRESSION IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE PcOS

SESSlONS

FOK

HER EXCESS POPULA-

TION.

-THFN ITALY HAS

N O

OTHER CHOICE

T h e F u t u re o f I t a ly

Western diplomats do not sense the

vital effect which the outcome of this

problem will have on Italian thinking

t

t he moment it

appears

t h a t

Italy is

safely democratic. This is true. As long

as American taxpayers can afford to

suppo rt the surplus, unemployed p eople

of Italy, there is no need to fear a re-

vived Fascism seizing the government.

But America cant continue to spend

money in Italy for decades

to

come.

With each passing month it is be

coming obvious that the Western na

tions will not permit unlimited Italian

immigration. Since the Catholic Church

is utterly against birth control, there is

no hope of a reduced birth rate as some

American theorists might desire. With

about two million unemployed because

there are too few jobs and too many

Please continue on page 11

The national magazine

of

AMBASSADOR

COLLEGE

mi n i st e r in g t o T h e C h u r ch

of

God

scattered abr oad, and

reporting

on campus happenings

VOL.

11

N U M B E R 10

Herbert W. Armstrong

Publisher and Editor

Herman L. Hoeh, Executive Editor

Rod Meredith, Norman Smith,

Raymond

Cole,

Marian McNair,

Raymond McNair, Wayne Cole

Associate Editors

Calvin Allen,

Campus Editor

Kenneth H errmann,

S c i mr e Editor

Dick Armstrong,

Picture Editor

Sent free a n personal request, as the

Lord provides. Address rnrnrni in ica-

tions to the Editor,

Box 1 1 1 ,

Pasadena.

California.

problem of overpopulation will be

found.

Yet

a

real solution must be found to

prevent the return of Fascism.

Why

Did

Ital ians Follow

Mussolini?

Mussolini claimed

to

have a solution

to Italys prob lem of ove rpop ulation .

That is why the people accepted him.

America has

no

real solution, yet we

fondly hope that our money will con-

tinue to buy Italian friendship.

In my conference with the press rep-

resentative in

Palazzo

Chigi in Rome,

I

obtained some vital facts indicating that

the same causes which brought Musso-

l ini to power will once again bring

Fascism

into

power.

Mussolinis revolution occurred in

1922 at a time when Italy was suffer-

ing terribly from the aftermath of Wo rld

W a r I. Through force, he was able to

alleviate many economic hardships at

the cost

of

personal freedom. Italians

everywhere gradually approved the

home policy

of Benito Mussolini.

I

was

told by the press representative that

even

today most Italians believe the

h o me

policy of the Fascist regime was

good because it provided work for many

unemployed and boosted industry-

which included war industry.

Notice the significance of this fact.

W e have not educated the Italian people

to see the potential dangers of Fascism.

T he Italian representative was very blunt

in telling me that even Mr. Winston

Churchill formerly approved the bene-

fits that Mussolini supposedly in-

troduced.

He continued to explain to me that

Italys problem of a surplus population

was not solved completely by Mussolini.

In fact it was aggravated by his en-

couragement of an increased birth rate.

ONLY

W O SOLUTIONS R E M A I N E D

FOR

TAKE: ( 1 ) peaceable emigration of

Italians to foreign nations, or

( 2 )

the

acquisition

of

colonies in North Africa

by war.

Mussolini chose the second: It con-

centrated more power in his hands over

the people.

Then

I

asked the representative what

he thought of Mussolinis attempt to

acquire colonies to which Italians could

emigrate, and from which raw materials

could be cheaply obtained for an ex-

panded home industry.

He replied, P ERH AP S it was a mis-

take. The Italian people felt that they

had been

cheated

because Italy has so

few colonies. In other words, it was-

and pe rha ps is-Italys rig ht

tn

have

a n

Italian East African Empire.

T h i s

is

the k ind

of

th ink ing

that rep-

resentatives of Italys

government

do

THE FORMER FASCIST DICTATOR TO

RADIO

LOG

T h e

WORLD TOMORROW

Herbert W. Armstrong analyzes to

days news, with the prophecies

of

T h e W O R L D T O M O R R O W

T O T H E N A T I O N C A N A D A :

XERF-1570 on your dial (extreme

top

of

dial) every Sunday

night, 7:15 P.M. Central

Standard

time.

XEG-1050 on your dial,

every

night,

8 : O O P.M. Central Standard

time.

XELO-800 on your dial, every night,

: OO P.M. Central Standard

time. 8 : O O Mountain Stand-

ard time.)

HEARD O N PACIFIC COAST:

XER&50,000 watts-1090

on

dial

-7 :OO P.M.

every

night.

KALI-Los Angeles-1430 on dial-

7:30 A.M. every morning.

KXL-Portland-10,000 watts. 750

on dial-2 :3 0 P.M ., Sundays.

KVI-Seattle-Tacoma-570, first

on

dial-10:30 P.M . Sundays.

OTHER STATIONS

WAIT-Chicago-820 on dial-1 :00

KM AC-San A n t o n i d 3 0 on dial

P.M. Sundays.

-7 :oo P.M . Sundays.


5/16

Government

Authority-

Should you submit

HIS is an election year. People are

listening with enjoyment

or

dis-

T

ust to campaigners as they travel

from city to city making grandiose

promises and hurlirig polirical

m u d

to

secure votes.

But in the midst of

all

this oratory,

you

probably are

fai l ing

t o

hear

a single

word of

a

far more vital message.

Do you know what it is?

Its your relationship t o the govern-

m e n t u n d e r w h i c h y o u

liue.

Is it

your duty to reform the govern-

ment

or

to resist bureaucratic ordi-

nances?

Do

you really have to show re-

spect and pay taxes to political office

holders even when they abuse their

high offices? Are officials responsible

to the

people

o r rn Gnd? Which

W h a t Do e s t h e S c ri p t ure

Say?

The past few generations have grown

up in an atmosphere

of disrapru w-

ward authority, both in the home and in

public life. Nearly everyone wants to act

[iccorcling t o t h e w a y h e f e e l s

about

ixders , and

n o t

according to the way

G o d

s q s

we should conduct ourselves.

Its high time to realize that there is a

jnd,omcnt

coming

and that it does make

a difference how you act toward those

in authority.

The apostles devoted many verses in

their epistles to explain the relationship

of

Christians to human governments.

Paul wrote at great length because he

knew how easily

this

subject would be

neglected, as i t is today in nearly every

denomination, Here is what he said in

Romans 13: l -7:

Let

E V E K Y

soul b e subject

u n w t h e

higher powers.

For

there is n o power but

of God: the powers that be A R E O R-

DAINED OF GOD. Whosoever therefore

resisteth the power, resisteth the ordi-

nance of God: A N D

THEY

THAT RESIST

NATION.

Notice the emphasis which the apos-

tle places on this matter. They that

re-

sist-those who refuse to subm it to

authority--shall receive to themselve s

damnation.

For rulers are not a terror to good

works.

but

to

r h e

evil. Wilt t h o u

then

not be afraid of the power?

do

that

which is good, and thou shalt have

praise of the same: for he is the minister

SHALL RECEIVE TO THEMSELVES DAM-

by Herman L .

H o e h

of God to thee for good. But if thou do

that which is evil, be afraid; for he

beareth not the sword in vain: for he is

the minister of God, a revenger to exe-

cute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

W h e r e f o r e y e m u s t n e e d s b e s u bj e ct ,

not only for prrath, but also for con-

science sake.

For

this cause

PAY

Y E

TRIBUTE ALSO: for they are Gods

ministers, attending continually upon

this very thing. R E N D E R THEREFORE TO

ALL THEIR DUES: TRIBUTE TO WHO M

TRIBUTE IS DUE; CUSTOM TO WHOM

CUSTOM; FEAR TO WHOM FEAR; HONOR

TO WHOM HONOR.

This is not just

P aul

speaking. It

is

Jesus directive to His church for all

times and generations. It is very impor-

tant-let every person be

subject t o

higher author i ty .

Instead of preaching this truth from

the Bible, most ministers preach their

own

words about get t ing out thc

votc

and supporting a Christian candidate.

It is your duty, they say. This is not

what Jesus

or

the apostles taught. The

real Christian duty is NOT to mix with

the political-affairs of this world, but to

be subject to authorities.

You

are to be

s~ f l n rn t erom the world, although living

in i t . (John 17:15,16)

Do es Go v e rn m e n t Au t h o r i t y

Come

f r o m the People?

Contrary to the common teaching, the

Bible proves that government authority

and power is O R D A I N E D OF GOD. It is

not derived from the consent of the

governed-the people.

There is NO authority but of God.

The authorities that exist are ordained

of God. Human beings seem to reason

that because men may be elected or ap-

pointed

or

may seize power, that their

only authority proceeds from the people

that supported them. How untrue this

assumption is

This is an age when men dont know

who rules in earthly affairs. Almost

everyone is as ignorant

of

this matter

as was Po ntius P ilate because the clergy

is failing to preach the truth. Jesus

had

to tell Pilate that the authority vested in

him came from the Almighty. Notice

how similar Pilate reasoned compared

with people today: Then saith Pilate

p into him, Speaketh thou not unto me?

knowest thou not that 1 have p o w e r to

to i t ?

crucify thee, and have power to release

thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest

have

no

power at all against me, EXCEPT

(John 19:lO-11)

Since any authority is ordained of

God we are to be subject to it. Anyone

IT WERE GIVEN THEE FROM ABOVE.

WHO RESISTS THE AUTHORITY OF

HUMAN GOVERNMENTS IS ACTUALLY

REBELLING AGAINST GOD WH O OR-

DAINS THAT AUTHORITY. This applies

equally as well to anyone in a position

of authority, whether a school teacher or

a foreman in

a

factory.

T h i n k i n g Up

an

Excuse

It is only human nature for people to

think of an excuse to circumvent these

ways in which God says we should live.

You

have heard it said that God does

not approve of the evil that some poli-

ticians

or

other officials commit. Th en it

is argued that corrupt lenders have

thereby forfeited their right to comm and

our respect and submission.

This is a clever but faulty argument.

W h y ?

God ordained rulers to punish evil

works, not good works. Even though of-

ficials may be elected 9r appointed by

the people, rulers are actually account-

able

t o

God w h o p e r m i ts t h e m t o exer-

cise authority. Persons in responsible

positions niay

fa i l t u

execute the com-

mission of the ir offices-to pu nis h w ron g

deeds and to preserve order. They may

corrupt the government. But as long as

God permits them to be in authority

and to retain their office, you are com-

manded to

R E M A I N

in subjection to the

divinely ordained position which they

hold.

You pay respect to God by respecting

the men who hold their offices by Gods

permission an d authority. Until H e re-

moves them, you would be rebelling

against the will of God by refusing to

honor the positions which such repre-

sentatives exercise.

It is so hard for human beings to con-

ceive this principle because nearly every-

one has been deceived from childhood

by the fable that God has nothing what-

soever to do with the civil governments

of this world. Perhaps you were never

told that t h e r i g h t t o exercise authority

over human be ings

is

solely

the

pre-

rogative of the dic ine Creator . Hu m an


6/16

Page 6

beings do not inherent ly have the r ight

or the ability to rule properly over fel-

low human beings. But God is

a

G o d o f

order, not confusion. Since men wont

submi t to

His

own govcrnmcnt and

laws, H e has given permiss ion in th is

age, before the re turn

of

Jesus Christ ,

that men may exercise authority in all

phases of life.

Human beings in any pos i t ion may

be serving themselves and the devil, but

the

OFFICE

i s

ordained of God

Y o u

honor the person because of the

ofice

which he holds, even though his deeds

may be evil.

E x a m p l e of S a u l a n d D a v i d

Consider the case of Saul and David.

King Saul obtained his position from

God, as do all rulers. Saul was disobedi-

ent to the Eternal and David knew it.

Did David therefore rebel and seek to

organize the people

to

remove h im f rom

office?

No. Ins tead, David said this : The

Lord shall smite him; or his day shall

come

to die ,

or

lie

shall descend into

bat t le and perish. The Eternal forbid

that I should stretch forth mine hand

against the Eternals anointed. ( 1 Sam.

26:9-11)

Not ice that David recognized the

fact that it is Gods right to put pe rsons

out of office. It could

not

be the peoplcs

right since the people have never been

given the r ight in Gods s ight

to

put

such men into office in the first place.

David respected and honored and sub-

mit ted

to

the office which Saul exercised.

H e left ic in the Lords hands

to

remove

him from office. Christians must do the

same.

Nebuchadnezzar had to learn this

t ruth, and i t took him seven gruel ing

years.

He

finally admitted after gaining

his sani ty that the Most Hi gh ruleth in

the kingdom of m en, and giveth

it

to

whomsoever H e will , and set te th up

over it the

BASEST OF MEN.

(Danie l

4 : 1 7 ; 2 : 2 1 )

If God decides to place in office the

least

capable and the basest men, be

cause of the sins of th e people, who are

we to condemn the wise judgment of

G o d ?

And strange as it may be, it is

ol len the people,

who,

in their at tempt

t o make themselves wiser than God,

elect

the

least capuble, ACCORDING

TO

THE PLANNED FOREKNOWLEDGE OF

THE ETERNAL GOD.

God never sanctions the corruption,

the abuses of office holders. Neither

should you. Your obligation is merely

to respect the authority of t h e

o f i c e ,

not the corrupt deeds, the gifts of mink

coats, the lucrative vote-getting jobs.

Is Submis s ion Always Obedience?

There are certain powerful churches,

The GOOD NEWS

October, 1952

particularly in Europe, but also in Amer-

ica, which teach that human government

is not only of divine origin, but that

respect for authority and submission to

officialduin

IIICJIIS

TOTAL

OI~EUIENCE

TO LEADERS and even dictators.

Th is teachin g is absolutely

false

Jesus words in Matthew 23:2-4 are

quoted to support this terrible error. In

speaking to the multitude and the disci-

ples, Jesus said: The scribes and the

Pharisees sit in Moses seat: all thercfore

whatsoever they bid you observe, that

observe and do . . .

It is

at this point

that these denominat ions s top quot ing

the words of Jesus to give the imptes-

sion that you must observe everything

that a person in authority commands.

But what did Jesus continae

to

say?

But do NOT ye after their works: for

they say, and do not.

There it is. Those Jewish religious

leaders taught part

of

the t ruth, but

they themselves were not obeying the

truth. Therefore Jesus had

to

instruct

the people that the religious authority

of

the scribes and Pharisees must be

respected. They were

to

observe what-

ever truth was preached, but they were

nnt

t o fallotr: t h e error

In Acts 4:19 you are given the true

Bible definition of submission. The

disciples were commanded to

disobey

God. What did they say to the authori-

ties? That

obedience

to God is more

important than obedience to men. No-

tice, however, that the apostles did not

resist them. They submitted to the pen-

alty imposed by their accusers. (Acts

5

:

4 0 )

Thus you

have the

t iue

relationship

that should exist between every Chris-

t ian and the human government under

which he lives. You are to honor and

respect authority and submit t o every

ordinance of man. ONLY when obedience

to human rules and regulations would

violate the laws of God should you

steadfastly decline to obey. But then

yozl must submit t o

the

penalty.

So said

the apostle Peter.

W h a t D o e s P et er C o m m a n d ?

T he apostle Peter recognized the im-

portance of Christians relationships to

human government . He had the courage

to preach the truth to the congregations.

He re is what he said: S ubm it yourselves

t o

every ordinance

of maw for the Lords

sake: whether it be to the king, as su-

preme;

or

unto governors, as unto them

that are sent

by

him for the punishment

of

evi ldoeis , a~idor the praise of them

that do well. FOR so

IS

THE WILL OF

GOD. . . Honor all men. Love the broth-

erhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Take careful note of his wording.

5ubm it yourselves to every ordinance.

Peter did not say, Obey every ordi-

nance.

Of coursc not, because Ire knew

that many human regulations were

wrong. H ere again you can see that Peter

intends that

all

Christians should obey

whenever possible, and always submit

to the penalty in case obedience to

human law would be sin.

Christians are always

to

be examples

of perfect submission to government

regulations, no matter how childish

or

absurd some stipulations may be. Be

subject to principalities and powers . . .

to be ready to every good w ork, to speak

evil of

NO

man. (T i tus 3 :1 , 2 )

Is It W r o n g to Speak Evi l of Officials?

It is a common practice for people to

resist government regulations and to

accuse office holders, whe ther th e Pr esi-

dent or the corner policeman. This sup-

posed righ t of the peop le is bein g

abominably misused. The re is a righteous

limit to

the

freedom of speech.

Th e Bible sets that l im it by com man d-

ing you to refrain from speaking evil

of dignitaries. Solomon said you are not

to curse officials even in your thoughts.

(Ecc . 10 :20)

It is reproachful to C hrist

as

well as a

dishonor

to

His authority for Christians

to hurl or to repeat needless accusations

against rulers. Th is, of course, does not

mean that you cant say anything about

a mans mistakes. Rather

it

means that

no gossip

or

misreprese ntation of facts

which damage a persons character is to

be repeated.

Christians should not fight the gov-

ernment in its own courts as certain de-

ceived religious sects sometimes

do.

Rather submit , and pat icnt ly pray for

God to change the circumstances ac-

cording to His will .

Most Christians ought to pray more

earnestly that their minds and hearts

would be free from slanderous thoughts,

SE E MS TO DE S E R VE

THEM. Not even the

righteous Michel

accused

Satan. H e

calmly said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Only the angodly dig up evi l to throw

needlessly at their eriemies. (Pro.

1 6 : 2 7 )

There is also another important po int

which has often been overlooked. In

Romans

13:4,

you read that Christians

are to b e afraid of gov ernme nt pow er,

i f

they have committed evil . Yet Jesus

taught

us not to fear man, but ra ther

fea r God (Luke 1 2:5 ) . How can you

reconcile these verses?

By the fact that Christians are not

actually to be afraid

of

the m e n i n

of

fice, but rather of the power which

they wield by G ods permission. Y ou

fear their authority because they are the

servants or revengers of God to curb

crime. In reality, then, you are only

Please continue

on

page 9

NO MATTER HOW MUCH THE PERSON


7/16

How to Keep the Sabbath

Here are some basic principles w hi ch wil l answer ma ny

o

the

quest ior is

you

h u e beerz

uskirig. Urzless

you

know the PU R -

POSE o

the Sabbath , yo u cant unders tand H O W

t o

keep

it.

b y

Rod Meredi th

ou A R E missing out on a lot of

the good things in life. There

IS

Y reason

Life lacks the real meaning and pur-

pose it should have. Every day is the

same old thing you hear so many peo-

ple say.

But Go d didnt intend it that way

H e has given us a specific blessing,

which, when R E A L L Y understood, ap-

preciated, and rightly used, will give us

the zest for

life that

we otherwise

lack.

This blessing is Gods Sabbath Day.

You

need

a

new insight into this

com man d. He re is an article that will

berter enable you to receive the rich

blessing intended.

Rece nt issues of the Go od News

and the Plain Truth contained art icles

on The Sign of a Chris t ian and Has

Tim e Been Lost: The se articles proved

that the t rue Sabbath was to be a sign

bctwccn G o d and His childrcn forcvcr,

and that the true

seventh

day has never

been mixe d-up or lost.

M a d e for M a n

Christ said, The sabbath was made

for man, and not man for the sabbath

(M a rk 2 :27 ) . H e didnt say.it was made

for the Jew, but for MAN-fOT all man-

kind

in other words. And it was made

for 5jm as a blessing.

K eep this principle in mind. It was

made for you,

to

help you , to enable you

to live a happier and more godly life.

Gods true sabba th is one of th e great-

est Elessings that has ever been be-

stowed upon mankind. I t signifies that

the Creator is our God and we are His

children,

Our Creator knew that we would

need a period of rest every seventh day,

and this is one

of

many opportunit ies

the sabbath affords. Each of us tends to

become overly absorbed in our daily

cares during the week, but G od foresaw

this, and set aside the sabbath as a time

when we can completely forget our

routine work and get

closer to God

in

study, meditation. and prayer.

The wonderfu l par t of i t all is that

we can keep this period of rest and

spiritual revival with complete confi-

dence that God will

bless

and prosper

us because we have don e this If we

would quit working every few days and

take

a

needed rest, we might naturally

expect to get beh ind in

our

finances and

mater ial pursuits. But God has said just

the opposite So i f we keep His Holy

Day, we can rest assured that it will be

gain instead of loss, even looking

at

it

materially.

Do you realize what this amounts to?

God is giving us a paid vacation every

seventh day

Human reasoning might not grasp

this right at first. But God has

promised

this, and the experiences of hundreds

of people have shown that God meant

what he said.

You

may not be prospered

immediately if you begin keeping Gods

wiiiiiiaiidiiiriits

a i d paying your tithe

faithful ly .as H e has com manded. But

in His way and t ime, God wil l begin to

bless and prosper you in ways that you

may never have expected.

In Isaiah 58: 13-14, Go d inspired Isai-

ah to wri te that if we kept the sabbath

and delighted in it, we would remember

Hi m and H e would cause us to have

life in abundance, spiritually and ma-

terially. Notice that we are not to

seek

our own pleasure on the sabbath.

Yet ,

we are to delight in i t . This means that

we should be

so

busy

doing good

to

others, and getting closer to God in

prayer and study, that we will not even

desire to seek any earthly amusements.

W e wi ll b e

HAPPY

because we are able

to

rest,

to worship God wich peace of

mind, and because we have a special

t ime to do good.

This same passage says we are no t to

speak our own words

on the sabbath.

What does this mean? It shows that we

should not spend the sabbath in idle

talk, but should be reading, discussing

and meditat ing upon Gods word. Then

we wil l be drinking in the ideas of God

instead of mere hum an notions. Wh at

a privilege it is to have a whole day in

which we can read and discuss the

way

of life that is revealed to us in t he Bible.

In order that we may have our minds

free from last minute duties on the

sabbath, God has commanded that we

prepare for it the day before. Exodus

1 6 . 2 2 - 2 5 shows that w e should do any

bak ing

or

t ime consuming boil ing be-

fore the sabbath. Long hours of cooking

and stewing should

never

clutter up

Gods day.

So do all your sprucing up and any

heavy cooking

on

Friday, the prepara-

tion day. Then at sunset Friday evening,

when the sabbath begins, you will have

put all worldly cares aside and will be

able to enter the sabbath in a spirit of

rejoicing and worship toward God.

Duties on Sabbath

Your time should never drag on

Gods sabbath Some people experience

this when they first begin to keep tlie

sabbath, but it certainly isnt the way

God intended. When we understand i t

properly, the sabbath will be filled with

interest

and

joy.

The true sabbath is not a negative

thing

Christ set us an example of how to

keep i t . In Mark 2:23

to

3 : 5 , Jesus

showed that it was all right to procure

food on the sabbath if it is necessary.

H e told the Pharisees that H e was Lord

of the sabbath-not. Sunday The n

Chirst healed

an

infirm man on the sab-

bath, and showed that it is lawful to

do

good on that day.

W h a t kind of good should we do on

the sabbath day?

God commanded in Exodus 20:10

that we should not

work

on the sabbath.

So the kind of good that we do on that

day is not the kind of hard physical

labor which we migh t do o n other days

D oing good is not to be used as an

EXCUSE for

performing those materia

duties, however helpful to others, which

can just as well be done some other day

There is one exception to this prohibi

tion. That is in the case of an O X in

the di tch (Luke

1 4 : 5 .

This refers to

a gemdine emergency, not some materia

duty you pu t off until the sabbath.

The principal example of doing good

on the sabbath that Chris t gave

us

wa

that of healing the sick or infirm tha

came t o H i m . (M a t t . 1 2 : 9 -1 3 ) . He d id

not go abroad seeking them. Also, w

find that H e was constantly m eetin

with others and teaching them God

ways on this day. W e can al l use th

sabbath as a t ime to comfort and min

ister to those who are sick and infirm

on this day. But this does

not

mean tha

we should burden ourselves with purel

material services. Jesus didnt when h

helped the sick according to their faith

Remember what he told Martha: Tho

art careful and troubled about man

things: But one thing is needful: an


8/16

Page

The

GOOD NEWS

October,

1952

Mary hath chosen that good part, which

shall not be taken away from her.

Luke 10

4

1,42 ) . W e should especially

try to help those who are interested in

t h e

true

teachings of the Bible, because

in this way we can minister to them

both spiritually and physically.

As we shall find later, we are to meet

with other true worshippers on the sab-

bath. But if this is impossible, we may

well use the sabbath as an opportunity

to meet with others who we know are

really interested in the truth, to explain

the Bible

to

them in their own homes.

W e a r e

not to at tempt to force Gods

truth on people at any time. But we are

always to be ready and willing to explain

the Bible to anyone who is sincerely

seeking God. Some of our brethren in

Texas use

a

portion of the sabbath for

this purpose and have helped

a

great

many people in their community

to

come to a better knowledge

of

God.

STUDY

the word of

God

( I1 T i m . 2 :

1 5 )

This should usually be your first

duty on the sabbath. T h e n you will be

ready to answer the questions of those

you are trying

to

help ( I Pe ter

3 :

15

) .

Remember that the principal com-

mand is to

rest

from our usual routine

on the sabbath, and to

worship

God and

remember him as Creator. The Bible

reveals that doing good on the sab bath

is serving others in a way that shows

the pow er of G od in our lives. Christ

didnt labor for several hours to heal th e

sick on the sabbath. Instead,

He

invoked

the very power of the Creator

to

release

others from the bonds of sickness. So

we should

not

spend most of t he sabbath

caring for the physical needs of other

people. By drawing closer to God on

this day, we will then be able to help

others in

a LASTING

way thru the power

of Gods Spirit.

Sewing for charity and other physi-

cal services may be worthy a t the p roper

time, but such routine labor should not

fill up Gods sabbath day.

Physical things will perish with the

using. So use the sabbath primarily to

learn

Gods ways

and make them a part

of your

character-and

help others to

do the same. The Spirit of God in you

will last forever

C o m m an d ed As s em b l y

In Luke 4:16, we find that Chris t

customarily met with others on the s3b-

bath and read from Gods word. Lev.

23: 1-3 tells

us

that the sabbath is to be

a h o l y coizvocittion for

Gods pcoplc.

A

convocation is a commanded assembly.

God commands you

to

convoke or meet

with other

trge

believers

whenever this

zs posszble

on the sabbath.

However, this does not mean th at you

are to meet on that day or any other day

with those who are blinded to Gods

truth and refuse

to

keep

all

His com-

mandments. Paul commanded Christians

in I1 Cor. 6:14, Be ye not unequally

ynked together with unbelievers: for

what fellowship bath righteousness with

unrighteousness

and what communion

hath l ight with darkness?

Christian fellowship should be with

other people

ONLY

thru God and his

Spirit. God gives the H oly Spirit

to

them

that obey Hi m (Ac t s 5 :

32

)

.

So

remem-

ber that you cannot have tr ue fellowship

thru Satan,

or

his ministers, or his

churches who refuse to obey G ods com-

mandments .

W he n i t was impossible to meet with

others in a church on the sabbath day,

the apostle Paul and his helpers went

out

of

the city by a river side, where

prayer

was wont to be made. (Acts

16 :13 ). This is an admirable example

for many of us, because getting closer

to the natural handiwork of the Creator

brings one closer to God. The hand of

God is seen

in everything good and

beautiful. Notice that instead of going

to the river to fish, as

so

many do on

the day

of

the Sun, Paul went to a river

to

help others seek God in prayer.

A

L i g h t

to

t h e

World

Christ told his followers, Ye are the

lzght of

the world Matt . 5 :14. How

much the world needs people who will

fearlessly show it the way out of this

spiritual darkness

But

can you be a light to other peo-

ple while continuing in the same man-

made do ctrines and practices they do?

NO

you cant Yo u must live by Gods

word to show forth the t rue l ight that

will eventually turn people from dark-

ness. YOU ust be

DIFFERENT

from

oth er peop le by obe ying God-by hav-

ing his

SIGN.

Most people wont like

you for doing this. Christ said in John

3

:19,

And this is the condemnation,

that

light

is come into the world, and

men lowed darkness

rather than light,

because the ir deeds were evil. Men were

so

steeped

in their own customs, then

as now, that the t rue l ight

of

the gospel

offended them.

So

you

can see that real Christianity

is not the way to be popular with men

But doesnt this show what an im-

portan t ligh t your keeping of th e sab-

ba th can be to others?

It

is a SIGN that

sets you apar t fro m those following the

broad way that leads to destruction.

Special Problems

It is easy to use the latitude and privi-

leges of the sabbath as a means to

abuse

it . You should not be overly strict or

seIf-righteous like th e Pharisees. O n the

other hand, humans are usually inclined

to stretch the freedom G od gives us

and begin doing our own work

or

pleas.

ure on the sabbath.

Taking a walk on the sabbath is fine

so long as it doesnt

turn

into

a

hike.

Some people ask about the mention of

a sabbath days journey in Acts

1:

12.

There is no special command

anywhere

in the Bible limiting travel on the sab-

bath. This sabbath days journey was

a

custom

of

the Jews and is not a bibli-

cal

command. However, you certainly

shouldnt w alk or drive so far on the

sabbath as to tire yourself unduly or to

interf ere with your worship of God.

Afte r sitting in church

or

studying for

some time, a leisurely walk is very re-

freshing and beneficial. Also, a lengthy

drive is sometimes necessary to enable

you to meet with other true worshippers

on the sabbath. Within reason, this is

not wrong. It serves to strengthen you

spiritually and therefore glorifies God.

Here is another problem?

Should you kindle a fire on the Sab-

bath Day?

The command in Exodus

35:3

was

inserted in connection with instructions

regarding work on the tabernacle. It

was chiefly intended

tu

forbid che kin-

dl ing

of

a fire to melt metals or sharpen

tools. However, it certainly can refer

to unnecessary work done in preparing

food which could be prepared on the day

before.

So it would not be breaking the spirit

of

thc

law

to light

a fire

for heat in

wintry weather

or

to warm up previous-

ly prepared food.

Feeding and watering stock is neces-

sary on the sabbath and permissible

(Luke 13 15

) . B7bt

if you are raising so

many cattle or chickens that your

chores add up to thrce or four hours

hard work, then you had better c ut dow n

on the number of your livestock or else

change occupations.

Our

age of special-

ization, when a few farmers become

virtual slaves to provide food

for

hun-

dreds of city dwellers, is not Gods w ay.

No man should be tied down to his

occupation as so many are today.

DONT try to justify breaking the sab-

bath by saying that your. occupation re-

quires it Rem ember tha t this worldly,

competitive system is called Babylon

in the Bible and you are commanded to

come out of her (Re v.

18:

1 - 4 ) .

Ins t ruc t Ch i ld ren

God inspired Solomon to write train

u p a child in the way he should go and

when he

is

old, he will not depart from

it (Pro. 22 :6 ) . This command would

certainly apply to teaching your child to

keep the sabbath. However, you should

remember that even sweet little children

are by no means converted. They are


9/16

October, 1952

basically selfish, and usually lack th e u n-

derstanding and will power to keep

Gods law

as

an adult.

Bzit they should be taught to rest

from

their routine

work

or play on the

sabbath

as

much as possible. They should

be instructed in

a

kindly and straight-

forward manner that the seventh day is

holy to their Heavenly Father, and that

they can show their love for Him by re-

fraining from their usual play on that

day and thinking and learning about

God.

Your children should be taught these

things gradually and only

as

their age

makes it possible for them

to

under-

stand. If trained properly from infancy,

a ten

or

twelve year old child should

have enough respect for Gods sabbath

that he does not spend his time reading

fu nny books or listening to radio seri-

als on that day.

Love and chastening must go hand in

hand in -t hi s t raining. But a child so

trained in G o d s ways would have a

priceless advantage in his knowledge of

life and its real meaning in relation

to

the Creator.

Holy T i m e

In Exodus 20:8 we find the original

command, Remember the sabbath day

t o

keep

it HOLY.

Never forget that

God has made the seventh day holy

t i m e You and I are commanded to k e e p

it that way.

I have already shown you in Gods

word that we

are

not

to

do our own

work, pleasure, think our own thoughts,

or

speak our own words on Gods Sab-

bath Day.

To keep the sabbath day ho ly :

You cant spend a lot of time in

worldly visiting

or

sho oting the breeze,

or

even courting your girl.

You cant be running down town for

a

cup of coffee or an ice-cream soda.

That kind of procuring food is entirely

UNNECESSARY.

You cant spend several hours listen-

ing to worthless radio programs or read-

ing the funnies.

You cant wait until after sunset on

Friday evening to begin your cleaning

up and preparing for the sabbath, un-

less, of course, a genzline emergency has

interfered.

I could

go

on, but I think you should

get the point and grasp thc principle in-

volved.

Lets NOT ki d ourselves

W h e n God said to put the sabbath

day to

a HOLY

use, He meant exdctly

what He said. But we should learn to

be so happily employed in doing the

good things prescribed

for th;ir

day,

that

we will have no time or inclination to

violate the prohibitions anyway.

The GOOD NEWS

Page 9

So

lets keep the sabbath in a posit ive

way Use the sabbath as a day to rest

from worldly labor, to get closer to G od

in prayer and study. Take t ime to do

g o o d to

others,

to care

for thc sick, to

visit the afflicted. Assemble with other

true believers on the sabbath

if

this is

possible. Th en you will truly be a light

to those around you.

The sabbath separates true Christians

from this worlds churches with their

pagan holidays and day of the sun.

So

KEEP

holy the days God made holy

Rejoice in the blessings and opportuni-

ties that the sabbath affords, and remem-

ber that it is a SIGN between you and

the true God.

Government

Authority

Continued f ro m page

6

fearing the power of God w ho gave this

authority

to

rulers.

When you do good, you may boldly

say, The Lord is my helper, and I will

NOT

fear what m4n shall do unto me.

Hebrews

13 6 )

Is the Payment

of

Taxes Necessary?

Now comes an often misunderstood

part of this vital message. Should you

pay taxes if you are

a

Christian? If so,

why?

Paul said that Christians MUST PAY

TAXES,

CUSTOM

DUTIES AND TRIBUTE

to those in

authority. W h y ? For

they

are Gods ministers, His servants, at-

tending continually upon this very

thing. It is their job, their work to reg-

ulate

society and to pun id i

criiiir.

They

are worthy of their hire.

Because of covetousness, especially

when income tax

or

land tax bills ap-

pear, some seize upon the words of

Jesus in Matthew 17:24-27 as an excuse

for failure to pay taxes. Notice what

Jesus really said: Christians, being free

and heirs of the Kingdom of God,

should not be required to pay tribute to

a foreign government, notwithstand-

ing, lest we should offend them

. . .

give unto the m the tax.

Yes, Christ commands you, just as

Paul did, to pay taxes, and they should

not be paid grudgingly either. It is the

right of leaders to receive remuneration

for their duty. But what if officials are

not performing their duty properly

or

are squandering tax money for private

ambition? Are you to pay taxes?

Certainly. As long

as

any person is in

office, you are to honor th at office

by

submit t ing

to

it. It is

so

easy to forget

that human beings are not the judges of

one another, but God

is

the Judge. Of-

ficials are not responsible to the people,

but to God. Your responsibility ceases

once you have honestly

paid

the tax or

the duty. I t is the officials respon sibility

to see that he properly administers the

money.

Although this

is

the day

of

exorbi-

tantly high taxation, you should never

fear that God will fail

to

provide the

amount necessary to conform to state

laws. Jesus provided Peter with the ex-

tra tribute money beyond the normal in-

crease. (Matthew 17

4-27 )

Prayer

for

Officials

In the days of the Roman Empire,

when Jesus was training his disciples, it

was the custom

of

the government t o

compel peop l e t o

carry mail

and goods

belonging to the Empire. Jesus referred

to this forced practice when he said,

Whosoever shall compel thee to go a

mile, go with him twain. (Matthew

5:41

Notice that Jesus taught submission,

not resistance.

Today the government does not com-

pel its citizens to bear this responsibili-

ty. Ho w thank ful have you been for this

fact,

as

well as for all the other benefits

that have accrued in the fields of com-

munications, transportation and public

safety?

It

is

so

easy to forget and to

neglect Pauls admonition that suppli

cations, prayers, intercessions, and

giu

ing of thanks,

be made for all men: for

kings, and FOR A L L THAT A R E IN AU

THORITY; that we may lead

a

quiet and

peaceable life in godliness and honesty

For this is good and acceptable in the

sight of God our Saviour. (1 Timothy

Now do you see that the Father has

established earthly governments t o k e e p

order until His Kingdom should come?

It is

your

commanded duty to submi

to them, patiently, excusing the obvious

faults inherent in human leadership. I

is your privilege

as

a Christian not to be

burdened with the heavy responsibilities

of this complex world, but rather to

recognize that

all

human history is a

record of the tragedy

of

human self-di

rection contrasted with obedience

to

God.

Th e Scripture is given to make kn own

to

us the fact chat

al l u thori ty belong

t o t h e God Family. W e are not to tak

it upon ourselves to mix with thi

worlds faltering society, but rather to

call others

oat of

the error of huma

self-rule. By growing in patience an

understanding, we shall be born into the

family

of

God and have His powers

an

abilities and character which will enabl

us to rule the world in righteousness

(Dan . 2 : 4 4 ; Rev. 3:21; Rom.

8:19

What are you doing about your eterna

calling and selection? Are you makin

it sure by obeying every word of God

2:1-3)


10/16

Paul Came

This

W a y

by Herman L . H o e h

HE crn

of Rome. Called by m e n

the Eternal City. Over nineteen

T

enturies ago the apostle Paul came

to this remarkable city as a prisoner.

It has been our blessing to travel over

part of the same route taken by Paul as

he finally reached the capital of the

Roman Empire . Pa u l was greeted by

brethren who came as far as Appi i forum

(Act s 28:

13

)

. W e are alone now, nine-

teen centuries later, but at least we are

free men. A great change has taken

place over the centuries in the people,

but very li t t le has changed over the Old

A p p i a n W a y , or Appia Antica as it is

now called. A service station, new homes

and new pavement are here.

Dick Armstrong and I have traveled

in an open horse drawn buggy, the kind

of taxi

so

common in Southern Europe.

I t proyided us with a sentimental view

ot the past as we passed from the well

preserved wall of old Rome along a few

miles of the Old Appian W ay. Fig trees,

bamboo and other low growing shrubs,

bushes and trees appear behind and

sometimes hang over the walls that are

on either side of the Way. The walls

have often been repaired through the

cenruries, bur they retain much of their

picturesqueness.

Whole blocks in the city of Rome,

which we were just leaving by buggy,

contain well preserved remains

of

an-

cient Rome. Here the people cling to

th e greatness of the past. In one way it

is beautiful, in another it is not. Ruins

are the results of human w ar and hum an

failure.

It

was to lay the foundation for

the Kingdom of God which will change

civilization and bring peace, that Paul

came to Rome along this way

SO

many

centuries ago.

The reason for our trip was to visit

the Catacombs of S c . Sebastian, located

a few kilometers from the old city wall

on the Old Appian Way. W e wish tha t

most of you could have taken this visit

to the catacombs of early century pro-

fessing Christians.

It

is

a

never-to-be-

forgotten experience. Also it provides an

insight into the CHANGES

T H A T

OC-

CURRED

IN

THE EARLY CHURCH

AS

T H E T R U T H W AS STAM P ED O UT

BY

APOSTACY.

Most visitors take for granted that

these catacombs, and also many others

located nearby, were the centers of ref-

uge for the early true Chris t ians wh en

they were persecuted by the Roman

Empire. This assumption is false as we

quickly saw upon entering them. The

early true Christians were not perse-

cuted nearly as much by the pagan

Roman Empire of the Caesars as they

were by the later apostate Church. The

book

of

Revelation shows that i t is the

woman, a picture of this apostate church,

not the civil guvernment, that is drunk

with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus

(Revelat ion

1 7 ) .

Acmally most of the early persecu-

tions by the Rom an Em pire were direct-

ed against apo statizin g Christians who

were seeking t o gain

control

of t h e E m -

pire

and to substitute their religion

f o r

that of the existing one by means of

Christianizing pagan rites. Because of

this persecution, those early apostates

had ro go anderground in order to con-

tinue their rites. How coincidental this

is with the description in Revelation 1 3

that the second beast (this apostate re-

ligious system which has gripped the

world ever since) came

up

out

of

t h e

ground That is not only symbolic-it

occurred literally

Along with many other visitors, we

were invited into the Church of St. Se-

bastian, which is built over the cata-

combs, by a member of one

of

the

Church orders. H e explain ed most of

the details to us in English. The church

is many centuries old and in need of re-

pair. Inside was a beautiful carved and

painted ceiling, a detail of which repre-

sented the martyrdom

of

Sebastian, for

which he was called S aint Sebastian.

On the right wall of the Ch urch, en-

closed in a glass case, are the supposed

footpr ints of Jesus made by him at a

l a w

appearance. Th is is one of the h un-

dreds of

traditions

of the Church, the

fables against which Paul warned. ( 2

Tim. 4 : 4

Dupiicacions of these footprints are

in the

Quo

Vadis Church, located only

a short distance from these catacombs,

on the Appian

Way.

Tradition,

not fact,

claims that at the site of the Quo Vadis

Church, Peter was met

by

Jesus as he

was fleeing from the Romans. After

supposedly seeing the Lord he returned

to face martyrdom, hangin g upside down

from a cross.

Next to the footprints and also en-

closed in glass is an arrow, presumed to

be one of those which brought death to

Sebastian. Exactly opposite these relics

the starue of Sc. Sebascian appears in a

reclinirg position, pierced by four ar-

rows.

From the level of the church floor we

descended to the catacombs below.

Walking single file down a narrow

stairway, we soon emerged into a large

underground room, wherein were altars

used for religious services by early bish-

ops. The bishops who used the altars

were leaders in the apostacy. There are

crude images

of

Jesus and a

cross

as

well as ritual parchments used in the

idolatrous beginnings of the

mass

and

Sunday communion.

Then came the catacombs. W e fol-

lowed in single file in the narrow pas-

sage ways, guided t first by recently in-

stalled electric lights, and then only by

candle light. Often the monk conduct-

ing the tour would stop to light various

candles located on the dirty stone walls

beneath pictures and images of saints

and Mary. There are several larger rooms

along the passage

ways

which descend

into the earth at least four stories.

In

these rooms we could see the remains of

broken earthen jars used for

oil

which

were

buiied in niches in the walls. Be-

low and above are other niches contain-

ing skulls and

a

few important bones.

Sometimes the graves are little coffins

of stone on the floors of the under-

ground rooms. The tops were removed

and the bones are lying in open view.

A

strange

sensation came over

us

upon thinking of the resurrection. Some

of these people would finally come forth

in the day of judgment and have their

deceived minds opened for the first

time. It is wonderful to think of the plan

of God and to visualize his power to

impart material l ife into such human

remains.

Perhaps some of the decaying bones

were of those people who heard the

apnsrle Paul preach against giving heed

to fables, but who rejected his preach-

ing. For them there is no hope of re-

pentance. For it is impossible for those

who were once enlightened

. . .

i f

they

shall fall away, to renew them again to

repentanc e; seeing they crucify to them -

selves the

Son

of God afresh, and put

him to an open shame. (Hebrews

6 )

For

eight miles these catacombs con-

tinue beneath the church in several lev-

el$

I t i s

a veritable city of the dead con-

taining

174,000

graves. The dark, bleak

hallways and the various little rooms

give an aw esome feelin g of the terrible-

ness of

~11;ir

mystery of iniquity that

supplanted the truth of God with pagan

rites and finally was able to come above


11/16

October,

1952

The GOOD NEWS

Page

11

ground and conquer the Empire.

Following the faint light of th e wood-

en stick which held the candle, we

emerged exactly beneath the church in

the most amazing par t

of

the entire

catacombs. Here before our eyes were

three pagan tombs antedating the Chris-

t ian Church. They were unknown to

our world until

1919

when they were

excavated, but they were known

to

the

early apostate Christians. In fact the

very reason for building the cburch and

the catacombs at this site was that the

pagan Romans had been conducting

many of their mysterious rites under-

ground and were

also

burying their dead

in this place. Those Ro man s were adopt-

ing the apostating Christian religion an d

were continuing to frequent the same

plzces of religious service.

Many

of

the early Catholic churches

were merely dedicated Roman temples.

And Roman tombs became Catholic

Christian tombs. The most beautiful

of

the three tombs in the Catacombs

of

St.

Sebastian is that of Clodius Hermes. O n

its very well preserved walls are pictures

of ancient swastikas, and of birds, one of

which may have represented Osiris, the

famous god of Egypt. These oriental

mystery religions provided many con-

verts to the early Catholic Church.

So

in order t o sunct,ify

this most colorfully

dccoratcd tomb,

a

tradition

was

dcvcl-

oped that

this tom b was the burial place

of the apostles Peter and Paul

before

they were supposedly removed in later

centuries. Peter was sent to the House

of Israel, not to Gentiles (Gal.

2 : 7 ;

Mat.

10:6).

So widespread did this false tradition

become that upon the walls above we

observed many invocations to the apos-

tles made in succeeding centuries of

persecution. The invocation

of

saints-

and the doctrine of the communion of

saints-is of totally

pagan origin.

I t

stemmed from the custom of invoking

the tutelary gods

of

the pagan world.

Most of the inscriptions are hardly legi-

ble and very crudely do ne in stone.

I t was indeed

a

profitable exp erience

to come here to see first han d t he places

where the mystery of iniquity worked,

but how glad we were when we emerged

into the warmth of daylight.

FASCISM Revives

Continued from puge 4

people, Italy exists in potential danger

of the slowly reviving neo-Fascist party.

No matter

how much

any of us

would

like to see

a

workable solution for Italy,

we must face the facts. Prophecy shows

that no human being will produce the

right solution. There are too many re-

ligious, political and racial groups in

opposition.

T h e time i s comimg

when American

aid will diminish and finally cease.

W he n I m entioned to the I ta l ian repre-

sentative in the foreign office about

drought and depression curtailing Unit-

ed States aid, he appeared

frightened.

Everywhere Europeans are afraid to face

the even tual curtailment of American

help.

In such

a

situation, he said that Eu-

rope would have to

UNITE IMMEDI-

ATELY, or perish. All the petty griev-

ances would melt away. Italy and Yugo-

slavia would have to come to immedi-

ate agreement over the disputed Free

Territory of Trieste. Italy needs the raw

materials of Yugoslavia and Titos

Yugoslavia needs the manufactured

goods of Italy.

How

European Uni ty

Will

Be

Achieved

by

the V a t ican

At present, Italy is having a great deal

of difficulty solving its Trieste problem.

The city of Trieste is coveted by both

Yugoslavia and Italy. Because Italy lost

several hundred thousand men in World

W a r I in order

to

take Trieste from the

Austrian Em pire which at that time con-

trolled the area, Italy feels it would

b e

unjust to relinquish claim to the blood-

ily won city and adjacent territory. The

Allies who administer Trieste

by

a mili-

tary occupation have allowed

the

Italians

a fairly firm grasp over some domestic

matters in Trieste. But Tito claims the

same rights also.

In our conference, I asked what means

might be sought to br ing about an

amicable solution.

I

suggested the Cath-

olic Church. To this suggestion

I

re-

ceived an important response.

The

Catholic Church,

said the Italian repre-

sentative,

can

not

afford t o risk her

prestige

in

thtzsmatter.

Th e Church must

maintain the status of a power above

hum an civil governm ent. For the Church

to ente r as a mediato r in any of E uropes

quarrels, either in the Saar or in Trieste,

would involve

too

great

a

possibility of

failure at the present time. The Church

doesnt dare fail when she acts.

I

learned, however, that Italians, and

also other Europeans, would welcome

the intervention

of

the Pope and his

diplomats should the need become im

perative. If American aid would cease

as a result of drought and depression,

Europe would have no other place to

turn but to the Vatican. The Vatican

could

UNITE

IT IMMEDIATELY by Ect-

ing as an inter-European mediator. This

is what the prophecy

of

Revelation

17

shows

will happen.

There is going to be

a united Europe of ten nations ruled

over

by

the Chu rch which is pictured as

a great whore. These ten nations con-

stitute the last revival of the beast

or

Fascist system which has engulfed this

world for thousands of ycars undcr vari-

ous names.

Coupled with the prophesied cessa-

tion of American help will be

a n

in-

evitable growth of dictators. Except in

the democratic countries

of

Northwest

Europe, the present governments in

Germany, Austria,

Italy

and even France

will turn into dictatorships. In Austria,

Italy and France it is only American dol-

lars that have kept democratic govern-

ments in power. When this help is cut

off,

the only solution to Europes im-

pending economic and political doom

will be a revival by revolution

or

elec-

tion of stron g men. The re are already

dictators in

two

Catholic countries,

Spain and Portugal.

American officials in our State

De-

partment dont know what lies ahead in

Europe. They are blind to the fact that

your tax money has

not

re-educated the

Italian mind,

or

the minds

of

other Eu-

ropeans. Fascist ideas about

the right

of

conquest

are very much alive in Italy.

Although no great leaders have yet ap-

peared in the strife-ridden neo-Fascist

movement, recent elections have shown

that the people would follow another

great

strong man if

h e would

promise

Italy relief

for

her surplus people. Since

peaceful imm igration into foreign coun-

tries is not possible, the only other

means

which I L ~ Y

iiuw5 i

CONQUEST.

Yes, a revival of Fascism in a united

Europe is prophesied. Aided by gener-

ous American help, and also the

secret

military and economic schemes of the

Nazi Underground, i t will turn to paths

of war.

It

will be

a

just war, approved

by the Church, to solve Europes popula-

tion probl

good news 1952 (vol ii no 10) oct

Documents