good news 1967 (vol xvi no 07) jul

8/10/2019 Good News 1967 (Vol XVI No 07) Jul

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The

GOOD NEWS

~~

..

-

More About Our Cover. +

T h e bulk of the worlds gold is mined in the hear t

of S o u t h Africa.

Af fp r

refining under intense heat

the impur i t i es

and

slag are poured 08and pure gold is

left.

Here

in

a refinery in V a a l Reefs y ou see gold tried in th e fire

of t h e

blasl furtiuce being cust into one thousand f ine

ingots. Read w h y

such

f iery trials are necessary in the li fe of

every

Christian,

beg inn i ng o n page

7.

A n g l o A m e r i c o n Co r p . o f South A f r i c o , L t d .

What

our

READERS

SAY

Firs t Feas t in Poconos

I want to say that the article on the

Poconos was just wonderful. This Feast

of Tabernacles will be

our first.

My wife

and I are so very excited about going

to the Poconos where God has set

His

naiiir. Thc p i c t u i e s

ill

T h e GOODNEWS

are truly breathtakingly beautiful. How

wonderful are God s ways W e could

n e v e r afford a rcal vacation bcforc and

to look forward to the Feast of Taber-

nacles in the Poconos is just truly,

greatly, wonderfully exciting.

Mrs. Wm. L. W., O h i o

Bible Diff icul t ies

The articles by Mr. Robert Boraker

about H ow to Solve Bible Difficulties

were really good. They gave older

students of the Bible som ething to

think about and are good lessons to

those that are new I have heard people

say the Bible contradicted itself. In the

past there was litt le I knew about the

Bible, but I could never believe this.

To me there would be no

point in

believing in a

God

if He was an unreli-

able, contradictory person.

M .

S.,

Mississippi

A C o m p u t e r t o S e rv e You

I just finished reading the article

A

Computer to Serve

You

by Mr.

Hugh Mauck. It is amazing to realize

that G o d surely i n s p i r e d the designing

of these miracle tools, the computer, and

especially the Data Cell, for the great

increase during these closing days of

His Work.

Mrs. C. W. D., Texas

Fest ival Brochure Received

I received my book on the 1967

Feast of Tabernacles yesterday and am

s o very pleased with

it.

Thank you SO

very much. It certainly will be a great

help and pleasure as it gives us so many

interesting and informative pictures and

articles. The paper is so beautiful and

the colors are some thing to behold. W e

die

ceilaiiily

h r

luiluiiatt: uii e~.

Mrs. R.

M.

H..

No rth Carolina

Husband and Wife Contract

Feas t Fever

I would like to say that the brochure

f o r

the Feast is just beautiful. My

h u s -

band and I already have Feast Fever

since receiving the brochure.

You

do

such a wonderful job on all l i terature

sent out . W e never know what to expect

next, but we always know that it will

be nicer than we received previously.

Although it seems that the literature

cant get better, it always does (that

includes all l i teratu re ). Its just another

reminder that this truly is Go ds work,

the way you all work to improve even

though what we receive is just great.

Thanks

so

much. It truly is a blessing to

be part of such a great work.

Mrs . D . G., Arizona

I m p o r t a n c e of Gods C h u r c h

I enjoyed so much the article on

why we need B Church. This I know

from experience. W e need it very badly.

It seems more needed to me, I suppose,

because

w h e r e

we are now, I

am com-

pletely withou t fellow ship with Gods

Church. And its so much harder with

July,

1967

5be

Good ews

Internat ional magazine of

THE

CHURCH OF

GOD

ministering to its members

scattered abroad

July, 1967

Io lume

X V I

Number 7

Published monthly at Pasadena, California

967 b y Radio Church of G od

EDITOR

HERBERT

. AR M S TR ONG

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Garner Ted Armstrong

M A N A G I N G E D I T O R

David Jon

Hill

SENIOR EDITORS

Roderick

C.

Meredi th

Herman L. H o e h

Associate Editors

Albert J. Portun e Ronald Kel l ]

Contributing Editors

David L. Antion Lesl ie

L.

McCullougf

Dibar K. Apart ian Bi l l L . McDowel

C.

Way ne Cole Raymond F. McNai

Raymond C. Cole

C.

Paul Meredi t l

Wil l iam Danke nbring L. Leroy Nef

Ronald L. Da rt Richard

F.

Plachi

Charles

V.

Dorothy John E. Portuni

Jack R. El l iot t Paul S. Roye

Selmer

L.

Hegvold Norman

A.

Smitl

Charles

F.

Hunt ing Lynn

E.

Torranci

Paul W. Kroll Gcrald W a t c r h o u s

Dennis G. Luke: De an R. Wilso i

Ernest

L.

Mart in Basil Wolvertoi

Cl int C . Zimmerman

Foods Consultants

Velma Van der Veer

Rose McDowel l

Mary E. Hegvold Isabel1 F. Hoe1

Editorial and Production Assistants

Steven J. Gray

Paul

W.

Krol l

Donald G . McDonald

BUSINESS MANAGER

Albert J Portune

ADDRESS LL C O M M U N I C A T I O N S to the Editoi

Box

111, Pasadena. California 91109.

Canadian members should address Post Offic

Box

44.

Station A. Vancouver 1.

B.

C.. Canada

Our,

members in United Kingdom, Europe, an

Africa should address t h e Editor. B. C. M

Ambassador, London, W.C. 1. England.

Sourh Africa: Post Office Box

1060.

Johannc

bura.

Transvaa l . R .

S.

A.

Membeis in Austral ia and Southeast Asia s h o d

address the Editor, Box 345, North Sydne l

N . S. W. Australia.

I n the Philippines, Port Office Box

2603

Manil:

BE

S U R E TO- N O I ~ F Y

us

I M M E D I A T E L Y of an

change in your address. Please include both old

and new address . IMPORTANT


3/24


4/24

Chzc~cb f God

News

RLDWIDE

by D a v i d Jon H i l l

R . H E R R E R TW . A R M S T R O N G

112s heen

keeping all of

us

thoroughly informed of the

M

major news of

Gods

Work erusa-

lem Office and radio,

TV

plans, The

P L A I N

TRUTH

eaching the million mark

in circulation, etc. -th rou gh his

Co-

Worker letters, Semi-Annual letter and

The P L A I NTRIJTHe r s o i d

1 : i ~ omTht;

h i i t o r .

column. In addition to these giant

events in the Work of

God

many other

important events have taken place in

the day-to-day growth and administra.

tion of the Body of Chris t

Ordinations

At Sahhath services just after gradua-

tion here in Pasadena Mr. Armstrong

was

joinecl b y

the Headquarters Evan-

gelists in ord ain ing seven Elders ive

Local

Elders and two Preaching Elders.

Mr. Kei th Crouch was b o r n in

A u s-

tralia where he grew up and completed

his educ;ition including three years of

university work before coming into

contact with G ods Tr ut h. H e was

baptized by Mr. Bill Winner in 1963

and the following year entered Ambas-

sador Collcge, Bricket Wood as the

Freshman Class President. There he first

met the young lady

who

was later to

become his wife, the former Patricia

Clark, herself

n

transfer to Bricket

Wood from the Pasatiena Cainpus. Both

were trmsferrcd

to

Pasadena for their

Senior yexr, during which Mr. Crouch

serial as Senior

Class

President.

He

was ordained

a

Local Elder on May 27,

married on May 28th and assigned to

assist Mr. Wayne Cole in the Sydney

Church of God via a honeymoon stop-

over in Hawaii with his bricie on May

29th ui te a sudden whirlwind of

blessings It is intere sting to note that

he has completed a very unusual trip

i i r o ~ i i d

the iciorld i n g fir st t o

Bricket Wood, then Pasadena, then

back to his native land

o f

Australia.

M r . Fred Brogaard spent a year and

R

half in Concordia Lutheran College

before God began to work with him.

Mr. George Meeker baptized him in

1963 and after a t tending thc Milwaukee

Church of God for less than

a

year Mr.

Brogaard was accepted to Ambassador

Collcgc. In December

of 1964

Mr.

Brogaard married the former Betty Jo

Hayley a graduate of Ambassador, and

1~ buiiiiiier they served under Mr.

Carlton Smith, District Superintendent

of the Portland District. Now they have

been perinanently as5igned to serve in

the Seattle area under Mr. Kemnitz.

M r. Brogaard leaves Ambassador Col-

lege with his degree and the responsi-

bility of Local Elder, with

a

fine wife

to help him carry out his new rcsponsi-

b i 1 ties.

Mr. Durrell Brown is the most re-

cent Negro graduate of Ambassador

College. Mr. Brown came to Ambassa-

dor College from the Brooklyn, New

York Church in 1965. He had pre -

viously had several years of college

work at Jackson State College in Mis-

sissippi, his original home state. Dr.

Benjamin Rea baptized Mr. and Mrs.

Brown in the Fall of 1960. Mr. Brown

wis able to graduate from Ambassador

in only two years, and now he, his wife

and their baby girl have been assigned

to the Mobile, Alabama Church

H P

has

served

in the Los Angeles Church as

the leadman on the Vis i t ing Program

and now

Goc1 has increased his

respon-

sibilities by ordaining him as a Local

Elder and giving him the opportuni ty

to serve in Mobile ongratulations

Mr. and Mrs . Brown

Mr. Bi l l Gordon worked f o r the

Edison Company as an industrial elec-

trician from 1946 until 1962. H e a n d

his wife were both baptized by Mr.

Waterhouse in 1958. M r. and M rs .

Gordon were both blessed by God in

receiving a son after eighteen years of

marriage-

a

young boy just about

ready to enter school now. In 1962 Mr.

Gordon was hired by Ambassador Col-

lege to work in the Electrical Depart-

ment . Ne was soon put on the Visiting

Program and in 1965 served for a year

i n the

El

Monte

area

before being sent

t o assist Mr. Royer in the Bakersfield

;irc:i. hfr. Gordon has had the

o p p o r -

tunity to attend many of the A mbassador

College classes while serving in and near

the Campus and now is ordained to the

capacity of Local Hder and permanently

assigned to the Bakersfield area.

Mr. James Chapman comes origi-

nally from Fallon, Nevada.

He

was

baptized in the Sacramento area by Mr.

Frank McCrady in 1963. As soon as the

Church was established there he began

to show his leadership, became a pillar

in the area, and last year was asked to

come to college f o r additional training.

Now after one year

o f

college training

and another to look forward to, Mr.

Chapman

is

ordained to the capacity of

Local Elder which he has certainly

show n himself capable of fulf illing with

God s help, and assigned to serve

Gods

people in the Glendale area.

Mr.

Don Lawson, baptized

in

the

Spring of

I960

by Mr. Raymond Cole,

began at tending Gods Church in Eu-

gene, Oregon. Originally

from Oklaho-

ma, Mr. Lawson and his wife moved to

Oregon to work in the lumber industry.


5/24

July, 1967

H e was ordained

a

T.ncal Elder in

1963,

but continued in his job until 1965,

when he began to work full t ime for

the Church in the Eugene area. T h e n

Mr. Lawson came to Headquarters this

past Fall for a year of Ambassador

training. This past year he has assisted

Mr. Howard Clark in the Glendale

Church in addition to his college train-

ing. N o w Mr. Lawson, his wife and

family have been permanently assigned

to the Amarillo-Liberal Churches of

God. This will necessitate a change in

the district areas (see the Manpower

Report for full details), and has made

possible the beginning of a new Church

in Abilene, Texas by freeing Mr. Smith

from the responsibility of the Amarillo

Church. Mr. Lawson, before going to

his permanent assignment, was ordained

to the rank of full Preaching Elder in

Gods Church by M r. Herbert

W.

Arm-

strong and the Evangelists at Hrad-

quarters.

Mr.

Bill Swanson

w a s

baptized in

1957

by Mr. George Mcckcr in Tcxas .

After a tour in the Navy, Mr. Swanson,

with his typical determination, went

hack

to

school

to

get

his high school

diploma and finished it with honors at

Imperial Schools in Pasadena. After his

high school

g rad u a t io n

he worked for a

year or two in the Cabinet Shop at Am-

bassador College and then entered the

College

as

a full-time student and Fresh-

The GOOD

NEWS

5

man Class President in 1960. At the end

of his Junior year, Mr. Swanson was

married to a lovely Ambassador co-ed

and sent

tn

assist

Mr.

Dennis Luker

in the Oakland-San Jose area. The

pressing need in the local area deman-

ded his staying

on

for

a

considerable

period of time. He was ordained as a

Local Elder in

1964

to better serve the

brethren. And this past

Fall

he was

brought to Headquarters again to finish

his College career before going on to

greater responsibilities in Gods Work.

Now ordained as a ful l Preaching Elder

in Gods Church he has gone to his

assignment in Tennessee, pastoring the

Church of Knoxville and being assigned

to raise up a new Church in Chatta-

nooga.

Also ordained as a full Preaching

Elder was Mr. K e n Martin presently

serving in the Dallas, Texas Church.

Mi-.

Martin came to Pasadena College

Campus in 1962 and was transferred to

Big Sandy in 1964. His last year in

school he served

as

Student Body Presi-

dent of the Big Sandy Campus. At grad-

uation Mr. Martin took

as

his wife the

former Barbara Lading and was

or-

dained as a Local Elder and sent to

assist in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. N o w

he

continues to serve in the same area

but with greater responsibility being

ordained a fu l l Preaching Elder by

PREACHING

ELDERS

Mr.

Garner Ted Armstrong shortly bc-

fore Pentecost this year.

Joining the ranks of Preaching

Elders,

Mr.

Fred

Kellers

w3s

ordained

in the Church where he has been ser-

ving, Richmond, Virginia , on the 24th

of

pine by Mr.

Plache,

the visiting

Pastor from Headquarters in the area

for Pentecost.

Mr.

Kellers came to

Ambassador College from the

I J n i -

versity of South Carolina in the Fall

of 1959. At graduation in 1963 he

was married to the former Lucretia

Leonard an Ambassador co-ed and sent

Fred Kellers

Ambassador College Phoipr

Bi l l Swanson

Don Lawson

Ken

Mart in


6/24

6

The GOOD

NEWS July, 1967

necessary to establish new districts and

appoint new District Superintendents.

Mr. Arthur Mokarow, a minister

of

Pastor rank, was selected to supervise

this new district with his local Church

becoming the Headquarters of that

Church District. Mr. Mokarow is

an

old hand at supervising offices and men

since before he came for Ambassador

College training he was in charge of

eighteetr separate insurance offices and

managing a considerable staff of both

men and women in and around Chicago,

Illinois. Now God is using that training

and experience odifying Mr.

Mo-

karows natural abilities with His Spirit

and producing Sons of God instead of

policyholders Con gratu lation s to both

Mr. and Mrs. Mokarow in their new

responsibilities

Plcasr check the accompanying Man-

power Report to find out which

Churches are in the new District, and

be sure to remember

Mr.

and Mrs.

Mokarow in their new responsibilities

as you pray for all of those in Gods

Work. New Churches and Bible studies

have been established since the last

GOOD NEWS as published but space

does not allow more than a l isting

of

these in the 1967 Summer Manpower

Report ead it and

USE

IT

News

From Austral ia

Ambassador Colle ge Press in

Aus-

tralia reports that their new four-color

press is installed and functioning well.

It is a large fou r-color press m anu-

factured by

M.

A.

N.,

printing a sheet

on one side with four colors 5

x

49

inches. It is now runnning smoothly

producing The PLAIN

TRUTH

n an

Australian edition at five thousand

impressions per hour Th e present

number

of

PLAIN

TRUTHS

he Aus-

tralian Printing Plant produces

is

over

m e hz/ tzdved thonsaizd per month, as

thcy print not only for Australia, but

for the entire Australasian area. With

this present plant equipment addition

they feel they will bc able to print

The

PLAINTRUTHrom here on out if i

does not exceed

three hzctzdved tho nsand

copies in that

area. Dont

forget this

area

of Gods Wo rk in

your

prayers-

(Cont iwted on

page

21)

to

assist in the Portland area. A ycar

later he was transferred to

Boise,

Idaho

and the following year to Eugene. At

the Feast of Tabernacles in 1965

in

Squzw Valley Mr. Meredith officiated

in ordaining M r. Kel lers

a

Local Elder.

His last assignment brought him back

to the East Coast

to

serve in the Balti-

more-Richmond area under Mr. Engel-

hart , and now the full responsibilities

of

Preaching Elder are his to continue

to serve God with.

Mr. Roderick

C.

Meredith, Superin-

tendent

o f

Ministers, was in the Denver

area

for Pentecost this year. While there

he was joined by Mr. Burk McNair in

ordaining Mr. Ledru

Woodbury

as

Local Elder in

Gods

Church. Mr.

Woodbury has been a member of Gods

Church for over fourteen years ive

as

a

Deacon, and this last year as

a

full-

time worker in visiting the brethren.

Mr.

Woodbury at tended Oklahoma A

and M, s tudying animal husbandry, and

has been a successful farmer-rancher

in the Colorado-Oklahoma area for

many years. The father o: f o u r teen-

age

chi ldren, he and his wife and

family

aim

highly Irspected in the com-

munity. Now Mr. Woodbury can serve

in greater capacity with this ordination

to

the rank of Local Elder.

New Dis t r i c t Es tabl i shed

Mr. Roderick

C.

Meredi th, Superin-

tendent of Churches, is happy to an-

nounce Mr. Herbert W. Armstrongs

approval of a new Church District at

Detroit, Michigan. Once local Churches

began to be established as God called

individuals in greater numbers

out of

this world into

a

knowledge of the

Truth, it became necessary to establish

Dirtricts

of administration within the

cont inental Uni ted States . When the

Districts were originally organized, there

were five covering the entire United

States. Now there

are

eleven

By experience it was soon discovered

that the optimum number of Churches

a District Superintendent could super-

vise efficiently a n d thoroughly is about

twelve to fifteen. As the number of

new Churches being added increases

i t wi l l -as in thi.r case- hecome

Fred Brog aord Durrel l Brown

LOCAL ELDERS

J im Chapman

A m b a ssa d o r College Photos

Keith Crouch Bi l l Gord on Ledru Woodbury


7/24

You N e e d T o K n o w W h y -

FIERY TRIALS ARE NECESSARY

Throughout i t s his tory, Gods Church has experienced many

persecutions and tribulations.

Gods

children often experience

severe trials and tests

W h y ? Do

yo u k n o w

why

a

LOVING

Creator has decreed that all

of

His children must g o through

their share o f fiery trials? Rea d, and understand this. Tri als are

a

vital part in deve loping spiritual character.

M

A N Y

F A I L to realize that

TRZALS

are really

BLESSINGS IN DIS-

G l J I S E npleasant though

they may

be

at the time You, breth-

ren, need to understand zi:hy our loving

Father has ordained that all His chil-

dren must experience a number of

temptations, trials, persecutions and

t d ) u l a l i u i i s .

God Almighty has deliberately de-

signed the begettal and birth of a child

in this life to

bc a

type n exact

picture ~ of the spiritual begettal and

birth which the child of God must ex-

perience

~

before he can be born into

His Family.

W e were

h t i

trto

this

w o r l d m d e r

terrific

[ire.isi{re In chi ldbir th, both

mother and child usually experience

much stress and strain, as well as

a

certain amount of physical pain.

This is an exact type of the spiritual

bir th.

Christ said: Verily, verily, I say

unto thee, Except a man be

b o w

aguilz,

he cannot see the Kingdom of G o d

( J o h n 3:3).

What are the very begiiiizing steps

toward salvation ? (1) repentance ( 2 )

buptism

and

( 3 )

the receiving of Gods

precious Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

But fter our real conversion and

baptism e must continue to grow

in grace, and in the knowledge

of our

Lord and Saviour, Jesus Chris t ( I1 Pet .

3:18 .

The apostle Peter revealed how this

growing must take place: As newborn

babes, desire the silicere milk of t h e

b y Raymond F. M c N a i r

word, thut ye ma o w thereby

( I

Pet. 2 : 2 ) .

After repentance, baptism and the

receiving of Gods Holy Spiri t, we must

continue the vitally important process

of spiritual

g r o w t h in the womb of the

Church, so we can someday be born

into Gods Family. We can only con-

tiiiue tu

glow

spiiitually i w e stead-

fastly keep drinking in our daily supply

of

Gods

l iving waters His Holy

Spir i t (John

7:37-39;

Isa. 55:l).

We continue to receive

our

daily por-

tion of Gods Holy Spirit if we con-

tinually feed on the W o r d of

God.

I t

i s wri t ten, That muiz shall n o t h e

by bread doze ,

but by every word of

God Lukc

4 : 4 ) .

The words of God Almighty as re-

corded in the Bible are l ife-giving, and

will nourish us i f we regularly re-

ceive them into our very innermost

being Christ said, I t is the

Spirit

that quickeneth; the P s h profiteth

nothing: t he words that I speak ?into

yori,

they are spirit, aiid they are life

(John

6 : 6 3 ) .

If we mix

prayer uizd

fasting with

o u r daily study of Gods Word, we re-

ceive a rich supply of spiritual food

which will nourish

us

to full spiritual

maturity. After safely completing

a

ful l

term sually much longer than the

nine months required for

physical

birth

~ of growth in the womb of the

Church, we will then finally be ready

to be born into Gods Jpiritzial Family.

Can you now see how the spiritzial

birth, l ike a h u m a n birth, is usually

preceded by

a

most difficult period of

stress and strain?

S t res s and S t ra in Are Necessary

Jesus Christ, o u r High Priest, doesnt

want us to be relaxed Christians

God

does not want us to go to s leep on the

job (Mat . 2 5 : 5 ) . Where fore H e sa i th,

A w a k e

thou that deepest; and arise

from the dead, and Christ shall give

thee light (Eph. 5 :14).

1e.rzi.r Christ will reject any

w o

re-

maiii

l nkewarm

(Rev. 3:15-16).

W E C A N ONLY B E B O R N

I N T O T H E

KINGDOM

F GOD U N D E R S TR ES S A N D

You need to understand why this is

necessary, and also how

God

will per-

mit

us

to be sorely tried at times

King David ,

a

man after Gods own

heart, will have a very high position

of rulership in the Kingdom

of

God.

H e will be king over all Israel (Ezek.

37:24;

Hosea

3 : 5 ;

Jer.

3 0 : 9 ) .

In order

to qualify for this high position of

responsibility and service in Gods

Kingdom, David first had lo suffer

many trials, persecutions and afflictions.

His life was, in fact, full of tribula-

tions.

H e unders tood that God s people

must experience many trials and tests in

this life:

Many

are the afflictions

of

the righteons; but the Lord delivereth

him out of them al l Ps. 34:19).

David made some

very

serious mis-

tukes in his life, and had to be af-

flicted by God to learn his lesson

the lesson that SIN N E V E R P AYS

In a moment of weakness, David

yielded to the terrible sin of lust. He

gave in to his carnal urge and com-

mitted adultery with Bath-sheba. Then,

when she had conceived an illegiti-

S T R A IN N D E R P R E S SU R E


8/24

The GOOD NEWS

July, 1967

revealed, ye may be glad also with ex-

ceeding joy ( I Pet. 4:12 -13).

Christs exemplary life specially

during the three-and-one-half years of

Hi s earthly ministry as not a l ife

of

idleness and ease but

a

life filled

with constant trials of every sor t H e

was continually opposed, persecuted,

slandered, criticized, and was finally

crucified by the very people whom He

loved oved so much that He was

wil l ing to die for them

Yes,

Chris t knew what reul tribula-

tion was. In the world

ye

shall

huve

T R I B U L A T I O N said Jesus, but be

of good cheer; I have overcome the

wor ld ( John 16:33) .

Many Bible prophecies reveal that the

PcopleS of America, Britain and the

Commonwealth (modern Israel) have

become terribly enmeshed in loathsome

sins (Hosea 4:1-3; Jer . 3 O : l l - 1 5 ) .

God also shows that H e will correct

and chastise Israel because of her sins.

And though the Lord give you the

breud of adversity, and the water of

affliction;

yet shall not thy teachers be

removed into a corner any more, but

thine eyes shall see thy teachers (Isa.

30:20-21) .

Why wi l l God so severely afflict

Israel? Because He loves Israel and

wants our people to turn from their

mounting sins

lhere are various ways in which

God tries us. God tried and tested

Abraham y commanding him to

offer up his son, Isaac. Abraham had to

be willing to give up his only true,

legitimate son n orde r to obey his

Creatoi, and rcceive Gods incredible

promises. Actually, God didnt want

Abraham to s lay his son. H e only

wanted to test Abraham to see if

lie

loved Him, his Creator, more than any-

thing else (Gen. 22) .

How does

God

try and test

us?

H o w

does He learn what is really in our

hear t ?

We have a l ready

seen

that God some-

times afflicts us in order t o

h u m b l e us

or teuch u s uiz important lesson (Ps.

119:71; I1 Cur . 12:7-10) .

God Chas tens

Us

in L o v e

Yes, God Almighty has to chasten all

of His sons and daugh ters ust as

(Cont inued on page 22)

matc child by him, lir x ~ u g l i t o cover

his sin by devious means. When this

failed, he connived to bring about the

death

of

Bath-shebas husband, Uriah.

He had him put in the hottest part of

the battle where he would be certain to

be killed by the Ammonites (I1 Sam.

But

is

G o d

a

respecter of persons?

Wo u l d H e t u r n a blind eye to Davids

s i n ? Be not deceived; God is not

mocked: for zuhatsoever u m u n s o w e t h ,

thut

shall h e also reap

( G a l . 6 : 7 ) .

Go d sent Natha n to point out Davids

terrible sin to him

(I1

Sam. 1 2 ) .

Duvid bi t ter ly repented

Qf this griev-

ous sin I1 Sam. 1 2; Ps.

5 1 ) .

Never-

theless, God Almighty showed that he

must reap what he had sown.

What would h i s puni shment be? He

would have perpetual

zuar

from that day

forward God also afflicted David

through

sickness,

and through taking

the l i fe

of

the very child which he had

begotten in adultery This was a very

high price to pay for s in-but this

was Gods way of bringing David to

his senses

Did David know why

Gud

liad a l -

Aicted him? Certainly Before was

ufl ic ted,

I w e n t

astruy [I s inned): but

now have I kept thy word (Ps.

113:

6 7 ) . He then freely confessed that God

was righteous in punishing him:

I t

is

GOOD

f o r me that I

hnoe

been AF-

FLICTED; thut I

might

learn thy stat-

utes

(Ps. 1 1 9 : 7 1 ) .

M u c h T r i b u l at i o n

The zealous apostle Paul also under-

stood the absolute necessity of Gods

people going through tribulation in this

world n order to puri fy them. H e

exhorted the disciples to continue in

the fai th, and that

we

mnsf throzdgh

M U C H T R I B U L A T I O N e nt er in to

the Kiizgdom of God (Ac t s 14:22) .

H e solemnly warned the evangelist,

Timothy: Yea, and ALL thut will

l i ve g o d l y i n C h r is t Je s us S H A L L SUF-

FER

P E R S E C U T I O N ( I 1 T i m . 3 : 1 2 ) .

Paul will certainly have a very high

posi t ion in the Kingdom of God. The

many temptations, trials, persecutions,

t r ibulat ions and labours which he en-

dured fully qualified him to receive a

position of great responsibility.

Have you ever carefully noticed just

how much this dynamic apostle suf-

1 1 ) .

fered and endured

for

Christs sake?

Are

they ministers of Christ? (I

speak as a fool) I am more: in Lab0ur.r

morc

abundant , in stripe.^ above mea-

sure, in prisons more frequ ent , in deaths

oft . Of the Jews five times received I

f o r t y .stripe.s

save

o w . Thrice was I

beuteiz with

rods, once was I

s toned,

thrice

I

suffered

shipwreck,

a

night and

a day I have been in the

deep;

I n

jozirneyii2gs of ten , in perils of wuters,

in perils of

robbers,

in perils

by mine

o u f n

cormtrymeiz,

in perils by the

heuthen, in perils in the city, in perils

in the

zuildernes.r,

in perils in the

seu,

in perils among fu l se brethren; I n

icJeariness and pai i z f zhes s , in

wutch-

if2,g.s often, in huiigev and thirst, in

fastiizgs often, in cold and nukedness.

Beside those things that are without,

that which cometh upon me daily, the

cure of

ull

the chiirches

(I1 Cor.

In addition to these trials, Paul re-

vealed that he had cerf .in physical

iizfirmities

which Jesus Christ had

refused to heal n orde r to keep

Paul humble o he would look to

Cliiist

a i d glory iri

God,

rather than

in what he had done (I1 Cor. 12:1-

9 ) . Paul concluded: Therefore

I

take

pleasure

in infirmities,

in

reproaches,

in necessities, in perseci i t iom, in dis-

tre.rses

f o r

Christs sake: for when

I

am weak, then am I s t rong (I1 Cor.

1 1 : 2 3 - 2 8 ) .

1 2 : l O ) .

The

Fie ry Tr ia l

Did lhe Apostle Peter believe the lot

of

a

Chris t ian would be an easy one?

No

H e revealed th at the faith of the

Christian must sometimes be sorely

tried: Wherein ye greatly rejoice,

though now for a season, if need be,

ye are in H E A V I N E S S throzigh muni-

fold temptnt ions:

That the

trial

of

yoiir

f u i t h being much more precious than

gold

that perisheth, though it be

tried

zciith fire,

might be found unto praise

and honour and glory i t the appearing

of

Jesus Chris t (I Pet . 1:6-7).

This same apostle was also inspired

to give the fol lowing warning: Be-

loved, th ink it not struiige concerning

T H E F IE R Y

T R I A L which is

to t r y

you, as though some s t range thing hap-

pened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch

as

ye are partakers

of

Christs suffer-

ings; that, when His glory shall be


9/24

The

First Resurrection

Is

a

Better Resurrection

Do you understand Gods Plan of Salvation through the three

resurrections? I f you had

a

choice, in which resurrection would

you choose

t o

be?

This

article explains which resurrection God

has chosen

for

us, and

why

it

i s

a better resurrection

q q

WISH

God

hadnt called rile in

this age. I wish

He

had waited

until the second resurrection

when everyonc will know the t r u t h . It

will be much easier then to qualify for

Gods Kingdom.

Have you ever said that? Have you

ever thought or silently wished that

God had wai ted to cal l you? Some

huve They feel the going is too tough

in this age of unbelief, doubt, scorn

and ridicule. Some of you have wished

this because of severe trials and tests.

Some who have unconverted mates

or

relatives have wished that God had

waited to call them un til H e was ready

to

call the whole family

Brethren, if you have wished these

things then you do not ful ly under-

stand what it means to be called in this

age just prior to the Second Coming

of Jesus Christ

You

could not possibly

understand the fantastic, almost unbe-

lievable goal and purpose set before

you and then wish God hadnt called

Possibly some of you do not under-

stand God s plan an d do not realize

that H e is going to call everyone

to the knowledge of the t ruth and

give eve iyone an equal chance for

salvation.

you

G o d s P l a n

Peter was inspired to write, The

Lord is not slack concern ing his prom -

ise, as some men count slackness; but

is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing

that any should perish, but that all

should come to repentance I1 Pet.

3 : 9 ) .

God want s all to come

to

re-

by Dennis G . Luker

pentance And Paul added that Go d

. . will have all men to be saved,

and to come unto the knowledge of

the t ruth

(I

Tim. 2:4 .

It is God who calls us to the knowl-

edge of the t ruth and God who grants

L I ~

repentance (John

6:44,

6 5 ; Rom.

2 : 4 ) .

God is in absolute control and He is

wurkirig out a plan. That plan involves

adding spirit-born sons to His own

divine Family

All liuiiian beings who have ever been

born or ever will be born will have

their chance to come to the knowledge

of

the

tiutlr.

All will someday under-

stand that they were born physically to

be born again into the Kingdom of

God as

spirit bring>. This is the real

purpose in l i fe- to qual i fy for the

Kingdom of God. Matthew

6 : 3 3

says,

. seek you firJL

the

Kingdom of God

and His r ighteousness .

Most human beings have lived and

died without ever kriowing their real

purpose in life. So when will they have

a chance to know Go ds plan and pu r-

pose and qual i fy

f u r

eternal l i f e? At

the time of the second resurrection,

dur ing the Grea t Whi te Throne Judg-

mcnt

The Second Resur rec t ion

The Bible does not use the term

second resurrection. But it does teach

a

resurrection of all the dead who have

never known the truth. This resurrec-

tion comes after the resurrection of t he

saints, called the first resurrection

(Rev.

2 0 : 6 ) ,

and is, therefore, gener-

ally called the second resurrection.

When does the second resurrection

take place? Exactly who will be in i

and what will i t be l ike? How long wil

those in this resurrection li ve ? Let

answer these questions

The apostle John was given a vision

into the future by God. He saw things

which must shortly come to pass

(Rev. 1 : l . John wrote , And

I

saw

thrones, and they sat upon them, and

judgment was given unto them: and

saw the

souls

of them that were be

headed for the witness of Jesus, and

for the word of God, and which had

not worshipped the beast, neither his

image, neither had received his mark

upon their foreheads, or in their hands

and they lived and reigned with Chris

a thousand years. But the rest of th

dead lived not again until the thousand

years were finished. This is the firs

resurrection. Blessed and holy

is

he tha

hath part in the first resurrection: on

such the second death hatb no power

but they shall be priests of God and o

Christ and shall reign with him a thou

sand years (Rev. 20:4-6 . Verse si

should begin will1 the last sentence

o

verse five, This is the first resurrec

t ion. Man, not God, divided th

scriptures into chapters and verses.

I

is obvious by reading the context o

verses 4 t h rough 6 that the first resur

rection (for the saints) takes place a

the beginning of the thousand year

and the second resurrection (for th

rest

of

the dead) occurs after th

thousand years were finished.

So

th

second resurrection takes place shortl

aj ter

the millennium he one thou

sand-year rule of Christ and His saint


10/24

10

T h e

GOOD

NEWS

on this earth. That

answers

t he

ques

t ion,

w h e n ?

N e x t Who?

The apost le John cont inued, And

I

saw a great whi te throne and him

that sat on i t from whose face the

earth arid the heaven fled away; and

there was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great,

s tand before God; and the books were

opened: and another book was opened,

which is the book of life: and the

dead were judged out of those things

which were written in the books, ac-

cording to their works (Rev. 20:11-

1 2 .

The answer to the quest ion who

will be in the .second resurrection is,

the dead, smal l and great -w ho

never were judged out

of

those things

which were written in the books

[of

the Bible ) according to their works.

W hen does God begin to judge a

person from the Bible? From the t ime

he understands what it says and means

Notice

I

Peter

4:17

For the t ime is

come that judgment must begin at the

house of God: and if i t first begin at

us, what shall the end be of them that

obey not the gospel of G o d ? T h e

house of God is the

C h u r c h

of the

l iving God ( I T im . 3 : 1 5 ) . W e i n

Gods t rue church are now being

judged according to our works our

obedience to

all

His laws and pre-

cepts) Our judgmen t began when God

first called us to the knowledge of the

truth and it will continue until the

day we die, or are changed ( the

flesh still dies) at Christs retu rn

Judgment, then, takes place over a

period of time.

Those who have lived and died with-

out having this period of time to know

the full truth and be judged according

to their works, will be given that

chance dur ing the Grea t Whi te Throne

Judgment. Most of the kings, leaders

and rulers who have ever lived will be

resurrected then reat and imp ortant

men in the eyes of this world An d

the billions they have ruled over will

also be

in that resurrection

W h a t wil l that resurrection be like

and what wil l l i fe be l ike during that

judgment t ime? At the t ime of the

sccond resurrection, people will

be

rising out of their graves, out of

the sea

or

from wherever they died,

back to physical lifc

again on

a beauti-

fu l earth (Rev. 20:13) It doesnt mat-

t er how or where they d ied- God has

the power to give them another physi-

cal body, breathe life into it and place

them in a dry, safe , place You can

imagine how Jhoc6ed some are going

to be when they find they are not in

heaven or hel l but on earth

Ezekiel saw and heard the way it

is

going to happen

.

here was a

noise, and behold a shaking, and the

bones came together, bone to his bone.

And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and

the f lesh came up upon them, and the

skin covered them abov e. and the

breath came into them, and they lived,

and stood up upon their feet, an ex-

ceeding great army (Ezek. 37:7-8, 10) .

This is the time of the sccond resur-

rection It is a resurrection to

physical

l ife. What a fantastic event this will

be Wo uldnt you l ike to he there and

have a hand in helping those people?

Some of them will be your own chil-

dren, friends or relatives

How long will they live and what

kind of w orld wil l they l ive in ? God

reveals this in the book of Isaiah

.

. . the voice of weeping shall be no

more heard in her, nor the voice of

crying. There shall be no more thence

an infant of days, nor an old man

that hath n ot filled his days: fo r the

child shall die an hzindred

yedrJ

old ;

but the s inner being an hundred years

old shall be accursed. And they shall

build houses, and inhabit them; and

they shall plant vineyards, and eat the

f r u i t o f t h e m . . . They shall not labour

in vain, nor bring forth for t rouble;

for they are the seed of the blessed of

the Lord, and their offsprin g with

t h e m . . . T h e w o lf a n d t h e la m b s h al l

feed together,

and the lion shall eat

straw like the bullock: and dust shall

be the serpents meat. The y shall not

hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun-

tain, sai th the Lord (Isa . 65:19-2 1, 23,

2 5 ) . What a wonderful , happy, peace-

ful, productive life they will have

Families will be together. No broken

hom es Everyone will work and enjoy

life Th ere will be peace, happiness,

and safety everywhere Verse 20 indi-

cates that everyone who is resurrected,

those who died young and those who

died old, will be resurrected and live a

July, 1967

ful l 100 yeais iiioic. N u i iew babies

will be born during this period. After

the 100-year period all who have quali-

fied will be born into Gods Family

as

spirit beings and live forever If they

do not qualify after this period of time

they shall be accursed. They will be

destroyed in the lake of fire and remain

dead forever Th is will happen at the

third resurrection.

T h e T h i r d R e s u r r e c t i o n

Neither does the Bible

use

the

t e rm

third resurrection but there is one

final resurrection. Three is Gods num-

ber of finality Th ere are more than

three individual resurrections men-

tioned in the Bible. Christ was resur-

rected (,Mat. 28 :5-7 1 spirit-born (Rom.

1 : 4 ) . Some Christians were physically

resurrected at that same time for a spe-

cial witness (Mat. 27:50-53 . Christ

resurrected Lazarus from the dead

(John 1 1 : 4 3 - 4 4 ) and there are other

examples. But Revelation 20 (and John

5 : 2 5 - 2 9 ) shows that there are three

G E N E R A L

ieszmectioizs through which

God will accomplish and complete His

plan of salvation for humans on this

earth.

Who then wi l l be in the third resur-

rec t ion? W hen wi ll i t happen? W hat

wil l i t be l ike?

In relation to knowing and obeying

Gods Wor d there are three general

categories of people on earth today

those who know and obey, those who do

not know and consequently do not obey,

and those who know but will not obey

T h e f irs t i eszwe ct ion is fo r those

who

h a w

l ived, k no uv i

nnd obeyed God

be fore and

z i p

to

the second coming of

Chris t . They are called saints in the

Bible . When

people

qual i fy during the

millennium they evidently will be

changed immediately from flesh to

Spiri t . There

is

no resurrection from

the dead ment ioned in the Bible for

those who qual i fy for Gods Spirit

Kingdom during the Mil lennium.

The second resurrection is for those

who have l ived and died prior to the

s~cuiicl cuiiiiiig u l Ch r i s t without ever

knowing the t ruth of God. This wil l

include by far the vast majority of all

human beings who have ever lived-

billions and billions If you are won-

(Cont inued on page 1 8 )


11/24

STUDY GODS LAW

T h e

Bible is u book

1

l a w .

I t

lays d ow n fundamental pr inci-

ples and rules for the conduct of men and w om en in their daily

lives.

I t

also gives civil laws for perfect governm ent he only

laws that can bring peace, happiness and prosperity to the in-

dividua l and the nation. Read m ore about these laws in this

article.

by

Robert C . Boraker

e l i ve in

a lawless society

Crime and violence are in-

creasing at a fearful rate.

There is practically

no respect f o r l aw

or

consti tuted authority

among the

na-

t ions of the world. There is no law and

order

in our cities. Riots and demonstra-

tions are now commonplace.

Mob

lead-

ers teach the philosophy of obeying

only the laws you l ike.

It

is

also

a sick society plagued

with

social disemes

and problems o f all

kinds. Our cities

are

troubled with

traffic jams, crime on streets and sub-

ways, breakdowns

of

public services, ra-

rial friction, filth, squalor, polluted air

and inferior schools.

People worry about a shortage of

water, high taxez,

strikes,

unemployment ,

the cancerous spread of decaying slums

and ghet tos . They complain about the

corruption that is seeping through

t h e

iyers of city, state and national

gov-

rnment .

This is the world in which

YOIJ

ive

W

The

O n l y

Way

to

Prosperity

People

uf this world d o nor know

hat serving and

oheyii ig

the laws o f

;od is THE WAY and the

on l y

way,

that leads

to

increasing

a i d

perpe tud

prosperity, peace and happiness. All t he

problems that cause people to suffer

could be eliminated by obeying Gods

Laws. They are

for oiir

good. Th e na t ion

is suffering and facing DOOM because it

is

living in flagrant violation

of

Laws

God set in motion at Creation.

Before you can live by obeying Gods

Law, i t

is

necessary to

K N O W

what i t

W i d e W o r l d

R i o ts a n d d em o n s t r a t i o n s a r e now c o m m o n -

p l a c e . H e r e p o l i c e u s e f o r c e t o c o n t r o l

d e m o n s t r a t o r d u r i n g a h e a r i n g o n C o m m u n i s m

b y t h e H o u s e c o m m i t t e e

on

u n - A m e r i c a n Ac-

t i v i t i es .


12/24

12

The GOOD

NEWS July

1967

says.

Too

many htethren

in Gods

Church neglect to study Gods Law.

They often dont even

k n o w

much less

people Israel.

Even though

you

have heard much

about Gods basic Ten Commandm ents ,

can

YOU

say t hem f rom m em ory?

Do

you know where they can be found in

the Bible? You

shodd

k n o ~ o

hese very

basic points.

Lets face it, brethren, many

of

you

are iust not

as

well acquainted with

Gods Law

as

you should be.

Why

you should acquire this knowledge

should be obvious. Gods Law defines

sin I John

3:4 .

f you do n t know

what Gods Law says, you could very

well be s inning and not know i t . And

how can you judge and rule nations in

the mil lennium

i f

you don t know

Gods

Law ? Th e s tudy of Gods Law, then, is

a

very important mat ter .

IINnFRSTANn

t h e laws

Grid

gave

to

His

Gods

Spi r i tua l Law

The Ten Commandments a r e Gods

basic

spiritzdal

Law. This is the great,

fundamental, invisible SPIRITUAL LAW

which regulates mans relationship with

his CREA TOR, nd mans relat ionship

with his fe l lowman. Th e purpose of this

spiritual Law, like all of G ods Laws, is

to make possible mans

HAPPINBSS-

to bring man

PEACE

a n d

JOY

o make

life

R E A L L Y

worth l iving.

Most people have n o real s tandard of

judgment

or

conduct . They don t know

of any supreme authority that can tell

them what is r ight

or

wrong. They have

no standard of conduct because the only

righteous stand ard

has

been rejected.

Go ds Law tells us th e difference be-

tween right and wrong. I t defines sin.

Sin

is

breaking

Gods

Spir i tual Law

the

TEN

C O M M A N D M E N T S

I

John

3

: 4 ) . T h i s

is

the s tandard for a

PERFECT

moral code. But instead

of

obeying the

Laws

of

God that govern morals and

affect mens minds, m en are desperately

trying to work out their own system

of

morals.

T h e result is that there is now oc-

curring

a t o t a l breakdow n

of

moral au-

thority in this country. And if you

dont have moral authority, the other au-

thorities are no longer effective. They

erode away very rapidly.

Most

of

the Ten Commandments warn

H. A r m s t r o n g Roberir

Obedience to Gods Law brings the

peace and prosperity pictured Right,

instead of the poverty and squalor

pictured Below.


13/24


14/24

14

The

GOOD

NEWS

July, 1967

L IF

w h a t

~ i n t o do.

They warn us how

to stay

out

of trouhle, how to keep

well, how to avoid pain, heartache and

grief. Sin always

h r i n g q

on n penalty

sooner

o r

later. But Gods Law helps

u s avoid what is llud for

us

he way

that seems s o right to us, yet brings

on problems later. Happiness can only

come when

ma n

gets in harmony with

Gods Law.

W e can observe nature and see that

there is law and order working in the

animal world. The behavior of bees and

ants, for example, is highly organized

and in order. There is no rioting, war-

fare, unemployment or any social prob-

lem such

as

in the world

of

human

beings. They live and conduct their lives

by instinct way

of

life set in their

brains by Almighty God the Creator.

But man d oesn t live by instinct. He

must lenrn how

to

l ive by following

the Revelation given by God. God no t

only told man in His Word how to

worship Him, a n d get along with his

fellowman, He also revealed other laws

that would regulate society and prevent

social problems. Although man can learn

about the physical laws

of

the universe

through experimentation, it is impossible

in this way to come to an understand-

ing of Gods Laws pertaining to justice,

equity and moral conduct.

Source

of

All

Law

This

world

in general remains in ig-

norance

of

these laws because it has

forgottcn the very

so~ wi eof

A L L law

and authority Your Bible says: There

is one lawgiver, who is able to save

and to destroy (James 4 : 1 2 ) . T h a t

Lawgiver is Almighty GOD.

God is the one source and origin of

all basic laws. This is true whether

they govern the material universe, the

physical creation

o r the

spiri tual, moral

and economic l ife of i i ian. God

i s

the

fountainhead

o f

all law and order. It

was God who revealed to mankind His

laws whicli govern an orderly creation.

God did not put Adam on ear th

without showing him the way to l ive.

Law is the essence of l ife. Our very

health and prosperity, our conduct indi-

vidually, socially and governmentally are

all governed by law. If we, individually

or

as

a nation, keep and observe these

laws,

we

will

be

blessed

with

peaceful,

prosperous and abundant l iving. Notice

what God said to Israel: And all the

commandments which

I

command

thee

this day shall ye observe to do, T H A T

Y E M A Y

L I V E . . .

(Deu t .

8 : l ) .

But if we

violatc Gods Law, retribu-

tion and suffering will follow in the

fo rm

of

injustice, poverty, distress and

war.

Obedience to G ods Law

is

encouraged

by blessings and enforced by curses. Re-

wards are promised to thosc who keep

Gods Law and punishments are threat-

ened to those who violate i t . These

blessings and curses are listed in Levi-

t icus 26 and Deuteronomy 28-and

these are still in effect today.

Price

of

Disobedience

Then fol lows

5 3

verses foretelling the

terrible price

of

disobedience which o ur

nation

is actually

paying

today

They

portray

a

story of poverty, hardship, fam-

ine, vexation, unhappiness, fear, pesti-

lence, warfare, defeat, mildew, degenera-

tive disease, mental disease, blindness,

heart disease and almost every other

disease and trouble imaginable.

How simple i t would be to prevent

all this anguish. All we as individuals

or as a nation would need to do is to

obey

Gods Law. This Law

is

summed

u p

in the Ten Commandments given

by

God to Moses u11

Mt.

Sinai. But these

Commandments existed from the very

beginning ince creation. About Abra-

W i d e W o r ld

The bi t ter anguish and dest ruc t ion of war i s the pr ice o f disobedience.

Those

who obcy Gods Law are

piom-

ised the blessings

of

fruitfulness, happi-

ness, health, longevity, peace, prosperity

and safe ty . On the other hand,

a

cursc

is pronounced on those that confirmeth

not all the words of this law t o

d o them

(Deu t 1 1

.28; 27:26) .

God said in Deuteronomy

28:15,

But

it shall come to pass,

if

thou wilt

not

hearken unto the voice

of

the TLmD

thy God, to observe to d o

all

his

iommurzdments

and his

statirtes

which

I

command thee this day: that all these

i w s e s shall come upon thee, and over-

take thee.

ham, God said: Because that Abraham

obeyed m y voice,

und

k e p t

my

charge,

my

commandments ,

my

STA TU TES,

and

my

L A W S

(Gen.

2 6 : 5 ) .

Not only did Abraham keep Gods

Commandm ents, but

also

S T A T U T E S and

LAWS.

W ha t were these htatutes and

l aws? The Ten Commandment s fo rmed

the basis of Gods Law given to His

chosen race. But in addition

to

these

Commandments, many other c o m m o n

S T A T U T E S were also given for the gen-

eral

well-heing of the people ~ together

wi th

J U D G M E N T S

for the protection

of

everyones legal rights.


15/24


16/24

16 The

GOOD

NEWS

July 1967

commandments, statutes and judgments

of the Lord.

As David was about to die, he told

his son Solomon to keep the charge

of the LORD hy G od, to walk in his

ways, to

K E E P

HIS

STATUTES,

and his

C O M M A N D M E N T S ,nd h i s JUDGMENTS,

and his testimonies, as it

is

written in

the law of Moses, that thou mayest

pros-

per in all that thou doest, and whither-

soever thou turnest thyself (I Kings

2 : 3 ) .

Israels prosperity was

a

marvel to

other nations. Many people, including

the Queen of Sheba, came to admire

and won der-no t only at the wisdom

which God had given Solomon, but also

at the prosperity, health and happiness

of the Israelites ( I Kings 4 and

l o ) .

God Blessed Israel

After Solomon bui l t the temple, he

dedicated it by uffriing a prayer to

God. Read this prayer in I Kings 8:23-

53. Compare it with what God said in

Leviticus

26

and Dcutcronomy

28.

Notice the similarities.

Then Solomon blessed the congre-

gation of Israel and said: The LORD

our God be with us ,

as

he was with our

fathers: let him not leave us, nor for-

sake us: That h e

may incline

our

hearts

unto him, to walk in all his ways, and

to keep h i s

COMMANDMENTS, and his

STATUTES,

and his JUDGMENTS, which

he commanded our fathers. . . Let your

heart therefore be perfect with the

LORDour God, t o

walk in his statutes,

and to keep h i s commandments , as at

this day ( I Kings 8 : 5 7 - 5 8 , 61).

God then made

a

covenant with Solo-

mon, promising to establish his throne

upon Israel forever

if

he kept the com-

mandments, statutes and judgments. If

he didnt, Israel would be cast out of

Gods

sight (I Kings

9).

But Israel d idn t continue to obey

God. The people went into pract ic ing

idolatry and forgot the true God. They

stopped observing the Sabbath and the

other days tiod set apart as HOLY TIME.

Solomon himself began worshipping the

pagan gods of his foreign wives. The

curses that God pronounced for drs-

obedience began to take their toll .

God said to Solomon: Forasmuch as

this is d u x tu thee, and thou hast

NOT KEPT my covenant and my STAT-

UTES, which

T have

commanded thee,

I will surely rend the kingdom from

thee, and will give it to thy servant

( I K i n g s 11:11 . Israel then became

a div ided nation.

Jeroboam became king of the ten

tribes of Israel. God spoke to him

through the prophet Ahijah: And i t

shall be,

i f

thou wilt hearken unto all

that I command thee, and wilt walk in

my ways, and do that is right in my

sight, to K E E P M Y S TATUTES

AND

MY

C O M M A N D M E N T S ,s David my servant

did; that I will be with thee, and

build thee a sure house, as I built for

David, and will give Israel unto thee

1

K i n g s 1 1 : 3 8 ) .

J e roboarn M ade I s rael to Sin

Jeroboam also forgot God and led

the people into idolatry (I Kings

12:

28). God again punished Israel because

of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin,

and WHO M A D E I S R A E LTO

SIN

I

Kings

14 :

16 ) Jeroboams son, Nadab,

lulluwed his fathers bad example and

leadership and

also led Israel into sin

( I K i n g s 1 5 : 2 5 ) . Baasha, Elah and

Zimri all

did

t h r same.

Then Omri began to reign over Is-

rael . But Omri wrought

evil

in the

eyes

of

the LORD, aizd

d i d W O R S E

than

all

that z i w e before him:

For

he

walked in

all

the way of Jeroboam the

son

of

Nebat, and in his sin wherewith

he made Israel

t o

sin, to

provoke

the

LORDG o d

of

Israel to anger with their

vanitkr ( I K i n g s 1 6 : 2 5 - 2 6 ) .

Ahab, the next king, did even worse

than Omri I Kings 1 6: 30 ). Is rael had

troubles as a result and Ahab was

so

blind to the truth he couldnt see why.

He even accused the prophet Elijah for

bringing these problems on Israel.

Eli-

jah spoke the

truth:

I have not

troubled Israel; but

thou,

and thy fa-

thers house, in that ye have

FORSAKEN

THE COMMANDMENTS O F THE LORD,

and thou hast followed Baalim

( I

K i n g s 1 8 : 1 8 ) .

God holds the leaders of the nation

responsible for leading the people into

sin. He held the kings of Israel respon-

sible and he holds the leaders of our

nations today responsible. If our leaders

live in corruption, can the people who

follow them be expected to do any

bet ter?

Israel didnt heed the words

of

Elijah.

They continued to sin against God . Read

through the books of Kings and Chroni-

cles

and notice what the Bible says

about each king. Murk

there

scriptures.

Also notice the troubles and strife that

existed in Israel. But lsrarl went deeper

into idolatry.

Jehu Re jec t s Gods Law

When Jehu began to reign, he killed

the worshippers of Baal. The idolatrous

images and temple

of

Baal were de-

stroyed. He made a good start in root-

ing idolatry out of the country. But

even so, Jehu took no heed to walk

in the

LAW O F

THE LORD GOD of

Israel with all his heart: for he de-

parted not from the sins of Jeroboam,

which

m a d e I srael to s in.

In those days

the LORD began to cut Israel short

I1

Kings 10:31-32) .

God finally allowed Israel to be cap-

tured by Syria (I1 Kings 13 :2 -3 ). Syria

oppressed Israel all the days

of

K i n g

Jehoahaz. But

God

had compassion, love

and mercy toward Israel. During the

reign of Jehoash, Israel was able to

shake

off

the Syrian yoke (I1 Kings

I 3 : 2 2 - 2 5 ) .

The fol lowing kings of Israel did

no better than those before them. Jero-

boam, son of Jehoash, Zachariah, Me n-

ahem, Pekahiah, Ramaliah

are

all given

the same

character dercnption:

And he

did that which was evil in the sight

of the LORD,

as

his fathers had done:

he departed not from the sins of

Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who

m a d e

Israel

t o sia ( I1 Kings 14:24; 15:9,

18, 2 4 , 2 8 ) .

Israel was then taken into captivity

by Assyria. How Israel sinned against

G o d is enumerated in I1 Kings 1 7:7-18.

Notice verses

1 5

and

16:

And they

R E J E C T E D HIS STATUTES, and his cov-

ciiaiit

that he made with their fathers

and his testimonies which he testified

against them

.

concerning whom the

L O R D

had charged them, that they

should not do like them. And they left

A L L THE COMMANDMENTS of the LOR

their God .

,

.

Notice the ultimate penalty for Israels

national sins: And the LORD

rejected

all the seed of Israel, and

aflicted

them,

and delivered them into the hand


17/24

July, 1967

of

spoilers, until

hc

had cast

them ni i t

of his sight (verse 20).

T h e R i g h te o u s K i n g s of J u d a h

While the kings of Israel were always

sinful and continued to disobey Gods

Law, some of the kings of Judah

were

righteous and d id obey God. Jehosha-

phat was one such king. A nd the LO RD

was with Jehosh aphat, because he walked

in the first ways of his father David,

and sought not unto Baal im; But

sought to the LORDGod of his fa ther,

and

walked in his commandments,

and

NOT

after the doings of Israel (I1

C h r o n . 1 7 : 3 - 4 ) .

T he princes and Levites taugh t the

Law of God throughout the cities of

Judah. And the fear of the LORD fel l

upon al l the kingdom s of the lands that

were round about Judah, so that they

mnde no war against Jehoshaphat

(verse l o ) .

Hezekiah was another righteous king.

He did that which was r ight in the

sight of the L ORD , ccording to all that

David his fa ther did. He removed the

high places and brake the images.

H e trus ted in the LORDGod of Israel;

so

that af ter him was none l ike him

among

all

the kings of Judah, nor any

that were before him.

For

he clave to

the LORD, and departed not from fol-

lowing him, but

KEPT

H I S

COMMAND-

MENTS,

which the LORD commanded

Moses. A nd the LORD was with him;

and he prospered

whithersoever he went

forth I1

K i n g s 1 8 : 3 - 7 ) .

But Hezekiahs son did nt follow in

his steps. Manasseh restored idolatry and

seduced the people to do even m ore evi l

than the pagan and wicked Amorites

( I1 Kings 21:2-11 ) . Moreover Manas -

seh

shed innocent blood very much, till

he had filled Jemsalem f rom one end to

another;

beside his sin wherewith he

mdde lirdah tu in,

in

doing that which

was evil in the sight of the LORD

(verse

16).

Jos iah Obeyed Gods Law

Manassehs son A mon was also an eviI

king ( I Kings 21:20-22) . Af te r Amon

was assassinated, his son Josiah became

king. Here was an exception. Josiah

did that which was right

in the s ight

of the LORD , and walked in al l the

way of David his fa ther, and turned not

The

GOOD NEWS

17

aside to the right hand

or to

the left

( I1 Kings 22:2) .

Josiah read all the words of the book

of the covenant to the people.

He

then

made a covenant before God to walk

after the LORD, and to

keep his com-

mnndments and his testimonies and his

STATUTES with all their heart and all

their soul, to perform the words of this

covenant that were written in this book.

And all the people stood to the cove-

nant ( I1 Kings 23:2-3 ) .

Josiah had all the images and idols

destroyed. H e reinstituted the Passover

and led the people of Judah in obeying

Gods commandments and statutes.

And l ike unto him was there no king

before him, that turned to the LORD

with all his heart, and with all his

soul, and with all his might, uccording

t o all

the law of Moses;

neither after

him arose there any l ike him (I1 Kings

2 3 : 2 5 ) .

But because of Manassehs horrible

sins, God had to also remove Judah from

out of His s ight .

Josiah

was killed

in battle. T he three kings that followed

Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zede kiah ll

did evil in Gods sight. Judah was

finally taken into captivity by Babylon.

During Judahs captivity, God raised

up Ezra 10 lrad

His

people in the right

direction. Ezra prepared his heart to

seek the law of the LORD, and

TO

DO

IT, and to teach in Israel STATUTES

A N D J U D G M E N T S

(Ezra 7:lO). Arta-

xerxes , the k ing of Persia, allowed Ezra

and the Jews to rcturn to Jerusalem

to worship and l ive

as

they wished.

At Jerusalem, the p eople assembled on

the first

clay

of the seventh month

the Feast of Tru mp ets nd Ezra

began reading from the book o f the

law.

Ezra and the Levites

also

helped

the people to

anderstand

the law.

So

they read in the book

with an inter-

pretation [marginal reference), and gave

the sense, and caused them to understand

the reading (Neh . 8: l -8 . This was

just like o ur C hurch service today.

G o d s L a w A g a i n O b e y e d

The people were amazed at what they

found wri t ten in Go ds Law. They dis-

covered that God commanded them to

observe the

Fea.rt of Tabemnrles.

This

they did (verses 1 4-1 8) . Th en after the

Feast, the people again assembled for

fasting and worship. Thcy confcsscd

their sins and the iniquities of their

forefathers. Read the confession of the

Levites in Nehemiah

9:5-37.

It gives the

sad and sinful history of Israel. It shows

how God blessed Israel in love and

mercy.

Nevertheless they were disobe-

dient, and rebelled against thee, and

cast

thy law behind their backs, and slew

thy prophets which testified against

them

to turn them to thee, and they wrought

grea t provocations (verse

26).

Notice verse 34: Neither have our

kings, our princes, our priests, nor our

fathers,

KEPT

T HY L A W, NOR H E A R

KENED

UNTO THY

COMMANDMENTS and

thy testimonies, wherewith thou dids t

testify against them.

This l i t t le remnant of Judah then

made a new covenant with God,

to

walk in Gods law, which was given by

Moses the servant of God, and to ob-

serve and

DO

A L L THE COMMANDMENTS

of the LO RD our G od, and his

jadg-

ments and his statutes (Neh. 10:29).

By now you should see how impo rtant

it is to observe Gods Law is com-

mandments, statutes and judgments. To

have a good society, you must have

good people. But people must also have

good leadership ings and rulers who

can set the right example and rule with

justice and mercy. The lesson of history

shows this is impossible without

G o d s

Holy Spirit

to change the hearts of

carnal-minded human beings who have a

nature that battles against God and His

righteousness for it is not

sublect

to

the law

of

God,

neither indeed can be

(Rom. 8 : 7 ) .

G o d s L a w i n M e n s H e a r t s

A perfect government must have

per-

j e l l

lawJ administered

by

righteow

rulers.

This will never be achieved in

our day and age before Jesus Christ

returns. But when Christ

comes

to

es-

tablish His government on earth, Gods

Law will again be administered. But

this shall bc

thc

covenant that I will

make with the house of Israel: After

those days, saith the LORD,

I

will pat

m y

Iazo

in their inward p m t s , and wri tc

it in their hearts; and wil l be their God,

and they shall be my people (Jer.

31

: 3 3 ) .

Gods Law will be kept in the spirit

as magnified by Christ, rather than the


18/24

18

mere letter. It will he adm inis tered with

love, compassion and mercy. Those who

show

yen1

repeiitaiicr and change their

wicked ways will be forgiven and al-

lowed to live ather than stoned to

death.

There still will he strict law enforce-

ment. It will be

.r

and

certain.

Judgment will be given to the saints

( D a n . 7 : 2 2 )

I V I N E

ONES ble to

read human minds and hearts . There

will be no escape for the gui l ty. There

will be no miscarriage of justice. As a

result, men will have such F E A R t o d o

wrong that crime will disappear

No

one

will fear thieves, murderers, gangsters.

There will be P E A C E and S A F E T Y nd

the only fear will bc the fear to break

the l aw

But , we, whom

God

izozu calls to

salvation, are to

teach

God s laws then,

and enforce them. Our l i fe now is the

training ground to educate and prepare

us for that grave responsibility and w on-

derful opportuni ty.

Strtdj God.r Lmc. Become a Biblical

lnzi,yer.. Prepare yourself to be a king

and ruler by studying the statutes and

judgments given in

Exodus,

Leviticus,

Numbers and especially Deuteronomy.

In

thc Book

o f Deuteronomy

he

Book of the Law re written the

commandments, statutes and laws which

would produce national and individual

B LES S I NGS , i f fol lowed, and nat ional and

individual

C U R S E S

i f neglected, ignored

or

disobeyed. This Book was to be .stnil-

ied

by

e z e q hiiify of

I s r d

( D e u t .

17

18-20). Th e Law in th is Book is

BIND-

I N G A C C O R D I N G

TO

I T S S P I R I T A N D IN-

T E N T O N US T O D A Y .

Th e s tatutes and judgm ents MAGNIFY

and expound the Ten Commandments by

revealing how the Ten basic principles

are to be applied. W e are to k e e p

this part of the Law, not in the

strictness of the letter, but according to

its spirit and intent.

Only the

c e w

mniiial c r/ stom .r m d ritrlnls

of the Law

of Moses have passed away.

The laws in Deuteronomy were given

to a physical nation to regulate physical

condi t ions . When Chris t re turns again,

H e will rule over a physical an d carnal

nation. Laws will be needed to regulate

the physical conditions that will then

exist.

T h e

GOOD

NEWS

July , 1967

Study Gods Law to see how

His

to all that is written therein: for then

commandments, statutes, and judgments

~ p p ly o your l i fe now. How wi ll they

be applied and executed in the Mil len-

n i u m ? Tenrh them t o y o w children

(Deut . 4:9-10;11:18-20).

Me di ta t e on G ods Law as Joshua 1 8

says: This book of the law shall not

depart out of thy mouth; but

tbozi

shnlt medi ta te there in day and night,

that thou mayest obderwe to d o according

thou shalt make thy way prosperoas, and

then thou shalt have

GOOD

SUCCESS.

God

gave His Law so we

can

learn

to live the right, the sensible, and the

happy kind of life. Gods eternal, spiri-

tual Law he TEN COMMANDMENTS,

together with the spiritual statutes and

judgm ents re the basis fo r that way

of life. Stiidy

it

a n d l e a r n b o w to

l ive izozu aiid

throi/ghoiit

all eternity.

First Resurrection

( C o i i t i ~ e d rom

page 10)

dering how there will be room for them

all on earth then read the question box

article in the September, 1965,

GOOD

NEWS

magazine, on page 23 .

The third and last resurrection is for

all who have known Gods Way but

who would not repent and obey I t

is also for these who did repent, were

baptized and started on the road of

obedience to God but then gave up,

qui t , or jus t turned from Gods Way

and began to sin i i~ i l l f n l l j~fter they

had come to the knowledge of t he

truth. These people sear their con-

sciences

or

harden their hearts and

1ii.e

i t 2

i~~illfid

iii

This is the un-

pardonable s in (Heb. 10:26-27)

The third resurrection would

iizclnde

thosc in

this category and those who

will not repent and obey during the

millennium. All will be resurrected

and/or cas t

into

the lake of fire to die

the second death which is eternal death

(Rev.

20:14-15)

This is what will hap-

pen to thosc brought up in thc sccond

resurrection who are still s i m e r s at the

end of the one-hundred-year period

called the Great Wliilt . Throne Judg-

ment. They shall be accursed

burned up in the lake of fire (Isa.

6 5 : 2 0 )

What wil l the lake of fire be like?

The answer is hot

V e i y hot

It will

be a literal lake of f i re burning with

brimstone (Rev.

19:20)

robably

something l ike a hot burning sulphur

pit Tho se who rebel against God will

be burned alive in this lake of fire

which will spread around the entire

earth destroying every vestige of mans

physicul achievement 4environment

with itz fervent heat (I1 Pet.

Doiit let this h a p p e n t o you T h i s

s

the second

d e n t h - E T E R N A L D E A T H

3 : 10-1 ) .

W h i c h W i l l I t Be

for

You -

t h e

First

or

t h e

Third

Resurrection?

Breth ren, d o you realize that if you

do iiot qual i fy to be changed into a

spirit-born

son uf Gucl at

Clirists

suu11

return that you will be in the T H I R D

resurrection? Remember he second

resurrection is

o i d y for

thosc who havc

nezer

k n o w n

the truth If you are a

converted member of Gods Church

there

is

110 chnnce

for you

to be in the

second resurrection. For Y O U i t must

be the first or the third If you are a

baptized member of Gods Chur c h and

are beginning to slip away, remember

t5ei.e

i.r t i n secoiid

c h a m e

f o r Y O U

If you do not qualify to h e changed

at Christs return you will be in the

third resurrection n the lake of fire

or cast

a l iv e

into it at Christs return,

along with the beast and the false

prophet (Rev.

19:20.)

There is t o o

mnch to lose

to even

consider slipping away Th e lake

of fire is

f or

the fearful and unbe-

lieving

( R c v .

31

: 8 ) .

Get rid

of

fear

(perfect love casteth out fear

I John 4 : 1 8 ) and believe the wonder-

f u l promises God has made to us

for he that cometh to God must believe

that he is, and that he is a rewarder

of them that diligently seek him

( H e b . 11

:6)

And remember

I1

Timo

thy 1 : 7 , For God hath not given us

the spirit of fear; but of power, and

of love, and of a sound mind. God

has given us the Spiri t of p o w e r to


19/24

July,

1967

vvercvrrie and qud j f y

for

rhe FIKSI

resurwctioiz

The F i rs t Resur rec t ion

N o w

I

want to show you why the

first resurrection is

a

better resurrec-

tion etter than the second

or

the third. The phrase bet ter resur-

rection is used in Hebrews

11

- the

fai th chapter . Not ice Hebrews

11

3 5 ,

39-40

Women received their dead

raised to life again: and others were

tortured, not accepting deliverance;

that they might obtain a

better. r e s w -

rectioiz

And these all , having ob-

tained a good report through faith, re-

ceived not the promise: God having

provided some better th i i ig for us, that

they without u s should not be made

perfect.

Notice also that verse

40

says God

has provided some better thing for

us. This chapter is telling LIS that

many before us by their faith (dem-

onstrated by works ames 2 :17,

18,

2 2 ,

26) have alr.ecrily giidhfied for the

better resurrection but that they have

not yet received thc promise. They are

dead in their graves waiting fo r us to

qualify

A R E

Iori c/mzlifyi?ig?

Maybe some of

these facts about the first resurrection

will help you to strive harder

A Resurrec t ion to Ete rna l L i fe

The first resurrection

is

the

oidy

resurrection to

eterizal

l i f e Did you

rralize that Notic e I Thessalonians

4:16-17,

For the Lord himself shall

descend from heaven with a shout, with

the voice of the archangel, and with

the t rump of God: and the dead in

Christ shall rise first: Then we which

are

alive and remain shall be caught up

together with them in the clouds , to

meet the Lord in the ai r : and so shall

we ever

he

with the

T.ord.

Lets put

that together with I Corinthians

1 5 : 5 1 -

53, Behold, I shew you a mystery;

W e sha ll not a11 sleep, but we shall all

be changed, in a moment , in the twink-

ling of an eye, at the last trump: for

the t rumpet shal l sound, and the dead

shall be raised incorruptible, and we

shall be changed. For this corruptible

must put on incorrupt ion, and this mor-

tal must put on immortal i ty. Those

verses alone show that

the

dead in

T h e GOOD NEWS

9

Christ ll true Christians who died

befo re Christs return shall rise

f i ~ ~ t , hey shall be raised incorrupti-

ble.

They will be immortal. They

will

be spirit-born Sons of G o d T h e n w e

(true Christians) who will still be alive

at Christs return will be changed in

the twinkling of an eye from physical,

mortal, corruptible flesh to incorrupti-

ble, immortal spirit beings W e will

have re

good news 1967 (vol xvi no 07) jul

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