Contents:

- Personal From Herbert W. Armstrong

. Living Abundantly With Nonmember Mates

- " Judge Not ..."

.How to Better Watch World Events

Stay Out of the Gray Areas!

- Your Child's First Year in School - Are YOU Prepared?

- Coming - Your Birth Into God 's Family!

- Can You Explain It?

Ministudy: "Armageddon" - What It Really Is

Stories From the New Testament

August 1981

VOL. XXVIII, NO. 7

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LettersChildren in church

While reading Mr. Richard DavidArmstrong's article, " How You MustTe ach Your Children to Beh ave' inChurch" [May], I could not help but cry.Here I sit, 34 years old, and a man whodied when I was in the fifth grad e hasresoundingly corrected me with stunningresults in my perception of this matter.

How very grateful I am to him for hisdeep dedication and for his great courageto speak out as his father has for so manyyears, I am anxiousl y looking forward tothanking him in the very near future forhelping me to get back on the right trackwith our 4 year old.

Kath y WilliamsDallas, Tex .

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Herbert W. ArmstrongMANAGING EDITOR: Dexter H. Faulkner

ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Sheila Graham, Norman ShoafGRAPHICS: Michael Hale, Minelle Collins Smith

Published by the Worldwide Church of GodPUBLISHER: Herbert W. Armstrong

TREASURER: leroy NeffPRODUCTION AND CIRCULATION: Roger lippross

The Good News is published monthly (except combined June-July and October-Novemberissues) by the Worldwide Church of God , 300 W. Green St. , Pasadena, Calif. , 91123. CopyrightIII 1981 Worldwide Church of God . All rights reserved. Second-class postage paid at Pasadena,Calif. Reentered as second-class mailer at the Manila Central Post Office on Jan. 18, 1974.

ADDRESS All COMMUNICATIONS TO THE GOOD NEWS OFFICE NEAREST YOU.PRINTED IN U.S.A.United States: 300 W. Green SI., Pasadena. Calif., 91123Canada: P.O. Box 44, Station A, Vancouver, B.C. vsc 2M2Mexico: lnstitucion Ambassador, Apartado Postal 5-595, Mexico 5, D.F.Colombia: Apartado Aereo 11430, Bogota 1, DEUnited Kingdom, rest 01 Europe and the Middle East: P.O. Box 111, SI. Albans, Herts., AL2 2EG EnglandZimbabwe: P.O. Box U.A.30 Union Ave., SalisburySouth Attice: P.O. Box 1060, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa 2000Ghana: P.O. Box 9617, Kotoka Inl. Airport, AccraKenya and the rest 01 East and Centrat Alrica: P.O. Box 47 135, Nairobi, KenyaMauritius and other Indian Ocean Isles.' P.O. Box 888, Port Louis, MauritiusNigeria ' P.M.B. 21006, Ikeja, Lagos State, NigeriaAustralia, India. Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia: GP.O. Box 345, Sydney, NSW 200 1, AustraliaNew Zealand and Pacific Isles: P.O. Box 2709, Auckland 1, New ZealandThe Philippmes ' P.O. Box 1111, M.C.C., Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines 31 17Caribbean: P.O. Box 6063, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936Switzerland: Case Postale 10, 91 rue de ta Servetle , CH-12 11, Geneva 7Scandmavia: Box 2513 Solli, Oslo 2, Norway

Be sure to notify us immediately of any change in your address. Please include your old mailing label and yournew address. U.S. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: The Good News, Box 111, Pasadena, Calif.,91123.

COVER: Your ch ild 's school years can be exciting and rewarding - or they can be anightmare for you both ! Will your child be able to successfully handle such problems aspagan holidays and taking off for the feasts? He will if you prepare now, Read " YourChild 's First Year in School - Are YOU Prepared?" , beg inning on page 14. Photo byRoland Rees .

Teaching childrenToday we received our Good News

magazine and read your fine article,"Don't Assume Your Children Under­stand" [April] . I, too, was shocked to readhow little our children understand , .

But I would also like to let you knowthat not all children are that uninformed- some do understand a lot, and I wouldlike to applaud those parents who dospend quality time with their children,teaching them . Children are able to learnmuch more than we give them cred itfor , .. it is possible for very young chil­dren to learn much , and much more canbe added as the child grows.

Joan JacquesBrevard , N.C.

"An Open Letter"Every issue of The Good News seems

to be better than the last, although howthat is possible I don't know. Your "OpenLetter to Newly Begotten Members" inthe March issue is tremendous. It pic­tures the whole Christian life in a nut­shell. It would be impossible to menti onevery article in every issue that especiallyimpressed me.

Lorraine FrederickTremont, Ill.

" Good, strong meat"Th ank you for the good, strong meat

in . , . The Good News. I've been in theChurch for six years , and some of thesething s I've never heard before. It seemsour local ministers are also " fired up."They have sure been preaching powerfulsermons. I thank God for the privilege ofbeing a part of His Work.

Patsy S. PruettMidwest City, Okla.

XNIT ED STATES senatorpreached a sermon in a

Methodist pulpit inLos Angeles, Calif.

Of all things, imagine a well­known senator saying that patrio­tism is a false god to many people!And he was right.

"Love of country can transcend thelove of God," he said, " and we must,in time of stress, avoid making patrio­tism a religion."

He said a number of other things Icould have said , myself. Among theidols professing Christians worship,he cited prosperity, science, patrio­tism. peace - and some peopleactually make an idol of the Bible ,strange as that may sound. Some, hesaid , worship the Bible for itself, NOTas containing TRUTHS necessary forsalvation, and, I add, as a GUIDE to aWAY OF LIFE.

What is your idol ? What are YOUreally dedicated to? Is it earning aliv ing - making money? Whatabsorbs your mind, your thoughts,your time - what are you reallydevoted to?

Is it GOD - above all else ? Or is ityour hobby, your wife or husband,your children, your home, your sports- or amusements and entertain­ments?

What do you keep your MIND onmost of the time? What most occu­pies your INTEREST? Is it friends ­society? Is it PEOPLE - or is itTHI NGS?

It surely couldn't be GOD, couldit?

Probably not. And, if not , then it isan IDOL. You are breaking the FirstCommandment. You have this othergod before Him.

Just WHAT IS RELIGION?Is it merely an incidental interest,

secondary to many other things, suchas earning a living, your home, yourfamily, your friends , hobbies, sports,

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

entertainments? Possibly secondaryto television or movies?

Religion is your CONNECTIONWITH GOD - your relationship withHim.

Religion is realizing the PURPOSEof your life - the reason why Godhad you to be born - the reason youdraw the breath of air and exist ­the PURPOSE or end GOAL of yourlife, and HOW to live that life so as toarrive there.

I have written of the seven laws ofSUCCESS. You may have the freebooklet on The Seven Laws of Suc­cess by writing our office nearestyou . They are really the seven laws ofLIFE. They are the seven laws of RELI­GION. Yet most people do not knowor practice or apply a single one ofthem.

The first is to have the RIGHTGOAL.

That GOAL - God's PURPOSE forhaving put the breath of life in you ­is that you be born of GOD, to sharewith Him the GLORY of creation, toinherit His divine NATURE, to be LIKEHIM - to do what He does, toaccomplish what He accomplishes,enjoy what He ENJOYS - peace, hap­piness, joy, resplendent GLORY inLIFE EVERLASTING.

No other goal could be as great. Itis superlative.

But what are you, now? Just amass of matter, put together like amachine. Your present existence hasto be constantly SUSTAINED. Youhave to keep drawing a breath of airinto your lungs about every four orfive seconds. You have to eat food onthe average of at least three timesevery day. You have to take care ofeliminating the impurities from food,and of bathing and cleansing yourbody .

Maybe you don 't really have to"brush your teeth after every meal "as a certain toothpaste TV commer­cial keeps repeating like a phono­graph record that got stuck.

But you do have to maintain andsustain your physical anatomy tokeep on existing - and even then youare aging and degenerating every dayand every year - and the most cer­tain thing in this existence we call"life" is that this machine process isgoing to run down - YO U AREGOING TO DIE.

Actually, we have to simply keeppumping life into ourselves con­stantly - daily - to continue exist­ing - to continue conscious­ness .

Yet most people keep on, day afterday, year after year, pumping thatexistence into themselves, with NOMORE PURPOSE than to try to be com­fortable, free from pain, and to bepleasing the five senses - with theirminds on the passing physical andmaterial things of the moment ­things that are not lasting, and aresoon gone.

Unless God's own CHARACTER isbeing formed and developed in yourmind and your life , replacing the car­nali ty that is there now, you shallhave missed your GOAL.

God's PURPOSE is to CREATE with­in you, during this life, a new andperfect CHARACTER, so that you maybe given eternal life - self-contain­ing, inherent life .

If you are converted - that is, ifyou do once establish actual contactwith God - He supernaturally putswithin you His HOLY SPIRIT. Thisimpregnates you with HIS LIFE ­begets you as His child, actually yetunborn.

Actually, what many professingChristians call "being born again"should be termed "being begot­ten. "

Technically, to be "born of God"means to be changed in compositionfrom flesh and blood matter to SPIRIT- no longer mortal, no longerhuman.

But it does put within you a NEWNATURE, entirely opposite to HUMAN

NATURE with which you were firstborn.

You are, as Scripture says, given"exceeding great and precious prom­ises: that by these ye might be PAR­TAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE"(II Pet. 1:4). Of course the oldhuman nature remains, and yourmind makes the continual decisionswhether to yield to the downwardpull and appetites and establishedhabits of human nature, or to resist itby yielding to the new divine nature- to BE LED BY GOD'S HOLY SPIR­IT.

This, then, BECOMES your verylife!

You can only succeed if your GOALis kept constantly - continually ­before your eyes.

When you drive a car, if you takeyour eyes and attention off what is infront of you (and sometimes comingfrom the side or behind) even for twoor three seconds, you may find your­self "coming to" in a hospital, dyingand saying "It all happened so sud­denly!"

Driving carefully means BEINGALERT - being DILIGENT every sec­ond - KEEPING YOUR EYE and yourmind and attention on the matter ofDRIVING - not on conversation orother things.

In the same manner, if you letother interests, material pursuits,steal first place in your mind andheart and interest, even for a fewdays, you are in danger of a SPIRI­TUAL SMASHUP that will let you wakeup being plunged into the LAKE OFFIRE, which will mean eternalDEATH.

That's why God doesn't want youto have these other gods BEFOREHim.

For your own sake - in your owninterest - you must keep Himenthroned and enshrined constantlyABOVE ALL.

You must study HIS WORD inorder to be instructed by Him.

Instructed in what? Instructedin true KNOWLEDGE - knowledgeof God's PURPOSE for you ­knowledge of and about GOD ­and knowledge of HOW TO LIVE.Jesus Christ said you must actuallyLIVE BY the words of the Bible. Itis your GUIDE TO LIVING - yourINSTR UCTION BOOK the Maker sentalong to instruct you HOW to

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OPERATE this mechanism that isYOU.

More, you must study His Word- your BIBLE - to find what younow believe that is wrong, and whatyou are now DOING that is wrong ­to be CORRECTED and reproved by it.You must study it to let it INSTRUCTyou in the ways of God's RIGHTEOUS­NESS - His WAY OF LIFE. And thenyou must devote yourself to LIVINGIT!

Still, without regular and constantPRA YER, you cannot maintain CON­TACT with God. And when that con­tact is broken, you are CUT OFF fromHim - and His spiritual LIFE, LOVEand very NATURE cease flowing intoyou.

For, understand, these divineattributes of His Spirit DO FLOW!They are IN MOTION. They do notstagnate.

You either GROW spiritually - inknowledge - in grace - in God'scharacter - or you deteriorate backtoward becoming a mere physical ani­mal, to die in ETERNAL PUNISHMENTin the lake of fire!

But if God, and the things of God- His revealed knowledge - Hislaw - His love - His WAY for youto live - are constantly foremost inyour mind, your thoughts, your inter­est, then you are PRAYING ALWAYS- that is, in a constant SPIRIT OFPRA YER - a constant MENTAL ATTI­TUDE of prayer.

The contact with God must be per­petual!

This kind of Christian life - theonly kind that truly IS Christian ­requires, as the Bible emphasizesrepeatedly, zealous DILIGENCE. Youmust CONCENTRATE on it. You mustbe DEDICATED to it. It requires utterCONSECRATION. It requires total EAR­NESTNESS.

Yes, it requires the application ofthe other six laws of SUCCESS - edu­cation, in which the Bible is the maintextbook; good physical health ;DRIVE, or concentrated DILIGENCEand EFFORT; resourcefulness; stickingto it - enduring; and continual con­tact with, and the guidance, help andDower of, GOD.. True spiritual mindedness is nota sticky sentimentalism. It is NOT acertain emotional mood. It is notthe use of a certain religiousphraseology, saying constantly,

"Praise the Lord," or, "Glory, hal­lelujah. "

I have known many people whoseTALK is so very "spiritual" - butwhose hearts were as far from God asthe prophet Isaiah described (Isa.29:13) .

Jesus Christ was a perfectly SPIRI­TUAL man. But He did not go aboutusing such mushy language.

He was not a girlish , effeminate,sentimental or emotional weakling.He was a strong, virile, masterful, yetkind and gentle, MAN.

He possessed LEADERSHIP,STRENGTH , PURPOSE , SUPREMESTRONG WILL - and yet thesemasculine qualities of strength andpower were perfectly blended withwisdom, judgment, knowledge, un­derstanding, justice and also pa­tience, compassion and mercy. Hewas filled with PEACE, LOVE,FAITH.

And His WILL, strong as it was,was totally yielded and obedient toGOD. All this was the character ofGOD.

He is our PATTERN. We must imi­tate Him - copy Him.

Look at the men of God in the OldTestament - Abraham, Noah,Joseph, David, Daniel, Elijah. Theywere all different from Christ in onerespect - in which you and I mustalso be different - they had humanweaknesses, and all did sin, yet thesemen all repented and strove to over­come.

But they were all men of strongPURPOSE, strong WILL guided byGod; all possessed leadership, butalso love and faith and a consecratedOBEDIENCE to the will of GOD. Butthey were not effeminate, sentimen­tal men indulging in an affected, put­on, religious-sounding way of talk­ing.

Look at the apostles Peter andPaul. They were the same. You don'tfind any of this pseudo "spirituality"in them - yet they were truly SPIRI­TUAL men, devoted to obeyingGod and serving the needs of the peo­ple.

But one thing to watch and guardagainst every second, in the way ofattitude, is resentment, bitterness,hatred.

Don't let ANYTHING, no matterhow unjust, make you sour and bitter.

(Continued on page 25)

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Living AbundantlyWith Nonmember Mates

Has God called you but not your husband or wife?Has it caused problems in your Christian life?Here's how to make the most of your situation.

By Neil Earle

I t is a familiar sight inGod's Church : awoman sitting in the

audience during services, val­iantly supervising one, two,three or more young children.

Her husband is not an usher or

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

a deacon . He isn't up taking atten­dance. He isn't even in the hall.He doesn 't attend services in theWorldwide Church of God . He isnot a member.

Familiar as well to God 's ministersis the one-on-one visit with a manstruggling to explain to his wife why

he has to pay three full tithes or whyhe would like his teenagers to attenda YOU activity .

He, like many men reading th isart icle, is married to a woman who isnot a member of the WorldwideChurch of God . God has not calledthe member 's mate, and this

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strains their family relationship.Are there any principles that can

help us ease the tensions in thistouchy situation? Yes, once we gainGod's perspective on the matter.

One young woman wrote TheGood News: "Please, please , P LEASE

spell out the rules for women withnonmember mates. When should weobey our husbands instead of God ?Am I excused from keeping the Feastand Holy Days? Am I allowed to cel­ebrate Christmas, Easter, Halloweenand birthdays j ust because my hus­band wants me to?

" My husband would love it if I'dforget about the Bible and God .Should I make him that happy?Somewhere, somehow, I feel like I'mmissing a page of instructions."

While one article can 't answerevery question in det ail or cover allthe countless, awkward problems thatarise in thi s area, we can drink in thebasic guidelines from God's Word .

Christian life a struggle

" Beloved, think it not st range con­cerning the fiery trial which is to tr yyou, as though some strange thinghappened unto you" (I Pet. 4: 12).

Let 's get our be arings as weapproach this important subject. AsChristians we are up against thesatanic system of thi s world (Rom.12:1-2). Paul plainly described theChristi an life as a fight - a st ruggle(I Tim. 6:12).

Jesus said that only those who areviolent with themselves - with theirattitudes, with their past way of view­ing things, with their former attach­ment s to thi s society - will dri vethrough to the Kingdom (M att.II :12). God is our invincible Ally ifwe diligently seek Him .

It was not an easy undertaking webargained for when we gave our oldselves to symbolically perish in thewaters of bapti sm (Rom. 6:3-6). Thatsimple but sublime ceremony drewupon us the full fire of Satan's wrath(I Pet. 5:8) .

But take heart!God called you, and He never

makes a mistake (John 6:44) . If Hedrew you to Him and convicted youby His Spirit, you can make it (John10:27-28).

Furthermore, God knew our total

backgrounds when He called us and ,in His supreme wisdom, He decided,in some cases, not to call our mates.Paul referred to thi s when He said:" Is any man called being circum­cised ? let him not become uncircum­cised. Is any called in uncircumci­sion? let him not be circumcised... . Let every man abide in the samecalling wherein he was called" (I Cor.7:18,20).

God has decided He will not callsome of our mates, at least not yet. Butstop and think! Our wonderful Creatornever does anyth ing except for ourvery best interests in the long run(Rom. 8:28) . Think about that nexttime you 're tempted to say, Oh , how Iwish God would call my mate.

The simple truth is that the Chris­tian life is a struggle for everyone.We should be happy warriors (Eph.6:10-11).

One of Satan's favorite tactics is tounsettle, upset and confuse peoplethrough their intimate person al rela­tionships. That is where he struck inthe Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-6).Th at is where he often strikes today,and even those families with bothhusband and wife in the Church arenot spared.

Yet, undoubtedly, the fact that amate is not a member does presentsome peculi ar challenges. To reallycome to grips with these challenge srequires another look at the verybedrock of our commitment to God .Notice Jesus' defin itive statement :

"Think not that I am come to sendpeace on earth: I came not to sendpeace , but a sword . For I am come toset a man at variance against hisfather, and the daughter against hermother, and the daughter in lawagainst her mother in law. And aman 's foes shall be they of his ownhousehold. He that loveth father ormother more than me is not worthyof me: and he that loveth son ordaughter more than me is not worthyof me . And he that taketh not hiscross, and followeth after me, is notworthy of me" (M att. 10:34-38).

Jesus Christ, who knew humannature intimately (John 2:25), can­didl y warned us about the hazard s inthe Christian life. He wants us toaccept our particular "cross" in life assomething to be borne gracefully,

rather than have us make a shallowcommitment that crumbles at thefirst shocks of persecution.

We are promised trouble and trib­ulation (Job 5:7, Acts 14:22) . We canthank Christ that He inspired a wholebook, the Holy Bible , to help us learnhow to shoulder it.

Wouldn't it be relatively simple forthe gre at God to convert your mate?He humbled the obstinate pharaohand the strutt ing Nebuchadnezzar.In God 's hands, Saul the destroyerbecame Paul the apostle.

Th ere is hope! " For what knowestthou, 0 wife, whether thou shalt savethy husband ? or how knowest thou,a man , whether thou shalt save thywife?" (I Cor. 7:16) .

A mate's con version, however,should not be our main hope , becausewe should resolve to rem ain stedfastChristians no matter wh at (Jo b13:15). "But as God hath distributedto ever y man, as the Lord hath calledeveryone, so let him walk. And soordain I in all churches" (I Cor.7:17).

The point is that the all-powerful,all-knowing God could have calledyour mate (Gen. 18:14). But Hedidn 't. Wh y not ?

Blessing in disguise

" My brethren , count it all joywhen ye fall into divers tem ptations;Knowing this , that the tr ying of yourfait h worketh patience. But letpatience have her perfect work , thatye may be perfect and entire, wantingnothing" (Jas. 1:2-4) .

God is more concerned about ourcharacter than our comfort! His pur­pose is to mold us, like clay model s,into the very image of Jesus ChristHim self (Jer. 18:6). The awkward,sometimes frustrating and exasperat­ing experiences of living with a lifepartner who is not in the Churchcould be a gre at blessing in disgui se.

Every close human relationship,including marriage, has its st ressesand strains (Amos 3:3). But then,rose bushes have thorns. When a hus­band or wife is not in the Church, amember has an even more urgentprod to develop wisdom.

James 1:5 tell s us, "If any of youlack wisdom , let him ask of God, th atgiveth to all men liberall y, and

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upbraideth not; and it sha ll be givenhi "im .

Living with potenti al hostility orper iodic alie nat ion forces a C hristia nto examine him self regu larly ( II Cor.13:5). Thus the human clay God isfashio ni ng becom es a littl e moremalleable.

Are you as a Christia n st riving tobe a more effec tive peacemaker ? Doyou overreact? Do you automaticallyexpect the worst and ente r delicatesit uations br istlin g with pride andplain old self-righteousness?

Oh, how we all fall down from timeto tim e (Eccl. 7:20)! T he good newsis th at God is more willing to give uswisdom th an we are to ask Him for it(Deut. 5:29 ).

Th e tr agedy is th at many peoplestum ble heedlessly through life - dis­courteo us, tactl ess, unteachable. Th enth ey lament th eir terrible lack of suc­cess in human relationships (Prov.5:11- 13) . W isdom is th e art of sayi ngth e right thing at the right time in j ustth e right tone of voice and wit h j ustenough words to make the point (Prov.10:32,1 2:23, 25:I I).

Yes , th e somet imes thorny rela­t ionships between true C hristians andt he ir non member mat es provi deince ntive in th e lifelong pursuit ofwisdom. Tact, d iplomacy, st rategy,t iming - memb ers with antagonisticma tes s ho uld cultivate a ll theseatt ributes; they lead to shining suc­cess in life.

Listen to th ese beauti ful words:" But the wisdom th at is from above isfirst pure, th en peaceable, gentl e, andeasy to be entrea ted, full of mercy andgood fru its, without part ialit y, andwith out hypocri sy. And th e fruit ofrigh teousness is sown in peace of th emthat make peace" (las. 3:17-18).

Th e onus is clearl y upon us asmembers to weed out destruct iveange r ( Prov. 29:22) . The ca rnal ,almos t irresis tible pleasure of st rikingback, retaliating by word or deed , isnot wort h the pr ice paid in severedrelationships.

It 's so hard to resist preach ing to orlect uring our mates. But it is bett er(Prov . 25:8) to develop that "meekand quiet spirit" th e Bible prizes sohighl y (I Pet. 3:4).

Disengage yourse lf fro m situationswhere you feel resentment and bitt er-

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

ness bubbling to the surface (Prov.17:14). God warns that a brotheroffended is hard er to be won than afortified city (Prov . 18:19). Allowpeople to "save face" wheneve r possi­ble . Treat your partner as you wouldlike to be trea ted in a simi lar circum­sta nce (Luke 6:31) .

Th ese are basic Christian princi­ples, simpler to read over than toact ually put into practice. Th ey dowork, however , and th e results arewell worth the effo rt. RememberPaul's counsel: " If it be possible, asmuch as lieth in you, live peaceablywith all men " (Rom. 12:18).

Family government

No thing writt en above, however ,justifies crue lty or mishandling byantagonis tic mat es. God doesn 'texpect women, for examp le, to sufferund er despicable examp les of man­hood who beat them , threaten thei rlives or attempt to suffocate themspi ritually. "God hath called us topeace ," Pau l stated (I Cor. 7:15).

True, Ch ristian women are re­quired to honor their husbands and tosubmit to them (I Cor. I I :3). YetGod also says in Colossians 3: 18,"Wives, submit yourse lves unto yourown husbands, as it is fit in theLord. "

God requ ires His converted chil­dr en , male and female, to appearbefore Him on the Sa bbath (Lev.23:3 , Heb. 10:25). Danger to life andlimb , or slow spiritual st rangulat ionby husbands who make it impossiblefor th eir wives to obey God's clearcommands, needs to be brought toth e ministry (He b. 13: 17).

W ives are to submi t, yes, but "as itis fit in th e Lord ." A C hristia nwoma n owes allegia nce to an aut hori­ty even higher th an her husband - tothe On e who insti tu ted the husband 'saut ho ri ty in the firs t place, t healmighty, ete rna l God (Prov. 29:25) .

Acts 5:29 plainly teaches, "Weoug ht to obey God rat her than men."Applying this pr incip le is often one ofthe greates t crosses a true Christianwoma n wit h an antagonistic husbandhas to bear. Seek plenty of qualifiedhelp and advice from God's minist ryin thi s matt er.

But rememb er , God did not writeEphesians 5:22 and Colossians 3:18

as th e "Male C hauvinist Bill ofRigh ts."

No scripture j ustifies th e crue l,ironfisted rul e of a man who forces aco nve rte d woma n to infringe onGod's spiritual law. Th e wife is toldto "s ubmit herself," not to get sledge ­hammered into slaver y. Th e phr ase"s ubmit yourse lf' is no license forth e female's exploita tion.

At t he sa me t im e, co nve r te dwome n will not seize on any pickyareas to excuse dumping husbandsthey would selfishly like to get ridof. Thi s is a difficult area for manywomen in God 's Church, especially,but th e ove ra ll principl es a reclear.

Th ere is nothing in God's Wordrequiring us to parti cipate in Chr ist­mas, Easte r, Hall oween or ot he rworldly holidays because of a hus­band 's commands . But neith er shouldwe become hurt or rese ntful if th ehusband chooses th is route. Don' tcrit icize. Don't conde mn. God isn'tjudging the world yet, but He is cer ­tainl y j udgi ng us ( I Pet. 4:17). Oftentac t and resourcefulness can workwonde rs (Prov. 2 1:23) .

Be resourceful

Not ice God's e ncou ragement:"Every wise woma n bu ildeth herhouse: but the foolish plucketh itdown with her hands" (Prov. 14:1)."She openeth her mouth wit h wis­dom; and in her tongue is th e law ofkindness" ( Prov. 31:26) .

Dozen s o f yo u ng people a restudy ing at A mbass ado r Coll egebecau se of th e de te rmined , wiseexamp le set for them by courageousmot hers and fathers who walked withGod every day in a some times tedio usst r ugg le to se rve Him wit ho utoffending their mates.

Countless quiet, meek men andwomen have found untapp ed reservesof leadersh ip, tact and st ra tegy oncethey determined to obey God fully(Prov . 28:I ). T here is never an excusefor rebellion agai nst a husband, ofcourse, but we owe God our totalalleg iance. It is a matt er of obeyingth e One in grea te r authority .

On e woma n had reasoned th at sheshould neve r atte nd any activi tiesexce pt Sa bbath services. He r excuse?Sh e felt she should spend all her free

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time with her nonmember husbandand children .

But she began to realize that herfamily's depressing personal prob­lems were undermining her attitudeand cutting her off from the abun­dant life God's people enjoy in whole­some social activit ies. Her ministeragreed.

She responded to her pastor 's sug­gestions . She joined the churchladies ' bowling league and the cho­rale, volunteered for a job responsi­bility in the congregation and is gen­erally enjoying life much more .

No wonde r. She is living the greatcommandment (Matt. 22:37), andGod is blessing her. She now has thequiet conviction that the Head of thisChurch is looking after her famil yand will call them to the truth at thebest possible time. Meanwhile, shehas work to do with God's people, andsets a fine example for all.

Husbands with nonmember, an­tagonistic wives should zealously takethe lead In their families to planuplifting , enjoyable activities withinGod's law.

Instead of allowing the sources offriction to dominate your famil y rela­tions, why not plunge wholeh eartedlyinto activities that build unity ? Thebest defense is a good offense!

If Christmas, Easter and birthdaysare sore spots, make up for theseantagonisms by planning out standingevents for Th anksgiving, graduations,anniversaries and vacations. Involveyour wife's famil y where possible . Bewatchful. Know your wife's interestsand enjoyments. If they are withinGod's law, make the most of them.

Be wise. Be resourceful. Appre­ciate any opportunity to set a bal­anced example of God 's way. Godcould use your wife's nonmember sta­tus as a vehicle to spread His truthinto more and more lives. Be a light(Matt. 5:14). But remember, a lightdoesn't preach . A light only makes anoise when it is defective.

Claim God's promise: " When aman 's ways please the Lord , hemaketh even his enemies to be atpeace with him" (Prov. 16:7).

Abigail's amazing example

" I just can't see how it would workin my case," some will protest. " I've

6

tr ied everything, and it ju st get sworse. " Well , rem ember, the impos­sible is God's specialty . Let 's studyan ama zing case history recorded toillustrate th is very point.

In the days when King David was arugged guerrilla leader, there was awoman named Abig ail, "a woman ofgood understanding, and of a beauti­ful countenance" (I Sam. 25:3). Abi­gail had married a man who, though afinancial success, was an abject fail­ure as a human being . The Bible,with marvelous irony, records that hisname was Nahal, meaning "a fool" or" worthless fellow" (verses 3, 25).

This orner y individual becameinvolved In a semicomical episodethat lite rally sizzles with the dynam­ics of human relationships. It is vitalthat we today understand such epi­sodes (Rom. 15:4).

God 's ministers meet man y Na­bals. Sometimes people forget thatthe Nabals of this world reap whatthey sow, eventually (Gal. 6:7). Beinga Nabal , an unhappy ingrate, is pun­ishment enough, but sooner or latersuch a person goes too far (Prov..11 :17, 15:18). A N abal's habit of"s hooting from the hip," often forti­fied by terrorizing a wife, inevitablyleads to a showdown.

This happened. Nabal's spitefulrefu sal to supply David's small armywith provisions caught the Jewishgiant killer at the wrong time. Davidsaw red! He'd risked his life defend­ing Nabal' s propert y and all southernJudah from hostiles. In full fur y,David set out to punish thi s snidereprobate ( I Sam. 25:13). The irre­sist ible force was headed for a verymovable object, Nabal and his wholefamil y. What did Abigail do? Whatwould you do?

Abigail's "good understanding"rallied. You couldn 't live with a viperlike Nabal without growing at least alittle in wisdom. "The wrath of a kingis as messengers of death : but a wiseman [or woman] will pacify it" (Prov.16:14). Swi ftly Abig ail prepared asumptuous meal (I Sam. 25:18) .

Then she herself set out to meetDavid after he had first sampled thedelectable food, a true "peace offer­ing." This was the adroit strategy of aforceful , capable woman facing a life­and-death test.

It worked. Her sound, forthrightapproach compl etel y melted David 'sanger (verses 23-31) . What a study infeminine leadership interposing itselfskillfully and diplomatically at justthe right t ime!

David was forever glad he hadlistened to thi s woman, an unsur­passed example of strength blendedwith submission. Abigail did all ofthis without compromising thegovernment principle in thehom e.

God Himself upheld this stout­hearted woman who possessed a deli­cate blend of dignity, nobility andtact. God reciprocated her loyal sub­mission to her obstreperous husbandwith wisdom to handle her life 'scri ses. More than merel y "coping,"she ended up as the wife of David(verse 40).

Benefit from the opportunity

Sweet indeed can be the uses ofadver sity! What a merciful God weserve, who allows us to bu ild charac­ter and learn valuable lessons fromour most awkward and emb arrassinglife situations.

Don't lament and bemoan your sit­uation. If your mate is truly " pleasedto dwell" with you, rejoice and makethe most of the opportunity to be aquiet, tactful witness of God 's way(I Cor . 7:12-13 ).

Remember , God does not makemistakes. When He called you intoHis glorious truth and did not openthe mind of your husband or wife, Heknew what He was doing . Trust Him.Whatever He does is for your good ,ultimately.

Above all, do nothing that willstand In the way of your materespond ing to God 's call. Strive to setthe very finest example. Your mini s­ter will have other pertinent sugges­tions. The best thing any of us can doto serve God is to be as involved andinterested in His Work as possible(Matt. 6:33).

God is not unfair. He knew whatHe was doing when He called onlyone member of your family. One daywe will learn that His ways truly arehigher than our s (l sa. 55:8-9).

" For surely the re is an end ; andthine expectation shall not be cut off"(Prov. 23:18). 0

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

,'Judge NotBy Philip Stevens

•••

He r e was a goldenopportunity achance for the scribes

and Pharisees to show up thatfraud Jesus for what He reallywas . And a large crowd waseven on hand to witness theirvictory.

" A nd the scribes and Phariseesbrought unto him a woman taken inadultery; and when they had set herin the midst, They say unto him,Master, this wom an was taken inad ultery, in th e very act. Now Mosesin th e law commanded us, that suchsho uld be stoned: but what sayestth ou ?" (John 8:3-5).

But Jesus chose to ignore them. Infact, He had the nerve to stoop downin front of thi s illustrious companyand write in the sand.

They looked at each other in bewil­derment. Then one of their leaderscame forward and repeated theircharge against the forlorn woman atthe center of thei r plot. There waslittl e doubt of her guilt - she hadbeen caught comm itting the sin .

Jesus waited for the repeated accu­sat ions to cease, then stood up.

"He that is without sin amongyou," He said, scanning His piousaudi ence, "let him first cast a stone ather " (verse 7). He paused a momentto let His words sink in, then stoopedand continued writing in the dirt.

Several minutes later He looked upto see only the woman remaining inHis company.

"Woman, wher e are those thineaccus ers ?" He asked. " Hath no manconde mned thee ?"

She said, "No man, Lord ."Jesus said to her , "Neither do I

condemn thee: go, and sin no more "(verses 10-11).

It is all too easy for us to point thefinger at another member of God 's

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Church and say, "Well, look whathe's doing ." But when we attempt tojudge the act ions of another person ,we are taking to ourselves a preroga­tive that belongs to God .

"And he [God] shall judge theworld in righteousness, he shall min­ister judgment to the people inuprightness" (Ps . 9:8) . God tells usthat in order to judge we must becompletely righteous . That's the mes­sage Christ gave those who accusedthe adulterous woman.

As human beings, we can form con­clusions only about what we see or hear.Yet Chri st told us not to judge by thesephysical considerations: "Judge notaccording to the appearance, but judgerighteous judgment" (John 7:24).

Righteous judgment means look­ing deep into a person 's heart to per­ceive his innermost motives. Achiev­ing that insight is beyond the powerof human beings, no matter how righ­teous we consider ourselves.

Prophesying about the future Sav­ior, Isaiah wrote, "And he shall notjudge after the sight of his eyes, nei­ther reprove after the hearing of hisears: But with righteousness shall hejudge the poor" (lsa. II :3-4).

Righteous judgment is beyond thereach of mortal man. I t is thereserved domain of the eternal God .

"He that speaketh evil of his broth­er, and judgeth his brother, speakethevil of the law, and judgeth the law:but if thou judge the law, thou art nota doe r of the law, but a judge. Thereis one lawgiver [God], who is able tosave and to destroy: who art thou thatjudgest another" (Jas. 4:11-12) .

Jesus explained that it is easy forus to percei ve in others the very faultsof which we, oursel ves, are most guil­ty (Matt. 7:3-5). When we aretempted to criticize a fellow humanbeing, it is good to examine our ownactions and see that we are not tread­ing the same ground (Rom. 2:1-3).

Try pointing a finger at someone

and then look at your own hand ­there will be three fingers pointingback at you .

We know God chose not to healPaul's "thorn in the flesh." People ofPaul's day may have judged him aslacking in faith. Yet we know nowthat it was to God 's glory that theaffliction remained (II Cor. 12:7-9).Any who judged Paul were wrong.

So apply the same principle today .When you are tempted to judge thebehavior of others, remember thatyou have no idea what God has inmind for that person . A stronger Sonof God may" be produced from a con­tinued affl iction or financial reverse .

Often we do not even know all thecircumstances that work together tocause a person to act a particular way.And we have no appreciation of thetremendous battle someone may bewaging to overcome.

Christ must have seen somethingin the adulterous woman who stoodbefore Him, something the accus erscould not perceive. Although she wasguilty, Jesus could see she abhorredthe act she had committed . He couldappreciate that she had repented, andHe forgave her.

If He had looked merely at thephysical evidence, He would haveseen only guilt. However, with divineinsight, Christ was able to render Hisdecision based on the renewedmotives of her heart.

We might speculate, too, about thewords Christ wrote on the ground.Did He spell out name s and dates andcouple them with sins the accusersthemselves had committed?

The Bible doesn't tell us. But ifJesus were able to assess the woman 'srepentant attitude, He could ju st asreadily have discerned the motives ofher accusers.

Since all of us at this time lack theability to judge righteously, let us fol­low Christ's words in Matthew 7: I:"Judge not"! D

7

How to BetterWatchWorld Events

By Gene H. Hogberg

Pastor Gen­eral Her­bert W.

Arm strong re­ported to a con ­gress of leadingministers ofGod' s Churchearlier this yea rth at world condi­tion s are onceaga in fast accel­e ra t ing, indicat­ing, he sa id, thatwe a re in " t hevery last of thelast days."

H ow, then, canwe as lay membersge t a better graspo f thi s fast-pacedworld of ours ?What events andtrends in the worlda re of s ig n ificancea nd hence bear our watching ?

Most importantl y, for the purposesof thi s art icle, which news sources aremost beneficial and reli able ? Wh at 'sthe best way to judge the value of anewspaper ? What about televisionnews? And wh at is th e ov era llap proac h of the news medi a in ana-

c Iyzing curre nt events?~~ The corr ect perspective

~ First of all, when studying world: events from the viewp oint of Bible~ prophecy, one must know what to~ look for. We have not been left with­~ out guideposts in thi s vital area .

8

Mr. Armstrong has s t r e ss edrepeatedly th at the 24th chapter ofMatthew constitutes one of the mostimportant prophetic passages in theNew Testament. This chapter detailsthe signs of Christ's Second Comingand the end of thi s age .

Hallmark s of the end time, wehave been taught, would be religi ousdeception (verses 4-5 , II) , "w ars andrumours of wars" (ver se 6), famines,pestilences, earthquake s (verse 7)and religious persecution and martyr­dom for some (verse 9) .

Through it all, the true Gospel ofGod would be proclaimed with ever -

increasing power till- before the end ­it wou ld hav e apowerful impactupon all n at ion s(verse 14).

We need not gointo detail a t thi spoint to show howthese prophesied end­time conditions gripth is world right now.

Th e Pla in Truthmagazine contin­ually devote s con­siderable space tothese very tr end s.

In add it ion tofocusing our atte n­tion on the broadoutline of Matthew24, we have been

inst ru cted to watchevents in Europe (es­pecially Germany andthe Common Market) ,the Mid dle East (es-

pecially Jerusalem )and the gr ow in g

influence of the Papacy.Plummeting mor als , the dec ay of

famil y life and environmental de­struction show we are near the end ofman 's profligate ways.

Identity of America, Britain

Th ere is another extremely impor­tant area th at opens our eyes to whatto look for.

Mr. Armstrong has remarked on anumber of occas ions recently th atmore preachers are preaching proph ­ecy now. But they all lack the key, hesays, to unlock the understand ing ofBible prophecy. This key is the iden-

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

tity of the United States and the Brit­ish people today.

This understanding is so vital incomprehending world events todaythat without it we are left propheti­cally rudderless.

But with this understanding, wecan readily grasp the portent behindone of the single most significanttrends in the world over the past twodecades - the decline of Americanand British power and prestige andthe corresponding rise in the militarymight of the Soviet Union.

This major trend affects nearlyeverything in the world today, fromthe changed power relationships inthe Middle East to chaos in the globaleconomic structure to the need forEurope to unite.

Approach of news media

No news analysts, aside from thosein the Church of God, are going tolook at the world from the above per­spectives of Bible prophecy.

But some analysts are definitelybetter than others in helping us watchworld events. Such analysts belong towhat has been called the realisticschool of international relations .

Generally speaking, such realistslook at the world the way it really is.They are not blinded to political andmoral evils in this world. They canplainly see the various power strug­gles among the nations, the principalone being the East-West ideologicalconflict centered in Moscow andWashington.

They believe that major aggressivepowers, such as the Soviet Union, actthe way they do because of historicalprecedence and national characterand are not likely to "change theirspots" and moderate their policies.

Realists understand that in theworld today - which we know is notGod's world - lofty, abstract princi­ples such as "social justice" and "hu­man rights" are unattainable, even ifall men and nations knew what theseconcepts really meant. To the realist,the "lesser evil" is preferable to somehuman-defined absolute "good."

The second broad approach towardthe world and society, taken by manypolitical leaders and the majority ofnews analysts of the popular press ofthe Western world, is the idealistic.also called the utopian or liberal.approach.

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Basically speaking, the idealisticschool of thought holds that humannature is inherently good and has "in­finite malleability."

An outgrowth of humanism, thisphilosophical approach believes manhas the power to make society betterand better according to constantlychanging (supposedly improving)human standards. Former PresidentJimmy Carter, for example, was saidto believe in the "essential perfect­ibility" of human nature (source:First Line Report. a CBS radio pro­gram, Jan. 22, 1980) .

Regarding the moral basis of soci­ety, the idealistic or liberal schoolrests on a shifting ground. Accordingto this school, new knowledge caneasily upset so-called traditional val­ues. The results of this "enlightened"approach, cut off from biblicallybased or influenced tradition , are alltoo obvious: the New Morality, teen­age sex, "living together," feminismand the drive to "de-sex" society ­even the Bible .

Concerning the international arena,the idealistic viewpoint prefers a "glo­balist" approach to one concerned aboutnational interests. Ideological conflictsare trivialized; terms such as "balance ofpower" or "struggle for power" aretreated as relics of the past.

The vast differences separating theworld's peoples in matters of history,religion, race, morality and politicaland economic development are mini­mized. The role of the UnitedNations - the supposed "conscienceof mankind" - is elevated beyond itsimportance and the hostility gener­ated there is played down .

Choosing a newspaper

Knowing the two broad approachesto current events analysis should helpus better select from the news sourcesavailable to us.

For some of our brethren , ofcourse, this is rather difficult, espe ­cially if they live in more closedsocieties. In these instances, choicesof news sources are limited. Newspa­pers , radio and television are ofteneither government controlled orheavily supervised to reflect officialgovernment positions.

In pluralistic Western societies, onthe other hand, a wider selection ofnewspapers, magazines and electron­ic media is available.

In Britain and other countries inEurope, entire newspapers generallyreflect a certain philosophy. The Dai­ly Telegraph. for example - anexcellent news source for the Work'sNews Bureau - is conservative intone, in both presentation of newsand commentary. The Guardian. onthe other hand, reflects a definiteleft-of-center, politically pro-LaborParty viewpoint.

The Times of London is prettymuch in the middle of the road . TheTimes is widely regarded as the best­written, most informative newspaperin the English language.

Throughout Europe, another ex­cellent news source is the Interna­tional Herald Tribune . an American­style newspaper jointly operated bythe New York Times and the Wash­ington Post.

For their own experience, brethrenin the United States should scancopies of the Times of London or theDaily Telegraph in their nearest big­city local library, if for no other rea­son but to realize what they are miss­ing on a daily basis in their localnewspapers . Reading the Times eachday is an education .

Choosing a newspaper in theUnited States presents more of aproblem . The United States does nothave "national newspapers" as doesBritain, with the exception of thesmall-circulation Christian ScienceMonitor (an excellent source ofworld and national news) and the spe­cialized Wall Street Journal.

Americans are limited to local orregional newspapers, and far fewer ofthem exist now than before theadvent of television . Television andnightly television news have all butdestroyed the afternoon newspaper inAmerica. Many cities are now one­newspaper towns .

When a choice between one ormore newspapers is available, theprime consideration in decidingwhich paper to subscribe to shouldrevolve around the stable of colum­nists who appear on the newspaper'seditorial-opinion pages.

Newspapers of the same size willvary little concerning the hard news ofthe day. Most generally subscribe toone or more newswires (such as Asso­ciated Press or United Press Interna­tional) plus some supplemental or fea­ture news services. The difference will

9

usually show up on the opinion page.Notice how many syndica ted realistcolumnists appear regul arl y.

Who are some journalists of therealist school? Here are a few notablenames in the United States to watchfor : Will iam Safire , George F. Will,the team of Evans and Novak, PatrickJ . Buchanan, James J . Kilpat rick,Norman Podh oretz, Phyllis Schlaflyand Georg ie Ann Geyer.

We may not agree with everythingthese people write, but more oftenthan not they present topics worthreading from a sensible perspecti ve.

Att ention should be dr awn to anoth­er journa list who brings a great deal ofknowledge, historical background andpersonal experi ence to his columns.Thi s gentleman is Joseph C. Harsch ofThe Christian S cience Monitor.

Beneficial magazines

It also helps, one's budget permit­ting, to read a weekl y newsmagazinein addition to a newspaper .

The magazine U.S . News & WorldReport has always provided the New sBureau with important inform ationevery week. U.S. News concentrateson essentia l facts and figures, withextremel y helpful and readil y under­standa ble charts and gr aphs.

Regarding Tim e and Newswee k,personal preference is the key. Th esemagazines are helpful in coveringmajor stories in depth.

Tim e is best for reporting on thePapacy. Newswee k's format empha­sizes more columns, sepa ra ting, as itsedit ors once advert ised, " fact fromopinion."

It has been our experience in theNews Bureau that the various int er­national ed it ions of these two week­lies are in some respects superior tothe No rth American versions. Extra­neous material of interest only toNorth Am eri ca is removed withmaterial pertinent to the European,A us t ra las ian and ot her editori alregions substituted. .

Th ese two news sourc es can behelpful to brethren in parts of theworld where other English-languagenews sources are not readil y avail­able. The overall slant, of cour se,rem ains Am erican and liberal , espe­cially in Tim e.

Unfamil iar to many Americans butrespected around the world is Brit­ain's Economist. probably the most

10

co m prehe nsive newsweekl y pub­lished anywhere, usually cont ainingin every issue import ant news itemsthat escape American eyes.

Business Week is another fine pub­lication with a good " InternationalOutlook" section on world affairs andexcellent occasio nal in-depth reports.However, as a business magazine, itranks below the fortnightly Fortune.

It is also important to be aware ofseveral exc ellent " t hinking-piece' ;periodicals that are available, espe­cially in North America.

One suc h supp lementa l newssource worth mentioning is Commen­tary , a monthly publi shed by theAmerican Jewish Committee. Com­mentary is one of the most influentialjournals in America today .

Regarding other supplementalnews sources, Harp er's periodi callyhas articles of considerable socialimport. And the weekly Nat ionalReview, while essen tially political intone , often has articles of broad socialsignificance.

A per son may not wish to sub­scribe to any of the magazin es men­tioned above. But I would recom­mend that brethren scan the selectio nof newspapers and periodicals avail-able at their local libr aries . .

One might come across oth er veryinformative Engli sh-language news­magazines, such as Macl ean's fromCanada , The Bulletin from Australiaand Asiawee k fro m H ong Kon g(which covers the whole gamut ofAsia n affairs) .

An excellent source covering eventsin Europe, especially the CommonMarket countries, is Europe. It is pub­lished every other month by the Euro­pean Economic Community Commis­sion's office in Washington, D.C. Simi­lar magazines are available in all mem­ber countries of the Common Market.

Also take a look at World PressReview, a supplemental Americannew s so u rce that reprints new sart icles and editorials from the inter­nation al press, representin g a widespectru m of viewpoints .

Articles of interest - for Spokes­man Club research , for exampl e ­can usuall y be phot ocopied. Why notmake a trip to the library a monthl yor semimonthly habit ?

Remember that time is precious ­we are counseled to " redeem" it (Eph.5:16). Don't waste time on the scandal

tabloids sold in grocery stores, nor onmost of the many popular " personality"magazines (People is probabl y the bestof the generally poor lot).

Avoid contrary explanations

On e la st a r ea need s t o beaddresse d, specifica lly bec ause itaffects a few br ethren in God 'sChurch : This is the fascin ation withcertain t heor ies th at purport toexplain world events from the pointof view of a grand " conspiracy."

There are variants of the conspira­cy theory of history, but they nearl yall revolve around an elit e cabal ofbankers, financiers and wealthy cap i­tal ists who are said to be manipulat­ing events internat ionally with thegoal of subj ugating the Uni ted Statesand Western nations to the control ofa tot alitarian , one- world government.The conspirators, it is claimed , notonly manipulate Western-world lead­ers like puppets, but secre t ly controlthe governments of the Sov iet Unionand mainl and China.

For example, last January an arti­cle in an issue of Spotlight, a popularconspiracy-oriented tabloid , assertedthat the fate of the American hos­tages in Iran was all up to DavidRockefeller, chairm an of the board ofChase Manh attan Bank . The Rocke­feller family is particularly vilified inconspiracy the ory literature, whichis, in general, very negative, accusato­ry and often anti-Sem itic.

In conspiracy publicati ons, Mr.Rockefeller is branded as a "socio­path " and a "mattoid" - the latterword meaning "a borderline psycho­path." The sources of such characterassassinations inevitably hid e behindanonymity .

There is und eniable evidence ofsimilarity of thinking (intern ational­ist , moderately left- of-center ) on thepart of the majority of members ofcertain organizations ' bl amed forbeing part of the conspiracy, such asthe Coun cil on Foreign Relations andthe Trilateral Commission .

There is no doubt, furthermore,that the CFR and TLC exercise enor­mous influence, out of proportion tomembership , upon the economic andpolitical policies adopted in th eUnited States, and therefore bearpart of the responsibility for recentfailures in these arenas.

Yet the fact that such organiza-

The GOOD NEWS August 198 1

Television As a News Sourcer

tions exist and that the viewpoints ofmost of their members are similardoes not of itself prove del iberate,calculated conspiratorial intent.

Furthermore, knowing the fruits ofthe flesh - " st rife, jealousy, anger,selfishness, dissension, party spirit"(Gal. 5:20) - it is illogical to believethat the alleged conspirators couldpursue such a unified , single-mindedcourse of action for any length oftime.

Have sound-minded approach

Mr. Armstrong has pointed out thetrue cause-and-effect relationshipsresponsible for the evils of this world.The get way of life that all mankind,cut off from God, living under theinfluence of Satan, has chosen is

T elevision can be a ver y infor­mative supplement to your

"news diet," providing that thenewscasts are selected properly.

Unfortunately, however, manypeople waste hours each day lookingat what the y think is news, and rarelywatch those newscasts and specialprograms th at could really help.

This is especially true in theUnited States, because of thedominance of commercial televi­sion. It's a pity that Americanscannot view Britain's high-qualityBBC news or similar first-class ,noncommercial newscasts in otherparts of the world.

In the United States, the mostworthwhile regularly schedu ledcommercial newscasts on world andnat ional affairs are the nightly 30­minute (24 minutes of news pluscommercials) ABC, CBS and NBCnetwork programs. Mr. Armstrongregularly watches the networknews. Also see n in many areas is theso-called fourth network news pro­gram known as International Net­work News, or INN.

There are , in addition, supple­tal television programs of val-

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

at the root of all man 's suffering.America and Britain are going

down not because of the willfulmachination of unseen manipulatorsbut for a compendium of national sin sspelled out in Isaiah 1:4-6:

"Ah sinful nation, a people ladenwith iniquity, a seed of evildoers,children that are corrupters: theyhave forsaken the Lord, they haveprovoked the Hol y One of Israel untoanger, they are gone away back­ward . . . . the whole head [govern­ment] is sick, and the whole heart[national morale and morality] faint.From the sole of the foot even untothe head [me aning the entire societyand all its components] there is nosoundness in it; but wounds, andbruises, and putrifying sores."

ue , such as Public Television'sMacNeil/Lehrer Report (whichconcentrates on a single news top iceach evening) as well as speciallyscheduled programs . In these cases ,let the TVGuide be your guide.

Be cautious, however, of thelocal newscasts in your area. Theycan be time wasters . All too oftena local newscast is only entertain­ment disguised as news!

Local newscasts, such as the 5 to 6o'clock or 6 to 7o'clock "news hours "are big business in America,generat­ing from a third to a half of a localtelevi sion station's income.

The ratings wars between thechannels during these time slotsare fierce. To stay at the top of themarket, a st ation will do anythingto make its local "news" juicier:scandals, exposes - an ything tohook the unwary viewer.

Worst of all, the on-screenanchorpersons ("news readers" toour British readers) are hiredmore for their good looks than fortheir journalistic ability! And suchanchorpersons have become mod­ern-day news carpetbaggers,bouncing from ci ty to city in

For 47 years, the pages of ThePlain Truth have pinpointed man­kind's problems as being a directresult of sin and lack of the knowl ­edge of God and H is laws (Hos. 4:I).The English-speaking world is suffer­ing the national curses of disobe­dience (Lev. 26, Deut. 28).

Let's keep a sound-minded approach(II Tim. I:7). Above all , let 's adhere tothe teachings of God 's Church. Andlet 's never think that we are privy toinformation important to salvat ionbeyond what God has revealed to theChurch through His apostle.

In thi s way, and by using th e stepsoutlined in thi s article, we'll knowbetter what to look for - and how tolook - as prophecy unfolds beforeour eyes . 0

search of better jobs at fatter sala­ries . As local newscasters theyoften know little even about thecities in which they find them­selves at the moment and are sup­posedly serving.

The local news game is now soludicrous that TV news execu­tives, frantic in their search fornew talent, resort to high-poweredconsulting agencies (called "newsdoctors" in the trade) who ma in­tain thousands of videotapes ofprospective "news stars. "

Are your ratings slumping? Isyour present "news star" getting alittle gray at the temples? Has he(or she) lost his (or her) sexappeal? Go to the "news doctor "and find a new "pretty face "!

Knowing that this is the way TVnews functions , concentrate on thosenewscasts that present world andnational affairs and take local televi ­sion "news" with a huge dose of salt.

Remember also that networknews executives and reportershave their biases. Television can 'inform, but it can also distort thenews in a powerful manner.By, Gene H Hogberg 0

11

By John Halford

.ss:Stay- -Oi--lt~of- ­

.the GrayAreasl..... - - ~..-

W he n the MekongRiver rounds the

bend at ChiangKhong in northern Thailand, itstill has many hundreds ofmiles to go before it reachesthe sea. But it is already nearlyhalf a mile wide.

On a Sabbath morning late lastyear, I stood on the Mekong'sbanks with 12 Ambassador Col­lege students who had come toThailand to teach Indochineserefugees.

At our feet, the river's brown-graywaters swirled by, driven by fiercecurrents from floodwaters from themountains of China.

" On the opposite bank we could see~ a little town sleeping peacefully in the:t h .s ot morning sun .~ A few fishing boats lay quietly at~ anchor. Wooden houses rose from the~ water's edge and followed the twist-

ing streets to the banana plantationson the hills beyond. The sun glintedon the gold spire of the Buddhisttemple. We heard the sound of a dogbarking, of geese cackling as theyglided across the river.

Through my telephoto lens I couldclearly see women washing clothes atthe water's edge and a lone fishermanmending his nets. Here was South­east Asia at its best, tranquil andinviting. We might have beentempted to borrow one of the littleboats tied up on our side of the riverand row leisurely across the Mekongto see this charming village at closequarters.

But if we had done so, we mightnever have come back!

You see, the Mekong River atChiang Khong marks the borderbetween Thailand and communistLaos. And the peaceful village waspart of an alien land ruled by belliger­ent , ruthless men, agents of a repres­sive and godless regime.

A young Buddhist monk camedown from the Thai temple behindus. "Don't be deceived," he said. "Itlooks peaceful, but it is no longer safeto go over there. They shoot at ourfishermen. So we have closed the bor­der. Most of us don't even go in theriver now."

At this point a long, narrow fishingboat came around the bend, huggingthe bank. A Thai flag was tied to itsshort mast.

The monk explained: "He has to becareful. He must stay on our side ofthe river. But the current is strong. Ifit should carry him over to their side,the communists might shoot ath· "im,

"You mean there are soldiers overthere right now?" I asked. I remem­bered the stories we had heard ofrefugees being shot as they tried toswim across the Mekong to escape.

"Yes, yes, of course, soldiers."Suddenly the quiet village didn't

seem so peaceful.

12 The GOOD NEWS August 1981

"He is qu ite safe if he stays on ourside," the monk continued, pointingto th e fisherman . "But if he shouldget caught in the current, he mightbe shot. Please be careful on th e riv­er ," he cautioned.

" O K," I told the stude nts. " R uleNo. I on thi s expedition is: Stay offthe river. Le t' s not take any risks.Don 't swim in it , sail in it or even dipyour feet in it. "

The stude nts replied with enthu­sias m, "Yes, sir!"

Actua lly, it was one rul e I didn'tneed to make . No one in his rightmind would voluntarily go on th eMekong.

Maybe it was safe on our side. Butwhere did our side end and theirsbegin ? You were still in Thailand ifyou stay ed close to the shore. Butwhat if th e current carried you outinto th e " gray area" in the middle?Would a trigger-happy guard , itchingto take a shot at you, even if (o rperhaps, especially if) you wer e fly­ing a Thai flag , agree with you on theline of dem arcati on ?

Lat er th at a ft e rnoo n, we sataround th e tabl e in an informal Bibl estudy and discu ssed the wid er impli­cati ons of th e lesson we had learned.Simply sta ted, it is this: Stay out ofth e gray areas .

The lure of Satan's world

Satan is a deceiver. He makes hisway look good . Like th e little Laotown across the Mekong, Satan oftenputs up a good front. Even thoughthi s world is doomed, it can seem likea pleasant place at times.

Never before have people had somu ch to choose from - varieties offood , fashions , entertainment, ap­pliances, furn ishings and even life­sty les . Most of us do not yet have tobeseech God for our dail y bread .

Some of thi s var iety is good. God isthe Author of variety . Hi s creati onabounds with different sizes, sha pes,colors and sounds. But we mu st becar eful , for not all variety and oppor­tunity are from God .

Paul warned the prosperou sCorinthian church that it was some­times difficult to recognize Sat an 'strue colors, for he was tr ansformedinto an "angel of light" (II Cor.11:14) . In the same way, Satan'sworld may also appear wonderful andentertaining. Sometimes we can fail

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

to clearly see th e real Sat an and theinsane, ferocious resentment, hatredand anger he feel s for eve ry potentialMember of God 's Family, whether inth e Church or not yet called.

Those in Nazi G erman y felt it.And there have bee n no holds barredin Cambodia since 197 5. Soon , thewhole world will feel Sat an 's wra th ashe brings his civili zati on cr ash ingdo wn about our ea rs .

The de vil plans to turn thi s worldint o one vast refugee ca mp, betrayingever y last human being who servedhis systems and trust ed his gove rn ­ments. His onl y motiv e for dealingwith man is to steal, kill and destroy(J ohn 10:10).

"Clean escaped"

Satan , said th e apostle John , hasdeceived the whol e world (Rev.12:9) . Only a ver y few have ever"clean escaped from them who live inerror" wrote Peter ( II Pet. 2: 18) .These few include those God hascalled to be a part of His C hurchtoday, to work beh ind His 20th-ce n­tury apostle in pr eparing for th at bet­ter, honest , undeceiving enviro nme ntwe call the world tom orrow.

"Clean escaped" - wha t a graphicphrase Peter used! Have you everth ought of yourse lf as a former pris­oner of war , " clean escaped" fromS at an 's sys tem, now mak ing yourway through host ile ene my territoryto the Kingdom of God ?

That's how Satan reg ards you. Hehas a special hatred for those whodare to escape his system.

Pastor General Herbert W. Arm­strong has continually warned th at asSatan 's last years run out, he isincreasing his efforts to subvert andundermine God's people.

This perverted but incredibl ypowerful and intell igent superbeingwill do his best to get you back int ohis clutches alon g with the rest of thehuman rac e. Christ warned that if itwere possible, Satan wou ld deceiveeve n the very elect (Matt. 24:2 4).

Paul said we need not be ignora ntof Satan 's devices ( II Cor. 2: I I ) . Hi stactics are th ose of a lion on th e prowl(I Pet. 5:8), stea lthily watc hing andwait ing to pounce on a zebra whowanders too far from the herd.

Christ's apost les at both ends ofthe Christian era have call ed out toGod 's people to be sobe r and vigilant

- awa re of the danger (I Pet. 5:8,J as. 4:7, Eph. 4:27) . These apostles- spec ial targets of Satan's wrath­kne w and know the danger as noothe r men can (Luke 22:3 1) . And soth ey warn us to stay out of Satan'sway!

Hold to the trunk of the tree

I rem ember a mini st eri al con fer­ence I attende d seve ra l yea rs ago .

M r. Arms tro ng called and said hewould be late th at morning, andasked th at th e conference sta rt with­out him. The meeting was temporari ­ly conducted by one of the seniormini st er s. The mini sters were di s­cuss ing a qu esti on on some aspect ofChristi an living, but somehow gotbogged down in a quagmire of "whatif' questions.

After about an hour Mr. Arm­st rong arrived and, of course, thetempor ar y ch airman immediat el yhanded control ove r to him. Mr.Armstrong se tt led him self behind thedesk and th en asked , "Now, what areyou fellows discussing?"

The ex -cha irma n explained andth en sa id, honestl y: " But we wer e notge tt ing anyw here. It 's one of th osegr ay areas."

"Well, " said Mr. Armstrong,"wha t are we doing in the gr ay ar eas?Stick to th e trunk of the tree . Thenwe can 'see clearl y."

We did , and soon th e problem wasresolved .

It was a good lesson. Too oft en wewander into th ose gr ay areas. Most ofus don 't leap suddenly and deliber ate­ly into Satan's darkness. We edgeaway from the light. Not too far atfirst. We think we are safe, bec ausewe can still see the light.

But how close can you get toSatan's world , with its false glitterand deceitful allure, and st ill besafe?

How close can you get to lying,cheating, stea ling, lusting and forni ­cating , fo r in st ance ? How muchprayer ca n you miss without suffer­ing a lethal underdose ?

How lon g can yo u go wit ho utop ening a Bibl e , keeping secondt ith e, participat ing in a church ac tivi ­ty, correcting a child , reading co­worker letter s or praying for th esick?

How much dissident literature can(Cont inued on page 25)

13

Your Child'sFirst Year in School-Are YOU Prepared?

Your child is ready for school. But are you?How well have you prepared your youngster?

By Selmer L. Hegvold

~enormous challenge

faces you and your childas school begins!

Many parents are not pre­pared. You should be .

Up until this time, while yourchild has been at home with you,"training him or her up" in thewa y he or she should go (Prov.22 :6) has been relatively simple.Your influence has been pro­found .

But now a schoolteacher will beginshaping your child's mind five days aweek . The world you came out of willsoon arou se conflict in your child 'slife.

Will school negate your parentalinfluence? Can you preserve youryoungster's tr aining ? Will the teach­er appreciate your involvement ? Adelicate confrontation faces you.

Have you laid the groundwork foran effective relationship between you,the teacher and your child? If not ,th at relationship could become anightmare for all concerned! And itcould prevent your child from devel­oping a right approach to education .

School should be a rewarding,inspiring, worthwhile adventure foryour young family. But you musttake the initiative - right steps takennow will promote future happinessand fulfillment for your child.

A real challenge

Why should sch ool pose threats tofamilies in God's Church? The

14

threats are unintentional. Churchmembers stand alone in a societysteeped in the false education of evo­lution, paganism and the way of get .Church members are actually es­capees from a world whose practicesGod condemns.

Public schools use holidays such asHalloween, Christmas, New Year's,Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Dayand Easter as teaching tools to devel ­op reading, writing , arithmetic ,music, drama and other skills inyoung students.

These special, season al days cap­ture the children 's imagination.School staff members and teachersare unaware that your child has beentaught that keeping them is wrong.Your duty is to ease the shock.

In addition , school personnel arenot familiar with God 's Holy Daysand His requirements, such as takingseveral days off, away from classes,for the spring and fall festivals .

How well have you prepared tocope with this challenge?

Will you create a scene like oneill-prepared couple did? They bluntlyinformed the teacher that their childwould not be allowed to remain in anyclassroom in which pagan holidayactivities took place! After severaluncomfortable minutes of talk, theincredulous teacher exploded:

"Sixty-two unruly, undisciplinedstudents in this classroom, out for afrolic and not an education, and youexpect me to alter my teaching meth­ods for your one child? Impossible!"

The burden was too heavy for thi s

harassed teacher. The parents offeredno compensating alternative. Don'tmake that mistake.

Some have erred. They and theirchildren are still paying the price.Some have assumed a call to convertrelatives, friends and school officialsand teachers. They were mistaken.

Christ 's revelation is clear, andshould be remembered: " No man cancome to me, except the Father whichhath sent me draw him" (John 6:44).Only God the Father in heaven cancall people and open their minds toHis truth . Believe Him , and spareyourself embarrassment and grief.

You cannot convince school offi­cials that worldl y holidays are wrong.Don 't tr y. There is a way, however, todeal with the situation .

Prepare your child

Jesus Christ prepares the waybefore His servants. He gives thefaithful grace and favor . "I am comeinto this world, that they which seenot might see; and that they whichsee might be made blind" (John9:39) . While instructors cannot seeGod, they will grant you favor foryour purposes.

Prepare as soon as possible. Pray.The stakes are higher than you real­ize . Your child's attitude toward theprocess of learning in school will beheavil y affected by the introduction- proper or improper - he or shereceives during the first few weeks ofschool.

Help your child look forward tothe opportunity to learn new skill s.

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Show him , well in advance, what ajoyous experience school and its chal ­lenges should be. Fill his young heartwith a desire to learn . Impress uponhim that to learn he must be con­stantly attentive, obedient and zeal­ous in doing his schoolwork.

Most of the t hreat from thisworld's schools to your child is erasedif you have done your homeworkwell.

Work with the teac her

How well do you represent JesusCh rist before others? Are you picky ?Suspicious? Always on the defen­sive ? An alyze yourself.

Before meeting your child 's teach­er, determine that you will be friend­ly and pleasant. Most teachers will best riving to make friends with you andyour child. Realize how challenging ateacher 's work really is. Be sympa­thetic. The instructor will appreciateyour understanding. Your friendshipwill be treasured .

Except in the most extreme cases,teachers will willingly cooperate toresolve the difficulties that arise fromyour particular religious observances.The teacher will need your help, so beprepared to give it.

Halloween is the first major cris isof the school year. But after the firstfew weeks of school, the teacher andchild should have developed rapport.Allow for this relationsh ip to developbefore broaching the differences thatmu st be resolved. Then make yourappointment.

Be frank in explaining your beliefs.Don ' t fall back on the Church .They're yo ur beliefs! You ha veproved and accepted what God hasrevealed in the Bible . God 's Word isyour strength.

Your sincerity and cooperativeattitude will prove unchallengeable.Once you have prayerfully explainedyour position, th e next question withwhich all will concern themselves ishow parents and teachers can cooper­ate amicably and successfully.

Propose work able alternatives tothe classroom assignments that proveobject ionable or contrary to the reli­gious standards you believe in. Aslong as these alternatives are work­able , most teachers will accept andcooperate with them.

Use your imaginat ion. Put yourselfin the teach er 's place . Propose noth-

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

ing th at would distract your child 'sclassmates - the suggestions are foryour child .

A lte rnatives to Ha llowee n, with itsghosts , go blins, b lac k ca ts a ndwitc hes? The Ha llowee n season pro­vides children with abundant oppor ­tunities to use their imaginations forproj ects in ar twork, decorations ,mu sic and dr ama. How can you pro ­vide equally ch allenging substitutesth at enable the teacher to evalu ateyour youngster in those skills? Thatis th e challenge for your imagina­tion!

Is it wrong to draw, paint or deco­rate with re al things in nature ?What's wrong with working up acolorful fall arrangement of leaves,trees and ducks and geese swimmingor flying , for example?

God is clearly seen, said the apostlePaul, in the th ings , He has created(Rom. I :19-20). Without disrupting

the rest of the clas s, you can inspireand help your ch ild to bring the trueGod and H is created marvels into theclas sroom.

Your enthusiast ic and obviouslydeeply concerned help , advice andsuggest ions will not only prove dis-

arming to the school sta ff, but willdraw your famil y together in work ingout school projects .

The same approac h works forevery other seasonal acti vity in theschool sched ule. Teachers will usual­ly end up admiring you and your fam­ily for your energetic endeavors.Your child will have no reason forgetting bad grades, nor will he or shefeel ostracized because of famil y rel i­gious beliefs! The contrary, in fact,should prove true.

What abou t the Holy Days?

There are positive ways to encour­age school acceptance of the numberof days your child will be absent toenjoy God 's Hol y Days.

Fir st and most important is thatyou should teach your child the planof God! It is never too earl y to explainhow God wants him in His divineFamily.

Point out the meaning of eachHoly Day and fest ival and help himdevelop enthusiasm. Ask him toexplain back to you , for it is certainthe teacher will ask him, if only out ofcuriosity. Your child should be able

(Continued on page 25)

15

Coming-Your BirthInto God's Family!

God had a great purpose for creating you.He is reproducing Himself! Wha t will life

be like when you are born into God's Family?

By George Kackos

l1he birth of ahum an ba.b~ isa n e xcitin g

event.After long m ont hs of

ant icipation, we h umanparen ts exper ie nce a spe­cial exhi la rat ion as ou rnew so n or d aughter ­so me t i mes m ore th anone ! - co mes into thewo rld .

We enjoy seeing the newlife that has come from us,an d we look fo rward towa tc hing our ch ild g rowand mature in the yea rs tocome. We want him or herto enjoy life and to haveever y poss ible opportuni tyfor success.

However , human it y a l­most totally overlooks aneven greate r birth process.T hat b i r th p roc ess wascreated by God , and willresult in liter al Ch ildrenbeing born into His Fam ily!Unbe lievable? Th e worldth inks so.

Mu ch of mankind be­lieves th at afte r death , th esouls of hum an beings go flittin g offinto the un iverse somew here to sitat Jesus' feet for eternity, or per­haps even to ente r into another lifeas an animal or anothe r person .O ther people wonder if a Creatorexists at all and, if He does, so

16

what? Others tota lly deny the exis­tence of a God and live materialisticlives.

But the truth is plain. God plans tobring more Members into His Fami­ly, whic h today consists of God theFath er and Jesus Christ. God states

His purpose for mankind inGenesis 1:26:

"And God said, Let usmake man in our image,after our likeness: and letthem have dominion overthe fish of the sea, and overthe fowl of the air, and overthe cattle, and over all theearth, and over every creep­ing thi ng t ha t creepethupon the earth ."

Compare this statementwith the pattern establishedin verses 20 through 25. Astartling truth emerges ­just as members of the plantand animal kingdoms pro­create after their own kinds ,the God Family is reproduc­ing itse lf after its own kind,through man !

Fu lfilling t his awesomepurpose requires more thant he creation of a humanbeing. Man is composedfrom the dust (elements) ofthe ground (Gen. 2 :7) .Becoming a Member of theGod Family requires a res­urrect ion to life as a spirit,like God (John 4:24). TheBible describes this resur­rec tio n to spirit life as a

birth process.N icodemus, a leader among the

Jews during C hrist's earthly minis­try, found this difficult to understand(John 3:1-5) . Likewise, many todaycan not comprehend it. Yet Christsaid, " Marvel not that I said unto

The GOOD NEWS August 198 1

thee, Ye must be born again" (verse7).

Born as spirit beings

God desires that we be given eter­nal life through Jesus Christ (verse16). Christ is the "firstborn amongmany brethren" (Rom. 8:29); ourbirth will follow .

We are to inherit the characteris­tics of the God Family, just as a babyinherits the characteristics of his par­ents through genetic transfer. God'sHoly Spirit impregnates the spirit inman with the "spiritual genes"(God's character - Gal. 5:22-23) ofour heavenly Father!

This process begins when we arecalled by God (John 6:44) and are ledto repentance and baptism. WhenGod's true ministers lay hands uponus, God impregnates us with the seedof His Holy Spirit.

From then on, we are fed the spir­itual food we need by God's trueChurch, which holds the keys to sal­vation . Through a lifetime of growingin the character of God, we are madeready for literal spiritual birth intoHis Family.

In order to become Gods, a trans­formation has to take place. This iswhy Jesus had to be resurrected fromthe grave. For our birth, we must beresurrected at Jesus' Second Coming(I Cor. 15:51-53). At that point webecome Gods - Members of theGod Family, serving under God theFather and Jesus Christ (I John 3:1­2)!

Mankind now limited

It is difficult for man to compre­hend his potential - we need to putourselves into perspective. Man is farsuperior to animals. We are not lim­ited by instinct, which guides ani­mals . We can think, reason, plan andbuild in ways animals cannot. Clear­ly, mankind exists on a much higherlevel.

But for now man is, of necessity,limited in comparison to Members ofthe God Family.

There are several ways the fleshlimits us. Even a productive personfinds that life is filled with sorrows(Eccl. 2:22-23). These sorrows oughtto motivate us to want our inheri­tance in the God Family.

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Unfortunately, many do not havethe vision to see beyond their sorrowsto the glories of God's Kingdom. Butthis hope of a better life can help usendure the chemical existence wehave as humans.

Therefore, we need a picture ofwhat it will be like when we enter theGod Family. Envision yourself func­tioning in the expanse of eternity,ruling with other Gods in the King­dom of God (Rev. 20:4). You'll behelping fulfill God's will and carryingout duties your mind is not yet able tocontain (I Cor. 2:9).

What will life be like when ourhuman limitations are removed?How will we function in God's gov­ernment? What incredible potentialslie before us? Let's consider some ofour present limitations, and what itwill be like when those restrictionsare removed.

Mobility

In the 20th century man hasbecome more mobile. No longer arethe oceans such difficult barriers tocross . A few men have even had theopportunity to explore space.

Yet, most people must live theirlives with only a limited amount oftravel. Even those who do travel oftenfind it tiresome and are relieved toreturn home.

As Members of the God Family,we will find travel an easy , enjoyableexperience. How fast can a spirittravel? Instantaneously, at the speedof thought? Perhaps.

After Christ rose from the grave,He told Mary not to touch Him, sinceHe had not yet ascended to HisFather (John 20: 17). But later thesame day, Christ allowed His disci­ples to touch Him (Luke 24:39). Wedon 't know how far the throne of Godis from this earth. Yet Christ madethe trip and returned on the sameday!

We will also have the amazing abil­ity to manifest ourselves eventhrough solid objects (Luke 24:36,John 20:19, 26).

With this capacity to travel, wewill not be limited to a small geo­graphical area. We will eventually beable to travel to the far reaches of theuniverse, since we are to inherit allthings (Rev. 21:7). And we will be

able to quickly return to our place ofdeparture.

Thus the Family of God need notbe separated by distance. We will beable to enjoy each other's companyand the vastness of the universe atwill.

Time

Time imposes a lot of limitationson us. One human life span is verylimited compared to eternity (Ps.90: I0) . How often do you find your­self frustrated by a lack of time?There are so many things to do, butnot enough hours in the day .

Eternal life will end this problem.Time will be unlimited! God inhabitseternity and so will we (lsa. 57: 15).Not only will there be plenty of time,but plenty of worthwhile and excitingthings to do with our time.

There will be rulership over citiesduring the first 1,000 years ofChrist's rule (Luke 19:17). Afterthat we will deal with those who wereuncalled in this age, who will be givenrenewed physical life (Rev. 20:5).

Afterward the new heavens andnew earth will be established, givingus even greater responsibilities in theFamily of God (Rev. 21-22). Thesejobs will be a source of great pleasure,since they will be stimulating andhelpful to others.

Eternity will be full of enjoyableactivities. Surely God enjoys a host offine things: the clothes He wears, ,thesinging He enjoys and the marriagesupper to be held for the resurrectedsaints (Rev. 1:13, 14:1-3, 19:7-9).

The spiritual world can be under­stood by the things of this life (Rom.I :20). Thus we can conclude thatthere are spiritual parallels for manyof this life's activities.

Energy

The human body suffers from alack of energy even when healthy.We are reminded of our limitationsafter a period of exertion. All of usneed periods of rest, and many cannotfunction well even when restedbecause of sickness.

How different spirit life will be!We will literally radiate energy asJesus Christ does:

"And I turned to see the voice thatspake with me. And being turned, I

17

saw seven golden candlesticks; Andin the midst of the seven candlesticksone like unto the Son of man, clothedwith a garment down to the foot , andgirt about the paps with a golden gir­dle.

"His head and his hairs were whitelike wool , as white as snow; and hiseyes wer e as a flame of fire; And hisfeet like unto fine brass, as if theyburned in a furnace ; and his voice asthe sound of man y waters .

"And he had in his r ight hand sev­en star s: and out of his mouth went asharp two-edged sword : and his coun­ten ance was as the sun shineth in hisstrength" (Rev. 1:12-16) .

No longer will we complain ofbeing too tired . How comforting thismust be to th ose who are elderly orsick. How pleasurable it will be for aqu adriplegic to inherit a spirit bod y!

Mental capacity

Scientists tell us th at humans nev­er use more th an 10 percent of theirmental ability . This is certainl yrestrictive in a world of so muchknowl edge.

But more damaging is the lack ofgodly character we som etimes exhibiteven if trul y called and converted.Man y of us don 't properly controland appl y the abilities we do have .Inte lligence is one thing, but the abil­ity to act on something we under­stand is anothe r.

Spirit life will wipe away theseproblems. We will have more th anjust a portion of God 's mind - wewill have all of it!

God 's incred ible memory enablesHim to name each of the billions ofsta rs (Ps. 147:4) and number everyhair on our heads ( Mat t. 10:30) .Imagine having that kind of mentalcapacity. But most importantly, wewill exhibit the tot ality ofGod's ch aracter. Im ag­ine yourself filled withwisdom , understand­ing , counsel, prop­er knowledge, lovea nd judgmentas was Jesu sChrist (Isa .11:1-4) .

Though

18

we'll shar e godly attributes, we willmaintain our individua lity . But thecurse of compari ng ourse lves withot hers to exalt the self will berem oved . We'll learn to appreciateour ind ividu ality and th at of othe rs aswell. To prepare, we should now holdothers in higher esteem th an our­selves (Phil. 2:3) .

How wonderful life will be whenwe have th e mind of God - no moreheadaches, disastrou s decisions orbad attitudes . We will have a well­functioning mind that will serve usand others for eternity.

Environ ment

Mankind 's sins have ruined oursurroundings. Polluted waters, poi­so n- lade n air , ove rc ro wd ed a nddecaying cities , slums, loss of naturalhabitat s, litter everywhe re - youname it.

People themse lves contributeheavily to life 's unpleasantness. Theyoften flaunt sin before others (I sa.3:9). We are affected - we becomevict ims of rebellious people, dishon­est salesmen, strife on th e job and thelures of sin as portrayed in themedia.

Because of others, life can becomea source of misery. Oppression fro msinful men can be so bad th at we cr yout for deliverance as David did :

"Deliver me from min e enemies, 0my God: defend me from th em thatrise up aga inst me. Deliver me fromthe workers of iniquity, and save mefrom blood y men. For, 10 , they lie inwait for my soul : the mighty are gath­ered against me; not for my trans­gression , nor for my sin, 0 Lord.They run and prepare themselveswithout my fault : awake to help me,and behold" (P s. 59:1-4) .

We need not be overburdened bythis world's

evils

- God promises us deliv er ance fromthem. Look ahead to the restitu tionof God's govern ment at the return ofJe sus Christ (Act s 3:20-2 1). M an 'svery nature will be cha nged in th eMill ennium, and our enviro nme ntwill be restored to purity and beau­ty .

Under th ese co nd itions , today'smiseries will di sappear. The Go dFamily will be free fro m the anguis hcau sed by sin:

"And I heard a great voice out ofheaven saying, Behold, the tabernacleof God is with men [then made liter alGod Beings], and he will dwell wit hthem, and they sha ll be his peopl e,and God him self sha ll be with them,and be their God . And God shall wipeaway all tear s from their eyes; andthere shall be no more death, nei th ersorrow, nor crying , neither sha ll th er ebe any more pain : for th e for merthings are passed away" (Rev. 21 :3­4).

God awa its our birth

We have seen but a glimpse of ourfuture lives as Members of the GodFamily. Just as a baby experiencesgr owth, we will go through a spiritua ldevelopm ent process and grow up sowe ca n enjoy full er lives in the Fami­ly of God (Mal. 4:1- 2) .

Life will be filled to the brim withhappiness: "Thou wilt shew me th epath of life: in th y presence is fulnessof j oy; a t th y ri ght hand th ereare ple asures for ever mo re" ( Ps.16: II) .

Like an anxiously expectant youngfather , God is anticipating our birthint o His Family. He reveals H imsel fas a God of love who wants to sha reHis joy with us (M att. 25:21 ). He hasnot created us to be limited to thi sflesh . All people will have the oppor­tunity to be saved and sha re His glor ytogether (II Pet. 3:9).

That includes you. God wants youin His glorious, majestic Family foreternity.

Wh at about right now ? Are youprepar ing for your birth ? Can Godsee in your life th e cha nges requ ired(Rev. 2:26, 3:21 )? Are you ea t ing thespiritual food the C hurch is givingyou ? If so, you ar e awaiti ng - and

.> are assur ed of - the great est birtheve r, int o the Famil y of God! 0

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

CanYonExplain It?

Seventh-day Adventists know what certain Bibleprophecies say, yet they don't believe them!

By Herman L. Hoeh

W: hy do Seventh-dayAdventists believe the1,OOO-year reign of

Christ will be in heaven? Andthat the earth will be desolateand uninhabited by humans?

That Satan and his demons willbe the sale inhabiters of the earthduring the 1,000 years? And thatJesus' feet will not stand on theMount of Olives until after the1,000 years?

Whereas the Bible plainly says thesaints shall reign on the earth (Rev.5: I0) and that "men shall dwell in it ,and there shall be no more utterdestruction; but Jerusalem shall besafely inhabited" (Zech. 14:11).

That Satan and his demons are tobe shut away from humans - boundas prisoners - so that Satan "shoulddeceive the nations no more, till thethousand years should be fulfilled"(Rev . 20:3).

And that when Jesus Christreturns to set up the Kingdom of Godfor 1,000 years, "his feet shall standin that day upon the mount ofOlives . . . And it shall be in that day,that living waters shall go out fromJerusalem . . . And the Lord shall beking over all the earth" (Zech. 14:4,8-9) .

For decades we took for grantedthat Seventh-day Adventists some­how did not know what the Bibleprophecies say. That if we only made

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

the Bible plainer and clearer theywould be brought face-to-face withthe meaning of Bible prophecies andthe good news - Gospel - of thecoming Kingdom of God over all theearth for 1,000 years .

I say "took for granted" becausethat is what we did in our articles andin our personal correspondence. Weassumed that knowledgeable Sev ­enth-day Adventists did not knowwhat the Bible says about the SecondComing of Christ to establish theKingdom of God. We were wrong.Seventh-day Adventists, as a denomi­nation, know what the Bible prophe­cies say about the establishment ofthe Kingdom of God. They simply donot believe them! Why?

It should not come as a surprisethat Seventh-day Adventists, as agroup, know what the Bible says.They do observe the Sabbath . Andmore than 120 years ago they hadfellowship with the peop le of God,whom we know later in history as theChurch of God (Seventh Day) . It waswith the Oregon Conference of theseChurch of God people in the late1920s and early 1930s that HerbertW. and Lorna D. Armstrong had fel­lowship, and out of which the World­wide Church of God has grown.

Unlike Seventh-day Adventists,the Worldwide Church of God knowsand believes the prophecies of theBible - and teaches them (Rev.3:8, 10) . Why, then, do knowledge­able Seventh-day Adventists not

believe what they know the Scrip­tures say ?

One very dear friend and an elderin the Seventh-day Adventist Churchexplained it this way to me more than15 years ago, "If wha t you teachcomes to pass, I will believe it!" Whydo Seventh -day Adventists notbelieve it now?

To find the answer to this question,we must turn time back 150 years.

The great Adventist movement

The year was 1831. Excitementwas in the air , both in Britain and theUnited States. It was generated byexpectations of the Second Comingof Christ and an ensuing 1,000 yearsof peace . .

This excitement was related, forthe most part, to the preaching ofministers who had come to believethe proclamation then being made,beginning 1831, by a prosperous NewYork farmer, William Miller. Thatyear, it should be observed, was 18centuries, exactly, after the foundingof the New Testament Church ofGod in A.D. 31 .

Wi lliam Miller thought the King­dom of God would come and the1,000 years of peace - the Millen­nium - would begin not later than1844. He was wrong about the date(based on a mis understanding ' ofDaniel 8) . But his proclamation aboutthe establishment of the Kingdom ofGod and a thousand years of peaceamong nations was true. Tens of

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thousands came to believe WilliamMiller's proclamation. The worldcalled them Millerites or Adventists(the word Advent was used in Englishin that day, whereas we today useComing to express the thought of theSecond Advent or Second Coming ofChrist). But the people who believedWilliam Miller called themselves the"people of God," the "Israel of God "and the "Church of Christ" and the"Church of God." They were a scat­tered people, not formally orga­nized.

These "people of God" believedin the establishment of the Kingdomof God on earth for 1,000 years.However dimly perceived, theyknew what the Bible says about aMillennium of peace on earthamong nations. Thus the AdventMovement, as it was called, believedwhat the Worldwide Church of Godtoday announces, and not what Sev­enth-day Adventists teach aboutSatan and his demons residing onearth for 1,000 years while thesaints reign in heaven.

But 1844 was a great disappoint­ment for many. Christ did not come.William Miller had been wrong in hisunderstanding of the times. And headmitted it. But there were those whodid not want to admit it. It hurt theirspiritual pride. Instead of acknowl­edging that the time for the close ofthis age and the Second Coming ofJesus had not yet arrived because theGospel of the Kingdom of God hadyet to be announced to the world as awhole - radio and television, airtravel and satellite communicationhad not yet been invented to makethat final announcement possible ­and instead of giving up the error of1844 completely, there were individ­uals whose minds dwelt on the date.They let slip the proclamation - thegood news - of the 1,000 years ofpeace on earth among nations. Weshall now meet one of them.

Enter: Ellen Harmon

Among those who heard WilliamMiller's proclamation was a younggirl, Ellen Harmon. "At the age ofI I," she wrote, "I was converted, andwhen 12 years old was baptized, andjoined the Methodist Church." (Allthis was before she heard the procla-

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mation of the Kingdom of God byWilliam Miller.)

"At the age of 13 I heard BrotherMiller deliver his second course oflectures in Portland, Maine. I feltthat I was not holy, not ready to seeJesus. And when the invitation wasgiven for church members and sin­ners to come forward for prayers, Iembraced the first opportunity, for Iknew that I must have a great workdone for me to fit me for heaven," shewrote some years later in SecondAdvent Review, Vol. II, No . I.

During 1842 Ellen Harmon con­stantly attended meetings with thepeople of God . She was now IS yearsold "and fully believed the Lord wascoming."

Note that she says nothing aboutthe 1,000 years of peace on earthamong nations. She speaks only of thecoming of the Lord and of being fitfor heaven. These ideas she inheritedfrom the Methodists . Ellen Harmonapparently never really understoodMiller's proclamation.

Having thought she was converted,Ellen Harmon "went before the Lordin secret prayer" only to find herselfstruggling, as she put it, "for full sal­vation," which eluded her. Out of herfeelings of spiritual inferiority, shelater wrote, "I ceased to pray, andsettled down in a melancholy state,and finally in deep despair." She toldno one of her state of mind.

She continued, "In this state ofmind I remained for three weeks,with not one ray of light to pierce thethick clouds of darkness around me. Ithen had two dreams which gave me afaint ray of light and hope."

Sometime later, Ellen Harmonprayed and the gloom suddenly dissi­pated, to be followed by a remarkableexperience. "Wave after wave of gloryrolled over me until my body grewstiff. Everything was shut out from mebut Jesus and glory, and I knew noth­ing of what was passing around me.

" I remained," she continued, "inthis state of body and mind a longtime, and when I realized what wasaround me, everything seemedchanged.... I was then willing toconfess Jesus everywhere."

Ellen Harmon and her father'sfamily were cast out of the MethodistChurch. Then came the disappoint-

ment of 1844. In December of thatyear, when she was 17 years old, adisillusioned Ellen Harmon had avision . In it she "seemed to be risinghigher and higher from the earth"and traveled toward "the Holy City."She believed the vision was of God.

In 1847 she had another in a seriesof visions . She wrote about it in 185 I,four years after the event:

"I saw an angel swiftly flying tome. He quickly carried me from theearth to the Holy City. In the city Isaw a temple, which I entered . Ipassed through a door before I cameto the first veil. This veil was raised,and I passed into the Holy Place.Here I saw the altar of incense, thecandlestick with seven lamps, and thetable on which was the shewbread.After viewing the glory of the Holy,Jesus raised the second veil, and Ipassed into the Holy of Holies.

"In the Holiest I saw an ark .. .. Inthe ark was the golden pot of manna,Aaron's rod that budded.. .."

These visions caused great contro­versy among God's people. Thevisions were tested and questioned bysome, taken for granted by others.

The wrong heaven?

The only source of knowledgeGod's people had of God's throne andof the holy city was the Bible. Thosewho tested the visions found that thethird heaven where God dwells is sovast a place that the holy city is con­tained in it.

"And I saw," John said, "the holycity, new Jerusalem, coming downout of heaven from God" (Rev. 21:2,Revised. Standard Version). So theholy city now must be in heaven. Inheaven is also the throne of God, theTemple, where God dwells (Rev.I I:19, 7: IS). But the Temple is not inthe holy city!

"And I saw, " wrote John, "no tem­ple in the city, for its temple is theLord God the Almighty and theLamb" (Rev. 21:22, RSV). What­ever the heaven was in Ellen Har­mon's vision, it was not the heaven ofthe Bible! In her heaven the Templewas in the holy city!

Remember, up to this point thepeople who listened to and believedWilliam Miller knew that Bibleprophecy foretold the establishment

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

of the Kingdom of God on thi s earthfor 1,000 yea rs .

But now they were divid ed in opin­ion. All admitted something had gonewrong in their underst anding . Aminority in the churches of God heldto the view that the date 1844 wassimply wrong. They had misunder­stood Daniel 8. The prophecy was nota 2,300-year period beginning in thesevent h yea r of Artaxerxes (457B.C. ) and ending in A.D. 1844.

They believed, however , the proc­lamation of the 1,000 years of peaceon earth th at William Miller andother ministers had announced . Theybelieved in a judgment to come.

The majority in the' churches ofGod had their minds so set on 1844that they could not give up the date.They looked for some new explana­tion. What, they asked themselves,really happened in 1844?

They thought they found theanswer in the visions of Ellen Har­mon . The visions seemed so spiri­tu al.

Only one problem. Ell en Har­mon's visions said nothing about theproclamation of the Kingdom ofGod being set up on this earth forthe 1,000 years . Her visions, in fact ,were revealing something altogetherdifferent. That sa lvat ion for theworld closed in October, 1844. Thateveryone who , up to th at point , hadlived and died was j udged by thatdat e. And since 1844 all who areliving ar e being judged. Therewould, therefore, be no need for theKingdom of God to be establishedand the nations to be judged duringth e 1,000 years .

God, the majority began to con­clude, mu st have changed His plan ofsa lvat ion as revealed through theprophets.

The proph et s indeed foretold atime when " in the last days it shallcome to pass, that the mountain ofth e house of the Lord shall be estab­li shed in the top of the moun­tain s . . . and people shall flow untoit. And many nations shall come, andsay, Come, let us go up 'to the moun­tain of the Lord, and to the house ofthe God of Jacob ; and he will teach usof his ways, and we will walk in hispath s: for the law shall go forth ofZion, and th e word of the Lord from

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Jerusalem. And he shall judge amongman y people, and rebuke st ro ngnati ons afar off; and they shall beattheir swords int o plowshar es, andtheir s pea rs into pruningh ooks:nat ion shall not lift up a swordagainst nation , neither shall theylearn war any more" (Mic. 4:1-3).

No matter what thi s and otherscriptures say, the majority in thechurches of God in the last centuryconcluded these prophecies were notto be believed . God had changed Hisplan . Israel had failed to do its part;now God could not do His part asplanned . Utter nonsense!

Isaiah the prophet declared , "Re­member ye not the former things,neither consider the things of old" ­th e former failures and sin s. " Behold ,I will do a new thing; now it shallspring forth ; shall ye not know it ? Iwill even make a way in the wilder­ness, and rivers in the desert. Thebeast of the field shall honour me ...because I give water s in the wilder­ness, and rivers in the desert , to givedr ink to my people, my cho sen . Thispeople have I formed for myself; theyshall shew f orth my praise" (Isa.43 :18-21) .

Israel and Judah haven't been will­ing yet , but God will convert themand they shall show forth God 'spraise. It is a divine promise! It willhappen! This is not a prophecy for thenew earth, but for the tim e whenGod 's government will be restored inthe 1,000 years . Will you believe it,as did William Miller and as doesGod 's Church tod ay? Or will youknowingly disbelieve it ?

And so it was that the majoritywho fellowshipped in the church es ofGod in the middle of the last centuryfocused their minds on the Sabbathand the Second Ad vent (Seco ndComing) of Jesus Christ , but gottheir minds off the announcem ent ofthe Kingdom of God and on th evisions of Ellen (Harmon) White.

The visions continue

Back to the story of the visions th atsplit " God's people " asunde r.

On March 24, 1849 , Ellen - nowEllen G . White after her marriage toJames White, a minister and publish­er for the scattered churches of God- had a vision. In it, she claimed,

Je sus test ified to her th at He hadbeen med iating for th e salvat ion ofth e world from A.D. 31 till 1844."Our work for the world closed in1844." Then, for the fir st time,acco rding to th e visions of EllenWhite , was the door in he avenopened to the Holy of Holies andJesus entered into the pre sence ofGod the Father.

Ellen White put her vision int othese words: " T his door was notopened, until th e medi ation of Je suswas finished in th e Holy Place of theSanctuar y in 1844. Then, Je sus roseup , and shut the door in the HolyPlace, and opened the door in th eMost Holy, and passed within thesecond veil, where he now stands bythe ark . .. .

" I saw," sh e concluded , " t ha tJesu s had shut the door in the HolyPlace , and no man can open it; andth at he had opened the door in th eMost Hol y, and no man can shut it:(S ee Re v. iii: 7, 8:)."

In a salvo against tho se who hadquestioned the source of her visions,she wrote in the August, 1849, issueof Th e Present Truth: " I saw that theenemies of the pres ent truth havebeen tr ying to open the door of theHoly Place, th at Je sus has shut; andto close the door of the Most HolyPlace, which he opened in 1844."

What she meant was th at themin ority 130 years ago who under­stood the Gospel - good news - ofthe Kingdom of God were attemptingto reopen the door of salvation fortho se who had lived and died in igno­rance . Her visions declared th eiropportunity was past. Their judg­ment was complet ed .

There would be no Millennium inwhic h the nati ons would learn theways of God and live in peace . Th erewould be no second resurrection ,according to her visions, after the1,000 years, in which all who livedand died in ignorance - the inh abi­tants of Tyre and Sidon, Nineveh, thepeople of Sodom and Gomorrha, theQueen of the south and Israel andJudah - would ri~e in the j udg me ntto be judged and to be offered spiri­tu al salvat ion for th e first time.

Jesus said th ese people would risein the judgment (read it for yourselfin Matthew 10:15, II :22, 24, 12:41-

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42, Mark 6: II, Luke 10:14, 11:31-32and Ezekiel 16:53-55) . But EllenWhite's visions quoted a Jesus whoclaimed to have changed the plan ofGod and nullified the prophecies ofthe Bible.

Ellen White, in her August, 1849,salvo against those who questionedher visions , also meant that theminority 130 years ago in the church­es of God were teaching that this isnot the only day of salvation for allthose now living.

She claimed that the Jesus of hervisions had entered the Holy of Ho­lies in 1844 and was now judging allwho remained on earth. The Jesuswho spoke to her claimed this is theonly day of salvation . That thenations living at the Second Comingof Jesus will all be destroyed. Nomortal human beings will be leftalive, she was told in vision . God haschanged His plan. The prophets fore­told what could have happened, notwhat will happen.

Furthermore, Ellen White claimedthat Revelation 3:7-8 was a referenceto what was fulfilled, according to hervision, in 1844. This passage is foundin the prophetic letter to the "churchin Philadelphia." Those who believedher visions concluded that the end ofthe Philadelphian church occurred in1844 and that since that day Laodiceais extant.

The visions Ellen White receivedwere the ultimate cause of the splitthat developed during the 1850s andculminated in 1860. In that yearthose who accepted her visions orga­nized themselves under the nameSeventh-day Adventists.

The remainder continued to callthemselves by the name "Church ofGod. " They had a name that declaredthey were spiritually alive; they wereGod's Church. But they were spiri­tually dead (Rev. 3:1). Only a fewindividuals (verse 4) among themwere righteous. The works of thatchurch were not perfect before God(verse 2).

These verses clearly indicate thatthe state of the Church of God in thelast century was prophetically char­acterized by the message to thechurch in Sardis. Verses 1,3 and 4are all part of the message to Sardis.Philadelphia (verses 7 through 13)

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was yet to come. And so, too, Laodi­cea (verses 14-22).

Thus the Jesus who communedwith Ellen White in her visions mis­applied the message to the church atPhiladelphia to the year 1844. Inaddition, that Jesus who appeared toher in vision misapplied the messageto the church of Laodicea to the Sev­enth-day Adventists . Her visionsclaimed that the Seventh-day Adven­tists are a Laodicean Church of God.They could not be such, because theyrejected the name "Church of God"in 1860 and, further, because theLaodicean period of the Church ofGod had not then arrived.

The Jesus whoappeared in vision

to Ellen White proclaimedas good news an

empty, desolate worldfor 1,000 years,with Satan and

his demons broodingover the utter

emptiness. That is notgood news. Its author

. was another Jesus!A false one!

Who, then, was the Jesus whoappeared to Ellen (Harmon) White?Who were the angels that appeared toher? What spirit manifested itself inher visions? How did the Church ofGod know to reject her visions in thelast century?

"Another Jesus" - "anotherspirit"

The apostle Paul dealt with a prob­lem at the Greek church in Corinththat paralleled the crisis that besetthe churches of God in the last cen­tury.

"I feel a divine jealousy for you,for I betrothed you to Christ to pre­sent you as a pure bride to her onehusband. But I am afraid that as the

serpent deceived Eve by his cunning,your thoughts will be led astray froma sincere and pure devotion to Christ.For if some one comes and preachesanother Jesus than the one wepreached, or if you receive a differentspirit from the one you received, or ifyou accept a different gospel fromthe one you accepted, you submit to itreadily enough" (II Cor. 11:2-4,RSV).

Both the Greeks and the brethrenin the last century accepted readily adifferent gospel! And therefore a dif­ferent spirit and a different Jesus!

"And no wonder, for even Satandisguises himself as an angel of light.So it is not strange if his servants alsodisguise themselves as servants ofrighteousness" (verses 14-15).

And in Galatians 1:6-8, RSV, weread: "I am astonished that you are soquickly deserting him who called youin the grace of Christ and turning to adifferent gospel - not that there isanother gospel, but there are somewho trouble you and want to pervertthe gospel of Christ. But even if we,or an angel from heaven. shouldpreach to you a gospel contrary tothat which we preached to you, lethim be accursed."

Paul's Gospel announced the King­dom of God (Acts 28:31) . The Gos­pel of Jesus announced the good newsof world peace (Acts 10:36), declaredPeter. Mark said Jesus proclaimed"the kingdom of God" (Mark 1:15).Over the centuries this same messagewas announced in limited areas ofthe world . William Miller announcedit.

The Jesus who appeared in visionto Ellen White proclaimed as goodnews an empty, desolate world for1,000 years, with Satan and hisdemons brooding over the utter emp­tiness . That is not good news. That isa perversion of the Gospel. Its authoris one who transforms himself into anangel of light! He was another Jesus!A false one!

The Worldwide Church of Godproclaims the true Gospel of theKingdom of God to rule this world inpeace for 1,000 years! It rejects thefalse testimony of another Jesus whomasqueraded as Jesus in the middleof the last century to try to deceivethe very elect! 0

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

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'Armageddon' ­What It Really Is

Prepared by Richard H. Sedliacik

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The Good News, in conjunction with the Corre­spondence Course Department , presents br iefexcursions into the study of the Bible, delving intotopics relevant to the development of future mem­bers of the God Family. Bible study is one meansby which Christians are renewed daily (II Cor.4: 16), so let's refresh ourselves with more of theprecious truths of God 's Word!

Instructions: The format of these ministud iesis similar to that of the Ambassador College BibleCorrespondence Course. Look up and read inyour Bible the scripture references given inanswer to the questions. Comments following thequestions elaborate on the scriptures just read.That's all there is to it! (These studies are basedon the King James Version of the Bib le , unlessotherwise stated .)

Almost everyone has heard of " Armageddon."World leaders and sc ientists have used this bib ­lical term when speaking of the threat of nuclearwarfare and the annihilation of mank ind. Yet fewknow what Armageddon really is .

Let's begin to understand how this term fitsinto Bible prophecy - especially with regard tothe dramatic return of Jesus Christ.

1. In what are the future punishments of Godupon rebell ious, sinful mankind " filled up"? Rev.15: 1.

The seventh or last trumpet (Rev . 11:15) notonly heralds the return of Christ to earth , it alsoannounces a series of punishments from Godupon a rebellious world - the terrifying "sevenlast plagues. " (The seven last plagues , amongother events prophesied yet to occur, will becove red in more detail in future ministud­ies.)

2. How are these plagues symbolically pic­tured? Rev. 15:7. Upon what will these vials bepoured out? Rev. 16:1. Will they cause greatplagues and suffering upon unrepentant humans?Verses 2-11.

Despite this severe but righteous punishmentfrom God (verses 5-7) , the nations will adamantlyrefuse to repent of their sins .

3. What wi ll occur when the sixth symbol ic vialof God's wrath is poured out? Verse 12.

The great river Euphrates , which flows forsome 2,200 miles from Turkey to the Persian Gulf ,will be dried up. This supernatural intervention inthe ecosystem of the Mideast , performed byGod 's angel , is only a prelude - a setting of thestage for momentous events yet to come.

4. Meanwhile, will earth 's nations be joyful thatChrist has returned , or will they be angry andactually attempt to fight Him? Rev. 11:15 , 18,17:12-14. (Recall that the "Lamb" refers toJesus Christ - John 1:36 .)

5. Who will have incited the nat ions to fightagainst their Creator God? Read Revelat ion16: 13-14 , noticing what else is to occur after thesixth vial is poured out.

The word devils in the King James Versionought to be rendered demons. There is one fallenarchangel (lsa. 14: 12-14 , Ezek. 28 :12-17) calledSatan the "devil ," but there are many fallenangels (II Pet. 2:4, Rev. 12:7) of lesser rankcalled demons in the Bib le .

Notice that these spirits directly influence theleaders of nations. They will deceive them withmiracles, stirring them to a fever pitch of hatredto fight the " invaders from outer space" ­Chr ist and His army of angels, who will by thistime already be in Jerusalem with the resurrectedsa ints .

6. Are these demons clearly responsible forgathering the armies of all nations together? Rev.16:14, 16. (Note that the proper translation of theGreek in verse 16 should read as follows: "Andthey gathered them together." In this particularcase the context must determine who is reallydo ing the gathering. Modern translations correct­ly render " he" as " they.")

Satan the devil and these demons will espe­cially work through human leaders such as the"beast," the polit ical-military leader of the 10nation end-time revival of the Holy Roman Empire,and also through the false prophet , the greatreligious leader who will have universal influenceand appeal because of his satanic charisma andpower. These all will work together and will

The GOOD NEWS August 1981 23

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influence the world 's political and military leadersto mobilize their forces in an attempt to fightJesus Christ.

7. Exactly where do the devil 's demons causethe armies of the nations to be gathered togetherin preparation for the great battle against Christ?Read verse 16 again for the answer.

The nations will marshal their armies at a placecalled "Armageddon." Armageddon actuallycomes from the Greek rendering of the Hebrewname har Megiddo, which simply means "the hill(or mountain) of Megiddo." This is the site of theancient city of Megiddo, which is about 20 airmiles southeast of the modern port of Haifa andapproximately 55 miles north of Jerusalem.

Anciently, Megiddo was one of the royal citiesof the Canaanites . The city was not fully occupiedby Israelites until the time of King Solomon(I Kings 4:7, 12) . Solomon fortified the city(I Kings 9: 15). Megiddo and the valley of Megid­do (which is part of the larger Pla in of Esdraelon)became a strategic site. Megiddo was the mostimportant fortress city that guarded the strategicpasses of the Mt. Carmel area. The other citieswere Jokneam and Taanach . Megiddo, in the mid­dle , was flanked by the other two fortresses(each about five miles apart) .

For Israel, Meg iddo and the Plain of Esdraelonbecame the battleground of the centuries. Timeafter time the blood of battle was shed there.Over and over again the 13-acre mound of Megid ­do was refortified . Today the site is nothing morethan an unoccupied, silent mound of historic rub­ble. Occasional tourists and archaeologists visitits rocky face , but it is not a major military site atth is time.

But Megiddo is a symbol.It is a symbol of war and human conflict. It

overlooks the Plain of Esdraelon and the Valleyof Jezreel and stood at one of the great cross­roads of the ancient world . And as the prophecyof Revelation 16 indicates, Megiddo and the Plainof Esdraelon will become the rallying point for thegreatest concentration of military might everassembled.

Pol itical and mil itary leaders from the world tothe east of the river Euphrates will be supernatu­rally induced to direct their armies to march onmodern Israel to participate in the fight againstChr ist. But who will compose this conglomerationof military might?

Which nations lie to the "east " of the greatEuphrates valley? To the northeast lies theSoviet Union with its vast armies and great mili­tary strength. South and east of Russia, in China ,

wai t even more mill ions of infant ry in co nsta ntmilitary preparedness. Separated from China bythe Himalayas lies teem ing India with its starvingmillions and a turbulent polit ical scene.

These "kings of the east ," st irred up by thedevil's demons, will lead their arm ies to Meg iddo.With the surrounding plain as thei r rallying po int ,these armies will then be con fronted by yetanother great military establishment - the com ­bined might of a united Europe!

Prophecy tells us that " ten kings" (Rev . 17: 12­14) will comprise the modern, end-time revival ofthe ancient Holy Roman Empire, uniting in a politi­cal , military and religious alliance of incrediblepower. A vast and mighty army will be formed andwill find its way into the Middle East - perhaps onthe pretext of protecting Israel from the threat ofcommunist domination. And oil will undoubtedly bea major factor prompting any such maneuver.

The army of th is " beast" power will confrontthe armies of the " east ." But instead of fightingeach other in a battle tha t would end in theextinction of all life on earth , they will , ironicall y,unite their forces and march towa rd Jerusalem inan attempt to destroy their common " enemy" ­Christ and His army of angels!

8. What is the name of the ensuing great ,climactic battle between God and man? Rev.16:14, last part.

You will notice the battle is not called the"Battle of Armageddon " - it is called the " bat­tle of that great day of God Almighty" ! This lastgreat battle will involve the armies of the Lord ofarmies (hosts) Himself.

9. Exactly where does the Bible say this batt lewill take place? Joel 3:1-2, 9-14. Compare verse13 with Revelation 14: 18-20 and 19:15. Alsonotice Zechariah 14: 1-4.

"Jehoshaphat" means " judgment of Jehovah "or, more correctly , "judgment of the Eternal. " Thefocal point of the battle will be in the Valley ofJehoshaphat , also called the " valley of decision"in the Bible. This valley is a deep rav ine havingsteep sides. It borders the city of Jerusalem on theeast. The Valley of Jehoshaphat , wh ich is situatedbetween Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, is nowknown as the Kidron Valley.

10. How is this great climact ic battle pictured?Rev. 19: 11-21 . How does Zechariah describe thefrightening manifestation of the righteous wra thand might of God in fighting against those whowill oppose Him? Zech . 14: 12.

This is the "battle of that great day of GodAlmighty" described by John in Revelation. And itcould happen sooner than you might think! 0

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PERSONAL(Continued f rom page 2)

That is the deadliest mental and spir­itual POISON. We must LOVE even ourenemies who perpetrate the greatestoutrages - though we do not con­done their evils.

If you ever think I'M wrong aboutanything, don't get sour or bitterabout it - let GOD correct and pun­ish me - vengeance is HIS, youknow.

Resent men t agai nst me won' teither punish me or benefit you, butit could consign YOU to eternal pun­ishment!

Whether YOU believe it or not, Ihave come, by years of experiencelearning the HA RD WAY, to havesupreme faith that GOD will neverneglect to correct or punish me wher­ever I deserve it! You may TRUSTHIMto do it!

Remember what a GLORIOUS GOALwe have before us!

How GRATEFUL we ought to be!How our hearts ought to be FLOO DEDwith love and gratitude to the greatGod for His matchless LOVE towardus.

I'm sure we don't grasp what asupreme price He paid to make itpossible. He wants us to be CHANGED- to overcome and root out thisdebasing, rotten carnality we all havein us - and to GROW into His righ­teousness, that we may SHA RE HisGLORY.

And, you know, I believe Godwants and longs to share the supremeGLO RY that He has with you! Makeit your supreme overall life VOCA­TION, and WO RK HARD AT IT!

The Japanese spy who stealthilyand secret ly obtained all the informa­tion the Japanese needed to bombPearl Harbor said that he was not avery brilliant man, and learning camehard to him, BUT HE WO RKED HARDAT IT, relentlessly, with zeal, and withpurpose, and with diligence. He sue­CEEDED - in terrible DESTRUCTION- in plunging the United States intoWor ld War II - and, finally, in theig no minio us defeat of his ow nnat ion.

Let us work hard at our callingand mission of being real Christians.We shall succeed, with God's help ­in final and etern al GLORY! 0

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

GrayAreas(Continued from page 13)

you read without becoming disen­chanted? Remember, it is designed toworry you, so you will have ques­tions.

How long can you read porno­graphic magazines, watch violentmovies, neglect your marriage, eatwrong foods? How long can youremain a " free thinker," less thantotally committed to God and HisChurch?

How many Sabbath services is it" OK" to miss? Just how dark doesFriday evening have to get before it issundown for you?

In all these instances and in manyothers we could mention, there is per­haps a gray area. It may not be fatalat first. But it' s only a matt er of timebefore "longer" becomes "too long,""occasionally" becomes "often" anda " bit more" becomes " too much."Then, "seldom" becomes " never."

Th e g ray areas are lik e th eMekong.

Maybe - just maybe - some ofthe river close to the Thai border issafe. But the farth er you get outtoward the middle, the stronger thecurre nt becomes. Suddenly, there is apoint when you are no longer in con­trol, although you may not realize it.But the communist soldiers know.

They are watching and waiting.They have you clearly fixed in thesights of their high-powered rifles,and their fingers are curlin g aroundthe triggers.

Safe, sure ground

Not every gray area is as well­defi ned as the might y Mekong. Butall are potentia lly dangerous.

So Christ, thr ough His servants,shows us how to be sure we stay onthe safe and sure ground. It's theterra firma of sound doctrin e, loyalsupport, unswervin g commitment ,humility , obedience and faith . Wearen' t perfect yet, and we all have ourlapses - but don't let yourself straytoo far.

If things start looking gray, takesteps to get back quickly . Becauseout there somewhere, where the graystar ts gett ing black, lurk Satan andhis demons, waiting for you to takethat one fateful step too far. 0

First Year(Continued from page 15)

to give a commendable explanation.Perhaps he will be given the opportu­nity to explain each Holy Day, in itsseason, to the class.

Next, explain to the teacher whyyour offspring will be going awaywith the family for a couple of weeksearly in the fall semester. Explainyour religious observances enough sotheir importance to you registers withthe teacher.

Then, offer to bring back from theFeast si te memen tos th at wouldbe int erestin g for th e e nt ireclass.

Finally, well in advance of yourdeparture for the Feast of Taber­nacles, ask for advance homework foryour child. You want to keep yourchild current with his class during thetr ip.

Promote your child 's education

The school staff - particularlyyour child 's teacher - desires theapproval of both you and your child.Genuinely praise th ose teachingmethods that are right and sound.Show your appreciation for the teach­er's efforts on behalf of your child ­put th e teach er at ease ( Prov .18:24)

By the time the fall festivals arrive,you, your child and th e teac hershould be friends. Your son or daugh­ter will be launched in a positivedirection into education.

If you have tackled the school chal­lenge properly, you need never fearthat your child will be swept off intofalse beliefs. Your genuine concern,imaginative alternatives and propertrain ing will pay enormo us divi­dends.

Your child will successfully rise tothe cha llenge of each day's classassignments. He will develop confi­dence and be bett er able to cope withlife's challenges as well!

Further, he will never lack a warmcircle of admiring classroom friends.And who kn ows ? Perh ap s th egreatest joy in the end will be that ateacher, a classmate or another par­ent might tun e in to the WorldTomorrow broadcast. All becauseyou correctly int roduced your childto his fi rst year in school! 0

25

•TORIESFROMThe

NEWTESTAMENT

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Chapter 6

The Fishermen of GalileeBy Shirley King Johnson

Capernaum was a prosperous city on thenorthwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.Since the city was on a busy trade route,

it was a convenient place to collect taxes and a~ tax office was located there.i The sweet, sparkling waters of the lake~ helped fishing flouri sh, and Capernaum 's~ shores were busy with fishermen and their~ boats, merchants, buyers and sellers.~ As soon as Jesus arrived home with His dis-

26

ciple s, word traveled that He had returne d anda stream of people gathered at Hi s door. Theybrought their sick, blind, deaf, crippled anddiseased to be healed.

The disciples scatter

Bac k in famili ar surroundings, the disciplesreturned to their former pursuits. N ath an ael

Speaking from Peter 's boat to the multitude galh ered on the shore ofthe Sea of Galilee, Christ announced the coming Kingdom of God.

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Peter suddenly realized that Jesus had performed a miracle. And thisone was for Peter's own benefit. ... "Don't be afraid, Peter," Jesus

replied. "From now on your catch will be men."

went back to Cana and Philip to nearby Beth­saida. Peter and Andrew hurried down to theseashore to see if James and John and theirfather Zebedee had come in with their night'scatch. They found them washing their nets inshallow water near the docks.

White-haired Zebedee was seated in theirbeached boat, watching as his two hired ser­vants helped James and John clean weeds fromthe nets.

Pleased to see that Peter and Andrew wereback, Zebedee asked if they were read y to goback to fishing.

"Not us," Peter replied without hesitation."As soon as Jesus goes out again to preach theGospel in other towns, we're going withH· "un.

"Then He's here in Capernaum?" Zebedeeasked quickly.

"He sure is. We just got in from Naza-reth." ,

"I know you're hungry," Zebedee said. "An­drew, will you and Peter have breakfast withus? You can tell us about your experienceswhile we're eating. It must have been an inter­esting tour with Jesus."

The two travelers rejoined their partners. 'Asthey enjoyed their meai , they discussed Jesus'character, temperament, personality and reli­gious views. They slept through the afternoonand early evening, and went out fishingtogether that night. Their catch was a good oneand the fishing became better with each night'swork. They began to make plans to buy anotherboat.

Days passed. They saw Jesus in the syna ­gogue on the Sabbaths, but a crowd alwayssurrounded Him as He left the building and thefishermen had no opportunity to speak toHim.

One morning Jesus rose from prayer while itwas still dark, broke a chunk of bread from a

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

loaf and left His house. He followed the dusty,winding street down to the lake . Turning, Hestrolled along the beach, taking deep breaths ofthe fresh sea air.

The purple haze that hung over the lakeglowed red in the east. The sun broke throughin sudden splendor, and the waves lapping theshore turned to gold .

Eating the bread as He walked, Jesuswatched the seashore waken to life. Voices andlaughter drifted across the water and He heardoars splashing around the next bend. Fishermenwere coming to land. He hoped they would notrecognize Him because He wanted to find fourcertain fishermen.

A morning meeting

He kept walking and farther along saw twoboats beached. A man was standing knee-deepin the cold water, washing a net. Other menwere seated in one of the boats, mending nets(Matt. 4:18, Luke 5:1-2). As He strode nearerHe recognized Peter in the water. "Hello!" Hecalled. "How are you, Peter?"

Peter turned. Recognizing Jesus, he waved."Hello! This is a surprise."

"How's the fishing?" Jesus asked."It's not very good," replied Peter. "We can't

figure it out. We've been doing very well, buttonight we came in empty-handed. It's as ifthere aren 't any fish left in this whole lake. "

Andrew climbed out of his boat and splashedup to Jesus. "Hello! Do you remember our part­ners James and John? They're there with theirfather, Zebedee of Bethsaida."

James, John and Zebedee gave their nets totheir two servants, stepped over the side of theirboat and splashed up to Jesus.

The men stood talking for half an hour.Zebedee especially asked many questionsabout John the Baptizer, and about the heal­ing miracles. Did the people stay healed? But

27

It was the last fishing that Peter, Andrew, James and John would do fora while. When they brought their boats back to the shore, Jesus asked

them to become His disciples.

their conversation was interrupted. Jesus hadbeen seen and His whereabouts were reportedto others.

Men, women and children began to gatheralong the seashore. Soon the crowd grew into amultitude that pressed in on three sides.

" Peter, may I use your boat?" Jesus asked."If we row out a few yards I can sit in it andtalk to these people" (Luke 5:3).

"Certainly, sir," Peter responded. "You'rewelcome to use it anytime. "

Preaching from a boat

Stowing their nets along one side, Andrewand Peter pushed the boat off the sand intoshallow water and steadied it as Jesus wadedout. He swung aboard and the two fishermenleaped in themselves and took up the oars. Ashort distance offshore they stopped and Jesuswaited for the crowd to sett le itself. James,John and their father had joined their hiredmen in their boat and they rowed to a placenearby.

"Good morning," Jesus said, and the mur­muring among the crowd along the shorestopped entirely.

"I have an announcement to make," Hebegan . "The Kingdom of God is coming to thisearth!"

In a voice that carried easily across thewater, He talked to them about the good newsof the coming government of God .

Christ performs a miracle

When His sermon was finished, Je sus turnedto Peter. "My friend , if you' ll row out intodeeper water and put down your nets , you' llhave a good catch" (verse 4).

Peter shook his head. "We ju st came in froma long night of work and caught nothing. Therearen't any fish out there."

Peter paused. Jesus was smiling and there

28

was a twinkle in His eyes. "All right," Petersighed. "Because you say so, we'll give it anoth­er try."

He took up the oars and Andrew joined inwithout comment.

The brothers rowed steadily over the waterwhile Jesus relaxed with His back to the sun ,watching Zebedee's boat as it followed in theirwake. After a time Jesus offered to help row,but they insisted that they were not tired.

Finally Jesus raised a hand. "Put out yournets here, please. "

"But this is where we fished last night!" Peterprotested. "But if you say so ... " He decidedto do as Jesus asked, even though it meantgoing through all the work of flinging the netsout and hauling them back in.

But the tiredness left the fishermen' s arms afew minutes later when they saw their net sbegin to enclose a shoal of fish . The bulgingnets began to break and Peter called to Jamesand John for help. Their partners took fishaboard their boat until Zebedee called out thatthey must stop or sink the boat (verse 7) .

Peter suddenly realized that Jesus had per­formed a miracle. And this one was for Peter'sown benefit. He flung himself on his knee sbefore Jesus. "Leave me alone! You don't knowhow sinful I am!"

"Don 't be afraid , Peter ," Jesus replied."From now on your catch will be men " (verse10).

The fishermen leave their nets

It was the last fishing that Peter, Andrew,James and John would do for a while . Whenthey brought their boats back to the shore,Jesus asked them to become His disciples.

Leaving behind their loved ones , their goal sand ambitions, Peter, Andrew, James and Johnleft their boats with Zebedee and followed Je sus(verse 11). D

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

Somethingto PrayAbout

I t ' s in credibl e! Tru eChri sti an s are linkedwith God in a un ique

relationship.When God ca lls us, He begi ns

to dram ati cally intervene in ourlives, showing us our purpose andlead ing us to fulfill th at purpose.

A nd now, as part of the specialrelationship we have with God, wecan communicate dire ctl y wi th Him,something no one else can do. "Theeyes of the Lord are upon the ri gh­teous, and his ears are open unto theircry" ( Ps. 34:15).

I t gives God pleasure for us to talkto H im , and God enjoys answeri ngus! " T he prayer of the righteous is hi sdelight" (Prov. 15:8). " A nd what­soever we ask, we receive of him,because we keep hi s commandments,and do those things th at are pleasingin his sight" (I John 3:22).

W e must never forget the impor­tance of prayer.

In this end time God has raised upthis great Work to announce to thewor ld the good news of His comingKingdom . Every member of H isChurch in this tim e has been called,foremost, to suppor t Christ's apostlefor this tim e as he fulfi lls the greatcommission (Mat t. 24:14). W e doth is by payin g God's tithes and giv inggenerous offerings, through personalserv ice to the Church and throughthe example we set for the worldaround us. But the most effect ive wayevery one of us, from the greatest tothe least, can support God's W ork isth rough the power of prayer.

Chris t promised, " A nd all things,whatsoever ye shall ask In prayer,bel ieving, ye shall receive" (Mat t.21:22) .

Chr ist's apost le today has asked forfervent pr ayer for God' s W ork .Not ice these statements from one ofH erbert W . A rmstrong's recent let­ters:

" T his is the MOST SER IOUSyear of the W ork of God so far.GOD'S TIM E HAS COME TOS PEED UP HIS WORK WITHD YN A MIC AND TREMENDOUSPOWER! Tim e for completing theGREA T COM M IS S ION OF GODin th is dying world is fast runn ingout . . .

The GOOD NEWS August 1981

"Let's now set our heart s andwhole interest on the SOON-comi ngKI NGDOM OF GOD, when we shallshine as the sun in brightness andfind happiness FOREVER! . . .

"I am pushing myself f orward asnever bef ore. BA CK ME UP! Thou-

sands of you have sent me messagesYOU A RE BA CK OF M E 100 PER­CENT! God's time has come to DOIT!"

A nd indeed letters continue topour in expressing support for M r.Armstro ng and God's Work in thisend t ime:

" I am thrilled with the fantas­tic growth and progress in theWork lately, and the plans tomove ahead now in a rev italized,energized surge forward in thisend time . . . .

" I am praying for this dynamicgrowth ... We are with you in allthis, Mr. Armstrong, and prayingfor you daily."

J.C.Cleveland , Ohio

"Mr. Armstrong, as this worlddisintegrates, even to the pointwhere world leaders state pub­licly that survival is fast becom­ing the world issue, I just want tolet you know how much you are inour prayers. The only solution tothis great problem fac ing worldleaders is contained within themessage you take tothem . ... We know you pray forus , Mr. Armstrong , andwe . . . want you to know howmuch we pray for you. Go for ­ward and do the Work ; we 'rewalking with you all the way ."

J.E.Pasco, Wash . .

" With gratitude I send a mes ­sage of thanks to you , for all thelove and kindness you devote tous . . .

" I pray for you , and .. . en­deavor to stand back of you 100percent as you lead us on to

finish the Work of God in th isPhiladelphia era ."

J.M.Cumbria , England

"It is a wonderfu l and inspi­rat ional th ing to see and hearGod working through His chos­en apostle in such a dynam icway . . . .

" God help us all to followyour example and to be morediligent in do ing the jobs Godhas ass igned to each of usinvolved in th is great comm is­sion by our tithes and offeringsand by praying and fasting forthe Work.

" May God continue to blessand lead you and inspire you toget His message across to thenations of this decaying age. . . We pray for you and theWork constantly ."

0 .8 .Shelby, Ohio

Mr. Armstro ng's final direct ive inhis letter was: " PR A Y as neverbefore! Fast and pray!"

Are you deeply invo lved in thisfinal thru st of God's end-time Workthrough hear trending prayer? Godpromises that " The effectual ferventprayer of a righteous man avai lethmuch" (las. 5:16). This W ork canaccomplish its goal of warn ing thiswor ld in a powerful way i f we wi llsuppor t it through prayer. - GoodNews sta ff 0

29

The advance good news of tomorrow is ascertain as the rising of tomorrow's sun!

H ere, in hardcover, Herbert W .Armstrong explains with vig­

or and clarity the astounding truthabout the incredible fut ure awaitinghumanity. It won 't be accomplished byman , but will be done to man! Mr.

USE THIS SPECIAL" PEEL- OFF " LABEL

ONTHE CARD

INSIDE

Armstrong shows wh at the worldtomorrow will be like and how it will beachieved. While supplies last , you canhave a copy of thi s important bookabsolutely FRE E. Just write to Th eGood News at the address nearest you.