Good News 1953 (Vol III No 06) Jul_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1953 (Vol III No 06) Jul_w

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VOL. III, NUMBER 6

The National Magazine ofAMBASSADOR COLLEGE

JULY, 1953

A NEW Good News!by Herbert lV. Armstrong

H ERE is a new GOOD NEWS! Withthis issue, the GOOD NEWS becomes exclusively the officialpublication of God's True Church inthese closing days of this world.With this issue a new policy isadopted. The Good News will hereafterbe sent only to those recognized asMEMBERS of the true Church of God-those in whom we can see evidence,by the fruits borne, that GOD has addedthem to His Church. It is a holy Churchwhich no man can "join." We are inducted into it by God, thru receiving,and being led by, the Holy Spirit.The PLAIN TRUTH to the WorldThe Plain Truth now becomes, asit was from its first issue in February, 1934, the general evangelisticmagazine of this Church, sent freely toall who request it for themselves. I t isedited for the public-for the world, asmany as request it for themselves. Butof course it is edited, too, for God's ownchildren, and so you will, of course, con

tinue to receive The Plain Truth eachmonth, in addition, now, to The GoodNews.In other words, you whom God hasmade members of the true Body ofChrist will hereafter receive both magazines every month, instead of only oneas formerly. But radio listeners will betold, henceforth, only about The PlainTruth, and only The Plain Truth willbe mailed to them, unless we have evidence that God has added them to thatconsecrated, obedient, faithful innercircle who have been baptized by the

Holy Spirit into the one Body ofChrist, the true Church of God.ONLY fo r Active MEMBERS

We ask you LO help us keep The GoodNews exclusively a paper for real members only. Do not give or loan a copyto anybody, whether friends or relatives.I f they have been made members of thetrue begotten family of God, they willbe on the list and receive their owncopy each month. I f not, we ask you notto pass it on to them. The Plain Truthis the magazine we send freely, andwithout charge, to all who request it.Dut in The Good News we wish to befree to say things to you, as our innerfamily of God's children, which we cannot say to the world. We wish to befree to feed you, thru the columns ofThe Good News, the truly "strong meat"of spiritual food which might chokethe carnal minded or prove a stumblingblock to the unconverted, and those notwholly yielded to OBEDIENCE to God.The Good News, hereafter, is themedium in print thru which God's trulycalled ministers FEED THE FLOCK. ThePlain Truth, as it started out originally,becomes the medium thru which God'scalled ministers publish the Gospel ofthe Kingdom of God TO ALL THEWORLD.For the time being The Plain Truthwill continue to be a 16-page magazine.For the present we shall be able toprint only 8 pages each issue of TheGood News. As God makes possible,thru the tithes and offerings of His people, we hope to enlarge The Good

News to 16 pages, and we also hopesome of these days to enlarge The PlainTruth to 32 pages, well illustrated. Allthis costs money, and we shall do whatever God makes possible thru our CoWorkers.God Adds Dai ly to Church

le t us be glad and rejoice in the factthat there are many loyal Co-Workerswho are not, as yet, so far as we areable to know, actually members ofGod's own begotten family. They haveprogressed far enough in the Truth torecognize it, and want to have a par t inspreading i t -but perhaps have not, asyet, let it take full root in their ownlives. Month by month, however, hundreds every year-more and moreof these do come to full repentance toward God, and surrender fully to Him,accepting Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and as their LORD AND MASTERand HEAD. And so, brethren, I call onyou in Jesus' name to PRAY for allthese, that God will convict them, andthru His Spirit draw them to JesusChrist, grant them repentance, and bringthem into this glorious family of Godto become our brothers and sisters inChrist.As this initial issue of the NEW GoodNews goes to press, it finds me verytired from the stress and strain of overwork. I carry a very heavy load of responsibility. I presume you understandit still is necessary for me to carry several different jobs, each of which is aheavy full time job-that of Editor of(Please continue on page 8)


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Amazing 2000-Year Historyof the Church of GodHow much do you really know about OUR CHURCH-YOUR CHURCH?Have you supposed it was founded by or through the efforts of Herbert W.Armstrong? IT W AS NOT! Hundreds of you will be ASTONISHED to seethe true history of this, our Church-GOD'S Church. This actual true andauthentically documented history is breathtaking. Here, then, are the astoundingfacts! This surprising truth is bound up in the real meaning, revealed at last, ofthe seven churches in Revelation!

by Herman L. HoehH ERE is the TRUTH about ourchurch! Almost two thousandyears ago a messenger came tothis earth bringing startling news of acoming world government!That messenget was Jesus Christ. Hismessage was the good news or gospelof the kingdom-the coming world-ruling government of God (Mark 1: 14)- t he very family of God into which wemust be born to gain eternal life (John3:3-5).Jesus came to deliver this messagefrom God to man. He did not come topreach it personally to the wholeworld. Instead, Jesus spent his ministrypreparing the foundation for THECHURCH which would carry his gospelof the kingdom to all nations.Why Jesus Promised to Build ChurchJesus devoted his minis try to call ingout disciples, teaching them the gospel,setting thC:nl 311 example by his ownministry. He authorized them with thegreatest commission ever given to human beings-to preach the gospel ofthe kingdom of God in the whole world

(Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15).Before Jesus ascended to the throneof God, he commanded the apostles anddisciples to remain in Jerusalem unt ilthey were imbued with the Holy Spirit,which made them the begott en sons ofGod and cn.iuc.! them with the POWEROF GOD to carry out His work.[esus founded his church by sendingthe promised Holy Spirit on the day ofPentecost, Monday, June 18, 31 AD.It was an inspired church, a churchin which Jesus, through the Holy Spirit,was living his life and THROUGH WHICHJESUS BEGAN TO PREACH AND PUBLISHHIS GOSPEL TO THE WHOLE WORLD.

What Is the True Church?The true church is the collective bodyof individuals, called out from the ways

of this present world, who have totallysurrendered themselves to the rule ofGod, and who, through the Holy Spir it ,become the begotten sons of God (Rom.8:9).Jesus purchased the cburcb by shedd ing his own blood for it (Acts 20: 28) .The true church is not some politicallyorganized denomination which one joinsor becomes a member of in order to be"saved." Jesus did not die for some oneorf!.anization called a church.Yon r:m't join the t rue church; onlyGod can put you into it!The church is called the body ofChrist because it is a spiritual organismwhose LIV ING , ACTIV E HEAD is JesusChrist, in the same sense that the husband is head of the wife (Eph. 5:23,31) .

Church Subject to Government of GodNot ice that from the very beg inningthe church was subject to the rule ofGod. I t was not a government by thewill of man or boards of men. Jesus isthe head of the church. He rules thechurch.Directly under Jesus, God set theapostles first in positions of authority tocarry out God's will, to be instrumentsin His hand, through which He couldspread the gospel and lead the church

( I Cor. 12:28 ; Eph. 4:11). Paul theapostle was such a man. He was subjectto Christ, so yielded to God that Jesuscould make His will known to him andcould use him in direc ting the work ofthe church and in preaching the gospelto the nations. Not ice Acts 16, verse 6,where Jesus, through the Holy Spirit,made known to Paul that he was not"to preach the word in Asia." Pau l wasnot free to go and to act as he pleased.Under Paul in authority were theevangelists , such as Timothy and Titus,who assisted the apostles by carrying outthe will of God as Jesus revealed it tothe apostles. Under the authori ty of the

apostles and evangelists were the pastorsand teaching elders in local congregations (Titus 1:5 ) .This was the government of God. TheFather manifested His will to Jesus.Jesus revealed the Father's will to theapostles, who, in turn, revealed it to theevangelists. Through the apostles andevangelists, God's will was manifested

to the local churches.Church Grows in Truth

Before He ascended to the Father,Jesus prayed tha t His church would bekept ONE in the Father's name. "HolyFather, keep through thine own namethose whom thou hast given me, thatthey may be ONE, as we are" (John17:11).The true church-the "church ofGod" ( I Cor. 1:2)- is not many divided quarreling denominations, but

ONE church, composed of many scattered members, ONE church unit ed inSpirit, mind, attitude and heart becauseits members have totally surrenderedtheir wills to God and have yielded tocorrection and reproof from the Wordof God.No denominat ion could be the truechurch, because none has been wil lingto admit where it has been wrong, nonehas received God's correction, none hasallowed the Holy Spirit to guide it into

truth. The church which Jesus is building is composed of those scattered individuals who have God's Holy Spirit,who admit it when they are wrong, asthe apostle Peter did when he made aserious mistake (Gal. 2: 11) .Now notice Jesus' promise in John16: 13. He would send the Spirit oftruth who "will GUIDE you INTO alltruth."Here is the KEY which proves whoare in God's church. It is composed onlyof those who are growing into truth asGod reveals it. The moment anyone


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July, 1953 The GOOD NEWS Page 3ceases to GROW, but wants to retain onlywhat he had five or ten years ago, fromthat moment on the Holy Spirit ceasesto live in him.

False Teachers ProphesiedNow let's notice what was prophesied

to happen to the church.Jesus warned that there would be agreat falling away-MANY false ministers deceiving the MANY (Mat. 24:4,5).Paul earnestly warned the elders thatfrom their own number some woulddepart from the faith (Acts 20:29,30) .False apostles and false brethren arosewithin local church assemblies (I I Cor.11:13-15,26). Soon they outnumberedthe faithful who alone made up theTRUE Church of GOD.Several years before the apostle Johndied he had to write his third letterabout the fact that the few faithfulbrethren that were left were being putout of the local assembly (III John 9,10).Yet they, only, constituted the realChurch of God!

Not only did Jesus prophesy thatfalse ministers would deceive the many,

but he also said his church would bescattered and persecuted. The churchfirst became scattered in the days of theapostles (Acts 8 : 1 ) .But that did not mean the scatteredindividuals were not part of the church.They were the church because they werejoined to Christ through the Holy Spirit.Those who drove them out became thefalse Church-the Church of the god ofthis world-"the synagogue of Satan."Notice what Daniel says about thechurch: "And they that understandamong the people shall instruct many:yet t he y shall fall by the sword, and byflame, by captivity, and by spoil, m an ydays. Now when they shall fall, theyshall be halpen with a little help:but many shall cleave to them with flat-teries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and topurge them, and to make them white,even to the time of the end" ( Dan.11:33-35).How plain! The true church wasforced out of the local organized congregations and scattered. False churcheswould arise professing to be the churches

of Christ. False brethren would betrayGod's people.But Jesus promised to be with thefaithful r emnant to the end of the age- to guide His people into truth.Where has His church been these1900 years?

An Amazing Prophecy!In the book of Revelation is an amazing prophecy. Almost no one understands it, yet it is so very plain. It is theseven churches of Revelation.Notice Revelation 1: 12-13. John seesa vision of seven candlesticks and Jesusin their midst. The Bible interprets theseven candlesticks to mean seven particular church congregations (verse 20).Jesus Christ is pictured as dwellingamong the seven churches AS THOUGH

THEY WERE A TYPE OF THE ENTIRECHURCH.There is the answer. Jesus dwells inthe entire church. Since this vision pictures Him dwelling only in sevenchurches, those seoen cbesrcbes repre-sent the entire church!(Please continue on next page)

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Page 4 The GOOD NEWS July, 1953

Herbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and Editor

Address communications to the Editor,Box 111, Pasadena, California.Copyright, July, 1953ByAmbassadorCollege

The national magazineofAMBASSADOR COLLEGE

ministering to The Church of Godscattered abroad, andreporting 011 campus happenings

meant tha t a way was opened to preachthe gospel in Europe.Paul went into Europe in the latespring of 50 A.D. After a few monthsof preaching, he arrived in Corinth inthe fall of that year (Ac ts 18: 1) wherehe remained for a year and six months(verse 11). It was now the beginningof S2 AD. An insurrection broke outagainst Paul when Gallio was deputy orprocounsul of Achaia (verse 12). A recently discovered inscription in Greecestates that Gallio held this position during 52 A.D., which proves that the gospel went to Europe in 50 AD., just 19years after the church was founded!From 50 A.D. it was another 19 yearsuntil the fleeing of the mothe r churchat Jerusalem, when that city was surrounded for the last time by Romanarmies in 69 AD. From that time forward the united power of the church ofGod to spread the gospel of the Kingdom ceased. No longer was there amother church at Jerusalem to whom allchurches could look as the standard ofTRUTH. It now became a struggle tostrive for the faith once delivered (Jude3). The church had left its first love.Soon after John finished the book ofRevelation, the remnant of the truechurch, which kept the commandmentsand believed the gospel of the kingdom,was cast out and scartercd over thelength and breadth of the whole RomanEmpire. This fulfilled Jesus' warning:"I will come unto thee quickly, and willremove thy candlestick out of his place"(Rev. 2: 5) . Jesus removed, or took out,the true church-the light-giving candlestick-from the unrepentent localcongregations where they had assembled(Rev. 2:5).Thus ended the Apostolic Age typified by the church of Ephesus.

The church at Smyrna arises next. Itappeared to be dead-non-existentyet it was alive, suffering persecution.This pictures God's church during morethan four centuries under the persecuting Old Roman Empire. Beside the truechurch there was also a "Synagogue ofSatan" developing during this period.The Synagogue of Satan-What Is It?Now read Revelation 2:9. "I knowthe blasphemy of them which say theyare Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."Not ice, this is a synagogue of Satan.A synagogue is merely the Hebrewword for church. Then Jesus is notspeaking of a race, bur of a church thatbelongs to the devil!This church claims they are Jews.Why? Because Jesus said, "Salvation is

of the Jews" (John 4:22). "To the Jewfirst, then also to the Greek" (Rom.1:16).time.

TO THE NATION & CANADA:SUNDAYS ONLYDURING SUMMER

XEG-1050 on dial, new time,8:30 P.M. Central Standard

Herbert W. Armstrong analyzes today's news, with the prophecies ofThe WORLD TOMORROW!TO ALL OF EUROPE:RADIOLUXEMBOlJRG-4:15 P.M.-Thursdays Luxembourgtime.

"T he WORLD TOMORROW"RADIO LOG

Other stations at usual time.

therefore not perfect. In the messageto each of these seven Churches Jesushas a word of correction. In every caseHe points out things they need toovercome. DUl they are t he peopl e whohave and are led by His Spirit, who pu tthemselves under GOD'S government instead of human traditions or self desireor the way that seems right to a man,and who have in the main THE TRUEGOSPEL, even though they often lostvital por tions of it.Notice, chapter 2, verse 1: "Thesethings saith He that holdeth the sevenstars (the angels of the TRUE church)in His right hand, who walketh in themidst of the seven golden candlesticks"(these seven churches). Jesus Chris t isIN these churches. They are HIS churches,not Satan's churches which falsely masquerade as "Christian."

And remember, the TRUE Church hasnot been politically organized, powerfuland recognized by the world-but scattered, persecuted, seldom noticed by the~ o r l d , and even then regarded as heretics.Now let's UNDERSTAND who they are,one by one.

The Apostolic AgeThe church at Ephesus p ic tured theapostolic church, a church which patiently labored in the gospel, which metmany false apostles bu t remained nearlysteadfast to the truth (Rev. 2: 1-7) .THERE WERE TWO 19-YEAR CYCLES

IN TIlE HISTORY OF THE APOSTOLICCHURCH DURING WHICH THE GOSPELWAS CARRIED TO THE OLD WORLD.It was exactly 19 years from A.D. 31,when the church was founded, to thetime that Paul received the vision to gointo Europe! In Acts 16:9 Paul had avision of a man in Macedonia (i nGreece) who shouted "Help us!" Pauldescribed this event in I I Cor. 2: 12-13where he wro te tha t "a door was openedunto me of the Lord" by which he

NUMBER 6OL. III

Jesus chose the seven because theyformed a perfect two-fold pattern.First, they were typical of generalconditions among God's people anywhere. That is why we today are admonished to hear what the Holy Spiri tsays to all the seven churches.Second, those seven churches, eachwith its own particular characteristics,were chosen because their locat ion insaccessiuo order on a long mail routeWAS TYPICAL OF SEVEN SUCCESSIVESTAGES OF EXPANSION OFTHECHURCHOF GOD THROUGH ALL AGES.Who ARE the Seven Churches?WHY have all Bible students, until

NOW, been unable to identify thesechurches? I t is due to the fact that everyone has ASSUMED, erroneously, that thesep ic tu re the seven stages of the visible,organized churches which have calledthemselves "Christian." In other words,it has been assumed that the churchesof this world are pictured in Revelation2 and 3 as continuations of the truechurch in apostolic days.Everyone, it seems, has supposed that,following the apostolic Church, theseseven churches picture the course ofhistory in the Roman Cathol ic and theProtestant churches-the churches of thegod of this world!This is not true!These two chapters of Revelationpicture, and convey God's message toTHETRUE CHURCH OFGOD--the Churchin which CHRIST lives and works-theChurch which is HIS BODy-His instrumentality-the Church HE USES! I tis the Church that was scattered, persecuted, unorganized-many of whosemembers have been martyred. ThisChurch is composed of memberswho, even though begotten by and ledby the Holy Spirit, yet are human and


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July, 1953In Romans 11:16-27 Paul explains

that Israel and the Jews to whom salvation belonged were broken off becauseof unbelief. Gentiles were grafted intheir place. But once grafted in theywere no longer Gentiles-"being intime past Gentiles in the flesh" (Eph.2: 11). Now they were all one in ChristJesus, "no more strangers and foreigners,but fellow citizens with the saints" (Eph.2: 19)."He is a Jew," says Paul, "which isone inwardly; and circumcision is thatof the heart, in the spirit, and not inthe letter; whose praise is not of men,but of God" (Rom. 2:29).So here was a church made up ofGentiles, claiming salvation, claiming tobe Jews inwardly, masquerading itselfas a "Christian" church.This synagogue of Satan is the Catholic Church which developed immediately after the Apostolic Age. That churchhas had many daughters which are alsoSatan's churches.

The True Church PersecutedThe world at this time did not recognize which was the true church. "Theworld knoweth us not" ( I John 3: 1) .I t is f rom the enemies of God' s churchthat we have scanty records of God's

~ e o p l e , who were now maligned as heretics.For centuries, Catholic writers ment ion remnants of the true church withinthe bounds of the Roman Empire. Sometimes they were individuals, sometimesscattered families, and especially in theNear East there were still a few localcongregations preaching the gospeland keeping the commandments. Aslate as the beginning of the fifth centuryin Asia Minor, the bishop Chrysosrornbewailed members of the CatholicChurch, who, upon learning the truthfrom the scattered remnants of the truechurch, r epented of the ir ways and began to observe "the feast of trumpets,the feast of tabernacles, and the feast ofthe great day of expiation" (Bingham'sAntiquities of the Christian Cbzacb, bk.XVI, ch. VI).With the restoration of the RomanEmpi re in the West under Justinian in554, the true church fled into the valleysand mountains in Europe. John describes this flight for over a thousandyears in the twelfth chap te r of Revelation where he pictures the true churchas a woman fleeing from persecution.

A Miracle OccursNow notice what John writes to thechurch at Pergamos: "I know thy works,and where thou dwellest, even whereSatan's seat is: and rhou holdesr fast myname, and has not denied my faith"(Rev. 2: 13) .

The GOOD NEWSThe local church to which John wrotewas situated in Pergamos, the capital ofthe Roman province of Asia in AsiaMinor-Pergamos was Satan's seat ofworldly human government for thatprovince. Just as the local church atPergamos was situated in a city whereSatan swayed human politics, so the nextstage in the expansion of God's churchoccurred within the bounds of Satan'sgovernment-the Eastern Roman Empire-where the main body of God'speople were still found.I t was about 650 A.D. t ha t God, as ifby miracle, raised up among the scattered remnants of his church in Cappadocia and Armenia a man who revitalized his people and spread the gospel.Thi s well-educated man, by the nameof Constantine of Manales, was givena g ift of portions of the Bible. He wasutterly amazed by the truth he foundrevealed in it after study. Soon he began preaching and with the help of

t rained evangelists found such a fruit ful harvest that there were tens of thousands conver ted to the truth.After twenty-seven years of ministry,he was stoned to death in 684, but anofficer, Simeon, sent to destroy him, wasso stirred by his death that he becameconverted and carried for th the gospeluntil he was burned at the stake sixyears later! Within anocher hundredyears God raised up a third minister,Sergius, to gu ide his people who wereallowing many false teachings to growin their midst.The name given to these people ofGod by their enemies was the Paulicians.

The reports circulated about these people were slanderous and false. I t wasnot till almost the beginning of thetwentieth century that a book calledThe Key of Traib, containing many oftheir teachings, was translated into English by Fred C. Conybeare.This partially preserved record ofGod's people proves that they preachedtbe gospel of the Kingdom; t hat t heybelieved the church was founded notonly upon Jesus Christ, but also upontbe apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20);tbat t hey baptized by immersion; thatthey laid on hands for the "reception ofthe Spirit" (p. CXXIV). They not only"continued to keep the Passover on thefourteenth of Nisan," but they also ob-served the sabbath and the festival ofunleavened bread (pages CLXII andCLII of The Key of Truth).

The devil was angry with these peoplewho understood the gospel and keptthe commandments. Knowing tha t hecould not overthrow their faith by force,he corrupted them by introducing falseteachers who taught the "doctrine ofBalaarn" (Rev. 2: 14). In turning toNumbers 31: 16, you will see that

Page 5Balaam induced the Israelites to practiceidolatry and commit fornication.Once again Satan, in his wiles tooverthrow the church, introduced falseteachers among God's people. Theseteachers induced many in the church tocelebrate certain idolatrous pagan holidays, particularly Epiphany, in honor ofChrist 's birth and baptism.Satan also caused many in the churchto take part in worldly politics in thehope of safeguarding themselves. Mixing with the politics of this world iscalled "fornication" in Revelation 17:2.God's church is to be a virgin and remain pure and separate from the world,waiting for the marriage to Christ (I ICor. 11:2).As a result of these sins, Jesus warnedhis church: "Repent; or else I will fightagainst thee with the sword of mymouth" (Rev. 2: 16). Most took thewarning light ly unt il it was too late.T rusting in their worldly political alliances with neighboring Arabs, instead of relying on Jesus' protection,they were betrayed and slaughteredone hundred thousand of them! Thefaithful few who escaped were drivento Southeastern Europe and called Bogornils. "There they throve for centuries,and . . . spread . . . their tenets intoBohemia, Poland, Germany, Italy, France,and even into . . . England" (p . eIV).

The church in the wildernessJohn was inspired to commend thechurch at Thyatira because the lastworks of the church were more than thefirst. But in the local church there was afalse teacher who taught some to practice idolatry. Jesus warned them that Hewould cast them into great tribulationand "kill her children with death" unlessthey repen ted (Rev. 2:18-29).Now let us notice how this description fits exactly the next great expansionof God's people.As a result of the evangelization of theAlpine regions by the Paulicians andBogomils of Bulgaria, as God's peoplewere called, there arose numerous ministers and faithful congregations. One ofthese men was Peter de Bruys whopreached the gospel of the kingdom in

the south of France (Jones' Cbercb His-tory, ch. 4, sect. 3) . Two other preachersof the time were Arnold and Henri.They were charged by the CatholicChurch with remaining faithful to thewhole law of God and of observing thesabbath (Ecclesiastical History, by PeterAllix, pp. 168-169).The Lutheran historian Mosheim saysof another branch of the church of Godin the twelf th century that they held "anotion that the observance of law ofMoses, in everything except the offering of sacrifices, was obl igatory upon


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Page 6Christians . . . they abstained fromthose meats the use of which was prohibited under the Mosaic economy, andcelebrated the Jewish Sabbath. The second tenet which dis tinguished this sectwas advanced in oppos it ion to the doctrine of three persons in the divinenature."Yes, they knew t hat God was not arrinity, but a family!A crusade was instituted against manyof these people in Southern France.Thousands perished. But when it seemedthat the first work would soon be ended!there arose an even greater leader amongGod's people.It was the close of the twelfth century.In Lyons, France, lived an astonishinglysuccessful and wealthy merchant, PeterWaldo. "One day, whi le in the companyof some of the leading citizens, one ofhis friends fell lifeless at his side. Terrified by the event, he said to himself:If death had striken me, what wouldhave become of my soul?"Being a Catholic, Waldo asked one ofthese theologians what is the perfectway. "Ah! answered the theologian ...here is Christ's p recept : 'I f thou wiltbe perfect, go, sell that thou hast andgive to the poor, and thou shalt havetreasure in heaven; and come take upthy cross and follow me.'' ' (Comba,History of th e Walde11Ses! p. 21).

Waldo disposed of his property bydistributing to the poor. But from hiswealth he also had a translation of theScriptures made. In this t rans lation henot iced the command to the apostles topreach the gospel of the kingdom ofGod. His mind began to understandthe Scriptures.God was using Pete r Waldo.Comba says that "he brought to thestudy of the Scriptures that practicalcommon sense which had guided him inhis business transactions . . . The wordof Christ was clear enough; for Waldoit was simply a quest ion of furn ishinga literal translation" (p. 243 of Comb a'sHistory) .The humble remnant of the churchof God listened to him. Soon many newdisciples were coming to repentance."His disciples became almost as many

co-workers for him" (p. 26).Called the "Church of God"

God's church was once again spreading the gospel! A school for ministerswas established to provide the trainedhelp to carry the gospel.Here is a marvelous record fromthese people, dated 1404: "We do notfind anywhere in the writings of theOld Testament that the light of truthand of holiness was at any time completely extinguished. There have alwaysbeen men who walked faithfully in the

The GOOD NEWSpaths of righteousness. Their numberhas been at times reduced to a few; buthas never been altogether lost. We believe that the same has been the casefrom the t ime of Jesus Christ unt il now;and that it will be so unto the end. Forif the Church of God was founded! itwas in order that she might remain until the end of time . . . We do not be-lieve that the Church of God, absolutelydeparted from the way of truth; butone portion yielded, and, as is commonly seen, the majority was led away toevil." (Quoted in Cornba's History! pp.10-11.)Catholics admit that these peopleproclaimed the gospel of the kingdomof God, that they baptized repentantbelievers and obeyed the whole law ofGod.But just as there was a false teacher,Jezebel, in the local church at Thyati ra ,so now there were many false reachersand false brethren among God's peoplewho taught that it was all right to haveCatholics baptize their children or to attend idolatrous mass once in a while.Others committed spiritual fornicationby meddling in politics in the hope ofavoiding persecution.To correct his people God caused afrightful crusade to pass over them 300years after the death of Waldo. Only afaithful remnant escaped.Once again we see the repeated factthat after a few generations, the localcongregat ions are no longer composedof truly converted brethren, but of unconverted children and halfhearted believers who either go aside into totalerror in the face of persecntion or elsegive up their lives for the faith, as Dan-iel prophesied.But in 1315, long before the crusadeagainst the Waldcnses occurred, thetruth of God was carried to England bya German Waldensian preacher, WalterLollard.

Now let's notice what John wrote tothe Church at Sardis.The church in England and AmericaThe church at Sardis had a name thatit was alive but it was dead (Rev. 3: 1).Only a minute fraction of its people

were really surrendered to God andholding to the faith once delivered.This is just the p ic ture of the church ofGod for over 600 years after the preaching of Walter Lollard.

Through the preaching of Lollardand other helpers, hundreds were repen ting. Thousands were learning forthe first time that Catholic religious holidays came from paganism and that Sunday was not the Sabbath.But within sixty years after the coming of Walter Lollard, a reform movemen t unde r John Wyc lif arose in Eng-

July, 1953land and nearly engulfed the teachingsof the original Waldensian preachers.After a per iod of persecut ion, there remained only a few who kept the faithand observed the Sabbath and the annual festivals. When confronted withimpr isonment for the ir faith, severalministers gave up the faith even thoughsome of their followers remained steadfast (Cox's Sabbath Literature, Vol. 1,p.162).

I t was not unt il about 1650 that therewere enough sabbath keepers to establish local congregations. They calledthemselves the churches of God, but theworld termed them Sabbatarians andSabbatarian Baptists.From England the churches of Godspread to America. In 1664, StephenMumford, sent to Newport , Rhode Island, raised up a small church mainlyfrom Baptist converts. One by one newchurches were established through cont inued help of the churches in England.But as always happens, after severalgenerations the children take truth forgranted and never really surrender theirwills and their lives to God. In less thanone hundred and fifty years, the Englishchurches almost disappeared, having cutthemselves off from God by turningfrom his truth, and by adopting thename "Seventh-day Baptists."In America. lOt: 1lumbt:r o] [ourcheJ-gradually increased as the gospel wasspread from state to state. But so nearlydead were these congregations that in1802 many began to ORGANIZE THEM-

SELVES together into a General Conference instead of submit ting to the government of God for the Gltryine our ofthe gospel. At this serious juncture,most of the local churches joined themselves together to form the Seventh-dayBapti st General Conference. Some ofthe ministers began teaching the Trinitydoctr ine and the immortal ity of humansouls.Several congregations did not becomemembers of the Conference. For another half century they maintained thetruth they possessed, although most ofthem did not go all the way in obedience to God. John aptly described thisperiod: "Be watchful, and establish thethings remaining, which are about todie: for I have found thy works perfected before my God."

The Adventist MovementDuring this time the advent movement among Sunday-observing churcheswas begun by Will iam Miller. In 1843several followers of Miller in Washington, New Hampshire, became acquainted with the t ru th of the sabbath. It wasnot until after the miserable disappointment of 1844, however, that thegeneral body of adventists had the sab-


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July, 1953bath called to the ir attention. A smallnumber accepted the truth and soonunited wi th the few remaining churchof God bre thren who refused to be affiliated with the Seventh-day BaptistConference.They called themselves the "Churchof God" and began publishing "The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald." Theirfirst songbook was dedicated to "TheChurch of God scattered abroad."With each passing year, new and different doctrines were being introducedto explain away the advent ist failure ofOctober 22, 1844. Finally, a meetingwas held in Battle Creek, Michigan,September 28 through October 1, 1860."This conference also took into consideration the subject of a name bywhich our people should be called,"wrote Loughborough on page 351 ofthe Great Second Advent Movement."This again called forth a diversity ofopinions, some pleading for one nameand some for another. The "Church ofGod" being proposed, it was objected toon the ground that it gave none of thedist inct ive features of our faith, whilethe name "Seventh-day Adventist" wouldnot only set forth our faith in the nearcoming of Christ, but would also showthat we were observers of the Seventhday Sabbath. So unanimous was the assembly in favor of the latter name tha twhen put to vote only one man votedagainst it, and he soon afterward withdrew his objection:'In the spring of 1861 another conference was held in an unscriptural effort to reorganize local congregationsThe following covenant was recommended for this new church organization: "We, the undersigned, hereby AS-SOCIATE OURSELVES TOGETHER AS ACHURCH, laking the name of SeventhDay Adventist . . ."Once aga in men forgot tha t they cannot organize themselves into thechurch of God. They can only organizethemselves out of the church of God!

A Remnant Remains!When this new name was beingforced on the churches, there appearedan article in the April 9, 1861 issue of

the "Review and Herald" in which afew brethren from Ohio wrote that theywould not give their offerings for anyother purpose " than the advancementand extension of the truth and the'Church of God.'' 'Within the space of sixty years, twomajor departures from the church ofGod occurred. The ministers would notstrengthen that which was ready toperish!For another so rcnty years conditionsremained almost unchanged. The remaining brethren retained the name

The GOOD NEWS"Church of God." Among local congregations only a few individuals repentedand strengthened the truth that wasready to perish in their midst. Butmost of the ministers resorted to organizing evangelistic work on the pat ternof state conferences rather than yieldingthemselves to God's government anddirection in the carrying of the gospel.In fact, instead of the true gospel, mostministers t aught a " th ird angel's message," which they had accepted from theadventist people.

Today's Church Prophesied!Notice the amazing description ofthe next event in the history of God'speople. John writes to the church ofPhiladelphia: "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an opendoor, and no man can shut it: for thouhast a little strength, and hast kept myword and hast not denied my name"(Rev. 3:8).Here is a church with l it tle s trength,few in numbers, but which has kept theword of God; one which has not deniedthe truth. Here is a church which ispreaching the gospel because Jesuspromises to set before it an open dooruntil the work of the church is completed.Here is a church which Jesus loves!Here is a church to which He says: "Because thou hast kept the word of mypatience (which Jesus interprets in Revelation 14: 12 as keeping the commandments and the faith), I also willkeep thee FROM THEHOUR OF TEMPTA-

TION, WHICH SHALL COME UPON ALLTHE WORLD, TOTRY THEM THAT DWELLUPONTHEEARTH" (Rev. 3:10).This verse pictures a church which iscarrying the gospel just prior to the lastgrea[ lime of trouble that will engulfall the world. This is the church of GodTODAY!The Gospel Goes to All the WorldJesus chose Paul, who was highly educated, for spreading the gospel to theGentiles. He later raised up Peter Waldo, a successful businessman, to keephis t ruth alive dur ing the Middle Ages.In these last days WHEN THE GOSPEL

MUST GO AROUND THE WORLD Jesuschose a man amply trained in the advertising and business fields to shoulderthis mission-Herbert W. Armstrong.Paul was struck down. Waldo wasshocked by the sudden death of hisfriend. In like manner God three timesswept away Mr. Armstrong's business inorder that he might come to understand the truth.Shortly before this event, God hadopened the mind of Mrs. Armstrong LOunderstand the sabbath truth from anelderly church of God woman. After six

Page 7months of study, in a persistent effortto prove Sabbath-keeping unscriptural,Mr. Armstrong also surrendered his willto God and accepted [he sabbath.From this moment forward, Godopened the minds of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong to understand one truth afteranother. The church of God brethrenwith whom they associated became sointensely interested that Mr. Armstrongsoon found himself speaking at theirinsistence, - then preaching to smallgroups in Oregon!Not l ong after his ordination, a momentous juncture occurred. A movement was under foot to organize thelocal churches of God under humangovernment-a financial board of sevenmen. By 1933 certain leading ministersdemanded tha t no more new tru th bepreached to the brethren. They were refusing to repent and allow the HolySpirit to work through them to establishthe t ru th tha t was ready to perish!Most of the congregations succumbedto error. The age of the church ofSardis was over. The church period ofPhiladelphia was to begin!

A DOOR OpensThe time had come for the gospelTO GO AROUND THE WORLD! Havingtested and proven that Herbert andLama Armstrong would remain faithfuland subject to His government, Godopened before them and a few faithfulbrethren the marvelous DOOR of radioand the printing press to carry the gospel. From a minute beginning in Oregon, the work of God spread to covermost of North America in 19 years, andnow it is leaping to Europe and theworld!This is very significant.God gave the Apostolic Church justtwo nineteen-year cycles to carry thegospel to the Old World. He opened a

DOOR to the apostle Paul at the beginning of the second nineteen-year cycleby which the gospel went to Europe(Acts 16:9; II Cor. 2: 12-13).So now, just before the second comingof Jesus Christ, God has given HisChurch-THIS CHURCH-just two nineteen-year cycles in which to carry thegospel to the world!The first cycle has already passed.God opened the door for the secondcycle seven months ago, and the gospelis going to all Europe.Do you really catch the significanceof this?It means that this work, this MISSIONto which God has called us all, is a DI-VINE work, a DIVINE mission!-notthe work of some one man. WE ARETHE CHURCH OF GOD to whom Jesuscommitted the greatest task ever to fallupon mortal man-the carrying of His


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Page 8gospel, the good news of the kingdomof God, to all nations.Weare a people with "little strength,"but God has set before us an OPENDOOR WHICH NOMAN CAN SHUT. Wemust use that door. We must becomezealous,working, praying, studying, giving tithes and offerings as we have nevergiven before, so that this gospel can goin pow er around the world.

Furure Is DangerousThis is the time of the end whenprophecies hidden for ages are beingrevealed. TRUTH is being restored,knowledge is rapidly increasing. Butknowledge brings responsibility; it becomes dangerous if not rightly handled.Now notice Jesus' LAST WARNINGto the church. At the very close of thisage, when the work of spreading thegospel is almost finished, Jesus addressedthe church at Laodicea: "I know thyworks, that thou art neither cold nor

hot: . . . I WILL SPUE THEE OUT OFMY MOUTH" (Rev. 15, 16).This frightful condition w ill happento most of God's people at the very endbecause they will become spirituallyproud of the knowledge God is revealing. Yes, some of you will say, "I amrich, and increased with goods, and haveneed of nothing." And Jesus will reply:" As many as I lovo, I rebuke an d chasten: be ZEALOUS therefore, and reopent."It is time we WAKE UP! If we become complacent, lacking in zeal, looking upon our local church as a socialclub, instead of having our hearts inthe gospel, Jesus will not deliver usfrom the tribulation.Notice Jesus' admonition in Luke21:36. "WATCH ye therefore and PRAYalways, that ye may be accounted worthy

The GOOD NEWSto escape all these things that shall cometo p a ~ s , and to stand before the "Son ofMan.Let's take these things to heart, Let'spray and work together to carry thisgospel to all nations so Jesus will sayto each of us, "Well done, thou goodand faithful servant."

A NEW Good News!( Continued from page 1)

these TWO national monthly magazines(tho I now have wonderful help); asGod's minister by radio to 30 millionpeople in all parts of North Americaand Europe with a broadcast daily, sevendays a week (except for this summerfor rest and recuperation which becameimperative); as Pastor general of all ourChurches, now increasing rapidly; asPresident of Ambassador college, andalso president of The Radio Church ofGod-a business-executive responsibility t ha t should have my entire time; ashead and professor of our GraduateSchool of Theology, responsible for directing the studies of, and teaching, inadvanced study and experience, our ownordained ministers and college graduates; as professor of religion and theology, and head of the department on thefaculty of the undergraduate school ofAmbassador College. And besides allthis, thousands look to me as their personal pastor, come to me for privateinterviews or wri te private and confidential letters about their personal problems, looking to me for personal counsel and aelvicf'o 1 finel I have to carrythe troubles and the problems of hundreds of people-a weight that wouldweigh down any strong man under theload!

July, 1953Much More Later

Frankly, one man alone is simply notable to do justice to all this, and I canonly confess that I have never foundmyself able to aquit myself as I knowI ought, and as I so earnestly desire todo. For one thing, hundreds of lettershave simply had to be neglected, hardas I try to get to them.This summer I MUST rest and fast,and rejuvenate my blood stream, andagain recharge these frayed and froughtover-worked nerve batteries, so that bynext fall I may come back fresh andstrong, attempting once again to setyou all an example in zeal, and in concentrated, earnest, determined effort togive this, God's work, our very ALL!And meantime, I NEED YOUR PRAYERS!Ob, bow I need them!What I wanted to say is, I haveMANY things to say to you, but I amroo tired now. I shall have MUCH to sayto you, our own dear brethren-actualbegotten BROTHERS and SISTERS inChrist and in God-in future numbers.Meanwhile, read, and then re-read, andthen read it over again-AND PRAYER-FULLY-the amazing article by HermanL. Hoeh in this issue on the REAL HISTORY of OUR CHURCH. Yes, read it andREJOICE in the knowledge that we arethe ORIGINAL TRUE CHURCH which hascontinued unbroken from Christ andthe apostles-the CHURCH WHICH JESUSIS BUILDING!Read it, and pray, and THANK GOD-asking Him to fill you with the POW-ER of His Spirit-to fill you with ZEALand ENTHUSIASM for His work; and getRRHIND this true work of God withyour prayers, your tithes and generousofferings, and with your FAITH, as younever did before.TIME . . . races 01t!

The GOOD NEWSPrinted in the U.S.A.

Box l l l -Pasadena, CaliforniaRETUlU'J J ? Q . \ i . 4 r ~ , { ' ~ f t a . M i i . ~

fORM 1'M7" RI'CIGnTiD

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Good News 1953 (Vol III No 06) Jul_w