Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 07) Jul_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 07) Jul_w

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VOL. VI, NUMBER 7

International Magaztne o fTH E CHUR CH OF GOD

JULY, 1957

God's Church is Different!Do you fully comprehend the GREAT GULF t,';at Lies between our

Church-God's Church-and ALL OTHERS?by Roderick C. Meredith

W E NEED to take stock once inil while to realize the true natureof our calling. We need to understand the place of God's true Churchin the tremendous historical events nowunfolding before our very eyes!Do YOU think of yourself as a memberof a Church?If you are truly converted and led byGod's Holy Spirit, then you are a churchmember! And if you REJECT your opportunities and responsibilities as amember of the body of Christ-theChurch of God-then you will never begiven eternal life in God's kingdom!Jesus Founded the True ChurchJesus Christ said: "I will build MYchurch; and the gates of hell shall notprevail against it" (Mat, 16:18), Thisstatement emphasizes the fact that Jesuswas going to build the true Church. Hecalled it "MY Church"-not Luther's,Calvin's, Wesley's or that of some otherman,Jesus also said that the gates of "hell"-meaning hades or the GRAVE-wouldnever prevail against His Church. Thisis doubly so, First, because He definitelyimplied by this statement that HisChurch would never cease to exist. And,secondly, because the hope of all Christ'strue followers is in the resurrection fromthe dead.The Church Jesus promised to buildis to endure down through the ages andbe doing His work at His second coming.

Jesus began building His Church bycalling and training disciples soon afterHis temptation in the wilderness. "Fromthat t ime Jesus began to preach and tosay, Repen: for the kingdom of heavenis at hand" (Mat. 4: 17). Immediatelyafter this, He called Peter and Andrewto be His disciples "And he saith untothem, Follow me, and I will make youfishers of men" (verse 19).Jesus "called' .ir specially selected Hisdisciples and future ministers. They didnot just decide to "enter the ministry."And He always taught them the goodnews of the kingdom of heaven, orKingdom of God as it is rendered byMark, Luke and John."And Jesus went about all Galilee,teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kiugdom, andhealing all manner of sickness anddisease among the people" (Mat. 4:23).Mark records the beginning of Jesus'ministry: "Now after that John was putin prison, Jesus came into Galilee,preaching the gospel of the kingdom ofGod" (Mark 1:14).Jesus always preached about the kingdom or GOVERNMENT of God. This wasthe ONLY message He taught His disciples who were to carry 011 the ChurchHe was founding!ONLY God's Church Has theTrueGospelAfter teaching the message of God'skingdom and government throughout

His earthly rmnistry, and telling thosewho would be saved, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commondmenss"(Mat. 19: 17), Jesus gave His apostles aparting commission of how to carry outHis work until He came again. Jesuscommanded: "Go ye therefore, and teachall nations, baptizing them in the nameof the "arher, and of the Son, and of theHoly Spirit: teaching them to observeALL aIlNGS whatsoever I have com-manded you: and, 10, I am with youalway, even unto the end of the world"(Mat. 28:19-20).In Mark's account, notice the importance of believing the true gospel: "Andhe said unto them, Go ye into all theworld, and preach the gospel to everycreature. He that believeth and is bap-tized shall be saved; but he that be-lieveth not shall be damned" (Mark16: 15-16).The apostles were commanded to goforth and preach exactly the SAMEgospel that Jesus had proclaimedthroughout His earthly ministry-thegood news of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD.Men were instructed to repent of theirways and BELIEVE that message in orderto be saved.

DID the apostles and ministers of God'sChurch preach that same message?When the Church was scattered because of persecution, Philip preached thetruth to the people of Samaria. "Butwhen they believed Philip preaching thethings concerning the KINGDOM OF GOD


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Page 2 The GOOD NEWS July, 1957

Address communications to the Editor,Box Ill, Pasadena, California.Copyright, July, 1957By the Radio Church of God

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

Herbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. HoehExecutive EditorRoderick C. MeredithGarner Ted ArmstrongAssociate Editors

Are YOU Really in God's Church?Can you take the CORRECTION andREPROOF and INSTRUCTION for whichthe Bible is profitable? (I I Timothy3: 16). Can you take it in a right spiritwhen a brother in the Church or oneof God's ministers uses the "spiritualsword" of God's word tc .:>vint out andexhort you to overcome YOUR faults?Are you still "hanging on" to pa rt ofyour life to do with it as you please?Or do you agree with Paul's statement:"For ye are DEAD, and your life is hidwith Chris t in God"? (Col. 3:3) .The key to the whole matter iswhether you have totally surrenderedyour life, your self-will, your vanity, yourentire being to God, His way, His laws,

His RULE-His government in HisChurch now, and in His kingdom tocome.The entire principle may be expressedby comparing your att itude with that ofJesus Christ. Under similar circumstances, facing immediate pain, suffering,

humiliation and DBATH in order to obeyGod, would you say as He did: "Never theless no t my will, but THINE, bedone"? (Luke 22:42).Do you REALLY have that kind ofattitude in your heart? I f you do, then(Please continue on page 8)

sometimes lose their first love for thetruth and fall into a wrong attitude.Examine yoursel f! Have you gonethrough a process of deep, sincere repentance and conversion? If so, have youremained in the attitude of completeyieldedness to God and His Word?Attitude is the Deciding FactorTo those of us in God's minist ry, oneof the most sorrowful lessons we havehad to learn is that many people wehad thought converted were NEVERactually converted at all. In every singlecase, without exception, we can nowlook back and realize that although theyseemed sincere at the time, there wassomething "different" about them. Often,they did not really display a humblespirit-a surrendered will.They usually could not take CORREC-TION in a right spirit. At such times,they would seek to justify the self, andwould become argumentative and bittertoward the mini st er who was trying to

help them. As long as the spiritualmirror of God's law was directed towardthe faults and mistakes of others, theycou-d smile and rejoice in differentindwidual points of Bible truth. Butthey did not like the word of God tocorrect lHEM-to have lHEIR mistakes,THEIR sins pointed out in the light ofGod's word.But now, without going into themany and varied traits of such people,what about YOU?

The CONVERTED AttitudeGod's Church is different in that itcannot be "joined" or "embraced" likesomany churches of this world. Its members have all had to come to a placeof repentance and total SURRENDER oftheir personal wills before God hasplaced them in His Church by fillingthem with the Holy Spirit.Peter said under inspiration: "REPENT,and be baptized everyone of you in thename of Jesus Chri st for the remissionof sins, and you shall receive the gift ofthe Holy Spirit" (Act s 2 R) .Members of God's true Church mus tall turn away from the ir SINS-from

breaking God's laws. For the Holy Spiritis given to them that 03EY God (Acts5:32 ).Do you realize that this very qualification ELIMINATES ALL organized, professing "Christ ian" groups from beingthe true body of Christ except theobedient, yielded, growing branch of theChurch of God?Fur without the Huly Spirit, manhas only the natural, carnal mind and isNOT a "Christ ian" at all! "Because thecarnal mind is enmit}, against God; forit is not subject to the LAW of God,neither indeed can be" (Romans 8: 7) .The natural, unconverted mind ofm ~ n REBELS against God and againstHIS law. And only the Holy Spir it canovercome this inherent rebellion andenable man to have contact with Godand Christ. "Now if any man have notthe Spirit of Christ, he is none of his"(Romans 8:9).How important it is to grasp tha tONLY those who have surrendered toGod-who have REPENTED of breaking

His laws-and who are now filled withHis Holy Spirit, only these individualscomprise the true Church of God.Through His Spir it then, all such trueChrist ians are filled with God's verynature-His character. He lives His lifein them.Only these God-ruled, God-directedpeople make up the t rue Church. Theyare the obedient "body" or instrumentthrough whom Chris t can work. "For asmany as are LED BY the Spi ri t of God,they (and they alone) are the sons ofGod" (Rom. 8:14).How totally DIFFERENT this is fromthe worldly conception of "joining" achurch! Yet even as we consider this, itis important to realize also that manyprofessing members of God's Church

ple and command in the inspired Wordof God!As the body of Jesus Christ - thephysical instrument He is using to carryout His work - we must always bewilling to do WHATEVER Jesus commands in His Word. He is our King!He is our Master!

NUMBER 7OL. VI

and the name of Jesus Christ, they werebaptized, both men and women" (Acts8: 12).In his farewell address to the elders ofthe gentile church at Ephesus, theapostle Paul Slated: "And now, behold,I know tha t ye all, among whom I havegone preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD,shall see my face no more" (Acts20:25).The last record of Paul's ministry contained in the book of Acts shows that hewas still preaching and teaching this

SAME message. "And Paul dwe lt twowhole years in his own hired house,and received all tha t came in unto him,preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD, andteaching those things which concern theLord Jesus Christ, with all confidence,no man forbidding him" (Acts 28:3031).The TRUE GOSPEL was being proclaimed in the churches unt il the dea thof the apostles. It was the message ofGod's coming kingdom or government,and His RULE over the lives of convertedChristians now. I t included the proclamation of Christ as a king or ruler.Notice how the apostles were accused ofpreaching these very things by theirenemies: "These all do contrary to thedecrees of Caesar, saying that there isanother KING, one Jesus" (Acts 17:7).How different was this message fromthe sentimental platitudes used by mostmodern ministers to exalt the person ofChrist as Saviour, bur to DO AWAY withHis message of God's RULE and comingkingdom!

ONLY the Church of God continues topreach this t rue gospel! ONLY God'sChurch is teaching the nations "toobserve ALL lHINGS" set forth by exam-


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SATAN ,S FA TE!During the annual ministerial conferences at the HeadquartersChurch in Pasadena, God's ministers went into this vital question.Here is the truth about Satan, and the startling proof about his final

end!by Gamer Ted Armstrong

T H IS WORLD is totally deceived. InHis very first words to His disciples in the Olivet Prophecy, Jesussternly warned, "Take heed that no mandeceive you, for MANY shall come in myname, saying, I am Christ, and shalldeceive many! (Matt. 24: 4-5) .Most of you brethren are well awareof the false doctrines circulated about inmodern "Churchianity" about Satan theDevil. The familiar tunes of the"preachy-toned" tent-camp evangelistshouting, "We're sure gonna twist oleSatan's tail tonight!" is just one example.Some believe he is merely the embodiment of all that is evil, and thereforenot a real being, but just a BAD "idea"in the minds of men. Others believeSatan appears as a red, dancing monsterwith wings like a bar, horns, a tail anda pitchfork. Still others believe Satan ismerely the lustful and evil part of humannature.But what is the truth?Surely most of you know, after havingstudied your Bibles, listening to theWuRLD TOMORROW broadcast and read.ing . 'Ie articles in the PLAIN TRUTH andGOOD NEWS that Satan is the god ofthis present world.Paul expressly calls him that! "Inwhom the god of this world (Gk. aion,or "age") hath blinded the minds ofthem which believe not, LEST THE lightof the glorious gospel of Christ, who isthe image of God, should shine untothem" (I I Cor. 4:4).In t rying to overthrow Christ, Satanboasted, "All this power will I give you(all the kingdoms of the world), andthe glory of them, for that is deliveredunto me, and to whomsoever I will Ig ive it" (Luke 4: 5-6).Had Satan made this statement falsely,Chris t would certainly have refuted it!And yet, Chri st said not one word tocontradict Satan's presumptuous remarksabout the kingdoms of this world. Jesusdid, however, rebuke the Devil fortempting Him by means of the kingdoms of this world.Jesus warned His disciples that themajority would be deceived, and goingin the broad, wide, easyway-the way offollowing that which seems right to a

man- to destruction! (Matt. 7: 13) .The deceiver is called the "prince ofthe power of the air" in Eph. 2:2. John'svision plainly showed Satan as the deceiver of the WHOLE WORLD, who wascast down with his angels, who are nowcalled demons (Rev. 12:9).How i t Happened

God reveals how Satan became thegod of this world-and why! Perhapsmany have falsely assumed the Devilis the god of this world against the willof God! Many, perhaps, have unknowingly followed another deception ofSatan by believing the false idea of thisworld of some kind of GREAT CONTROVERSY between God and Satan! Thisdoctrine represents the Devil as beingmuch more powerful than God! Afterall-the world is totally wrapped up insin, isn't it? Such religious teachingsrepresent just one more example of thethoroughness with which Satan has donehis work of deception.

Let's understand it!Your Bible reveals Satan as a CREATEDbeing-i-created of God. In Ezekiel tho28th chapter , God uses the king of Tyre(a type of Babylon) as a type of Satanthe Devil. The type blends into theanti type, which is Satan, in the middleof verse 12. "Thou sealest up the sumfull of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."This could not be talking about anyman!Reading on, "Yhou has been in Edenthe garden of God, every precious stonewas thy covering . . . in the day thatthou wast created!" (vs. 13). Again, inverse 15, God shows Satan as a createdbeing. "Thou wast perfect in thy waysfrom the day that thou wast created,TILL INIQUITY was found in thee."Another chief text about the originand history of Satan is found in Isaiahthe 14 th chapter. Here, God uses theking of Babylon as a type of Satan. "Howart thou fallen from heaven, 0 LUCIFER,son of the morning! how art thou cutdown to the ground, which did weakenthe nations!" (vs. 12 )Remember, Satan was castdown fromheaven to this earth! (Rev. 12:4).Jesus saw it happen.' "I beheld Satan as

lightning fall from heaven" (Luke10: 18).Lucifer means shining star of thedawn, or light bringer! In his originaloffice, Lucifer was assigned to this earth,as proved by Ezek. 28: 13.While he wasperfect in his ways from his creation,he became lustful for more powermore authority-from the standpoint ofvanity! This, by the way, is a vitallesson f(V us to learn! Lucifer was aCREATED being. He was created perfect.But CHARACTER is that which cannot beinstantaneously created-but must bedeveloped through trial, testing and experience! Lucifer had not gained his perfection through years of earnest fightingagainst the self, of sacrifice, of humilityand obedience!As a created spirit being, he visualizedhimself as exalted above God. He said,"I will ascend in to heaven, I will exaltmy throne above the stars of God, I willsit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north, I willascend above the heights of the clouds(clouds cover this earth! ), I will be likethe most High!" (Isa. 14: 13-14).

Chaos and ConfusionAs a result of this attempted rebellion,the earth became empty, waste, and intotal confusion!The word "was" in Genesis 1:2 shouldbe rightly translated, "became." Notice!"In the beg inning God created theheaven and the earth. And the earthwas (BECAME) without form, and void,and darkness was upon the face of thedeep" (Gen. 1:1-2).God is NOT the author of confusion

(I Cor. 14:33), and did not originallycreate the world in chaos and confusion!He tells you so! ''. . . God Himselft hat formed the earth and made it, Hehath established it, He created it NOTin VAIN (waste)" (lsa. 45:18). TheHebrew words used in Genesis 1 and inIsaiah 45 are the same: "tohu and balm,"which mean empty and in confusion.Lucifer's attempted usurpation ofGod's throne resulted in the ruin of thesurface of this earth. When God createdAdam on the earth, Satan was alreadhere-pretending to be a "light bringer,"


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Page 4but now an evil SpIClt, in rebel lionagainst the government of God.

Counterfeit DoctrinesMany of you have heard how Satanbegan his deception by introducing thedoctrine of the "immortality of the soul"to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He toldher, "Thou shalt not surely die" (Gen.

3:4). Since that time, the Devil hassucceeded in palming off his own aspira-tions and his ult imat e des tinat ion ongullible human beings as their chiefreligious doctrines-which are NOTfound in the Bible!Listen!Satan (Lucifer) wanted to go toheaven! The churches teach a doctrineof going some day to heaven! Luciferis a spirit, and is therefore immortal!The churches believe man has an immortal spirit! Christ said an everlastingfire awaits Satan and his angels. Thechurches teach an everlasting fire awaitsall "sinners." Satan FELL from his attempt to overthrow God. The paganmisconception is t ha t man FELL!These are only a few of the moreprevalent doctrines that Satan haspalmed off as truth to this gullible world.

Satan's WorkGod shows that fully one third of allthe multiplied millions of the angelsfollowed Lucifer in his rebellion, andwere cast down to the earth wi th him!(Rev. 12:4 with Rev. 1:20). Thesefallen angels, remember, are SPIRITS, nothuman beings! To accomplish his workof deception, with the u lt ima te goal ofdestroying human beings, Satan utilizesthese millions of disobedient spirits!He is called the PRINCE of demons(Matt . 12: 24).Contrary to the belief of some, Satanthe Devi l does not have some kind ofspiritual essence which is a counterpartof God's Holy Spirit! Satan cannot beeverywhere present, as can God throughHis Spirit. Satan cannot act directly uponnations through a spirit! Instead, heutilizes the natural pulls of human nature, and his demons!Satan himself is always concerned withthe top level jobs in his attempt to de

stroy God's plan. Not ice how he began- b y trying to destroy Adam and Eve- the very FIRST (and therefore a pri-mary aim) humans on the earth . Again,when God sent His own Son, Satantried by many clever subtlet ies to causeChrist to SIN against the law of God.All through Christ's ministry, Satan triedto have Him killed-to thwart His everypurpose! Finally, when it was t ime according to God's purpose to ALLOWChris t to be kil led, Satan the Devil wasa DIRECT instrument in executing Christ.He entered personally into Judas! (John13:27) .

The GOOD NEWSI t is not at all inconceivable that Satancould personally, individually tempt oneof God's people! However, many peopleattribute many insignificant things tothe Dev il-e--not real izing that he is concerned with the top level jobs in hisevil plan! Many of these things are ncthing more than the pulls of their ownhuman nature!But make no mistake about it!Peter warns us that Satan is as a"roaring lion, walking about, SEEKINGwhom he may devour!" ( I Pe ter 5:8) .Perhaps more often than any of usrealize, a demon is attempting to influence us-either directly, or throughanother person.Since the Devil is concerned directlywith the primary targets in trying to upset God's plan, it also follows that theMOST IMPORTANT TARGET ON EARTH ISGOD'S TRUE CHURCH!God thunders a warning at everyoneof us tha t the Devil is yet to come down

to this earth in GREATWRATH-knowinghe has but a short t ime lef t- to PERSECUTE God's Church, OUR Church! "Andthe dragon was wroth with the woman,and went to make war with the remnantof her seed, which keep the command-m ents of God, and have the test imonyof Jesus Christ!" (Rev. 12:17).Paul said he was not IGNORANT ofSatan's devices (I I Cor. 2: 11) .Are you?What About the Everlasting Fire?The t ime is rapidly drawing nearerwhen Satan the Dev il will no longer bepermitted to deceive the nations! At thispresent time, God is directly ALLOWINGSatan to be used as His instrument inblinding the world, so the lesson ofmankind will be so firmly and completelyetched in its own blood that there willnever again be a society existing in totalrebellion against God's government!God is the One who has "concluded(shut up) them all in unbelief, thatHe might have mercy on all" (Rom.11: 32). He says He is not willing thatANY should perish, but that ALL shouldfinally come to repentance! (I I Pet. 3:9) .At the beginning of Christ's millennialrule over the nations, Satan is to be

BOUND, and cast into an abyss (Rev.20: 1-3). This condition of restraint willlast during the thousand years, and thenthe Devil will be allowed freedom todeceive the nations again! (vs. 3).Jesus said He is going to cast unrepentant, carnal minded humans into"everlasting fire, prepared for the deviland his angels" (Matt. 25: 41 ). Thisparable of the sheep and the goats isano ther example of a parable of Christtha t makes no special reference to thetime element, but is showing a spirituallesson and principle to be learned! Theseparation described in verse 32 takes

July, 1957place over a period of 1,100 years!Notice, however, that these wickedHUMAN BEINGS are cast into an everlasting fire prepared for the Devil andhis angels.Fire is a physical, chemical thing!Fire is the combustion of physical objects with oxygen which changes thephysical objects into ashes and gaseousvapors!Notice that the wicked (the sameones Christ referred to ) are to be ASHESunder the feet of the righteous! (Mal.4: 3). Therefore, this fire Christ spokeof in Matthew 25 is a fire that CONSUMES human beings! But Satan is aSPIRIT being! And spirit beings are notaffected by fire!Yes-i t is possible that Almighty Godcould create a fire that would perhapsconsume a spirit-since ALL THINGS arepossible with God! (Matt . 19:26). Butit is not a question of wha t God CAN do-it is a question of what has GodWILLED to do!Let's continue!The word "everlas ting" in Matthew25:41 is "aonian" in the Greek language. "Aonian" comes from the root"aion" which means age! The correcttranslation into the English languageshould be "AGE-LASTING fire."Does the Bible bear this up?Yes, it does!

The Age-Lasting FireNext, let 's notice carefully some signif icant facts about the fire Chris t willuse to destroy His enemies!When Jesus returns to this earth asKING, His first act will be to destroy,NOT ALL the wicked, but tha t "wickedONE" who is going to be working miracles and deceiving the world! (I I Thess.2:8). Together with this great falseprophet, Christ will lay hold of the Beastwho is yet to arise, and throw them bothinto a lake of fire, burning with brimstone! (Rev. 19:20).These two are human beings-physical, breathing men, who are alive anddrawing breath at this instant! The firewill CONSUME them. This lake of fireis going to be burning all during themillennium!During Christ's time, the Valley ofHinnom, just outside of Jerusalem, wasthe place where refuse and the bodiesof criminals were thrown-into fires thawere kept constantly burning. God usethis as a type of the coming lake of fireMy father, mother and brother saw thisvalley, called "Gehenna" in the Bibleand thus were actually looking intoHELL, believe it or not!During the millennial reign of Chrisand His saints, this valley will oncmore be kept perpetually burning-andthe incorrigibly wicked ones who WILL

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What's the Use of Working?Here, reprinted from the November, 1951, issue, is the answer to animportant problem that arises in the minds of man)' brethren.

by Herman L. Hoeh

"I AM STRIVING to win the pnzeof God's great Kingdom. Whymust I be forced by circumstancesto spend my time working for a livingwhen my chief concern is to aid in God'swork?"Has this been a question in yourmind?Then here's God's answer to dispelyour worries!

Occupations Not a CurseEvery one of usprobably has ponderedthe reasons why God permits events tobefall us which seemingly keep us from

achieving our goal in life-having anactive par t in God's work. The mistakeis in our question, not with His lack ofconcern for us. Without thinking, wehold uppermost in our minds the er-roneons concept that God is pleasedonly with preaching. That 's false! Thepurpose of minis ters is to ins truct peo-ple in the law of God, to guide them sothey can gain life and have it moreabundantly here and now (John 10: 10).The intent of the law is LOVE: itsend, abundance of spiritual and materialblessings. Do you see that action mustbring this about? that work is the onlymethod whereby the goal of life may beattained? You are nor wasting your lifeif your labor is truly productive, whetherit be manufacturing, carpentry or farm-ing. It is not wrong to labor in theseoccupations or the myriads of otherunnamed ones, if God has called youand equipped you for that service. Yourjob gives you a living and affords themeans to make others' lives happy andabundant-through your labor.

A Wrong ViewThe necessity of labor ing in a worldcomposed of matter, where all is destinedto perish, deceives many into concluding

that nothing spiritual could come of theuse of matter. How far [rom the truththis is!This material world, with all its crea-tures, was shaped by the omnipotenthand of the Creator to serve as thechannel for expressing the supremespiritual principle LOVE. God has per-mitted every human being the use ofthis massive earth to work out lovetoward fellow men. Spiritual principlescan't be separated from matter entirely.God's eternal laws and statutes were in-stituted to teach us the proper use of

material objects, to regulate our materialrelationships with other men.God yearns to see us observe His com-mands by using with diligence bothmind and hand, the creation He hasmade for us. So let's turn to severalscriptures to find the many reasonswhich should cause us to rejoice inmaterial accomplishment as we do inspiritual accomplishment, that shouldmake earning a living a blessing, not acurse-for all comes from God.Bible Reasons for Having a Job

We know we should labor to givetithes and offerings. But scripture alsoexplains other important results of fruit-ful effort. Ephesians 4:28 states a com-prehensive purpose: let each "labor,working with his hands the thing whichis good, that he rna" have to gi ve to himthat needetblWe cannot execute the injunc tioncommitted to us by Jesus: "I t is moreblessed to give than to receive" unlesswe zealously produce those articleswhich render it possible for us to give,not only money, bu t also goods andfoodstuffs. A great joy it is to be ableto turn out superior products or foodfor our neighbors.The holy commands are not idle orvoid sayings; they are full of meaning.They constrain us to conduct our occu-pat ions with the utmost wisdom in or-der to possess the necessities by whichothers can enjoy happiness and ma-terial prosperity as we give. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it withthy might" (Ece. 9:10). Not only arewe thus encouraging hope in otherswho have needs, bur we also are reapinga reward ourselves in this present world;for it is more blessed to give than toreceive. Love, carried our in labor, isproductive both ways, to others and toourselves. Solomon said: "Wherefore Iperceive that there is nothing better,than that a man rejoice in his ownworks" (Ece. 3: 22) .To LIVE IS TO LABOR! no matter ifit seems straining on our bodies for themoment. Working benefits others andreturns joys ll1"on the doer. Lust, theimposing motive which makes menth ink they can own happiness throughgetting, does not produce a lasting abun-dance. It brings, instead, mental fears,and physical satiety. It produces in theheart of men, not expanding love and

inspiration for further labors, but aninflated and swollen sense of pride thateventually ruins the individual whoaspires to take success and prosperityfrom another's endeavor.Romans 12: 17 and II Corinthians8: 21 give further basic reasons for everyChristian having an honorable job. "Pro-vide things honest in the sight of allmen." The occupations in which youare, the type of work you perform, isyour example to a gainsaying and per-verse world of that right v'ay of life.Your job permits God to manifestthrough you now a forerunner of theprosperous civilization He plans for allin the thousand years to come. Receivingmoney from labor that produces nothingbeneficial, which is often true of ourmodern society, discredits God. A fruit-ful occupation is one method by whichthe gospel of peace can be indirectlypreached. This brings us to our thirdbasic reason for being thankfu l aboutour stat ion in life.

Training Ground"What profit hath he that worketh inthat wherein he laboreth? I have seen thetravail, which God hath given to the sonsof men to be exercised in it" (Ece. 3:9,10).This life is a training ground for eter-nity. We take no thing from it bu t ex-perience, ingrained in our character.This earth is the arena in which weatt empt with failures and with hard-earned successes to complete our transi-tory years. God has provided us withevery tool to finish life's course and tomake secure that hope of immortality inthe family of God. The family of God isa laboring family (John 5: 17).But by nature we lack the familycharacteristics of God. So, if we had notbeen pu t into a material world which

compels us to work for a livelihood, wewould not be fitted and trained to inherita port ion in the household of God. Wehave to strive against the laziness ofhuman nature by working with ourhands and minds for God in service tomen.Good Deeds Shine

Viewing good works through God'smagnifying glass gives us a much largerperspective of divine love which we canlet shine into the eyes of the world. Ourobedience to God is not seen by empty


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Page 6words: It IS seen in the occurrence ofprofi table labor and good deeds. Whileserving others, we have the opportunityto show fidelity and abhorrence of purloining (Titus 2: 9, 10). Through product ive labor we have the opportunityro prove to others, who lack inspiration,the gain in doing work hearti ly (Col .3: 22). Have you filled the sbrioelledhearts of others with smiles from workgladly done?

A Common Example"By much s lothfulness the buildingdecayerh; and through idleness of thehands, the house droppeth through" Ecc.

10:18; Pro. 24:30-34). Is this yourhome?I hope it isn't. But if it is, you oughtto consider very careful ly that othersmeasure our belief by how we live. I tis our life to set an exampl e for othersso they will be stirred to procure fromthe seeds of toil and labor the bumpercrop of joy, peace, hope, love and prosperity.The time will come, too, when thosewho fail to appreciate our acts today,will recall them tomorrow when Godshall open their hearts and eyes to serveHim in the judgment at the last day( l Peter 2:12).

Be BalancedThe foundation of Scripture providesus with a perfect balance for life. We areto set our affections and hopes on the

euduriug promises of God. We are notto spend our days fabricating an illusionary house of material prosperity whichwill terminate in death. Yet, because wedo set our hopes on the promise of e te rnal inheri tance in the ear th and becausewe know the laws of life f rom the revelation of God, we can use the presentworld to the glory of God. Ours is notto bui ld useless enterpr ises and foolishgadgets that please the vanity of menand women. Ours is to pr oduce usefularticles that benef it God-ins ti tu tedhomes. Ours is to cause hope and joy tospring forth from the faces of young andold by the goods and nutri tious foods weprovide. And all thi s beside t ithes andofferings we give!Has anyone of us now any reason tothink that God has not g iven ample

opportunity to do Him service besidepreaching?A DifferentWodd

Neither worldly bus inessmen norshackled laborers possess this Bible con-cept of work. Bu t time has alreadyproved, though the world is blind to it,that there is no permanent success inanything made in the world except thegood others can derive, and the joy andtraining it instills in those who do pro-

Tbe GOOD NEWSductica laboring. Looking at our occupations with this attitude-a view whichdirects our endeavors to the service ofthe Kingdom of God rather than toperishable goals-we are privil eged todepic t in miniature the World Tomor-row when the bountiful Creator willbless the honest and dili gent labors ofHis people and crown their works withjoy ( Isa iah 65:23). Everyone in theChurch of God has a whole world ofopportunity to give his supreme material efforts to a land needing the bestin commodities. How different we canmake our work by comparison to shoddily manufactured products, Huw richand flavorsome we can raise our food incompar ison to tha t p roduced by greedyand ignorant methods in which poisonsdeter iorate the soil and valuable insectsare destroyed and in which the land isnot allowed to rest every seventh yearaccording to command.Is your life giving others a view ofthe coming Kingdom of God?

SATAN'S FATE!(Continued from page 4)

to conti nue in rebellion to God's lawswill be THROWN INTO this "lake offire" as a s tern witness to all the rest ofthe world!Next, turn to Revelation 20: 10. "Andthe devil that deceived them was castinto the lake of fire and brimstone, where

the beast and the false prophet WERECAST." There is no verb "are," in theoriginal Greek as the King James revisers have added in italics! See the Companion Bible, Diaglot t, or any concordance!Notice that the Devil WILL BE CASTinto THE (not just "a," bu t the definitearticle "the" is in the Greek) lake offire whe re the Beast and False Prophet

WERE CAST!THIS ISTHE SAME FIRE!It was burning at the precise beginning of the millennium when the Beastand False Prophet were thrown into itsflames; it wil l be burning at the END of

the millennium, when Satan is throwninto the same fire!That's WHY it is called an AGE-LASTING fire in Matthew 25AI-because itdoes, literally, LAST for an age-themillennial age!

What About the Demons?Christ said the fire was being preparedfor the Devil AND his angels! So they,too, are to be thrown into the lake offire!A commonly misunderstood explana

don of this is found in I Peter 3: 19-20.People have assumed, because they base

July, 1957their re ligious phi losophies on the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, thatChr ist was busy PREACHING to somesupposed "souls" of men in hell! Whatfolly! Let's understand what really happened!Your Bible plainly states the TIMEelement in these verses. Chr is t did thepreaching, NOT during the three days

and nights of His tomb when He wasDEAD ( I Cor. 15:3 & 20) bu t "WHENonce the longsuffering of God waitedin the days of Noah, while the ark wasa preparing .. ." (I Peter 3:20) .But notice to whom Christ witnessedabout the flood! "By which also He wentand preached unto the SPIRITS IN PRISON!" (vs. 19).Who were these "spirits?" Certainlynot MEN-nor the "souls" of men, sincemen do not have immortal souls!Turn to II Peter 2:4 for the answer!"For if God spared not the angels (spir

its) that sinned, but cast them down toPRISON ("hell" is a mistranslation fromthe Greek "tartaroo" which means acondition or position uf restraint, as animprisonment! ) and delivered them intoCHAINS of darkness to be reserved untojudgment."The "spirits in prison" are the sinningangels, or the DEMONS that have perverted their ways and followed Satan,and are BOUND to the earth-imprisonedhere by the power of God until theirday of JUDGMENT.

The Lake of FireThe final enemy of Christ is deathitself. When the plan of God is finally

completed, even death is to be completely destroyed! (I Cor. 15: 26) Just beforethe establishment of the r. .v heavensand new earth, all that is corrupt, allthat is physically combustible, w il l beconsumed in a vast, WORLD-WIDE lakeof fire!This tremendous conflagration will beso intense, so white hot, that the surfaceof the whole earth will literally meltwith the fervor of the flames! Peterdescribes this awesome time as a melt

ing of the very elements, a t ime whenall the works on the earth are burnedup-dissolved! (I I Pet. 3:10-11).Chri st shows this time occurs afterthe final Great White Throne Judgmentwhen God 's plan is complete-and allwho have been added to His family arealready born of Him. After this finaljudgment, even death and the graveare destroyed (Rev. 20:13-15).The surface of the ear th will becomefor a time just as if it were the blazingsurface of the sun! This is the great

Gehenna Fire that Christ talked of,that will destroy the wicked.It is into this vast, seething lake offire that Satan and his angels will becast.


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July, 195/Bur remember! This fire is PHYSICAL!It consumes the bodies of the wicked,and is so intense it even melts the rocksand elements of the earth until theyare liquefied.Bra Satan and his angels {Ire spiritbeings! Fire is PHYSICAL, and cannotBURN spir itual beings! Spir it IS NOTCOMBUSTIBLE!The New Heavens and New Ear thIn the glorious picture of the newheavens and new earth, John wrote adescription of the temple, and the beautyof God's new creation. A key scripture isRevelation 21: 27! God expressly showsSatan and his angels will not BE in thenew heavens and the new earth! "Andthere shall IN NO WISE ENTER INTO ITanything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh alie, bur they which are written in theLamb's book of life." Satan will not bethere! And the fire will BURN UP the

wicked, and the works of the earth(Rev. 20: 14, 21:8).Peter tells us we can look forward tothe new heavens and new earth whereindwells righteousness! (I I Pet. 3: 13) . Itis evident from God's word that Satanand his angels will not be anywhere inthe new heavens and new earth!Then where are they?Let's go on-and see what your Bibleactually reveals!How a Spirit Can Suffer

Since fire cannot consume spiritsthen how can they be punished? Manypeople fail to realize that mental torment is far worse than physical torment!God created our bodies with a type of"safety device" against too much pain!When the physical human body is subjected to extreme pain, it will reach acertain point and then lapse into unconsciousness! The mind does not continue to register the pain-even thoughthe body continues to suffer! Mothersrecognize the truth of this immediately.The thought of seeing their childrensuffer-having to s tand the mental agonies of seeing their own children beingtortured-would be far worse than having to suffer physical pain themselves.A disembodied spirit is an uncomfort-able, miserable spirit! Jesus describedthis condition of mental torment whenHe said, "When the unclean spirit isgone out of a man, he walkerh throughdry places, seeking rest, and finding none,he saith, I will return unto my housewhence I came out" (Luke 11:24).This is further illustrated by the account of Chris t's experience with themany demons who had entered the manin the country of the Gadarenes. Jesuscommanded the spirits to come our ofthe man, and they "besought him mucht hat he would not send them away out

The GOOD NEWSof the country" (Mark 5: 10). "And allthe demons besought him, ~ a Y 1 l 1 g , sendus into the swine, that" e may enter intothem" (vs, 12).When Philip was performing miraclesat Samaria, he cast our many demons,who came out of people "crying withloud voice" (Ac ts 8: 7) showing theirfrustration and anger at being deprivedof their dwelling place! (See also Luke8:28.)God says the demons know of Hispower-they are aware of the greatAUTHORITY of God! We are told thatwillful s inners are going to be left witha certain FEARFUL looking for of judg-ment (Heb. 10:26-27) and that it is aFEARFUL thing to fall into the handsof the l iving God! (vs. 31).James said, "Thou believest that thereis one God? Thou doest well, the demonsalso believe, and TREMBLE!" (James2: 19). They FEAR the awesome judgment awaiting them, and are thereforein TORMENT! "There is no fear in love,bur perfect love casteth our fear, becauseFEAR HATH TORMENT (I John 4:18).When Satan comes down to the earthin great wrath, it is because he knowshe has but a SHORT TIME left! (Rev.12:12).His punishment will plainly be men-tal, spiritual, NOT PHYSICAL!

SatanWill Not Be Destroyed!Many have misunderstood verse 16 ofEzekiel 28. Notice that God is speakingof the beg inning of the creation in this

account of Satan's original rebellion. But,just as the Bible so often uses DUALmeanings, so THIS is history and prophecy at the same time! God refers to the"stones of fire" in verse 13.Notice howthese same stones are used in the description of the Holy City! Comparewith Revelation 21:18-21. Remember,the "mountain" (nation, or government)of God is ultimately going to be ONTHIS EARTH! God CAST LUCIFER OUTof that mountain , throwing him DOWNfrom his attempt to be above God'sthrone! God's throne is then to be ONTHIS EARTH! God will again cast Satanout of His presence!" . . . therefore I WILL (both past andfuture) cast thee as profane out of themountain of God, and I will destroy thee,a covering cherub, FROM the midst ofthe stones of fire" (Ezek. 28:16). Theword destroy is explained by the wordFROM! God does NOT say Satan is tobe DESTROYED! He DOES say Satan is tobe DESTROYED FROM a certain place

the midst of the stones of fire, or thelocation of God's seat of authority.Now, let's notice fur the r p roof tha tSatan is NOT to be destroyed. Turn toRevelation 20, and verse 10. I did not explain this verse sooner for a definite

Page 7purpose, as you will see.Not ice tha t the Devi l is cast into thelake of fire where the Beast and FalseProphet were cart, AND shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever!This expressly states Satan will betormented for the AGES OF THE AGES!(Sec Critical Commentary, Ivan PaninN.T., and Diaglott.) This expression inthe Greek means for all eternity-fortime everlasting!BUT!Notice carefully the verse states Satanwill be thrown into the lake of fire ANDtormented forever! It does not say thathe will remain in tbe fire forever! Thefire is on this earth! The fire is an AGE-LASTING fire, which will not be burningafter God's new heaven and new ear thare established! Since Satan is to be tormented FOREVER, and the fire is to finallyconsume the physical objects it is burning until it burns out, Satan does notremain in this lake of fire forever!Satan is a spirit! Fi-e cannot consumespiri. -and A SPIRIT CANNOT DIE!Jesus Christ said so!For a clinching proof, turn to Luke thetwentie th chapter. In verse 34, Christbegins to explain to the hypocriticalSadducees about the resurrection. ''. . .

The children of the world marry, and aregiven in marriage, but they which shallhe ;l("("ollnted worthy to obtain that world(age), and the resurrec.tion from thedead, neither marry, nor are given inmarriage, NEITHER CAN THEY DIEANY MORE, for they are equal untothe angels . . ." (vs. 34-36).Jesus tells us the angels cannot die! Satan is a fallen angel! Therefore Satancannot die!

"Reserved unto Judgment!"Remember, Peter and Jude both attestto the fact tha t the sinning demons arereserved unto a time of JUDGMENT!Without realizing it, many people haveassumed the "judgment" is a final SEN-TENCING that is passed in one instantat Christ's coming!Such is not the case!A judge must investigate the meritsof each case and ARRIVE at a decisionbased on the facts! God is calling out

His children to become Kings andPRIESTS with Christ-and to RULE THISEARTH!A vital part of the job of each ofGod's children will be JUDGMENT! Be-lieve it or not, the Creator of all thatexists is actually permitt ing us to havean opportunity to become judges of thisworld! Many have: nu t understood thescriptures already mentioned in I Pete3:19-20 and II Peter 2:4, simply becausethey have not understood an importanphase of that judgment!The Apostle Paul gives us the amazinganswer in I Corinthians 6:2-3! "Do y


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Page 8not know that the saints shall judge theworld? And if the world shall be judgedby you, are ye unworthy to judge thesmallest matters? KNOW YE NOT THATWE SHALL JIJIX',F. ANGELS?"There it is!We shall judge angels.' Remember,the wicked spirits , including Satan, arepresently being reserved, being kept in:estraint, unto judgment! That judgingIS yet to be done!Now do you see?The Bible plainly reveals Satan will becast into the lake of fire, but the lakeat fire will end when the new heavensand new earth are established, and Satanis to be tormented unto the ages of theages! It also shows his torment while inthai: fire is going to be MENTAL, at seeing all he has strived toward, workedfor, plotted for, burned "p. Christpreached to the spirits on this earth during the time of the flood as a WITNESSto them! The flood was a type of the yetfuture destruction of the earth-this

time by FIRE! Christ was warning themof the impending destruction of all theirworks-and their banishment from thisearth! The exact nature of their ETERNALpunishment is YET to BE DECIDED!YOUR BIBLE REVEALS YOU MAY BEINSTRUMENTAL IN DECIDING THATPUNISHMENT!Jude gave a slight indication of thepossibility of the nature of that punish

ment when he used the demons as atype in warning Christians about falseteachers who had crept in unawares.In reading through the book of Jude,you come to verse 6, where the demonsare mentioned, to the nex t few verses,where these "filthy dreamers" arc described. Not ice how thei r e rror is EXACTLY that of the s inning angels in thatthey too tri ed to usurp authority! "They. . . ran greedily after the error of Balaarnfor reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core . . ." (verse 11). See Numbers 16, where Korah tried to usurp theposition of God's chosen servants.Jude continues to describe, "Ragingwaves of the sea, foaming out their ownshame, wandering stars (see Rev. 1: 20,where stars are symbols of angels) TOWHOM IS RESERVED THEBLACKNESS OFDARKNESS FOR EVER!" (verse 13).Notice, in Enoch's prophecy, he spokeof coming judgment, "... Behold, theLord cometh with ten thousand of hissaints, to execute judgment upon all. . . " (verses 14-15).As has already been proved-the angels (demons) are definitely includedamong those to be judged by the saints!Could this be an indication of their finalfate? They are miserable when disembodied-wandering through "dry places,seeking rest!" Could this st at ement in

Jude give us a picture of their punishment? "... wandering stars, to whom

The GOOD NEWSis reserved the blackness of darknessfor ever!" (Jude 13).

Your ResponsibilityPart of our awesome respousibiliry isgoing to be the judging of angels! Satan's ultimate destination apparently isyet to be decided-by the saints! Areyou preparing yourself for such a job?Such an overwhelming responsibilitydemands a tremendous amount of wisdom and knowledge: God Almighty hascalled you and me to much more thanjust some inactive, "fluff-fluff" eternityof laziness and ease! God says it has notentered into the heart of man the thingsHe has prepared for us! (I Cor. 2:9) .

God's Churchis Different!(C01ltinued from page 2)

you may make many mistakes along theway because of human weakness, butwhen the really BIG tests come alongyou will stand firm because your willhas been surrendered to God.So cultivate this spir it and atti tude.Ask God to clean you t tp-to root outany human self-will that is left.Remember that God's Church is aSUR-RENDERED Church! It is a prayingChurch. It is the Spirit-led Church thatJesus Christ built.In determining who is in His Church,God looks on the heart. And your heartMUST BERIGHT.God's Church GROWS!Speaking to His disciples of the HolySpirit, Jesus Christ said: "Howbeit whenhe, the Spirit of truth, is come, he willguide you INTO all truth: for he shallnot speak of himself; but whatsoeverhe shall hear, that shall he speak: andhe will show you things to come" (John16:13).The Church tha t is gu ided by God'sSpirit is constantly GROWING in truthand in an understand ing of "things tocome." Because Christ is IN this Church,its ministers are able to warn you of the

exact, specific events destined to occurin your lifetime.The apostle Peter instructed: "GROWin grace, and in the knowledge of ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (I I Peter3: 18).Have you noticed that during thecourse of t:very single year we havepublished some NEW TRUTH in thepages of either the GOOD NEWS or ThePLAINTRUTHmagazine? We are warning this nation of the specific punishments that are coming-step by s tepan our rebellious people.

July, 1957I f you live in any of the areas affectedby the drought and floods, you are EXPERIENCING the reality of these warnings!WHy-if this is not the only true

Church-are not the other churches andtheir ministers also proclaiming thesewarnings? WHy-if these people arereally converted-s-don't they grow ingrace and knowledge. Why don't they"hunger and thirst for righteousness,"for correction, for instrucrion from God'sWord?Why do they REJECT new truth whenit is freely offered to them? In all thesethings, why don't they show more ofthe "fruits" of God's Spirit?Answering these questions shouldmake us realize more fully than ever thegreat DIFFERENCE between God'sChurch and all others. It should make usAPPRECIATE even more that God hascalled us to be in His Church at thistime.

We Have a Mission to Perform13ur remember Paul's statement to thebrethren at Corinth: "Now ye are the

BODY of Christ, and members in particular" (I Cor. 12:27). Christ's Churchis His body-the physical instrumentHe can guide and empower through theHoly Spiri t in carrying His message tothis dying world.Christ works through His Church!And it is Christ who said: "And thisgospel of the kingdom (GOVERNMENTof God) shall be preached in ALL THEWORLD for a witness unto all nations;and then shall the end come" (Mat.l4 : 14).God's Church is different in tha t it isBUSY doing the work of Christ! It isnow beginning to proclaim His messageto the entire world!But the job is BIG and the laborers arevery few. The help of EVERY MEMBERis NEEDED!Your prayers, your encouragement,your tithes, your offerings, your witnessto others are all important.'YOU are a member of a ChurchGod's Church. Its attitudes and objectivesare truly different!If Christ has pur you in His Church,you will need to surrender the "self"consranrly-s-day by day. You will needto study and pray-to GROW in graceand knowledge.You should be BUSY in the work ofChrist's bod)!--doing everything withinyour power to help proclaim His message as a last "witness" to this world.Then-and only then--can you hopeto hear Christ's words: "Well done, thougood and faithful servant."This is the blessed reward that themembers of God's Church hope someday to receive!

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Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 07) Jul_w