Good News 1961 (Vol X No 06) Jun

8/10/2019 Good News 1961 (Vol X No 06) Jun

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intern tion l

M a g a z i n e

o f

T H E

C H U R C H

O F G O D

~

VOL. X, N U MB E R

6

JUNE,1961

*J oyous PENTECOST

Thousands observed the Day of Pentecost around the world in

GODS

Church.

Gods

work is growing in every direction-

and SEVEN nation-wide baptizing tours are scheduled

by Roderick C.

Meredith

N D

when the day of Pentecost was

fully come, they were all with one

tA ccord

in

oiic place

(Acts

2:1

The recent joyous observance of Pente-

cost by literally thousands of brethren

around this earth was certainly with one

accord as it was in apostolic days Al-

though this time-as it was in the days of

Paul when Pentecost was observed at

Ephesus

( I

Cor.

16:s

as well

as

other

major centers- he observance of this

Festival was held on

Jeueral continents

in

various cities.

Mr. Armstrong

at New

York

City

After spending the first part of the

three-day Festival with the London church

on the weekly Sabbath, Mr. Herbert W.

Armstrong flew on Sunday to New York

City to

be

with Gods Church there for

the D a y of Pentecost. He was returning

to this country anyway for a much-needed

visit to important radio stations, and

so

planned to spend this Holy Day with

Gods Church in Americas largest city.

The pastor of the New York City

church, Mr. Carlton Smith, reports:

Again I am happy to report the greatest

Holy Day Festival ever held in this great

city There were 293 adults and

118

chil-

dren, representing ten states plus Canada

and Washington, D.C., in attendance.

This was by far the greatest number of

Gods people ever assembled in New

York City in the Philadelphia era of

Gods Church.

Not only was

it

the greatest Festival

observed here attendance-wise; but most

important of all,

it

was,

I

sincerely feel,

the most profitable, spiritually speaking.

Everyone

just

seemed

to

be bubbling over

with enthusiasm, warmth and joy. Mr.

Herbert

W.

Armstrong, whom we were

very happy to have with

us,

said that this

church is the handshakingest group he

had ever seen. Also, we were overjoyed

to see and hear Mr. Armstrong in person,

and

a

number commented

to me

after the

services as to how much they had been

inspired by his messages to really do

more in the way of spiritual progress.

So,

it certainly was a shot-in-the-arm

for the entire church to have Mr. Arm-

strong with us again for the second time

since the church was started in Novem-

ber

of

1959.

I

hope that this shot will last

until he can return to give

us

another one.

In the way of physical enjoyment we,

of course, had the physical feast during

the interim between the morning and

afternoon services. Everyone partook of

and enjoyed the delicious and healthful

food prepared by Gods people as only

Gods people can prepare it. Not only

were we able to please the palate with

good food, but also the ears were soothed,

during the afternoon services, by a couple

of beautiful and melodic songs, the 1st

and 117th Psalms set to music by our own

Mr. Leo Bogdanchik. Mr. Bogdanchik has

studied music the greater part of his life

under private instructors and now has his

own music studio where he teaches piano,

accordion and other instruments as his

profession. However, his specialty for his

own likes is the organ. He is now enthusi-

astically engaged in setting other songs

to music. Oh, yes,

I

want to say that the

two above-mentioned songs were sung

by our sextet made up of Messrs. Calvin

and Raymond Mickens and their wives,

plus

Mr. and Mrs. Zac Challenger. It

appears that we have a great deal of

musical talent plus talent in many other

fields here in New York.

To illustratc

just

how much God really

does want those who sincerely seek and

obey His Commandments to enjoy and

profit from the services,

first

let me tell

you what occurred to one of our faithful

women during Pentecost. Mrs. Charles

Nickel, shortly after the morning service

ended, was stricken suddenly with severe

cramps and upset stomach. She was very

sick and felt very bad. Her husband came

over and asked me to anoint her, which I

did. Aftcr the afternoon service had

ended, she came to me and told me that

as soon as we had come out of the little

room that the pains in her body dis-

appeared and that she was able to enjoy

and profit from the afternoon service

which

I

had asked God to make possible.

Yes, God

is

a merciful God

and

He is

very much concerned for His children as

we have seen evidenced here many times.

So, all in all, this was

a

most enjoy

able and profitable Holy Day. M u r l i en

thusiasm was generated and all went

away looking forward to the next one as

usual.

Overseas Observance

Mr. Gerald Waterhouse reports from


2/16

Page 2

The

GOOD

NEWS

June,

1961

in conducting services during the three-

day Pentecost Festival. Beginning with a

Bible study on Friday night, five preach-

ing services and two Bible studies were

held during the three day period.

Mr. Swisher and I were assisted in con-

ducting these services by Mr. Frank Wil-

son who led the singing, and by Mr.

Cecil Battles who brought two sermon-

ettes. Also,

a

very

special

treat was given

all of

us

when the Gladewater Imperial

High School Chorus rendered two spe-

cial

selections on the Day of Pentecost

during the final afternoon service. This

group of young singers was led by Mr.

Richard Ricc, tcachcr in the Imperial

School, and they sang beautifully and

feelingly.

The theme of the sermons was on re-

sisting the spirit of Satan and his demons,

and on being filled with the Spirit of Al-

mighty God. On the

Day

of Pentecost

itself, well over

1,000were

in attendance

and enjoyed a wonderful day of feasting

and fellowship on the beautiful taber-

nacle grounds as well as in the preaching

szrvices

themselves.

At Pasadena headquarters church, over

900

brethren assembled for the Feast of

Pentecost lus hundreds of others in

other nearby local churches in the

Los

Angeles area. The preaching services in

Pasadena were conducted by Mr. Garner

TCd Armstrong assisted by

Mr.

Wayne

Cole. The theme was on

knowing

the

power of God and His Spirit.

God granted a beautiful day, and a

wonderful feasr: was held out-of-doors

on

our own lovely Ambassador College cam-

pus grounds.

Elscwhere in the

Los

Angeles area, the

Los

Angeles and Long Beach churches

met together

at

Gardena under the direc-

tion of Dr. Zimmerman-head of the

Letter Answering Department nd

Mr.

Frank McCrady. Over 300 brethren

joined in this service, and experienced

a

fine festival both spiritually and

physically.

In the Sherman Oaks Church of God,

about 120 brethren attended. The preach-

ing services were conducted by Mr. Nor-

man Smith and Mr. Selmer Hegvold.

In Redlands, California, about

125

members of the Redlands church attend-

ed Pentecost services conducted by Mr.

Charles Dorothy and Mr. Al Dennis, local

elder.

In Temple City, about

130

were in

attendance on the Day

of

Pentecost. The

preaching services there were conducted

by Mr. Jon Hill, local pastor, and Mr.

Arthur

Mokarow,

formerly from the

Chicago church and now a zealous

stu-

dznt in Ambassador College.

Further south, the San Diego Church

of God assembled for a splendid Pente-

cost Festival under the direction of a vis-

iting minister, Mr. Leroy Neff, and their

Gods Church in Sydney, Australia, that

they observed a wonderful Pentecost

Festival. Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Tony

Hammer conducted an entire three-day

Festival there with morning and after-

noon preaching services each day. About

100 brethren were in attendance for the

Festival from all parts of Australia-

some having to travel many miles to be

there.

Since new radio stations are now being

added in the land down under Gods

work there should soon be BOOMING

more than ever

Many of you brethren will be happy

to learn that we are now planning to send

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Simpkins to Australia

to

help in the work there soon after col-

lege graduation this June. Mr. Simpkins

is from near Neosho, Missouri, and is

now graduating from Ambassador Col-

lege. His wife, the former Bernice Stover,

is a very faithful and dedicated maid-

servant of Jesus Christ, and it is felt that

this couple will add much to the work in

Australia where so much growth is taking

place.

Our congratulations and our prayers

go with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Simpkins

Reports are still incomplete from the

British Isles regarding the observance

of

Pentecost there, but we do know that

a

large Festival was held with Gods

Church in London, England. About

150

brethren were in attendance, plus many

others in the outlying churches. As re-

ported earlier, Mr. Herbert Armstrong

was there over the weekly Sabbath before

flying back to New York Sunday. After

his departure, Mr. Raymond McNair re-

mained to conduct the services

on

the

Day of Pentecost for Go ds Church in

Ephraim.

From the far away Philippine Islands,

Mr. Pedro Ortiguero reports that

853

observed the Day of Pentecost there in

the Philippines. Many people have been

attracted by the preaching of G ods truth

in this far-away land, and are beginning

to meet with Gods Church and learn

many things on His Holy Days. May our

thoughts and prayers be with them

Pentecost at Chicago

A three-day Pentecost Festival was

held in Chicago with Mr. Herman

L.

Hoeh flying there from Pasadena to assist

the local pastor, Mr. Dean Blackwell, in

conducting services there for over 1100

people

Mr. Blackwell sends the following re-

port: A warm, enthusiastic 1104 people

rejoiced before God in the commemora-

tion of the founding of G od s Church

1930

years ago. Wonderful improvement

was noticed in the special music by the

Chicago chorale as well

as

the soloists.

Mrs. Viola Peets is to be commended

on her persistently near-flawless job of

managing the meals. Thanks also go to

her helpers for the meals and service.

In

obedience to Gods injunction that we

rise up before the hoary head, the older

people always go through the food line

first.

A very enjoyable time of social fel-

lowship was held

on

Saturday night.

Among our colored brethren, under Mr.

Elisha Crims supervision, and among

the other brethren with Mr. John Bald

as

Master of Ceremonies. Mr. Peets, the

husband of Mrs. Peets and an interested

friend

of

the church, cordially provided

us with his personal band. Educational

movies

of

Gods creation were enjoyed by

chose 12 years old and under and a nurs-

cry was provided for the smaller children

by Mrs. Cornelia Henderson, a Chicago

church grandmother herself.

Attendance at the all-day services on

Sabbath and Sunday was 665 and 455

respectively. Everything was run very

smoothly as the result of an outstanding

job done by a very capable group of dea-

cons. Additional rejoicing occurred as

many new

brothers and sisters were

added to our spiritual family.

Other recent cause for rejoicing took

place on the Sabbath of May 6 when we

were blessed in Chicago and Blooming-

ton by the addition of two new deacons

in Gods service. In Chicago, Mr. Martin

Filippello, a very yielded, zealous Italian

member of Gods Church was elevated to

greater service for his brethren. His

lively, helpful wife adds to his service

and potential as well as being truly an

helpmeet for him. This raises the Chi-

cago group of special servants to an un-

usual six consisting of two Germans, Mr.

Joseph Schlitt and Mr. Raymond Roens-

pies; two Russians, Mr. John Kreidich

and Mr. Joseph Tkach; our colored dea-

con, Mr. Elisha Crim; and our new Ital-

ian deacon,

Mr.

Filipello.

The very first deacon for the Bloom-

ington church was ordained on the same

Sabbath by Mr. Hal Baird and me. Mr.

Gene Dawson, who has shown great zeal

and yieldedness in Gods Church, was

readily recognized as qualified by all but

himself.

Having driven over

100

miles to

church in El Paso for over two years in

order

to

assemble

to

learn

and

help the

newer brothers, Mr. Dawson pursued the

path of higher service to others. He is

helped by

a

very warm and spiritually

growing wife, and two small daughters

who will add experience in management

and patience.

Pentecost at Gladewater

and Pasadena

Flying back to Texas by

707

Jet,

I

was

privileged

to

be

at OUT own

big

raber-

nacle at Gladewater, Texas to join Mr.

Kenneth Swisher he local minister


3/16

June,

1961

local elder. Mr. Do n Billingsley. After an

inspir ing sermon in the morning on the

meaning of thz Day

of

Pentecost, an

enjoyable feast was held in a nearby park

followcd by

a

Biblc study. During the

morning preaching service, about 175

were in attendance and Mrs. Dau sang

a special number, Th e Holy City.

C e n t r a l C a l i f o r n i a O b s e r v a n c e

Mr. Ronald

Kelly

reports on th e Pente-

cost festival in Central California:

B o t h th e S a c r a m e n t o a n d F r e s n o

churches met in Modesto, California, to

obssrve thc recent Day of Pentecost. Over

4-30

packed the American Legion Hall to

once again review and learn more about

the

z w y p ~ p o s e

or which we humans

are here o be FIRST FRUIT S in Gods

plan of salvation Th is large crowd shows

how growth in California continues.

Th e church in Sacramento now has

o v e r 7 t t e n d i n g

EVERY

WEEK

Many zealous new families drive over

from many miles on all sides

of

Sacra-

m e n t o t o b e w i t h G o d s p e o p l e e a c h

wcek. And the re i s

EVEN

BIGGER

GR OW TH expected thi s summer .

Many

score.r have written in

to

be baptized and

will be contacted during the summer

months. This, no doubt, will result in

a

great increase.

Du ring the w onderful Feast of

Pente-

cost, the members of both churches be-

came better acquainted with each other

while we all enjoyed one of the FINEST

MEALS ever displayed on tables. Deli-

cious salads and decorated desserts were

the highlights

Many who have just begun to keep

t h r

Feast have found that

it

is

NOT

a

y o k e

of

bondage as they once thought

Instead, they hav e never enjoyed anything

s:)

much in

all

their lives Friends an d

relatives

shake

their

heads in amazement

that we would keep Gods laws. But they

never once have known what a REAL

BLESSING it is-and just thin k, not one

of thzm knows the very purpose God is

working out here below

Mr. Carl McNair an d M r. Eugene

Walters, who will travel together this

summer on a nation-wide baptizing tour,

were in Modesto t o assist wit h the preach-

ing and special music. Mr. McNair gave

a

very powerful serm on on just what the

Holy Spirit is and how God sent it on

t h t

Day

of Pentecost

1931

years ago.

He showed how it provides the strength

which enables

us to

fulf il l Go d s purpose

now. Mr. Walter s played the pian o for an

inspiring song service and we all enjoyed

his

s?ecial music selections.

Th c brethren in both churches now

look forward to meeting to gether in Sep-

tember for the Feast of Trumpets if God

wills.

W h i l e w e h a v e m u c h g o o d n e w s,

t h e r e a r e s t il l t ri a l s w e m u s t e n d u r e .

T h e GOOD NEWS

Page

3

joyed trying

to

out-sing th e elements.

All were able to fellowship for many

hours before, between and after services,

which afforded opp ortunity to renew old

acquaintances and to meet new brothers

and sisters. Many hours of counseling

were prov ided and benefited greatly those

who needed advice.

Pentecost services in Denver were cer-

tainly a great blessing for

385

of Gods

people this year.

P e n t e c o s t O b se r v e d i n O t h e r A r e a s

Reports have not yet come in from all

of the churches regarding their Pentecost

Festivals, but we do have some details

from many of the local areas.

First of all,

a

fine three-day Pentecost

Festival was held a t Louisville State Park,

near Battleground, Washington, for all

of the churches in Washington and Ore-

gon. The Festival was conducted by Mr.

Raymond Cole who was assisted by Mr.

Jimm y F riddle of the Seattle church, and

Mr. Dale Hampton of the Port land

church, plus otht.1 local elders and assist-

ant pastors. About

1,000

brethren were

in attendance for the Day of Pentecost

itself, and th e preaching centered a round

the day i tsel f , and the need for Gods

Holy Spirit.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, both the

Akron and P i t t sburgh ChUI~l l~be[ to-

gether for a three-day Pentecost Festival

conducted by Mr. Bill McDowell and

assisted by Mr. Robert Hoops. Nearly

600 were in attendance for the Day of

Pentecost itself, and

a

number of beau-

tiful musical numbers were offered dur-

ing the three-day Festival by several

talented ch urch members.

The South Texas churches of San

Antonio, Corpus Chris t i and Houston all

got

togethei at Victoria, Texas for a fine

Pentecost Festival. Over

400

were in

attendance, and the preaching services

were conducted by Mr. Richard P rince --

pastor of the churches in Houston and

Dallas, and by Mr . Roger Foster astor

of th e churches in San Anton io and Cor-

pus

Christi.

M r . R o g e r F o s t e r r e p o r t s : T h e

churches in Houston, San Antonio and

Corpus Chris t i

all

met together for

a

very joyous and profitable Festival

of

Pentecost in Victoria, Texas. Besides the

delicious potluck lunch he banqu et

outdoo r style -w e had an abundance of

spiritual food.

Even though Mr. Richard Prince and

I

mad e no plans for the sermons and ser-

monet tes

to

follow a definite thr~nr ach

one dovetailed perfectly w ith the preced-

ing message. Just another example that

Jesus Chris t is the O ne w ho is really con-

ducting His Festivals. Throughout the

messages was woven the theme that we

(Please continu e on page 1J)

IlnPmployment in California is still ex-

tremely high Several of Gods people

a r e o u t of w o r k a n d w e h e r e w o u l d

appreciate it very much if others from

around the world would

ferziently

pray

about this Since we last wrote many have

found jobs, but still more need to be

employed to have a part actively sup-

por t ing GOD S W O RK wi th t i thes and

offerings.

Many miraculous events take place

for those who are obeying and trusting

God But perhaps one of the greatest

blessings is the joy of bringing new life

into the world. G o d s church, known for

its big Bibles and many children, con-

t i n u e s t o b e b l e s s e d b y h a v i n g t h e i r

quivers full (Psalm 127:

5 )

Most recent additions here were Tim -

othy DAmelio and Tommy Dickman.

Young Tommy is the surprise bouncing

baby boy-the sixth-the sixth boy-he

has no sisters MI . arid Mrs. Dickm an add

greatly to the church attendance, lead-

ing the stair-stepping boys into an e ntire

row of chairs to attend church.

Wh e n T i m ot h y was born God per-

formed another miraculous birth. Being

delivered feet first was a real problem-

but the real miracle was that he didnt

breathe for

45

fall minutes after birth.

Using only mouth-to-mouth respiration,

the doctor admitted the miracle that God

performed in allowing the baby to live.

W e all re joice in Gods blessing. W e

pray this Good News will encourage all

of

you as it has

all

of us in California.

Pentecost Services in D e n v e r

The three day services for Pentecost,

held this year

a t

the Arapahoe Fair

Grounds just outside

of

Denver, were a

vital blessing for Gods people in Colo-

rado and adjoining areas.

Mr. A1 Portu ne fro m Pasadena, joined

Mr. Burk McN air, pastor of th e Denver

and Pueblo churches, for the three all-

day

services. Th e und erlying theme of the

sermons was certainly to inspire and en-

courage Gods people. Many expressed

how much nearer they were to God and

how much more real God seemed to

them. Mr. Bill Quillen eacon from the

Pueblo, Colorado church ave several

fine sermonettes.

lhe wom en

of

the C olorado churches

outdid themselves in preparing delicious

and unusual dishes for the noon meals.

There was an abundance of fine food and

everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Varied weather was experienced dur-

ing the three days. On Sabbath afternoon

the sky grew very dark and a severe hail

shower ounding

so

loudly o n the cor-

rug ated iron roof aused the services to

be interrupted for nearly ten minutes.

During this period no one

was

able to

hear Mr. McNair, so

all

joined in singing

several hymns. Everyone thoroughly en-


4/16

Page

4

T h e GOOD NEWS

June,

1961

Internation al magazine of

T H E C H U R C H

OF

GOD

ministering to its members

scattered abroad

VOL.x

NO. 6

Herbert W. Armstrong

Publisher and Editor

Garner Ted Armstrong

Executive Editor

Herman

L.

Hoeh

Managing Editor

Roderick C . Meredith

Associate Editor

Address communications

to

the Editor,

Box

11

1,

Pasadena, California.

@ 1961by Radio Churrh of God

Be

sure to notify us immediately

a

change o f address

LETTERS

TO

T H E

EDITOR

R e m e m b e r t h e S a b b a t h D a y

Dear Mr. Armstrong:

I had just started to keep the Sabbath

day and I had hay down. It was just right

to bring in (or so

I

thought) and thc

weather man said it was going to rain.

But Go d says not

to

work on the Sabbath

day,

so

I

didnt.

My

wife said it would

be all ruined. Well , I didnt get it in till

Monday

or

Tuesday. It was a clover hay,

and it was black. I didnt think the cows

would eat it. Do you know, sir,

even

a

year later, the cows would push the other

hay aside and eat t hat hay first.

from Pennsylvania

(Editors Conzment: Here is a real ex-

ample of a test of fai th. W ha t would you

have done? Th is demonstrates that God

is true to Hi s promises regardless of h ow

hopeless all physical circumstances may

seem. )

Coal Las t s and Las t s and Last s

Dear

Mr.

Armstrong:

Since tithing now for over two years

I

have really prospered. W he n I first

started I was burning oil lamps. I now

have light, refrigerator, fa n and a warmer

house. My coal pile lasted

so

much more,

every one of my neighbors said they be-

lieved my coal pile was getti ng bigger all

the time instead of go ing down. I had fue l

to

give

to

some of my n eighbors and still

had a lot left over and plenty to start on

next winter. All

I

have is my husbands

pension check once

a

L ~ U J L I ~ L a ~ dlways

have money left over. It sure pays to

listen to God.

Woman, Kessinger, Kentucky

The F u t u r e L o o k s Bright Again

Last year I requested a cloth and

prayer fo r healing from rccurring partial

blindness. It is pretty near

a

year now

since I had an attack.

At

the same t ime

I prayed for healing

for

a curvature of

the spine. Last week 1 had some X-rays

taken of the lower spine. Th e doctor said,

I

can f ind nothing wrong The future

looks bright again.

G i r l s W r i s t Healed

I

was shown a n X-ray of

a

girls wrist

that had been broken. I prayed for her

and advised her to go to a doctor an d have

a cast put on it . The doctor said it was

broken in three places. After putting the

cast on, he decided to take an X-ray to

see if it was set properly. A fter o bserving

the X-ray, he stated he must have been

wrong-for it didn t reveal anything It

was p robably only sprained, he muttered.

Reported by on e of our

Local Elders

(Editors C o m m e n t : W e receive le tters

every day relling how God has super-

naturally intervened and healed The re

is power for the asking )

R e d e e m i n g the Time

Dear Mr. Armstrong:

I am trying hard to learn Gods in-

structions as fast as

I

can because I have

so many years backlog to overtake.

Your

help s

so

valuable.

I feel I

have gotten

several years knowledge in these months

I have had your guiding han d to aid me.

A

F u t u r e A m b a s s ad o r S t u d e n t

Dear Mr. Armstrong:

My mother ment ioned to her minis ter

that 1 had appl ied for admission to

Ambassador College. One day I came in

and found him looking over my Corre-

s p o n d e n c e C o u r s e a n d T h e P L A I N

TR UT H. My folks left to do some chores

and he with a cynical grin said, It looks

like you have fallen in with quite a

group,

I

Ie

as mu ch as classed

the

Church

as a bunc h of fanatical heretics and co n-

cluded by saying: Mr. Armstrong has

quite a business going there. All this

from a man who had never before even

heard of you. His shameful and shoddy

perform ance served only to prove who he

served.

H e began interrogat ing me and I

answered every qu estion from the Bible.

He rolled his eyes and cocked his head

when he found out that

I

believe the

Ten Commandments are binding today.

H e said we are saved by faith. I reminded

Listener from Newfoundland

W om an , Victoria, Australia

him

chat James wrote: Faith withou t

works is dead. He dismissed it as having

been written later and thus not as near

to

Christ. Apparently he doesnt believe

that All scrip ture is given by inspiration.

Then I asked him, Why dont you

preach the gospel of the Kingdom of

God that Christ preached and com-

manded to be preached like Mr. Arm-

strong preaches? He s tammered and

blurted out, Well, we do nt have the

timetable he seems to have. Probably the

first truthful thing he said all day Th en

I asked him what was the purpose of life.

H e never answered.

At about this time he couldnt tell

whether he was coming

or

going, but h e

finally decided he w as going a nd he took

his hat and Icft

(Editors

note: This story is repeated

many times by prospective Ambassador

College students. Many of our students

have learned to endure hardships and

persecution from relatives and former

acquaintances in o rder to scrvc God and

His Church.)

God Blessed a

Cheerful

G i v e r

Dcar Mr. Armstrong:

I recently sent

you

a money order for

$300.00.

Prior to sending this money I

thought I had better hold it

off

until I

got my new

job

I applied for. I had been

waiting four weeks for a reply but

I

felt

guilty that this was buying God, i.e.,

saying I would send the

$300

as soon as

I

got the job. O n impulse wh en I received

the March issue of Th e PLA IN TR U TH

I decided to go immediately to the bank

and withdraw $300. That was March 2n d.

On March 3rd I received a two-page

telegram about my employment applica-

tion saying was tentatively selected for

r e i n s t a t e m e n t i n t h e l o c a t i o n I h a d

wanted. Salary offered was $3,000 more

than

I

had previously been making. In-

stead

of $6,000

a year it went to $9,000

and Im only 24 years old. For every $100

I sent you, God blessed me w ith

$1,000.

( C o m m e n t : Here is an example

of

a

young man who is a go-get ter who

pushes and prods himself ut wh o has

learned that you cannot forget God and

succeed.

)

You

Teach True D o c t r i n e

I have been studying your booklets

and reading your Plain Truth. I have

come to the realization that the Church

of God 7th Day [Editors note: A rem-

nant of the Sardis era of the true church

(Rev. 3:

1-6 ) I

here on the Island

of

Barbados, with Salem, West Virginia as

our headquarters, is as good

as

if it were

a Sunday religion, under the m ark of the

Beast. For the word of God says if we

(Please continue o n page 13)

Youn g man, Ionia, Michig an

Man, Millville, New Jersey


5/16

PRAYER

Can Help

Solve

Your Problems

fiiarcy spend hours in prayer wi th

no

apparent results. Troubles seem to continue to mount.

Wh y? Here is the surprising answer

from

one of

our

local elders

from

Headquarters.

H I S has been a critical season for

most of the world - nd for many

Serious and strang e viruscs and respir-

atory ailments have undermined the

stamina and health of some

Unemployment has sapped the ability

to provide for o u r ow n families in certain

cases

Persecution has threatened the peace

a n d s x u r i t y

of

some of oilr loved ones

Those who

huue

escaped these troubles

are wondering why the others have not

W h a t is

wiong?

W h y du

pvLlellib

seem to stalk continually, not only the

world, but the people of God as well-

the very pe op le God has culled out

of

a

very sick and confused world?

P r a y e r A K e y ?

God has promised to bless. to prosp er,

to make life full , abu nda nt and a joy to

every one of us here and now In some

cases that promise has not materialized.

W h y ?

In one way or another it has affected

the entire Church of God, the Body of

Chris t . When one member suffers , the

whole Body suffers

( I Cor.

1 2 : 2 4 - 2 7 ) .

In visiting and counseling with many

members, we have found a common con-

dition that reveals

a

vital key to most of

these unpleasant circumstances

T f us

That key? - ur prayer habits

Yes Faulty prayer habits are a primary

cause of these serious problems in Gods

Church

One man, after becoming embit tered

against the Ch urch, insisted he was pray-

ing more at that t ime than at any t ime

before. Yet he left the Church Others,

too, have claimed they had never been

closcr to God in thcir prayer habits than

at that particular time Could th is

be

true?

Lack of understanding this subject

could be fatal

to

our own spiritual devel-

opment

W e need to exam ine ourselves

R e s p e c t A u t h o r i t y

Many of us accept teachings of Christs

Church readily ntil one of those deci-

sions strikes at the core of some aspect

of our own lives. Th en w e begin

to

doubt

the wisdom of Christ, of Gods ministers

It becomes easy for

us

to forget that they

by

S e l m e r

L.

H e g v o l d

are ordained, and placed in office

by

God

for the express purpose of perfecting the

saints he wor c of th e min istry ill

we all come to the

un i t y

of the faith and

knowledge of the Son of God, to the

perfect

man (Eph. 4 : 1 2 - 1 3 ) .

Something is radically wrong when

some, who claimed to be close to God

in prayer, suddenly are found

to

be on

the way into the lake of fire Of these

H e said, N ot every one that sai th un to

me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the

kingdom of heaven (Matt .

7:22,

2 1 ) .

It is possiblc

to

claim to worship God

diligently, and to do so in vain Christ

could not have said

so,

otherwise

Your Arrirude I m p o r t a n t

An example

of

a wrong at t i tude was

innocently expressed by a little three-

year-old girl

ar

a buffet dinner recently.

She stood obediently and politely with

bowed head along with her elders as

Gods blessing was asked on the food.

At the word Am en she gave a sigh

clearly audible throughout the room. To

her m ind the prayer w as a necessary, but

ivksome,

prelude to partaking of that

delicious food Is prayer merely a super-

stitious smattering of words that are

quoted piously before commencing on

certain phases of daily duties?

Prayer must be made with a proper

attitude of mind, with diligent applica-

tion, with real fervency, and a proper

knowledge of what

to

pray for W here

do some fall short, that thcy continue to

be plagued with very real misfortunes?

Some are falling short somewhere,

and

in most every case it is in prayer

How many of you, when prayer is

being offered up to God by others, can

suniituriLe

that

prayer

at

its close?

Do

we really focus our attention fully on the

prayer? or is our attention distracted by

other interests?

To

some, prayer seems to be an irk-

some and a boring duty required r i t -

ual we con form to, but are secretly happy

to have done with. Prayer has not become

the real and living blessing to us God

intended it to be

It is vital th at we exam ine our prayers

as

God

sees them

Here is a typical problem that minis-

ters are often called upon to help with.

A Real Problem

On e couple had been working together

providiiig for their fair-sized family.

Everything seemed to move along fairly

well for a time. Suddenly, withou t warn -

ing, the ma n lost his job His wife fell

seriously ill and recuperated slowly over

a

period of weeks. Week after week

passed. Their appeal for help from the

ministers of the Church brought

to us

a sorry picture. Not only unemployment,

but mounting bills, prospect of eviction

from a decenr home, utterly rebellious

children, and a husband and a wife on

the verge of goin g their separa te ways

W he n asked if each had fervently

prayed on e hour a day over these terrible

problem s that had developed, the answer

in each case was a sheepish No Pur-

suing this further , the minis ters found

that

cvcn

bcfore he had

lost

his job illis

man had devoted no more than one or

two hou rs to prayer each week A vital

taproot of their problem had been found.

Brethren, it is vital that we go

to

our

heavenly Father in prayer every day Th is

could be the taproot of our problems

W h y

i s

prayer

so

very impo rtant?

Converse

With God

Prayer is conversation. Not something

given by rote-r epea ted over and over

monotonously It is conversation with

our Maker ur Father in Heaven.

Conversation, in this world, helps one

person to understand, and to come to

love another bet ter . Ho w o ften have we

formed bad first-impressions of certain

people, and then, as a result of conversa-

t ion with them, found them

to

really be

desirable friends?

Th e Ch ristian world we have lived in

has given most of us a false first-impres-

sion of God . It has instilled in our m inds

a picture of a harsh, stern G od -a God

that seemingly loves to see us suffer

under the battering of storms, weather

disasters, war, fam ine, disease, unem ploy-

ment. And a God who is inaccessible to

us -who has gone afar

off

f rom

our

appeals

Through conversa t iona l prayer we

come into direct contact daily with the

t rue God. W e come

to

k n o w H i m a s H e

is. Prayer dispels that first-impression

foisted

off

on us by the world. A real,


6/16

Page 6

com forting love develops, and a new and

intimate knowledge of the very mind of

God results.

T h e R i g h t A p p r o a ch

W e need to l earn to talk over our

problems with Him as we would desire

to do with our own earthly father of the

flesh But how to develop such a prop er,

intimate, and acceptable pattern of prayer

seems to perplex many. W e should yearn

to establish such

a

contact o know God

better

Schedule your

time

for the activities

of the day, inclu ding a time for prayer

a regular time. A n h our, or a t least a half-

hour to begin with, is almost an essential

consideration

Th e period of tim e set aside for prayer

should be the hour

of

the day we are

most mentally alert efore t he prob-

lems of the day develop But seek ye

first

the Kingdom of God, and His r ight-

eousness; and all these thing s [o ur needs]

shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:33).

Somc have claimed they could pray

just as effectively as they go about per-

forming their daily work.

This i s not

true,

unless they

first

have had a period

of prayer on

their knees

The frui ts of

such people have proven this fact.

Ho w should we pray? Is there a recom-

mended position

of

praycr?

Th at at the name of Jesus

every

knee

should bow..

, (Phi l . 2 :

10).

Every knee

should bo w before G od. Th e world pays

homage to an earthly king by kneel ing

before him on

one

knee . W e pay homage

to the King of all the universe

by

kneel-

ing be fore Him on

both

knees. Read

11 Chronicles 6:13; Daniel 6:lO; Luke

2 2 : 4 1 ; Acts 9 : 4 0 ; 20:36 and others .

These are our examples

A Pattern P r a y e r

What should we pray about?

Again, it should not be a memorized

prayer Many turn to Christs instruction

to His disciples in Matthew

6:s-13

and

quote the words in their prayer day after

day. Note , however, that He said, After

this

manner

{pattern) therefore pray ye

.

This was given only as the skeletal

framework around which to bui ld our

own prayer. Jesus did not mean pray

this He m eant pray thus

Jesus pattern of prayer is very impor-

tant N ot e that Christ began by glorify-

ing God. One fourth of ou r prayer should

be given over

to

glor i fy ing God- to

magnifying His majesty, power, glory

and love

W e can do this only by s tudying His

W ord tudying Davids examples in

the Psalms-asking God, a t times, to

accept some of these Psalms as our own

words of praise and thanksgiving.

Realize how completely dependen t we

The GOOD NEWS

June,

96

are on H im for our food, shcltcr, clothing

and the very breath of air we breathe

Let our minds drink in

of

His greatness,

His m ercy, His sustaining power.

W e a r e a t h a n k -L e ss g e n e r a t i o n

of

people. W e need to change our ways

W e need to guard against the gimmes

in our prayers Study of all the examples

of prayri givrii iii our Bibles will help

us immensely.

Be

Interested in G o d s W o r k

W e should learn who Gods minis ters

are, where they are working, and the

problems they are facing in their par-

(Please continu e

on

page 13)

Question Box

Your questions answered

in

these columns Your oppo rtunity to have

discussed those problems pertaining directly

t o

members of Go d s Church,

I

am p l a n n i n g to d r i l l a well o n

m y p r o p e r t y . M y w i f e s u gg e st e d t h a t

I h a v e her brother, who is a water

d i v i n e r , locate the m o s t l i k e l y place to

d r i l l .

I

h a v e h e a r d t h a t t h i s

method

i s

somet imes success fu l , but h a v e f e l t

t h a t

it

might comeu n d e r d i v i n a t io n

a s condemned in

the

B ib le . W h a t i s

the truth

about

t h i s ?

Hcrc arc thc

facts

about water witch-

ing. Water divining is widely practiced

all over the world ven in the United

States, Brita in, Canada, and Australia. Yet

very few people know just what water

divining

really

is

or

where i t came from.

And m ost are ignorant of wh at the Bible

has

to say

ahoiit it.

W ater divining-also know n as water

witching and water dowsing- s the

art

of

seeking underground water

by

means of a divining rod. Th e commonly

used rod is a forked stick which the

diviner holds by th e forks in each hand

with the s tock point ing outward

or up-

ward. As the diviner walks over the

ground the stick suddenly twists in his

hands

as though by a pow erful, invisible

force . The s tick points d ownward, sup-

posedly indicating the presence of u nder-

groun d water. At times there is water; at

other t imes there is NON E

Water witching is ment ioned in the

Bible Hosea prophesied that people

today would be using this very prac-

tice

My

people ask counsel at their

stock and their

staff

[or divining rod,

see

Crit ical and Exper imental Co mme n-

tary] declareth un to them (Hosea : 2 )

People consult the staff, or divining

rods, to ask of them where they should

drill to find water. Just where did this

practice cuiiie

from?

How did

i c

come to

be used so extensively in our western,

so-called Ch ristian nation s?

Mart in Gardner, wri t ing about water

divinat ion, admits :

T he emp loym ent of various shaped

rods for divination purposes goes all the

way back to the ancient Greeks and

Egypt ians . . . n the Middle Ages,

it

was

associated with the power

of

Satan,

al though many churchmen made use of

divination rods. The forked twig, for

finding minerals, apparently did not

appear until the fifteenth century when

it was used by German prospectors in the

Harz Mining region . When German

miners

were

imported

to

England in the

century following, they brough t th e prac-

tice with them. It was in England that

the use of the twig was transferred from

minerals to the search for water.

(Fads

G

Fallacies in t h e N a m e of Science,

page

102.)

W ate r witching is outr ight divination

- practice of demon-worshipping pa-

ganism God condemns all such prac-

tices

Tho u shal t not lcarn to do after the

abom inations of those nations. Ther e

shall not be found among you anyone

...

hat useth

divinat ion(Deut .

18:9-10).

And God continues: I will even set my

face against tha t soul, and will cut h im

off fro m amon g his people (Lev. 20 :6 ).

Divinat ion is an abominat ion in the

sight of God. He absolutely forbids and

condemns it. Such persons as use it, God

declares, He will cut off from among his

people We cannot practice divination

and still be Christian It is high tim e that

we look into the Bible and begin to live

by every word of God W e must qui t

trusting in the superstitions of ancient

heathenism.

W ater is not difficult to locate. In order

to find water,

a

Christian should first ask

God in prayer to guide him in locating

the right place. Then he should analyze

th: lie of the land and drill in the best-

looking spot that is suitably located. It

is also helpful

to

ask the advice of an

experimced well driller who does not

seek help

of

witchers in finding water.

There is very little danger of drilling a

dry hole in areas where wells are a com-

mon source

of

water.


7/16

The TRUE

Reason

Why the Jews

Rejected Christ

Why didnt the Jews understand the prophecies

of

Christs first

coming? Why werent they ready

to

receive the Holy Spirit

on the day of Pentecost? The answer wil l surprise

you

by

Herman

L. Hoeh

VER

since the time

of

Adam man

has rebelled against the govern-

E ment of God. As the Supreme

Ruler of the universe, God has

decreed

that

6000

years be alloted to nlan to

decide for himself whether he will volun-

tarily submit to the Government of God

and keep holy the time He made holy.

Man universally has rejected Gods

rule, His authority, His holy days. But

God has not been idle in human affairs.

What God Has Been Doing

What

God

is doing these 6000 years

very few recognize.

Now is not the time God is trying to

save the world. He is rather calling out of

the world a select few whom He chooses.

TOus He reveals Himself, His Will and

His Purpose. But we must

voluntarily

choose to obey Him nd to keep holy

the days He set apart.

In ihe

days of Moses God first orga-

nized His Church and revealed to them

His Plan. To keep that Church in the

knowledge of th at Plan, the Eternal

ordained seven annual festivals. These

festivals pictured the seven steps in

carrying out Gods Plan.

When the Old Testament Church

departed from celebrating these festivals,

they lost the knowledge of the Plan. This

is exactly what had happened to the Jews

in New Testament times The Jews did

not understand the prophecies of the first

coming of Christ because they were not

keeping the one festival (Passover)

which pictured that Christ was coming

first

as the paschal lamb. They knew

He would come la ter-a t the close of

6000 years

of

history (pic tured by the

Feast of Trumpe ts) s the conquering

King

The Jews knew five out of the seven

steps in Gods Plan because they still

observed five out

of

the seven festivals.

But the two festivals on which they had

hecome

confused

and

divided pictured

the very part of Gods Plan which they

had lost The Passover pictured the com-

ing

of

the Messiah as the passover lamb

-to bear our sins

( I

Corinthians 5 :

7

)

Having changed the day

of

the true Pass-

over the Jews cut themselves

off

from

their God.

To

change the day, to neglect

it,

is sin. And sin cuts one

off

from God.

Hence they were unable to recognize the

true gospel when

it

came to them

through Jesus Christ. They were not

expecting Christ, the Messiah, to come as

a man to bear the sins of the world.

They were expecting only a conquer-

ing king. Had they been celebrating the

true Passover on its right day, instead of

confusing it with the Feast night of the

days of Unleavened Bread, they would

have known that their Messiah would

first come as a man to bear the sins of the

world

No wonder the Jews crucified the

Saviour They had forgotten the true

Passover

How

important

it is

that

wc

today

keep this day

so

we do not forget what

Christ has already done for us

And no wonder they did not receive

the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were

not properly keeping the day of Pentecost

which pictured the coming of the Holy

Spirit. Only those who

were

correctly

observing these two days knew that the

Messiah had come, who He was. Only

they

were ready to receive the gift of the

Holy Spirit.

It seems almost no one has really

grasped the true reason why the Jews

rejected Christ and ceased to be the

Church through whom H e could work in

spreading the gospel.

It is only because we today keep these

days-all

of

them-that we today know all

the steps in Gods Program.

Why

Jews Lost

True

Dates

for

Passovcr

and Pentecost

It is time we understand

why

the Jews

forgot to properly celebrate Passover and

Pentecost. Here is an important lesson in

Church Authority Gods Gouernmelzt

-which we today need to understand

Granted the Jews preserved the Sacred

Calendar. Granted that thc Jcws

cele-

brated five of seven annual festivals on

the correct date according to the Bible

and the Sacred Calendar.

Why, then, did the Jews, who to this

day have preserved the true calendar,

celebrate their passover and their pente-

cost on d iffercnt days from those plainly

stated in the Bible?

The Jews in Judaea in Christs day

celebrated their passover one day later

than did Jesus and the Galileans. The

Pharisaic Judaeans also ceased to

c o m t

f i f ty days to determine the day Pentecost

is to be celebrated. Why? How did the

Jews become confused, divided?

What happened to Church Authority?

Here are the facts

Most Jews today celebrate

their

pente-

cost

-

r feast of first-fruits n the sixth

day of the third month, Sivan. According

to Jewish tradition the day of Pcntccost

no longer needs

to

be counted. Their

Pentecost falls on a fixed day of the

month, no matter whar day of the week

it occurs

Yet Moses was inspired to write

that Pentecost has to be counted (Lev.

23 :

15

) Unlike every other annual festi-

val, Pentecost does not fall on a set day

of the month. It falls, rather, on variable

days of the month, but on a specific and

invariable

day

of

the week

The Jews in New Testament times

became divided as to the correct time for

celebrating this festival. Sadducees, who

were mainly priests, still continued to

count

fifty

days long after Pharisees, who

were laymen in high places, fixed the

festival on Sivan

6.

Why?

Because no authority was exercised to

keep unity in the Jewish community in

New Testament times

The apostlcs and faithful Jews in

Galilee and throughout the world alone

continued

to

celebrate Pentecost

on

a

Monday, a fixed day of the week.

Also, Jesus and the Galileans ob-

served Passover on Nisan 14, the correct

day. The Jews in Judaea celebrated

it

one day late,

on

the night of the Feast,

the 15th of Nisan or Abib. Today the

Jews do not really keep any passover.

They observe only the Feast. This is the

real reason w h y the Jews as a nation

forgot their God

Now let us understand how

it all

happened. How the Jews became mixed

up in their thinking. How people

today

can fall into the same snare when they

begin to use individual human reason on


8/16

Page

8

The GOOD NEWS

June,

96

matters that pertain to the whole Church

and hence are the responsibility of the

ministry through which Christ governs

His Church.

First,

lets

take the date

of

the Passover.

Why

Dif feren t Passover?

D i d y o u k n o w t h a t s ch o l a r s a r e as

much divided about the date of the Pass-

over today as were the Jews in Christs

time? Even some in the Church of God

d i dr in g t h e S a r d i s E r a

of the C h w c h

became divided on this question.

The reason for every such confusion

is the lack of the Government

of

God.

The New

Trstament Church replaced the

Old Testam ent Church because the Jews

in

Christs day had not spiritually yielded

to the Government

of

God. They fol-

lowed their own traditions.

Cen tur ies la ter , when Jesus Chr i s t

could no longer use the Sardis Era

of

the

Church, He raised up

th i s

w o r k - t h e

Philadelphia Era

of

the Church of God

(see Revelation

3 )

W e a r e n o t d i v i d ed t o d ay b ecau se

w e f o l l o w t h e G o v e r n m e n t of G o d .

T h o u . .

.

d i d s t k eep m y w o r d , s ay s

Jesus of

th i s

Church today (Rev . 3 : ) .

W e o b ey t h e B i b l e . W e f o l l o w the

example of Jesus. W e do w hat H e says.

W e s u bm i t

to

His government in the

Church. Christ is

and

will ever r e n z a h

the Head of this Church. He has prom-

ised it

Now consider the facts

of

history-

why the world generally believes that

Christ died not on the Passover, but

on

the Feast nd who

it

is that first caused

the world t o believe this fable.

Did you know that it was Pope Leo

-

the first absolute Pop e ho origin ated

the idea that Christ died on the 15th

of

Nisan, not on the 14th, as the Bible

m a ke s p l a i n ? T h e s a m e p o w e r t h a t

worked throu gh him had already worked

through the Jews and led them to deny

that Christ is our real Passover Jesus

said

of

the Jews: Yo u arc of your father

the devil. And the world has followed

h i s l i e s ev e r s in ce T h e d ev i l w an t s

people to deny Jesus is the Christ. And

one of many ways is to delude them into

thinking that Jesus did not die

on

the

Passover, Nisan

14.

Pope Leo lived four centuries afte r the

time of Jesus Christ. Here is what led

up

to his idea that Christ did not die

on

the true Passover. The Christian world

was divided

as to

the date for Easter,

which they had a dopted fro m th e pagans.

Leo

proposed t o settle it. In

so

doing he

wanted to stamp out the true passover

altogether.

To

do

so

he had to make the

Christian world believe that Jesus died

on Nisan

15,

not 14. A t the same time,

declare Schaff and

Wace

on page

56

of

Nicene and Po st-Nicene Fathers,

vol.

xiv,

a l s o w a s g e n e r a l l y e s t a b l i s h e d , t h e

opinion so little entertained by the an-

c i en t au t h o r i t i e s o f t h e C h u r c h n e

migh t even say,

so

strongly in contradic-

t i o n t o t h e i r t e a c h i n g h a t C h r i s t

partook of thc passovcr on the 14th of

Nisan, that he died on the 15th (no t on

the 14th, as the ancients considered) . .

In the letter we have just mentioned,

Proterius of Alexandria openly admitted

all these different points nd the Pope

officially approved the contents

of

the

letter about

440

A.D.

And that is why the world believes

what it does today

But notic e the plain evidence of Scrip-

ture now.

The Tes t imony

of

Scripture

Th e Scrip ture is our final authority.

No

man has ever been given any authority

to

replace it with human tradition. Here is

what we find.

In Luke 22 :

8

we read: A nd he (Jesus)

sent Peter and John, saying,

Go

and pre-

pare

us

the passover that we may eat.

And in the last part of verse 13 we find:

And they made ready the passover.

Now continue with the next two verses:

And when the hour was come, he sat

down, and the twelve apostles with him.

And he said unto them, With desire I

have desired

to

eat this passover with you

before I s d e r .

T h e next morning of this same

duy (a

day begins at sunset), Jesus Christ was

brought to trial and crucified. Late the

afternoon of the sam e day, shortly before

5LLLlbet,

Jesus was buried. And in Luke

2 3 :5 4

we read these plain words from

the inspired Greek Text: And it was

preparation day; a sabbath drew on.

Note that it was

a

sabbath according to

the original Greek, not the sabbath as

in the K ing James Version.

The w omen returned home, rested that

sabbath following the day

of

preparation

(Mark

16:

) , t he n

-

wo days after the

Passover urchased and prepa red spices

aiid

iotice Luke

23 : 56:

And rested

t h e sabbath day according to the com-

mandment.

He re is the weekly sabb ath mentioned.

It was not one day after the prepa ration,

nor two days after, but three days after

that preparation day on which Jesus was

killed. This plainly proves that Luke

knew that Jesus was crucified on the day

before an ann ual sabbath.

Since Leviticus 23 and many other

scriptures prove that the

1Jth of Nisan

is

an annual ho ly day ,

Luke plainly makes

the Crucifixion on the day before hat

is, on the 14th of Nisan. Both Matthew

and Mark agree with Luke, yet critics

would have us believe that Luke had

Jesus crucif ied on the l j th , an annual

sabbath, the first holy day of the seven-

day Festival of Unleavened Bread

Plainly Jesus ate the Passover on the

eve

of the 14th of Nisan,

was

seized,

tried, crucified and buried on that same

day, and was in the tomb on the 15th

that annual sabbath which followed the

Passover.

The record of the apostle John agrees

perfectly with this. In fact most critics

acknowledge that John places the cruci-

fixion record on the 14th. They think

the other three gospel writers place it

on the following day hus

contradict-

i n g one another But there is no contra-

diction. Matthew, Mark and Luke all

agree with John in plainly stating that

the day following the crucifixion was a

sabbath.

No

Leaven Used

with

Passover

W ha t the critics cannot get straight in

their minds is that the Passover was also

a day when Unleavened Bread was eaten.

Th e Passover was always to be eaten with

unleavened bread (Exodus

23: 18

and

1 2 : s ) .

There were seven days during which

no leaven was to be seen anywhere in

Israel llis

is

during the Feast

of

Un-

leavened B read. But also the 14t h of

Ab ib the child ren of Israel were to eat

only unleavened bread with the passover

and

to

use that day

as a

preparation in

putting out all leaven and getting ready

for the feast of seven days which fol-

lowed.

So there were e ight d q u

in all

during w hich unleavened bread was eaten

-o ne day with the passover and seven

days with the Feast

of

Unleavend Bread.

That is why Matthew, Mark and Luke

speak of the Passover as

a day of

un-

leavened bread It was not the first day

of the

Feast

of Unleavened Bread, but the

first of e ight days on whic h unleavened

bread was eaten. (In the King James

Version the word feast is improperly

inserted in Matthew 26: 17. Notice that

it is in

italics.)

Also

observe that M atthew records the

conversation of the Jews plot to kill

Jesus. They said: Not on the feast day,

l e st t h e r e b e a n u p r o a r a m o n g t h e

people. (Mat. 26:

5 )

There is absolutely no shred of evi-

dence that Jesus was crucified on the 15th

of

Nisan. He was killed

on.

he 14th

as

our Passover Lamb n the very day the

Passover Lamb

was

always slain. The

Jews purposely avoided killing Jesus on

the Feast

-

he 15th.

But now we must read John

18:

28. On

h e

rnorriing of th e 1 4th of Ni san th e

Jews refused to enter the judgment hall

of

the Roman governor , Pi late. Why?

Lest they should be defiled, but that they

might eat the passover.

So the Jews from Judaea had not eaten

the i r

passover yet The y were not observ-

ing it

at

the

same

time the Galileans

ate it. Remember that Jesus and the dis-

(Please continue

on

page 14)


9/16

Is JUDAISM

the

L ~ w Moses?

W e con t inue the shock ing per iod in Jew ish h i s tory wbeN

crHellenism pread. Here i s b o w Egyp t ian t rad i t ion rep laced th e

L a w of Moses in th e second century before Jesus bir th .

b y E r n e s t M a r t i n

Part 7

AST installment we discovered that

the coming of the Egyptians and

L inally the Syrians, caused violent

changes among the Jews in Palestine.

The authori ta tive Sopherim, the r ight-

ful teachers of the Law of Moses, were

divested of all prerogatives.

So

thorough

was the dissolution of the Sopherim as

a corporate body that we hear nothing

more of any of its members outside of

Simon the

Just,

the High Pries t who died

in

2 7 0

B .C . ( A b o t h i, 2 ) . S i m o n i s

d e s c r i b e d a s th e l a s t r e m n a n t

of

t h e

group. Wh at happened to the remainder

of these teachers is not known. It is ob-

vious

from

the silence

of

history that

the Sop herim , as the religious autho rity

among the Jews, became ext inct within

about a score of years after the invasion

of

Alexander the Great 3 3 1 B.C.).

W a r s C a u se P o l i t i c a l

and

Religious D i s r u p t i o n s

The series

of

wars over the control

of

Palestine between the Egyptians on t he

south and the Syrians on the north-both

under Greek domination- created great

political and religious disord er with in

Paltstine. The land was attacked by in-

vading armies no less than four times

between

330

B.C. and 301 B.C. In the

latter year, the land finally succumbed to

the rulershiy of Ptolemy of Egypt

( M.

Margolis, His tory of th e Jewish People ,

p.

128).

Pales t ine remained under the

direct control of the Egy ptian govern-

ment unt i l 198 B.C.-just over one hun -

dred years.

Notice that it was during the early

part of this period of Egy ptian domina-

tion that Simon the Just, the last survivor

of the Soph erim, died ( 2 7 0 B.C.) .

With

his death a dark cloud passes ouer all

the

religious life

of

t h e

Jews

W e are

informed by Lauterbach, the learned Jew-

ish scholar, that Jewish tradition knows

of no religious teacher who taught any

form of religion fro m the death of Sim on

the Just until about the year

190 B.C.

Rubbiizic E J S U ~ J ,. 196).

This [silence] would have been im-

possible, says Lauterbac h, if there had

been any official activity

of

the teachers

in those years ibkd., . 1 9 6 ) .

Think of what this means For a period

of

nearly one hundred years, approxi-

mat ing the t im e of Eg ypt ian rule , there

is no record

of

any religious activity

amo ng the Jews Th is is the only period

in the history of thc JCWS in Palestine of

which n o t h i n g is recorded

W h a t

all

the factors were that caused

the Jews to be in such a cond ition, can-

not now be known. What we do know

is that on e of the majo r reasons was the

influence of Hellenism-the cultu re of the

Grccks- s propagate d by the Egyptians.

Th is philosophy of life- Hellenism-

was exerted upon all peoples subject

to

the Egyptians. It was taken

for

granted

that all persons within Egyp tian territory

would follow the dictates

of

the govern-

men t in this matter. If, however, any indi-

vidual or

g i u u p of

peop le felt inclined to

resist this Hellenistic cu lture , the gov ern-

ment took m at ters into i ts own hands and

compelled the peop le to do their bidding.

The

Gift

of

A l e x a n d e r

the

G r e a t

Alexander the G reat ha d left, as a gift

t o h i s s u c c e s s o r s , t h e c o n c e p t i o n of

Hellenizing the whole of his empire.

His reason for this was strictly political.

He

fancied that all his subjects, being

Hellenists, would repre sent a unified em -

pire, not on e of diverse ideas and p hiloso-

phies constantly causing troubles with

inevitable bickerings and strifes.

This same belief was existent in the

s u b s e q u e n t d i v i s io n s of A l e x a n d e r s

Empire. Alexanders successors saw that

the con tinued dissemination of Hellenism

would work to their advantage. This was

certainly true in Egypt. Ptolemy-Alex-

inders successor in Egypt arried on the

campaign of preaching this Greek cul-

ture to his subjects nd the Jews did not

escape its influence.

It was impossible to av oid its influence.

Th e Greek language was the language of

commerce and social intercourse gener-

ally, and it became a matter of necessity

to acquire fluency in Greek (Herford,

Talmud and Apocrypha , p. 7 7 ) .

By the constant hearing and speaking

of Greek it was a natural consequence

t h a t t h e i d e a s w h i c h l a y b e h i n d t h e

language would become known, and in

many

cases,

brgin

to

be practiced. The re

w a s n o e s ca p e f r o m t h a t i n f l u e n c e

[Hellenism). It was present everywhere,

in the street and the m arket, in the every-

day life and all phases

of

social inter-

course

( ibid. , p. 7 7 ) .

The Jews, of all people conquered

by

Alexander th e Grea t and his various suc-

cessors, were seeming ly the least likely to

adopt the Greek culture.

But

the very

nove l ty of it, he var ie ty of

its

ne w in te r -

es ts and pleasures made

it

exceedingly

at tract ive to the major i t y of

the

Jews

I t

is,

of course, not to b e supposed that

every individual was naturally attracted

to H ellenism. T his was n ot the case. But,

everyone was affected by it, some

to

a

limited degree, while others became ou t-

right Hellenists.

It is safe to say that

no

one, high

or low, who was living in Judea in the

period which includes the whole of the

third and the beginning

of

the second

century B.C.,

wholly

escaped the influencc

of Hellenism

(ibzd., p. 7 7 ) .

The ones especially affected by this

new culture were, rather ironically, the

l e a d e r s of t h e J e w s - t h e c h ie f p r i e s t s

themselves. Most of the oth er influential

Jews, because of their positions, also fell

under the sway of Hellenism.

In effect,

all the intellectually able individuals, who

should have been leading the common

people tow ards the observance of th e Law

of God, were following after this culture

as preached by the Egyptians. T his is the

reason no religious teacher of the Law is

ment ioned

by

the Jewish histories

as

hav-

ing existed during this period of Egyp-

tian domination. There simply was none

xcept perhaps an insignificant indi-

vidual hcrc and there who had no real

effect on the people.

You can imagine what such a condi-

tion did

to

the religious life of the peop le

as a whole They were completely sur-

rounded by the influence of Hellenism,

having to incorporate it into their lives

in order to carry o n no rmal daily living,

having no real teaching in the Law of

God and having their leaders completely

devoted to Hellenism.

W ha t was the natural resul t?

Lauterbach gives us the answer:

There prevailed a state of religious

anarchy, wher ein the practical life of the

people was not controlled by the law of

the fath ers as interpreted by the religious

author ities, nor were th e activities

of

the

teachers carried on in an official way by

an authoritative body. This chaotic state

of

affairs lasted for a period of about

e i g h t y y e a r s . .

( R a b b i n i c E sJ ay s, p.

200 .

See also Herford, T a l m u d a n d A p o c -

rypha, page 57. But this is not all.


10/16

Page 10

The Kcy to thc Undcrstanding

of J u d a i s m

The recognition

of

this religious an-

archy among the Jews during the Egyp-

tian dom ination is the veritable

key

that

explains the reason why the Judaism of

Christs day arose. Ha d this religious an -

archy not occurred there would have been

no

Judaism

for Christ to contend w ith. If

conditions remaiaed as they were under

the Sopherim, then Christ would have

come to a people w ho were fully obeying

the Law of Moses But instead, we find

a people who were practicing Judaism

-

the religion of th

2

Jews-not the religion

of Moses

The knowledg: of this religious an-

archy gives us a

key

to unlock the doc-

trines and teachings of Judaism. History

proves that Juda ism evolved Out of, and

was directly guided by, the inherited

principles of pagan life acquired during

that religious anarchy Th e very founda-

tions of Judaism , its underlying prin -

ciples, though later covered with

a

veneer

of the Law of Moses, have their origin

with in this period of religious chaos

New L a w s a n d C u s t o m s Inherited

N ow lets consider how this period o f

religious confusion under the influence

of

the Egyptians brought about these

sigiiificaiiL Cliaiiges in the Jews

manner

of living.

Being under the persuasion of an all-

encompassing Hellenistic culture. and

with no real teaching of the Law of

Moses, even the most nationalistic Jew

found himself

of

necessity practicing

many

of thc customs and habits

of

thc

Hellenistic Egyptians. There was litt le

the people could do about it under such

environm ental conditions. H ellenism was

in all of Palestine, even in all the known

world. There was no way of escaping it.

Instead of openly protesting against the

new culture, the majority of Jews had

to accept it , in o ne way or another.

It is v a l u a b l e n o w to q u o t e t w o

scholars who are recognized am ong Jews

and others alike as pre-eminent histo-

rians, particularly for the period under

discussion. Both of these me n, Lauterbach

and Herford, were fully aware

of

the

chaotic conditions which existed in the

Egyptian period.

L a u t e r b a c h m e n t i o n s : D u r i n g t h e

seventy or eighty years of

religious an-

archy, man y n ew practices had been grad-

ually adopted by the people

(Rabbinic

Essays,

p. 2 0 6 ) .

Her ford adds this: In the absence of

authoritative guidance, the people had

gone their own way; new customs had

f o u n d

a

p l a c e a m o n g s t o l d r e l i g i o u s

usages . . new ideas had been formed

under the influence of Hellenism which

The GOOD NEWS

June,

1961

Greek culture, Gree k literature, were

thrown open to the peoples of Nearer

Asia, and they pressed in to its pale. They

had na t ive l i t e ra tures [ inc luding the

Scriptures), but

these

in

t he new daylight

looked poor and unformed:

now

those

who wrote

must

write Greek, those w ho

thought must think

o n

th e lines

of Greek

sciznce

and philosophy

(Bevan,

Jeru-

subm Under

the

Hi gh Priests, p.

3 7 ) .

Virtually everything was changed to

conform to this new way of life. EVEN

THE

SCRIPTURE,

W H E N

READ, W A S

INTERPRETED IN THE NEW LIGHT

O F

HELLENISM

Lieberman, Hellenism

in

Jewzsh Palestine, pp. 62-64) .The people

abandoned the sim ple teachings

of

Scrip-

ture and modified or disregarded them,

and in its place substituted the new cus-

toms and practices

of

Hellenism.

It is not at all amazing that within the

space

of a

short hundred years that such

a change could take place. The same thing

has

happened in the Chris t ian world in

the century fo l lowing

1850

w i t h t h e

introdu ct ion of evolut ion and highe r

criticism.

had permeated the land for iiioir Lllaii

a century, and there had been no one

to

p o i n t o u t t h e d a n g e r w h i c h t h e r e b y

t h r e a t e n e d t h e r e l i g i o u s l if e of t h e

people (Talmud a& Apocrypha, pp.

6 4 , 6 5 ) .

There must have been a few Jews

endeavoring, in a l imitcd w ay, to observe

t h e S a b b a t h a n d p e r h a p s t h e S a c r e d

Festivals. But man y

of

the Jews rejected

the use of the S criptu re and its teachings.

It is even certain that the unknown few

who at tempted to keep some semblance

of Gods Word on their own, imbibed

new cus toms amongs t o ld re l ig ious

usages.

The people who had now been in

contact with Greek cul ture . . ucqaired

new ideas and became familiar with n e w

vinws

of l i fe ,

other than those which they

had been taught by their teachers in the

name

of

the law of their fathers. T h e rich

and influential classes accepted Greek

ideas and followed Greek customs. The

leaders of the people were no longer

guidcd by the laws of r l i r lathers, nor

was the life of the people controlled

solely by the laws and customs of the

fathers as contained in th e Torah (Lau-

terbach, Kabbinic Essays, p. 194).

Even Sca t t e red Jew s Affec ted

This condition

of

general religious an-

archy among the Jews was not limited

to Palestine. The Hellenic culture had

b=en spread wherever the Jews lived

-

throughout all of civilized Asia a n d

in

many parts of Europe. It was especially

thoroughly implanted in Egypt . Wher-

e v e r J e w s w e r e , t h e y e n c o u n t e r e d

Hellenism, its philosophies, ways of l ife

and its religious customs and beliefs.

The re was no way of escaping it

Ncw ideas and customs everywhere

supplanted the ones they had been used

to under the Sopherim. Th e new luxuries

and th: extravaga nt habits of the Hellen-

ists were attractive to the r ich and in-

f l u e n t i a l J e w s a n d t h e a c q u i r i n g

of

Hellenisms new manners for everyday

l i v in g

and pu bl ic com municat ion became

an

economic necessity for the common

Jews.

Many Jews enjoyed the new culture,

[he new types

of

learning and philoso-

phies of thought that came with it. T h e

Greek philosopher, the Greek artist and

the Greek man of letters became figures

of great respect and admiration to the

m a j o r i t y o f J e w s s p e c ia l ly o f t h e

1earn:d classes. Alm ost ever yth ing th at

was

Hellenistic becamc the

object

of

imitation. Th e older customs were looked

on

as relics of antiquity that, if they

were

to

be observed at all, had

to

be

greatly modified according to the new

methods

of

interpretat ion promoted by

Hellenism.

The Jews in Egypt

At the beginning of Egyptian rule in

Palestine, many thousands

of

Jews were

carried captive to Egypt by Ptolemy 1.

These Jews were taken there as slaves to

do menial tasks

for

the Egyptians or for

garrison duty in Ptolemys army. But un-

der Ptolemy 11 these Jews gained their

freedom. Ptolemy I1 was inclined to favor

the Jews as a whole and his kznd treat-

men t prompted

many

Jews

o

accept

N e l -

Lcmsm even thut

much

more. As

a

resulr

of Ptolemys clemency toward the Jews,

many thousands of others voluntarily left

Palestine for Egypt. The majority of these

szttled in Alexandria

on

the north coast

of Egypt. In a very short time the re were

so

many Jews in Alexandria that a full

qaarter

of

the city was Jewish

Those Jews who w ent to Egypt aban-

doned the Hebrew language and com-

p l e t e l y a d o p t e d G r e e k . A l e x a n d r i a

became one of the centers of Hellenistic

influence in the world at that time, and

the Jews who resided in the city assimi-

lated the Greek culture with even less

inhibitions than their brethren in Pales-

tine. In Alexandria there was virtual ad-

hxence to Hellenisms doctrines by all

the populace.

The

S e p t u a g i n t Translation

It was during this t ime

of

religioub

anarchy in Palestine and Egypt, that the

Old Testament was corrupted and then

translated into Greek. This first Greek

translation is called the S eptuagin t Ver-

sion of the Old Testament .

(Please

contilzue

o f i

page 13)


11/16

WHY Should We Fast?

W ha t purpose does fast ing serve? Th is subject is as vital in

ur

Chyistian lives as praye r o r Bible

study Yet , many have neglected r completely omitted this phase of their Chr istian Lives.

UNDREDS

of newly baptized mem-

b e r s

of

G o d s C h u r c h h a v e n o t

H

rasped the primary benefits and

meanin g of fasting. Many w ho have

been in Gods Church for years have not

come to full understanding of the pur-

poses of fasting.

As one recently baptized member said:

Oh yes,

I

tried fasting

once,

and all it

did for me was to make me hungry and

weak

Is

this our approach to fasting?

Is

this all we get out of f as ti ng ? W e

need

to understand the deep significance of

fasting.

To

Get Closer

to

God

Some brethren have the idea that fast-

ing is a kind of penance

ha t

God is

pleased when we punish ourselves by a

fast. This is

absolute ly wrong.

W e f as t

t o draw closer to

God-to get away from

tl r WUIId alld LlK flesh.

The deep spiritual lessons and exam-

ples that fasting can teach us cannot be

learned in any other way. Unless

or

until

we experience the profound spiritual

benefit of fasting, we will never know

what a vital part it can play in our lives.

How

to Fast

Many of us have never really learned

to fast progressively. Many of us have

never learned because we have never

really seen the need and purpose before.

Many of us have never understood fast-

ing and why it should be

a

regular and

diligent practice in our lives. A good

way to begin is

to

make the positive de-

cision to fast for

one meal .

W e m ig ht

decide that breakfast would be the meal

to begin with. The procedure, then, would

be to go to bed the previous night with

t h e 0

d i v e redlizdtion that the following

morning we were going to have to put

away the temptation and desire to eat

and drink according to

our

regular rou-

tine. W e must place ourselves in a

p s i

t i ve mental attitude that we need to draw

closer to God. When morning comes,

we should

go

about our normal routine

of dressing and grooming for the day-

all the while realizing that it is

NOT

just

the normal routine, but rather a time

when

we

are giving special attention

to

afflicting our bodies before God. When

the time comes for the usual morning

meal, we should devote that time to

prayer in place of satisfying our hunger

and thirst. During this prayer we should

ask God to help

us

draw closer to Him.

by Albert

J.

Portune

Christs

Example

Jesus Christ knows the kind of life to

which we are called. He knows we a re

going to have to face trial and tempta-

tion. He knows we need

to

prepare and to

condition ourselves. In the 6th chapter

of Matthew, Jesus Christ gavc us the

example

of

how to pray. Certainly, all of

us realize that prayer is a vital part of

Christian living, yet, Jesus Christ placed

the same emphasis on fasting, in this

chapter, as H e did on prayer.

Notice the 16th verse. Jesus Christ

said: Moreover W H E N you fart

. .

Yes, Jesus Christ did not say i you fast,

but rather

w

Documents

Good News 1961 (Vol X No 06) Jun