OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD 1556GladTidingsGladTidings

Getting Up Steam page 3To Those Who Overcome page 5

Which is the Oldest Gospel? page 11

Bible Talks, Study Classes, Sunday Schools and Youth Clubs areheld regularly by Christadelphians worldwide. The address ofyour nearest group can be obtained either from one of the Glad Tidings Distributors listed above, or from one of the contactaddresses listed on the back cover.

Bible VersionsThe version most used in this issue isthe New King James Version (NKJV)and other versions are sometimes

used.

The New King James Version iscopyrighted by Thomas Nelson.

The English Standard Version is published by Harper CollinsPublishers 2001 by CrosswayBibles, a division of Good NewsPublishers. Used by permission.

The New International Version is copyrighted 1978 by New York Bible Society

GladTidingsO F T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

130th Year 1556A monthly magazine published by the Christadelphians (brothers and sisters in Christ) andavailable throughout the world.

AcknowledgementsPhotographs:

Cover and pg.4 : The SantaSpecial at the Severn ValleyRailway, England, UK

Terry CannonOther Illustrations

Clipart.com; istockphotos pg 13;Wikipedia Commons pgs 3,11,15; Christian Clipart pg.9.

ContentsA14

Glad Tidings Distributorsfor orders and payments

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Editor: Owen Tecwyn Morgan, 26 The Crescent, Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, England, B92 OBP glad.tidings@virgin.net

Publisher: The Glad Tidings Publishing Association A registered charity Number 248352

Contents

Getting Up Steam! ...........3

To Those Who Overcome ..........................................5

Poem: The Choice.............7

The Acts of the Apostles ...........................................8

Which is the OldestGospel?.........................11

What about the Devil andSatan? ..........................14

Thoughts on Forgiveness ........................................16

Its a Wonderful World ...........................................18

Its objectives are to encourage the study of the Bible as God'sinspired message to men; to call attention to the Divine offerof forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ; and to warn menand women that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge andruler of Gods world-wide Kingdom.

130th Year 3

A steam train derives its power froman engine which produces steam in aboiler, usually fuelled by coal. As thefuel heats the water in the boiler,steam is generated and that is used todrive the locomotive, as well asworking the whistle, brakes, pumpsand heating throughout the carriages.

Of course, building up the requiredlevel of steam takes time, a lot ofwater, and a lot of effort by the stoker,who has to shovel in the fuel and tendthe firebox. Lots of everyday expres-sions, like letting off steam haveoriginated from the world of steamengines which were an important inno-vation in the 18th century.

Taking TimeWe now live in an age when everythinghas to be done quickly and wherenobody has the time to wait around.The Bible foretold that the time wouldcome when everything would speedup:

But you, Daniel, shut up the words,and seal the book until the time of the

The inevitable march of progressmeans that things get quicker, quieterand more efficient. But this progres-sion often leaves behind things thatsome people really enjoyed, which iswhy there is always an interest in howthings used to be. Steam trains exer-cise a fascination over some peoplewho dedicate their spare time to recre-ate a bit of the past, with all its noise,dirt and steam.

This months front cover features aprivately-run length of railway trackwhich extends from Kidderminster inthe Midlands of England to Bridg-north, a small town in Shropshire, just16 miles away. Known as the SevernValley Railway, this heritage railwayruns along the Severn Valley andfollows the course of the River Severnfor much of its route.

This is a line largely run by unpaidvolunteers who get involved in all sortsof work: repairing and repainting sta-tions, reconstructing viaducts andbridges, and rebuilding locomotivesand rolling stock. But, of course, thereal fun is operating the trains!

Steam TrainsThose of us who remember when alltrains were steam-driven recall themas noisy, dirty and slow, compared withtheir electric-driven replacements. Butthey were fun, and the clack-clack ofthe wheels and the choo-choo of thesteam-driven engine lingers in thememory. The desire to recaptureyouthful experiences and to share thethrill with children and grandchildren iswhat makes this railway one of themost popular heritage railways in thecountry.

Getting Up Steam!Getting Up Steam!

4 Glad Tidings

he evidently used that time well. Edu-cated, like most other children at thetime in the synagogue, by the time hewas twelve years old his knowledge ofthe Scriptures was amazing. For when,on a visit to Jerusalem with hisparents, he went to the Temple, therecord says:

They found him in the temple, sitting inthe midst of the teachers, both listen-ing to them and asking themquestions. And all who heard him wereastonished at His understanding andanswers (Luke 2:4647).

Jesus had an understanding of theScriptures that was second to none.During his ministry the people whoheard him speak recognised this:

The Jews marveled, saying, How doesthis man know letters, having neverstudied? (John 7:15), and

The officers answered, No man everspoke like this Man! (John 7:46).

Jesus learned that the Scripturescontained comprehensive detailsabout the work he was to do and thesort of person he was to become andhe applied himself diligently to thattask. But in order to accomplish thatwork, Jesus needed years of carefulpreparation.

If Jesus needed time to preparehimself for the great work of redemp-tion he had come to effect, we tooneed to spend time preparing our-selves for the great work that Godwants us to be part of when HisKingdom is established and, by Hisgrace, we are invited to take part in theprocess of restoring and beautifyingHis world.

Editor

end; many shall run to and fro, andknowledge shall increase (Daniel12:4).

That time has arrived and now weare often too busy rushing to and froto spend time on what really matters:finding out about the true purpose ofthe life that God has given us. Ofcourse, it takes quite a bit of effort toread the Bible all the way through andto come to understand it. GladTidings exists to try and help yourunderstanding, but this magazine now in its 130th year has neversought to be a replacement for theBible, only a guide to how best tounderstand its message. To reallyunderstand what God is saying to you,it is necessary to resolve to read theBible regularly, preferably a portion of itevery day. That is why we publish adaily Bible Reading Companion fromtime to time, one appearing in the lastissue. Like a railway engine preparingfor a journey, you might feel the needto get up steam before you can set outon a course of action that can changeyour life, for the better!

Careful PreparationWhen God created Adam he was madea full-grown man, out of the dust of theground and then energised with thebreath of God (Genesis 2:7). But whenJesus appeared, he was born of thevirgin Mary by the power of Gods Spirit(Luke 1:35). It was thirty years beforeJesus appeared in Israel to declarethat his ministry had begun (Luke3:23). Those were years of carefulpreparation in a working class home,as a member of a large family,engaged in manual work, as a carpen-ter or a small scale builder (Mark 6:3).

The mission that Jesus was given byhis Father was so important that heneeded a long time for preparation and

130th Year 5

In this final article we will reflect onsome of the blessings which God andHis Son will give to those who conquerthe works of the flesh and endeavourto follow the example of the Lord JesusChrist in their lives.

Present SufferingThe apostle Paul suffered so muchbecause of his faith in Christ, and hisdesire, as the apostle to the Gentiles,to preach the Word of God to all whowould hear. The catalogue of some ofhis sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 makes for very sober reading. Yethe is able to encourage the believers inRome with these words:

For I consider that the sufferings of thispresent time are not worthy to be com-pared with the glory which shall berevealed in us (Romans 8:18).

The beatings and deprivations whichPaul suffered for his faith, and alsothose of our Lord, put any sufferings orpersecutions or deprivations we maybe called upon to endure because ofour faith into true perspective. Yet weare still assured that we will share inthe blessings; and there is absolutelynothing that this world can give us thatcan compare with the things whichGod has prepared for those who loveHim. As we have already considered,serving self leads to death, but servingGod leads to life.

Great PromisesThe gift of endless life, is only thebeginning of Gods gifts. In the letterswhich the Lord Jesus asked theapostle John to write to seven church-

es in Asia, he makes a series of prom-ises to those who overcome the trialsand pressures of this life and remainfaithful to him and to His Father. Hereis a selection:

The other promises are in Revelation2:7; 2:17 and 2:26-28. But there ismore in the closing chapters, asfollows:

Prophecy and the Time of the End 19

To Those Who OvercomeTo Those Who Overcome

Be faithful until death, and Iwill give you the crown of life. Hewho has an ear, let him hear whatthe Spirit says to the churches. Hewho overcomes shall not be hurt bythe second death (Revelation2:1011).

He who overcomes shall be clothedin white garments, and I will notblot out his name from the Book ofLife; but I will confess his namebefore my Father and before Hisangels (Revelation 3:5).

He who overcomes, I will make hima pillar in the temple of my God,and he shall go out no more. I willwrite on him the name of my Godand the name of the city of myGod, the New Jerusalem, whichcomes down out of heaven from myGod. And I will write on him my newname (Revelation 3:12).

To him who overcomes I will grantto sit with me on my throne, as Ialso overcame and sat down withmy Father on His throne (Revela-tion 3:21).

6 Glad Tidings

Then he who sat on the throne said,Behold, I make all things new. AndHe said to me, Write, for these wordsare true and faithful. And He said tome, It is done! I am the Alpha and theOmega, the Beginning and the End. Iwill give of the fountain of the water oflife freely to him who thirsts. He whoovercomes shall inherit all things, andI will be his God and he shall be Myson. But the cowardly, unbelieving,abominable, murderers, sexuallyimmoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and allliars shall have their part in the lakewhich burns with fire and brimstone,which is the second death (Revelation21:58).

Never AloneThe struggle to conquer the works ofthe flesh and to follow the example ofthe Lord Jesus is not easy. Nothingworthwhile ever is. But we are not leftalone in our struggle for, as we sawbefore, God is not willing that anyshould perish. He wants us to be in HisKingdom and He is able to, and willhelp, all those who ask Him. God andHis Son are ever near.

This was the Apostle Pauls secret.This is how he was able to endure allthe trials and persecutions which cameupon him because of his faith, andalso to conquer in the day-to-daystruggles to faithfully serve His God. Hesays to the believers at Philippi:

I can do all things through Christ whostrengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

Vision RequiredAnother thing which will help us toconquer is to have a strong vision ofthe future, when Gods Kingdom will beestablished and His Son will reign inrighteousness. In this, and also in theday-to-day struggles, the Lord Jesus isour perfect example. He endured themost horrific of sufferings for the joy ofbringing so many repentant sons anddaughters to God. The Apostle, in hisletter to the Hebrews, gives us thiswonderful encouragement:

The blessings, which God has prom-ised to those who love and serve Him,are beyond compare. Nothing that this

Therefore we also, since weare surrounded by so great a cloudof witnesses, let us lay aside everyweight, and the sin which so easilyensnares us, and let us run withendurance the race that is setbefore us, looking unto Jesus, theauthor and finisher of our faith, whofor the joy that was set before himendured the cross, despising theshame, and has sat down at theright hand of the throne of God. Forconsider him who endured suchhostility from sinners againsthimself, lest you become weary anddiscouraged in your souls. You havenot yet resisted to bloodshed, striv-ing against sin. And you haveforgotten the exhortation whichspeaks to you as to sons: My son,do not despise the chastening ofthe Lord, nor be discouraged whenyou are rebuked by him; for whomthe Lord loves he chastens, andscourges every son whom hereceives (Hebrews 12:16).

130th Year 7

and that God is still at work in thisworld, as we have seen throughout thisseries. We are without excuse. GodsKingdom will be established and Godsglory will fill this earth, just as He haspromised. When speaking of the signspreceding his return, the Lord Jesusleaves us with this message

Now when these things begin tohappen, look up and lift up yourheads, because your redemptiondraws near (Luke 21:28).

John Shepley

Concluded

world can offer is of any lasting value.It is only through service to God thatwe can obtain the true riches. Whatev-er the cost, it is something worthstriving for.

ConclusionThe Bible is indeed a remarkable book.It is Gods revealed Word to us. It tellsus what God has planned for His worldand how you and I, in the grace andmercy of God, can share in the bless-ings which He has promised. Whetherwe share in these blessings or not isreally in our own hands, for these won-derful things are within our grasp.

The signs are numerous, that thereturn of the Lord Jesus Christ is near,

The ChoiceWe all have a choice in our short mortal life,A choice which we make deep within To walk every day as the servants of GodOr to walk as the servants of sin.

The servants of sin is the first easy choice,For then Self is the big number one,And we think we are free to do just as we please,BUT our problems have only begun!

For the heart is deceitful oer everything else,And captures us all in its game,Till we hopefully see that the servants of sinAnd the servants of self are the same.

When we realise this truth, we should pray to the Lord For his help from the danger were in Then turn from the broad way that leads us to death: The wages for servants of sin

As servants of God we will live life anew,Finding joy which the world knows not ofThis world and its evil are passing away,But well be redeemed by Gods love.

Colleen Simons

8 Glad Tidings

It takes a little detective work to provethat it was Luke who wrote The Acts ofthe Apostles. There is a key verse inActs when Paul had just arrived atTroas and, at this point, the writerchanges from the third to the firstperson:

Now after he had seen the vision,immediately we sought to go to Mace-donia, concluding that the Lord hadcalled us to preach the gospel to them(Acts 16:10).

Luke on BoardThis subtle change shows the attentivereader that Luke has joined Paulscompany at this point. And that he isstill with Paul in the last chapter ofActs, when Paul is in prison in Rome,we know because of the language ofActs chapter 28:

Now when we came to Rome, the cen-turion delivered the prisoners to thecaptain of the guard; but Paul was per-mitted to dwell by himself with thesoldier who guarded him (Acts 28:16).

From the greetings Paul sends in oneof his letters from prison we can workout that it must have been Luke whowas with him!

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greetsyou, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas(about whom you received instruc-tions: if he comes to you, welcomehim) ... Luke the beloved physicianand Demas greet you (Colossians4:10-14).

And in his preface to the Book ofActs, Luke refers his friend Theophilus

to the gospel he had earlier writtenwhich he calls the first book:

The former account I made, OTheophilus, of all that Jesus beganboth to do and teach, until the day inwhich he was taken up, after hethrough the Holy Spirit had given com-mandments to the apostles whom hehad chosen (Acts 1:12).

Second InstalmentIn this second part of the gospel storyLuke continues from where he left off.He briefly recapitulates, in ChapterOne, the postresurrection appear-ances of Jesus to the apostles, thendescribes the momentous morningwhen Jesus led the apostles to theMount of Olives and from thereascended into heaven, leaving them tocarry on his work until his Return:

Men of Galilee, why do you standgazing up into heaven? This sameJesus, who was taken up from you intoheaven, will so come in like manner as

Books of the Bible 30

The Acts of the ApostlesThe Acts of the Apostles

130th Year 9

you saw Him go into heaven (Acts1:11).

Now, as their master had instructedthem, they must begin their lifes workof calling disciples from all nations,beginning at Jerusalem.

Luke captures the nervous atmos-phere of those early weeks, as theapostles awaited the promised gift ofthe Holy Spirit. They met in fear of theauthorities, who were displeased withpublic rumours that Jesus of Nazarethhad come back to life. But once theyare anointed with the Spirit on the Dayof Pentecost (one of the great Feasts

of the Law of Moses), it is a very differ-ent band of men who face them.

Peter stands confidently in theTemple courts, and persuades threethousand Jews that the death of Jesuswas no accident, but an essential partof Gods plan, which had been predict-ed long ago by the prophets.

The Messiah, he explains, had todie. Only when a sinless man was putin the grave could God through himbreak the power of sin. Without thatwe would all sleep forever in the dustof the ground. Thankfully, Jesus isalive, and they, his followers, had seenhim with their own eyes. By believing inthe Saviour, they could be freed fromtheir guilt. It was a glorious beginningto their calling as fishers of men

Spread of the GospelLuke picks up the contrast betweenthe joy and unity and fellowship of theearly believers, and the cold hatred oftheir opponents. They were deter-mined to crush this new movement,but proved unable to stop thesehumble men with their ability to workmiracles and expound the Scriptures.Saul of Tarsus, a fervent young Jewishlawyer, was empowered by the HighPriest to head the opposition, whichgrew into a campaign of violence,imprisonment and death. It was theclassic response of an intellectuallydefeated establishment.

The persecution of the original groupof believers in Jerusalem, painfulthough it was, had the effect of scat-tering them across the countryside.The gospel began to spread and Lukenotes the key developments.

First, came the campaign of Philipthe Evangelist amongst the hatedSamaritans, who sincerely believedthe good news of the Kingdom ofGod and the Name of Jesus Christand were baptised.

Then a minister in the service of theQueen of Ethiopia, on a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Jerusalem, becamethe first man from another race tobe baptised.

Amazingly, Saul himself was thenconverted, convinced by a personalappearance to him of the risenChrist. His deep remorse was todrive him to devote the rest of hislife to the service of the Master hehad so misunderstood. Thus far the Apostles had confined

their work to Jews who observed theLaw of Moses. It was time to open thedoor to the Gentiles. Peter wasentrusted with this task. Persuaded

through a vision to preach to a devoutRoman centurion and his family, hebecame convinced that God wantedGentiles to share in the good newsabout Jesus. When they too receivedthe gift of the Holy Spirit, there couldbe no doubt.

Further AfieldNow it was the turn of a group ofbelievers who lived in Antioch in Syria.They had moved north to escapeSauls persecution and now began topreach to Greeks, that is, people whohad no background in the Law ofMoses. With Gods blessing, greatnumbers joined their ranks. Luke notes(see Acts 11:26) that it was at Antiochthat the believers were first calledChristians (followers of Christ). Thegospel net was reaching out into theworld.

The twelfth chapter swings back toJerusalem. There had been an inter-lude of peace after Saul became aChristian. But now King Herod (a rela-tive of the Herod who tried to kill theinfant Jesus) turned against the Chris-tians. He executed James, brother ofJohn the first apostle to die for hisfaith. Peter was next in his sights, butan angel delivered him by night fromDeath Row, and Herod himself died,

from a stroke. God was in control, andthe believers could breathe again.

The Acts of PaulThe rest of Lukes story is devoted tothe titanic missionary work of Saul ofTarsus, henceforth to be known by hismore familiar Latin name of Paul.Somewhat surprisingly, since Herodsdeath is known to have taken place inAD44, we find that 15 years have goneby since the death of Jesus, and 11years have passed since Paul himselfwas baptised.

Only now does Jesus, through theHoly Spirit (see Acts 13:2), send outPaul on the first major effort to convertGentiles (non-Jews). He and his goodfriend Barnabas were selected byname for this work.

Where should they begin? Barnabascame from the island of Cyprus in theMediterranean Sea, so this was a goodplace to start, as they set off on theFirst Missionary Journey. From Actschapter 13 to the end of Lukesaccount (chapter 28) we follow theapostle and his companions on threemissionary journeys and then on anaction-packed journey to Rome.

David M Pearce

(To be continued)

10 Glad Tidings

If you want to access backnumbers of Glad Tidings youcan find copies for the last few

years on our website:

www.gladtidingsmagazine.org

The first four books of the New Testa-ment describe the life, death andresurrection of Jesus Christ. They arecommonly referred to as the gospelsand it is believed that the earliest waspenned by Mark.

What is the gospel?The word gospel means good news orglad tidings. In the Bible it refers tovery specific good news. Jesuspreached the gospel of the kingdom ofGod (Mark 1:14, Matthew 4:23,Matthew 9:35, Luke 8:1). After hisresurrection he commanded his disci-ples to:

Go into all the world and preach thegospel to every creature. He whobelieves and is baptized will be saved;but he who does not believe will becondemned (Mark 16:1516).

So the gospel is a message relatedto a kingdom and it provides a way bywhich we may be saved. John alonestates the purpose of his gospel inthese words:

These are written that you may believethat Jesus is the Christ, the Son ofGod, and that believing you may havelife in his name. (John 20:31).

So the gospel is related to Jesus andto his name. This is re-iterated in Acts8:12 where Philip preached the thingsconcerning the kingdom of God andthe name of Jesus Christ.

Yet it may come as a surprise thatthe gospel is not unique to the NewTestament.

Old Testament GospelIn his letter to the Galatians, the

inspired apostle Paul stated that thegospel was preached to Abraham.Abraham was the father of the Jewishnation, who lived thousands of yearsbefore Jesus was born. Paul sum-marised the gospel preached toAbraham in this way:

The Scripture, foreseeing that Godwould justify the Gentiles by faith,preached the gospel to Abrahambeforehand, saying, In you all thenations shall be blessed (Galatians3:8).

The promises which God made toAbraham are recorded in Genesis, thefirst book of the Bible. In Genesis12:1-3 Abraham was told that his off-spring would be a great and numerousnation and that, through this nation, allnations would be blessed. Later,Abraham was promised that he per-sonally and his descendants wouldinherit the land of Israel. Here arethose promises:

130th Year 11

Which is the OldestGospel?

12 Glad Tidings

For all the land which you see I give toyou and your descendants forever(Genesis 13:15), and

Arise, walk in the land through itslength and its width, for I give it to you(Genesis 13:17).

Promised SeedIn Genesis chapter 22 more details aregiven about how all nations were to beblessed:

In your seed all the nations of theearth shall be blessed, because youhave obeyed My voice (Genesis22:18).

In Hebrew, as in English, the wordseed can be singular or plural, but theinspired apostle removes any doubt.For writing to the Galatian believers hegives this inspired explanation:

Now to Abraham and his Seed werethe promises made. He does not say,And to seeds, as of many, but as ofone, And to your Seed, who is Christ(Galatians 3:16).

So, Abraham was promised that hewould:

become a great nation,

inherit a land, and

have a special descendant whowould bring blessing to all nations.

Abraham did indeed father theJewish nation which, despite its che-quered history, is still with us. Abrahamdid not inherit the land of Israel. As theNew Testament explains:

God gave him no inheritance in it, noteven enough to set his foot on. Buteven when Abraham had no child, Hepromised to give it to him for a posses-sion, and to his descendants after him(Acts 7:5).

When Abrahams wife Sarah died, hehas to buy a cave in Machpelah inwhich to bury her (Genesis 23:7-20),this being situated in the land that Godhas promised him. But God alwayskeeps His promises, and Jesusassured the Jews that Abraham will bethere when the kingdom of God isestablished (Luke 13:28). Thispromise is repeated in the letter to theHebrews, where we are told aboutAbraham:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he wascalled to go out to the place which hewould receive as an inheritance. Andhe went out, not knowing where hewas going (Hebrews 11:8);

These all died in faith, not havingreceived the promises, but having seenthem afar off were assured of them,embraced them and confessed thatthey were strangers and pilgrims onthe earth (Hebrews 11:13);

God having provided something betterfor us, that they should not be madeperfect apart from us (Hebrews11:40).

Promises FulfilledGods promise to Abraham could notbe fulfilled until the special seed had

130th Year 13

been born and had done His work, asin the third aspect of the promises.This seed was Jesus, who was not onlya descendant of Abraham but also Sonof God. The very first verse of thegospel of Matthew links Jesus withAbraham, and the angel Gabriel prom-ised Mary that Jesus would be a king:

He will be great, and will be called theSon of the Highest; and the Lord Godwill give him the throne of his fatherDavid. And he will reign over the houseof Jacob forever, and of his kingdomthere will be no end (Luke 1:3233).

Moreover, the blessing for all nationsis the hope of eternal life rather thanextinction:

...that whoever believes in Him shouldnot perish but have eternal life. (John3:15).

This salvation was promised beforethe birth of Jesus and is exemplified inhis name:

She will bring forth a Son, and youshall call his name Jesus, for he willsave his people from their sins(Matthew 1:21).

What must we believe?It follows that to be saved we mustbelieve the things concerning thename of Jesus (describing his work ofsalvation) and the kingdom of God to

be established on earth. This is whatthe apostles preached and this is whatwe should also believe and teach:

Then Paul dwelt two whole years in hisown rented house, and received allwho came to him, preaching thekingdom of God and teaching thethings which concern the Lord JesusChrist with all confidence, no one for-bidding him (Acts 28:3031);

He went into the synagogue and spokeboldly for three months, reasoning andpersuading concerning the things ofthe kingdom of God (Acts 19:8)

When they believed Philip as hepreached the things concerning thekingdom of God and the name ofJesus Christ, both men and womenwere baptized (Acts 8:12).

A message without Jesus is NOT thegospel of the Bible: nor is it a messagewithout the kingdom of God. Thegospel of the Bible includes Jesus andthe kingdom, and this gospel waspreached very early on in the Old Tes-tament. Any other gospel is false:

Even if we, or an angel from heaven,preach any other gospel to you thanwhat we have preached to you, let himbe accursed. As we have said before,so now I say again, if anyone preach-es any other gospel to you than whatyou have received, let him be accursed(Galatians 1:89).

The message is clear. The Old Testa-ment is the foundation for the NewTestament. We need to understand itin order to comprehend what Jesusachieved for us and what God asks ofus to be saved. The gospel does notonly belong to the New Testament itis much, much older.

Anna Hart

In the last article in this series we tooka hard look at the realities of humannature and saw that the desires toplease ourselves are deep-seated.

We see that plainly as we observethe world around us. Try adding up theproportion of human effort that goesinto trying to stop people doing whatthey shouldnt do armies and thesupply of weapons, police and theirequipment, the security industry in allits forms, courts and prisons, anti-ter-rorist protection, surveillance anddetection. The list is almost endless.

The point for us is that everybody ismade of the same stuff. The desiresthat make all this necessary are in allof us, and when we give way to thesedesires we not only make other peopleunhappy, we sin against God.

A Grim Picture!The apostle John describes it this

way:

For all that is in the world the lust ofthe flesh, the lust of the eyes, and thepride of life is not of the Father butis of the world (1 John 2:16).

The apostle Paul, who told us abouthis own struggles against sin inRomans chapter 7, compares Sin andRighteousness, in chapter 6, to tworival kings who own slaves. If we live toplease ourselves we are serving KingSin, but when we repent and try toplease God instead, we become ser-vants of King Righteousness (seeRomans 6:16-20). He concludes thatpassage with these words:

But now having been set free from sin,and having become slaves of God, youhave your fruit to holiness, and theend, everlasting life. For the wages ofsin is death, but the gift of God iseternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord(Romans 6:2223).

A Wicked Angel?Many religions have the idea that thereis a god of evil, or a wicked angelcalled Satan or Eblis, who temptspeople and is the source of all the evilin the world. This is a mistake. For, inthis entire section in Romans, Paulnever once uses the words Devil orSatan.

This is because these terms aresimply ways of describing temptationand sin in their various forms. They arenot names for an evil angel who caninvade human minds. They are dra-matic ways of describing humanwaywardness in all its forms. Thus, theletter to the Hebrews tells us whatJesus did, in these terms:

... that through death he might destroyhim who had the power of death, thatis, the devil (Hebrews 2:14).

Then, in chapter 9, we are told that:

He has appeared to put away sin bythe sacrifice of himself (Hebrews9:26).

Jesus destroyed the devil and Jesusput away sin these are just twoways of saying the same thing.

Start in the Old TestamentAs always, the Old Testament lays the

14 Glad Tidings

A Christadelphians Faith 11

What about the DevilWhat about the Deviland Satan?and Satan?

130th Year 15

foundation for a proper understandingof Bible teaching. Back in Genesis(chapter 3, verses 1-15) we saw howthe first temptation came to the manand his wife from outside themselves.A creature called a serpent or snakesuggested that God did not mean whatHe said, and that they could disobeyGods law without any penalties. Somepeople say that inside this snake therewas an evil angel called the devil orSatan. But when they were found out,Adam blamed his wife and she blamedthe snake.

The snake however had nobody elseto blame! Further, it was punished byhaving to crawl without legs and live onsoil like a big earthworm. This dis-proves the other idea that an evil angeldisguised himself as a snake, becauseno-one believes that there is a wickedangel crawling about eating soil! Thisstrange and unique snake was respon-sible, on its own, for the temptation:but Adam and Eve made their ownchoice.

Snake, or DragonThis account leads us to see howsnake-like creatures such as dragonsor crocodiles are used in the laterbooks of the Bible as a picture ofpeople or nations opposed to God. Evetook the snakes suggestions into hermind. She adopted its way of thinking,that God can be disobeyed withoutpunishment. From then on, when ahuman organisation rebelled againstGod, the snake or dragon picture wasused to describe it. Here are threeclear examples to look at

Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has

devoured me, he has crushed me; he hasmade me an empty vessel, he has swal-lowed me up like a monster; he has filled

his stomach with my delicacies, He has spitme out (Jeremiah 51:34).

Egypt:Son of man, take up a lamentation for

Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: Youare like a young lion among the nations,and you are like a monster in the seas,bursting forth in your rivers, troubling thewaters with your feet, and fouling theirrivers (Ezekiel 32:2).

Rome: After this I saw in the night visions, and

behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terri-ble, exceedingly strong. It had huge ironteeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces,and trampling the residue with its feet. Itwas different from all the beasts that werebefore it, and it had ten horns (Daniel 7:7).

Daniel 7:19-28 contains a word-picture prophesying the rise of Romeand this helps us to understand theBook of Revelation, because Romeruled the world when Jesus was here.Roman soldiers crucified Jesus andpersecuted the apostles. Rome wasdescribed in these dramatic terms:

So the great dragon was cast out, thatserpent of old, called the Devil andSatan, who deceives the whole world;he was cast to the earth, and hisangels were cast out with him (Revela-tion 12:9).

When Jesus returns, many willoppose him because they will still wanttheir own way; but Jesus will bring allevil under control at last. This isdescribed as Satan being bound(Revelation 20:1-3), and it canthappen quickly enough!

The next article in this series will lookat more of the ways in which thesewords Devil and Satan are used inthe Bible.

John Woodall

16 Glad Tidings

New bride shot to death atlocal shopping mall...

Tourists from Great Britainkilled in automobile crash bydrunk driver...

Man bereft of wife, twodaughters, killed in viciousmurder spree...

These recent headlines provoke aquandary, certainly for Christians whoare commanded to forgive men theirtrespasses. Dealing with the grief andheartbreak created by events likethese seem to be not only unreason-able, but impossible. To forgive is towipe the slate clean. Is it possible toforgive and forget the terrible woundwith which youve been afflicted?

Forgive us our Trespasses...To forgive all trespasses against you tosecure Gods favour is a thesis weought to explore. Often its the hardestthing well ever have to do, and yet it isof paramount importance. Christ,teaching men how to pray, in hissermon on the mount said this:

For if you forgive men their trespasses,your heavenly Father will also forgiveyou. But if you do not forgive men theirtrespasses, neither will your Fatherforgive your trespasses (Matthew6:1415).

This is a quid quo pro arrangementwhereby you forgive men their trespas-ses and God will forgive you. Does thecommand weigh heavily on you? Doesit strike fear into the hearts of those ofus who fall short of that ideal? Is it astumbling block to our full expressionof faith?

The Lords PrayerThe words of the Lords Prayer aresacred yet it seems that the intendedmeaning of some of those words ismisunderstood. Here is one case inpoint. When we pray the words: Yourkingdom come. Your will be done onearth as it is in heaven (Matthew6:10) what do these words mean topeople? We are praying for Godskingdom to come on earth, yet there isa widespread belief that the kingdomof God is in heaven, where the souls ofpeople are destined ultimately todwell. People who believe that theBible actually teaches the Return toearth of the Lord Jesus have noproblem with this prayer. For others,the apparent confusion begs for reso-lution.

So, do other misconceptions exist inthe Prayer? Were asked to forgivemen their trespasses to ensure Godsfavour. Is this a work that mortal mancan do? Something is missing here.God is commanding us to do what onlyHe himself and the Lord Jesus havethe right and power to do. How do wecome to grips with what we think wemust do to obey God? Can we handletrespasses against us in the way weperceive to be the will of God?

Christs ExampleThe way we should try to live is demon-strated in the parable of theUnforgiving Servant (Matthew 18,verses 23-35) and the challenge itsets us is made abundantly clear. Thegist of the parable is that we mustforgive our debtors even as Christ hasforgiven us. Because our sins are for-given, we should in turn have

Thoughts on ForgivenessThoughts on Forgiveness

whatever things you ask in prayer,believing, you will receive (Matthew21:22).

Those words may hold the answer tothe question of the forgiveness weshould be extending to others. In thefinal analysis, only God can save andonly God can forgive. We cannot lookinto another persons heart and deter-mine his or her repentance, and truerepentance is always a prerequisite toforgiveness. Only God can do this.True, we can sometimes forgive with atender heart toward our fellows, whenwe remember we are all but dust. Butonly some of us will rise to that spiritu-al height and others of us will notachieve it.

When confronted by hideous evil,God has opened to us a way. When weyield to God the work of forgiveness,we are acknowledging that of our ownselves we can do nothing. But whenwe cast our burden on the Lord,because of our inability to forgive inthe way God requires, we are relievedof guilt.

When we yield ourselves to God andpray that He might forgive, we free our-selves of the burden of hate, rage, andother debilitating behaviour that willultimately destroy us. And, because ofthe sacrifice of Christ, we can be for-given the hard feelings we sometimesfeel toward those who have trespassedagainst us. In the final analysis it isGod alone who takes vengeance andHe alone who confers absolute forgive-ness. Therefore, when we say, I forgiveyou, what we are really saying is,Father, forgive them, as did Christ, inthe belief that we are acknowledgingthat forgiveness is His prerogative.

Marian Canoles

130th Year 17

compassion on our fellows. Theparable ends with these words:

Should you not also have had compas-sion on your fellow servant, just as Ihad pity on you? (Matthew 18:33).

Its interesting to note here that theservant repented and promised torepay the debt. It appears then thatgenuine forgiveness is to renounceresentment or retribution for trespas-ses done against us.

Gods PrerogativeWhat was Jesus saying when he askedthe Father to forgive those who hadcrucified him? His words reflected anattitude of total submission to God, theFather. For the underlying truth is thatonly God can forgive sins. The Scribesonce attacked Christ saying:

Why does this Man speak blasphemieslike this? Who can forgive sins but Godalone? (Mark 2:7).

But, to demonstrate that God hadgiven him the authority to forgive sins,Jesus responded in these words:

But that you may know that the Sonof Man has power on earth to forgivesins he said to the paralytic, I sayto you, arise, take up your bed, and goto your house (Mark 2:911).

Where do we stand in the light of thistruth? Do we have this power as well?On the surface it would seem so if weare told to forgive men their trespas-ses. But in your heart can you feelthat? Or are we being asked to do theimpossible: to forgive when that is notour prerogative, but Gods alone? Ordoes Christs statement in the LordsPrayer have a more far-reachingmeaning?

Gods SalvationJesus once said this about our prayers:

18 Glad Tidings

web is spun out for our wonderment. Itis fascinating to see how quickly thespider can run across the web, but aninsect is held still, quite firmly. Whatwonderful Being created that spider? Italso would have to be perfect from thebeginning.

Solomon was a great thinker, and hesaid:

Go to the ant, you sluggard! Considerher ways and be wise. Which, havingno captain, overseer or ruler, providesher supplies in the summer, andgathers her food in the harvest(Proverbs 6:68).

I have seen many types of ant in thelocal forest, all seeming to have differ-

In early morning sunshine I watched abeautiful green woodpecker. It waspecking away vigorously on the treetrunk. Each time it stopped pecking itturned its head and listened. On thethird attempt it placed its long tongueinto the bark and withdrew an insect.Then the drumming began again.

I wondered at the force needed andquestioned whether it caused pain. Itwas only later that I learned that thewoodpecker has tremendous neckmuscles with attached shockabsorbers. How could evolution explainthis fantastic design, for there had tobe a combination of power, acutehearing, a special beak with powerfulneck muscles and a long tongue! Allwould have to work together from thebeginning or the creature would die. Imust be frank and say that for meeverything points to a unique designer.

Things Great and SmallIt started to rain, so I went indoors onlyto see a magnificent spiders webstretched across the window. I am toldthat the silk-like fibres have to havetremendous strength to hold anyinsect landing on the web. In addition,I learn that a spider has compoundeyes, and spinnerets from which the

Its a Wonderful WorldIts a Wonderful World

130th Year 19

ent types of work to do. In addition Ihave seen films of enormous anthills inAustralia. Inside are hundreds of antsall performing various tasks of ventila-tion, feeding the young, growingfungus gardens, and all with a queenat the head, much like the bee colony.Millions of years of development couldnot have resulted in such a complicat-ed system happening by chance. Eachant colony has its own system, forminga highly developed complex organisa-tion. Everything shows the indicationsof design, and where there is designthere must be a Designer.

Great OaksA little while ago we had a tremendousthunderstorm. The result was lots ofbroken branches, but hundreds ofacorns. These are the product of theoak tree. They are quite small, yetwhen they have germinated acornsgrow into a huge tree. We have one inthe local forest that is reputed to be2000 years old.

Think of the enormous number ofinsects that live in that tree. In theforest the pigs are sent in to consumethe acorns, as they can be injurious ifhorses eat them. Many do not knowthat Moses gave Gods command thatIsraelites were not to eat pig flesh.

Why? Because of tape worms beingpassed to those who eat the flesh.Even today one European countryinsists that pork must be inspected,with slices taken to ensure it does nothave the tape worm called TrichinellaSpiralis.

How was Moses to know this ? It wasinformation given to him by the God heworshipped. God did not want Hispeople suffering the pains of a tapeinfestation. What a blessing to havethis information at a time whenmedical research was non-existent.Never look on the Bible as old fash-ioned: it is the most up-to-date book inthe world, and it is there for your sal-vation.

The Bible tells us about the GreatDesigner who made the world accord-ing to His purpose and who has a planof salvation for everyone, if they onlytake the trouble to read His Word. TheBible is nothing less than God speak-ing to YOU!

The TardigradeI was sent a newspaper cutting fromBrisbane relating to a tardigrade, afearsome looking creature, with a noselike a bottle top, yet it was less than1mm long. It had eight legs, and isable to survive in temperatures closeto freezing, and well above boilingpoint. We can only stand back andwonder at the multitudinous creatureson earth.

It stretches the imagination to thinkthat they all came about by chance.We can only stand back and realisethat the Being that created this mag-nificent earth, speaks to us and, by Hisgrace, offers us salvation. What anopportunity for us all!

Ken Clark

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