good news 1957 (vol vi no 12) dec_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1957 (Vol VI No 12) Dec_w

1/12

VOL. VI, NUMBER 12

International MagazIne ofTHE CHUR CH OF GOD

DECEMBER, 1957

Why Build theNEW TABERNACLENear Glade"Water?

How call we know where the neui tabernacle ought to be located?Jf/hat Bible authority do we bat: for keeping th e Feast of Taber-uacles ill ONE place in Gladewater, Texas? Here is what the Biblereveals about it!

by Herman L. Hoeh

I T IS TIME we understood exactlywhat the Bible reveals about building the NEW Tabernacle!Was there a niistai: made in bui ld ingrhc- rirsr t'lbl:'tn'lcle which we have now

cemf rely outgrown?What NEW TESTAMENT reason isthere for buil ding a tabernacle and forassembling in one place lO keep theFeast of Tabernacles?Here are the answers!NOT Returning to CeremoniesSome, when they hear that the Churchhas bui lt a tabernacle near Gladewate r,Texas. assume that w:: are returning to

the ritual s of the Law of Moses-assumethat we are "coming under bondage tothat old law!"Granted t hat the Old Testament doeshave something to say about a rabernacle: but there is a vital NEW TESTA

MENT reason why a nett. tabernacle mustbe built-and why it rnust be nearGladewater!No, we are not turning to the ceremonies of rhr- 'l(j(jp(j law of Mosf'SThose ceremonies were temporary. TheLevitical priesthood was temporary. Thetabernacle erected by Moses was for thatrirne-/lOt for tad",..'Moses' tabernacle was for an ent irelydifferent purposc than ours'

Notice the desc ript ion of the tabernacle which Moses was commanded toerect. It is found in Hebrews 9: 1-9.Only the Levitical priests were permittedto enter that tabernacle (verse G) . Thecommon people wee not allowed.The Mosaic tabernacle had two compartments-the holy place and the holyof holies (Heb. 9:3-4). In the secondcompartment , only the Levitical highpriest was allowed. The purpose of tha ttabernacle was to provide a sanctuary forIsrael's God-" . . . let them make Me asanctuary, that I may dwell among them.According to . . . the pattern of thetabernacle, thereof, even so shall ye makeit" (Exodus 25:8-9).Our tabernacle is for the people inGod 's Church to mee t in. Moses' taber

nacle was not. It was merely a "copy ofthe heavenly things"--of the th rone ofGod! (Hebrews 9:23.)Today we may have access by prayerto the holy place in heaven itself-"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enterinto the holies by the blood of Jesus"(Heb. 10: 19). And, "Let tI S thereforewith boldness approach the throne ofgrace" (Heb, 4: 16). W e are a "royalpriesthood" ( I Pete r 2: 5, 9) today. Wehave no Mosaic copy of the throne ofGod. We have the reality in heaven itself!

No, the rabernacie at Gladewater isnot a con tinuat ion of the Mosaic tabernacle. Nor is it pa tt erned after it! TheGod of Israel is in heaven, not in abuilding made of wooJ all ear th!What You Probaoly Didn't KnowThe majority of you bret hren probably have not known how we came tobuild the tabernacle in Gladewater. Andmany who were then with us have probably forgotten'The first report on the tabernacle appeared in the February 1953Good News,page 10. In that article Mr. Armstrongwrote that the purpose of the tabernaclewas three-fold: 1) as a local place forthe Church around Gladewater to meetevery Sabbath; 2) as a bui ld ing to housethe grade and h igh school; 3) as a cen te rof meet ing for the annual spri ng festivals-Passover, the Days of UnleavenedBread and Pentecost.But it was not originally built for theFeast of Tabernacles!God had not yet revealed-in the earlypar t of 1953--where we should holJ theFeast of Tabernacles.But why did we call it a " tabernac le")Because it was that kind of building!We couldn't call it a school, for it wasnot built like a school. Neither could wecall it a church, for it is not built


2/12

Page 2 The GOOD NEWS December, 1

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

Address communications 10 the Editor,BDx I l l , Pasadena, California.Copyright, December, 1957By the Radio Church of God

Norict' how rhr-children of Israel gavewhen in the wilderness at S inai : "Thepeople [brought] much more thanenough for the service of the work,w h it li i he Lor d conuuaudcd [() make.And Moses gave commandment, andthey caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, 'Let nei ther mannor woman make any mote work forthe offering of the sanc tuary. ' So thepeop le were r estr ain ed f rom b ringing .For the s tuff they had was suff ic ient forall the work to make. AND TOO MUCH"(Exodus .16: 5-7).

We Must ALL GiveThe tabernacle of Moses was built bythe offerings from among at least tw oand one-half million people! There were

that many Israeli tes in the wilderness !That tabernacle was to be a sanctuaryfor Israel' s God with a few hundredpriests in attendance.

The auditorium or tabernacle whichwe mus t bui ld in eight short monthsmust house the entire membership oft he Chur ch of God here in Americaand it must be bui lt f rom offerings ofnot more than 4200 people!That is how big our job is!Do we realize what our responsibilityis? It is far greater than that of the chil

dren of Israel in the wilderness. Therewere 600 rimes as many Israelitescalled Out of Egypt in Moses' day asthe re a re members in God's Church to day! Natural ly our NEW auditorium ortabernacle will not be as sumptuous asthe sanctuary in the wilderness-Goddoesn't want a building to dwell in, Hewants your body to dwell in as a templeof t he Holy Spir i t -but it will still costthe FEW of us far more proportionatelythan the tabernacle in the wildernesscost the children of Israel.

About iioo thirds of the entire Churchattended the Feast of Tabernacles thispast season. That is a wonderful number,yet the percentage will be higher nextyear as God makes it financially possiblefor others to attend. BUT ALL MEMBERSHAVE THEIR PART IN BUILDING THETABERNACLE, whether or not they havebeen able to attend.The Church of God is one body and

we all work and give together. What ifa human body were one-third crippled?How much work could the rest of thebody do? Nothing!Similarly, we must no t allow ourselvesto become spiritually unconcernedspiritually crippled. We must all givewillingly, give immediately, and givecontinually until the full cos t is paid for.And those who are alone and poor, orwho live with unconverted husbands andhave no income of their own, NEED TOPRAY that those who are financial lyable will give willingly and that those( Please continue 011 page 10)

NAME 10:." It must have C;od's name- b e deeded to HIM:

Now conside r how we obtained theproperty at Gladewater.

Shurdy bdulC the spling uf 195.1 abeautifully wooded, private and secluded tract of some 45 acres was partlydonated and the balance purchased andcleared. The original owner donated it/0 God. The property therefore becamedeeded in the NAME OF GOD!

Not ic e t ha t when God wanted rheTemple built by Solomon, He causedOrnan to want to donate his propertyto God. David, Solomon's father, boughtrhar property, having recognized it asthe place whereon God wanted theHouse of the Lord built (see I Chronicles 21:14 to 22:.1 and II Samuel 24:18-25).In the last part of the summer of 195.1the Church was still in search of theplace God would appoint for the Feastof Tabernacles, No place was availab leanywhere, it seemed.Then something happened! It becameevident ro Mr. Armstrong, rogcrhcr with

many of th e members, that the onlyplace available where we could meet wasthe very place GOD HAD PLACED HISNAME-on t he proper ty ncar Gladewater, Texas!Since God docs command our presence where He places Hi s Name, THETABERNACLE GROUNDS BECAME THEPLACE CHOSEN FOR THE FEAST OFTABERNACLESI

For five years God's people have metthere. We have multiplied in attendancefour times. We have outgrown the original building-which must now becomea dining hall-and a NEW TABERNACLEmust be completed within the next eightmonths!

How to Finance Building ofTabernacle

Whenever God saw t ha t t here wasa need for a central place of worshipamong His people, God commandedHi s ministers to ask the people for offerings. Notice! "Speak unto the childrenollsrael, that they bring me an offering:of every man tha t g iveth it willinglywith his heart ye shall take my offering"(Exodus 25:2).This is th e Bible example of how Godwants the tabernacle financed, Wearenot to use our own human reason andfinance it by a church lot tery , or by asking those outside the Church to supportit, or by u sing t he regular t ithes andofferings for the carrying out of the gospel. It is you brethren-the Israel of Godtoday (Gal. 6:16)-whom we are commanded to ask for special offerings BECAUSE TIlE TADERNACLE IS FORYOUnot for outsiders. And whatever you giveis to be "willingly with your hea rts in. I"It.

NUMBER 12OL. VIHerbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. HoehExecutive Editor

Roderick C. MeredithGarner Ted ArmstrongAssociate Editors

like the ordinary church. It was builtwith a large auditorium-and Websterdefines a tabernacle as a "church with alarge auditorium."That is why we call it a " tabe rnac le"!

That is what it is.When originally built, th e tabernacle

provided seats for an anticipated number of 1000 who would be attending thespring fes tivals of God. It was neverbuilt specifically to house those attending the Feast of Tabernacles becauseGod had no t yet r eveal ed where theFeast should be held.It was abso lu te ly ess en tia l, however,t ha t the tabernacle be built in 1953 forthe school and the local chu rch and thespring fest ivals. It has amply served itsoriginal purpose.

But God intended that it would serveeven a greater purpose!Why Gladewater Chosen fo r Feast of

TabernaclesIn Leviticus 23:2-4-in the uer chap-ter where the annual festivals are men-tioned-God orders His ministers to

convoke assemblies. One of the commanded assemblies is the "Feast of Tabernacles" (Lev. 23:34).But the ministry cannot command a

meeting unless the min is te rs knowwhere the meet ing is to be held!God has not left us free to choose forourselves where we want to meet. Godis the One who chooses the place: "Sevendays shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto

the Lord thy God IN THE PLACE WHICHTHE LORD SHALL CHOOSE" (Deuteronomy 16: 15 ). In verse 6 of thissame chapter God further tells us thatit must be "the place whi ch t he Lordthy God shall choose TO PLACE HIS


3/12

More Deacons Ordained!God's Church continues to GROlV! Let us REJOICE as tee see moremeu and uomen being directly used iu God's Church-preptlrillgfor His kingdom.'

by Roderick C. Meredith

A MOST hap p,)' e\Tnt, took place onthe Sabbath, November 2:-\, 111the San Diego Church of God.It inspired the b re th ren the re co realizemore fully that Jesus Christ continuesco uor]: through His body-His Church-he re on earth. Ir should inspire {Illof UJ!This happy event was the ordinationof two deacons in the San Diego Church-Mr . Harold Jackson, and Mr. HarryFrahm. In one sense, it was unexpected.In another way, perhaps, it was longoverdue.Th e s to ry and mean ing bel" nd thisordination service illustrate some very

important principles of boll' God worksthrough His Church.

Qualifications for a DeaconIn God's government in His Church,a man must be prep.tred, qualified, consecraied, and tested before he can begiven any responsible position.As most of you know, Mr. Armstronghad some tragic experiences in his early

minis try when he tried to work withother men who were either nor fullyconverred-or else were not tr.tiuei! and(jlld1ified to serve as min is ter s, el der s ordc.icoris. In rccenr years, GoJ has ledhm- .ind all of us in God's ministry-to see more clear ly the necessity ofbeing ABSOLUTELY SURE-as far as itis humanly possible-that any man isthoroughly qualified and consecrated toChrist before he is given an office ofresponsibility in God's Church.Thus, we have been doubl)' "careful"in recent years about ordaining elders,deacons and deaconesses. And JO Ice

Jbould be'.'The apostle Paul was inspired by God

to set forth the qualifications for eldersand deacons so that God 's Church todaywould know how to properly carry ou tHis government. After discussing elders,Paul states: "Likewise mus t the deaconsbe grave, nor doublerongued, not givenco much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;holding the mys tery of the faith in apure conscience. And l et these also finthe PHOVED [rcstc.i l : then let them usethe office of a deacon, being foundblameless" (I T i m . ~ : 8 - 1 0 ) .

Notice These Qualificat ions:A deacon must be :1 serious, purpoJeful Christian. He must no t be a gossiper

or liar, nor be in the habit of drinkingwine too frequently or tOO much, nor beinclined to set his heart on money ormaterial things. He must be a faithfulconvert, and must be tested and proiedin his willingness and ability to serve inand under God 's government.Even deacons must be able co exercise

leadersbip, and should be "ruling theirchildren and their own houses wel l"(verse 12).If they meet all these qualifications

and a re f ai th fu l lI 1 their office, GoJpromises a definite BLESSING. "For theythat have used the office of a deaconwell purchase to themselves a gooddegree, and great boldness in the faiththat is in Christ Jesus" (verse 13).

Significance of th e San DiegoOrdinationThere were a few special factors inthe recent ordination at San Diego which

everyone in God's Church should especially notice as a principle.First, both Mr. Jackson and Mr. Frahmhave been faitbful and zealous membersof the San Diego congregation for morethan five years. In addition, they have"proved" themselves many times overby their uillin gn ess and ahilil] to helpnew bre th ren or visitors, and to hell'with the physical arrangements for theweekly Sabbath services or for theannual festivals.Also, it is important for all of ourbrethren to rea lize that Mr. Jackson isa Negro. Perhaps we have all learnedby now that in spiritual fellowship andrelationship, "Ye are all one in ChristJesus" (Gal. 3: 28) . You will recall thatamong the very prophets and teachersat Antioch that ordained Paul was Simeon, "called Niger," a Negro brother.Therefore, it is important to realizethat in the future Negro brethren may

hold many offices in God's Church-:/Jtbey {we qualified, of course.In etery case, the minis ter in charuewill take speci al care to handle thesituation so as NOT to stir up any strifearnonz local residents in the> communi tv.SO ALL of you brerhren-Lbo-h Whiteand Nezro-c-should stand behind theminister completely, and exercise 101'eand tiatien:e in all thing s.Such men as Mr. Jacksull I l l ' IV laterbe used as l eader s among all-Negro congregations-if it becomes necessary be-

cause of racia l strife in this countryto have separate congregations in certainareas. Many cf you older and s trongerNegro brethren need to realize the greatRESPONSIBILITY God may be preparingsome of you to assume in the future.In the se matters, of course, ALL of usmust keep close to God. I t is onlythrough His Spiri t -His uirdof/l andloue- that we will be kept in the righta tt itude and nor be influenced by theprejudice, trouble and strife in the wor ld- o n this or any other matter.

The Ordination ServiceAs Pastor of the San Diego Church,I had requested that Dr. C. Paul Meredi th-my uncle, and Di re ct or of theCorrespondence Course-accompany meto San Diego and assist in this ordinarion service.After the scrrnonctre and b les si ng of

children, we fol lowed the New Testament example of prayer and the layingOi l of hands (Acts 6:6). We set apartMr. Frahm and Mr. Jackson in the officeof deacon, and asked God to bless andguide t hem through His Spirit in thisoffice.

As we rose from prayer, I could sensethat the congregation felt-as Dr. Meredith and I did-i-t' It it was actuallyChrist who had been among us and hadordained these men . And , aft er all, thatis true. For we are only His instruments,His bondserrants-s--xcxuig for Him towhom has been committed all POWERin heaven and earth! (Mat. 28:18).It was truly a joyful occasion. Mr.Jackson is t he f in t Negro brotber in thisage of God's Church to be placed in adirect office in His service. And both heand Mr. Frahm now have special opportunity to earn "a Rood degree, and greatboldness in the faith that is in ChristJesus."As we consider Christ's working inHi s Church today, it should inspire usall to rise above the petty problems,frustrations and trivialities that too oftenweigh us down.We are commanded: "Seek those

things abo/,'e, whpre Christ streth on th ;r ight hand of God" (Col. 3 :1 ) .Are you DRIVING YOCRSELF o n

planning, working , stud.ying, praying,char you may be wor rhv of great res ponJibility and opportunity to SERVE inGod's kingdom)


4/12

Rejoice in God's Sabbath!YO/ l need to know HOIF to keep tbe S(lbbatb as God intended.'Here are tbe ANSWERS to uital questions about tbe Sabbatb tbat

many of you bare recently asked.

Y OU MAY be missing out on someof the greatest blessings of lifethrough ignorance!In this chaot ic , hel l-bent age in whichwe live, man NEEDS a right understanding of the laws of peace and joy thatAlmighty God has set in motion. Manylack the enthusiasm-the zest for l i fe-tha t would make the ir lives really fulland complete. "Every day is the same oldthing!" you hear so many people say.But God has given us one blessingwhich doesn't make every day alike,which-when rightly used-will makeour lives more joyflll and abundant,and give us a zest for life we otherwiselack. This is the Sabbath day.Once yOLl fully understand and appreciate the blessings and opportunitiesafforded by this day, you will literallyREJOICE in keeping it. Far too manyconverted people look on the Sabbathas a day when they "can't" do this orthat.But IF yuu really want [( J draw closerto God and do His will, then begin tolook on the Sabbath as the day whenyou CAN take time for needed prayer,study, meditat ion, spiri tual fel lowshipand rest. When viewed in this l ight theSabbath is a tremendons BLESSING'Sabbath Made to Serve Man

Christ said, "The sabba th was madefor man, and not man for i sabbath"(Mark :2::2 7) . He didn't say it was madefor the Jew, but for MAN-for all man-kind in other words. And it was madefor him a blessing.

Keep rhis principle in mind. It wasmade for 'you, to help you, to enableyou to live a happier and more godlylife.God's true Sabbath is one of thegreatest blessings that has ever beenbestowed upon mankind. It signifieJt ha t the Crea tor is our God and we areHis children.

Our Creator knew that we wouldneed a per iod of rest every seven th day,and this is one of many opportunitiesthe Sabbath affords. Each of us tendsto become overly absorbed in our dailycares during the week. but God foresawthis, and set aside the Sabbath as a timewhen we can completely forget ourrou tine work and get closer to God instud, meditation, and prayer.

The wonderful part of it all is thatwe can keep this period of rest and

by Roderick C. Meredithspiritual revival with complete confidence tha t God will bless and prosperus because we have done this! If wewould quit working every few days andtake a needed rest, we might naturallyexpect ro get behind in our finances andmaterial pursuits. But God has said justthe opposite! So if we keep His HolyDay, we can rest assured that it willbe gain instead of loss, even look ing atit materially.

Do you realize what this amounts to?God is git'ing us a paid iacation everyseventh day!

Human reasoning might not graspthis right at first. But God has promisedthis, and the experiences of hundreds ofpeople have shown that Go.. meantwhat he said. You may not be prosperedimmediately if you begin keeping God'scommandments and paying your tithefaithfully as He has commanded. Butin His way and t ime , God will beg in tobless and prosper you in ways t ha t youmay never have expected.In Isaiah 58: 13-14, God inspiredIsaiah to wri te tha t if we kept the Sabbath and delighted in it, we would remember Him and He would cause usto have life in abundance, spiritually andmaterially. Not ice .hat we are not tosee]: our own pleasure on the S3.bbath.Yet, we are to delight in it. This meansthat we should be JO bUJy doing goodto other., and getting closer to God inprayer and study, tha t we will not evendesire to seek any earthly amusements.We will be HAPPY because we are ableto rest, to worship God with peace ofmind, and because we have a specialtime to do good.

This same passage says we are not torpeal: OIlY own words on the Sabbath.What does this mean? It shows tha twe shou ld not spend the Sabbath in idletalk, but should be reading, discussingand meditaling upon God's word. Thenwe will be drinking in the ideas of Godinstead of mere human notions. Whata privilege it is to have a whole dayin which we can read and discuss theway of life that is revealed to us in theBible!In order that we may have our mindsfree from last minute duties on theSabbath, God has commanded that weprepare for it the day before. Exodus16: 22-:25 shows that we should do anybaking or r ime-consuming boi ling before the Sabbath. Long hours of cooking

and stewing should ncter clutter upGod's day.So do all your "sprucing up" andany heavy cook ing on Friday, (he preparation day. Then at sunset Fr iday evening, when the Sabbath begins, yOLlwill have put all worldly cares aside andwill be able to enter the Sabbath in aspi ri t of re joicing and worship towardGod.Duties on Sabbath

Your time should never "drag" onGod's Sabbath! Some people experiencethis when they first begin to keep thesabbath, bu t it certainly isn't the wayGod intended. When we understand itproperly, the Sabbarl. will be filled withinterest and joy,

The true Sabbath is no ! :\ lIeg,ttil'ething!Christ set us an example of how tokeep it. In Mark 2:23 to -":'S, Jesusshowed that it was all right to procurefood on the sabbath if i t is necessary.He told the Pharisees tha t He was Lordof the Sabbath-nor Sunday! ThenChrist healed an infirm man on theSabbath, and showed that it is lawfulto do good on tha t day.What kind of good should we do onthe Sabbath day'God commanded in Exodus 20: 10,that we should not uorl: on (he Sabbath. So the kind of good that we doon that day is not the kind of hard physical labor which we might do on otherdays. "Doing good" is not to be usedas an EXCUSE for performing those material duties, however helpful to others,which can just as well be done someother day. There is one exception tothis prohibition. That is in the case ofan "ox in the ditch" (Luke 14: 5) . Thisrefers to a genuine emergency, not somematerial duty you "put off" until theSabbath.The principal example of doing goodon the sabbath that Christ gave us wasthat of healing the sick or infirm thatcame to Him (Matt. 12:9-13). He didNOT go abroad seeking them. Also,we find tha t He was constantly meetingwith others and teaching them God'sways on this day.We can all use the Sabbath as a time

to comfort and mini ste r to those whoare sick and infirm on this day. Butthis does not mean that we should burden ourselves with purely material serv-


5/12

December, I\lS7ices. Jesus didn' t when he helped thesick according co their faith. Rememberwhar he told Martha: "Thou art careful and troubled .ibour many things'But one thing is needful : and Mary hathchosen that good par t, which shall notbe taken away from her" (Luke 10:41,

4 ~ ) . \'.(/e should especially try co helpthose who are interested in the trueteachings of the Bible, because in thisway we can minister to them bothxpir ituallv and physically.

A Wonderful OpportunitySTCDY the word of God (II Tim.2: 15 )' This should usually be your firstduty on the Sabbath. Then you will beret/dy to answer the quest ions of thoseyou are trying to help (I Peter .): 15).Many of you brethren desperately

NEED to spend mach more time inearnest, prayerful Bible study. And mostof you u a n t to do it, but say that you"just don't find the time."Well. learn to TAKE time on the Sabbath. In rhis ,',lY y()U have a wonderfulopportunity to study intensively, to prayand not feel "rushed" or that you oughtto be doing something else. USE thi s

opportunity! Be THANKFUL for it!The Sabbath is the day when you canand SHOULD study the Bible, study theCorrespondence Course, and review thehack iSSlJPS of The PLAIN TRUTH and

The GOOD NEWS. On this day you candiscuss points of truth and Christianliving with your wife or husband, andyou can have a Bible study session withyour children.Yes, the Sabbath is the day on whichyou CAN do all these things thrr mostof you uant and need to do anywaybu t Jimply can't 61111 enough " ',' fordllrinf!. th e ueee'Remember that the pri ncipal com

mand is to rest from our usual routineon the Sabbath, and to uorsbit: God andremember h im as Creator . The Biblerevea ls tha t "doing good" on the Sabbath is serving others in a way thatshows the pouer of Go d in our lives.Christ didn't labor for several hours toheal the sick on the Sabbath. Instead,He invoked the very power of rh-Creator to release others f rom the bondsof sickness. So we should NOT snen]most of the Sabbath caring for thephysical needs of other people. Bv drawing closer to God on this day, we willthen be able to help others in a LASTINGwav through the power of God's Soirit,"Sewing for chari ty" and other phys

ical services may be worrhv at the Propertime, bu t such routine labor shoulu notfill UD God's Sabbath day,Physical things will "perish with the

using." So use the Sabbath primarily tolearn God's u-ays and make them a partof your character-and help others to

The GOOD NEWSdo the same. The Spirit of God 10 youwill last forever.'

Rejoice in the Sabba th as a wonderfulOPPORTUNITY for the physical rest, andfor the study, prayer and spiritual fellowJbip you need!

A Commanded AssemblyIn Luke 4: 16, we find that Christ

customarily met with o ther s on the Sabbath and read from God 's word, Lev,23: 1-3 tells us that the Sabbath is to bea holy convocation for God' s people , Aconvoca tion is a commanded assembly,God commands you to convoke or meetwith other true believers ubeneuer thisis possible on the Sabbath.However, this does no t mean that youare to meet on that day or any otherday with those who are blinded to God's

truth and refuse to keep all His commandments. Paul commanded Christiansin II Cor. 6: 14, "Be ye not unequallyyoked together with unbelievers: forwhat [ellou/sbip hath righteousness withunrighteousness and what cornrnrvionhath light w ith darkness?Chri st ian fel lowship should be withother people ONLY through God and hisSpirit. God gives rhe Holy Spiri t tothem tha t obey Him (Acts 5:32), Soremember that you cannot have true fellowship through Satan, or his ministers ,or his churches who refuse to obey Go.l'scommandments.When it was impossible to meet withothers in a church on the Sabbath day,the apostle Paul and his helpers "wentour of the city by a river side, wherePrayer was wont to be made" (Acts16: 13). This is an admirable examplefor many of us, because getting closerto the natur. handiwork of the Creatorbrings one closer to God. The hand ofGod is seen in everyrhing good andbeautiful. Not ice tha t instead of goingto the r iver to fish, as so many do onthe "day of the Sun," Paul went to ariver to help others seek God in praver.

How to Be a Light to th e WorldChrist told his followers, "Ye are theligbt of the world" (Matt. 5: 14). HO"


6/12


7/12

Photo by J. Al len Hawkins; March 1949

16. Site of Ambassador PressfI"ilding-195717. Beginning po in t for the

Pasadena Tournament ofRoses.

15. High School Athletic Field-1957.

13 . Arnb o sscdo r Holl: no wbeing prepared as theclassroom building-1956.

14. Formal Italian Gardens.

12. Recreation Room an dSunken Gardens.

11. Manor Del Mar; th e men'sstudent residence- 1956.

10. Ter race Drive residence formen students-1955.

exercises.

7. Imperial High School;temporary location-1950.

8. Campus Entrance-1951.9.

6. Green Street residencesfor men students-1950.

5. Site of Athletic Field-1950.

3. Administration Building.4. Mayfa i r, t he women' s

student residence-1949.

Aerial View of the Ambassador Campus now comprisingwel l over 10 acres in the South Orange Grove residence district ofPasadena, California.1. College Library; containing

Broadcast Studio an dpresent c1assrooms-Acquired in 1947.

2. Garden Theatre, withTempiello as stage, sellingfor Commencement


8/12

Page H The GOOD NEWS December, 1')57

~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ _ .._... - - . ~

, , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CUT ON DOTTED LINE l

(Print name)

The ENVOY Staff:

I t Is HOLY TimeIn Exodus 20: 8, we find the origina lcommand, "Remember the sabbath dayto keep it HOLY." Never forget that Godhas made the seventh day holy t ime.'You and I are commanded to keep itrhar way.We have already found in God's wordthat we are not to do our own work.pleasure, think our own thoughts, orspeak our own words on God's Sabbathday. To keep the Sabbath day hoi):You can't spend a lor of time inworldly visiting or "shooting the breeze,"

or even courting your girl.You can 't be running down town fora cup of coffee or an ice-cream soda.That k ind of p rocuring food is entirelvUNNECESSARYYou can' t spend several hours listening to worthless radio programs or reading the "funnies."You can 't wai t until after sunset onFriday evening to begin your cleaningup and preparing for the Sabbath, unless,of course, a genuine emergency has interfered.I could go on, but I think you shouldge t the point and grasp the principle involved.Let's NOT "kid" ourselves!When God said to put the Sabbathday to a HOLY use, He means exactlywhat He said. Bur we should learn t obe ,;0 happily employed in doing theg od things prescribed for that day, thatwe will have no time or inclination toviolate the prohibitions anyway.So let's keep the Sabbath in a POSITIVEway! Use the Sabbath as a day to restfrom worldly labor, to get closer to Goelin prayer and study. Take time to dogood to others, to care for the sick, tovisit the afflicted. Assemble with othertrue belicters on the Sabbath if this ispossible. Then you will truly be a "light"to those around you.The Sabbath SEPARATES t rue Christians from this world's churches withtheir pagan holidays and "day of thesun." And it gives the true children ofthe Living God an opportunity for rest,.tud, prayer and ioorsbip-s-io: DIRECTand SUSTAINED contact with the ir Creator which they would otherwise notenJoy.

SO KEEP HOLY the day God madeholy! REJOICE in the blessings andopportunities tha t the Sabba th affords,and remembe r t hat it is an ident ifyingSIGN of direct relationship between youand your Creator .

love and chasten ing must go hand inhand in this training. But a child sotrained in God's ways would have apriceless advanr:18e in hi s knowledge oflife and its real meaning in relation toth e Creator.

StateO:1e

They are basically selfish, and usuallylack the understanding and will power tokeep God' s law as an adult.Rut they should he tCll1ght to rest f rorntheir routine work or play on the Sabbat h as much as possible. They shouldbe instructed in a kinJly and straightforward manner that the seventh dayis holy to their Heavenly Father, andthat they can show their love for Himby re fra ining from their usual play onthat day and by thinking and learningabout God, instead.Your chi ldren should be taught thesethings gradual ly and only as their agemakes it possible for them to understand. If trained properly from infancy,a ten or twelve year old child shouldhave enough respect for God 's Sabbatht hat he does not spend his time reading

"funny books" or listening to radioserials on that day.

ACT NOW!An increase in size and qua li ty arecertain to rna. this new ENVOY surpass by far any of the previous issues.Th e price per book remains $5.00 ...and that price is the complete price-including the i nc re as ed cost of pos ta ge ,wrapping, and so forth. The ENVOYwill be r eady for mailing in ear ly June,bu t the p rin te rs must kn ow month s inadvance the exact number of books tobe printed.Just fi ll in the coup.in below or PRINTthe required in/ormation in a let ter andsend it IMMEDIATELY to "The ENVOY," at Post Office Box I I I, P asadena,Cal iforni a! P lease use the enclosed envelope.

and women bei ng t ra in ed for positionsof responsibility in the work of spreading the gospel. This is your invitat ionto share with us the magniticenr campusGod has given us, to share in the activities, the l ife of preparation of Ambassador's graduates of tomorrow.

(Print street an d number)

City

Mini,ter' To Be IncludedThis year The ENVOY will containprofessional pictures of all students, faculty members, and for the first time individual pictures of our ALUMNI, former graduates of Ambassador, manynow serving you in the ministry.The goal of the Staff this year: to sendout 1000 ENVOYS, a thousand Ambass adors of friendship and good will toour Church membership. The eventualgoal, to send an ENVOY to each Christian home to build uni ty and fellowshipbetween the Church and its young men

BEl l ER than a personal visit to theAmbassador Col lege campus, inmany ways'-you sha re with these unusual young people rhe ir l i fe on t he Ambassador campus . . . a t work, and atplay-their jam-packed interesting livesand experiences in study, in field tr ips ,in social act iv it ies, in recreation and a th l et ic -f ie ld act iv it ie s, and in the wonderful fellowship of co ll ege and Christianlife'

IMPORTANTANNOUNCEMENTThis year we invite all the members of the Churchof God to share this wonderful experience,

The SABBATH

YESI I want to receive my copy of The ENVOYI I enclose th e sum of FIVEDOLLARS ($5 .00) which pays th e subscr ipt ion price in full.Please make al l checks payable to: The ENVOY.

(Continued from p"ge 5)No man should be "tied down" to hisoccupat ion as so many are today.DON'T try to justify breaking the Sabbnrh by saying that "your occupat ion requires it"! Remember that this worldly,competi tive system is called "Babylon"in the Bible and you are commanded to

"come ou r of her" (Rev. 18: 1-4) .How to Instruct Children

God inspired Solomon to write "trainup a child in the way he should go andwhen he is old, he will not depart fromit" (Pro. 22: 6) . This command wouldcertainly apply to teaching your childto keep the Sabbath. However, youshould remember that even sweet l it tlechildren arc by no means converted.


9/12

How Much Can YOU Do?Ala1lY of you "Uly be do unicast-r-ma v NOT REALIZE tb e greatGOOD you personally are capable of accomplisbiny} Here's whatcall be done, THROUGH YOU!

b)! Garner Ted Armstrong"SOMETIMES I feel I'm nor worthvery much," wri tes one member

to us. "I know I'm not veryimportant, and not much he lp," s aidanother.FAR FROM IT!Perhaps NONE of you brethren have

truly visualized the great POWER youcan potentially wield in the work ofGod.\XTould YOU Have Been Insulted?When the apostle Paul returned to

Ephesus from the area of Galatia, hefound cer ta in disciples, and "said untothem, 'Have ye received the Holy Spi ri ts ince ye bel ieved? '' ' (Acts 19:2.) Canyou picture it? He looked these personsin the eye and asked them if they hadreceived the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD! Theyanswered they had no t even heard ofthe Holy Spirit. Paul explained, and laterlll\::Y i eceived this priceless gift!But would yOIl have shuffied your feetnervously, looked down, t ried to change

the subject, given a hesitating answerin other words, would you have bee nEMBARRASSED by such a question?What about it?('onlc! you answer INSTANTLY, "YES

-I KNOW I have the Spirit of Cod'''?Overwhelming Potential

Jesus Christ said, "I can of mine ownsel] do nothing!" (John 5: 30.) Bu twen t on to explain, "... the words thatI speak unto you I speak not of myself,but the Father that dwelleth IN me, HEdoerh the works!" (John 14:10 .)Jus t think of that! Your Saviour said

He could accomplish nothing Himsel],when l ef t jus t to Himself-BY HIMSELF!Just as many of yOIl ge t to feeling YOUcan "do NOTHING" to really HELP inthis uori: of God!But Jesus DID GREAT MIRACLES' And

He did it by the power of the Spirir ofGod'That great overwhelming power ispotentially YOURS today , if you wil l trulyYIELD to God-and allow Him to workthrough you!Christ records through Luke that Heis more will ing to give of His Spir it thanwe are willing to feed our own hung rychildren! (Luke 11: 13.) He standsWILLING, EAGER to gire IIJ of that samepower!

But aren' t we the "weak" of the ear th?Aren't we the poor, the humhle, and thedespised FEW-who have NO POWER,and NO STRENGTH? Yes, we have NO

~ T R E N G T H of ollrJeltJeJ-but with theSpirit of God WE ARE POSSESSORS OFALL POWER!Jesus said, "ALL POWER is given mein Heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28: 18).

And Christ is to be LIVING within us!(GaL 2:20, PhiL 2 : \ Rom. 8:9.)Potentially we all share in that power!And so YOU are to have th e One whoCREATED THE WORLDS. WHO MADEADAM, WHO SENT THE FLOOD, '\IvHODIVIDED THE RED SEA, WHO BECAMEJESUS CHRIST-LIVING PERSONAL-LY, INDIVIDUALLY WITHIN YOU'And you think you have no power)Just What CAN You Accomplish?You, as one, separate individual cans ave a nati on ! You can alter the courseof human l ives, you can PREVENT WAR!Believe it or not! The Bible contains

examples of the PRAYERS of just ONEPERSON accomplishing truly GREATthings!Turn to the 9th chapter of Deuteronomy and read it. God docs not "threaten"

emptily as "les a man-He was nottrying to "trrghren" the people. Godactually PURPOSED in His own mind toDESTROY THE ENTIRE NATION OF IS-RAEL, and make a new nati on of theseed of MOSES!But the earnest, fervent PRAYERS of

just ONE MAN-MoJeJ-altered thecourse of a nation. That prayer is onegood reason why you are alive today.Next, read II Chronicles the 20th chapter. Here, King jehoshaphat "feared,

and SET HIMSELF to seek the Ete rnal ,and proclaimed a fast throughout allJudah" (vs, 3). He then prayed aboutthe threa t of the allied armies of theMoabites and Ammonit es that wereabout to kill the Israeli tes. GOD AN-SWERED THAT PRAYER, and delivered thearmies of two nations into the hands ofthe inhabitants of Jerusalem! Notice itthe prayers of one righteous man'DANIEL prayed earnest ly, and Godrevealed no t only an interpretation of a

dream, bu t the ent ir e d ream itself aswell! As a result, many lives were saved,and Daniel was made an executive inthe Chaldean government.

But weren 't these great men-famuMmen-of whom such great faith andrighteousness would naturall)' be expect-ed )No! They were MOJeJ, who ran f romthe call of God, who broke the table s ofstone in anger , and who was prevented

from entering the promised land becauseof his own temper; and Jehoshaphat,who "cried out" when he thought he wasgoing to be ki lled (I I Chron. 18: 31 ),and who "feared" when he saw thearmies t hr ea teni ng h im ( II Chron.20: 3); Daniel, who fainted, and wassic]: when God showed him the frightfulsymbols of prophecy (Dan. 8: 27).These men were human beings, l ikeyou and me-human beings with faults,with shortcomings, w it.h teiuptatious of

the flesh. And yet, because they WENTTO GOD WITH THEIR PROBLEMS, thecourses of nations were altered becauseof them!How HIGH Is Our Calling?

Little do we begin to visualize howGREAT is this salvation (Heb. 2:3) intowhich even the powerful angels wishto look! ( I Pet. 1: 12.)'V. E are to someday be ABOVE theanrels, ABOVE the cherubim, the sera-phun, and ABOVE the 24 elde rs seatedabout God's very throne! WE ARE TOBECOME A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OFGOD-TO BECOME GOD!God expects you to THINK BIG! Let

the entire UNIVERSE come into the scopeof your thinking! PRAY that God willnot permit a war in Syria. PRAY GodWILL pu t a man in the Presidency of theUnited States who will fol low pol ic iesthat wil l be BEST for the uiorl: of God'Pray that God will ALTER THE WEATH-ER when need be-and ESPECIALLYWHEN WE HAVE TO FLEE!PRAYBIG! THINK BIG! Do not believefor one second your prayers cannot ac-cornplish GREAT MIRACLES today'Is Christ l iving WITHIN you? Is He?I f you know He is- then ACT on it-and begin coming BOLDLY to that throneof grace, knowing God has obligatedHimself to answer your prayers'What do you mean-"can't do anygood)" Paul wrote, "I CAN DOALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST whichstrengthens me" (Phil. 4: 13 ) .SO CAN YOu!


10/12

Page 10

Why New Tabernacle?(Contillued [rom pdge ] )

who can work wil l be prospered in thesenext crucial months.The extra things we wanted to buy inthese next few months fade into insignificance when compared with theneed of the Church for the tabernacle.

What we do in these next months willlast us here in America and Canada forttl! tbe remaining yean we have left inwhich to complete the spreading of thegospel as a witness .Nou is tb time that u:c need tbe neu:t.ibernacie. Nearly rwo sevenths of thepeople had to remain seated outside thetabernacle this past year!This cannot happen aga in nex t year.We will continue to use the presenttabernacle for dining facilities. Therewas 110 mistdke made in building it. Itwill continue to serve us every year!So let us all willingly and generously

contribute our special offerings EACHMONTH FR0M NOW ON UNT1L THENE,X' AUDITOHIUM IS FULLY PAID ron'Why Hold Feast of Tabernacles in

Only ONE Place?Many of you brethren have so recently come into the true Church of God

that you may never have heard us explain \X'HY we hold the Feast of Tabernacles in only one place in t he Uni tedSt.aes.Why do we no t also hold the o therfestivals only in one place, the same aswe do the Feast of Tabernacles?What examples in the Old and New

Testaments do we have?Although there are seien a i l iu la ! [esti-tals, we are commanded to appeal eforcGod three times or seasons in the year.Notice: "Three times in a year shall allthy males"-the women are also included-"appear before the Lord thy Godin the place which He shall choose; inthe feast of unleavened bread, and in thefeast of weeks, and in the feast of taber nacles" (Deut. 1():1()).The passover is here considered as anintegral part of the Days of UnleavenedBread. The separate festivals of Trumpets and Atonement are not included as

they arc usually held wherever the localchurches meet on the weekly Sabbath.This verse in Deuteronomy clearlyshows that we are not free to meet

wherever tee please, but , rather, to meetwherever it pleases God. He chooses theplace we meet and He reveals it to Hisministers who convoke the assemblies.Notice that in the Rook of Zechariaht he one feast which all will be requiredto attend in one place is the Feas t ofTabernacles! "And it shall come to passthat everyone that is left of all the nations which came aga inst jcrusalem't-iand all nations will come against Jeru-

The GOOD NEWSsalcm-s-t'shall even go up from year toyear . .. to keep the Feast of Tdber-nacles (Zech. 14:16).In the millennium the Genti les willbe required to assemble II I one pl,u:eJerusalem-to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.Nowhere in Scripture do we find thatall the nations will be required to

attend the other two major festivals atJerusalem. Only the Feast of Tabernaclesis mentioned!That means that God would place His

name in more than one p lace for thePassover season and Pentecost.Notice the Bible proof in Exodus 20:24, last part of verse, where the God ofIsrael is personally quoted: "In all placer

where I record My name I will comeunto thee and I will bless thee."How clear! Three times a year we

must meet wi th t he b re th ren whereverdesignated, but only o.tce a year-according to the example of Scriptureare ALL commanded to meet together inone place for the Feast of Taberna :es!Here's why!In the millennium the earth wil l become one world, UNITED BY EFFICIENTMEANS OF TRAVEL, governed by oneKingdom-the Kingdom of God . S incethe Feast of Tabernacles is a memorialof God's Plan for the millennium, weare all to come together in one place tocelebrate it' That is a perfect type!God permi ts the o ther festivals to beheld in more than one local ity at the

snrne time because the spr ing festivalsp ic tu re God' s P lan FOR THIS PRESENTAGE-THIS DIVIDED WORLD OF MAN.Our earth is now a divided earth, andthe Passover and Days of UnleavenedBread and F itecost arc memorials of

God's Plan now being carried out onthis divided earth!Why Feast of Tabernacles in London?But if there is only to be one place forthe Feast of Tabernacles , why do we hold

the Feast in London, England, at thesame time we hold one ncar Gladewater,Texas? And why will we later probablybe celebrating the Feast of Tabernaclesin Australia and South Africa at thesame time we do here in North America?The answer is plain'There is an astounding Biblical reasonwhy Mr. Armstrong has been led to

sanction a Feast of Tabernacles in London. Consider:When the earth becomes one worldin the mil lenn ium, then the re will beonly one place in the World Tomorrowfor the Feast of Tabernacles-Jerusalem,

the geographic and communicative cente r of the coming age'. BUT T0DAY THEEARTH IS DIVIDED INTO SEVERAL GEOGRAPHIC ANDCOMMCNICA TIVE 'YIORLDAREAS! These include North America,

December, 1, ) ' ;-

Europe. Australia, South Africa andSouth America. It is impossibl e financially for the vast majority of people totravel freely from one of these areasEngland, for example-to another area-America, for example.EACHOF THESE WORLD-AREAS represents, for Christians living in these areas,what the worl d tomorrow will be likeduring the millennium. In each one ofthese separate geographic areas on ourearth, there can be only one Feast ofTabernacles held'What wonderful types of the millennium!Today, North America is ONL WORLl)

AREA. Europe is another world-area.Aust ral ia is vet a thi rd ; South Afr ica isstill another.' /:.,IC!J aile of these areas IJ,I type of the WORLD TOMORROW!Therefore, in each area only onc Fe.isro; Tabernacles can be held according tothe plain example of Srr iprureIn whatever geographic world-areayou brethren are located, there can beonly one Feast of Tabernacles. In America that one place is Gladewater. InEurope, it is London.No place in Scripture can you find theFeast of Tabe rnacles held in more thanone place in anyone geographIC worldarea. But you can find numerous examples of the other festivals being held in

New Testament t imes in numerous secondary localities within an area wherever the circumstances permitted.Notice the Jewish custom in Palestine:"According to the prescribed regulation," writes Hayyim Schauss in the

Ieui-b Festiials, p. 172, "every male hadto make the journey LO a great sanuuaryat II three festivals. It was diff icult forthe Jewish peasant to leave his villageat Passover and Pentecost. ... He wasable to leave ONLY at the autumn fesrival"- the Feast of Tabernacles-to keepit at Jerusalem' Jewish Christians followed this practice in apostolic daysLet us not ice the examples.

New Testament ExamplesIn New I'estamenc times the Mediter

ranean region, whe re t he apost le Paulpreached, was divided into several geographic and communicative areas. Paulwas guided by the Spiri t of God to takespecial jottmeyr-falsely called "missionary journeys"-tO each of these separateareas. In a sense Mr. Armstrong is d o i n ~the same today by preaching -to NorthAmerica, to Europe, to Australia, toSouth Africa, to India. Each one of theserpgions is as sepatate as were the areasin which each of Paul's jo!tr1zeys tookhim.In New Testament t imes, Palestinewas one geographic and couuuun icarivcregion. All the people l iv ing there keptthe Feast of Tabernacles in jerusi'cm


11/12

lkccmh:r , 1 ' ) ~ 7just as l "sus did (John 7: r ,In alidition, n 1 a l ~ y w"althy Jews fromfar-away areas came: to jerusalem (Acts

2:


12/12

Page 12

sa t down, .m d spo ke ur uo fb e uomeuwhich carne toglCthn"-so reads theoriginal Greek. How plain' Exacrly 19YlCars atrcr th e gospd beg.ui to hepreached on Pentecost by the Church inAsia, it began to be preached in Europeon the Day of Pentecost-the Day ofWeeks, the Feast of Weeks or Penrecost.Paul then journeys to Corinth, inSouth Greece, 111 the province of Achaia.

"He cormnued there a year and sixmonths, teaching the word of Godamong them" (Acts 18:11). That accounts for two more Feast s of Tabernacles, t hi s t ime, it would seem, spentin Corinth. See map , p age 11, bottom.Those converted in Paul's first journeyin the region of Galatia and Pisidia wereprobably keeping the festival in Antiochin Pis id ia . Distances were so great inthose days that it would have taken twoweeks to a month just to travel to

Cor in th f rom Ant ioch in Pisidia.At the same time, converts in thegeographic area of Syria and Cilicia wereprobably observing the Feast of Tabernacles in Antioch in Syria. Jews inPalestine were observing it in Jerusalemas always. Each of these places was theone central location in a geographic,communicative area. We follow thes ame e xampl e t oday !Paul obviously was guided by the HolySpirit to spend each separate journey indifferent communicative areas, nearbythe central ci ty of which would be theplace for t he Feas t of Tabernacles.The third journey took Paul i nt o t hed is tr ic t of Asia, which was subdivided

into Mysia, Lydia and Caria. The centrallocation of this region was Ephesus ,where Paul preached for at least twoyears and three mon ths (Acts 19: 8-10) .The Feast of Tabernacles was probablyheld here during this t ime.

Spring Festivals Held LocallyEarly in the year 56 A.D., we findthe Feast of Unleavened Bread held in

the secondary cit ies of Troas and Assos.Notice it in Acts 20: 4-7, 11, 13-14:Luke and other ministers stayed inPhilippi until "after the Days of Unleavened Bread." Paul, however, accompanied by seven others, went to Troasin Asia (verse 4). Therefore Paul wasobserving the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread in the city of Troas whilethe others accompanying Luke were observing it in Philippi in Macedonia. Immediately after the last day of Unleavened Bread-which, in 56 AD., fell ona weekly Sabbarh-P:H11 left fo r AssosTh is would cert ainly seem to indicatethat the brethren in Assos were not the reat Troas when Paul was at Troas. Theyprobably were keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread at Assos, some 30 milesdistant by foot.

The GOOD NEWSThe keeping of Lile Feast of Unleav

ened Bread in so nhlllY minor (Ownsclearly substantiates the practICe of theChurch of God today when we hold thesame festival 111 numerous local areas!But nowhere in the Book of Acts canyou find one place where the Feast ofTabernacles was ever hcid in any butthe one place which was the center ofcommunications for an entire geographic area in which Paul preached.

Jesus' Own ExampleJesus is our example. We know that

He observed the Feast of Tabernaclesin Jerusalem, the headquarters of theChurch in Pa les ti ne. Bur did He everobserve the spring festivals in any othercity than jerusalem?He did!Notice what the Scripture says. Jesus

began to preach the gospel at Nazareth.He read f rom t he book of Isaiah whereit is written: "The Spirit of the Lord isupon Me, because He hath anointed Meto preach the gospel to the poor . .."(Luke, 4: 17). Consider the fact that upuntil this t ime Christ was merely callingdisciples and teaching them in priva te .When Nicodemus acknowledged thatJesus was "a teacher come from God"(John 3:2), Jesus now had the tacitapproval of a Sanhedrin representativeto publicly preach. Then Jesus goes toNazareth in Galilee to begin preaching.And when did He start preaching publicly in the synagogues?"And He came to Nazareth, where Hehad been brought up: and, as Hi s custom was, He wen t into the synagogue onthe Day of Weeks , and stood up for toread" (Luke 4 :1 6) . Here again th eoriginal Greek has been misunderstood!Jesus began preaching, no t merely ona sabbath, but on a particttlar sabbaththe annual Feast of Weeks or Pentecost'It was His custom to ob serve thatFeast in Nazareth. You will never findJesus in Jerusalem on t he Day of Pentecost. He was setting us an example thatthe spring festivals are not required tobe held in only one place!It was often the practice of t he J ewsliving in Galilee to attend services onthe spring festivals in Nazareth or otherGalilaean cities. (See The Life andTimes of Jesus the Messiah by Edersheim.) Because the disciples had oftenbeen accustomed to keep Pentecost inGalilee rather than Jerusalem-forthey were Galilaeans-Jesus had tocommand them in 31 A.D. to remainin Jerusalem t il l Pentecost . God purPOSPrl to give them His Holy Spirit atthe Headquarters Church in Jerusalemas a witness to all the Jews and theworld.There is strong evidence that Jesusalso once observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Galilee. Turn to Matthew

December. 1 9 5 ~12: 1-'). On a weekly sabbath "at thatseason" the Pharisees wrongly accusedJesus of breaking the sabbath. This eventappears to have occurred in Galilee, according to the accoun t in Mark .'\:7,where jesus withdraws nearby to the Seaof Galilee.But notice what the original Greek,

written by Luke, calls thai sabbath:"And it came to pass on a secondbigh sabbath that He was going throughthe cornfields" (Luke 6: I ).If you look in some Bibles you wil lsee that the translators have awkwardlyrendered the Greek words "second sabbath after the first." Actually, the Greekexpression means that the weekly sabbath tha t year was also the second highday, an annual sabbath-a day of {irstrank. And in that very year-29 AD . the Sacred Calendar proves that thesecond Holy Day in the days of UnIravened Bread fell on a weekly sabbath'So Jesus was kceping the Days of Un.eavened Bread in all probabilir- ;'1Galilee that year! - no t in Jcrusalcm.the place where the Feast of Tabernacleswas always held in Palestine.

Jesus Leads Our Church TodayJesus leads His Church-this Church.

We are the Church of God . S ince Jesusnever changes we find Him leading th eChurch today in exact ly t he same manner as He did in apostolic times. He isleading His ministers today to knowwhere the festivals of God ought to beheld, just as He led the apostles andministers in olden times to know whereGod's people should meet.God wan ts t he p eopl e to appear beforeHim. Therefore He wants the springfestivals of Passover and UnleavenedBread and Pentecos t to be observedwhere the greatest number of people cangather together throughout the country.But God provided in His law for usto save the SECOND TITHE so that we allcould journey to one central place forthe Feast of Tabernacles . Gladewater is

that place here in North America. It iscentrally located from east to west. Economically it is centrally located fromnorth to south, for the vast majority ofour brethren who have low incomes livein the region of the Southern States.Certainly God is an all-wise God whenwe fully grasp how He has worked outall these things for us!Now we know where and why God

wants us to bui ld the new tabernacle orauditorium. let's put our whole heartsinto our prayers for its cornoletion in thenext eight months-and l iberal , extraofferings for the specia l tabernaclefund which must be separ at e and apartfrom our usual t ithes and offer ings .This is our BIG IMMEDIATE resoonsi

bility, brethren Let us not shirk it'

good news 1957 (vol vi no 12) dec_w

Documents