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Vol. 2, No. 1

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January 2000

Dear Brethren and Friends,As we move together into this New Millennium—as designated by the

Roman calendar—we need more than ever to prepare for the real NewMillennium. For Christ will then be here in dramatic REALITY! AndEVERYTHING around us will change.

So it is vitally important that each of us establish the right priorities forour lives. If you knew that you would die of cancer within one year, whatwould your priorities be? Would you spend more time with God? Moretime in earnest Bible study and fervent prayer to your Creator? More timeloving and encouraging your family? More time SERVING others?

On the other side of the ledger, would you not spend less time watch-ing television, less time “goofing around” and doing nothing in particular?And would not many of you men and women in business cut back on theexpenditure of time and energy you dedicate to the corporate world in thepursuit of money and prestige? Would not many of you housewives spendperhaps a little less time making sure your home is “perfect”—and perhapsdevote more time to serving others?

Jesus Christ said: “But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His right-eousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Oneof the most precious possessions we all have is TIME. And, while we arealive and able and not “six feet under”—we should earnestly put Christ andHis Kingdom FIRST in our use of time. Most great men and women—though not yet “called” of God—have learned what a valuable resource timeis. They guard it jealously and use it carefully for whatever they think ismost important in this life. Peter Drucker, considered by many to be thegreatest management expert ever, tells us this about how valuable TIMEreally is:

The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high thedemand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it and nomarginal utility curve for it. Moreover, time is totally perishable andcannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone forever and will nevercome back. Time is, therefore, always in exceedingly short supply.

Time is totally irreplaceable. Within limits we can substituteone resource for another, copper for aluminum, for instance. We

Living ChurchNews

In This Issue

A Family Spirit ...........................................3

Religion 101 .............................4

How Did We GetThe Old Testament?................................8

We Still Must Preach The Gospel! ............................12

DisfellowshippingAnd Marking..........................15

God Sitson The Mercy Seat..............................17

News ofThe Work ..............................20

TripAnnouncement ....................19

Local Church News ........................21

ivinL g ChurchNews

THE

In This Issue

Vol. 2, No. 1 January 2000

Establishing Right Priorities

Living Church News January 2000

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simplify His life. He had very few clothes or material pos-sessions. He did not own a home (Matthew 8:20).Certainly He was not distracted by television orHollywood films, telephones, computers, video games,etc. Out under the clear skies of Galilee, Jesus could lookup at the heavens—as David did (Psalm 8)—and contem-plate the REASON for human life and the great PURPOSEbeing worked out here below. He was not constantly dis-tracted from this by all of the “things” around Him.

I am in no way suggesting that all our brethren selltheir homes or possessions. I am just reminding you howeasy it is in our modern society to get caught up inworthless pursuits and therefore FAIL to truly seek firstthe Kingdom of God. Though Jesus undoubtedly appre-ciated good food and a clean home, even He had to cor-rect Martha—who evidently did not grasp the VITALimportance of hearing directly from the Messiah when

she had the opportunity. In perfect love and wisdom,Jesus patiently explained to Martha that—on an occasionsuch as this—her TIME and energy should be directed todrawing closer to God and learning more of His perfectWAY. As Martha kept “buzzing around”—probably serv-ing food or snacks—Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha,you are worried and troubled about many things. ButONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen that goodpart, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke10:41–42).

So all of us need to very carefully and prayerfullydetermine what is really important. Then, we need toSEEK FIRST those things which are most important byapportioning more TIME to those things which are trulyvital to our lives and our relationship with God and oth-ers now—and to our opportunity to fully serve in God’sKingdom FOREVER.

Priorities (Continued From page 2)

can substitute capital for human labor. We can use moreknowledge or more brawn. But there is no substitute for time.

Everything requires time. It is the one truly universalcondition. All work takes place in time and uses up time. Yetmost people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable, andnecessary resource. Nothing else, perhaps, distinguisheseffective executives as much as their tender loving care oftime. (The Effective Executive, p. 26).

When the Logos or the “Word”—through whom God created allthat is (John 1:1–3)—emptied Himself and became a human being,He set us an example. He was, after all, the “Light” that God theFather sent into the world to show us how to live.

How did Jesus Christ, the Son of God, use the TIME at His dis-posal while in the human flesh? First of all, the gospels tell us con-sistently that Jesus was almost always giving, helping and SERVINGothers. And when He was not doing that, He was “communing” withthe Father and recharging His spiritual batteries so that He couldcontinue to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. For, while in the flesh,Jesus was fully human and was “in all points tempted as we are”(Hebrews 4:15). And even Jesus had to CRY OUT to God again andagain for spiritual strength and deliverance.

The book of Hebrews describes the human Jesus: “Who, in the daysof His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, withvehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death,and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet Helearned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:7–8).Jesus constantly put forth the TIME and effort to maintain an extremelyclose relationship with the Father. He prayed long and hard and put PAS-SION into His prayers “with vehement CRIES and TEARS” (v. 7).

Before selecting which of the dozens of young men followingHim should become His Apostles, Jesus spent a lot of TIME with theFather: “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to themountain to pray, and continued ALL NIGHT in PRAYER to God”(Luke 6:12).

And He often sought God the first thing in the morning—beforeanything else could interfere: “Now in the morning, having risen along while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitaryplace; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).

Did Jesus—surrounded by His disciples and by huge crowdsdemanding His constant attention—have TIME to spend with HisFather in this way? The answer is that Jesus knew that if He did notspend that precious time with God, then EVERYTHING else would beat risk! For, in the human flesh, apart from the Father, He could havemade serious mistakes, He could have slowly surrendered to the pullsof the flesh. That is why He spent so much time with the Father and“cried out” for the guidance and strength He needed.

Though Jesus Christ had been with the Father from eternity intranscendent GLORY, in the human flesh He found it useful to

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Priorities continues on page 19

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ne aspect of restoringApostolic Christianitythat we need to recoveris a genuine “family spir-

it.” A few of our local churches havethis. But others do not, and certain-ly all of us can do better. A warm,close, loving spirit among ALL ofour brethren will create a kind ofwelcoming atmosphere that willhelp hundreds—hopefully eventhousands—of new brethren feelthat they have “found a home” whenthey visit our congregations or startto attend.

Remember the early Christians?As you read the book of Acts carefully,it is obvious that they had this kind oftogetherness. Describing the earliest converts, Luke tells us: “Socontinuing daily with one accord inthe temple, and breaking bread fromhouse to house, they ate their foodwith gladness and simplicity of heart”(Acts 2:46). Being Jews, they still wor-shipped in the temple. But they ate ineach other’s homes regularly. Can youimagine the “Feast of Tabernacles”type of enthusiastic fellowshippingthat occurred! These brethren musthave been really excited. They hadjust seen and heard the mighty windsand the tongues of fire, whichdescended upon them on the day ofPentecost. They had seen the othermiracles and healings (v. 43). Theyfelt the power of God’s Spirit in theirlives and they knew that God was nowamong His people in a special way.

So they shared their joy andexcitement with one another. Theirhearts were full as they talked about

the healings and blessings they wereexperiencing. And they must havebeen deeply encouraged as theyshared these things together. For theywere greatly outnumbered by theother Jews around them—just as weare greatly outnumbered by the pro-fessing Christians of this world and bythe vast multitudes of other people.

The early Christians clungtogether like a little “family”—con-stantly encouraging and praying foreach other in the midst of a hostileworld. When Peter and John werethreatened by the Jewish hierarchy,they came back to their brethren,who “raised their voice to God withone accord” (Acts 4:24). God heardthem and literally SHOOK the build-ing in which they were meeting!And, in sharing these trials thesebrethren came to feel so much like a“family” that God inspired Luke towrite these words: “Now the multi-tude of those who believed were ofone heart and one soul; neither didanyone say that any of the things hepossessed was his own, but they hadall things in common” (v. 32).

Later, when Peter was put inprison for the Gospel’s sake, Luketells us, “CONSTANT PRAYER wasoffered to God for him by thechurch” (Acts 12:5). When Peterwas supernaturally let out of prisonby an angel, we read: “So, when hehad considered this, he came to thehouse of Mary, the mother of Johnwhose surname was Mark, wheremany were gathered together pray-ing” (v. 12).

Perhaps the outside persecutiondrove these early Christians closertogether than they might otherwisehave been. But we see, nevertheless,

that a great deal of closeness was felteven before that time. We in God’sChurch today must build on thecloseness and unity we already have.We must be fully prepared toencourage and comfort one anotherin the severe trials, which we knowcertainly lie ahead! We, too, mustpray for each other constantly andunselfishly. We must becomeincreasingly aware that we are “fam-ily”—NOT as a flippant slogan, butas a REALITY.

How well I remember the earlydays of Ambassador College—andthe still “pioneering” church of thattime. Most of the brethren reallyappreciated one another. Theywould have others over regularlyafter Sabbath services for dinner, for“pot luck” or for a backyard barbe-cue. This was a constant thing—fornearly every Sabbath, at least a fewof the leading church families weregenerously inviting others over forfood and fellowship. As a singlemale student or Ambassador Collegegraduate, I mightily enjoyed thoseoccasions! And so did scores of oth-ers who might otherwise have beenlonely and with nothing to do onthose Saturday evenings.

In those days, brethren wereconstantly helping each other withbabysitting or other needs; theywere bringing food and encourage-ment to those who were sick or tofamilies where the mother had justhad another child. Leading menwould try to help others gain betteremployment. Nearly everyonewould pitch in with food andmoney if a tragedy occurred to

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EditorialBy Roderick C. Meredith

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A Family Spirit

A Family Spirit continues on page 18

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ne of the most remarkable developmentsthat has accompanied the fragmentation ofthe Church of God has been to see individu-als, once considered leaders in the work of

God or pillars in local congregations, begin to vacillate orchange beliefs they once firmly professed. Some haveactually returned to beliefs and practices that they oncefelt God called them out of. Others are caught up in cre-ating their own religion as they pick and choose from var-ious ideas and doctrines. Still others have just driftedaway—confused, disillusioned or indifferent to any formof religion. The perplexing question is how could thishappen? Why does this happen? Have we forgotten oroverlooked basic warnings and teachings clearly men-tioned in the Scriptures? Are there lessons we can learnfrom these sobering developments?

Nothing New!

Solomon was inspired to write “there is nothing newunder the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9–10). What we are wit-nessing today has happened before in the Church of God.The early New Testament church grew quite rapidly atfirst—as God worked powerfully through the Apostles viathe Holy Spirit. We read of 3,000 people being baptized onPentecost and multitudes being added later (Acts 2:41,5:14, 6:1, 9:31, 13:48). Yet as the first century progressed,persecution developed, false teachers appeared and thechurch began to fragment (see 1 Corinthians 1:10–13).Twenty years after the founding of the New Testamentchurch Paul laments that “all those in Asia [where Paulfocused much of his ministry] have turned away from me”(2 Timothy 1:15). In a letter to the church in Galatia Paulremarks: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon… toa different gospel” (Galatians 1:6–9). By the end of the firstcentury the apostle John tells the church: “you have left

your first love” (Revelation 2:4). John’s admonition indi-cates that many in the church had drifted (or were pulled)off course! Paul reveals that some “concerning the faithhave suffered shipwreck” as a result (1 Timothy 1:19).

The situation in the first century church has manyparallels to our situation today. However, instead of blind-ly repeating the mistakes of history, we need to ask whatwe can learn from unfortunate choices made by thosewho have preceded us. We need to seriously consider thewarnings that God has inspired in His Word. Paul statesthat the Scriptures “were written for our admonition, onwhom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians10:11). That means us! John advised the drifting churchto “remember… from where you have fallen; repent anddo the first works” (Revelation 2:5). Essentially, John issaying get back to the basics—get back on track! But justwhat are the basics we must get back to? What funda-mental concepts do we find in Scripture that do notchange—that we must remember?

All Scripture is Inspired

There are many ideas circulating today about the Biblethat are simply misleading. Such ideas include: theScriptures do not really mean what they say, they do notapply to us today, Jesus fulfilled the law so we do not needto keep it, the New Covenant eliminated the need to keepthe Sabbath, the Holy Days or tithe. These ideas circulate inspite of the fact that Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the earlyNew Testament church did not teach or practice any of these“new” ideas! Both the Old Covenant and the New Covenantare based on the same set of laws—the Ten Commandments(see Exodus 20:1–17; Matthew 19:16–19). Jesus kept theSabbath and the Holy Days as a child and as an adult (Luke2:41–42, 4:16; John 7:10, 37). He instructed His disciplesto “follow” His teachings and example. Years after Christ’s

By Douglas S. Winnail

Why do some long-time Church members begin to vacillateand drift away? Have they forgotten basic Biblical truths?

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Religion 101

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resurrection, the disciples were still keeping the Sabbathand the Holy Days—and teaching others to do the same(Acts 17:2, 18:4, 21; 1 Corinthians 5:7–8).

David wrote of his love for God’s law, that it was a lampto his feet and made him wiser than his enemies (Psalm119:97–105). Paul wrote that the law and commandmentswere “holy and just and good” and that not the hearers but“the doers of the law will be justified” (Romans 2:13,7:12). Jesus plainly stated that He did not come to do awaywith the law but to fulfill—complete, magnify, show aneven broader application (see Matthew 5:17; Isaiah42:21). These Scriptures mean exactly what they say.Taking a verse out of context to counter clear teachings ofthe Bible is to misuse the word of God (i.e. using Romans14:5–6 to try to show that we can decide to worship Godon a day of our own choosing instead of the Sabbath as theBible commands). This will lead to wrong conclusions,wrong beliefs and wrong doctrines. Peter clearly warnsthat some would “twist” Paul’s writings in just such amanner as they also do other Scriptures (2 Peter 3:16).This has happened before and is happening today.

The Bible plainly states, “all Scripture is given byinspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, forreproof, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy3:16). David wrote, “the entirety of Your word is truth”(Psalm 119:160). We cannot just pick and choose whatpart of Scripture we will obey and discard or discount therest. This merely gives in to our carnal human nature thatresents the instructions that God has recorded in His word(Romans 8:7). The challenge that every Christian faces is“holding fast the word of life” and to “stand fast and holdthe traditions which you have been taught, whether byword or our epistle” (Philippians 2:16; 2 Thessalonians2:15). God is looking for people who “tremble” at Hisword—who respect and fear to tamper with the meaningof God’s inspired word (Isaiah 66:2). When we cease totremble before God’s word, when we feel free to innovateand apply our own interpretation to the meaning ofScripture, we will begin to compromise and divide anddrift away from the Truth.

Many Teachers Deceive Many

Jesus repeatedly stated that at the end of the age,“many [calling themselves ministers of Christ], will comein my name, saying ‘I am the Christ’ and will deceivemany” (Matthew 24:5, 11, 24). Paul warned the elders inEphesus that “from among yourselves men will rise up,speaking perverse [misleading, distorted] things, to drawaway the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29–30). Hewarned the church in Colosse to “beware lest anyonecheat you [take you captive] through philosophy and

empty deceit, according to the basic principles of theworld, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Ashuman beings we want to achieve recognition by promot-ing our own ideas to gain a following. It has been incred-ible to see the number of individuals in recent years whohave felt “moved” to start their own churches and min-istries. What has also been incredible is the number ofpeople willing to follow self-proclaimed leaders going inso many different directions.

One of the siren songs promulgated today is that theBible interprets itself and that it can mean different thingsto different people. Everybody is right and nobody iswrong—regardless of the ideas they hold about the mean-ing of Scripture. This is simply confusion—which is notGod’s way (1 Corinthians 14:33). In the early church,when there was a difference over doctrine, a conference ofleading figures was called (Acts 15:6–21). The issues werediscussed and decisions were made that were thenapplied throughout the church (Acts 15:22–29). This pro-moted unity. Decisions about doctrine or about prophecyare not matters for personal interpretation (2 Peter 1:20).This is a basic Biblical concept and a fundamental lessonof history. When we ignore or overlook this importantprinciple, we experience divisions and disunity. Disunitybreeds disillusionment.

The World is Deceived

The Bible plainly states that Satan has deceived thewhole world (Revelation 12:9). To our modern ears—schooled in politically correct, non-judgmental ways ofthinking—this sounds like a terribly biased and bigotedassertion. That everyone except those God has called couldbe wrong sounds incredibly narrow-minded—yet that iswhat the Scriptures clearly reveal. Jesus told His disciplesthat “it has been given to you to know the mysteries of thekingdom of heaven, but to them [the multitudes] it has notbeen given” (Matthew 13:11–17). He prayed for those Godhad given Him—he did not pray for the world—at thattime (John 17:9). Paul, speaking of his countrymen—whokept the Sabbath, the Holy Days, worshipped God and keptHis law in the letter—wrote, “they have a zeal for God, butnot according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). He describesthe Jews of his day as “ignorant of God’s righteousness”whose hearts were “hardened” [blinded], that “God hasgiven them a spirit of stupor” and “eyes that should not seeand ears that should not hear” (Romans 10:3, 11:7–8). Pauleven refers to his countrymen as “enemies” of the gospel“…committed to disobedience” until God offers salvationto the Gentiles (Romans 28–32).

We do not read of Jesus or any of the Apostles debat-ing this fundamental point. It is accepted as a given—the

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world is deceived, only a few are called now. That is whatthe Scriptures plainly state. However, with division andfragmentation in the church, what once seemed so clearhas now become fuzzy. Just who is called? Who under-stands? Who is God using to do the work? For some, theissue has become, maybe the world of mainstreamChristianity is right and the Church of God has beenwrong—maybe we are deceived! After all, how do weknow we are right? This was hardly the position of JesusChrist or the Apostles! Jesus spoke with an authority thatastonished his listeners (Matthew 7:28–29). Paul boldlyasserted “we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery…which none of the rulers [leaders, thinkers] of this ageknew… we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:6,7–8, 16). Paul knew the world was deceived. He knew heunderstood the Truth. He plainly states this in his writ-ings—which are part of God’s inspired word. When welose sight of this basic concept, we will begin to vacillateand entertain all sorts of misleading ideas.

Satan is Real

The Bible clearly warns us about Satan. He is the godof this world who deceives and blinds people to the truth(2 Corinthians 4:4). He influences our thoughts and atti-tudes (Ephesians 2:2) promoting notions of vanity, lust,anger and division (Galatians 5:19–21). Peter warns thatwhile our “adversary the devil walks about like a roaringlion seeking whom he may devour,” we must remain alertand resist his efforts (1 Peter 5:8–9). However, in spite ofa multitude of warnings in the scriptures, the notion isprevalent today that we can manage on our own, we cantrust our own thoughts, we do not need a church to guideor teach us, and that we are resistant to being deceived orinfluenced by Satan. This simply ignores what the Bibleplainly reveals. Jesus told Peter at one point that his ideaswere being influenced by Satan (Matthew 16:23) and onanother occasion that the goal of this powerful spirit beingwas to derail Peter (Luke 22:31). If Peter, both a discipleand an apostle, was subject to Satan’s influence, surely weare not immune. To survive spiritually we must be able toboth recognize and resist his subtle and insidious assaults(see 2 Corinthians 2:11; James 4:7). This requires spiritu-al discernment—one of the gifts of God’s Spirit—which isgiven to those who obey (not reason around) the laws ofGod (2 Timothy 1:6–7; Acts 5:32). These are fundamentalBiblical concepts we cannot afford to forget.

Not Lost Forever!

With the divisions in the church has come the ideathat if you are not a member of a particular group you are

lost and will burn in the Lake of Fire. This is similar tothe popular Protestant notion that if you do not give yourheart to the Lord today, He may come tonight and youwill be lost forever! This is simply not true. It is not ascriptural idea. The Bible reveals that only those calledinto the church are being judged now (1 Peter 4:17).However, judgment involves a period of time—the timewhen we are alive to make decisions. We do not knowwhen Christ will return. His Return will be preceded by aseries of recognizable events (Matthew 24). As theseevents begin to happen, some will repent—so there istime to make, and remake, decisions. Before Christreturns there will also be a three and one-half year periodof Tribulation. John reveals that a great multitude willrepent during that period of time (Revelation 7:9, 13–14).For those not called now, their time of judgment will beafter the Millennium during the Second Resurrectionwhen they can make decisions (Revelation 20:11–12).

The point is, God has a plan for working withmankind. Salvation will be offered to all—but at differenttimes. For the church today, that time period is now—while we are alive. It does not end at sundown tonight.But it does not go on forever, either! God is not in ahurry, but He does have a timetable. We do not need tobecome anxious and begin twisting Scripture to accom-modate confused friends and family members, but we doneed to remain alert. When we lose sight of this basicconcept, we can become anxious and unwittingly beginto embrace ideas that are not solidly based on theScriptures.

Key to Prophecy

The Bible clearly indicates that God’s Church will“have a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).This was probably one of the factors that got the attentionof many who began attending over the years. A major keyto understanding Bible prophecy is the identity of theUnited States, Britain and other nations. The Church ofGod has been somewhat unique in understanding andusing that key. That concept is soundly based on numer-ous Scriptures (Genesis 12:1–3, 22:17–18, 35:11, 48:19)and rests on considerable historical evidence. However, inrecent years, some have asserted the identity of Israel can-not be known, that it is an idea without foundation ineither Scripture or history, that it is not the gospel and itsusefulness is uncertain. When the concept is discarded,Bible prophecy becomes metaphorical and watching forreal events to develop is irrelevant. This is, however, justthe opposite of what Jesus told His disciples (see Matthew24). Jesus said His Second Coming will take many by sur-prise, simply because they were unaware of the signifi-

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cance of developing world events (Matthew 24:36–39).As the end of this age approaches the keys to under-standing prophecy will become more important—notless. We cannot afford to take such vital informationlightly—or discard it!

Love Involves Warning!

One of the big issues that is raised today is that weneed more love in the Church. After all, Jesus did say weare to love our brothers and sisters (John 15:12–13).However, what is often overlooked is that “whom theLord loves, He chastens [disciplines, corrects]” (Hebrews12:6). This is seldom pleasant, but it is for our ultimategood. The Bible instructs parents to use the same kind oflove with children (Proverbs 22:15, 29:15). Again, inspite of clear Biblical instructions to the contrary, thepopular notion today is that you show love by not cor-recting, not disciplining and allowing people to just doand believe and teach as they please. Unfortunately, thisis a prescription for personal failure and social chaos. Asimilar philosophy prevailed during the time of thejudges in ancient Israel (Judges 21:25). That was a chaot-ic time of permissiveness, anarchy and civil war. God’sway is to warn of the consequences of certain actions—sopeople can learn and repent before it is too late (Isaiah58:1; Acts 2:36–40; Revelation 18:4). God does thisbecause He loves us. This, too, is a basic Biblical conceptthat we seem to be losing sight of today in our society andin the church.

The Commission

Jesus Christ instructed His disciples to “go into all theworld and preach the gospel” (Matthew 28:19–20; Mark16:15). This has long been regarded as the GreatCommission of the church. Jesus also told His disciples to“watch” world events that would indicate His return wasnear (Matthew 24:36–44; Mark 13:32–37). Passages inEzekiel indicate that God’s servants are to function as“watchmen” to explain the prophetic significance of eventsthat develop on the world scene (Ezekiel 3:1–17,33:1–11). God has always provided advance warningbefore administering correction (Amos 3:7). Noah, as a“preacher [kerux, a herald, public crier] of righteousness”(2 Peter 2:15) would have conveyed God’s warnings(Genesis 6:13, 17) to his generation of the impendingflood up until the day the rains began (Genesis 7:6, 16).Jeremiah provided a warning to Judah until the dayJerusalem fell (Jeremiah 38, 39). Jesus also told His disci-ples to “feed the flock” (John 21:15–17). The Scripturesindicate that all three aspects of Christ’s commission to

the church are to be ongoing—to the very end of the age(see Matthew 10:23; Revelation 3:10). Jesus explicitlystates that when He returns He expects to find the church“so doing,” that is, doing what it has been instructed to do(Matthew 24:45–46).

To fulfill the commission given by Christ, the churchmust determinedly maintain its focus and avoid beingpulled off course. We must learn to work together as ateam and not give in to individualistic ideas and inde-pendent-minded actions. Doctrines and teachings needto be unified, not fragmented. The church must be moti-vated by outgoing concern —to deliver a message ofhope and warning for mankind—not just an inward con-cern about one’s own personal salvation. For decadesthis has been how the church operated. Only in recentyears has the focus of many begun to shift. With the frag-mentation of the church, notions have been put forwardthat the Work is over, that the church just needs to focuson getting its own members ready for Christ’s return, andthat individuals can decide for themselves what tobelieve and how best to worship God. These self-centeredideas have actually contributed to the division and chaosthat plague the scattered churches today. These “new”ideas are not only in direct contrast to clear instructionsof Jesus Christ, but these ideas will not prepare us tofunction effectively in the world-ruling governmentChrist will establish on this earth. Anyone who begins tomake adjustments to Christ’s commission (choosing todo one part but not other parts), or who loses sight ofthat commission will soon veer off course! This is simplya fact of history.

The theme of the ‘90s has been that the churchneeds to change and get rid of old, out-dated ideas,teachings and practices. Yet, God plainly states in theScriptures: “I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).We are also told that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). This means God’slaws, and His plan and purpose do not change. Thegospel that Christ brought to this earth of His atoningsacrifice and the coming kingdom of God have notchanged. His Commission to the church has notchanged—nor have the instructions we find through-out the New Testament changed. The consequences fordisobedience and disregard for God’s way of life are stillin effect. God has not moved in recent years—but manyin the church have! If we are to endure to the end, fin-ish the work we have been given to do, and receive ourpromised reward, we must not let go of the basics. Wemust remember the fundamental Biblical truths thatcomprise Religion 101. This is the lesson we can learnfrom the sobering developments that have affected theChurch of God.


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here did we get our OldTestament? Who decided

which books were holyand deserved to be included as partof the Bible? Did some council ofJewish rabbis define the canon? Ifnot, when was it done and who didit? Also, where did they get theauthority to say that certain booksbelonged in the Bible while othersdid not?

Many of the commentators argueand dispute who actually wrote thevarious books of the Old Testament.Is there a way of really knowing? Foryears, many of the so-called highercritics argued that Moses could nothave written the books attributed tohim, because the alphabet had notbeen invented yet. Arguing from anevolutionary model, they tried todecide when various phases of theHebrew religion evolved. They thenassigned the writings reflecting thosethemes to the time period that theyimagined to have been correct. Suchcircular reasoning led them to givecertain Biblical books multipleauthors and assign whole books andportions of books to periods thatwere centuries after the time thebooks claimed to have been written.

Needless to say, these criticshave tended to disparage the worthof the Bible as a historical document.Particularly, they have discounted

the accuracy of accounts set in thetimes of the patriarchs, the judges, orthe earlier kings. Assuming theBiblical record to have been com-piled from oral traditions that werewritten down centuries after theevents mentioned, the critics rea-soned that such a record could notbe considered very reliable.

We should also note that RomanCatholic Bibles contain severalbooks that Protestant editions omit;the books of the Apocrypha. Also,there are various other books, suchas Enoch, Jasher, or Jubilees, whichsome have thought to be lost booksof the Bible. Is there a way to be surethat we have ALL the books that arelegitimate scripture in our currentcopies of the Old Testament?

What about it? Does the recordof the Bible, together with that ofsecular history, provide significantevidence about the origin and devel-opment of the Old Testament? Howdid it come to be written, and can weprove that what we have in our pos-session is truly authoritative?

The Role of Moses

The first five books of the OldTestament are called the books ofMoses. What evidence is there tobelieve that Moses actually wrote thebooks attributed to him? During

portions of the eighteenth and nine-teenth centuries, certain scholarsdiscounted that the alphabet andwriting even existed in the 15th cen-tury BC, the Biblically stated time ofMoses. Modern archaeology hasdemonstrated the fallacy of such anidea. Notice what Donald Wiseman,Chairman of the British School ofArchaeology in Iraq states: “By thetime of the entry of the Hebrews intoCanaan… they would be confronted,if not already familiar, with at leastfive different forms of writing sys-tems used for eight or more lan-guages…” (The Expositor’s BibleCommentary, vol. 1, p. 319).Examples of written documents dat-ing back to almost 2,000 yearsbefore the days of Moses have beenfound in the Middle East.

Moses, after all, had the besteducation that was available in theworld of his day. He was raised as aprince of Egypt and would havelearned not only the Egyptian formof writing, but also the alphabeticform used by Egypt’s near neighborsand trading partners. In other words,Moses, who excelled in learningamong the Egyptians (cf. Acts 7:22),would have certainly been highly literate.

The Bible records that near theend of his life, Moses delivered to thepriesthood the books that he had

By John H. Ogwyn

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written. This official copy of theBook of the Law was then laid up inthe Tabernacle by the side of the Arkof the Covenant (Deuteronomy 31:9,26). This was the basis of othercopies that the priesthood made touse for teaching purposes. It was theorigin of what we call the canon ofscripture.

These books were not to be keptaway from the people. Rather, everyseventh year during the Feast ofTabernacles, the entire Torah was tobe read to the people of Israel.Future kings were to make their ownpersonal handwritten copies fromthe scrolls laid up in the sanctuary.God, from the very beginning,intended that His word be faithfullypreserved and also made available tothe people.

As for critics’ claims that the firstfive books of the Bible were writtenmuch later than the time of Moses,their ideas were simply based uponcircular evolutionary reasoning, notupon any sound basis in fact. Foryears, for instance, the critics dis-missed the story of Sodom andGomorrah on the basis that therewere no secular references to citiesof that name. Several years ago, how-ever, that claim was demonstrated tobe false by excavations at ancientEbla, located in Syria. The Eblatablets date from the time of thepatriarchs and mention many citiesand place names that had previouslybeen known only from Genesis. Thepoint is, much of the record of antiq-uity has been lost, but what has beenfound has inevitably confirmed theBiblical account.

The Next Period of Canonization

About 400 years after the days ofMoses, a major reorganization tookplace in the Israelite worship of God.At the beginning of King David’s ruleover the twelve tribes, he conquered

the Jebusite citadel at Jerusalem andestablished his capital there. Later hebrought up the Ark of the Covenantto Jerusalem, though the tabernacleof Moses remained at Gibeon for anumber of years more. During thelatter period of David’s reign hebegan to make plans for the buildingof a magnificent temple inJerusalem.

Though God did not allowDavid personally to build the tem-ple, He nevertheless allowed him tooversee the preparations. In doingthis, King David organized thepriests and the Levites into 24 cours-es, which were to rotate their time ofservice in the temple. He also orga-nized special groups of musicians tosing and provide musical accompa-niment. What were they to sing?King David was known as the “sweetpsalmist of Israel” and was responsi-ble for much of the book of Psalms.Interestingly, Psalm 72:20 showsthat Psalm 72 ends the compilationthat King David originally puttogether. Since there were 24 cours-es of Levitical singers, David used amultiple of that number (3 x 24 =72) in originally selecting the psalmsthat were to be used in temple worship.

Solomon, the son of David, over-saw the completion of the templethat his father had envisioned. In hislifetime he authored numeroussongs and proverbs. He was respon-sible for teaching the people manythings pertaining to wise living andconduct (Ecclesiastes 12:9).Interestingly, just as David assem-bled 72 psalms (24 x 3) for theLevites to sing in the new temple,Solomon compiled 24 chapters ofProverbs for the Levites to use inteaching the people wise conduct.

At this time the historical writ-ings of Joshua and Samuel wereclearly recognized as well. We aretold that Samuel caused certain ofhis writings to be “laid up before the

LORD” (1 Samuel 10:25). This majorchange in the course of the nation’shistory, the institution of the monar-chy and the construction of a tem-ple, was overseen by God’s chosenprophets, Samuel and Nathan. KingsDavid and Solomon, helped andguided by these men of God, over-saw the expansion of the canon ofScripture.

The Epochs of Hezekiah and Josiah

About three hundred years afterthe death of King Solomon, hisdescendant, Hezekiah, came to thethrone in Jerusalem. He was respon-sible for reopening the temple ofSolomon, which had been closed forseveral years, and initiating a time ofreligious reform and revival in theland. Guided by the prophet Isaiah,he was responsible for adding addi-tional material to the canon of scrip-ture. The last seven chapters of thebook of Proverbs were added at thistime (cf. Proverbs 25:1). Also,Hezekiah was responsible for addingadditional psalms, beginning withthe psalms of Asaph, Psalms 73–83(2 Chronicles 29:30). He also addedthe fifteen psalms of degrees, Psalms120–134, prepared at the occasion ofhis miraculous healing and the addi-tion of fifteen years to his life (Isaiah38:20). It is likely, most of the twobooks of Kings were compiled byIsaiah (2 Chronicles 32:32) at thistime, along with the prophetic bookthat bears his name.

Almost 100 years after Hezekiahhad come to the throne, anotherrighteous king, his great-grandsonJosiah, became king. Josiah, encour-aged and helped by the prophetJeremiah, was responsible for the lastmajor spiritual revival in the nationof Judah prior to its captivity. Thetemple had been shut by his grandfa-ther Manasseh and had fallen intoserious disrepair. Josiah collected

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money to finance a cleaning andrefurbishing of the temple andlaunched this ambitious projectunder the oversight of the priesthood.

Copies of the scriptures werefound during this refurbishing andwere immediately brought to theattention of the king (2 Chronicles34:14–18). Undoubtedly secretedaway by faithful priests to protect

the scrolls from the minions of evilKing Manasseh, these copies ofGod’s word came to light once again,and at the proper time. Regardless ofwhat the enemies of God havesought to do, the Creator has alwaysinsured the faithful preservation ofHis word. In addition to the redis-covery of existing scripture, the writ-ings of Jeremiah, includingLamentations (2 Chronicles 35:25),were completed at this time. Thesewritings, laid up in the temple alongwith the other sacred writings, wereundoubtedly taken to Babylon withthe other temple treasures whenNebuchadnezzar destroyed theJerusalem temple.

We find that Daniel had access tothese writings while in Babylon(Daniel 9:2, 13). Clearly God, in orderto insure faithful preservation of Hisown revealed word, brought Danieland his three friends into prominentpositions in Babylon. In fact, theywere the chief of the wise men ofBabylon (Daniel 2:48) and as suchwould have certainly had completeaccess to the royal library. In this way,the Bible was not only preserved untilGod’s time came to restore true wor-ship in Jerusalem, but His servantDaniel had access to studying andteaching God’s word as well.

The Time of Ezra

The Old Testament, as we knowit, was completed in the days of Ezrathe Priest and Governor Nehemiah.Ezra was allowed by King Artaxerxesto return to Jerusalem with the tem-ple scrolls and other treasures whichhad been kept in Babylon since thedays of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 7:14).Ezra came back to teach the scrip-

tures to the people (v. 10) and toinstitute religious reform for peoplewho were on the verge of losing theirvery identity and absorbing the syn-cretistic paganism of their neigh-bors. A few years after Ezra’s return,Nehemiah returned as governor andhad the authority to insist that Ezra’sreforms be carried out.

During the many decades inBabylon the Jews had adopted a newstyle of writing the letters of theiralphabet. They had also taken tousing Babylonian names for themonths of their calendar and tousing Aramaic, which was the lan-guage of Babylon and similar toHebrew, as the language of theireveryday speech.

Ezra caused the temple scrip-tures to be recopied in the squareBabylonian script, which is the scriptthat we commonly think of asHebrew writing today. He also set thebooks in the order in which the Jewshave faithfully preserved them.

The first century Jewish histori-an and priest, Flavius Josephus,recorded the history of the Hebrewscriptures and contrasted them tothe Greek writings extant in his day.“For we have not an innumerablemultitude of books among us, dis-agreeing from and contradicting one

another [as the Greeks have], butonly 22 books… which are justlybelieved to be divine…” (AgainstApion, I, 8). Josephus went on tostate that the Jewish scriptures hadbeen compiled in their final form inthe days of King Artaxerxes, whoreigned in the days of Ezra andNehemiah. He emphasized that,while many books had been com-posed among the Jews since that

time, they were not considered tohave divine authority, because therehad not been a succession ofprophets since the time of Malachi, alate contemporary of Ezra andNehemiah.

The Jews considered the num-bering of 22 books of Hebrew scrip-ture significant. This is because itcorresponded to the 22 letters of theHebrew alphabet. An illustration isfound in Psalm 119. In the KingJames translation, as well as manyothers, a character of the Hebrewalphabet precedes each section ofeight verses in this Psalm. In Hebrewthe first eight verses all begin withthe letter “a” (aleph), the next eightverses all begin with the letter “b”(beth), and so on. The idea was thatwhen all of the letters had been used,the subject was thoroughly coveredand nothing more remained to besaid. This was the concept with theHebrew scriptures. God’s revelationin the Hebrew language was deemedcomplete. After all, the entire alpha-bet was “used up.”

The 22 books, as counted by theJews, correspond to the books of ourOld Testament—normally countedas 39 books in modern translations.The difference in number is becauseof a difference in the way the books

The Jews considered the numbering of 22 books of Hebrewscripture significant. This is because it corresponded to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

The Jews considered the numbering of 22 books of Hebrewscripture significant. This is because it corresponded to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

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were counted. The 12 MinorProphets, for instance, were kept onone scroll in Hebrew, and werecounted as simply one book, not astwelve separate ones. There are sev-eral other combinations as well. Thetwo books of Samuel and the twobooks of Kings were counted as onebook. Both books of Chronicles werealso counted as one. The other twocombinations were the books ofJoshua–Judges and the books ofEzra–Nehemiah.

Evidence of the Reliability of the Old Testament

Modern critics have continuedto cast aspersions on the reliabilityand accuracy of the Old Testamentscriptures. For instance, they havedisputed the historicity of Daniel.Why have critics singled out Danielfor special attention? Primarily,because of the specific propheciesthat it contains.

It gives, for instance, a detailedpicture of history from Daniel’s dayon through the Persian, Hellenisticand Roman empires that dominatedthe world scene in future centuries.Daniel also makes clear reference tothe Seleucids and Ptolomies as well asto the Maccabees, all of whom flour-ished three or more centuries afterthe stated date of the book. Also,Daniel gives a clear chronologicalprophecy pinpointing the time of theMessiah’s first coming. All of this issimply too much for the critics. Theyare “scholars” who do not believe in areal God who can “declare the endfrom the beginning.”

Now let us look briefly at thekind of claims made by so-calledhigher critics and see what the realfacts are. For instance, a recent bookby Peter Lemche, one of Denmark’smost noted Biblical scholars, hasgotten a lot of attention in “educat-ed” circles. In it, he states that it isimpossible to locate historical Israel.He, along with a number of others,

asserts that the Israel of the OldTestament is simply the product ofthe literary imagination of writersfrom the late Persian and Hellenistictimes.

Ronald Hendel, professor ofHebrew Bible in the Department ofNear Eastern Studies at theUniversity of California at Berkeley,exposed the shallowness of Dr.Lemche’s thesis in a recent bookreview. He writes: “We have numer-ous Hebrew seal inscriptions of peo-ple named in the Bible, particularlyfrom the eighth to the sixth cen-turies BCE, that attest to the exis-tence of these people in the righttime and place. How could religiouszealots five hundred years later haveknown these small details?Moreover, the study of historical lin-guistics of Northwest Semitic lan-guages corresponds neatly to thechronology of the Biblical writingsthat scholars have deduced on othergrounds. How could Jews of latePersian and Hellenistic times haveaccurately reproduced the linguisticfeatures of pre-Exilic Hebrew whenthese features had been dead forhundreds of years?” (BiblicalArchaeology Review, Nov.–Dec. 1999,p. 60).

For many years, critics claimedthat the Aramaic of the book ofDaniel could not have been writtenprior to 167BC. The discovery andstudy of the Qumran texts of theDead Sea Scrolls has shed new lighton the Aramaic language of the sec-ond century. The text of Daniel isconsiderably different from theAramaic of the Qumran scrolls. AsProfessor William LaSor emphasizesin an article he wrote on the Dead SeaScrolls for The Expositor’s BibleCommentary, the language of thebook of Daniel “…is linguisticallycloser to the fifth or fourth centuryBC than to the second or first” (vol. 1,p. 403). Dr. R. K. Harrison, a profes-sor of Old Testament at theUniversity of Toronto, states in a dif-

ferent article in the same commen-tary: “The Aramaic of Daniel was thekind used in government circles fromthe seventh century onwards, andthus akin to that of the Elephantinepapyri of the fifth century BC and thebook of Ezra” (p. 247).

For many years, scholars havescoffingly pointed to what theylabeled as historical inaccuracies inDaniel, events such asNebuchadnezzar’s insanity and thereigns of Belshazzar and Darius theMede. The real facts, however,demonstrate that it has been thescholars, not Daniel, who were inac-curate. Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity,for instance, is alluded to in thewritings of Berossus, a third centuryBC Babylonian priest. Anotherancient Babylonian chronicler,Abydenus, recorded thatNebuchadnezzar was “possessed bysome god or other” and after a star-tling prophetic outburst disappearedfrom Babylon.

Several years ago, archaeologistsuncovered records that Belshazzarwas associated as co-regent with hisfather Nabonidus, and was the rulerpresent in Babylon at its fall.Discoveries of the NabonidusChronicle at Haran in recent yearshave shed light on Darius the Mede,long a mystery to historians.

As we can see, in case after case,modern archaeology is serving toconfirm the historical accuracy ofthe Biblical record and to confoundthe claims of the doubting critics.The Old Testament, preserved bythe Jews in the three-fold division ofthe Law, the Prophets, and theWritings, has come down to us asthe accurate and inspired word ofGod. It is a trustworthy account oforigins and of the Creator’s dealingswith mankind. Beyond that, it con-tains prophecies, verifiably writtencenturies in advance of their fulfill-ment, which attest to the divineinspiration of this book of books,the Holy Bible. LCN

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he United States Declaration ofIndependence makes this classic statement:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident...”With every wind of doctrine gusting throughGod’s Church at this end time, virtually every

fundamental truth that has been maintained by theChurch of God has come under heavy assault. Truth isnot as evident as it should be to many brethren whomay have taken fundamental doctrines for grantedwithout proving them. As a result, thousands have fall-en as spiritual casualties in recent years.

On the other hand, many of God’s people got up inarms when those doctrines started being systematicallychanged. Some were jolted awake when divine healingwas downplayed or they were told they were “bornagain” at baptism. Others knew something was dread-fully wrong when they were informed that God is a trin-ity. The last straw for many brethren came when theywere taught the New Covenant does away with the needto keep God’s Sabbath, annual Holy Days, tithing anddietary laws.

Yes, thousands of brethren were righteously indig-nant that precious truths were watered down or evenrejected outright, but there is one truth, that far toomany of God’s people consider no longer necessary orof much importance. They have shown little desire tocontend earnestly for it as they have done for othertruths. In fact, many people seem to think it no longerpertains to us.

Yet, we find Jesus Christ and the early Apostles zeal-ously proclaimed it, adamantly adhered to it and evendied for it! The Apostle Paul singled it out as somethingthat was being perverted by false teachers who had infil-trated the Church in his day and age. That truth is thevery Gospel message of Jesus Christ—the Good News ofthe Kingdom of God!

Nowhere in the Bible can you find where Christrescinds His command to His disciples to publiclypreach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God or where He

sets conditions for when it no longer needs to be pro-claimed. To the contrary, He plainly said it would bepreached and proclaimed right to the end of this agebefore His return.

Notice the message Jesus Christ Himself deliveredwhen He was upon this earth: “Now after John was put inprison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of theKingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled and theKingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in thegospel’” (Mark 1:14–15).

A Message to All the World

Christ urged those who heard the Good News of theKingdom of God to repent and believe that message.Notice how the Book of Mark also concludes: “And He saidto them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel toevery creature. He who believes and is baptized will besaved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.And these signs will follow those who believe: In My namethey will cast out demons; they will speak with newtongues; they will take up serpents, and if they drink any-thing deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will layhands on the sick, and they will recover.’ So then, after theLord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven,and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went outand preached everywhere, the Lord working with them andconfirming the word through the accompanying signs”(Mark 16:15–20).

Repentance and baptism directly result from theproclamation of Christ’s true Gospel message. He said wemust repent, believe that message and be baptized. Healso said divine healings would be signs confirming thatmessage. Surely, as God’s end-time Church grows evercloser to a full restoration of Apostolic Christianity, wecan expect to see an increase in dramatic, miraculoushealings as was seen during Jesus Christ’s ministry.

Repeatedly throughout the New Testament, preachingthe Gospel and divine healings are directly linked, just as

By Mark Mendiola

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Christ promised those who would faithfully proclaim thewonderful news of His return as King of kings over all theearth. They go hand in hand.

“Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in theirsynagogues, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, andhealing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseaseamong the people. Then His fame went throughout allSyria; and they brought to Him all sick people who wereafflicted with various diseases and torments, and thosewho were demon-possessed, epileptics and paralytics;and He healed them” (Matthew 4:23–24).

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of theKingdom, and healing every sickness and every diseaseamong the people. But when He saw the multitudes, Hewas moved with compassion for them, because they wereweary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. ThenHe said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, butthe laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the har-vest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew9:35–38).

In this context of preaching the Gospel of theKingdom of God, Christ instructed His disciples to prayfor more laborers, because proclaiming that message is aWork and a harvest. Christ then commissioned His disci-ples to preach the Gospel and heal those afflicted withsickness and disease. “And when He had called His twelvedisciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spir-its, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness andall kinds of disease” (Matthew 10:1).

A Gospel Freely Given

Christ then coupled this power to heal with preach-ing the Gospel. “But go rather to the lost sheep of theHouse of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The king-dom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lep-ers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you havereceived, freely give” (vv. 6–8).

The Gospel is to be preached without charge and isnot to be a money-making venture. That is why the LivingChurch of God’s Tomorrow’s World magazine, LivingChurch News, booklets, tapes and Bible Study Course aregiven away freely. We are not to sell the truth (Proverbs23:23). We are not to profit from it. Yet, a price comeswhen Jesus Christ’s true Gospel is powerfully, boldlypreached. Christ and His disciples were determined to goforth and proclaim it to as many people as possible, evenif it meant losing their lives!

“And when He had called the people to Him, with Hisdisciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to comeafter Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and

follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’swill save it’” (Mark 8:34–35). Christ said if we follow Himwe must be willing to lose everything to proclaim theGospel, which always has been a very unpopular message.

“So, Jesus answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,there is no one who has left house or brothers or sistersor father or mother or wife or children or lands, for Mysake and the Gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundred-fold now in this time—houses and brothers and sistersand mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life’” (Mark 10:29–30).

Persecution often comes with that message. Christ’sdisciples did not let even violent opposition stop themfrom preaching it throughout the Roman Empire, fulfill-ing His explicit instructions and commission.

“At that time, a great persecution arose against thechurch which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles” (Acts 8:1). “Thereforethose who were scattered went everywhere preaching theword” (v. 4). “But when they believed Philip as hepreached the things concerning the Kingdom of God andthe name of Jesus Christ, both men and women werebaptized” (v. 12).

Persecuted for the Truth

Just as Christ said would happen, people believed,repented and were baptized after hearing Christ’s disci-ples preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, whichalso was a primary thrust of the Apostle Paul’s ministry.“And (Paul) went into the synagogue and spoke boldlyfor three months, reasoning and persuading concerningthe things of the Kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). As aresult, his preaching brought persecution. Some werehardened and did not believe, speaking evil of that mes-sage (v. 9).

All manner of evil will be spoken of those who faith-fully preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Paulboldly proclaimed it right to the end of his ministry, evenwhen under house arrest. Notice how the Book of Actsconcludes:

“So when they had appointed him a day, many cameto him at his lodging, to whom he explained andsolemnly testified of the Kingdom of God, persuadingthem concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses andthe Prophets, from morning until evening… Then Pauldwelt two whole years in his own rented house, andreceived all who came to him, preaching the Kingdom ofGod and teaching the things which concern the Lord

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Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him”(Acts 28:23, 30–31).

The Apostle Paul would let no one forbid him topreach about the Kingdom.

In recent years, we have seen deliberate attempts bymen to prevent the Gospel of the Kingdom of God frombeing proclaimed. Satan the devil does not want that mes-sage disseminated because it announces the end of hisrule on the earth. He will do everything he can to shut thedoor on that message, even using false ministers to per-suade God’s people there is no longer a need to proclaimit! Many are arising to divert God’s tithes to themselvesand away from the Gospel.

The Apostle Paul showed that Christ commands onlythose ministers dedicated to preaching the Gospel are tobe sustained by the tithes of God’s people, just as theLevites used the tithes to perform their duties (Numbers18). Conversely, those ministers who do not preach theGospel should not be given God’s tithes!

“If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a greatthing if we reap your material things? If others are par-takers of this right over you, are we not even more?Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but endure allthings lest we hinder the Gospel of Christ. Do you notknow that those who minister the holy things eat of thethings of the temple, and those who serve at the altar par-take of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord hascommanded that those who preach the Gospel shouldlive from the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:11–14).

“For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to boast of,for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do notpreach the Gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have areward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted witha stewardship. What is my reward then? That when [not if] I preach the Gospel, I may present the Gospelwithout charge, that I may not abuse my authority in theGospel” (v. 16–18).

Another Gospel

The Apostle Paul warned the elders at Ephesus: “fromamong yourselves men will rise up, speaking perversethings to draw away disciples after themselves” (Acts20:30). He also warned the Galatians that men wouldarise to pervert the true Gospel and many would turnfrom it (Galatians 1:6–8). He pronounced a double curseon anyone who would dare do so! Paul also warned theCorinthians that deceitful workers would come preachinganother gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Yes, the Apostle Paul was engaged in spiritual warfareagainst those who sought to undermine, thwart and destroythe Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In writing to the

Ephesians, he urged them to have their feet shod with thepreparation of the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15). Manypeople will remember the helmet of salvation, the shield offaith and the sword of the spirit, but neglect the vital impor-tance of marching forward with Christ’s Gospel message.Yet, Paul includes it as part of the entire armor of God.

By neglecting the Gospel, we go into battle barefoot,exposed like the mythological Greek warrior Achilleswho was fatally wounded in his heel because he did nothave it protected. If we do not preach the Gospel of theKingdom, we are leaving an opening for Satan to woundus spiritually. It is fitting that the Apostle Paul links theGospel to our feet because we must march like Christiansoldiers if we are to go into all the world with the GoodNews, as Christ commissioned.

The Prophet Isaiah makes the same comparison. Feetcan be some of the ugliest parts of the body when they aregnarled or have corns, bunions, ingrown toenails or fallenarches. But those feet used to take the wonderful news thatJesus Christ will reign on this earth are beautiful in God’ssight! “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet ofhim who brings good news, who proclaims peace, whobrings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salva-tion, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (Isaiah 52:7)!

An Awesome Privilege

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God entails the GoodNews of peace and salvation Christ will bring with Himwhen He returns to rule on this earth. And God wantsthat message proclaimed to mankind. That is why we areinvolved in a Work. Christ said: “He who endures to theend shall be saved. And this Gospel of the Kingdom willbe preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations,and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:13–14).

What an awesome privilege it is to share with othersthe precious truth of the true Gospel of the Kingdom ofGod, a truth that is not self-evident anymore yet waspowerfully proclaimed by Jesus Christ and the originalApostles.

How grateful we should be to our predecessors whowere willing to sacrifice so we could hear the same mes-sage. Should not we be willing to do the same or have webecome ashamed of the Gospel of Christ? The ApostlePaul told the Romans he was not ashamed of that message(Romans 1:16).

Jesus Christ still commissions us to go into all theworld and preach it to everyone we can reach. And Hesays He will be with us always, even to the end of the age.(Matthew 28:20) That is our commission. That is ourcalling. Woe unto us if we do not preach the Gospel of theKingdom of God! LCN

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n the Church we hear occa-sionally that someone hasbeen “disfellowshipped” or“marked,” but these prac-

tices are not always well understood. Can a person who is not a mem-

ber of the Living Church of God bedisfellowshipped? No. Can a personwho is not a member of the LivingChurch of God be “marked?” Yes. Sothere is a difference in the two. Canyou explain what it is?

These are two different ecclesi-astical practices in the Church,both taken from the Bible. Let ustake a closer look to understandthem better.

Paul wrote to the Church inRome, “Now I beseech you,brethren, mark them which causedivisions and offences contrary tothe doctrine which ye have learned;and avoid them,” (Romans 16:17,KJV). What does this word “mark”mean to you? In The Scarlet Letter, anovel set in Puritan New England,an adulteress had to wear a red letter“A” to identify her sin. Is that whatPaul meant by “mark?” Even todaysome groups have the practice ofcompletely “shunning” membersthey disapprove of. Was Paulinstructing us to do that?

“Mark” My Words

The word translated “mark” inthe KJV comes from the Greek wordskopeo and is rendered differently

in most modern translations.Understanding this word better ishelpful. Various lexicons define it as:

Consider, take heed, look at(on), mark (Strong’s ExhaustiveConcordance).

(1) To look at, to observe, tocontemplate (2) to mark (3) to fixone’s eyes upon, to direct one’s atten-tion to (anyone) (Thayer’s GreekLexicon).

To look at, behold, watch, con-template (Vine’s ExpositoryDictionary of Biblical Words).

It is interesting to see how theword skopeo is used in some othercontexts:

“Take heed therefore that thelight which is in thee be not dark-ness” (Luke 11:35 KJV).

“Brethren, if a man be overtakenin a fault, ye which are spiritual,restore such an one in the spirit ofmeekness; considering thyself, lestthou also be tempted” (Galatians6:1, KJV).

“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Philippians 2:4, KJV).

So we can see why moderntranslations of the Bible usually ren-der the word skopeo a bit differentlyin Romans 16:17 from the olderEnglish in the King James Version:

“I appeal to you, brethren, totake note of those who create dis-sensions and difficulties, in opposi-tion to the doctrine which you have

been taught; avoid them” (RSV).“Now I urge you, brethren, keep

your eye on those who cause dissen-sions and hindrances contrary to theteaching which you learned, andturn away from them” (NAS).

“I urge you, brothers, to watch outfor those who cause divisions and putobstacles in your way that are contraryto the teaching you have learned. Keepaway from them” (NIV).

We might describe it this way. Letus say in my neighborhood therelived a big dog, which would walk upto people on the street, looking atthem expectantly. When someone putout a hand to pat the dog, it wouldsuddenly snap. Ever know a dog likethat? What if you and I were walkingdown the sidewalk and this dogapproached us expectantly. Whenyou reached out to pat it, the doggave you a vicious bite. Then, as youtried to stop the bleeding, I remarked,“Actually, I knew that dog would biteyou. It does that to everyone whotries to pat it.” You would probably bevery upset with me, and you mightsay (along with a few other things),“You should have warned me tomark, to note, to keep my eye on, towatch out for that dog, and avoid it!”And you would be right.

Paul was saying that the Churchhas a similar responsibility.

This is why the ministry, aftercareful consideration, will some-times announce to a congregation orto the Church as a whole that some-

By Dexter B. Wakefield

one may potentially do harm andneeds to be “noted” or “marked.”When the word mark is used, it’s inthe sense of, “Mark my words.” Thisis done when you need to be warned,and the person taken note of can beanyone who poses a threat of somekind, spiritual or otherwise.

Disfellowshipping

Disfellowshipping is quite differ-ent as it always involves a member ofour fellowship and the Church may ormay not be told about the action.People have been disfellowshippedtemporarily for some ongoing sin andhave returned weeks or months laterwithout their congregation ever know-ing about it. As a church member youmay be asked, depending on the cir-cumstances, to avoid social contactwith the person for a period, pendingrepentance. Usually, business contact

is not prohibited. Determining how tohandle business contact is the respon-sibility of the individual member, butseeking counsel from the ministry canhelp you decide what is most helpfulin each individual case.

For example, in 1 Corinthians 5, aman had been committing, on anongoing basis, a sin which involvedhaving an affair with his stepmother(see Deuteronomy 27:20). Paul wrotethem, “And you are puffed up, andhave not rather mourned, that he whohas done this deed might be takenaway from among you… But now Ihave written to you not to keep com-pany with anyone named a brother,who is sexually immoral, or covetous,or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunk-

ard, or an extortioner—not even toeat with such a person… Therefore‘put away from yourselves the evilperson’” (1 Corinthians 5:2, 11, 13).

However, in the second chapterof 2 Corinthians, we find that beingdisfellowshipped helped the man.He had repented and was to beaccepted again by the Church. Paulwrote: “This punishment which wasinflicted by the majority is sufficientfor such a man, so that, on the con-trary, you ought rather to forgiveand comfort him, lest perhaps sucha one be swallowed up with toomuch sorrow. Therefore I urge youto reaffirm your love to him. For tothis end I also wrote, that I mightput you to the test, whether you areobedient in all things” (2Corinthians 2:5–9).

How, then, should we feeltowards those who have been notedor disfellowshipped? It is very

important to remember, when some-one is noted or disfellowshipped,that the membership should notbear any ill feelings against the per-son. These practices have a con-structive and protective purpose andshould never be construed toencourage feelings of animosity.

Paul instructed the Church, “Butas for you, brethren, do not growweary in doing good. And if anyonedoes not obey our word in this epis-tle, note that person and do not keepcompany with him, that he may beashamed. Yet do not count him as anenemy, but admonish him as a broth-er” (2 Thessalonians 3:13–15). Evenwhen someone is attacking our faithand practice, Jesus said we should

love them: “But I say to you, loveyour enemies, bless those who curseyou, do good to those who hate you,and pray for those who spitefully useyou and persecute you, that you maybe sons of your Father in heaven; forHe makes His sun rise on the eviland on the good, and sends rain onthe just and on the unjust” (Matthew5:44–45).

In Summary

Disfellowshipping:

• involves only someone in ourfellowship.

• is generally for sin, pendingrepentance, or for causing divi-sion. The purpose of the practiceis to help the person spirituallyor to protect the church spiritual-ly from sin or division.

• The congregation may or maynot know about it. How to han-dle it is a judgment call by theminister who carefully considerswhat is in the best interest of theindividual and the Church.

Noting or marking:

• means to “take note of” or to“watch out for.”

• can involve someone who is notin our fellowship.

• This practice may be used toprotect the brethren, when peo-ple make themselves adversariesby attacking our faith or theWork. The “noted” people aretrying to cause harm and itmeans, “Beware.”

Marking and disfellowshippingare two different practices, but bothare used for the health and protec-tion of the Church.

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As a church member you may be asked,depending on the circumstances, to avoidsocial contact with the person for a period,pending repentance.

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here are many references in Scripture to God asa God of mercy, such as Psalm 136. But a termwhich vividly captures this attribute is that ofGod sitting on a mercy seat. The Hebrew word

used to describe God’s seat means lid or covering, but isrendered “mercy seat” in the King James and New KingJames translations “You shall make a mercy seat of puregold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubitand a half its width…. And there I will meet with you,and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, frombetween the two cherubim which are on the ark of theTestimony, about everything which I will give you in com-mandment to the children of Israel” (Exodus 25:17–22).Just think of all the names that God could easily havechosen for His seat—the seat of vengeance, the seat ofjustice, the seat of law or the seat of punishment.

These are all legitimate names that God could have eas-ily chosen for His seat. After all, God does take vengeance;He is a God of justice and law, who does punish! But of allthe dozens of accurate names that God could have chosenfor His seat, He chose—the mercy seat. What an unspeak-able blessing this is for us! We would not be here todaywere it not for the fact that God sits on a mercy seat!

King David knew this quite well. He was in troubleagain! He had sinned again! This time it was because ofnumbering Israel. God gave him a choice; fall into thehands of man or fall into God’s hands. “And David said toGad, I am in great distress” (2 Samuel 24:14). Understandthis was no joke or something to be taken lightly—it wasgreat distress. But nevertheless, notice the choice: “Pleaselet us fall into the hand of the LORD…” What?

Was David lacking in judgment? Did he not know thatour God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24), and thatit is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God(Hebrews 10:31)? Yes, David knew all of that. That is whyhe said that he was in great distress. Nevertheless, he said:“Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD…” He thentells us why he made this choice: “…for His mercies aregreat; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” David

knew God. He knew that our great God sits on a seatcalled the mercy seat, that He is a God of mercy, compas-sion and pity.

Did David make a stupid decision? “And when theangel stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it,the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to theangel who was destroying the people, ‘It is enough; nowrestrain Your hand’” (2 Samuel 24:16) Yes, David madethe right call. God relented. He told the angel to stop. “Itis enough.” Truly, the great God sits on the mercy seat. Heis a God of mercy, compassion and pity.

Look at this example in the book of Judges: “Thenthe children of Israel again did evil in the sight of theLORD… So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel;and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines andinto the hands of the people of Ammon” (Judges10:6–7). “And the children of Israel cried out to theLORD, saying, ‘We have sinned against You, because wehave both forsaken our God and served the Baals!’ So theLord said to the children of Israel, ‘Did I not deliver youfrom the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from thepeople of Ammon and from the Philistines? Also theSidonians and Amalekites and Maonites oppressed you;and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from theirhand. Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods.Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out tothe gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you inyour time of distress…. I will deliver you no more’” (vv.10–13).

But notice what happened next. “Then the childrenof Israel said to the LORD, ‘We have sinned! Do to uswhatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, wepray’” (v. 15). So they put away the foreign gods fromamong them and served the LORD.” In other words, thepeople repented. God had said, “I will deliver you nomore.” Will He? “And His soul could no longer endurethe misery of Israel” (v. 16). God is merciful. The peoplerepented and He did deliver them again. Chapter 11describes the deliverance. God forgives us when we

By Donald Roach

some family or there was an unusu-al need.

Did some people take advantageof this? Yes. Did some of the giversbecome cynical because of this andbecause of other problems in theChurch as a whole? Yes, they cer-tainly did.

But should they have becomecynical? Should they have retreatedinto their own family or their closecircle of friends?

NO!Because the “way of GIVE”

always pays back the giver in the end.God ALWAYS blesses those who give

and help and serve. It is a living LAW.For God tells us: “He who has a gen-erous eye will be blessed, for he givesof his bread to the poor” (Proverbs22:9). And the Apostle Paul remindsus of these meaningful words of theSon of God: “It is more blessed toGIVE than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

We live in a selfish age. People areconstantly seeking SELF-fulfillmentand SELF-gratification. So it is goingagainst the grain of modern society tobe truly UN-selfish. But we are thebegotten sons and daughters of GOD.And we must surrender our time, ourresources and our lives to be led byGod’s Holy Spirit. “For as many as areled by the Spirit of God, these are sonsof God” (Romans 8:14).

Through the Apostle Peter, ourFather in heaven tells us: “Since youhave purified your souls in obeyingthe truth through the Spirit in sin-cere love of the brethren, love oneanother FERVENTLY with a pureheart” (1 Peter 1:22). This fervent,out-flowing LOVE—which cancome only through God’s Spirit—will make us truly “family.”Eventually, we will share ETERNITYwith each other in the Kingdom ofGod—which is a FAMILY. Godgrant that—through His Spirit—wemay build the genuine affection andout-flowing concern among our-selves which will prepare us for thateternal life together in the family ofour Father.

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repent of our sins. He is truly a God of mercy, compas-sion and pity, sitting on the mercy seat.

There is another example concerning KingHezekiah. “In those days Hezekiah was sick and neardeath. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went tohim and said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: set yourhouse in order, for you shall die, and not live’” (2 Kings20:1). To make sure that Hezekiah got the point, he said“you shall die, and not live.” Of course if you die youshall not live! But notice what happened next. “Then heturned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD,saying, ‘Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I havewalked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, andhave done what was good in Your sight.’ And Hezekiahwept bitterly” (v. 2–3). God had already made up Hismind, remember? “You shall die and not live.” It sound-ed so final. What is the use in even praying about it?But, again notice: “Then it happened, before Isaiah hadgone out into the middle court, that the word of theLORD came to him, saying, ‘Return and tell Hezekiah theleader of my people, thus says the LORD, the God ofDavid your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seenyour tears; surely I will heal you....’” (vv. 4–5). God notonly healed him, he got 15 more years of life. God, whoin the last breath said, “you shall die and not live,” thatvery God says, in the next breath—before Isaiah evenleft the building—“surely I will heal you.” Our greatGod sits on a seat called, of all things, the mercy seat.He is a God of mercy, compassion and pity.

As we saw earlier, God shows mercy to the repentant.He is merciful to the merciful (Matthew 5:7). Those who

show no mercy receive no mercy (James 2:13). God doesget angry at sin. He is a jealous God. His name is Jealous(Exodus 34:14). He can be provoked. He has great wrath.He is indeed a consuming fire. To fall into His hands istruly a fearful thing—great distress, as David put it. Attimes God says that He will show no mercy, no compas-sion, no pity—for instance, in the coming punishmenton Israel. Now does that mean God leaves His mercyseat? Absolutely not! Our great God sits on a seat calledthe mercy seat! That is why even in our worst trials, wereit not for the fact that God sits on His mercy seat, thingscould always be much worse. Never forget it! No matterhow hard a trial may be, it could be a great deal worse,were it not for the fact that our great God is merciful.

Take, for instance, the worst possible nightmarethat can befall any human being: the Lake of Fire. Noone—in his or her right mind—would desire such afate. But even in this matter would you believe God, theGod of mercy, compassion and pity is sitting on Hismercy seat? Just think of what hell could be like. Whatabout being tortured for all eternity, or burning in a lakeof fire for all eternity, without being able to die? No,even to His worst enemies, the incorrigibly wicked,those who spit on the precious sacrifice of His Son,those who tell God by their actions “I do not want Youor Your Son”—even to such, God is still sitting on Hismercy seat. He will burn them up, putting them out oftheir misery.

We would not be here today were it not for the factthat the great God sits on a seat called the mercy seat.God is truly a God of mercy, compassion and pity!

A Family Spirit (Continued From page 3)

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simplify His life. He had very few clothes or material pos-sessions. He did not own a home (Matthew 8:20).Certainly He was not distracted by television orHollywood films, telephones, computers, video games,etc. Out under the clear skies of Galilee, Jesus could lookup at the heavens—as David did (Psalm 8)—and contem-plate the REASON for human life and the great PURPOSEbeing worked out here below. He was not constantly dis-tracted from this by all of the “things” around Him.

I am in no way suggesting that all our brethren selltheir homes or possessions. I am just reminding you howeasy it is in our modern society to get caught up inworthless pursuits and therefore FAIL to truly seek firstthe Kingdom of God. Though Jesus undoubtedly appre-ciated good food and a clean home, even He had to cor-rect Martha—who evidently did not grasp the VITALimportance of hearing directly from the Messiah when

she had the opportunity. In perfect love and wisdom,Jesus patiently explained to Martha that—on an occasionsuch as this—her TIME and energy should be directed todrawing closer to God and learning more of His perfectWAY. As Martha kept “buzzing around”—probably serv-ing food or snacks—Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha,you are worried and troubled about many things. ButONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen that goodpart, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke10:41–42).

So all of us need to very carefully and prayerfullydetermine what is really important. Then, we need toSEEK FIRST those things which are most important byapportioning more TIME to those things which are trulyvital to our lives and our relationship with God and oth-ers now—and to our opportunity to fully serve in God’sKingdom FOREVER.

Priorities (Continued From page 2)

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News of the Work“We are in the most important, single activity on the

face of the earth… there is no more important activitythan the one we are in to prepare for the whole Kingdomof God, when God Himself will come to the earth.”

These were concluding comments by Dr. Roderick C.Meredith during his December 2nd meeting withHeadquarters staff commemorating the anniversary of thestart up of the Living Church of God following the 1998disruption.

Dr. Meredith briefly gave background on events thatled up to the formation of the Living Church of God, butmainly concentrated on what he termed the “amaz-ing” growth the Church and work have made inthe past year. “We should be very grateful when wethink about it,” he said, because at the start, “Wedidn’t have a job, we didn’t have an organization,we didn’t have offices, all those things. But it didbegin to come together very quickly.”

He pointed out that the work really got back ontrack when the Tomorrow’s World program beganairing on super station WGN and VISION. Startingon December 5 a new commercial station KSPR inSpringfield, Missouri began airing the program.Response to the new format has been better thanfor the one used prior to the disruption.

“As of the past week (November 28) we havesurpassed the 35,000 mark in responses… and wehave not even been on for a full year,” he said.The program went back on the air on January 31,1999. The program draws an average of 810response each week, with 63 percent of the responsescoming from WGN (with over 800 responses on twooccasions) 24 percent from VISION and 13 percent fromthe public access stations.

Dr. Meredith said WGN was up 19 percent from a yearago “about one fifth higher than we had even underGlobal for the same time,” he said. “Even at Global wenever reached the 800 call mark, that is on WGN, so thisis quite an achievement for the Tomorrow’s World telecast.”VISION in Canada also produced remarkable statistics,7,698 phone calls, which is 30 percent above last year’s figures.

Currently the program is on 76 TV stations, 69 in theUnited States and Canada, three in Australia, and one

each in New Zealand and the Philippines. The audio trackis aired on three international radio stations.

One of the milestones in reestablishing the work with-in the past year came in the Mail Processing Department,which surpassed the 100,000 mark in mailing pieces of lit-erature. This is in addition to three issues of the Tomorrow’sWorld magazine, mailed from Senatobia, Mississippi.

In a breakdown of the HQ mailings, MPD sent out30,000 booklets, 17,000 audiotapes in response to theTomorrow’s World television program, 25,000 sermonaudiotapes, and over 12,000 sermon videotapes. There

has been a huge saving in mailing costs due to thedepartment using recently purchased sorting equipmentthat cuts mailing time and allows literature to be sent outat the automation postage rate.

In his concluding statements Dr. Meredith said thatterrible things are happening all around the world whichwill affect the work and how we do it. “Things are goingto get much, much worse. So we want to realize that.We’ve got to be strong and go on, and God is going to helpus if we stay the course, are faithful, zealous, keep our eyeon the big picture and do the Work of God,” he said.

Employees presented Dr. Meredith with a plaquecommemorating his 50 years in association with theChurch and the Work.

By Gary F. Ehman

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Dr. and Mrs. Meredith watch a demonstration of the Mail Processing Department’s recently purchased sorter, mailing and stuffing equipment. Themachine has significantly cut mailing time and costs. Pictured with the Meredithsis Mr. John Donaghey of San Diego Postal and Shipping Equipment Company.

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Local ChurchNews

Philippines Bible LecturesTwo Tomorrow’s World public

Bible lectures, titled “After Y2K—What is Next?” were conducted inMetro-Manila, by PhilippinesRegional Director Rod McNair. Thefirst, in Cavite, was held on November6, and the second, in Quezon City, onNovember 13.

“Is Y2K the real big news of thenew millennium?” Mr. McNair asked.“No one really knows the exact effectthe computer ‘millennium bug’ willhave on our lives. Some predict the‘end of the world,’ while others say itwill be just a minor disruption. But isthe Y2K overshadowing the real bignews of the new millennium? Twoevents, absolutely sure to happen in

the near future, are the rise of theBeast Power in Europe, and theSecond Coming of Jesus Christ,” Mr.McNair explained.

Mr. McNair said the reality of thecoming final resurrection of the HolyRoman Empire would bring on theGreat Tribulation, and the necessityfor Christ to return, to stop the extinc-tion of mankind. “If we are gettingready for Y2K, how much moreshould we prepare for these awesomeevents which will pale the Y2K prob-lem into insignificance?” Mr. McNairsaid.

He gave four points to the atten-dees on how to prepare for these com-ing events. (1) Act on what you know,

(2) Live God’s way of life, (3) Getinvolved in the Work, and (4) Comeout of Babylon.

Attendance at the Cavite lecturewas 65, with three new guests. Sixty-nine attended in Quezon City, includ-ing 12 new contacts. Members helpedin welcoming the guests, servingsnacks after the lectures, and handlingliterature requests.

A third public Bible lecture wasscheduled in the Philippines onNovember 28, in Cagayan de OroCity, conducted by Mr. Tex Benitez,who oversees NorthwesternMindanao. The lecture was entitled,“Prepare for Christ’s SecondComing.”

by Cielo L. Buena

The Los Angeles Living Church of God congregationpresents the Singles Event of the Millennium. All LCG sin-gles are invited to join us for dinner and a Bible study onthe Beach, hiking and picnicking in the picturesque SanGabriel mountains, and kicking up our heels at theSaturday night Square Dance. Mark your calendars for thefirst weekend during the Days of Unleavened Bread,Friday, April 21st through Sunday, April 23rd with theoption of spending the Night To Be Much Observed andthe first Holy Day with the Los Angeles congregation.Second tithe may be used for this activity. For a flyer andinformation call, write or e-mail Douglas Young.

Douglas Young268 W. Dryden St. #417Glendale, CA 91202(818) 240-6729e-mail: [email protected]

SCHEDULE

April 19th WednesdayNight to be Much Observed

April 20th ThursdayFirst Day of Unleavened Bread

April 21st FridayArrival into LAX or Burbank (Burbank is more convenient)

6:00 Dinner and Bible Study on the Beach (casual dress)

April 22nd Saturday10:30 Brunch at Christina Patterson’s home and fellowship until services (Sabbath wear)

2:00 Sabbath Services5:00 Chili Potluck7:45–10:00 Square Dance in church hall (casual dress)

April 23rd Sunday10:00–2:00 Monrovia Canyon Hike, fellowship, and picnic lunch (casual dress)

Departures

Singles Event

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Young heroes are wanted inGod’s Church, and in the comingKingdom of God. What is a hero?Who is going to be a hero? You havethe opportunity to be young heroesfor God’s Kingdom.

How do you qualify to rule in thewonderful world to come? Webster’sDictionary defines a hero as: “1. Aman [or woman] noted for coura-geous acts or nobility of purpose,especially one who has risked or sac-rificed his life; 2. A man [or woman]noted for special achievements in aparticular field.” Who would notwant to be a hero? If you aspire to bea hero, how do you start?

Set the Right Example

We are walking ambassadors ofGod’s way of life. God said, “Letyour light shine before men thatthey may see your good works”(Matthew 5:16). Setting the rightexample now is the bright light forother people to see. It is the uniqueexample of respect we show towardothers—teachers, classmates, andneighbors—that will shine our lighttowards others. They will beencouraged by the good things wedid, the small favors we gave andthe simple things that mean a lot.After your teenage years have passedaway, your example will live on!Most importantly of all, God will

smile and rejoice, knowing that Hehas young heroes prepared for theworld to come.

Practice God’s Way of Life Now

God has given us the choice offollowing the direction that leads toHis Kingdom or following the way ofthe world that leads to destruction.He knows what is best and good forus. That is why He called your par-ents to enjoy the abundant life that ischallenging and interesting, in spiteof the trials that go with it.

Enjoy your youthful years, butdo not forget to remember yourCreator God (Ecclesiastes 12:1).Make God’s way of life a cherishedhabit. God promises to give us theHoly Spirit to help us overcome. Wereceive this gift of God when we sur-render our lives to Him in baptism.This is a challenge for you, as ayoung man or woman. It is a coura-geous decision you will have tomake, a very delicate choice youalone can decide.

Follow the Example of God’s Heroes in the Bible

A tremendous example of ayoung hero in the Bible was David,who became known as a “man afterGod’s own heart.” David, as a young

boy, was already looking after hisfather’s flock of sheep. When a fero-cious bear and a lion attacked thesheep, David defended the flock,risking his own life in the process. Hehad a close relationship with his Godin heaven, probably because of theproper training and education fromhis parents. He displayed rarecourage for a young man his age. Hedid not trust in his own ability, buthad total trust and dependence in thetrue God, the Creator of heaven andearth.

When the time came for him tostep out in faith in the conflict withGoliath, he had no doubt, nor hesita-tion. With his sling, he delivered afatal blow straight to the forehead ofthe enemy. What a big surprise toeverybody! The small stone sank deepinto the giant’s forehead, and he fell.

Remember to set the right exam-ple. Practice God’s way of life now.And follow examples of young menand women of courage, who havetheir great deeds recorded in God’sWord. A good future is in yourhands! Enjoy your life now, butalways remember your Creator God,and follow your destiny to become a“hero for the Kingdom!”

(Mr. de Guia is a minister serving inMetro-Manila, Philippines. This article isreprinted from the July-September 1999LCG Philippines Newsletter, “Around theIslands”).

A Message for Teenagers

By Gorgonio de Guia

Young Heroes for God’s Kingdom!

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In Loving MemoryIvadene Combs, age 78, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, diedNovember 14, 1999 after a lengthy illness. Mrs. Combswas a member of the Menasha, Wisconsin, Living Churchof God video group, baptized in the late 1960s. She had11 children and 22 grandchildren. Mrs. Combs is remem-bered as a wonderful mother and as one who lived herreligion. She had a beautiful singing voice and sang pro-fessionally when she was younger. Mr. Randy Gregoryconducted the funeral services.

Charles Macfarlane, 79, died of cancer at his home inMonroe, Washington, October 29th 1999. He was bornNovember 16, 1919 in Grants Pass, Oregon. He marriedNellie Mae Jenkins on April 19, 1944 in Newport News,Virginia. She survives. Chuck worked for Boeing beforeWorld War II. He was disabled overseas and sent homefrom McCormick General Hospital on September 6, 1947,with a World War II Victory medal, one Bronze Star andthe Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon. His wife of 55 yearswas his constant companion and caretaker until he died.Chuck took great pride in all of his achievements. He hada passion for his religious beliefs and took them serious-ly. His family and friends will miss him. Other survivorsare three daughters, one son, five grandchildren and onesister.

Elliot Maxwell Warren, 13, Lisbon Falls, Maine, diedNovember 19, 1999. He was born in Portland on March10, 1986, the son of Steve and Terri Saucelo Warren. Hewas educated in Lisbon Falls schools and was attendingthe Sugg Middle School in Lisbon Falls. He belonged tothe Living Church of God with his family. He was a truepeople person, always caring for people and putting theneeds of others always before his own. He always smiledand made many others smile. He enjoyed telling stories,talking with people on the phone and introducing hisparents to everyone he knew. He enjoyed giving hugs andalso giving wheelchair rides. He was indeed a great exam-

ple to all. He also enjoyed watching movies, especiallyJurassic Park and reading his Bible. His family willremember him most for his genuine smile, his concern forothers and just being a loving and devoted son, grandson,brother and friend to many. He is survived by his parents,his maternal grandfather and wife, his paternal grandpar-ents, three brothers, and one sister.

John Hix, 14 year old son of Bill and Donna Hix, ofPillager, Minnesota, was killed in a hunting accidentNovember 7, 1999. Mr. Bill Hix is a member of theMinneapolis Living Church of God congregation.Brothers and sisters survive John. Mr. Paul Shumway conducted the funeral service.

Carl A. Knaack, 87, of Merrill, Wisconsin, died at hishome on November 22, 1999. He was a member of theMerrill Living Church of God congregation, baptized inJuly of 1976. His wife, Alice, preceded him in death.Survivors include four sons, two daughters, 11 grandchil-dren and three sisters. Mr. Knaack worked as a mainte-nance engineer for an insurance firm until his retirement.

Adam D. Hughes, 14, son of Cleve and Kim Hughes, ofInk, Arkansas, died on November 1, 1999 after a 16-month long battle against leukemia. The Hughes aremembers of the Mena, Arkansas Living Church of Godvideo group. His parents and one brother, Matt.; a halfbrother, Michael and his grandparents, survive him.Adam was a Boy Scout and love the out of doors, hunting,fishing, hiking and his dog Ralph. Mr. Davy Crockett con-ducted the funeral services.

Victor D. Emery, age 64, died of cancer on November21, 1999 at his home in Wasilla, Alaska. He was bornin Brunswick, Maine July 13, 1935 and moved toAlaska in 1961. Mr. Emery was a long-time Church ofGod member.

Birth AnnouncementsAlan and Wanda Croyle, Baskerville,Virginia are pleased to announcetheir latest blessing from God:Andrew Jude Croyle, boy, born June28, 1999. Andrew joins three sistersand two brothers.

Michal Cynthia Farris, girl, bornOctober 15, 1999 to Kristina Farris,Cement, Oklahoma. Michal weighed7 lbs. 8 oz., and was 21 inches long.Grandparents are Mike and CindyYoung.

Tressie Elisabeth McNair, girl, firstchild of Rod and Dana McNair, wasborn September 9, 1999, in MakatiCity, Philippines. Tressie weighed 7 lb., 2 oz., and 51 cent. long.Grandparents are Carl and DorothyMcNair and Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Fall;Tressie is the Falls’ first grandchild.

Local ChurchListings

A New Format...Beginning with this issue of the Living Church News the Local ChurchListings will be presented in a different format.

A twice-a-year insert in the pre-Spring and Fall Holy Days issues willreplace the normal listings. The insert will be more comprehensiveand will be printed with bigger type for easier reading.

This approach is necessary because of the growing space needed toprovide a complete listing. It also will allow the editorial staff to pro-vide expanded articles, include more pictures and develop new fea-tures.

Please refer back to past copies of the LCN if you have need for min-isterial or church location information. You may also contact yourarea or regional pastor.

Call our San Diego office: (858) 673-7470 or visit our Web Site athttp://www.livingcog.org. Email queries can be sent to [email protected]

NON-PROFIT ORG.US POSTAGE PAIDSAN DIEGO, CA

PERMIT NO. 3207

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