good news 1958 (vol vii no 02) feb.pdf

8/10/2019 Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 02) Feb.pdf

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a g a z i n e o fT H E C H U R C H O F G O D

VOL. VII N U M B E R 2 FEBRUARY, 1958

Let GOD Fight Your BattlesM A N Y are the aflictions of the righteous. But there s O N E

WAY to solve every one of your besetting problemsby Herber t W . Armst rong

B ETHREN, the world you live intoday is a very troabled world.Y O U not onlv have vour ownp - s n n a l pmhlerns, hut you also sufferfrom the del iberate OPPOSITION andANTAGONISM of the world around you.

It is time you considered howto con-quer these troubles-how to be FREEfrom them-how to let GO D fight yourbattles instead

One Lesson Not Yet Lea rned

First, zmderstand this: If the WORLDtoday is not happy-if world con ditio nsare in a chaotic state-if lives are emptyand purposeless, if m inds a re filled withfears and worries, bodies wracked withsickness and disease-THERE IS A REA-SON Condit ions are whut we mdkethem

Mortal HUM ANS, roping in the dark-ness of confusion , have m ade conditionswhat they are. Humanity is REAPINGwhat it has SOWN Only the direct andall-pow erful superna tural interv ention of

A L M I G H T YOD can deliver this worldfrom all its troubles.

W ha t the world doesnt know is thatGod will not cause i t s present ways ofwrong living to bring any humanUtopia.Rather, GOD A L M I G H T YWI LL SOON

WoRLD-bringing it INTO THE WAYSof His just laws which alone can pro-duce this happy TOMORROW

Br eth ren , WE, TOO,HAVE LESSONS TOLEARN. Even though stubb ornand rebel-lious mankind brings upon the worldeven DARKER days in the immediate

HAVE TO STEP IN AND RULE O V E R THE

future, REMEMBER,-its DARKEST just

before DAWN. l ake hope in the SUREknowledge, that the new world of GODSmaking nd RULING s VERY neartoday

But in the mean time, what abo utYOU,and your own private l i fe and problems?Let us consider some of your o w n prz-vute pcrsonal TROUBLES. I know that youhave them And I want to tell you some-thing-I wa nt to tell you GOOD news.YO U are carrying a lot of worries, andfears, and troubles that yoa dont needto carry

Life is simply filled with private, per-sonal battles. We have to battle fearsand worries. Sometimes i t seems we haveto bat t le PEOPLE who appear to beenemies-ften its a husband, a wife,or a mother-in-law-and wh ethe r yourealize it or not, YOU also have to battleYOURSELF

It is like having to fight a host ofENEMIES-all these TROUBLES, theseCIRCUMSTANCES, these adverse CONDI-TIONS, these TEMPTATIONS But thereis a way you may FREE yourself fromthese troubles that confront you. Thereis a WAY OUT You can be FREE fromfighting all of these enemies except justONE-your own self, and you can re-ceive a lot of HELP,and KNOWLEDGE,and POWER in doing that

Heres where that help can be found

Jesus Chris t Is the Del iverer

The Eternal Creator-RULER of theuniverse-the God who gives you thevery air you breathe-sent H is own be-gotten SON, Jesus Christ, into th is world1900 years ago to BRING YOU BRETHREN

THE WAY OF DELIVERANCE fromyour trials, your worries, your problems.WHY, then, do some of you not LISTENto he Way He taught us? And WHY d lso many people think of Hi m as a deadChrist hanging on a cross? GOD AL-MIGHTY RAISED HIM FROM THE DEADJesus Christ is our LIVING Savior andHigh Priest, just as the Creator is aLIVING RULEROF ALL THE UNIVERSE

DO YOU REALIZE THAT JESUSCHRIST,THE LIVING, ESURRECTED CHRIST,TOW H O M IS GIVEN ALL POW ER,HAS APRESENT MISSION TO PERFORM? Doyou realize that His present mission is

DELIVER You-to FREE you from allyour fears, your TROUBLES,nd even thecircumstanccs that bcsct you?

Thousands of you would come to mefor help in your troubles if I had t imeto see and talk to you-youd come withhusband-and-wife-troubles, funeral trou -bles-every kind of trouble. Yes, youdcome to m e becaus e I m hum an-one

you can ree-whose voice you hear. But,because Im only human, I have not theability, the strength, nor the TIME torender such a personal ministry to som a n y brethren in diffeient parts of theworld.

Now think this over carefully, andANSWER THIS WHY o you fight yourOW N battles, when HE-the LIVINGSavior-is liv ing in ALL POWER to fightthem for you?

Hes REAL. Hes D I V I N F W H Y d osome of you brethren go on worrying,when HE is right there in ALL THEPOWER OF THE D I V I N E C R EATOR o

t O FIGHT YOUR BATTLES FOR YOU-tO


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FRE E you from all yourworries?WHY?There is one of two reasons.

Either you have not fully K N O W Nof this great, all-encompassing DIVINESOURCE OF POWER which Y O U can callon at will-you have no tREALIZED whatALL-CONQUERING HELP you c an have-or else you have thro ugh lack of f aithor neglect, FAILED t o C A L L O N that

supernatural H E L P in your t imesof needBrethren, C A N I open your eyes tosee that God is a God of LOVE-thatGod in all His supreme power willsabove all things for youto PROSPER, andBE I N HEALTH, and to find the way tothe HAPPY, FUL L , ABUNDANT L I FE ?That Jesus Christ is a LIVING SAVIOR,to whom you can go AT A L L TIMES-aSavior to save you from your presentevery-day fears and worries, adversecircumstances, troubles, sicknesses, andtrials, as well as to save you from eternalDEATH at the end?

Notice what Scripture comm ands:Solet us approach the throne of gracewith confidence,that we may receivemercy and find grace t o help a ~ s w thehour of n e e d (Heb . 4 :16).God Is In te res t ed in Your Li fe NOW

Gods salvntiuii ib N O I somethingyou collect only after you die-IT IS

salvation which starts in your everydaylife R~GHI h ~ hND NOW

W h a t needless pains some have beensuffering. What NEEDLESS fears andworries you may have been carryingaround. What WONDE RFUL TIMES-what HAPPINESS you may have cheated

yourself out of, just because you havenot REALIZED, and taken advantage ofthe very PRESENT and all-powerfulH E L Pof your LlVliVG Savior

Actually what is happening is thatyou may have found yourself faced withfoes far more powerful than you. Thesefoes may come in fo rms of troub les,ofunforeseen circumstances, of worries.ofsicknesses, or even of other persons.These foes N E E D not make your l ife un-happy.

Old Testament I l lus t rat ions

Did you ever really think through thefull meaning of I Cor. l0:ll- that theincidcnts in the lives of Gods peop leof Old Testament times were writteninto the Bible for O U R L E A R N I N G A N DHELP?

I want now to turn to the experienceof a man who lived in that t ime. Thisman found that he could RELY on theAlmighty GOD. This man was facedwith a FAR more terrifying trouble thanhas ever beset you. H e found theHAPPYSOLUTION. His experience will show youwhat YOU can do, this vcry day

Once you UNDERSTAND, you will haveto learn to TAKE GOD A T HI SWORD--TO

PRACTICAL, COMMO N-SENSE, U SEFUL

The GOOD NEWS February, 1958

CALL U P O N GOD I N PRAYER-YOU Willhave to ASK GOD for wh at you need-and you may have to learn how toPRAY.

GOD ALMIGHTY ill actually znter-venei~ your l i f e ,and help YOU, and fightYOUR battles for you. Remember, Godis no respecter of persons. H e will notdo m ore for one than another. H e will

do as much fo r YOU, as for any personwho ever lived. H e will d o as much foryoat-if you obe y H i mand rely o n H i m-as for any ancien t K in g of IsraelorJudah

You may have a problem that com-pletely overwhelms you. You may be atyour wits end-you may not knowwhere to turn, or what to do I t maybe a family prob lem,a personal problem,a financial problem,a problem of sick-ness or disease.

But let me tell you now as Godsminister of a man who came upon asituation probably far more terrifyingthan yours-one that would throwfright and terror into the stoutest heart .The solut ion th is man used will solveYOUR problems-put an E N D to yourt roubles. Th e same God wh o heard anddelivered him will hear and deliver you--IF you will obey Himand t rus t Him.

Th e fact that this man was an ancientking makes no difference. God is norespecter of persons-He will d o a smuch for YOU. God is the SAME todayand tomorrow asHe was yesterday. Thisman was King Hezekiahof the ancientKingdom of JUDAH. He was an ordinaryhuman mortal , the same as YOU today.

God I n t e r v e n e s f o r a Man

T h e v a s armies of Assyria weremarching westward and southward toinvade Judah. T he Jews were greatlyoutnumbered. They had no army orpower to stand up against such a pow-erful foe. They were HELPLESS. Theyfaced certain defeat-just asYOU mayfeel HELPLESS in t h e face of yourtroubles today.

If some of you brethren try to solvey o w problem, or overcome your badhabits, or rcsist sin in nothing morethan your OWN power and s t rength ,you, too, will find yourself ou tnumb ered,overpowered, and doomed to defeatYou must learn, as this ancient kingdid, that GOD stands ready and willingto fight your battles for you. Read hisexperience in I1 Chron. 1 2 : l - 2 2 , f romthe Moffatt translation: It was afterthis, after all this loyal service, thatSan-ch t r ib k ing of Assyria invaded Judah,besieging the fortified towns and m ean-ing to seize them. When Hezekiah sawthat Sanchsrib had come determined toattack Jerusalem, he and his noblesand his chiefs agreed to stop the waterof the fountains outside the town .

Then, appointing officers over the

citizens, he gathered them in t he openspace at the gate of the city, and en-couraged them. Be firm, he said, bebrave, be not dauntednor dismayed forthe k ing of Assyria or for all his host;we have wi th us One greater thanallhe has; he has a mortal force, but wehave wi th us the Eternal our God, tohe lp us and to fight our battles.

Continuing, His officers said evenworse things against God the Eternal andhis servanr Hezekiah. (Sancherib alsowrote letters, insulting the Eternal theGod of Israel and attacking him thus:As the go ds of th e nation s elsewhere inthe world have failed to save their folkfrom me, so shall Hezekiahs God failto save his folk.) The officers shoutedaloud in Hebrew tn the citizens of Jeru-salem on the walls, to terrify them andscare them, that they might capture thecity. They talked about th eGod of Jeru-salem as one of the gods of the iiationson earth, mere handmade idols

Now notice what the king of Judahdid. King Hezekiah and the prophetlsaiah the son of Amoz P K AY E Doverthis and cried to heaven. They PRAYEDfor help . They did not knowHOW Godwould intervene. But they knewGorlwould ACT

Heres what happened: Then theEternal sent an angel who swept off allthe gallant fighters,t he leaders, and cap-tains in t he camp of the king of Assyria,t i l l he had to go hom e in disgrace. H e[later) went into the templeof his god,and there his own offspring murderedhim with their swords. So the Eternalrescued Hezekiah and the citizens of

Jerusalem fr om San chsrib the kingofAssyria as well as from all other foes,protecting themon every side.

That experience was written into thevery WORD OF GOD for your learning,and to SHOW YOU BRETHREN THE WAYTODAY

Perhaps YOU are faced with a foemore powerful than you. It iiiay besome TEMPTATION. It may be some cir-cumstance or condition, or trouble. Someserious WORRY. Then let me ask you,WHAT ARE YouRE LYI NG O N, to with-stand the seige of this trouble-to de-liver you from it?

Rely 11 God a n d His P o w e rW ha t do some of you do, brethren,

when some fear, worry, trouble, comesup against you? Do you not first FEARAND WORRY, and then either try toR U NFROM this trouble, or else try to meetit in your o w n power and strength-with y u u r o w n thinking and planning,and doing?

Do YOU ever search your own heartand life to see if it is YOUR fault? I nalmost every in-law or marital trouble,for example, both area t fault.

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in theWhat Will Y O U R JOB Be

Kingdom?You may be surprised about what the Book of Revelation reveals

concerning your responsibility during the millennium

by Herman L. H o e h

wo MONTHS ago, while Mr. Arm-strong was away from Pasadena,T e called me by phone. During

par1 of the conversation he asked me:Have you ever considered what the

responsibility of this Church is to bewhen the Kingdom of God rules thisworld? Were the only Church in cen-turies that has been used to restore thet ruth and the pat tern of Gods Govern-men t . No t sincr apostolic days, he con-tinued, has there been a HEADQUAR-

TERS Church unt i l now. And thisChurch ur Churc h s promisedin Revelation 3 :12 a responsibility A THEADQUARTERS-in Jerusalem-in theGovernment of God. Because we haverestored the TRUTH we are also to bemade spiritual pillarsin t he Kingdom-in the adm inistra tion of Gods rule atHeadquarters .

Why don ty o u do furthe r research,said Mr. Armstrong to me, to find whyeach church epoch in Revelation2 and

is given a different promise+ithera ?mall or a great reward?

W h a t t h e C h u r c h e s A r e P r o m i se d

Let us all open our Bibles now tothcse very chapiers in Revelation.

In these two ch apters is condensedal-most 2000 years of history He re arelisted the five past epochs of the Churchof God, together with the vital descrip-tion of our Church today, and that ofthe no t-far-distant Laodicean p eriodcli aa xi ng this age.

Notice that a t the end of each of theseven stages in the history of GodsChurch there is a definite promise forthe Church which carries on G odsWORKduring that particular period.You willfind these seven promises recorded inRev. 2 : 7 , 10 and 11, 17 , 26 to 28 ; 3 : 4and 5 , 12, 21.

Notice first that the only ones whohave a right to these promises are OVER-COMERS-those who , thr ou gh th e po we rof the Spirit of God, overcome thein-selves, overcome the world a bout them,and overcome the wicked spirits whocontrol the present world. Overcomingis the fundamental requirement of allChristians, but we cannot do it by our-selves alone. W e need the added helpof the Almighty. We must first be will-ing to resist-and actiiallyt o resist-thedegrading pull o f our human nature.

Theresa G o e l l PhotoAbove are the ruins of the Altar of Zeus in Pergarnos. John wrote the thirdletter in the Book of Revelation to this once-flourishing city.

Then whenever we need the added helpof God to resist our foes, He will givethat added power and deliver us out ofour trials and temptations.

It is t ime we remember that we willnever gain eternal life unlessw e d o someovercoming. Each oneof us must be ac o n p e r o r of obstacles-a conqueror ofhu m an nature-if we are ever to receiveany of the promises given here in Rev-elation 2 and 3.

Notice, howcvcr, that to tilost. whoare overcomers in each Church epochthere are DIFFERENT PROMISES grantedThat is, those who overcome areNOTA L L CALLED TO PERFORM THE SAMEFUNCTION IN THE KINGDOM . SomeChurches are promised a special duty .

Consider the example of the OldTestament. God created the office ofking over th e nation Israel. Go d firstselected Saul for that office. The peopleapproved him. Had he beena conquerorof his huma n natur e, he could havequalified to exercise that same office inthe Kingdom. But Saul failed

Th en Go d chose David-a man whomthe peop le would not have chosen. Davidqualified. H e ad mitted his sins andfinally overcame them. H e will occupythe office of k ing over Israel i n themil lennium (Ezekiel 37:24).

But notice Once David qualified for

tha t office,no others can ewer occupyitW h en Jesus called the apostles,H e

did not call t h e m t o the same ofice asDavid. H e called them to occupy o f i c e sunder David.Here are Jesus own wordst 3 the apostles: Ye are they which havecontinued with me in my temptations.And I appoin t un to y o u a k ingdom,asmy Father hath appointed unto me;that ye may eat and drink at mytablein my kingdom, and siton thrones judg-ing the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke

In Mat thew 19 :28 Jesus is quotedassaying to the apostles, Ye also shall situpon twelve thrones,judging the twelvetribes of Israel. Of the fourteen whoaccompanied Jesus, there were twelve

who were ultimately chosento rule overthe twelve tribes. (See Acts 1: 15-26.)

O th er Offices Yet to Be Fi l l ed

These offices constitute only the n u-cleus of Gods Government. U p o n t h efoundation of t h e apostles mad $rophets,Jesus has built His Church (Ephesians2 : 2 0 ) . The apostles and the prophetsare therefore in superior authority tothe Church bui l ton them.

That Church has existed these nearly20 centuries. During these centuriesGod purposed to divide the Church into

(Please c o n t i w eon next .page)

22 :28-30) .


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0International magazine of

THE CHURCH OF GODministering to its me mbers

scattered abroad

V O L . VII NUMBEK 2

Herbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. Hoeh

Executive EditorRoderick C. M eredith

Garner Ted ArmstrongAssociare Editors

Address communications to the Editor,Box 1 11, Pasadena, California.

Copyright, February, 1958By the Radio Church of G o d

Heart to Heart Talkwith the Editor

You are probably often asked howthe Ten Commandments could be alaw of LOVE.

Here is a way of explaining whatlove means-an expla nation whic h mostoutsiders probably never heard before

When the Eternal RULER of theuniverse first placed man on this plan-

et earth, all was perfect harmony andbeauty. Tlirir was PEACE. There wasPLENTY. There was BEAUTY. There wasevery need and facility forHAPPI NE SS .

In order to make POSSIBLE for mancontinued peaceful, happy, prosperousand joyful existence, the Eternal Goddesigned that all things operate accord-ing to fixed, inexorableLAWS. We havethe laws of physics and the laws ofchemistry.

The n, of necessity, there is the great,fundarncntal, invisible SPIRITUAL LAWwhich regulates mans relationship withhis C R E AT O R , and mans relationshipwith fellow M A N . Th e purpose of thisinexorable SPIRITUAL law, like all ofGods laws is to make possible mansHAPPINESS-to bring man PEACE and. J C J Y ~ ~ ake life REALLY wor th living

When this spiritual law is broken,then varying kinds of unhappiness, fearand worry, strife and war, come in vary-ing degrees AS THE PENALTY.

That great over-all S P I R I T U A L law isjust simply LOVE It is LOVE in con-tinual action. It is love manifest andexpressed It is love, first to God theCRE ATOR, in reverence, adoration, grati-tude and OBE DI E NCE - ( because He i s

The G O O D N E W S

the SUPREME CREATOR-RULER whoalone KNOWS what is right for us andhas power to give it); and it is love,second, to FE L L OW MAN, expressed inpeaceableness, co-operation, service.It ISa way that travels the very OPPOSITEDIRECTION from greed, vanity, hate,strife, or war.

This great SPIRITUAL LAW is a PRI N-CIPLE-a WAY OF LIFE-it is an A l T I -TUDE O F MIND A N D HEART. It is thecorrect way to think, and to LIVE. It isnot merely moral principle-it is divine-ly-set-in-motion SPI RI T UAL L AW, and itoperates automatically and inexorably

Dub ~ i n ~ ean by nature does notknow WHAT LOVE IS God had todefine this Princ@le of LOVE by T E NDISTINCT POINTS-the TEN O M M A N D -

Th e apostle Jo hn explained it this way:For this is the LOVE of GOD, that wekeefi Hir commandments: and H is com-mandments are not grievous ( I John5 : 3 ) .

Love, wrote Paul, is the ful-filling of the law (Rom. 13. l o ) . Sinceno one can fulfill the law if he is break-ing it, then love must be the KEEPINGof the 10 points of the law H e whobreaks any one is guilty ot all (James2:10) , and is therefore N O T loving hisneighbor.

The Creator also made man a FRFFMORAL AGENT-and for a purpose -FREE TO DECIDE WHICH WAY OF LIFEHE WOULD FOLLOW Ever since Adamin the Garden of Eden, man, somehow,has believed that the law of God iswrong and that man is sufficient unto

himself. Man has followed the ways ofvanity and of GREED ever since.Why, PRIDE, man reasons, and the

desire to GET, to accumulate, to HAVE,is the impelling motive that stimulatesEFFORT, produces incentive for endeavor,spurs man on toward PROGRESS. C O M -PETITION, men believe, is the veryLIFE of trade, commerce and business. Itspurs men on, leads to greater produc-tion, makes for PROGRESS That is thephilosophy of this world Tha t is theopposire of LOVE. That i s the oppositeof the TEN COMMANDMENTS

A N D THAT VERY PHILOSOPHY OFL I FE , PUT TO 6,000 YEAR S OF PRACTICE,

M E N T S .

IS T H E O N E R O O T C A U S E OF AL L OURH U M A N W O E S

That philosophy means that man hasR E B E L I F D against the rule and the lawof God G od rules by Hi sLAW OF LOVE-the TEN COMMANDMENTS.ut God,for a great PURPOSE, made man a freemoral agent. MAN CHOSE TO REJECTTHE RULE AND THE LAW O F G O D , andinstead has tried to governHIMSELF andhis fellows. THAT S M AN S GREAT MIS-TAKE What man needs is to return toobedience to the Law of God whichalong can restore order out of chaos

February, 1958

What Will YOUR JOBBe n the Kingdom?

(Continued f r o m page 3 )seven e po chs -or per iodsof time. EachChurch has its work to perform. Jesussays of each Church 1 know thy works.

Some perform their work better than

others. They overcome more. They aretherefore able to handle greater re-sponsibilities in the Kingdom of Godand are deserving of greater blessings.

All who overcome are to inherit theKi ngd om of God-they will constitutethe Kingdom. But they will not alloc-cupy the same position in the Kingdom.Jesus Christ does not occupy the sameposition as the Father. Yet both of themhave eternally constituted the Kingdomof God.

The saints shall judge the world( I Corinthians 6:2) , but somc will bcqualified to judge greater matters thanothers. W e shall reign o n the earth(Revelation 5 : o ) , but we shall not allreign over the same territoryor people.

W e shall all be priests-Peter callsus even now a royal priesthood ( IPeter 2:9)-but some will minister ingreater capacity than others.It all de-pends on how w e overcome-how westrive against the attractions of theworld and the pull of human nature.

When Christ comes to judge us, Hewill give reward unto the. . . small andgreat (Rev. 1 l : l S ) . Some of us aresmaller than others in Gods sight. Somehave not yielded themselves in con-formity to the law of God as much as

others. Some have not worked as hardon rooting out human nature as others-they have not let God s law gover ntheir lives to the same degreeas others.Remember what Jesus said to the dis-ciples?--Whosoever therefore shallbreak one of these least command-ments, and shall teach men so, he shallbc called the least in the K i n g d o m o/heaven: but whosoever shall do andteach them, the same shall be calledgreat in the Kin g d o m of heaven(Mat thew 5:19).

In the history of the Churchof God,some periods have been characterizedby great zeal, great works, great knowl-edge of Gods law. Other periods havebeen characterized with flagging zeal,incomplete or diminishing w orks,a par-tial neglect of Gods law.

In the Kingdom or Family of Godthere will be individuals of differentdegree. But for each individual therewill be a responsibility, a job. Not thesame job, of course -for we are notall called to the same office. But everyoffice is needed. An entire C I V I L I Z A -T I O N must be built on earth-built thistime Gods way and not mans way. Itwill take literally millions of different


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February, 1958 The GOOD NEWS Page 5

jobs to create civilization as i t ought tobe, YOUR JOB will be what you willfind the most pleasure in doing. W e donot all get the same pleasure outof theb d l l l e rhing. That is why God has notcalled L S all to the same office.

Notice, now, what this Church ispromised-and this includesy o u if youcont inue as an overcomer and resist

temptation and end up as victor in yourtrials.

W h a t T h i s C h u r c hIs Promised

Open your Bible to Revelat ion 3: 10-12. Here is what i t says: Because thou[this Church] hast kept thc word ofMy patience-we have patiently keptGods word in a gainsaying world--I,responds Jesus, also will keep thee from[he hour of tem ptation , which shallcome upon all the world, to try themthat dwel l upon the earth .

If we hold fast to the end, noticewhat the reward of this Church will bein the King dom of God: H im that over-cometh [this includes anyone, not justthe ministry] will I make a pillav [ormain support] in the temple of my God,and he shall go no more out : and I willwrite upon him the name of my God,and the nnmc of thc city of my God,New Jerusa lem: a n d . . my new name.

In Galatians 2 : 9 you will read thatJames and Peter and John seemed to bepillars in the early Church. I hey wereleaders T h at responsibility is what Godpromises to us in Gods Church today.W e can qualify-not for Dav ids office.not for the apostles offices-but to be

F K Doerner PhotoAnci ent Smyrna-with modern lzmi r in the backgrou nd. Here you see recent-ly excavated arches which once supported a public court. Christians in thisc i t y w e r e a m o n g the m o s t faith ful . Polycarp and Polycrates came fro m here.

spiritual pillars or leaders-the m ai nsupports in the Charch tsymbolicallycalled temple in Rev. 3 : 12) for alleternity. A pillar is the main support ina temple

Notice, too, that Scripture reads Heshall go out no more. W e are never tobe removed fro m that reward and re-sponsibili ty. Think of that We are tobe at headqu arters-setting policies-

teaching those who need to come toheadquarters for decisions. ( Com pareActs 15 with this.)

Never has a Church had to restoreall things as hns this Church. Mr. Arm-strong found that the truth had almostdied from the earth during the Sardisepoch of the Church. Andit is not yetall restored. But we have been willingto grow in the revealed knowledge of

Sardis-the city whose Christians wer e spir itually dead Today even the c i t y i s dead Left, the remains of a paganTemple vi ewed from the east. Right, the all-but -vanish ed remains o f a Roman Theatre loc ated below the cit adel.

A hmet Doenmez Photos


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Page 6 T h e GOOD NEWS February 1958

God and to keep what has been revealed.Yes, we are beco ming fit-if we de-velop ourselves now-to be pillars inthe Kingdom of God. Not every pillaris the same s i a 1 selves the SdllK pur-pose, of course; and not all of us willbe exactly alike either.

But more than that, this Church-thePhiladelphia era-is to have the name

of the capital city of the universe-theheadquarrers of the world. Th at is wherewe are to be centered. The pillars of theChurch ought always to be at headquar-ters so that all may appeal to it for deci-sions. All of you are being trained forthis job now-even if i t is only bylearning to pray for the work at head-quarters and by sending to headquartersyour tithes for the conductof the workof this Church. Never since apostolicdays has the work of God been conduct-

ed from one centralized location as it istoday. Always through the past cen-turies it has been a scattered work.

Moreover, we are to have the nameof God the Father and of the Son. Godalways places His nam e where H e is.He will be dwelling in the New Jeru-salem. So will we T h a t is why w e willhave His name

Maybe your responsibility in this ageseems small. Maybe others seem so

much more im portant than you do now.Let us not feel inferior-nor let us .be desirous of vain glory, provoking oneanother, envying one m ot her (Ga l a -tians 5 : 2 6 ) .

J us t Aroun d t he C orne r

Tim e is very short In probably lessthan 23 years you will be in anotherworld-the wor ld tomorrow-and thepresent will have gone forever. Thosewho Ieewz to be great now will have togive account of themselves as much asthose who seem to be small. Let us all

be compa ring ourselves to Christ-and well than have the jobof the greatestnot one another-sceking to do our job man on earth and fail it -Wouldntthe very best that lies withinus. I would yo?rather do my part in the workof God He that is faithful in that which


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February, 1958 The GOOD NEWS Page 7

is least, Jesus said, is also faithful inmuch (Luke 16: 1 0 ) .

So let us all hold fas t to the responsi-bili ty given us and d o it the very bestwe can. W e are all to be judged accord-ing to what we have. Many who seemto be small now w ill become great spirit-ual pillars tomorrow-and for all eter-nity. And some who seem to be greatertoday may not appear to be so greattomorrow. God is no respecter of per-sons.

Now compare the goalof this Churchwith that of the Church of Thyatira-the persecuted Church of the MiddleAges.

A Diffe ren t Promise Al toge ther

That Church was a great body. Jesussays of i t : 1 know thy works, andcharity, and service, and faith, and thypatience, and thy last works are morethan the first (Rev. 2:19).

W h a t a contrast to our Church. Jesussaid we today have little strength(Rev. 3 : s ) .Never has the Church beensmaller than today-yet wc have thegreatest door ever opened to any Church.But in the Middle Ages the Church ofGod was a pow erful Church-its lastworks were even greater than its first.It grew. It overcame. True, there werecertain serious faults allowed from timeto time. The symbolic Fzebel-an-other picture of the fallen woman ofRev. 17-was som etime s allowed toteach in the local assemblies. AndJezebels children-thnse w h o cdme O Z L ~of her in protest-were there , too. Inother words, the false teachers were

sometimes fello wsh ippe d, instead ofbeing excommunicatedThose who overcame the teaching of

the false ministers who crept into thelocal churches achieved a great reward.And he that overcometh and keepethmy works unto the end,to him wil l Igive power over the nat ions: and heshall rule them with a rod of iron;asthe vessels of a potter shall they bebroken to shivers: even as I receivedof my Father, says Jesus. AndI willg ive him the morning s tar (Rcv.

Those in that Church age arenot torule over Israel, but over the nations-ethnoJ in Greek, meaning nat ions ortribes. In the millennium the tribesof Israel will inherit the Gentiles(Psalm 2 : s . Under Dav id and thetwelve apostles will be those in thatChurch who will exercise dominionover the great Gentile families-Russia,China, Germany, the Latin Americancountries, Afric an tribes-just as todayGentile nations such as Pakistan, Indiaand Ceylon recognize the authorityofthe House of David ruling today inLondon, England in the person ofQueen Elizabeth 11.

2 : 26-28).

That Church will not have the sameresponsibility as we will have. Theywill be in authority ou t in th e field. Theyare not to be at headquarters as weshall be. If there are major problemsamon g the nations under their authority,the case will come to us for decision-as in the example recorded in Acts15.

Those who const i tu te that Churchwill shine in glory with the radianceof th e mo rning star ( Rev .2 : 2 8 ) . Th ebrightcst heavenly body next to the sunand moon-as we view the heaven s.

Th e C h u r c h i n La o d i c e aYo u ought all to be familiar with the

graphic descriptionof the lukewarmnessof the work which will climax this age.It is not this work-it is the workofanother body of believers. They will beheirs to the riches of spiritual under-standing which Go d is revealing throug hthis Church-but they will become spir-itually smug. Nothing good can be said

about them. Though they may havebeen begotten, they have not allowedChrist to live His l ife through them.Jesus pictures himself as having stoodat the door of their hearts knocking.

They are not promised deliverancefrom the coming t ime of t rouble andreligious persecution-whereas we arepromised deliverance. If they becomeze alniis and repent, if they lovc nottheir lives unto death, then they willreceive a good responsibility. But theyhave first a great period of trial andtest to meet. Jesus will send the punish-ment o n them because H e loves them.If they change their ways, H e will not

figuratively spue them out of H is mouthas one who spues out nauseating luke-warm water.

To them Jesus says: To him thatovercometh will I grantto sit with Mein my throne, even as I also overcame,and am set down with my Father in H isthrone (Rev. 3 : 2 1 Notice that theyare not called spiritual pillars; neitherdo they have their own thrones as d othose of the Church of Thyatira. Theyare only qualified through much tribu-lation to sit with Christ on H is throne-arsisting Him directly in the personaladministration of His ofice.

He re you see yeta different responsi-bili ty in the Kingdom of God

Now contrast these overcomers withthose of the other Church epochs . No-tice the rewards of the remainingChurches.

W h a t Is The i r Respons ib il i ty?Consider the Sardiscia uf the Church

of God. Jesus said of that Church-theone which immediately preceded thispres ent Philadelphia era-thou hast aname that thou livest, but thouartDEAD (Rev. 3 : l ) . Their works havenot been perfected. Their ministry

F K Doerner Photo

Pergamos-where Satans Seat ofGovernment in the province of Asiaw a s located Ab o v e is the pavedw a y to the citadel.

failed to proclaim the gospelas i t oughtto have been preached.

On ly a few individuals-a fewnames-were overcom ers in that era.As a Church they have no special re-s p u i i d d i t y. O n lya few individuals with-in the Church will walk with Christ inwhite-a symbolof righteousness (Rev.19:s). God merely promises each ofthem that He will not blot o u t hisname out of the book of life, but Iwill confess his name before my Father,and before his angels (Rev 3 . 5 ) .

Th ere is no responsibility-no defi-ni te off ice ment ioned here-only apromise of eternal life. Even the over-comers of that era barely escape withtheir l ives. Indeed, sometimes th e right-eous scarcely are saved ( I Peter 4 :18) .But remember that the saints shall ruleor judge the world-and that includesthese individuals of the Sardis era. They,as individuals in that Church, will havetheir offices (mentioned elsewhere inthe Scr ip tu re ) , bu t as an organizedChurch they receive no joint responsi-bility

The same thing is true of the otherChurch eras.

In the Church era typified by thePergamos Chu rch, there were n o smallnumber who accepted errmeuus doc-trines of the Nicolaitans.

W h o We r e t h e N i c ol ai ta n s?Th e doctrinesof this body of heretics

has never ceased to puzzle Church his-torians. They have always imagined thatthe Nicolaitans had to be a small sectwhich separated from the great worldlybody of professing Christians. It hasnever occurred to the scholars that the


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Page 8 The GOOD NEWS February, 1958

Nicolaitans m i g h t h e t h a t great body ofprofessing Christians which has de-parted from the true Church of God

What does the word Nicolaitanmean?

It has nothing to do with the deaconNicolas (Acts 6 : 5 ) , as some have as-sumed. The original Greek word Nico-laitan means one who is rra fol lowerof Nicolas. Wh o was that Nicolas ofwhom they were followers? God revealsthat He hates the doctrine of that man(Rev. 2 : 1 5 ) .

But what does the name Nicolascome from? It comes from two Greekwords-n.ik0.r and lcros. Nikos meansconqueror or destroyer and laosmeans people. The original Nicolaswas the conqueror or destroyer of thepeople T h a t wa s merely the Greekword fo r Nimrod-the origin al arch-rebel who conquered the people andfounded man-ma de civilization with intwo centuries after the flood An d is ita strange thing t ha t even today the fol-lowers of the Nicolaitans still hallowthe name of St. Nicolas on Decem-ber 25:

Yes, Santa Claus-just a shortenedform of Nicolas, the Gree k name forNimrod-is Nimrod deified. It is hcand not Jesus Christ-whom the pro-fessing Christians serve to this day, andwhom they honor at Christmas And[here were individuals in the Churchof God in those days who tolerated suchpractices and even indulged in them

Is it any wonder that no special re-sponsibility was given to that Church?Notice the promise: To him that over-

The res a G oe l l Pho toRuins of some of he ancient buildings of Pergamos. It i s difficult today toreali ze that these desolate sites were once teem ing w it h Christians. Asia

Minor in New Testament times was the outstanding center of Christianity,influenced though it was by Paganism.

cometh will I give to eat of the hiddenmanna (see John 6:48-63) , and willgivc him a whitc stone, and in thestone a new nam e wri t ten, which noman knoweth saveth he t h a t receivethit ( R e v. 2 : 1 7 ) .

Here is no promise of a special office-such as the one to which w e are called-but only a prom ise of eternal life toindividuals.

The whi te s tone (Rev.2 : 1 7 ) was thetessera of ancient times, well known in

Asia Minor as a passport to heathen ba n-quets. To each guest invited to theidol feasts, a sioiir was giver1 wirh [hename of the person written on it; andspecim ens. . are to be now seen amongthe Greek ant iqui t ies of the BritishMuseum (lhe Messages t o t h e S e v e nChurches of Asia Minor, by AndrewTait , p. 2 5 2 ) .

Th e promise to that epoch symbolizedby the Church in Pergamos isa promise

(Please cont inueon page 1 2

Laodiceas ruins. In Ne w Testament times this city was latio n hovers over the area n o w. T o the left i s a pa r t c fexceedingly wealthy-a condition reflected in the charac- the Roman Stadium. To the right, a few remains of theter of the Christians i n apostolic times. N othing but deso- A hme t D oe nme z Pho to soman City.


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Are Yo u PERSECUTED?f you are, its Possible youre BRZNGZNG IT ON YOURSELF

ou SAY its got HAM in i t?

W hy , lady, dont you know hogY eats U N C L E A N ? exclaimedthe zealous believer, orderinga meal ina restaurant.Could this be you?Some of the brethren, not yetMATURE

in the faith, but zealously wanting tolet their light shine, begin to vocifer-ously proclaim to everyone that certainmeats or packaged foods are an abom-ination to God

Many of you may rememb er Mr. Arm-strong had to rebuke some members ofGods Church sharply at the Feast ofTabernacles two years ago about openlycondemning th e eating habits of worldlypeople.

Since that time, there have been let-ters from some of the brethren indicat-ing the problem has not been entirelyovercome

Gods Church Persecuted

But Gods Church is a PERSECUTEDChurch reason some, and the n pro -ceccl tu B R I N G P E R ~ C L U ION O N T H E M -SELVES-and clzscredit u p o n the w o r k ofGod

Youre all familiar with someof thereligious sects of this confused world ofchurchianity that deliberately brin g

persecution on themselves by staunchlyrefusing t o come iinder the civil author-ity. G ods own children are not to bepersecuted f o r this reason.

Persecuted we may be. BUT LET IT

thankworthy, if a man for consciencetoward God endure grief, sufferingW RONGFULLY ( I Pet. 2 : 1 9 ) .

Study that verse. God reveals it is athank wo rthy th ing if you are persecutedfor conscience toward God Thatmeans suffering-NOT for being a fa-natic or for actively interfering in thelives of others-but suffering for livingin perfect obedienceto God

Some in thc Church havebeen ~ u f f e r -ing perSeCutiOn-AND H AV E JUSTLY

Perhaps the stern realization of thisprinciple will finally AWAKEN some (ifany have ears to hear, let him hear) sothat they no longer bringdiscredit,scornand abuse upon themselve+--and t h every work of God.

For what glory is it , if, when ye bebuffeted for your faults, ye shall take itpat ient ly? ( I Pet. 2:20) . How many ofus have completely mastered our ownemotions so thoroughly that we TAKE

ALWAYS BE UNJUSTLY For this is

DESERVEDEVERY BIT OF IT

Ckeck np and be sure

by Garner Te d Armst rong

COKKECTION PATIENTLY fo r our own

f ltS?Far too fewBut God requiresMORE than this.But if, when ye doW E L L , and suffer

fo r it, ye take it patiently, T H I S is ac-ceptable with God. For even hereuntowere ye crtlled, because Christ also suf-fered for us, leaving us an example, thatye should follow Hi s steps ( I Pet.2:20-21) . Have you ever reflected seri-ously un the m erit of Christs sufferings?One outstanding proof of His godlycharacter and perfection is that H e neverdeserved the suffering, never brought iton Himself

Being a LightP e r h a p ma ny, in eagerness to be a

true light to the w orld, make the mis-take of becoming a glaringS P O T L I G H TThis is not what Christ intended Letyour light so ~ b i r ~ eeJore men (not up-on, or within the m ), that they may seeYOUR GOOD WORKS Do you see? TheLIGHT reveals your Christian life, yourgoo d deeds-it does not become a hugesearchlight playing upon lard in piecrust, preservatives in bread, or myriadother insignificant trivialitirs

It is right to abstain from pork, otherunclean meats, and to attempt to eat the

most wholesome, natural foods. But it isnot right to make such a show of itthat every trip to a restaurant becomes ascene Too often, Gods people leave theimpression in public places, especiallyrestaurants, that they are religious fa-natics and crackpots because of alack of wisdom in how to conduct them-selves.

To really be a light you should beorderly, pleasantly courteous, quiet andreserved in your conduct.Do not scowlin disgust when you read of uncleanfoods on the menu-you know auto-matically theyll be there before youenter the public place W hy make adispkay? If you are unsure as to the con-tent of cer tain dishes-ask the waitre ssin a pleasant manner, and SMILE Ifthe dish does contain some uncleanthing, simply thank her, and order some-thing else

I cite these examples for a very greatreason. During their travels to and fromthe festivals, some have left a literalwake of malcontent and hurt feelings.Because of diligently wanting to abstainfioni wrong foods, but lacking the wis-dom as to how to go about it, many havebeen successful, not in being a light to

the world, but a stum bling block If

it be possible, as much as lieth I N YOU,live peaceably with all men (Ro m.1 2 . 1 7 )

Unconver ted Mates

Perhaps the w ord u nconverted hasbecome distasteful, and a ba d wordto many.

W H Y ?For God so loved the WORLD (cos-

mos, orderly arrangement, or society)that H e gave His only begotten Son, thatwhosoever believeth in Him should notperish, but have everlasting life (John3:16) . Notice God LOVES this carnal-minded, anconverted world Christ cameto save sinners-the UNconverted Didyou ever read the vcrse right ufter John3 :16? For God sent not His Son intothe world to C O N D E M N the world; butthat the world through Him might be

Lets get our balance. Too often, ter-rible problems are created within thehome between a converted and an un-converted mate, simply because the con-verted one does not understand this vitalprinciple

Do you condemn your wife, or yourhusband, if unconverted? Do you openlyshow your disgust for the habits and

practices of the world whatever chanceyou ger? Brethren, some have actuallygone into grocery stores, and, readingthe labels on packaged foods, thrownthem down in disgust before their un-converted mates, loudly denouncing toanyone nearby the ingredients containedin the package Thi s isNOT the way ofa Christian It brings family strife, andreproach, not peace and harmony

I do not mean to imply we are tocompromise with the world Nor do Iintend to imply that you should aeglectthe careful checking of the foods youbuy-but it is the M A N N E R I N W H I C HI T I S D O N E that is important.

Be a mild-mannered, patient, lovingand kind L I G H T to your unconvertedmate-not a harsh, scowling, belligerent,self -rightr ons religious crackpot

To You r Chi ldren , Too

Letters have reported instances ofchildren, copying tiicii pa~rrirb, enteringthe homes of unconverted people, orelse entering public places, and vocallycondemning the customs, dress or foodthey see there

Perhaps your discussion at home ofthe harmful foods that are processed and

SAVED


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Page 10

packaged for sale is profitable-but youshould also add, and make sure yourchildren understand-it is not your dut yto CONDE MN the practices of the storeowner or other customers for selling orbuying them. It is only your duty tomake sure YOU do not practice thesethings.

Train your children in these things

Some of the young teen-agers, andeven younger children, have been highlycritical of others-to th e poi nt of ru de -ness and absurdity W hy ? Whe re dothey get i t? At home

Unless you are actively practicingthese principles of Christian living, andteaching them to your children as well,you cannot be the light Christ intended-and your influence as an agent toC A L L OTHERS into thc truth will be lost

Untold suffering has already beencaused by a lack of judgm ent in thesethings. Wives-m NOT wheedle, argue,threaten, cajole, whine, or attempt tocoerce your unconverted husbands intoliving as a Christian YOU live as aChristian-setting him the righ t ex-ample in ME E KNE SS AND HUMI L I T Y-without a sharp tongue.

Husbands-m NOT lord it overyour unconverted wives, forcimg theminto things they do not understand. Showby your kind and loving example, andby your patient T E ACHI NG, the kind ofa life Chri st lived-and show them itsthe BEST life, the fruitful, abundant,HAPPY life

ParentS-SELL your ch ild re n on th egood things of godliness DO N O T ap-proach everything with a negative at-

titude-show the POSITIVE at t i tude ofLOVE a n d COMPASSION for the world,without endorsing or condoning itsways Explain to them tha t you eat dif-ferent things and live differently thanothcr pcople because you have collie torealize that this is the right way to live;t h a t you are not doing them solely forthe sake of being different.

A Rule to Follow

Beloved, think i t not strange con-cerning the fiery trial which is to tryyou, as though some strange thing hap-pened unto you, but rejoice. inasmuchas ye be partakers of Christs sufferings;that, wlieii His glury shall be revealed,ye may be glad also with exceeding joy( I Pet. 4:12-13 ) .

No, it should not be considered arare or s t rm ge thing if you are beingPERSECUTED-f or righteousness sake

If ye be reproached for the name ofChrist, happy are y e but let none ofyou suffer as a murderer, or as a thief,or as an evildoer, OR AS A BUSYBODY I NOTHER MENS MATTERS ( I Pet. 4 :14-1 5 ) .

Why is it, brethren, that some actual-ly take delight in F I N D I N G SIN? W h y

The GOOD NEWS February, 1958

should it be a sourceof joy to discover lead you to searchingly inspect each evilevil? Perha ps it isto cover up oneso w n deed of carnal-minded worldly people,sins that a person so eagerly looks for being gratified that you have discoveredthe sins of others B ut never forget that their sins Dont gloat when you seeevery Chr istian, unless hc has theLOVE sonieoiie rariiig pork Love. . rejoicesof God, is NOTHING NOT in iniquity, but rejoices in the

And the LOVE of God will NEVER truth I Cor. 13:4-6) .

our qzlestions answered in these columns Your opportunity to havediscussed those problems pertaining directlyt o members of Gods Church.

S h o u l d Yo u VACCINATE Yo u rDogs for Rabies?

This question is vital to many of yousince local authorities some times demandthat your dogs be vaccinated. Shouldyou submit to this ordinanceof man?

In the future, we know illat there willbe an epidemic of rabies among dogs as

well as OTHER animals including cats,rats, bats, foxes, squirrels,etc. However,we have Gods promise that H e canprotect us from these dangers-if w edo our part. God promises, NEITHERSHALT T H O U BE AFRAID OF THPBEASTSOF T HE E ART H. For thou shaltbe in league wi th the stones of the field:a d he BEASTS of the field shall beatpsncs u i t h thee (Job 5 : 2-23 )

Because God promises to protect usfrom rabid animals if we are OBEYINGHI S COMMANDME NT S, does this meanthat we should not under any circum-stances vaccinate our dogs for rabies?

W e find Gods answer to our quest ionin I Peter 2 : 13. We are commanded:Submit yourselvest o EVERY ordincmceof man for the Lords sake. Since thecommand of mento have ou r dogs vacci-nated may n o t directly conflict with thehigher command of God, it isnot wrongto vaccinate them for rabies I F we arecompelled to do so.

If the law does not require us to vac-cinate our dogs, it is not necessaryto doso. Rather, we should ask God to protectthem from rabies and do our pmt byfeeding and caring for them properly.SINCEGODHASNT DIRECTLY PROMISED

RABI E S , we should he uery m ~ t i n mur-ing a rabies epidemic and keepour dogsaway from rabid animals. God expectsus to use our heads and protect ourselves.Wc can rely on is Divine p,ro&donwhen we have first done all within ourpower to protect ourselves.

Is It Wrong to Wear C l o t h i ng ofMixed Fabrics?

Th e physical law found in Deut .2 2 : 11and Lev. 19 :19 against wearing a gar-ment of wool and linen mixed is stillbinding. This command is a PHYSICAL,

T HA T OUR DOGS WI L L NOT CONTACT

not a SPIRITUAL, MATTER.

It is just as binding as the laws ofGod against racial intermarriage.

Although the Scripture mentions byname only wool and linen, this principleapplies to other fabrics: linen and woolare named specifically because they werethe main materials the Israelites had forcloth-making. W oo l does not absorb per-

spiration readily, as does linen. Woolalso retains body heat . Thats why youdont want to wear it in summer.

The command pertains to garmentsin which two materials are woven to-gcthcr to make uiir piece of cloth. Itdoes not pertain to decorations on agarment .

One authority states that when twomaterials are woven together a cheap-ened quality is often the result. Appar-ently this is one reason for Gods com-mand. He wants us to own and use thebest quality within our means.

When one buys a garm ent of mixed

material he receives inferior quality.This constitutes a waste of money andalso detracts from personal appearance.

It is not necessary to throw awaymixed materials that you already have.(Some people would have nothing leftto wear if they did.) To do so wouldbe quite rash. Just be careful to selectapproved material th e next time youpurchase clothing.

Any extra garm ents of m ixed fabricsmay be given to worldly charities. N o -tice exumplt in Deut. 1 4 2 1 . Th e sameprinciple would apply in this matter

It is not wrong to wear one garmentof linen and another of wool at th e sametime. Neither is it wrong to wear awool coat with a rayon lining; the rayonlining is not woven with the wool andwill not cheapen the wool of thecoat. The same applies to cotton pocketsin trousers that are made of wool orother materials, also probably to the purerayon or nylon b a d c h a t is sewedaround the neck of some T-shirts. Oneshould not buy socks with nylon rein-forced heel and toe because in suchsocks the two materials are interwoven.

You are likely to more frequently en-coun ter the prob lem of mixed fabrics in


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February 1958 The GOOD NEWS Page 1 1

socks, suits, sweaters, sport shirts, andblankets. (Thereis no difficultyin select-ing dress shirts, underwear, hats, orscarfs because they are usually madeofone material.)

T h e question may arise whether i t iswrong to buy materials that area mix-ture of wool and angora, or cashmereand wool . There is absolutely nothing

wrong with th is typeof mixture. Bothare natural and are animal productsofgood quality. How ever, com binationsofsilk and cotton are not proper. They areof two different kinds.

The ques t ion of synthetics and natu-ral fibers is another facetof this question.

Synthetics of some types are not thebest for body h ealth and comfort. Nylon,especially, is not conducive to comfortin some of its uses. Dress shirts, socks,and blouses of nylon greatly hinder thehealth giving circulationof air, hold inbody heat, and reduce body comfort.

A good health test to use when buy-ing synthetic material ora ready-madegarment is to hold the material up, holdyour hand about six or eight inchesfrom the material and blow throughi t .If you can feel the air you can be prettysure that air is going to come throughand circulate around your body whenyou have such material on.

Usually a synthetic material that iswoven very tight is not good, but onethat is woven more loosely migh t tend tobe much better. This is where each in-dividual must use his or herown judg-ment about whether or not the materialis suited for him. Some people knowwhat type of material their body is

suited for-some can not even wear anytype of synthetic.Next, is i t good to wear a fabric that

is a mixture of natural and syntheticfibers?

Synthetics diffcr markedly from wool.Synthetics are chemically treatedvege-table products-usually cellulose. W oo l,by contrast is an animal product. Thephysical law in Deuteronomy regardingwool and linen would apply here. Mix-tures of wool and synthetics are notgood.

BUT, since many synthetics a re chem -ically processed vegetable products, cot-ton and synthetic combinations consti-tu te another quest ion ent i rely. Theproblem is similar to that of racialintermarriage. M arriage am ong national-it ies differs in degree (and is not abso-lutely w ron g), but in termarriage be-tween distinct races differs in kind andis absolutely wrong.

Bemberg rayon, for example,is madeof cellulose from cotton linters. Rayonmay be made from chemically treatedwood pulp or cot ton. O n the other hand,orlon is derived from such basic rawmaterials as coal, air, water, petroleum,limestone and natural gases.

In purchasing garm entsof a syntheticand natural blend, you migh t notice thatbefore too long the synthetic-beingmuch stronger than the natural fiber-will t tar the namral fibers of the fabric.This is not always the case, but i t doeshappen in some instances. The rule insuch blends or mixtures is this: if thechmacteristics of the synthetic do not

diffe r mf lk ed ly f rom the natural co tton(o r l inen) , then the combinationis not

-they do differ markedly in streng th,washability, absorption, etc., then theyshould not be used.

Combinat ions of one synthetic withanother are to be judged on the samebasis. If the characteristics are similar,i t would not b e wron g to purchase them.

prohibited. If-AS IS OFTEN THE CASE

REMEMBER,HIS IS A PHYSICAL LAW-NOT A SPIRITUAL LAW. ONLY IF YOULUST AFTER WHAT G O D SAYS YOUSHOULD NOT HAVE, DOES IT BFCOME ASPIRITUAL SIN. Let s not g o to extremesin this matter. Not all combinations arewrong.

Keep in mind that the genuine art icleis always of better quality than thearti-ficial.

You can usually find a natural fabricwithour roo much trouble. You mayhave to pay a l i t t le more, bu t dont youthink that i t is worth it?

Let GOD FightYour Battles

(Cont inued f ro m @age2 )Did you never realize that the very

CREATOR ho caused you to be born-

who gives you the life you have-whocalled you into Hi s Church-is ableandanxious to fight all these battles foryoujust as H e did Hezekiahs-if you willonly turn to Him, and ask Him for wis-dom and guidance, RELY o n H i m , a ndTRUST Him with the resul t?

Two Recent Examples

I know of a young lady who, when inher middle twenties, hada problem thatwas MOST SERIOUS in her l ife. Threet imes th is g i r l had b een disappointed inlove. She had at last been tempted tomarry a man she had n o r ight to marry.She brought her problem to m e,as Godsrepresentative. I found she was lookingONLY AT PHYSICAL APPEARANCES. Shereasoned that, so far as she could see,if she obeyed God and refused to marrythis man, she might never be married.I counseled her to OBEY Go-to stoplooking at the material circumstancesand using human reasonto disobey God.I counseled her todo, first of all, WHATGODINSTRUCTS I N THE BIBLE, and thento TRUST HIM for the outcome.

But that girl did not RELY ON GOD-she relied on her human reason. Sheobeyed impu lse and temptation , and mar-

ried the man. H e l e f t her to commitadultery with another woman on theirvery wedding night. Her l ife becamemiserable, terribly unhappy.

Then at another t ime, another similarcase was brought to me. THISyoungwoman rejected the temptation-sheobeyed God, and RELIED ON THEETERNAL o work out circumstances-

she trusted HIM with the result . Herfaith was tried and tested. God did notanswer AT ONcn-but in due time, justthe RIGHT man came into her l ife, theyfell in love, they were married andGODHAS BLESSED THEIR MARRIAGE WITHSUPREME HAPPINESS.

T h e Ex p e ri e nc e o f King Jehoshapha t

N o w I wan t to bring you one morecase history-a REMARKABLE experiencethat will show you the way out of allyour difficultiesand troubles.

Brethren, if you will letGODhave HISway in your life, then you will havebegun to learn how to let Him fightyour battles, solve your problems, anddeliver y o u from J U many troubles youare suffering.

Now , notice the ex perience writtenfor OUR learning and help, today:

It was after this that the Moabitesand Ammonites , wi th some of theMeunim, made war on Jehoshaphat .Word came to Jehoshaphat thata hugehost was moving against him fromEdom, over the Dead Sea, and that theywere already at Hazazon-tamar (or En-ged i ) . Jehoshaphat waJ afrdid.

Is fear your usual reaction, too? Butobserve what the king of Judah did.

H e resolved to have recourse to t heEternal and proclaimed a fast all overJudah. So Judah assembled to seek helpfrom the Eternal; people came fromevery town in Judah to worship theEternal (I 1 Chron .20: 1-4).

Jehoshaphat did exactly what Godwants you to d o today, when faced withany temptation or trouble-HE TOOKIT TO G O D IN P R AY E R A N D FASTING

And as he cont inued to ask God forhelp, he said (verses6 -1 2 ) , 0 Eternal,t he God of our fathers, ar t riot thouGod in heaven, and ruler of all realmson the earth? Such power and might isthine that no one can resist thee.0 ourGod, didst not thou evict the natives ofthis land before thy people Israel, givingthe land to the offspring of Abrahamthy friend, for all time? And they settledin it . They have built a sanctuary in i tto thine honour, thinking that if evilbefell them, the sword in judgment, orpestilence, or famine, they would standin front of this temple and before thee(for in this temple is thy presence) andcry to thee in their distress, till thoudidsr hear and save them. Now here arethe Ammonites and Moabi tes and folkfrom mount Seir, whom thou didst not


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Page 12 The GOOD NEWS February, 1958

nllow Israel to invade, when Israel cameout of the land of Egypt-no, Israelturned away from them, and did notdestroy them

There was no reason for these neigh-bors to be enemies. Sometimes your ownneighbors become your enemies, too,dont they?

But notice what the king saidto God:

Look how they reward us, coming toeject us from thy very own countrywhich thou has given us to be oursour God, wilt thou not deal with them?W e are helpless against this mi gh ty ho stthat is attacking us; we know not whatto do, but w e look to thee.

God Answers Prayer

N o w I want you to notice -Jehosha-phat cried out for Go d to come to theiraid. He re is God s answer (verses 14 -1 7 ) :

_ Jehaziel . . was inspired by thespirit of the Eternal in the midst of thegathering to cry, Listen,all ye men ofJuda h, ye citizensof Jerusalem, and you,

king Jchoshaphat; the Eternals mcssage to yo s this: FEAR NOT, falter notbefore this vast army; it i s fo r God notfor you, t o f igh t them. March downagainst them tomorrow; they are com-i ng u p by the ascent of Haziz, and youwil l come upon them at the end of theravine in front of the desert of Jeruel.Yo u w il l not need t o d o y fighting;take up your position, stand still , andwatch the victory of the Eternal, who ison your side, Judah and Jerusalem.Fear not, falter not. Move out againstthem to-morrow, for the Eternal is onyour side.

And notice that Jehoshdphdt obeyedafte r Go d instructed him. Verses 20-24declare: N ex t mor ning they rose andmoved into the open country roundTekoa. As they advanced, Jehoshaphatstood and said, Listen, men of Judahand citizens of Jerusalem Tak e holdo f t he Eternal your God and you willkeep hold of life; hold by his prophets,and you will prosper.

After this counsel to the nations, heappointed the Eternals singers to praisehim in sacred vestments, marching infront of the army and chanting, Give

thanks to the Eternal, for his kindnessnever tails.As they began to sing and praise

him, the Eternal set men in ambushagainst the Ammonites, and Moabites,and the folk from mount Seir, who hadattacked Judah, and they were routed.The Ammonites and the Moabitestdrszed o n the nativcs of Mount Scir,determined to wipe them out.

They turned against one anotherThat is how God answered Jehoshaphat.And then, after destroying the nativeso f mount Seir, they all helped to killone another. So when the men of Judah

reached their post of attack looking overthe open country, they saw the hostwere so many corpses stretched upo n theground; not a man had escaped.

Jehoshaphar did nor merely leave thistrouble with God and then do nothingabout it himself. First, he prayed, andasked for wisdom, guidance, andHELP.Then he DID WHAT G O D SAID. He had

t o do HIS PART-but the BATTLE WASGODS,and Jehoshaphat did not try tofight GOD S battle. He merely did hisown part . But he BELIEVED God, andRELIED on God.

The point I want you brethren toREMEMBER is that YOUR battles are notreally yours, but GOD S. f you look toHi m , He m akes t hem HIS battles, andHE fights them for you. HOW FUTILE,for you to try to fight GODSbattles forHIM.

God says: Many are the afflictionsof the righteous: but the Lord deliverethhim out of them al l (Psalm 34:19).

In the new Testament we read, ByGRACE are ye saved, through FAITH.Yes, but the FAITH that saves us is alivilzg faith that is practical-it WORKS-it really RELIES on God So PUT ITTO PRACTICE

God does not promise us an EASYtime during this life in this world. ButH e DOES promise to fight our battles forUS--~O deliver us from EVERY t roubleand affliction. W I L L YOU LET HIM DOIT, A N D LEARN HOW HAPPY Y O U R LIFEMAY BECOME? G O D HELP YOU TOUNDERSTAND

What Will YOUR JOBBe in the Kingdom?-

( Co n t in u ed f r o m p a ge8 )to attend the marriage supper ofJesus Christ. The overcomers will bein the Kingdom of God, but they didnot qualify for any special function.

The same is true for the Churchesof Ephesus and of Smyrna. The faithfulpoor of Smyrna are promised a crownof life (Rev. 2 : 1 0 ) , and that theyshall not be hurt of the second death(verse 11 The Church of Ephesus isgiven the promise: To him that over-

cometh will I give to eat of the treeof life, which is in the paradise ofGod (verse 7 )

In no ne of these cases are there anyparticular offices to which that Churchage was being called. Only the promiseof eternal life in the Kingdo m of Go disdirectly extended. But that does not meanthey will have no responsibility No,indeed The y may not have been calledto be pillars in the Kingdom of God;they may not have been called to ruleover whole nations; they will not be inthe place of the apostles and of David,or in the place of the prophets teaching

the world. But there is a place for them-an office which Jesus me ntion ed inHi s parable in Luke 19: 11-27.Who Will Rule Over th e Ci ti es in the

Mi l lennium

The great parable of Luke 19 is dual.The ten servants represent the ten tribesof Israel-the citizens represent theHouse of Judah. In accordance withwhat the tribes of Israel have done dur-ing these past centuries, so will they begiven power over th e G entile cities-just as some of them now exercise pow-er over primit ive people.

But the prophecy is DUAL. Christiansare also now the bondservants of JesusChrist. Some overcome more tha n others-some develop their spiritual abilitymore than others. Some are to be givenrule over many ci t ies during the mil-lennium in the Kingdomof God. Otherswill have qualified to rule over only afew cities-r per hap s only over one

W h o are those who rule over thesecities? Certainly not the prophets or theapos t l e s Ar t he C hurch es of Philadel-phia or Thyatira or Laodicea. The an-swer seems very plain. The responsibil-ity to guide and control the develop-merit of civilization in every city onearth will be vested in those Christiansin general who have not been called toother duties. Here, then. is the re-sponsibility-the office-open to thosewho overcome in the Churches ofEphesus, Smyrna, Pergamos and Sardis.

Some of the individuals in thoseChurches may have grown immensely-they may even exercise immense au-

thority over many mighty cities, whereassome in the other Churches-Thyatira,for example-may rule over only minornations or tribes. Some in those Church-es may do greater works over giant met-ropolitan areas than will some in ourChurch who will be small pillars in theHeadquarters of the world. That de-pends on YOU That depend5 on w hetheryou willingly let Go d make you into Hi simage, or whether you tend to resistHis corrections

God will not make of you what youare not willing to become

What wonderful t ruth about the

Government of God which lies hiddenwithin these seven small lettersW ha t wonderful promises are open to

us-undreamed of powers to remakethe world and to be happy doing itAnd to think that God extends to thisChurch as a body the positions ofPILLARS i n H i s Work .

Not cvcryonc callcd to be an apostlewas an overcomer-Judas departedfrom the faith. And not every one ofyou will succeed. But Gods promisestands firm. We CAN-if we overcomeourselves-STAND TOGETHER AS PIL-LARS IN T H E FAMILY OF G O D

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