good news 1959 (vol viii no 04) apr_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 04) Apr_w

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International MagazIne ofTH E C H U R CH OF GOD

VOL. VIII, NUMBER 4 APRIL, 1959

of aDid Christ DieBROKEN HEART?

upon the cross on the sabbath day, (forthat sabbath day [Thursday] was anhigh day), besought Pilate tha t theirlegs might be broken, and that theymight be taken away. Then came thesoldiers, and brake the legs of the first,and of the other which was crucifiedwith him. But when they came to Jesus,and saw that he was dead already, theybrake not his legs."Thus they broke the legs of the twothieves in order that they might die thesooner. But in this case, they did notbreak Christ's legs because He wasalready dead.Mark 15:42-45 br ings us a few moredetails: "And now when the even wascome, because it was the preparation,that is, the day before raj sabbath,Joseph of Arirnarhaea, an honourablecounsellor, which also waited for thekingdom of God, came, and went inboldly unto Pilate, and craved the bodyof Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if Hewere already dead,"Notice. Pilate marvelled that Christwas already dead! Then he himself calledthe centurion. He could not believe itwhen Joseph of Arimathaea came in andtold him Jesus was dead. So Pilate "askedhim [the centurion] whether he [Jesus]had been any whi le dead."

"And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph."Even Pilate himself was struck by thefact of Jesus' death. What was it that

Jesus was crucified. But how did He die? Was it of a broken heart?Or BECAUSE HE SHED HIS OWN BLOOD WHEN SPEAREDby one of the Roman soldiers?

by Herman L. Hoebwere broken (John 19: 32). But Jesuswas already dead when the soldierscame. What killed Him?Dr. Stroud, in his book, tried to explain that the death of Chr is t resultedbecause His hear t ruptured. He reasoned that the blood passed from theheart into the pericardium or caul ofthe heart where it collected into red clot(blood) and into the limpid serum(which he calls "water"). Therefore,after Jesus was dead, says this doctor, aspear was thrust into His side and outflowed a little blood and water whichhad collected around His heart! So, it isreasoned, Jesus died of a broken heart!

Is This What the Bible Says?Docs the Bible teach us that Jesusdied of a broken heart?Why was Jesus not able to sufferlonger than He did? Was He a weak

ling? I f Jesus died of a broken heart,because He was weak and was sufferingthe penalty of sin, then He died for Hisown sins!But the fact remains - Jesus wasstrong! He obeyed God's laws! Thephysical laws as well as God's spi ri tuallaws. I f Jesus died because lI e was weakand had a broken heart, then He wasmerely paying the penalty of His ownweakness!Now turn to John 11):31-33: "TheJews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain

Died of a Broken Heart?

W HY WAS Jesus Christ ah'eadydead when the soldiers cameto break His legs? What killedHim so soon? Was Jesus weaker thanother rnem?

It is commonly taught today thatJesus died of a broken heart. This ideawas introduced by a Dr. Stroud aboutrhe year 1847, in the book On thePhysio logical Cause of the Death ofChrist.Stroud claimed that Chr is t died of"laceration or rupture of the heart ." Thisidea has since been perpetuated by manyProtestants today. You will find thisidea explained in the InternationalStandard Bible Encyclopedia, on page489 under the article "Blood and Water."But is this idea true? Did Christshed His blood only after He died?This Encyclopedia continues bysaying: "I t is well a ttested that usuallythe suffering on the cross was veryprolonged, It often lasted two or threedays, when death would supervene [thatis, occur] from exhaustion. There wereno physical reasons why Christ should

not hat'B lh'ed oery much longer on thecross than He did ."The question is: Why did Chris t dieso soon?We know from John' s account thatthe twa thieves crucified with Jesusdied sooner than usual because their legs


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Page 2 The GOOD NEWS April, 1959

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

Be sure to notify us immediately ofchange of address.

and the eunuch had been reading fromIsaiah 53. "The place of the scripturewhich he read was this, He was ledas a sheep to the slaughter; and like alamb dumb before his shearer, so openedhe not his mouth."Now, notice further, verse 34, "Andthe eunuch answered Phi lip , and said,1 pray thee, of whom speaks the prophetthis? of himself, or of some other man?Verse 35, "Then Philip opened hismouth, and began at the same scripture,and preached unto him Jesus." Thisprophecy is referring to Jesus. The NewTestament tells us so!And the question is, what man wasprefigured, was foreshadowed by a lambgoing to the slaughter? Jesus Christ,who was our Passover.Now let us read Isaiah 53:8. "Hewas taken from prison and from judgment . . . he was Cut off out of the landof the living: for the transgression ofmy people WAS HE STRICKEN."Notice that in the margin of mostBibles, instead of the last three words,"was he stricken," you will find thewords, "The stroke was upon him."Jesus didn't die of a broken heart, but"for of the transgression of my people,the stroke was upon him." That is, themortal wound of a spear. In other words,a stroke of a spear brought about hisdeath,Notice verse 12, "Therefore will Idivide Him a portion with the great,and He shall divide the spoil with thestrong; because He has poured out Hissoul unto death: and He was numberedwith the transgressors."Did you notice that Christ poured outnt, soul UNTO DEATH? I t doesn't saythat Chris t was already dead, and thenHe poured out His soul. It said Hepoured out His soul unto death. Thepouring out of His soul led to Hisdeath. Death was the consequence ofpouring out His soul. Isn't that clearfrom this verse?What was His soul?

Life in the BloodThis Hebrew word for "sou l"--ne phesh-eomes from the same Hebrewword translated "life" in a number ofplaces in the Old Testament. The life

(soul, nephesh) of the flesh is in theblood (Lev. 17: 11 ). Jesus poured outHis life.And where is the soul or life? I t isin the blood! So Jesus, then, poured outHis blood unto death. In other words,the shedding of blood brought about Hisdeath-so says the Scripture here! Jesusdid not die of a broken heart, and thenafter He was dead, a soldier pricked Hisside, and out dribbled a l it tle water andblood-just to make sure that He wasdead. The Scripture plainly says "thestroke" of a weapon brought about His

did they kill the Iamb? By letting thelamb die of a broken heart?Why no!They shed its blood!As Christ is our Passover-and as thelamb was a type, and had its own bloodshed-so Christ should also shed Hisblood to pay for our sins.

Why Shed the Blood?We read in Hebrews 9:22 that "without" the "shedding of blood" there "isno remission" of sins. I t does not say,"without a broken heart, there is noremission of sins!"God requires of you that you havea contrite spirit and "a broken heart."

That is, you must repent and utterlygive up your old way of life. But whatpays the penalty of your sin is not yourcontrite spirit or your broken heart.What God requires of you doesn't paythe penalty of your sins. What pays thepenalty of your sins is the PassoverChrist-who shed His blood, becausewithout the shedding of blood, there isno remission of sins. But if Jesus diedof a broken heart, then He didn't diefor your sins.Let's notice another evidence, Israelwas to eat the Passover. According toLeviticus 7:24, and 22: 8, and alsoDeuteronomy 14:21 , any animal thatdies of itself, we are forbidden to eat.Israel could sell it to the unconvertedgentiles, if they wanted it; bu t anyclean animal that died of itself, we areforbidden to eat.If Christ died of a broken heart, thenthat is how the passover lamb shouldhave died. But if the passover lambwould have died of itself, it could. nothave been eaten, could it?So there is another proof that thepassover lamb had to have its bloodshed! I t could not have died of itself,because if it died of itself, then itwasn't to be eaten. In other words, aSaviour tha t died of himself was notfit to be our Passover! That's exactlywhat the Scriptures teach!

How Christ Really Died!Let's read further. What does Isaiah53:7-8 teach us? Here is the key versein the Old Testament tha t tells us how

Christ would die! "He," that is, Christ,"He was oppressed, and He was afflicred,yet He opened not His mouth: He isbrought as a lamb to the slaugbter, andas a sheep before her shearers is dumb,so he opened not his mouth."Jesus Christ was brought as a lambto the slaughter. When a lamb isslaughtered, its blood is shed, isn 't it?I t doesn't die of itself. So Christ, then,is pictured as a lamb which had itsblood shed.Now turn to Acts 8:32. Philip hadjoined himself to the Ethiopian eunuch

NUMBER 4OL. VIIIHerbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. HoehExecutive Editor

Roderick C. MeredithGarner Ted ArmstrongAssociate EditorsAddress communications to the Editor,Box 111, Pasadena, CaIifornia.

Copyright, April, 1959By the Radio Church of God

caused the death of Jesus Christ so soon?Christ is Our Passover

Let's read a little further. In I Cor.5:7, the last half of the verse, we read:"For l;;ven Clu isr OUT passooer is sacri ficed for us."Unless Christ was sacrificed-actuallyshed His own blood - you have noSaviour! Unless the original passoverlamb had been sacrificed or slain, hadits own blood shed, the Israelites inEgypt could never have been deliveredout of Egypt.Now read Exodus 12:46: "In onehouse shall it ( the Passover] be eaten;you shall not carry for th ought of theflesh abroad out of the house; neithershall you break a bone thereof ."And, if you will notice John's account, chapter 19,verse 36, "these thingswere done, that the scripture should befulfilled, A bone of him shall not bebroken." Notice! Jesus was already dead,and the soldiers who would have otherwise broken his bones did not, that itmight be fulfilled-which John quotedfrom Exodus 12:46 "A bone of himshall not be broken."Unlike Mosaic sacrifices which hadtheir bones broken, and the body of theanimal separated and cut up and placedon the altar, the passover always remained whole until eaten, because itwas to foreshadow the fact that Christwould not have any bones of His bodybroken.This is one of the major proofs thatChrist is our Passover.Not ice further, Exodus 12:6. Israelwas to kill the passover Iamb. Now how


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April, 1959death as payment of our sins, "Hepoured out his soul unto death."These scriptures mean what they say.They tell us how Christ died!Now notice another scripture, John10: 11. "1 am th e good shepherd," saidJesus, "the good shepherd gives his l ifefor the sheep." His l ife was in His blood,wasn't it? That is where the life of manis. I t does not reside in an immortalsoul. The life of man is in his blood.So, if Christ is the good Shepherd,which He is, then, He must have givenHis life, or His blood, for the sheep.In other words, He was willing to loseHis life, to luse His blood, in order toredeem, or to buy back, human beingswhom the Scripture calls "His sheep."Christ Died for Stephen's MurderersChrist died for the sins of the world.The New Testament tells us t ha t ifyou hate your brother, you are a murderer. We read in the New Testament

that Paul "breathed out threatenings andslaughter" (Acts 9: 1). Paul wanted tokill Christians. Paul was responsible fUImurder. Bur Chris t died for Paul. Chr is tdied to pay the penalty of the sin ofmurder.Now notice what kind of a deathexpiates the sin of murder. Turn toGenesis, 9:6. Here is what we read:"Whoso sheds man's blood, by manshall his blood be shed."

It does not read: "Whoso shall shedman 's b lood shall die of a broken heart."The only way to expiate the sin ofmurder is through the shedding of blood.How did Christ pay the penalty of

those who have murdered and shed theblood of Chris tians? Why, he died bytaking on Himself the same penalty herethat would otherwise have passed onthe murderer. "Whoso sheds man'sblood, BY MAN SHALL HIS BLOODBE SHED." As Christ paid the penal tyof murder instead of the murderersinstead of Paul for example - thenChr is t had to shed His blood to paythe penal ty for that sin! It seems p la in,then, t ha t Chri st died because bloodpoured from HiJ body.A Missing Verse!

Now let us read the account of thedeath of Chr ist , according to the gospe lMatthew wrote , f rom t he Fenton translation. Matthew 27: 45, "Then from midday until three o'clock in the afternoondarkness spread over all the land; andabout three o'clock Jesus called outwith a loud voice, exclaiming. 'Eloi, eloi,lama sabachthani?' that is, '0 My God!My God! to what have You forsakenMe?' And some of the bystanders, onhearing that, remarked, 'He seems tocall for Eli jah .' And at once one fromamong th em ran, and taking a sponge,filled it with sour wine; and placing it

The GOOD NEWSupon a cane, gave Him a drink. Butthe others called out, 'Let Him alone!Let us see whether Eli jah will come andsave Him!'"Now notice carefully, verses and 50:"But another taking a spear piercedHis side, when blood and water cameout. Jesus, however, having again calledout with a loud voice, resigned Hisspirit."Let me read it f rom the Moffatt translation, beginning at verse 48."One of them ran off at once and tooka sponge, which he soaked in vinegarand pu t on the end of a stick, to giveHim a drink. Bur the other said, 'Stop,let us see if Elijah does come to save

Him!' (Seizing a lance, another pricked[i t should be trans lated "pierced"} hisside, and out came wate r and blood.)"We read here both from the Fentonand the Moffatt translations a vital versethat we do not find in the King Jamesversion, and certain others.How is it that this verse does notappear in the King James Version? Whyhaven 't we been reading that the reasonChrist died is that one of the soldiersthat was there came with a lance orspear and pierced His side and out camewater and blood? Now we know froma number of Scriptures, for instance,Zechariah 12: 10 that " they shall lookupon [Him} whom they have pierced."And Revelation 1:7 says that those

who pierced him "shall look upon Him."We have at Ambassador College acopy of the Vaticanus-a Greek NewTestament manuscript written in the300's A.D. I t was first published in 1859by Angelus Maius. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong and some of the others of theminis ters have seen the original copy ofthis codex. In the Greek of Matthew27: 19 is this very verse: "And anothertook a spear and pierced His side andthere came forth wat er and blood."This verse is in the Greek Text inthis manuscript, which, as far as mod

ern scholars know, is the oldest complete manuscript of the New Testament.Many of you may have in your possession the Harmony of the Gospels byRobert son from which Mr. Armstrongoften has quoted over the air. We readthis in the comment on Matthew 27: 49which is included in the footnote onpage 234: "Many ancient authorities addAnd another took a spear and piercedhis side, and there came out water andblood."

In Many Early Manuscripts\V'e have also the New Testament in

Greek published by Dr. Eberhard Nestleand translated into Engli sh from German. In the footnote of Matthew 2749Nestle states that this text appears inmany ancient manuscripts. He lists anumber in which it appears. For in-

Page 3~ A A O c r bt A a ~ w v A 6 y X ~ v

~ V U l ; E V aUTOV nAEUpav." ) : ' - " \ 8 " ~ , , ,K a ~ E ~ ~ ~ EV Uvop K a ~ a ~ ~ aThe verse missing at the end ofMatthew 27:49 as it appears inmany ancient manuscriptsstance, in the Sinai ticus, the Vaticanus(these are two of the most ancient manuscripts), Codex Ephraemi and a number of others which are labeled byscholars as "L," "T," "Z," etc., and suchother manuscr ipts as "33" "79," "892"and "1241."Numerous other early manuscriptshave this text.I have before me also the statement

written by Frederick Henry AmbroseScrivener, in his book entitled Criticismof the New Testament, Vol. II, Page302. After quoting Mat. 27:49, he says:"Thus we read in ..."-and he lists alarge number of manuscripts.He further adds on page 302 suchGreek manuscr ipt s as those labeled byscholars as ..:;, 48,67,11),127, [and} fivegood manuscripts of the Vulgate," whichis the La tin t rans la tion f rom the Greek.It is in "the margin of 1 E [and} VI,"the Jerusalem Syriac . .. and in theEthiopic."When the Ethiop ic t ranslat ion wasmade from the Greek into th e Ethiopian language, this verse was still inthe Greek manuscripts. I t has been deleted since the time those early translations were made!We have here at the AmbassadorCollege library the volume entitled,

The New Testament in Greek by Westcot t and Hart, published in 1896. Thisvolume contains the English commentson the Text in Greek. Under the subject of Matthew 27: 19 in the notes,page 21 and 22 at the back of the book,we read the fol lowing surpr is ing facts.This verse, admit Westcott and Hart,appears in the bulk of the Syrian translations, in the Egyptian, (which Dr.Meredith and I saw in Egypt in 1957),in the Armenian, in the Gothic. It iseven included in Origin' s work [around200 A.D.}, and, as already ment ioned ,it appears in the Erhiopic, Then Westcott and Hort list the various Greektexts that the verse appears in.Ivan Panin carelessly neglected toinclude this verse in his Numeric NewTestament.

Why Left Out o f the Text?Westcott and Hart give us the following surprising story concerning thisverse:"In a letter partially preserved inSyriac (ap. Petro jun. in Assemani B. O.

ii 81 ) he [Severus] mentions the reading [of this verse whi ch is not in theKing James version} "as hav ing been


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Page 4vigorously debated at Constantinople inconnexion with the matter of the pa-triarch Macedonius, when the magnifi-cently written [hu t spurious} copy ofSt. Matthew's Gospel said to have beendiscovered in Cyprus with the body ofSt. Barnabas in the reign of Zeno(?477 ) was consulted and found notto contain the sentence in question ...The 'magnificent' copy of St. Matthew,though [falsely} said to have been writ-ten by Barnabas himself . . . was doubt-less of quite recent origin [that is, ofa very late product ion, wri tten aroundthe same time that the fraud was perpe-trated}, the discovery having been op-portunely made by Anthemius bishop ofSalamis when he was vindicating the in-dependence of Cyprus against the pa-triarch of Antioch, Peter and Fuller . . . .In a sarcastic statement of the Chronicleof Victor Tunenensis," continue Westcott and Horr, he states that "at Consran-tinople the holy Gospels were by com-mand of the emperor censored ..." atthis verse.In other words, this verse, Mat thew27: 49-which you find in the Moffattand the Fenton translations, and in theVaricanus, rhe Ethiopic, and all of thoseearly manuscripts, including the Sinaiti-cus, a copy of which we have at Ambas-sador-this verse was left out as a resultof a controversy that developed over thefinding of what obviously was nothingbur a spurious copy of Matthew's gospel,p lan ted in order to justify the politicalindependence of the Island of Cyprus.They brought forth a text purporredlywritten by Barnabas himself , which wasfound in his supposed tomb. This wasthe same era in which others "discov-ered" the relics of Peter to justify the irpretensions.Although this important verse hadheretofore been in the Greek manu-scripts, as witnessed by the fact tha t itappears in the various translations fromthe Greek, from this time on it gener-ally ceased to continue to appear. Thebulk of Greek manuscripts has official-ly not included this text.Yet God has seen to it tha t the Greekpeople, who are responsible for preserv-ing the Bible in Greek, have themselvesleft us the witness that this uerse orig-inallywas in Matthew! And eventhough they have officially not approvedit in their text since that day-sincearound 510 to 511 AD.-nevertheless,many Greek manuscripts that theycopied still retain it.IT WAS STILL A MARGINALREADING OF THE GREEK TEXTWHEN THE KING JAMES VER-SION WAS MADE! (Walton 's Poly-glotr, published in 1657, Volume VI,page 6 of the appendix on "VariousGrecian Readings." This set of sixvolumes is a recent acquisition of the

The GOOD NEWSCollege Library.) But the translatorsthought it better to leave it out!Thus, by the Greeks' own admissionthis verse was in there till as late as510 AD. when they made the mistakeof removing it.However, this does NOT mean theytampered with the rest of the Bible. Godcommitted the New Testament to theircare. But it does mean that when theydid make this change, they were forcedto leave us witness so that we mightknow what the true original reading ofit is. No other verse has been removedby them. Christ, then, according toMatthew, died because a soldier tooka spear and pierced His side, and outcame water and blood. As a result oftha t frightful wound Christ cried witha loud voice-He screamed-and thenHe expired. That's what caused Hisdeath!No, Christ didn't die of a brokenheart. Christ died because He shed Hisblood for you and for me!Did John Contradict Matthew?

The reason the King James transla-tors did not include this verse is dueto the fact that they, like many others,have misunderstood the inspired state-ment of John concerning the piercingof Christ's side. People have assumedall these centuries that John tells usthat Christ's side was speared afterJesus died and at that time out cameblood and water. They have assumedthat that was the time when Jesus wasspeared, and they reason, "If He wasspeared after He was dead, then howcould He have been speared before Hewas dead?"Matthew's account makes it plainwhen He was speared before He died.The soldiers gave Jesus the sponge. ThenHe was speared in the side. Out camethe water and blood. He cried with aloud.voice and then expired.Jesus knew what was coming, becauseHe said, "My God! My God! why haveyou forsaken me?" He knew Isaiah 53had to be fulfilled-that without theshedding of blood, there is no remissionof sins.

John records for us the same thing!But it has been mistranslated. Let usturn to John, and see how his accountought to be rendered.

"Then came the soldiers, and brakethe legs of the first, and of the Otherwhich was crucified with him. But whenthey came to Jesus, and saw tha t he wasdead already, they brake not his legs"(John 19: 32).It is assumed from the next verse thatthey then pierced His side to see if Hewere ~ e ~ ~ . Therefore the King JamesVersion, and others read, "But one ofthe soldiers with a spear pierced hisside, and forthwith came there out

April, 1959blood and water. And he that saw itbare record, and his record is t rue: andhe knows that he saith true, that youmight believe." John says here is abso-lute proof that Chris t died by sheddingHis blood.But notice what the scripture says!"And when they [the soldiers} cameto Jesus, AND SAW THAT HE WASDEAD ALREADY, they brake not hislegs."They did nor have to do anythingfurther. They saw He was already dead.But why did Jesus die so soon. Johncontinues: "Howbeit one of the soldierswith a spear HAD PIERCED HIS SIDE,and immediately came there out bloodand water"-as properly translated.The verh "pierced," in the Greek, isin the aorist tense. In English we arefamiliar with the present, the imper-fect, and the perfect tenses. The imper-fect in English means that one "usedto do" or "did" something. And theperfect tense, that he "has done" some-thing.Bur in the Greek, the aorist meansnot time of action, bur kind of action.It leaves the past indefinite. The aoristtense in Greek means that an actionwas done at a single moment, and notcontinuously.

The Greek has two major past tenses.One, the imperfect. and the other, theaorist. The imperfect means that theact ion continues in the past. The aoristmeans that it happened once in the past,or from time to time-action widelyspaced apart. The soldiers piercedChrist's side not as a continual actionbut one particular time. And out of Hisside came thereforth blood and water.The aorist tense John used points ourthe type of action, not the time of theaction. The aorist tense of the word"pierced" does not tell you when thespearing occurred-whether they thenspeared Him or whether He had alreadybeen speared. You can know the timeonly by put ting John 19:34 with therest of the Scriptures. Consider!Instead of the soldiers breakingChrist's legs, they saw He was deadalready. Now if they saw He was deadalready, they didn' t have any reason topierce his side. He was dead already!I f they were not sure, what would theyhave done? They would have brokenHis legs! That's what they had come todo. If there was a question or doubt,they would have smashed His legs, butwhen they saw Him, they knew Hewas dead already.So John tells us-nor what they nextdid-bur rather the reason why theydidn't break His legs! He tells us thecause of Jesus' ~ e a t h in verse 34' Oneof the soldiers had previously taken aspear and had pierced his side. That's(Please continue on page 11 )


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God's Church Goes Forward!With more growth and blessings from God, we need moreJVORKERS in the spiritual harvest! Here is more challengingnews of development in the body of Christ!

by Roderick C. MeredithTHIS Church for which Jesus Christdied is cont inuing and accelerat-ing its spiritual growth and POWERto witness! The constant growth we report in these columns should be a realCHALLENGE to everyone of you to prepare to play an even greater part in thiswork to which Christ has called us all.But in addition to the news of overallgrowth that we bring you, many haverequested that we give you many itemsof personal news about the ministers,elders, deacons, their families, and theother leading members in God's Churchtoday. Since we are all one body, "andmembers one of another" (Rom. 12:5) ,it is well that we do understand andshare each other 's trials and blessings asmuch as possible. However, let us always remember that this is not just newsto talk about, but to rejoice in and topray about.We are to become a spiritual "family." But this family is united only inand through CHRIST, the l iving Head.So let us view the news of every development, trial or blessing only as a steptoward our supreme GOAL-in Christthe resurrection and erernallife in God'skingdom. This will give the news ofour Church and brethren real MEANING-and will send us to our knees inprayer!First of all, then, let us rejoice overa recent happy commemoration enjoyedby two of the oldest members in God'sChurch today, Mr. and Mrs. Dave Henion of Jefferson, Oregon. On February22, Mr. and Mrs. Henion celebratedtheir Golden Wedding Anniversary.Knowing God's truth and the spir itualmeaning of marriage has undoubtedlycontributed much to their fifty years ofhappy marriage. This example of enduring love and faithfulness in marriage is something we can all be THANK-FUL for!Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Henion! May God's blessings be upon youas you love and serve Him!And now, let us rejoice in Mr. DeanBlackwell's report on the Chicagochurch, and the inspiring visit recentlypaid it by Mr. Armstrong and Mr. TedArmstrong.Me. Armstrong Visits Chicago Church"February 21st was a very eventfulSabbath in the Chicago and El Pasochurches. We had Mr. Herbert W. Arm-

s trong and Mr. Garner Ted Armstrongboth, the voices of the World Tomorrowbroadcast, present in Chicago to tell ofthe condition of the work and abouttheir trip as well as a very awakeningand inspiring short sermon from themboth. Apparently God knew they wouldbe there even though none of the othersof us did as we had the largest attendance ever in this church, 253 total including children, with a number of ourscattered brethren from Indiana, in fact12 of them, and I from Michigan,present for this eventful Sabbath! Alsowe had 11 new members added to God'sChurch that Sabbath through baptism.Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong accompanied us on to the El Paso countrychurch and delivered there a report aswell as an enlightening sermon on thecoming events in this world as seenthrough the eye of prophecy. We had60 present there, also one of our bet terattendances."One Chicago member has talked tothe principal of the school where his 2children attend about their not part ici pat ing in any Xmas or Easter work, andthe man recognized these days for whatthey were when told and neither of therooms these children are in had anycelebrations.

"The thi rd coldest winter on recordin Wisconsin has kept attendance downthere somewhat, but we have been having about 45 (i n Milwaukee) the lastfew Sabbaths including 12 to 14 children."I am sure we can understand andmutually rejoice with our brethren inChicago over the visit recently paidthem by Mr. Armstrong and GarnerTed Armstrong. Also, it is good torealize that many times God will causeschool and local officials to see somepoints of truth about the pagan holidays just for our sakes.Now let us consider some importantnews and points of exhortation for usall from Mr. Gerald Waterhouse, nowpastor of the churches in Springfieldand Sr. Louis.Report from Mr. Gerald Wau:rhouse"Many of you brethren have beenpraying that God would raise up morechurches throughout the United States,so, perhaps, one could be established inyour area. But, are you praying as fervently for God to send forth laborers in

order that growth in this way can beexperienced? I hope you are because itis truly a blessing from Almighty Godto have the privi lege to be in attendance at one of the local congregations!

"It was only a short while ago whenone of the members of the SpringfieldChurch discovered a need one of thebre thren had. Soon, he was able to getword concerning this need to others.As a result of this knowledge, severalof the brethren visited this member tohelp with some repair work on hishome that he, at the time, could notafford to have done. They did the workand much better than it worrlrl havebeen done by those of this world, and,yet, Out of love and not for a fee. And,as Jesus said, they found that it wasmore blessed to give than to receive,for after the work was done a wonderful opportunity to fellowship affordeditself. And, when several had beenblessed with the privilege of comingto know one another bet ter through theafternoon of fellowship, I arrived tofurther help them with a Bible study."At the close of the day, these people had been furthered in their acquisition of knowledge of God's Wordand of how to better get along withthose they expect to be with throughOut all eternity. This was made possiblethrough a local congregation where people from a very scattered area come together to learn of God's way and tobecome bet ter acquainted with otherswhom God has called out of the world.

An Unusual Healing"This experience is only one of themany blessings bestowed upon thosein the area of one of our churches. Another blessing proved to be quite amiracle to a couple in the St. Louis

Church of God, Mr. and Mrs. LawrenceMueller of Okawville, Illinois, and theirnine year old daughter, Ruth Ann. Theirdaughter contracted measles which persisted for nine days, developing intofurther complications. At the end ofthis period and on Friday evening whenthe services are conducted in St. Louis,Ruth Ann had blisters which had brokenout all over her lips. These blisters bledand caused intense pain while she layin bed, making it almost impossible forher to eat. It was a hopeless conditionfor a speedy recovery withou t God'sintervention. However, Mr. Mueller had


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Page 6faith in a God who does perform miracles and came on to church for theservice and to request that I anoint ahandkerchief tha t he could take to hisdaughter.

"When he requested the handkerchief, I discovered that the room inwhich the anoint ing is generally donewas locked. It seemed that there was noplace that we could use for prayer . But,about that time, we learned that wecould take the elevator down part way,lock it, and remain in the shaft justlong enough for me to pray to God andanoint the handkerchief. This was doneand Mr. Mueller left with the handkerchief."The following Friday evening , Mr.and Mrs. Mueller and Ruth Annwere in church. Ruth Ann had beencompletely healed! When? Mrs. Mueller said that a complete change cameover their daughter just af ter 11 p.m.the previous Friday evening. That wasexactly the time when Mr. Mueller andI were in the elevator forty miles awayfrom where his daugh te r lay sick. Godhad heard the prayer and had intervened as soon as the handkerchief wasanointed and quite some t ime before itwas ever applied to the afflicted daughter. Such an incident shows what a loving God we serve and how soon He iswilling to intervene for His people!And, in turn, many of us in the St. LouisChurch of God rejoiced and thankedGod when we came together to worshipHim on the fol lowing Sabbath.

"God not only extends immediat ehelp to the children of those in HisChurch, bur He also affords His muchneeded help to His own begotten children in times of emergencies. For anexample of this, I want to relate whatGod did for one of the members in theSpringfield Church of God, Mr. LorenE. Stuart of Branson, Missouri."Mr. Stuart burnt himself quite badlyon his left hand one morning-to thebone on one finger! Immediately, hecalled me by long distance for ananointed cloth. Soon after his call, thepain subsided and he was able to go onto work that morning-he never lost aday of work because of this burn thatcould have kept him from his workseveral days, otherwise. The handstarted to mend in a very marvelousmanner and in just a little more than aweek, it was hardly discernible that hehad experienced such a severe burn!"There have been many other timeswhen we in local congregations haveseen God perform in various ways toheal, deliver from trial and bless Hispeople. Through these things, all of uscan be encouraged and be very thankful God has seen fit to raise up thenumber of churches He has throughoutthe United States. And, we pray that

The GOOD NEWSGod will supply more ministers andcall out many more in different areasso that many of you will be meetingin local congregations in the future andsharing these added blessings with oneanother!"Let us take Mr. Waterhouse 's repor tand admonition to heart! And let usthank God for the MIRACLES He isperforming through His called ministers!

New Church Starts BIGEven our best anticipations were surpassed Sabbath, Feb. 28, at the newchurch in Sherman Oaks! As we haveexplained in this column, the newchurch in Sherman Oaks, California, willbe pastored by the ministers from headquarters here at Pasadena. It is onlyabout an hour's drive and is still in theLos Angeles metropolitan area.We were surpriseel to finel that atthe first session of this new church, onFeb. 28, t here were over 80 adults in attendance, i nc luding those f rom Pasadena! Mr. Norman Smith-who isslated to be the first pastor of this newchurch-and Mr. Leroy Neff were there

to conduct this first service. Actually,most of the people in attendance hadalready been attending most of the timeby driving clear over to Pasadena. Butthis new church will help them muchmore in a personal way, as well as saving much driving time on the Sabbathfor many families. Many Co-Workersand prospective members in the areahave not even been visited yet-untilthe church gets better established. Thechurch has already grown past the100 mark and may outgrow its meeting place even sooner than we hadthought! This is something to be verythankful for, but just the same thisnewest of God's local churches needsyour prayers as we all know that thereare many trial s and problems ahead forthis local group helping to comprise thebody of Christ on earth today. Manythanks are due Mr. Don Billingsley whohelped as much as anyone to start thisnew church on its way and who foundthe hall where they meet.

Key Men in PasadenaMentioning the above about Mr.Billingsley brings to mind the fact thatin giving this "personal" side of thechurch news, it will help you scattered

brethren to know who many of the keymen are here in the Pasadena church andheadquarters besides the evangelists andleading ministers that most of you already know. There are many men hereat headquarters occupying vital officesin God's Church today. Some of themare ministers-some are not.I will try to tell you about a few ofthese men in this article and will in-

April, 1959form you of others in future issues.Mr. Don Billingsley, whom I havejust mentioned, certainly fits the description of one occupying a "key" posit ionhere at God 's headquarters. As severalother such men, he is not yet tOO wellknown among many of you brethrenbecause he does not write articles orspeak on the broadcast .

Yet his help has been of immeasurable value in this area and in conducting the annual feasts at the Tabernacleeach fall.Mr. Billingsley was one of those menwho spent some years in the militaryservice before coming into God's truth.He came to Pasadena as a new memberinterested in learning more about thetruth. He began to grow and help othersas he had opportunity. Later, Godopened the way for him to be the college chauffeur. In this posit ion, he oftenhad cert ain idle moment s du ring eachday when he would be waiting on someone whom he was driving on some business errand. He did not waste thesemoments! Rather, it seems that he wasalmost constantly STUDYING the Bibleand growing in grace and in knowledge.

Qualilieu Because uf the "Fruils"Consequently, he soon became knownas an able counselor, spiritual leaderand friend ru all of the college students,employees, and many of the churchmembers. In due time-because of these"fruits"-he was ordained as a deaconin God's Church. I t was at this time that-s ince he was here at headquartershe began to help organize the other

deacons in setting up the orderly system of handling parking, the tentspaces, and related problems that comeup each fall at the Feast of Tabernacles.Working with Mr. Roy Hammer andBuck Hammer, he has helped to sparkplug this phase of things to the pointwhere everything has been greatlyspeeded up in the handl ing of physicalproblems and necessities during God'sannual festivals.

Continuing to grow and serve, Mr.Billingsley was ordained as an elder inGod's Church last June along with several others-as we reported to you atthat time. He began working as the assistant to Mr. Dick Armst rong on thevisit ing program for the large PasadenaChurch and the entire metropolitanarea.He grew in ability, and soon beganbringing sermonettes in the localchurches. Since he began to bring forthfruit not only as a visiting elder bu ta preach ing minister, he was sent up toOregon to join Mr. Richard Prince, another local elder, in t ak ing care of theEugene church at a time when Mr.Dorothy was recalled to Pasadena to(Please continue on page 11)


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What Church Membersshould know aboutMASONRY

Where did Masonry originate? Some say Solomon originated it,others say Moses. Can this be true? Here is the shocking answerfrom the wri tings of the Masons themselves!by Jack R. Elliott

M ASONS place much stress on thestatement that "Freemasonry isboth honorable and ancient."But when we search into the recordedhistory of the Lodge, the picture issomewhat confused, and one is not overly impressed With either its honor orits age."The precise origin of the societyhas yet to be ascertained," says the En-cyclopaedia Britannica, "and is not likely to be, as the early records are lost."

Origin ObscureNevertheless, much has been writtento justify the claim of its ant iqu ity andhonorable character. Some writings arebased upon actual records which dateback to the sixteenth century, but mosthave served only to amuse or repel inquirers.The earl ies t work on the subject waspublished in London in 1723 by the

"Rev." James Anderson, and it states:"Grand Master Moses often marshalledthe Israelites into a regular and generalLodge while in the wilderness . . . KingSolomon was Grand Master of the Lodgeat Jerusalem .. . Nebuchadnezzar became the Grand Master Mason," andmany more pages of similar absurditiesare to be found. These statements arequoted and declared absurd, ridiculous,and extravagant by no less authoritythan the Encyclopaedia Britannica (see"Freemasonry," p. 732). Undaunted Masons cont inue to make such claims, andmany members of the Lodge believethem implicitly.Other "appeals to antiquity" writtenduring the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies and offered in abbreviatedform by the Encyclopedia Americana(under "Masonic Fraternity," p. 348)are (a ) that the history of the race wasthe story of Masonry, beginning with themigration from the Garden of Eden;(b ) that Freemasonry sprang from thePatriarchal period; (c ) that the societywas the successor of the ancient mysteries of the Orient; (d) that the templeof Solomon was its cradle; (e ) tha t theCrusaders and the Knights Templar car-

ried it forward from their times; (f )that the Roman colleges of artificers andbuilders of the Middle Ages handeddown the craft to posterity.Workmen's Guilds

When we examine the form andceremony of Freemasonry, we find amarked resemblance between it andthe old guild systems which flourishedin Europe at the time Freemasonry cameinto existence.These guilds played an important partin the social, religious, and political life.They, in turn , were pat terned after theearlier Roman guilds or fraternities. TheRoman guilds seem to have been chieflyreligious and political societies, whilethe associations of workmen known asthe Roman colleges of artificers were hereditary castes enjoying certain privilegesand bound to certain duties-Encyclopedia Americana, caption, "Guild." Eventhese Roman guilds and colleges are notthe oldest forms of such societies, butseem to be a connecting link betweenancient pagan societies and the moremodern ones.Freemasonry is merely a modern fraternity carrying on the outward form ofthese older societies. One did not necessarily develop into the other, but eachhas had a part in maintaining the earlypagan doctrines and social practices.Some of the practices commonly foundamong them arc: oaths of admission,str ict requirements for admission andcontinued membership, special privilegesfor the initiates which are zealously protected from outsiders, closed meetingsfor members which are often of socialand religious nature, tokens and secretsigns by which they recognize one another, and mutual assistance amongmembers in time of need.Since these practices are so commonto Freemasonry, and since Freemasonry,as we know it, apparently came intobeing at the time the guilds were goingout of style, the Lodge has obviouslyborrowed their structure. It is a convenient framework in which to concealthe practice of the ancient mysteries.

It was not until 1717 A.D. that theMother Grand Lodge of England wasformed. This central lodge was established in order tha t there might be central authority and standardization ofpractice. The smaller local lodges mighthave existed for several centuries priorto the establishment of this MotherGrand Lodge.Shortly after the local lodges becameorganized into grand lodges, Freemasonry came into the cOntempt of the RomanChurch.

Offended Roman ChurchTheir independent a tt itude towardchurch authority, which had supportedthe earlier guilds, undoubtedly broughtabout the schism. The Old Charges ofMasonry written about 1738 states: "Inancient times the Christian Masons werecharged to comply with the Christian

(Roman Catholic) usages of each country where they traveled and worked:but Masonry being found in all nat ions,even of diverse religions, is now generally charged to adhere to that religionin which all men agree."This attitude, along with the threa tit imposed, infuriated the RomanChurch. Forbidding loyal Catholics tojoin Masonic ranks was not enough,for to do so cut off its source of information and the Catholic Church nolonger knew what went on behind Masonic doors. Lodges could then be a realthreat to Catholic supremacy and couldbecome foreign outposts in Catholiccountries.In 1/38, the same year that the Masonic charge was written, Pope ClementXII issued a Bull of excommunicationentitled, The Condemnation of the So-ciety of Conventicles de Liberi Mttratori,or of the Freemasons.

The reasons for the condemnation areprinted in the Catholic Encyclopedia under the caption, "Masonry," and repeatedin abbreviated form in a booklet entitled, May Catholics Be Masons?, asfollows:(1 ) "Freemasonry has peculiar zsn-sectarian, naturalistic character, by which


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Page 8theoretically and practically it undermines the Christian faith (o r Catholicfaith) . . . creating religious indifferentism and contempt for orthodoxy andecclesiastical aUThoriTy.(2 ) "The inscrutable secrecy, and theoaths of secrecy and fidelity of Masonryand Masonic work, cannot be justifiedin their scope, their object, or theirform, and cannot, therefore, induce anyobligation.( 3) "Such societies involve a gravedanger for the security and tranquilityof the state and for the spiritual healthof souls."From the time of Clement XII , sevensupreme pontiffs of the Catholic Churchhave repeated the condemnation ofFreemasonry for substantially the samereasons. This accounts for the enmi tybetween the tWO organizations.There may very likely have been another more important reason for theCatholic action which the Pope wouldnot dare mention. The Masonic devotiontoward searching out the ancient mysteries makes him immediately aware ofthe great similarity between these Catholic mysteries and that of the Ancients.Rome could not afford to encouragesuch an open exposure of the source ofher doctrine. Her symbols of crosses,circles. trinities, holidays and statutesbegin to reveal secrets not allowed outside her most private chambers.

Modern Masonic HistorySoon after the formation of theMother Grand Lodge in England in1717, grand lodges were set up in Ire

land, 1725, and in Scotland, 1736.These lodges became the centers ofMasonry and began to establish o thergrand lodges all over the world.The Grand Lodge of England instituted its first lodge in Paris in the year1732, but one was formed still earlieron the Continent at Gibraltar 17281729. Others were also opened in NorthAmerica in 1730, Germany 1733,Portugal 1735, Holland 1735, Switzerland 1740, Denmark 1745, Italy 1765,Russia 1771, and Sweden 1773. In mostof these countries, g rand lodges weresubsequently created and continue tothis date, except in those countries,such as Italy, where no Masonic Lodgesare permitted.Lodgeswere constituted in India from1730 (Calcutta), 1752 (Madras), and1758 (Bombay); in Jamaica 1742, Antigua 1738, and St. Christopher 1739,by the grand lodges of England, Ireland,and Scotland.Shortly afterward these grand lodgeshad representatives at work throughoutthe whole civilized world.In North America, Masons flourishedin individual l o d ~ e s from a very earlydate. They had little regard for warrantS

The GOOD NEWSand charters, and no a tt empt at organization was made unt il the Grand Lodgewas established in Pennsylvania in 1730.This grand lodge, the first in America,was over the territories of New York,New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

It was under the direction of DanielCoxe, who was appoin ted "ProvincialGrand Master" on June 5, 1730 by theDuke of Norfolk, Grand Master of thePremier Grand lodge of England.

I t became known as the York, orAmerican, Rite.The rival g rand lodges in England,together with those of Ireland andScotland, chartered lodges everywhere inthe new country.After flourishing for almost a century,Freemasonry in the Uni ted States suffered a severe setback in 1826.

Will iam Morgan MurderIn this year (1826) an ex-Masonnamed William Morgan a ttempted toreveal the mysteries of Freemasonry andgive to the outside world a description

of the ceremonies observed in the Masonic Lodges of the first six or sevendegrees.Morgan had presented the material toa printer by the name of David C. Millerto be published in book form whenthe thing became known. The contentsof this expose are still available fromthe Ezra A. Cook Company in a bookentitled Freemasonry Exposed, by Captain William Morgan.The mere rumor that such a book wasto be published created much astonishment and indignation among the Masonic fraternity of western New York.Particularly incensed were those whohad associated with Morgan in the meetings of the Lodges.Great efforts were immediately madeby a large number of Freemasons tostop publication of the book. First, theyhad Morgan arrested for debt, then theyswore a complaint against him forlarceny. While he was being prosecuted,they searched his apartments for themanuscript, bu t in vain. Finally, theykidnapped him from a jail at Canandaigua and took him forcibly by meansof a closed carriage to Fort Niagara,which was then unoccupied, and theremurdered him in cold blood.Even this drastic action of theMasonic brethren did not succeed insuppressing Morgan's expose. Part of ithad already been pu t to press by Miller,and the remainder of the manuscriptremained undiscovered by the Masons.who searched his premises. This andother outrages, among which were theburning of the printing office, alarmedthe citizens of western New York. Several arrests of the supposed kidnapperstook place, and persons arrested werebrought to trial. These records could

April, 1959be verified by checking the court files.Among those arrested, five men, including the sheriff of Niagara County,were tound guilty of participation inthe abduction, and were sentenced tovarious terms of imprisonment. Themurderers, however, remained un-punished.Meant ime, the whole book had beenpublished, and its contents had madepublic the somewhat ferocious oaths ofFreemasons. Excitement was immediateand immense. It spread all over thecountry and lasted many years. Freemasonry became unpopular and manypersons, including a great number ofministers, withdrew from the Lodge.Many lodges and chapters were disbanded, whi le their officers and members publicly renounced all future connection with the Masonic order.The murderers of Morgan, althoughknown, were never prosecuted. Thisfact, kept before the people by a powerful political party which arose at thattime, fanned the growing anti-Masonicfeeling.Patience and perseverance on the

part of the few remaining Masons paidoff, however. A few years later the thingdied down and Freemasonry began againto flourish. It was explained that themurderers of Morgan were simply ruffians and by no means represenrar ive- ofthe main body of the fraternity.As the years passed and the Societyonce again gained repute, its membership grew to nearly six millionmembers and boasted some of the mostfamous and important men of our nation. Most presidents of the UnitedStates have been Masons. In its rankstoday we find ministers, doctors, lawyers,jurists, politicians; in short, the mostinfluential men of our time. Freemasonry is no inconsequential secretSociety!

Masonically Preferred HistoryWhile this is all that history givesus on the origin of Masonry, the accepted origin among Masons varies fromlodge to lodge. The origin accepted byany particular group seems to be theone preferred by most of the members

in that group. Most of the lodges inthe United States claim to be Christianin character and therefore claim a Biblical origin. Even here they cannot agreeas to specific time or founder. Some sayAdam was its founder, others say Mosesor Solomon.Some of the more earnest. and seriousminded claim the Ancient Essenes originated Masonry largely because of thesimilarity of their doctrine. The Esseneswere noted for their early practice ofmix ing Old Testament teaching withthe t radit ions of the ancient mysteries.They apparently followed the Cabalistic


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April, 1959 The GOOD NEWS Page 9

Figure IIThe Two Johns-So-Colled

doctrines, the wri tten form of which isreferred to by Masons as the Kabala,and is admittedly a chief source of Masonic doctrine. The Kabala is admiredby Masons as being "a doctrine so lugical, so simple, and at the same time soabsolute" (Morals and Dogma, p. 745).They picture the Bible (Old Testament)as containing "allegories expressed inan incomplete and veiled manner andas being the religious science of the Hebrews." "The Pentateuch and the prophetic poems (Psalms) were merely elementary books of doctrine, morals, orliturgy"; according to them, "and thetrue secret and tradi tional philosophywas only written afterward (in theKahala) ."Today in modern "Christian" lodgesit is becoming more popular to acceptthe two Johns-John the Baptist andthe Apostle John-as the ones whostarted the first lodge. This absurditycomes from a confusion of modern interpretations of the symbols pictured inFigure 11, with their ancient meaning.With tongue in eheek Lodge "Masters" teach thei r "Christian brethren"that the Lodge is dedicated to St. Johnthe Bapt is t and St. John the Evangelist,whu are pictured on the border of acircle.The large circle supposedly circumscribes the candidate who is representedby the dot in the center. These so-calledpatron saints of Masonry represent two"perfect parallels" in Christianity as wellas Masonry. Upon the vertex of thecircle rests the book of the "Holy Scriptures" which points Out the whole dutyof man. They moralize that a Masonshould guard his acrions so tha t he doesnot stray outs ide the guidance of thesegreat authorities. "I f he keeps himselfthus circumscribed," they reason, "it isimpossible that he should materiallyerr."

I f this were the true meaning of thesesymbols and if Masons lives were trulypatterned by them, the Lodge wouldhave the upright character of which itboasts. In reality it is only the popularmeaning used to satisfy the large numbers who go through the Lodge withoutseeking the deeper meanings of Masonicphilosophy. These are only "vulgar"members who, according to Masons,have swarmed into the Temple for selfish gain (see the work by Pike, p. 37)and are not capable of learning thedeeper meanings.Adept Claim Paganism "Polluted" by

the BibleMost of these modern Bible additionscame into the Blue Lodge through theYork Rite. The adept of the ScottishRite deplore their int roduct ion as pollutions of the ancient (pagan) rites.Albert Pike, the great Scottish Ri te

authority, said in his book, Morals andDogma, p. 17, that it was a waste oftime even to comment upon this incongruous (Bible) meaning. He showed(p. 105) t ha t the parallel lines do notrepresent the two Johns at all and thatthe Bible was added only recently. Hesaid the parallel lines represent thesame thing that the two columns, Jachinand Boaz, do. All have a more reconditeand fruitful meaning in ancient symbol. For the true answer he suggests thatthe adept should look in the Kabalah(the supposedly entire, "perfect," uniquetheology in secret t radi tions which areexpressed by the half-pagan Kabala, orCabala).Later in his book (p . 429) Pike revealed tha t "two parallel lines whichsupport the circle of the Lodge" are

from an ancient symbol consisting of aring supported by two serpents. This wassupposedly "ernblernatical of the world,protected by the power and wisdom ofthe Creator."You and I of course know that aserpent represents Satan the Devil. Thissymbol then shows that the ancientpagans were actually worshiping Satanas the creator and sustainer of this world!Pike further shows (p. 506) that thetwo columns called Jachin and Boaz andthe parallel lines actually represent olderpagan symbols: the solstices, Cancer andCapricorn, the two gates of heaven, thetwo pillars of Hercules. He furthershowed that the point in the circle represented the sun god (Osiris). Theseparallel lines represent limits-good andbad, positive and negative, active and


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Page 10passive, light and darkness-beyondwhich the sun god will not go.This proves conclusively where Masonic symbols come from and that theirleaders know where rhey come Iroiu.Their meaning is derived from the samediabolical tenets by which Satan hasposed himself as an angel of light torule over men. Men of all ages haveflocked into these temples to worshiphim; many in ignorance, but some knowing full well what they were doing.

Why would they do such a thing?Because men of this understanding andability can become "Masters" and even"Grand Masters" of the Lodge. Theycan gain great power and influence inthis world which they could not accomplish in any other way. It is the pricethey pay for greatness.Why the Wolf Wears Sheep's ClothingAlbert P ike expressed Masonic understanding of the practice whichcloaked the Ancient Pagan Mysteries inChristian sounding names. In his instructions (Morals and Dogma, p. 247)to the Knights of the East and West,the seventeenth degree of Masonry,he said that at the time of John theBaptist the old philosophical and religious systems were growing much alikebecause, in the great world ruling empires which existed since Alexander,the walls of separation between Greece,Egypt, Persia, and India were throwndown and the people intermingledeverywhere.He claimed the West eagerly connected the ir faith with those of the

East ( th is should not have been too difficult because they both Lame from thesame old Babylonish source) and theOrient hastened to learn the t radi tionsof Rome. The Jews and Egyptians-before, the most exclusive of all peoplesyielded to that eclecticism which prevailed among their masters, the Greeksand Romans.Thus men who embraced Christianitybegan to mingle the old mysteries withthe new-a mixture of Christianity andPhilosophy, or Apostolic teaching andtraditions of Mythology.Truth for the Simple-Mystery for

the WisePike went on to explain the Masonicview (p. 248) that the Apostles, speaking to mankind in gpncral, stressedonly the articles of the vulgar faith; buttransmitted the mysteries to "superiorminds" from generation to generation inesoteric traditions. To this new scienceof mysteries was given the name Gnosis

(o r Gnostic).Pike confirms the fact that their basicdoctrine and ideas were derived fromPlato, Philo, the Kabalah, and thesacred books of India and Egypt.

The GOOD NEWSWhat this amounts to is a bold-facedadmission that most Christian andMasonic doctrine is a mixture of Bibleteaching and pagan mysteries, and thatthe wise among them favor the mysteriesas being deeper and wiser and spurnthe plain Bible Scripture as being fitonly for the vulgar masses. A rite, parable, letter, number, figure, word, etc.

became a symbol, and he who had thekey of science would interpret each according to the light he possessed.The uneducated and narrow-mindedwithin their ranks heedlessly take themat face value while those who haveears to hear receive the "divine mysteries" because they have received the"sacred ini tiat ion" and have the intelligence to understand the deeper meaning.This thinly veiled admission byMasonry's most famous apostle, AlbertPike, explains why Masons call theirtemple Solomon's Temple when it wasin actuali ty patterned after the greatestof pagan temples-the earth covered bythe cloudy canopy of the heavens. Thedivinity which they worship within itswalls is the sun, of which they blandlywrite."There is nu splendor beyond thatwhich sets its morning throne in thegolden East; no dome subl ime as that ofHeaven; no beauty so fair as that of theverdant, blossoming earth; no place,however invested with the sanctit ies ofold time, like that home which is hushedand folded within the embrace of thehumblest wall and roof."By the same pract ice they call HiramAbiff the widow's son and quote I Kings7:13-14. His name and situa tion havecertain similarities which can be twistedunt il they almost appear to fit, eventhough many absurdities exist.

Hiram was a very skilled artificer,and the building of the temple wouldbe a convenient pro jec t for the characters of the legend to be engaged in,since the early Lodge was supposed tohave been engaged in the buildingand decorating of splendorous stonestructures.A careful study of the Holy Scriptures,however, reveals that this Hiram Abiffhas nothing in common with the Hirammentioned in I Kings. Neither is thetemple around which the legendarystory unfolds, the t emple of Solomon.The temple of God, buil t by Solomon,was finished, but the one in the legendremained unfinished. The names wereJUSt added in "friendly" pagan-Christiantradition.There is a t emple in antiquity, however, which is famous because it wasnever completed. The account is givenin Genesis 11. It is the tower of Babel!I t was built so that its top (also thehead or ruler) might reach unto heav-

April, 1959en (rule supreme), and to make forits builders a name, lest they be scattered abroad upon the face of the ea rth(see verse 4).Over the incomplete state of thistower, one so-called virgin may wellafford to weep, because it wrecked, fora time, her plans and those of her husband who hoped to be tha t head. Thesetwo are the Nimrod and Semiramismentioned earlier.Virgin, Column and Time SignificantThe symbol of the Virgin, Columnand Time presented at the end of thelegend (represented in Figure l a inthe last installment in the GOOD

NEWS) is also quite significant. InMasonic allegory, "The beautiful virgin(Semiramis) weeping over the brokencolumn, denoted the unfinished temple(tower) and the untimely death of ourGrand Master Hiram Abiff (Nimrod)."Alber t P ike continues: "The bookopen before her, [means} that his virtuesthere lay on perpetual record.""The sprig of acacia (the pagan symbol of life which, in one account, ledher to discover her husband 's grave) inher right hand denotes the timely discovery of the body." (The body whichthe ancient pagans tried to preserve,and which action gave rise to anotherpagan philosophy-that so long as abody remained tn a state of preservation, the person's spirit continued toexist. )"The urn in her left, that his asheswere there safely deposited (a tt empt sto preserve the body otherwise musthave failed) to pe rpetua te the remembrance of the amiable, distinguished,and exemplary character." (It was expla ined ear lier that this fallen god wassupposedly raised to immortal life andbecame the sun god.)"And Time behind her standing, unfolding her ringlets (she grew older)and counting her hair (Other, moresecret accounts show him anointing herwith Ambrosia, the food of the gods,which supposedly gave her eternal life.) ,that Time (the god of time, Osiris),patience and perseverance will accomplish all things." Thus it was that pagansmade a noble a tt empt to cover up theirdisgrace, and Satan patched up hiscounter fe it that he might continue topalm himself off as the god of theuniverse.Pagans have continued to use theidea tha t time, patience and perseverance will accomplish all things. By it( theory of evolrrr ion ) they try to denythe creation of the universe by a Supreme Creator, and in so doing theypractice their teaching by patientlyfurcillg the theory upon a gullible, hapless generation.(T a be concluded in the next issue)


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Church Goes Forward

Did Christ Dieof a BROKEN HEART?

(Continued from page 6)

April, 1959

take up teaching dut ies and aid Mr. TedArmstrong. Returning to Pasadena atthe minister ial conference in January,Mr. Billingsley was again called intoservice in the local visiting program,and again became the local elder co-ordinat ing most of the program. In doing hisjob, he has helped scores of people and- a s we have seen-he was the one whorecently helped prepare the way for thenew Church of God at Sherman Oaks,California.He is an outstanding example of acompetent lay-member in God's Churchhaving pushed himself and s tudied andprepared-not being able to a ttend college full-time-and qualifying for animportant office in the ministry of JesusChrist today.So with this introduction, meet Mr.Don Billingsley. He may have opportuni ty to help many of you in the future,so give him your prayers and your supPOrt and co-operation in every way. Heis an important member of the "team"on which all of us have a marvelousopportunity to serve the l iving God!

Meet Mr. Leroy NeffAnother key man at God's headquarters is Mr. Leroy Neff. Mr. Neffcame into God's Church in Portland,Oregon, back in 1952. He came in asan ordinary but faithful member, andwas making a success of his job as an

insurance investigator. He was soonnoted as a real STUDENT in the Por tlandChurch-one who was quickly learning and saturating his mind wit h theWord of God, and who soon acquireda very superior knowledge of the scriptures. However, he did not becomepuffed up by this knowledge, bu t ratherused it in a quiet, helpful way to serveand upbuild others. In due time, Godmade it possible for him and his familyto move to Pasadena so that he couldenter Ambassador College. He and hisfamily had to sacrifice many living comforts in order to do this, but they werewil ling to pay the price. Soon, Mr. Neffwas employed in the Letter Openingand Mail Reading Department. He wasa faithful and a zealous worker, andconstantly using his head to think ofways to do the job better and moreefficiently. Later on, when the man thenin charge of the depa rtment left to become a min ister in the field, Mr. Neffwas placed in charge of this entire department.Since he has assumed this responsibility, the depar tment and God's entire work have multiplied many times inthe number of letters received each day

The GOOD NEWS

and the amoun t of work there is to do.Mr. Neff has grown with the department. As an older man, he has provedboth an outstanding student and aspir itual leader on God's campus. Consequently, he has long been sought out asa spiritual counselor to help others. Solast June Mr. Leroy Neff also was ordained-because of Christ's calling andhis outstanding "fruits"-as an elderin the Church of God. Since then, manymore responsibilities have come hisway-as seems to be the lot with all ofGod's ministers. In addition to his otherduties, he is now helping to wri te manyletters and solve many problems havingto do with the draft status of the youngmen in the church.

He will graduate and receive his A.B.degree in June, but because of the im-portance of his posit ion and his outstanding ability to handle it, he willprobably remain here at headquarters.So he, too, is another lesser known but"key" man in God's Church today. Letus all give him our thanks and most ofall give God thanks and pray that Godwill continue to use and inspire Mr.Neff and all His called and chosen servants!We may also be thankful that bothof these men are assisted by faithfulwives who play an important part intheir ministry! And Mr. and Mrs. Neffhave been blessed with three fine chil

dren who are growing up in the atmosphere of God's Church and will bereceiving the blessings of being taughtin Imperial Schools here in Pasadena.What About You?

Learning about how these men-aswell as many others-have come in toGod's Church and made themselves ableto serve, ought to inspire all of you todo your part to prepare for greaterservice in God's Church. Are you hav-

(Continued from page 4)the reason Christ died. He shed-asIsaiah said-His blood, or His soul. Hepoured it out unto death.Further, notice that John tells us thatthere came out "blood and water."Matthew worded it "water and blood."Many have tried to claim that the versein Matthew was added from John, butif it were just copied from John, thenit would have read "blood and water."

Page 11ing a vital pan in God's work today?Ask yourself these questions: Howimpor tant a servant of Jesus Christ areyou? How much "fruit" do you bringforth as a "light" in your neighborhood,as a Co-Worker and t ithe payer in God'swork, as one who spends t ime in reallyearnest prayer for God's work, as onewho really helps and upbui lds others inhis local church-if you attend one?There is plenty of room to GROW, isn'tthere?God inspired Paul to tell us: "Forby one Spirit are we all baptized intoone body" ( I Cor. 12: 13). He went onto say: "But now hath God set themembers everyone of them in the body,as it hath pleased Him" (Verse 18).Yes, we arc the body of Christ todaythe physical instrument that Jesus Christis using to accomplish His work ofspreading His truth as a witness to thenations, and the feeding of the littleflock whom He calls! But we are notonly a physical instrument, but a spirit-ual organism through which Christworks, and in which He dwells. As thischapter in I Corin thians indicates, weare given various gifts of wisdom,kuowledge, faith, healings, miracles,prophecy, discerning of spirits, kinds oftongues and interpretations of tongues.We are to constantly grow in character and ability, and to exercise all ofthese gifts or "tools" of service in LOVEas chapter 13 of this marvelous bookteaches us. So do yom' part! Pray andstudy and GROW. Then ask for wisdom- t he first "tool" mentioned in thischapter. Learn to improve your Godgiven abilities to serve as an instrumentof Jesus Christ wherever you are now- and wherever God may call you inthe future.Rejoice in the news we have givenyou. Pray for these ministers we havetold you about-and for all of God'sministers and His work as a whole. Butthen strive to prepare yourself as aliving, vita l ins trument in the hands ofthe living Christ!

But Matthew doesn't put it in that order.He says out came "water and blood."Matthew is writing as God led him towrite it. He wrote it decades beforeJohn wrote his gospel.Why Blood and Water?

When the spear cut that gaping holein Jesus side, it literally ripped Him upand cut His bladder open, and outpoured water. The word "water" is no


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Page 12 The GOOD NEWS April, 1959

Even th e Ethiopic translation of th e New Testament,which was made shortly after apostolic times, containsthe record of th e spearing of Christ's side in Mat. 27:49.

A Latin translation-which several of you may beable to read-is at th e right.-From an ancient Polyglott in Ambassador Library.more than a polite form for urine. Inother words, he had been in the handsof men all this time, ever since theprevious evening. And His captorsgave Him no peace. What the soldiersdid was to cut Him open, and out camethe water from the bladder, and theblood He shed for our sins.Jesus' blood was thoroughly shed. Itwas not a little sack around the heartthat dribbled some blood out when Hisside was pricked! You will find theproof that His blood was all drainedout if you read the Book of Acts. Peter,speaking of Christ's resurrection, ACts2: 31, said: "He (David] seeing thisbefore spake of the resurrection ofChrist, that his soul (the body] wasnot left in hell, nei ther his flesh did seecorruption."

I f Christ died of a broken heart, andjust the blood which collected aroundthe heart was shed, and all of the restof the blood was in the body, Christ'sbody UJould have corrupted in threedays' time.Jesus Christ was buried for threedays and three nights in the tomb. Butthe fact is, His body had no blood left!It was all shed! It is the blood tha t firstcorrupts. Flesh corrupts much moreslowly. Because blood was not there,the flesh of Christ's body did not startto corrupt! That didn't mean tha t Hehad some kind of immortal flesh assome people reason. It means that, asall of the blood was gone from Hisbody, there was no corrupting agentand over a three-day per iod of time, theflesh would not have begun to disintegrate into dust.Christ was mortal flesh. He tookupon Himself the flesh of man (Hebrews 2:14). There was nothing immortal about His flesh.Whatever blood was in the lowerportion of His body and His legs thatdidn't pour out of His side, drainedout from His wounds in the feet as aresult of the nails that pierced them.Christ is our Saviour! Christ did dieby shedding of blood. This PassoverSeasonwe should have re-commemorated

that sad event with real feeling.And as a result of tha t terrible spearwound, and the complete loss of blood

Letters toJaundice Healed"Dear Mr. Armstrong:"I surely enjoyed reading the article'The Work of God's Church Goes Forward,' and the letters you received onhealing."Last year my husband and I werebaptized at the Feast of Tabernacles.Then in November my little daughtergOt yellow jaundice, that kind of gotme down, but we knew that we couldnot t rust in doctors. We must put Ourtrust and faith in God. So we prayed,and prayed hard. I let my son knowabout it in Milwaukee. He told the

minister about it, and he came out andanointed her. She got well very quicklyand went back to school."We should have called the ministersooner or sent for an anointed cloth, butwe were kind of 'green,' as you mightsay. The minister said we should always call him right away, or send for acloth, which we certainly will do."What made me feel so terrible wastha t my unconverted mother had dieda few months before of yellow jaundice.She was in the hospital two weeks, butthey couldn't do anything with her. Ourcousin died from jaundice the day be

fore we came to the Feast."Maybe God was testing my faiththen. He sure has shown me the powerof prayer. I hope that I shall neverdoubt Him again."Woman from Shawano, WisconsinChild-Like Faith"Dear Mr. Armstrong:

"Thank you from the bottom of myheart for your prayers and the anointedcloth that you sent. I praise God foryou, that you are able to take time outof your busy day to pray for the sick.

the Creator was dead! Christ did shedHis blood for you and for me. But Heis now alive forevermore!

the EditorI know now tha t God will heal my son'seye. My son is seven years old but hisfaith is unwavering. I told him not torush God, for his injury was very serious. Al though God can work miracleswe must let him heal the eye in hisown way. I only pray that I might receive the faith of this dear boy. He saysthings are not nearly as blurry as theywere."I hope you have received my letterin regard to baptism. We most certainlywant this as we want to give ourselvesto God completely. I am truly lookingforward to this momentous occasion."Your associate Mr. Bryce Clark sentme a wonderful letter. He has shownme how to obtain new interest in mywork, but I can't get over my desire towant to do God's work. I feel God willlet me know if I am to give my life tohis work, so I will await his answer. Irealize it might be years as I know Ihave five people depending on me fortheir livelihood.

"1 feel like a small child learning allover again. At times I am ashamed ofmy ignorance, and only the words ofChrist, that we must accept him like achild, keeps up my courage."Thank you again, my friend, for

your prayers. You and your staff-your"ark-are mentioned in my prayersevery day, along wi th my prayers forour nation Israel. I pray that we maytruly repent of our sins and search outthe way we must live."Man from Aurora, IllinoisEditor's Comment: That was a sampleof the many letters from people whoare truly repenting of their own waysand giving their lives to God. Thisis a result of the Work of God! ThisWork is not a one-man job, but theWork of the whole Church of God.

good news 1959 (vol viii no 04) apr_w

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