COURSE

An International Course of Biblical Understanding

The Space Age - What Does It Mean? LESSON 1

2 Ambassador College Co rrespondence Co urse lesso n 1

THE EDITOR

. . .

upy EditorRonald Bcidcck

AboutOurCover

A n Edi,or

Th omas Haworth

Floa t ing in space! AstronautEdward H. White "w alks"in spac e ou tside his o rbi t­

ing Gem in i IV spacecraft whi le traveling 17,500 mi les perho ur! Notice d ouds far belo w and curva ture of earth'shorizon . W hi te maneuvered hi mself in space with a " jetgun" held in his rig ht hand . His " umbil ical cord ," snakingoff to the righ t. is his lifeline with the mother ship _provid ing ox ygen and com municatio ns.

Surprising as it may seem, th is mod ern pulsa ting z urbcentu ry space age w as predicted centuries ago! You canknow th e meaning of the fantastic advance ment s of scienceand technology, and where they are leading mankind. T hisfirst lesson makes it plai n .

NASA Photo

Stalf WritmLawson C. Briggs W illiam F. Dankenbring

YOUR EN ROLLMEN T has been paid by o thers Bulk copies for discribu­liun nOI given or sold

ADDRESS CO:\I:\IUNICATIONS 10 the Editor :1.[ the nearest addr~,

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"Portions of conte nts previously copvngh eed by Ambassador College 1j)19H.1%5.1968 .

NOTICE: Besure to notify the Correspondence Course Department irnmedi­atel)"of any change in your address. Please include both old and new address.Important.'

Circulation M anagerEdward C. Kleier

DIRECTOR

David Jon H ill

EDITOR

H ERBERT W. ARMSTRONG

EXECUTIVEEDITOR

G arner Ted Arm strong

An international course of Biblical understandi ng published by the De­partment of Theology, Ambassador College. 300 W est Green Sr., Pasa­dena. California. 9\123. ©1972 Ambassador College fOf the entirecontents of this publication." All rights reserved.

l~7lmJ~ &t/ere• CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

LE SS ON 1

MANAGING EDITOR

Richard H. Sedliacik

simpleclea r, plain,on page 15)

an open leller from

GREETINGS and WELCOME to our growingfamily of Amb assador College Correspon­dence Course st udents!

T his is a to tally new and DIFFERENT kind ofstudy course, researched and edited by th eAmb assador College School of T heology. Noother course is like it ! It will t hrill, excite andchallenge you - lead you to understa nd themeaning of world even ts and the PURPOSE beingworked out here below.

Have you ever wondered what present worldcondit ions really mean? Where is the arms raceleading? What will be the outcome of the crisisin t he Middle East? Why global pollution andthe populati on explosion? Why so much chaos,confusion - even anarchy?

Wh at does the FUTURE hold? Are there SOLU­TIONS to these seemingly insoluble problems?

What is the WAY to world peace - th e wayto free dom from fear and worry, poverty , sick­ness, unhappiness?

And why was man put he re in the first place?Were you, as an individ ual, pu t here for a pur­pose? If so, WHAT is tha t purpose? Why wereyou born?

What IS man - why is man?Does modern religion have t he answer?What is the t ru th about such doctrinal qu es­

t ions as heaven, hell, sa lvat ion , law and grace,th e grea t tribulation, the rapture, the virginbirth , t he res urrect ion, th e second coming, themill ennium? Wh ere are the dead - and are theynow conscious?

You need , more tha n anything in your life,to UNDERSTAND th e answe rs t o all th ese ques­ti ons!

In college classrooms, tex tbooks, or magazineson curren t affairs , you find alarming worldproblems hashed and reh ashed - but no work­able, viable SOLUTIONS given ! And in most reli­gious publications you find mu ch emotion andsentimentality - bu t very little UNDERSTAND­ING!

This course of study is entirely DIFFERENT ­it is UNIQUE!

These informa tive, eye -opening lessons makePLAIN the real meaning behind today's worldnews. They reveal the ANSWERS to the "unan­swerable" social, famil y, and personal problemsfacing millions today. They explain the veryPURPOSE of human life!

You will study t he(Please continue

WHY STUDY THE BIBLE?Why should we want to STUDY the Bible? Is the Bible up todate in the Space Age? Exactly what IS the Bible, and HOWshould we study it to really UNDERSTAND it? This lesson

gives you the ANSWERS from your Bible!

W HAT ARE WE? Were we put on earth for aPURPOSE? If so, what is that purpose?

Why are so many lives empty, dis­contented, unhappy? How may life becomehappy, abundant, successfu l, prosperous andfilled with interest ?

What is the rea l cause of wars , and THE WAYto world peace? Wha t lies beyond death - isthere real ly a way to ete rnal life?

Are these questions important? One mightask, could anything ELSE be more important? Ifyou wanted to know th e answers to these basicquestions of life, where would you go?

The FOUNDATION of Knowledge

Stop and think! Would a Creator , havingsupreme intelligence, wisdom and love to thinkout, to plan, design , and bring about all creation- this earth, and all life and life-functions uponit - have left His created beings in ignoranceof His purpose - th e PURPOSE of their being here

- and the LAWS that would bring th em PEACE,HAPPINESS, JOY and every thing good?

God Almighty did not hide these all-impor­ta nt truths from human minds. He mad e themaccessible to mankind. He committed His TREA­SURE-HOUSE of basic knowledge to WRITING. Herevealed that knowledge in the Holy Bible ­the FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE - Hisinstruct ion book for mankind. Yet almost no onehas ever found th e answers so PLAINLY writtenth ere!

The Bible is simply God's divine revelation ofBASIC NEEDED KNOWLEDGE which mankind is nototherwise capable of finding out.

God equipped man with th e powers and abili­ties to discover an d use the laws of science. Butabso lutely no tools or inst ruments of science canever tell you if th ere is life after death, th ePU RPOSE of your being alive, where you aregoing, or the WAY to a happy, abundant life andto universal PEACE. Our scientists, our worldleaders and our statesmen have failed utterly to

4 Amba ssador College Correspon de nce Course Lesson 1

tell us th ese answers, or to lead us into the uni­versally desired peace, wit h happiness and abun­dant living.

T he Bible reveals all this - and more. Thiscourse shows you WHERE to find that revealedknowledge in th e FOUNDATION of knowledge!

A LIVING Book!

But why do most people think the study ofth e Bib le would be a dull, uninterestin g, irksometask - to be done, if at all , only as a duty out offear of a har sh God?

Simply because people have not known God,or what He is like - and because they havenever really begun to understand the Bible!

In this study we shall come to really seethat God is LOVE (I J ohn 4 :8,16) , not a harsh,stern God ; th a t God wants every one of us to behap py, and to enjoy an interesting life tothe very full - every second of it! And weshall, once we begin to understand the Bib le,come to find it th e most fascina ting, the mostinteresting, as well as the most profitable andenjoyable study of our lives.

W here to Begin?

One nat m al and proper start ing place to beginour study of th e Bible would be at th e verybeginning - with God as Creator - at th e veryfirst chapte r of Genesis and compare the Bibleaccount of crea tion with the modern theory ofevolution ; to st udy the creation of man, the ori­gin of Satan, the first sin, and to continue onfrom there throu gh the Old T estament .

Another natural start ing point is with thebeginning of the New T estament. While the veryfirst words of the entire Bible are " In the begin:nin g GOD crea ted the heaven and th e earth"(Genesis 1: I) , yet th e real beginning of the NewTestament, in actual time sequence of events, isJ ohn 1:1: "In the beginning was the WORD." SOthe account of the pre-exist ence, th e birth, andwork of J esus Christ - who is called " th eWord " or Spokesman of God - also begins withth e words, " In th e beginn ing."

And there is st ill anot her natural startingpoint - the one we have adopted.

That is to begin with thi s very PRESENT age inwhich we live - t his tim e of upset world condi­tions when the whole world seems suddenly tohave erupted in chaos and physical violence ­this t ime when scientific discoveries and tech­nological developments have produced destruc­t ive forces th at threaten the extinction of all lifeon this planet - this "TIME OF THE END" justbefore the ENDof this age and t he second comingof J esus Christ!

We feel the Bible will mean more to you if youfully understand its vital relation to YOUR LIFEtod ay - its direct connect ion with CURRENT -...-'WORLD EVE NTS.

If you were to try to understand a map of th eworld , it would not mean much to you unlessand un t il you could first put your finger on th eprecise spot on the map where you were at themomen t . Only then could you clearly see andcomprehend the rest of the world in rela tion toyour own loca tion on th e map .

We feel you will understand th e Bible better,and find it more interesting, if you view it all ­its history and prophecy, its teachings and divinerevela tions - from the vantage point of your lifehere and now. The Bible will become clearer ifyou see how this world has led up to the verytime and condit ions in which you live - andwhere it is destined to go from here.

Bu t before we begin this fascinating study, weneed to know WHY so few really UNDERSTAND theBible - and how YOU can understand it.

Why Such Confus ion?

Why do we find such confusion - such dis­agreement as to what the Bible say s? Why don'tth e hundreds of differing chu rch denominationsand sects AGREE on what their acknowledgedtextbook says?

WHY do so many individuals, capable ofunderstand ing almost any other book say : " Ijust can't un derstan d the Bible"?

T ake a recognized textbook on biology. Showth is book to ten different biology professors fromte n different colleges and uni versities. Ask themwhat it says. They 'll all give you basically th esame answer. People seldom disagree as to whatrecognized textbooks say - except when itcomes to the one Book of ALL books - th e HolyBible!

But take the Bible to ten different professorsof th eology, or ministers of religion, and you 'llprobab ly receive ten different answers to justabo ut any question you might ask about it .

Do you know WHY?Here, certainly is the enigma of the ages. The

most important , yet the least understood Bookof all books is t he world's BEST SELLER - th eBook owned by more people than any other. It isth e one Book th a t has lived in spite of everyeffort to stamp it out down through the ages.

The Bible is the only book which has foretold,centuries in advance, the chao tic and uneasyconditions of our world - t he only book t hatexplains the meanin g of confused world condi­tions - that opens before us to understan din advance the wond erful, peaceful, happy worldtomorrow. It is th e one Book that predicted, in

l esson W HY STUDY THE BIBLE? 5

The fou nda tion of knowledge ha s been prese rved inspite of every attempt to destroy it!

advance, the rise and fall of specific nations andgovernments - that reveals th e DESTINY of th eworld . No mere humanly inspired book couldhave revealed th ese amazing events ! Such proph­ecies must have been divinely inspired.

Here is the Book that, in spite of human mis­understan din g, has chang ed more lives th an allother books combined. And yet - it is th e bookth at almost NOBODY knows!

WHY Misunderstood

The Bible is the most misunderstood book inhistory. The most twisted, distorted, mis­represented , maligned and lied about.

WHY?The answer is found in II Timothy 3: 16-17.

T he Apostle Paul was inspired by God to write :" AL L scripture is given by inspiration of God,and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for REPROOF, forCORRECTION, for INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS:that the man of God may be perfect, throughlyfu rnished unto all good works ."

So the Scrip tures are profitable for the pur­pose of REPROVING and CORRECTING us!

But how many people do you know who areeven willing to be CORRECTED when they are inerror - to be REPROVED for th e wrong t hingsthey do? People simply do not like to be reprovedand correcte d. They love praise - they like

flattery - but rep roof and correction theysurely HATE!

Now do you see why it is so hard for people tounderstan d the Bible, and to agree on just whatit says? The Bible is God 's great spiritual mirror.It shows up every flaw in our thinking, revealsevery spot on our characters . It pictures us as weREALLY are - as God sees us, not as we like toTHINK we are, or as we like to have ot her menlook upon us.

"For th e Word of God ," we read in Hebrews4 :12, "i s quick, and power ful, and sha rper thanan y twoedged sword" - it cuts DEEP, and itcuts both ways, " . . . and is a DISCERNER of thethoughts an d intents of the heart." Yes , it opensup and exposes our innermost thou ghts.

When your lit tle children do thin gs that arewrong - that you have forbidden - do theyusually admit it freely and frankly? Or do th eyusua lly den y it as long as possible, th en try tocover it up, excuse it, JUSTIFY it, or place theblame on somebody else?

We are all only lit tle children grown up. Whenour heavenly Father speaks to us, through HisHoly Scriptures, and reproves, rebukes, or cor­rects us, we usually do not like to ADMIT ourerrors, our fault s, our wrong ways.

And so men began, centuries ago, to INTER­

PRET th e Bible! As a resu lt , the Word of God hasbecome twisted, wrested, perverted , with almostevery false and coun terfei t mean ing imag inablebein g read into it. In st ead of te aching andexpound ing the plain , simple, intended meaning,we now ha ve hundreds of HUMAN INTER­PRETATIONS of the Bible!

In st ead of acknow ledging the truth, men seek

Ambou a clof College Arl

li lt 's no use - I just can't see it!!"

6 Ambassador College Correspondence Course Lesson 1

to justify their own ways by PERVERTING thesac red and holy Word of God!

The Apostle Paul was inspired to write inII Ti mothy 4 :1-4 that the time would comewhen men would not endure sound doctrine.People have turned away their ea rs from thetruth and have turned to FABLES palmed off asthe t ru th of God 's Word. Isaiah prophesied thatin these latter days men would demand: "Proph­esy [preach] not unto us right things, speak untous SMOOTH THINGS, PROPHESY DECEITS" (I saiah30 :8-10 ) .

We can clearly see why men do not under­sta nd the Bible. They are not yielded to theEternal's will - they are filled with the fear ofMEN, instead of God. They tremble at thethought of what PEOPLE say, instead of what theword of the LIVING GOD has to say!

We read in Psalm 111 :7 ,8,10 "ALL his com­mandments are SURE. T hey stand fast FOR EVERAND EVER and are done in truth an d uprightness.. . . The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis­dom : a GOOD UNDERSTANDING have all they thatDO his commandments ."

David had understanding. And David said,"T HY WORD is a lamp unto my feet, and a lightunto my path" (Ps. 119 : 105).

T oday's generation is like t hat of J esus' day,of which He said, "This is the condemnation,that light is come into the wor ld, and men loveddarkness rather than light, because their deedswere evil" (John 3: 19 ) .

Yes, the Bibl e is light - a lamp unto our feet- a ligh t unto our path. But the world is surelyin gross dark ness.

Meaning Locked Up Until Now!

Bruce Barton wrote a book ab out the Bibleent itled: The Book Nobody Knows. This titlehas been mostl y t rue - until now! God foretoldlong ago that the TRUE message of the Biblewould be understood in our time today!

After revealing many prophecies to the pro­phet Daniel, God to ld him to "Seal the bookeven to the t ime of the END : [when] many shallrun to and fro, and know ledge sha ll beincreased" (Daniel 12:4 ) . In the time of the"end" Bible knowled ge, as well as all otherkn owledge, was to be INCREASED!

The Moffatt translation of the Bib le renders"the time of the end" as "the CRISIS at theclose." T he whole world is now approaching acondit ion of total cha os - we are now ente ringthe CRISIS at the close of this age . God said thatat this time " None of the wicked sha ll under­stand ; but the wise shall UNDERSTAND" (Dan.12: 10).

Though pri nted copies of God's Word are

widespread today, this world still does NOTun derstand t he Bible. It is in utter confusionreli giously, politically and militarily. The worl d -....../does not reall y know where it is headed, nor doesit comprehe nd the lessons of the past. Never hasmankind needed the knowl ed ge of God more!

Spiritual Knowledge NeverMore Needed

Experts te ll us that scien tific and technicalkn owledge has DOUBLED in the past decade ­but so have world troubles! Why? Obviouslymaterial knowl edge and scient ific and tech­nological know-how have not brough t man theANSWERS to world problems. This type of knowl­edge has only led to the proliferation of prob­lems, and has led mankind to the brink ofnuclear annihilation!

Former President Dwight D. Eisenh ower hada glimpse of the fut ure. He said in his inaugura laddress : " In the swift rush of great events, wefind ourselves groping to kn ow the full sense andmeaning of the t imes in which we live . .. . Howfar have we come in man's long pilgrimage fromdarkness toward light? Are we nearing the light- a day of freedom and peace for all mankind?Or are the sha dows of another nigh t closing inupon us? . . . Science seems ready to confer uponus, as its final gift, the power to erase humanlife from this planet. "

Mr . E isenhower recognized the fact that manmay soon destroy him self. P residen t J ohn F.Kennedy saw the same rea lity. President John­son also came face to face with this aweso methreat. President Nixon has had to grapple withthis same specter .

But how may world disaster be averted? Whatis the solut ion to the arms race - to a nuclearU Armaged don"?

At the close of World War II, jus t followin gthe surrender of the J apanese on board the bat­tl eship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Gen era l DouglasMacArthur put his finger on the only possiblesolut ion . He said these fateful words: "Mensince the beginning of time have sought peace.Various methods through the ages have beena t tempted to devise an international process toprevent or settle disputes between na tions....Military alliances, bal an ces of power, leagues ofnations, all in turn fai led, leaving the only pathto be by way of the crucib le of war. T he ut terdestructivenss of war now blots out this alterna­tive. We have had our last chance. If we will notdevise some greater and more equitable system,Armageddon will be a t the door. The problembasically is THEOLOGICAL and involv es a spiritualrecrudescence and improvement of hu man char-

Lesson 1 WHY STUDY THE BIBLE? 7

Only One Hope

People te nd to delude themselves in to think ­ing there is no special da nger right now - tha tthe world ha s always been as chaotic as it istoday.

Of course, human nature has remained ba si­cally unchanged. The ways of carnal-mindedmen have always resu lted in death and des truc­t ion (Proverbs 14: 12) .

But, in prophesying of our day, the Apos tlePaul said, "Evil men and seducers shall waxworse and worse" (II Timothy 3 :13 ) . This,coupled wit h the stark reality that never un tilnow has human anni hilation been possib le, oughtto W A KE US UP!!

J esus Christ, the greatest newscaster whoever lived , knew the terrible state of affairs menwould bring on themselves in this end time, Hepredicted "E xcept those days shoul d be short­ened, t here should NO FLESH BE SAVED [ALIVE]"(Matt. 24:22) .

Yet, your Bible shows there is hope for man­kind! God Almighty has promised to intervene

(Photos on pages 8 and 9,text con tinues on page 10)

people are DESTROYED for lack of [true , spirit ua l]knowledge" (Hosea 4: 6) .

Above : Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower reel­ized that humanity may soon destroy itself. Right :Genera l Doug las M acArth ur, shown signing W orld Wa rII Japanese unconditional surrender documents, recoq- ...----,- ­nized the solution to man 's problems of surviva l.

act er that will synchronize with our almostmatchless advances in science, art, literature,and all material and cultural developments ofthe past 2,000 years. It must be OF THE SPIRIT ifwe are to save the flesh" ( Reminiscences , p.459 , emp hasis ours th roughout lesson ) .

Notice these remarkabl e words carefully.Although he was one of t he greatest and most

successful generals of modern ti mes, MacArthurbelieved that our world has ha d its last cha nceto wage a major war and to END it short of theut te r and final annihilation of mankind!

But he also saw t he only solution to t hisworld 's ills - a renewing of man's spirit - animprovement in human CHA RACTER!

Let 's be honest . Let 's face t he facts. T here is aCAUSE for every effect! Because man has chosento go his own way and has reject ed God'srevealed knowledge, mankind is reaping the CON­SEQUENCES! Man's own ways are the CAUSE ofthe misery, wretchedness, and t rouble filling theworld today! Cut loose from God, man's mis­guided scientific and technological genius has ledhim to the brink of self-annihilation!

The problem, therefore, basically is theo­logical. God plainl y says in His Word : "My

What Is the MEANING]

The United Na t io ns

- Man's Las t Hope

for Peace ... ?

The b uilding tha t ho uses whathas been called the world's"last hope for peace" shinesbrilliantly against the midtownManhattan skyline. In spite ofmany sincere efforts to bringabout world peace, men con­tinue to fight and wage wa r.Only the Word of God showshow this world's ills will soonbe SOLVED!

G rotesque wreckage of Hiroshima,Ja pa n, afte r ato mic attack. Whatis th e way to ESCAPE the nucle arholocaust stat esmen and scie ntistsare pred icting?

' J,

:1'1... ~

) U

)

A fra g ment ofcovered in 194clay containersfor nearly 20fragme nts of Scidentical with tlmessa ge does II

the Dea d Sea Scroll s - dis­. and after - shown with twowhich protected the documentscenturies. Among scrolls we reipture with Hebrew tex t virtua llyIt which we ha ve today. Wh a te Bible hold fo r our space age?

... _--:------- --..- .._..._­....,- . ~ --

10 Amb assador College Correspondence Cou rse lesso n 1

Ambassado r Col/flge Photo

These are your too ls for study. Writing out the studymate rial is helpful, but not a requirement of thiscourse. Be sure to rea d the important instructions onthis pag e .

in world affairs. He will NOT allow the scientificgenius of man to destroy all life from this planet.He has promised to send J esus Christ again ­this time to SAVE us from our selves a nd bringus peace at last!

You Can Begin to Understand

How, then, can you begin to rea lly UNDER­STAND the Bible?

Here is how you may beg in this excit ingadven ture.

Study the Bible to find TRUTH. Then believeGod - believe His Word - accept its plain,natural meaning, just as you would accept anyother book in which you had confide nce.

But be cautious - avoid jumping to hastyconclus ions , or carelessly taking things forgran ted . Be careful to "prove all things " (IThess. 5:21) .

And ab ove all - do no t try to interpret theBible. Don't take the interpretation of any man- or chur ch. R emember that the Bible inter­prets ITSELF!

Wh en t he Apostle Paul came to Berea , thepeople found he was preaching some thing ut terlyDIFFERE NT than that which they had beentaugh t an d ha d believed . T hey did not knowwhether Paul was a false prophet, or a man sentfrom God. Notice what they did : "T hese weremore noble than those in Thessalonica, in thatthey received the word with all readin ess of

mind [that is, without prejud ice] and searchedthe scriptures DAI LY, whet her tho se thin gs wereso" (Acts 17:11) .

Study your Bib le without prejudice - but becareful - PROVE all things as the Bereans did ­sea rch the scriptures whether t hose things be so!Read and study your Bibl e daily - check up foryourself and see what it really does teach. Don' tassume what you've always heard and believedis true.

Before You Begin

This course is not just a study of the lessonswe send you. The lessons are intended to showyou where to look in your Bible for the versesrelating to the subject under study, and to pu tthem together for total understanding. There­fore, you must open your Bible to every scrip­ture reference given in answer to the qu estionswe ask , and car efully read and actually studythese passages. (Our course is based on the KingJ ames Version of the Bible because we havefound it to be the most accurate overall.)

Writin g or typing ou t the scripture referencesis NOT a requirement of t his course. But overthe yea rs, ma ny of our studen ts have foundit helpful to copy the an swers and keep them ina notebook with their lessons. Copying all of theBible verses takes a little more time, but it isvery helpful in remembering wha t you havelearned , and in reviewing your lessons a t anytime.

If you would rather not follow this method ofstudy, you st ill should turn to , and actually READthe scripture references given in answer to thequestions, This way you will prove the truth foryourself right in your own Bible, and full y com­prehen d the subject under study .

Many of our st udents also set aside a certaintime every day for the ir study. But here again,the exact t ime of day and length of time youspc nd in study will have to be dictated by yourown circumstances, and / or personal preference.If the lette rs we cont inua lly receive from ourstudents are any in dicati on, we think you'll findit di fficult to pull yourself away from studying,once you reall y get into it!

One final word a bout tests. You will notice aqui z on page 16. It is a gene ral review of thematerial you will cover in this lesson - aneducational way to help you remember theimportant facts you will have learned, and tocheck your own progress. Each lesson will con­tain a simila r qui z. Once you' re through takingthe test , you simply check your answers with thecorrec t answers on page 15, and then rateyourself. It's that easy!

l esson 1 WHY STUDY THE BIBLE? 11

Wid" World , Nor fl!rop Corp . Pl!ofo l

To doy's modern wea pons of wa rfa re were predicted centuries ag o !

LESSON 1What 15 the "End of the World"?

1. Was J esus ever questioned about the "endof the world," and the signs that would point toHis return? Matthew 24: 3. What were Chri st'sdisciples really talking about when th ey ask edHim about the "end of the world" ?

COMMENT: The New Testament, as originallyinspired by God, was written in the Greek lan­guage . T he Greek word translated "world" herein Matthew 24: 3 is aion, meaning AGE - not thephysical planet on which we live.

J esus, then, was questioned abo ut the end ofan "age" and abo ut His scheduled return, ra th ert han the destructi on of the terrestrial globe wecall earth. The end of man 's civilization wouldmean the end of an age, but the earth itselfwould continue to exist!

A Time of Great Trouble

1. Did J esus prophesy that a time of GREATtrouble would occur on the earth just before Hisreturn? Matt. 24 :21.

2. What did Jesus declare would happen ifthese days of tribulation were allowed to con­tinue? Matt. 24 :22.

COMMENT: T he Moffatt translatio n rendersth is verse clearer as "not a soul would besaved alive." T his verse , then, is not referri ng tospiritual salvation at all, but to being saved fromphysical destruct ion - from premature DEATH!

3. Did J esus prophesy tha t only the inh abi-

tants of J erusalem would be th reatened by totaldestruction? Or did He pla inly say that NO ONEwould be safe from the th reat of anni hilat ion?Same verse.

COM MENT: The Revised S tandard Versionsays "no human being would be saved."

4 . Who will intervene in world affairs to cutshort th is tim e of trouble, and thus prevent thean nihilation of all humanity? Mark 13:20.

COMMENT: These verses do not mean tha tGod will a lte r t he tim e of Christ's scheduledreturn, but that just as He planned originally,He will intervene at the very moment humanitywould otherwise destroy itself. By His scheduledintervention He will CUT SHORT the days ofman's rule over ma n, which would otherwise leadto the destruction of all human life.

No Time Like It!

1. Has there ever been a time of trouble suchas will occur just before Christ's return? Matt.24 :21; Mark 13 :19.

2. Did any of the Old Testament prophetsforesee this same time of worldwide peril? J ere­miah 30: 7; Daniel 12:1.

COMM ENT: Since each of the preceding fourverses explains that there has never been before,and NEVER will be afterward another similarperiod of crisis, they can only be referrin g to ONEGREAT CLIMACTIC period of worldwide tro uble!

3. How did the prophet Joel symbolicallydesc ribe th e horrible events to take place at theclose of this age? Joel 2:1-3. Will there everagain be a time like this? Verse 2.

COMMENT : J oel's God -insp ired prophecy pic-

Ambassador College Correspondence Course lesson 1

Wid. Wo,ld,OPA PholOJ

wa rfare arein the Book

Weapons of mod ernsymbolica lly describedof Revelati on. .

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tures the very same tim e of t roub le prophesiedby Christ, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Verse 2 plainlyshows tha t there is not to be any ot her per iod inhistory to eq ua l this time. Therefore, thisprophecy must refer to events soon to occur atthe close of this age. For only in this age ofnu clear, chemica l, an d biological weapons hassuch widespread and total dest ru ct ion and theextermination of hum an life been possib le!

4. Could the symbols in Revela tion 9:2-10,16-19 indicate the torment and mass murderresulti ng from the use of modern weaponry?

COMMENT: John was obviously describingthe awesome military weapons of our day - seenin a vision God had miraculously reveal ed tohim. It was a mysterious, frighten ing spectacle.John had to use sy mbolic language becausehe had never seen "tanks ," "planes," "rockets"or "hydrogen bomb s" before!

5 . Let us momentarily consider a tim e, over4300 yea rs ago, when God intervened in humanaffairs to postpone what we see threatening theworld today. Did human beings wan t to make agreat name for themse lves, and keep th e worldunited under human authority? Genesis 11 :4.What did God do to frustrate their plans?Verses 5, 7-9.

6. Does verse 6 clearly ind ica te that God con­fused th e language and scattered the peop le atBabel in order to restrain t he misguided inven­t ive gen ius of man - to PREVENT him fromaccomplishi ng what he has done today beca use itwas not yet within God's plan to allow it?

COMMENT : Verse 6 proves that when human

beings freely speak one another's languages,and finally POOL their scient ific knowledge asth ey have begun to do today, then virtuallyanything man's mind can conceive of is possiblefor him to achieve - even to exploring th e moonand inventing weapons capable of dest roying alllife!

Could anything be clearer? Can you see thatwe are living in th e times Jesus spoke of in Mat­thew 24? - the time when men would have attheir disposal the POWER to erase all life fromth is earth!

The CAUSE of War

God promises He will intervene in worldaffairs to prevent th e annihilation of humanity,and to bring us world peace. But in order tohave peace, He will also have to prevent futurewars by changing tha t which CAUSES war . Let'sunderstand wha t it is.

1. Does th e Bible clearly show th at war is aresult of act ing according to the inordinate lustswithin man? James 4: )- 2.

COMMENT : Unrest rained HUMAN NATURE, withits prid e, vanity, jealousy , lust and greed isplainly the cause of war!

2. Does knowled ge tend to increase pride? ICorinthians 8: 1. Since we live in an age of mush­rooming scien tific knowledge which makes itpossibl e for a few men to possess tremendouspower, will the inordinate lust s of men causet hem to become better and better, or WORSE ANDWORSE? II Timothy 3 :13.

3. What is the end result of ac t ions and deci-

Lesson 1 WHY STUDY THE BIBLE? 13

Wid. Wor ld Photo

United Nations G eneral A ssembly in session. Even this we ll-orga nized att empt at peacekeeping has pro ved futil eand powerle ss. Human go vernment simply can not bring world peace !

sions that seem right to great leaders and peoplein general? Proverbs 14 :12.

COMMENT: This principle is so importantthat God inspired its repet it ion in Proverbs16:25.

4. What deceives man into believing thatactions which end in dea th will bring peace? J er .17:9. (Remember that in Scripture, the heart isoft en spoken of proverbially as th e centcr or seatof human thoughts and emotions.) Then canrulers be deceived by their own lusts intobelieving that th eir evil deeds are right and goodfor the world ? Sam e verse.

COMMENT : The governmen ts of thi s worldpromi se PEACE - but only bring WAR! Men, int heir vain attempts to bring us peace, havebrought this world to the brink of annihilation!

5. Does mankind even kn ow the way to peace?Rom. 3 :17 . What did God inspire Isaiah to writeconcerning man's real understanding of the wayof peace? Isaiah 59: 8.

6. What will happen to human plans for"peace"? Isa. 33 :7-9. When am bassadors ofpeace weep bitterly - when the lan d is laidwaste - will God intervene? Verse 10.

COMMENT: Throughout the Bible, war is pic­tured as the result of lust or covetousness . Lustis a basi c cha racte ristic of hu man na ture. Bu tcan the heads of governments, or the ambassa­dors of nations, CHANGE human nature? Of

course not! Nearly 6,000 years of human historyhave proved that man, left to himself, is totallyincapable of effecting this change. Throughoutbistory, negotia t ions for pea ce have always beenaccompanied and supporte d by th e most vigor­ous preparations for tear!

The story is no different today.Can any hu man govern ment , therefore, per­

manently stop war? Obviously not! When youlook a t it that way, the an swer becomes clear:Only GOD can permanently stop all war,because only God has the POWER to changehuman nature!

But exactly how will God crea te and maintainworld peace once J esus Chri st returns?

The only real and logical solution to t he prob­lems of world peace has already been planned.And th e entire plan is revealed in your Bi ble.

World Government to Bring Peace

1 . Does God intervene in world affairs withoutfirst revealing it to His prophets? Amos 3: 7.

2. Thousands of years ago, did Isaiah th eprophet foresee a tim e when God would establishHis Kin gdom here on earth? Isa. 2: 1-3. Is it tobe a literal WORLD-RULING kingdom? Dan .2: 44; Psalm 67:4 .

3. Will th ere be strife and war in God's King ­dom as th ere is now among nations? Isa . 2:4 .

14 Ambassador College Correspondence Course Lesson 1

Will people be taught the WAY to peace and pro ­duct ivity? Same verse.

COMMENT : The very One who crea te d manis coming to establish th e Government of God onearth , and to show t he world how human naturecan be CHANGED - and why we have had it inthe first place .

Instead of being taught how to create instru­ments of destruction, people will then be taughtto exercise CONTROL over human nature. T heywill be given the POWER to discipline huma nnature - to guide inven tive genius into peacefu lchannels.

4. Did Mica h also foretell the establishment ofGod's Kingdom on earth? Micah 4:1-4.

5. Notice who Isa iah prophesied would ru leover the earth. Isa. 11:1-4. Is David the "stemof J esse" ? Acts 13:22. Then is the "rod" orshoot plainly J esus Christ ? Verse 23. Is the"Branch" growing out of Jesse's roots Christ?Jer.23 :5-6.

COMMENT: The prophecy in Isaiah 11 pre­dic ted , centuries in advance, tha t J esus Christwould one day rule on th e earth!

6 . Before J esus was born, did an angel tellMary, His mother, that His destiny was to takeover an actua l THRONE and rule on this earth?Luke 1:32-33.

7. Did Dan iel foresee t he time when thesaints - born-again Chris t ians - will be givenrulership over the earth in God's Kin gdom alongwith Christ? Da n. 7:18, 21-22, 27.

What Is the True "Gospel"?

1. Was Jesus sent to this earth nea rly 2,000yea rs ago to procla im a specific message? J ohn12: 49; 14:24 . What was that message? Ma rk1:14; Matt. 9:35. Did J esus say one must believeTHAT "gospel" ? Mark 1:15; 16:15-16.

COMMENT: The word gospel means "goodnews," or "glad tidings." Jesus went aboutpreaching the good news of the coming Kingdomof God!

T he Gospel OF Jesus Christ is simply the verysame gospel H e preached - the GOOD NEWS ofthe coming Kingdom of God on earth! Jesus'Gospel is NOT primarily a message abo u t Himselfpersonally, or about "receiving Jesus." It is notjust a message abo ut t he events in His life and ofHis becomi ng the Savior of the world ­alt hough it certainly does include all that.

Notice that four things are necessary to con­stitute a kingdo m: (l) territo ry , (2) a king orruler , (3) subjects or citi zens, (4) laws andgovernment. Therefore we migh t define th e TrueGospel as "the good news of a king ru ling overa territory and subjec ts with laws and govern-

merit. " The True Gospel, th erefore, includ es themessage about Christ who is to be th e King.Christ, when He comes, will become the Sup remeRuler over all nations, ruling them by the lawsof God.

2. Did J esus send forth His apostles and trueministers to preac h t hat same gospel to theworld ? Lu ke 9: 1-2; Ma tt. 28: 19-20. Was Hisgospel of the coming Kingdom of God to bepreached in all the world just before His secondcoming? Matt. 24:1 4; Mark 13:10.

3. What gospel did Philip preac h? Acts 8 :12.And Paul? Acts 19:8; 14: 22. Did he preach thesame gospel among the Gentiles at Ephesus?Acts 20:25. What gospel did he preach to bothJ ews and Gentiles a t Rome? Acts 28:23, 28-31.

4. Did some false ministers in Paul's day t ryto pervert the Gospel of Christ? Galatians 1:6-7.Wha t condemnation does he pronounce on anywho would t ry to preach any other "gospel"?Verse 8. Did he pronounce a DOUBLE CURSE?Verse 9.

COMMENT: Your Bible shows there is onlyONE T RUE GOSPEL! We hear many "gospels"about Christ today, bu t how many do you hearpreaching the " Gospel of Christ " - the GospelHE PREACHED - the "Gospel of the Kingdom ofGod"?

Time to WAKE UPI

God's little-understood 7,000-year plan formankind began nearl y 6,000 yea rs ago. The pat­tern for this plan is given in the first two chap­ters of Genesis. It is the WEEK of seven days.

1. What does a thousa nd yea rs seem like toGod? II Pe te r 3 :8.

2 . In Hebrews 4 :4, 11, the seventh day is pic­tured as a type of t he peaceful " rest" which willfollow Christ's return. Is the time of Christ 'srule over the earth which will follow this presentage of human misrule and senseless warfare, spe­cifically called "a thousa nd years"? Rev. 20 :4.

COMMENT : Since the last "day" of God'splan is 1,000 years, then it logically follows thatthe preceding six "days" would amo unt to 6,000years - a total of 7,000 years.

3 . When the disciples asked Jesus if He wouldrestore the Kingdom in their day, what was Hisreply? Acts 1:6-7.

COMMENT: T he apostles did not fully under­stand the plan of God while Christ was withthem. They thought the Kingdom of God wouldbe established in their day. But before th ey died,they understood Christ was to return at a muchlater date. Pe ter said : "The Lord is not slackconcern ing his promise [of Christ's coming] ...but is longsuffering . .." (II Peter 3:9) . God is

Le sso n 1 W HY STUDY THE BIBLE? 15

7000 YEARS OF HISTORYCreat ion o f Man

One DClY = 1000 Years ( II Pet . 3 ,S )Christ Inte rve ne s

J -I 'Jy• lEe k II 7th Day ';;" ,I Th six wor k c of the' I 10,00 Yrs .

~,OOO yeo r a llowed for ina n to go is own wa J l , of Christ'sRule

I G a's '''Week'' of 7,000 YirS."J 2 3 4 I -5 6 7

patient. He has refrained from intervening inworld affairs for nearly 6,000 yea rs.

WHY?Because God has aUotted ma n 6,000 years in

which to learn that his own ways bring nothingbut SUFFERING and DEATH!

Many Bibles cont ain tentative chronologicaldates showing that human life began on thisearth about 4,004 years B.C. Nearly another2,000 years have elaps ed since t hen - totalingjust abo ut 6,000 yea rs of human civilization todate.

How awe-inspi ring and significant that in OURDAY - at the very time the world is threatened

with the extinction of aU life - 6,000 years havealmost elapsed! How excit ing that J esus Himselfsaid tha t when we would SEE aU the events Hefore told taking pla ce, He would come again ­this time to rescue this world, to set up th eKingdom of God, and to bring us peace at las t!

You have seen in your Bible a brief summa­tion - a " thumbnail sket ch" - of God's solu­tion to this world 's problems. You have begun tounderstand the urgent necessit y for Christ 'spromised return. In Lesson 2, you 'U learn moreabout Jesus Christ 's intervention in world affairsas revealed in t he amazing, detailed prophecies ofyour Bible.

ANSWERS TO QUIZ

Rate Yourself19·2 0 co rrect , , ' exc e Jlent

16-18 correc t go od

13-15 co rrec t , , , fair

REWARD ED by constantly coming into surprising,excit ing, remarkable new truths with th e helpand direction of each lesson.

As I mentioned before, there is NO TUITIONCOST WHATSOEVER - these lessons are ABSO·LUTELY FREE of cha rge! How can we afford togive them away? Because thousands of Co­workers world wide voluntarily cont ribute of theirfinancial incomes to help bring you this preciousknowledge without price. We proclaim t he WAYof GIVING, SERVING. To put a price on an y of ourliterature would be inconsistent with that WAY.Our desire is to serve - to SHARE God's precioustruths in a ministry of love.

an open lette r from

THE EDITOR(Co ntinued from page 2)

TRUTHS OF YOUR BIBLE! You will learn howto study the Bible - why so few really under­st and it .

This cours e of biblical understanding is offeredfree, without tuition cost, to ALL who earnestlydesire to understand the Bible and how it isrelevant to their lives an d th e age we live inTODAY! AU you will need is your Bible­although, if you are able and wish to pro­vide one or more Bible t ranslations, a goodconco rdance or a Bibl e dictionary, you wiU findthem helpful. But they are not essen tial. AU youwill really need in studying with th is course isyour Bible, and the desire to learn the truthof God .

You'U find these lessons stirring, vitaUy inter ­esting! Not dry or duU. They sparkle withinterest! Scores of thousands around the worldare already enroUed - additional thousands arestarting every month! If you will set yourselfto reaUy study your Bible, you will be richly

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16 Ambassador ' College Corresponde nce Co urse lesson 1

TEST YOUR MEMORYThis quiz is designed to help you remember the importantfacts you learned in the lesson. You simply circle or under­line each correct answer. After you've finished, check yourchoices with the correct answers listed on page '5, and

then rate yourself.

TRUE OR FALSE

MATCHING

11. Danie l was told the book was to be se aledso that nobody - not even the wise - wouldunderstand it at the time of the e nd . T F

Draw a line from each phrase in the left -handcolumn to the correctly related phras e in the

right-ha nd column .

to theor b on

T F

A. " Isra e l mes sage"

B. Pea ce throug h menC. Our "peri lous times"D. Today' s popular

1/ gosp el"

E. Christ' s interventionF. Curse for perverting

Chri st' s gospelG . "Gospel of grace"

H. A "da y" to GodI. Jesus the Sa viorJ . Kingdom of God

16. Result ofhuman lusts

1 7. Only hope forsurvival

18. Gos pe l ofChrist

19. Galat ia ns 1,8

20. 1,000 yeors

1 S . Je sus Chr ist come as a Mes seng er to pro ­cla im a message about the Kingdom of Go dbeing set up "in our hearts." T F

13. The time of trouble proph esied fo r the e ndof this "age" will be worse tha n any pe rio d oftrouble that ha s e ver existed before, o r everwill e xist a ga in. T F

14. Ma nkind would ha ve reached the point ofse lf-a nnihila tion lo ng ago had God not restrainedman 's misgu ided inve ntive genius sho rtly afterthe flood . T F

12. The "end of the world" re fe rsdestruction of our planet - this physicalwhich we live .

would found churches which wou ld re form theworld . C. Jesus wou ld be no different than a nyother child . D. Je sus wou ld rule over the Kingdomof God on earth .

10. The pattern fo r God's 7,OOO-yea r pla n isre veal ed in A. the pr ocess of evo lutio n. B. theMille nnium. C. the seven churches of Reve la tion2-3 . D. the seven-day week .

7 . What does G od revea l a bou t man 's kno wl­edge? A. Eve rything will turn out right a s longas we do the best we can with wha t we kno w.B. O nly ou r no tio na l leader s kno w the wa y tope a ce . C. The ways that seem right to humanbe ings e nd in death! D. Man uses knowledgeind e pende ntly of his lusts.

3 . W hich is the Bible NOT profitable fo r?A. Doctrine . B. Pra ise of oneself . C. Instruc­tion in righteou sness . D. Reproof and correction.

4. The Bible is not understood by most peopletoda y be cau se A. its wo rd ing is unclea r. B. itco ntra d icts itse lf. C. men ha ve trie d to interpretit to justify their ow n wa ys. D. they don' t know~ow to inte rpre t it.

5. Great world statesme n tells us A. the UnitedNa tions has the answers to wo rld problems. B.man now ha s the capability of causing the anni­hilat ion of alt life o n this plan et! C. Christ willes tablish world pe a ce . D. men will fo rsa ke wcr­fare a nd lea rn to live at pea ce.

6 . W ha t is the ba sic couse of war and humansuff erin g? A. The ino rd inate lusts of carna l­minded man . B. Folse political ideologies suchas Com munism a nd Fa scism. C. Poverty. D. l ockof educatio na l and economic opportunity.

9 . An angel revea led to Mary that A. her Sonwo uld rule the earth from he a ven . B. her Son

8 . Befo re God a cts in wo rld a ffai rs, He al wa ysA. trie s to co nve rt the world . B. revea ls His plansto His p roph ets a nd ministe rs to be mode kno wnas a witness to the wo rld. C. se nd s plagues onthe world . D. sends Je sus Chri st back to e a rth.

1 . W hat is the Bib le? A. Merely the history ofon a ncie nt people's quest for a con cept of God.B. A revelatio n of ba sic needed knowledge men­kind is not oth er wise capable of find ing out. C.A trea sure hou se of p ious thoughts . D. An inco m­preh ensible mystery .

2. This course of Bib le study begins with prese ntworld cond itions because A. it's the o nly log ica lpla ce to be gin . B. prophecy is the only importontsubject in the Bib le. C. the Bible will mean moreto us if we re late it to our live s toda y. D. theBib le itself do es no t begin a t the beginnin g .

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