Upside-Down World Upside-Down World –– page 3page 3The Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation –– page 7page 7
The Examined Life The Examined Life –– page 14page 14www.gladtidingsmagazine.orgwww.gladtidingsmagazine.org
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GladTidingso f t h e K i n g d o m o f G o d
132nd Year 1580A monthly magazine published by the Christadelphians (brothers and sisters in Christ) andavailable throughout the world.
AcknowledgementsCover Photograph:
Domburg Castle, The Nether-lands Ken Anderton
Other Illustrations:Pages 3,19: clipart.com; pgs 5,12: istockphotos; pg 8: David Pearce;pg 9: David Miles; pg 11: GlenMitchell.
ContentsA16
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Contents
Upside-Down World.........3
The Lethal Addiction ......5
The Book of Revelation ..7
World Government byJesus Christ..................10
“Thy Kingdom Come”...12
The Examined Life ........14
King Josiah.....................16
The Only Living God .....18
The Best of Books ..........19
Its objectives are – to encourage the study of the Bible as God'sinspired message to men; to call attention to the Divine offerof forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ; and to warn menand women that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge andruler of God’s world-wide Kingdom.
132nd Year 3
Jesus once healed a blind man in twostages. First he put spit on his eyes,laid his hands on him and asked if hecould see anything. The man gave acurious answer: “I see men like trees,walking”. So Jesus put his hands onhis eyes again and this time the man’ssight was perfectly restored. You canread the full account of this miracle inMark’s gospel, chapter 8, verses22–26.
Why Two Stages?Whatever Jesus did was significant. Itcertainly wasn’t the case that he wasstruggling to give this man sight, andonly just managed it at the secondattempt. Jesus did many miracles withapparent ease. Paralytics were told towalk and did so easily; deaf peoplehad their hearing restored; sick peoplewere immediately cured, as wereepileptics and the mentally deranged.So why did the Lord cure this man intwo stages, when he could have givenhim instant sight? It seems that hewanted to teach his disciples a lessonabout their struggle to obtain spiritualinsight.
Read the account in its setting inMark chapter 8 and you will find itsandwiched between two episodeswhere the disciples were struggling tounderstand what Jesus was saying andwho Jesus really was. He had cau-tioned them to “Take heed, beware ofthe leaven of the Pharisees and theleaven of Herod”. He was warningabout the dangerous teaching of twogroups who were opposed to every-thing that Jesus said and did; but themention of “leaven” had the disciplesthinking about food instead.
Then, immediately after the accountof the healing of the blind man, Jesusasked them “Who do you say that Iam?” (Mark 8:29) and it was Peterwho made a breakthrough in theirunderstanding when he said “You arethe Christ” (see also Matthew16:13–20).
MisunderstandingPerhaps you think that the twelve dis-ciples, who spent years with Jesus,understood everything immediatelyand never had any difficulty with any-thing their Master said. But it wasn’tlike that at all. They took a long time tounderstand that Jesus had come tosave mankind from sin and death andthat he was to sacrifice his life as partof God’s wonderful plan to rescuesinners.
Peter made his breakthrough state-ment, which Jesus said had beenrevealed to him by God, but when hebegan to teach them about hisimpending rejection, his death and hisresurrection, Peter lapsed straightback to his previous confusion:Peter took him aside and began torebuke him. But when he had turnedaround and looked at his disciples, herebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind
Upside-Down WorldUpside-Down World
4 Glad Tidings
That blind man needed his confusedvision to be sorted out by Jesus. Hecould see, but his sight was badlyimpaired. The second time he got tosee things as they really are. Therewere many people like him who sawJesus in the flesh, but who didn’trecognise him for what he really was –the Son of God. They were Biblereaders but their understanding fellshort, as Jesus said:“You search the Scriptures, for in themyou think you have eternal life; andthese are they which testify of me. Butyou are not willing to come to me thatyou may have life” (John 5:39–40).
“Come to me”We don’t want that to be said of us –that our understanding falls short ofaccepting Jesus as the God-providedMessiah, who came to give his life foreach of us, and who will come again tocomplete the work of recovery andrestitution, when he establishes God’skingdom on earth.
Today’s world has got everything outof perspective. Mankind is glorified;human laws and justice systemsignore God’s law and establish man-made morals and values in their place.Greed, exploitation, money, power andprivilege are everything.
This world-system is about to bereplaced by the Kingdom of God andthe man who will rule the world is theone who can give sight to the blind andhealth and healing to mankind. He isthe saviour the world needs and Godwill send him soon. Meanwhile weneed to read about him, listen to hiswords, and come to him that we mighthave life.
Editor
me, Satan! For you are not mindful ofthe things of God, but the things ofmen (Mark 8:32–33).
Developing InsightThe disciples understood somethingabout the work of Jesus, but couldn’tsee it clearly. Their insight was like thedeveloping sight of the blind man – atstage one – and it was some consider-able time before they came toappreciate what Jesus was all about.When he was arrested, tried and cruci-fied, they were bereft. When thewomen came to say the grave wasempty and the Lord was alive, theycould not believe it. Only when therisen Jesus appeared to them did theybegin to understand that everythingthat happened had been part of God’splan of salvation. Even then Thomaswas unconvinced, as he said:The other disciples ... said to him, “Wehave seen the Lord.” So he said tothem, “Unless I see in his hands theprint of the nails, and put my fingerinto the print of the nails, and put myhand into his side, I will not believe”(John 20:25).
Second StageThomas came to believe when Jesusappeared to him as well, but it goes toshow that it takes time to understandjust what God is doing, as His greatplan of redemption unfolds. Theproblem the disciples had was thatthey had a preconceived idea of whatthe Jewish Messiah would be like andhis dying wasn’t included in theirscheme of things.
That understandable difficulty is awarning to all of us for we too can havereligious ideas which don’t match Bibleteaching and they can prevent us fromseeing things clearly.
132nd Year 5
“Please help me”, pleaded Mark. Helooked totally forlorn and desperate.“I’ve tried to stop but after a while Ijust do it again. It’s like I can’t help it.”The counsellor smiled encouragingly.“Well, you’ve made the first importantstep. You’ve admitted that you have aproblem and you’ve come to the rightplace for help. Please try to followexactly what we tell you, because, asyou know, continuing as you are wouldbe life-threatening. Fortunately, youhave not left it too late, and we doknow what can work for you.”
The Problem of SinIn this world of stress many peopleturn to addictive behaviour such ascomfort eating, drinking, smoking ordrugs. None of these addictions isgood for us, but some are particularlydangerous. While most peoplemanage to live contented lives withoutresorting to these, there is one thing towhich we are all naturally addicted.This addiction is sin – doing things thatGod does not like.
We are all, without exception, natu-rally self-centred and not God-centred.There is only one person who neverdispleased God: His Son Jesus Christ.Everyone else has been and is addict-ed to sin. The great apostle Pauldescribed his struggle:For what I am doing, I do not under-stand. For what I will to do, that I donot practice; but what I hate, that I do.If, then, I do what I will not to do, Iagree with the law that it is good. Butnow, it is no longer I who do it, but sinthat dwells in me. For I know that inme (that is, in my flesh) nothing gooddwells; for to will is present with me,
but how to perform what is good I donot find (Romans 7:15–18).
What is Sin?We do well to consider what Godregards as sin. According to His Word,the Bible, sinning is not just doingwhat we would consider awful thingslike murder or stealing, although theydefinitely are sins. Sinning is not evennecessarily unpleasant – in fact it canbe quite enjoyable (Hebrews 11:25).The Bible says that our ‘natural’thoughts and reactions can be sinful‘works of the flesh’.Now the works of the flesh are evident,which are: adultery, fornication,uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealou-sies, outbursts of wrath, selfishambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy,murders, drunkenness, revelries, andthe like; of which I tell you beforehand,just as I also told you in time past, thatthose who practice such things will notinherit the kingdom of God (Galatians5:20–21).
The Lethal AddictionThe Lethal Addiction
6 Glad Tidings
None of us can say that we havenever been guilty of these things. Thissort of thought and behaviour is soinstinctive that we are addicted to it.
Sin and its ConsequencesLike other dangerous addictions, thisway of life is killing us. In fact left toour own devices our position is soserious that we are even enemies ofGod (Romans 5:10). Our sinful naturestops us entering the kingdom of Godand inevitably results in eternal death.As the apostle Paul said:The wages of sin is death, but the giftof God is eternal life in Christ Jesus ourLord (Romans 6:23).
Like Mark, we all need to admit thatwe have a serious problem which wesimply cannot solve by ourselves. Weneed to recognise that there is a solu-tion, provided by God. That is whyJesus came – to live a sinless life, togive his life as a sacrifice for sin and tobe raised from the dead so that he cannow sit in glory at his Father’s side, tohelp his people.For God so loved the world that Hegave His only begotten Son, thatwhoever believes in Him should notperish but have everlasting life (John3:16).
The SolutionThere are many myths about addic-tions and many false beliefs aboutwhat the Bible actually says. Somepeople do not even base their beliefson the Bible. Mark needed profession-al help and we need help from the Godof the Bible. There is no other way. Asthe counsellor said to Mark, we mustconform to what the Bible says if wewant to be saved. This means wemust:
❖ Admit our desperate problem andhelplessness,
❖ Come to God in the way He hasprovided,
❖ Do what He asks of us, in humilityand obedience.
This also brings great blessings hereand now, helping us to cope with thestresses of life which could lead to theother sorts of addictions:Having been justified by faith, we havepeace with God through our Lord JesusChrist, through whom also we haveaccess by faith into this grace in whichwe stand, and rejoice in hope of theglory of God. And not only that, but wealso glory in tribulations, knowing thattribulation produces perseverance;and perseverance, character; andcharacter, hope (Romans 5:1–4).
Stage by StageAt what stage are you? Are you happilyindulging in your addictive sins, enjoy-ing life and hoping for the best, butallowing your sins to destroy you? Orare you genuinely searching the Bibleand trying to obey God? God cannotsave you unless you respond to Hismessage of hope. He asks you to bebaptised and to follow Jesus. Jesuscommanded his disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of allthe nations, baptizing them in thename of the Father and of the Son andof the Holy Spirit, teaching them toobserve all things that I have com-manded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).
When Jesus returns your opportunityto be saved may be over. If this addic-tion to sin is killing you, don’t leave ittoo late.
Anna Hart
132nd Year 7
applied to a new but similar situation.We will find strong links to the visionsof the prophet Daniel, who saw fouramazing beasts with features that fore-told the course of history from his dayup to the First Century. John’s visionstake over where Daniel’s left off, andwe shall meet Daniel’s beasts in a newguise, used this time to predict theevents of European history throughmany centuries.
Perfect NumberA key idea in the Revelation is thenumber seven. Seven is the perfectnumber, the cycle of days that com-pletes a week and then starts again.The book is divided into groups ofsevens – seven lampstands and sevenletters, seven wax seals on a scroll,seven trumpets that blow in turn, andseven altar bowls poured out on theearth. There is another twist – seven inseven. This concept comes from theconquest of Jericho by Joshua.
The soldiers of Israel marched roundthe city of Jericho once a day for sixdays. But on the seventh day theymarched round seven times, and onthe 13th circuit, the walls collapsedand the city fell. So in the Revelationthere are six seals, but when theseventh is cut through it is found toenclose the seven trumpets, and whenthe seventh trumpet begins to blow itconceals the seven bowls. Only whenwe reach the seventh bowl does theKingdom of God finally arrive in all itsglory.
Here is a schematic diagram whichillustrates the way the book of Reve-lation is laid out in sets of sevens:
This last book of the Bible was pennedby the apostle John, probably towardsthe end of the First Century. He writesin a time of persecution, when he hasbeen sent into exile by the Romanauthorities, marooned on the island ofPatmos “on account of the word ofGod and the testimony about Jesus”(Revelation 1:9). Patmos is a tinyisland off the coast of Turkey, about 13square miles (34 square kilometres) inarea.
Inspired VisionsThe Revelation is the record of a seriesof inspired visions in which John seesand hears his Master Jesus talking tohim, passing on a message for theChristian brothers and sisters. Theopening verse is important – “TheRevelation of Jesus Christ, which Godgave him to show His servants—thingswhich must shortly take place” (Reve-lation 1:1).
The vision was to show John thingsthat must take place, so it was aprophecy, like the prophecies of Isaiahor Jeremiah. It predicted the course ofevents far into the future, so thatGod’s servants would be prepared andstrengthened in times of persecution,knowing that world events are in God’shands, and move steadily towards thegoal of His Kingdom being establishedon earth.
To appreciate the book of Revelationwe need to have read the rest of theBible first, because it is full of links andallusions to the earlier writings. Practi-cally every phrase and theme has beenplucked from the Old Testament (insome cases the New Testament), and
Books of the Bible – 45
The Book of RevelationThe Book of Revelation
8 Glad Tidings
Unfolding DramaIn the opening chapter John sees hismaster, the Lord Jesus, in heavenlyglory. Jesus is walking amongst sevengolden lampstands, which John is toldrepresent seven Christian congrega-tions in the province of Asia. Each inturn is given a written report, dictatedto John, outlining their successes andtheir weak points, just like the tradi-tional end-of-term report at school.Each letter ends with a beautifulpromise, held out to “him who con-quers”. It is a surprise to find sevenchurches in the same area with such avariation in their spiritual health, fromEphesus – patiently enduring andbearing up for Jesus’ sake; to Laodicea– smug and complacent, but in Jesus’view close to death (see Revelation1:11 to 3:22).
At this point John is invited to comeup into heaven so that he can watchhistory unfold before his eyes. Unlikethe Seven Letters, which were sent tohis contemporaries, the rest of Reve-lation relates to events after John’slifetime. To understand the settingfrom this point onwards, we need to
imagine a drama, a historical pageantacted out as a series of scenes on thestage of a theatre. John the observer isinvited up into the royal box for the per-formance. Looking down, he sees theearth and the sea below him.
As each act is announced, the char-acters come and go, accompanied byappropriate sound effects. As anadded refinement, the ‘royal box’ isdefined in chapter four as the Templefrom the Old Testament, completewith:
❖ an Ark (the ‘throne’ on which God’sangel once sat as His representa-tive),
❖ an incense altar, an altar for sacri-fices,
❖ a great reservoir or ‘sea’ for water,
❖ a lampstand, and
❖ four cherubim or ‘living creatures’.
He also sees in the foreground 24elders, who serve the Lord as did the24 orders of Levites in the Temple ofSolomon.
The Scroll OpenedIn the opening scene, John sees theLord God, seated on the throne,holding a scroll in his hand. It is madeup of seven sections, each separatelysealed with a string and a waxpendant. Nobody could read the scrolluntil the strings were cut. John sees awounded Lamb approach the throne. Itis Jesus, the Lamb of God, and he isgiven the right to open the scroll.
He cuts the first string, and as thescroll flies open a white horse gallopsacross the stage with a warrior on hisback. The next seal introduces a redhorse ridden by a man with a dagger.The third horse is black. His rider
132nd Year 9
carries scales for weighing out dailyfood rations. The fourth is the colour ofa corpse, and the skeleton on its backis accompanied by a symbolic grave,shovelling up the dead over a quarterof the earth.
Four HorsemenThe four coloured horses are takenfrom the Old Testament prophetZechariah. It is not difficult to line upthe four seals with the history of theRoman Empire after John’s death – aninitial period of prosperity and peace,followed by civil war, then famine andpestilence, especially in the Italian divi-sion of the Empire, which was dividedinto four quarters at this time. The timeperiod covers AD 100 to AD 270.
The next Seal introduces an altarsplashed with blood, and the blood is
said to represent the lives of Christianbelievers. Many of them were indeedmartyred for their faith by the pagan(idol worshipping) Emperor Diocletianaround 300 AD. The Sixth Seal openswith dramatic sound-effects – anearthquake, and the removal of thesun, moon and stars – a traditionalBible symbol for a change of rulership.This links with the revolutionary changethat took place when Constantinebattled successfully for control of theEmpire. Pagan Rome became Chris-tian Rome as he removed, once andfor all, the persecution of those whorefused to worship the ancient gods.Constantine came to power in AD 312.
The 144,000During the quiet time that follows,John sees in chapter seven 144,000people, marked in the forehead by anangelic messenger, like those faithfulmen Ezekiel saw set aside for Godbefore the fall of Jerusalem in hisvision (Ezekiel 9:4). They come fromthe 12 tribes of Israel, but one isomitted from the list, for these are notliterally Jews, but a harvest of believ-ers, reaped under the new andfavourable regime, in the lull beforethe destruction of the Empire by thebarbarian tribes.
They form part of a huge multitude,from all nations under heaven, thatJohn now hears praising God, in acomforting vision of the Kingdom ofGod. But before that reward can begiven, there are others who must becalled out to join them, and so Sealnumber seven introduces the seventrumpets – the next phase of “thosethings that must soon take place”.
David M PearceTo be continued
The four horsemen of the Apocalypse depictevents that were “shortIy to come to pass”.Illustration by David Miles (with permission)
Men and women have always longedfor good government. There have beenrare periods when there has beenpeace and security for some peoplebut sadly that has been at the cost ofmuch suffering for others.
The ‘Pax Romana’ of New Testamenttimes (the time when the Romansbrought a sort of stability to Europeand the Middle East), was enforced byphysical force and hideous cruelty, theworst example being when they cruci-fied Jesus.
It was the same during the ‘Pax Brit-tanica’ when Britain ruled a bigempire, whilst many people in the UKitself and in other countries enduredterrible sufferings.
Four Essential QualitiesThe fact is that unaided human beingsare too flawed to rule their fellowsproperly. There are four problems. Menand women lack:
❖ the necessary wisdom,
❖ the essential goodness,
❖ the power to enforce good govern-ment, and
❖ immortality; so that if – very rarely –a really honest, well-meaning,capable person does arise, beforelong he or she is removed by death.
The difference between Jesus andeveryone else is that when he washere he demonstrated that he doeshave the first three of these rulershipqualities. Now, in addition, he has
been given eternal life by God, so thatwhen he rules he can rule for ever.Jesus has all these qualities in perfec-tion.
Foretold!The coming of Jesus had been prophe-sied 700 years before in Isaiah11:1–9, where Jesus is compared to anew strong shoot springing from theroots of an old tree (the family of KingDavid):There shall come forth a Rod from thestem of Jesse, and a Branch shallgrow out of his roots. The Spirit of theLord shall rest upon him, the Spirit ofwisdom and understanding, the Spiritof counsel and might, the Spirit ofknowledge and of the fear of the Lord.His delight is in the fear of the Lord,and he shall not judge by the sight ofhis eyes, nor decide by the hearing ofhis ears; but with righteousness heshall judge the poor, and decide withequity for the meek of the earth; heshall strike the earth with the rod of hismouth, and with the breath of his lipshe shall slay the wicked … They shallnot hurt nor destroy in all My holymountain, for the earth shall be full ofthe knowledge of the Lord as thewaters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:1–9).
The Gospels show us how Jesus hadthe first three qualities, even as amortal man, and he gained the fourthafter his resurrection.
❖ Wisdom – When he had come tohis own country, he taught them intheir synagogue, so that they were
10 Glad Tidings
A Christadelphian’s Faith – 30
World Government byWorld Government byJesus ChristJesus Christ
astonished and said, “Where didthis man get this wisdom and thesemighty works? (Matthew 13:54);
❖ Goodness – Which of you convictsme of sin? And if I tell the truth,why do you not believe me? (John8:46);
❖ Power – They were all amazed andspoke among themselves, saying,“What a word this is! For withauthority and power he commandsthe unclean spirits, and they comeout” (Luke 4:36);
❖ Eternal Life – He laid his righthand on me, saying to me, “Do notbe afraid; I am the First and theLast. I am he who lives, and wasdead, and behold, I am aliveforevermore. Amen. And I have thekeys of Hades and of Death (Reve-lation 1:17–18).
He is WorthyIn Jesus, God has provided a worthyruler for the whole earth. He is the keyto those promises about the futureKingdom of God that we find in the OldTestament: statements like these:In the days of these kings the God ofheaven will set up a kingdom whichshall never be destroyed; and thekingdom shall not be left to otherpeople; it shall break in pieces andconsume all these kingdoms, and itshall stand forever (Daniel 2:44);
“I was watching in the night visions,and behold, One like the Son of Man,coming with the clouds of heaven! Hecame to the Ancient of Days, and theybrought him near before Him. Then tohim was given dominion and glory anda kingdom, that all peoples, nations,and languages should serve him. Hisdominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and Hiskingdom the one which shall not bedestroyed (Daniel 7:13–14).
The Bible gives us a clear idea ofwhat this world-wide rule by Jesus willbe like. Read Psalm 72 for an insightinto the sort of life God has promisedwhen Jesus is King. Read the rest ofthe Bible to find out what God wants ofyou if you are to be there with the LordJesus when he comes.
John Woodall
132nd Year 11
King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon had
a dream about future world empires
which was in fact a timeline of what
would happen after his empire had
ended. One empire was to succeed
another until God intervenes to set up
His own Kingdom on earth. Read all
about it in Daniel chapter 2.
12 Glad Tidings
Some people say thatGod’s Kingdom is herealready, as a state ofbeing in the hearts ofmen and women whohave embraced it andseek to live according toits principles. You have toadmire their attitude, butthe coming Kingdom ofGod on earth is very muchmore than an attitude ofheart and mind.
Hard TimesThe Bible says that beforeGod takes over the rulership of Hisworld, things will have deteriorated inmany ways and that is what we nowsee happening. Troubles beset thenations on all sides: immorality, law-lessness, racism, famine, disease,tears and overmuch sorrow. The threatof modem warfare is enough to driveterror into the hearts of many. Theirfears are justified, for the Bible is cate-gorical in telling us that war will sweepthe nations, and morally things will getworse. There will be no improvementuntil that glad day when the Lord Jesusreturns in glory, to set up his rule overall the nations.
RighteousnessPsalm 72 resonates with hope. Itspeaks of the coming king, and saysthat in his days the righteous shallflourish, and there will be an abun-dance of peace. It speaks of aneverlasting kingdom, ruled by thegreatest man who ever lived. Somefind it difficult to imagine what that willbe like given that today’s warfare
leaves a legacy of hun-dreds of orphans, andmurder and strife is part ofdaily life for so many. Inthe Kingdom there will beno more boundaries, andthanksgiving will dwell inevery heart.He shall have dominionalso from sea to sea, andfrom the River to the endsof the earth (Psalm 72:8).
SalvationThe modern world needs asupreme monarch who,
with God’s authority, will reign over allnations. We need someone who cansolve the world’s problems for allpeople, not just for the rich andfamous. Today the needy are oftentrodden underfoot, exploited, drivenfrom their homes and treated abom-inably. He will be their champion, andnone will dare resist him. He will notonly be victorious over world forces,but his justice and righteousness willbe acknowledged everywhere. Listento what the Psalmist promises:He will deliver the needy when hecries, the poor also, and him who hasno helper (Psalm 72:12).
AbundanceThe poor and helpless are often seenqueuing up for welfare handouts fromvarious charities and agencies, but itwill not be like that in God’s wonderfulkingdom:There will be an abundance of grain inthe earth, on the top of the mountains;its fruit shall wave like Lebanon; and
“Thy Kingdom Come”“Thy Kingdom Come”
132nd Year 13
those of the city shall flourish like grassof the earth (Psalm 72:16).
What a vision! No more pot-belliedchildren, their eyes covered withdisease-carrying flies. The change willbe dramatic. The harvest will be soabundant that there will be hardly timeto gather it before it is time to sowagain. The Father of all blessings willshower His abundance on the wholeworld. There will be freshness, beautyand vigorous growth as never before.
Glorious EarthWhen the Lord Jesus rules over aworldwide empire many will be attract-ed to follow him and make his teachingand his law the centre of their lives, forJesus will bring a blessing when hereturns from heaven:His name shall endure forever; hisname shall continue as long as thesun. And men shall be blessed in him;all nations shall call him blessed(Psalm 72:17).
The sense of joy will be so conta-gious. The evil of the present day willcontrast with the contentment of thetime to come. We try to contemplatethe healthy, glowing faces of the newparadise, and can only exclaim,“Blessed be God”. The Psalmist isclearly exhilarated himself as he looksforward to everything he has beeninspired to reveal, for he concludes thePsalm with these uplifting words:Blessed be His glorious name forever!And let the whole earth be filled withHis glory. Amen and Amen (Psalm72:19).
Jerusalem – a Joy A kingdom must have a centre, andGod has decided that it will be atJerusalem. What a transformation
awaits that city. As a river flows gentlyto the sea gathering springs on theway, so the peoples of the world willflow to the place where they will learnof the mercy of God. The Lord Jesuswill be enthroned there, and immortalsaints will have the privilege of offeringwords of life to all. The prophet Isaiahadds to what the Psalmist has saidwith these heart-stirring words:Many people shall come and say,“Come, and let us go up to the moun-tain of the Lord, to the house of theGod of Jacob; He will teach us Hisways, and we shall walk in His paths.”For out of Zion shall go forth the law,and the word of the Lord fromJerusalem (Isaiah 2:3).
Right-thinking men and women fromall nations will want to worship Godand meet His appointed King – theLord Jesus Christ. There will be no reti-cence then in talking about religion,but a zeal to hear the words given.What a change for those people whohave been starved of Bibles for years.It will be a splendid time. So the Chris-tian prays, “Thy kingdom come, thy willbe done on earth”, knowing it is theonly hope for a hopeless world. God’swill is already done in heaven, but noyyet on earth. That must change.
That kingdom is not here yet, but allthe signs suggest we are living in anage that is the overture to Paradise.The Lord Jesus is inviting you to bewith him in that day. He is the answerto mankind’s need. He asks but onething of us, “Follow me”. It means self-denial now which, God willing, willresult in a wonderful transformation inthe future. God grant that you willanswer the call.
Ken Clark
Self-ExaminationWhen we correctly examine ourselves,we become wise. But don’t confusewisdom with ‘education’—book learn-ing; wisdom is insight on life and howto live it. Natural man struggles to findthe good and sometimes he will, butwhat was it Paul told the Jews at Romeabout natural law? He said to theJews, you’ve got the law and you can’tkeep it. Look at the Gentiles aroundyou: they don’t have the law but theydo by nature the things required by thelaw; they are a law unto themselves forits requirements are written on theirhearts:Who show the work of the law writtenin their hearts, their conscience alsobearing witness, and between them-selves their thoughts accusing or elseexcusing them (Romans 2:15).
Paul’s conclusion was shattering toJews who were so proud of their cir-cumcised state:He is a Jew who is one inwardly; andcircumcision is that of the heart, in theSpirit, not in the letter; whose praise isnot from men but from God (Romans2:29).
Know ThyselfCervantes, creator of Don Quixote,urged us to make it our business to‘know thyself’. He called it the mostdifficult lesson in the world. Turn to theBible itself, and look at the lives andteaching of the people it describes.King David for example, is often foundseeking to know himself, with God’shelp:
14 Glad Tidings
A few weeks ago I was in a doctor’swaiting room, and was going to bethere for two or three hours. In myhurry I had forgotten to bring anythingto read, but there on the table besideme was this book, “Philosophy forDummies”. It looked brand new andwas clean—no germs—something Ialways wonder about in doctors’offices. I picked it up and startedreading.
Daily RoutineIt began with a statement by thephilosopher Socrates who said that theunexamined life is not worth living.Really? Author Tom Morris explains:
“Unfortunately, it’s one that far toomany people live: getting up, dressing,eating, going to work, breaking forlunch, working some more, goinghome, eating again, watching TV,leafing through magazines, exchan-ging a few words with family membersin the house or with friends on thephone, changing for bed, and falling tosleep—just to repeat the same thingover and over and over without everthinking what it all means or how lifeshould be really lived.
“We wake up already in motion inthis life. Rarely, if ever, do we stop toreflect on what we truly want in life, orwho we are and want to become, onwhat difference we want to make inthe world, and thus on what’s reallyright for us. And that is the unexa-mined life—almost as a sleepwalker,on automatic pilot—a life based onvalues and beliefs that we’ve neverreally looked at, never really tested,never examined for ourselves.”
The Examined Life
132nd Year 15
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I havewalked in my integrity. I have alsotrusted in the Lord; I shall not slip.Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;try my mind and my heart. For Yourlovingkindness is before my eyes, andI have walked in Your truth (Psalm26:1–3).
But on another occasion, after hehas lost his integrity:Have mercy upon me, O God, accord-ing to Your lovingkindness; accordingto the multitude of Your tendermercies, blot out my transgressions.Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,and cleanse me from my sin … Thesacrifices of God are a broken spirit, abroken and a contrite heart – these, OGod, You will not despise (Psalm51:1–2, 17).
Examine YourselvesWhen our lives do have meaning in theeyes of God, the implication for us isthat we should live an examined life.An examination implies a test. You arebeing compared to a standard. Wecan’t examine ourselves against thestandard of wisdom; success requiresa substantive, defined focus againstwhich to be measured. The apostlePaul suggests this:Examine yourselves as to whether youare in the faith. Test yourselves. Doyou not know yourselves, that JesusChrist is in you? – unless indeed youare disqualified (2 Corinthians 13:5).
How do we examine ourselves? Agood test for Paul’s counsel may be tolook to yourself to see if you are purein heart – the essence of wisdom.Why? Because we’re told that it is thepure in heart who will see God. Is yourheart impure? What makes it so?
But we need to acknowledge thatthis is an examination of ourselves andnot others. If you spend all your timetalking about how bad everybody is,you are not looking at the real enemy.All we’re doing then is making our-selves look good by comparison, likethe Pharisee, depicted in the parableChrist told (Luke 18:9–14). His (unan-swered) prayer included the words“God, I thank You that I am not likeother men – extortioners, unjust, adul-terers, or even as this tax collector…”(18:11). By saying this he demonstrat-ed a problem we all share: he wasself-absorbed. What we don’t want isto be gold-plated, our religion being aveneer over a base metal, like thePharisee in the parable.
Make TimeYou know, you can’t spend your life inself-examination. That will result inparalysis by analysis. But you can set atime – daily, weekly, monthly – mark iton the calendar – when you commit orrecommit your life to obey God in yourthoughts, words, and actions. All ofthem need to be tested regularly.
One way to set the stage for our self-examination is to bring to mind theneed for baptism – the way that Godhas appointed by which we make acommitment to follow Jesus and findsalvation. Here’s a prayer that mighthelp us at that time:Search me, O God, and know myheart; try me, and know my anxieties;and see if there is any wicked way inme, and lead me in the way ever-lasting (Psalm 139:23–24).
Leroy Canoles JnrFrom: thepreachersays.com
With permission
16 Glad Tidings
Josiah was the last good king of Judah.After him three of his sons reigned,and one of his grandsons. None lastedvery long; two reigned for just threemonths. Finally the people of Judahwent into exile in Babylon. Althoughthey returned about 70 years later theynever had another king.
Josiah’s reign seems like a chapterof missed opportunities. He was only39 when he was killed in battle,although he had been king for 31years. He introduced some excellentreforms in the nation, but very quicklyafter his death the nation forgot allabout them, and reverted to theirwicked ways. That may well have beenbecause he led the way in everythingand the people did what they were toldto do but did not share their king’senthusiasm.
Promised and PromisingJosiah is one of the seven men in theBible who are named well before theywere born. Josiah’s birth was prophe-sied in the reign of Jeroboam I, about300 years before he was born.“Behold, a son shall be born to thehouse of David, Josiah by name” (1Kings 13:2). Josiah, son of Amon,became king at the age of eight, whenhis wicked father was overthrown. Hismother’s name was Jedidah, but littleelse is known about her except whereshe came from. Was she the goodinfluence in the young king’s life? Pre-sumably there was someone whoprovided such, because we are toldthat “he did what was right in the eyesof the Lord and walked in all the way
of David his father, and he did not turnaside to the right or to the left” (2Kings 22:2).
When he had reigned for 18 years,Josiah began to institute reforms. Hesent a messenger, Shaphan the scribe,to Hilkiah the High Priest to arrange forthe temple to be repaired and cleaned.In the reigns of the two predominantlywicked kings before him – Manassehand Amon – it had become neglected,dirty and in disrepair. In the process ofsetting things back to rights, Hilkiahfound a scroll described as “the bookof the Law”. He gave this to Shaphan,who read it. It is extremely unlikely thatHilkiah was unable to read, but quitepossible that his eyes were unable tosee the text on the scroll. I am notquite sure exactly which book isdescribed. It could have been Leviti-cus, or more likely a scroll ofDeuteronomy, perhaps the originalcopy (see Deuteronomy 31:26).
Reforming ZealWhen Shaphan and Hilkiah had read itthey took it to King Josiah, and read itto him. The effect was electric: theking tore his clothes, realizing that thebook condemned much of the life ofthe nation, despite his best intentions.He was now even more determined inhis zeal to bring the people back to thetrue worship of the LORD God for herecognized the danger the nation werein if they ignored the word of the livingGod: “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, andfor the people, and for all Judah, con-cerning the words of this book that has
Living like a King
King JosiahKing Josiah
Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 35:18).
It was a very joyful time for the nation.They remembered their redemptionfrom slavery in Egypt, and also thehappiness of a return to godly ways.Sadly it did not last.
Early EndNothing further is recorded aboutJosiah until the thirty-first year of hisreign. Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt wason his way to fight against the Assy-rians at Carchemish. He sent amessage to Josiah saying that he hadno quarrel with him, nor with Judah,and that God had commanded him tomake haste to battle at Carchemish,but undeterred Josiah went out withhis army to fight in the plain ofMegiddo. Like another king before himhe was struck by a stray arrow, andwas mortally wounded.
It was a tragic loss, for the reformshe had begun were not sufficientlyembedded in the lives of the people tosurvive his death. Jeremiah theprophet was one of the foremost tolament his death: “Weep not for him who is dead, norgrieve for him, but weep bitterly for himwho goes away, for he shall return nomore to see his native land” (22:10).
The world is full of “what ifs” and it istempting to ask “What if Josiah hadnot intervened with Neco, would theeffect on Judah have been very differ-ent?” It is impossible to answer that,because what happened was part ofGod’s plan. The time for Judah to berestored fully was not yet. That has toawait the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Mark SheppardQuotations from the ESV
132nd Year 17
been found. For great is the wrath ofthe LORD that is kindled against us,because our fathers have not obeyedthe words of this book, to do accordingto all that is written concerning us”(2 Kings 22:13).
If there is one thing we should learnfrom Josiah it is the need to read God’sword for ourselves, to take note ofwhat it teaches and put it into action inour own lives. Fortunately Josiah hadgodly men and women amongst hisadvisors and counselors, one of themwas Huldah, the prophetess, the wifeof Shallum. She sent messengers backto Josiah with the message that evilwould come to the nation, but thatbecause Josiah had sought to obeyGod’s word the judgment would notcome in his time. “Therefore, behold, I will gather you toyour fathers, and you shall be gath-ered to your grave in peace, and youreyes shall not see all the disaster thatI will bring upon this place” (v 20).
Second ReformationA period of intense activity followed.Josiah now made a determined effortto remove all vestiges of idol worshipfrom the land and to bring the peopleback to the true worship of the LordGod. The most obvious sign of this wasthe keeping of the Passover. Thepeople should have kept the Passovereach year on the anniversary of thenation leaving Egypt (Exodus 13:10).The Passover kept in Josiah’s time wasunparalleled. No Passover like it had been kept inIsrael since the days of Samuel theprophet. None of the kings of Israelhad kept such a Passover as was keptby Josiah, and the priests and theLevites, and all Judah and Israel whowere present, and the inhabitants of
18 Glad Tidings
called the “living God” – fromDeuteronomy 5:26, when Mosesmarvels at having heard the voice ofthe living God, right through to theBook of Revelation.
Even a king who worshipped godsmade of wood and stone came torecognize the difference: that theprophet Daniel’s god was “a living god”(Daniel 6:20, 26).
ImmortalityGod’s life has always been there andalways will be there. It is inextinguish-able, for God is immortal. At present,our lives are of limited durationbecause we fail to think and behave asGod does. But He has a plan to dealwith that and Jesus Christ has shownus that we too can have immortal life.When Jesus said that “the Father haslife in Himself”, the statement contin-ues “He has granted the Son to havelife in himself” (John 5:26).
RedemptionJesus is the first human to gain life inhimself – to become immortal (Psalm21:4) – and the whole plan of redemp-tion centres on the idea that manyothers will follow.
This can happen to us, if we followthe example of Jesus in our attitude toGod and in our behaviour to eachother. We must believe what God hastold us about the coming Kingdom onthe earth. Then we can look forward tobeing truly living beings – full of life,energy and zest for doing what is right.The emptiness of death will then begone for ever.
Cynthia Miles
We really only understand what life iswhen we have seen death. To see adead animal, a bird, or sadly a lovedone brings the message home thatdeath is the end of life. There isnothing there anymore. All signs of lifeand animation are gone: the canvas isblank.
Dead godsYet there are many people who worshipinanimate, and therefore dead, gods –images made out of metal, wood orstone. They have no life in them,having been carved or shaped bycraftsmen trying to imitate life. Longago a Hebrew man summed up idolworship in this graphic way:Their idols are silver and gold, the workof men’s hands. They have mouths,but they do not speak; eyes they have,but they do not see; they have ears,but they do not hear; noses they have,but they do not smell; they havehands, but they do not handle; feetthey have, but they do not walk(Psalm 115:4–7).
Then he added this devastatingassessment: “Those who make themare like them; so is everyone whotrusts in them” (Psalm 115:4–8); inother words, worship a lifeless god andexpect to become lifeless yourself!
The Living GodThe God of the Bible states that He isfull of life, always has and always willbe full of life. He alone has immortality(1 Timothy 6:16); has always existed(Psalm 90:2); for, as Jesus explained,“The Father has life in Himself” (John5:26). Throughout the Bible God is
The Only Living GodThe Only Living God
132nd Year 19
On a visit to our local library recently, Idecided to browse in the sectionlabelled “Religion”. I found a widerange of books covering world reli-gions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam,Judaism, atheism, agnosticism, evenmagic. There were very few on Christ-ianity and not a single Bible.
It is a sad reflection of society inmany parts of the world today. Ofcourse we don’t want to return to thedays of compulsory adherence to Statereligion but hasn’t the pendulumswung too far the other way? Is it reallythe case that nobody wants to knowwhat Christianity is all about?
Self-ImprovementThe next section of books was labelled“Mind Management” and containedbooks on self-help, feeling good, Yoga,etc. There are innumerable theories onoffer to help us feel better but, if effec-tive, they only have a temporarybenefit. They may help us cope withthe strains and stresses of daily livingbut they can’t solve the basic problemof our human frailty. Nor can they showus how to face the ultimate problem oflife: death and oblivion.
Only God can do that and He hasrevealed the reason for our existenceand has explained why we are mortalcreatures. Fortunately, He has alsoprovided the solution to all our prob-lems – in the Bible.
Bible ReadingWhy are we so resistant to opening thebook of books and reading it for our-selves? Do we think that we know whatit says already and that it has nothingfor us? Just look at what it claims:
All Scripture is given by inspiration ofGod, and is profitable for doctrine, forreproof, for correction, for instructionin righteousness, that the man of Godmay be complete, thoroughly equippedfor every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17);
For the word of God is living andpowerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to thedivision of soul and spirit, and of jointsand marrow, and is a discerner of thethoughts and intents of the heart(Hebrews 4:12).
Why not start reading the Bible, withan open mind? If you don’t knowwhere to start, I suggest the shortgospel of Mark which will give you anoverall picture of God’s message to usthrough the life and death and resur-rection of His son, Jesus Christ. Whynot start reading it today?
Marion Buckler
The Best of BooksThe Best of Books
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