Good News 1963 (Vol XII No 04) Apr

8/10/2019 Good News 1963 (Vol XII No 04) Apr

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2 T h e GOOD N E W S April, 1963

Letters to the EditorHealed of Ulcers

My husband is on shiftwork andhears your programme. H e had ulcersso bad four doctors have urged him tohave his stomach taken completely out.

But God in His goodness has seen fitto heal my husband; a week ago he re-turned to work-no operation, no pain,and eating good meals. This is a mira-cle.

Woman, Canada

Powerfu l Sermons PreachedThe sermons by Mr. Ha Baird and

Mr. Bob Steep are really powerful. My21-year-old daughter (riot convertedasyet) had this comment after a sermonon home conditions. It made me feelterrible because I am not obeying myhusband-and Im not even marriedyet

Woman, Kentucky

W i th that att itnde-i t wont be longnow.

Tithes EarlyMy baby will be due around the

last of this October so I will have togive up my baby-sitting. My third tithestarts this Ap ril. I didnt wantto be leftout of helping a tiny bit at least, soI started my third tithe in January.

Woman, Missouri

Doing even more t h a n is required isexactly what Christ said was necessary.

Eyes and Back HealedThe day I received your healing

cloth I was so blind I couldnt see, soI placed your healing cloth over my

eyes and prayed. When I ended myprayer, I dropped off to sleep. WhenIawakened I could see clearly; I tookthe cloth from my eyes and placed it onmy back. My back bothered meall thetime. Since I placed your healing clothon it, it hasnt hurt. I went to churchand I could see well enough to readthe Bible.

Woman, Missouri

Learns Too LatePlease send me the following: How

to Have a Happy Marraige, How toSolve Family Arguments, BUT espe-cially D ivorce and Rem arriagc. Im liv-ing with my third wife and I need tolearn how to get along with women.

Man, Georgia

a Better to learn how to get along withGod first.

Sins RevealedIn a recent check-up our ten-year-old

son, Roland, was found tohave a tniichof pernicious anemia. Our oldest songot a bad-looking boil on his chin thatwas infecting the lymph glands and wew e r e told how dangcrous it was. I knewsomething was wrong, and wed betterstop and see what it was. I prayed forguidance and to be shown what wasgoing wrong. The broadcast for nearlytwo weeks, of which we heard at leasttwo diferent ones everyday, showed usone sin we were committing in eachbroadcast. Thats a lot of correcting,but I stand corrected and the Eternalhas sure filled my spiritual cup to run-ning over. I recognize that cvil for

(Please coiztiizue 071 page 6 )

The WORLD TOMORROWNow on Yankee Network

by j oh n E dwar d Portune LION new homes are being reachedI

On April 11 , news was received atthe Pasadena, Headquarters of T h eWO RLD T OMO RRO W, of the lates tleap in radio coverage-the seven sta-t i o n YA N K E E N E T W O R K

For the first time in the history ofG o d s Church, the radio door of NewEngland is open. Now the vital voiceof Gods true Gospel is finally morethan the faint whisper of a far-off Mex-ican radio station to the people of NewEngland.

At the moment programming is onlyonce a week on Sunday-yet O N E MIL -

This CBS affiliated G tw or k wasopcned to us through it5 one 50,000watt station WNAC, Boston. TheWORLD TOMORROW has been car-ried by it for several months now.

Five of t h e s i x n ew s t a t i ons ,spotted in Connecticut, Mdssachusetts,and Maine opened prime evening spotsnear 8 : 3 0 p m T h e siuth offers thewell-frequen ted Sunday morning spot of10:30 a.m.

Pray that this step forward is thew a l begitznitzg of the end of tlir rarriineof the Word-so long-lived in Ne wEngland.

w eGood News

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

miniJterzng to its membersscattered abroad

OL. XI1 O

Published monthly at Pasadena, California.1963, by Radio Church of God

EDITOR

HERBERTW. ARMSTRONG

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Garner Ted Armstrong

M A N A G I N G EDITOR

David Jon H il l

SENIOR EDITORS

Roderick C. MeredithH er ma n L. H o eh

AsJociate Edttors

Albert J. Portune Ronald Kelly

Contributing Editors

W . A. Berg Ernest L. MartinRobert C. Boraker Raymond F. McNairBryce G . Clark C. Paul MeredithC. Wayne Cole L. Leroy NeffRaymond C. Cole Benjamin L. ReaCharles V. Dorothy Lynn E. TorranceJack R. Elliott Gerald Waterhouse

Selmer Hegvold Basil WolvertonClint C. Zimmeixnan

Foods Consultants

Velma Van der Veer

Rose McDowellMary E. He gvo ld Isabel1 F. Hoeh

Editvrial and Production Assistants

Paul W . KrollJames W . Robinson

Donald G . McDonald

BUSINESS MANAGER

Albert J. Portune

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS to the Editor,Box 1 1 1 , Pasadena, California.Canadian members should address Post Office Box44, Station A, Vancouver 1, B. C., Canada.Our members in United Kingdom, Europe, andAfrica should address the Editor, Ambassador GI-lege. Bricket Wmd, Sr Alhnnr, Hem. , England.

Members in Australia and Southeast Asia shouldaddress the Editor, Box 345, North Sydney,N. S. W., Australia.

In the Philippines, Post Office Box 2603, Manila.

change in your a ddress. Please inclose both oldand new address. IMPO RTAN T

BE SUR TO NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY Of any


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A L L A R O U N D T H E W O R L D -

Gods LOVE Poured Outin Passover Season

Over f i f t ee n thousand observed the most JOYOUS SpringFestival ever And t w o ELDERS were orda ined-p las two

full ministers later

by Roder ick C . M e r e d i t h

EJOICE in the Lord alway, andR gain I say, rejoice (Phil.4 : 4 ) .

Pauls instruction was gladly obeyedthis P ~ ~ ~ U V K Lr what most felt w a s themost JOYOUS and i m p i r i n g Spring

Festival ever It seemed that God s HolySpirit was just p o w e d on / in all themeeting places of His people in anunusual way.

As one member of the Church w roteus after the Festival: It seems to me,as an individual, that as the end drawsnearer God is allowing His true min-isters to preach in a more powerful waythan ever before. He is really impressingupon His Church the importanceof thetimes we are living in and getting Hispeople to study, pray, and fast so wecan comc closer to what our Fatherexpects of us.

This is an indication of the impdcfof t he Festival of TJnleavened. Breadupon those who faithfully assembledwhere Christ placed H I S name.

Tw o L o c al E ld e r s O r d a i n e dDuring the Festival

Highlighting the Feast of UnleavenedBread at Portland, Mr. Norman Smith-Evangelist from Pasadena-was joinedby Mr. Dale Hampton and other elders

Mr. John Bald Preaching Elder

in ordaining Mr. Carl OBcirn as aLocal Elder in Gods Chu rch Mr .OBeirn is a graduate of AmbassadorCollege. He is a long-time Church m em-ber with a wife and four lovely chil-dren. H e has labored faithfully and well

in the Portland area assisting Mr. DaleHampton in the ministry, and now joinsthe ranks of the elders in Go ds Chu rch.

C o n g r a t u l at i o n s, M r . a n d M r s .OBeirn

On the final Holy Day, in NewYork,Mi-. Carlton Smith and I had the privi-lege of ordaining Mr. Guy Engelbartas a Local Elder also Mr. Engelbart isa graduate of Ambassador College andhas now labored in the New York areafor nearly two years assisting Mr. Carl-ton Smith in many ministerial responsi-Lililin. Both he and his charming wife,Penny, have been a source of inspira-tion and joy to many in the New York-Philadelphia area, and now Mr. Engel-hart is clothed with additional min-isterial authority as he too becomes anElder in Gods Church.

Then-Mr. Arm st rong Orda in sTwo Full Ministers

In a happy surprise ceremony in Chi-cago, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong-pass-ing through on the train on his way to

Mr. Carl OBeirn, Local Elder

New York and England-was joinedby Mr. Dean Blackwell and other localministers in ordaining Mr. Harold L.Jackson and Mr. John Bald as Preach-iiig Elders in Gods Church W ith thisordination, Mr. Jackson becomes the

f i y s f full minister among the Negroesin Gods Church in this era H e andhis dedicated wife have been in GodsChurch for many years-and hav e seta long example of growth and servicein feeding Gods flock.

May God continue to inspire anddirect Mr. Jackson in training otherNegro elders and feeding those of Hispeople called into God s Church atthis time

Mr. John Bald has also been in theservice of Christ for many years-cnter-ing college nearly nine years ago. Al-though younger than average when he

first graduated, Mr. Bald has maturedand grown tremendously in every wayin serving G od s people in th e Chicagoarea. Both he and his wife, Nancy,have earned the love and respect of allthe brethren whom they have served-and Mr. Bald has increasingly devel-oped as a p o w e r f n l speaker and min-ister of J m i s Christ.

Congratulations, John and Nancy

Mr. Guy Engelbar t loc al Elder


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The G O O D N E W S A p ri l,1963

Mr. a n d Mrs. Harold Jackson. Mr. Jackson i sthe first o our Colored brethren to become afull Preeching Elder.

May God continueto

bless and use youincreasingly in His service

T he Headquarters Fest ivalof Unleavened Bread

Headed by Mr. Herbert Armstrong andDr. Herman Hoeh, fourteen elders fedthe brethren of Gods Church in theSouthern California area during theFeast of Unleavened Bread in Pasadena.There were seven days of preachingservices, and seveiz elders who spokeduring the services at the beautifulPasadena Civic Auditorium.

This year, with 2600 in attendance,our people nearly filled the Civic Audi-torium during the inspiring preachingservices which will long be rememberedby those in attendance

Mr. Armstrong gave especially mov-ing sermons on the importance of be-coming like God and keeping our mindson the tremendous spiritual goal aheadof s nr Hoeh gave unnsnally inter-esting and helpful sermons-one bring-ing out im portan t historical events whichtook place at the time of the originalExodus.

Mr. Charles Dorothy, Mr. Leroy Neffand Mr. Dibar Apartian also gave im-portant and moving sermons-joinedby other elders from the Pasadena area.After the Feast, everyone remarked thatthis year was the best ever

The Feas t a t Our H u g e Ta b e rn a c lei n Texas

this year. A total of 1,020 convertedadult members partook of the breadand wine in the Passover scrvicc, andapproximately 2500 were present dur-ing the Feast

M r. Richa rd Rice-Local Elder atGladewatcr-xnds in the followin g in-spiring report on the Festival there:

Never before have I experienceda Spring Festival such as we have hadthis year, commented many brethren asthey assembled before God at theTabernacle near Big Sandy, Texas. Ithas been the most inspiring, upliftingand edifying Passover I have ever at-tended.

This attitude doesnt speak for afew scattered brethren only attendingfor the first time, but was the heartfeltand sincere feeling of everyone present.

Indeed God blessed and inspiredthese meetings in every way possible.The weather was perfect with blue,sunny skies and mild temperatures pre-vailing all eight days. A deep sense ofgenuine brotherly love and respectseemed to permeate the Tabernaclegrounds as the brethren fellowshippedwith each other and renewed old ac-quaintances. And God spoke with bold-ness, power and sobering franknessthrough His human instruments as Hehas never done before.

Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong and Mr.Albert J. Portune were here from theHeadquarters Church for the eight daysto conduct services. Seven other min-isters and local cldcrs were also avail-

able to aid in counseling and in speak-ing. Messrs. Kenneth Swisher, CecilBattles and Richard Rice were presentfor the entirety of the Festival, whileMessrs. David Antion, Richard Prince,Tony Hammer and Kelly Barfield ar-rived after the first Holy Day.

One thousand twenty brethren from

several states partook of the bread andwine on Passover night. This numberexceeded the amount anticipated so thatadditional wine had to be poured andblessed.

The Night To Bc Rcmcmbercd

The following evening was truly aNight To Be Remembered. After abrief explana tion of this Feast-its his-tory and its purpose-by M r. Arm -strong, the brethren joyfully marchedfrom the new Tabernacle to the dininghall to partake of the delectable andsumptuous meal prepared for the oc-casion. Everyone displayed an expressionof real joy and happiness as he feastedand conversed with his neighbor

It was apparent to all that God in-spired every message that was preached.Many brethren sat with open-mouthedamazement and awe as the wonderfultruths of God were unveiled beforetheir eyes. Electrifying would be anappropriate term to describe the effec-tiveness of the messages given. Cer-tainly the presence of God was here.Topics discussed included basic responsi-bilities of a Christian, keys to overcom-

(Pleare i o n t m u e o n puge 8 )

Neorly filling the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to copacify, the Hwdq uor ters congregation w as verythankful for these fine surroundings. Here the brethren listen as Mr. Leon Ettinger conducts theAmbassador College Chorale.

Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong and Mr.Albert J. Portune headed the list ofthe ministers who directed the Festivaland spoke during the Days of Un-leavened Bread at Big Sandy, Texas,


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And Now--La PUR E VERZTE-

The PLAIN TRUTH

IN FRENCHFive thousand Frenchmen will soon receive the Truth of Godsown end-time Gospel message in their own language. Its ThePLAIN TRUT in any language that G od has commissioned H isservants to proclaim and PUBLISH. The French instructor atAmbassador College, the voice of rrLeM O N D E A VENIR-andthe Managing Editor of La PURE VERITE brings you the inside

story of this step forward in Gods Wo r k

by D i b a r A p a r t i a n

NEW M A G A Z I N E is born. ButW H Y, Is there izee for an-other publication?

It comes with a definite purpose.Its mission is the most important oncarth today. There i b not now, andnever has been, any publication like it.None has served its all-importantpur-poJe.

W ith these powerful words,Mr. Her-bert W. Armstrong introduced, in hisEditorial , the French PLAIN TRUTHwhich is scheduled to appear this June.In French , The PLAIN TRUTH isLaPURE VERITE, but i t means exactly

the same thing: the pure, s imple orp h i ? , truth.That describes the all-importantpuv-

pose of T he PL AI N TRUTH-appear-ing in English, German, and nowFRE NC H It makes Gods W or d plainto those who have eyes to see. Regard-less of the language it is written in, TheP L A I N T R U T H s er ve sas a witness toall who read it.

B i r t h P a n g sD o you remember what Mr. Arm-

strong wrote in his Personal from theEditor column (February 1962 issue)regarding the bir th of The PL AI NT R U T H ? Do you recall how he hadto borrow an old typewriter from aneighbor out in the country, then ar-range to use a mimeograph belongingto the mimeograph sales officer in Eu-gene in order to be able to put outVol. I, No. 1 of T h e P L A IN T R U T H ?Its total cost was a few stencils, andthe six hundred sheets of mimeographpaper used to print about 150 copies.

That was back in February 1934.Today , twenty-nine years later, Th e

PLAIN TRUTH appears as a beauti-fully printed 52-pag e magazine, with

AE

A fine beginning

a new heavy cover. Its circulation isover 400,000 copies.

Nearly two years ago, we all re-joiced at hearing the news that the firstGerman version of The PL AI N TR UT Hwas out under the name of DieRETNE WAHRHEIT.

No w at last-printed in our ownAmbassador College Print Shop, ap-pears a full 24-page edition La PUREVBRITl3-the French edition of Th eP L A I N T R U T H .

How It All Began

Still fresh in my mind is one of thetalks Mr. Dick Armstrong and I hadin the fall of 1955, a few months afterI had begun teaching at AmbassadorCollege. At that time, I knew nothingabout Gods Wo r k , His plan on earth,the reason f o r Ambassador College northe purpose of life.

As we were finishing our dinner to-gether in a restaurant, Mr. Dick Arm-

strong began to explain to me the reasonG o d had founded Ambassador College.This may sound strange to your ears,he said to me, but what is being donehere, at Ambassador College,is the veryWo r k of God o n earth. Yes, believe itor not, the little group of people yousee around you are the very people G o dhas called to serve Him on earth. Weare here to study and learn, to yieldowselves more and more to God, togrow in His grace and to preach theGospel for a witness around the world.

At that time these words did notmean much to me I was acquainted

with many religions, and to me, thiswas just another one But I respectedand liked Dick Armstrong. In the shortime we had come to know each otherwe had become two good friends; weconversed in French and spent muchtime together.

Yes, Dibar, some day you will seeit all happcn, he added, this Gubpewill be preached for a witness aroundthe world-AROUND THE W O R L D ,including the French-speaking peopleWhats more, some of us will have todo it. It will go ont f r o m here, fromlittle Ambassador College in PasadenaU.S.A.

A n d so it was that without realizingit, I was being introduced to the verWo r k of God It never occurred tome, however, that would bc usefuin fulfilling Mr. Dick Armstrongprophecy

The French Work Grows

Two years later, a few of our Eng-lish booklets were translated by our department and sent to those who requested them. Shortly after, we begawork on the Bible CORRESPONDENCE COURSE as certainly the bes


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6 T h e G O O D N E W S April , 1963

Mr. Dibor Apartian, Managing Editor o f La PURE VERITE i s shown here with his hard-workingstaff who helped him produce this fine magazine.

way of introducing the Bible to them-provided they can find a Bible

From then on, things moved veryfast in the French Department. On Oc-tober 9, 1960, we were on the airThe W ORL D TOM ORRO W hroadcastin French-Le M O N D E A VE NIRGod first opened the way in SaintJerome, Canada, a small station in thevery heart uf thc Catliulic-duiiiiiiate~Quebec. W e were on the air only oncea week, every Sunday at 10 :3 0 a.m.God usually starts His Work on a smallscale-but it alzuayJ grows like amiistard seed.

Today, we are still on that first sta-tion in Saint Jerome, hut hundreds o fthousands of watts have been addedto it. Gods Gospel is now th unde ringover the entire European continent, overits t w o greal super-power radio sta-t ions , RADIO LUXEMBOURG andEUROPE NU MB ER ONE-each broad-casting with over 500,000 watts. TheGospel of the Kingdom of God is alsopreached in the West Indies and inHaiti-in the French langu age.

The fact tha t Gods Work i s goingfull steam ahead on every continent is asure sign the end is near-much nearer

than perhaps some of you realize. Thissummer, coinciding with the publicationof La PURE VERITE, offices are beingopened in Paris to aid carrying on morefully the French Work. Today, we havenearly f i f t y booklets printed and in cir-culation, in addition to The BIBLESTORY and the first 2 0 lessons of theBiblc CORRESPONDENCE COURSE.

Are You Doing Your Share?

But where and how is La PUREVERITE published? you may ask. Theanswer is: right here on Ambassador

Campus. At first, we had planned totype it on an IBM Executive type-writer, then to reduce the pages foroffset printing. However, a few monthsago, God blessed His entire Work byadding to the Printing DepartmentanINTERTYPE-a type of linotype ma-chine-which is already being used byGods Work in pr in t ing The GOODNEWS, the Bible CORRESPOND-ENCE COURSE, The PORTFOLIO(the Ambassador College Campus pa-pe r) , and now-La PURE VERITE .It will soon be used to print variousbooklets and even full-length books

Thus, La PURE VERITE is entirely pro-duced on our campus. It is set to type,pri nte d, assembled, cut, stitched-all byour own Printing Department.

Do you realize, brethren, what allthis means? Time is ramzing oat. God isblessing His Work with all this modernequipment because there is LITTLETIME LEFT to accomplish the greattask tha t H e has placedon our shoulders-every last one of us. Ar e youworkinghard? Are you earnestly praying forGods over-all Work? Are you doingYOUR SHARE in whatever capacityGod has called you? Are you a part, an

active, moving part, of the small butpowerful team God has called in theselast times?

While the nations gird their mili-tary forces and their NUCLEAR forcesfor war, destruction and chaos, LaPURE VERITE comes to shout theGOOD NEWS tha t PEACE is COM-ING, Mr. Armstrong wrote in closinghis first Editorial addressed to all theFrench-speaking people around theworld. Our deliverance from unhappi-ness and wretchedness is at hand.

This i s the voice I N T HE WILDER-NESS preparing the way.

Letters(Cont inued f rom page 2 )

what its purpose is now. Tell Mr. Arm-strong he will never guess how deep hereached in our lives, and kept us frombeing destroyed. We were so unawareof it, and thanks from the bottom ofmy heart.

Converting a CatholicI have a very serious problem of

trying to convert a Roman Catholic girto the true Church of God in orderthat we may marry. Would you pleasesend me any booklets or advice thatmay make my task eas ier.

A serious Problem is put ting it mildly.Yo u have an utterly impossible tdsk.Read I Cor. 7:16.

Quick Answer to LetterYou sent me a form to fill out re

questing one of your ministers to visime. Just as I finished answering thletter the doorbell rang and there wa

response. I hadnt even had time to maithe letter.

Inspired by Gods M inisterI must tell you of the tremendous

blessing that I and two friends hadwhen one of the ministers of the Churchof God visited and counseled with US.

He was Mr. Barfield (and he alsbrought his wonderful wife ). W e havnever met more marvelous and sincerpeople. I hope we did not impose upohis generosity in that we did keep hiawakc the entire night answering ourquestions. I know you can understanhow we had waited and prayed for true minister of God to counsel witus and how literally brim fullof questions we were. He unhesitantly answereall we asked directly from the Biblenever any I think or perhaps, bustraightforward answers on every question. H e and his wife also had an ama

ing knowledge of the Bible and iprinciples. I thank God for leading met o T h e W O R L D T O M O R R O W pro-gram.

Ambasador Colleger are beavingfrnit.

Healed of EvcrythingYou have prayed for me for an ea

infection, injured leg, some kind otumor near the intestines and some typof chest difficulty, and I have beenhealed of all of these.

Woman, Mississippi

Man, Rhode Island

yuul minister. It was ccrtainly a quick

Woman, Idaho

Man, Tennessee

Man, Ohio


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Z N S TA L L M E N T T H R E E

What is a Red

CHRISTIAN SOLDIER?W h a t w e re t h e te ac hi ng s o f t h e A p os tl es a n d t h e ea rly N e wTes tam ent Church? W a s war under any c ircumstance permit ted?How can a Chr i s t ian fight t he good fight and yet not kill?

by L. Leroy Neff

H E APOSTLE J A M E S , who wrote theEpistle of James, was a physicalbrother of Christ . What did he

tcach about fighting?H e wrote that the fruitof righteous-

ness [obeying Gods commandments(Ps . 119:172)] i.r .rozivz z P E A C E[not war) of them that MAKE PEACE(Jas. 3 : 1 8 ) . You do not make peaceby makitzg war

T

Cause of Wa r Defined

This same Apostle wrote in explicitterms the t rne cause of war:

From whence come wars and f ight-ings among you? come they not hence,e v e n of y o t u l a s t s that w u r z y o wmemberr? Ye lust, and have not: yekill, and desire to have, and cannot ob-tain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not,because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receivenot, because ye ask amiss, that ye mayconsume it upon your lusts (Jas.4 : l - 3 ) .

The root cause of war as stated hereis lwt, greed and coveteousness Th atis not only the cause as written byJames. Since it is included in the Bibleit is also the cause as defined by l e susChris t who inspired James to writeLust and greed are SIN as stated inthe Ten Commandments, and the viola-tion of this law is sin ( I John 3 : 4 ) .The Christian is supposed to p i t sin-n ing (Rom. 6 : 1 2 ) .

James sharply rebuked the twelvetribes (nations) of Israel (Jas. 1:1for participating in war. He tel ls themhow to keep from having war. I t istoo bad that the modern Israelitishcountries do not heed his instruction.Tf they did, the wnrld wmilrl he a miirhbetter place in which to live.

Did Peter F o l l o w Christ?

Certain churches believe that Peterwas given the keys of rulership over

the church. Did h e follow Christ inteaching that we are not to participatein wars? Or, as his claimed successorshave pructiced, should thcy wage war?

For even hereunto were ye called:because Christ alsosuffered for us, leav-ing us an example, that ye should fol-low his steps ( I Pet. 2 : 2 1 ) .

This specific example given by Petershows that we should suffer for thecause of Christ, nut C U U J ~ JuJJering.Peter followed C hrists example. Af terhis conversion, he did not take up armsagainst others. He learned his lesson onthe Mount of Olives the night beforeChrists crucifixion.

Peter taught that we are to have com-passion for others to be courteous t ohave pi ty on others ( I Pet . 3 : 8 ) . H EC O M M A N D E D C H R I S T I A N S NOTTO RENDER EVIL FOR EVIL, orrailing f o r railing ( I Pet. 3 :5 ) -LZ) . Onthe contrary, we are to bless those w h odo evi l to us, or who rail against us.God has His eyes on the righteous andwill take care of them when they followthis instruction (verse 1 2 ) .

Peter did fol low Chris t He taughtthat we were not to kill or harm oth-ers, just as Ch rist, his Master did. T hosewho claim to have succeeded Peterhavenot followed either Peter or Christ

Did John Fol low Christ?

Did the Apostle John follow Christin this teaching?

He taught that if a man says that heloves God and yet hates his brother-h e i s a L I A R ( I John 4 : 2 0 ) . A per-son who is even aizgry with anotherhas already committed murder in hisheart Matt. 5 : 2 2 ) . Y o n rnnnof kill-EVER-in war, zlnless you have a senseof H AT R E D toward the enemy

John also taught that those who arebegotten of God overcome the world.But how do we overcome the world?By war? No, by F AIT H ( I John5 : 4 )

Th e whole theme of Joh ns writingsis love, both to God and neighbor. Allof h is writin gs are contrary to hate,.violence and ,uidrfdt.e.

Did Paul Preach a NEW Gospel?

Did Paul really follow Christ inteaching against war and violence, ordid he in his Pauline theology teacha di ffe ren t doctrine from Christ and theother apostles?

Paul wrote:Be ye followers of me. even as Z

also am of Christ ( I Cor. 11 :I .This scripture shows plainly that Pau

followed or imitated (Revised Stand-ard Version) Christ. He also taught thesame identical Gospel that Christ did-contrary to what many of the modernBiblical scholars claim. Lets examinehis writings to really prove that he didfol low Chris t .

H e preached a Gospel ofpeace (Rom.l 0 : 1 5 ) and commanded us to live inpeace (I1 Cor. 1 3 : l l ) . W e a recharged to follow this peacewith ALLm e n (Heb. 12:1 4) . How can you fo llow peace with all men if you are determined to destroy them in warfare

Paul taught that we are not to takevengeance on others. That is GODSprerogative, not ours

Recompense to n o m a n evil for evil

If it be possible, as much as liethin you, live peaceably with all men.D ea rly be lo ve d, AV E N G E N O TYOURSELVES, but rather give placeunto wrath: for it is written, Vengeanceis mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feedhim; if he thirst, give him drinkfor in so doing tbon Jhult heup r o d sof f i re o n his head. Be not overcomeof evil, but overcome evil W I T HG O O D ( R o m . 1 2 17-21) .

This scripture is 50 plain and clearthat there is no need for explanation

(Please cont inue on page 1 4 )


8/16

Closed-circuit TV provided a unique experiencein England

Passover SeasonContintred from p d g e 4 )

ing, marital happiness, down-to-earthprinciples of everyday living and a hostof other vital and timely subjects.

Attendan ce was increased to approxi-mately 2 5 0 0 as hundreds of additionalmembers from surrounding church areasjoined us for the final three days.

All rejoiced that God added 2 3 newmembers to H is body.

W e regret the Feast had to end sosoon but are very thankful that ourGod and Ruler provided us with anaburidarice uf bpiritual fuud to digestwithin the next six months.

The Feast in Great Britain

From our European Headquarters atLondon, Mr. Raymond McNair reports

Our English Ambassadors ate well also

Ambassadors lovely lower Gardens provide a beautiful setting as Mr. Herbert W . Armstrongspeaks to the brethren on the night to be much observed

that a wonderful Festival was held with2 2 4 members partaking the Passover atLondon and 3 3 0 in attendance at theFeast. At Manchester, 76 took the Pass-over with 1 1 3 at the Feast. The Birm-ingham Church had 68 brethren par-taking the Passover and 95 in attend-

ance at the Festival. Bristol saw 25 atthe Passover, 66 at the Festival withBelfast having 2 9 at the Passover and61 at the Feast.

As a leading Ambassador student overthere, Mr. Edward Smith reports on theFestival:

W h a t a tremendous JOY andPLEASURE it was fo r Gods peopleto observe the recent Feast of Un-leavened Bread An nua l records wereagain broken as FIVE CHURCHES inBritain met in what was the greatestand most enjoyable Spring Festival everkept in this green and pleasant land.

Eager participants from remote areas

met in unity with local members, andrejoiced s comm anded t Belfast,Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester andhere at Bricket Wood. With the addi-tion of scattered members both inBritain and on the Continent of Europe,the over-all total of those keeping GodsHoly Days exceeded 700 persons.

At Ambassador College, the Festi-val was memorable for the improved,smoother organization, the efficientwork of the team of assistant deaconsand deaconesses, the much-appreciated

against human nature and the in-comprehensible GLOR Y to be ours aftethe M il lennium.

Time sped along. As the last sermoended, the last farewells were madeand the amual Sabbath drew toa closeevery member resolved that nothin

would interfere with his observance oeven more wonderful Holy Days in future months and years.

Returning to the United States, th

Smiling Pittsburgh Brethren heard Mr


9/16

Our own fine Tabernacle provides ample roomin Texas.

The Feast and the physical food dur-- - . _ - ing the entire Festival season werejoy-

fully received, nnd the scattered Negrobrethren had a most delightful social

occasion with a delicious chicken din ner,lots of fellowship and later a worth-while film. Everyone in the area agreedthat this was the most enjoyable Feastever-and they are already lookin g fo r-ward to Pentecost

T h e F ea st i n N e w Yo r k C i t y

Eighteen hundred brethren crowd fine McCormick Place in Chicago.

The Holy Day preaching servicesin Chicago were conducted in the$35,000,000 McCormick Place on LakeMichigan. The atmosphere was inspir-ing and the weather was clear andsunny nll the time-unusual for Chi-cago in the spring Both the white andcolored chorales sang inspiring numbersduring the Festival, and a number of

Cole. Merrrr. McDowell and Engelburt seated.

uplifting and joyous social events wereenjoyed by all the brethren.

Both Mr. Hill and Mr. Blackwellgave unusually powerful sermons on thegreatness of God and the meaning ofHis plan for humanity. They were as-sisted during the preaching services byMi-. Allen M anteu fel, Mr. GeorgeMeeker, Mr. John Bald, Mr. RichardPlache, Mr. Les McColm, plus otherelders and leading men in the area.

At the close, everyone felt that here,too, the GREATEST and moJt inspir-ing Passover season ever had just beenm m p l e t d

Insp i r ing Feas t a t P i t t sburgh ,Pennsylvania

A total of 550 adult members par-took of Gods Passover in Pittsburghthis spring, with just short of 1000 inatteiiclaiice o n the Holy Ddy5 to hearGods Word expounded Mr. Ray-mon d Cole-visiting Evangelist-led thepreaching services with Mr. McDoweli,area minister, and Mr. Bob Hoops as-sisting.

People were present from at leastseven states to hear an inspiring seriesof sermons by Mr. Cole outlining Godsplan for humanity, plus many other in-spiring sermons by Mr. McDowell andMr. Hoops.

My wife and I had the pleasure offlying to N e w York to join Mr. CarltonSmith and Mr. Guy Engelbart in con-ducting the Passover and Feast in thathuge area. A total of 406 adult mem-bers partook of the Passover, withover700 in attendance at the Feast

God seemed to pour out His Spiritand His LOVE more than ever beforein a local Festival of our experience,and the brethren in attendance drankin with enthusiasm the inspired mes-sages on overcoming, fasting and pray-er, not making excuses, and being a realLIGHT to the world around them. The

Over seven hundred attend New Yark.


10/16

The Chicago Chorale poses here eated Mr . Ecker conducts Miss Bressen accompanies.

joy and e?zthzisiasm of everyone presentwas increasingly contagious as the Festi-val progressed, and the only real prob-lem of the entire Festival was thatit had to come to an end so soon

The New York Church Chorale-under the direction of Mr. Leo Bogdan-chik sang many inspiring numbers d ur-ing the services. Then, on the Sundayafternoon before the last Holy Day, theypresented an entire program on thet h e m r uf Steplieu Foster-his life andhis music. It was beautiful and inspir-ing, and shows what God s people inour nations largest city can do

Also, several extremely moving anduplifting numbers were presented bythe Negro Octet under the able direc-tion of Mr. Raymond Mickens who,incidentally, sang several excellent solosboth with the chorale and alone duringthe services.

Everyone was especially elated at theordination of Mr. Guy Engelbart as aLocal Elder on the morning of the finalHoly Day. All-in-all, it was a Festivallnng to he rememhered by the brethrenin the New York area, and those whocame in from Pennsylvania, New Eng-land, Canada and other areas.

Nor thwes t Spr ing Fes t iva la t P o r t l a n d

In the absence of Mr. Raymond Cole-whu juumeyecl tu Pittsburgh-Evan-gelist Norman Smith from PasadenaHeadquarters was in charge of the Feast

observance in the Northwe st. H e wasassisted by Mr. Dale Hampton, Mr.Jimmy Priddle and other elders in thearea.

A record number of people, 584,took the Passover-including 38 at Med-ford, 180 at Eugene and 366 at Port-land.

Powerful sermons on the meaningof the Feast and God s plan were givenby Mr. Smith, Mr. Hampton, Mr. Frid-dle, and M r. Dea n Wilson-who jour-neyed down from Vancouver duringthe Festival.

One of the happy events was the sur-prise ordination of Mr. Carl OBeirnto the rank of Local Elder. Mr. OBeirnwas the most surprised He had justseated himself with his family up inthe balcony after leading the singing,and was then asked to return to thestage.

Mr. Basil Wolverton reports: Ifthere were any long faces, they werehidden somewhere behind the happyones. True, Mr. Norman Smith didhave a brush with a flu bug, but hiscontinued presence and constant smiledidnt show it. That this was the bestand most spiritually profitable of theSpring Festivals in Portland was veryevident.

Joyous Fest ival at Birmingham,Alabama

As evening darkened the skies of Ala-bama, 271 members of t he Church ofGod quietly began to assemble at theHollywood Country Club just outsideBirmingham to observe the memorialof the death of Jesus Christ.

The following evening, the eightsoutheastern states were represented bythe 556 who feasted together on de-licious filet mignon stcaks and all thetrimmings. This was the first oppor-tunity to fellowship with others ofGods Church ever to be enjoyed bymany of the brethren from outlyingareas. This fellowship, plus the manytruly inspired sermons by Mr. Leslie

L. McCullough and Mr. Arthur Craig,will long stand out in the memoriesof these scattered brethren.

Morning and evening services wereconducted on the intervening days withonly a small drop in attendance whichwas bolstered by the arrival of Mr.Carl McNair, whose sermons addedgreatly to the spiritual feasting, as wellas those from the Memphis Church.T he week quickly slipped by with somemuch-needed counseling being held inthe afternoons and was topped off bya talent show which delighted everyone.

April, 1963

The last Holy Day brought the larg-est attendance of nearly 600 and wasa fitting climax to the first Feast sea-son of the year.

Passover in Central California

The most j o y o u s Feast ever held in

Central California has just been com-pleted in the small town of Lodi whichis neat Sacramcnto. ExcrctlT 33.3 obseivedthe Passover on Sunday evening. Thisis an increase of 111 over the 2 2 2 whowere there last year. Everyone now isexpecting 444 to be there next year

On the night of the Feast, over 640enjoyed the delicious potluck dinnerprepared by the ladies. Many of thebrethren stayed till after midnight dis-cussing the abundant blessings Godhas given us--especially the gro wth inthe churches-more tha n fifty per centin the past year.

The highlight of the Feast Day was

the ordination of another deacon in theSacramento Church and also our firstdeaconess in Northern California. Theyare Mr. Sid Cloud and Mrs. WilburHickman.

Beautiful weather for the most partprevailed throughout the eight-day Festi-val. An d G ods people in this area allwent home feeling this was the bestFeast cvct

The Passover in Scat tered Areas

The Passover and Feast were ob-served in Denver, Colorado, with Dr.Clint C. Zimmerman journeying fromPasadena Headquarters to join Mr.Burk McNair in conducting the serv-ices. During the Festival, they werejoined by Mr. Roger Foster and Mr.Ray Jantzen from the Wichita area toassist in the preaching.

A total of 307 observed the Passoverwith 540 present during the Festivalof Unleavened Bread. An additional11 2 observed the Passover in Wichitawith 238 present on the Holy Day there.

(Please cont inue on page 1 3 )

Mr. Jackson i s here leadingthe Chicago Colored Chorale.


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T H E BIBLE A N D H l S TO RY P R O V E

The Jews DONT

Observe PassoverW h y d o t he l e w s hold T H E lR Passover a day later than thePassover observed by Moses, Nehemiah and Jeszls? How and

when did this change come about?

by Ernest L. M a r t i n

HY DO THE JEWS have doubleHo ly Days-keep Passover oneday late-then P e n te c o s t on

Sivan 6 ? Wh y d o they reckon only 5723years from creation? What is correct?Are the Jews right?

Many in Gods Church have beenpuzzled over the Jewish interpretationbehind the Holy Calendar and the Festi-vals. Since the Jews have been responsi-blc for thc prcscrvation of GodsCalendar, why could they not also leadus in the interpretation of the HolyDays? Why is i t that Gods Churchdoes not follow the Jewszn every point?

W

T he Jews Respons ib le for t h eOrac les of God

In Romans 3:2 the Apostle Paulacknowledged, under Gods inspiration,that the Jews were responsible for theoracles of God. The expression oraclesof God was a common Jewish termof the first century which designaledT he Holy Scriptures-our O ld Testa-ment (Interpreters Commentary, articleOracles).

These Scriptures enumerated th e sevenannual Holy Days which Israel was tokeep (Lev. 23 ). These Holy Days, withthe exception of Pentecost, were to beobserved on set calendar dates eachyear. Without an official calendar,therecozild be 12 H o l y Day observances Cor-rect calendar computations must as wellhave been given to the custodiansof theScriptures in order that all the oraclesof God could be kept.

So the Jews (specifically the priests)were responsible for preserving the OldTestament Scriptures-plm the mlend4r-which was necessary in correctly per -forming the Festivals. The certainty ofthis is found in the New Testament.Christ and the Apostles alzoays utilizedthe official Jewish day, week, monthand year. The early Church also ac-

knowledged the Jewish custodianshipover the calendar as well as the Scrip-tures.

Th e D i f fe r enc es

While the Jews had the responsibilityfor preserving the correct calendar, theinterpretation behind the calendar dayswas not to be determined by them. Thereason for this is plain. Only G o d re-tains the right to tell us what date onthe calendar to keep His Festivals.Noman has that right In regard to thePassover, it is God W h o tells us toobserve it on the evening of Nisan 14(Leviticus 2 3 : 5 ) .

This is the time Christ kept it. Butsome of the Jews in the first centuryobserved the evening of the 15th. Eventhough the correct calendar was utilized

by the Jews, di ffe ren t DAT ES on tha tcalendar were used for Passover. It willbe noticed that Christ and His discipleskept the Passover on the eveningbeforethe crucifixion (Luke 22:13-15), butthe next day, some of the Jews refusedto come into the judgment hall lestthey be disqualified from observing thePharisee Passover which occurred on thefollowing evening (Joh n 18:28) . Thisshows that Christ observed Nisan 14(as the Old Testament commanded)but the Pharisees observed Nisan 15.The same practice of keeping Nisan 15instead of the date commanded by Godis still done by all Jews today.

W h y N i s a n 15?

You would think that the Jews needto learn to read their own Scriptures,for they seem to be illiterate in regardto the Passover. God tells us, in theclearest of language, that the Passoveris to be held on the evening of Nisan14. Nowhere in the Bible does it stateotherwise. But they keep Nisan 15.Where did such a practice come from?

The answer to this is found in thehistory of the Jews in the third centurybefore Christ. From 301 B.C. to 198

B.C., the Palestinian Jews came undethe control of Egyptians. These Gentilesimposed their philosophies and religiousbeliefs upon the Jews in profusion.Dr.Lanterbach, one of Judaisms greatesthistorians, admits that this period wasone of religious aizarchy among theJews of Palestine (Rabbinic Essuys,p. 2 0 0 ) . They accepted, on a very largescale, many ozctright Egyptian customs.For example, Herodotus who visitedEgypt in the fifth century before Christreported that the Egyptians would onlydrink out of pots and pans which hadbeen scoured every day. They wouldreligiously bathe themselves twice eachday-they shu nne d all foreig ners, especially Greeks, and would destroy anyvessel or utensil which had been touchedby a Greek. Such silly laws were

inaugurated by the thousands by theEgyptians, said Herodotus Book 11,pp. 37-41).

Prior to the Egyptian domination oPalestine, the Jews possessed none ofthese absurd customs, but after that period of religious anarchy, the Jews began practicing, with utmost vigor,thosesame E G Y P T I A N laws. See Matthew15:2 and Mark 7 : 3 - 8 . There can be noquestion of this.

But what about the Passover? It canbe shown that prior to this Egyptiandomination, the Jews always kept thPassover on Nisan 14. Notice especiallyEzra 6:19-22. Here it shows Nisan 14as Passover and Nisan 1 5 as the firstday of Unleavened Bread (which it is)not as the Passover day. But, after thEgyptian period, the Jews began to observe Nisan 15 for Passover.

Why?

Co r rup t i on F rom E gyp t

The answer aga in i s found inEgyptian customs. The Egyptian daycustomarily commenced with sunris(Wilkinson, Vol. 11, p. 36 8) . Gods dayhowever, begins at sunset (Lev. 23:32)This is where the trouble lay with th


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12 T he G O O D N E W S April , 1963

two days except the Day of Atonementto avoid tw o successive days of fastin g.

The second holidays were adoptedby the entire Dispersed Jews, thecorn-munities living beyond the confinesofIsrael. The ir observance was continued bysucceeding generations for more than2000 years, and becamc a gcncrally ac-cepted law.

In the land of Israel, then as well astoday, the Second Holidays are ordi-nary days (Spier, Comprehensi~eH e -brew Calenddr, p. 11 ) .

The re you hav e it Because the calen-dar computations were not then madepublic for all the Jewish communities,those outside of Palestine dependedupon the direction of the Palestine San-hedrin for the beginning of years. Andeven though the far-flung Jews 99times out of 100) would have knownthe right day for the beginning of theNew Year, they nevertheless put in thesafeguard of an extra day. There is noneed of these safeguards. The Jewsplainly recognize that theSecond Hol i -days are now non-essential. And inthe nation of Israel they are not ob-served. Away from Israel they simplykccp them f o r traditional reasons. T h e ya r e N O T to be kept by Go ds Churchfor they represent an addition to Godslaw and this is prohibited (Deut.12:32) .

Th e Jewi sh Crea ti o n Da t e

Anothcr point of apparent difficultyrelative to the Holy Calendar, is theJewish date for creation. They say thatour present year 1963 is 5723 yearsafte r creation-they say creation was3761 B.C. This date is given in allJewish calendars. But Bible chronologyshows almost 6000 years have passedfrom that time. Is there a discrepancyin the Bible and the calendar on this

Passover reckoning d f t e r this period ofEgyptian influence on the Jews.

Wh ile the Egyptians allowed the Jewsto retain their ancient calendar, therewas a change made in the beginningofthe day-it becam e com mon to beginthe day at szinriJe. This custom wasadopted, and persisted among the Jewseven down to New Testament times

(see Th e Jewish Qziarterly Review,April, 1946). W e (Gods, ministry)have had personal information from theHebrew Union College admitting thisfact. (The proof of this is also givenin The Exposi tor) Times, June 1948,pp. 250, 251.)

A single diagram will explain whatthe new sunrise reckoning did to thePassover

(See diagram be low)~ ~ ~~~

Notice how diabolically clever theabove arrangement becomes when theday begins in the morning. With the14th of Nisan supposedly beginning atsunrise, that puts what God calls theevening of Nisan 1 5 as still being onNisan 14. This is where the problemarises. Even later on, when the Jewsfinally got back to an evening-to-eveningreckoning for the day, they refused toabandon what had become the tradi-tional way of observing Passover. Thepr inc ipk , What was good for my f dthers, is good enough for me, was toostrong for the Jews to leave it.So, to-day, they are still one day out of phasewith God.

Th e Jews Pentecos tThe Jews error concerning this Festi-

val has been fully treated in our book-let on the Holy Days. What is theJews reason for having it on a setcalendar date (always Sivan6) insteadof a set day of the week-Monday?Their general answer is that all otherHoly Days are on calendar datesso theymake Pentecost follow suit. Thc only

problem with this is thatGod says d i j -ferently It must be on a set day ofthe week, not a day of the month.

T h e D o u b l e H o l y D a y sof the Jews

Attention should now be called to,what have become known as, the Jew-ish Second Holidays. It is today cus-tomary for many Jews to reckon thef i rs t two days of Unleavened Bread asHolyday Sabbaths. This is followed bythe next ann ual Sabbath-the last dayof Unle aven ed Bread-on whic h theytack another Sabbath, making, again,two annual Sabbaths. This is repeatedwith Pentecost when two days are cele-brated, not one. Trumpets is thc sameway. So is the first day of Tabernaclesand the Last Great Day. The Day ofAtonement, on the other hand, is reck-oned as only one day.

Where do the Jews get authority fordoing such things? There is certainlynothing in the Wo rd of God to supportthese additions. Perhaps it will be bestto let the Jews give their own explana-tion :

At the time of the Second Temple[the time of Christ], wh en the San-hedrin announced the beginnings of th emonths on the basis of observation, thecommunities living far from the seatof the court could not be reached intime by its messengers [that is, theymight not know when the New Yearwould begin). Those communities, indoubt about the day of the New Moonand the Festivals, established the cus-toni of celebrating an additional day foreach of the major holidays. Thus theywere certain to observe the Festivals atthe same time as their brethren inIsrael, on the days sanctified by the San-hedrin, Whenever the Bible had me-scribed one day of holy convocGionand prohibition of work, they celebrated

mat te r? The answer i s N O(PleaJe c o n h u e u n page 1 4 )

Sunset Gods Sunset Sunrise Sunset SunsetPassover I

Gods Nisan 14 Gods Nisan 15

Sunrise Sunrise

Jewish Passover

Ibgyptian ~ N i s a Nisan 14 1 5 4

Sunset Sunri se Sunset


13/16

April, 1963 The G O O D N E W S 1 3

The tennis courts of Ambassador College were overflowing with the record crowd feasting a s God commands during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Passover Season(Continued f rom page 1 0 )

The theme of the Denver Festival wasthe POW ER of God to helpus in over-coming-and it is reported to be the

most successful Festival ever held there.In the Phoe nix area, brethren were led

in observance of the Passover and Feastby their minister, Mr. Vernon Har-grove assisted by Mr. Davc Albert,graduating senior from AmbassadorCollege. A total of 138 partook of thePassover with 250 observing the Feast.

In Oklahoma City, a total of 231area members partook of the Passoverwith 405 observing the Feast under theguidance of Mr. David Antion.

In Beeville, Texas, a total of 134partook of the Passover with 254 at-

tending the Feast under the directionof Mr. Tony Hammer, area minister.

Mr. Richard Prince reports that 201took the Passover in Houston with377in attendance on the first annual HolyDay-and the brethren journeying toGladewater for the rest of the Festival.

In Fresno, California, a total of 138brethren partook of the Passover underthe direction of their elder, Mr. A1 Den-nis, and then journeyed either to Pasa-dena or Lodi for the Festival.

In Kansas City, 347 converted breth-ren partook of the Passover with over700 in attendance at the preachingservices on the Holy Days Serviceswere conducted by Mr. Bryce Clark,area District Superintendent.

In St. Louis, 292 brethren took thePassover with 445 in attendance at theFeast under the direction of Mr. Hal

Baird, area ministcr, assisted by Mr.Bob Steep.

In the Memphis area, a total of 220brethren partook of the Passover with267 in attendance on the Holy Day un-der the direction of area minister, Mr.Carl McNair.

In Indianapolis, Indiana, Mr. CarnCatherwood conducted Passover servicefor 198 brethren-with everyone jour-neying into Chicago for the Feast ofUnleavened Bread services there.

And in Meridian, Mississippi, Mr.Ha rold Jackson-now our first ful l Ne -gr o minister--conducted the Passoverfor 58 Negro brethren with 1 1 1 in at-tendance for preaching services duringthe Days of Unleavened Bread.

Passover in CanadaUnder the direction of Mr. Dean

Wilson, there were 72 or 6 times 1 2


14/16


an arbitrary date chosen by them. TheBible does not support it.

W hy a L a t e C rea t ion D a t e ?W e are told that the acceptanceo f

3761 B.C. as the creation date by theJews goes back no further than the lothor 11th century (Spier, ibid., p. 2 1 8 ) .But traccs of this fictitious date can be

traced back to the fourth century. Butwhy this late date? The Bible showsplainly that Adam was created just over4 B.C., not 3761 B.C.

The answer is simple.Th e Jews in the time of C hrist had

a strong tradition that this present worldwould last for 6000 years while theMessiah would reign for the last 1000This teaching was true for the apostlestcll us about it (I 1 Peter 3:8; Hebrews4:l-10). But coupled with this beliefthey felt that for the f irst 2 yearsthe world would be withou t the codifiedlaw, then would be 2000 years underthe law, and finally 2000 years whenthe Messiah would be known and wor-shiped (Schurer, Hirtory of t h e Jeuiirhpeople, Div. 11, vol. 11, p. 163 . In oth-er words, shortly after the year 4000from real creation, the Messiah wouldappear. And I I e did

This tradition in the first centuryput the Jewish rabbis on the spot, forthey were saying the Messiah wouldcome after 4000 years. Christ did comebut they were also rejecting Him. hisled them to a novel invention.

They arbitrarily lowered the rreationdate, disregarding the Bible, some 250years. By doing this, they said thaJesus could not be the Messiah for Heappeared too eurly. This was a plainLIE Of course, no Messiah came atthe end of their N E W 4000 years, butthe Jews answered this by saying thathe people were too sinful for Him toappear (Schurer, ibid.) .

Thus, the Jewish late date for creation was invented as a counteraction tothe claims of Christ. By accepting itthey completely disregarded the chronology of the Bible. This Jewish date hasnolhirig to do with the accuracy ofGods Calendar. W e can be thankfufor that

W e can clearly see that it is GodsChurch which is right after all-notthe Jews

-who took part in the first Passoverservice to be held in Canada by theRadio Church of Go d Th e average at-tendance for the Feast Days was around120. There were several who came infrom the outlying areas-some as far asSaskatoon, in Saskatchewan. The Feastwas enjoyed by all and everyone hatedto SCC it come to an end.

In the preaching services, Mr. DeanWilson-who is both the local. ministerand manager of our Canadian office-was assisted by Mr. Richard Pinelli,graduate of Am bassador C ollege. Th esermons on Christian living and themeaning of Gods plan were inspiringto everyone-and the Canadian brethrenare looking forward to many more en-joyable Festivals in their native land.

T he P ass o ve r in Fa r- f l ungAreas Overseas

Our dcdicatcd Evangclist, Mr. GeraldWaterhouse, reports from Johannesburg,

South Africa: Greetings from SouthAfrican brethren. Very successful Festi-val being observed here with 42 ob-serving Passover an d 78 kee ping Feast.

This is the FIRST opportunity forour scattered brethren there in SouthAfrica to observe the Passover underthe direction of on e of Go ds ministers.With Mr. Waterhouse in charge, i tmust have been an inspiring and mov-ing occasion Let us rejoice with thesebrethren, and pray that Gods Workthere may increase mightily in themonths and years to come

From Sydney, Australia, Mr. Wayne

Cole reports that 1 39 partook of thePassover there with over 200 in attend-ance for services on the annual HolyDays Many brethren came in from out-lying areas, and the sermons on themeaning of Gods plan were unusuallyinspiring and encouraging to all.

From Melbourne, Mr. Bil l Winnerreports 62 observing the Passover therewith over 100 present for the Feast.Again, the sermons on the meaningof Gods Holy Days and the way tocome ozif of s in made this Festival thebest ever.

In the Philippine Islands, Mr. PedroOrtiguer-Gods elder there-reportsthat 497 brethten pathook or the Pass-over in Kiara. W ith a total of 55 ob-serving the Passover in other areas ofthe Philippines, this makes 552 adultmembers who took of God s Passoverthere And over 750 brethren attendedthe Holy Day services in joyous com-memoration of Israels coming out ofEgypt and our coming out of sin.

Mr. Ortiguero reports: With thePassover and first day service in Kiara--where I was in the beginning atGo ds Festival-we have a joyous time,especially on the First Day of the Un-

leavened Bread. A very fat cow, agoat and many chickens were butcheredfor the morning, noon and afternoonmeals. About 40 long tables were usedand all the brethren ate together Onthis first day, I spoke about the Pass-over and the meaning of the First Dayof Unleavened Bread, with the othersix days.

Some scattered areas have not re-ported to Hea dquarters yet, but justincluding those who have, we can seethat over 1 J O O O brethren in GodsChurch observed the Festival of Un-leavened Bread this year It was a Festi-val especially characterized by LOVEand JOY-the first two qualities ofGods Holy Spirit It was a seasonmade even happier by the ordination oftwo ministers and two elders into Godsministry.

Let us all LIVE the sermons we haveheard, brethren, and let us be THANK-FUL for the love, joy and peace which

God grants all of us in His Church insuch abundance

Jews Passover(Cont inged f rom page 12

Let us first understand w hat the calen-dar is not It is not an instrument formeasuring historical time T he calendarsimply furnishes us with the length ofany given year and the positionsof thevarious days and months within thatyear. The computations nowhere tell

us how many years have passed sincecreation. They just tell us how to figureeach year. If we want the full numberof years which have passed from crea-tion to the present, we must go to thedocument which is intended to revealthat information-the Ho ly Bible, notthe calendar.

The creation date which the Jewshave set on their calendar year is oftheir own manufacture and has nothingto do with the calendar itself. It is anarbitrary date. It can be explained inthis way.

Suppose Americans wanted to call at-

tention to the founding-year of the Re-public. This was 1776. All Americancalendars could be altered from A.D.dates to Founding-Year dates. Thus,196 3 would be reckoned on Americancalendars as year 188. However, theBrit ish may want to honor the NormanInvasion as their Founding-Year, i.e.1066. This present year on their calen-dar would be 898. Now, we would al lhave the SAME CALENDAR wi thoutany changes, but different years onthem according to what nation we livedin. So it is with the Jewish year from,what they call, creation. It is clearly

Christian Soldier(Contint ied from page 7

Any h o z e s t person can see by this o z escripture that i t is WR O N G for aChristian to go to war and fight againsothers.

A reading of the love chapter ofthe Bible, I Corinthians, chapter thirteen, shows that it is impoJsible for a


15/16

April, 1963 T h e G O O D N E W S 15

person with real Chrirtian LOVE tofight in carnal wars. The Apostle Paulis consistent with the teaching ofChrist in every aspect

Paul stated that Christ lives withinthe Christian (Gal. 2:20). It is onlylogical then that the person who hasChrist living within him, zuoiild D Ojiist ar Chri.r/ DI D That would NOTincliide taking up arms against others.

Christ is the same yesterday, today,and forever (He b. 1 3 : 8 ) . He does not ,therefore, tolerate using violence incarnal warfare nozu in the lives of to-days TRUE Christians

W a r Is a Wo r k of the F lesh

Pad enumerated the tvorkr of t h eflesh (including hatred, wrath, strife,seditions, and murders) in Galatians5 :19-21 . In making war with the na-tions of this world a person would becommitting ALL of these W R O N G

r fworks .N o man can have these worksand call himself Christian The Apostleto the Gentiles declares that people whodo these things will not inherit theKingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul contintias in thissame passage to show that true Chris-tians, having Christ living within them,will have the friiits of th e spirit.These include ~ O I Y , oy, p u c e , paticnce,gentleness and meekness. Such traitsa re DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED toa t iy p a r h i p a t i o n ii2 warfare

A person who is really seeking to dothe will of God can easily see from

the writings of this apostle that hedid not in any instance condone fight-ing or warfare or being involved inthis worlds quarrels and fights. In factPaul showed clearly that even thoughothers do despitefully use us, or d ocause trouble and evil reproach to comeupon us, w e milst not retiirn evil toA N Y M A N ( I T he s. 5 : 1 5 ) . T h a tmos t definitely includes an opposingsoldier in another army.

Ambassadors for Chris t

Paul plainly states in many ways whyw e cannot become members o f A N Ymilitnry or.ganizntion. One very impor-tant statement is that we are citizensof a heavenly KINGDOM-incorrectlytranslated conversation, from the Greekword poli tmza. A s such, we caniiot be-come a member in the armed forcesof any other kiizgdom (Phi l . 3 :20) .Th e kingdoms of this present worldare against the rule and government ofAlmighty God.

True Christians are A m b a ~ s a d o r s o rChrist (I1 Cor. 5:20). As siich w e can-izot f igh t fo r a foreigu government any-more than the United States Ambassa-

dor to Russia can fight for Corn-munism But we must show proper re-spect and honor toward our countryas Romans t 3 clearly shows We rhouldsalute the flag, since it is a symbol ofthe nation, and is showing proper re-spect. It is not idolatry to show respectto government, or the symbols of gov-ernment. A later installment will ex-plain these things more completely, andshow ow we must be in obedience toauthority.

The Apostle Paul proclaims anotherreason why it is impossible to servein the military forces of this world.A Christian is already a soldier AChristian is already in a war for an-other government and kingdom. But itis not a phyrical a w r Anyone shouldknow that it is illegal, unlawful, andpunishable by death for a person to bea member of t w o different armed forcesof different nations.

O u r W a r f a re Is Spiri tual

W e are not f ighting in the samewayas those of this world and its govern-ments. W e do not usephysical weaponsbecause our weapons are ALL SPIRIT-UAL (Eph. 6 : l l 18 . Wc arc not ina warfare with thepeople of this worldbut with Satan and his legions of un-clean spirits. W e are also at war againstentanglements and weaknesses of theflesh.

He instructed the young EvangelistTimothy to war a Rood warfare( I Tim. 1:18) and to endure hardnessor trials as a good soldier (I1 Tim.

2:3-4). He also said in this same placethat we are soldiers of Jesus Christ andsuch a person cannot become entangledby the affairsof this life. Verse 24 statesthat such a person should not strivebut be gent le uizto all men. Theapostle was also engaged in this samespiritual warfare and hefought a goodfight (I1 Tim. 4 : 7 ) .

W e cannot serve two masters-wecannot serve in two armed forces-elsewe will hate the one and love the other(Mat t . 6 :24) .

Our principal weapon is Gods Word-not the physical wea pons used by thisworld (Heb. 4:1 2). N o physical weap-ons are necessary. God is on our sideand has all power and authority andcan-and will-act on our beha lf toprotect and guide us. He is a consum-ing fire which will devour all adver-saries (Heb . 12 :29 ) .

The Apostle Paul plainly fol lowedChris t H e did not preach some newdoctrine which permitted Christiansto take up arms in defense-or in o f -f e n c e . When we really come to under-stand the WHOLE BIBLE on thissubject, we will find that all Scriptiireis actually zn harmon] on this subject.

Since the Apostle Paul has now beenproved to have fo rb idden participationin warfare, let us see if the New Testa-ment Church followed his instruction,the instruction of Jesus Christ, and theoriginal twelve apostles.

Chr is t ian Church FoundedA m i d W a r a n d Tu m u l t

Flavius Josephus gives us a greatdeal regarding the conditions in Pales-tine during this same period. The lastsection of his historical book concernsthe Wa r s of the J B Z L J S . In one trans-lation of his work there are about 150pages of text concerning this period oftime which concern the sedi t iom, up-risings, u w r and I I L Y ~ U ~ Jf wars. Theperiod that we are concerned with, fromthe time of Christ to A.D. 70 whenJerusalem was destroyed, was one ofalmost continual war and tzimult

It was under these conditions thatGod sent Jesus Christ to this earth. Itwas during this time that God started

is Church at Jerusalem. W ith warsand rumors of wars going on all aroundthem, just what did the Christians do?If it were propel tu participate in war,here certainly was an opportune timeto do so Palestine was under the heavyRoman dictatorship. Injustices wererampant.

Here was ample opportunity to tryto overthrow the tyrannical, dictatorialgovernment which SUPPRESSEDChris-tianity.

Many people in this time did con-

tinually try to throw off the Roma n yokeThere was a group of people calledthe Zealots who bitterly and sometimesviolently opposed this rule. Jesus wouldhave received much more favor fromsome o l His countrymen if He hadjoined them as their leader to bringfreedom.

If He had done this, many wouldhave accepted Him t h e n and there asthe Messiah, since many of the peoplewere looking for the Messiah W h owould free them from the dislikedRoman yoke . But Jesus had nothing todo with violent or forceful overthrowof government.

Anyone who would likc to read moreabout these perilous times can findample information by reading the perti-nent sections in Josephus.

Jesus did not take part in trying toeject the foreign invader or the in-fidels. Neither H e uor any of H I S fol-lowers did any of these things He andHis disciples very carefully stayedcom-pletely away f r o m participation in mili-tary sewice, uprisings against the Ro-mans, or even frompolitics of any kind.Jesus let Caesar ri in his own corruptgovernment .H e let Caesar fight his own


16/16


wars and IIe let the Jews carry on theiro w n uprisings without His assistanceorapproual

Every true follower of Jeszls Christshould practice this S A M E WAY OFLIFE

No Christ ian Fought-Bu t M a n y FLED

After the Church was founded onPentecost, 31 A.D., the Christians wereright in the middle of these wars andtrouble. But there is not one shred ofevidence in the whole of the book ofActs-or the who le New Testament-that the Christians had anything to dowith these activities. The reason is thatthey really followed Christ TheyOBEYED H I M rather than mail (Acts

: 2 9 ) .And ye shall be hated of all men

f o r my names sake: but he that en-dureth to the end shall be saved. Butwhen they perseczite you in this city,flee ye into another: for verily I sayunto you, Ye shall not have gone overthe cities of Israel, till the Son of manbe come (Matt . 10:22-23).

The Church was hardly founded be-fore the prophesied persecution came,some three and one-half years later.

Th e first record we have of Christiansfollowing this instruction is found inthe book of Acts.

And at that time there was a greatpersecution against the church whichwas at Jerusalem; and they were allscattered abroad throughout the regionsof Judea and Samaria, except the apos-tles (Acts 8 : l ) .

If their ever wds a time to f i g h t , herewas a time to do it-to defend thefaith. Here was a t ime to protest forthe sanctity and privacy of the homeBut Gods people left the vengeance toGod. Instead of fighting, they f l ed toother places-as Christ instructed

The t ime i s soon coming when nnother persecution will come againstGods true Church. In tha t time manyof Gods people will again have to fleefor their lives. Those who do no1 willbe tortured or killed.

W h a t A b o u t C o r n el iu s ?

Some may quickly bring up the pointof the soldier, Cornelius. The Scripturestell of his conversion in Acts10. W h a tabout Cornelius? H e was in the Romanarmy of occupation and yet he was adevout, religious man. The Holy Spiritwas first given among the Gentiles tohim arid his house.

Peter did not tell him to sever con-nections with m ilitary service. H e didnot tell him that in order to be con-verted he must be discharged These arearguments that many people bring up.There is oize error in such arguments.

The Scriptures do not record the detailsof all the instruction that Peter gaveCornelius. Since Peter was obedient tothe Scriptures, he would give thesameinstruction to this soldier that John theBaptist did (Luke 3 :14) . H e wouldcertainly give him the same instructionthat Paul gave regarding people in suchslavery (I Cor. 7:21-23). In a laterinstallment we will explain these par-ticular scripturesful ly.

No Bible Record ofChr is t ian Wars

In examining the New TestamentScriptures the plain truth is inescapableThere is no mention of A N Y CHRIS-T I A N PA RT IC I PAT IO N I N WA RThes e Chris tians had not departed fr omthe fa i th The y fo l lowed Chri st Theydid not have anything to d o with thedestruction and bloodshed of the carnal,warring world around them. T h e y hadC O M E O U T OF T H I S W O R L D(Rev. 18:4).

These early Christians kncw verywell from Christs Olivet prophecy thatduring their time there would be warsand rumors of wars, but they also knewthat they were not to participate inthem. They knew things were goingto degenerate to the point that theywould finally have to f l ee for their verylives. lesus prophesied that When theysaw Jerusalem surrounded by the paganRoman armies, they were not to fightfor their lives or freedom. They werenot to participate in war IN A N YWAY. Instead they were to flee to the

mountains for safety. Instead of de-fending home, honor or country, byresorting to violence, they were com-manded to flee

Flee Invasion

Anyone who follows Christ, and whorefuses to have any part in killingorganizations is inevitably asked whathe would do in case of invasion by for-eign enemies of our beloved country.In the first place, if all of the peopleof our country WERE OBEYING andtrzisting in God, it would never happenSince our nations are not obeying God,

we know from prophecy that we willbe invaded in a few years and ourcountry W I LL G O into terrible slaveryWhen that t ime comes, God has prom-ised that those of His Church who havebeen watching and praying diligentlywill be able to escape. God will providea way of escape for His people.

The world might not consider flee-ing from the enemy the honorable way-but it IS the way God has instructedHis peop le to fo l low when His rem-nant Church goes to a place of safety(Rev. 12:14).

At the time immediately before the

final siege of Jerusalem the New lesta-ment Church followed the instructionsChrist gave them. They did not partici-pate in the war. they fled for their lives.

Here are the instructions Jesus gaveabout this same flight:

And when ye shall see Jerusalemcompassed with armies, then know thatthe desolation thereof is nigh. Then letthem which are in Judea f lee to themountains; and let them which are inthe midst of it depart out; and let notthem that are in the countries enterthereinto (Luke 21 :20-21).

That is exarlly what h e y did do.Eusebius, a historian and famous Catho-lic Church writer of the fourth centurytells us:

On the other hand, the people ofthe church in Jerusalem were com-manded by an oracle given by revela-tion before the war to those in the citywho were worthy of it to depart anddwell in one of the citiesof Perea whichthey called Pella. To it those who be-lieved on Christ ttzigruted from Jeru-salem, that when holy men had alto-gether deserted the royal capital of theJews and the whole land of Judea, thejudgment of God might at last over-take them for all their crimes againstChrist and His apostles, and all thatgeneration of the wicked be utterlyblotted out from among men (Eccle-siastical History, Book 111, Vol. 4 ) .

W e have now seen manydivinely in-spired scriptures and facts to prove be-yond a shadow of a doubt that Jesustaught us N O T to take part in the mili-

tary services-not to ha rm others inany wayThe original apostles in their writ-

ings continued in the fa i th and gavethis same teaching. Paul, the Apostle tothe Gentiles, continued to preach in hisstrong and unwavering letters this sametruth. The Christian Church, even dur-ing the time of severe persecution, andof wars and rumors of wars, didkeepthe faith and did not permit suchperilous times to cause them todisobeyGod by participating in these bloodyuprisings and wars. They fled in thetime of persecution, and when the finadestruction came on Jerusalem they hadalready fled for their lives, obeying theinstructions of their Master.

Th ey kep t the fa ith The y d id no twnzier But, did succeeding generationsof the Church follow this same shiningexample? The Bible and secular historyhave the answer. It is amazing and sur-prising when the story is fully told.

The next installment will unfold anew era in the Church. The stage willbe set for startling changes to comeJust what were those changes and howdo they affect us today? W e shall see

( To be con t inued)

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Good News 1963 (Vol XII No 04) Apr

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