Is That In the Bible? Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days

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Introduction

Overview

Have you ever questioned the source of your beliefs? Do you base your beliefs on family or societal traditions, or do you base them on sound biblical doctrine? Do you know what the Bible teaches in regard to the beliefs you hold dear? Is it possible that you believe something that the Bible does not teach, or that you actually reject what the Bible does teach? Is it possible that you are deceived?

The Bible tells us that the whole world is deceived (Revelation 12:9).

And so, it should come as no surprise that many of man’s beliefs, customs, ideas and teachings are not based on God’s Word, the Bible, but, instead, on human concepts and traditions, which actually have their roots in the “god of this world”—Satan the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4, Authorized Version). There is no truth in Satan, and even though he masquerades himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), God calls him and his demons “the rulers of the darkness of this age” (Ephesians 6:12).

Satan is presently the “ruler of this world.” Unfortunately, he has not been a good and righteous ruler. Just the opposite! He has suppressed the truth, and has blinded and deceived mankind through his wrong philosophies and religions—in fact, from the very beginning of mankind’s existence.

Are you blinded and deceived? Are you willing to become “undeceived?” If so, keep reading.

In this first booklet in a series called, “Is That In the Bible?,” we will discuss the holidays of man and the Holy Days of God. We will show which days we are instructed to keep and which days we are instructed to reject—or, which we might be motivated to reject—presenting biblical proof so that you will no longer be deceived by Satan, the present, temporary god of this world.

Chapter 1 – Man’s Holidays…

Overview

The list of holidays that have been created by man is endless, and the celebratory practices vary widely in different countries and cultures. While we do not have the time nor space to review all of man’s holidays—it seems that the world itself might not be able to contain the books that would have to be written—we will discuss some of the more prevalent and widely celebrated ones known among professing Christian societies. The same principles can then be applied to other holidays invented by man that are not covered in this booklet.

Easter

Easter is a holiday that purports to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Is this truth or fiction? Would you be shocked to learn that Easter is NEITHER Christian, nor does it memorialize the death and resurrection of our Savior?

We will show you that Christ was neither crucified on a Friday, nor was He resurrected on a Sunday. If He had been, He would not be our Savior, as He would not have fulfilled the ONLY SIGN that HE gave for His Messiahship—that of being dead and buried in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:38–40). The period from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, traditionally accepted by most professing Christians, simply does NOT constitute 72 hours! Some claim that “three days and three nights” only refer to parts of the day and night. However, Jesus defined the daylight portion as including 12 hours (John 11:9), distinguishing, in John 11:10, the “night” from the day. Therefore, “three days and three nights” clearly refer to 72 hours.

[As the above example shows, when interpreting Scripture, a cardinal rule is that one must read Scripture in context with, and in addition to, other relevant Scripture, particularly in the case of hard-to-understand passages or where one passage appears to contradict another passage. The Bible never contradicts itself, compare John 10:35.]

The truth is, Christ was crucified and buried late on Wednesday and was then resurrected late on Saturday, just before sunset—the REAL 72-hour period of three days and three nights referred to in Matthew 12.

Christ Not Resurrected on Easter Sunday

We read in Matthew 28:1–6 (Authorized Version): “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it… And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for HE IS RISEN, AS HE SAID.”

We note from this passage that Christ was already resurrected by the time the women came to the grave. We are told that they appeared “in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.” Many commentaries point out that this phrase discusses the END of the SABBATH, that is, Saturday evening or late afternoon, and NOT Sunday morning. The Interlinear Literal Translation of the Greek New Testament renders this verse in this way: “Now late on Sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward (the) first (day) of (the) week, came Mary the Magdalene…”

A.T. Robertson’s Harmony of the Gospel comments: “This phrase once gave much trouble, but the usage of the vernacular Koine Greek amply justifies the translation. The visit of the women to inspect the tomb was thus made before the Sabbath was over (before 6 p.m. on Saturday).”

Cockrell, “Three Days and Three Nights,” states: “When does the Bible say that Jesus rose from the dead? The two Marys came to the tomb ‘in the end of the sabbath’ ([Matthew] 28:1). The Sabbath always ended at sunset: ‘From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath’ (Lev. 23:32). Then they went to the tomb before sunset on Saturday. Jesus had risen from the dead before their arrival ([Matthew] 28:1–8)…”

The Elberfelder Bible reads: “But late at the Sabbath, in the dawn of the first day.” It comments: “Days started at sunset.” (See discussion below.)

The revised Zürcher Bible of 1942 states: “After the Sabbath, when it was shining (lightening up) towards the first day of the week…” It adds the following comments: “For the Jews a day began with sunset. The expression [in] Luke 23:54, ‘The Sabbath lightened up…’ [The Authorized Version states: “The Sabbath drew on” or “drew near”] does not mean that the morning began, but that lights were kindled for the evening…”

Other passages confirm that Christ was resurrected long before Sunday morning. We read that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb on the first day of the week, when it was still dark, and Jesus was already resurrected by that time (John 20:1). This means that Christ was not resurrected on Sunday morning, at sunrise, but that He had already been resurrected “while it was still dark.”

Therefore, the concept that we must honor Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday is biblically unfounded.

Christ Not Crucified on Good Friday

Just as Easter Sunday celebrations are unbiblical, so also are Good Friday celebrations, because Christ was neither resurrected on Sunday, nor was He crucified on Friday. The day Christ was crucified was actually on Wednesday.

Cockrell, “Three Days and Three Nights,” points out: “According to the Bible, Jesus Christ arose before sunset on Saturday… Having shown from Matthew 28:1 that Jesus rose from the grave as the Sabbath ended at sunset and the first day of the week began, this would put the crucifixion on Wednesday at sunset… According to the gospel writers, Jesus died at the ninth hour (3:00 p.m. our time) and was buried about sunset that same day… If Jesus was buried at sunset on Wednesday and arose at sunset on Saturday, He fulfilled the sign of Jonah [compare Matthew 12:38–40]. He would have been in the grave Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night—a full ‘three nights.’ He would have been in the grave during the daylight of Thursday, Friday and Saturday—a full ‘three days.’ All together a full ‘three days and three nights.’ Thus we have a literal fulfillment of the words of Christ in Matthew 12:40.”

Numerous commentators have confirmed and agree with the historical and biblical fact that Jesus Christ died and was buried on a WEDNESDAY. Please note the following selection:

Donald Grey Barnhouse, Eternity, June 1958: “… ancient Christian traditions, attested to by the Didascalia Apostolorum as well as by Epiphanius and Victorinus of Petau (who died in 304 A.D.), [give] Tuesday evening as the date of the Last Supper and prescribes a fast for Wednesday to commemorate the capture [and subsequent trial and crucifixion] of Christ.”

W.L. Pettingill, Bible Questions Answered, p. 182: “To us it is perfectly obvious that crucifixion was on Wednesday.”

Finis Dake, Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, page 13, note on Matthew 12:40: “Christ was dead for three full days and three full nights. He was put in the grave Wednesday just before sunset and was resurrected at the end of Saturday at sunset.”

R. A. Torrey, Difficulties and Alleged Errors and Contradictions in the Bible, 1907, pp. 104–109: “… the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified was Wednesday… everything in Scripture is perfectly harmonized by Wednesday crucifixion.”

James A. Walther, The Chronology of Passion Week, in Journal of Biblical Literature, June 1958: “References in the Didascalia, in Epiphanius, in Victorinus of Petau… support the Tuesday [night] Passover dating and the subsequent arrest of Jesus in the morning hours of Wednesday.”

Finally, the Companion Bible, published by Oxford University Press, explains in its Appendix 156 that Christ was crucified on a Wednesday.

Also of interest is the prophecy in Daniel 9:27 that the Messiah would be killed “in the middle of the week; i.e., on a Wednesday, and that by His death, He would “bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

How, then, are we to understand John 19:30–42, which says that Christ was crucified on the “preparation day before the Sabbath,” that is, on Friday?

A careful review of this passage provides the answer. We read: “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Therefore, because it was THE PREPARATION DAY that the bodies should not remain on the cross ON THE SABBATH (FOR THAT SABBATH WAS A HIGH DAY), the Jews asked Pilate… that they might be taken away… After this, Joseph of Arimathea… asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus… So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus… also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips of linen with the spices… Now in the place where He was crucified there was… a new tomb… So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ PREPARATION DAY, for the tomb was NEARBY” (verses 30–31, 38–42).

We will focus here on the meaning of the “preparation day.” Some claim that the “preparation day” in this Scripture refers to the day before the weekly Sabbath, and so they teach that Christ was crucified on Friday.

Those who claim that the preparation day refers only to the day before the weekly Sabbath overlook the fact that the word “Sabbath” can refer to the weekly Sabbath, as well as to any of the seven annual Holy Days, which are also called Sabbaths in the Bible (compare Leviticus 16:29–31; 23:24, 26–32, 34–35, 39). Annual Sabbaths can fall on any day in a given week. The Elberfelder Bible admits that a biblical reference to “the preparation day” can apply to the day before the weekly Sabbath OR the day before an annual Sabbath or Holy Day, stating that the preparation day mentioned in John 19:31 was “a weekday before the [weekly] Sabbath or [an annual] Festival.”

However, the reference in John 19:31 is to the preparation day of an annual Holy Day or Festival—the First Day of Unleavened Bread—NOT of the weekly Sabbath. The Bible says in John 19:31 that “that” particular Sabbath was a “high day”—an annual Holy Day. In the crucifixion year, that particular annual Holy Day or HIGH Sabbath fell on Thursday.

It is abundantly clear from the Bible, as well as historical records, that Jesus Christ was not crucified on “Good Friday” and resurrected on “Easter Sunday.” For further proof, please read our free booklet, “Jesus Christ—A Great Mystery.”

Origin of Easter and Easter Customs

What about Easter and its customs? Where did this celebration come from? And how did it come to be associated with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

“Easter” is the name of the pagan goddess of Spring who was worshipped under the names “Eastre,” “Eostre,” “Astarte,” “Ostara,” “Ishtar” and “Istar.” It is from these names that our modern word “Easter” is derived. Especially the name “Ishtar” is associated with the Babylonian “Queen of Heaven.” The egg-laying Easter hare or Easter rabbit and colored Easter eggs were associated—as symbols of fertility—with Eastre, the pagan goddess of Spring.

In addition, the pagans celebrated, at Easter time, the passion and resurrection of pagan gods who died on a Friday and came to life again on the following Sunday. Some of these gods are known as Marduk, Attis and Mythra.

Arthur Weigall writes in “The Paganism in our Christianity”: “The clergy… could not prevent the people in various countries celebrating the great holiday at Easter in honor of the resurrection of Attis and other gods.”

“The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets” has this to say about “Attis”: “Attis’ passion was celebrated on the 25th of March, exactly nine months before the festival of his birth, the 25th of December… The day of Attis’ death was black Friday… The god died and was buried. He descended into the underworld. On the third day [a Sunday] he rose again from the dead.”

Have you ever wondered why it is commonly believed—contrary to the Bible—that Christ died on Friday and rose on Sunday? Here you have the answer! It is clearly derived from the worship of the pagan god, Attis.

Note that the early Church did not keep Easter. The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 8, p. 828, confirms that “there is no indication of the observance of the Easter Festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic fathers.”

Arthur Weigal and other historians confirm that the Catholic Church adopted pagan festivals, such as Easter, “to Christian ideas,” rather than suppressing them. Calvin, for example, considered the annual church festival of Easter to be so paganized, that at one point, he did not observe it either.

Many Scriptures command us not to worship the one true God in the way of the pagans. The Bible also specifically condemns the worship of the “queen of heaven” in Jeremiah 7:18 and other places. The Ryrie Study Bible identifies the queen of heaven with the “Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ishtar”—in other words, with Easter.

Jeremiah 10:2 tells us: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles.” Lamsa states in an annotation that the word “way” describes “religion.” Note, too, that true religion is referred to as the “Way” (compare Acts 9:2). Deuteronomy 12:29–32 commands us not to “inquire after their [that is, pagan] gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way.” The Ryrie Study Bible comments: “The Israelites were not even to inquire about the worship of the Canaanites, lest they be tempted to incorporate aspects of it into their worship of God.”

It is, therefore, abundantly clear from both biblical and historical records that true Christians are not to participate in Easter celebrations. It is pagan, and it cannot be Christianized.

Christmas

Many people think they celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25, but Christ was not born on December 25, nor could He have been born then, or anywhere near that date. What proof can we offer?

Christ Not Born on December 25

The fact that shepherds were living out in the fields (compare Luke 2:8), and that a public enrollment was conducted at the time of Christ’s birth (compare Luke 2:1–7), clearly proves that Christ could not have been born anywhere near December 25. Sheep were never in the field during the winter months. From the middle of October until the middle of March, the sheep would be kept inside stables or barns. During that time, there was too much rain and wind, and even frost and snow.

The newspaper Wynne Progress published an article on December 21, 1967, entitled, “The Christmas Story,” in which it pointed out numerous discrepancies between the biblical record and Christmas traditions. It stated, “As for the date of December 25, that was chosen by the church during the fourth Century A.D… The choice seems to have been dictated… by a desire to Christianize the Roman revel that marked the winter solstice. The biblical evidence plainly indicates that Jesus was born during the late summer or early fall. That is the time of year when Palestinian shepherds take their flocks into the field to graze at night.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury said that the Christmas story of the “Three Wise Men” was nothing but a “legend.” The British Daily Telegraph reported on December 20, 2007: “Dr Rowan Williams has claimed that there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them [the Magis] or that they were kings. He said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew’s gospel and the details were very vague. Dr Williams said: ‘Matthew’s gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that’s all we’re really told. It works quite well as legend.’

“The Archbishop went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable. He also argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, flanked by shepherds and wise men, were misleading. As for the scenes that depicted snow falling in Bethlehem, the Archbishop said the chance of this was ‘very unlikely’. He added that Jesus was probably not born in December at all. He said: ‘Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival.’”

Christmas Celebrations Long Before Christ

Christmas celebrations took place long before the birth of Christ. The purpose of the celebrations was to honor pagan deities, such as the Persian sun god Mithras, who was born on December 25.

The German magazine, P.M., published an article several years ago, entitled, “Can You Imagine to Believe in Mithras?” In the article it was stated:

“Mithras is the name of that transcendent being from whom they expect salvation. And each year in the winter they celebrate his birthday: in the night of December 25 with a sort of service, which we could call today midnight mass… The birthday of Jesus was declared [by Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nice in 325A.D.] to be on the same day on which Mithras was supposedly born… Until then, Christians had not celebrated Christmas.”

In fact, early Christians refused to celebrate Christmas, as they considered it to be a pagan feast. Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Vol. 3, explains: “The celebration of Christmas on December 25 in the church begins only in the middle of the 4th century. Until then, the opposition against it was in some cases very severe…, since it was considered a pagan custom to celebrate with festivities the birthdays of kings.”

Christmas carols, Christmas gifts, Christmas candles and Christmas cakes, as well as the Christmas tree, are all of pagan origin, and had been used to worship pagan gods and goddesses. Please notice the following in regard to the Christmas tree:

Jeremiah 10:2–5 reads: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not learn the way [Note in the Lamsa Bible: ‘Religion’] of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good.”

Here we find a description of the Christmas tree. Some have said that Jeremiah 10 only talks about a wooden idol that was carved out of a tree, but that it does not refer to decorating a Christmas tree, per se. However, the pagans believed that their gods—Attis, Osiris, Dinosus—lived as tree spirits in pine trees. They believed that their gods actually changed into those trees, and they carried these sacred trees to a certain place of worship, decorated them, and adored them as deities.

Jeremiah 10 condemns any kind of religious worship that includes the decoration of a pine tree or a “green tree” (1 Kings 14:23), as well as the religious doctrines associated with such customs. Lamsa continues Jeremiah 10:8 as follows: “But altogether the vain doctrines of wooden image worship shall be utterly destroyed and consumed.”

Gradually, the Roman Catholic Church “adapted” those pagan customs to make the Christian faith more attractive to Gentiles. Quoting from Earl W. Count, 4000 Years of Christmas: “The [Roman Catholic] Church finally succeeded in taking the merriment, the greenery, the lights, and the gifts from Saturn [a Roman sun god patterned after the Persian sun god Mithras] and giving them to the Babe of Bethlehem.”

The age-old question is, however, why is it so important to know that Christmas and its customs were a pagan invention? What is wrong with “Christianizing” those pagan customs? We might not be able to bring Christ BACK into those customs (as He was never part of them in the first place), but why can’t we bring those customs to Christ and use them to worship Him in that way?

Simply, because the Bible prohibits us from doing so. The concept of adding pagan practices to godly worship, known as “syncretism,” is condemned throughout Scripture.

In short, we read God’s command to Israel in Deuteronomy 12:29–32, as quoted before, that “you do not inquire after their [pagan] gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way…”

What could be clearer? God commands us NOT to worship Him in the way the Gentiles worshipped their gods. Christmas was a pagan festival in honor of pagan gods. God FORBIDS us to worship Him in that way. We read in Matthew 15:7–9 that we worship Christ IN VAIN when we teach “as doctrines the commandments of men” or pagans.

For further proof that true Christians are not to participate in Christmas celebrations, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas.

Halloween

The Bible is very clear that a true Christian must not, under any circumstances, celebrate Halloween.

Halloween is deeply rooted in pagan and occult worship services and ceremonies. It was later “adopted” by the Catholic Church, which gave it a “Christian” mantle. However, its Satanic and demonic rites remain and are evidenced even in today’s Halloween customs.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1959, has this to say about “Halloween”:

“…the occasion shows clear connections with the religion of the Druids in pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. The Celtic year ended on October 31, the eve of Samhain, and was celebrated with both religious and agrarian rites. For the Druids, Samhain was both the ‘end of summer’ and a festival of the dead. The spirits of the departed were believed to visit their kinsmen in search of warmth and good cheer as winter approached… Divination and auguries for the new year were practiced at Samhain. These magical practices concerned such questions as [to] who would die during the next year… It was also an occasion when fairies, witches and goblins terrified the populace…

“THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT THAT THE [CATHOLIC] CHURCH SOUGHT TO ELIMINATE OR SUPPLANT THE DRUID FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD BY INTRODUCING THE ALTERNATIVE OBSERVANCE OF ALL SAINTS’ DAY ON NOVEMBER 1. This feast was established to honor all saints, known or unknown, BUT IT FAILED TO DISPLACE THE PAGAN CELEBRATION OF SAMHAIN… By the end of the middle ages, the celebration of Allhallows [sic] Eve was an established part of the annual calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. However, after the Reformation, Protestants REJECTED this feast ALONG WITH OTHER IMPORTANT ONES SUCH AS CHRISTMAS AND EASTER.”

Other sources point out that Halloween was not celebrated in the United States until about 1845 when thousands of Irish emigrants flooded into New York. Today, it is said to be the “second highest grossing money maker” in the United States outside Christmas.

We are told by historians that there is a clear historical relationship between the Celtic concepts of resurrection, Roman Catholic responses to it, and the modern American holiday of Halloween.

We are also told that the Celts and their Druids believed that on October 31, the night before their New Year, the “Lord of the Death” gathered the souls of the evil dead, and that ghosts, evil spirits and witches roamed about. In order to honor the Sun God (Belenus), and to frighten away the evil spirits, large bonfires were lit. It was also believed that Samhain was a time when the division between the two worlds became very thin, when hostile supernatural forces were active and ghosts and spirits were free to wander as they wished. Samhain was the supreme night of demon celebrations. Spirits of the dead were believed to rise out of their graves, trying to return to the homes where they formerly lived. Frightened villagers tried to appease them by offering them gifts of fruit and nuts. This is the origin of the present day “trick-or-treat.”

Masks were worn to hide oneself from the spirits of the dead, or to frighten demons and scare them away. This constitutes the origin of today’s custom on Halloween to masquerade as devils, imps, ogres, and other demonic creatures. As the “Plymouth District Library” states, “When Christianity came to the British Isles, it became the eve of All Hallows [sic] or All Saints’ Day, but the old traditions remained. That’s why youngsters wear masks when they go out trick-or-treating and it is also why the hollowed-out jack-o’-lantern has a [mask-like] face.”

We are also informed that “jack-o’-lantern,” the festival light for Halloween, is the ancient symbol of a damned soul. Originally the Irish carved out turnips or beets as lanterns as representations of the souls of the dead or of goblins freed from the dead. When the Irish emigrated to America, they found an abundance of pumpkins to substitute the hard-to-find turnips. They began to cut pumpkins with faces representing demons, which were originally intended to frighten away evil spirits. Additional popular symbols of Halloween are bats, owls and black cats. They were originally feared because people believed that these creatures could communicate with the spirits of the dead, or that witches could turn themselves into them, especially black cats.

Considering the origin of Halloween and its customs, who can deny, as one Christian author wrote, “that virtually all of the symbols of Halloween are evil? Witches, monsters, ogres, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, devils and demons all portray evil… When America and the world celebrates the Festival of Samhain and the powers of darkness by masquerading as evil creatures or decorating our homes, schools, businesses and churches with occult symbols, Satanic power is glorified… When Christians participate in Halloween, it sends a message to children that witchcraft, demonism, Satanism, and the occult are something fun, entertaining and harmless… Some children develop a fascination with the supernatural which leads them later into more sinister occult practices… What’s wrong with Halloween? It does not have even one single redeeming virtue. It is a custom born out of pagan superstition. It is a demon-inspired, devil-glorifying, occult festival. It is an evening holy unto evil, death, and divination…”

The Bible, in fact, commands us to have nothing to do with the devil or his evil forces of darkness (compare 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22; Ephesians 5:10–12). Paul warns us that we must not attempt to partake of the cup of the Lord and of the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). We are also warned not to try to communicate with the dead (Deuteronomy 18:9–14). Witchcraft, in all of its different forms and variations, is abominable and sinful (1 Samuel 15:23; Galatians 5:20)!

Halloween is nothing else but a festival of, and for, the devil and his evil forces of darkness. True Christians must have no part in it!

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day celebrations are linked to pagan customs and even demonic activities. Professor Philippe Walter’s book, “Christianity—the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” copyright 2003, 2006, makes several startling statements about the real origins of New Year’s Day, as well as its customs.

Walter explains the pagan belief that, by the end of December, and on “New Year’s Day” (January 1), “fairies… enter the homes of those who worship them… One must take pains to prepare the meal that should be offered to them in a clean and isolated room…”

A German magazine, P.M., wrote the following about New Year’s Day, and the customs associated with New Year’s Day, in an article entitled, “What is Special About New Year’s?”:

“There is no objective reason, why January 1 is a better day for the new year than any other day. The Macedonians began the new year in the Autumn, and the ancient Greeks in the middle of the Summer, at a new moon.

“January 1 as the beginning of the new year goes back to Roman arbitrariness. Consul Fulvius Nobilor was prevented in 153 B.C., because of a war, to begin his rulership on March 15, which had been the day of the new year up until then. Therefore, the Consul transferred the day of the new year to January 1, which was more convenient for him.

“This date was accepted by Julius Caesar and has endured thanks to the Julian calendar, as it was favorable for new beginnings. After all, the double-faced Roman God Janus was the protector of the month of January. Pope Gregory XIII, who corrected the Julian Calendar for us, maintained January 1 as New Year’s Day. But the Chinese and the Arabs still determine New Year’s today by using the moon-calendar. And according to the Jews, their civil New Year—Rosh Ha-Shanah—is in September/October.

“The civil celebrations of New Year’s took place for a long time on January 6, the [perceived] day of the [so-called] holy three kings.

“In 1742, a decree of the Pope transferred church celebrations of the new year to January 1; at the same time, this day was declared to be a fast day, in order to counteract the ‘unchristian’ actions between the years. For between Christmas and January 6, the ghosts became active. When winter storms howled around the houses of the Germanic tribes, Wotan’s [Wodan’s] wild hunt was present—a frightening train of gods, demons and ghosts of the dead. …

“These ghosts were driven away with big fires and cracks of whips. The ancients placed sacrificial offerings and gifts for the demons in front of their doors….

“Christianity could not eradicate those pagan customs. Quite to the contrary… The cracks of whips changed with the invention of black powder to fireworks…

“Why do we still have to drive away—symbolically—ghosts with mortar shots and rockets? Why do we still maintain those New Year’s rites? Psychologists explain this with…the power of tradition, with superstition…This word reminds us of what is ‘standing above,’ what is ‘still there’, what has endured from the pagan past and from the ancient fears of man.”

The article also explained that “Christian” celebrations in Munich, Germany, on New Year’s Day are held with choirs and trumpets to “awake the new sun.”

Another source tells us that New Year’s Day rituals included purgations, purifications, exorcisms, extinguishing and rekindling fires and masked processions. Often exorcisms and purgations were performed with much noise as if to scare away the evil spirits. In China, Ying, the forces of light, fought Yang, the forces of darkness, with cymbals, noisemakers and firecrackers.

It should be easily seen WHY it is wrong for TRUE Christians to participate in New Year’s Day customs.

April Fool’s Day

The origin and history of April Fool’s Day [also spelled as “April Fools’ Day”] or “All Fools’ Day,” are not entirely clear. Many explanations have been advanced to explain its origin.

Most commentaries and researchers maintain that the modern celebrations of the day developed in 1582, in France. As the most common story goes [even though some dispute this explanation, see discussion below], prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year’s Day was moved to January 1. In France, however, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on “fools’ errands” or trying to trick them into believing something false.

April Fool’s Day was later introduced to the American colonies.

In Scotland, April Fool’s Day is actually celebrated for two days. It is also known as “April Gowk,” “Gowkie Day” or “Hunt the Gowk.” “Gowk” is Scottish for “cuckoo”—an emblem of simpletons. The second day is also known as “Taily Day.”

Mexico’s counterpart of April Fool’s Day is actually observed on December 28. In Portugal, April Fool’s Day is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday prior to the Lenten Season, with the traditional trick being to throw flour at one’s friends.

In spite of the “modern” origins of the day, many historians agree that the day has clearly ancient roots. We are told that ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1. The Encyclopedia Britannica points out:

“What seems certain is that it is in some way or other a relic of those once universal festivities held at the vernal equinox, which, beginning on old New Year’s Day, the 25th of March, ended on the 1st of April. This view gains support from the fact that the exact counterpart of April-fooling is found to have been an immemorial custom in India. The festival of the spring equinox is there termed the feast of Huli, the last of which is the 31st of March, upon which the chief amusement is the befooling of people by sending them on and fruitless errands.”

Other sources tell us that throughout antiquity, numerous festivals included celebrations of foolery and trickery. One source, “April Fool’s Day: Early Roots,” gives the following noteworthy report:

“The Saturnalia, a Roman winter festival observed at the end of December, was the most important of these [celebrations of trickery]. It involved dancing, drinking, and general merrymaking. People exchanged gifts, slaves were allowed to pretend that they ruled their masters, and a mock king, the Saturnalicius princeps (or Lord of Misrule), reigned for the day. By the fourth century AD the Saturnalia had been transformed into January 1 New Year’s Day celebration, and many of its traditions were incorporated into the observance of Christmas…

“Northern Europeans observed an ancient festival to honor Lud, a Celtic god of humor. And there were also popular Northern European customs that made sport of the hierarchy of the Druids… During the Middle Ages, a number of celebrations developed which served as direct predecessors to April Fool’s Day. The most important of these was the Festus Fatuorum (the Feast of Fools) which evolved out of the Saturnalia. On this day (mostly observed in France) celebrants elected a mock pope and parodied church rituals. The church, of course, did its best to discourage this holiday, but it lingered on until the sixteenth century. Following the suppression of the Feast of Fools merrymakers focused their attention on Mardi Gras and Carnival.”

A German source, “Faz.Net,” points out that neither the Jews nor the Muslims participate in the custom of April Fool’s Day. Tagesschau.de wrote on April 1, 2002, that there are 800 theories regarding the origin of “April Fool’s Day,” and stated that the Catholic Church “has no problem” with its celebration.

Dr. Manfred Becker-Huberti explained: “Even though the first April prank has only been recorded in Germany in 1631, the custom seems to be much older. It can be found amongst all Indo-Germanic tribes… One possible origin can be found in the Roman feast of Quirinalia, or of the Indian feast of Huli, during which fools cast out winter and demons. The best explanation is that it derives from a spring festival, like the German “Fastnacht” [“Fastnacht” is part of the German Carnival. The original “Fastnacht” was also celebrated for the purpose of casting out winter and demons]… In honor of [the Greek goddess] Venus, a feast of deception was celebrated in the spring. April 1 was her special day, and that is the reason why she was also called ‘Aprilis.’ The name of the Indian goddess of love, ‘Maja,’ has the meaning of ‘deception.’”

The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, by James Hastings, points out:

”The origin of the practice is obscure… it was widely prevalent at the close of the 16th century. It seems difficult, therefore, to accept the theory that it was due to the transference of New Year’s Day from the First of April to the First of January… The similarity of the fooling in India and the Celtic lands of Western Europe, taken together with affinities in religion and folklore…, points to a common origin in very early times… The First of April was kept in ancient Rome as the Feast of Venus and Fortuna Virilis… It is to some Celtic form of this worship of Venus on the First of April that the origin of All Fools’ Day must be traced… All Fools’ Day may therefore be the relic of a Spring Festival of Llew [a Sun-god of Celtic mythology].”

Even though the roots of April Fool’s Day may not be known precisely, the evidence strongly indicates that it is of pagan origin and that it was even celebrated as part of pagan worship services. We are told, however, in Jeremiah 10:2–3, that we are not to learn the ways of the Gentiles or “heathen” in the Authorized Version, as they are useless and in vain. In addition, God condemns foolish jesting in Ephesians 5:4, where we read, in the Authorized Version, that neither “foolish talking, nor jesting” should be named among us. The New King James Bible and the Life Application Bible clarify that the meaning is, “coarse jesting” or “coarse joking.”

We are admonished in God’s Word not to behave like “fools.” Proverbs 10:23 reads, in the Authorized Version: “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.”

An additional warning against participating in April Fool’s Day celebrations and activities can be found in Proverbs 26:18–19: “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, ‘I was only joking!’”

Considering all the evidence of the origin of April Fool’s Day available to us, as well as the very nature of the celebrations and activities accompanying that Day, we must conclude that true Christians should refrain from participating in it.

Valentine’s Day

Centuries before Christ, the ancient Romans celebrated the evenings of February 14th and February 15th as an idolatrous and sensual festival in honor of Lupercus, the “hunter of wolves.” The Romans called the festival “Lupercalia.” In her book, “Customs and Holidays Around the World,” Lavinia Dobler states on page 172: “It was not until the reign of Pope Gelasius that the holiday became a ‘Christian custom.’ As far back as 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15th to St Valentine’s Day on February 14th.”

The Encyclopedia Britannica states on page 336 in its 15th edition, volume 10: “St Valentine’s day as a lovers’ festival and the modern tradition of sending valentine cards have no relation to the saints but, rather, seem to be connected either with the Roman (sexual) fertility festival of the Lupercalia (February 15th) or with the mating season of birds.”

The Encyclopedia Americana states that “this pairing off was, of course, linked with sexual immorality.”

According to the most common explanation, the celebration of Valentine’s Day originated as a pagan tradition in the third century. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome where shepherds kept their flocks. The God Lupercus was said to watch over the shepherds and their flocks and keep them from the wolves. Every February the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor Lupercus so that no harm would come to the shepherds and their flocks.

Also during Lupercalia, but in honor of the goddess Juno Februata, the names of young women were put into a box and names were drawn by lot. The boys and girls who were matched would be considered partners for the year, which began in March. This celebration continued long after wolves were a problem to Rome. As Christianity became prevalent, priests attempted to sugarcoat and cover with a Christian mantle old heathen practices. To Christianize the ancient pagan celebration of the Feast of Lupercus, the church officials changed the name to St. Valentine’s Day.

In his book, “Christianity—the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” French scholar and professor of medieval French literature, Philippe Walter, states the following on pages 76–78:

“… the [Catholic] church invented the figures of saints—both men and women—who both borrowed the names of their pagan predecessors and possessed mythical attributes similar to those of their pagan models. This is why we cannot be surprised at worship devoted today to certain mysterious saints—including Saint Valentine. In fact, along with the time of year of his celebration, the initial syllable of his name—val—compels us to establish a potential link with the mythology of Carnival… It is curious that February 14 is celebrated in five regions to commemorate no fewer than five distinct saints all bearing the name Valentine… This phenomenon points to the camouflaging of paganism—most specifically, the rites and myths commemorated on this date in the pagan calendar—in several regions [namely, Rome, Italy; Terni, Italy; Toro, Spain; Puy; and Africa]…”

Alexander Hislop explained in his book, “Two Babylons,” that Valentine was a common Roman name. Roman parents often gave the name to their children in honor of the famous man who was first called Valentine in antiquity. That famous man was Lupercus, the hunter. Who was Lupercus? Why should he also have borne the name “Valentine” among the heathen Romans? The Greeks called Lupercus by the name of “Pan.” The Semites called Pan “Baal”—mentioned so often in the Bible—and this name was merely another name for Nimrod, the “mighty hunter” (Genesis 10:9). The hunter Nimrod was the Lupercus—or wolf hunter—of the Romans. “St Valentine’s Day” was originally a day set aside by the pagans in his honor.

Nimrod—Baal or sun god of the ancient pagans—was said to have been born at the winter solstice. In ancient times the solstice occurred on January 6th and his birthday therefore was celebrated on January 6th. Later, as the solstice changed, it was celebrated on December 25th and is now called Christmas. It was the custom of antiquity for the mother of a male child to present herself for purification on the 40th day after the day of birth. The 40th day after January 6th—Nimrod’s original birthdate—takes us to February 15th, the celebration of which began on February 14th—the Lupercalia or St Valentine’s Day. On this day in February, Semiramis, the mother of Nimrod, was said to have been purified and to have appeared for the first time in public with her son as the original “mother and child.”

Valentine’s Day is one of those pagan days that have become part and parcel of the fabric of today’s society. It is clear that Valentine’s Day—whichever way you look at it—has paganism written all over it. Paganism is not to be entertained by the people of God. God commands us not to worship Him in the way that the pagans worshipped their gods. Therefore, true Christians are not to participate in the celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Mother’s Day

The Bible is very explicit that we are to honor our parents at all times. For example, Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:1–3 make this Christian duty very clear. Jesus Christ honored His mother on a continuous basis.

To “honor” or “remember” our mother just on one particular day in the year, while forgetting to do so in day-to-day living, would, of course, be wrong. The world tries to make up for the forgetfulness to always honor one’s parents by dedicating a day to mothers. As Christians, we are to honor our parents at all times! This fact alone, though, would not preclude a Christian from participating in Mother’s Day celebrations.

However, the Bible makes it very clear that we are not to learn the religious ways or customs of the Gentiles or “heathen” by embracing those customs in our own Christian lives (Deuteronomy 12:29–32; Matthew 15:7–9; 2 Corinthians 6:14–17). We are not to keep holidays such as Christmas, Easter, New Year’s or Valentine’s Day because of their pagan origin and the embracing of those days by the Catholic Church in their religious worship.

When reviewing the history of Mother’s Day, we must note the many countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany and Australia, which celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May; while on the other hand, England celebrates their Mother’s Day on the fourth Sunday in Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter).

Pagans kept a “Mother’s Day” in ancient times for the purpose of honoring their goddesses. However, the mere fact that pagans did so would not preclude Christians from keeping Mother’s Day today, unless a clear connection can be shown between those pagan customs and our modern practices.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, edition 1959, points out regarding “Mother’s Day” celebrations in Great Britain:

“Mother’s Day, a festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the great Mother of the Gods [sic], was performed in the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor. With the coming of Christianity this developed into worship of the ‘Motherchurch,’ the celebration occurring on mid-Lent Sunday, when children returned home with gifts for parents, especially the mother.”

Cheri Sicard writes in “The History of Mother’s Day”:

“The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece, honoring Rhea, the Mother of the [gods] [Rhea is the mother of Zeus. She is also the sister of Cronus, who has been identified as the Baal of the Bible]. The Romans called their version of the event the Hilaria, and celebrated on the Ides of March by making offerings in the temple of Cybele, the mother of the gods. Early Christians celebrated the festival on the fourth… Sunday of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ. In more recent times, relatively speaking—England in the 1600s—the celebration was expanded to include all mothers with ‘Mothering Sunday’ being celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter). Besides attending church services in honor of the Virgin Mary, children returned home from the cities with gifts, flowers, and special Mothering Day cakes that were important parts of the celebration.”

When “Mothering Sunday” was originally kept in England, people brought gifts to the church where they were baptized. They would then also bring gifts, such as cakes, to their mothers. The “Mothering Day” cakes were normally so-called “Simnel Cakes,” which, in early times, were marked with a figure of Christ or Mary, to show their religious significance (compare Book of Days, Vol. 1, p. 337).

Many sources point out that the pagan worship of mother goddesses in Greece and Rome was later adopted by Christianity, foremost in England, to incorporate such paganism and to give it a “Christian” mantle. The worship of the Roman Mother goddess Cybele is especially interesting in this context. The Encyclopedia Britannica points out, under “Great Mother of the Gods”:

“Though her cult sometimes existed by itself, in its fully developed state the worship of the Great Mother was accompanied by that of Attis. The cult of Attis never existed independently… The main public event in the worship of the Great Mother was the annual festival, which took place originally April 4.” The article continues to explain that a special day was set aside, “March 24, dies sanguinis, a day of mourning, fasting and abstinence, especially sexual, commemorating the sorrow of the mother for Attis [who had been killed].” Our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” explains the Attis cult in more detail.

The above-mentioned article continues that the “importance” of the Cybele cult “in the history of religion is very great, for her cult, like the other mystic worships, at once formed a rival to Christianity and acted as a steppingstone to it.”

As already mentioned, the day became known in England as “Mothering Day” or as “Mid-Lent Sunday.” It was first applied to the worship of “Mother Mary,” and then also to the “MotherChurch,” “the spiritual power that gave life and protected them from harm,” as one source puts it. Custom began to dictate that a person visit the church of his/her baptism on “Mothering Day.” People attended the “mother church” of their parish, laden with offerings. Gradually, the custom was applied to honoring our real mothers as well. However, the religious concept of the day was emphasized throughout.

In England, King Henry III (1216–1239) officially established the first “mothering Sunday,” in March, to remember the Church as the religious mother.

When studying the history of Mother’s Day in continental Europe, we find that a “mothering day” was also kept there, in mid-Lent. Later, Mother’s Day was officially celebrated in Germany in 1923 on the second Sunday in May, apparently due to Mother’s Day celebrations in the United States (that had been introduced in continental Europe through the Salvation Army) and the influence of German florists. In 1933, it was made an official holiday in Germany by the Nazi regime, in honor of the “Arian” mother.

In her article, “Between Ideology and Commerce,” Isabella Marboe points out that in Austria, “Mother’s Day” celebrations in May were connected with the tradition of the worship of “Mother Mary.” It was especially the Catholic Church, according to Monroe, that strongly supported the establishment of “Mother’s Day” in Austria. In 1926, Ignaz Seipel stated in his “Mother’s Day speech”: “It looks like something new, to introduce a special day to honor our mother. For the believing Catholic this is nothing new at all, as he has always celebrated days in worship of Mary as days to honor his mother.”

The official version of the recent history of the establishment of Mother’s Day in the U.S. is fairly well known to many. It is taught that Miss Anna Jarvis (1864–1948) originated Mother’s Day, to honor her mother who had died on May 9, 1905. She started a campaign, which led to a resolution, passed by Congress on May 10, 1913, to make the second Sunday in May a national holiday, “dedicated to the memory of the best mother in the world—your mother.” In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation, designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

However, there is more to the story. In fact, Anna Jarvis was not the first, nor the only one, who had voiced the idea of establishing a Mother’s Day in the United States.

For instance, Julia Ward Howe had talked about a special “Mother’s Day” as early as 1858. She had kept it in a private special celebration in 1872. Howe is the author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” She grieved for the many young lives that had been killed during the Civil War. She proposed to celebrate a “Mother’s Day of Peace.” In addition, she had made at least two extended trips to Europe between 1843 and 1850. During her last trip, she spent almost one year in Rome. In Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Declaration, it is stated, “From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, ‘Disarm, Disarm!’… Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.”

In addition, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, wife of a Methodist pastor and mother of Anna Jarvis, had likewise been affected by the Civil War. She proposed a special Mother’s Day celebration, which she called a “Mother’s Friendship Day,” to heal the wounds and the bridges between the “Blue” and the “Gray.”

Anna Jarvis continued to advocate the idea of a special Mother’s Day. On May 10, 1907, she held a special memorial service for her mother (who, as mentioned, had died in 1905). In 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mother’s Day. At the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minn., in 1912, a delegate from a local church introduced a resolution recognizing Anna Jarvis as the founder of Mother’s Day. It was also suggested at that time that the second Sunday in May be observed as Mother’s Day.

The religious connection with and influence of the establishment of the American Mother’s Day cannot be denied. The modern U.S. Mother’s Day started in the Methodist-EpiscopalChurch, through the effort of Anna Jarvis. It had to be observed on a Sunday. Some had proposed any Sunday (for example, Frank H. Hering of Indiana, who is also called the “Father of Mother’s Day”), while others proposed the second Sunday in May. On the first official church memorial of Jarvis’ mother, on May 10, 1908, the bells of the church which had been attended by her mother, and who had taught Sunday school there, rang 72 times—since Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis had been 72 years old when she died.

One year prior to this, her daughter had preached a sermon in the local church to honor her mother. She finished the sermon that the preacher had begun. “Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church” in Grafton, West Virginia, is therefore now recognized as the “mother church” of Mother’s Day in the United States.

In Calgary, Canada, George Kerby of the CentralMethodistChurch delivered a touching sermon on the very first Mother’s Day in that territory.

Sources also point out that the early way of keeping Mother’s Day in the United States was similar to the way with which it was kept during “Mothering Day” in England—including attending on that day the church of one’s baptism—and only gradually, “other sentiments were added.”

It might be worthwhile noting that Anna Jarvis spent the rest of her life trying to undo what she had done. Enraged by the commercialization, Jarvis filed a lawsuit in 1923 to stop a Mother’s Day festival. She was later arrested for disturbing the peace when she learned that a War Mother’s Day Convention was selling white carnations—Jarvis’ symbol for mothers—to raise money. She spent most of her fortune that she had inherited from her mother to fight a holiday she had helped establish to honor her mother. She told a reporter that she regretted ever having started Mother’s Day.

In this lengthy section, we have tried to state the facts, as they have become available to us. We feel that the knowledge of these facts is necessary to make an individual, conscientious and personal decision, whether or not to observe—or to continue celebrating—Mother’s Day. One will have to decide, individually, whether the evidence is sufficient or not to establish a direct and immediate connection between pagan origins, the influence of the Catholic Church and Protestant churches, and our modern custom of celebrating Mother’s Day—especially in the United States, Canada and continental Europe. We must emphasize that, in any event, the personal decisions which each Christian must make in his or her life, must be made based on personal faith and conviction, knowing that whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Such a decision must be based on a determination whether or not a particular holiday is derived from pagan customs in connection with the worship of foreign gods. If it is, the observance of such a holiday needs to be avoided.

Father’s Day

One source (“About,Inc.”) describes the modern origin of Father’s Day in this way: “The modern origin of Father’s Day in the United States is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father’s Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington. The president of the Chicago branch of the Lion’s Club, Harry Meek, is said to have celebrated the first Father’s Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, the closest date to Meek’s own birthday.

“Regardless of when the first true Father’s Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father [Mr. Smart]. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their mother. In 1909, Mrs. Dodd approached her own minister and others in Spokane about having a church service dedicated to fathers on June 5, her father’s birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke a few weeks later on June 19th. From then on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day… States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father’s Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved the idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event…”

The holiday was made official in 1972 by President Richard Nixon (see below).

The Daily Beacon, Volume 90, Number 5 (June 14, 2002), elaborated: “In 1909, as Smart [i.e., Mrs. Bruce John Dodd, daughter of Mr. Smart] was listening to a sermon celebrating Mother’s Day, she thought of her father… Smart wanted a day to honor fathers with special religious services, special meals, small gifts and flowers. After sharing her idea with local religious leaders…, a resolution was passed to observe a Father’s Day.”

Biography.com concurs, “… The inspiration behind the celebration of a Father’s Day is owed at least partly to its slightly earlier counterpart, Mother’s Day.” The article also points out that Smart had the idea of setting aside a Father’s Day, when hearing a sermon on the “merits of setting aside a day to honor one’s mother” (Compare, too, PageWise, Inc., 2002, “History of Father’s Day”).

Hallmark Press Room” explains, under “Father’s Day 2003”: “Father’s Day is always the third Sunday in June… Father’s Day is the fourth-largest card-sending occasion with nearly 90 million Father’s Day cards expected to be given this year in the United States… Smart’s daughter [Mrs. Bruce John Dodd] got the idea for Father’s Day in 1909 while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church. She encouraged local churches to institute a Father’s Day observance the following year on one Sunday in June, the month of her father’s birth… The holiday was made official in 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed a presidential resolution that declared Father’s Day as the third Sunday in June.”

Apart from its obvious connection with Mother’s Day and its religious church background, is there any evidence that Father’s Day is of pagan and/or Catholic origin?

The Laboratorium writes under “Happy Father’s Day”: “Father’s Day was originally a pagan holiday, the Great Sky-Father’s Day. Part of the week of celebrations leading up to the summer solstice, the day was given over to celebrating the Sky-Father’s providing for his human children with rich gifts of sun and rain. Gifts of sacrificial goats and sheep (recognizable by the festive ribbons bound about their necks) were supplemented with prayers for his continued guidance in the human journey towards spiritual adulthood.

“The precise transition to the Father’s Day we know today is lost in the mists of time, but it seems that several generations of CHRISTIAN PRIESTS gradually ATTEMPTED TO NEUTRALIZE THE PAGAN RITUALS by focusing on the literal steps of the ceremonies, rather than their spiritual meanings. The passing of celebratory garlands from sons to fathers was retained, and reemphasized as the central act of the great Sky-Father’s celebration, rather than the sacrifices and prayers. As part of this reinterpretation, the practice of tying ribbons was moved from the animals to the fathers, and appears to be recognizably the origin of the custom of giving ties on Father’s Day.”

The connection with pagan and/or Catholic origins becomes even clearer, when considering modern Father’s Day celebrations and customs in certain European countries. In Palermo, Italy, Father’s Day is celebrated on March 19 in order to honor “Holy Joseph.” On that day, old furniture, tables and other items are burned. As “Bank4Fun” explains, “this custom is derived from the Worship of the Sun, which has an historical origin in Palermo.”

In Austria, Father’s Day, which is celebrated in June, is a Christian CHURCH holiday. In Germany, “Father’s Day” has been celebrated, since 1936, on the same day as “Ascension Day.” This CATHOLIC holiday, also known as “the Day of the Lord,” is always kept on a Thursday—40 days, or on the 5th Sunday, after Easter—to celebrate Christ’s ascension. On this day, men visit restaurants, consuming a lot of alcohol, while it is unfashionable to travel with a woman on that day. “Glaube Aktuell” and Professor Gottfried Rehm, Fulda, explain that these restaurant visits, as well as Catholic processions on that day, have their origins in Germanic customs, when men drank alcohol and asked their gods to bless the harvest for the year. Others, such as doctor of theology, Manfred Becker-Huberti, point out that the Father’s Day celebrations might be derived from honoring Pope Leo III (795–816).

Studying these facts in conjunction with the section on “Mother’s Day,” we must again emphasize that it is the personal decision of each Christian whether or not to keep those days. His decision must be based on personal faith and conviction, knowing that whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).

Thanksgiving Day

The following discussion pertains mostly to our American readers, but it includes helpful guidelines and illustrations for non-Americans in order to determine how to view the celebration of similar holidays in other countries.

The first observance of the Thanksgiving Festival in America occurred in early November or December of 1621 (historical sources vary on the exact time), when the Governor of Plymouth Colony, William Bradford, appointed a three-day feast. That observance was established to show gratitude to the Almighty as that difficult year drew to an end and the harvest was plentiful.

While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America’s first Thanksgiving Festival.

Pilgrim Edward Winslow described the Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving in these words: “Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling [bird hunting] so that we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They… in one day killed as much fowl as… served the company almost a week… Many of the Indians [came] amongst us and… their greatest King, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought… And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God we are… far from want.”

The Pilgrims had left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620, sailing for a new world that offered the promise of both civil and religious liberty. One source tells us that the Pilgrims were Separatists, America’s Calvinist Protestants, who rejected the institutional Church of England. They believed that the worship of God must originate in the inner man, and that corporate forms of worship prescribed by man interfered with the establishment of a true relationship with God. The Separatists used the term “church” to refer to the people, the Body of Christ, not to a building or institution.

Following that first observance, the colonists continued to celebrate days of thanksgiving annually, in recognition of the blessings received of this new land. The first Thanksgiving to God in the Calvinist tradition in Plymouth Colony was actually celebrated during the summer of 1623, when the colonists declared a Thanksgiving holiday after their crops were saved by much-needed rainfall.

This day has been preserved and continued by Presidents of the United States who believed, more or less, in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Bible, as a source of national greatness and integrity. In 1789, America’s first President, George Washington, issued a Thanksgiving proclamation in honor of the new Constitution. He stated, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

God illustrates this principle in Deuteronomy 17:18–19. He specifically shows that it is His desire that the leaders of nations govern based upon the principles and laws of the Bible.

Abraham Lincoln recognized the need for the people to stay close to God if they would continue to receive the blessings, which were being afforded them by the Almighty.

In early July of 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg had occurred, taking some 60,000 American lives, and President Lincoln traveled to the battlefield four months afterward, in November, to deliver the “Gettysburg Address.” He later explained: “When I left Springfield [to become President] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ.”

On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day; a day set aside to give God thanks for the blessings He continued to bestow upon America.

President Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Day proclamation, which was passed by Congress, stated the following: “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart, which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence….

“Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore.

“Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”

That proclamation was repeated for the following 75 years by every subsequent president, until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day up one week earlier than had been tradition, to appease merchants who wanted more time to feed the growing pre-Christmas consumer frenzy. Folding to congressional pressure two years later, Roosevelt signed a resolution returning Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November, as Congress in 1941 permanently set the fourth Thursday of each November as America’s national day of Thanksgiving.

But would God have true Christians keep this day as a national holiday, since this is not a day He established and specifically requires in Scripture?

We have examples of national holidays established by the Jews and recorded in Scripture for historical purposes—days, which were not instituted specifically by God. Thus, the fact that Thanksgiving Day was established by man, does not, in itself, make it wrong for a Christian to celebrate such a day.

In John 10:22–23, we find Jesus attending the “Feast of Dedication,” which was established by the Jews to commemorate the purification of the Temple at Jerusalem. That feast was celebrated on the anniversary of the day that the re-establishment of divine worship occurred, after Antiochus Epiphanes had been vanquished and the Temple had been purified. This occurred around 165 A.D.

Thus, Christ’s attendance at that annual holiday clearly illustrated that it was not wrong to attend and celebrate a national holiday established for the right purposes. There was nothing ungodly in celebrating this holiday and giving special thanks to God on that day!

Esther and Mordecai established the Feast of Purim to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from Haman (Esther 9), and the Bible does not condemn them for this.

A very significant point here is that we do not find pagan origins in the Jewish holidays of the “Feast of Dedication” or the “Feast of Purim.” That is true also in relation to the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Of course, the early pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving Day in 1621 together with Native Americans, but they did so to thank God—not pagan gods—for His protection and blessing. Neither did they do it to follow Roman Catholic practices; in fact, they had left Europe to find religious freedom in the New World. By contrast, Christmas, Easter, Halloween or other festivals, as described in this booklet, were originally celebrated in honor of pagan gods and pagan traditions.

It appears from the foregoing that it is not necessarily wrong for true Christians to participate in Thanksgiving Day observances. At the same time, it cannot be denied that Thanksgiving Day celebrations originated with professing Christian pilgrims, whose understanding of true Christianity differed sharply from that of the Bible. But, they did understand that Christians are duty-bound to give thanks to God Almighty for His blessings, and subsequent leaders of this country shared in that common belief.

On the other hand, if someone is conscientiously opposed to celebrating Thanksgiving Day, he must not violate his own conscience in this regard (seeing that God does not command Thanksgiving Day observances), as everything “not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).

Birthday Celebrations

The Bible specifically mentions two birthday celebrations of kings, ending with the deaths of certain individuals (John the Baptist and Pharaoh’s chief baker, compare Mark 6:21–27 and Genesis 40:20–22). There is another possible reference to birthday celebrations in Job 1:4: “And his [Job’s] sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.” The German Menge Bible explains that this is a reference to the “birthdays” of Job’s sons (A similar expression is used in Job 3:1, referring to Job’s day of birth). The children’s conduct prompted righteous Job to “sanctify them,” for he said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts” (Job 1:5).

Job’s reaction is interesting. He did not feel that the children HAD sinned by celebrating their birthdays, but that they MIGHT have sinned. On the other hand, we do not find any biblical record that righteous people celebrated their own birthdays—nor do we find that Jesus Christ celebrated His birthday or that He told His disciples to celebrate it.

A birthday celebration with its accompanying elaborate parties and the giving of expensive gifts tends to emphasize the attitude of get and vanity—rather than the way of give, which Christians are to follow. God’s Word condemns the glorifying of oneself. Compare Galatians 5:26: “Let us not be desirous of vainglory” (Authorized Version). It appears that Job was concerned that his children might have engaged in selfish and vainglorious conduct during their birthday celebrations.

Josephus, a Jewish first-century historian, wrote: “Nay indeed the law does not permit us to make festivals at the births of our children” (Against Apion, book 11, 26). It would therefore appear that many or most Jews in Christ’s day did not keep birthdays.

On the other hand, there is a difference between elaborate birthday celebrations and the acknowledgment that someone has become a year older. Obviously, the date of one’s birth is not pagan (regardless of whether one recognizes and counts by the Hebrew or the Roman calendar). It is not wrong and does in fact obey the command to honor our parents, to call, visit or send a modest gift to our parents on the day of their birth. Likewise, there are certain milestone years in the lives of young persons that can be acknowledged, such as reaching the age of 14, 16, 18 or 21. (For instance, the Jews have traditionally acknowledged the fact when a boy turns 14.) Also, in ancient Israel, young men being 20 or older were considered old enough to go to war, and a census was held to record the ages of the people (compare Numbers 1:2–3).

The distinction between simple acknowledgments and elaborate celebrations of birthdays may not always be that clear. God has given us a spirit of a sound mind (compare 2 Timothy 1:7), and if we are honest with God and ourselves, we will learn how to please Him better in everything we do (compare Ephesians 4:13). As long as the principles stated herein are adhered to and problems such as the danger of supporting vainglory and vanity are avoided, acknowledgments of certain birthdays of special people close to us are individual decisions.

However, we must keep in mind, once again, that we must not violate our own conscience in this regard, as everything “not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).

Sunday Celebrations

Pagans worshiped the sun on Sunday (Sun’s day). It was a heathen festival in honor of the sun god. Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary says that Sunday was so “called because the day was anciently dedicated to the sun or to its worship.” The North British Review, Vol. 18, p. 409, calls Sunday “the wild solar holiday of all Pagan times.” The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia points out that Sunday—the Dies Solis of the Roman calendar—was the day of the sun because it was dedicated to the sun.

Webster writes in his book “Rest Days,” on page 270: “What began, however, as a Pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian regulation…” Schaff’s Church History states on page 375: “Not a few pagan habits crept into the church concealed by new names. This is conceded by the most earnest of the Fathers. Leo the Great speaks of Christians in Rome who worshiped the sun… In the celebration of Sunday, as it was introduced by Constantine, and still continues on the whole continent of Europe, the cultus of the old Sun god Apollo mingles with the remembrance of the resurrection of Christ.”

The Persians worshipped the sun god Baal under the name of “Mithra” or “Mithras,” and through Persian and Roman influence, nominal confessing “Christians” adopted Sunday worship in lieu of the Sabbath. They simply replaced Sunday worship of Baal or Mithra with Sunday worship of “Christ.”

The German “P.M.” magazine published a few years ago an article, entitled, “Can You Imagine to Believe in Mithras?” It began this way: “An early day in the year 180 A.D. A usual Sunday in the harbor town of Ostia in front of the gates of Rome. Commotion in the different parts of town. Everywhere we see groups of men moving through the narrow village quarters… But no one takes note of them… Everyone knows where the men go to: It is Sunday, the day of the Sun—the men are going to services. Are they Christians? Do we experience here a typical scene from the early days of this religion? No—the men worship another god. Mithras is the name of that transcendent being from whom they expect salvation… Mithras was the main god of the Roman legions… It was Emperor Constantine who was pushing in the Council of Nice (which is in Turkey today) in 325 to unite his subjects under one faith… Although the emperor himself belonged to the cult of the sun worship (he was only baptized on his deathbed), he decided on Christianity as the common confession for all the Romans. In order to make the new religion acceptable for the followers of Mithras, he declared Sunday as the common day of rest for all of his empire…”

Listen to this additional explanation from Esme Wynne-Tyson’s “Mithras, The Fellow in the Cap,” as stated on pp. 22 and 24: “From the first, Mithras was equated with the Sun and with light… In brief, he is a pagan Christ… Mithras was… the Sun-God… Sunday… was consecrated to him, and known as the Lord’s Day long before the Christian era.”

John M. Robertson wrote in “Pagan Christs, Studies in Comparative Hierology,” on pp. 305, 306, 327: “The first day of the week, Sunday, was apparently from time immemorial consecrated to Mithra…”

Note this remarkable quote from H.G. Well’s, “The Outline of History,” on page 543: “It would seem the Christians adopted Sunday as their chief day of worship instead of the… Sabbath, from the Mithraic cult.”

Sunday was a day dedicated to the worship of pagan gods. True Christians should not have anything to do with such practice.

But—Didn’t Paul Keep Sunday?

He did not. Some quote a passage in Acts 20:7 to “prove” that he did. But a closer look at this Scripture reveals that it does not teach that Paul kept Sunday as the day of worship.

It reads: “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” This Scripture does not say that Paul observed Sunday, the first day of the week, as a day of worship. If this was an example for us today, we would be starting the service on Saturday night, not on Sunday morning. In addition, verse 11 shows Paul preached and talked to them until dawn. Again, using this passage as a command for us today, we would have to have worship services from Saturday night until Sunday morning.

Next, we realize that the breaking of bread (as mentioned in Acts 20:7) was not a religious service, but merely the eating of a meal. Acts 27:33–38 proves this. Notice Paul’s situation. He was a Roman prisoner in the midst of many Gentiles on board a ship (Acts 27:1–2). Obviously Paul was not holding a religious service. The men ate for their health (verses 33–34).

David Stern writes in Jewish New Testament Commentary (1991), on page 227: “Many Christians assume that [breaking bread] refers to ‘taking communion’… However, the context is not twentieth-century Christianity but first-century Judaism, and for the Jews then, as now, fellowship was mediated by meals. To say that the early Messianic Jews broke bread is to say neither more nor less than that they ate together.”

Acts 20:7 does not describe a regular service. Notice the context. Paul was en route from Greece to Jerusalem (Acts 20:2–3, 16). Since he did not know when he would see the brethren again, he wanted to teach them as much as possible. The people were more than willing to listen. So, after the Sabbath Paul remained behind to teach the brethren, while his ship sailed around the peninsula (verse 13). He continued talking with them until midnight, and continued, after a short meal, until daybreak (verse 11). After Paul had stayed as long as he could, he left them and walked across the peninsula to meet the boat (verses 13–14). He “worked” on that Sunday by taking this long walk of some 19 miles!

There is nothing in the above Scripture to indicate it was Paul’s custom to observe Sunday. In fact, all through the book of Acts we see it was Paul’s custom to observe the Sabbath (Acts 17:2; 13:14–15, 42–44).

Ancient Israel Kept Sunday—But Shouldn’t Have

It is true that ancient Israel kept Sunday, but God condemned them for it.

Even though the Bible nowhere states explicitly that the ancient house of Israel kept Sunday, it is very clear from the implicit record that they did. It is also clear that God punished them severely for this practice. We know that they abandoned the weekly Sabbath—the seventh day of the week (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset). This was one reason why they went into slavery. We also know that they were guilty of idolatry; e.g., Baal worship. Historical records prove that Baal—the pagan sun god—was worshipped on his day, Sunday—the first day of the week. In fact, Baal was worshipped under many different names throughout man’s history.

For instance, we find the following comments in “Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia,” under “Baalbek,” a town in Eastern Lebanon: “The name, which means ‘City of Baal,’ is derived from the early association of the town with the worship of Baal, a local sun deity whom the ancient Greeks identified with their sun god, Helios; the Greeks and Romans called the town Heliopolis, ‘City of the Sun.’”

We find that under King Jeroboam of Israel, they began to worship Baal. We read in 1 Kings 12:28 that the king “made two calves of gold,” telling the people that they were “your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Later, in 2 Kings 17:16–17, we find this revealing statement: “So they left ALL the commandments of the LORD their God [including the Sabbath commandment and the injunction against committing idolatry], made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshipped all the host of heaven, AND SERVED BAAL. And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD…”

The fact that they turned to Baal worship is proof in itself that they began to observe his day—the first day of the week; i.e., Sunday. Some 200 years later, God rebuked the house of Israel through the prophet Hosea, comparing it with a fallen or unfaithful woman: “‘I will punish her For the DAYS of the Baals to which she burned incense… But Me she forgot,’ says the LORD” (Hosea 2:13).

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explains the expression “DAYS of BAALS” as follows: “the days consecrated to the Baals, or various images of Baal in different cities, whence the names Baal-gad, Baal-hermon, etc.” These “days” included Sunday, as well as other pagan holidays.

Returning to King Jeroboam, note what else is revealed about him in 2 Kings 17:21–23: “Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them commit a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight… So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria…”

It appears, therefore, that Jeroboam’s GREAT sin, as well as ALL THE SINS, which he did and which were adopted by the house of Israel, included the abolishment of the Sabbath and the adoption of Sunday worship. The Bible says that they continued with that practice, until God punished them severely by carrying them away—into Assyrian slavery (compare Ezekiel 20:12–13, 18–20, 23–24).

But—Are we not to keep Sunday in honor of Christ’s resurrection?

Some claim that Jesus was resurrected on Sunday morning, and that we therefore must keep Sunday, instead of the weekly Sabbath. First of all, even IF Jesus was resurrected on Sunday, that still does not permit us to abrogate God’s commanded Sabbath worship (see discussion below) and replace it with Sunday.

But then, as we saw earlier in this booklet, Christ was NOT resurrected on Sunday morning. Therefore, there is no biblical basis to celebrate Sunday, instead of the weekly Sabbath.

Chapter 2 – …And God’s Holy Days

Overview

Man’s holidays are inventions of the human mind, and many of them are of pagan origin. Some, however, are neutral. Even though they are not commanded in Scripture, they are not necessarily prohibited, either expressly, or based on spiritual principles. Still, it is the obligation of an individual Christian not to violate his conscience—which must be in harmony with God’s Word—when deciding whether or not he should participate in celebrations of such humanly devised holidays, as long as they are neutral and as long as their customs are not of pagan origin in connection with the worship of foreign gods.

Christians, however, are not free to reject their observance of God’s commanded Holy Days. They are, in fact, duty-bound to keep them, and their refusal to do so constitutes sin.

What, exactly, then, are those Holy Days that God commands His people to keep, even today?

Weekly Sabbath

God commands His people to worship Him on the Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset)—NOT on Sunday.

Listed below are seven proofs, which, when taken together, show that the Sabbath is still in effect and is to be observed by Christians today.

  1. Mark 2:27–28—The Sabbath was made specifically for man, and Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath, not some other day.
  2. Genesis 2:2–3—The Sabbath was made by God at the same time man was made, and was set apart as holy time for all mankind, forever.
  3. Exodus 16—Israel had lost the knowledge of the Sabbath during their time of slavery in Egypt, so God showed them which day it was by means of special miracles, thereby re-emphasizing the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy.
  4. Exodus 20: 8–11—The Sabbath was one of the Ten Commandments.
  5. Luke 4:16—Jesus kept the Sabbath.
  6. Acts 17:2—Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, also kept the Sabbath.
  7. Isaiah 66:23—The Sabbath will be kept in the future when God’s Kingdom will be ruling on the earth.

It is interesting to note that in Acts 15, the apostles and elders had come together because of various disputes that had to be cleared up. If there was any question concerning the Sabbath or the annual Holy Days, surely it would have been a point of discussion at that meeting. But there is no mention of a discussion pertaining to those days.

We must conclude that true Christians are to keep the Sabbath today.

But—Wasn’t the Sabbath made only for the Jews?

It is not correct that the Sabbath was made for the Jews only. The Sabbath is mentioned in the very second chapter of the Bible, where God set it aside as HOLY, to be USED by man for a HOLY purpose.

God created the Sabbath at the time He created man. We read in Genesis 2:2–3, “He RESTED on the seventh day from all His work…Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work.” The word for “rested,” in the Hebrew, is “shabath,” and it means, according to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, “to cease, rest, keep Sabbath.” God initiated the Sabbath at the time of the creation of man, by RESTING, or ceasing from His work, and He “sanctified” that day; that is, He “set it aside for a holy purpose.”

Later, we read in Exodus 20:11 that God “rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the SABBATH day and hallowed it.”

Also, we read that God made the Sabbath for MAN—not only for the Jews or the Israelites (Mark 2:27).

The reason that God had to re-introduce the Sabbath to the people at the time of Moses (recorded in Exodus 16), is that they had just been released from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt, where they had FORGOTTEN to keep the Sabbath. They were under hard bondage and were forced to work every day, obviously not being allowed to keep the Sabbath. So, in time, they got used to not keeping it. Note what God said to Moses, after they had gone out on the Sabbath to gather manna for the first time: “HOW LONG do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath…” (Exodus 16:28–29). The people had not kept God’s Sabbath for a very LONG time—that is why God is asking, “HOW LONG do you refuse” to keep it holy?

But—Didn’t Paul abolish the Sabbath?

Paul did not teach that the Law of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:1–22)—including the Sabbath command (Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15)—was done away. Some cite Galatians 3:10–13 as a basis for teaching that the “law” was abolished when Jesus died, and that we are cursed when we keep the Ten Commandments.

Galatians 3:10–13 reads: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’ Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘the man who does them shall live by them.’ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).”

In Galatians 3:10–13, Paul speaks about the “works of the law.” In reading this passage, we must consider the context to see what specific law it refers to. It is important to realize that the Bible uses the word “law” in many different ways. For instance, it can refer to the spiritual LAW of the Ten Commandments, or to ritual temporary laws or regulations that pertain to sacrifices, washings and other physical instructions.

Anyone was cursed who did not continue in everything that was written in the Law, including the physical regulations or works of the law, pertaining to washings, rituals and sacrifices.

Paul, then, introduces an additional thought in Galatians 3:19 when he says that the law was added because of transgression. That statement refers to that part of the law, which has to do with sacrifices and other rituals, as well as the curses, or penalties, for violating God’s spiritual Law.

The “law,” mentioned in Galatians 3:19, was ADDED “four hundred and thirty years” after God’s covenant with Abraham (compare verse 17). It was added because of transgression (verse 19). The Bible teaches that SIN is the transgression of the LAW (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). The Law of the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath commandment, existed since the creation of Adam and Eve. But because the people had sinned by transgressing the spiritual LAW of the Ten Commandments (Romans 7:14), as well as the statutes and judgments that embellish those righteous commandments, ANOTHER “law” was ADDED—the temporary physical law dealing with sacrifices and other rituals.

Paul’s use of the word “law” in the third chapter of the book of Galatians, then, does not relate to the Ten Commandments at all, but to an altogether different set of rules—the sacrificial law SYSTEM, which was added some time after Moses had brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt (compare Jeremiah 7:21–23).

Paul uses the same language in Romans 5. A careful analysis shows that he speaks there, again, about two sets of laws—the Ten Commandments, and the sacrificial system, which was ADDED because of sin. In Romans 5:12–14, Paul says: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin [death came through sin, because death is the penalty for sin, compare Romans 6:23], and thus death spread to ALL men, because ALL SINNED—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. NEVERTHELESS death REIGNED from Adam to Moses…).”

Paul says here that ALL sinned; that all incurred the DEATH penalty BECAUSE they had sinned; and that there is no penalty if there is no law. THEREFORE, SINCE there was a death penalty, there had to be a LAW. But then, Paul says that that condition—the death penalty—already existed before the “law” was in the world. How clear, then, that he is talking about TWO different sets of law! The law that came into the world at the time of Moses had to be different from the law that already existed from the time of Adam.

Paul continued in verse 20: “Moreover the law entered [Conybeare: “was ADDED”] that the offense might abound.” What law entered? What law was added? NOT the Law of the Ten Commandments, which was in force and effect since Adam, but the sacrificial law system which “entered” or was “added” more than 430 years after Abraham’s covenant with God.

The Bible does not contradict itself. One Scripture does not “break” or “make of no effect” another Scripture (John 10:35)!

A law was added because of transgressions. This law cannot be the Ten Commandments. Rather, because people had transgressed the Law of the Ten Commandments, an additional law was given to the people. Paul’s statement that the law was added because of transgression (Galatians 3:19), and that a law “entered” the world AFTER sin and death were already in the world (Romans 5:12–14, 20), refers to that part of the physical law that has to do with sacrifices and other rituals. Because the people had sinned by transgressing the spiritual LAW of the Ten Commandments, as well as those statutes and judgments which embellish those righteous commandments, ANOTHER “law” was ADDED and came into the world—the temporary physical law dealing with sacrifices and other rituals.

But—Didn’t Paul say that he was free from the law of the Sabbath?

One of the Scriptures that has been used by some to support their false claim that Paul no longer taught obedience to God’s Law of the Ten Commandments—including Sabbath observance—is 1 Corinthians 9:20–21. This is, however, not at all what Paul was saying here.

Let us read, in context, the entire passage, as stated in 1 Corinthians 9:19–23:

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

Paul recognized the ongoing validity of God’s Law (especially the Ten Commandments, which includes the command to keep the Sabbath holy). They are not “old covenant laws.” In fact, to call them such reveals total ignorance as to what a covenant is. A covenant is simply a contract, which is based on law—it does not bring law into existence. When a covenant becomes obsolete, this does not affect the laws on which the covenant is based. To term certain laws “old covenant laws” is just an idle and futile attempt to somehow make those laws obsolete.

We should note that Paul did keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days, even in the presence of Gentiles. In fact, Paul even COMMANDED the Gentiles to keep the Sabbath, the Holy Days and the dietary laws.

What, then, did Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 9:20–21?

As we saw in previous sections of this booklet, the New Testament makes it clear that certain SACRIFICIAL laws are no longer binding today. Paul calls them “a tutor” in Galatians 3:24. This ritual law, which is referred to as a “LAW,” “was added because of transgression” (Galatians 3:19). Sin is the transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4)—the Ten Commandments (James 2:8–12). We see, then, that the Ten Commandments—the “LAW”—had to be in effect BEFORE the sacrificial law system was added, as that was added BECAUSE OF transgression. The sacrificial system with its ritualistic rules is no longer necessary to be kept. At the same time, it would NOT be SINFUL to keep it while in the presence of Jews. Therefore, when Paul was with Jews, he would not offend them by refusing to keep their customs. He would not keep those customs, of course, when he was with Gentiles, as those customs or ritualistic laws are no longer binding. Paul DID make clear, however, that he DID teach and keep the spiritual LAW of God (Romans 7:14) that IS still binding, including ALL of the Ten Commandments (Matthew 19:17–19).

Notice how the “Nelson Study Bible” explains 1 Corinthians 9:19–23:

“Paul put his ministry of the gospel above his personal desires. He was willing to conform to the customs of other people, whether Jew or Gentile, in order to bring them to Christ. For example, in order to relate to the Jews in Jerusalem he made a Nazarite vow in the temple (Acts 21:23, 24). Around those who were under the Law—the Jews—Paul obeyed the Law. Around those who were outside the Law—the Gentiles—Paul did not observe JEWISH CUSTOM. Paul clarified this, however, lest anyone misunderstand his actions. He obeyed GOD’S LAW through obedience toward Christ.”

The New Bible Commentary concurs, referring to the ritualistic sacrificial law as the “Mosaic” law:

“Paul has surrendered more than his right to personal subsistence. Though he is free from all men, i.e. in no sense bound by the standards or fashions of others, he is prepared to make himself a slave to all, and conform to their standards or fashions, providing no real principle is at stake, in order to win as many as possible… So when among Jews he acts as a Jew, conforming to their customs under the Mosaic law (Acts 16:3; 18:18; 21:26), though as a Christian he himself is no longer obliged to keep that law (cf. Gal. 2:11–21). Similarly he is ready to identify himself with those who are not bound by the Jewish law, i.e. Gentiles; though he adds an important proviso. Gentiles not only disregard the Mosaic law [our comment: that part of the law of Moses that is ritual and no longer binding], but may also refuse to recognize any divine commandments [our comment: the Ten Commandments with its statutes and judgments—including the Sabbath, the annual Holy Days, and the dietary and tithing laws].”

Paul never taught others to sin, and he was careful that he did not sin, either. He would have never disobeyed God by breaking His Law, only to “win” the Gentiles. He was NOT without God’s Law, although he did no longer preach as binding and mandatory physical circumcision or other sacrificial rituals, as those—temporary—laws had been abolished by God in the New Testament. At the same time, he did not offend his Jewish audience by violating their customs and traditions, as long as he could keep them without sinning against God.

Finally, although he was not “under the law,” he became as one “under the law,” so that he might win those under the law. The term “under the law” refers to its penalty. When we sin, the penalty of sin—death—is hanging over us like the sword of Damocles. Through the Sacrifice of Christ, our repentance and our belief in and acceptance of His Sacrifice, we can have forgiveness of our sins; that is, we won’t have to die anymore. The death penalty is no longer hanging over our heads. In order to win those who had not yet accepted Christ’s Sacrifice, Paul became as one of them. He showed them compassion and sympathy, rather than condemning and offending them. He became as one under the penalty of the Law, as he understood what it was like to live in sin, being cut off and separated from God.

Paul never taught that any of God’s abiding laws could be broken. He taught, “It is the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath” (Hebrews 4:9; Lamsa translation). Those who want to REFUSE to keep God’s spiritual Law, including the weekly Sabbath, twist certain Scriptures and invent arguments to justify their sinful conduct. They do this, however, “to their own destruction” (compare 2 Peter 3:14–16).

But—Didn’t Christ come to abolish the Law, including the Sabbath command, by fulfilling it for US?

Christ’s statement that He came to FULFILL the Law does NOT mean that He did away with it—quite the CONTRARY is correct.

Notice what Christ said in Matthew 5:17: “Do NOT think that I came to DESTROY the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy BUT to fulfill.” Christ did not say here that He had come to destroy the Law. Neither did He say that “fulfilling” the Law meant, “destroying it,” because if that was true, Christ’s statement would read: “I did not come to destroy the Law but to destroy the Law.” This would make no sense.

In the Greek, the word for “fulfill” is “pleroo.” It is true that this word can designate completion or even cessation—but as will be pointed out, it can also mean a continued activity of carrying out something—depending on the context. For instance, in Luke 7:1, the word “pleroo” is used in the sense of “end” or “conclude”: “Now when He concluded all His sayings…” In Acts 19:21, the Greek word is translated as “accomplished”: “When these things were accomplished…” (The Authorized Version says “ended” in both passages.)

However, in the majority of cases, the Greek word “pleroo” conveys the meaning of “filling up” or “making full,” with the concept of continuing to carry out a specific task (compare Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible).

In Matthew 3:15, it is used in this context: “…it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

In Philippians 2:2, Paul states, “…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love.” Further, Paul reminds the saints in Colosse that he became a minister to “fulfill the word of God” (Colossians 1:25), and he admonishes Archippus to “take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it” (Colossians 4:17). None of these passages convey the thought that something has ended. Rather, the obvious understanding is that something should be continued to be filled with meaning, or to be brought to perfection. God’s spiritual Law, as defined in the Ten Commandments, the statutes and the judgments, “stand[s] fast forever and ever” (Psalm 111:7–8), and it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away “than for one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17). A tittle is the smallest stroke in a Hebrew letter.

Christ did not come to do away with God’s spiritual Law of the Ten Commandments! He stated in Matthew 5:17 that He had NOT come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it—to magnify it, to exalt it and make it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21), to fill it up with its intended meaning, to show how to keep it perfectly in the flesh.

The apostle James silences those who claim that we today do not have to keep ALL of God’s Ten Commandments. Let’s read his decisive answer in James 2:8–12: “If you really fulfill [that is, keep] the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep [or, fulfill] THE WHOLE LAW, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of ALL. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a TRANSGRESSOR of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

In this passage, the Greek word for “fulfill” is “teleo,” but the intended meaning is obviously the same: We are to continue fulfilling or keeping the Law—not ceasing to keep it. This conclusion is clear when we understand what sin is—and that we have to repent of sin to obtain eternal life.

What, exactly, is it that we need to repent of? Simply put, we must repent of the sins we have committed. What is sin? The biblical definition is: “…sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Which law? The Law of God’s Ten Commandments. James calls it the “royal law according to the Scripture” (James 2:8). It defines our love toward God and our love toward neighbor. When we break even one of the Ten Commandments, we are guilty of having broken them all and have become a transgressor of the Law (James 2:10–11).

The Law of the Ten Commandments is a spiritual Law, as Paul explains in Romans 7:14, because it regulates not only our actions, but also the motives and intents of our heart. We sin when we commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), but we also sin when we DESIRE or COVET the wife of another man (Exodus 20:17), or when we look at another woman with the desire to commit adultery with her (Matthew 5:28). Additionally, we sin when we kill someone (Exodus 20:13), though we have already sinned by violating God’s spiritual Law of the Ten Commandments when we even HATE another human being (Matthew 5:21–22; 1 John 3:15).

Clearly, Christ did not come to do away with God’s Law; otherwise, there would be no more sin and we would not need to repent of anything. But Christ said that we have to REPENT and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14–15). Even after His physical death, the resurrected Christ commanded His disciples that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name” (Luke 24:47). And Peter proclaimed that same message, which is recorded in Acts 2:38. Christ had come to FULFILL the Law, that is, He kept it PERFECTLY, giving us an example that we “should follow His steps” (compare 1 Peter 2:21). He did not keep the Law FOR us, so that we don’t have to keep it anymore. Rather, as He told a young rich ruler: “If you want to enter into life, KEEP the commandments” (compare Matthew 19:17).

The teaching of the Bible is consistent. In order to inherit eternal life, we must keep God’s Law—the Ten Commandments—as well as the statutes and judgments that define and explain the Ten Commandments even further. Christ did not come to “fulfill” the Law by doing away with it or by destroying it. Rather, Christ came to “fulfill” the Law by making it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21), by MAGNIFYING it, by showing us HOW to obey it, both in the letter AND in the SPIRIT. This includes ALL of God’s commandments—including the keeping of the Fourth Commandment, which enjoins us to keep God’s Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8).

But—Doesn’t Paul say in 2 Corinthians 3:3–11 that the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath, are abolished?

Some believe that 2 Corinthians 3:3–11, especially verse 7, teaches that the Ten Commandments, which were written on tablets of stone, ceased to be in force and effect when Jesus Christ died on the cross (compare Ryrie Study Bible, footnote to 2 Corinthians 3:7). However, a careful reading of the entire passage does not uphold such an erroneous teaching.

Let us review the entire passage of 2 Corinthians 3:3–11, in context:

“(3)… clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. (4) And we have such trust through Christ toward God. (5) Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, (6) who has also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (7) But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, (8) how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? (9) For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. (10) For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. (11) For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.”

It is important that we carefully analyze this passage, so that we do not reach wrong conclusions.

God made a covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. We read in Exodus 24:1–8 that the covenant was sealed with blood. When that happened, the covenant was final and could not be altered. The law of the covenant was written in a book, the “Book of the Covenant” (verse 7; compare Hebrews 9:19–20). At that time, the sacrificial system was not a part of the Law—those ritual provisions had not been given yet—and they were not written in the Book of the Covenant. The only sacrifice that is mentioned as a required sacrifice is the Passover (Exodus 23:18; Exodus 12). Yet, even this Passover sacrifice found its fulfillment in the death of Jesus Christ. Christians do not now offer lambs in sacrifice for Passover—rather, Paul shows: “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

But ritual laws were added at the time of Moses, including the laws regarding the Levitical priesthood and penalties, or curses, for violations of God’s spiritual Law, and those did find their way into the Book of the Covenant, which is also called the Book of the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 28:58, 61; 29:20–21, 27, 29; 31:9). This Book of the Law was placed outside or beside the ark of the covenant (Deuteronomy 31:24–26). The tablets with the Ten Commandments, however, were placed inside the ark (Deuteronomy 10:4–5; Hebrews 9:4).

Later, all the laws that had been written by Moses into the Book of the Law were engraved on massive stones (Deuteronomy 27:2–3, 8; Joshua 8:30–32, 34). The laws that were written on the stones included the Ten Commandments, along with the statutes and judgments, and also the rules and regulations regarding sacrifices and other rituals. We find a reference to those stones and the laws that had been engraved on them in 2 Corinthians 3:7–8, “But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious… how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?”

The reference to the ministry of death includes the death penalty for violating God’s spiritual Law. The penalties were first written in the Book of the Law of Moses and then engraved on massive stones. Since Christ died for us, we don’t have to pay the death penalty, if we repent of our sins and obtain forgiveness.

The ritual sacrificial laws, which were among the laws written on stones, could not forgive sins—they only reminded the sinners of their sins. The Levitical priesthood was, in that sense, a ministry of death, as people would still not be able to obtain eternal life, even though they brought sacrifices.

With this background, let us again carefully review verses 3 and 7 of 2 Corinthians 3. In verse 3, reference is made to the Ten Commandments, which were written “on tablets of stone.” Christians today are to keep the Ten Commandments in their hearts; that is to say that it is not sufficient to possess tablets of stone which include the Ten Commandments, but rather that we have to internalize them and obey them “from the heart.”

Verse 7, however, does NOT refer specifically or exclusively to the Ten Commandments. As stated above, the “ministry of death, written and engraved on STONES,” refers to massive stones (compare again Deuteronomy 27:2–3, 8; Joshua 8:30–32, 34) on which ALL of God’s laws were written—not just the Ten Commandments, which are spiritual and eternal, but also temporary ritual laws regarding washings and sacrifices. While the two tablets with the Ten Commandments did not include any penalties, the subsequent massive stones did.

Let us compare the different Greek words which are used in verses 3 and 7, when describing the “tablets of stone” (referring to the Ten Commandments) and the “ministry of death… engraved on stones” (referring to the entire law, including physical temporary regulations pertaining to sacrifices and washings).

The Greek word for “of stone” in verse 3 is, “lithinos” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, No. 3035), and means, literally, “made of stone” or formed out of stones. The word is used in Revelation 9:20, describing idols made out of stone. The Greek word for engraved “on stones,” in verse 7, is, “lithos” (Strong’s No. 3037), and it describes complete stones—not something made of stone. It is also rendered as “millstone” in Luke 17:2. The tablets with the Ten Commandments were taken from stones—the tablets did not constitute complete stones. But later, all of God’s laws—permanent as well as temporary rules—were engraved on complete, massive stones. To reiterate: The Ten Commandments were written on TABLETS OF STONE—the laws of the Book of Moses, including the penalties for sin, were engraved on COMPLETE, MASSIVE STONES.

The Ten Commandments, as well as other permanent and temporary laws, were WRITTEN in a book—the Book of the Law of Moses. Verse 7 makes reference to this fact, when it says, “…WRITTEN and engraved on stones.” Quite literally, the meaning is that all of the laws were first “reduced to writing” (“en grammasin” in Greek) and then “engraved” (“entupoo” in Greek) “on stones” (“en lithos” in Greek).

Thus, 2 Corinthians 3:7–8 could be paraphrased as follows, to clarify the intended meaning:

“But if the ministry of death, which was first written in the Book of the Law of Moses and later engraved on massive stones, was glorious, even though it would cease one day—so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance (after he saw God’s form), which glory also passed away—how will the ministry of the Spirit, which will endure forever, not be more glorious?”

God’s true ministers today do not administer the death penalty for sin—they do not fulfill the ancient Levitical priesthood’s role and function of a “ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:9). Rather, God’s true ministry today teaches that sinful man can receive forgiveness of sin through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God’s ministry today also teaches that man must keep the Ten Commandments. Man can only do this, however, through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, which is received after repentance, belief, baptism and the laying on of hands by God’s true ministers. In other words, God’s ministry is a “ministry of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 3:9), teaching man how to obtain righteousness and how to live righteously.

2 Corinthians 3:2–11 does not teach that the Ten Commandments are abolished. Quite to the contrary, the passage teaches that the Ten Commandments must be kept today, including the Sabbath commandment.

They must, however, be kept in the Spirit; that is, they must be applied in our lives with their spiritual intent, as Christ clearly explained in Matthew 5–7. In doing so, we can escape death and inherit eternal life. If we refuse to do so, Christ’s warning in John 3:36 is still applicable for us today: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him (Revised Standard Version).”

But—Didn’t Paul say that all that is required is to believe in Jesus? Therefore, isn’t it true, then, that the keeping of the Sabbath is no longer necessary?

It is, indeed, correct that Paul told the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And it is also true that we MUST believe in Christ, as only in His name can we find salvation (compare Acts 4:12). However, Paul did not say that belief in Christ is ALL that we must have. Rather, belief in Christ is only the starting point. Notice how the record in Acts 16 continues, in verses 32–33:

“Then they [Paul and Silas] spoke the WORD of the LORD to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes [The jailer responded to Paul’s teaching of the Word of God by showing kindness to Paul.] And immediately he and all his family were baptized [They had repented of their sins and showed their faith by baptism, so that they could receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, compare Acts 2:38].”

Paul did not preach, and the jailer did not understand him to preach, that ALL that was required of him was simply to believe that Jesus was the Christ. Rather, his belief had to be accompanied by obedience to Christ’s words, as manifested by his actions.

Jesus tells us in John 15:14: “You are My friends if you DO whatever I COMMAND you.” He continued in verse 17: “These things I COMMAND you, that you LOVE one another.”

The jailer showed LOVE to Paul when he washed his stripes and gave him food to eat (Acts 16:33–34). Paul tells us in Romans 13:8–10 that when we love each other, we FULFILL God’s LAW of love. He says in verse 9: “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

In other words, if we LOVE our neighbor enough so that we don’t kill him or steal from him, or lie to him or about him, or covet what he has, or commit adultery with his wife [which are all injunctions contained in the Ten Commandments], we FULFILL God’s Law. We read in 1 John 5:3: “For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments.” 1 John 3:23 explains: “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, AND LOVE one another.”

As discussed before, when a young man asked Christ what to do to inherit eternal life, Christ told him: “But if you want to enter into life, KEEP [or OBEY] the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He proceeded to list some of the Ten Commandments to show which commandments He was talking about (verses 18 and 19). And James would later explain that we break ALL of the Ten Commandments when we break even one of them (James 2:8–11). As the Ten Commandments define love to God and neighbor, we don’t show the love of God in our lives when we transgress His Law.

Paul did not tell the Philippian jailer that all he had to do was just believe in Jesus Christ. James tells us that even the demons believe in God (James 2:19). Rather, Paul was teaching that we need to OBEY God, once we come to believe in Him.

We read Paul’s word in Romans 1:5: “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship FOR OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.” He also stated in Romans 16:26: “… [the mystery] has been made manifest… according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for OBEDIENCE TO THE FAITH.”

Acts 6:7 reports about the beginning of the New Testament Church: “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were OBEDIENT TO THE FAITH.”

As quoted before, we read in John 3:36 (correctly translated from the Greek, compare the Revised Standard Version): “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does NOT OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.”

When the Bible talks about the right kind of faith needed to inherit eternal life, it equates faith with obedience. Faith alone in Christ, which does not manifest itself in an obedient lifestyle to God’s Law, is NOT enough.

In fact, Paul tells us in Romans 2:8 that God will pour out “indignation and wrath” on those who “are self-seeking and do NOT OBEY the truth, but obey unrighteousness.” And “truth” is defined as “all Your commandments” (Psalm 119:151). Paul reiterates in 2 Thessalonians 1:8 that God will take “vengeance on those who… do NOT OBEY the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Romans 6:17, 22, Paul states: “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin [remember, sin is defined as the “transgression of the LAW,” 1 John 3:4, Authorized Version], yet you OBEYED from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered… having become SLAVES of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and THE END, everlasting life.” The New International Version renders Romans 6:22 in this way: “But now that you… have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

Further proof that our faith must be accompanied by OBEDIENCE can be found in Peter’s first letter. Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:2 to the “elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, FOR THE OBEDIENCE and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” He continues in verse 22: “Since you have purified your souls in OBEYING THE TRUTH through the Spirit in SINCERE LOVE of the brethren, LOVE one another fervently with a pure heart.”

Peter also admonished the brethren to conduct themselves as “OBEDIENT CHILDREN, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (verses 14–15). Again, in 1 Peter 4:17, we are warned about the fate of those who do “NOT OBEY the gospel of God.”

We will only inherit salvation and eternal life, if we obey God! This is very clearly expressed in Hebrews 5:8–9 where we read that even Christ “learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation TO ALL WHO OBEY HIM.”

Just as Christ obeyed God’s commandments, so must we (John 15:10). Only if we DO the will of our Father in heaven, that is, only if we cease practicing lawlessness, will we enter God’s Kingdom (Matthew 7:21–23). The MERE confession that we believe in Christ, will NOT be enough (verse 21)!

Peter made it very clear that we must obey God at all times, even if that means—in rare instances—disobeying man (Acts 5:29). Normally, we must of course obey and be subject to governing authorities (compare Romans 13:1–7). Peter also clarified that God will give His Spirit—which is a guarantee that we WILL inherit eternal life (Ephesians 1:13–14)—only to those who OBEY God (Acts 5:32).

If we want to inherit eternal life, we must obey the Ten Commandments—including the Sabbath commandment.

Paul Commands God’s People to Keep the Weekly Sabbath

The account in Hebrews 3 and 4 speaks about the failure of ancient Israel to enter the Promised Land of Canaan, and the fact that Christians must be careful to avoid making the same mistakes, so that they CAN enter the future Millennial rest—the spiritual Promised Land, so to speak. At the same time, Paul draws an additional analogy between the weekly Sabbath and the Millennial rest at the end of man’s rule, comparing the coming Millennial rest with a Millennial “Sabbath” of 1000 years. Several Scriptures indicate a 7000-year plan of God, which is comprised of a “week” of seven 1000-year “days.” God gave man about 6000 years (or six “days” of 1000-years each) to prove that man, under Satan’s influence, cannot rule himself. These first six “days” of 1000 years each will be followed by the seventh “day” of 1000 years, called the Millennium, during which Christ and His elect will rule this earth (compare Revelation 20:4–6; 2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4).

In Hebrews 3, Paul addresses ancient Israel’s disobedience in the wilderness, under the direction of Moses. Moses “was faithful in all his house” (Hebrews 3:2)—but the Israelites hardened their hearts (v. 8), and did not enter God’s physical rest of the Promised Land of Canaan at that time (v. 11). Rather, their corpses fell in the wilderness (v. 17) because of their “evil heart of unbelief” (v. 12) and because of their disobedience (vv. 18–19). Paul warns us that we could fall, if we are not careful (v. 12), although we are today led by Jesus Christ who is Head over His house—“whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end” (v. 6).

Using this analogy, Paul goes on to tell us in Hebrews 4:1 that “a promise remains of entering His rest.” Although Joshua did lead ancient Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan (Hebrews 4:8), this entrance was only a forerunner, which foreshadowed the final Millennial rest still ahead of us. Paul points out that even after ancient Israel had entered the Promised Land of Canaan under Joshua, David still spoke of a future rest (v. 7)—the rest of the Millennium when God rules here on this earth through His Son, Jesus Christ, and through the Church of God, then made immortal.

We also have a rest on a weekly basis—the weekly Sabbath. Paul states that as God rested from His work on the seventh day (Hebrews 4:4), so man is to rest from his work on the weekly Sabbath, and during the Millennial Sabbath at the end of man’s worldly rule—when the first 6000 years of God’s plan for creation have expired. Just as the weekly seventh day of God’s re-creation ended God’s work, so the weekly Sabbath is a commanded rest from our work, and the Millennial Sabbath of 1000 years will end the rule of man, presently under Satan’s influence, to be replaced by God’s rule. (For proof that Genesis 1:2–31; 2:3 describe the re-creation of the earth—and not its original creation—please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?”)

In this context, Paul states that we must continue to keep the weekly Sabbath (Hebrews 4:9), since it foreshadows the Millennial rest to come.

Hebrews 4:9 reads, correctly translated, “It is therefore the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath” (Lamsa). While Paul does say that we need to rest on the weekly Sabbath, he also mentions a future, permanent rest in verse 11: “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that [final] rest.” He is still speaking of a future rest (“katapausis” in Greek), but he tells us at the same time that we can experience a foretaste of this future rest on a weekly basis when we keep the Sabbath (“sabbatismos” in Greek, in Hebrews 4:9). This weekly Sabbath rest foreshadows the Millennial rest still to come, and it points back to God’s rest during the re-creation week. We can already cease today from our work on a weekly basis when we keep the Sabbath, looking forward to the time when the whole world will be able to enjoy a life of peace and “rest” from hate, strife and war.

Paul’s point is this: When we do not keep the weekly Sabbath, we are not being diligent to enter the real rest yet to come (vv. 9, 11). We will make the same mistake as ancient Israel did. We will endanger ourselves to “fall according to the same example of disobedience” (v. 11).

On the other hand, if we rest from our work on a weekly basis, by keeping the Sabbath, just as God rested from His work during the week of re-creation, we will ultimately enter God’s final rest. When we have entered that final rest (“katapausis” in Greek), we will have been made immortal, and we will have completely ceased from “our” human works, as God did cease from His works on the first weekly Sabbath—at the end of the re-creation week (v. 10).

Weekly Sabbath to Be Kept From Sunset to Sunset

Even though our Western societies reckon days from midnight to midnight, and some even define a day as the period from morning to night, this is a purely human invention. The Bible is very clear that days are to be counted from sunset to sunset. For instance, the Sabbath, the last day of the week, is to be counted from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

God has revealed in His Word exactly when the Sabbath starts and when it ends. God reckons each day—including the Sabbath—beginning at sunset and continuing until the following sunset. Today, we would say that the Seventh-Day Sabbath starts Friday evening, when the sun sets, and lasts until Saturday evening, at sunset.

We know from the Jewish people when to keep the Sabbath. It is the Jews to whom God committed His revelations or His “oracles,” as Paul clearly explains in Romans 3:1–2. These “oracles of God” included the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the knowledge of the week and of the Sacred Calendar. The Jews preserved the knowledge of which day is the seventh day of the week. Without an understanding of when a week begins and ends, we would not have been able to tell, from the Bible alone, which day the seventh day of the week actually is. Today, the Jews keep the Sabbath on Saturday, beginning Friday evening, at sunset. Nobody questions today that the Sabbath, as preserved by the Jews, is the seventh or last day of the week. All understand that Sunday is the first day of the week—although there have been some attempts in Europe to actually change the calendar in order to deceitfully pretend as if Sunday, and not Saturday, was the seventh day of the week.

The Bible reveals that days start and end at sunset, in the evening. Notice Genesis 1:5: “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” Note the comment by the Ryrie Study Bible to this passage: “… Jewish reckoning began the day with eventide (Lev. 23:32). This may be the reason for the order here…”

Many Scriptures associate the meaning of the word “evening” with “sunset.” For instance, a period of one day regarding a ritualistic, temporary law is noted in Leviticus 22:6–7: “The person who has touched any such thing shall be unclean until evening… And when the sun goes down he shall be clean.” (Note the same definition in 2 Samuel 3:35.) Further, we are told in Leviticus 23:32 to keep God’s Sabbath “from evening to evening.”

In regard to the meaning of “evening,” also notice Deuteronomy 16:6: “… at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover, at twilight [lit., between the two evenings], at the going down of the sun…” The first evening—when days start and end—is sunset. The second evening is nightfall, when it is really dark. The Passover had to be sacrificed on the 14th day of the first month, at twilight—between the two evenings—“at the GOING DOWN OF THE SUN.”

Rienecker’s Lexikon zur Bibel [“Rienecker”] correctly explains, under “evening”: “Until evening (Leviticus 15:5; Judges 20:26) means the entire day, as the new day begins with sunset.”

Rienecker explains, under “day”: “The day as part of the week and the month… lasted for the Israelites from one sunset to the next sunset (Exodus 12:18; Leviticus 23:32); within this unity the hours of the night preceded the daylight hours (compare ‘evening-mornings’ [in] Daniel 8:14; compare the Greek word ‘nychthaemeron,’ literally ‘Night-Day,’ = the time of 24 hours, 2 Corinthians 11:25).”

The biblical passages of Exodus 12:18 and Leviticus 23:32, as quoted by Rienecker, establish that days start and end at SUNSET. Exodus 12:18 reads: “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.”

Verse 19 explains that the entire duration lasted for seven days, that is, from the evening (or sunset) of the fourteenth day (when the fifteenth day started) until the evening of the twenty-first day (when that day ended and the twenty-second day started). The seven days of unleavened bread FOLLOW the Passover, which is to be observed on the 14th day—from the beginning of the fourteenth day, at sunset, until the end of the fourteenth day, at sunset (compare Exodus 12:6). Notice that the Passover falls on the fourteenth day (from sunset to sunset), but that the Days of Unleavened Bread begin on the fifteenth day—24 hours later (Numbers 28:16–17).

Leviticus 23:32 describes the annual Holy Day of Atonement, which the Jews today call Yom Kippur. It is stated: “It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest; and you shall afflict your souls [i.e., fast]; on the ninth day of the month at evening, FROM EVENING TO EVENING, you shall celebrate your Sabbath.” The New International Version renders this verse: “… From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath.”

But, this entire period, from the evening or sunset of the ninth day, until the evening or sunset of the tenth day, is defined as “the tenth day,” as Leviticus 23:27 clearly shows: “Also the TENTH day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement.” This proves that the Bible reckons days from evening or sunset to evening or sunset.

It is clear from the biblical record that according to God, days are counted from sunset to sunset—and not from midnight to midnight, or by any other method. Therefore, we are to keep His Holy Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

God’s Annual Holy Days

The Bible teaches that we are to observe certain weekly and annual Holy Days, during which time we are to attend Church services and to refrain from secular labor, including school, college or university attendance, and we are to dedicate and devote our time and our minds to worship, spiritual study, prayer, fellowship with Church members, and physical rest. We are setting forth below, in a very brief summary, these weekly and annual Holy Days:

The Weekly Sabbath

The seventh-day weekly Sabbath is observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. The day symbolizes God resting on the seventh day—after having recreated the surface of the earth in six days—as well as the forthcoming Millennium, which is also referred to as a Sabbath that will last for 1,000 years (Leviticus 23:3; Exodus 20:8–11, Hebrews 4:3–11).

Passover

The Passover is observed once a year, in the evening, by engaging in a footwashing service as an example of humility in accordance with Christ’s example, and by partaking of unleavened bread and wine, which symbolize physical and spiritual healing, as well as forgiveness of sin. The entire service symbolizes a remembrance of Christ’s death (Leviticus 23:5, Luke 22:14–20; John 13:1–5; 1 Corinthians 11:20–29).

The Days of Unleavened Bread

The Days of Unleavened Bread are observed once a year by not partaking of any food prepared with leavening for a period of seven days following the Passover. This partaking of unleavened bread symbolizes the commitment to live a sinless life (Leviticus 23:6–8; Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:7–8, showing that leaven can symbolize sin).

Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost is observed once a year. This day symbolizes the coming of God’s Holy Spirit for the purpose of converting those who are called by God at this time (Leviticus 23:15–16, 21; Acts 2:1–4; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8).

The Feast of Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets is observed once a year. This day symbolizes the soon coming return of Jesus Christ to this earth (Leviticus 23:24–25; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), and also our resurrection and change to immortality—to be born again into the Kingdom or Family of God (1 Corinthians 15:42–54; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; John 3: 3, 5–8).

Atonement

The Day of Atonement is observed once a year by refraining from partaking of any and all solid food or liquid for a period of 24 hours. This day symbolizes the time when those who are called by God during this life have received at-one-ment with God; and those who can receive at-one-ment with God after Christ’s return; as well as the transfer of sin to Satan as the one who is ultimately responsible for all sin (Leviticus 16:1–34; Leviticus 23:27–32; Acts 27:9—in this passage, the word “Fast” refers to the Day of Atonement, as the margin of the New King James Bible explains).

The Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles is observed once a year, for seven consecutive days, by attending one of the Church’s designated sites around the world. This period symbolizes the reign of Christ for 1,000 years—together with His saints who have been changed to immortality—during which time Satan will be bound and the entire world will be living under the government of God (Leviticus 23:33–35; Daniel 7:27; John 7:2–8, 10–14; Revelation 20:4).

The Last Great Day

The Last Great Day, which immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles, is observed once a year. This day symbolizes a 100-year period called the “Great White Throne Judgment,” during which ALL persons who have ever lived and who were not called by God for salvation during this life, will have their first opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior (Leviticus 23:36; John 7:37; Revelation 20:11–12). At the end of that period, there will be a judgment during which all people who have ever lived and who have refused to accept Christ as their Savior, will be finally condemned to eternal death and destroyed in Gehenna fire. They will not live in eternal torment, but they will be burned up (Revelation 20:13–15). For more information on God’s annual Holy Days, please read our free booklets, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days” and “The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days.”

But—Are the annual Holy Days really still to be observed today? Were they not part of the sacrificial system, which has been done away?

Some claim that we don’t have to keep God’s annual Holy Days any more because they were supposedly part of the sacrificial system, and when that system was done away, the Holy Days were done away as well.

Note the error of that argument in reading Jeremiah 7:22–23: “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’”

God did not establish a sacrificial system for them at the time He brought them out of Egypt. The sacrificial system was instituted some time after God spoke the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. God DID command them, when He brought them out of Egypt, to walk in ALL His ways. God commanded them—while they were still in Egypt—to keep the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread from then on. Therefore, God’s annual commanded convocations and His Holy Days are clearly different from the sacrifices and must still be kept today by God’s people.

We should point out here that, later on, sacrifices were not only given on the annual Holy Days, but also on the weekly Sabbath, and, as a matter of fact, on every day—in the morning and in the evening. Those who claim that the annual Holy Days do not have to be kept today because they were part of the sacrificial system [which they were not], yet still keep the weekly Sabbath [although sacrifices were given on that day as well], do have a problem with consistency. So do those who keep Sunday “holy,” as sacrifices were also given on that day.

The weekly Sabbath and all of God’s annual Holy Days stand and fall together. They are all part of the same package. We read in Leviticus 23:1–2: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.”’” Note that all the Holy Days that follow (including the annual Passover) are designated as the “feasts of the Lord.” They are ALL holy convocations.

In addition, some of the annual Holy Days are specifically called “Sabbath.” In reference to the Feast of Trumpets, God says in Leviticus 23:24: “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.’” In the original Hebrew, the word for “sabbath-rest” is “shabbathon,” meaning “Sabbath” (Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible). The Authorized Version translates this word correctly with “sabbath.” The above-cited rendering of the New King James Bible, “sabbath-rest,” does convey, quite accurately, the intended meaning of the word “Sabbath.”

We find that Leviticus 23:27 and 32 also describe the annual Holy Day of Atonement as a “Sabbath.” We read in the Authorized Version: “Also unto the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls… It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.”

Notice a third example in Leviticus 23:39, which refers to the annual Holy Days of the First Day of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last or Eighth Day: “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath” (Authorized Version).

As mentioned earlier in this booklet, the First Day of Unleavened Bread—an annual Holy Day—was also referred to as “Sabbath,” in John 19:31.

We see, then, that God’s annual Holy Days, as well as the weekly Sabbath, must be observed by true Christians today. Note, as further proof, the additional facts presented in the following sections.

Jesus Christ Kept the Annual Holy Days

Those who proclaim to be followers of Christ, yet claim that they do not need to keep the weekly Sabbath, nor the annual Holy Days, should think about the fact that Jesus Christ Himself kept both the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days. We are specifically told in John 2:13 and in Luke 22:1–15 that Christ kept the Passover. We are also told in John 7:2–14 that Christ kept the Feast of Tabernacles. In addition, John 7:37–39 points out that He kept the Last Great Day—“the last day, that great day of the feast.” Since Christ kept these annual Holy Days, in addition to the weekly Sabbath, there is no reason to assume that He did not keep the other Holy Days as well.

The Early Apostles Kept the Annual Holy Days

After Christ’s death and resurrection, the apostles and the New Testament Church followed Christ’s example and continued to observe the annual Holy Days. We are specifically told that the early Church kept the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:6–8). We are also told that Luke wrote the book of Acts to Theophilus, a Gentile, who had become a Christian. Luke makes reference, in Acts 12:3–4 and Acts 20:6, to the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. When Luke wrote this, he took it for granted that Theophilus—a Christian with a Gentile background—knew about these annual Holy Days. If the Gentiles were not required to keep those days, Luke’s reference to these days in a report to a former Gentile would make little sense.

We can also clearly see from the Bible that the New Testament Church kept the Feast of Pentecost. Acts 2:1 reports that it was on the day when the Church was assembled together, that they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. We read in Acts 20:16 that Paul wanted to keep the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem. He had kept it all along, whether in Jerusalem or not. He would still have kept it, of course, even if he had not been able to arrive in Jerusalem on time.

The early Church continued to keep the Day of Atonement as well. In Acts 27:9, we find a reference to “the Fast.” This describes the Day of Atonement, as the margin of the New King James Bible points out. It also gives parallel Scriptures from Old Testament passages that deal with the Day of Atonement. (The Scriptures quoted in the margin are Leviticus 16:29–31; 23: 27–29; and Numbers 29:7.)

Annual Holy Days Will Be Kept in the Future

Looking to the future, through God’s Word, we can see that His annual Holy Days will be kept by all of mankind.

In the Millennium, God will deal with those nations and peoples who refuse to keep His Holy Days. Zechariah 14:16–19 describes, in very vivid terms, the punishment of nations and individuals in the Millennium who refuse to keep the Feast of Tabernacles: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations… shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

Yes, the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept by everyone—not only by the Jews!

The Bible clearly reveals then, that the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days of God, are to be kept by true Christians today.

But—Isn’t Colossians 2:16–17 proof that the weekly and annual Sabbaths are no longer binding today?

In the New King James Bible, Colossians 2:16–17 reads as follows: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival [margin: “feast day”] or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”

Does this passage mean that the Christians in Colossaedid not keep the Sabbath or the Holy Days, and that Paul was essentially telling them not to worry about the fact that they didn’t keep them?

Let’s first look at the phrase, “the substance is of Christ.” The word “is” is not in the Greek. It was added by the translator in an attempt to make the meaning clearer; however, this addition has, to the contrary, confused and perverted the meaning. Without the word “is” in that particular phrase, it simply states, “…but the substance of Christ.” What is the substance of Christ?

The Body of Christ

The literal meaning for the word “substance” is “body.” The Greek word here is “soma” and is otherwise translated as “body” throughout the New Testament, and especially in the letter to the Colossians (Notice, for instance, Colossians 1:18; 1:24; 2:19; and 3:15).

With that understanding, let us turn again to Colossians 2:16–17, where Paul says: “Let no one judge you… regarding a festival or Sabbaths… but the body of Christ.” In other words, let no one, except the body of Christ—the Church—judge in those matters. The Church—the body of Christ—the preserver of the truth—CAN, and should, judge in that regard.

The Colossians were criticized by their opponents, not by Paul, when they kept the Sabbath and the Holy Days (Note that Paul refers to “Sabbaths”; that is, to both the weekly and the annual Sabbath or Holy Days.) Paul is essentially saying to them: I am speaking on behalf of the Church when I tell you that you should continue keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days, as this is what the Church has judged and resolved to do, based on the Scriptures.

Colossae was a predominately Gentile city, although some Jews undoubtedly lived there as well. The Christian converts in Colossae had begun to keep the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, and Paul essentially told them: “Don’t listen to your former friends and your relatives who try to convince you not to keep those ‘Jewish traditions’—but rather, listen to what the Church is telling you.”

A Shadow of Things to Come

What did Paul mean when he described these things as being a shadow of things to come?

The weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days have tremendous meaning for us today. They foreshadow events to occur in the future at a time when the whole world will be ruled by Christ and taught by Him to keep God’s Law—including the weekly and annual Sabbaths—as God’s people already do today.

Rather than doing away with the keeping of the Sabbath and Holy Days, Colossians 2:16–17 teaches the exact opposite. It teaches us not to worry about people who say that we should not do so, but rather to concern ourselves with the truth of the matter, which is being taught by Christ’s Body—the Church.

How NOT to Keep the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days

Some tried to convince the Gentile Christians in Colossae to cease from keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths. Others went to the opposite extreme—they tried to convince the Gentile Christians in Colossae that they had to fast on the weekly and annual Sabbaths.

Since both the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are Feast days, the Christians in Colossae kept them, of course, as FEAST days. They would eat and drink on those days (except, of course, during the “Fast”—on the Day of Atonement). Some, though, apparently criticized them for that, teaching that no eating and drinking should take place on any of those days.

Colossians 2:16, correctly translated from the Greek, states: “Let no one judge you regarding eating and drinking.” Paul is addressing here the ACT of eating and drinking, not the KIND of food and drink being partaken of. Some critics felt, however, that Christians should fast on those days, rather than eating or drinking anything. Notice Paul’s reference to this kind of self-imposed ascetic, or austere, religion in Colossians 2:20–23 (“…why… do you subject yourselves to regulations—‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”).

Paul told the Colossians to continue keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days in the same way as they were doing it, rather than listening to those who were trying to tell them not to do it at all, or not to keep them as feast days.

Rightly understood, Colossians 2:16–17 proves that true Christians must continue to keep the weekly Sabbath and God’s annual Holy Days as Feast Days.


NEW MOON CELEBRATIONS

Some Christians teach the observance of new moon celebrations. Does the Bible enjoin Christians to follow such a practice?

According to the Hebrew calendar, a month starts with a new moon. While there are express and clear commandments in the Bible to celebrate, today, God’s weekly Sabbath and His annual Holy Days (see the pertinent sections in this booklet), there is no command in the Bible enjoining us to celebrate, at this time, the beginning of the new months—or new moons. The early New Testament Church continued to keep and celebrate the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, but we do not have any biblical record indicating that they celebrated the new moons.

Some refer to Colossians 2:16 as proof that new moons were celebrated by Christians in New Testament times (Please see the discussion on Colossians 2:16 in this booklet). However, Paul is not talking about “new moons” in Colossians 2:16, but he is referring to a very particular new moon. This statement does not refer to just all “new moons,” but to one very special annual Holy Day—the Feast of Trumpets, which fell on a new moon, and which had to be, and still has to be, observed in accordance with Biblical injunctions.

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible points out: “Or of the new moon… The new moon in the beginning of the month Tisri (October) was the beginning of their civil year, and was commanded to be observed as a festival ([Leviticus 23:24–25]).”

In ancient times, some assembled on the occasion of each new moon, with the blowing of trumpets signifying the beginning of a month (Numbers 10:10). Calendars were not available to everyone in ancient Israel the way we have them today. Rather, the priesthood was entrusted with the responsibility to determine when a new month would start, and then make it known to the people.

Some form of ceremony took place on the day of a new moon to let the people know that a new month had begun. Some used the occasion to have a feast on that day (1 Samuel 20:5, 18, 24), although, as mentioned, the Bible nowhere commands that new moons have to be celebrated in that way. We read that offerings were to be given on new moons (2 Chronicles 31:3; Ezra 3:5; Nehemiah 10:33), but such offerings (sacrifices) are, of course, no longer required today. Even in ancient Israel, we do not find that God commanded the celebration of new moons, per se, that is, unconnected to the giving of sacrifices. On the other hand, we do find that the keeping of the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days was set in place before the sacrificial system was introduced, and that they are to be kept today, even though sacrifices are no longer necessary

It was, however, necessary in ancient times to somehow mark the beginning of the month, as it was not always easy for everyone to independently observe the new moon, due, perhaps, to clouds or heavy rain. By actually conducting a certain ceremony at the appearance of a new moon, the general population was sufficiently informed so as to prepare for any approaching seasons or annual Holy Days, which are counted and determined by the appearance of the new moon. For instance, as mentioned, the annual Feast of Trumpets is celebrated on a new moon (compare Psalm 81:3)—the first day of the month. Ten days later, the annual Day of Atonement is kept, and then the annual Feast of Tabernacles begins fifteen days after the Feast of Trumpets.

It appears that in the process of time, the ancient celebrations of new moons had reached proportions that were not accepted by God. He tells us in Isaiah 1:14, “Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.” Apparently, new moons were even observed in the same way that Sabbaths were observed, with prohibitions against engaging in merchandising (compare Amos 8:5). There is, however, no such prohibition for new moons in Scripture.

Today, it is not necessary to mark the beginning of each new month with feast celebrations, the blowing of trumpets, or an assembly. We have calendars available that list, well in advance, the dates of the appearance of each new moon throughout the year.

It is true that the Bible indicates that at the beginning of the Millennium, new moons will be kept in conjunction with the bringing of sacrifices (Ezekiel 45:17, 46:1, 3, 6; Isaiah 66:20–23). It is clear from Scripture, however, that God does not command His people today to celebrate new moons.

Although some Christians today may feel compelled to add new moon observances and celebrations, it is not commanded, nor does it relate to the original purpose that the priesthood fulfilled in marking this time period. Furthermore, some tend to wear this added observance as a badge of self-righteousness. Extraneous observances, such as this and the recent movement to inculcate so-called “sacred names” as a part of their religious worship, are in danger of doing what Jesus Christ warned about, when He spoke of the “leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees”; that is, their “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (compare Matthew 15:3–9; 16:6, 12).


But—Isn’t Romans 14:5 proof that we do not have to keep the weekly and the annual Sabbaths today?

Romans 14:5 reads: “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”

Note carefully the context here. Romans 14:2–3 is addressing the consumption of vegetables and meat (“For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables”). Some thought that they must not eat meat. They had become vegetarians for religious reasons. Part of the reason for their decision might have been that the meat, which could be purchased in the market, was probably offered to idols. Knowing this, some had a conscience problem with eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols (compare 1 Corinthians 8:1–13).

The context in Romans 14:5 is the consumption of certain foods. Paul addresses the fact that some esteem a certain day above another. In the very next verse, he shows the connection between the consumption of food and the regard for days. He says in verse 6: “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”

What is the connection between eating food and observing days?

The connection here is conscience. Paul talks about new Church members who still had a weak conscience and thought they had to FAST on particular days. That is, they thought they could not just fast on ANY weekday of their choice, but that it could only be done on particular designated days. (Note again verse 6, “… he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat.” The context of the discussion is FASTING.) Others understood that one can fast on ANY day of the week, and that God does not enjoin us, except for the Day of Atonement, to fast on a specific day during the week.

This is the reason Paul says, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.” The context is eating and drinking and fasting. Paul is really saying in verse 6, “He who observes [or better, “regards,” as the Authorized Version has it] the day [as a fast day] observes [or regards] it to the Lord; and he who does not observe [or regard] the day [as a Fast day] observes [regards] it to the Lord, too, because the one who does not eat on that day, does it to the Lord, and the one who does eat on that day does it to the Lord, too, as he thanks God for the food he partakes of.” Paul’s point is to not judge another for the way they worship God, as long as it is done on the basis of Scripture.

Surprising as it may sound to those who read Romans 14:5 with preconceived notions, the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days are not even addressed there. Certain commentaries agree that Paul did not have the Sabbath or the Holy Days in mind when he wrote Romans 14:5. Both the Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Book 10, page 146), and Hasting’s Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, point out that Jews and Gentiles had set aside specific days on which to fast [we might think of the Pharisee in Luke 18:12, who was proud because he fasted two times a week], and that Paul was only addressing the issue of prescribed fasting in Romans 14:5.

But—Isn’t Galatians 4:10 proof that the weekly and the annual Sabbaths are no longer in force today?

Galatians 4:10 reads: “You observe days and months and seasons and years.”

The interpretation given by opponents of Sabbath-keeping is that Paul was rebuking the Galatians for still keeping God’s Sabbath and God’s Holy Days. Is that what Paul meant? We need to look at the context in which it was written, and we also need to notice an important principle, in order to properly understand Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Whom is Paul addressing?

When Paul addresses Jews, he says, “we,” since he himself is a Jew from the house of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5). When Paul talks to Gentiles, he says, “you,” because Paul was not a Gentile. Now notice this distinction in the following examples:

  • In Galatians 3:23–25, he uses the words “we” and “our” four times, referring to himself and other Jews.
  • In Galatians 3:26–29, however, he uses the word “you” five times, referring to non-Jews, or Gentiles.

Returning, then, to the fourth chapter of the letter to the Galatians, we notice that the entire passage, beginning with verse 8 and including verse 10, is addressed to non-Jews or Gentiles, as Paul consistently uses the word “you.” In Galatians 4:8–9, Paul reminds the Galatians that prior to their conversion they did not know God, but instead, served pagan gods. (By contrast, when Paul addresses the Jews, he makes clear that they did know—to an extent—the true God; compare Galatians 2:15, “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles…” Also compare Romans 9:3–5, “…my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain… the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God…”). Paul is clearly not addressing Jews in Galatians 4, but rather Gentiles.

These Gentiles had come to a knowledge of the true God upon conversion, but after that initial understanding, they returned to those “beggarly elements” (compare Galatians 4:9) that they had originally worshipped, by observing again “days and months and seasons and years” (verse 10). This practice cannot refer to God’s Sabbath and Holy Days, as those had not even been known, let alone observed, by the Gentiles before their conversion. Rather, Paul is talking here about pagan festivals and practices, which are known today or associated with Christmas, Easter or Halloween.

In addition, Paul would not be addressing God’s Sabbath and Holy Days here, as those days do not come from “beggarly elements,” but were, in fact, initiated by GOD. Paul would NEVER have said that the Sabbath or the Holy Days were derived from “beggarly elements.”

Some claim that the converted Gentiles in Galatia had begun to keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days only because Jews allegedly induced them to do so, and that Paul was now opposing this practice. This claim is false, however, because we read in verse 9 that the Galatians turned AGAIN to the weak and beggarly elements (“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?”). The Galatians had RETURNED to what they had done BEFORE they became Christians. Jewish influence on them AFTER their conversion is clearly NOT what Paul is addressing here.

What then, specifically, did Paul have in mind when speaking about the Gentile practice of “observ[ing] days and months and seasons and years”? To answer that question, we need to first consider the meaning of the word “observe.”

The Greek word for “observe” is “paratereo.” Some commentators point out that the “observation” that Paul is addressing here, is done in a superstitious way, which just does not fit when talking about God’s Sabbath and the Holy Days. It does, however, fit in connection with astrology and Gnostic speculations. Looking at it from that point of view, we can see that Paul was talking about an observation of times and seasons that were controlled by heavenly bodies and spirits.

Observation of Seasons or Times

Let us focus in more detail on the observation of seasons, or “times,” as more correctly translated in the Authorized Version (“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years”). Looking for the biblical explanation, we will read some other Scriptures pertaining to this subject.

In Leviticus 19:26, we read, in the Authorized Version: “Ye shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.”

We find the same prohibition in Deuteronomy 18:10, in the Authorized Version: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.” (Compare, too, Deuteronomy 18:14, Authorized Version).

Literally, it means, “to observe the clouds.” This practice is associated with divination by the observation of the clouds. The study of the appearance and motion of the clouds was a common way of foretelling good or bad fortune.

This superstitious observation of times was often accompanied by lighting candles and decorating the doors with garlic. Its connection was clearly demonic. Note in 2 Chronicles 33:6, in the Authorized Version: “[Manasseh] caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit [a demon], and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.”

Observation of Days

Paul also rebuked the Galatians for observing days. The Greeks, for example, did observe days to worship their dead. On those days, no work was to be done. Actually, both the Greek and the Roman calendars designated one-third of all the days as days of misfortune. On those days, one could not perform any political or legal activities and the people were supposed to abstain from any private pleasures. One was not to engage in war on those days, or marry, or travel.

Observation of Months

Paul also addressed the superstitious practice of observing months. The pagan world had set aside certain months for the worship of their gods. Pagan festivals were kept during the months of April and October to honor the goddess Apolla, while the highest Greek god, Zeus, was worshipped during the months of February and June. The month of April was also set aside for the worship of the god Artemis. The wine god, Baccus, was honored during the month of January.

Observation of Years

Finally, Paul rebuked the Galatians for the observance of years. Indeed, certain years had been set aside for worship activities by the Greeks and the Romans. For example, the Olympic Games were already being celebrated at that time in certain yearly intervals, but they were accompanied with pagan worship and rites.

In conclusion, Paul was not talking about God’s Sabbath and the Holy Days; but rather, he was concerned about the Galatians returning to pagan worship customs—celebrating, AGAIN, the heathen days, months, seasons and years.

The testimony of the Bible—both of the Old Testament and the New Testament—is clear and convincing: True Christians are duty-bound to observe God’s weekly and annual Holy Days. For more information on the duty of true Christians to observe, still today, the weekly and annual Sabbaths of God—and how to do it—please read our free booklets, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days” and “The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days.”

Conclusion

In this booklet, we have presented to you the facts pertaining to some of MAN’s more popular holidays, as well as ALL of GOD’s Holy Days. While man’s holidays are based on tradition—not on God’s Word—that fact alone does not compel us to not keep any of them, although many of them are undoubtedly to be avoided because of their pagan origins. True Christians do have an obligation—before God—to decide which human holidays they can participate in without violating God’s Word and their own individual conscience.

On the other hand, God’s Holy Days are timeless, and Christians are not permitted to refuse to keep any of those days, as it would be blatant unwillingness to obey their Maker! All will be judged by God based on His Word—NOT based on human reasoning or societal traditions.

Do not repeat the mistake the Jews made during the time of Christ. They had done away with the commandments of God so that they could keep their own traditions. If you do that, then you will be worshipping Jesus Christ “in vain” (Mark 7:7–8).

Is That In the Bible? The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation

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Preface

In this booklet, we are going to discuss seemingly mysterious passages in the book of Revelation—passages that invoke much curiosity, but, in fact, are commonly misunderstood.

While many have heard about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, the beast, the false prophet, the mark of the beast, the number 666, the beast with seven heads and ten horns, the dragon, the woman riding the beast, Armageddon, Babylon the Great, the two witnesses, the Marriage Supper with the Lamb, the 144,000, the Millennium, the Great White Throne Judgment, the New Jerusalem, etc., very few have correctly understood what God is conveying through these symbols and detailed descriptions.

In addition, the book of Revelation gives us answers to other important age-old questions—questions such as: What happens to us when we die? Will the souls of true Christians go to heaven? Do wicked souls burn in hell fire forever and ever? What is the truth about the resurrection?

What, then, do these so-called mysterious symbols and events actually mean? And what is their relevance in our lives?

Once you understand the structure of the book and comprehend the meaning of its main symbols and descriptions, you can—and will—understand the message of the book of Revelation.

Introduction

Early tradition unanimously declared the apostle John as the writer of the book of Revelation. It was probably written during the latter part of Roman Emperor Domitian’s reign (A.D. 81–96). John was banned, as a political prisoner, to the Greek island of Patmos (compare Revelation 1:9).

The real author of the book is God the Father. He gave the message to Jesus Christ who delivered it to an angel to pass on to John (Revelation 1:1). John simply bore witness of everything that he saw (verse 2).

The book is a prophecy (Revelation 1:3; 22:18). It relates to things that must shortly take place (Revelation 1:1), as the time is near, or at hand (Revelation 1:3). Although written nearly 2,000 years ago, the book of Revelation pertains to the end time—to our days.

John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10). This means that he saw visions (Revelation 4:2; Ezekiel 8:3; 2 Corinthians 12:1–4). The Lord’s Day is not a reference to a particular day of the week, but it refers to the prophetic time when God will begin to intervene in world affairs (compare Malachi 4:5; Joel 2:31).

The events depicted throughout the book of Revelation deal mainly with the time span of perhaps one year prior to Christ’s return (including many flashbacks to show the historic perspective, culminating in the Day of the Lord).

First, John saw the glorified Jesus Christ—“like the Son of Man” (Revelation 1:12–18). Christ possesses the keys of Hades and of Death, as He died for us and paid the penalty of sin—which is death—on our behalf. His Sacrifice made it possible that mankind could become “kings and priests to His God and Father” (verse 6).

Jesus’ appearance in His glorified state was so magnificent that John fell at His feet as dead (Revelation 1:17). Jesus comforted him, reminding him that He is the Head of His Church, and instructed him to pass on a message to the “the seven churches” (Revelation 1:11).

Chapter 1 – Christ’s Message to the Seven Churches

Revelation 2 and 3

In the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation, John received a message for the “angels of the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). These messages were to be meant for seven existing local church congregations in seven distinct cities at John’s time, but they were also directed to all Christians at all times (compare Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, and 22), and they included messages for seven consecutive Church eras, beginning at the time of John, and ending at the time of Christ’s Second Coming (compare Revelation 1:19–20).

Note, for example, the following comments from the Ryrie Study Bible: “The 7 churches addressed in chapters 2 and 3 were actual churches of John’s day. But they also represent types of churches in all generations. This idea is supported… by the statement at the close of each letter that the Spirit was speaking to the churches.”

This means, that all seven letters are warnings to the Church in every age.

In addition, the Nelson Study Bible states: “The seven churches were congregations in Asia Minor in John’s day. Sometimes they are interpreted as representing seven stages of church history.”

Regarding the understanding that Christ’s message ALSO included seven church ERAS, please note the following interesting comments by Baptist minister, Dr. Lehman Strauss, “The Book of the Revelation,” copyright 1964, 1972 (hereafter sometimes referred to as “Strauss”), pages 33, 34, 45:

“… each church individually, and the seven churches combined, set forth prophetic anticipation. I see in them seven ages or stages in the life of the Church on earth, commencing with Pentecost… There is a prophetic picture of seven periods of the Church’s history on earth… The Laodicean letter, being the last of the seven, anticipates prophetically the end of the Church Age, that period immediately preceding the return of Christ… Our materialistic, inflationary times might well mark the end of the present age…”

The seven Church eras can be briefly described as the eras of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1–7); Smyrna (Revelation 2:8–11); Pergamos (Revelation 2:12–17); Thyatira (Revelation 2:18–29); Sardis (Revelation 3:1–6); Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7–13); and Laodicea (Revelation 3:14–22).

The following sets forth our understanding of the identities of the seven Church eras:

(1) Message to Ephesus (compare Revelation 2:1–7)

The city of Ephesus was the commercial center of Asia. Its temple of Diana was one of the “seven wonders” of the ancient world. At first, the Church brethren did not follow “false apostles” (compare Revelation 2:2: “… you cannot bear those who are evil.”).

Strauss comments on page 36: “They were intolerant of sin. Today it makes little difference what people are like morally or spiritually, just so we get them into our church and on the membership roll to swell the number. The church at Ephesus was not concerned with the quantity of persons that were added, but rather with the quality.”

Nevertheless, they subsequently did tolerate false teachers such as the “Nicolaitans” (Revelation 2:6). The identity of these people will be discussed later in this booklet. The Church members in Ephesus had become weary and had lost their first love for Christ and His truth and were no longer as zealous to resist error. That this could happen was partially due, in the opinion of some commentators, to constant persecution from the Romans under Emperor Domitian (whose statue was found in Ephesus and who called himself “god”) and the fact that they were meeting in their homes or anywhere else they could—scattered congregations with their own pastoral leadership, but without central leadership (compare Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 701).

Historically, the New Testament Church was founded in Jerusalem but was later transferred to the city of Pella, around 69 A.D. When Paul traveled to Europe, Ephesus became a second Headquarters. Paul spent much time in the city of Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8). According to tradition, John and Philip died in Ephesus.

The first era of Ephesus describes the Nazarenes. The Bible itself identifies the early Christians as the “sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). Worldly records tell us that the Nazarenes kept the Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, abstained from eating unclean meats, and practiced the “ceremonies of Moses.” In other words, they adhered to both the Old and the New Testaments. Historians tell us that the Nazarenes and the Ebonites escaped the Roman destruction of Jerusalem by fleeing to the city of Pella in 69 A.D. The Ebonites were not part of the Church of God, but they did cling to converted brethren.

The Nazarenes are still mentioned in records as late as the 5th century. They are the ones who preserved the book of Matthew. According to Revelation 2:2, the Church of that era was originally zealous, but by the time of the second or third generation, it began to lose “its first love” (verse 4).

(2) Message to Smyrna (compare Revelation 2:8–11)

Smyrna means “bitter.” And so, Christ addressed the Smyrna Church as one finding itself in the midst of bitter sorrow and suffering.

Christ encouraged the Church to “be faithful until death” (Revelation 2:10). The Greek word for faithful in this case signifies conviction—a conviction inclusive of the persuasion that with Christ, everything is possible, and that there is never a compelling reason to give up.

Although Smyrna was a splendid city, the members themselves were poor (compare Revelation 2:9).

The second era of the Church began with Polycarp. He was a disciple of John who later became the leader of the Church in Smyrna. He refused, in 155 A.D., to renounce Christ and was martyred as a consequence. The persecution mentioned in Revelation 2:10 could refer to ten separate attempts to wipe out Christianity prompted by the edicts of ten different Roman rulers (Strauss, page 43). Or, it might refer to the persecution under Trajan, which hit Smyrna extra hard. Historically, a ten-year persecution against the Church (“ten” signifies in the Bible a period of testing and judgment) occurred under Diocletian and Galerius from 303 to 313 A.D.

Subsequently, in 325 A.D., the observance of Passover was prohibited by Emperor Constantine, and in 365 A.D., Sabbath observance was outlawed as well. God’s true Church was forced to flee “into the wilderness” of little recognition in this world for about 1,260 years, in order to continue observing God’s laws (Revelation 12:6).

Strauss makes the following comments regarding Constantine and the Catholic Church, on pages 55 and 56:

“Constantine… declared himself a Christian and Christianity to be the religion of the state. Christian leaders were invited to witness the wholesale baptism of whole regiments of soldiers in Constantine’s army. When later almost four hundred bishops met, Constantine was carried on a golden throne and he presided over the council as the recognized head of the church… Today the world is ready to accept the Roman Pope and be subject to him. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be of divine origin, but its ‘deeds’ and ‘doctrines’ are hated by Christ.”

(3) Message to Pergamos (Revelation 2:12–17)

A great altar of Zeus or Jupiter overlooked Pergamos. This town was also the seat of emperor worship. Christians refusing to worship pagan gods or the emperor would oftentimes be killed (compare Revelation 2:13). In addition, Pergamos was a center of healing associated with the temple of Asclepius (or Esculapius or Aesculapius) who was worshipped in the form of a serpent (one of the designations of Satan, compare Revelation 12:9).

Christ chided the Church at Pergamos for holding the doctrine of Balaam (Revelation 2:14; compare Jude 10–14; 2 Peter 2:15).

Notice these interesting comments by Strauss, pages 53–54:

“Balaam conceived an evil scheme that was to produce the downfall of God’s people. When he concluded that he could not curse them, he proposed to corrupt them. He suggested that the Moabite girls should seduce the men of Israel by inviting them to participate in their idolatrous and immoral feasts. In this evil perpetration he succeeded (Numbers 25:1–3; cf. 31:16), and through this unholy alliance, this unequal yoke, this mixed marriage, Israel fell. Balaam had followed Satan’s old line. When the devil failed to wipe out the godly line through murder (Genesis 4), he resorted to mixture (Genesis 6). This was Balaamism, and it was this evil principle that came into the assembly at Pergamos.”

The third era of Pergamos began about 650 A.D. True Christians became known at that time as “Paulicians.” One important leader was Constantine of Mananali. Originally, the Paulicians believed what the Nazarenes and Polycarp had believed. Worldly records tell us that they kept the Sabbath, the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread; that they preached the Kingdom of God; and that they baptized by immersion. Apparently, more than 100,000 Paulicians died as martyrs, as one author put it, “by hanging, fire and sword.” Later, and perhaps because of persecution, many turned away from the true faith and resorted to violence. They became known as a warrior sect; their ministers were also generals.

(4) Message to Thyatira (compare Revelation 2:18–29)

The city of Thyatira was a commercial center and famous for its temple of Artemis or Diana. A mysterious figure, Jezebel, is mentioned. Whether a literal woman, a symbolic reference to a great false church (compare Revelation 17) or a reference to the wife of ancient king Ahab, the thought conveyed here is that some in the Church of God had begun to engage in pagan worship of the sun god Baal and his “mother-wife”—the moon goddess Astarte or Isthar (compare 2 Kings 9:22)—including the observance of Sunday, Christmas and Easter, a doctrine or teaching referred to as the “depths of Satan” (Revelation 2: 24). (For more information, please read our free booklets, “Don’t Keep Christmas and “Man’s Holidays and God’s Holy Days.”)

Strauss offers this interesting interpretation, on pages 66–67: “Even though the Bible is clear that a woman is in subjection to the man and that a woman is never to usurp authority over the man (1 Timothy 2:1–12), Romanism has reversed this order and millions of Roman Catholic men worship an image of Mary and offer prayers to her… The Jezebel of the last 1,500 years has not changed. Rome never does change. But this Babylon of prophecy will meet with divine judgment when the sovereign Head of the Church comes back to earth again…”

The fourth era of Thyatira began at the time of the Reformation, around 1100 A.D., with Peter of Bruys in France. He would later become known as Peter Valdez or Peter Waldo, leader of the Waldensians. In the 12th century, Waldensians were known in about 22 European countries. In 1309, they appeared in the Netherlands, and a few years later, Waldensian leaders Walter the Lollard and his brother Raymond preached the gospel in Great Britain. In 1315, records report 80,000 Waldensians in Bohemia. By 1539, their number had reached 800,000 in Europe.

The Waldensians kept the Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, and they rejected pagan customs, which had been embraced by orthodox Christianity, such as Easter. Remnants will still exist when Christ returns (Revelation 2:25). However, when persecution began, many resorted to violence—as the Paulicians had done—and they began to forsake the truth and adopted wrong teachings to save their lives (Revelation 2:20–23).

(5) Message to Sardis (compare Revelation 3:1–6)

The city of Sardis had once been extremely wealthy under the legendary king Croesus. It was still famous in Roman times. Apparently many in Sardis converted to Christianity, but only few remained faithful. Most were, and would be, asleep (compare 1 Thessalonians 5:2).

Christ says in Revelation 3:4 that Sardis had “a few” which had not defiled their garments.

Strauss writes, on page 74: “The sad contrast between the ‘many’ and the ‘few’ marks the twofold division of the human race. All men travel on one or the other of these two roads. Those who travel with the crowd and stand for nothing might find a certain feeling of security in doing what the majority do. But it is a false security. The fact that so many persons are doing the same thing does not make it right.”

The fifth era of Sardis began about 1585 in England. The practice of Sabbath-keeping became known again during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). One important leader was Stephen Mumford who founded the Church of God in the United States in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1664. In the middle of the 19th century, true Christians became part of an Adventist movement, but separated in 1860 and began to publish numerous magazines and pamphlets, including, “The Remnant of Israel,” “The Sabbath Advocate,” and the “Bible Advocate.” Ministers were sent from Missouri, Oklahoma and Oregon to Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and the Philippines, and congregations in those countries began to keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days. Remnants of the Sardis era will exist when Christ returns (Revelation 3:3).

(6) Message to Philadelphia (compare Revelation 3:7–13)

Philadelphia was a small town. The brethren had “little strength” (Revelation 3:8); they were humble and content in the midst of a corrupt society. This is the only Church with which Jesus does not find any fault. Christ, who has the key of David (Revelation 3:7; compare Isaiah 22: 20–22), promised to keep them from persecution (Revelation 3:10), and to give them an open door (Revelation 3:8; compare 1 Corinthians 16:9). More about the key of David and the open door in chapters 4 and 5 of this booklet.

Christ said to the Church at Philadelphia (Revelation 3:8) that He knew their works and He approved of them. Strauss explains correctly on page 91 that we “are saved by faith and not by works, but we are saved to work, and for our works we shall be rewarded (Ephesians 2:8–10).”

The sixth era of Philadelphia began under Herbert W. Armstrong, who had come into contact with the Sardis era in 1927, and was ordained as a minister in 1931. The Philadelphia era began in 1933. In 1934, the truth was preached from a radio station in Oregon, and in 1953, radio programs began to be broadcast in Europe. The Church of God became known as the Radio Church of God and later as the Worldwide Church of God, with its educational institutions of Ambassador College and Ambassador Foundation, headquartered in Pasadena, California.

At the time of his death in 1986, Mr. Armstrong wondered in a prayer, in the presence of the Advisory Counsel of Elders, whether he was passing the baton to the Laodicea era. Subsequent events have answered this question in the affirmative.

Since Christ promises the Philadelphians protection from the still future event of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 3:10), remnants of the Philadelphia era must still exist and be active (compare Revelation 3:8; Matthew 24:45–47) at the time of Christ’s return. As will be explained in chapters 8 and 13, this protection will be granted here on earth—not in heaven. The concept of a secret rapture is nowhere taught in Scripture

(7) Message to Laodicea (compare Revelation 3:14–22)

Laodicea was a very prosperous city near Colossae. Christ alluded to this prosperity (compare Revelation 3:17), also by referring to fine wool and eye salve, two of the town’s commercial products (Revelation 3:18). The city was a banking center as well, and its water supply was channeled from hot springs some distance away, essentially reaching the town in a “lukewarm” state (Revelation 3:16).

Christ said in Revelation 3:15–16 that He wished the Laodiceans were either cold or hot, but that He will spew them out of His mouth because they were lukewarm.

Strauss explains, on pages 97 and 98: “This the Lord is saying to those at Laodicea that if, instead of being lukewarm, they were so cold as to feel the bitterness and severity of that coldness, they would flee to the true warmth of refuge. If we are really cold, and admit to the fact, our confession will lead to the removal of our sin… The Greek word for ‘hot’ … means ‘boiling hot’… the members in the church at Laodicea were not boiling hot; they were not ardent Christians. They had no enthusiasm, no emotion, no zeal, no urgency. It is possible to have a large measure of doctrinal correctness without the fire of spiritual fervor and affection…”

It should be noted here that while all of the other messages were directed to the angel [either a spirit being or a human church leader] of a particular city, this message is directed to the angel of the church of the “Laodiceans,” [not Laodicea!], showing perhaps the “individuality” of the people.

Halley’s Bible Handbook remarks on pages 707–708: “Strange picture. A Church of Christ, with Christ Himself on the outside, asking to be let in to one of His own churches.”

Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible concurs, stating on page 650, “The worst case of all seven is a church so self-satisfied as to be totally blind to its true condition. It is so far from what it should be that Jesus stands outside, knocking for admittance to the lives of individuals who call themselves Christians.”

As mentioned, we believe that we are living today in the last era of the Church—the Laodicea era. Therefore, the message to the Laodiceans should serve as a STRONG WARNING for us today! Rather than keeping the doors of our hearts closed, we are to obey His command and zealously embrace His promise to His true followers, as recorded in John 14:23: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Anyone who does NOT do so, is essentially refusing to follow Christ by refusing to DO what He says, thus denying entrance to Him who stands outside knocking.

The last era, that of the Laodiceans (compare Revelation 3:14), will be predominantly in existence at the time of Christ’s return. But this does not mean that those who are called today could not become a part of the remnant of the Philadelphia era. Laodiceans are not limited to any one particular Church organization; they actually can be found in every true organization of the Body of Christ.

Regardless of their “corporate” affiliation, and regardless of what Church era one may actually belong to individually, all in God’s Church must remain, or must become zealous, and they must repent (compare Revelation 3:19)! They must maintain or acquire the Philadelphia spirit (compare Revelation 3:11) in order to be accounted worthy of escaping the terrible times ahead, and to stand before the Son of God when He returns (Luke 21:36).

History reveals, as does God’s infallible Word, that Jesus did, indeed, build His Church (compare Matthew 16:18); that commencing with the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, God separated individuals whom He called and to whom He gave His Holy Spirit; that throughout some 2000 years of subsequent history, the Church of God has existed, even though its identity has been often overshadowed by false churches; and, that even now, in a time when Satan has caused a scattering of God’s people, Jesus Christ still works and rules as the living Head of the Church of God.

Chapter 2 – The Synagogue of Satan

Revelation 2:9 and 3:9

We read in Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9 about people who belong to the “synagogue of Satan.” Before analyzing these two passages in detail, let us first get some background:

Meaning of the Word, “Synagogue”

The word “synagogue” is used in several places in the New Testament. The word is derived from the Greek word “sunagoge” and means, literally, a “bringing together.” The Greek word “sun” means “together,” and the Greek word “ago” means “to bring.” (Compare “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W. E. Vine). Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible defines it as a “place where people are led together.” Although originally used for religious or other gatherings of Jews, the word was later also applied to religious or other gatherings of Christians.

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible confirms this understanding. They write, under number 4864, that the word means “an assemblage of persons; [specifically] a Jewish ‘synagogue’ (the meaning or the place); by [analogy] a Christian church—assembly, congregation, synagogue.”

In his letter to the “twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,” James addressed “brethren” from those twelve tribes (James 1:1, 2). He wrote primarily to brethren from the house of Israel—who were NOT Jews (For more information on the identity of the modern house of Israel, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”).

In James 2:2–4, he states: “For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or, ‘Sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

In the Greek, the word for “assembly” in James 2:2 is “sunagoge.” The New Jerusalem Bible translates “synagogue,” rather than assembly. The point is, James uses this word for a religious assembly of Christians. In addition, the Greek verb, “sunago,” normally rendered as “to assemble,” describes a religious meeting of Christians in Acts 4:31.

Christ also warned that His disciples—true Christians—would be “put out of the synagogue” (compare John 16:2). In the Greek, the words are “aposunagogos poieo,” and they literally mean, “expelled from the congregation” or “excommunicated” (Compare “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W. E. Vine).

The Synagogue of Satan

With this background, let us now review the two passages where the “synagogue of Satan” is mentioned:

Revelation 2:9 addresses the Church of God in Smyrna. It says: “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”

Revelation 3:9 addresses the Church of God in Philadelphia. It says: “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.”

As we have seen, the reference to “synagogue of Satan” does not have to describe a literal Jewish synagogue. Nor does the word “Jew” have to refer to literal Jews. Note that the Bible says that those from the synagogue of Satan claim that they are Jews, but that they are not. Romans 2:28–29 states: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” The Bible refers to true Christians as spiritual Jews, since salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22).

Those who claim that they are Jews, but are not, are those who actually claim that they are spiritual Jews or true Christians. But Christ says that they are not true Christians, as they do not teach and DO what He commands (compare Matthew 7:21–23).

As we have seen in the preceding chapter, Christ addresses in chapters two and three of the book of Revelation seven literal churches at the time of John, as well as seven successive church eras of the Church of God which culminate in Christ’s return. And, He is speaking to all Christians, at all times. In addition, Christ is describing a false religious power, calling it the “synagogue of Satan,” which is masquerading as His true Church. This false religion was already evolving at the time of the local Church congregations in Smyrna and Philadelphia. (This same false religious system would become more and more influential and powerful throughout the successive eras of God’s true Church.)

Evolution of a False Religious System

The evolution of that false religious system, which was directed by none other than Satan the devil, is described in several verses in the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation:

In Revelation 2:6, the true Church of God in Ephesus is warned not to tolerate the “deeds of the Nicolaitans.”

In Revelation 2:9, the “synagogue of Satan” is mentioned, and Christ says in verse 10 that the devil will persecute the true Church of God in Smyrna.

In Revelation 2:13, Christ tells the Church of God in Pergamos that they live where Satan has his throne. He also warns them, in verses 14 and 15, not to commit idolatry, nor to accept the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. We see, then, that the deeds of the “Nicolaitans” had become canonized. More about the Nicolaitans in chapter 3 of this booklet.

In Revelation 2:20, Christ warned the Church of God in Thyatira of idol worship and of a fallen woman (Jezebel) who was claiming to be a prophetess, which would include a claim that she had the gift or “right” to speak on behalf of God. It is possible that that same fallen woman is mentioned in Revelation 17. This woman or religious system would exist at least until the time of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 2:22).

In Revelation 2:24, Christ warns the Church of God in Thyatira to be aware of the doctrine and depth of Satan; and in Revelation 3:9, Christ states that those of the synagogue of Satan will worship before the feet of true Christians in Philadelphia.

It is important to note that some in the true Church of God began to tolerate and then adopt false doctrines and practices, until they ultimately left the Church, spiritually, and became a part of that false religious system—the synagogue of Satan. These heretics might not even have departed from the assembly of true Christians, but they might have forced true Christians to leave, or they might have even excommunicated true Christians (as prophesied by Christ). Christ said that these historical events would happen again at the time just prior to His return.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown write in, “Commentary on the Whole Bible,” on page 1533: “The ‘Jews’ who might have been ‘the church of God,’ had now, by their opposition and unbelief, become the synagogue of Satan.”

Turning once again to Revelation 3:9, we find that those of the synagogue of Satan will worship before the feet of true Christians (especially those of the Church in Philadelphia). This implies that true Christians will be God beings—as none other than God is worthy of worship (Revelation 19:10; 22:8–9). The Bible confirms, indeed, that it is the potential of true Christians to become God beings. (For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”)

In addition, those of the synagogue of Satan will ultimately recognize that they were deceived, and they will come to realize who and where the true Christians had been. What a joyful time this will be! May God speed that day!

Chapter 3 – The Nicolaitans

Revelation 2:6, 15

We find two references in the Bible about the Nicolaitans, both contained in the second chapter of the book of Revelation. In His message to the Church of Ephesus, Jesus Christ says in Revelation 2:6: “But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” Again, in His message to the Church of Pergamos, He says in Revelation 2:15: “Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”

Speculation About the Nicolaitans

Much has been speculated about the origin and exact nature of the Nicolaitans and their teaching.

The commentary of Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible points out:

“From the two passages, compared with each other, it would seem that they were alike corrupt in doctrine and in practice, for… their deeds are mentioned, and… their doctrine… In regard to the origin of the name, there [has been the opinion…] that the name was derived from Nicolas, one of the deacons ordained at Antioch [compare Acts 6:5]. Of those who have held this opinion, some have supposed that it was given to them because he became apostate and was the founder of the sect, and others because they assumed his name, in order to give the greater credit to their doctrine.

“But neither of these suppositions rests on any certain evidence, and both are destitute of probability. There is no proof whatever that Nicolas the deacon ever apostatized from the faith, and became the founder of a sect; and if a name had been assumed, in order to give credit to a sect and extend its influence, it is much more probable that the name of an apostle would have been chosen, or of some other prominent man, than the name of an obscure deacon of Antioch…

“[Others] have supposed that the name Nicolaitans was intended to be symbolical, and was not designed to designate any sect of people, but to denote those who resembled Balaam, and that this word is used in the same manner as the word ‘Jezebel’ [in Revelation 2:20], which is supposed to be symbolical there.

“… it has been supposed that some person now unknown, probably of the name Nicolas, or Nicolaus, was their leader, and laid the foundation of the sect. This is by far the most probable opinion, and to this there can be no objection…”

The New Bible Commentary: Revised adds the following:

“We gather… that they held the same error as the Balaamites, viz. teaching to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. These were the chief matters condemned by the decree of the apostolic council (Acts 15:29). It is noteworthy that Balaam and Nicolaus have more or less the same etymology (Balaam—‘he has consumed the people’; Nicolaus—‘he overcomes the people’). If this is the teaching so strenuously resisted by the Ephesians… then it must have been widespread indeed.”

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown gives this interpretation: “Literal eating of idol meats and fornication … were accompanied by SPIRITUAL IDOLATRY AND FORNICATION.”

Unger’s Bible Handbook states: “Some take this symbolism, however, as indicating the origin of clericalism (‘nikeo’, ‘conquer,’ and ‘laos,’ ‘people’), making them a group that early favored a clerical system which later developed into the papal hierarchy.”

Similarly, we note from the Ryrie Study Bible: “… some understand from the meaning of the name (‘conquering of the people’) that they were a group which promoted a clerical hierarchy…”

James Hastings makes the following interesting remarks about the “Nicolaitans” in his “Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics”:

“According to pseudo-Dorotheus, there was a Nicolas, bishop of Samaria, who fell into heresy and evil ways under the influence of Simon Magus, and he may have given his name to the sect… the name… has been attached to several later groups… There is evidence at the beginning of the 3rd century of the existence of a Gnostic sect of immoral habits, called therefore Nicolaitans… they shared the worship of the great Mother-goddess, the goddess of heaven…”

Origin and Nature of the Nicolaitans

In light of what IS known about the Nicolaitans, one does not need to be uncertain about their origin and nature when considering the most obvious usage of the word—which has been preserved even in our days. We explain the following in our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” under the section, “Santa Claus”:

“Closely associated with the giving of presents at Christmas time is the figure of Santa Claus, also called St. Nicholas… According to legend, there was a Catholic priest who allegedly gave gifts to children in December. This priest was supposedly the Bishop of Myra, and he was called ‘Nicholas.’ He reportedly died on December 6, 326 AD. This is the ‘official’ explanation, as to why the ‘day of St. Nicholas’ is celebrated today on December 6. Many historians doubt, however, that there is any legitimacy to this legend. They even question whether such a priest ever existed…

“On the other hand, it is a historical fact that pagans did worship a pagan god that shows great similarities with the modern Santa Claus. This pagan deity was the old Germanic god ‘Wodan.’ He was called ‘Odin’ in Scandinavia. Wodan or Odin was a sun god. According to pagan belief, he gave his life for the world by ‘hanging on a tree’ or a cross for nine nights, after which he was ‘pierced by a spear.’… In Germanic legends, Wodan [or Odin] had a holy tree, and when someone came close to that tree on December 25, he found presents under it. In addition, Wodan’s day on which he was worshipped was December 6.

“Earl W. Count, B.D., Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, states in ‘4000 Years of Christmas,’ on pp. 11 and 54: ‘We do not really know when the Christ Child… was born; or the time and place when Christmas was first celebrated; or exactly how it was that, over the centuries, a bishop-saint of Asia Minor and a pagan god of the Germans merged to become Santa Claus… Of most interest to us, however, is the fact that Wodan [or Odin] has become—Santa Claus, or, as he is better called, St. Nicholas.’…

“Where did the name ‘Santa Claus,’ or ‘Nicholas,’ come from? In Revelation 2:6, we are introduced to the sect of Nicolaitans which taught and practiced wrong concepts and doctrines… Nicolaus, the founder of the sect of the Nicolaitans… is none other than ‘Nicholas’ or ‘Santa Claus.’ In German, for instance, the similarities of these two names are even more striking. ‘Nicolaus,’ the founder of the ‘Nicolaitans,’ is rendered in German as ‘Nikolaus’—and ‘Santa Claus’ in German is ‘Nikolaus’ as well.”

Far from being an obscure short-lived ancient sect, the Nicolaitans are well and alive today in the “Christian” world. After all, Christ’s message to the seven churches was not just meant for the seven ancient church congregations at the time of John, but it was also prophetic and addressed to the Church of God throughout its existence until the time of Christ’s return. And the message is a warning to all true Christians not to repeat the mistakes which some of the ancient church congregations committed.

The deeds of the Nicolaitans became doctrine, and orthodox Christianity adopted the pagan festivals of Christmas and St. Nicholas Day—in honor of the “founder” of the Nicolaitans—and teaches it today as some of the most important festivals of Christianity. In addition, the unbiblical concept of the worship of the Virgin Mary and her “ascension” to heaven, where she is believed to reside as the queen or “Mother goddess” of heaven—as the early Gnostics worshipped the “great Mother goddess of heaven”—gradually became an established dogma in the Catholic Church. But Jesus said twice in Revelation 2 that He hates the deeds and teachings of the Nicolaitans. As you continue reading in this booklet, you will clearly see why this is.

Chapter 4 – The Key of David

Revelation 3:7

Jesus Christ tells us in Revelation 3:7 that He has the “key of David.”

The term “key of David” is only mentioned once in the New Testament—in Revelation 3:7—and a variant of the term; i.e., “key of the house of David,” is only mentioned once in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 22:22

Meaning of the Word, “Key”

Before analyzing the meaning of the phrase, “key of David,” or, “key of the house of David,” let us review Scriptures first which use the term, “key.”

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “key” (in the phrase, “key of the house of David”), is “maphteach.” It is defined by Young’s Analytical Concordance of the Bible, as, “key, opener” or “opening.” In addition to Isaiah 22:22, the word is only used two more times, in Judges 3:25 and in 1 Chronicles 9:27. In both cases, the word describes a literal key that opens a literal door to a literal building or room.

In the New Testament, the Greek word for “key,” as used in Revelation 3:7, is “kleis.” It is a female word and defined by Young’s Analytical Concordance of the Bible as, “a key.” It is used six times in the New Testament. In addition to Revelation 3:7, we find it three more times in the book of Revelation; i.e., in Revelation 1:18; 9:1; and 20:1. We also find it used in Matthew 16:19 and in Luke 11:52.

Revelation 9:1 and Revelation 20:1 speak about “the key of the bottomless pit.” The “bottomless pit” is the location where Satan and his demons will be bound for a thousand years, after Christ’s return (compare, too, Luke 8:31, where the word is translated as, “abyss.”). The bottomless pit or abyss describes a (spiritual) future prison for fallen angels, and the “key” to the bottomless pit describes a (spiritual) key to open and shut this prison. The concept of “key” is used in a similar fashion here, as it is used in Judges 3:25 and 1 Chronicles 9:27.

In addition, we read in Matthew 16:19 that Christ gave Peter “the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The context shows that He was revealing to Peter and the other disciples the KNOWLEDGE as to how to enter the Kingdom of God. (For more information, please study our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”) In Luke 11:52, Christ clarifies this, by saying: “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of KNOWLEDGE. You did not enter in, and those who were entering in you hindered.” (The parallel scripture in Matthew 23:13 shows that Christ was talking about the knowledge of how to enter the Kingdom of God).

Turning to the book of Revelation, Christ said in Revelation 1:18 that He has the “keys of Hades and Death.” In other words, He has the KNOWLEDGE to bestow on us, of how to escape death. Psalm 68:20 tells us: “Our God is the God of salvation; and to God the LORD belong escapes from death.” Further, Christ decides, of course, who will be found worthy to enter into eternal life.

We have seen so far that a key opens and shuts a literal building or room; and that it unlocks or opens to our understanding the knowledge of how to escape death and how to enter the Kingdom of God.

Meaning of the “Key of David”

Turning to Revelation 3:7–8, we find that the word “key” is used in exactly the same way when it talks about the “key of David.” The passage reads, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”’”

Christ reveals that it is He who has the key of David, and that it is He who opens and shuts. We also read that Christ gave “the church in Philadelphia” (Revelation 3:7) “an open door.”

The next chapter of this booklet discusses in detail the concept of the “open door.” As will be shown in chapter 5of this booklet, one of the meanings is the ongoing obligation and ability of God’s Church to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God. In the process of preaching the gospel message, some will be called and will obtain the knowledge of how to enter the Kingdom. The key of David, then, has to have some kind of nexus or connection with the preaching of the gospel message and the response by some to the message.

God’s Covenant With David

As we explain on pages 39–42 of our booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound,” God made a covenant with David and his descendants. According to that covenant, there would always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne of David, a throne that still exists to this day on the earth. Jesus Christ will return to an existing throne, and He, as a descendant of David, will then sit on that throne and rule from it. Therefore, the “key of David” is associated with the knowledge of where the throne of David is today, and who are today the modern nations of the houses of Israel and Judah (as the throne of David would always rule over “Israel.”). The booklet also explains that God made His covenant with David because David kept God’s Law. In Isaiah 55:3, the new or “everlasting” covenant is described as “the sure mercies of David.”

We are told in Scripture that God’s true disciples will rule on this earth, with and under Christ, sitting on thrones (compare Matthew 19:28). The rule of the saints on this earth is clearly part of the gospel message. In fact, only when we have entered the Kingdom of God as Spirit beings, will we be able to rule with Christ on this earth. We will then be part of the Kingdom or Family of God, ruling—as God beings—over man. King David will be in the Kingdom of God. He, too, will be a member of the God Family at that time. Jeremiah 30:9 prophesies: “But they shall serve the LORD their God, And David their king, Whom I will RAISE UP for them.” (Compare, too, Hosea 3:5.)

God’s covenant with David makes it possible that true Christians who believe and obey God—when they are born again as Spirit beings—can rule, with and under Christ, in the Kingdom of God. Christ came as a human being to qualify so that God the Father would “give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32–33). We will share in Christ’s rule in Jerusalem (Daniel 7:27; Isaiah 2:1–4), which will be established first over the modern houses of Israel and Judah. We understand, of course, that God’s government and rule “upon the throne of David and over His kingdom” (Isaiah 9:7) will increase and finally include all nations (compare Isaiah 66:18–20).

Shebna and Eliakim

Turning to Isaiah 22, we find a description of the judgment on Shebna, a scribe and steward over the king’s house. Although Shebna was a historical figure (Isaiah 36:3; 2 Kings 18:37), this judgment is also directed at an end-time personality, as the context of the prophecy is still the future Day of the Lord (verses 8, 12 and 20 speak of “that day,” a prophetic reference to the Day of the Lord). This end-time “Shebna” could be an unworthy political leader over the modern house of Israel or Judah, or it could perhaps refer to a religious figure in the spiritual house of God—the Church. Isaiah 22 prophesies that “the LORD will throw you [Shebna] away violently, O mighty man, And will surely seize you. He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball Into a large country; there you shall die, and there your glorious chariots Shall be the shame of your master’s house. So I will drive you out of your office And from your position he will pull you down” (verses 17–19).

This remarkable prophecy continues in verses 20–25: “Then it shall be IN THAT DAY That I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe And strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem And to the house of Judah. The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut, And he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house. They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. IN THAT DAY, says the LORD of hosts, the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the LORD has spoken.”

Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was a historical figure who became the steward or prefect over the palace, as had been foretold by Isaiah (compare 2 Kings 18:18; Isaiah 36:3, 22; 37:2). Since the prophecy in Isaiah 22:20 talks about the still future Day of the Lord, it refers to an additional “Eliakim” who is yet to appear. The context of the passage deals with the rulership of the house of David over Israel. Originally, Shebna had been in a trustworthy position in the king’s rule. The Nelson Study Bible explains that “the steward had the key that gave him an audience with the king.” Scripture foretold that Shebna would be replaced by Eliakim, and that Eliakim was to become “a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.” Eliakim would receive the key of the house of David, so “he shall open, and no one shall shut, And he shall shut, and no one shall open.” We know from Revelation 3:7 that Jesus Christ is in possession of that very key. It is therefore obvious that the “end-time” Eliakim is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary on the Whole Bible, point out: “Eliakim, as his name implies, is here plainly a type of… Christ, the Son of ‘David’…”

The New Bible Commentary: Revised, adds the following:

“Jesus is true in the sense of ‘true to His word’, i.e. faithful. This is spoken in connection with His possessing the key of David, a phrase that recalls [Revelation] 1:18 but actually quotes Is. 22:22; it claims for Christ the power of admitting individuals or shutting them out from the city of David, the new Jerusalem, the Messianic kingdom.”

The Nelson Study Bible agrees: “The key of David represents authority as the One who opens and shuts the door in the Davidic kingdom (see Is. 22:22), a prerogative that is Christ’s as the rightful ‘Son of David’ (see Matt. 1:1).”

The Broadman Bible Commentary concurs: “To say that Christ is the one who has the key of David is to affirm his messianic authority to admit or exclude from the messianic kingdom.”

In conclusion, Isaiah 22 and Revelation 3 confirm, in light of all of the Scriptures quoted herein, that the “key of David” refers to the knowledge that Christ, the “Son of David,” will rule over the nations of Israel and Judah, as well as over the entire earth. It also includes the understanding as to who the modern houses of Israel and Judah are; where they are located today; and where the throne of David can be found. It includes the knowledge that only Christ has the power to give us access to, or reject us from entering God’s Kingdom (compare Acts 4:12). It reveals to us how we can avoid paying the death penalty for our sins (compare Romans 6:23; John 8:24); how we can inherit eternal life by entering and becoming members of the Kingdom of God; and how we can qualify to rule, with and under Christ, over the houses of Israel and Judah, and the entire earth.

Chapter 5 – The Open Door

Revelation 3:8

In Revelation 3:7–8, Christ tells the angel of the Church in Philadelphia: “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens’: … ‘See I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.’”

That door is still open for those who belong to the “Church in Philadelphia.” “The Church in Philadelphia” is mainly a reference here to faithful Christians who have developed in their lives a “Philadelphian spirit” or attitude—which is described in Revelation 3:7–13.

But what is this open door?

Ability to Preach the Gospel

At least four Scriptures explain that the term “open door” refers to the ability of the Church to preach the gospel—and all that it entails—in all the world as a witness to all nations, prior to Christ’s return. Acts 14:27 states, “He had opened the DOOR OF FAITH to the Gentiles.” 1 Corinthians 16:9 points out, “…a great and effective DOOR has opened to me” in Ephesus. 2 Corinthians 2:12 says, “…when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a DOOR was opened to me by the Lord…” Finally, Colossians 4:3 states, “…that God would open to us a DOOR for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.”

However, the term “open door” is not limited to preaching the gospel message to the world. There are other Scriptures that identify additional aspects of the “open door.”

Ability to Enter the Kingdom of God

In the parable of the ten virgins, the five wise virgins, who were ready, went with Christ to the wedding, and, as Matthew 25:10 tells us, the open door was shut. When the foolish virgins, who were not ready, came and said, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”, Christ answered them, “I do not know you” (verses 11–12). Likewise, in Luke 13:25, we read that the time will come when the Master of the house (that is, of the Church of God) will shut the door and won’t let those in who are standing outside, knocking.

The open door, then, is also associated with the ability of the five wise virgins to enter God’s Kingdom. The foolish virgins were unable to do so—for them, the door was shut. Christ told us to “enter” by the narrow gate, which leads to life, and that only few will find it (Matthew 7:13–14). Only for the few, then—the spiritual Philadelphians—the door to the gate of eternal life is open, and remains so. However, for the overwhelming majority of mankind, it is closed at this point in time, and it has been closed since God placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden to guard or protect the way to the tree of life. (This door to eternal life WILL be opened later to mankind, after Christ’s return, during the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul? and “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”)

We read in Revelation 3:20 that the Church of the Laodiceans—those with a Laodicean attitude of spiritual blindness and self-righteousness (Revelation 3:16–18)—has shut the door. Christ is outside, standing in front of the door, knocking. Christ says, “IF anyone… opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me [at the Wedding Supper—more fully discussed in chapter 21 of this booklet].” Christ, then, must give us an open door to let Him into our lives—to let Him live His life within us (Galatians 2:20). As long as we are spiritual Philadelphians, and remain so, Christ gives us that open door. Christ WILL live His life in us, and NO ONE can shut Him out. No one—except we ourselves—can do it. If we shut Him out, Christ is not going to force us to keep the door open. He does not force us to live God’s Way of Life.

When we continue to shut Christ out of our lives, more and more, we cease to be spiritual Philadelphians and become, instead, lukewarm and self-righteous Laodiceans. It is the spiritual Laodiceans who have shut the door—the door of their hearts—while Christ is outside, knocking, but only for a while, to be received back into their lives. We are living at the very time when God IS knocking at the doors of many Laodiceans. If they don’t repent, but instead, refuse to let Christ become the center of their lives again, it will be they who will be knocking at HIS door at the time of HIS return, in an effort to enter the Wedding Supper. By then, the door will be shut for them. Unless the spiritual Laodiceans repent and open the door of their hearts to let Christ in, thereby becoming spiritual Philadelphians, the door to eternal life remains shut for them.

Christ—the Open Door

Christ identifies Himself many times as the “open door.” In John 10:1–9, Christ talks about Himself as the door to the sheep. He says that He who enters the sheepfold by the door (verse 2) is the true shepherd, and that everyone will be saved who enters through Christ. That is what the five wise virgins did when they entered the wedding room through Jesus Christ—the open door—going in and finding pasture (compare John 10:7, 9).

We of ourselves have only a little strength (Revelation 3:8). Our strength of overcoming and living a Christian life must come through Jesus Christ, the open door to God the Father. Paul was confident that God would complete the good work in those in whom He had begun it (Philippians 1:6). Christ said that those who endure to the end WILL be saved. They are the VERY elect. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes, because they are the called, and the chosen, and the faithful ones (Revelation 14:4; 17:14).

The “open door” is associated with Christ who has given Himself to the spiritual Philadelphians. Christ said that He gave the Morning Star to those in Thyatira. Those Christians—although physically living in Thyatira or during the Thyatira era—can be described as spiritual Philadelphians, because they will rule in the world to come (Revelation 2:26–28). Christ later identified Himself as that very Morning Star (Revelation 22:16; 2 Peter 1:19). He—the Morning Star—gives Himself to His people. The same symbolism is used regarding the open door—Christ gives Himself, as an open door, to the spiritual Philadelphians.

Revelation 3:12 says that the true Philadelphians will be “pillars” in the temple of God, and that they will go out no more. It is given to them to go through the open door, Christ, into the temple of God, in order to be pillars there.

Protection from Physical Persecution

God closed the door of the ark after Noah and his family, as well as the selected animals, had entered the ship. Genesis 7:16 reads, in the Revised English Bible: “The Lord closed the door on him.” God did so, after righteous Noah and his family had entered the ark through the open door, which no one could shut for them. They entered the ark to be saved from destruction. This is interesting, as Revelation 3:10 points out that the Church in Philadelphia—those who have a Philadelphian spirit—will be protected from the hour of trial or tribulation which shall come upon the whole world. The flood destroyed the whole world at the time of Noah, and Christ said that the Great Tribulation to come would destroy all of mankind if Christ would not intervene at the very end (Matthew 24:21–22). The open door that has been given to the Philadelphians is also associated with physical protection from the Great Tribulation.

In conclusion, God has given to the spiritual Philadelphians the open door of preaching His Word, and NO ONE can shut this door. At the same time, we must strive to enter the narrow gate or door that leads to eternal life, by letting Christ—the door to God the Father and to God’s Kingdom—live in our hearts. If we do this, God promises us physical protection from the Great Tribulation (Revelation 12:14), as well as entrance into His Kingdom as born-again members of His Family (2 Peter 1:10–11).

Chapter 6 – Christ – The Beginning of the Creation of God

Revelation 3:14

Did Christ have a beginning? Is this what Revelation 3:14 teaches, when it states that Christ is the “beginning of the creation of God”?

God the Father Without Beginning

The Bible proclaims dogmatically that God had no beginning, but that He has always existed. We read that God created all things; that is, human beings, animals and all physical things, as well as angelic beings and all spiritual “things.” However, God is not just one Person, but a Family, presently consisting of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Jesus Christ was God since all eternity—as was the Father. We read that God created everything through Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15–17)—proving that God the Father and Jesus Christ existed before there was anything else. Hebrews 1:1–2 tells us that God the Father created “the worlds” through His Son, Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says that the “Word”—Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 19:13)—was “in the beginning” with God and that the Word WAS God. John 1:3 tells us that “all things” were made through Him, and “without Him nothing was made that was made.”

Some claim that God the Father first created His Son, Jesus Christ, and proceeded afterwards to create everything else through Christ. They say that Christ—the Word—was created, and when that happened, there were no days or time created, so Christ had no beginning of days as such. This is not, however, what the Bible teaches.

Christ Without Beginning

Micah 5:2 talks about the coming Messiah when it states: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, WHOSE GOINGS FORTH ARE FROM OF OLD, FROM EVERLASTING.”

Isaiah 9:6 states: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” According to Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, the Hebrew for “Father” in the context of Isaiah 9:6 can also convey the meaning of “ancestor, source, inventor.”

Christ Was Melchizedek

In Hebrews 7:1–10, we are introduced to the Son, Jesus Christ, who was known as the High Priest Melchizedek at the time of Abraham (When Christ was here on earth as a human being, born as a man, He confirmed that He actually met Abraham in His prior life as an immortal God being, compare John 8:56–58).

Note how the Son of God or Melchizedek is described:

Hebrews 7:1: He was the Priest of the Most High God—God the Father, who is higher than Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3).

Hebrews 7:3: He was “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.” Christ said later that He is the One who “was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

Hebrews 7:3: When He appeared as Melchizedek, He was made like, or better, He was “resembling” (compare the Revised Standard Version) or “bearing the likeness of” (compare the Revised English Bible) the “Son of God”—that is, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, manifested Himself as a human being, as He did on other occasions in the Old Testament (for instance, He and two angels appeared to Abraham before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, compare Genesis 18:1–2, 13, 16–17; 19:1).

Hebrews 7:3: The One known as Melchizedek and as the Son of God, Jesus Christ, “remains a priest continually.” He is still alive, confirming what Christ said in Revelation 1:18: “I am He who lives, and was dead (and in the grave for 72 hours), and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

Hebrews 7:8: He was not a “mortal man” but someone who still “lives” today.

Accepting the clear Biblical testimony, we must conclude that Jesus Christ, as a Spirit being and as the second member of the God Family, has always lived together with God the Father. He had no beginning.

Meaning of, “Christ the Beginning”

How then are we to understand Revelation 3:14 which says that Christ is “the Beginning of the creation of God”? Since the Bible does not contradict itself, we can rule out the idea that God the Father created Christ so that Christ became the very first act—the “beginning”—of God’s creation. What, then, is the meaning of the verse?

Let us note how other translations render this verse:

New International Version: “the ruler of God’s creation”

Living Bible: “the primeval source of God’s creation”

New Revised Standard Version: “the origin of God’s creation”

Revised English Bible: “the source of God’s creation”

New Jerusalem Bible: “the Principle of God’s creation”

Please also note the following statements from a few commentaries:

The Broadman Bible Commentary gives the following explanation:

    “‘The beginning of God’s creation’ is not easy to interpret. If taken to mean that Christ was the first creature, then one has ignored the Christology of Revelation… Beckwith translated this phrase ‘the one from whom creation took its beginning.’ Another good translation is ‘who is the origin of all that God has created.’… God is the primary source (4:11; 10:6), and Christ is the agent of creation as in John 1:3 (see Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2).”

The Nelson Study Bible states:

    “… the Beginning, meaning the ‘First Place’ or ‘The Ruler.’… The phrase about creation has been interpreted by some to teach that Jesus is the first being that God created. This is certainly not required by Greek grammar, and is contrary to other biblical passages. Christ is described in other passages of the New Testament as eternal (see John 1:1–1) and as being God Himself (see John 8:58; Phil. 2:6; Titus 2:13). Revelation speaks of Him as the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. In fact, the Greek phrase in this verse can be translated in a more active sense, so as to read, ‘the One who begins the creation of God.’”

The “New Bible Commentary: Revised” adds the following:

    “… the title ‘the beginning of God’s creation’ (better translated ‘the principle’ or ‘source’ of creation) exalts Christ as Creator above the proud but puny creatures that boast in their self-sufficiency.”

The Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown agrees, pointing out: “‘beginning of the creation of God’—not he whom God created first, but as in Colossians 1:15–18… the Beginner of all creation, its originating instrument.”

Some have suggested that Christ is the “beginning” of God’s spiritual Family, and that this is the meaning of Revelation 3:14. Even though Christ IS the “firstborn” among many brethren, Revelation 3:14 does not limit itself to that aspect of God’s creation. Rather, God created EVERYTHING through Jesus Christ, including the spiritual world—long BEFORE He began to create man.

In Revelation 22:13, Christ refers to Himself as the “beginning [arche] and the end [telos].” If “beginning” suggests that there was a time when Christ did not exist, but that He came into existence as the first being of God’s creation, does “end” indicate that there will be a point at which He will no longer exist? That would be a ridiculous suggestion!

Based on all the biblical evidence, we can dogmatically state that Jesus Christ had NO beginning. Rather, He is the BEGINNER of God’s creation: God the Father created everything through Jesus Christ, who existed since all eternity. For more information, please read our free booklets, “God is a Family” and “Jesus Christ—A Great Mystery.”

Chapter 7 – The Heavenly Throne Without a Human Soul

Revelation 4

We read in Revelation 4:1–2 that John was transferred “in the Spirit” or in a vision to the throne of God in heaven. He sees God the Father on His brilliant throne, surrounded by angelic beings.

No Human Souls in Heaven

It is important to realize that none of the beings described in Revelation 4 are human beings made immortal—they are strictly created holy and righteous angelic beings. This includes the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4:4), the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5), and the four living creatures (Revelation 4:6–8). All of these angelic beings, and their functions and responsibilities, are fully explained in our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

The fact that no immortal human beings or “souls” are mentioned to reside in heaven may shock and disturb those who believe and teach that we (or our souls) go to heaven when we die. But the belief that Christians go to heaven when they die is by no means universally accepted in orthodox Christianity.

In a recent article of WorldNetDaily, dated February 10, 2008, the following was pointed out:

“A bishop described as ‘one of the most formidable figures in the world of Christian thought’ is now challenging the widely held belief that Christians go to heaven when they die. N.T. ‘Tom’ Wright, the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England who has been praised for his staunch defense of the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ, has published a new book in which he says people do not ascend to God’s dwelling place. Instead, God will be coming back to Earth. ‘Never at any point do the Gospels or Paul say Jesus has been raised, therefore we are… all going to heaven,’ Wright told Time Magazine…Wright says much of ‘traditional Christianity’ has been influenced by pagan philosophies…

“While Wright’s view may seem stunning to many of today’s Christians, it is the same view held by some famous names in the Protestant Reformation. In 1520, Martin Luther blasted Catholic ideas ‘that the soul is immortal; and all these endless monstrosities in the Roman dunghill of decretals.’ A decade later, English Bible translator and martyr William Tyndale echoed the idea Christians are completely dead until Jesus returns, as he voiced opposition to ‘heathen’ ideas of people having immortal souls at birth: ‘The true faith putteth [setteth forth] the resurrection, which we be warned to look for every hour. The heathen philosophers, denying that, did put [set forth] that the souls did ever live. And the pope joineth the spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshly doctrine of philosophers together; things so contrary that they cannot agree…’”

In fact, the Bible does not teach that a Christian goes to heaven when he dies.

What Is Death?

Let us first consider some fundamental biblical teaching about death, as it now relates to mankind.

Hebrews 9:27 states: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” Ecclesiastes 3:20 confirms that everyone dies: “All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.” Psalm 89:48 concurs: “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” Paul also shows that all men die: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

The Bible is very clear what happens to a person at the time of his or her death.

In Ecclesiastes 9:4–5, we find the following:

“But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten.” As people will not remember them after some time, so their own memory (the faculty of remembering) also ceases to exist (See the marginal notes in the Companion Bible).

Verse 6 continues: “Also their love, their hatred; and their envy have now perished…”

Psalm 146:3–4 illustrates that the day one dies, his thoughts perish.

(For a further discussion on this topic, see our booklet, Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”)

Christians Won’t Go to Heaven When They Die

1 Thessalonians 4:17 and John 14:2–3 are often used in an attempt to prove that when a Christian dies, he immediately is taken off to heaven to spend eternity with God. It is claimed that such is his reward for having lived his life according to the way taught in his faith. But what do these passages really say?

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 reads: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

Paul was not referring to the day of a person’s death, but to the time of the resurrection of the just, which occurs at the time of Christ’s Second Coming; and to what is to happen then to those who have a part in that resurrection (verse 16). The resurrection from the dead will be discussed in much detail later in this booklet, especially in chapter 22.

John 14:2–3—“Many Mansions in My Father’s House”

Christ said in John 14:2–3: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

The Greek word for “mansions” refers to dwelling places. It literally means, “dwellings” (compare the margin of the New King James Bible). The same word is used in John 14:23, where it is translated as “home.” According to the Nelson Study Bible, “Everybody has a longing for a permanent, secure place. Such places have already been set aside for all of God’s children.”

As our booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” points out, Christ is preparing the places, or positions of rulership, of true Christians, depending on their conduct in this life.

Christ continued to say, in John 14:3, that “if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” When Christ spoke these words, He was here on earth. He said He would return to this earth, and the disciples, who would at that time be resurrected from the dead, would then be with Him, where He was at the time of His statement—that is, here on earth!

The passages in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 and John 14:2–3 don’t mean that Christians go to heaven, when they die.

King David Not in Heaven

Not even righteous King David went to heaven when he died. Peter gave this testimony concerning David: “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2:29). And so, that there be no confusion, Peter very precisely showed that David was not in heaven: “‘For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’” (Acts 2:34–35). This is a prophecy that God the Father would place Jesus Christ at His own right hand in heaven for a period of time.

Only Jesus Went Back to Heaven

Jesus Christ died, and He was without sin (compare 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5). But only Jesus has entered heaven, having been resurrected by the Father (compare Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 8:1). This is further explained by Paul in Ephesians 4:8–10. It is also verified by Christ’s own words. Christ told Nicodemus that “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man…” (John 3:13). Martin Luther, correctly understanding the biblical teaching on this matter, even translated John 3:13 as follows: “No one ascends into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, that is, the Son of Man” (copyright 1938).

Jesus Will Return to This Earth

When Christ returns to this earth, He will bring the reward for true Christians with Him (compare Revelation 22:12). They will be resurrected or changed at that time and meet the returning Christ in the clouds, in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Then, they will descend with Him to the Mount of Olives. When Jesus ascended to heaven, from the Mount of Olives, the angels told the apostles: “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Zechariah 14:4 shows that in that day, Christ’s feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which is located on the earth! His disciples will be ruling with Christ when He rules here on earth (compare Revelation 20:4–6). “…thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). They will be where Christ will be (compare John 14:3)—here on earth. After all, Christ’s disciples are to “inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Christ is coming in all His glory, with His holy angels, to begin a Millennial rule upon the earth (Matthew 25:31–32). The saints of God, who will have been resurrected from the dead at that time, along with those saints still living, who will be changed to spirit at that time, will be given power to rule with Christ (Revelation 2:26–27).

The saints will have positions as Kings and Priests, and will reign with Christ during the 1,000 year period on the earth. The rest of the dead, who had no part in this resurrection, will await in their graves for a future resurrection (Revelation 20:5).

No biblical passage tells us that we go to heaven when we die. Rather, Christians will rule with Christ here on earth, when He resurrects those who died, or when He changes those, who are still alive at His Coming, from mortal to immortal.

Enoch Is Not in Heaven

Many refer to Enoch as proof that we go to heaven to be with God when we die. Since we don’t, what happened to Enoch?

Genesis 5:24 is one of the misunderstood Scriptures concerning Enoch: “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” This verse is quoted in Hebrew 11, verse 5.

When we read the context of Genesis 5, we find the line of Adam through Seth and the particular children who were faithful to God. In this lineage we find the mention of faithful Enoch (verse 22, compare Jude 14): “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.” However, Enoch had already been alive for sixty-five years so that his total lifespan was 365 years—shorter by far than either his ancestors or his offspring.

We have only been given a few indications in the Bible as to what exactly the world was like before the flood came. When Noah, the great grandson of Enoch, was born, Noah’s father, Lamech, said of him: “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed” (Genesis 5:29). Also, in Genesis 6:5, we read this statement about the tragic circumstances of mankind: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

However, Noah “walked with God,” being called “… a preacher of righteousness,” while God brought “in the flood on the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5).

Understanding that Enoch’s generation was in rebellion to God and His laws, shows the challenge that Enoch faced. Hebrews 11:5 lists Enoch among those who were truly faithful to God: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

Now consider verse 13 of Hebrews 11: “These ALL [including Enoch, compare Hebrew 11:5] DIED in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” This verse conclusively proves that Enoch, one of these faithful, died along with the others.

Genesis 5:23 also conclusively states: “ALL THE DAYS of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.” This same phrase, “all the days,” is used throughout this chapter about generations of people who died.

Enoch “Translated”

In speaking of Enoch, the Bible records that he “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), and “he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Because of this, and because of the rebellious society in which Enoch lived, God “took” him away, so that he “should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5, Authorized Version). God “translated” or transported him to another place on earth, in order to spare him from the second or eternal death. We don’t know when exactly God transported Enoch to another place on this earth—whether this happened at the end of his life or before—but we do know that Enoch DIED the first death at the age of 365. John 8:51 confirms that if we keep God’s Word, we shall “never see death”—the second death, that is. Remember, it is appointed to all men once to die the first death (Hebrews 9:27). We do know for certain, based on the biblical teaching and evidence, that Enoch did die the first death at a relatively young age for his day and that he did not ascend to heaven!

Paul also said in Hebrews 11:5 that Enoch was “not found.” This does not mean that he lived on forever. Moses died, and God buried him at a secret place, and he was not found, and “no one knows his grave to this day” (Deuteronomy 34:6).

We need to both consider and believe the clear statements of Scripture. Like David and many other people who have faithfully served God, Enoch awaits the hope of the resurrection to righteousness (compare Hebrews 11:39–40), and a time in which he will indeed not see death—the second death of eternal destruction.

Elijah Not in God’s Heaven

Some teach that Elijah went to heaven where God’s throne is, and that he—or his soul—is presently with God in His heavenly realm.

But as noted earlier, Christ stated unequivocally that “no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man” (John 3:13, NASB Version). This includes Elijah, as well as Enoch.

Three Heavens

However, we must realize that the Bible speaks of more than just one heaven. The Bible does, indeed, reveal the existence of “three” heavens. While the first two heavens are “physical” in nature, the third heaven is composed of spirit—referred to in Scripture as God’s dwelling place.

The fact that there is more than one physical heaven can be seen in Genesis 1:1, where we read, “In the beginning God created the HEAVENS and the earth” (compare also the Revised Standard Version).” Also, in Genesis 2:1, “Thus the HEAVENS and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished” (compare also the Revised Standard Version). These verses imply that the whole material universe was created simultaneously with the earth.

The first two heavens—the physical heavens—can be divided into the earth’s atmosphere and the space beyond our atmosphere—commonly called the universe.

The atmosphere or the “first heaven”—the air that surrounds the earth—refers to the space where birds fly, where clouds and winds roam, and from which the dew comes. We read in Genesis 1:20: “…let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” We also read, in Genesis 27:28, that God promises to give “the dew of heaven.” Finally, we are told in Deuteronomy 33:28, that Jacob’s “Heavens shall also drop dew.”

The physical universe that is beyond this earth’s atmosphere, can be described as the “second heaven.” It represents the space where we find the sun, the moon, the stars, and all of the other planets that God has created. We read, in Genesis 1:14–17, that God referred to the sun and the moon as “lights in the firmament of the heavens” (verses 14, 15), and that He “set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth” (verse 17). David pondered, in Psalm 8:3, over God’s “heavens, the work of Your fingers,” and he especially continued to talk about “the moon and the stars, which You have ordained.”

In addition to these two physical “heavens,” we find that the Bible speaks about another heaven—a heaven composed of spirit—the third heaven, where God lives. No human being or soul has ever ascended to this heaven (compare John 3:13)—the only one who went to this heaven, after His resurrection, was Jesus Christ. Elijah did not go to the third heaven, where God’s throne is, but only to the first heaven.

We read, in 2 Kings 2:1, 11, that Elijah was taken up “into heaven by a whirlwind.” We also read that the disciples understood that Elijah did not go to the third heaven, as they were concerned that “the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley” (verse 16). In fact, God transported Elijah to another place here on this earth, where Elijah continued to live until his death. He wrote a letter and had it delivered to King Jehoram, AFTER he “went to (the first) heaven,” as Jehoram became king right at the time of Elijah’s disappearance (2 Kings 1:17; 3:1). 2 Chronicles 21:12–15 gives us the contents of the letter, referring to the evil deeds of King Jehoram that he had committed after Elijah had been taken away, having been transported through the air to another place here on earth.

We know, then, from Scripture, that Elijah did not go to the third heaven where God’s throne is. We also know that he was transferred, supernaturally, to another place here on earth. There are several biblically recorded incidents where human beings were supernaturally transferred by God to another place here on earth (compare, for example, Philip’s transfer to another place here on earth, in Acts 8:39–40).

Elijah Died

However, we also know from Scripture that Elijah died after this incident, as it is appointed to man once to die (Hebrews 9:27).

Some say that Elijah will return as the one who prepares the way for Christ’s Second Coming, or that he is one of the two witnesses still to appear. However, there is no biblical evidence supporting any such claim. We will discuss the true identity of the two witnesses in chapter 12 of this booklet.

Some believe that Elijah was alive at the time of Christ, as he appeared, in a glorified state, to three of the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, together with the glorified Moses and Jesus (Matthew 17:1–9; Mark 9:2–10; Luke 9:28–36). We explain this account in detail on pages 14 and 15 of our booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.” In that booklet, we show that the whole experience was a VISION—the disciples were given a foretaste of the Kingdom of God in power. They saw, in a VISION, the time—still in the future—when Christ, Moses and Elijah would be powerful God beings in the Kingdom of God. Elijah and Moses are not glorified yet, as Hebrews 11:39–40 explains. They will receive the promise of eternal life and glory in the Kingdom of God at the time of Christ’s return—not before then.

Some believe that Elijah was alive at the time of Christ, in the person of John the Baptist. Although Christ said that John the Baptist was the Elijah to come (Matthew 17:12–13), other Scriptures explain that John had come in the spirit and the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17)—not that he was the reincarnated Elijah, or that Elijah had never died and that he appeared now as John the Baptist.

Elijah is dead in the dust of the earth, awaiting the resurrection of the just. Elijah—some years after being removed in the whirlwind—died and went to the grave, but he will rise again to live forevermore!

Death Is A Sleep

The biblical truth is very clear: No human being goes to heaven after death, and—as we will discuss in chapter 18 of this booklet—no human being goes to a state of limbo, purgatory or hell, either. These are all pagan concepts, which are NOT taught in Scripture! When a person dies, he SLEEPS the sleep of death. God will wake him out of that sleep in a resurrection. IF it were true that a person—or his or her “soul”—were to keep on living after he or she died, WHY THEN would there have to be a resurrection?

We read in Isaiah 57:1–2: “The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace; they shall rest…”

Job asked the age-old question, in Job 14:14, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” Job himself gives us the answer to his question, “All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer you; you shall desire the work of your hands” (Job 14:14–15).

Jesus Christ confirmed that the dead will be made alive again—actually, that it is Christ who will CALL, and that they will respond. He said in John 5:28–29: “…The hour is coming in which all who are in their graves [that is, all who have died] will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation [or judgment].”

The fact that death is a sleep and that the dead will be resurrected out of that sleep is also confirmed in Daniel 12:2: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” The angel who spoke to Daniel told him: “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (verse 13).

God will resurrect everybody in his due time—but not necessarily all at the same time. This fact will be discussed in chapter 22 of this booklet.

Chapter 8 – The Scroll With the Seven Seals

Revelation 5:1; 6:2–14; 8:1–13; 9:1–21; 16:1–21

John saw in vision that God the Father had in His right hand a scroll, sealed with seven seals, which contained prophecies for the future.

Many have been confused about the scroll with seven seals (compare Revelation 5:1), and they have tried to attach human interpretations to them. But John saw, in a vision, that no one was able to break nor explain the seven seals, except for the Lamb, Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 5:3, 5–7, 9; 6:1). We, therefore, need to turn to Jesus Christ’s Words in order to understand the seven seals. And IF we accept the explanations of Jesus, as written, then the meaning becomes very clear.

The first six of the seven seals are all recorded in Revelation 6.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

When Christ opens the first four seals, described in Revelation 6:2–8, John sees in the vision the famous four horsemen of the Apocalypse which kill “a fourth of the earth” with “sword, hunger, death and by the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8). When comparing Revelation 6:2–8 with Christ’s sayings in Matthew 24:4–7 and Luke 21:8–11, then the meaning of the four horsemen or the first four seals becomes clear:

(1) The FIRST SEAL (Revelation 6:2)—RELIGIOUS DECEPTION (compare Matthew 24:3–5; Luke 21:8).

(2) The SECOND SEAL (Revelation 6:3–4)—WAR (compare Matthew 24:6–7; Luke 21:9).

(3) The THIRD SEAL (Revelation 6:5–6)—FAMINE (compare Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11)

(4) The FOURTH SEAL (Revelation 6:7–8)—PESTILENCE (compare Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11).

Oftentimes religious deception leads to wars, directly or indirectly. Wars, in turn, lead to famine and diseases. Historically, the Black Death alone killed upwards of one-third of the people living in Europe in the 14th century. The Spanish flu pandemic lasted from March, 1918, to June, 1920, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. While older estimates put the number of those who were killed at 40 to 50 million people, current estimates are that 50 to 100 million people worldwide died, possibly more than what succumbed to the Black Death.

The Great Tribulation

(5) The FIFTH SEAL (Revelation 6:9–11)—THE GREAT TRIBULATION

After the four horsemen have begun their terrible ride, organized and worldwide martyrdom of true Christians will occur next, depicted by the fifth seal (compare Matthew 24:9–12; Mark 13:11–13; Luke 21:12–19).

The Souls Under the Altar

How are we to understand that there are souls under the altar who speak—and that they are then told to “rest” a little while longer (Revelation 6:9–11)? Doesn’t this show that our souls go to heaven when we die, while they are resting at the same time?

Now, that would be a pretty confusing teaching, don’t you think?

First of all, it does not say that the altar is in heaven. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible maintains that “The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.” The “souls” are under the altar because, as the Nelson Study Bible explains, “sacrificial blood was poured beside the base of the altar in the temple (see Ex. 29:12).”

We must realize that the fifth seal with the souls under the altar describes a vision, as do the other seals. The four horsemen do not REALLY ride—they REPRESENT certain events, which will take place on this earth. In the same way, the “souls under the altar” are not really alive and do not really cry to God with a loud voice. Neither did the “dry bones” in Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 37:11 really speak, nor did Abel’s shed blood (Genesis 4:10). This is symbolic language, as we also read in Hebrews 12:24 that the blood of Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, “speaks better things than that of Abel.”

Notice also what is said in Revelation 20:4, 6 about the “souls” of those who were killed for Christ:

“… I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads and on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years… Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection…”

These souls were brought back to life in a resurrection. Before that, they were dead. (Please note chapter 7 of this booklet, discussing in detail the false concept of the “immortal soul.”)

Just imagine what it would mean if we were to take this symbolic vision in Revelation 6:9–11 literally: Souls of killed saints would need to “rest” under the altar for several more years—and that in a conscious state, being able to speak and to have emotional pain—until other servants of God were killed as well (Revelation 6:11). This does not sound like a very blissful and happy state of affairs for the souls of righteous people!

To use the vision of the souls under the altar as evidence for the teaching that our souls don’t simply sleep but do go to heaven when we die, is without any biblical basis whatsoever.

At the same time of this religious persecution of God’s servants, the modern nations and peoples of Judah and of the house of Israel (the English-speaking nations of the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and others) will be attacked and destroyed in war, mainly by a European power bloc, during the “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:15–28; Mark 13:14–20; Luke 21:20–24; Daniel 12:1; Jeremiah 30:10; Hosea 9:3; 13: 16; Amos 6:7; 7:17).

The Great Tribulation is Satan’s wrath directed against true Christians—spiritual Israelites—and the modern houses of Israel and Judah.

The Heavenly Signs

(6) The SIXTH SEAL (Revelation 6:12–14)—COSMIC DISTURBANCES or HEAVENLY SIGNS

After the Great Tribulation has begun, the sixth seal is opened—picturing “heavenly signs” or cosmic disturbances, which are introduced by a great earthquake (Revelation 6:12–14; Luke 21:25–26; Matthew 24:29).

These cosmic disturbances PRECEDE the “Day of the Lord,” the seventh seal. Revelation 6:17 refers to the Day of the Lord as the “great day of His wrath.” Compare Joel 2:30–31; 3: 14–15. This time span, which will begin prior to Christ’s return, is described as a time of Godly retribution (Isaiah 2:10–21; 13:6–16; Zephaniah 1:14–18).

God’s Servants Sealed

Before God pours out His wrath on unrepentant mankind during the Day of the Lord, God’s servants will be sealed to be protected from that time to come (Revelation 7:1–3; compare Ezekiel 9:4; see also Revelation 9:4). First 144,000 will be sealed—12,000 out of each tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:4–8; compare Revelation 14:1–5), excluding Dan (compare Judges 18:30; Deuteronomy 29:17–20; Genesis 49:18).

After that, John sees a great multitude which “no one could number,” from “all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,” standing before the Lamb with white garments (Revelation 7:9). They “came out of the great tribulation… and washed their robes and made them white” (Revelation 7:14). So, if they CAME OUT of the Great Tribulation, then they must have been in it.

While some Christians will be protected here on earth—not in heaven—from the Great Tribulation (compare Revelation 3:10; Revelation 12:14; see also Luke 21:36; Proverbs 14:26), others will have to go through it, in order to be purified (Revelation 12:17; compare 1 Corinthians 11:32).

No Secret Rapture

Let us clarify here that the Bible nowhere teaches the concept of a secret rapture, neither before, nor during nor after the Great Tribulation. Some true Christians will be protected here on earth at a place of safety (to be discussed later in this chapter and in chapter 13 of the booklet)—they will NOT be taken up into God’s third heaven to be protected there. Remember, NO ONE ascends to heaven!

Some claim, however, that a secret rapture is taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. It is not. Note what this Scripture says:

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

Some Bible commentaries conclude from the words “shall be caught up… in the clouds,” that those in Christ will be secretly transported to heaven, and then later return visibly—together with Christ—to rule the world. Others challenge that idea.

Note the following statements by the New Bible Commentary: Revised:

“‘To meet the Lord’ (Gk. ‘eis apantesin tou kyriou’): When a dignitary paid an official visit … to a city in Hellenistic times, the action of the leading citizens in going out to meet him and escorting him on the final stage of his journey was called the ‘apantesis’; it is similarly used in [Matthew] 25:6; Acts 28:15. So the Lord is pictured as escorted to the earth by His people—those newly raised from death and those who have remained alive.”

F.F. Bruce’s International Bible Commentary agrees: “To meet is used in the papyri of the official reception given to a visiting governor, whom his citizens escort into the city from which they have come to meet him.”

Origin of the Secret Rapture Theory

Early Christians did not believe in the concept of a secret rapture. It was not taught prior to the sixteenth century. Joseph Ribera, Cardinal Bellarmine and Alcasar, Jesuit Priests of the sixteenth century, were the first Christian authorities to promulgate this idea. Even in their day, the idea was unclear. It wasn’t until 1830 that men who claimed divine inspiration said the Holy Spirit revealed to them that the last days had come, that the Lord was about to return, and that first He would “rapture” the believers who were ready, at a secret coming.

The Bible does not teach a secret rapture. Rather, God’s Word reveals that Christ will return ONCE, NOT TWICE (Hebrews 9:28). He will come openly, not in secret (Matthew 24:21–31; Revelation 1:7; Acts 1:10–11), and He will END the Great Tribulation at the time of His Coming by establishing the Kingdom of God here on earth (Revelation 11:15–18). Mark 13:24–27 specifically states: “But in those days, AFTER that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. THEN they will SEE the Son of Man COMING in the clouds with great power and glory. And THEN [not before then] He will send His angels, and GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT…”

Christ will come at the time of the LAST TRUMPET when His elect will be resurrected from the dead or changed to immortality (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17; 1 Corinthians 15:50–52). There can only be ONE last trumpet, which means that there can only be ONE return of Christ!

Protection Here on Earth

The Bible does reveal, though, that there can be protection from the terrible times to come prior to Christ’s return. However, that protection will be provided here on earth, not in heaven. As we explain in our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord,” beginning on page 58, Christ promises His people—who are worthy—a way to “escape all these things that will come to pass” (Luke 21:34–36; compare Revelation 3:10; Zephaniah 2:3; Psalm 31:19–20). That “place of refuge” (Proverbs 14:26) will be on this earth—not in heaven (Revelation 12:14; Isaiah 33:16; Isaiah 26:20–21).

Even though God CAN protect us anywhere He wants, He has decreed that His people will be protected at a certain place here on earth—the place of safety and “shelter” (Joel 3:14–16). Christ compares the time preceding His coming with the time of Noah (Matthew 24:37–39), and as God protected Noah and his family in the ark—here on earth—so He will protect His people on this earth in the way that HE has chosen. He will definitely NOT protect them by “rapturing” them to heaven!

But whether protected during the Great Tribulation or not, all true Christians—including the 144,000 and the great multitude—who survive that time of trouble will be protected from God’s wrath to come.

The Day of the Lord

(7) The SEVENTH SEAL:

The SEVENTH seal consists of SEVEN TRUMPETS, which are blown by seven angels (Revelation 8:2, 6). The first FOUR trumpets are described in Revelation 8:7–12.

(7.1) The FIRST TRUMPET

It describes, what appears to be, a firestorm that is destroying one-third of the trees and all the grass (compare Revelation 8:7).

(7.2) The SECOND TRUMPET

It depicts, what appears to be, a huge burning meteorite falling into the sea, destroying one-third of all sea creatures and one-third of all ocean ships (Revelation 8:8–9).

(7.3) The THIRD TRUMPET

It describes, what appears to be, another huge fiery comet or asteroid, destroying or poisoning one-third of all the sweet drinking water (Revelation 8:10–11).

(7.4) The FOURTH TRUMPET

It brings further cosmic disturbances, blocking one-third of the light of the sun, moon and stars (Revelation 8:12–13).

Revelation 8:13 speaks of the last three remaining trumpets as the last “three woes”—because of their great and extreme severity.

(7.5) The FIFTH TRUMPET (the “first woe”)

The first of the last three woes—or the fifth trumpet—is described in Revelation 9:1–12. It identifies the final resurrection of the Roman Empire, coming out of a “bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1–3, compare Revelation 11:7; 17:8)—an end-time European power bloc, referred to as the “beast” elsewhere. It is depicted to be at war with other nations. Its instruments of war are symbolically portrayed as “locusts” (Revelation 9:3) or possibly helicopters, causing pain and harm on humans for five months, without killing them (Revelation 9:4–5, 10).

The real ruler of this power bloc is “the angel of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:11)—Satan the devil. This war occurs after the Great Tribulation—after the time of war between Europe and the modern nations of the houses of Israel and Judah. By that time, the modern nations of the houses of Israel and Judah will already have been defeated, and their surviving people will have become captives of this European power. The war depicted in Revelation 9 is alluded to more fully in Daniel 11, commencing with verse 41. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

(7.6) The SIXTH TRUMPET (the “second woe”)

Revelation 9:13–21 describes the second woe or the sixth trumpet—the appearance of an invading army of 200 million soldiers (Revelation 9:16) from the east (Revelation 9:14)—shortly after Europe’s invasion of the Middle East (Daniel 11:41–43, 45)—to kill “a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15). Apparently, this is the second stage of a total world war between, at that time, mainly the European power bloc and a power bloc of eastern nations (compare Revelation 9:17 with Joel 2: 4). This second stage is also alluded to in Daniel 11:44.

(7.7) The SEVENTH TRUMPET (the “third woe”)

The third woe or the seventh trumpet is not described until Revelation 16. Previous chapters are interludes—flashbacks—setting the stage for the climax of the last or seventh trumpet, as identified in Revelation 16 (compare Revelation 10:7).

The seventh trumpet of the seventh seal consists of SEVEN LAST PLAGUES, which are described in Revelation 16:1–21. Seven angels pour out these seven last plagues, also referred to as the seven bowls of the wrath of God (Revelation 15:7; 16:1).

(7.7.1) The FIRST OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes “a foul and loathsome sore” on those who worship the beast and its image, and who have accepted the mark of the beast (Revelation 16:2). All of these terms and their meaning will be
explained in chapters 14 and 15 of this booklet.

(7.7.2) The SECOND OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes every living creature in the sea to die (Revelation 16:3).

(7.7.3) The THIRD OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes the sweet water supply to become “blood”—that is, undrinkable (Revelation 16:4–7).

(7.7.4) The FOURTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It brings about increased solar radiation, which horribly scorches mankind. Despite this punishment from God for their sins, man will not repent, but rather will blaspheme God (Revelation 16:8–9).

(7.7.5) The FIFTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It causes total darkness to cover the Headquarters of the beast—again, people will blaspheme God and will refuse to repent even then (Revelation 16:10–11).

Armageddon

(7.7.6) The SIXTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It will dry up the waters of the “great river Euphrates” (Revelation 16:12) to enable the “kings from the east” to advance to the place of “Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16) to “gather” there in preparation for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14, 16).

These kings from the east, as well as all of the other kings of the earth, will be influenced by Satan and the demonically possessed beast and the false prophet (Revelation 16:13–14). All of them will gather at “Armageddon” or the “hill of Megiddo” (“har” meaning “hill” in Hebrew), about 55 miles or 90 kilometers north of Jerusalem, and about 15 miles or 25 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea.

Megiddo is a huge mound with a commanding view of the long and fertile valley of Jezreel—an ideal place for armies gathering there. Then, they will converge from there on Jerusalem to fight the returning Christ. We don’t read that there will be a battle at Armageddon—the battle will be fought farther south in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is called today the “Kidron Valley,” bordering Jerusalem on the east.

(7.7.7) The SEVENTH OF THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES or bowls:

It describes a tremendous earthquake to shake the earth “as had not occurred since men were on the earth” (Revelation 16:17–18; compare Isaiah 2:12–19; 13:6–13; 24:1–20), causing the “great city” of Jerusalem to be “divided into three parts” and “all the cities of the nations” to fall (Revelation 16:19). Further, every island will disappear and mountains will be leveled (Revelation 16:20). A great hail of tremendous size will destroy everything in its path. Again, man will not repent, but will continue to blaspheme God because of the hail (Revelation 16:21).

To envision the entire scenario of events at the time of Christ’s return, we need to consider some additional passages.

The battle in the valley of Jehoshaphat and the mighty earthquake are more fully described in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, which pictures the return of Jesus Christ. Chapters 17 and 18 of the book of Revelation are again interludes—flashbacks—setting the stage for the climax of the destruction of this world’s civilization—called “Babylon”—which is dominated or influenced by a military, economic and religious power. (More about this later in chapters 19 and 20 of this booklet.)

The Return of Jesus Christ

Chapter 19 of the book of Revelation describes the returning Jesus Christ, riding on a white horse, to establish the government of God here on earth (Revelation 19:6, 11, 14–15).

When the seventh angel sounds and when Christ returns, the saints—converted Christians—will be resurrected to immortality, if they have already died, or they will be changed to immortality, if they are still alive (1 Corinthians 15:50–56; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). They will, at that time, be born again and inherit salvation, by entering the Kingdom or very Family of God. They will meet Christ in the air and descend with Him, on that same day, on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14:3–5 indicates that, apparently due to the great earthquake of the seventh bowl, mentioned in Revelation 16:17–18, the Mount of Olives shall split in two, making a very large valley, where the final battle of God Almighty will take place.

Christ will overcome the armies that will be trying to fight Him, as well as the modern leaders of modern “Babylon”—the military ruler (“the beast”) and the religious leader (“the false prophet”) (compare Revelation 19:19–21). The destruction of the armies is more fully described in Zechariah 14:12, 15. The beast and the false prophet will be cast into “the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

Revelation 19:7–9 also states that Christ will come to “marry” His “wife”—His Church—and that those are blessed “who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Other passages shed more light on this marriage and the marriage supper. Compare Matthew 22:1–14; 25:1–13; Luke 12:35–38; 13: 25–30. The marriage supper will be discussed in detail in chapter 21 of this booklet.

After Christ Has Returned

Beginning with Revelation 20, we read a description of further events yet to occur after Christ has returned to this earth. An angel will bind and imprison Satan and his demons for 1000 years or a “Millennium,” so that Satan cannot deceive mankind during that period (Revelation 20:1–4; compare also Revelation 12:9). The then immortal saints will rule during that millennial period with, and under Christ, on, and over all this earth, (Revelation 20: 5–6; Daniel 7: 22, 27). The result of this rulership will be peace, prosperity and a correct understanding of God and His ways (Isaiah 2:2–4; 9: 6–7; 11:1–10; 35:1–10; Amos 9:13–15; Micah 4:1–5). Ultimately, the saints will reign under God “forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

Millennium on Earth

Some claim that the saints will rule this earth from heaven. According to that theory, Jesus Christ will return to meet His saints in the clouds to take them back to heaven, before the Millennium begins.

This concept is without any biblical merit. We read in Revelation 5:9–10, how the angels praise Jesus Christ for having redeemed His people through His blood: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seal, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (New International Version). The Bible is clear that the saints will rule not just over the earth, but also ON the earth during the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment.


THE SEVEN SEALS OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION

(1) The FIRST SEAL (Revelation 6:2)—RELIGIOUS DECEPTION

(2) The SECOND SEAL (Revelation 6:3–4)—WAR

(3) The THIRD SEAL (Revelation 6:5–6)—FAMINE

(4) The FOURTH SEAL (Revelation 6:7–8)—PESTILENCE

(5) The FIFTH SEAL (Revelation 6:9–11)—THE GREAT TRIBULATION of spiritual and physical Israel

(6) The SIXTH SEAL (Revelation 6:12–14)—COSMIC DISTURBANCES or HEAVENLY SIGNS

(7) The SEVENTH SEAL consists of SEVEN TRUMPETS (Revelation 8:2, 6)

(7.1) The FIRST TRUMPET destroys one third of all trees and of the grass (compare Revelation 8:7)

(7.2) The SECOND TRUMPET destroys one third of all sea creatures and of all the ocean ships (Revelation 8:8–9)

(7.3) The THIRD TRUMPET poisons one third of all the sweet drinking water (Revelation 8:10–11)

(7.4) The FOURTH TRUMPET blocks one third of the light of the sun, moon and stars (Revelation 8:12–13)

(7.5) The FIFTH TRUMPET (the “first woe”) depicts a war caused by Europe (Revelation 9:1–12)

(7.6) The SIXTH TRUMPET (the “second woe”) depicts retaliating Asian powers (Revelation 9:16)

(7.7) The SEVENTH TRUMPET (the “third woe”) consists of SEVEN LAST PLAGUES (Revelation 16:1)

(7.7.1) The FIRST PLAGUE causes “a foul and loathsome sore” (Revelation 16: 2)

(7.7.2) The SECOND PLAGUE causes every living creature in the sea to die (Revelation 16:3)

(7.7.3) The THIRD PLAGUE causes the sweet water supply to become “blood” (Revelation 16:4–7)

(7.7.4) The FOURTH PLAGUE scorches mankind (Revelation 16:8–9)

(7.7.5) The FIFTH PLAGUE causes total darkness (Revelation 16:10–11)

(7.7.6) The SIXTH PLAGUE prepares for “Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16)

(7.7.7) The SEVENTH PLAGUE causes the greatest earthquake of all time (Revelation 16:17–18)


Chapter 9 – The 144,000 and the Great Multitude

Revelation 7

As alluded to in this booklet previously, the time will come when God will seal 144,000 people for protection. In that context, another group is mentioned—the great multitude.

Much has been speculated as to the identity of the 144,000 and the great multitude. However, if we let the Bible speak for itself, the answer becomes rather obvious.

The 144,000

In verse 1 of Revelation 7 we find that the Day of the Lord—the time of terrible plagues—is to be delayed temporarily UNTIL 144,000 servants of God have been sealed. According to the sequence of prophesied events, this sealing is yet IN THE FUTURE. It will occur AFTER THE COMING GREAT TRIBULATION AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE HEAVENLY SIGNS, but just BEFORE THE PLAGUES of God’s judgments are poured out.

Next, notice Jesus’ own explanation of the 144,000. They are 144,000 of the TRIBES OF ISRAEL, 12,000 of each tribe. The tribe of Dan is not mentioned—perhaps because they went to idolatry anciently, and will thus have to WAIT for God’s salvation (Genesis 49:1, 18). The 144,000 are to be given SPECIAL PROTECTION DURING THE DAY OF THE LORD.

Lehman Strauss, The Book of Revelation, makes the following comments on pages 171–173 regarding the 144,000:

“Judgment is suspended till 144,000 Jews are sealed [Strauss says, “Jews,” but he should have said, “Israelites.” Strauss makes the common mistake of equating the Israelites with the Jews. All Jews are Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews. Only three of the twelve tribes of Israel are referred to as “Jews” in the Bible—namely, those from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi]. If language means anything, these sealed ones are literal Israelites… not one Gentile is among them… Dan… is omitted because he was guilty of idolatry. God has warned His people that idolaters would be separated from the rest of the tribes… The 144,000 are sealed with ‘the seal of the living God.’ The seal is the mark of divine possession, protection, and preservation.”

The Great Multitude

After that event, John sees a great multitude which “no one could number,” from “all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,” standing before the Lamb with white garments (Revelation 7:9). They “came out of the great tribulation…and washed their robes and made them white” (Revelation 7:14). As we mentioned in a previous chapter of this booklet, the great multitude had to go through the Great Tribulation, but they will be protected—together with the 144,000—from the plagues of the Day of the Lord.

Strauss comments on pages 175–178:

“The number … is beyond all counting, as far as man is concerned. The exact number is known to God (2 Timothy 2:19)… John saw ‘palms in their hands’ ([Revelation 7,] verse 9)… the palms may be in celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles… palm branches express the joy of complete deliverance (John 12:12–13). They are celebrating the triumph of having been brought through the awful period of tribulation…”

What We Can Know From Scripture

In considering the Biblical revelation regarding the 144,000 and the great multitude, we can see the following:

1) None of the 144,000 have already been sealed.

2) The 144,000 will be sealed in the future, AFTER the Great Tribulation.

3) The 144,000 will be sealed in order to be protected from the plagues of the Day of the Lord.

4) The 144,000 are physical Israelites that will be alive at the time of their sealing.

5) 12,000 of each tribe of Israel will be sealed. Since the tribe of Dan is omitted (compare chapter 8 of this booklet), the tribe of Joseph is represented through Joseph and through his son Manasseh (Revelation 7:6, 8).

6) Since the 144,000 will be sealed AFTER the Great Tribulation, they will have to go THROUGH the Great Tribulation. There is no indication in the Bible that they will be protected from the Great Tribulation at a place of safety.

7) As the 144,000 will be protected from the plagues of the Day of the Lord, so the “great multitude” (Revelation 7:9) will turn to God for protection as well.

8) The “great multitude” is not a part of the 144,000, but it is a separate group of peoples.

9) The “great multitude,” which “no one can number,” consists “of ALL [other, that is, non-Israelite] nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.”

10) The “great multitude” had to go through the Great Tribulation as well. They will not be at a place of safety, to be protected from the Great Tribulation. Revelation 7:14 reads: “These are the ones who COME OUT OF the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Today, neither the 144,000 nor the great multitude have turned to God. But they will—when they remember the message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, which is being preached today, and which will continue to be preached by God’s Church (compare Matthew 24:14; 28:18–20), combined with the activities of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:1–6), the martyrdom of some of the saints (Revelation 6:9–11; 12:13–17) and the sufferings of national Israelites and Jews during the Great Tribulation, and the heavenly signs.

Repentance in the Last Days

When the 144,000 find themselves in the midst of the Great Tribulation, they will reflect on their lives and the situation they are in, and will come to their senses. THEN they will repent—not before then! Speaking of the modern houses of Israel and Judah, we read a remarkable prophecy in Deuteronomy 30:1–3, 6, and 8. This prophecy refers to “the latter days” (Deuteronomy 31:29) and might also include a description of the conversion of the 144,000:

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you, and you RETURN to the Lord your God (i.e., REPENT) and OBEY His voice, according to ALL that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul (describing CONVERSION), that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity (which will be experienced by the modern houses of Israel and Judah during the time of the Great Tribulation)… And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, THAT YOU MAY LIVE (that is, that you might be PROTECTED from the PLAGUES of the Day of the Lord)… And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today.”

When the 144,000 and the great multitude turn to God, become converted and receive the Holy Spirit, they will be protected from the plagues of the Day of the Lord. Their conversion is still in the future. It will take place after they have experienced the fiery trial of the Great Tribulation.

Chapter 10 – The Little Book

Revelation 10

In Revelation 10, John hears a message from seven angelic beings, called the “seven thunders.” John is to seal up the things, which the angels pronounced, without writing them down. A mighty angel gives John a little book to read. When he does, it is sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his stomach (Revelation 10:9–10). Something similar happened to the prophet Ezekiel in Old Testament times (Ezekiel 3:1–3).

After eating the little book, John is to prophecy again about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings. Undoubtedly, these prophecies would include certain events that would befall them.

Knowledge—including prophetic knowledge—can be sweet at first, but it may become bitter when announced and rejected. This is the reason why many today are reluctant to cry out and spare not, and to proclaim powerfully the true gospel of the Kingdom of God, as a witness. But it MUST, and WILL BE DONE, by God’s true Church, so that the end can come (Matthew 24:14).

Some claim today that they are in possession of the little book, or that they themselves have written it. This is utter nonsense! The little book was symbolic, containing knowledge about events that will come to pass. John was instructed not to reveal them—they had to be kept secret until the time of the end and the “days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound,” and “when the mystery of God would be finished” (Revelation 10:7; compare Daniel 12:9). But the little book itself was eaten by John—so how can anyone claim that he possesses it today?

Chapter 11 – The Temple of God

Revelation 11:1–2

In Revelation 11:1–2, John is asked to measure the temple of God, the altar and those who worship there, but to leave out the court, which is outside the temple, for it has been given to the Gentiles.

Does this mean that the Jews will build a temple in Jerusalem, prior to Christ’s return?

When we consider all of the Scriptures related to this topic, it appears very likely that a temple will be built in the near future, prior to Christ’s return.

A Physical Temple in Jerusalem Before Christ’s Return

When Christ was asked by His disciples what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age [of this present civilization] (Matthew 24:3), He referred to the “great tribulation” (verse 21) and, at that same time, “‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (verse 15; compare, too, Mark 13:14, adding, “where it ought not”). In Luke 21:20, in the parallel account, Christ is quoted as saying, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.”

The Abomination of Desolation

From these passages, we see that the abomination of desolation refers to foreign armies that will make Jerusalem a desolate place. But is this ALL that the term, “abomination of desolation” refers to? Christ pointed out that the prophet Daniel spoke about the “abomination of desolation.” He did do so on three occasions—in Daniel 9:27; 11:31 and 12:11. (An additional similar reference can be found in Daniel 8:13). The way those passages are worded, they seem to refer to more than just armies. Daniel 11:31 states that a king of the North shall muster forces, “and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and PLACE THERE the abomination of desolation.” Daniel 12:11 states: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is SET UP…”

These end-time prophecies predict that a future “king of the North” will invade Jerusalem and take away daily sacrifices—indicating that the Jews will, in the future, begin to bring again daily sacrifices in Jerusalem. It is true that the Jews do not need to have a temple to bring daily sacrifices (compare Ezra 3:6)—but this does not mean that the Jews will NOT build a temple, in order to bring daily sacrifices there.

Returning to the prophecy in Daniel 11:31, most commentaries agree that that particular passage refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, at least as a forerunner for another end-time fulfillment. As the Nelson Study Bible points out, “Antiochus polluted the altar by offering a sow upon it. He declared the daily sacrifices and other Mosaic ceremonies illegal and committed an abomination of desolation by erecting an image of Zeus in the holy place (9:27; 12:11). Jesus said a similar thing would happen just prior to His return (see Matt. 24:15).”

We should take note of the fact that at the time when the first “abomination of desolation” was set up, Antiochus overran Jerusalem with armies; did away with the daily sacrifices, which were brought AT THE TEMPLE; and erected an image of Zeus (or Jupiter) in the “holy place”—the TEMPLE.

Since the original abomination, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, involved the existence of a temple, it is reasonable to conclude that the final abomination of desolation will likewise involve an existing temple. Other biblical passages confirm this conclusion:

The Temple Will Be Measured

We read in Revelation 11:1–2 that an angel of God tells John: “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months [or 3-1/2 years].”

Some rightly point out that the term “temple” or “temple of God” in the New Testament can refer to God’s Church [compare Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17]. They claim that the reference in Revelation 11:1–2 speaks exclusively to the Church. Although the Church might be included here, the more obvious and intended meaning is a reference to a literal temple in Jerusalem. After all, the Gentiles will tread the holy city (!) underfoot for 3-1/2 years, and the court, which is outside the temple, will be given to those Gentiles. It is difficult to see how all of these references could just exclusively refer to the Church.

Also, a distinction is made in Revelation 11:1–2 between the temple and those who worship there. If the temple were meant to exclusively describe the Church, it would be difficult to determine who those would be who worship there.

The Nelson Study Bible comments: “John is given a reed like a measuring rod, much like that used by Ezekiel (see Ezek. 40: 3, 5) in his vision of the measuring of the temple (see Ezek. 40–48)… This is the temple of the tribulation period that will eventually be desecrated (see 13:14, 15; Dan. 9:27; Luke 21:24; 2 Thess. 2:4)… Luke 21:24 prophesies that the Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot until ‘the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’ Apparently the period of forty-two months is the conclusion of ‘the times of the Gentiles.’ ‘Gentile’ here may also be translated ‘nations’ (v. 9; 10:11).”

The Man of Sin in the Temple of God

Another Scripture that indicates the existence of a future temple in Jerusalem, just prior to Christ’s return, can be found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4. Paul writes:

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day [of Christ’s return] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

This “man of sin,” who is also called “the lawless one” in verses 8 and 9, is identified in the book of Revelation as “the false prophet” (compare, for example, Revelation 16:13; 19:20; also see Revelation 13:13–14). This religious figure will deceive people through “great signs” (Revelation 13:13; 19:20). We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 that the coming of the lawless one is “according to the working of Satan, with all power, SIGNS and lying wonders.” This false prophet will receive the power to do these things from none other than Satan and his demons (compare Revelation 16:13–14).

The Ryrie Study Bible comments:

“… the Antichrist [this is an incorrect designation—rather, the passage speaks about the false prophet] will desecrate the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem by placing himself there to be worshipped… This will be the climax of man’s great sin of self-deification, in open defiance of God.”

The Nelson Study Bible adds:

“The man of sin will proclaim himself to be divine and will sit in the temple of God, acting as if he were a god… The man of sin will probably stand in a physical temple in Jerusalem, and declare himself to be a god, the ultimate fulfillment of the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 7:23; 9:26, 27; 11:31, 36, 37; 12:11) and Jesus (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14)…”

The returning Christ will consume the man of sin “with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

More Biblical Evidence for a Physical Temple

An additional passage, which suggests that the Jews will build an end-time temple in Jerusalem just prior to Christ’s return, is Psalm 79:1–7. This is an end-time psalm, as verse 6 shows. God is asked to pour out His wrath on the nations—a reference to God’s pouring out of the end-time plagues of His wrath, as described in Revelation 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19. In this context, Psalm 79:1 says: “O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.”

Other prophetic references to a future temple in Jerusalem could perhaps be found in Ezekiel 8:5, 16, as well as in Ezekiel 9:1–7. All of these Scriptures are prophecies for the end-time, and they seem to refer to a physical temple and the abominations that will be practiced in it.

Finally, we find detailed descriptions of a future physical temple in Jerusalem in the book of Ezekiel, beginning in chapter 40. We know from those Scriptures that a literal temple will be in Jerusalem after Christ’s return. Ezekiel 40–46 does not tell us, however, when this future temple will be built. Is it possible that Ezekiel 40–46 describes the very same temple that the Jews will begin to build just prior to Christ’s return?

In conclusion, considering all of the Scriptures on the topic, it appears very likely that a temple will be built in Jerusalem just prior to Christ’s return.

Chapter 12 – The Two Witnesses

Revelation 11:3–12

We read in the 11th chapter of the book of Revelation that Jerusalem will be occupied by Gentiles for 42 months or 3-1/2 years or 1260 days (Revelation 11:1–3; compare Luke 21:23–24; Daniel 2:44). This Gentile rule will occur under two future political and religious leaders of the final resurrection of the ancient Holy Roman Empire. These political and religious leaders are also referred to in Scripture as the “beast” and the “false prophet” (Daniel 11:45; 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

We are told in Scripture that during that future time of Jerusalem’s occupation, “two witnesses” will prophesy for 1260 days or 3-1/2 years (compare Revelation 11:3). This will apparently happen at the same time when certain Church members will be at a “place of safety” here on earth to be protected from the beast and the false prophet (compare Revelation 12:14). The time frame for the testimony of the two witnesses of 1260 days or 3-1/2 years corresponds with “a time and times and half a time” or 3-1/2 years in Revelation 12:14, describing the duration of stay of Church members at the place of safety. (Please realize that one year has 360 days according to the Hebrew calendar, and that the term “time” means “year”, compare Daniel 4:16.)

These two witnesses are called in Revelation 11:4 “the two olive trees and the two lampstands.” This is an obvious reference to a passage in Zechariah 4:3, 11–14.

Over the years, there has been much speculation about the identity of the “two witnesses.” Some fanciful and some down-right ridiculous concepts have been advanced, and there have been people throughout history—it seems—who claim that they are one of the “two witnesses” or that they know who they are.

The truth is that it has not yet been revealed who the two witnesses are, or will be—and we strongly hold that those who may believe that THEY ARE the two witnesses are misled, and are misleading others!

Moses? Elijah? Enoch?

Some claim today (thereby inadvertently adopting the opinion of some confused Catholic “church fathers”) that the two witnesses are or will be ancient Moses and ancient Elijah or ancient Enoch, who will either be resurrected from the dead, or who have been kept alive for thousands of years in a state of “limbo”—not really being alive and not really being dead. Apparently, this latter concept is alluded to in the uninspired Book of Enoch—a Jewish legend and fairy tale, which has correctly been rejected as part of the inspired Word of God. Others feel that the two witnesses are two angels. However, there is absolutely NO indication in the Bible that any of these foregoing human ideas are accurate!

In this regard, note in Scripture that Moses died, that God buried him, and that his grave is unknown (Deuteronomy 34:5–6). Hebrews 11:23–29, 39–40 teaches that Moses will be resurrected from the dead at the time of Christ’s Second Coming—and not before then. This means that he cannot be one of the two witnesses. The same is obviously true, then, for Elijah and Enoch. As we discussed earlier in this booklet, Elijah and Enoch also died, and they await the resurrection from the dead. They are not one of the two witnesses.

What We DO Know From Scripture

Let us carefully review what CAN be safely said about the two witnesses, by reviewing God’s revealed Scriptures. Everything beyond that belongs in the realm of speculation, which is not revealed Godly knowledge at all, but is, instead, nothing more than human ideas and fabrications.

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown points out:

“They are described by symbol as ‘the two olive trees’ and ‘the two candlesticks,’ or lamp-stands, ‘standing before the God of the earth.’ The reference is to [Zechariah] 4:3, [Zechariah] 4:12, where two
individuals are meant, Joshua and Zerubbabel, who ministered to the Jewish Church, just as the two olive trees emptied the oil out of themselves into the bowl of the candlestick. So in the final apostasy God will raise up two inspired witnesses to minister encouragement…”

Even though it is true that the book of Zechariah might refer, in one sense, to Joshua and Zerubbabel who were alive at the time of Zechariah’s writing, both the books of Zechariah and of Revelation are primarily prophetic in nature.

Since the books of Zechariah and Revelation contain prophecies for our time, they cannot be used to prove that the two witnesses of the end time were alive at the time of Zechariah and John. They cannot be used, either, to prove that the two witnesses are Moses and Enoch or Elijah, whom God kept alive supernaturally in some unexplained way, because, as mentioned, we are clearly told that Moses and Enoch DIED (compare Hebrews 11:5, 13, 23–29, 39–40; Deuteronomy 34:7). To postulate that God will resurrect Moses and Enoch or Elijah to physical life again in these end-times, prior to Christ’s return, is without any biblical basis whatever.

For the same reason, the statements in the books of both Zechariah and Revelation about the two witnesses “standing” before God, cannot be used to prove that they are angels. We read in the 11th chapter of the book of Revelation that the beast or military ruler will kill the two witnesses, and that their dead bodies will lie in Jerusalem for 3-½ days (Revelation 11:7–10). Since they will be killed, they cannot be angels, as angels cannot die (Luke 20:35–36).

Unger’s Bible Handbook points out:

“Although the two witnesses are commonly identified as Moses and Enoch or Moses and Elijah, such identifications are scarcely tenable… These witnesses are evidently two members of the latter-day remnant. They are Christ’s witnesses… Their message is Christ’s lordship over the earth… proclaiming the soon coming of the King of kings to take possession of the earth… they are killed by the beast (head of the revived Roman Empire, Rev. 13:1–10; 17:8)… but not until they have completed their testimony…”

The Death and Resurrection of the Two Witnesses

Following their death, they will be resurrected and ascend to heaven in a cloud, at the end of the “second woe,” and at the beginning of the “third” and final “woe,” when the seventh angel sounds (Revelation 11:11–15, 19—compare Revelation 16:17–18; both passages speak about lightnings, noises, thunderings and an earthquake, showing that both passages describe the same event and the same time setting).

The resurrection of the two witnesses will take place, then, at the same time as the first resurrection of the just to immortality, when the seventh or last angel sounds (compare 1 Corinthians 15:51–52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 24:30–31). At that time, those who died in Christ will be resurrected to immortality, together with those in Christ who will still be alive and changed to immortality at that moment, and all of them will ascend “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This will include the two witnesses who were killed, but who will be resurrected 3-1/2 days later to immortality, and who will ascend “to heaven in a cloud” (Revelation 11:11–12) to meet the Lord in the air, together with all the other resurrected and changed saints.

What the Bible tells us is that at the very end, just prior to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, two extraordinary human beings will prophesy and warn this world for 3-1/2 years. During the time of their testimony, no one can harm them, as they will have supernatural protection and powers from God. Although the powers described remind us of acts performed by Moses and Elijah, “it is not necessary to assume that John expected them to return literally” (Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 12, page 303). Rather, they will be human beings, sent by God to give this world a last warning, going before the returning Christ “in the spirit and power of Elijah” and Moses (compare Luke 1:17).

Chapter 13 – The Dragon and the Woman

Revelation 12

The Dragon

Before Christ returns, some very important events will first have to take place; events that will affect the true Church of God. Revelation 12 begins to describe these events by referring first to a very ancient event—the rebellion of Lucifer, the “dragon,” and his angels against God. This rebellion occurred prior to Genesis 1:2 and prior to the creation of man. Note that an entire one-third of God’s holy angels followed Satan in this coup d’etat to dethrone God. Satan, who was originally called Lucifer, and his angels failed in that attempt, and the angels subsequently became known as demons (compare Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; Luke 10:18; Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4). (For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults,” and “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World”).

Lehman Strauss, The Book of Revelation, comments on Satan’s rebellion, as follows, on page 230:

“There is a mass of evidence… which demonstrates beyond doubt that there was a long interval between the first creation, described in the first sublime sentence of the Bible and the chaos of the second verse. It was during this interval that the war in Heaven was begun by Lucifer’s rebellion. God’s next revealed move was the creation of man…”

The Woman

The account in Revelation 12 continues to describe the “woman” giving birth to a Child, and the dragon’s unsuccessful attempt to kill the Child.

The woman is pictured as being clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a garland of 12 stars on her head (Revelation 12:1). In Genesis 37:9–11, Jacob and his wife Rachel, Joseph’s mother, are symbolized as the sun and the moon, and Joseph’s brothers are symbolized as eleven stars, bowing down to Joseph. It appears, therefore, to be very plausible that the TWELVE stars in Revelation 12:1 refer to the TWELVE tribes of Israel (including Joseph).

Revelation 12:2–5 refers to the fact that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ and that Satan attempted unsuccessfully to kill Christ through King Herod (Revelation 12:4; Matthew 2:13, 16).

We understand that the woman is, first of all, symbolic for Eve (Genesis 3:15); then for the Old Testament Church which would evolve from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Jacob’s TWELVE sons, and which would become known as the Church of Israel in the wilderness; then for Mary, the mother of Christ; and—subsequent to Christ’s ascension—for the New Testament Church of God (compare Matthew 25:1; Ephesians 5:22–32; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Galatians 4: 26).

Revelation 12:6 tells us that the woman—the New Testament Church—fled into the wilderness for 1,260 days. As mentioned earlier, when discussing Christ’s message to the seven churches, this has been understood as referring to prophetic days or YEARS. The Bible makes it clear that sometimes, “days” can refer to a corresponding number of “years.” The “day-for-a-year principle” is expressed, for example, in Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6. The true Church of God continued to exist, but it was not greatly noticed by the world during that period of about 1,260 years.

The Dragon’s Future Fight Against the Woman

Commencing with Revelation 12:7, events that will take place at the time of the end—still future—are being described. A new war is depicted between Satan and God—another demonic attempt to dethrone God. But Satan will fail again and will be cast back down to the earth, to subsequently persecute the woman with “great wrath” (Revelation 12:7–13).

While the woman has flown to her place of safety, here on earth, with two wings of a great eagle (compare Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 1:31; 32:11; Isaiah 63:9), to be nourished there for 3-½ years (Revelation 12:14), Satan will spew water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman. This might perhaps allude to an army or to a military force (compare Daniel 11:10; Jeremiah 47:2–3). The earth will open its mouth to help the woman (compare Numbers 16:31–32). All of this will happen on earth—not in heaven, as some who believe in the false concept of a secret rapture erroneously teach.

Satan will proceed to persecute others within the Church who will not be at the place of safety here on earth (those belonging to the prophetic “church of the Laodiceans,” compare Revelation 3:14–19, including 144,000 Israelites and the great multitude of Gentiles, mentioned earlier).

Chapter 14 – The Two Beasts

Revelation 13

In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, John sees two “beasts.” These are symbolic descriptions of powerful world empires.

The First Beast (Revelation 13:1–10)

Beginning with Revelation 13:1, John sees—in a vision—a fantastic beast rising up out of the sea, which has seven heads and ten horns, and on his head ten crowns. This reminds us of Satan’s description in Revelation 12:3 as “a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns…” Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon as Satan the devil. This shows that Satan is giving his power to the beast (compare Revelation 13:2, 4).

The beast with the seven heads and ten horns was like a leopard, with feet of a bear and a mouth of a lion (Revelation 13:2). In the book of Daniel, chapters 2, 5, 7 and 8, we are told that, beginning with the ancient Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, there would arise four world-ruling empires on this earth—the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 2:36), the Medo-Persian Empire under Cyrus, Xerxes and others (Daniel 5:28), the Greco-Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great and his generals (Daniel 8:20–21), and finally, a fourth Empire (Daniel 2:33; 7:7). In Daniel 7:3–24, these four empires or kingdoms are compared with a lion, a bear, a leopard with four heads, and a terrible beast with ten horns (Daniel 7:7).

Comparing these four beasts in the book of Daniel with the one beast in Revelation 13, we can see that the beast in Revelation is a conglomeration of those four beasts in Daniel. It has seven heads, because it combines the head of the lion, the head of the bear, the four heads of the leopard, and the head of the fourth beast with ten horns. Virtually all Bible scholars confirm the historical fact that this fourth beast was the Roman Empire. It was to be divided (Daniel 2:41). This division happened in 286 A.D. under Diocletian. By the fourth century, the Roman Empire had two capitals—one in Rome and one in Constantinople.

According to Daniel 7:24, ten kings were to arise out of the Roman Empire. This could either describe a simultaneous or co-existing one-time revival under the leadership of ten kings, or it could refer to ten successive revivals—one revival following the next over time. Comparing the passage in Daniel 7 with the beast in Revelation 13, and based on what actually occurred historically, we conclude that successive revivals are intended here—the beast or the Roman Empire would have ten successive resurrections or revivals. Revelation 17:8 confirms this—the beast described there, which is similar to the beast of Revelation 13, is described as one that “was, and is not, and will ascend…,” showing the successive nature of the revivals.

Revelation 13:3 explains that one of the seven heads of the beast would be mortally wounded and then be healed. This is a reference to the head of the fourth beast in the book of Daniel—the Roman Empire—which was all but destroyed, but which was subsequently healed or revived. None of the previous three empires or kingdoms in the book of Daniel were restored after they had been destroyed. They just ceased to exist. It was different, however, with the fourth beast—the Roman Empire. It would receive a deadly or mortal wound, but it would be healed.

The deadly wound refers to the fall of Rome in 476 A.D. But as we saw, that mortal wound would be healed. The ancient Roman Empire “died”—but it re-appeared again on the world scene in successive revivals.

The Ten Revivals of the Roman Empire

The first three resurrections or revivals of the Roman Empire after its fall occurred under Geiseric of the Vandals; Odoacer of the Heruli; and Theodoric of the Ostrogoths. But they did not yet “heal” the deadly wound. Rather, historians refer to these three initial revivals as the “transition age” of the Roman Empire. They temporarily “revived” the Roman Empire to an extent, but they did not bring it back to its earlier power and influence. All three leaders of these first three resurrections were followers of Arianism—a religion, which taught some truth, mixed with error. It held, correctly, that God is not a Trinity, but it denied, incorrectly, that Jesus Christ is God. (For more information, please read our free booklets, “Is God a Trinity?and “God Is a Family.”)

Arianism was later condemned by the Roman Church. Daniel 7:24 explains that a “little horn” would “subdue” three resurrections of the fourth beast—the Roman Empire. This is a reference to the Roman Church, which subdued Rome’s FIRST three resurrections under “barbarian” or “Arian” powers.

The actual “healing” of the deadly wound signifies the fourth resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire, which occurred in 554 A.D., when Justinian, who was heavily influenced by his Roman Catholic wife, defeated the Ostrogoths and marched into Rome. He united the Eastern and Western parts of the ancient Roman Empire and restored the entire Empire. Historians refer to this event as the “Imperial Restoration.”

The fifth resurrection occurred under Charlemagne in 800 A.D.; the sixth under Otto the Great in 962 A.D.; the seventh under Charles V of Hapsburg in 1530 A.D.; and the eighth under Napoleon (which lasted from 1804 A.D. until 1814 A.D., when Napoleon abdicated at the battle of Leipzig).

Following Napoleon, two more resurrections were to occur, as the fourth beast in Daniel 7 and the beast in Revelation 13 had TEN horns. The ninth resurrection happened under Mussolini and Hitler. We are observing right now the beginning of the tenth and final resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire in continental Europe (For more information of the ten successive revivals of the ancient Roman Empire, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”)

The Second Beast (Revelation 13:11–18)

Beginning with Revelation 13:11, John sees in vision a second beast coming up out of the earth. This second beast had two horns. It looked like a lamb (Jesus Christ is referred to as the Lamb of God throughout the New Testament, compare John 1:29), but it spoke like a dragon (Remember that Satan is identified as a dragon in Revelation 12:3, 9). This second beast is obviously a religious power, which is influenced by Satan, while pretending to speak on behalf of Christ. We read in 2 Corinthians 11:15 that Satan’s “ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness.” Jesus warned that many would come in His name, admitting that He was the Christ or Savior, and deceive many through their wrong teachings (compare Matthew 24:4–5).

This deception will be magnified by the fact that the second beast will be able to perform “great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do…” (Revelation 13:13–14).

As discussed before, we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11 about the end-time representative or leader of this second beast power, as follows: “The coming of the lawless one [the man of sin or son of perdition, who will claim to be God, verses 3 and 4] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them [that is, He will allow it] strong delusion, that they should believe the lie…”

The Image of the First Beast (Revelation 13:14)

We read in Revelation 13:14 that the second beast will make an “image” to the first beast, which we identified as the Roman Empire. This passage found its fulfillment, historically, when the religious power of the second beast patterned itself after—made an image of—the governmental and political structure of the worldly power—the first beast—when it became a state in Rome, called the Vatican State, which would make contracts or treaties with other worldly governments; which also would send out their ambassadors and emissaries; and which would even have an army, including the Swiss guards, which fought against “heretics” under the leadership of the Pope. It ultimately influenced and “inspired” the first beast to put to death those who would not worship and follow the dictates of the Catholic Church.

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible agrees, stating the following regarding the nature of the “image”:

“All that is stated here would be fulfilled if the old Roman civil power should become to a large extent dead, or cease to exert its influence over people, and if then the papal spiritual power should cause a form of domination to exist strongly resembling the former in its general character and extent, and if it should secure this result—that the world would acknowledge its sway or render it homage as it did to the old Roman government. This would receive its fulfillment if it be supposed that the first ‘beast’ represented the ancient Roman civil power as such; that this died away—as if the head had received a fatal wound; that it was again revived under the influence of the papacy; and that, under that influence, a civil government, strongly resembling the old Roman dominion, was caused to exist, depending for its vital energy on the papacy, and, in its turn, lending its aid to support the papacy.

“All this in fact occurred in the decline of the Roman power… In the empire which then sprung up, and which owed much of its influence to the sustaining aid of the papacy, we discern the ‘image’ of the former Roman power; the prolongation of the Roman ascendency over the world.”

Similarly, John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible:

“… the Roman empire… had received a deadly wound… but now revived in… the pope of Rome… the image made to this beast some understand of the translation of the empire to Charles the great, and his successors the emperors, by the pope of Rome, he ordaining so many electors to [choose] a king of the Romans, and elect an emperor when one was wanting; and this was an image to the first beast… for the power of inaugurating and crowning these emperors, and of setting up and deposing them when the pope pleased, lie reserved to himself…”

However, this passage is not just of historical application, but it also contains a prophecy for the immediate future. Many commentaries suggest, therefore, that the “image” might very well point at an ultimate literal fulfillment—and this even more so, as there have been isolated incidents in the past, which might serve as forerunners to a final all-encompassing deception.

We read in Revelation 13:15 that the image will speak and cause those to be killed who will not worship the image of the beast. In applying this statement figuratively and quite literally, John Gill writes:

“[This] may be understood either of the images of the virgin Mary, and other saints, which it is pretended, and the people are made to believe, that they do at times actually speak, and really weep and laugh, as it may serve their different purposes; or this image may be said to speak by the decrees, canons, anathemas, curses, threatenings, persuasions, doctrines, and blasphemies of the pope and his clergy… these are the known orders and decrees of the Papacy, which have been executed by the Inquisition, and other hands, in innumerable instances…”

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown adds the following:

“Charlemagne’s image was set up for homage; and the Pope adored the new emperor…’ Rome’s speaking images and winking pictures of the Virgin Mary and the saints are an earnest of the future demoniacal miracles of the false prophet in making the beast’s… image to speak.”

Lehman Strauss writes in “The Book of the Revelation”:

“The false prophet [the second beast] will attempt to lead the people to finance the erection of a great image in Jerusalem, thereby making Jerusalem the center of a world-wide religious system… How the image is made to speak, or what it says, is not revealed… When the image speaks, Jews and Gentiles, Roman Catholics and Protestants, wherever they are, will worship the image or be killed if they refuse.”

Whatever the exact meaning of the speaking image, it is clear that it describes a future worldwide demonic deception, causing all who won’t worship and obey the beast (Revelation 13:4, 8, 12) and its image (Revelation 13:15), to be killed.

Chapter 15 – The Mark of the Beast

Revelation 13:16–17

Revelation 13:16–17 explains that “the image” of the second (religious) beast will cause people to accept “a mark” of the first beast “on their right hand” or “on their foreheads.” Without it, they cannot buy or sell (compare Revelation 14:9).

This mark of the first beast is clearly associated in Scripture with the violation of God’s Sabbath commandment (compare Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:20; Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 58:13; Amos 8: 5; Exodus 16:23, 26; Exodus 31:15). In the Bible, the “right hand” is associated with work (Psalm 90:17; 137:5). The “forehead” is the seat of thoughts (Ezekiel 3:8; 9:4; Revelation 7:3).

We are told that the “little horn”—a reference to the Roman Catholic Church, as we have seen—would try to “change times and law” (Daniel 7: 25)—that is, God’s law regarding holy time. The Roman Church has changed the calendar in Europe, which identifies Sunday as the last day of the week, rather than the 7th-Day Saturday-Sabbath. It commands that Christians are to rest on Sunday, and it did command in the past that they were to work on Saturday. We will experience something similar very soon.

The “image” will influence the first beast—the final European revival of the ancient Roman Empire—to enjoin people to work on the Sabbath, while prohibiting to work on Sunday. As in the past, it will thereby “cause” the death of true Christians (compare Revelation 13:15).

It might be difficult to imagine that in this sophisticated time of reason and enlightenment, Sabbath-keeping Christians will actually be persecuted by European governments—at the instigation of a religious power—for keeping the Sabbath and refusing to work on that day. But we should not forget what happened less than 60 years ago in Europe to Jews and other “unpopular” religious groups. At that time, the government succeeded in persecuting many innocent victims, while powerful religious organizations stood idly by. In the future though, religion will actually play an active part in the persecution. As Satan will be behind this terrible persecution yet to come, we can rest assured that it WILL happen. More importantly, God has clearly prophesied in His Word that it will happen (compare Revelation 6:9–11; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2; see also Matthew 24:9–13).

God warns us not to worship the beast and his image, and not to receive his mark on our forehead and on our hand (Revelation 14:9). If we do, we will “drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation” (Revelation 14:10). On the other hand, true Christians, who are not protected at the place of safety, WILL be killed for their refusal to worship the beast and its image, and to receive the mark. But notice how Revelation 20:4, 6 describes their glorious future:

“… I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads and on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years… Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection… they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

Chapter 16 – 666 – The Number of the Beast

Revelation 13:18

Revelation 13:17 tells us that no one will be able to buy or sell if he does not have the mark or the name of the first (political and military) beast, or the number of his name. Verse 18 reveals that the famous “number of the beast” is the “number of a man.” We are told to “calculate” the number, which is 666. King Lateinos was the founder of Rome. In the Greek, every letter has a numerical value. The numerical value for “Lateinos” is 666. Therefore, the first beast is again clearly identified as the Roman Empire—the number 666 identifying the founder of the Roman Empire—Lateinos.

Although the designation “beast” in Revelation 13 describes the Roman Empire, it can also refer to the representative or ruler of the final revival or resurrection of that Empire (compare Revelation 16:13; 19:20). It is likely that the numerical value of the name of that final human leader of the revived Roman Empire—referred to as a MAN (compare again Revelation 13:18)—will also be 666.

Chapter 17 – The 144,000

Revelation 14

144,000 servants of God are mentioned in Revelation 14:1–5. They are depicted standing with Christ on Mount Zion, here on earth. The time setting is after Christ’s return. They sing a new song, a song that reaches God’s throne in heaven (verse 3), as do our prayers today (compare Revelation 5:8; 8:2–5). God has found no fault in them (Revelation 14:5). This description reminds us of Christ’s message to the angel of Philadelphia (compare Revelation 3:7–12). Both have the Father’s name written on their foreheads (Revelation 14:1; Revelation 3:12). Note, however, that Revelation 14 does not say that these 144,000 are the only ones who will be in the first resurrection. Revelation 14:4 points out that the 144,000 are “firstfruits,” but it does not say that they are “the” firstfruits or the “only” firstfruits.

The 144,000 in Revelation 14 might perhaps be the same group of 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7. Most commentaries suggest this, but we cannot be totally certain.

For instance, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible states in regard to the 144,000 in Revelation 14: “These are evidently the same persons that were seen in the vision recorded in Rev. 7:3–8…”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible points out: “and with him an hundred forty and four thousand; the same with those in Rev. 7:3…”

The New Bible Commentary: Revised, states: “The identity of the 144,000 seems determined by 7:1–8… John would hardly represent two different groups by such an extraordinary…. number, especially when he adds that both companies bear the mark of God in their foreheads…”

The Broadman Bible Commentary writes: “This group bears the mark as the 144,000 of 7:4–8 and is probably the same.”

Although it appears possible or even probable that the two groups of 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14 are identical, we need to wait for God’s clear revelation to us as to who, exactly, the 144,000 in Revelation 14 will be.

Chapter 18 – The Torment of the Wicked

Revelation 14:9–11

Does the Bible, particularly a passage in Revelation 14:9–11, teach that the wicked will be tormented forever in hell fire?

Revelation 14:9–11 reads:

“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast [an end-time political leader, as well as the political system that he represents] and his image [made by an end-time religious system, as well as by a religious leader representing that system] and receives his mark on his forehead or on his head [permitting or preventing him to buy and sell, Revelation 13:16–17], he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb [Jesus Christ]. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Most commentaries teach that this passage describes the never-ending torment of wicked souls in an eternal hell fire. The Nelson Study Bible, in altering the literal wording of the passage, states:

“A third angel announces with a loud voice the tragic eternal destiny of the one who rejects the offer of the gospel (vv. 6,7) and worships the beast (ch. 13)… In the just outworking of God’s wrath, unbelievers who worship the beast will be tormented… forever and ever, with no rest day or night.”

No Everlasting Torment of the Wicked

However, reading the passage carefully, it does not say that the wicked will be “tormented… forever and ever.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary discusses the problems with such an interpretation. It states, in volume 12, on page 320:

“The greatest problem of interpretation in this passage is the apparent vindictiveness. Christian interpreters have regarded it as sub-Christian reflecting the stress of the time but impossible to reconcile with the teaching of Jesus. Some reject its obvious implications since such endless and horrible suffering could serve no good purpose and offer no prospect of release… Others see the language as dealing with ultimate realities and prefer a literal interpretation. Their case merely points out that man has brought this judgment on himself. Others believe that if there are those who resist God’s love finally, they, with Hades and Death, will be thrown into the lake of fire (20:14ff), which is ‘extinction and total oblivion.’”

The last interpretation comes closer to the truth than the others. But even it misunderstands, apparently, that the passage in Revelation 14:11 does NOT talk about the final fate of the wicked.

As we point out in our booklets,Do You Have an Immortal Soul,” and “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” and as will be discussed in detail in this chapter of the booklet,there is NO ever-burning hell fire, NOR will the wicked be tormented for all eternity. Rather, they will be BURNED UP in the THIRD resurrection—that is, after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment period (compare Revelation 20:4–15).

The passage in Revelation 14:11 does not talk about that specific time period. It refers to the coming of Jesus Christ and the time when people will worship the beast and receive its mark. All of this will occur BEFORE the Millennium.

What IS the Meaning of Revelation 14:11?

One key point is to realize what it says and what it does not say. It DOES say that the SMOKE of their torment will ascend forever and ever. It DOES NOT say that THE WICKED will be tormented forever and ever. Rather, the wicked will be burned up in fiery plagues, and it is their smoke—evidence that the fire has done its work—which ascends forever and ever. Smoke results from something burned. This indicates that they were consumed and that all that remains is smoke. We also read in Malachi 4:3 that the ASHES of the wicked will be under the feet of the righteous. Psalm 37:20 tells us that the wicked shall “perish”—“into smoke they shall
vanish away.” It is not the punishment of the fire, but the result of that punishment, which is being addressed in Revelation 14:11.

What “Forever” Means…

We also need to understand that the biblical expression “forever” does not have to mean “for all eternity.” The words are often a translation from the Hebrew “olam” and the Greek “aion” or “aionios,” meaning “age,” or “age-lasting” (compare Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible). In Revelation 14:11, the Greek words translated as “for ever and ever” mean, according to Young’s, “to ages of ages.” The Englishman’s Greek New Testament translates this verse as follows: “And the smoke of their torment goes up to ages of ages…”

We read in Exodus 21:6 that the servant would belong to his master “forever.” Here, the word describes a relationship that would last until the death of either the master or the servant. In 1 Samuel 1:22, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, took him up to the temple to remain there forever. Verse 28 explains that this meant, “as long as he lives.”

In Jonah 2:6, the term “forever” describes the time span of “three days and three nights,” as made clear in Jonah 1:17. Jonah, when in the belly of the sea monster, prayed about the earth with her bars being about him forever. What he was actually saying here is that as long as he was in that particular situation, the earth was about him.

Jude 7 speaks of the vengeance of eternal fire that burned Sodom and Gomorrah, though these cities are not still burning nor are the people still suffering that vengeance. The fire only burned for a while. An “aeonian fire” does not refer to a fire that never goes out. After it completely destroyed and obliterated those ancient cities, it burned itself out when there was nothing else left to consume. The smoke from that fire ascended for a while. It is not still ascending today. Jesus shows that the people in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be resurrected in a period of judgment yet future (compare Matthew 10:15).

The people worshipping the political and religious leaders of the end-time Babylonian system will be tormented “forever”—that is, until they die. They “have no rest day or night,” as long as they are alive and remain part of that system falling under God’s wrath; that is, before they are destroyed by the fiery plagues of God’s last seven bowls judgment (Revelation 16:1–21).

The Smoke of Their Torment

The smoke of their torment will ascend for a while—as long as the necessary conditions exist to allow smoke from burned bodies to ascend. This does not mean that burned wicked souls will be tormented for all eternity. We read that the smoke from the Babylonian system—and from the city of modern Babylon, which is built on seven hills (Revelation 17:18, 9)—will rise up “forever and ever” (Revelation 19:3—based on the Greek, it should say, according to Young’s and the Englishman’s Greek New Testament, “to the ages of the ages”). Babylon “will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her” (Revelation 18:8). The kings of the earth “will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment” (verses 9–10). This is a reference to the smoke from buildings, but the fire won’t burn for all eternity. In fact, we read that the great city of Babylon (verse 10) “shall not be found anymore” (verse 21).

Likewise, we read in Isaiah 34:9–10, that the smoke from the land of Edom will “ascend forever”—that is, until the fire has burned up all consumable material. As in the case of the burned cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, that fire of Edom will not burn for all eternity.

The unrepentant wicked will ultimately be burned up. That will happen AFTER the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. However, the passage in Revelation 14:11 does not address that time period. It merely serves as a forerunner and a warning. Most people who will worship the false political and religious system of Babylon, as well as its human representatives, won’t fully comprehend what they will be doing—they will not commit the unpardonable sin leading to the second death, from which there will be no resurrection (Revelation 20:14–15; 21:8). Rather, God will bring them back to life in a Second Resurrection, when the gravity of their wrong conduct will be revealed to them, and when they will be given an opportunity to repent and accept God’s Way of Life.

An Ever-Burning Hell?

This prompts the question, however: Does the rest of the Bible teach the existence of an ever-burning hell fire in which wicked souls are tormented for all eternity? Do the wicked go to hell?

The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. The Bible does not teach the existence of an ever-burning hell where the wicked souls of departed ones are tortured continually for their evil deeds.

Origin of the Idea of an Ever-Burning Hell

The concept of an ever-burning hellfire is derived from paganism. Richard Craze explains in his book, “Hell, An Illustrated History of the Netherworld,” copyrighted 1996:

“… the old horned gods of the Stone Age people became the new rulers of hell. There was a sort of logic in locating the place of the dead below ground—the underworld—because that was exactly where the dead were buried… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed Hel’s name [the goddess Hel ruled over the place of the “lost souls” in Viking mythology] for their own place of punishment… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed heavily from earlier mythologies, and the generally accepted appearance of Satan is an amalgamation of such things as the horns and shaggy hindquarters of the Greek god Pan, the wings of the Mesopotamian devil Pazuzu, and the scales and dragon skin of the Persian Azhidaahaka…

“The Greeks borrowed freely from the Babylonians… Pluto, Zeus’ brother, governed [hell] with a merciless severity and subjected his poor guests to the most ingenious tortures… [Others] were consigned to the deep bottomless pit… ruled by Kronos. Here they would suffer eternal torment… sinners were tortured for eternity… The Romans knew exactly where hell was located—underneath Italy. Everything else they borrowed from the Greeks.”

The author also points out: “… it was the Synod of Bishops in Constantinople in 543 that… set the seal on hell, when they decreed that ‘if anyone shall say or even think that there is an end to the torment of… ungodly persons, or that there ever will be an end to it, then let them be excommunicated.’ And they promptly excommunicated Origen, an early Church father, for saying that he thought hell was finite.”

Origin of the Concept of Limbo and Purgatory

In addition, the Bible does not teach the concepts of “limbo” or “purgatory,” either. These concepts have their origin in pagan mythologies, as well.

Craze points out these most incredible facts:

“The early [nominal] Christians… introduce[d] the concept of a sort of waiting-room, where souls would stay for [a while]. They found a ready-made idea—limbo—that they freely borrowed from the Romans, who had borrowed it from the Greeks. Limbo became a place where anyone who did not quite fit could be put… Purgatory… was a cross between limbo and hell… Jesus’ mother, the Virgin Mary, was called back from heaven, where she had been asleep (the Dormition). She was given the keys of hell to look after, and the running of the purgatory. She does not administer any punishments—in fact, her main job seems to be protecting the souls of the sinners from the wrath of her son [Jesus Christ!!!]. Purgatory became a sort of temporary hell—but one from which sinners could be rescued.”

However, the Bible does not teach the concepts of limbo, purgatory or of an ever-burning hell.

The Gehenna Fire

It is true that the New Testament speaks about a fiery place, which is translated in some English Bibles as, “hell.” The Greek word for this place is “gehenna.” It does not, however, describe an ever-burning hell, as commonly understand by many. Craze explains:

“Gehenna—the place of fire. It is probable that it was named after the place just outside Jerusalem where the household rubbish, including the bodies of criminals and animals, was burnt.”

Gehenna, which designates the valley of Hinnom, is located outside Jerusalem. Trash, animal carcasses and even the dead bodies of criminals were thrown into that fire to be burned up. The Bible applies the concept of that Gehenna fire to the fire awaiting the wicked to destroy them. That fire is referred to in many places as the “lake of fire” or the second or final death (compare Revelation 20:14). The wicked will be thrown into that “hell fire” to be burned up and destroyed—they will not be tortured for ever and ever. The act of their extinction will occur with sudden finality, and the wicked will quickly perish with only a brief comprehension of their empty fate!

The Nelson Study Bible states: “The imagery of hell (frequently called gehenna) comes from a garbage dump outside the walls of Jerusalem. Jesus’ hearers were familiar with the smoldering fires that always burned there.”

Fate of the Wicked

Please note the following excerpts from our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?,” addressing the concept of a fiery hell:

“The word ‘gehenna’ and the very concept of it are derived from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which the corpses of dead people, mainly criminals, would be burned up. It is another expression for the ‘lake of fire’ in Revelation 20:15, in which all who have acted wickedly, and who have refused to repent, will be thrown into, to be burned up or ‘devoured.’ (Remember that Hebrews 10:27… tells us that the wicked wait for God’s fiery indignation that will ‘devour’ them.). That is the ‘hell’ or the ‘gehenna’ fire that Christ is talking about… —‘the second death’ from which there will be no resurrection.

“Those who sin deliberately, willfully and maliciously, God will resurrect to physical life [please note that they were dead—not in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory—and that they had to be brought back from death to physical life] to throw them—their physical body and their soul or their ‘life’—into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13–15; 21:8). They won’t burn there forever—rather, they will be burned up. They are the ‘chaff,’ that will be ‘burned up’ with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12)—that is, no human can quench it. Notice that this fire will ultimately even burn up or bring to dissolution ‘heaven and earth,’ so that a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ can be created by God (2 Peter 3:10–13).

“The wicked, such as the rich man in Christ’s parable in Luke 16, will not burn forever and ever, for all eternity, in an everlasting hell fire, but they will be ‘burned up’ (cp. again Matthew 3:12). The Greek word for ‘burned up’ is ‘katakaio’—conveying the meaning that nothing of what is burned up will remain. We read in Revelation 18:8 that modern Babylon ‘shall be utterly burned with fire.’ The word for ‘utterly burned’ is, again, ‘katakaio’ in the Greek. And we are told that ‘that great city Babylon [will] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ (Revelation 18:21). In the same way, the wicked, such as the rich man in Luke 16, that are [brought back to life from the dead and then] thrown into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire [called the SECOND death!], will be ‘burnt up’—they ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up… that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Malachi 4:1). They will become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3); it will be as if they had never existed (Obadiah 16).”

Fire Won’t Be Quenched

But what did Christ mean when He warned us in Mark 9:43–48 that the wicked would go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched, where “Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched”?

Note that Jesus does not say that the fire will burn forever, and that it will never go out. He said that it would not and could not be “quenched”—that is, nobody would (be able to) put it out as long as there was fuel to keep it burning. Once there is no more fuel, it will cease to burn.

The same terminology is used throughout the Bible for fire—or God’s wrath burning like a fire—but this does not mean that that fire or the wrath of God will burn forever. It burns as long as there is reason or “fuel” to burn. Note Jeremiah 4:4: “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.” Compare, too, Jeremiah 21:12 and Amos 5:6.

We also read that God’s wrath, even though no one can quench it, will not “burn” forever. Psalm 30:5 says: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life.” And Micah 7:18 adds: “He does NOT retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.”

God uses the same terminology of “unquenchable fire” for the ancient destruction of Jerusalem at the time of Jeremiah. We read God’s words in Jeremiah 17:27: “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”

We read that this prophecy came to pass in the days of King Zedekiah of Judah, when King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem under his captain Nebuzaradan. We read in 2 Kings 25:9 that he “burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.”

But that fire is not burning any more today. Jerusalem was rebuilt. It existed at the time of Jesus. The fire was never quenched, that is, deliberately put out, but it went out on its own when there was no longer any fuel to keep it burning.

The same is true for the future Gehenna fire—the lake of fire. We read that it will ultimately engulf and burn up the surface of the entire earth—we are told that “both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). In fact, even the “heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (verse 12). But after that, God will create “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (verse 13). At that time, there will be no more burning lake of fire, because nothing will exist anymore which needs to be burned. Revelation 21:4 tells us that at that time, there will be “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain.”

The Gehenna fire will apparently be burning throughout the time of the Millennium, the Great White Throne Judgment and the Third and Final Resurrection to “damnation” or “the final destruction” of the wicked.

“Their Worms Won’t Die”

Why does Jesus say that during that time, the worms of the wicked will not die?

Again, Christ uses language pertaining to the fire of Hinnom, which was burning outside Jerusalem, to illustrate a point. When some animal or body of dead criminals caught on the ledges below the rim, it would be devoured by “worms” or maggots. However, the maggots would not live forever—they would develop into flies. Those flies would deposit new eggs, and maggots would hatch from these eggs, eat the flesh, continue in the larval form for a few days, go through a metamorphosis and emerge as flies.

Nothing would exterminate the maggots—as nothing or no one would extinguish or quench the fire. But without fuel to burn or without flies to deposit new eggs, the fire would go out and maggots would cease to develop. Technically, Christ’s point is well taken, as maggots, in fact, did not die—they developed into flies—which would ultimately die. But His spiritual application is much more telling: The fate of the unrepentant wicked is inescapable. As no one quenched the fire or prevented maggots from developing into flies, so no one can change the fate of the unrepentant sinner.

Jesus quoted from a future prophecy in Isaiah 66:24, which says: “And they shall go forth and look Upon the CORPSES of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” Please note that the “worms” or maggots are those developing on the corpses of dead people—they are NOT the dead people themselves.

The Broadman Bible Commentary agrees, stating as follows: “Hell with its unquenchable fire is ‘Gehenna’… Gehenna historically was a valley at the western edge of Jerusalem. Used at one time by worshippers of Molech as a place where their sons or daughters were offered in sacrifice, the valley was defiled during King Josiah’s religious reformation… Since that time it had been used as a dump for all kinds of refuse. Therefore it was correctly described as a place where maggots continually fed and multiplied (‘their worm does not die’) and where fire was always smoldering (‘the fire is not quenched.’).”

The wicked will be burned up in a temporary gehenna fire, to die the SECOND death, from which there will be no further resurrection to life (Revelation 20:14–15; 21:8). They will not be tortured forever and ever in an eternal hell fire, without ever being destroyed. We need to understand, too, that those who will be burned up will have committed the unpardonable sin. As it is true in regard to the concept of “hell,” very few have a proper understanding of what the “unpardonable sin” really is.

To learn more about the future of those who will be burned up in gehenna fire, because they have committed the unpardonable sin, as well as the fate of all of those who have died, please read our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?

Chapter 19 – The Woman Riding the Beast

Revelation 17:1–18

In Revelation 17, John sees a fallen woman who sits on a scarlet-colored beast with seven heads and ten horns. There can be little doubt what Revelation 17 describes. As we explain in our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy,” and as we will discuss more fully in this chapter, the scarlet-colored beast on which the woman sits depicts the last seven revivals of the ancient Roman Empire.

The Fallen Woman or Harlot

In biblical terminology, a religious entity is many times depicted as a woman. The true Church of God is identified as a woman (Revelation 12:6, 13–17); a virgin (2 Corinthians 11:2); and the wife of Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:7). Likewise, Christ’s true followers are identified as “virgins” (Matthew 25:1; Revelation 14:4). This will be discussed in more detail later in this booklet.

However, the woman who sits on the scarlet-colored beast is a FALLEN rich woman who has committed “fornication” with the inhabitants of the earth (Revelation 17:2; compare also verse 4, and Revelation 18:3, 9). She is identified as “the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication” (Revelation 19:2). In biblical terminology, she is a fallen church, pretending to be the true Church of God, but, instead, persecuting Christ’s true disciples.

The woman is called, in verse 5, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth.” This fallen church is called the “Mother Church,” which has “daughter churches.” We are told in verse 6 that the woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

Verse 18 explains: “And the woman whom you saw is that GREAT CITY which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

The Great City on Seven Hills

Again, in Revelation 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21, Babylon is identified as a prosperous and wealthy “great city” and a “mighty city” (compare, too, Revelation 14:8). Revelation 18:23 adds that by “your sorcery all the nations were deceived,” and Revelation 19:2 speaks of the judgment of the woman “who corrupted the earth with her fornication.”

With this background, let us read Revelation 17:9, which says: “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.”

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, the Greek word for “mountain,” “oros,” means “mountain” or “hill” (see Strong’s No. 3733).

Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible agrees, defining the Greek word used in Revelation 17:9 as “mountain, mount, hill.”

This same word is used in Matthew 5:14, where Christ says: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a HILL cannot be hidden.” It is also translated as “hill” in Luke 4:29.

The New English Bible translates Revelation 17:9, as follows: “The seven heads are seven HILLS…” So do the Revised English Bible; the New International Version; the New American Bible; the Moffat Translation of the Bible; the Jewish New Testament, by David Stern; and a German Bible translation, “Die Gute Nachricht.”

The New Jerusalem Bible states: “The seven heads are THE seven hills…”

The Living Bible gives the following interpretation of the verse: “And now think hard: his seven heads represent a certain city built on seven hills where the woman has her residence.”

Verse 10 explains that the seven mountains or hills symbolize seven kings—seven military and political rulers. They describe the seven last resurrections of the ancient Roman Empire—with the last king or revival of the Roman Empire still to appear in the near future.

But remember that the woman is also identified as a CITY, which sits on seven mountains or hills.

Some Catholic and Protestant commentaries grasp for an explanation of this passage, which is different from the most obvious one (discussed below), because they realize that the passage is speaking about them. If they were to give the intended meaning of the passage, they would indict themselves as deserving of Godly judgment. Others accept the obvious explanation (discussed below), but claim that it has only historical relevance, without any meaning for us today or our immediate future. However, Revelation 17 is a prophecy, culminating, in Revelation 19, in the return of Christ—something, which has not yet happened.

So, then, what is the OBVIOUS explanation of Revelation 17:9? Which RELIGIOUS city is built on seven mountains or hills?

Identity of the Great City

Some few commentaries claim that the city described is Jerusalem. But this explanation makes no sense, neither historically, nor prophetically. As Stan Lindsay accurately explains in “The Human Drama,” on page 91:

“The most problematic passage in identifying Babylon as Jerusalem is Revelation 17:9, which says that the seven heads of the beast are seven mountains upon which the woman sits. This has been taken almost universally as a reference to Rome’s origin on seven hills. While topographically Jerusalem might be divided into seven hills, utilizing important ‘mounts’ that are inside and outside of the city walls, it would sound contrived. The seven hills almost certainly signify Rome.”

As mentioned by Lindsay, this is the overwhelming consensus of most biblical commentaries, and for valid and correct reasons, as we will see.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible explains:

“As the woman is a city… these seven mountains, on which she sits, must be so many mountains on which the city is built; and what city can this be but Rome, which is so famous for being built on seven hills? This is taken notice of by Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Claudian, Starius, Martial, and others; and indeed there is scarce a poet that speaks of Rome but observes it: hence it has been sometimes called, by writers, the seven hilled city, and sometimes Septiceps, the seven headed city, which comes near to the language here: the names of the seven mountains were these, Capitolinus, Palatinus, Aventinus, Esquilinus, Coelius, Viminalis, and Quirinalis; the four first of these were taken in by Romulus, the first founder of it, and the three last by Servius Tullius, when he enlarged it; and upon the addition of the seventh mountain there was a feast kept, called Septimontium; and which was kept in seven places in the city; and was annually observed; and in this situation it was in John’s time; for Pliny, who was contemporary with him, expressly says, that in his time it took in seven mountains; and that this refers to a city in John’s time, then reigning over the kings of the earth, is certain…

“Now there was no imperial city, so built in his time, but Rome… and this confirms that the beast before spoken of, on whom the woman sat, is the Roman empire, since she is here said to sit on the seven mountains, on which Rome, the metropolis of that empire, was built…”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible states: “Seven mountains—the seven hills on which Rome stands…”

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible agrees: “The seven heads are seven mountains—Referring, undoubtedly, to Rome—the seven-hilled city—Septicollis Roma.”

He adds, in his comments to Revelation 12:3: “Rome was built, as is well known, on seven hills… and was called the seven-hilled city (Septicollis)… Tertullian: ‘I appeal to the citizens of Rome, the populace that dwell on the seven hills’ (Apol. 35). And again, Jerome to Marcella, when urging her to quit Rome for Bethlehem: ‘Read what is said in the Apocalypse of the seven hills.’…”

Halley’s Bible Handbook points out:

“This description of Babylon the Great Harlot, Seated on the Seven-Headed Ten-Horned Beast, while it may have ultimate reference to a situation yet to appear, Exactly fits Papal Rome. Nothing else in World History does fit.”

Unger’s Bible Handbook states:

“The revived Roman Empire with its end-time emperor (the beast) appears as the agent of the harlot’s destruction… The revival of the Roman power under the beast will occasion great wonder and deception… The woman (ecclesiastical Babylon) has her headquarters in the beast’s capitol… which is the seven-hilled city of Rome… He rules over a ten-kingdom federation… and makes war against the Lamb… The harlot who has dominated and exploited the peoples of the earth… and who has ridden into last-day power on the beast, shall find the beast turning against her at the end to utterly destroy her… Destruction is her judgment… because of her evil desire to dominate earthly rulers for her own selfish and deceptive interests.”

Dave Hunt, “A Woman Rides the Beast,” quotes the “Catholic Encyclopedia” on page 67, as follows: “‘It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of the Vatican State proper is now confined.’’’

The Ryrie Study Bible adds: “…the name [Babylon] here seems to be a symbolic reference to Rome… In chapter 17 Babylon represents the false religious system that will center in Rome during the tribulation period. In chapter 18 it represents more the political and commercial aspect of the revived Roman Empire… Thus the term stands both for a city and for a system (religious and commercial) related to the city (much like ‘Wall Street,’ which is both a place and a system).”

The Nelson Study Bible states: “The seven heads of the beast… symbolize both seven mountains and seven kings. Since the word mountains also means ‘hills’… most interpreters understand this as referring to the seven hills along the Tiber River, a well-known designation of the city of Rome. However, seven mountains may also refer to successive world empires…”

The New Scofield Reference edition points out: “There are two forms which Babylon is to have in the end-time: political Babylon… and ecclesiastical Babylon… Political Babylon is the beast’s confederated empire, the last form of Gentile world dominion. Ecclesiastical Babylon is all apostate Christendom, in which the Papacy will undoubtedly be prominent; it may very well be that this union will embrace ALL RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD.”

Lehman Strauss writes in “The Book of the Revelation,” pages 295–301: “The Babylon of the Revelation is an apostate religious system clearly identifiable with all of Christendom, with papal Rome taking the lead in its formation… the world might applaud such a union, but we may be certain God is not in it… We are not surprised, then, when we see men and women of various religious faiths making pilgrimages to Rome to see a man who has been exalted as ‘the holy father,’ ‘the voice of God,’ and then bowing down to him as though he were a god.

“The Roman Catholic Church is playing her most strategic role in world affairs. Never before has she wooed and won so many devotees of other religions… Rome is known as the seven-hilled city… Here then is a prophecy referring to papal Rome, not history referring to pagan Rome… The wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations combined adds up to many billions of dollars… Students of ancient coins remind us that the coin of Vespasian represents Rome seated on seven hills. The Roman Catholic Church itself, in the Confraternity Edition of the New Testament (new edition, New York, 1963, page 337), claims that Rome is Babylon.”

Strauss also states the following about the woman riding the beast, on pages 292, 295: “Since the late Pope John ascended the papal throne, there has been a growing movement toward the merging of all religions into a world church…”

Remember that the woman which rides the beast, and which is called “Babylon the Great,” is depicted as a “harlot” (Revelation 17:16). She is also the “mother of harlots” (Revelation 17:5), implying that she, as the “mother church,” has “daughter churches.” She has made the inhabitants of the earth spiritually “drunk” with the “wine” or teachings of “her fornication” or doctrines which are not pure and true (Revelation 17:2). Rather, she is teaching the ancient Babylonian Mystery Religion (Revelation 17:5). The woman is responsible for the martyrdom of the saints of God (Revelation 17:6).

In conclusion, any honest evaluation of Revelation 17:9, in its context, must admit to the fact that John is describing, in prophetic terms, an end-time religious system, which is centered in the seven-hilled city of papal Rome, influencing and dominating the peoples of this world.

The Scarlet-Colored Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns

Chapters 17 and 18 of the book of Revelation need to be read together with Revelation 13. We have already discussed the events depicted in Revelation 13. We pointed out that the first beast, which is described in Revelation 13 as having seven heads and ten horns, identified past military and economic resurrections, as well as one future resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire in continental Europe.

We explained that the second beast, which is also described in Revelation 13 and which made an “image” to the first beast, is identified as a religious power. It is depicted as working hand in hand with some of the political and military resurrections or revivals of the first beast. We showed that the first “beast” can describe the revived Roman system, as well as the respective leader of that system, including the last leader of the final revival of the Roman Empire—which is yet future.

Seven Heads and Ten Horns

In chapter 17, a woman is described, riding a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns (verse 3). We discussed the passage in Revelation 17:9, 18, which states that the woman is a city that is built on seven mountains or hills.

The seven heads of the beast in Revelation 17 are identified as seven kings or kingdoms (Revelation 17:10). The ten horns are ten kings or kingdoms, but they are obviously different from the seven heads or kings. While the seven heads depict seven successive resurrections, the ten horns depict simultaneous rulership. The ten kings will, at the very end, receive power, together with the beast—the final military leader—“for one hour” (Revelation 17:12). The beast and the ten kings will make war with the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Revelation 17:14). These ten kings are identical with the ten toes in Daniel 2:34, 41–45, which toes will be destroyed by Jesus Christ, the stone in Daniel’s vision (Daniel 2:34, 45). The ten kings, then, are ten still future national rulers or nations, which will place themselves under the leadership of a mighty political personage, the beast. This will be the final “resurrection” of the Roman Empire.

Seven Last Revivals of the Ancient (Holy) Roman Empire

The seven heads of the beast, which are also identified as kings or kingdoms, are the seven LAST resurrections of the Roman Empire. We know this, because the woman only sat on the last seven resurrections, not on the first three ones (Remember, as we discussed, the little horn in Daniel 7:24, which is identical with the woman in Revelation 17, subdued the first three of the ten resurrections).

Six of those seven last resurrections, under the influence of the woman, have already happened. Recall from our previous discussion of the first beast in Revelation 13 that six of the last seven resurrections have already occurred, historically.

They were:

(1) The Imperial Restoration in 554 A.D. under Justinian. This occurred at the behest of the Roman pontiff or pope, especially Pope Pelagius and, to a lesser extent, previous Pope Vigilius;

(2) The Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne. He was crowned in 800 A.D. by Pope Leo III. His empire was called the “Holy Roman Empire”;

(3) The German Empire under Otto the Great. He was crowned in 962 A.D. by Pope John X. His empire was called the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”;

(4) The German-Austrian Empire under Charles V. of Hapsburg. He was crowned in 1530 by Pope Clemens VII;

(5) The French Empire under Napoleon the Great. He was crowned in 1804 by Pope Pius VII; and

(6) The comparatively insignificant Italian-German resurrection under Mussolini and Hitler (compare Revelation 17:10–11. Although this resurrection existed when God’s Church understood the meaning of this prophecy at the time of the late Herbert W. Armstrong [Revelation 17:10: “one IS”], it was very insignificant, so that it is also characterized as not existing [Revelation 17:11: “is NOT”].)

Neither Mussolini nor Hitler were crowned by a Pope (as Justinian had not been, either); nevertheless, a close partnership existed between the Catholic Church under Pope Pius XII and Italy and Germany. This partnership can be seen by Mussolini’s signing the Lateran Treaty with the papacy in 1929, establishing papal sovereignty of the Vatican City, affirming Roman Catholicism as the only religion of Italy and, in turn, having the papacy officially recognize Mussolini as the rightful Italian governor. Further, the Vatican signed a concordat with Hitler in 1933, protecting the rights of the Church under Nazi regime and giving Hitler’s government an outward semblance of legitimacy.

(7) The last or tenth resurrection of the Roman Empire, or the seventh resurrection of the “Holy” Roman Empire under religious control, is still ahead of us. It will consist of ten European nations—ten core nations of a United States of Europe. It will be short-lived, and, in the end, the political European rulers will “hate” the woman, which is quite wealthy (compare Revelation 17: 4), “eat her flesh and burn her with fire” (Revelation 17:16).

Lehman Strauss writes in “The Book of Revelation,” on pages 297, 301, 302: “The ‘ten horns’ represent the ten confederated kingdoms, the revived Roman Empire… Here, then, is the revived Roman Empire, the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream image, to arise just prior to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth (Daniel 2:41–44)… The ten horns, the federated states of Europe, that great political power, turn against the harlot with hatred.”

As we have seen, all of the resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire are pictured in the 17th chapter of the book of Revelation as a woman riding a beast with seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads of the beast signify seven resurrections of the “Holy Roman Empire”—six of which have already occurred—and the ten horns point at a still future event: the rule of ten end-time European nations or groups of nations. These united ten European nations or groups of nations will give their authority to “the beast”—a powerful end-time political leader (Revelation 17:13). The woman who is sitting on the beast is also called Babylon the Great. It is identified in the 17th chapter of the book of Revelation as a religious entity—“that great city which REIGNS OVER the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18). It is sitting on seven mountains or hills (verse 9).

Therefore, the Bible does reveal that the final revival of the ancient Holy Roman Empire in Europe will again be guided by the Church of Rome. In addition, the Bible speaks in several places of a “heavenly queen,” which is being worshipped (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17–19, 25). However, Scripture condemns such practice. In fact, modern Babylon identifies herself as a “queen” (Revelation 18:7; compare Isaiah 47:1, 5, 7, referring to the “daughter of Babylon” as the “Lady of Kingdoms,” verse 5). It is therefore no coincidence that the design of the European flag was allegedly “inspired” by an image associated with the “Virgin Mary,” who is described by Catholics, directly or indirectly, as “our Mother,” the “queen of heaven,” our Lady” and “the queen of Europe.” We are also told that when the final configuration of this last European revival has manifested itself on the world scene, the time of Christ’s return will be “very near.” The Bible speaks of “one hour” (Revelation 17:12)—that is, a VERY short time!

Chapter 20 – The Fall of Babylon the Great

Revelation 18

While in Revelation 17 the religious nature of the last resurrection of the Roman Empire is vividly depicted, Revelation 18 focuses more, but not exclusively, on the economic nature of that last resurrection.

Let us quote again these interesting comments by the Ryrie Study Bible, in their annotation to Revelation 17:5: “In chapter 17 Babylon represents the false religious system that will center in Rome… In chapter 18 it represents more the political and commercial aspect of the revived Roman Empire…Thus the term stands both for a city and for a system (religious and commercial) related to the city (much like ‘Wall Street,’ which is both a place and a system).”

Don’t Be a Part of the Babylonian System

God warns His people not to participate in this Babylonian system, by accepting the mark of the beast and becoming RICH thereby (compare Revelation 18:3–4; see the discussion of the “mark of the beast” in chapter 15 of this booklet). Its merchandise even included “the bodies and souls of men” (Revelation 18:13). Also in it, the blood of the saints was found (Revelation 18:24), and through its false teachings and sorcery all the nations were deceived (Revelation 18:3, 23).

Lehman Strauss comments on modern Babylon’s wealth and religious persecution, as follows: “The wealth of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations combined adds up to many billions of dollars (p. 298)… The unscriptural doctrines of purgatory, the last rites, and masses for the dead have brought untold wealth into the treasury (p. 310)… Sir Robert Anderson, of Scotland Yard fame, estimated that Rome was guilty of the death of 50,000,000 Christians (p. 299)… She will be judged because of the untold number of victims whom she slaughtered in the inquisition and in St. Bartholomew’s Massacre. She must pay for those shocking murders and for the many bloody persecutions which followed (p. 314)” [and which still will occur in the near future].

God will destroy the modern city of Babylon (Revelation 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21) “in one day” and “in one hour” (Revelation 18: 8, 10, 17). God will totally wipe out that city, as well as the religious, economic, political and military system it represents, to become a habitation and prison for demons (Revelation 18:2).

The warning and the lesson for God’s people is very clear: “Come out of her, My people,” God says. Have nothing to do with her. Be and stay separate, and don’t touch what is unclean. Don’t participate in other men’s sins. There are always some who think that they need to remain within an apostate religious system and perhaps try to “reform” it. It never works—and it is against God’s specific instructions!

We will observe, very shortly, the final revival of the ancient Roman Empire in Europe. A most powerful world-ruling Empire will emerge, attempting to impose its religious and military “values” on everybody. As we know these things, we ought to take very seriously Christ’s warning in Luke 21:34–36: “But TAKE HEED to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to ESCAPE all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man [at His return].”

Chapter 21 – The Marriage Supper Between Christ and His Church

Revelation 19:7–9

Revelation 19:7–9 states the following about the marriage between Christ and His Church: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb [Jesus Christ, compare Revelation 5:1–14] has come, and His wife [the Church, compare Ephesians 5:31–32] has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!”’…”

As we can see from Ephesians 5:31–32, Paul is addressing here the mystery of the relationship between Christ and His Church. He emphasizes that those who are called must come out of the ways of this world in order to be joined with Christ. Christ must be continuously living within them (1 John 2:15–17; Romans 12:2; Galatians 2:20).

Paul also shows that the physical institution of marriage is pointing at a spiritual union between God and man. It is pointing at a spiritual marriage between Christ and His Church.

Location

Please note that the Scripture in Revelation 19:7–9 does not say where the marriage supper will take place. Other Scriptures strongly imply that it will take place here on earth, after Christ’s return.

Parable of the Wedding Feast

Christ gave a parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22, presupposing that the wedding feast or marriage supper will take place here on earth. We read in verse 11: “But when the king [who had arranged the marriage for his son, verse 2] came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.”

In the parable, “the king” represents God the Father, and “the son” represents Jesus Christ. If the marriage supper were to take place in heaven, the guest without a wedding garment could not have been there—neither as a physical being nor as a fallen spirit being. He could not have been a disqualified saint, as there are no physical beings in heaven and the disqualified saint would not have been changed to spirit. Nor could he have been a “fallen” spirit being; i.e., Satan or a demon, as by that time, Satan and his angels will have no more access to God’s throne in heaven. Revelation 12:8 speaks of a time, before the marriage supper, stating, “…nor was a place found for them [Satan and his demons, verse 7] in heaven any longer.”

Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins

Christ tells another parable in Matthew 25, comparing the Church with five wise and five foolish virgins, “who went out to meet their bridegroom” (verse 1). While the five foolish virgins tried to buy oil for their lamps, the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) came, “and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut” (verse 10). We then read that “afterwards the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’” Christ, though, refused them entrance to the wedding supper. Where did the five foolish virgins go? Obviously, as physical humans, they could not go to heaven to try to get entrance there. Christ’s parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins clearly presupposes and implies that the events take place here on earth.

Additional passages which show that the marriage supper will take place here on earth are Luke 12:35–37 and Luke 22:27–30.

Nevertheless, some have suggested that the wedding supper will take place in heaven before Christ returns to the earth to establish the Kingdom of God. It has been suggested that Christ will come back to take His saints to heaven, have the marriage supper in heaven with them, and then return with His saints to establish the Kingdom of God.

Christ Returns Only Once

However, as we have already explained, the Bible does not teach that Christ will return “twice.” The Bible is consistent that Christ comes back a second time to reward His saints and, at the same time, to punish the wicked that are still alive (Matthew 24:27–39; 2 Thessalonians 1:3–10). God’s saints will be resurrected and changed to immortality at the time of Christ’s return and at the sound of the seventh and last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:50–54; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). However, at the same time—that is, at the sound of the last trumpet—Christ will also begin His reign over the world (Revelation 11:15–18). There can only be ONE seventh and last trumpet! There cannot be a sound of the seventh trumpet to signal the resurrection of the saints and their “going to heaven with Christ” for the marriage supper, and ANOTHER seventh or last trumpet to signal the subsequent return of Christ with His saints from heaven to set up the Kingdom of God.

Rather, we read that: 1) Christ will return; 2) at the time of His return, the saints will be resurrected and changed and will meet Him in the air; and 3) Christ and His saints will descend immediately together to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4). That particular day is a 24-hour day, as Zechariah 14:6–7, 9 reveals.

God’s Transportable Throne

Some have suggested that Revelation 14 speaks of a marriage supper in heaven. However, Revelation 14 does not mention a marriage supper at all. It states that the Lamb and 144,000 of those “who were redeemed from the earth” stand on Mount Zion (verse 1), and that they are “without fault before the throne of God” (verse 5). Although “Mount Zion” can refer to a spiritual mountain in heaven (compare Hebrews 12:22), it can also certainly refer to the physical mountain here on earth. The saints might be standing, on Mount Zion, before God’s transportable throne, which was on earth before (compare Ezekiel 1). Or, verse 5 might just express the thought that they are without fault “in the sight of” God. The Greek word for “before;” i.e., “enopion,” literally means, “in the sight of” or “in the face of” (compare Luke 1:15; 16:15; Acts 4:19). Even today, we appear daily “before” God’s throne in heaven, through prayer.

The Sea of Glass

Another Scripture that has been used to suggest that the marriage supper will be in heaven is Revelation 15:2. Again, this passage does not even remotely suggest a marriage supper. The passage states that saints are “standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.” This is another vision (verse 1), which, simply judging by its wording alone and without consideration of other Scriptures, does not necessarily take place in heaven. The sea of glass could very well be a reference to a sea of glass before Christ’s throne, which will be here on this earth. In addition, we find in Ezekiel 1:22, 26, that Christ’s transportable throne has a firmament with the color of a crystal, in other words, a sea of glass.

Note, for instance, in Exodus 24:9–10: “Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.” In addition, the saints in Revelation 15:2 are portrayed as standing on a sea of glass, singing the victory song of Moses. This reminds us, of course, of God’s victory over the Egyptians when they drowned in the Red Sea. Therefore, this vision might very well picture the saints’ symbolic victory over the beast power (compare verse 2), as ancient Israel was victorious over Egypt. This is especially true in light of the fact that Exodus 15:18 conveys a future victory of God and His people over God’s enemies: “The LORD SHALL reign forever and ever.” One must be careful not to deduce an entire teaching from a symbolic phrase.

The Great Multitude Before the Throne

A third Scripture that has been quoted to support the speculation that the marriage supper takes place in heaven is Revelation 7:9–17. Again, nothing is mentioned in this Scripture referring to a marriage supper. We are told that a great multitude of all nations stands before the throne and before the Lamb. This is clearly another vision—such as the vision of dead souls under God’s altar that cry out with a loud voice (Revelation 6:9–11). Still, even when analyzing carefully the text of the vision in Revelation 7, we find that the described event does not occur in heaven. Revelation 7:14 says that the saints “washed their robes and made them white.” Verse 15 says, “Therefore they ARE before the throne of God, and SERVE Him day and night in His temple.” This cannot be happening in heaven, as the last part of the verse says that God “WILL dwell among them.” If this passage described a situation in heaven, God would ALREADY dwell among them.

The passage conveys, however, that those of the great multitude who had to go through the Great Tribulation to become spiritually clean, will, from that time on, serve God daily in His temple—the Church, a spiritual organism, the bride of Christ. We are today the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:17; Ephesians 2:21). But we are not in heaven.

The idea that the marriage supper will be held in heaven is nowhere taught in the Bible. All biblical passages strongly imply that it will occur here on earth, after Christ’s return to this earth.

The Bride of God

Jesus Christ is the bridegroom who will marry the bride upon His return. As we have seen, He will have a marriage supper with His bride at that time.

Christ the Bridegroom

Jesus spoke of Himself as the “bridegroom” (Luke 5:34–35).When Jesus was on this earth, He taught that He would be taken away and that no “marriage” would be consummated at that time.

Note, as well, that Jesus gave a parable indicating that He, as the bridegroom, would return (compare Matthew 25:1–13). In this story, Jesus began His teaching with these very important words: “The kingdom of heaven shall be LIKENED to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:1).

Jesus presented this example of bridegroom and virgins (that is, the bride) as a means of instructing His Church to be ready for His return. Most importantly, the Church was to remain vigilant and not let God’s Holy Spirit (the “oil” for their lamps) fade out of their lives! He would only marry those who were ready.

John the Baptist also referred to Jesus as the bridegroom (compare John 3:29). In his statement, John attested to the fact that Jesus was the Christ, and that he (John) was in a position of service, as if he were the friend in a marriage ceremony. This is, of course, just an analogy, because John will be in the first resurrection and therefore part of the bride.

In a deeply symbolic series of statements, Paul instructs married members of the Church to love their mates (compare Ephesians 5:22–33). He draws on the selfless example of Christ’s love for His Church to make his point. Then, he mentions a profound truth about marriage, calling it “a great mystery” (verse 32).

Why is it a mystery? Because it is a truth hidden in the plan of God—hidden to those not called by God! Yet, God’s Church understands this mystery: Jesus Christ will marry His Church (compare, especially, verses 25–27)! Note what Paul also stated in this regard: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

Christians Betrothed to Christ

It is important here to understand the meaning of “betrothal,” a word not commonly used today. Betrothal describes a binding agreement or covenant of engagement, which could only be annulled or dissolved through divorce, but it does not describe the consummation of the marriage. (The subject of betrothal is fully explained in our booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”, on pages 47 and 56–59.) As will be shown, God’s “betrothal” is not limited to those who will be in the first resurrection. The aforementioned booklet also explains that the New Covenant IS a marriage agreement between Christ and His disciples—but it is not limited, either, to those who will be in the first resurrection. Rather, it will also apply to those who will live in the Millennium and during the Great White Throne Judgment, and who will become converted at that time (For more information on that aspect of God’s great Master Plan, please read, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”)

In the many examples where the Church is referred to as a “virgin,” the intent is that of our spiritual condition. Again, it is important that we not deduce an entire teaching from a symbolic phrase! A vital key for understanding the Bible is to look at other Scriptures for the meaning behind difficult verses, parables and symbolic analogies.

Christ Will Marry His Bride

The fact remains that Jesus Christ will marry His Church! We find this specifically promised in Revelation 19. Verse 7 states: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” Understand that the wife spoken of here is comprised of ALL of the saints—ALL of those counted WORTHY for the first resurrection. Christians who live just before Christ’s return, also must be prepared—just as the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 so clearly teaches.

Carefully consider what is stated in Revelation 19:8: “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS of the saints.” The focus for who will be in this wedding ceremony centers on those who are righteous—that is, those who obey God! Here we gain insight to the fact that Christ will marry those who live righteous lives—something only possible through having the help of God’s Holy Spirit!

Bride Includes ALL Christians

In the Old Testament, God says that He is the Husband of Israel: “For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth” (Isaiah 54:5). Even as Israel rejected God, He reminded them of Who He was: “‘Return, O backsliding children,’ says the LORD; ‘for I am married to you…’” (Jeremiah 3:14).

In a moving outpouring of God’s love for Jerusalem—here, a type of all Israel—He speaks of how He chose and tenderly loved her and made her His: “‘…Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,’ says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 16:8). In verses 32 and 38 of this chapter, God charges Jerusalem of being “‘…an adulterous wife’” and compares it with “‘…women who break wedlock.’”

Speaking to Israel of a future time—a time when God will establish His Kingdom on the earth: “‘And it shall be, IN THAT DAY,’ Says the LORD, ‘That you will call Me “My Husband…”’” (Hosea 2:16). Then, in verses 19–20, we find that God promises to join Israel to Himself in an unending marriage: “I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME FOREVER; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.” It is important to realize that God will “betroth” Israel in the future—AFTER Christ’s return and the FIRST resurrection. This shows that the “bride” cannot only include those in the first resurrection.

The qualities the bride brings to this marriage are: righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, mercy and faithfulness. These are fruits of God’s Holy Spirit, fruits that Christians—the saints, the bride of Christ—are to possess (compare Galatians 5:22–23).

We have seen that the Church of God is called a “bride.” Also, God’s Word reveals that He addresses Himself as a Husband to Israel and that He will be married to her forever in the future—after Israel’s conversion! Furthermore, the Bible also speaks of a “bride” in an even greater context.

The Heavenly Jerusalem Called the Bride

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:9–10).

Earlier, in Revelation 21, verse 2, we find this overview: “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Please note that the holy city, spoken of as the “bride,” will descend to this earth after the first resurrection, the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. At that time, the heavenly Jerusalem, placed on earth, is compared with the bride; that is, it will be comprised of ALL of God’s saints.

Most commentaries understand this analogy. For example, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say that the bride in Revelation 21:2 is “made up of the blessed citizens of the ‘holy city,’” and the Ryrie Study Bible states that “the heavenly city [when here on earth] will be the abode of all the saints, the bride of Christ…” Again, we see that the “bride” includes more than just the saints of the first resurrection.

The spiritual consummation of the marriage between Christ and His Church, as well as the spiritual “marriage supper” celebration, will be ongoing—as physical marriage supper celebrations in biblical times lasted for several days (compare Rienecker, Lexikon zur Bibel, “under “Marriage”).

In this most remarkable look into the future, God has revealed that ALL of mankind who become truly converted and become Christ-like will be joined to Him and His Family: “HE WHO OVERCOMES shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Revelation 21:7).

Mankind was created to become members of God’s Family! As children of God—described as sons of God and brethren of Christ (compare Hebrews 2)—mankind also is offered a role with Christ described as being His “bride.” We are to become helpers “comparable to [H]im,” as the first woman was created to be a helper, comparable to the husband (compare Genesis 2:18). We are to become united in a permanent relationship within the Family of God!

Jesus prayed a remarkable prayer to His Father, which is recorded in John 17. Jesus asked for something that is—when correctly understood—a most extraordinary relationship! Note, in particular, verses 11 and 20–26. Jesus specifically asked that His followers might become ONE as both He and the Father are ONE. Genesis 2:24 states of the married relationship between man and woman: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become ONE FLESH.”

In this context, we must understand the significance of what Peter stated in Acts 10:34–35: “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him’” (Compare also Romans 2:11; Galatians 2:6; Colossians 3:23–25; 1 Peter 1:17).

Our understanding about who the bride is must be supported by all of the relevant Scriptures. Remember, God desires that ALL men should be saved (compare 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Also, consider what Jesus Christ taught about those who would be saved—about those who would, indeed, become His spiritual bride: “And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30).

Finally, in some of the very last words of the Bible, this heartening plea is made—it is as if those who now rest among the spiritual virgins awaiting the marriage of the Lamb speak to us: “And the Spirit and the BRIDE say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

Chapter 22 – The Resurrections

Revelation 20:4–15

In Revelation 20, we are introduced to the concept of THREE resurrections. To fully comprehend this virtually unknown fact, we need to review the topic of the resurrections in much detail.

As we will see, the Bible clearly teaches THREE resurrections—not just one.

Paul was inspired by God to write in 1 Corinthians 15:20–26:

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [that is, who have died. Remember, the Bible likens death with a sleep]. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive. But each one IN HIS OWN ORDER: Christ the firstfruits, AFTERWARD those who are Christ’s [true converted Christians] at His coming. THEN COMES THE END, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an END to all [rebellious human and demonic] rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till he has put all ENEMIES under His feet. The LAST ENEMY that will be destroyed is death.”

Paul reveals that there is an ORDER of resurrections.

The First Resurrection

When Christ returns, only those who died IN CHRIST will be resurrected. They will be resurrected to immortality. However, not all of the dead will be resurrected at that time.

Romans 8:11 reads: “But IF the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in YOU, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give [eternal] life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit [which] dwells in YOU.”

This resurrection to eternal life at the time of Christ’s return is described in 1 Corinthians 15:50–54.

It is also referred to in 1 Corinthians 6:14: “And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise US up by His power.”

The New King James Bible, as quoted above, does not accurately convey the Greek meaning of this passage—and neither do most other English translations. Paul is actually saying here that God will raise us up from among the dead.

The German Elberfelder Bible points out in a footnote that the literal meaning is that God will raise us out of the dead; that is, He will bring us back to life from among and out of the dead. The passage shows that not all of the dead will be resurrected at the time of Christ’s return.

The same concept is conveyed in Philippians 3:11, where Paul speaks about his desire to “attain to the resurrection from the dead.” The choice of the word “from” is not the best. The German Menge Bible translates, “resurrection out of the dead.” Again, the Elberfelder Bible points out that Paul is talking about a resurrection from among the dead. In German, the word is “Heraus-Auferstehung”; that is, a resurrection out of the dead. This passage does not talk about a resurrection of all of the dead. V.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, gives the literal meaning of the word as “the out-resurrection from among the dead.”

Jesus Himself also clearly revealed that there will be more than one resurrection. He tells us in John 5:28–29: “… for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection OF LIFE, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of CONDEMNATION.”

Those in the first resurrection will become immortal Spirit beings—they will be part of the resurrection of ETERNAL LIFE. They will rule with Christ ON THIS EARTH for a thousand years (Revelation 20: 4, 6; 5:9–10).

In speaking to the Church of God in Smyrna, Jesus said that those who overcome “‘…shall not be hurt by the second death’” (Revelation 2:11). The nature of the “second death” will be explained below. Jesus’ promise not to be hurt by the second death is made to all who are called NOW to be a part of the first resurrection—as the firstfruits of God’s plan of salvation (compare Revelation 20:6). But, the resurrection of condemnation will come later.

The first resurrection will be attained by those whom God has specifically called and who have repented and overcome in this lifetime—those who have endured to the end—those who have not given up on their calling and returned to the ways of the world! Christians are being judged NOW. Peter states: “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’” (1 Peter 4:17–18).

In his second letter to the Church, Peter very specifically addresses the issue of accountability that those who are called NOW will face if they turn away from God. Verses 18 through 22 of 2 Peter chapter 2, contain somber warnings for anyone so foolish as to reject God’s calling and allow themselves to be overcome by the world, Satan or their own desires, to the point that they permanently cut themselves off from God.

The Second Resurrection

Following the first resurrection of those who died “in Christ” will be the second resurrection of those who had not accepted Christ when they died. They will come back to live as humans, and will then have their first opportunity to learn the truth and accept Christ. But their resurrection will come LATER—it will NOT occur at the time of Christ’s return.

Revelation 20:5, 11–12 describes the SECOND resurrection: “But the REST OF THE DEAD [who were not in the FIRST resurrection] did not live again UNTIL the thousand years [the Millennium] were finished… Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it… And I saw the dead, small and great, STANDING before God… And the dead were JUDGED…”

This second resurrection is not one to eternal life, but to physical life. It is a resurrection to JUDGMENT—but NOT to condemnation!

Resurrection of Israel

Ezekiel 37:7–11 describes the resurrection of the entire house of Israel to PHYSICAL LIFE. They will be resurrected in the SECOND resurrection. When the dead of Israel are brought back again to physical life, God will deal with them as He deals with true Christians today. Once a person comes to a true understanding, accepts God’s way of life, repents of his sins, believes in Christ’s sacrifice and the gospel, and becomes baptized, then God grants him forgiveness and offers him the gift of the Holy Spirit—the same process of conversion taking place with those whom God is calling today. We see in Ezekiel 37:14 that the Holy Spirit is offered to the resurrected Israelites—obviously after they have repented of their sins and have become baptized. The people of the house of Israel will know God and begin to live a life pleasing to God. If they overcome and endure, they will receive immortality (compare Romans 11:32; Romans 11:26).

Resurrection of Non-Israelite Peoples

It is not only the people of Israel who will be resurrected at that time. We read in Matthew 12:41–42 that the men of Nineveh and the queen of the South “will RISE UP in the JUDGMENT” together with people who were alive at the time of Jesus Christ. Compare, too, Matthew 10:14–15 and Matthew 11:21–24, referring to other unconverted people who had died in the past.

Some commentaries understand that the Bible teaches more than one resurrection. The Nelson Study Bible comments on Revelation 20: “The resurrection of the dead will not encompass all people at the same time… there will be a first resurrection of dead believers before the thousand years of Christ’s reign and a final resurrection after the millennium is finished, before the great white throne judgment…”

This is not entirely accurate, however. As we will see, the resurrection before the Great White Throne is NOT the final resurrection.

Halley’s Bible Handbook states: “… there will be Two resurrections, one before, and one after, the Millennium…”

But this is not accurate, either. There will be actually TWO resurrections after the Millennium. The SECOND resurrection—after the Millennium—was discussed above. But there will be a FINAL resurrection following the second resurrection. We refer to it as the THIRD resurrection.

The Third Resurrection

Unfortunately, there are those who have rejected their opportunity to come to repentance and accept Christ. They have committed the “unpardonable sin.” They once knew and understood perfectly well that they had to submit to Christ, but they refused to do so. They became bitter, hateful, resentful and malicious. They made the irreversible decision NEVER to repent. If a person has reached such a state that he cannot repent, because he has made the final decision NOT to even WANT to repent, then God will not force repentance on such a person. God grants repentance, but a person must want to receive it! A person who maliciously rejects Christ, would only continue to live in misery and pain—and that is why God will save such a person from eternal misery, by DESTROYING him in a lake of fire.

Revelation 20:13–15 describes the THIRD resurrection, which will occur some time AFTER the judgment period of the second resurrection:

“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

God refers to the coming THIRD resurrection in the book of Daniel. In contrasting the FIRST resurrection with the THIRD resurrection, we are told, in Daniel 12:2: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to EVERLASTING life, Some to shame and EVERLASTING CONTEMPT.”

Notice, it does not say that they will live forever in everlasting contempt. But it says that they will WAKE UP “to” everlasting contempt—their fate will be one of everlasting consequences.

The following Scriptures also describe the fate of those who will be brought back to life in the third resurrection: Obadiah 16; Malachi 4:3; Matthew 3:10; Hebrews 6:4–8; Hebrews 10:26–27; and 2 Peter 3:7.

The vast majority of all of humanity will be judged during the second resurrection. Even at this time, it may well be that some will ultimately reject God’s offer of salvation and eternal life—just as some called before the first resurrection will have turned away from God.

However, God is “…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9); and, God “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Yet, God will not force people to choose life—even though He will give all an opportunity for eternal life in His Kingdom.

You might also want to read Christ’s parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19–31. While Lazarus was resurrected to immortal life in the FIRST resurrection, the rich man is being resurrected—more than 1,100 years later—in the THIRD resurrection. He sees the flames and acknowledges his fate, knowing that he will be cast into the lake of fire to be burned up.

In spite of what many preach and believe today, the Bible clearly reveals that there will be some who will have committed the unpardonable sin. They will be destroyed by fire: “‘But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’” (Revelation 21:8).

Some have wondered why there should be a third resurrection, if their fate was already sealed at the time of their death. Why wouldn’t God just leave them in their graves rather than resurrecting them again to physical life to destroy them forever? We may not know completely the answer to this question, but God gives us several hints. God is a God of JUSTICE. In raising those who have committed the unpardonable sin to physical life, their attitude will become manifest to all alive at that time. When they witness their conduct, they will never be able to question God’s compassionate and uncompromising justice; as well as His merciful wisdom to free those hateful human beings from their emotional misery and pain.

While most professing Christians don’t believe in more than one resurrection—if they believe in a resurrection at all—the Bible clearly reveals three resurrections. True Christians are to strive to attain the FIRST or “better resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35). We read that if they attain that resurrection to eternal life, they will not “come into judgment” of the second resurrection (compare John 5:24).

God has given the responsibility of judgment to Jesus Christ (compare John 5:22), and all will appear before Christ for this judgment—whether called now or in a future resurrection (compare 2 Corinthians 5:10).

For further information on the important subject of the three resurrections, please read our free booklets, Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”, “God’s Commanded Holy Days” “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days and The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days.”

The Nature of the First Resurrection

Does the Bible teach a resurrection of the physical body? The answer to this question depends on what is meant by that term. The Bible does teach a resurrection to immortal life and a resurrection to a physical existence.

Regarding the first resurrection (of those who died “in Christ,” that is, in whom God’s Holy Spirit dwelled when they died), we read that they are resurrected with an immortal SPIRITUAL body. God will raise them up to spiritual, immortal and eternal life. God will not first resurrect their dead “physical bodies” and then “change” them into spiritual bodies. Rather, God will resurrect or raise these Christians with changed glorified spiritual bodies, as the Bible clearly indicates. We read the following, in 1 Corinthians 15:35–49, about the “first” or “better” (Hebrews 11:35) resurrection to eternal life:

“But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?’ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do NOT SOW THAT BODY THAT SHALL BE, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God GIVES IT A BODY as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh… there are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies… There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, IT IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body… And as we have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (Jesus Christ).”

Paul tells us in the above passage that the physical body that dies, is NOT the same body “that shall be.” Rather, God GIVES us a spiritual body “as He pleases.” He does not resurrect our physical body and then change it into spirit. In fact, Paul says that in the resurrection to eternal life, we will be “absent from the [physical] body” (2 Corinthians 5:8). 2 Corinthians 5 further explains that God will give Christians a new kind of body (verses 1–4). Only the bodies of those in Christ who are alive when Christ returns will be changed into spirit, while the dead in Christ will be RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE (1 Corinthians 15:51–52).

When we die in Christ, our bodies decay. The bodies of those who died in Christ thousands of years ago have completely decayed. They became dust and ashes, as God said that they would (Genesis 3:19). The only exception was the resurrection to eternal life of Jesus Christ, who was merely dead for three days and three nights, and whose physical body did not decay before He was resurrected to immortality (Acts 2:25–27). When God the Father resurrected Jesus Christ, He changed Christ’s physical body (which was still in the grave) into a spiritual body. That is why Christ could later walk through closed doors, and why He could make Himself visible and invisible, as He pleased.

We should also note that Christ, when He again became a Spirit being—invisible to the human eye—could manifest Himself as a human being, so much so that He appeared to have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39–40). Of course, as a Spirit being, He did not really have flesh and bone, but He was able to manifest Himself in such a way. Jesus did speak of “a spirit” not having flesh and bones as He did (verse 39). However, He was speaking of demonic spirits not being able to manifest themselves in the flesh (compare our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” pages 42–43).

We have the example of Christ and two angels appearing as men and eating a meal with Abraham (Genesis 18:1–8). This example shows that God (Christ in the Old Testament account) and faithful angels could manifest themselves in the physical domain as men.

HOW exactly, will God resurrect those who died in Christ? We know that God gives every man a spirit that separates him from the animals (1 Corinthians 2:11). (For more information on the spirit in man, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults?,” pages 19–24.) The spirit in man records all of our thoughts and retains all of our memories, as well as our general outward appearance. We read that the spirit in man goes back to God when man dies. In addition, God’s Holy Spirit, which dwells within true Christians, will also return to God, together with the spirit in man, when the Christian dies.

In his book, “The Incredible Human Potential,” Herbert W. Armstrong explained the resurrection to eternal life in this way (pages 91–92, hard cover):

“If one has received the Holy Spirit, then in the Resurrection, God will provide a Spirit body, formed and shaped by the Spirit mold. The resurrected being will be composed of Spirit, not matter as the human model was… The body that comes in the resurrection is not the same body that was flesh and blood in the human lifetime… The flesh and blood physical body, after death, decomposes and decays, but the spirit that was in that body, like the sculptor’s mold, preserves all the form and shape, the memory, and the character intact… After death, whether buried in the earth, cremated, or what, the physical body returns to the earth. But the spirit that was in the man, now having recorded everything—the body’s form and shape, the facial identity, the memory and the character—returns to God. It will be preserved unchanged. Such saints as Abraham, Moses, David and Daniel died thousands of years ago… they were composed of corruptible flesh and blood. All that was them (man is composed wholly of matter) long since decomposed.”

It is through the spirit in man—combined with the Holy Spirit—that God will raise Christians with immortal spiritual bodies. The Bible reveals that the physical bodies of Christians will cease to exist in the first resurrection. They will be given new bodies composed of spirit—no longer susceptible to pain and suffering and no longer subject to death and destruction!

The Nature of the Second Resurrection

The Bible also teaches that all those who did NOT die “in Christ” will be resurrected AFTER the Millennium to be given their opportunity to choose God’s Way of Life. This is commonly referred to in the Bible as the “second resurrection.” But they will be resurrected as physical beings, not as Spirit beings. When they are raised from the dead, they will receive a new physical bodynot a spiritual body. But this does not mean that God will resurrect the identical physical bodies they had when they died and which subsequently decayed in their graves, or which were obliterated in atomic and nuclear blasts in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and in a nuclear war still prophesied to come, or which became ashes during the Holocaust, or which were cremated.

HOW, exactly, will God resurrect them? God will not raise their physical bodies, which have decayed and decomposed. Rather, He will resurrect them in the same way (albeit to physical life), as He will raise those who died in Christ.

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following in “Mystery of the Ages”, page 127 (hard cover), regarding the second resurrection to a physical, mortal existence:

“At death, ‘then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it’ (Eccl. 12:7). The spirit is the depository of memory and character. The spirit is like a mold. It retains even the human form and shape of the deceased, so that in the resurrection TO JUDGMENT [that is, in the second resurrection] those who have died shall look as they did in life, retain whatever character they established in life, remember everything that was stored in their memory. But in the meantime, in death, there is no consciousness—they ‘know not any thing’ (Eccl. 9:5).”

When those in the second resurrection are being given physical life, God is not resurrecting their physical bodies, per se. (There are a few Biblical examples of resurrections of physical bodies; for instance, Lazarus. But in these cases, the physical bodies had not yet completely decayed, so God could resurrect the bodies by putting the spirit of life back into them. Compare, too, Matthew 27:52. The resurrection to a physical existence in Ezekiel 37, describing the “valley of dry bones,” is of course a vision, and uses figurative terms to describe a resurrection to physical life. It cannot be used literally to teach a resurrection of the same dead physical bodies. After all, in the vision, the very dry bones speak, verse 11).

Insofar as the second resurrection is concerned, of those who died more than 1,000 years or even several thousands of years earlier, and whose bodies decayed or were obliterated, God will be using their spirit in man (which returned to God upon death) to create through it a new physical body for them. God will give them a new flesh and blood physical body, as He pleases, using the spirit in man as a “mold” which has retained even the outward appearance of the person.

This is not to say that the persons will be raised exactly to the same physical existence they had when they died. For instance, we don’t believe that a person who, through an accident or a birth defect, had only one arm or one leg, will be resurrected to that identical state, but, in all likelihood, with two arms and two legs. We find it reasonable to conclude that blind persons will be raised with eyesight. An aborted fetus will obviously not be resurrected as a fetus, but as a human being who will be capable of living on his own. When Adam and Eve were created, God did not create them as little children, but as grown adults, perhaps in their early or mid-twenties, and He placed in them the spirit in man, even though they were without any prior experience.

We don’t know how, exactly, God will raise those in the second resurrection. The Bible does not reveal whether a person who died at age 90 will look like a 90-year old person in the second resurrection, or whether he will look like the person that he was when he was in his 20s. But it stands to reason that all will be resurrected to live healthy lives for about one hundred years, which—as the Bible indicates—is most likely the time allotted to them during the Great White Throne Judgment period, prior to the creation of the new heavens and a new earth (compare Isaiah 65:17, 20, indicating that a “child”—that is a Christian who is to become like a child—will live for one hundred years, and that an unrepented “sinner,” being “one hundred years old,” shall be “accursed”).

For more information on the second resurrection, please read our free booklets, Do We Have an Immortal Soul?,” p.28, and “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” pp. 31–32, 53.

The Nature of the Third Resurrection

As is the case with those who are being raised in the second resurrection, so it will be with those in the third resurrection. As has been explained before, those in the third resurrection will be burned up or destroyed forever. Since only what is physical can be destroyed or exterminated, the third resurrection must be, by necessity, a resurrection to physical life.

Chapter 23 – Eternal Torment of the Beast and the False Prophet?

Revelation 20:10

Some believe that the beast and the false prophet will be tormented forever in hellfire. They claim that Revelation 20:10 teaches that much. This passage describes a time at the end of the Millennium and before the second resurrection of the Great White Throne Judgment period.

The Authorized Version (AV) translates Revelation 20:10, as follows:

“And the DEVIL that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet ARE, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

A superficial reading, especially in many of the modern translations, might indeed lead us to conclude the existence of a never-ending torture of the beast (a military leader) and the false prophet (a religious leader) in hell. However, analyzing the Scripture carefully, a different conclusion is warranted.

Torture of the Beast and the False Prophet

Please note that the subject of the sentence is the devil. It is he who will be tormented in the lake of fire. In regard to the beast and the false prophet, note that the word, “are” is in italics, in the AV. This means that there is no verb in the Greek language, so that the translators had to ADD a verb—they ADDED the English word “are,” based on how they understood the meaning of the sentence. However, the addition of the word “are” is clearly WRONG in this context.

We read, in Revelation 19:20, that the beast and the false prophet were cast—about 1,000 years earlier, when the Millennium was about to begin—into the lake of fire, to be burned up and destroyed. As we have mentioned before, and as we will explain in more detail below, there is no ever-lasting hell fire, tormenting human beings forever. Rather, humans who will be thrown into the lake of fire will be instantaneously burned up and destroyed.

Since there needs to be an addition of a word or phrase in Revelation 20:10 (“where the beast and the false prophet…”), the words to be added should be, “were cast,” so that the sentence reads: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet WERE CAST [namely, 1,000 years earlier, as reported in Revelation 19:20]…”

It is not uncommon in the Greek to leave out a verb or phrase in a sentence when the previous clause dictates what words are to be added. However, the words to be added are to be in harmony with the previous clause. In Revelation 20:10, we read that the devil WAS CAST into the lake of fire. It is a corresponding clause (“was cast”) that must be added in the next phrase—that is, “where the beast and the false prophet WERE CAST.”

We find a similar occurrence in 1 Corinthians 10:24: “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well being.” In order to understand this passage correctly, one has to repeat in the second phrase the beginning of the first phrase. The clear and intended meaning is: “Let no one seek his own, but LET each one SEEK the other’s well-being.” (For additional examples, please read our free booklet, God’s Commanded Holy Days,”pages 42–45.)

Note how the Revised English Bible translates Revelation 20:10:

“Their seducer, the Devil, was flung into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet HAD BEEN FLUNG…”

The New International Version states: “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet HAD BEEN THROWN…”

Most translations continue this sentence, however, by saying: “…and THEY shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” From this rendition, commentators argue that not only the devil, but also the beast and the false prophet will be tormented for all eternity; otherwise, the sentence would have to continue to read: “…and HE (that is, the devil) shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

Not all agree. As we saw, the Authorized Version OMITS the word, “they,” and renders the continuation of the sentence: “… and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever,” indicating that the subject is the devil, and not the beast and the false prophet.

Let us quote again from the Revised English Bible, to note how they continue their rendition of Revelation 20:10:

“Their seducer, the Devil, was flung into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been flung to be tormented day and night for ever.”

Of course, by not placing a comma after “had been flung,” they give the impression that it is the beast and the false prophet who will be tormented forever and ever. But since the clause, “where the beast and the false prophet had been flung,” is clearly an inserted thought—a relative sentence—the rendering should obviously include a comma after “had been flung,” making it clear that it is the DEVIL who is to be tormented day and night forever.

We see, then, that the translation of the Revised English Bible should read:

“Their seducer, the Devil, was flung into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been flung, to be tormented day and night for ever.”

Some insist, however, that the clause “THEY shall be tormented” is correct, as it is a translation of the Greek verb, “basanisthesontai,” which, they say, is a plural verb. If this conclusion is correct, then we must ask the question to whom the plural verb refers.

Lake of Fire Prepared For Satan and His Angels

When we understand for WHOM the lake of fire was prepared, the answer would be obvious. We read in Matthew 25:41 that the lake of fire was “prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Therefore, it will be the devil and his demons who will be tormented in the lake of fire, for as long as that lake exists. Since spirit beings cannot die (compare Luke 20:36), they will be tormented—in a spiritual way—while being confined to the lake of fire, when they come to the realization that they are unable to deceive man anymore, and when they see all their “works” and evil “accomplishments” replaced by the good and prosperous ways of God.

In keeping with this explanation, we need to realize that the fact that the Scripture in Revelation 20:10 only refers to the devil, but then speaks about the devil and demons (“THEY will be tormented”), is a structure in the Greek language, known as “metonymy.” This is a figure of speech, substituting an associated term for the name itself, as in “the crown decrees” for “the ruler decrees.” The Greek word, “metonymy,” is derived from the Greek “meta,” meaning “altered” and “onyma,” “meaning “name.” (compare Britannica World Language Dictionary). It means here that it refers first to the main representative—the devil—while subsequently including those whom he represents—the demons.

The Bible uses that way of speaking on occasion. Note one example of this “figure of speech” in the report of the demons possessing the herd of swine. In the record of Matthew, we are clearly told that Christ dealt with TWO demon-possessed men (Matthew 8:28–32). However, in the record of Mark, we are only told about ONE demon-possessed man (Mark 5:1–13). It is obvious, then, that the one man mentioned in Mark was the spokesman or leader of the other man, mentioned in Matthew. In the same way, the devil in Revelation 20:10 is the leader or representative of all the demons, mentioned or referred to in the latter part of the same sentence.

But even if we allow for the possibility that the statement “they shall be tormented for ever and ever” would include the beast and the false prophet, that would still not mean that they will be tormented for all eternity. The Greek clause for “forever and ever” is “eis tous ainonas ton aionon.” It literally means, “to the ages of the ages.” We addressed the meaning of this clause earlier, when discussing Revelation 14:11 (“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever,” AV). We showed that this phrase can refer to a brief period of time, as long as a particular condition exists or as long as the person lives. If applied in this way to Revelation 20:10, the beast and the false prophet would only be tormented for a very brief period of time before the fire would kill them and burn them up.

Revelation 20:10 clearly does not teach that human beings, or the souls of evil persons, will be tormented forever and ever in a hell fire, without ever dying or being annihilated.

Chapter 24 – The “New Jerusalem”

Revelation 21 and 22

We are told in Revelation 21 that John sees in a vision that God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1; compare 2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17–18; 66:22; Psalm 102:25–26)—apparently after this earth and the heavens have been burned up (compare 2 Peter 3:7, 10). There will be no more sea on the new earth (Revelation 21:1)

In addition, John sees the “holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2). This is a literal city—albeit not physical, but spiritual. (For more information on the spiritual nature of the new Jerusalem, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”) That this city is literal and not just a symbolic reference to the Church, for example, can be seen from the very detailed and specific description in Revelation 21:10–22; 22:1–5. We are told in Revelation 21:2, in conjunction with other Scriptures, that God is presently “preparing” this city in heaven (compare Revelation 3:12; Hebrews 11:9–10; 12:22; 13:14; Galatians 4:26). We also read that Jesus Christ is presently “preparing” for us a place in the “Father’s house”—the new Jerusalem (John 14:1–3).

When the heavenly Jerusalem descends to the new earth, Jesus Christ and the saints will have ruled on earth for 1,000 years and an additional 100 years during the Great White Throne Judgment. Then, God—the Father Himself—will also come down to live with Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God—and the saints (Revelation 21:3). At that time, there will be no more death (Revelation 21:4; 1 Corinthians 15:26), and nobody will be able to enter the city who does not keep all of God’s commandments (Revelation 22:14).

The Tabernacle of God With Men

The new Jerusalem is described as the “tabernacle of God… with men” (Revelation 21:3). Lehman Strauss, The Book of Revelation, states on page 350: “The ancient tabernacle in the wilderness represented God’s presence and glory in the midst of Israel… The word translated ‘tabernacle’ is ‘skene,’ which literally means, ‘the place where God dwells.’ This means that God will make His tabernacle with His saints forever and ever; He will give His presence to them forever and ever. ‘Behold the tabernacle [‘skene’] of God is with men, and He will tabernacle [‘skenosei’] with them’ [compare Revelation 21:3].”

Scriptures such as Ezekiel 40:2; 47:1–12 and Isaiah 60:3–22 reveal to us that a physical forerunner of the heavenly Jerusalem will exist in the Millennium—prior to the events described in Revelation 21. However, in comparing the descriptions of the future “earthly” Jerusalem and the new “heavenly” Jerusalem, we find remarkable differences. For instance, while the earthly Jerusalem will have a temple (Ezekiel 47:1), there will be no temple in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22).

Rather, “in God’s Holy City, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, is the Temple… [Our comment: This wording could be misunderstood. In accordance with Revelation 21:22, “… the Lord God Almighty (God the Father) and the Lamb (Jesus Christ) ARE the temple.”] Ezekiel saw healing waters proceed from the altar in the temple, the place of sacrifice (Ezekiel 47:1), but in the new order it issues forth from the throne, the place of sovereignty, for in that day there will be no need for a sacrifice” (Strauss, pages 354, 359).

The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown states:

“The descent of the new Jerusalem out of heaven is plainly distinct from the earthly Jerusalem in which Israel in the flesh shall dwell during the millennium, and follows… the creation of the new heaven and earth.”

The Life Application Bible adds: “The new Jerusalem is where God lives among his people. Instead of going up to meet him, he comes down to be with us, just as God became man in Jesus Christ and lived among us (John 1:14).”

Description of the New Jerusalem

The new Jerusalem is described in much detail. Even its dimensions are clearly revealed.

The Broadman Bible Commentary explains that the heavenly Jerusalem “is cubical… Its length, breadth, and height are equal; each dimension was measured at… 1500 miles… The walls were… about 216 feet…”

Unger’s Bible Handbook adds: “This could mean 2,250,000 square miles on each tier of the cube extending 1500 miles upward, like a huge skyscraper with innumerable floors.”

Halley’s Bible Handbook writes: “A Cube, of which the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, a cube 15 feet each way, and the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple, a cube 30 feet each way, were types.”

Some commentators suggest that the new Jerusalem is in the form of a pyramid. The Wikipedia Encyclopedia explains:

“It is unclear whether the city is in the form of a cube or a pyramid… Many hold that the cubic form is more likely… However, the pyramid interpretation still has several adherents. A pyramid would allow a slope for the river of the water of life to flow down from the throne of God, and for the street of the city to ascend…”

In regard to the volume of the new Jerusalem, the Wikipedia Encyclopedia explains: “If in the form of a cube, it would have a volume of 11 thousand million cubic kilometers, which is about half the volume of the moon… If in the form of a pyramid, the New Jerusalem would have a volume of 3.7 thousand million cubic kilometers…”

Symbolic Significance

We explained earlier in chapter 21 of this booklet that even though the heavenly Jerusalem is—and will continue to be—a literal city, it has also symbolic significance and relevance. We pointed out that the new Jerusalem will descend to this earth and will be, at that time, the abode of all the saints of God; they will be the blessed citizens of the holy city.

Additionally, note the symbolic significance of the foundations and gates of the heavenly Jerusalem:

The heavenly Jerusalem has twelve gates on which are written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:12). It has also twelve foundations on which are written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:14).

The Nelson Study Bible states:

“The description of the great and high wall that contains twelve gates named after the twelve tribes… of Israel echoes Ezek. 48:30–35. [Some] Commentators… interpret these twelve gates as representing all of God’s people, including both Israel and the church [Our comment: It would clearly appear to include the Church, the “Israel of God,” compare Galatians 6:16] … The twelve foundations, the huge stones upon which the wall of the New Jerusalem rests, contain the names of the twelve apostles of Christ (see Luke 6:13–16), calling to mind Paul’s imagery of the apostles as the foundation of the house of God in Eph. 2:20 (see Jesus’ promise to His apostles that they would occupy a prominent place in His kingdom in Matt. 19:28).”

Halley’s Bible Handbook points out:

“The Bible begins with a Garden, and ends with a City. The Holy City, New Jerusalem, Bride of Christ, Wife of the Lamb… ‘Holy City’ is the antithesis of ‘Babylon.’ Babylon, the Adulterous Church [described in Revelation 17, 18 and 19]. Holy City, the true Church, Bride of Christ. The Adulteress has disappeared. The True Wife, Glorified… Ancient Babylon, which had been given its name to the Adulterous church, was known as a ‘City of Gold’ (Isaiah 14:4), wonder city of the ancient world… Now the Real City of Gold appears in its Infinite Splendor and Magnificence.”

The New Student Bible, New International Version, contains the following annotation—comments in brackets were added by us:

“The last two chapters of Revelation contain numerous parallels to the description of the Garden of Eden in the first three chapters of Genesis. Revelation describes a new creation that excludes all the things that spoiled Eden. There will be no more night and death [Revelation 21:4, 25]. Satan will disappear forever [Revelation 20:10], and nothing impure will enter the new city [Revelation 21:27]. People [who have by that time become immortal Spirit beings; compare chapter 25 of this booklet] will walk with God again [Revelation 21:24–26], just as they [Adam and Eve] did in Eden. There will be no crying or pain [Revelation 21:4; and there will be no more curse, compare Revelation 22:3]. Once again humankind [by then made immortal] will rule over creation [Revelation 22:5], this time with open access to the tree of life [Revelation 22:2, 14]. Everything put wrong by human rebellion in Eden will be set right. In Eden, Adam and Eve were driven from the garden; in the new earth, they will see God’s face [Revelation 22:4].”

Jesus says in Revelation 2:7 that the tree of life is presently in the midst of the “Paradise of God.” “Paradise” describes a beautiful Garden, also called “Eden.” The reference here is to a spiritual garden, which is presently in heaven (compare 2 Corinthians 12:1–4), but which will descend to this earth, together with the (spiritual) tree of life and the heavenly Jerusalem. A reference to the spiritual garden of Eden or Paradise can also be found in Ezekiel 28:13, where Lucifer’s fall from heaven is described.

For the Healing of the Nations

We are told, in Revelation 22:2, that the leaves of the tree of life will be “for the healing of the nations.” This is not to be understood that physical sicknesses will exist at that time, which will have to be healed.

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible points out: “We are not to suppose that there will be sickness, and a healing process…, for that idea is expressly excluded in [Revelation] 21:4; but the meaning is, that the life and health of that blessed world will have been imparted by partaking of that tree; and the writer says that, in fact, it was owing to it that they who dwell there had been healed of their spiritual maladies, and had been made to live forever.”

Revelation 22:5 tells us that the saints will rule in God’s Kingdom forever and ever, compare Daniel 7:18. They will “inherit all things” (Revelation 21:7). However, as God’s children (compare again Revelation 21:7), they will always be obedient and submissive to God the Father (Revelation 22:3). As immortal members of the God Family, they will have access to the new Jerusalem—they will not and cannot sin anymore (1 John 3:9). We read in Revelation 22:14: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” God tells us that those who practice sorcery, murder, idolatry and lies, as well as other violations of God’s commandments, will not be allowed to enter the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:15; compare Revelation 21:26–27). By that time, those people practicing such things will have been burned up in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14–15; 21:8).

Chapter 25 – Nations and Kings in the New World

Revelation 21:24, 26

Revelation 21:24, 26 says that the nations of those who are saved shall walk in the light of the new Jerusalem, and that the kings of the earth will bring their and the nations’ glory and honor into it. Does this mean, then, that physical people will exist at the time when the heavenly Jerusalem descends to this earth—after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11–15)?

We read in Revelation 21:4 that after that time, there will be no more death. We also read in Revelation 20:14 that “Death” was cast into the lake of fire. This means, that whatever physical human beings existed, they will, by that time, either have been burned up and destroyed in the lake of fire (thereby ceasing to exist forever), or they will have been changed into immortal spirit beings, unable to die. Physical people die. One cannot keep a physical human being alive forever. Therefore, since there will be no more death, there cannot exist physical people for all eternity at that future time.

We also read that we cannot enter the Kingdom of God, unless we are Spirit beings. Since God is not a respecter of persons, what He is offering to us now, He will also offer to all of mankind later—during the Great White Throne Judgment. If He were only to offer eternal life to us today, but not later to the rest of mankind (not being called today), God would arbitrarily discriminate against all of mankind—as we are called today by grace, not by our works, so that no one should boast in God’s sight.

Revelation 21:24–26; 22:2 speaks, indeed, of the time after the Great White Throne Judgment. These Scriptures do not state, however, that at that time, physical humans will still exist. Rather, God the Father will dwell on the earth and those on earth will see His face (Revelation 22:4), and we know that no human can look at God the Father in His glory and live. The fact that these Scriptures speak of “nations” or “kings of the earth” does not allow us to reach a different conclusion.

Jesus Still Called “The Man”

Christ, a Spirit being, is still referred to in Scripture as “the MAN,” even in His glorified state (1 Timothy 2:5). One may read that Scripture and misconstrue it to mean that Christ is still a physical Man today. We know, of course, that He is not. With that same rationale, we might look at the passage in Revelation 21:24–26 that speaks of “kings” and “nations,” and conclude that these passages speak of physical human beings. They might, however, only refer to those Spirit beings who WERE, during their physical state of existence, kings or subjects. The point being made in Revelation 21 would be then, that regardless of what they had been in their physical life (“kings” or “nations”), they ALL will enter Jerusalem to worship God. Everyone will come to bring glory and honor to Jerusalem. Even though all of us, as Spirit beings, will be members of the God Family and “sons” of God the Father (Revelation 21:7), we will always remain UNDER God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ—we will always remain His servants (Revelation 22:3), but we will be Spirit beings, of course, no more flesh and bone.

Kings Rule Over Others

There may be another reason why the Bible talks about “kings” and “the nations of them which are saved” (Revelation 21:24). The Lamsa translation says: “And the people who have been saved…” Why is there still a differentiation made between kings and nations or people?

It is possible that these passages speak of former human beings who will by that time make up the nations of Spirit beings, who will have qualified for different levels of rulership. If so, the Spirit beings would then be grouped or organized as “nations” and “kings” after the Great White Throne Judgment. That is, the “kings” would be ruling over other Spirit beings (i.e., “the nations” or “people that have been saved”). We are being rewarded according to our works. Some will rule over more than others. In the end, though, we all will rule forever and ever (Revelation 22:5).

Some feel that Revelation 22:2 proves that there will still be physical human beings in existence after the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation 22:2 speaks of healing of the nations, but as we saw in the previous chapter, this is not talking about physical healing, but spiritual healing or refreshment. As Spirit beings, we will still have emotions. God can feel joy or anger, depending on what we do. It says that when God had ended His recreation work of the earth, He was refreshed (compare Exodus 31:17).

Taking all the Scriptures together, it is clear that there will be no human physical life in existence after the Great White Throne Judgment, when God will create everything new (Revelation 21:5). For more information regarding that “new” world, please read our free booklet, “God Is A Family.”

Chapter 26 – Outside Are Dogs and Sorcerers

Revelation 22:15

Revelation 22:14–15 states the following: “(14) Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. (15) But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

This passage describes a time AFTER the heavenly Jerusalem has descended to earth (described in Revelation 21)—AFTER “anyone not found in the Book of Life” had been “cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). “Death and Hades,” that is, all physical humans not written in the Book of Life, had already been “cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Revelation 20:14).

Revelation 22:19 adds that “if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book [better: Tree] of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

Those Who Are “Outside”

Since Revelation 22:15 talks about sinners who will be “outside” the heavenly Jerusalem, is it teaching that the souls of the lost ones are still roaming outside the city? No, because we read in an earlier passage, in Revelation 21:8, that those who have committed the unpardonable sin will have been thrown into the lake of fire, to be burned up and destroyed. [Revelation 21:8 reads: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”]

The lists of sins in Revelation 21:8 and Revelation 22:15 are very similar, indicating that these passages address the same kinds of people. In addition, we have proven before that people will not live forever in an ever-burning hell, but that those who permanently refuse to repent will be burned up and destroyed.

The Commentary on the Whole Bible by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, states: “As all the filth of the old Jerusalem was carried outside the walls and burnt there, so nothing defiled shall enter the heavenly city, but be burnt outside (cf. ch. 22:15).”

The Broadman Bible Commentary explains Revelation 22:15, as follows:

“The blessedness of the righteous is seen more clearly in John’s contrast with those outside. Outside does not mean that the wicked are milling around the exterior of the walls of the holy city. It means that they will never be inside the city; they are [or better: were cast into] the lake of fire (20:15). The term could have some reference to life in the present world; the righteous already know a habitation with God; the wicked are already outside.”

In fact, the Bible speaks repeatedly about those who are “outside”—who are not a part of the Church. We read in 1 Corinthians 5:12–13: “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person.” Compare, too, Colossians 4:5 and 1 Thessalonians 4:12.

The Greek word for “outside,” “exo,” which is used in those passages and in Revelation 22:15, can also mean “without.” In Matthew 13:47–48, it is translated as, “away”: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to the shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad AWAY.”

The meaning is clear: Those who are “bad”—those who practice the sins described in Revelation 22:15, as a way of life, without a willingness to repent—will be “outside” or “without” or “away from” the holy city and the Kingdom of God. Many Scriptures show that those people will not inherit or enter the Kingdom (compare 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21; and Ephesians 5:5). Note that the lists of sins, as set forth in 1 Corinthians, Galatians and Ephesians, are very similar to the sins mentioned in Revelation 21:8 and 22:15, including sexual immorality, idolatry, sorcery and murders. All of these lists address the same kinds of people.

Christ said in Luke 13:28: “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out [and thrown into the lake of fire, compare Matthew 13:41–42].”

Rather than teaching that the souls of the lost ones are “milling around the exterior of the walls of the holy city,” Revelation 22:15 teaches that they will not even be there! Moffat translates Revelation 22:15 in this way: “Begone, you dogs, you sorcerers, you vicious creatures, you murderers, you idolaters, you who love and practice falsehood, every one of you.” Other translations render the Greek word “exo” (i.e., “outside” or “without,”) as “excluded.” Those who refuse to repent will be EXCLUDED from access to the Kingdom of God and the holy city. They will be destroyed in the lake of fire, which is the second and final death, from which there is no resurrection back to life.

Conclusion

Saints Will Inherit ALL Things

We are told in Revelation 22:5 that the saints will rule in God’s Kingdom forever and ever (compare Daniel 7:18). They will inherit ALL things (Revelation 21:7)—everything that exists in the physical and the spirit world. However, as God’s children, they will always be submissive to God the Father (Revelation 22:3). His Name will be on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4; compare Revelation 14:1; 7:3).

We are assured that the things written in the book of Revelation will shortly come to pass (Revelation 22:6). Christ will come very soon (Revelation 22:7, 10, 20), to reward each “according to his work” (Revelation 22:12). We are therefore admonished to be mindful of the prophecy of the book of Revelation (Revelation 22:7) and to be, and continue to be, righteous and holy (Revelation 22:11), as only those who endure to the very end shall be saved (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).

If God has opened your mind to His Way of Life, He gives you the choice to respond accordingly (Revelation 22:17). All of us are specifically warned not to add to nor delete anything from the things that are written in the book of Revelation:

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book [better: Tree] of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18–19).

God’s true servants are admonished to persevere and to live by faith, not by sight (Revelation 13:10; 2 Corinthians 5:7). And with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 22:21), they can, and will succeed!

The Sacrificial System and the Tabernacle in the Wilderness

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Introduction

This booklet addresses a topic that might seem ancient, irrelevant and too boring to consider in our busy 21st century lifestyle. Why should we care about what the ancient Israelites did in the wilderness thousands of years ago? Why should we take the time to read about their sacrifices and their tabernacle? Besides, didn’t Jesus’ death abolish these ancient rites, so that there could not possibly be any importance attached to them, at least for true Christians, right?

Well, you just might be surprised!

The fact of the matter is, the sacrifices and the tabernacle in the wilderness have a very DEEP meaning for true Christians today! God was very specific—for good reason—when He instructed Moses and ancient Israel on the sacrificial system and the tabernacle in the wilderness, and their relevance for us today is NOT to be cast aside!

Be prepared now, for an astonishing journey through the pages of history, as well as the prophecies that point to events that are yet to be fulfilled, and you will begin to see the bigger picture of how the sacrificial system and the tabernacle in the wilderness are very relevant in YOUR life today!

Chapter 1—What Is the Sacrificial Offering System?

The sacrificial system is described in detail in the book of Leviticus. The Hebrew title of the book is, “And He Called.” The Jewish Talmud calls it the “Law of the Priests” and the “Law of the Offerings.” In the Greek Septuagint, it is called, “That Which Pertains to the Levites,” from which the Latin name “Leviticus” is derived.

The theme of the book is the admonition for God’s people to become “holy” (Leviticus 19:2; 20:26). The people of ancient Israel did not become a holy people at that time, but God says that they will become a holy people in the future (Isaiah 62:12). True Christians today are already called a holy people, a “holy [or “royal,” compare 1 Peter 2:9] priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” (1 Peter 2:5).

Sacrifices—Past, Present and Future

The Bible reveals the correlation between the ancient sacrificial offering system described in the book of Leviticus and the way we worship today, as well as future worship in the Millennium.

Sacrifices Before Moses’ Time

The Bible reveals that offerings and sacrifices were already being given before the sacrificial system was established—long before the time of Moses.

Genesis 4:3–4 gives a report of offerings presented by Cain and Abel. They apparently knew of the custom of bringing various offerings from time to time; in this case, grain and burnt offerings. However, Cain apparently brought his sacrifice grudgingly, while Abel brought his offering willingly. We are told that God accepted the offering that Abel brought, but rejected Cain’s offering.

In Genesis 8:20, we have a report of Noah’s burnt offering, which was accepted by God. We also read that Job offered burnt offerings to God (Job 1:5), and that God commanded Job’s three friends to give a burnt offering (Job 42:8)

When dealing with the Old Testament sacrificial offering system under Moses, we must understand that it did not include wrong or unholy laws. The sacrificial system was enacted to deal with the sins of carnal people who had not received the Holy Spirit. God certainly would have preferred, of course, that people not sin at all (compare Jeremiah 7:21–23; Psalm 51:16–19). This still can be said of true Christians today. God wants us to not sin, so that we can then claim forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Sacrifices Under Christ and the Early New Testament Church

We find that the sacrificial offering system was administered during the time of Christ. Luke 2:22–24 tells us that Mary and Joseph gave burnt and sin offerings (compare Leviticus 12:1–8); and we read in Luke 5:12–14 that Jesus commanded a healed leper to give an offering. That particular offering included all types of sacrifices described within the sacrificial system; i.e., a grain offering, a sin offering, a burnt offering, a trespass offering and a subtype of the peace offering (compare Leviticus 14:10–13; all to be discussed below).

It is true, of course, that after the death of Christ, sacrifices were no longer necessary (compare Hebrews 10:1–10, specifically addressing burnt offerings). Hebrews 10:18 tells us that “there is no longer an offering for sin.” However, it was not prohibited to participate in the sacrificial offering system after Christ’s death. Jewish Christians sacrificed until the destruction of the temple in 70A.D.

We read in Acts 21:18–24 that Paul participated in the offering system. When following the “customs” of the Jews, he did the following: “Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them” (verse 26).

It was of course not sinful for Paul to participate in these customs, although they were no longer required. Paul said that he became a Jew to the Jews in order to win some (1 Corinthians 9:20). And, although he had made it clear that circumcision was no longer required, he still circumcised Timothy, for the Jews’ sake, in order not to place a stumbling block before them (Acts 16:1–3). He did it not for the sake of the believing Jews—for he brought with them the decree of the apostles and elders to satisfy them that circumcision was no longer necessary—but rather for the sake of the unbelieving Jews who would not have allowed an uncircumcised person to teach in their synagogues.

Later, Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews to show the Jewish Christians that they did not need a physical temple and that participation in the sacrificial offering system was no longer required.

It is important to understand that the sacrificial system was never enforced on Gentiles who became Christians (Acts 15:19–20). At the same time, they had to abstain from those things that had been part of a pagan offering system. As we explain in our booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…”, on page 17, the four items to be avoided (idols, sexual immorality, strangled meat and blood) were all prohibitions listed in the context of the sacrificial system within the Law of Moses. So as to avoid any misunderstanding, the apostles and elders clarified to the Gentiles that these laws were still valid and binding on them.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible explains it in this way:

“By the first, Pollutions of Idols, or, as it is in Acts 15:29, meats offered to idols, not only all idolatry was forbidden, but eating things offered in sacrifice to idols, knowing that they were thus offered, and joining with idolaters in their sacred feasts, which were always an incentive either to idolatry itself, or to the impure acts generally attendant on such festivals.

“By the second, Fornication, all uncleanness of every kind was prohibited; for [“porneia”] not only means fornication, but adultery, incestuous mixtures, and especially the prostitution which was so common at the idol temples, viz. in Cyprus, at the worship of Venus; and the shocking disorders exhibited in the Bacchanalia, Lupercalia, and several others.

“By the third, Things Strangled, we are to understand the flesh of those animals which were strangled for the purpose of keeping the blood in the body, as such animals were esteemed a greater delicacy.

“By the fourth, Blood, we are to understand, not only the thing itself… but also all cruelty, manslaughter, murder, etc., as some of the ancient fathers have understood it.”

As mentioned, even though the sacrificial system was not to be enforced on the Gentiles, Acts 15:19–20 shows that Gentiles were not prohibited from participating in it; but when they did, they had to do so in accordance with God’s instructions.

Sacrifices Before Christ’s Return and in the Millennium

God reveals to us that offerings will be given during the Millennium.

For instance, we read about the time of the Millennium in Ezekiel 43:18, 22, 27: “And He said to me, ‘Son of man, thus says the Lord God: “These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it… On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering… When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priest shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar…”’”

Another passage that describes the time of the Millennium is Ezekiel 44:15, 29–30. It refers to the offering of fat and blood, as well as grain offerings, sin offerings and trespass offerings. Describing the same time setting, Zechariah 14:21 says that “Everyone who sacrifices shall come” to the LORD’S house—a new Temple in Jerusalem.

From these Scriptures, we see clearly that burnt offerings, peace offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings and trespass offerings will be given in the Millennium.

We also understand that the Jews will give offerings again, for a while, just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. In Malachi 3:2–4, these offerings, which apparently may not be pleasing to God, are compared with the offerings that will be given in the Millennium, which WILL be pleasing to God.

Yes, in the future, sacrifices will be reinstated—at least on a temporary basis—but GOD will NOT reinstate the Old Testament sacrificial SYSTEM. That is, the sacrifices that will be given before Christ’s return (Daniel 12:11), and those given in the Millennium (compare Ezekiel 40:38–43, which describes the preparation of burnt offerings, sin offerings and trespass offerings during the Millennium), are not the same as those that were part of the old covenants with the nations of Israel and Judah. The New Testament tells us that the sacrifices—as part of the Old Testament system—are no longer valid. The Levites will still officiate over sacrifices, but these sacrifices will not be given pursuant to the same system that existed in the Old Testament, under Moses.

The Bible also indicates that, at the beginning of the Millennium, new moons will be kept in conjunction with the bringing of sacrifices (Ezekiel 45:17, 46:1, 3, 6; Isaiah 66:20–23). However, there is no Biblical injunction for us today that would compel us to either celebrate new moons or bring sacrifices.

It is important to understand that the millennial sacrifices will NOT be brought for the purpose of forgiveness of sin! Only Christ’s shed blood accomplished this—once and for all! But God introduced the sacrificial system to ancient Israel because Israel had sinned and the sacrifices served as a reminder of their sins. Apparently, for the same reason in the Millennium, sacrifices will be brought so that carnal, unconverted people can begin to appreciate the awesome purpose and meaning of Christ’s Sacrifice and how God looks at sin.

Animal sacrifices, especially, illustrate what sin does to us and others, as well as what Christ did for us. They teach us one reason for the suffering of innocent and righteous people: Even Jesus Christ suffered, although He was totally innocent. The killing of innocent animals points at the suffering and ultimate death of Jesus Christ.

Of necessity, there will be an ongoing physical priesthood serving throughout the Millennium in order to properly administer the sacrifices. The physical sacrifices extant at that time will be brought in Jerusalem—in a newly-built temple—and will be part of the new administration that God’s Kingdom will usher in.

What We Can Learn from the Sacrifices

We DO know that all five types of the Old Testament sacrifices will be given again in the future, after Christ has returned, and we DO understand that they hold a deep symbolic meaning. The ancient sacrifices pointed to Christ and what He would accomplish by sacrificing His own life. In this way, the sacrifices foreshadowed the substance, or essence, of the ultimate reality—Christ—the Savior. Most people in Old Testament times did not understand that, nor do many today understand this very important symbolism.

The sacrifices show us how careful and diligent the people had to be in following God’s detailed and specific instructions—to the letter—and even though most people did not understand the real meaning behind those instructions, they were still obligated to follow them, precisely.

The same can be said for our worship of God today. We may not know why God instructs us to do a certain thing or to avoid doing something. We may, in fact, think we know better. God’s command in a given situation may not sound “logical,” reasonable or convincing to us. But God does know what is best for us, and He requires that we follow Him—obeying Him exactly in every detail—whether we understand the reason for it or not.

Five Types of Offerings and What They Symbolize

There are only five types of offerings that God required: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering. As we will show, they portray five steps in our reconciliation with God—actually picturing what Christ did for us and how we are to respond to Him.

Five Steps of Reconciliation

These five types of offerings are given here in brief summary form as they correlate to the five steps of reconciliation with God. We will discuss them in much more detail in the ensuing sections of this booklet.

The burnt offering foreshadows the first step toward our renewed contact or reconciliation with God—loving God. We are to strive to live sinless lives and to become living sacrifices, thus expressing our love toward God.

The grain offering foreshadows the second step of our reconciliation with God—loving our neighbor. We are to strive to live a sinless life toward our neighbor, thus expressing our love for our neighbor.

The peace offering foreshadows the third step of our reconciliation with God, and is what the name implies—peace. We express peace by having continual peaceful fellowship with God and with our neighbor.

The sin offering foreshadows the fourth step of our reconciliation with God—forgiveness of our sins. We can receive continual forgiveness of sin and our sinful nature through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The trespass offering foreshadows the fifth step of our reconciliation with God—forgiveness of our sins and trespasses against our neighbor. Additionally, this offering requires some form of restitution in order to fully reconcile with our neighbor.

Our complete reconciliation with God is made possible through Christ’s Sacrifice for our sins and trespasses and our sinful nature, along with having Him continually living His life in us, thereby continually purifying us. But we have to do our part as well. We have to accept what Christ did for us in the past and what He is doing for us today, and we have to be willing participants in the process of becoming perfected.

The ancient sacrifices foreshadowed what Christ would do for us, and even though they are not required to be performed today, the significance of the symbolism contained in each type of sacrifice cannot be ignored by true Christians today. They show us—in symbolic and figurative ways—how we are to approach and respond to our God and our Savior—in appreciation and obedience—by living a sinless life, thus becoming a living sacrifice.

The Five Types of Offerings in Detail

The Burnt Offering

The burnt offering is described in Leviticus 1:1–17. For space limitations, we will not quote the entire passage, but we strongly recommend that you study this passage in your Bible before continuing to read this booklet. In doing so, you will gain a better understanding as we explain the details of the offering.

Purpose of the Burnt Offering

To bring about our reconciliation with God, by loving God; it foreshadowed the first step toward renewed contact with God.

The Kind of Sacrifice Offered

A male animal without blemish; i.e., a bull, a lamb, a goat or a dove.

What Was Offered?

The entire animal was burned.

Consumption

No one, not even the priests, ate anything from that animal.

Symbolism

It symbolized Christ.

The innocent, sinless Jesus Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice. Leviticus 1:2 shows that the burnt offering was a voluntary offering—as Christ gave His life for us voluntarily (John 10:17–18).

The animal sacrifice had to be without blemish (Leviticus 1:3)—as Christ was without blemish—without sin (compare 1 Peter 2:21–22).

The animal was a sweet-smelling aroma (Leviticus 1:9)—as it pleased God to give His only-begotten Son to die for us so that man could enter the Family of God and become an immortal Spirit being, AND it pleases God when He sees us respond to Christ’s Sacrifice.

All the animals that could be sacrificed symbolized Christ.

They included a bull (verses 3, 5), symbolizing strength (In Isaiah 34:6–7, the destruction of powerful Edom is pictured as a slaughter of wild oxen, young bulls and mighty bulls).

They also included a lamb or a goat (verse 10), which portrays acceptance of God’s Will without complaining (Isaiah 53:7), as well as persistence and strong leadership.

Another animal that could be sacrificed was a dove (verse 14), portraying innocence and sincerity (Matthew 10:16).

In addition, the burnt offering symbolized the true Christian, in whom Jesus Christ lives.

We are called living and holy sacrifices (Romans 12:1). We have to give our life as a living sacrifice to God. As the burnt offering was completely burned (Leviticus 1:9), so we must give ourselves completely and without reservation to God. As members of God’s Church, we have to become without blemish (Ephesians 5:25–27).

Gentiles to be a Sacrifice

In this context, let us also consider the following remarkable statement found in Romans 15:15–16, showing that converted Gentiles are also to be living sacrifices. The Authorized Version reads: “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy [Spirit].”

Other translations render this passage as follows:

“…so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God” (New International Version); “…so that gentiles might become an acceptable offering” (New Jerusalem Bible); “…to offer the Gentiles to him as an acceptable sacrifice” (Revised English Bible); “…so that the Gentiles, when offered before him, may be an acceptable sacrifice” (Century Translations in Modern English).

Further Symbolism of the Burnt Offering

Before the burnt offering was sacrificed, it was cut into its pieces (Leviticus 1:6)—the head, the fat (verse 8), as well as its entrails and the legs, which also had to be washed (verse 9). They all were to be burned as well. But why did God insist on prior special “treatment” and emphasis? The reason is that the different “parts” represented something.

The head represents our thoughts and intellect (Isaiah 1:5–6 says that the whole head of Israel is sick).

The fat represents a blessed human being (Deuteronomy 31:20).

The entrails (The Authorized Version states: “inwards”) represent our feelings and motivation. Psalm 64:6 tells us that both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. Jeremiah 31:33 says that God will put His law in the inward parts of the people (compare the Authorized Version).

The legs represent our walk—our way of living. In the Hebrew, as in the English, the words “legs” are used in the plural—referring to all of them—showing unity and coordination; one leg does not move to the left, while another leg moves to the right. The legs represent coordinated strength in our way of living. Compare Ephesians 4:1 (“walk worthy”); Ephesians 5:15 (“walk circumspectly as wise, not fools”); 1 Kings 18:21 (“how long do you limp on both sides?”, Luther Bible); Hebrews 12:12–13 (“make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may… be healed”).

The legs had to be washed. The washing of our feelings and our walk represents our cleansing (compare Ephesians 5:25–26).

The person giving the offering had to lay his hand on the head of the animal (Leviticus 1:4), indicating his identification with the sacrifice. He had to kill it himself (verse 5), as he was responsible for and guilty of the death of Jesus Christ—as all of us are, individually and collectively. Isaiah 53:5 says that Christ was wounded—pierced through—for our transgressions, and Isaiah 53:8 says that He was stricken for the transgression of God’s people.

Meaning for Us Today

The sacrifice was burnt—as a complete and total burnt offering. Mark 9:49 says: “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.”

We have to lead a sinless life, a life which is tested and found genuine through fire (compare 1 Peter 1:6–7; 4:12). Every part of a Christian—his thoughts, feelings and his deeds—must be subjected to God, as Christ was submissive to the Father. And, we must love God totally—before anything or anyone else (compare Matthew 22:37).

The burnt offering was a request to God to accept the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is being produced in the life of a true Christian. We read in Romans 15:16 that the offering or sacrifice of the Gentile Christians is acceptable when sanctified through the Holy Spirit. We also read in 1 Peter 2:4–5, that we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. When Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and when we follow His lead, then we are totally accepted by God, and even our death will be precious in His sight (Psalm 116:15; Isaiah 57:1–2).

To reiterate, the burnt offering symbolizes our love toward God. Our love toward God is summarized in the first four of God’s Ten Commandments.

The Grain Offering

The grain offering is described in Leviticus 2:1–16. Again, for reasons of limited space, we are not quoting the entire passage here; but please read the passage in your Bible before continuing, so that you can fully appreciate the connection between the past, the present and the future sacrifices.

The grain offering was sometimes given together with a drink offering (Leviticus 23:13). They constituted non-animal offerings, but they were sometimes given together with animal sacrifices (compare Numbers 15:2–12).

Purpose of the Grain Offering

It foreshadowed the second step toward our reconciliation with God, by loving our neighbor.

The Kind of Sacrifice Offered

Fine flour, oil, frankincense; unleavened cakes with oil; and salt.

What Was Offered?

Handful of fine flour with oil and frankincense (Leviticus 2:2).

Consumption

The priests ate the sacrifice.

Symbolism

It symbolized Christ.

Christ gives Himself as the true bread for man (compare John 6:48–51). Christ made clear that He is the Bread of Life.

The grain offering symbolizes Christ’s love towards us—His neighbors. This Godly love toward neighbor is summarized in the last six of the Ten Commandments. [As we mentioned, the first four commandments summarize our love toward God—symbolized in the burnt offering.] Therefore, the burnt offering and the grain offering are closely connected (Numbers 28:11–12; Judges 13:19; Ezra 7:17).

The Grain Offering symbolized also the individual Christian.

We have to symbolically “eat” Christ—the Bread of Life (compare John 6:48, 50). We have to live by every word of God that comes out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

We are reconciled to God—on a continual basis—if we love God AND our neighbor. 1 John 5:2 says that we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments.
1 John 4:12 adds that if we love one another, God abides in us; and 1 John 4:20 says that if anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, cannot love God, either.

As Christians, we are to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39; Romans 13:9–10).

The grain offering is a sweet aroma to the Lord (Leviticus 2:2), as it is pleasing to God when we love our neighbor. Compare Ephesians 5:1–2: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

Let us also take note of the symbolism of the different ingredients of the grain offerings.

The grain offering had to be mixed with oil (Leviticus 2:2–5), symbolizing the anointing with the Holy Spirit (compare Acts 10:38; Isaiah 61:1). We can only truly love our neighbor with Godly love, when, and as long as God’s Holy Spirit lives in us. Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that God gave us.

The grain offering included frankincense (Leviticus 2:2)—but not honey (verse 11), as honey is perishable. Sweet incense or frankincense is symbolic for the prayers of the saints (compare Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8). Revelation 8:3 tells us that our prayers are offered with much incense upon the golden altar in front of the throne of God in heaven. In the context of the grain offering (picturing love toward neighbor), we see that our prayers need to express our love toward our neighbor.

We read that the Magi gave frankincense as a gift to the Christ Child (Matthew 2:11). This has been understood as a reference to Christ becoming our High Priest, who represents us before God the Father in heaven.

The grain offering included salt (Leviticus 2:13), indicating permanency and incorruption (compare Numbers 18:19). Our love toward our neighbor must be enduring and lasting.

Wine was another ingredient of the grain offering (compare Numbers 15:5 for the drink offering—a subtype of the grain offering). Wine represents the blood of Jesus Christ. As true Christians, we are instructed to partake of the Passover, once a year, by eating bread and drinking wine (compare John 6:53–54).

Normally no leaven was to be offered with the grain offering (Leviticus 2:4, 5, 11), as leaven is sometimes used in the Bible to symbolize sin (compare 1 Corinthians 5:7). Leaven was permitted to be offered in the context of the offering of the firstfruits—but not on the altar—to show that Christians, who are called “firstfruits” (James 1:18; Revelation 14:4) are not yet without sin. When leaven was offered, it was NOT a sweet-smelling aroma (Leviticus 2:12).

The Peace Offering

The Peace Offering is described in Leviticus 3:1–17; 7:11–18, 28–34. We again urge you to read these passages in your Bible before continuing, to gain the full benefit of what you are reading in this booklet.

The peace offering was divided into five different categories of offerings:

  • the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving (Leviticus 7:12–15)
  • the Sacrifice for a Vow (Leviticus 7:16–17)
  • the Sacrifice as a Voluntary or Freewill Offering (Leviticus 7:16–18)
  • the Sacrifice as a Heave Offering for the priest (Leviticus 7:14, 28–34)
  • the Sacrifice as a Wave Offering for the priest (Leviticus 7:28–34)

Purpose of the Peace Offering

It foreshadowed the third step toward our reconciliation with God, by having peaceful fellowship with God, as well as a peaceful meal with the priest and the one who brings the offering (“the offeror”).

A good relationship between the true ministry of God and the membership is important. This includes respect for the office of the ministry. The peace offering pictures the priest representing the entire community or “church,” when he [representing all the people] ate with the offeror.

We find a similar analogy in Matthew 18:17. In that passage, the word “church” refers to the ministry. After an unrepentant sinner refuses to listen to the offended brother or sister, as well as selected witnesses, it is the “church’s” responsibility—that is, the responsibility of the ministry, representing the church—to speak to the sinner, in a last ditch effort to show him or her the severity of his or her actions.

The Kind of Sacrifice Offered

Blameless male or female ox (Leviticus 3:1), lamb or goat (vv. 7, 12).

What Was Offered?

Only the fat which covers the entrails, the kidneys and the fatty lobe attached to the liver had to be burned to the LORD.

Consumption

The consumption of the unburned parts depended on the type of the offering:

The high priest received the breast during a wave offering (compare Leviticus 7:30).

The priests received the right thigh during a heave offering (compare Leviticus 7:33–34).

The rest was eaten by the offeror—the one who offered the animal. The peace offering constituted the ONLY OFFERING in which the offeror shared, by eating a portion of the sacrifice.

If the peace offering was a thanksgiving offering, it had to be eaten on the same day.

If the peace offering was a voluntary or free will offering, or a vow offering, it had to be eaten on the first or the second day.

Symbolism

Since God and the priest and the offeror participated in the consumption of the sacrifice, it symbolized our fellowship with God and our brethren (compare 1 John 1:3).

It was a sweet-smelling aroma (Leviticus 3:5), just as our true fellowship with God and our fellow brethren is pleasing to God. It is also very pleasing to God that we have become a part of His very Family—the Family of God. We read in 1 John 3:2 that we are already the children of God.

The peace offering symbolizes peace between God and man. In Isaiah 9:6–7; 53:5, we find the symbolism referring to Jesus Christ—our “Peace”—who will bring us peace; and in Psalm 133:1, we find the symbolism referring to Christians who live in peace with their brethren.

As mentioned, a thanksgiving offering had to be eaten on the same day—showing that we must not delay to give thanks to God for what He does for us (compare Hebrews 13:15–16).

A vow offering had to be eaten on the first or on the second day. This indicates that we should make careful consideration before we make a vow or a promise. Once we make it, we must keep it (compare Ecclesiastes 5:1–7).

The Sin Offering

The sin offering is described in Leviticus 4:1–35; 5:1–13. When reading these passages in your Bible, please note that the headline of Leviticus 5:1 is confusing in the New King James Bible, as it gives the impression that the trespass offering begins with Leviticus 5:1. This is false. The trespass offering does not start until Leviticus 5:14, compare the Luther Bible. Please note, too, that Leviticus 5:6 is poorly translated in the New King James Bible. Rather than saying, “he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD,” it should read, “guilt offering.” Leviticus 5:6 is still talking about the “sin offering.”

Since the sin offering deals with sin, let us briefly mention what sin is. Basically, we find three Biblical definitions of sin:

1 John 3:4 tells us that “sin is lawlessness” or—as the Authorized Version has it—“the transgression of the law.”

Romans 14:23 tells us that “whatever is not from faith is sin.”

And James 4:17 tells us: “…to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

The sin offering includes, symbolically, all these aspects of sin.

Purpose of the Sin Offering

It constituted a sacrifice for a specific sin for which no restitution was possible. It foreshadowed the fourth step toward our permanent reconciliation with God, showing the importance of maintaining a peaceful relationship with God.

No restitution was possible in those kinds of sacrifices, symbolizing the fact that nothing we can do entitles us to the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We cannot earn our salvation. No restitution or payment, and no amount or degree of penance will make us clean in the sight of God (compare Proverbs 20:9).

The Kind of Sacrifice Offered

A young bull without blemish if a priest sins (Leviticus 4:3); a young bull if the congregation sins (Leviticus 4:14); a male kid of the goats without blemish if a ruler sins (verse 23); or a female kid of the goats or a female lamb without blemish if a common person sins (verses 27–28, 32).

If the common person cannot offer a kid of the goats or a lamb as a sacrifice, he is permitted to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons (Leviticus 5:7). If he can’t even do that, he can bring a certain amount of flour (Leviticus 5:11).

These provisions ensured that EVERYBODY who has sinned was able to bring the sin offering.

Note Hebrews 9:22 in this context, which says that “ALMOST” all things are by the law purged or purified with blood. As was the case in Leviticus 5:11, in rare circumstances, atonement could be received without the shedding of blood (compare also Numbers 16:46; 31:50).

We might also note that the burnt and the grain offerings were sometimes given together with the sin offering (compare Numbers 28:11–15)—picturing the fact that sin is still in our lives, even after conversion, requiring the “revisiting” of the previous steps of establishing a permanent relationship and reconciliation with God.

What Was Offered?

The fat was burned on the altar; or in the case of flour, a handful was burned.

Consumption

Priests ate the sacrifice (including the flour as a grain offering, Leviticus 5:13); the one who gave the offering did not eat from it (Leviticus 6:25–26).

This shows the part that a priest or a minister has in the pronouncement of the forgiveness of sin. Only God forgives sin, but He uses His priests, prophets and ministers, at times, to make the fact clear to others that God forgave sins (compare 2 Samuel 12:13; John 20:22–23).

Symbolism

The sin offering symbolizes Christ who carries our sins. The animal [carcass] was burned outside the camp (compare Leviticus 4:11–12, 21). Christ was killed outside the City of Jerusalem (compare Hebrews 13:12–13). Sin will not enter the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27; 22:14–15).

The sin offering also symbolized the individual Christian. Christ died for our sins (compare 2 Corinthians 5:21), including our sinful nature (compare Romans 8:3–4; 7:18). We need to crucify our individual sins, as well as our human carnal nature (compare Galatians 5:16, 24). We must become dead to sin—not just individual sinful acts (compare Romans 6:10–11). We must die to sin and be cleansed from sin on a continual basis (compare 1 John 1:7–9).

The Trespass Offering

The trespass offering is described in Leviticus 5:14–19; 6:1–7; 7:1–17. Again, please carefully read these passages from your Bible before continuing.

Purpose of the Trespass Offering

It constituted a sacrifice for sin for which restitution WAS possible. It foreshadowed the fifth and final step toward our permanent reconciliation with God, showing the importance of maintaining a peaceful relationship with our neighbor.

The Kind of Sacrifice Offered

A ram without blemish (Leviticus 5:15).

What was Offered?

Only the fat, which was burned (Leviticus 7:3–5).

Consumption

The priest ate the sacrifice (Leviticus 7:7). The one who brought the sacrifice did not eat from it.

Again, this shows the role of the priest or minister in the pronouncement of forgiveness of sin, as well as regarding physical healing (compare James 5:14–16).

Symbolism

The sin offering is closely related to the trespass offering (compare Leviticus 7:7). The sin offering symbolized Jesus Christ’s ultimate Sacrifice. We read that Christ died for our sins and trespasses (2 Corinthians 5:19; Ephesians 2:1–5; Colossians 2:13). While sin many times describes an unlawful action against God, trespasses relate to unlawful conduct against our neighbor.

The trespass offering was made for individual sinful acts—not for the sinful nature per se. It was also necessary to eradicate or recompense for the consequences of trespasses (Leviticus 5:16). We should note, however, that even though restitution was made toward the wronged neighbor, God still required, in addition to that, the bringing of an offering—because when we trespass against our neighbor, we at the same time sin against God.

The trespass offering symbolized also the individual Christian. Christ’s Sacrifice is sufficient to forgive us our sins, our sinful nature and even the damage that we might have caused to others by our conduct (compare Hebrews 10:14). But we are still to go to our neighbor to bring about reconciliation with him, whether he has sinned against us or we have sinned against him, or even if we know that he thinks we did. Matthew 18:15 emphasizes the case when our brother sins against us, while Matthew 5:23–26 describes our responsibilities toward our brother when our brother has something against us; that is, when we have wronged him.

All Sacrifices Listed

A summary listing of these five sacrifices is also given in Leviticus 7:37–38 as follows: “This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecrations [for the priests, as described in Leviticus 8:1 ff] and the sacrifice of the peace offering, which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day when He commanded the children of Israel to offer their offerings to the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai.”

It is interesting to note that God changes the order slightly in this summary, placing the sin and the trespass offering BEFORE the peace offering. He did not focus here on the necessary order of steps to establish permanent reconciliation with God, but He wanted to emphasize the ultimate goal of our Christian life—to obtain and maintain PEACE with God and our neighbor. We can only accomplish this when the peace of God lives in us.

The Five Steps of Reconciliation with God

In a brief recap of the five types of offerings, we can see how they correlate with the five steps toward our reconciliation with God. As previously mentioned, all Old Testament sacrifices point toward Christ. They picture what Christ did for us, what He is still doing for us today, and how we are to respond to Him. They picture reconciliation with God.

The Burnt Offering = The First Step toward our reconciliation or renewed contact with God.

Admonition: Strive to live a sinless life toward God; become a living sacrifice, out of love toward God

The Grain Offering = The Second Step toward our reconciliation with God.

Admonition: Strive to live a sinless life toward our neighbor, out of love toward our neighbor.

The Peace Offering = The Third Step toward our reconciliation with God.

Admonition: Have continued peaceful fellowship with God and our neighbor.

The Sin Offering = The Fourth Step toward our reconciliation with God.

Admonition: Obtain continued forgiveness of our sins against God and our sinful nature, through Jesus Christ.

The Trespass Offering = The Fifth Step toward our reconciliation with God.

Admonition: Obtain continued forgiveness of our individual sins and trespasses against our neighbor, through Christ, requiring restitution (by going to our neighbor).

Summary of the Symbolism of the Sacrificial System

Our permanent and enduring reconciliation with God is made possible only through Christ’s Sacrifice for our sins against God and neighbor, and our sinful nature, as well as His living in us and continually purifying us. But we have to do our part. We have to accept what Christ did for us in the past, and what He is doing for us now, and we have to be willing participants in the process of becoming more and more perfect.

The sacrifices foreshadowed what Christ would do for us. Even though they are no longer required to be given by us today, they have great symbolic meaning for us. They show, in figurative ways, how we are to respond to our great Savior, King and Lord. We are to appreciate and obey God’s Word; we are to be living sacrifices; and we are to become more and more perfect in developing the very character and mind of God.

Chapter 2—The Tabernacle in the Wilderness

As we saw in the first chapter, God was very specific in His instructions to the Israelites regarding the various types of sacrifices. We will see in this chapter that He was also very specific about where those sacrifices were to be brought. God did not want the Israelites to sacrifice just anywhere. Rather, they had to bring their offerings to a place that was designed specifically for that purpose—the tabernacle in the wilderness. And, like the sacrifices performed in it, the tabernacle in the wilderness also carries a very deep meaning for us today.

Those who like to be entertained by movies, have undoubtedly seen Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” If you have seen it, you may recall the climactic scene when the ark of the covenant was opened and evil persons were exterminated by some ghostly apparitions ascending from the ark. That, of course, was pure Hollywood fiction!

But what about the true ark of the covenant? What happened to it? Originally, it was placed in a big tent, referred to in Scripture as the Tabernacle. But the ark has been lost from sight. As is the case with Noah’s ark, there is wild speculation as to where it may be, and whether or not it is going to be found and excavated before, or after, Christ’s return. Some even claim that the ark of the covenant will be found before Christ’s return so as to motivate the Jews to begin again to bring sacrifices. That, of course, is pure speculation and is not backed by any Biblical evidence whatsoever.

What then, became of the ark of the covenant?

According to Jewish tradition (compare 2 Maccabees 2:1–8, Revised Standard Version), Jeremiah hid the ark, the tent and the altar of incense in a cave on the mountain where Moses was buried, and he then sealed the entrance. He told the people: “The place shall remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear…” (verses 7–8).

But this “tradition” does not seem to square with Scripture. We read in Jeremiah 3:16 regarding the ark of the covenant at the time when God will gather His people: “’Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,’ says the LORD, ‘that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.’”

Earthly Tabernacle

We read in Exodus 25:8–9 that the entire earthly tabernacle and its furnishings were to be made according to a pattern shown by God to Moses. The earthly tabernacle was to reflect and resemble a heavenly reality—a heavenly tabernacle (compare Acts 7:44–47; Hebrews 8:4–5; 9:1, 11, 23–24; Revelation 11:19; 15:5).

In the New Testament, Paul gives us the following summary of the tabernacle in the wilderness and its furnishings. We read in Hebrews 9:2–5: “For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary [holy place; literally, “holies”]; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant [the Ten Commandments]; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat…”

The entire complex of the tabernacle in the wilderness consisted of the court, which was surrounded by a fence or an entrance curtain, and the tent.

The Israelite would enter the court after passing the fence. Before him, and between him and the tent, was the altar of burnt offering. Behind the altar, but before the tent, was the bronze laver or bronze basin, for the use of the priests who would carry out the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering. It was a large ceremonial vessel for washing—restricted to only the priests. The Latin word lavatorium and our word “lavatory” are derived from the word, laver.

The priest would go into the tent through a veil. The tent itself was divided into the Holy Place, or Sanctuary, and the Holiest of All, which was also called the Holy of Holies.

The Sanctuary or Holy Place contained:

    The table of showbread, which stood at the right-hand or north side.

    The lampstand with seven arms, which stood to the left or south side.

    The altar of incense [which was placed before the second veil, which separated the Holy Place or Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies].

The Holy of Holies, also known as the Most Holy Place, contained:

    The ark with the mercy seat and the two cherubim (angelic beings).

    Later were added a golden pot with manna, Aaron’s rod that budded (compare Numbers 17:1–5), and, temporarily, the golden censor. In addition, the tablets of the covenant; that is, the Ten Commandments, were placed inside the chest or the ark of the covenant.

    The tabernacle was set up one year after Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:2), and nine months after Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1).

Specific Measurements Given

We read in Exodus 25:10 that the ark of the covenant was two and a half cubits in length, a cubit and a half was to be its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

A cubit was the length of a man’s arm from his elbow to his extended middle finger. The commonly accepted estimate for the cubit is 18 inches. The ark, then, would have been approximately 4 feet long and about 2-1/4 feet wide and high (exactly 3’9” x 2’3” x 2’3”).

The tabernacle tent took up 1/15th of the entire complex. The Holy Place measured 20 x 10 cubits; the Holy of Holies measured 5 x 5 cubits. The court measured 100 x 50 cubits (Ex. 27:18); or 150 feet x 75 feet, and was screened with linen curtains 7 ½ feet high.

In giving measurements in meters, the court, which was surrounded by a fence, would have been 50 x 25 meters.

The Tabernacle and the Temples

Once the tabernacle was finished, God filled it with His glory, as He also did when the temple of Solomon was built 500 years later, replacing the tabernacle. The ark of the covenant and some of the furnishings were placed in the temple (compare 1 Kings 8:4, 6–9). 1 Chronicles 9:23 refers to the temple as the “house of the tabernacle.” It also speaks of the temple as the house of the LORD, after the ark came to rest (compare 1 Chronicles 6:31). The temple was not just the successor to the tabernacle. The tabernacle, at least through its most important piece—the ark of the covenant—along with some other furniture, was actually located INSIDE the temple.

When Israel turned away from God, His glory and presence departed, and the temple was destroyed in 587 B.C. At that time, the tabernacle and its contents disappeared from the Bible. The temple was rebuilt—but the tabernacle was no longer in it—even though some items may have been.

For example, one of the candlesticks, which were later placed in Solomon’s temple, was taken and afterwards returned by the Babylonians. The candlestick in Herod’s temple might have been that candlestick that originated with the tabernacle in the wilderness. It was taken to Rome in 70 A.D., and nothing further is known about it.

Solomon’s Temple

When Solomon built a temple, following the instructions and the design of his father David, it was to represent a more permanent dwelling place for God—even though God does not dwell in temples made by human hands (compare Acts 7:47–50)—while the tabernacle was to represent a portable “temple.” God did not really dwell in either; it was merely a symbolic way of showing the “presence” of God. In that way, God will again “dwell” or “tabernacle” with man in the future (compare Leviticus 26:11; Revelation 21:3).

Solomon’s temple was patterned after the tabernacle in the wilderness. However, there were some distinctions: The tabernacle was exactly half the size of Solomon’s temple. The temple had a porch or “vestibule,” which the tabernacle did not have. Later, the temple built under Zerubbabel was patterned after Solomon’s temple. It had a porch as well, but it was only half that high. Under Herod, that temple was greatly remodeled, and the porch’s height was increased.

Details of Solomon’s Temple

The temple’s Most Holy Place or “inner sanctuary” (1 Kings 6:19; 8:6), which corresponded to the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle, was called also the “inner house” or “inner room” (1 Kings 6:27). The floors were made with the cedars of Lebanon (1 Kings 5:6; 6:16), and its walls and floor were overlaid with pure gold (1 Kings 6:20, 21, 30).

It contained two cherubim (1 Kings 6:23), corresponding to the two cherubim on top of the ark of the covenant of the tabernacle. Each had outspread wings, so that, since they stood side by side, the wings touched the wall on either side and met in the center of the room (1 Kings 6:24–28).

There were doors between it and the Holy Place, overlaid with gold (2 Chronicles 4:22); also a veil of blue, purple, crimson and fine linen (2 Chronicles 3:14), corresponding to the veil of the tabernacle, separating the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place had no windows (1 Kings 8:12). It was considered the dwelling place of God, who must give us His light to see in darkness. In the Most Holy Place was placed the ark of the covenant.

The reason for the color scheme of the veil was symbolic. In Jewish tradition, blue represented the heavens, while red or crimson represented the earth. Purple, a combination of the two colors, represents a meeting of the heavens and the earth. Thus, purple can also be a representation of the Messiah in Jewish and Christian traditions. The only way into the Holy of Holies (God’s presence) was through the purple veil (Jesus Christ, the Messiah). Regardless, these colors were given by the inspiration of God, and all of God’s instructions had to be faithfully obeyed (compare 1 Chronicles 28:10–12).

As we will see, that veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross (compare Mark 15:38). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, that veil was four inches thick and was renewed every year. Horses tied to each side could not pull it apart. It barred all but the high priest from the presence of God—and even he could only enter it once a year—on the annual Holy Day of the Day of Atonement.

The Holy Place (compare 1 Kings 8:8–10) was also called the “greater house” or the “larger room” (2 Chronicles 3:5). It was of the same width and height as the Holy of Holies, but twice as long; thus the name “larger room.” Its walls were lined with cedar, on which were carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, which were overlaid with gold. Chains of gold marked it off from the Holy of Holies.

The porch, “vestibule” or entrance before the temple on the east was traditionally called the Ulam (1 Kings 6:3; 2 Chronicles 3:4). The length corresponded to the width of the temple (1 Kings 6:3). References to “Solomon’s porch” can be found in John 10:23; Acts 3:11; and Acts 5:12 (Authorized Version).

In the porch stood the two pillars Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). These names, as the pillars themselves, were symbolic. The pillars did not support any part of the building. The names indicated strength and stability. Jachin means, “He shall establish,” and Boaz means, “in it is strength.” The names possibly conveyed the thought that God will establish in strength the temple and the true religion.

Chambers were built about the temple on the southern, western, and northern sides (1 Kings 6:5–6, 10). These formed a part of the building and were used for storage of the utensils of the tabernacle. They were probably one story high at first; two more may have been added later.

The inner court of the priests (2 Chronicles 4:9), called the “inner court” (1 Kings 6:36), was separated from the space beyond by a wall of three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams (1 Kings 6:36). The tabernacle in the wilderness did not have such an inner court for the priests. The temple’s inner court of the priests contained the brazen Sea or the “Sea of cast bronze” (2 Chronicles 4:2–5, 10), and ten lavers of bronze (1 Kings 7:38, 39), corresponding to the bronze laver or basin of the tabernacle.

The brazen Sea stood on twelve oxen (1 Kings 7:25). Its purpose was to afford opportunity for the purification of the priests by immersion of the body. The ten lavers of bronze, each of which contained “forty baths” (1 Kings 7:38), rested on portable holders made of bronze, provided with wheels, and ornamented with figures of lions, cherubim, and palm trees.

In the tabernacle was no brazen Sea; rather, one bronze laver served the double purpose of washing the hands and feet of the priests as well as the parts of the sacrifices. But in the temple there were separate vessels provided for these tasks related to washings and the bringing of sacrifices. The brazen Sea held from 16 thousand to 20 thousand gallons of water.

According to 1 Kings 7:48–49, there stood in the Holy Place, before the Holy of Holies, the golden altar of incense and the table for showbread. This table was of gold, as were also five lampstands on each side of it, corresponding to the one golden lampstand of the tabernacle.

2 Chronicles 4:8 reveals that Solomon actually made ten golden tables of showbread and placed all of them in the Holy Place. But in spite of his initial dedication to God and His temple, he did not stay loyal and faithful to God, but allowed evil influences to persuade him to depart from Him.

The great court or outer court surrounded the whole temple (2 Chronicles 4:9), and corresponded to the courtyard of the tabernacle. Here the people assembled to worship God (Jeremiah 19:14; 26:2).

After the temple was built, Solomon dedicated it to the LORD by offering sacrifices in the courtyard or inner court of the priests. 1 Kings 8:63–64 reads: “And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings… On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the LORD; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.”

The altar of burnt offerings was inadequate for the vast number of sacrifices given on this occasion. Therefore, Solomon set apart the middle of the court of the priests to bring sacrifices, apparently on an additional altar (compare 2 Kings 16:14).

We see, then, that the temple took over the function of the tabernacle.

The Millennial Temple

And so will the new temple at the time of the Millennium, which is described in the book of Ezekiel, beginning with the 40th chapter. Specifically mentioned are: a wall around the entire temple; eastern, northern and southern gateways; gate chambers; a vestibule of the gateway; an outer court with chambers; an inner court; tables on which to slay the offerings; an altar made of wood; chambers for the singers; a Sanctuary or Holy Place; and the Most Holy Place.

A Tour of the Original Tabernacle

Returning to the original tabernacle in the wilderness, we will begin our tour of the complex of the entire tabernacle, by commenting briefly on the concept of the tabernacle and its furnishings.

We read in Exodus 26:1: “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains…”

The tabernacle was actually a portable temple. The word “tabernacle” comes from the Latin, tabernaculum, meaning tent. The Hebrew word means “to settle down, to abide, to dwell, to live in a tent.” It describes a “dwelling place.” Sometimes it only refers to the tent. In other places, it means the tent with the surrounding courtyard.

In Exodus 26:6, we read: “… so it may be ONE tabernacle…” There was only to be one tabernacle, one altar, and one place of worship. God’s instructions were that Israel was to have only one place of sacrifice, and that this one place was in front of the tabernacle (compare Leviticus 17:1–5).

The high quality of the precious materials making up the tabernacle shows God’s greatness. The portable nature of the tabernacle shows God’s desire to be with His people as they traveled.

tabernacle

Symbolism

The tabernacle prefigured Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice, who “tabernacled” or “dwelt” among men (compare John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…”).

God’s glory entered Herod’s temple in the person of Jesus Christ, who “tabernacled” among men. After Christ’s death, God’s glory departed from the temple, and it was destroyed. But His glory lives today in His Church.

This means that the tabernacle symbolizes Christ AND His Church.

The Church is a habitation of God—a dwelling place—through His Spirit (compare Ephesians 2:19–22). This includes each individual believer (compare 1 Corinthians 6:19). We might say, the Christian is a spiritual tabernacle. And so is the Church of God (compare Psalm 15:1).

The tabernacle had TEN curtains—not just one curtain (compare Exodus 26:1). This might represent the fact that at times, there may be in existence several Church organizations, and even several Church eras, but they are all ONE in that they all belong to the ONE true Church wherein the Holy Spirit dwells (Romans 8:8–9; Ephesians 4:4–6; 1 Corinthians 12:11–14). The ten curtains had to be of “fine woven linen” (Exodus 26:1), which is symbolic of the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 19:8). God JUDGES all of us individually, and He judges His Church—“ten” is the number of judgment. That is why God gave us His Ten Commandments, on the basis of which we will be judged.

The curtains were to be embroidered with cherubim—angelic beings—to confirm that the angels of God closely watch over or, in that sense, “pitch their tents” round about the Church.

The description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25 begins with the inside, according to God’s view, and moves to the outside. God begins from Himself, working outward toward man. Salvation is from the LORD. God must grant us salvation—we cannot get it through our own efforts, apart from God.

It also shows a movement from the more valuable to the less valuable products or material used—notice that God’s instructions has one move from the Most Holy Place to the Holy Place and finally to the outer area, as we will now do.

The Holy of Holies

We begin our tour of the tabernacle in the Holy of Holies, inside the tent:

The Ark of the Covenant

We are first introduced, in Exodus 25:10, to the Ark of the Covenant or of the Testimony.

ark of covenantIt was made of acacia wood. It was durable and resistant to disease and insects, making it the most suitable material for constructing the ark (Exodus 25:12–14). Rings of gold allowed the ark to be carried on poles. It was not to be picked up by hand or carted about (Exodus 25:16). Inside the ark or chest were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, as well as Aaron’s rod. Then there was a special container in which were the manna, holy anointing oil and other objects of special meaning.

There are five names given to the ark in the Old Testament:

    The ark of the covenant, because it contained the two tablets of the law (Numbers 10:33).

    The ark of the testimony (Exodus 25:22), because God testified about Christ’s holiness and man’s sinfulness.

    The ark of God [or of the LORD], because it was the only visible throne of God (1 Samuel 3:1–4; 2 Samuel 6:9).

    The ark of Your [God’s] strength, because of God’s miracles associated with the ark (Psalm 132:8).

    The holy ark, because it was on top of the ark where God dwelt, between the two cherubim, and from where He spoke to Moses (2 Chronicles 35:3).

Symbolism

The ark of the covenant and its material—acacia wood and gold—are a type of the humanity and deity of Christ.

Since the tabernacle also represents the Christian in whom Christ lives, it shows that we, even though we are human, must be purified and become more and more as God is. Our faith, for instance, must be found more precious than gold.

Finally, Aaron’s rod is a symbol of the resurrection; that is, of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as our future resurrection.

The Mercy Seat

Continuing in Exodus 25:17–18, we see a description of the “Mercy Seat”:

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold… And you shall make two cherubim of gold… at the two ends of the mercy seat.”

The term “mercy seat” is an English translation of a Hebrew noun, which means, “the place of propitiation.” It is derived from a verb, meaning, “to atone for,” “to cover over” or “to make propitiation.” The mercy seat was the lid for the ark of the covenant—that is, it was placed upon the ark—as well as the base on which the cherubim were to be placed. The ark, then, was the place where the mercy seat rested. It was the place where sins were covered—hence, the name “the place of propitiation.”

Exodus 25:20 continues: “And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.”

The mercy seat was overshadowed by two golden cherubim. These angelic beings were to protect the mercy seat, the ark and its contents; their outstretched wings were to provide a throne for God. Their faces were to be toward the mercy seat, bowed in adoration and humility before God.

Symbolism

The mercy seat was made of pure gold, which represents God’s throne, from which He reigns, and from which He forgives (Psalm 99:1–5, 8).

It also shows our potential—to rule as kings and priests with, and under Christ, ON THIS EARTH.

The Sanctuary

In our tour, we leave the Holy of Holies, pass through the inner veil, and enter the Sanctuary:

Table for the Showbread

The first furnishing that God describes within the Sanctuary is the Table for the Showbread. Exodus 25:23, 30 reads: “You shall also make a table of acacia wood… And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.”

The table was used to display twelve loaves of unleavened bread, in two rows with six loaves in each row (compare Leviticus 24:5–6). The loaves were changed every Sabbath and, having been consecrated, were eaten by the priests in the Sanctuary (Leviticus 24:9). The bread had to be there “always” (Exodus 25:30). It was known as holy bread (1 Samuel 21:4).

table showbreadFrankincense was placed on each row of bread, “that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the LORD” (Leviticus 24:7).

Also, there were cups associated with the table for the showbread, probably containing wine and oil (Exodus 25:29).

The table was to have rings and poles so that it could be transported properly (Exodus 25:26–27). The poles protected the holy object from being touched by human hands.

Symbolism

The showbread is a type of Christ—the Bread of God—who nourishes the Christian. It shows that God gives us physical AND spiritual food (John 6:11, 26–27, 33).

The twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes of Israel. As the Church of God is spiritual Israel today, the loaves represent our fellowship with God. They also symbolize our gratitude to God for our daily bread, without worries and doubts (compare Luke 11:3; Matthew 6:25–26, 33–34).

The Golden Lampstand

Next, we are introduced to the golden lampstand (“menorah”) inside the Sanctuary. Exodus 25:31 states: “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold…”

lampstandAs verses 31 and 32 explain, all of the elements of the lampstand were to be hammered out of one solid piece of gold. One of the seven lamps was to be placed in the center, flanked by three branches on either side. Seven represents completion. It burned continually, and the priests had to tend it from evening until morning, but not during the day (compare Exodus 27:20–21).

Symbolism

The lampstand provided light for the ministering priests and typified Christ, the Light of the world (compare John 1:5; 8:12). Natural light was excluded from the tabernacle, as the natural mind does not receive the things of God. Christ enlightens us (compare Ephesians 1:15–18). He must give us His light of understanding (compare Ephesians 5:8–14).

The lampstand is also symbolic for the Church and, to an extent, its seven Church eras, which are referred to in Revelation 1:20 and described as seven “lampstands” or “candlesticks.” But there is an important difference between the ONE lampstand with seven arms, and the SEVEN different candlesticks of the Church in the book of Revelation—one, two or three of those candlesticks could be removed (compare Revelation 2:5), while others would still remain.

The lampstand of the tabernacle is also symbolic for the single Church member (compare Matthew 5:14–16). It signifies his light-bearing and witness through worship and right conduct (compare Philippians 2:14–15)

The Oil for the Lampstand

Exodus 27:20 continues to describe the oil for the lampstand, as follows:

“And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”

The oil was obtained from olives that were beaten rather than crushed. It gave finer quality, burned more brightly and with less smoke.

It was so holy that—according to Jewish tradition and understanding—the people were strictly forbidden to copy it for personal use.

Symbolism

The oil symbolizes God’s Holy Spirit, which is unique. It cannot be copied. Either one has God’s Holy Spirit, or one does not have it (compare Matthew 25:1–4; Zechariah 4:2–6). It had to be renewed daily, in the morning and in the evening, based on Leviticus 24:3–4. Likewise, Christians must continually “stir up” God’s Holy Spirit—that is, they must make use of this power in their lives constantly (compare 2 Timothy 1:6).

The Altar of Incense

Another important feature within the Sanctuary, the altar of incense, is mentioned later, in Exodus 30:1: “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood…”

Logically, this section concerning the altar of incense, should follow the description of the making of the table for the showbread and the golden lampstand, as they were all articles in use in the inner part of the Sanctuary.

incense altarThe reason why the description of the altar of incense comes out of order here may be connected with the fact that it follows the section concerning the inauguration of Aaron and his sons as priests (compare Exodus 28:1–43; 29:1–46). The burning of incense is now listed first among their priestly functions. And they are commanded not to offer “strange incense” (Exodus 30:9). But that is exactly what Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, did on the day of their inauguration (compare Leviticus 10:1–4). The order of commands concerning the incense altar here sets the stage for those coming events. And it establishes the extreme importance of precise obedience to the ritual commandments, especially by the priests.

The altar of incense stood before the curtain or veil that shut off the Holy of Holies (Exodus 30:6). Sweet-smelling incense was burned on it morning and evening when the priest tended the lamp (Exodus 30:7–8). It was so holy—as was the anointing oil—that the people were strictly forbidden to copy it for personal use.

It was made of acacia wood (as was the ark of the covenant and the table of the showbread). Rings and poles were used to carry the altar, signalizing the great respect that was demanded for the transportation of these holy furnishings.

Symbolism

Incense symbolizes our prayers (compare Revelation 5:8; Psalm141:2). We can have constant access to the Holy of Holies and the Sanctuary through our prayers (compare Hebrews 10:19, 22).

Aaron sacrificed twice a day. This symbolizes the need for our perpetual prayers (compare Revelation 8:3–5).

In addition, the altar of incense and its associated functions, including the ministering priest who burned incense on the altar of incense, symbolize Christ, our Intercessor (compare Hebrews 7:25).

The incense itself also represents Christ Himself, who prays on our behalf. We are praying to God the Father through Jesus Christ and in His name—that is, Christ Himself intervenes on our behalf before God the Father, explaining and communicating to the Father what we might have wanted to say, but could not or did not. Christ, the Lord (1 Chronicles 28:9), searches our hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. We read that we don’t know what we should pray for as we ought, but that Christ, the life-giving Spirit, makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (compare Romans 8:26–27, 34; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 1 Corinthians15:45).

The Inner Veil

As we mentioned, when Aaron the priest went from the Holy of Holies to the Sanctuary or Holy Place, or vice versa, he had to pass through the “inner veil,” separating the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies.

Exodus 26:33 says about the veil:

“And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”

The inner veil separated the Holy Place (which contained the altar of incense; the golden lampstand; and the table for the showbread) from the Holy of Holies (which, as we will recall, contained the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat; compare Exodus 26:34–35).

The inner veil was to hang from four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold (compare Exodus 26:32).

The priest entered the Holy Place each day to tend to the altar of incense, the golden lampstand, and the table for the showbread. But only the high priest (apart from Moses) could enter the Most Holy Place—and that only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (“the day of covering over”)—to make atonement for the sins of the nation as a whole (compare chapter 3 of this booklet).

Symbolism

The priests made the journey on behalf of the people, and therefore symbolized and represented the Church. Each Israelite felt the presence of God. The way of Israel was the way of the symbol—by entering the court, moving from the altar of burnt offering and the laver through the outer veil into the Sanctuary with its bread, lamp and incense, and then moving through the inner veil into the Most Holy Place with the law, mercy and atonement, to the ultimate presence with God.

The inner veil represents Jesus Christ. The Israelites had to cover the entire tabernacle when they transported it, as they did not have any access to God’s Holy Spirit. When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple, which had replaced the veil of the tabernacle—but which had maintained the same function and symbolism—tore from top to bottom (compare Mark 15:37–38). This figuratively pointed at our free access to God.

The inner veil is a type of Christ’s body, granting us access to God, the Holy of Holies, and God’s Holy Spirit, as this is clearly revealed in Hebrews 10:19–20: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.”

Outside the Tent

In our tour, we now move from the Holy Place or Sanctuary to the area outside the tent. In doing so, we will adopt the reverse order from our own journey, and view as it would appear for the Israelite entering the tabernacle complex area:

The Court

Exodus 27:9 tells us that the Israelite would first enter the court: “You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen…”

Before the tabernacle or tent, there was to be a court or yard, enclosed with hangings of the finest linen that was used for tents.

Symbolism

This court was a type of the Church, enclosed and distinguished from the rest of the world. Exodus 27:10 explains that the court was supported by pillars, denoting the stability of the Church, hung with clean linen (compare again verse 9), which describes the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 19:8).

These were the courts David longed for and coveted to reside in (Psalm 84:1–2, 10), and into which the people of God were to enter with praise and thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4).

Yet, this court would contain but a few worshippers. The same is true for God’s Church today. God must call us into His Church. Nobody can come to Christ unless the Father draws him or her.

Exodus 27:17 says that “All the pillars around the court shall have hooks or bands of silver…” This shows that the court and its pillars also symbolize Jesus Christ. Psalm12:6 says that “The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.” In God’s court or Church, we must uphold the words of God, which are pure words, like silver, which is tried and purified to completeness.

The Gate of the Court

The gate of the court (compare Exodus 27:16) points at Christ, through whom we have access to His Church (compare John 10:1, 7, 9). He is also our access to God the Father (John 6:44, 65).

We NEED the Church of God—we have to be IN the “court.” We cannot remain outside, or leave the court (compare Ephesians 4:11–16). Conversely, people who are outside the court are those who are not “in” the Church and who do not want to hear God’s truth.

But just being “in” the Church by attending Church services on and off is not enough. Rather, we must GROW in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and we must be following His lead. Notice the warning in Revelation 11:1–2, which seems to be addressing a literal temple still to be built in Jerusalem prior to Christ’s return, and, in a figurative way, those Church members who are not content to move from just being “in” the Church to a more perfect understanding of God’s truth.

The Altar of Burnt Offering

Once an Israelite had stepped into the court, he would first see the altar of burnt offering, as described in Exodus 27:1–2: “You shall make an altar of acacia wood… And you shall overlay it with bronze…”

burnt altarThe altar was made of wood covered with bronze in order to make it lightweight for transport and still fireproof. All the sacrifices within the sacrificial offering system were made on this altar.

It was the first thing that the people saw as they entered the tabernacle courtyard. The altar signified that all who entered were defiled by sin and could approach God only by way of sacrifice. The fire on the altar was never to go out (compare Leviticus 6:9, 13).

Symbolism

The brazen altar of burnt offering pictured Jesus Christ. That the fire on the altar never went out, shows that Christ’s supreme Sacrifice, which was given once and for all, still has permanent application, relevance and importance for us today, AND it will have that same importance for all eternity. Christ is still referred to as the LAMB throughout the book of Revelation, even after He has returned, and after the New Jerusalem has descended from heaven.

The brazen altar of burnt offering stood on a hill, which is symbolic for Christ, who died on the hill of Golgotha. Christ sanctified Himself for His Church, as their altar (John 17:19). Hebrews 13:10 tells us: “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” But today, Christ’s true disciples are allowed to eat from that altar—Jesus Christ.

The High Priest went on the Day of Atonement with a golden censer into the Holy of Holies, bringing incense and burning coals of fire from that altar (compare Leviticus 16:12–13; Hebrews 9:2–4).

Revelation 8:3 mentions a golden censer in heaven; and Ezekiel 28:14–16 mentions burning coals of fire or “fiery stones” in heaven as well (Please note that the quoted passage in Ezekiel 28 describes Lucifer’s fall from “the mountain of God” in heaven.) As the “earthly” burning coals of fire were taken from the altar of burnt offering, they symbolize the sufferings of Christ. The burnt offering symbolizes Jesus Christ, and He had to go through fiery trials of suffering.

The High Priest took the censer in his right hand, and the cup in his left, and went through the veil into the Most Holy Place. He typified Christ our High Priest, who, as we already saw, entered, through the veil, into the Holiest of All, with His body and His blood.

The Four Horns of the Altar

Exodus 27:2 specifically mentions four horns of the altar of burnt offering. These horns were used to bind the sacrificial animals to the altar (Psalm 118:27).

Symbolism

The horns stand for protection (compare 1 Kings 1:51) and for Christ (compare Psalm 18:2; Luke 1:68–71). When we give ourselves over to God’s physical and spiritual protection, we must do so completely—as helpless tied animals, patiently waiting for God’s rescue, without taking matters into our hands by violating His Law.

The Bronze Laver

Exodus 30:18 introduces the bronze laver. It stood behind the altar of burnt offering and before the tent. But why is it mentioned so late in chapter 30 and not already in Exodus 27, where the court and the altar of burnt offering are described? The answer may be the same as we gave when discussing the altar of incense within the Sanctuary, which was also introduced late.

laverThe bronze laver is mentioned after the consecration of the priests is described in Exodus 28 and 29. But before they could approach God, they needed to be purified, which was accomplished through the bronze laver.

It stood between the altar of burnt offering and the door of the tabernacle and was used for ritual cleansing of the priests (Exodus 30:19, 21). The priests washed their hands and feet—their hands because they had to handle holy items, and their feet because they had to walk in sacred places. This procedure reminds us of the footwashing ceremony at Passover time (compare John 13:1–17).

Symbolism

The bronze laver is symbolic for the cleansing Word of God, and for Christ, who cleanses us from the defilement of this world (compare Ephesians 5:25–26); as well as for baptism and for the Holy Spirit (compare Psalm 51:7; Titus 3:4–7). As mentioned, the laver was for Aaron and his sons, and the priests in succession, to wash their hands and feet. This shows that God’s ministers should be pure and holy in their lives, and that they should be examples to others. This also includes all Christians, who are future priests unto God (compare Revelation 20:6; Isaiah 61:6; 1 Peter 2:4–5).

The Tabernacle Completed According to Instructions

We saw that God gave Moses instructions for the building of the earthly tabernacle, patterned after the heavenly tabernacle. These instructions are contained in chapters 25–27 and 30 in the Book of Exodus. The construction of the tabernacle is described, beginning in Exodus 35. This description basically repeats all of the instructions that had already been recorded in previous chapters.

Why is everything repeated?

Here is the reason: Remember that, after God’s instructions for the building of the tabernacle, Israel sinned greatly by building the golden calf (compare Exodus 32). After that situation was rectified, the tabernacle was built—showing that our sins can be forgiven, and that they will not prevent God’s Will from being carried out, which is, to live WITH us and IN us.

Also, the narrative of the construction shows that the tabernacle was built exactly in the way God had commanded it (Exodus 40:16).

We find the following description of the completed tabernacle in the wilderness in Exodus 40:17–33:

“And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up. So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

“He took the Testimony [the tablets with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

“He put the table [for the showbread] in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; and he lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the gold altar [of incense] in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; and he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle.

“And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He sat the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

“And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.”

The Lesson for All Time–God Dwells with His People

We are told in Exodus 40:34 that the “cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” This assured the people of God’s continuing presence, and it also showed them that God approved of what had been done.

In the past, God always abided with His people, as long as they let Him do so, never abandoning them to the chaos of the wilderness. God also is there for us today, and He will also dwell or “tabernacle” with His people in the future (Isaiah 4:3–6; Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3).

The book of Exodus starts with Israel in Egypt, and it ends with God dwelling with them. Converted Christians were once slaves of spiritual Egypt, but they were redeemed by their acceptance of Christ’s Sacrifice. Just as God continued to dwell with His people—ancient Israel—so God will continue to dwell with those in whom God’s Spirit resides.

Chapter 3—The Atonement Rituals

As mentioned before, the high priest was only allowed to enter the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle once a year, on the Day of Atonement. Elaborate rituals had to be carried out, before, during and after his entrance into The Most Holy Place, rituals that also have deeply symbolic meaning for us today (compare Exodus 30:10).

We find these rituals described in Leviticus, chapter 16:

In Leviticus 16:1, God emphasized the importance of following His instructions in exactly the way they were given, lest something bad should happen to those involved with the service of God: “Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died.” It has been suggested that perhaps the two sons had entered the Most Holy Place in the process, which they were not allowed to do.

Leviticus 16:2 states that even Aaron, the high priest, was not allowed to enter the Most Holy Place at any time he wanted. He was only permitted to do so once a year—on the Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 16:3 emphasizes the necessary procedures to be carried out by Aaron. When he approached God at His mercy seat, he had to bring the blood of animals for a sin offering (a young bull) and a burnt offering (a ram). Actually, Aaron would not sacrifice these animals until later, as we will see.

Leviticus 16:4 clarifies that on this initial occasion on the Day of Atonement, Aaron was not to dress himself in splendid golden robes—he would do so later on that day—but first, he had to put on a plain dress of linen, like the common Levites would wear. This plain dress of linen showed humility—a humble character in the recognition of sin and guilt, and the need for forgiveness. That is why God commands us to humble ourselves on this day through FASTING.

Aaron also had to first wash his entire body with water, before putting on the linen. As he put the linen on for the purpose of a sacrificial function in front of God, even this plain linen had become holy, as verse 4 postulates: “These are holy garments.”

Leviticus 16:5 continues: “And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.” As we will see, especially the two goats for the sin offering had a very specific meaning. But notice, too, that in addition, a ram had to be offered as a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:6 demands that Aaron offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and his house. As a sinful human being, Aaron had to offer the young bull (verse 3) as a SIN offering for himself, to receive atonement or forgiveness from God for himself and his house—the “house of Aaron,” the priests (compare Psalm 135:19). He did this on the altar of burnt offering, which stood in the courtyard, before the tent.

Leviticus 16:7 continues to state that, following the offering of the bull, Aaron proceeded to present the two goats for the sin offering (verse 5) at the entrance door to the tent, outside the tabernacle.

The Two Goats

Leviticus 16:8 describes a most crucial and pivotal procedure and ritual: “Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat.” The English translation “for the scapegoat” is a very unfortunate translation. The Hebrew says, “for Azazel.”

Aaron placed one of the goats for the sin offering on his right hand and the other on his left. He cast into an urn two exactly similar pieces of gold. One piece was inscribed with the words “for the Lord,” and the other “for Azazel.” After having shaken them well together, he put both his hands into the box and took up a lot in each—he put the lot in his right hand on the head of the goat which stood on his right, and that in his left he placed on the other.

The key to the whole explanation lies in a correct understanding of the meaning of Azazel. This word does not occur elsewhere in the Old Testament. The Comprehensive Commentary states: “Spencer, after the oldest opinions of the Hebrews and Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the Devil.” The One Volume Commentary adds: “Azazel is understood to be the name of one of those malignant demons.”

Hebrew lexicons derive the word from AZAL, which means “he removed or separated.” This is exactly what Satan or Lucifer did when he turned against God and became God’s adversary! Azazel is none other than Satan the Devil! Ancient Jewish literature knew the Devil by this name. It is, for example, spelled Azalzal and Azael in apocryphal literature.

William Gesenius wrote: “This name was used for that of an evil demon… The name Azazel … is also used by the Arabs as that of an evil demon” (Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, page 617).

Stobart added: “The devil, named Eblis in the Koran, was once one of the archangels in heaven, and was called Azazil, but by disobedience fell” (J.W.H. Stobart, Islam and Its Founder, page 114).

Hermann Schultz wrote: “Azazel is … an Aramaic … name for an unclean and ungodlike power, which has its abode in the wilderness, in the accursed land outside the sacred bounds of the camp” (Old Testament Theology, translated by Paterson, 1892, vol. 1, page 405).

Watson stated: “The high priest … cast lots upon the two goats. One was to be for the Lord for a sin-offering. The other was for Azazel (the completely separate one, the evil spirit regarded as dwelling in the desert), to be sent away alive into the wilderness” (F. Watson, The Cambridge Compan­ion to the Bible, 1893, page 161.)

Another commentary wrote: “Azazel … was probably a demonic being…. Apocryphal Jewish works, composed in the last few centuries before the Christian era, tell of angels who were lured… into rebellion against God. In these writings, Azazel is one of the two leaders of the rebellion. And post [Talmudic] documents tell a similar story about two rebel angels, Uzza and Azzael—both variations of the name Azazel. These mythological stories, which must have been widely known, seem to confirm the essentially demonic character of the old biblical Azazel” (Union of American Hebrew Congrega­tions, The Torah-a Modern Commentary, page 859).

To summarize: Aaron cast lots to determine which goat was to be sacrificed “for the LORD,” and which goat was to symbolize Satan the devil—the “Azazel.”

Leviticus 16:9 continues to describe that Aaron was to offer the goat for the LORD as a sin offering.

Leviticus 16:10 explains, on the other hand, that the Azazel goat had to be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to be sent alive, as the Azazel goat, into the wilderness.

Aaron Cleanses the Most Holy Place

Leviticus 16:11 shows that Aaron had to kill, for himself, the bull of the sin offering, which was mentioned in verses 3 and 6. He did so on the altar of burnt offering in the courtyard.

Leviticus 16:12 continues: “Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.”

Aaron went into the tent, into the Holy Place, took a censer full of burning coals of fire and incense from the altar—the altar of incense—and entered the Most Holy Place inside the veil which separated the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

Leviticus 16:13 emphasized that Aaron, now within the Most Holy Place, had to place the incense and the fiery coals before the mercy seat, which was on top of the ark of the covenant, so that the cloud of incense would cover the mercy seat. He had to do this so that he would not die.

As incense symbolizes the prayer of the righteous, this requirement shows us again the importance of prayer.

Leviticus 16:14 instructs that Aaron had to sprinkle some of the blood of the sacrificed bull on the mercy seat on the east side, and he had to sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the mercy seat. Seven designates completeness. He had to do this to purify himself to officiate, since he, as high priest, was to represent now THE High Priest—Jesus Christ (compare Hebrews 6:19–20; 7:26–28).

The Goat of the Sin Offering

Leviticus 16:15 continues: “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.”

Aaron went out of the tent and returned to the courtyard, where he killed the goat of the sin offering—the goat for the Lord—“which is for the people.” Thus, the sins of the people were carried by the goat, which died—as Jesus Christ died for us, carrying our sins.

Aaron Represents the Risen Christ

But Christ was resurrected and went to God’s throne in heaven as our High Priest. He entered the [spiritual] Most Holy Place of God the Father on our behalf (1 Peter 3:21–22).

And so, Aaron, the high priest, after he had slain the goat for the Lord, on behalf of the people, went back into the Most Holy Place, and sprinkled that blood on and before the mercy seat. He brought the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place, “for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance” (Hebrews 9:7). In doing so, he represented and foreshadowed Jesus Christ, of whom it is said that “Not with the blood of bulls and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12).

The slain goat represented the crucified Jesus. The high priest, by taking the blood of this slain goat into the veil to the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies symbolized Christ’s ascension to heaven. Aaron represented the work of the risen Christ for these last 1,900 years, who ascended to the right hand of God the Father, there interceding as our High Priest.

We see, then, that both the goat and the high priest represented Christ. The slain goat represented Christ’s death. Aaron, the high priest, represented the living, resurrected Christ. That is why he had to be symbolically cleaned so carefully before he could officiate.

Leviticus 16:16 continues: “So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.”

Atonement for the Entire Tabernacle

Aaron was to make atonement for the Holy Place and the entire tabernacle, because of the sins of the children of Israel. Even the altar, the tabernacle and the mercy seat were considered to be defiled by their presence among the carnal, sinning Israelites. This was the case because continually all through the year Israel’s sins were symbolically transferred to the tabernacle and its fixtures. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, this load of guilt was purged from the nation in order that God might continue to dwell in Israel, because unrepented and unforgiven sin separates us from God (compare Isaiah 59:2).

Leviticus 16:17 teaches that no one was to be inside the tent when Aaron made atonement for himself, for his household and for the people.

Leviticus 16:18 continues: “And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.”

Aaron had to leave the coals and incense burning in the Most Holy Place, go back out of the tent and make atonement for the altar of burnt offering. He placed some of the blood of the bull of the burnt offering (for himself) and of the goat of the sin offering (to the LORD—for the people) on the horns of the altar.

Leviticus 16:19 states that Aaron had to sprinkle some of the mixed blood of the goat and of the bull seven times on the altar, to cleanse and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

Again, we see that in God’s eyes, the whole tabernacle, including the area outside the tent, was stained by the sins of a guilty people, and that atonement had to be made in order that God would remain with them. The mingled blood of the two animals—the goat and the bull—being sprinkled on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, indicated that both the priests and the people needed atonement for their sins (compare Hebrews 9:22).

Christ’s Return to Earth

As we have seen, when Aaron went behind the veil into the Most Holy Place, he symbolized Christ ascending to God’s throne in heaven. The work he did in the Most Holy Place symbolized Christ’s work for more than 1,950 years. When Aaron came out, he symbolized Christ’s return to earth.

Continuing in Leviticus 16:20, we see that after having atoned for the Holy Place, the entire tabernacle and the altar, Aaron was to bring the Azazel goat—the goat representing Satan the devil.

Again, this aspect of the ceremony pictures the time when Christ has returned to the earth and will deal with Satan. Before the Millennium of Christ’s peaceful rule here on earth can start, Satan must be removed.

One meaning of the word “atonement,” according to Webster is, “to set at one.” God and the human race cannot be fully at one—in full agreement—as long as Satan is around and able to deceive mankind.

Christ paid for OUR part in every sin of which we repent. But He did not pay for Satan’s part in these sins. Satan deceives us to sin. Christ paid for our sins, but not for Satan’s deception and his sins. Satan is called a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), as he was responsible for the death of Adam and Eve.

The Azazel Goat

Leviticus 16:21 explains that Aaron had to lay both his hands on the head of the Azazel goat; confess over it all the iniquities, sins and transgressions of the Israelites; put them on the head of the Azazel goat; and send it away alive into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

Leviticus 16:22 continues to instruct that the Azazel goat, bearing all the iniquities of the Israelites, was to be let go alive in an uninhabited land—a wilderness. Modern Babylon, a city built on seven hills, and, at the same time, a description of a military, religious and economic system—symbolizing the end-time generation of this evil world—will become such a wilderness (compare Isaiah 13:19–22; Revelation 18:2).

The removal of Satan is described in Revelation 20:1–3: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He [the angel, pictured by the suitable man who took the Azazel goat into the wilderness] laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan [pictured by the Azazel goat], and bound him for a thousand years; and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. [This is pictured by the fact that the Azazel goat was not killed, but placed alive in the wilderness, far away from the camp of Israel.]”

Aaron’s Golden Garments

Leviticus 16:23 states that Aaron had to go into the Holy Place, take off the linen garments and leave them there.

Leviticus 16:24 instructs Aaron to wash himself in a holy place and put on his golden garments.

The golden garments are described, for example, in Exodus 28:2, 4, where we read: “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother… and these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe…”

More details of Aaron’s holy golden garments are given in Exodus 28: 6, 15, as follows: “And you shall make the breastplate of judgment, the work of an artist; after the manner of the ephod shall you make it: of gold, sky-blue, dark-red, and crimson dyed wool, and of twisted linen shall you make it.”

The uppermost holy garment was apron-like and was called the ephod. On top of the ephod there was the square breastplate, called the “breastplate of judgment” or “decision.” It had twelve precious stones, one stone representing each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name of the corresponding tribe was engraved on each stone.

On the shoulders were two additional precious stones (compare Exodus 28:12). The names of the six eldest sons of Israel or Jacob were engraved on the stone upon the right shoulder, and the names of the six youngest sons were engraved on the stone upon the left shoulder.

The blue garment was called the robe, under which the high priest wore a fine white linen woven tunic. On his head was the fine white linen turban. Round the base of the turban was the crown of gold, which read: “Holy to the LORD.”

The symbolism attached to the high priest’s garments should not be overlooked. Jesus Christ, our High Priest, will be returning as our Judge and King, ushering in the righteousness of His Kingdom. Our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). When Christ returns, He will carry the names of converted Christians, showing that they have become part of His Priesthood and Kingship.

More Sacrifices

Leviticus 16:24 says that after Aaron had put on his golden garments, he was to “come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.”

The High Priest had to sacrifice more animals outside the tent—burnt offerings for himself and burnt offerings for the people—to make atonement for himself and the people. This would have included the offering of the ram, which was mentioned earlier in Leviticus 16:3. Some commentaries conclude that he actually offered two rams, one for himself, and one for the people. In addition, the offerings as prescribed in Numbers 29:7–11 were to be given at this time. They included a burnt offering of a bull, one ram and seven lambs; a grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; a sin offering of one kid of the goats; “besides the sin offering for atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offering” (verse 11).

Why did Aaron have to bring these offerings?

First, even though he had assumed the role of Jesus Christ, picturing His return to earth, he himself was not sinless.

Second, even though Christ’s converted disciples will be changed to spirit beings at the time of His return, there will still live human beings—over whom Christ and His disciples will rule—who will begin to accept Christ and His Sacrifice, and who will not be sinless. Christ’s Sacrifice will still have to be applied to them, as it does to us today.

Third, we will recall that sacrifices will be given again in the Millennium, and that human beings—not without sin—will officiate over those sacrifices (compare Ezekiel 43:18–27; 44:20–31).

Leviticus 16:25 instructs that the fat of the sin offering had to be burned on the altar of burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:26 continues to state that the man who had released the Azazel goat could return into the camp, only after he had washed his body.

Leviticus 16:27 instructs that the bull for the sin offering (which Aaron sacrificed earlier for himself) and the goat for the sin offering (the goat for the LORD, which Aaron had sacrificed earlier for the people) was to be carried outside the camp, to be burned outside the camp by a man. Hebrews 13:12–13 explains the figurative meaning of this provision: “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”

Leviticus 16:28 continues that the man who had burned the bull and the goat could return to the camp, after he had washed his clothes and bathed his body.

Fasting on the Day of Atonement

Leviticus 16:29 shows that, on the Day of Atonement, all the people had to “afflict” their souls, or fast; and they were not permitted to do any work on that day. The passage states that this is “a statute forever for you.”

Leviticus 16:30 explains that on that day, Aaron the high priest made atonement for the people, to cleanse them from ALL their sins.

Leviticus 16:31 adds that this day is a “sabbath of solemn rest,” on which fasting is commanded, forever, to Israel. If we are God’s, then we all are spiritual Israelites (Romans 2:28, 29). And that means we MUST keep this Day of Atonement today.

Leviticus 16:32–33 clarifies that not only Aaron would have to perform the functions of high priest during the Day of Atonement, but also his successor—his son—would have to carry them out, showing that the rituals on the Day of Atonement were not to end after Aaron’s death.

Finally, Leviticus 16:34 emphasizes again that it was an everlasting statute to make atonement for the children of Israel—for all their sins—once a year. It was a commanded assembly, and the entire 16th chapter of the book of Leviticus was read on that day, together with Leviticus 23:27–32.

As we have seen in this chapter, the rituals on the Day of Atonement picture the death, resurrection and return of Jesus Christ, as well as His role as our merciful High Priest. What tremendous meaning was contained in those rituals—showing vital aspects of the master plan of God for mankind!

Conclusion

And so, we have reached the end of our journey through the pages of history, and have also caught a glimpse of what lies ahead. Far from being old and outdated, the symbolism contained in the sacrificial offering system, the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the rituals on the Day of Atonement are VERY relevant and of great spiritual importance for us today!

The sacrifices, the tabernacle and the Atonement rituals foreshadowed Christ and what He did, and still does, and will continue to do—but they also foreshadowed YOU and YOUR life. You CAN become—and can continue to be—a LIVING sacrifice and a spiritual tabernacle—a dwelling place for God in the wilderness of this world.

The question is: Do you really want to be that?

The Meaning of God’s Fall Holy Days

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Introduction

Overview

WHY has God commanded us to keep holy certain annual Holy Days, which are listed, for example, in Leviticus 23? What possible relevance and meaning could these “ancient” Holy Days have for us today? In this booklet, you will learn the truth about the annual Holy Days and Festivals to be kept in the Fall of the year. These days carry a deep and rich meaning, actually revealing to us the great master plan of God for mankind. But just knowing about them academically is not enough! Blessed are those who understand them and actually DO them, keeping them holy as God made them holy!

As an introduction, we are setting forth a very brief summary of God’s annual Holy Days and Festivals that come in the Fall. We will then describe and analyze the meaning of each of these days and festivals in much more detail. The following summary is adapted from our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”:

Feast of Trumpets

…only very few are chosen at this time to receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and to prepare for the time when God will replace Satan and restore His government over all the earth. These few who are chosen are called “firstfruits” (James 1:18; Revelation 14:4). They are being taught and trained by God so that they can later teach mankind to reject the rule of Satan and to submit to God’s authority. That time of massive re-education will begin when Jesus Christ returns—in great power and great glory—as the KING of kings and the LORD of lords. He is coming back to restore ALL THINGS on this earth. God wants us to keep the annual Holy Day of the Feast of Trumpets as a reminder of the monumental future event of Christ’s return. Those in Christ still alive when He returns will be changed to immortality, and those who have died in Christ, will be resurrected from the dead to eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:49–54; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; John 3:3–8).

Day of Atonement

In order to bring perfect peace and happiness to this earth, Satan—who has become the arch-enemy of God and man—will have to be removed from his power over this earth (compare Revelation 2:13). Only then can man truly become “at one” with God. God created the annual Holy Day of Atonement to foreshadow the event of Satan’s removal in the near future (Acts 27:9; compare, too, Romans 16:20).

Seven Days of Feast of Tabernacles

Following the removal of Satan, Christ and His saints will begin the awesome task of restoring all things. Those who qualify, will rule with Christ on this earth for 1,000 years (the “Millennium”) (Revelation 20:4), governing those who survived the incredible time of suffering just prior to Christ’s return, as well as those who will be born during the Millennium. Under Christ’s leadership—and along with Him—the saints will restore what had been taken away through Satan’s rebellion and what Adam and Eve failed to restore (see Daniel 7:27). We celebrate this unique and unparalleled time in the entire history of mankind every year for seven days when we observe the Feast of Tabernacles (see John 7:2–14). The first day of that seven-day Festival is to be observed as an annual Holy Day.

The Last Great Day

God’s plan, as pictured in His weekly Sabbath and His annual Holy Days, will still not have been completed by the end of the Millennium. One tremendous event will still occur. It involves the masses of people who have died without ever having been called by God (John 6:44) or known about Jesus Christ, without whom none can be saved (Acts 4:12). God established that all of those people will be resurrected to physical life after the Millennium and will then have the opportunity to accept Christ and to live a godly life. It is the same opportunity being given to those being called by God today—an opportunity that will also be given to mankind during the Millennium. Virtually no one outside the true Church of God understands this vital aspect of God’s plan for mankind, but God has revealed it to His people. God is fair in His dealings with man, and He had to make it possible that EVERYONE would be given an equal opportunity to respond to—accept or reject—God’s calling.

The final annual Holy Day of the Last Great Day, which immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles, symbolizes a period of—most likely—100 years (Isaiah 65:20), called the “Great White Throne Judgment” (Revelation 20:11–12). This is that time during which all persons who had not been called before will be resurrected to physical life and, will then be given their first real opportunity to accept or to reject God’s calling (John 7:37).

Those who will have become immortal members in the very Family of God, will rule with God and Christ for all eternity over all things (Revelation 22:5). This will be the KINGDOM OF GOD ruling over creation, with God’s plan for mankind having been completed.

While the commanded observances in the Spring and early Summer—the Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost—picture events of the past, those in the Fall picture events that are still to occur in the future. So then, all of the commanded annual Holy Days—Spring/early Summer and Fall—observed in their entirety, reveal to us God’s plan for His creation.

With this short summary of God’s Fall Holy Days and Feast of Tabernacles, we will now describe God’s awesome purpose behind each of these in much greater detail.

Chapter 1 – The Feast of Trumpets

The Biblical Feast of Trumpets is the first of the annual Holy Days to occur in the Fall of the year. As will be explained in this booklet, the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets includes the culminating event of Christ’s return to this earth. A literal trumpet will be blown at that time. However, the Feast of Trumpets is not limited to that event. It points to, and includes the events prior to Christ’s immediate return. It also addresses God’s Church today and its commission to proclaim the fact that Christ is coming again to this earth, as well as to warn mankind of the prophesied catastrophic conditions that will dominate the world scene just prior to, and at the time of His return.

A Day of Blowing

We read in the eighth chapter of the book of Nehemiah about a sacred assembly on the Feast of Trumpets, which is to be kept on the “first day of the seventh month” (verse 2). On that day—the only annual Feast day that falls on a “new moon”—the priests and Levites would read and explain the Law of God to the people (verses 1, 3, 7–8, 12). The priest, Ezra, reminded the people that the Feast of Trumpets is “holy to the LORD” (verses 9 and 10), and that it is a day of joy (verse 10) because of what it ultimately pictures.

In Numbers 29:1, the Feast of Trumpets is described in this way: “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.”  In the Hebrew, the original expression for “day of blowing” is  “yom teruah,” which literally means “a day of blowing or shouting.” (The translator supplied the English word for “trumpets”.)

Leviticus 23:24 gives us further details regarding the Feast of Trumpets: “… In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.”

The Hebrew for “blowing of trumpets” is “teruah.” This means that the Feast of Trumpets is a DAY (“yom”) or a MEMORIAL of blowing or shouting. Again, the translator supplied the English word for “trumpets”. “Teruah” could best be translated as signal, sound of tempest, shout, blast of war, blast of alarm, or blast of joy.  One could say that “teruah” describes an awakening blast.

In Old Testament times, God’s priests—Aaron and his descendants—blew real trumpets on that day, but not ONLY on that day. Since Christ is our High Priest and He has replaced the priesthood of Aaron, God’s Church today does not blow literal trumpets. Instead, the Church has been commissioned, by God, to blow spiritual trumpets by  preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ to this dying world and to God’s people, thus “sounding the alarm.”

Blowing the Shofar

It is interesting to note what types of trumpets were blown on the Feast of Trumpets in Old Testament times. In general, the Bible speaks of two kinds of trumpets, namely silver trumpets and ram’s horns, or shofars.

Silver trumpets were blown on the Feast of Trumpets, as well as on all of the other Festivals and on every new moon (Numbers 10:10). Besides blowing silver trumpets, shofars or ram’s horns were also blown on the Feast of Trumpets. Shofars can only produce one sound, which can be described as a loud, piercing blast. It is often referred to in the Bible as a “noise” or a “shout.” This describes the meaning of the word “teruah.” The reference to the trumpets that were to be blown at the Feast of Trumpets mainly describes the ram’s horns, which produce an awakening blast.

The Meaning of the Ram

The symbolism of a “shofar” or “ram’s horn” being blown on the Feast of Trumpets is  significant. As mentioned in Genesis 22:7–8, 13, God provided Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead of his own son Isaac. This is an obvious symbolic reference to Jesus Christ who subsequently became THE sacrifice for ALL of mankind, giving up His life to pay for our sins.

Christ is described in the book of Revelation as the LAMB—a male sheep or a ram—even at the time of His return in the near future (compare Revelation 14:10). Christ became the Lamb of God who carried away the sins of the world, making it possible for Him to come back to usher in the Kingdom of God here on earth. Foreshadowing the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the ancient Israelites had to sacrifice a “ram without blemish” as a trespass offering in order to obtain atonement and forgiveness for their trespasses (Leviticus 5:15). But as we read in the New Testament, these animal sacrifices did not really “take away” their sins at that time. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ takes that away (Hebrews 10:4).

When the priests blew a ram’s horn on the Feast of Trumpets, they announced, perhaps inadvertently and unknowingly, Christ’s first coming, at which time He ultimately died for our sins. Today when we blow “spiritual trumpets” (to be discussed in more detail later in this booklet), we are reminded of the fact that Jesus Christ already came and died for man, but it is also a reminder that He will come AGAIN to rule over man.

The fact that ram’s horns were blown on the Feast of Trumpets is also symbolic of God’s people—the true followers of Jesus Christ—who are described as rams, too. They are to have a Christ-like attitude. Ezekiel 34:17 says: “And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.’” God’s people are not to be self-willed goats, but submissive and obedient rams. Furthermore, a RAM is a clean animal. God’s disciples must be clean, as Christ is clean, if they want to be instruments for His Work.

The Meaning of the Horn

There is further significance in the fact that priests were to blow ram’s HORNS on the Feast of Trumpets. Horns stand for rulership, power and kingship. Psalm 89:24 says: “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.” The horn symbolizes the fact that Christ will come back to RULE this earth. In addition, the blowing of the ram’s horn reminds us that Christ’s disciples will share in Christ’s rulership, IF they develop a Christ-like attitude. Psalm 148:14 promises: “And He has exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints.”

The horns of the rams tell us, too, that we can obtain SALVATION from God. Luke 1:68–69 says: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David.”

In addition, horns are associated with God’s protection. In 1 Kings 1:51–53, Adonijah, who had rebelled against King Solomon, sought and found protection by taking hold of the horns of the altar. Today, we find God’s protection and help each time we appear boldly before His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), in front of which is the altar with its horns, symbolizing spiritual and physical protection (Revelation 8:3).

Spiritual Trumpets

As previously mentioned, in ancient Israel, literal trumpets or ram’s horns were blown. Today, God’s Church is commissioned to blow God’s trumpets spiritually by proclaiming God’s message. That message, as it relates to the Feast of Trumpets, can be summarized in this way:

Living in sin leads to calamity, so be warned! Turn from your sins! Repent and get ready for your soon-coming King and your inheritance of the Kingdom of God (Luke 24:45–47).

Why Shofars Need to Be Blown

The Scriptures tell us very clearly the reasons why shofars—ram’s horns or trumpets—were blown, and why they are to be blown spiritually today.

Amos 3:6–8, for instance, tells us: “IF a trumpet [“shofar”] is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? Surely the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”

Isaiah 58:1 succinctly presents the ongoing and timeless mission of both the Old Testament prophets and God’s New Testament Church: “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet [“shofar”]; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”

Ezekiel 33:2–6 adds the following responsibility for God’s servants at all times: “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet [“shofar”] and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet [“shofar”] and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet [“shofar”], but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

“‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet [“shofar”], and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I require at the watchman’s hand.’”

ALL People Need to Be Warned

Jeremiah 4:5 instructs the prophets of old, and more importantly, the New Testament Church today, to blow the trumpet [“shofar”] to warn Judah and the city of Jerusalem of impending disaster, calamity and war.

Hosea 8:1–2 contains a warning message of war and desolation via a trumpet [“shofar”] for the modern house of Israel (including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), as well as for the New Testament Church.

Joel 2:15–16 specifically addresses and warns the New Testament Church of the “great and very terrible” day of the Lord: “Blow the trumpet [“shofar”] in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes.”

But trumpets are also to be blown spiritually by God’s Church today to warn the other nations of the world. As the gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in the entire world as a witness, so also the world will have to be warned. This warning message is part of the gospel, as it shows that Christ will come back, and it explains WHY He has to return.

For instance, we read in the book of Jeremiah that God will use a mighty army from the east to destroy modern Babylon—a restored ancient Roman Empire, which is actually forming in Europe right now. Jeremiah 51:27 says: “Set up a banner in the land, Blow the trumpet [“shofar”] among the nations! Prepare the nations against her, Call the kingdoms together against her… [including] the kings of the Medes [modern Russia]… For every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon.”

Modern Babylon needs to hear this warning message so that perhaps some will be motivated to repent and “leave” Babylon, spiritually, before it is too late!

In Zephaniah 1:16, the day of the Lord’s punishment of the nations is described as “A day of the trumpet [“shofar”] and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.” God continues to say that He will “bring distress upon men… Because they have sinned against the LORD” (verse 17). It is the DUTY of God’s Church today to warn of these events, which are going to happen because man is living in sin.

In the future, God will have angels blow seven trumpets to announce the terrible punishments to be brought upon a sinning, rebellious, God-defying world. We can find some of those events described in passages like Revelation 8:2, 6–13, and Revelation 9:1, 13. At that time, angels will blow literal trumpets [in Greek, “salpigx”]. Today, God’s Church must announce those events in advance, through God’s spiritual trumpets or shofars.

The Seventh Trumpet

When the seventh or last trumpet sounds, Christ will return to establish the Kingdom of God here on earth. All peoples will hear that trumpet sound, as Isaiah 18:3 reveals: “All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: when he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.”

Revelation 11:15–18 adds the following: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’… ‘You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead [better: nations], that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.’”

Christ’s second coming will be visible to EVERYONE (Revelation 1:7; Acts 1:10–11). He says He will come back in the same manner as the apostles saw Him ascend to heaven. He will not come secretly; nor will He come figuratively, that is, only through His Holy Spirit. He departed from the Mount of Olives visibly, when He was “taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9), and He will return visibly, on a cloud, to the Mount of Olives (compare Zechariah 14:1–4).

Resurrection and Change

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 we read: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

At the time of Christ’s return, those who died in Christ will be resurrected to eternal life; and those in Christ who are still alive, will likewise be changed to immortal life. All of this will happen when the seventh or last trumpet sounds, as 1 Corinthians 15:51–52 reveals: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Matthew 24:31 tells us that the returning Christ will send out His angels to gather together His elect from the four winds. The angels will then bring them to Christ, meeting Him in the air as He descends to this earth. Christ will apparently circle this globe a few times before He sets foot on the Mount of Olives, because we read that His return will be “as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west” (Matthew 24:27).

Hebrews 9:28 explains that Christ will appear to “those who eagerly wait for Him… for salvation.” He comes to bring salvation for His disciples, placing them as born-again members into the very Family of God. We read in 1 John 3:1–2 that they shall be like Him. They will have been changed to glorious, immortal God beings—just as Christ is an immortal God being today. Colossians 3:4 adds that when Christ appears in glory, His disciples will appear with Him in glory.

Christ will give them rulership over this earth, with Him, but under His authority (Revelation 2:26–27; 3:21; 20:4,6). The extent of their rule, their “reward,” will depend on how they lived their lives—how they responded to their calling and changed their unrighteous ways of living. If they did very well, they will receive higher rulership positions.

Freedom

We are told that Christ will bring FREEDOM. He will free His disciples from death (1 Corinthians 15:54–55), so that they can never die again (Luke 20:36). He will also free them from sin, which leads to death (Romans 7:22–25), so that they can never sin again (1 John 3:9).

In addition, Christ will return to bring freedom to the remaining human beings who will have survived the end-time holocaust, but who will not be resurrected to immortal spirit beings at that time. Only those who are truly “in Christ” will be resurrected or changed at the time of Christ’s return; the others will not inherit eternal life at that time. But still, Christ will set them free from Satan’s influences that motivate man to sin (Romans 16:20; 2 Timothy 2:26).

When Christ returns, this world will be in catastrophic turmoil! Due to the influence of Satan and his demons, armies will be fighting against each other to the degree that if Christ did not to come back to stop this madness, no person would survive (Matthew 24:22). So then, Christ’s return will also set mankind free from war by showing man the way to peace (Psalm 46:9; Isaiah 2:4; 9:5–7). He will displace Satan and bind him for 1,000 years, and Satan will be unable to deceive anyone (Revelation 20:1–3). During that time, man will finally begin to experience real peace on earth—God’s way of peace.

In addition, Christ will free the modern houses of Israel and Judah, who will have been taken captive and subjected to literal slavery. He will bring them into the Promised Land (Isaiah 27:13).

Man Will Listen

When Christ returns and begins to rule this world—sitting on the throne of David—the houses of Israel and Judah (Matthew 19:28), as well as the non-Israelite nations or “Gentiles,” will begin to listen (Acts 15:16–17). They will have experienced how Christ rewarded the just and punished the unjust at His return, pursuant to the righteous law of God (Malachi 3:2, 5; Jude 14–15). They will learn that we can only have peace and happiness if we live by God’s law.

We read in Isaiah 2:1–4 that all nations will come to the mountain of the Lord; that is, they will accept His rule and government, and learn His laws for right living. As a consequence, they will beat their swords into plowshares and they will no longer learn the way of war (compare Micah 4:3). Rather, “of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom” (Isaiah 9:7).

The Feast of Trumpets in Jewish Literature

In reviewing Jewish literature, we find that the ancient Rabbis believed that God created the world on the Day now known as the Feast of Trumpets. One purpose of the blowing of the trumpet on that day was a call to repentance. It was a call for the dead to arise and live again—to wake up from sin to regeneration, through repentance. Paul echoes this understanding, when he writes in Ephesians 5:14: “Therefore He says: Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ shall give you light!” (compare Isaiah 26:19).

The Feast of Trumpets is known in Jewish literature under a variety of names, including:

    The Day of Repentance (teshuvah)

    The Birthday of the World (Rosh Hashanah—Head of the Years)

    The Day of the Awakening Blast (Yom Teruah)

    The Day of Judgment (Yom Hadin)

    The Day of the Coronation of the Messiah (HaMelech)

    The Time of Jacob’s Trouble or the Birth pangs of the Messiah (Chevlai shel Mashiach)

    The Wedding Ceremony (Kiddushin/Nesu’in)

    The Last Trump (shofar)

Following the Feast of Trumpets and what it symbolizes, we are introduced to another important event in God’s Master Plan, which is pictured by the Day of Atonement.

Chapter 2 – The Day of Atonement

After Jesus Christ has returned, and before He begins His rule over man, an extremely important event will take place.

We find this event foreshadowed in Leviticus 16, where we are introduced to a remarkable ceremony, which occurred, in Old Testament times, on the Day of Atonement. That day is also called “the Fast” or “Yom Kippur.” On that day, two goats were chosen by lots. One lot was called “for the LORD,” or, “La Adonai,” and the other lot was called, “for Azazel,” or “La Azazel” (compare Leviticus 16:7–8). The Authorized Version and the New King James Bible translate “Azazel” as “scapegoat,” which is a terribly wrong rendition. The first goat, the La Adonai goat, was killed and offered as a sin offering (verse 9). The second goat, the La Azazel goat, was sent away alive into the wilderness (verse 10).

The La Adonai Goat

It has been long understood that the La Adonai goat pictures Jesus Christ—the Messiah—who gave His life as a sin offering and as a sacrifice for all of mankind. The Passover reminds us of those who are selectively and individually called by God in this life and who accept Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins. The Passover, then, has reference to the firstfruits.

Collective Redemption

The Day of Atonement, on the other hand, pictures events, which, in time sequence, occur after the return of Christ. They relate to all peoples who have survived the horrors of global war. They will then be able, and willing, to accept Christ’s sacrifice. It should be noted here that while the Passover deals with individual reconciliation, the Day of Atonement pictures collective reconciliation. The Jews have placed important significance on the fact that the Day of Atonement is kept on the 10th day of the 7th month. The number 10 is viewed as representing a group or a congregation, as distinguished from separate individuals. The Day of Atonement primarily refers to collective redemption.

After the nation of Israel sinned against God by building a golden calf, Moses ascended a second time to Mount Sinai. Following 40 days of fasting and prayer, God again wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone. According to tradition, Moses descended from the Mount the second time on the Day of Atonement. He brought the tablets as a sign of God’s forgiveness and His reconciliation with the nation.

The Jews set aside 40 days, prior to the Day of Atonement, as a period of repentance. They call this period “Teshuvah,” meaning, “to repent” or “to return.”

The Azazel Goat

It has also been long understood by some that the Azazel goat symbolizes Satan the devil. The Book of Enoch—a non-inspired Jewish mythology—represents the Jewish understanding of Azazel. In chapter 8, verse 1, it identifies Azazel as Satan, who has influenced people to invent and manufacture weapons of war and to commit those sins, as we find them described at the time of Noah.

Before the Azazel goat was sent into the wilderness, the High Priest—symbolic for Jesus Christ—laid both hands upon the head of that goat, confessing over it all of the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites (Leviticus 16:10, 21–22). The Torah comments that “the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region.”

Confusion Regarding Azazel

Some claim that Azazel does not symbolize Satan, but rather Christ. This confusion is important, as we will see in a moment. As mentioned, both the Authorized Version and the New King James Bible translate Azazel incorrectly as “scapegoat.” The Nelson Study Bible comments that this is a reference to Christ, the scapegoat, who takes away our sins. However, this interpretation is terribly wrong.

The German Commentary, Rienecker, explains that man’s forgiveness of sin can only be obtained through the shedding of blood, and that the goat for Azazel was not killed, but was sent away alive. So, Azazel could not represent Christ. We find that later in history, the Jews did kill the Azazel goat by throwing it off a cliff, which is something that the Bible does not command. In doing so, they only added to the confusion as to what Azazel stands for. In addition, Aaron had to wash his body after touching the Azazel goat; and the man releasing the Azazel goat into the wilderness also had to wash his clothes and bathe his body (Leviticus 16:24, 26)—showing that the Azazel goat represented Satan, not Christ.

The Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown seems to confirm that Azazel represents Satan. The Broadman Bible Commentary adds that the intention was in no way to bring a gift to Azazel, but to carry away to destruction the sins of the people.

We should recall, too, that the identity of the two goats was determined by lot. God had to reveal which goat was to represent Christ and which goat was to represent Satan. There is a reason for this procedure. Man cannot determine who is the true God and who is a false god. God must REVEAL this to man. Man, left to himself, has chosen to worship and obey Satan—the Azazel goat—thinking that they are worshipping the true God!

That is why it is important to understand the confusion over the identity of the Azazel goat. As man confuses the worship of Satan with the worship of God, they think that the Azazel goat, which represents Satan, actually represents Christ. Is it just coincidence that some who once knew and taught correctly that the Azazel goat represents Satan, changed their doctrine in recent years to say that the Azazel goat represents Christ? Not likely!

Only Satan’s Sins

The Azazel goat carried those sins for which Satan is ultimately responsible, into the wilderness. Satan is not responsible for all sin, as man could and does sin without Satan’s influence, but Satan has had a tremendous impact on man’s sinful nature and conduct. Christ died for man’s sin and what man has become because of it. Upon repentance, man receives forgiveness for sins committed by him—those for which he is responsible. But Christ did not die for Satan’s evil influence on man, tempting him to sin, and Christ did not die so that Satan could obtain forgiveness. The reason for this is that Satan does not want to repent. He does not want to change. Satan has committed the unpardonable sin, and Christ’s sacrifice does not apply to those—Satan or man—who commit the unpardonable sin.

That part of sin for which Satan is responsible, was placed right back on him, as pictured by the High Priest placing his hands on the forehead of the Azazel goat. The Azazel goat, symbolizing Satan, was then sent with those sins into the wilderness, far away from the High Priest and the people. A man led the Azazel goat into the wilderness to see to it that the goat would not return to the camp of Israel.

True Reconciliation

Revelation 20:1–3 tells us that just prior to the beginning of the Millennium, an angel will take Satan away from mankind and bind him for a 1,000 years so that he cannot deceive the nations anymore. His role and influence will cease during that Millennial period of 1,000 years. At last, true at-one-ment, or reconciliation between God and all mankind, will have become possible.

In German, the expression for Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement is “Versöhnungstag.” It means, literally, establishing reconciliation between father and son. A son who has gone astray reconciles with his father and becomes again a true son in the fullest meaning of the word. This will be made possible for all mankind when the influence of Satan the devil has ceased.

Fight Azazel!

Today though, Satan is still around, and those who are called in this day and age must still overcome him. It is a continuous struggle because Satan wants us to fail. Ephesians 4:27 tells us not to give place to the devil. James describes this struggle in James 4:7–8.

Once we submit to God, and stay submissive to His rule and government in our lives, Satan must flee from us, as we prove through our conduct that we have rejected his rule over us. We are no longer children of the devil, but are reconciled to God, if, in fact, we are responding to our calling and changing our lives. This is an AWESOME opportunity offered now only to those whom God is calling, but when Christ comes back to this earth, the whole world will be offered that same opportunity to become reconciled to God—this time without interference from Satan, as he will have been sent away for 1,000 years.

The world will learn that their sins can be forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ, while Satan’s sins, and his responsibility for the sins of mankind, will be placed back on his head.

Fasting on the Day of Atonement

There is only one specified time in Scripture during which we are commanded to fast, although voluntary occasional fasting is strongly encouraged in the Bible. A prescribed 24-hour fast is to occur on the Day of Atonement, referred to as “the Fast” in the Bible (compare Acts 27:9). It is important that we understand WHY we are to FAST on the Day of Atonement.

While there is not one particular passage that specifically states that we are to fast on the Day of Atonement, the requirement to fast on this day becomes clear when we read several passages together, as explained in the next sections.

Prescribed Fast on the Day of Atonement

Leviticus 23:27–32 gives us the following command: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls… And you shall do no work on that same day… any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people… It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening [days start and end at evening or at sunset according to the Hebrew calendar], from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

The Hebrew word for “afflict” is “anah.” It means, literally, “to lower” or “to humble.”

Deuteronomy 8:3 sheds more light on the meaning of the Hebrew word, “anah.” We read: “He humbled [“anah”] you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna…” We should note here the connection between being humbled and abstaining from food. Psalm 35:13 adds: “I humbled [“anah”] myself with fasting.”

When the Bible talks about humbling ourselves or afflicting our souls, it implies that we are to do so through fasting; that is, we are to abstain from food and drink (compare Exodus 34:28; Esther 4:16; Ezra 10:6).

Additional Concepts Related With Fasting

Fasting is also associated with mourning and weeping (Esther 4:3; Psalm 69:10–11; Nehemiah 1:4; 1 Kings 21:27–29).

There IS a reward for fasting, but this reward should not be expected to be received from people. Rather, it must come from God the Father (Matthew 6:16–18). Also, fasting is done for a PURPOSE, but man should only see the FRUITS of fasting, rather than concentrating on the fasting itself (same passage).

Fasting should not be done as a matter of routine. It can be especially tempting to become routine on the Day of Atonement. Luke 18:9–14 contains an example of a Pharisee who fasted twice a week, out of routine and habit, but because of his self-righteous attitude, it did not help him spiritually in any way. True fasting and mourning must come from the heart. These cannot be rituals and cannot be done for the wrong reason. The Pharisee compared himself with others. He believed that his fast alone would make him righteous. He, in a sense, fasted for strife and debate, concluding that he was better than others because he fasted twice a week, while others did not.

Isaiah 58:3–4 tells us, however, not to fast or afflict our souls for strife and debate: “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted [“anah”] our souls, and You take no notice?’ In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high.”

The New International Version renders verse 4 as follows: “Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.”

We should not fast or afflict our souls [again, note that fasting and afflicting our souls is the same thing] to find pleasure on the fast day. This means that while we are fasting, we should not concentrate on anything that clearly detracts from the purpose of the fast day. Otherwise, our fast day is nothing more than simply abstaining physically from food and water. This is especially important when we follow God’s instructions to afflict our souls, or fast, on the Day of Atonement, one of the annual Sabbaths. We should not focus on business concerns, and we certainly are not to try to exploit our laborers and take unfair advantage of our competitors.

Specific Reasons for Fasting

In order to please God when we fast, it is important to fast for the right reasons. Listed below are some very specific reasons for fasting, especially on the Day of Atonement:

1. To obtain help from God

We read in Ezra 8:21–31 how Ezra fasted to plead for God’s help, and God heard him and answered his plea. When we fast, we must seek God with our whole heart, realizing, acknowledging, and confessing that only He can give us help for our problems.

2. To increase in faith

Christ taught His disciples that we can receive more faith from God when we fast and pray (Matthew 17:14–21).

3. To turn to God and draw closer to Him

Joel 2:12–14 includes a striking example and admonition to draw closer to God through fasting and mourning.

In Daniel 9:3–19, Daniel fasted and prayed for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness from God for committed sins.

4. To obtain power and strength from God to overcome problems

During fasting, we learn that we need more than just physical things (Matthew 4:1–4).

5. To learn how to love other people

God looks at our hearts during and after the fast (Isaiah 58:6–11).

6. To obtain guidance from God when faced with difficult and important decisions

Acts 13:2–3 and Acts 14:23 show that the disciples prayed and fasted before they ordained someone.

7. To overcome Satan, society and ourselves

James 4:6–10 admonishes us to humble ourselves and to submit to God by mourning and weeping over our sins. The implication of that passage is, as we have seen earlier, that we need to do so through fasting.

Fasting on the Day of Atonement should help bring about our “at-one-ment” with God and fellow man. On the Day of Atonement, we are reminded of the time when we will be fully “at one” with God—when we will totally think as He thinks, totally live as He lives, and be totally perfect as He is perfect.

We read Christ’s words in John 10:30: “I and My Father are One.” Christ also said in John 17:11, 20–23, that we are to become ONE, as the Father and Christ are ONE. We are to be of ONE mind (Philippians 2:2). Galatians 3:28 even postulates that this oneness CAN already be achieved now, to an extent: “You ARE all ONE in Christ.”

Even though we have already received atonement through Christ, as Romans 5:11 tells us in the Authorized Version, Satan, self and society are still around today, influencing us to sin. We know that we have not yet achieved total “at-one-ness” with God and man. And so, the Day of Atonement pictures for us—those who are called NOW—a time when we will be completely at one with God. We will, in fact, be born-again Spirit members of the God Family, incapable of sinning.

Even though we do not teach at all that we are to endorse or adopt Jewish traditions, it is sometimes helpful to consider them, if they are supported or not contradicted by Scripture. The Jews set aside the ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement as a period they call the Days of Awe (Yamim Nora’im), or the TEN DAYS of Repentance or COLLECTIVE redemption (compare Leviticus 16:21, 32–34, providing atonement for the transgressions and sins of all the people).

At the end of the Old Testament ceremonies on the Day of Atonement, the mood of the people shifted from solemn awe to joyful celebration. Now they were looking forward to the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jews call the Feast of Tabernacles the “Season of Our Joy,” which follows the seasons of repentance and redemption.

When Christ comes back, the whole world will be offered the opportunity to reconcile with God—to become “at one with God.” Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years. Finally, the rule of Christ over this earth can begin.

Living the Meaning of the Day of Atonement

Those of us who have been called into the truth have a duty to insure that we are living today the meaning of the Day of Atonement. We have been reconciled to God, and Satan should no longer have power over us (James 4:7). We also must be reconciled to one another in God’s Church if we want to teach the world, through our example, the meaning of the Day of Atonement—the true meaning of being at one with God and with fellow man—the true meaning of reconciliation.

Chapter 3 – The Feast of Tabernacles

Following the Day of Atonement or the Fast, God enjoins the observance of a seven-day Festival—the Feast of Tabernacles. The true Church of God conducts an opening ceremony on the evening of the first day (compare Isaiah 30:29; Psalm 134:1), and we are to stay in temporary dwellings for the entire time of the Festival.

Temporary Dwellings

In Old Testament times, the Israelites had to create temporary dwellings. Leviticus 23:41–42 instructs us regarding the seven Days of the Feast of Tabernacles: “You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year… You shall dwell in booths for seven days…”

God commanded Israel to build temporary huts, booths or tabernacles out of tree branches, and to live in them during the Feast of Tabernacles.

In the Hebrew, the word for “booth” is “sukkah.”  The word is used in Genesis 33:17, referring to booths that were built for Jacob’s livestock in order to provide temporary shelter. The word is also used in Job 27:18, where it is said that the wicked builds his house like a booth. The margin of the New King James Bible refers to it as a “temporary shelter.”

We also read in Jonah 4:5 that Jonah made himself a shelter. The Authorized Version translates “a booth.” That is what a booth is—a temporary shelter.

The word “sukkah” is translated 12 times as “tabernacle” in the Authorized Version. In most cases, it refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (compare Leviticus 23:34; Deuteronomy 16:13, 16; 31:10; 2 Chronicles 8:13; Ezra 3:4; and Zechariah 14:16, 18, and 19).

In Isaiah 4:4–6, we are told that in the future, God will provide a temporary tabernacle or “booth” for physical Israel. This booth will give shade in the daytime from the heat, and it will be a place of refuge and shelter. We are also told that the Israelites will dwell in tents or tabernacles again “as in the days of the appointed feast” (Hosea 12:9; compare the rendering in the Authorized Version).

Also, 2 Samuel 11:11 uses the word “sukkah” for “tents”: “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents.” The word “tent” describes, of course, a temporary shelter or dwelling place.

The Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of booths, is associated with temporary dwellings, shelter and protection. During the Feast, God shelters His people from the dangers and troubles of this world. At the same time, God promises them protection for their homes and belongings during their absence to attend the annual Feast Days. Exodus 34:22, 24 says: “And you shall observe… the Feast of Ingathering [Feast of Tabernacles] at the year’s end… neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God…”

The New Bible Commentary remarks about Leviticus 23:40–42, on page 163: “The people are to live in booths for seven days that their generations may know that the Lord made the people of Israel dwell in booths, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt… The thought which is stressed is of course the frail and temporary character of the dwellings of the people during the wilderness sojourn. Thus Jerusalem is likened by Isaiah to a cottage (booth) in a vineyard (Is. 1:8).”

Literal Booths Not Necessary Today

The Church of God has taught for decades that God’s people do not have to build literal booths of tree branches to dwell in them during the Feast. The spiritual point God wanted to convey to them at that time was that they were to live in temporary dwellings during the Feast. This principle still applies to us today.

The Good News of August 1980, published by the Worldwide Church of God, states on page 13: “It does not matter what the booths or dwellings are made out of. Back then they were made of branches. Today they may be canvas tents, aluminum trailers, brick motels, hotels or condominiums. The important point is that they be places of temporary residence.”

Another reference from the Good News, September 1983, page 7, states: “The modern counterpart of these booths would be hotels, motels and other places of temporary residence.”

Also, Lesson 30 of the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course, published by the Worldwide Church of God in 1986, states on page 14: “A booth or tabernacle is a temporary dwelling. God commanded the ancient Israelites to live in temporary shelters made of tree branches while observing the Feast of Tabernacles. For God’s people who attend the Feast today in many different climates, tents, campers, motel or hotel rooms are appointed as temporary dwellings.”

Why Temporary Dwellings?

What is the reason behind God’s command to stay in temporary dwellings during the Feast of Tabernacles?

A Pilgrimage

Notice in Psalm 42:4 how the sons of Korah describe one of God’s festivals, which is, in all likelihood, the Feast of Tabernacles: “I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With the multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”

They were literally keeping a pilgrim feast because they left their homes to keep the Feast in Jerusalem. They went on a pilgrimage, their destination being the city of Jerusalem. But this act of making a pilgrimage is also symbolic of our spiritual journey today—the pilgrimage of our lives.

Let us examine this principle a little closer.

What is a pilgrim? A pilgrim is a traveler, a sojourner. He does not settle down. As long as he is traveling—as long as he is a pilgrim—he does not have a permanent residence. He has not yet reached his final destination.

This is the way true Christians are described in the Bible.

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:1: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion…” The margin of the New King James Bible defines pilgrims as “sojourners, temporary residents.”

Continuing in verse 17: “…conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear [or respect for God].” The margin of the New King James Bible explains that the word for “stay” really means, “sojourning, dwelling as resident aliens.” Moffat translates: “Be reverent in your conduct while you sojourn here below.”

He goes on to say in 1 Peter 2:11: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”

Pilgrims and Sojourners

All of God’s people have been, and still are today, pilgrims and sojourners in this  physical life. They are living IN this world, but they are not OF this world. They do not really belong to this world (compare John 17:11, 14). They are, spiritually speaking, separate from this world (Revelation 18:4). They are waiting for a permanent dwelling place, a place that will be given to them in the Kingdom of God. They are constantly looking forward to a better city and a better country.

Hebrews 11:9–10 tells us about Abraham: “By faith he dwelt [or “sojourned,” according to the Authorized Version] in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

They were strangers in the Promised Land, as they had not yet received the inheritance.

Rather than being overly occupied with the affairs of this life, we must remember that we, as God’s people, are to look to God for temporary shelter—firmly bearing in mind that we are on a pilgrimage.

Psalm 84:5 explains: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.”

Our hearts must be set on pilgrimage, not on the things of this world. We are pilgrims and sojourners in this world, passing through this world on our way to a better world—the world tomorrow—the Kingdom of God here on earth.

We could compare our pilgrimage with that of the ancient Israelites who passed through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. God was with them the whole time. They longed to enter the Promised Land. They did not want to settle down in the wilderness and make that their final destination. While in the wilderness, they did not have permanent dwellings. In fact, they were always on the move, literally, never knowing how long to stay in one place. God led them by a cloud during the day and by a pillar of fire during the night. Whenever the cloud rose, they had to start walking, following the cloud (compare Numbers 9:21–22).

Like the Israelites who had to continually move through the wilderness toward the Promised Land, we also must continue to move forward through the spiritual wilderness, ever onward to the Kingdom of God. We must follow God wherever He leads us. When He wants us to move, spiritually speaking, we must move, and when He wants us to stay, we must stay. And if He wants us to forsake everything that we have in order to follow Him, then we must be prepared to do that, too.

God’s people are described in Revelation 14:4 in this way: “These are the ones who were not defiled with women [spiritually speaking—they did not engage in wrong religious practices], for they are virgins [their worship of God was pure and not mixed with pagan ideas]. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.”

God led ancient Israel through the wilderness to test them, in order to do them good in the end (Deuteronomy 8:1–9, 15–16). He hoped they would pass the test.

And so it is for God’s people today. This world is their wretched wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions of hatred and war—a thirsty land without the water of God’s knowledge. This world is something God’s people must pass through, rather than become comfortable with. The values, ideals, customs, styles, philosophies, religions, national governments and their goals, entertainment, glamour, and the judicial and administrative systems of this world are nothing but a wilderness of spiritual emptiness and confusion that must never dominate, shade, influence or alter the Godly perspective of Christ’s true disciples!

So then, rather than concentrating on, and beginning to love and embrace the things of this world during the time of our pilgrimage (1 John 2:15–17), we should focus on the tools God has given us so that we can successfully reach the destination of our pilgrimage. David said in Psalm 119:54: “Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.”

When We Live in Temporary Shelters

When we live in temporary shelters during the Feast of Tabernacles, we are reminding ourselves, and are conveying to others, that this life is only temporary. We are reminded that we are being tested on how we live this life of pilgrimage, having our course set to reach the goal—to enter, as immortal God beings, the Kingdom of God.

As this physical life is fleeting, we need to act accordingly and place our whole trust in God (James 4:13–14; Luke 12:13–21). Sinful pleasures of this life, and even the lawful necessities of life, are passing (Hebrews 11:23–26; John 6:27). We are allotted only a limited time to prepare for the Kingdom of God, which is our final destination.

During the Feast, God’s people live for seven days in temporary dwellings, sheltered by Him from the pursuits of this world. This foreshadows a time when all of mankind will experience the same. In the Millennium, God will shelter all of mankind. Satan, the present god of this world, will be banned. All people will understand, then, that we all are pilgrims in this physical life.

As God’s people, we live in temporary dwellings, away from our jobs and our everyday surroundings. We come away from Satan’s world and his prevailing negative influence. During that time period, we ought to picture the universal freedom, happiness, joy and peace that will exist when Satan is gone and the Spirit of God is available to every human being. We ought to keep the Feast with gladness of heart. This life is only a training ground for a better life to come. We will soon experience a world of peace and happiness that this world has never experienced before.

Additionally, staying in temporary dwellings reminds us of the fact that there will come a time when we will no longer dwell in booths or tabernacles or tents of this physical flesh, as 2 Peter 1:13–14 points out: “Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.”

We, as human beings, are made out of dust. We are destined to die. Only God’s Spirit in us can give us hope for eternal life after physical death.

A Better City

Hebrews 11:13–16 states: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland [Authorized Version: “a country”]. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”

The saints of old were waiting for the holy city of the New Jerusalem that will come down to this earth (Revelation 21:2). They were not focused on the here and now. Even though some of them were rich, they did not put their trust in riches, realizing that riches can make themselves wings and fly away (compare Proverbs 23:5; Matthew 6:19–21).

They understood that this life is very temporary. They understood that they were resident aliens in whatever earthly country they might have been living at the time, and that their real citizenship was somewhere else.

We today must have the same outlook on life. Hebrews 13:14 reminds us: “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” As Christians, we are strangers and foreigners in this world, but we are no longer strangers and foreigners in the eyes of God. Ephesians 2:19 explains: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Our Heavenly Citizenship

Whoever we are and wherever we live, if we are converted members of God’s Church, then we belong to the household of God and we are fellow citizens with all the other saints around the world. But this citizenship is not an earthly one. Rather, it is in heaven, as Philippians 3:20 explains: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

A Permanent Dwelling

And so, it is our hope, confidence and conviction that our temporary, physical tent will be replaced with a permanent dwelling, as Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 5:1–4: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven… for we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”

The longer we stay in temporary dwellings, the more we tend to desire to live in a permanent place. After a few days in a hotel room, we want to sleep in our own bed again. God does not want us to become too comfortable with a temporary place; He does not want us to make a permanent home out of a temporary shelter. Our permanent home—God’s Kingdom—is still awaiting us, and the longer we live in this evil world of Satan, the more we groan for God’s Kingdom to come, to be freed from this body of sin and death and from our own human nature that tempts us to sin. We cry out with Paul: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

God wants us to anticipate and earnestly desire permanency—the permanency of the everlasting Kingdom of God to be established here on earth.

It is no coincidence that the Feast of Tabernacles is kept in the seventh month—the month of “Ethanim” (compare 1 Kings 8:2). This Hebrew word means, “permanent things.” Instead of pilgrimage and sojourning, there will come a time of eternal inheritance.

The Ultimate Fulfillment

The ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles will be when God lives with man. We read about this awesome promise in Revelation 21:3: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

What Will It Be Like?

True Christians who qualify in this life are destined to become immortal Spirit beings—members in the Kingdom of God—actually, members of the very Family of God.

In order to be part of God’s Kingdom, converted Christians will need to become God—changed to spirit at their resurrection. They will then have His divine nature, which is already given to them to a small extent—as a down payment or guarantee—at the time of their baptism and receipt of God’s Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:2–4).

In Scriptures like 1 John 2:25 and Titus 1:2, God promises His disciples ETERNAL life. Once changed, they cannot, and will not die anymore. His promise of eternal life is accompanied by the promise of an eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15)—the inheritance of the Kingdom of God (James 2:5; Hebrews 12:27–28).

It is a marvelous truth that Christ’s disciples will BE God, just as Christ also is an immortal God being! (For more information on this vitally important subject, please read our free booklet, “God Is A Family.”)

Life-Giving Spirit Beings…

In addition to this astounding truth, we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:45 that Christ is a life-giving Spirit. That is, He can create LIFE! In fact, that is what He did before He became a human being, and that is what He will continue to do after His return. We are told in Scripture, for instance, that all living things in the oceans will have died before His return (Revelation 16:3), but we also read that there will be fish in the Millennium. This shows that God will create new LIFE, and it is strongly suggested in Scripture that God’s children—the resurrected saints—will have a part in this, by assisting God the Father and Jesus Christ in that process!

Romans 8:20–23 tells us that God’s creation waits for the revelation of the glorious liberty of the children of God. It will be freed from corruption—it will become spirit, as we will discuss below. But that won’t happen until after the new heavens and the new earth appear, as we will read in the book of Revelation.

But what happens before that? The Bible says that God’s creation waits for the manifestation of God’s children as Spirit beings. They will, already, during the time of the Millennium, be working, under God the Father and Jesus Christ, to beautify and restore this earth, actually CREATING life. As Jesus Christ has the mind of God the Father and He never did anything contrary to God’s will, so God’s children will have the mind of God and Christ, and they will therefore always act in accordance with God’s will and desires—never contrary to it. They will always be under God the Father and Jesus Christ. God will always be their God, and they will always serve Him (Revelation 21:3, 7; 22:5). They will always follow—and thereby accept the lead of—the Lamb, Jesus Christ, wherever He goes (Revelation 14:4; compare Revelation 3:4; 7:17).

Let us assume, then, that you will become an immortal God being, living with Christ in the Millennium. Notice that Christ said in John 7:37–38, that out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. That is, God’s Spirit will flow out of YOU to create LIFE! Christ is a life-giving Spirit, and you also will be, because you will be God.

Physical and Spiritual Healing

You will reign righteously and justly, bringing peace and happiness to this world. To rule justly over others means to help them—free them from pain, lift them up, bring them happiness and fulfillment in life. You will also be able to heal the sick in miraculous ways (Isaiah 33:24). When Christ healed, He did it supernaturally, and in most cases, with immediate effect. YOU will be able to do the same. When that time comes, every human being will be healed. No one will say anymore, “I am sick.”

Be Wherever You Want to Be

As a God being, you can be wherever you want to be within a split second. After Christ’s resurrection, He went to God’s throne in heaven, received kingship over the universe from God the Father, and returned to earth to talk to His disciples—all within less than a few hours. You, too, will be able to “fly” with speed much faster than you can imagine. You can be wherever you are needed, immediately. You can stand next to those who need your help, manifesting yourself to them so that they can see you. At the same time, you can prevent things from happening in other places on this globe, since you will be God. Your powers will not be limited to the place where you are at the time. The Spirit of God the Father and Jesus Christ will be dwelling in you, and through the Holy Spirit, you can be, and will be, present everywhere.

Cannot Sin

God cannot sin. That is, He cannot lie. He cannot steal. We know that it is wrong to lie or to steal. But, weak as we are, we sometimes do. Since we know it’s wrong, we hate ourselves for doing it. When you are a God being, it will be impossible for you to sin.

Imagine that! YOU will not be ABLE to sin, because you will have acquired a perfect WILL not to sin. As God, it will be against your Godly character to sin; therefore, you cannot sin anymore, because you do not WANT to sin.

No Abuse of Power

With limitless powers at our command, unless our will is such that we absolutely do not want to abuse our powers for wrong reasons, we would blow up this world and destroy everything around us. If Satan would have had his way, this world would have been exterminated a long time ago. Satan is the destroyer. It is his nature to destroy. But Satan’s rule will end. He, the destroyer, will have influenced man to be willing to totally destroy each other. Christ will come to stop this. Satan’s rule will be taken away from him, and man will not be allowed to destroy anymore on Christ’s holy mountain.

When you are God, you will not destroy. God is the sustainer. He sustains what He has created with His mighty word of power (Hebrews 1:1–3). As a God being, you will uphold and sustain the life that you will create—in accordance with the will and desire of God the Father and Jesus Christ—and you will sustain the life that God the Father and Jesus Christ will entrust to your care—as the Father created everything through Christ and entrusted it all to His care.

You Will BE Love

God IS LOVE. Love is outgoing concern for the good and welfare of others. As a God being, you WILL BE concerned for the good and welfare of others. You will experience, on an uninterrupted and a never-ending basis, why it is more blessed to give than to receive. As God, you will own everything, but it will be your greatest wish to share all that you have with others. Christ said that we will be HAPPY if we learn and practice the concept of giving and sharing.

Again, God IS love. He GIVES. He is HAPPY and filled with joy because loving and giving produces joy (Psalm 16:11; Matthew 25:21). God’s joy has a positive effect on others. God radiates joy, so to speak. When we are in God’s presence, we feel happiness and joy. So also, when you are God, others will feel that same happiness and joy emanating from you (Isaiah 35:10; 61:7; Acts 2:28).

How To Rule Under Christ

Christ’s disciples, who will by then be members of the God Family, are to “rule” with Christ here on earth during the Millennium. They will rule OVER the human beings who will have survived the horrible catastrophic events prior to Christ’s return—a time referred to as the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Those people, including those of the modern houses of Israel and Judah who will have been brought back to the Promised Land, will continue to live and produce offspring, and God will teach them His Law and show them how to live (Isaiah 2:1–4).

Again, let us assume that you will be one of those who rule with and under Christ. Let us further assume that you will be ruling an entire city in a world no longer influenced by Satan and his evil forces, as they have been banished at that time. This does not mean that all of the citizens ruled by you will automatically become good people and do what is right. Not at all! Even though Satan will be gone, the carnal human nature and old destructive habits will still be there, and they will need to be overcome. It will be you—by then an immortal Spirit being—who will help the people to do that.

Teaching God’s Way

Isaiah 30:20–21 tells us: “And though the LORD gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.”

YOU will be one of those teachers—a member of the God Family—if you qualify in your lifetime for that job. You will teach God’s standards of living to those in your care. Verse 22 continues to show the consequences and results: “You will also defile the covering of your images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, ‘Get away!’” You will be able to effectively teach people how to overcome their wrong ways because you will have learned—at least to an extent—how to overcome your wrong ways in your physical lifetime, before you were changed to Spirit.

Some people will respond quickly to Godly teaching and guidance. Micah 4:1–3 explains that they will want to learn to do what is right. They will not want to learn the way of war any more; but rather, they will be willing to replace their weapons with useful tools. God’s rule will start in Jerusalem and will spread out from there, to include countries that  had never heard, learned or understood the truth before (Isaiah 66:19, 23).

Dealing With Disobedience and Rebellion

But not everyone will readily follow your guidance nor respond to your oral teaching when they hear your voice behind them telling them to go the straight and narrow way. Some will need to be dealt with in more drastic ways, such as the temporary withholding of physical blessings (compare Zechariah 14:16–19).

People will have to learn, just as you had to learn. They will have the Bible to learn from, but they will also have to go through the same decision-making processes as converted Christians go through today, except they will not have to overcome Satan. They will also live in a better environment, but still, they won’t be forced not to sin; otherwise, there would be no free moral agency and, thus, no character development.

Total rebellion will be dealt with quickly and thoroughly. Those who refuse to obey God will be destroyed. This will also serve as a lesson to others, so that they will not feel motivated to rebel also (compare Ezekiel 38:8–12, 15–23; 39:3–10). But even though you have the power to call fire down from heaven and devour your adversaries, that does not mean you will do so anytime someone disobeys or “gets on your nerves” (compare Luke 9:53–55).

Administering Righteous Judgment

HOW will you judge? How will you determine whether someone needs oral admonition or a more drastic penalty, such as the withholding of physical blessings, or even outright destruction? How will you know what decisions to make? Will you, once you are a God being, automatically know? Not necessarily! Even in this day and age, God has decided not to know, in certain respects, how someone will act. We read that He was surprised about the wickedness of man at the time of Noah. So then, you, as a Spirit being, will also learn by experience, by dealing with people. Also, since you will be ruling under Christ, you may consult with Him for advice anytime.

Isaiah 11:3–4 tells us how Jesus Christ will judge people and circumstances: “His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.”

Christ will judge with righteousness—not based on hearsay or circumstantial evidence (John 7:24). Assuming that you will be judging under Him, then you, too, will judge righteously (compare Proverbs 18:17; 29:14). Your judgment will be fair and without partiality. It will be carried out with mercy, compassion, patience and, when necessary, with strength. You will look at, and judge by, the motives and desires of the heart (compare Jeremiah 11:20; Proverbs 21:2).

Your judgment will be for the purpose of teaching man to live righteously and peacefully (Isaiah 26:9–10, 12). This means, you will be judging with mercy and executing deserved penalties quickly, so that righteousness can be established in the city (compare Isaiah 16:5; Ecclesiastes 8:11).

Standards for Judgment

If someone violates the law of God, how will you deal with them?

Many Old Testament laws will be applied in the Millennium, including the commandments regarding the Sabbath, the Holy Days, clean and unclean meats, and the sacrifices.

When someone steals, he will have to make restitution. He will have to pay “an eye for an eye,” that is, he will have to restore the value of the eye (compare Exodus 21:24–25, 18–19, 22).

The Soncino Commentary states the following in regard to Exodus 21:24–25: “In all these cases monetary compensation is intended. Strict justice demanded the principle of measure for measure…”

The New International Version Study Bible, 1985, points to the parallel passage of Leviticus 24:19: “This represents a statement of principle. The penalty is to fit the crime, not exceed it. An actual eye or tooth was not to be required, nor is there evidence that such a penalty was ever exacted.”

The Old Testament “an eye for an eye” principle was never meant to be applied literally by actually maiming an offender. It was meant to outlaw the personal vindictive “self-help” approach and to allow, instead, a magistrate or a judge to consider the case and render righteous judgment by ordering the offender to pay just compensation to the victim. In Matthew 5:29–30, Jesus Christ addressed a misunderstanding on the part of His listeners who thought that they could avenge themselves. He cautioned them to be forgiving and kind, and He encouraged them to avoid fights and especially violence, even, if need be, at the price of foregoing their legal rights.

The true Church of God has taught consistently that the “eye for an eye principle” was not meant to be applied literally in the sense of maiming a person.

You might not allow it to go so far as an individual actually losing an eye, so that the offender would have to restore its value, but the law, and the penalty for breaking the law, will be taught. Even if you did allow such an offense to happen, you could immediately heal the person who lost an eye. Christ allowed Peter to strike the servant and cut off his ear, but then He healed the servant right away (Matthew 26:51; John 18:10; Luke 22:50–51).

Worship Services

How will the people in your care keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days? Most of the worship services will be held locally, necessitating planning and organization. However, it appears that at least at the beginning of the Millennium, all will go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. How will they get there? There might very well be streets or highways (Isaiah 11:16; 19:23; 62:10), as well as transportation in the form of non-polluting cars and airplanes.

Paying Fair Wages

Assuming that you qualify in this lifetime to rule and guide people in the Millennium, how will you determine what salaries your laborers should receive? You will not pay someone if he refuses to work or to be trained (compare 2 Thessalonians 3:6–12). Employees will be paid fairly and promptly (compare Leviticus 19:13; Matthew 10:10; 1 Timothy 5:18).

Labor unions will not dictate to you how much a worker must be paid. This will be totally up to you, based on God’s standards of fairness, as Godly standards differ from the standards of man, which are so many times motivated by greed, envy or jealousy (compare Matthew 20:1–16).

Whom To Employ?

What kind of people will you employ in the various functions required in order to administer your city? Remember, you will hire human beings to do some of that, thereby training them to qualify for the Kingdom of God.

Will you hire anyone who still has war in their heart, one who is willing to hit his neighbor with an iron fist, and who still believes that human wars can bring about solutions to our problems?

Absolutely not! If you did, you would allow irritation and confusion, which is against God’s standards. The people under your care will not learn war any more. They will want to learn how to replace their weapons with useful tools. They will have to learn that man does not need to go to war, as long as he relies on God and His protection. There will be no draft and no standing army. People with war in their hearts will be re-educated to replace their feelings of war and hate with those of love and peace.

You will also train human beings to become ministers, preaching God’s Word (compare Isaiah 61:6, 9; 66:21). Humans will also be used in the administration of animal sacrifices (Ezekiel 44:10–11, 23–24). Many ideas have been advanced as to why there will be animal sacrifices in the Millennium. The short answer is, Scripture does not reveal the answer. We know for a fact that animal sacrifices WILL be given, and we are suggesting a distinct possibility for the reason on pages 36–39 of our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…” Beyond that, we will not engage in speculation, since the Bible is silent on that issue.

Truthful Journalists

If you employ a journalist, how will you want him to report facts and circumstances? In today’s world, you might read something like this in a “conservative” local newspaper:

“As has been predicted, the moral agency concept has again produced another theft, this time of two bottles of wine in a nearby grocery store by a 14-year old teenager. When will our mayor wake up to the fact that the granting of free will is dangerous and counterproductive? Only the strong enforcement of power and authority will guarantee the end of theft and the reality of freedom and happiness.”

In tomorrow’s world of the Millennium, you might read the following report about the same facts and circumstances:

“The 14-year-old teen, who was caught stealing two bottles of wine from a nearby grocery store, was sentenced to restore the goods and to pay the grocery owner an additional amount of five times the value of the stolen bottles of wine. The teen will have to work in the owner’s shop until his salary has compensated for the amount of the sentence. The government is very determined to have the sentence carried out immediately. An appeal by the parents to the effect that their son was too young to understand the gravity of his crime was dismissed. The parents were also strongly admonished to make certain that their younger children will not follow the bad example of their older brother.”

Rebuilding Cities

A great worldwide war, as well as natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and meteorites crashing into the earth, just prior to Christ’s return, will have left the world in ruins. Cities will be utterly destroyed and will have to be totally rebuilt. Let us assume that the city you govern in the Millenium will be in ruins. The rubble will have to be removed and reconstruction will have to begin.

How will you DESIGN your city? You will not permit those under you to build house next to house, until there is no more place to walk (Isaiah 5:8). Rather, your city will be designed and rebuilt in such a way that there is ample room for everyone to live in peace and tranquility (compare Zechariah 3:10).

Protection of the Environment

In tomorrow’s world, man will not pollute the environment anymore, causing humans to suffer from unhealthy air. Big profit-making companies will not be allowed to endanger the lives of humans, animals and plants due to greed (Hosea 4:1–3; Revelation 11:18). There will be clean, fresh air, because the many causes of pollution will be stopped.

Enough Food For Everyone

Under your rule, you will make sure that food is available for everyone, that prices are fair, and that there will be no arbitrary price manipulations. You will not allow, as is so common today, food to be stored away, or even destroyed, just to keep the prices high, in spite of rampant hunger in the world.

New Education System

What school system will you have in your city? What will the school curriculum look like? Children will no longer learn the wrong things about the wrong people. They will no longer be deceived by human fairy tales of evolution or man-made religious holidays.

In addition, parents will learn to properly teach their children God’s law and the right things children should be doing (compare Deuteronomy 6:1–9; 11:18–19).

What a wonderful world it will be! And YOU could be part of it—an active part as a born-again member of the Family of God—teaching others the good way of life and educating them by communicating to them true and lasting values. Isn’t that something worth striving for?

Chapter 4 – The Last Great Day

In the Millennium, God will deal only with those people who will still be alive when Christ returns, as well as those who will be born during the 1,000 years of Godly rule here on earth. But what about all the people who died over the past centuries prior to Christ’s return without ever having heard of, let alone accepted, the name of Jesus Christ? Are they lost forever? What about those who were told about Christ, but rejected Him? What about all of those who were not even professing Christians? Are they lost forever?

And what about those who professed Christ, but did not live in accordance with the standard of a true Christian? Are they doomed to eternal suffering in an ever-burning hell fire?

Human Ideas…

Some people, realizing that such consequences would really cast God in a pretty unfair light, but at the same time, failing to understand the true Biblical teaching, conclude that as long as a person lives the way he or she believes to be right, they will still experience heavenly splendor and glory after their death.

Think for a moment what this would mean…

Who can doubt that Hitler was convinced of the righteousness of his cause? So were Alexander the Great, Caesar, Stalin and Napoleon, just to name a few. Does this mean, then, that they went to heaven when they died?

Now, some people realize the insurmountable problems with such a concept and they  propose the idea of a place of limbo, or purgatory. According to that viewpoint, the souls of those who die have to be purged from sin for years, decades, centuries or millennia, before they can enter “heavenly bliss.” And the more their loved ones pray for their dead and request organized prayer sessions or masses for them, the sooner those departed souls will be freed from purgatory and enter the heavenly realm.

Others reject that concept, but believe instead in reincarnation. They uphold the idea that the soul of a dead person returns to or reincarnates into another body. If a person lived a bad lifestyle, he or she may come back as an insect or perhaps as a lowly mammal. A person who lived a pretty good life may come back as another person, with better qualities, and so on, until this cycle of birth and rebirth is broken, and the person, having reached perfection, enters Nirvana—another word for “absolute Nothingness.”

Interesting ideas, perhaps, but what is the truth?

What does the Bible tell us about the fate of those who were not converted to Christianity in this life?

The Biblical truth on that issue is understood by only very few.

Only ONE Way to Obtain Salvation

First of all, the Bible does clearly teach that one must accept Christ in order to be saved and become a partaker of the resurrection or change to immortal life. This fact rules out all those ideas that non-Christians could still inherit eternity, as long as they lived in accordance with their conscience—an absurd concept indeed, as a cannibal would be saved, as long as he remains and lives as a cannibal.

In Acts 4:12, Peter tells us, in no uncertain terms: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

John 14:6 adds the very words of Jesus Christ Himself: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

But many people over the past centuries and millennia have never heard of Jesus Christ, and most people today do not even profess to be Christians at all. They are absorbed in totally different religions and philosophies other than Christianity. Still, God tells us in 1 Timothy 2:3–4 that “God our Savior… desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The Bible absolutely rules out the possibility that man could be saved without accepting Christ. What, then, is going to happen to those who died without hearing, or accepting, Jesus Christ as their Savior?  They cannot be “lost” just because of that, since we read that God wants ALL men to be saved, including those who did not accept Christ in their lifetime. But still, in order to be saved, they must accept Christ.

This might seem to be a dilemma…

The only possible solution is that those who died without accepting Jesus Christ will have to be given a chance to accept Christ after their death.

But how can that be?

Certainly not through a reincarnation, and absolutely not by “purification” of their souls in limbo or purgatory! They can only be given a chance to accept Christ after their death, by and through their resurrection from the dead!

They Will Live Again…

The Bible teaches that all of these people who died without hearing about or accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior will be resurrected—after the Millennium. They will then be given their first opportunity to accept Christ, an opportunity that they had not been given previously.

We read in 1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive.”

But there is an order—a time sequence—of the resurrections. And there is also a difference between the kinds of resurrections that will take place. Verses 23–24 continue: “But EACH ONE in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.”

The first Person who was resurrected to immortal life was Jesus Christ—the firstfruits. Next in order will be those who “are Christ’s”—those who died “in Christ.” They will be resurrected to eternal life at the time of Christ’s return. But this is not all. Paul spoke of another occurrence, which he called “the end.” As we will see, this makes reference to all of those who did not know of, or accept Christ in this life. They will come back to life and then they will be given their first chance.

More Than One Resurrection

Revelation 20:4–6 reveals this marvelous truth—a truth which is neither understood nor believed by many professing Christians, let alone the rest of the world:

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the FIRST RESURRECTION. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the FIRST resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

Verses 11 and 12 describe the SECOND resurrection—the resurrection of those who will live again AFTER the thousand years are finished—the time which Paul called “the end”:

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, STANDING before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

Most of the dead, who were not in the first resurrection, will be in the second resurrection—a resurrection to physical life. (Some, however, will be destroyed in the “third resurrection,” as will be discussed below.) They will be taught God’s way of life and they will then be judged according to their works. Jesus Christ will be their Judge (Acts 17:30–31). It does not say here that they are judged based on the works that they did in their prior life, although this might be included. It does not say here, either, how long they will live. But we do read that they WILL live again. Other Scriptures will have to fill in the details.

The Second Resurrection

Some few commentaries understand and teach that there is more than one resurrection, although they are uncertain as to what will happen during the second resurrection.

Rienecker, Lexikon zur Bibel, points out, under “Tausendjähriges Reich” (“Millennium”):

“… a time will begin during which Satan is unable to influence man, and when Christ will rule. [Those who died in Christ] will be judges, rulers and priests [with Him]. Only they, not the rest of the dead, are included in the first resurrection. The duration of this time is given as 1,000 years. After that… the time for the second, general resurrection for the last and final judgment has arrived, which will end the present world age (emphasis supplied).”

The Nelson Study Bible makes the following comments pertaining to Revelation 20:

“…believers will participate significantly with Christ during His millennial rule (1:6; 2:26, 27; 5:10)… The resurrection of the dead will not encompass all people at the same time… there will be a first resurrection of dead believers before the thousand years of Christ’s reign and a final resurrection after the millennium is finished, before the great white throne judgment (vv. 11–13)… The first resurrection is assured for all believers…(emphasis supplied).”

Halley’s Bible Handbook states:

“The Millennial Reign… will last 1000 years… the expression, ‘The rest of the dead lived not till the 1000 years should be finished,’ seems to imply that there will be Two resurrections, one before, and one after, the Millennium… Jesus, in using the phrase, ‘The resurrection of the just’ (Luke 14:14), may have intended it as a hint that the resurrection of all would not take place at the same time. Paul, speaking of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23), says, ‘Each in its own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s at His Coming; then comes the end’; as if the end might be some time after the [first] resurrection of His [Christ’s] people, as theirs will have been sometime after His [Christ’s] (emphasis supplied).”

Many have no idea, as they have never been taught, that the Bible teaches about more than just one resurrection. Most of those who believe in the resurrection from the dead think that everyone will be resurrected at the same time, when Christ returns. But this is not what the Bible teaches. Rather, we are told that there is more than just one resurrection.

When Christ returns, only those who are IN CHRIST will be resurrected. They will be resurrected to immortality. Not all of the dead will be resurrected at that time. Those who have not heard of and who have not accepted Jesus Christ in their lives, will NOT be resurrected at that time.

Further Proof for More Than Just One Resurrection

Paul makes this little-understood truth very clear in some of his other writings. For instance, he says in 1 Corinthians 6:14: “And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.”

The New King James Bible, as quoted above, does not accurately convey the meaning of the passage, as expressed in the Greek. Neither do most other English translations.

The Greek word for “raise up” is “exegeiro”—a combination of two words, “ex” and “egeiro.” The word “egeiro” means, “to waken,” “to rise,” or “to rear up,” and it is normally used in reference to the resurrection. The syllable “ex” means, “out of,” “from among,” or “out among of” (compare Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, #1537). So, Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 6:14 that God will raise up His converted disciples from among the dead.

The German Elberfelder Bible points out in a footnote that the literal meaning is that God will raise His people out of the dead; that He will bring them back to life from among and out of the dead. It thereby shows that not all the dead will be resurrected at that time.

The word “exegeiro” is a very unusual word. It is only used twice in the New Testament. The other passage is in Romans 9:17, where Paul says that God raised up Pharaoh to show His power in him. Although this is not talking about a resurrection from the dead, it shows that the word does not apply to everybody, but just to selected ones. In the case of Romans 9:17, it applies to just one specific individual.

The same concept of a selected, limited resurrection of those in Christ at the time of His return (excluding at that time the rest of mankind) is conveyed in Philippians 3:11, where Paul is expressing his desire to “attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Even in the translation of the New King James Bible, we might get a little bit of a hint here that Paul is not talking in that context about a universal resurrection of all mankind. Rather, the rendition says that Paul wanted to attain the resurrection “from the dead.” Unfortunately, the Authorized Version states here, “of the dead,” thereby totally obscuring the intended meaning. The German Menge Bible translates, “resurrection out of the dead.” The Elberfelder Bible points out that Paul is talking about a resurrection from among the dead. In German, the word used is “Heraus-Auferstehung,” that is, “a resurrection out of the dead.”

In the Greek, the word for “resurrection,” which is used in Philippians 3:11 (and only in that passage), is “exanastasis”—a combination of the words “ex” and “anastasis.” The Greek word “anastasis” means “resurrection,” “standing up,” or “rise from the dead.” The additional syllable “ex”—in combination with “anastasis”—conveys the thought of a resurrection OUT OF the dead—it does not mean a resurrection of all the dead.

The Resurrection of Judgment

The Bible confirms that there will be different types of resurrections at different times. John 5:28–29 quotes Jesus’ own words, as follows:

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which ALL who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” [better: judgment; compare, for example, the renditions of the Revised Standard Version, the Revised English Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible].

As we saw, these two resurrections will not take place at the same time. They will be about 1,000 years apart.

Ezekiel’s Vision

The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the second resurrection, describing it as follows, in Ezekiel 37:1–13:

“The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘O LORD God, You know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the LORD God to these bones: ‘Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.’”’”

“So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off.”’

“Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.”’”

Resurrection of the House of Israel

Here we see described a resurrection of all of the unconverted people of the house of Israel. It is a resurrection to flesh and blood, not to immortality. They will hear the voice of Jesus Christ and come out of their graves in a resurrection to judgment (compare again John 5:28–29).

Notice that, for example, the American Bible uses the word “spirit,” instead of “breath,” in its translation of Ezekiel 37:7–10. In Hebrew, both possibilities exist, as the Hebrew word “ruach” can mean “breath” or “spirit”:

“I prophesied as I had been told; and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone. I saw the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them, but there was no spirit in them. Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit, “Thus says the Lord God, From the four winds come, o spirit, and breathe into the slain that they may come to life.”’ I prophesied as He told me, and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.”

The reference to “breath” or “spirit” is not describing the Holy Spirit. Rather, depending on the choice of words, the reference might very well be to the “spirit in man.”

The Bible teaches that every human being has a “spirit” within him, which is called the “spirit in man” or “the spirit of man.” This human spirit returns to God when a person dies (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Only as long as the spirit of man is within a person, is the person alive; once the spirit of man has left the person, the person is dead (compare James 2:26). This spirit of man is not the same as the Holy Spirit of God (note regarding the distinction, 1 Corinthians 2:11; Romans 8:16). When God resurrects a dead person to physical life, He again gives him his human spirit. We read in Luke 8:54–55 that the spirit of a twelve-year-old girl who had died, returned to her and she “arose immediately.”

In Ezekiel’s vision, the dead are resurrected to physical life by receiving the breath of life (Genesis 2:7) and the human spirit. They became again “living beings” (same Scripture).

Israel’s Conversion

When the dead Israelites are brought back to physical life, God will deal with them as He deals with His called and chosen disciples today. Once a person comes to understand and accept God’s way of life, repents of his sins, receives forgiveness, and believes in Christ‘s sacrifice and the gospel, then God grants him forgiveness and offers him the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We see in Ezekiel 37:14 that the Holy Spirit is offered to the Israelites—obviously after they repented of their sins and became baptized: “‘I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,’ says the LORD.”

Yes, Israel will KNOW God and will begin to live a life pleasing to God. If the people overcome and endure, they will receive immortality, just as those did who were resurrected to eternal life in the first resurrection, more than 1,000 years earlier.

Israel’s conversion, including their heart-felt repentance and receipt of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is also described in Ezekiel 36:31, 26–27: “Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe [despise] yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will… give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

Paul tells us in Romans 11:25–26 that today, “blindness in part has happened to Israel,” but that “all Israel will be saved.” He adds in verse 32: “For God has committed them ALL to disobedience, that He might have mercy on ALL.”

God will have mercy on the entire house of Israel—mainly in the future (excluding those from the houses of Israel and Judah, of course, whom God calls to salvation in this life, including Paul himself). The fulfillment of God’s promise to have mercy on ALL of Israel will happen when the houses of Israel and Judah are resurrected in the second resurrection.

Not Only Israel…

It will not be only Israel who will be resurrected at that time. Remember, God says that He wants ALL MEN to be saved; and we read that ALL who are in their graves will hear Christ’s voice and awake from their sleep of death.

The Bible describes, very specifically, a physical resurrection of Israelites and of non-Israelites to judgment.

Matthew 10:14–15 quotes Christ’s words to His apostles, when He sent them out to preach the gospel: “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

Both those who died in the terrible destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and those who lived at the time of Christ will rise again “in the day of judgment.”

Christ added the following in Matthew 11:21–24: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

Those who lived and died in Tyre, Sidon and Sodom, will be alive again, together with those Jews who lived at the time of Christ’s first coming. They will ALL be raised again, together, “in the day of judgment.”

Christ confirmed, in Matthew 12:41–42, that those who were not converted in this life, will RISE again in the “day of judgment”—the “second resurrection”:

“The men of Nineveh will RISE UP IN THE JUDGMENT WITH THIS GENERATION and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South WILL RISE UP IN THE JUDGEMENT WITH THIS GENERATION and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

The people from ancient Nineveh and the queen of the South will RISE UP, or be RESURRECTED, at the time of judgment, together with those who lived at the time of Jesus Christ’s first coming.

The people of Nineveh and the queen of the South will not necessarily “condemn” the unrepentant Jews who lived at the time of Christ’s first coming, but they will rebuke and challenge them, asking them why they did not repent in light of such overwhelming evidence that Christ was the Son of God. The Lamsa translation says: “find it guilty,” and Knox says, “will leave it without excuse.” The German Menge’s translation uses the German word “Verurteilung,” (“find guilty, judge down”), rather than the word “Verdammung” (“condemnation”).  The literal meaning of the Greek word is, “to judge down.” The same word is used in Matthew 20:18, where it is mentioned that Christ would be “condemned” or, better, “judged down” to death.

More Difficult For Some Than For Others

Additional Biblical passages confirm that it will be more “tolerable” for some in the “day of judgment” than for others.

We read in Mark 12:38–40: “Then He said to them in His teaching, ‘Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation” [or, judgment, compare the Lamsa Bible].

Many translations render the last phrase as, “the more severe will be the sentence they receive” (compare, for example, the New Jerusalem Bible).

In His parable of the faithful and evil servants, Jesus Christ addresses those in the second resurrection, in Luke 12:47–48:  “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few…”

When those in the second resurrection appear before the “white throne” of God to give account, they will hear their sentence, that is, death. Then Christ will explain to them that,  if they repent of their sins and obtain forgiveness, they will not have to die. Undoubtedly, many will repent at that time. But for some, it will be much more difficult to admit the errors of their ways than for others. Some who knew what to do, and did not do it, will receive “many stripes,” while others—the ignorant ones—will only receive a “few stripes.”

The Bible does not say, exactly, what those stripes are, but there are certain clues. Even in today’s use of the English language, we might say, “it suddenly hit me,” when we come to realize or recognize a certain truth. Similarly, it will “hit” people in regard to the wrong that they did. They will come to the realization of their sins and will become disgusted with themselves. At the time of Peter, some of those who realized that they were responsible for Christ’s death “were cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37), willing to DO what had to be done.

In the parable of the “lost son,” he “came to himself” or he “came to his senses” (Luke 15:17; compare New International Version), and being repentant, was willing to return to his father. Deep down in his heart, he knew better, but he experimented with an “alternate” lifestyle, until he was brought to his knees—it “hit” him and he was able to see “clearly.” Those who know better and still disobey, might have to be “hit over the head” more severely before God can reach them.

It is often easier to repent of doing something wrong when a person had not really understood how wrong his conduct was. In that case, only a “few stripes” may be necessary, and it will be “more tolerable” for him in the judgment than for others. For example, the “self-righteous” Pharisees and hypocrites who refused to repent at the time of Christ, as well as those Jews who rejected the signs of the time and the fact that Christ was their Messiah, will receive a “more severe sentence” and “many stripes” before they will come to repentance.

Duration of the Judgment Period

There is a possible hint in the book of Isaiah that shows us how long the judgment period in the second resurrection will last.

Isaiah 65:17, 20 reads, in the New Jerusalem Bible: “For look, I am going to create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered and will come no more to mind… never again will there be an infant there who lives only a few days, nor an old man who does not run his full course; for the youngest will die at a hundred, and at a hundred the sinner will be accursed.”

The implication of this passage is that those who will be resurrected in the second resurrection will live for one hundred years, to be judged by the Word of God in the same way that true Christians today are being judged (compare 1 Peter 4:17). After that, they will either be thrown, as accursed, into the lake of fire (as discussed below), or they will be changed to immortal life. The “youngest” or “the child,” as the New King James Bible renders it, is a symbolic reference to a Christian who has to receive the Kingdom of God as a child (compare Matthew 18:1–4). He “dies” when he is hundred years old—when his human existence and his physical body cease to exist—as he will then be changed to immortality.

The Third Resurrection

Sadly, though, there are those who have had their chance, but have rejected it. At one time, they knew and understood perfectly well that they had to submit to Christ, but they permanently refused to do so. They became bitter, hateful, resentful and malicious. They made the unchangeable decision NEVER to repent! If a person has reached the stage that he can no longer repent, because he has made a firm decision NOT to repent, then God will not force repentance on such a person. God grants repentance, but a person must want to receive it. A person who maliciously rejects Christ, would only continue to live in misery and pain, and that is why God will save such a person from eternal misery, by destroying him in a lake of fire.

After those described in Revelation 20:11–12 are resurrected in a second resurrection, a third category of people is addressed in verses 13–15. These will be raised in a third resurrection, to receive their sentence and be thrown into the lake of fire—to be exterminated, permanently.

We read: “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

In the book of Daniel, the third resurrection is described as well. Daniel 12:2–3, in addressing the first and the third resurrection, states: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Many Scriptures reveal that the wicked—those who have committed the unpardonable sin for which there is no forgiveness—will be resurrected in the third resurrection, only to be cast into the lake of fire that will burn them up, destroying them permanently. They will not be punished for all eternity in that lake, but their destruction will be swift, with eternal consequences for them.

Obadiah, verse 16, says that it will be “as though they had never been,” and Malachi 4:3 tells us that they shall be “ashes” under the feet of the righteous. We believe that Paul wrote the letters to the Hebrews. He says in Hebrews 10:26–27 that for those who sin willfully after having received the knowledge of the truth, there is only “a certain fearful expectation of judgment [or condemnation; Moffat says: “an awful outlook of doom”], and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”

In spite of what many teach today, the Bible clearly reveals that some will be destroyed by, and in, the lake of fire, because they did commit the unpardonable sin.

We are certain, however, that most will not die the second death. They will come to their senses when God shows them—in the second resurrection—what they did, and when He offers them the possibility of inheriting eternal life.

…And Beyond – New Heavens and a New Earth

Let us now look at a time which goes beyond the meaning of the Last Great Day—but which is, nevertheless, important to understand in order to grasp the entire meaning of God’s Master Plan for His Creation. Revelation 21:1 tells us that God will create new heavens and a new earth. This will take place after the Millennium, after the time period called the Great White Throne Judgment, and after the third resurrection; that is, AFTER all human beings have either been changed to immortality OR burned up and destroyed in the lake of fire. By that time, DEATH will no longer exist (Revelation 20:14; 21:4–5).

Present Heavens and Earth Will Be Destroyed

We read in 2 Peter 3:7, 10 that the heavens and earth, as we know them today, are “reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” and that “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Peter continues to emphasize in verse 12 that “ the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.” Then, according to verse 13, God will create “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

We are also told in Isaiah 51:6 that the heavens will vanish away like SMOKE.

But how could this happen?

How, for instance, could our physical earth, with two-thirds of it consisting of water, be burned up in fire and dissolve? And what about the other planets, even those in our galaxy? How could they vanish away like smoke? Scientists tell us that this is very possible—in fact, inevitable. Reader’s Digest, “Why in the World?”, copyright 1994, tells us on page 10 what will happen when the great fire of the sun dies. They say that this might happen in about 500 million years (but obviously, according to Scripture, God will bring this about much sooner):

“The Sun will turn into a red giant, bloated to about 100 times its current size. First, it will engulf Mercury and then Venus, the nearest planets. The Earth’s atmosphere, which normally shields it from the intense heat of the Sun, will drift away. Then the Earth’s oceans will boil and vanish in steam. Without the cooling effects of its atmosphere and oceans, Earth itself will turn into a massive ball of fire. Mars will disintegrate next.”

Finally, the sun will first become a white dwarf, and then a black dwarf, disappearing from sight. The sun will become dark, and since the moon does not shine by itself, but only because it reflects the sun’s light, the moon will become dark, too.

Sun and Moon Will Be Darkened

It is interesting that Isaiah 13:10 prophesies: “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.”

Heavens Shall Be Rolled Up

Isaiah 34:4 tells us that all the hosts of heaven will be DISSOLVED, and that the heavens shall be ROLLED UP like a scroll. Isaiah 40:22 also tells us that God STRETCHES OUT the heavens LIKE A CURTAIN, and that He SPREADS THEM OUT LIKE A TENT.

Scientists have theorized that the universe is expanding. They also believe that, at one given moment, the expansion of the universe will have reached its maximum, and after that, it will begin to CONTRACT—very slowly first, but than faster and faster, until the entire universe will COLLAPSE under the pressure of its own gravity—or, in Biblical terms, it will be “rolled up like a scroll.”

A New Creation

How, exactly, God will dissolve the heavens and the earth, we don’t know. But we DO know, based on Biblical evidence, that God will create new heavens and a new earth. In addition to the passages we have already quoted in this regard, further evidence is set forth in Scriptures such as Isaiah 65:17 and Isaiah 66:22. Passages like Isaiah 60:19–20 and Revelation 21:23 give us further insight into God’s creation of new heavens and a new earth—without a sun or a moon.

Romans 8:18–23 explains that the new creation will no longer exist of matter, but it will be spirit. Verse 21 says that the creation will be delivered from corruption “into” the glorious liberty of the children of God. Moffat says: “The hope being that creation as well as man would one day be freed from its thralldom [bondage] to decay and gain the glorious freedom of God’s children.”

The Revised Standard Version writes: “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and OBTAIN the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

The Luther Bible states, “The creation, too, will be freed from bondage of temporary existence INTO the glorious freedom of the children of God.”

God’s physical creation waits to be delivered from corruption to obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. The glorious freedom, which the universe will receive, is freedom from death. In that new universe, DEATH, as well as decay and corruption, will be unknown.

While it is true that our earth will remain forever, as we read in Ecclesiastes 1:4, it does not say that it will remain forever in a physical state. We know that ultimately, everything physical will decay and cease to exist. We have seen that, even our sun will one day cease to shine. Reader’s Digest, “Why in the World?”, states on page 32: “A star’s life is fixed at birth. It depends on its weight—how much matter it holds…The greater the star’s mass, the more fiercely will it burn, and the shorter will be its life.”

Everyone, and everything, will be freed from physical limitations and shortcomings. God will create new heavens and a new earth, consisting of spirit, not matter. Truly, God “will make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

Our Ultimate Potential

What an awesome potential we ALL have. In comparison to God, at this time, we are nothing more than insignificant, tiny, mortal, physical, temporary human beings. But still, we have the awesome potential to become immortal members of the very God Family, sharing in the spiritual world of our Father. For now, we may be bogged down by the cruel realities of physical life. But we need vision. We need to see beyond our present circumstances.

We need to free ourselves from the bondage of temporary shortcomings and sufferings, step out of the captivity of physical limitations, and climb up, as it were—in mind and thought—to the very REAL existence of God’s spirit world, something we can already visualize with the spiritual eyes God gives us.

We need to focus on those things which are above, knowing that God will share them with us very soon, because we are promised that we will rule with God for all eternity—“forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5).

Never Lose This Precious Knowledge!

God’s annual Holy Days explain, step by step, God’s Master Plan for mankind, as well as for His entire Creation. When we observe and keep these days with proper understanding, we are reminded of our incredible potential—why God created us, why we exist, what we are doing here on earth, and what lies ahead of us.

We must treasure God’s precious gift of His Feast Days. Without observing them, we cannot, and will not, really understand why we exist. We will not be any different than those who grope in darkness, looking for light, without being able to grasp it.

God has given YOU a unique understanding through His annual Holy Days. Do not take this priceless truth for granted! If you have not already done so, DO begin to keep those Days COMMANDED by God. And if, perhaps, you have drifted away and have neglected to obey God’s injunction in this regard, begin AGAIN to DO what God commands you to do: Keep the “feasts of the LORD” as “holy convocations” at “their appointed times” (Leviticus 23:4).

Annual Holy Day Assemblies—What YOU Need to Know About Them

Deuteronomy 16:16–17 reads, in the New International Version: “Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”

We should note the following points:

Appear Three Times

It says we are to appear three times a year, yet there are seven Holy Days to observe. The command in Deuteronomy 16 to appear refers to three Holy Day seasons, rather than the actual Holy Days. If it were otherwise, God would be telling us here that we only have to appear on three Holy Days, but we do not have to appear before Him on the remaining four Holy Days. We are clearly commanded throughout the Bible, however, to appear before Him on each separate Holy Day. When it comes to the Autumn season, note that it says we are to appear before Him at the Feast of Tabernacles. Does this mean that we do not have to appear before Him, for example, on the Day of Atonement? No, because we read in Leviticus 23:27, regarding the Day of Atonement: “It shall be a holy convocation for you.”

So then, Deuteronomy 16 addresses the Festival seasons, not the individual Holy Days. It groups the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread together in the early Spring. God’s third festival, Pentecost, occurs in late Spring or early Summer. The last four festivals are grouped together, as they occur in the Fall or Autumn.

Who Must Appear

Deuteronomy16 emphasizes the obligation to appear, but it only speaks directly to the men. We understand, of course, that women, and even children, are included in this command, but there are rare occasions when women might not be able to appear, because pregnancy or very small children might prevent them from traveling a great distance to be able to attend, for example, the Feast of Tabernacles. Normally, of course, the whole family is expected to attend, including the widows and the fatherless (compare Deuteronomy 16:14).

Where to Appear

Deuteronomy 16 instructs us to appear at the place God has chosen. An article in the Good News, September 1983, states, “If we had the opportunity to choose, some might remain at home or go to some other place, rather than assemble with the rest of the Church at the assigned festival site. It is the responsibility of the Church leadership, guided by God, to determine the place.”

Don’t Appear Empty-Handed

Deuteronomy 16 tells those who appear before God, not to appear empty-handed, but to give an offering—a gift—proportionate to the way God has blessed them.

Note that it says we MUST give a gift, but it is up to us to determine the size of the gift. In doing so, we are to consider how much God has blessed us.

WHY does God require us to give Him a gift on the Holy Days? After all, He owns everything. He does not need our gifts, and quite frankly, neither does the Church need our gifts. Since Christ is the Leader of the Church, He will see to it that the Church receives what it needs financially to do the Work of preaching the gospel and feeding the flock. (For a full explanation as to HOW the true Church of God uses the money contributed to it, please read our free booklet, “Tithing—Today?”). When Christ promises us individually that the Father will provide us with everything we need—if we seek the Kingdom and God’s righteousness first—would He do anything less for His body, the Church?

Why We Are To Give

So then, why does God want us to give Him a gift on those Holy Days? For the same reason we tithe to Him (pay 10 % of our income), on a regular monthly or bi-monthly basis. In doing so, we show Him that we appreciate the fact that it is HE who gives us everything we have. Especially during the Feast of Tabernacles when we spend our second tithe to feast, eat, drink and rejoice, we must be careful NOT to forget GOD—the One who has made it all possible (compare Deuteronomy 8:10–14, 17–18).

Where our treasure is, there will be our heart. God wants to see what we will do with whatever money or possessions He has chosen to give us. The amount of our tithe is determined by what we earn, but God leaves it to us to determine how much we want to give Him as an offering on the annual Holy Days, thereby acknowledging Him as the source of our money and possessions.

When Israel left Egypt, God saw to it that they received from the Egyptians gold, jewelry, precious stones and other things—a late payment, so to speak, for all the work they had done for the Egyptians while they were enslaved. But what did the Israelites do with the costly things that they had received? Did they use them in the worship to God? Not at all! When Moses was upon the mountain receiving another special gift from God to man—the priceless Ten Commandments—the Israelites took some of the gold and had Aaron build a golden calf to use for idol worship. Only later, when they brought it to Moses for the building of the tabernacle, were they willing to use what they had received from God for the right kind of worship.

Where Our Heart Is…

How are we spending our money? Are we showing God that we appreciate what He gives us? Or are we like the man who had a very good harvest, but instead of sharing it with the poor, he decided to build larger barns and storage places for himself (compare Luke 12:13–21)? His focus was neither on God nor on the needs of his fellow man. His focus was only on himself, so God said, in effect: “You will die tonight—what are you going to do with all those riches?” And then God added the timeless warning, in effect: “Make sure you are rich before God. Make sure that your treasure is in heaven, where no thieves come in and steal.”

When we live in recognition of the fact that it is God who gives us everything we have, we will welcome the opportunity to give God something in return. We will be a cheerful giver (compare 2 Corinthians 9:7), rather than one who gives grudgingly or because of feeling we have to do it.

When we give our children something, we feel joy when they show their appreciation for the gift. When we see thankfulness, it is even more of a joy to do good. It is the same with God. He wants to see how thankful we are for what He does for us. We should never forget the example of the poor widow who gave very little in comparison with the rich contributors, but for her, it was a great deal (compare Luke 21:1–4). God appreciated her sacrifice much more than the gift of those who just routinely gave some money from their abundance.

Sometimes it takes faith and confidence in God to give an offering, but God promises that we will be blessed when we do. He chided the Israelites of old, for example, in the book of Malachi, for not giving Him tithes and offerings (Note that the Bible does not mention anywhere “weekly collections.” As a consequence, the true Church of God does not engage in such a practice.) He minced no words and told them that they were actually robbing Him and that they were under a curse. But then He told them, in effect: “Prove Me if I will not open the doors of heaven for you to bless you when you become faithful in bringing all your tithes and offerings to Me” (compare Malachi 3:8–10).

Serve God and Men

We cannot serve mammon and God. If we are like the rich farmer who enlarged his barns to keep everything for himself, God will not honor that. Those who have been blessed with riches are to distribute to, and share with the poor.

By the standards of most countries, all of us who live in the Western world are rich, and all the people of this world who have not been called yet by God, are spiritually poor. They need to hear God’s Word. God has given His Church both an opportunity and a responsibility to be His workers, His laborers. But He does not need us. If we let Him down, He can raise stones to do what He wants to get done. But He would rather have us willingly respond to our calling. He WANTS us in His Kingdom.

The time will come when all of our gold, silver and money will become absolutely worthless and useless. It will be thrown into the streets, to be trampled upon (compare Ezekiel 7:19). When that time arrives, we had better be rich before God.

The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days

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Introduction

Overview

WHY has God commanded us to keep holy certain annual Holy Days, which are listed, for example, in Leviticus 23? What possible relevance and meaning could these “ancient” Holy Days have for us today? In this booklet, you will learn the truth about the annual Holy Days and Festivals to be kept in the Spring and early Summer. These days carry a deep and rich meaning, actually revealing to us the great master plan of God for mankind. But just knowing about them academically is not enough! Blessed are those who understand them and actually DO them, keeping them Holy as God made them holy!

As an introduction, we are setting forth a very brief summary of God’s annual Holy Days and Festivals that come in the Spring and early Summer. We will then describe and analyze the meaning of each of those days in much more detail. The following summary is adapted from our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”:

Passover

The Passover is not a Holy Day per se, in that we are not required to keep the entire day of Passover holy. However, Passover is observed once a year in the evening by engaging in a footwashing service as an example of humility in accordance with Christ’s example, and partaking of the unleavened bread and wine, symbolizing physical and spiritual healing and forgiveness of sin. The entire commanded evening service symbolizes a remembrance of Christ’s death (Leviticus 23:5, Luke 22:14–20; John 13:1–5; 1 Corinthians 11:20–29).

The Days of Unleavened Bread

The Days of Unleavened Bread are observed once a year by not partaking of any food prepared with leaven for a period of seven days following the Passover. The partaking of the unleavened bread symbolizes the commitment to live a sinless life (Leviticus 23:6–8; Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:7–8). The first and the last day of this seven-day period are annual Holy Days.

Pentecost

The Feast of Pentecost is observed once a year. This Holy Day symbolizes the coming of God’s Holy Spirit for the purpose of converting those called by God at this time (Leviticus 23:15–16, 21; Acts 2:1–4; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8).

With this short summary, we will now describe God’s awesome purpose behind each of these annual Holy Days and Festivals in much greater detail.

Chapter 1 – The Passover

Introduction

We live in an age that is filled with hatred, violence and fear. These ARE the last days of Satan’s rule and of the potential destruction of all mankind. The annual Passover service has very special significance relative to mankind’s liberation from Satan. Just as ancient Israel’s physical liberation came after much suffering and the ultimate ruin of Egypt (Exodus, chapters 7–12), so also at the end-time, humanity will finally be freed from Satan’s grip; but only after this world brings itself to the very brink of self-destruction (Matthew 24:21–22) and suffers the plagues and wrath of Almighty God (compare, for example, Revelation 16:17–21).

Great signs, including death, accompanied the first Passover and exodus of Israel from Egypt (compare Exodus 12). Likewise, our exodus from spiritual Egypt—this present evil world that is currently being ruled by Satan—to the wonderful world just ahead of us, under the righteous rule of Jesus Christ Himself, will be accompanied by great heavenly signs, as well as incredible loss of human life through warfare, famine and disease epidemics (Matthew 24:6–8, 29). This is the time prophesied by Christ as man’s greatest time of trouble.

The Israelites were instructed by Moses to slay a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts of their houses, so that the death angel would not harm them when he was sent by God to strike the firstborn of Egypt (compare Exodus 12:3, 6–7, 12–13, 21–23). Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God—is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover Lamb that was slain for our sins (compare John 1:29; Revelation 5:8–13). His blood covers our sins, which have been repented of and forgiven, and it protects us from eternal death so that we don’t have to pay the penalty of death for our sins.

At that fateful evening, prior to His arrest, Jesus Christ kept the Old Testament Passover with His twelve disciples; however, He instituted new symbols at that time, which replaced the symbols of the lamb and bitter herbs that were enacted in the Old Testament.

The first new ritual was that of footwashing (John 13:1–17), where Christ set the example of service by performing a most menial task for the benefit of His disciples. This footwashing ceremony, then, is when Church members wash the feet of their brethren, thus showing an act of love and humility and their willingness to serve and help others, as well as their willingness to accept and receive service and help from those who want to provide it.

Following the footwashing ceremony, Christ instituted the New Testament symbols of bread and wine (1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

The bread which Christ ate, and which He wanted His disciples to partake of, was unleavened bread, symbolizing Christ’s sinless life. When Christ broke the unleavened bread and handed it to the disciples to eat, it foreshadowed the pain and suffering He would have to endure, being beaten and pierced with a sword at the cross. THE BROKEN BREAD includes healing from physical pain, sickness and injury (Isaiah 53:4–5; Psalm 103:1–3; Matthew 8:16–17).

In addition, the broken bread symbolizes spiritual healing or reconciliation with God, as man’s sins separate him from the Father (1 Peter 2:21–25; Colossians 1:19–22). Man must also be spiritually reconciled or “healed” with each other. If we devour each other (Galatians 5:14–15), we can’t expect to receive physical healing from God.

We must pray fervently, in faith, for our physical healing, calling for the elders of the Church to be anointed, while at the same time asking for forgiveness of our transgressions and sins against God and against each other that might have caused or contributed to our physical sickness (James 5:14–16).

Jesus Christ also introduced the New Testament symbol of the wine. The wine which Christ drank, and which He wants His disciples to partake of, was red wine, symbolizing Christ’s blood, which He shed for our sins. The wine represents a reaffirmation of a Christian’s acceptance of the blood of Christ for the remission or forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:27–28; Romans 3:24–25; Hebrews 9:11–14; 1 John 1:7–9; 2:2).

Unleavened Passover Bread

Why does the Church of God teach that the bread during the annual Passover ceremony must be unleavened?

As we will see more clearly in the remainder of this booklet, the Bible makes a definite distinction between the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Both are annual Feast days, to be kept once a year. The Passover is to be observed at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month (which month is called Abib or Nisan), according to the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16). [Abib, the original name, means “sprouting” or “budding.” The name Nisan was adopted following the Babylonian captivity. The first month is comparable to the Roman calendar period of March–April, and begins, in Biblical terms, with a new moon.]

The First Day of Unleavened Bread is to be observed once a year at the beginning of the 15th day of the first month, according to the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:17). Remember that according to the Hebrew calendar, days start and end with sunset.

It was during the Passover night—the night of the 14th day of the month—that the death angel passed over the Israelites who were in their houses (hence the name “Passover”), while killing the firstborn of the Egyptian households (Exodus 12:6–13). But it was on the 15th day, “on the day AFTER the Passover” or one entire day LATER, that the Israelites went out of Egypt, and it is on THAT day (at the beginning of the 15th day of the first month) that Church members celebrate the Night To Be Much Observed—“a night of solemn observance to the LORD”—when they gather together for an evening meal. On that occasion, they reflect on the events of the exodus of ancient Israel when they came out of physical slavery in Egypt, and the spiritual exodus by Church members from their slavery of sin (Exodus 12:42; Numbers 33:3).

The Night to be Much Observed

The name, The Night to Be Much Observed, has been used by Church of God members in modern times. This title is taken from the Authorized Version as translated in Exodus 12:42: “It is a night to be much observed (“Shim-moor,” meaning night watch, watching, vigil) unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.”

The Church of God continues to keep this beginning part of the first Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread—after sundown, which marks the start of the time God has established for His people to keep. Exodus 13, verses 3 through 10, explicitly casts God’s instructions as an ongoing regulation for those who seek to obey Him—note, in particular, verse 10: “You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.”

As is the case for all the Holy Days (which includes the weekly Sabbath), the Church of God meets together to worship God, to be taught and to fellowship. Christians are warned to carefully maintain the practice of meeting together on a regular basis: “…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Keeping ALL that God has commanded, and not merely picking and choosing what some might choose to observe, is the only sure path for us if we desire to be ready for the Day of Christ’s return!

Today’s Jewish community is totally confused about the distinction between the Passover night and the Night to Be Much Observed. In fact, they keep the PASSOVER at the END of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th day, TOGETHER WITH the Night to Be Much Observed, as if the two events were one and the same. But this is not according to Scripture. These are two separate events that are to be observed at two separate times. As stated, Scripture commands that the Passover is to be observed at the BEGINNING of the 14th day, while the Night to Be Much Observed is to be kept at the beginning of the 15th day—one entire day LATER! God said that at the END of the 14th day (or the beginning of the 15th day) unleavened bread is to be eaten until the END of the 21st day—that is, for seven days (Exodus 12:18). Much more about this later.

So then, as the Passover is to be kept one day before the seven Days of Unleavened Bread starts, why should the New Testament Passover symbol of the bread be unleavened? For instance, many Christian organizations allow for leavened bread during their “communion”—which they also observe more than once a year. This is another clear violation of Scripture, as will be discussed below.

Some point out that in New Testament times, the Passover was sometimes included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but then the entire time was counted as lasting eight days, not just seven days. One of the reasons why the day of Passover was included as an “unleavened” day was that the Jews, when leaving their homes to go to Jerusalem, had to remove all leaven from their homes, before they left (Exodus 12:19). But this would not compel us to abstain from eating leavened bread, per se, during the day of Passover. Based on Scripture alone, there is NO COMMAND to remove all leaven from our houses before the first Day of Unleavened Bread. As we will see, the Scriptures only require that all leaven be removed, at the latest, DURING the Passover DAY, so that no leaven is to be seen in our houses for seven days, BEGINNING with the evening of the first Day of Unleavened Bread.

Still, unleavened bread must be used, when partaking of the SYMBOLS of bread and wine during Passover. Why is that?

There is both a spiritual and a literal reason for this command, as we will explain.

From a spiritual standpoint, leaven, during the Passover season, is symbolic of sin (Matthew 16:6, 12; Luke 12:1). Since Christ was without sin (Hebrews 4:15), to use leavened bread as a New Testament symbol for His broken body would not convey the spiritual significance of His sinless life. The same would be true for the practice of some Christian churches, which, during their weekly “communion,” don’t partake of wine at all—maybe only the ministering priest does—or they partake of white wine. However, in order to keep the symbolic meaning of the wine as representing Christ’s blood, the wine needs to be red; it needs to be received by baptized Church members during the Passover night; and in that religious setting, it must be partaken of only ONCE a year, and NOT more often than that. After all, Christ did not change the Passover, which is an annual celebration—He only changed the SYMBOLS to partake of DURING the annual Passover celebration.

No Leavened Bread Available

In addition, the Bible specifically prohibited the Israelites in the Old Testament from eating leavened bread together with the Passover meal. This proves that there was no leavened bread available during the Passover MEAL (as distinguished from the rest of the Passover day). As Christ and His disciples partook of the regular Passover meal that night (Luke 22:14–15), Christ would not have had leavened bread available when He introduced the New Testament symbols during the Passover meal (Matthew 26:26). This can clearly be seen when analyzing the Scriptures of Exodus 12:8 and Deuteronomy 16:1–3.

In Exodus 12:8, God told the Israelites that they had to eat the Passover lamb (verses 3, 6) with “unleavened bread.” In Deuteronomy 16:3, God commands that “no leavened bread” shall be eaten “with it”—that is, with the Passover lamb (compare verse 2). The rendering of the New King James Bible is confusing here, as they break verses 2 and 3 into two paragraphs, and translate the passage of Deuteronomy 16:2–3, as follows:

“(2) Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to put His name.

“(3) You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction…”

However, to break verses 2 and 3 into two paragraphs is arbitrary, as it cannot be found in the original. Notice how the Tanakh (The Jewish Bible) translates this passage, without breaking verses 2 and 3 into two paragraphs: “(2) You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD will choose to establish His name. (3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter (Lit. “upon it”) you shall eat unleavened bread…”

This rendition makes it very clear that nothing leavened was to be eaten with the Passover lamb; and that nothing leavened was to be eaten during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, following the day of Passover.

This proves that the bread, which Christ gave His disciples during the Passover meal, was UNLEAVENED, based on the INSTRUCTIONS in God’s Word. In following Christ’s example and the Godly commandment, we, too, must partake of unleavened bread during the annual Passover service.

Red Passover Wine

Why is red wine to be used at the Passover evening rather than grape juice?

That the wine should be red and not white, should be obvious. Christ used the wine to represent His shed blood, and blood is red—not white. Some claim, however, that Christ and His disciples did not drink fermented wine, but only grape juice.

However, when reviewing how the Jews kept the Passover meal at the time of Christ, we know that Christ and His disciples partook of fermented wine, and not of grape juice.

Erdman’s Handbook to the Bible points out, on pages 492–493:

“The Passover meal followed a fairly standard pattern in every Jewish household. First comes the opening prayer—the blessing of the cup (the first of four cups of wine passed round during the ceremony). Then each person takes herbs and dips them in salt water (see Matthew 26:23). The head of the family takes one of the three flat cakes of unleavened bread, breaks it and puts some aside. Then, in response to a question from the youngest member of the family, the story of the first Passover is recounted and Psalms 113, 114 sung. The second cup…is filled and passed round.

“Before the meal itself, all wash their hands (probably the point at which Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, John 13:4–12), grace is said and bread broken. Bitter herb dipped in sauce is distributed (this was when Jesus gave the sop to Judas, John 13:26). The climax of the ritual is the festive meal of roast lamb.

“It was after this that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper [the New Testament Passover], breaking the bread laid aside earlier and passing round the third cup of wine, the ‘cup of blessing’. The words ‘this is…’ (Matthew 26:26, 28 must mean ‘this represents…’ since he was himself there, giving the disciples the bread and the wine.) The ritual concludes with the singing of the remaining ‘Hallel’ (or Hallelujah) psalms (115–118) and the ‘Great Hallel’, Psalm 136. These psalms are probably the ‘hymn’ Matthew mentions (26:30). Then the final cup of wine is drunk.

“The setting of the Lord’s Supper at the heart of the Passover meal explains its meaning. Jesus is thinking of himself as the Passover lamb, offered up for the deliverance of his people. The wine speaks of his death, and of the new covenant it ratifies, reconciling God and man. Until he comes again, we are to remember the significance of what he has done for us.”

According to the Jewish custom at the time of Christ, the Passover was observed by drinking fermented wine, not grape juice. There is no indication in Scripture that Christ and His disciples would have deviated from that custom—especially as other passages clearly show that Christ drank wine on other occasions (compare Luke 7:33–34).

Only For Baptized Members

Should only baptized members of the Church of God who have received God’s Holy Spirit at the time of their baptism participate in the annual Passover service?

The Old Testament demands that no male who was uncircumcised was to participate at the Passover (Exodus 12:48). Even though physical circumcision is no longer a requirement for New Testament Christians, they are circumcised spiritually (Colossians 2:11–12; Romans 2:26–29). This can only occur through the indwelling Holy Spirit, which God gives us after proper baptism. Christ’s disciples had been baptized (even though, in the extraordinary case of the eleven apostles, they had not yet received the Holy Spirit—they would receive it, however, on the Day of Pentecost).

During the Passover evening, Christ told Peter and the other apostles, when He proceeded to wash their feet, that they had been “bathed” or baptized (John 13:10). The commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown points out that the term, “who is bathed” [or “washed” in the Authorized Version] means, in a “thorough sense… to wash ‘as in a bath.’” In regard to Christ’s subsequent statement that the one who is bathed only needs to wash his feet, the same commentary points out that “the former word [for washing, not bathing] is [used], meaning just to wash hands or feet.

Judas Excluded

As will be seen, Christ waited until Judas Iscariot had left before He changed the Old Testament symbol of a Passover lamb to the New Testament symbols of bread and wine. The obvious reason for Judas’ exclusion from participation of the New Testament symbols of bread and wine was that Judas had not been PROPERLY baptized—his entire lifestyle and conduct showed that he did not have GODLY repentance. Judas was not qualified to participate in the new symbols—although he was present for the Passover meal and the footwashing. The symbols of bread and wine did not apply to Judas: “‘He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him’” (John 6:56). Note that after Jesus gave Judas the “dipped” piece of bread (which was not the same as the bread representative of Christ, but it was just a part of the Passover meal, compare Psalm 41:9), “Satan entered him” (John 13:27). Judas left following the traditional Passover meal and the footwashing, but before the institution of the symbols of the bread and wine.

Robertson’s Harmony of the Gospels, page 193 ff, agrees that Christ instituted the new symbols AFTER Judas had left. But Robertson indicates on p.195 that “Luke seems to be departing from the order of Mark (and Matthew) and mentions the institution of the [symbols] earlier in the evening. It seems best to follow the chronology of Mark, who places it after the departure of Judas.”

However, a careful analysis of the records of Matthew, Mark and Luke shows that there is no inconsistency. We read in Luke 22:21 that Christ said, at the time of the institution of the New Testament symbols of bread and wine, that “the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.” This gives the impression that Judas was still present at that time. Note, however, that the word “is” is not in the original. No verb is used here and must be supplied. Therefore, the phrase can also be properly translated, “The hand of My betrayer was with Me on the table,” or, “had been with Me on the table,” allowing for Judas’ departure BEFORE the New Testament symbols of bread and wine were introduced.

Chronology of Events

When comparing all four Gospel accounts, we find the following chronology of events:

(1) Christ institutes the footwashing, as described in John 13. Even though verse 2 reads, in the New King James Bible, “supper being ended,” this is not the best translation. According to the commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, this must be translated as, “supper being prepared, being served or going on, for that it was not ‘ended’ is plain from verse 26.” Most translations concur, rendering this phrase, “during supper” or “at supper.”

(2) Judas leaves after the footwashing (John 13:26–30), but before Jesus institutes the symbols of bread and wine (which are not mentioned in the Gospel of John).

(3) Jesus institutes the New Testament symbols of bread and wine, as described in Matthew 26:26–29. Verse 26 should be translated: “After they had eaten…” or, as Ronald Knox conveys the intended meaning in his rendition: “And while they were still at table…” Compare Luke 22:20, pointing out that Christ gave the wine to the disciples “AFTER supper.” John 13:18–30 discusses the events at the beginning of, or during the Passover meal. The events in Matthew 26:26–29 occur later—when the meal is drawing to its close or has already ended. At that time, Judas had already left.

No male was allowed, in Old Testament times, to partake of the Passover, unless he was circumcised. True Christians are circumcised spiritually, in the heart, by and through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, after proper baptism. Therefore, only properly baptized members of the spiritual body of Christ—the Church—who don’t hold grudges against anyone, and who do not have hate toward others in their hearts, are to partake of the annual symbols of bread and wine. In doing so, they reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This teaching is supported by the fact that Jesus waited until Judas had left them, before He introduced the New Testament symbols of bread and wine.

Self-Examination

Why are Christians asked to examine themselves before they take the Passover symbols of bread and wine?

Paul tells converted Christians that they must examine themselves before they partake of the Passover symbols, in order to avoid eating the Passover bread and drinking the Passover wine in an unworthy manner (1 Corinthians 11:27–31). The Greek word for “examine” is “ dokimazo.” It is also used in other passages, indicating a positive, rather than negative application. For instance, in Luke 14:19, the person who “tests” (Greek, dokimazo) the oxen, had already bought them. He was not testing the oxen to decide whether or not to buy them.

Other examples of a positive examination—expecting a positive result—can be found in Romans 12:2 (“prove”); 2 Corinthians 13:5 (“examine”); Galatians 6:4 (“examine”); Ephesians 5:8–10 (“finding out”); Philippians 1:9–10 (“approve”); 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (“approved” and “tests”) and 1 Peter 1:6–7 (“tested,” not for the purpose of failure, but with expectation of success).

Take the Passover

A Christian needs to EXAMINE himself before taking the Passover, but he is told to “eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). So, the examination should establish that he IS on the right track—that Christ DOES live in him. And if, during the examination, a Christian finds that he is lacking in some aspects, he needs to REPENT of that; he needs to ask God for forgiveness; he needs to resolve and make an effort to do better; and, at the same time, he needs to understand that with God’s help, he can, and must, and will do better.

On the other hand, a Christian CANNOT take the Passover in an unworthy manner, or unworthily. He needs to examine himself before the Passover to make sure that he DOES NOT partake of it in an unworthy manner, but rather, that he takes it in a WORTHY manner.

What did Paul mean, when he used the phrase, “unworthily,” or, “in an unworthy manner” (1 Corinthians 11:27, 29)?

The Greek word for “unworthily” is “anaxios.” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible [“Strongs”] defines it also as, “irreverently.”

This Greek word is an adverb. It is a combination of two words, “an” and “axios.” “An” means “not,” and “axios” means “worthy,” or, if used as an adverb, “worthily.” Strong’s defines it also as, “appropriately,” or “after a godly sort.”

So, the word “an-axios” means “not worthily,” “not appropriately,” or “not in a godly way.”

In a Worthy Manner!

The Passover must be taken in a worthy or appropriate or godly manner.

But how can this be?

Clearly, Paul did not mean that anyone is WORTHY to take the Passover in the sense that he is entitled to forgiveness, that God owes it to him to forgive his sins because of his righteous works and perfect lifestyle. The opposite is clearly expressed in passages such as Romans 3:19–20, 23.

Paul did not mean, either, that anyone is WORTHY to partake of the Passover symbols now BECAUSE he is already perfect. If he were already without sin today, he would not need to partake of the Passover once a year. All are in need of God’s forgiveness of their sins on a continuous basis, as ALL—converted or not—still commit sin from time to time (compare 1 John 1:8–10).

We are told that all have sinned; that all still sin; and that God forgives us our sins because of His grace, His free gift, His unmerited, undeserved pardon, through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).

What DID Paul mean, then, when he asked Christians to examine themselves so that they do NOT partake of the Passover symbols in an unworthy manner?

Act Worthily

Let us note how the word “axios,” that is, “worthily,” is used in Scripture:

We are told in Ephesians 4:1 that we are to “walk worthy” or “worthily” of our calling. Verses 2 and 3 tell us how we do that. We live and walk worthily of our godly calling if we show lowliness, gentleness and longsuffering; when we bear with one another in love; when we have, or pursue, peace and unity among ourselves. If we don’t live that way, or at least try to live that way, we are NOT walking worthily of our calling.

We are also told in Colossians 1:10 to “walk worthy” or “worthily” of God. Paul gives additional clues as to how to do this (compare verses 9–12), and Christians who examine themselves, should ask the following questions:

Are we being filled with, and increasing in, the knowledge and spiritual understanding of God and His Will for us?

Do we fully please Him?

Are we strengthened with God’s might and His glorious power?

Do we have godly patience and longsuffering?

Can we rejoice in trials?

Do we give God thanks always because He has qualified us to become partakers of the inheritance of the saints?

And last, but not least, are we fruitful in every good work?

We are told in Philippians 1:27 that we are to conduct ourselves “worthy” or “worthily” of the gospel. We do that, as the same passage explains, when we stand fast in one Spirit and in one mind; and when we strive together for the faith of the gospel. There should not be divisions in the spiritual body of Christ. All should be of one mind (compare Psalm 133:1).

Also, we live worthily of the gospel, if we don’t become terrified by our adversaries (verse 28). Our lifestyle will reflect our faith—we KNOW that God will take care of them and us—we KNOW that attacks from our enemies are a PROOF for us that God will give salvation to us, but perdition to them.

Fruits Worthy of Repentance

Luke 3:7–8 stresses that we must bear fruits worthy of repentance. Although the Greek word for “worthy,” “axios,” is not used as an adverb, the meaning is the same: A truly repentant person will live a lifestyle that shows his repentance. He will live WORTHY of his repentance. If he continues living in sin and is not concerned about getting rid of his sin, he does not bear fruits worthy of repentance. We must be fruitful in good work—showing that we have repented AND that we are producing fruits and good works, which are worthy of repentance.

If we examine Christ’s messages to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation, we find that Christ did not have much good to say about the dead church of Sardis. But He did say that there were a few exceptions in Sardis, and that they were counted worthy (in Greek, axios) to receive white garments (Revelation 3:4); that is, God’s righteousness, and the assurance that their names would not be blotted out from the Book of Life, because they OVERCAME (verse 5). They were worthy in God’s eyes, because they overcame!

What did they overcome?

(a) They overcame the world (compare 1 John 5:4–5). Our faith must be in Christ who alone is able to help us become victorious (compare John 16:33; Revelation 3:21).

(b) They overcame Satan, the “wicked one,” and his demons and their wrong ideas (1 John 2:14). They overcame Satan because they had God’s Word living in them, and, as a consequence, they did not love the world and the things of this world (1 John 2:14–17). They overcame Satan by accepting Christ’s sacrifice, living by God’s Word, and by not loving “their lives to the death,” if that would mean compromising with the truth (Revelation 12:10–11).

(c) They overcame evil in general (Romans 12:21). Evil includes the evil society around us, Satan and his evil influences, as well as our own evil selfish nature and desires.

We can only overcome if Christ lives in us, and gives us the power to do so. But we must follow His lead. We must let Him help us to do the overcoming (1 John 4:4; 1 Corinthians 15:57).

Romans 16:1–2 tells us that we live in a manner worthy of the saints, if we HELP them in times of need.

Unworthy Living

We live unworthily of God and His calling when we don’t manifest in our lives those characteristics that we have discussed—if we are not willing to let God develop those characteristics in us.

We are told in Matthew 22:8 that those who were originally invited did not come to the wedding because they were UNWORTHY (Greek: ouk axios, meaning, “not worthy”).

Why did they not come? Why were they not worthy?

Verse 5 explains that they showed through their conduct—how they lived—that they did not really want to be at the wedding. They were making light of the invitation, of Christ’s sacrifice and of God’s Holy Spirit.

We also find a sobering warning in Hebrews 10:26–29, where certain people are “thought worthy” or reckoned worthy by God of severe punishment (verse 29). As the passage explains, these are those people who count the blood of Christ a common thing; who are trampling the Son of God under foot; and who are insulting the Spirit of grace, by not allowing God to develop in them—through His Spirit—godly, righteous character.

Counted Very Worthy

Matthew 10:11–13 tells us that if God thinks a household is worthy, He will give it inner peace—the same peace that the apostles had. And Matthew 10:37–39 tells us that if God thinks we are worthy of Christ, and we do so by loving God more than anything else, including our own physical lives, He will give us eternal life.

If God counts us worthy (in Greek, kataxio, “reckoned very worthy”), we will escape the Great Tribulation (Luke 21:36), which will come upon this world in the not-too-distant future (See our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord”). We will also become immortal God beings in the Family of God (Luke 20:35–36 (in Greek, kataxio).

When we suffer for the Kingdom of God, then God will count us VERY worthy to have a place in His kingdom (2 Thessalonians 1:3–5; Acts 5:41; in Greek, kataxio). When we suffer shame for Christ and His name, then God will count us VERY worthy to allow us to do so, proving that we will be in His kingdom.

Paul tells converted Christians to examine themselves, as to how they are doing, and to take the Passover. They need to do so in a worthy manner, or worthily. They need to understand and appreciate what the sacrifice of Christ really means. They must be willing to live their lives worthy of God and of their calling.

Discern the Lords Body

What did Paul mean when he told the Church to discern the Lord’s body (1 Corinthians 11:29)?

In the passage in question, Paul was addressing the yearly Passover ceremony. Beginning in 1 Corinthians 11:23, Paul was reminding the disciples of the event when Christ instituted the New Testament symbols of bread and wine at the annual Passover service (compare verses 23–26). He then continued, in verses 27–30:

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

As we have seen, the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ includes His death for the forgiveness of our sins, as well as His suffering for our physical healing. While the symbol of the wine points to Christ’s shed blood for the forgiveness of sins, the symbol of the bread points to His physical suffering for our physical healing.

Christ’s Physical Body

When Paul talked about the need that we discern the Lord’s body, he was addressing Christ’s PHYSICAL body, which was beaten for our physical healing. Some have said that Paul was talking about Christ’s SPIRITUAL “broken” body, the Church. They claim that Paul wanted to make reference to the broken, shattered condition of the Church (having in mind many different corporate Church organizations). They teach that we don’t experience physical healing if we are responsible for any of the divisions in the different Church organizations, thereby failing to “discern” the spiritual body of Christ—the Church.

It is true that we cannot expect to be healed if we refuse to be spiritually reconciled or “healed” with God and with His people. It is also true that we cannot expect physical healing if we don’t repent of our sins and trespasses or refuse to forgive our brethren their trespasses against us (James 5:13–16). However, this does not mean that Paul was addressing our discernment of the Church, as Christ’s body, in 1 Corinthians 11. Rather, he spoke clearly of the idea that we must consider the totality of Christ’s Sacrifice—including His broken PHYSICAL body—if we want to experience physical healing.

Note the Context

Let us again notice the context: Paul quotes Christ in verse 24, saying that we are to eat bread, “which is [or, which symbolizes] My body which is broken for you.” We are obviously not to “eat” the Church, but we are to internalize Jesus Christ in our lives so that He can live in us continuously (compare Galatians 2:20). That is why we read in John 6:48–58 that converted Christians need to partake of the annual Passover symbols of bread and wine to have a continued part with Christ. We are also told in 1 Corinthians 11:26 that we proclaim the death of Christ until He returns, when we eat the bread and drink the wine on the annual occasion of the Passover service. Obviously, Paul was not addressing the Church in verse 26, but the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Paul continues with the same theme in verse 27: “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner…”

Again, there is no hint that Paul was suddenly talking about anything else but Christ’s physical body—it was CHRIST Who was tortured and killed. Verse 28 continues that converted Christians must eat the bread and drink the cup after self-examination. Verse 29 warns us that we eat and drink judgment to ourselves if we don’t eat the bread and drink the wine in a worthy manner, “not discerning the Lord’s body.” It is still the same theme and context; and to say that Paul suddenly addressed the Church as Christ’s [spiritual] body, while still talking about eating the bread and drinking the wine, is introducing a thought which is clearly not contained in that passage. After all, if the “Lord’s body” was suddenly meant to refer to the spiritual body of Christ—the Church—are we to EAT the CHURCH (verse 29)? And what would the meaning of the “blood” be in that context (same verse)—as we are to eat AND to drink? It is obvious that the analogy of Christ’s body referring to the Church simply does not fit in 1 Corinthians 11:29.

The Bible Commentary: Revised agrees: “Every Christian is unworthy, but Paul defines his meaning as not discerning (lit. not distinguishing) this bread as signifying the body…of the Lord. Some think body here refers to the church (cf. 10:17), but a change of meaning from v. 27 seems unlikely.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary concurs: “The Corinthians came to the Lord’s table not discerning the Lord’s body—not making a distinction between that and common food.”

Unger’s Bible Handbook explains the meaning of the passage in this way: “in an unworthy manner … means in an attitude of unconfessed sin, and thus being guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, transgressing against the very essence of the meaning of Christ’s death… Self-examination is necessary…to avoid condemnation and consequent chastening, entailing physical weakness, sickness and even death.”

Christ Suffered and Died in His Body

During the annual Passover ceremony, when Christians partake of the bread and the wine (as well as participate in the preceding footwashing ceremony), they must understand and accept, in faith, the supreme meaning of the totality of Christ’s Sacrifice. If they discern Christ’s body, with the knowledge that CHRIST was severely beaten and then killed on our behalf, they understand that they can have forgiveness of their sins, as well as physical healing, because of what Christ did for us:

“…having made peace through the BLOOD of His cross…now He has reconciled [you to the Father] in the BODY of HIS FLESH THROUGH DEATH, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you CONTINUE in the faith…” (Colossians 1:20–23).

And: “By that will [of God the Father] we have been sanctified through the offering of the BODY of Jesus Christ once and for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

And finally 1 Peter 2:24: “…who Himself bore our sins in His own BODY on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

The message rings loud and clear! As Christ suffered and died for us in His own body, we are to discern His sacrifice and let Him live in us, so that we can live for Him.

Sickness and Death

Is it correct that by taking the Lord’s Sacrifice in an unworthy manner, the consequences might result in physical sickness and death?

As we may recall, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:29–30: “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

Paul speaks about the manner in which Christians partake of the Passover—and yes, if they partake of the Passover in an unworthy manner, and if they, especially, fail to discern the body of Christ, which was beaten for our healing from our sicknesses, then prolonged sickness and even death might be the consequence.

It is important to study the context of these verses as found in 1 Corinthians 11:17 through 34. Paul very emphatically corrected those in Corinth who had been treating the Passover in an irreverent and self-centered manner. He mentions that there were divisions within the Church (verses 18–19). Beginning with the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul strongly warns against the divisions that were arising—especially those that were created by some members who focused on the personalities of various ministers (Compare
1 Corinthians 1:11–13; 3:1–23).

Passover Not the Lords Supper

Here is, what Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11:20: “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.” We understand this verse to say that they could not, and should not try, to eat the Lord’s Supper, as the Passover is not the Lord’s Supper—that is, it is not a meal! Paul was chastising them for trying to eat a supper or a meal, rather than just partaking of the symbols of bread and wine in a worthy manner. He plainly chastises the Church for assembling in a way that nullified the intent and example of observing the New Testament Passover as instituted by Jesus Christ. Paul challenges their practice of using this time for a common meal; of getting drunk; and of adding to the division between members who were wealthy and poor because of their degenerated observance of the Passover.

In verses 23 through 26 of 1 Corinthians 11, Paul carefully reminds the Church of the correct way to observe this time—not as a riotous, self-indulgent meal, but as a meaningful reminder of the glorious sacrifice made by Jesus on behalf of mankind. In verse 26, Paul states: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” The correct observance of these symbols, along with observing the time established by God for the Passover, is to be faithfully followed by the New Testament Church. As we see from verse 23, Jesus instituted the symbols at this same specified time as an example for the Church.

A Powerful Warning

Next, Paul gives a powerful warning that no Christian should take lightly: “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). Continuing in verses 29–30: “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [are dead].”

Although the application is much broader, we may, nonetheless, apply what is stated in Hebrews concerning those who take for granted the inestimable sacrifice of Jesus Christ: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:26–29).

Paul warned the Church at Corinth that their actions were seriously and dangerously wrong! Like the message in Hebrews, the people in Corinth were treating the Passover as a “common thing”—that is, just another meal, and, even worse, as an activity of the Church in which rebellious actions were taking place. We find an Old Testament parallel in the story of the golden calf. In their idolatry, the children of Israel made a proclamation that their observance was “a feast to the LORD” (Exodus 32:5). They brought upon themselves both an immediate penalty of death for some (verse 28) and a future punishment for their sin (verses 34–35).

Disobeying God WILL lead to death. The only exception is through repentance and forgiveness, and our repentance and God’s forgiveness are only possible because of the death of Jesus Christ in our place. He paid the ultimate penalty, and His sacrifice is not a meaningless ritual. The Passover must not be taken lightly. Rather, a Christian must approach this observance carefully, through sincere personal reflection and self-examination.

In another letter to the Corinthians, Paul states: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5). This is essentially what he had told them to do regarding the Passover Christ established: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Continuing in 1 Corinthians 11:31–32: “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”

Being “chastened by the Lord” is exactly the purpose that was accomplished through Paul’s writing. It applied to the members in Corinth, and it applies to us, today. Christians are to examine themselves in order to properly take the Passover—to do as Jesus Christ commanded. Indeed, some, both then and even now, have failed to properly discern the Lord’s body—having been beaten for our healing—and they might, thereby, have suffered the consequence of physical sickness, and perhaps even death. They, like Israel of old, have brought upon themselves penalties for their sins. We can avoid these consequences if we seek to obey zealously what God has commanded!

Manifold Reasons for Sickness and Death

This is not to say—by any means—that God is punishing every Church member who is suffering from an illness because of a lack of discernment of Christ’s body. As we explain in our booklet, “Sickness and Healing—What the Bible Tells Us,” the reasons for sickness and disease are manifold, and they might have nothing to do at all with any ungodly conduct of the sick person. All Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 11 is that sickness COULD be the result of partaking of the Passover in an unworthy manner, by not discerning the beaten body of Christ and the fact that we are healed “by His stripes” (Isaiah 53:5).

Even though Christians are asked to examine themselves, Paul also says that they ARE to take the Passover, if they are baptized members of the Church of God. When we examine ourselves and when we hear sermons telling us of our ongoing need to overcome, we must not become so discouraged that we don’t want to take the Passover! Rather, examining ourselves should serve as the very preparation God wants for us. Once we do, we are to focus on Jesus Christ—He is our Passover (compare 1 Corinthians 5:7)! Just as He set us an example, the Passover is to be kept in the manner that is truly pleasing to God!

Why Not Follow the Jewish Example

As the oracles are given to the Jews, why don’t we follow their example of keeping Passover on the same day that they do, rather than keeping it one day earlier?

We need to understand properly what exactly was given to the Jews—what is meant by the word “oracles.” In Romans 3:1–2, we are told that the “oracles of God” were committed to the “circumcision.” At the same time, we are told that “their unbelief” did not make “the faithfulness of God” without effect (verse 3). The Greek word for “oracles” is “logion.” It is also used in Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; and
1 Peter 4:11. In all these passages, the oracles or “sayings” must originate from God. If something is being said or written which is contrary to God’s Word, it no longer constitutes the “oracles of God.”

The “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W. E. Vine, points out: “Logion, a diminutive of logos, a word, narrative, statement, denotes a Divine response or utterance, an oracle; it is used of (a) the contents of the Mosaic Law, Acts 7:38; (b) all the written utterances of God through the O.T. writers, Rom. 3:2; (c) the substance of Christian doctrine, Heb. 5:12; (d) the utterance of God through Christian teachers, 1 Pet. 4:11.”

Oracles of God

When referring to the oracles that God committed to the Jews or the “circumcision,” the Nelson Study Bible states: “The oracles of God refer to the entire Old Testament, the laws and the covenants that had been given by God Himself to the nation of Israel. This phrase [in Romans 3:2] reaffirms the belief of the apostles of the inspiration of the Old Testament. The Bible is God’s Word for us.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary agrees and adds: “The oracles of God are the Old Testament in general, not just the promises alone as some commentaries suggest. The Septuagint uses this term for ‘the words of God’ in the law (Num. 24:4,16) or in the Psalms (107:11), and this seems to be the meaning in the New Testament… Possession of the Scriptures would be of no advantage if they were never heard, but Paul assumes they are heard every Sabbath.”

As our booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” points out on pages 2–3, “These ‘oracles of God’ included the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the knowledge of the week and of the Sacred Calendar. The Jews preserved the knowledge of which day the seventh day of the week is…”

Not the Same as Jewish Practice

The preservation of the Old Testament by the Jews (as well as the knowledge of the Sabbath and the Hebrew Calendar) is not the same, however, as Jewish practice.

The Jewish scribes were meticulous in writing down and making copies of the Words of Truth given to them, thus passing these Words on down so that we have them today. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that “…all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Romans 3:1 conveys to us that Jews have an advantage in that God gave them His Words, along with the responsibility of the preservation of His Words, which they did so meticulously.

Having the written Word of God, however, placed another grave responsibility on their shoulders. They were to observe these Words and to keep them. They were to walk in them! God would have given Judah and all of Israel the help they needed to be faithful in these things, but they would not observe the very Words they so meticulously preserved. They considered the fact that God was there for them was all that was needed; yet He continually told them they were to walk in His Ways.

The kings of Israel had a personal responsibility to write out the Sacred Words, along with the command that they, too, were to walk in them, so they would learn to fear God always (Deuteronomy 17:18–20)! Israel as a whole, including the house of Judah, or the Jews, never learned, though some few did!

We read Christ’s Words to His disciples concerning the teachers of Israel and the Jewish leaders in His Day. Notice in Matthew 23:2: “… The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.” Verse 3 continues: “Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not according to their works; for they say, and do not do.”

Obey God’s Words

Christ said that the people needed to do what the religious leaders told them to do, as long as it was taken from God’s Word—it had to be in harmony with God’s Word! Christ was not saying that the people had to do everything the leaders said, because He explained on other occasions that the leaders did away with God’s Word, so that they could uphold their own traditions. Later, Peter and the other apostles refused to obey the religious leadership at that time when they were told that they could not preach the gospel (Acts 5:26–29, 40–42). But even when the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the scribes spoke God’s Word, they would oftentimes not even do what they themselves taught. We are told in the Word of God, which was passed down through the Jews, what to do. Yet, if there is an inconsistency between what God’s Word says and what Jewish practice maintains, we must not do as they do.

Christianity vs. Judaism

It is important here to understand that Christianity is not the same as Judaism. The Jews today do many things that are not in conformity with Scripture. In fact, even at the time of Christ, the Jews were DIVIDED among themselves as to how to apply Scripture. While the Pharisees accepted both the written and the “oral” law—a collection of Jewish traditions—the Sadducees only accepted the written law, but even that, they did not understand correctly, as Christ had to point out to them on several occasions (compare James Hastings, “Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics,” under “Sadducees”).

Many have taught the doctrine of men, instead of God’s doctrine. Matthew 15:9 records the statement of Jesus in this regard: “…And in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.” Jesus also instructed His own disciples about the problems inherent within Judaism at that time. Note this quote in Matthew 16:12: “Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Paul also warned of the possible wrong influences from Judaism in Titus 1:14: “…not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.”

The key for Christians is found in what Jesus said AND did: “… My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” (John 7:16–18).

When to Keep the Passover

Based on this explanation, the answer to the question of why the Church of God does NOT keep the Passover at the same time as the Jews, is simply because the Jews do NOT keep the Passover on the day as instructed in Scripture. The Church of God follows the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus and the apostles kept the Passover on the evening when Christ was betrayed (which would be Abib or Nisan 14). As we saw already, this was one day earlier than the Jews keep it today. The Jews actually keep the first Day of Unleavened Bread (on Abib or Nisan 15), also called the “Night to Be Much Observed,” AS the Passover, confusing the two occasions, by treating them as one and the same, and failing to see the distinction between the two.

In addition, the Bible commands us to keep the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days, followed by the eighth or Last Great Day. Most Jews today only keep the entire Feast of Tabernacles for four days—namely, the first two and the last two days of the entire eight-day period.

We must take and accept our direction from God’s Holy Word, the Bible—not from human traditions. If there is a conflict between the two, we must follow God!

Passover or First Day of Unleavened Bread

Exodus 12:14 states: “…this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD…” Some teach that this feast day or memorial, referred to in Exodus 12:14, describes the Passover. Is this correct?

It is not.

Although the Passover is at times referred to as a feast day (compare Leviticus 23:4–5), the Bible distinguishes between the day of Passover (on Nisan or Abib 14) and the seven Days of Unleavened Bread (on Nisan or Abib 15–21). As we will see, Exodus 12:14 refers to the Feast of the first Day of Unleavened Bread (compare Leviticus 23:4, 6), NOT the Passover.

We find that Christ and His disciples kept the Passover on Nisan or Abib 14. At that time, the Passover was sometimes included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but, as we mentioned, the entire time was then counted as lasting eight days, not only seven (compare Matthew 26:17–20; Mark 14:12–18; Luke 22:1, 7–16). However, the distinction between the Passover evening and the seven Days of Unleavened Bread was still clearly understood (compare Mark 14:1–2).

When the New Testament speaks of the FEAST during the spring season, it refers to the first Day of Unleavened Bread, not the Passover evening (compare John 13:1). During the Passover evening, Christ told His betrayer, Judas, to “do quickly” what he had planned to do (John 13:27). Judas left the house, and the disciples thought that Jesus had asked him to buy those things they needed for the FEAST (compare John 13:29)—that is, the first Day of Unleavened Bread, which would start at sunset on Nisan 15—more than 20 hours later.

The First Passover Night

With this background, let us carefully review the events at the time when the first Passover was instituted. The evidence that the Passover was, and still is, to be kept at the BEGINNING of Nisan or Abib 14, not at the end, is overwhelming. Christ and His disciples, as we saw, kept the PASSOVER at the BEGINNING of the 14th, and they should have known when to keep it. Further, the death angel went through Egypt on the night of the 14th, not the 15th, and that event is called Passover because the death angel passed over the Israelites when he saw the blood at the doors of their houses (Exodus 12:27). “Passover” [and this has to include the actual event of the death angel’s PASSING OVER the Israelites] was on the 14th—not the 15th (Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16). Also, the Israelites were not to leave their houses during the Passover NIGHT until morning (Exodus 12:22), yet we read that they left Egypt by night (Deuteronomy 16:1). Since it could not have been the night of Nisan 14, it had to be the next night—Nisan 15.

The Feast and Memorial of the First Day of Unleavened Bread

According to Exodus 12:14, the day that was established as a MEMORIAL and a FEAST, to be kept FOREVER, was the 15th of Abib [or Nisan]. Exodus 13:3, 4, 6, and 9 clarify that the word “FEAST” in verse 4 refers to the FIRST Day [and the LAST Day] of Unleavened Bread. We read: “And Moses said to the people: ‘Remember THIS DAY in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. NO LEAVENED BREAD SHALL BE EATEN. ON THIS DAY you are going out, in the month Abib… Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the SEVENTH day shall be a FEAST to the LORD [that is, another holy convocation. Both on the first and on the seventh day, there are to be holy convocations, and that is why both of these days are called “FEAST” days]… It shall be a SIGN to you on your hand and as a MEMORIAL between your eyes, that the Lord’s LAW may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you OUT OF EGYPT.”

Paul reminded the Corinthians that “Christ, our PASSOVER, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). He went on to say: “Therefore let us KEEP the FEAST [of Unleavened Bread], not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (verse 8).

More Than Once a Year?

Would it be all right, in light of 1 Corinthians 11:26, to partake of the New Testament Passover more often than just once a year?

We read in 1 Corinthians 11:26: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” Many have interpreted this Scripture to say, “Take it as often as you please.” But this is not what the Scripture teaches.

By reading in context, we learn that Paul was reminding the disciples of the events that happened on the “same night in which He (Christ) was betrayed” (verse 23). Paul stated that on that night, Christ took the bread and the wine, gave it to His disciples, and said, “Take, eat…do this in remembrance of Me… This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (verses 24, 25).

An Annual Memorial

Christ commanded His converted disciples to partake of the symbols of bread and wine “in remembrance” of “the Lord’s death.” This is clearly a memorial—as the first and last Days of Unleavened Bread are memorials—and memorials of momentous occasions are always observed annually—once a year—on the anniversary of the event they commemorate. It should be noted that God specifically denotes seven ANNUAL Sabbaths or Holy Days to be observed in their appointed times. These annual Holy Days are either memorials of events that have already taken place, or they foreshadow events that will still occur. It is during these annual observances that we are instructed to keep exactly what God has commanded.

Christ and His disciples were keeping the Passover—an annual celebration of the time when Old Testament Israel was spared from death. As we saw, the Israelites had to take some of the blood of the Passover lamb and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel of the houses where they ate the lamb (Exodus 12:7–8). God had promised to “pass over” the Israelites when He saw the blood (Exodus 12:13, 23). The entire service was called the “LORD’S Passover” or the “Passover sacrifice” (Exodus 12:11, 27).

Luke 22:15 tells us that Christ had “desired with fervent desire to eat this Passover.” We read in Matthew 26:17–20 that the disciples had prepared the Passover, and that Christ and His disciples ate it—the Passover lamb—“when evening had come” (Matthew 26:20; notice also Mark 14:12–18, 22). Christ changed the symbols that night from the flesh and the blood of a lamb, to the bread and the wine of the true “Passover Lamb”—Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7).

No Change of Time

By partaking of the bread and the wine on the Passover night, Christ’s disciples symbolically partake of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ for the continued forgiveness of their sins, as well as for their physical and spiritual healing, eventually leading to eternal life (John 6:58). So we see that it was the night of Jesus’ last Passover supper that He introduced the new symbols. Note that the Passover symbols were changed, not WHEN, or how often, Passover itself was to be observed.

The Passover was kept once a year—“as a memorial.” On the night when Christ was betrayed, He kept the Passover. The Passover was, at that time, celebrated as a supper—that is why it is called in Scripture “the Lord’s supper.” Christians are today to continue keeping the Passover, but not as a meal—not as “the Lord’s Supper.” They are only to partake of the symbols of bread and wine on the Passover night. They do not eat a full meal during the Passover service. In fact, as we have seen, Christians are told that they must “discern the Lord’s body”—they must distinguish the symbols of bread and wine from an ordinary meal (1 Corinthians 11:29). 1 Corinthians 11:20, 34 tells us, “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is NOT to eat the Lord’s Supper… But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home.” (As an aside, nowhere does the Bible describe the Passover service as “communion,” when we are to partake of bread and/or wine).

Breaking Bread

There is no evidence in the Bible that the New Testament Church ever partook of the symbols of bread and wine more often than once a year. Some point out that the disciples “broke bread” on other occasions as well, and that this allegedly proves that they frequently partook of the New Testament Passover symbols. However, the term, “to break bread,” simply means, “to eat a meal.”

As David Stern points out in “Jewish New Testament Commentary,” 1992, on page 227: “To say that the early Messianic Jews broke bread is to say neither more [nor] less than that they ate together.”

Acts 2:46 tells us that the disciples “broke bread daily from house to house,” eating “their food with gladness.” They were eating bread daily to satisfy their hunger. Paul says, however, that if we satisfy our hunger when we partake of the symbols of bread and wine, we do it to our condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:34, Authorized Version). “Breaking bread,” then, was just a common term to indicate eating a meal.

Paul did NOT say in 1 Corinthians 11 that Christians should partake of the “Lord’s Supper,” and that they can do so “as often as they please.” Rather, they are partaking of the New Testament Passover symbols of bread and wine once a year—during the Passover service—in memory of and as a memorial of Christ’s death and sacrifice. Every year, when they do so, they proclaim Christ’s death until He returns.

Chapter 2 – The Days of Unleavened Bread

Introduction

To reiterate, the Passover symbolizes the forgiveness of our past sins. When we repent of our sins, God is faithful to forgive us. But God’s forgiveness and mercy is not a license to continue to sin. Rather, we are to come out of sin. We are to overcome sin now. We are to live worthily of God’s calling!

The Days of Unleavened Bread, immediately following the Passover, picture this process of overcoming sin—becoming unleavened and working at staying unleavened—ceasing to sin! And even though we will slip and fall occasionally, requiring Christ’s forgiveness when we do, we are to focus on living a sinless life, rather than continuing to live in sin.

When ancient Israel was freed from slavery, they had to come out of and leave Egypt; and they did so with a high hand—with great joy and jubilation. They had just partaken of the Passover and escaped death. Symbolically, their sins were not counted against them. They did not have to die. They fled from their captivity and moved toward the Promised Land; however, Pharaoh came after them to destroy them. Figuratively, Pharaoh and his army picture Satan, the demons, and sin.

Although Israel had come away from sin, sin was still in hot pursuit. They still had to overcome it. But they could not do it all by themselves. They needed God’s help, which He gave in a mighty way!  God led them through the Red Sea, safely to the other side. Symbolically, they went through baptism, and God’s Holy Spirit helped them to conquer sin. Pharaoh and his army would bother them no more [The role of God’s Holy Spirit will be explained in much more detail in the last section of this booklet, covering the annual Holy Day of Pentecost.]

The symbolism of this event is significant for us today. Converted Christians partake annually of the Passover ceremony to renew their relationship with God and their willingness to leave sin behind. In claiming Christ’s sacrifice in this way, they obtain forgiveness of the sins that they have still committed. They have the extra help through God’s Holy Spirit that was given to them at the time of their baptism; but even then, sin still lies at the door, waiting to bring them down and make them fail. They must come out of sin continuously.

Be Separate From Sin

This can sometimes be very difficult, because Christians may not always realize that they are still living in, and with sin, since they are still living in this sinful “Babylonian” society.

That is why God tells us time and time again: “… Come out from among them And be separate…” (2 Corinthians 6:17; compare Isaiah 52:11; Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6).

Israel left Egypt literally. Lot left Sodom. Abraham left Ur in Chaldea to wander to the Promised Land. Ruth left Moab to follow her mother-in-law to Israel. Likewise, we need to leave the Babylonian society around us—the world of sin—and be separate, not literally, but symbolically. Christ said that He did not take us out of the world, but that He would see to it that we are not part of Satan’s evil world (compare John 17:15). In other words, we are not to be part of sin. We are not to be partakers of the sins of others.

That is what the Days of Unleavened Bread picture—our continued efforts to come out of sin.

Now, Christians should not sin at all (1 John 2:1). In fact, nobody should! But we are also told that, weak and human as we are, we ALL sin from time to time. And when we do, Christ is faithful and just in that He forgives us our sin upon our repentance (1 John 1:8–9). However, sin must diminish for a converted Christian who must continue to conquer sin and leave it behind. He must change.

We can only do that, if we recognize sin and treat it for what it is, because, sin is very deceptive. Sometimes, we may not even know that we are sinning, or if we do, we may think that it is not really a big deal.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us that sin easily ensnares us. David prays in Psalm 19:12: “Cleanse me from secret faults.” Secret to others, perhaps, but also sins which were hidden in and from David, and of which David was not aware.

Removing Physical Leaven

This process of coming out of spiritual sin is symbolized by our physical removal of leaven from our houses, as well as in refraining from eating leavened food during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread. When you try to remove leaven from your house, you learn how difficult it may be to find and get rid of ALL leaven. Some leaven is obvious, but you may find leaven in places you would have never thought to look. The same is true with sin. We may sin in ways we don’t realize—until we discover “hidden sins” upon our careful self-examination.

When used in connection with the Days of Unleavened bread, leaven symbolizes sin. Christ spoke of the “leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6, 11), which He described as their wrong and sinful “doctrine” (verse 12). He also equated the “leaven of the Pharisees” with the sin of “hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). As sin may begin small and spreads, so does leaven. Paul warns us twice that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9). During the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, we are reminded that we are to overcome sin and leave it behind, pictured by removing and not eating leavened food. We are then to replace sin with righteousness, pictured by the consumption of unleavened products.

The ancient Israelites were commanded to eat unleavened bread and to remove all leaven from their houses during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:6–7; Deuteronomy 16:3–4). As spiritual Israel today, the Church of God follows this practice in the same way the early New Testament Church did. Paul told the Corinthians to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7–8). He admonished them that, even though they were physically “unleavened” (verse 7)—keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread and removing all leavened products from their houses—they also had to behave with a spiritually unleavened mind, by removing not just physical leaven, but also the spiritual leaven of sin from their lives.

What Constitutes Leaven?

Why does the Church’s understanding differ from the understanding of the Jews as to what constitutes leaven that must not be eaten and that which needs to be removed during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread?

We need to evaluate cautiously and carefully the Jewish definition of what constitutes “leaven” that needs to be removed from our houses during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread. As discussed before, when comparing God’s Word with Jewish practice, the Jewish definition does not have to be accepted by God’s Church, if it is, in effect, adding to, or deleting from the revealed purpose and spirit of God’s commandment. Christ came to exalt God’s Law and make it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21), and to teach His followers the spiritual applications of the Law (compare Matthew 5:21–48)—going beyond the application of the letter of the law (Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6).

In certain respects, the spiritual concept of leaven is both broader and narrower than the Jewish understanding.

To quote from the Broadman Bible Commentary, on Exodus 13, p. 360, notice the somewhat stringent and extreme interpretation of “leaven” in “later Judaism”:

“These must be removed at Passover: Babylonian porridge, Median beer, Edomite vinegar, and Egyptian Barley-beer, also dyers’ pulp, cooks’ starch-flour, and writers’ paste. R. Eliezer says: Also women’s cosmetics. This is the general rule: whatsoever is made from any kind of grain must be removed at passover’ (Perashim 3:1)…”

What About Beverages?

There is nothing, however, in the entirety of Scripture [as distinguished from human traditions!] to indicate any restriction on the kind of beverages we consume during the Days of Unleavened Bread—no mention of these being the “Days of Unleavened Beverages.” Beverages or items not meant or fit for human consumption need not be removed! The fact is that in all cases where the Days of Unleavened Bread are mentioned, the reference is always to the example set by the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt without any leaven in their dough (see Exodus 12:39). There is no reference to the invisible yeast or result of it in either beer, wine or other beverages. If God had intended a ban on fermented beverages during the Days of Unleavened Bread, it would undoubtedly have been mentioned. In fact, such mention would have been necessary.

A response from the Letter Answering Department of the Worldwide Church of God many years ago adds the following:

“Items such as bread, cake, crackers, cookies, and prepared cereals and pies which contain leavening, of course, must be put out. Doing so is symbolic of putting both the visible and the hidden sins out of our lives. It is true, however, that leavening agents are also found in a number of products other than baked goods. Among these are beer, wine, and antacids, and some medications, bath powders, toothpastes, and dog foods. Even fire extinguishers contain forms of leavening agents. But, all these need not be discarded.”

What About Baking Soda and Baking Powder?

On the other hand, certain “leavening agents,” which the Jews don’t remove, SHOULD BE removed. These leavening agents include baking soda and baking powder, but not “brewer’s yeast,” “yeast extracts,” or “cream of tartar.”

In regard to baking soda and baking powder, it has been said that these agents are dead, unable to puff up the dough. Whether or not this is true from a biological-chemical standpoint, note how these agents are defined in encyclopedias. For instance, the Grosse Brockhaus defines “baking powder” as “baking leavening, to loose the dough, used in replacement of yeast.” The WebBible Encyclopedia defines “leaven” as an “agent used to raise bread or other flour foods. Physical leavens include water vapor, which is released as steam at high temperatures (as in popovers), and air, which is incorporated by beating. CHEMICAL LEAVEN (BAKING POWDER AND BAKING SODA) and biological leavens (yeasts and certain bacteria) raise the mixture by the formation of carbon dioxide gas, which is expanded by heat.” The Encyclopedia Britannica adds that baking powder is “a prepared mixture to replace yeast in baking.”

Based on the foregoing, baking powder and baking soda are to be treated as leavening agents that are to be removed during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Whether active agents or not, they would clearly be used, in any event, as a substitute for leavening to puff up any flour or meal product, thereby violating the spirit of God’s commands.

Personal Conscience

It is a matter of personal conscience between the individual Christian and God as to whether a particular product, which might not clearly constitute leaven, should be thrown out. If having any particular products in one’s home during the Days of Unleavened Bread defiles a person’s conscience, it would be best to get rid of them during the festival (Romans 14:23).

We must also be careful not to offend others and their conscience. If we know that a member would be offended if we were to bring products into his house, or to Church services, which the member considers “leavened,” we should refrain from doing so (compare the principle in 1 Corinthians 10:23–33).

Coming Out of Sin

As mentioned, Christians must come out of sin, which is pictured by their removal of leaven—a symbol for sin—during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread. Seven stands for completeness—showing that Christians must concentrate on eradicating sin completely. This is not easy, as the Bible clearly shows.

Sin is very deceptive. Many times, we may not recognize sin, as the environment in which we are living views sinful conduct as normal and acceptable.

Righteous Abram Not Without Sin

Abram, whom God later called Abraham, failed at times to recognize the deceitfulness of sin. Although Abram would become the father of the faithful, he was not perfect in faith at the time he was called. He—like every one of us—had to come out of sin, repeatedly. We read that Abram lied on several occasions—he said that Sarah was his sister, because he feared that people would kill him if he would say that she was his wife. In Abram’s eyes, his lie had a legitimate excuse. But not in God’s eyes. Abram had to learn that no lie is justified. Sadly, Isaac would later repeat his father’s sin by lying about his wife Rebecca.

Abraham also thought adultery was a legitimate way of bringing God’s promise to pass. God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son, but since Sarah was unable to conceive, she asked Abraham to produce offspring through her own maid, Hagar. This was sinful conduct that only led to bad results. The bad consequences have lasted over the centuries, and can still be seen today in the continued fighting between the Jews and the Arabs—the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son.

Abraham did what everybody around him did. Everybody lied, and the practice of producing offspring in the way that Abraham and Sarah did was not uncommon at the time. Abraham was a child of his time, and he had to come out of the customs of his society. But the good news is that he did. God called him His friend. He learned how to obey God’s commandments.

King Saul’s Disobedience

Unfortunately, King Saul did not learn how to overcome sin. He became Israel’s first king. He was a tall man, very good-looking, but he did not have the moral backbone to uphold the commandments of God. Instead, he gave in to the pressure of the people. When Samuel did not come to offer a sacrifice to God in the face of the threat of the Philistines, Saul fell in despair, because the people were scattering. He went ahead and offered the sacrifice himself. Humanly speaking, it was understandable, but not in God’s eyes (1 Samuel 13:8–14).

Saul again disobeyed by not killing Agag, the king of the Amorites, and the cattle of the Amorites, although God had specifically ordered him to do so. He decided to spare the cattle and sacrifice them to the Lord. It seemed like a good idea from a human standpoint, but, again, God did not agree (1 Samuel 15:21–23). It seems that Saul had not understood that he had sinned by disobeying God. Notice how he welcomed Samuel, in verses 13 and 20. He had become proud—he thought he could determine for himself what was right and wrong.

David’s Adultery

King David sinned greatly, not at first realizing the deceitfulness of sin. But he learned his lessons and will be resurrected as an immortal Spirit being at the time of Christ’s return (compare Jeremiah 30:9).

We learn in 2 Samuel 11 about the ongoing sinful conduct of David regarding Bathsheba and Uriah. But it all started rather mildly—at least perhaps in David’s mind. David walked on the roof of his house and saw Bathsheba bathing. He obviously looked at her with thoughts of desire. As a married man, that was already wrong. Christ later told us, If you look at another woman with lust in your heart, you have already committed adultery in your heart (compare Matthew 5:27–28). In addition, David inquired as to who Bathsheba was, and found out that she was married to Uriah. David then took her and slept with her, and Bathsheba became pregnant. So, the adultery, which had started in David’s mind, led to the real act, and resulted in grievous consequences.

One sin leads to the next. When David heard that Bathsheba was pregnant, he called Uriah back from the battlefield and encouraged him to sleep with his wife. David reasoned that he could later say that the child was Uriah’s. But Uriah would not sleep with his wife. David tried again by making him drunk, thinking that when he was drunk, he would sleep with his wife. But Uriah still would not do so.

David Murders Uriah

David’s scheme had failed. Now he resorted to murder. He ordered Uriah to go back to the battlefield and wrote the Commander-in-Chief, Joab: “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die” (2 Samuel 11:15). And that is what happened (verses 16–25). So then, David took Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, to become his wife, and she bore him a son (verses 26–27).

All of this was going on for at least nine months, perhaps even longer. During all this time, David seemed to have justified his transgressions somehow, without repenting. God sent the prophet Nathan to him (2 Samuel 12), who told him the famous story about the little lamb of the poor man that the rich man took away from him.

David was so enraged with the rich man that he ordered his execution. It is sometimes very easy to see the sins of others, but it is very difficult to see the much greater sins in which we ourselves may be engaged. That is why Christ tells us to remove first the plank in our eyes, before we try to remove the speck in the eyes of our neighbor (compare Matthew 7:3–5). Nathan showed David that he was the rich man, as he had stolen Uriah’s wife (the little lamb) from Uriah (the poor man in comparison with David) and as he had murdered Uriah, one of his most faithful servants. He had thereby committed grievous sins.

David finally came to his senses when Nathan told him this story, but the penalty he had to pay was great. The son that Bathsheba had borne David, died; David himself was doomed to have wars from then on for the rest of his life; his wives and concubines would be publicly molested and abused; and he would have internal problems within his own family, including his sons rising up against him, such as Absalom.

This is a grave lesson for us. We must conquer sin before it begins to grow and bring on calamities and, in the end, eternal death. We must repent of sin and continuously work to get rid of it.

Job’s Self-Righteousness

We might also consider Job in this context. He was a righteous man, but he was so righteous that he thought he could not sin. In fact, he thought that he was more righteous than God (Job 32:1–2, Revised English Bible). Self-righteousness and the feeling that we know better than God—or that God deals unrighteously with us—is a serious sin that must be overcome. Job did finally repent, and he confessed his lack of understanding, as the 42nd chapter reveals.

The Sin of Syncretism

In Jeremiah 10, we are introduced to another deceptive sin, that of syncretism—combining different forms of belief or thought, such as, mixing paganism and Christianity. We are told not to participate in, nor even learn, the religious practices of the Gentiles. We cannot adopt pagan elements for inclusion in our worship of God! To participate in Easter or Christmas is wrong. This would include giving Easter eggs or Christmas presents to our children or grandchildren; participating in Christmas or Easter worship services; decorating a Christmas tree; hiding Easter eggs for the children or grandchildren; or reading Christmas stories to them. Regardless of whether we ourselves believe in these customs or not, we are not to participate in them, under any circumstances. (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas!”).

We Are Responsible for Christ’s Death

All sins which mankind has committed through the ages, caused Christ’s death. It does not matter whether the sin is greed, hate, envy, wrong zeal, lies or fear. Each and every sin caused Christ to die.

Revelation 21:8; 22:15 tells us that every sin not repented of, will bring upon us the second and final death, from which there is no resurrection. The list of sins is seemingly endless. Galatians 5:19–21 and Ephesians 5:3–7 contain many sins that must be overcome.

BUT—with God, ALL things are possible. We don’t have to be frustrated and discouraged and fall into utter despair when we find that we have sinned again. Rather, we are to throw ourselves on the mercy of God, asking Him to give us the power to overcome and conquer our sins. We must do our part, of course, and we must never give up.

Sin CAN Be Overcome!

We are promised in Philippians 1:3–6 that God would not have called us for salvation, unless He knew that we COULD overcome sin. Everyone sins, including converted Christians, but with God’s help, we CAN overcome sin. The only enemy who can stop us from overcoming sin, is our own self. Only when we refuse to repent of our sins and refuse to seek God’s help, will we not get the help that we need from God.

One of those early disciples who forsook the Way—at least temporarily—was Demas. He is mentioned in Colossians 4:14. He was with Paul and with Luke, greeting the church in Colosse. But later, in 2 Timothy 4:10, Paul tells us that Demas forsook him, “having loved this present world.” Demas will be remembered as one who went back to the world out of which he had come. That is why we are warned, “Don’t love the world and what is in it.”

However, Hebrews 10:39 encourages us: “But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” Many of those whom we discussed herein, sinned—sometimes very severely—but they repented of their sins, and they pressed forward toward their goal of eternal life. We must do likewise, and we can, even in times of difficulties and trials (Romans 13:11–12; Romans 8:31–39). We CAN come out of sin and overcome sin! How? The next Holy Day—Pentecost—provides us with the answer.

Chapter 3 – The Annual Holy Day of Pentecost

Introduction

The Festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread show us that we can obtain forgiveness of our sins through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and that we must conquer and overcome sin. But we cannot be victorious without God’s help. To be successful, we need the power of God’s Holy Spirit within us. The awesome truth that God is willing to grant us the gift of His Holy Spirit, is revealed in the annual Festival of Pentecost.

The Feast of Pentecost is observed once a year. Pentecost means “count fifty.” The Feast of Pentecost is always celebrated on a Sunday, exactly fifty days from the Sunday that falls within the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

How to Count Pentecost

It sometimes occurs that most Sabbath-keeping Church of God organizations and Orthodox Christianity keep Pentecost on the same day. Does this mean that all are obedient in keeping the annual Holy Day of Pentecost, as instructed by God in the Bible?

No. It does not mean this at all.

The Church of God and the Orthodox Catholic and Protestant world may indeed at times observe Pentecost on the same Sunday. But this is merely coincidental. There are many years when the Church of God and the Orthodox Christian world celebrate Pentecost on different days. Why? Because the Church of God determines the correct date for Pentecost by counting 50 days from the Sunday [after the weekly Sabbath], which falls within the annual Holy Days of Unleavened Bread, as instructed in the Bible (Leviticus 23:11).

The wave sheaf was offered on the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The wave sheaf pictures Jesus Christ, who ascended to heaven on a Sunday, even though He was resurrected on Saturday evening, just around sunset. Exactly 50 days later, He poured out the Holy Spirit from God the Father on His New Testament Church. This was the Day of Pentecost.

In other words, we are not to count 50 days from the weekly Sabbath that falls within the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, but from the SUNDAY on which the wave sheaf was offered—and it is that SUNDAY, that must fall within the seven Days of Unleavened Bread (compare Leviticus 23:14–15; Joshua 5:11).

Orthodox Christianity determines the date of “Pentecost” by using Easter as a starting point for counting 50 days. Easter, however, is not the correct starting point, as it is a pagan festival. It is not even mentioned in the Bible, and it is not a feast to be kept by true Christians.

The Pentecost of This World

There are other obvious distinctions between the Biblical Pentecost, which IS to be kept by true Christians, and the Pentecost of this world, which was designed by the Roman Catholic Church and includes numerous pagan customs.

The following article from USAREUR Public Affair, dated May 31, 2001, is very revealing. It is titled: “Customs and Traditions: Pfingsten in Germany.” The article points out:

“‘Pfingsten,’ known in English as Pentecost or Whitsunday, is one of the principal moveable feasts of the Christian church. The holiday is celebrated 50 days after Easter, thus the name Pentecost, which is derived from ‘pentekoste,’ the Greek word for ‘fifty.’ Pentecost was a popular time to baptize new members of the church. During the baptism, the members wore special white garments—thus the name ‘White Sunday’ or ‘Whitsunday.’ Depending on the Easter holiday, Pfingsten falls in late May or early June…”

The worldly celebration of “Pentecost” or “Whitsunday” is none other than a counterfeit to God’s Biblical Holy Day of Pentecost. We are to observe God’s Holy Days AND reject the worldly holidays of man that are filled with pagan customs. We are NOT to incorporate them into what we know as true worship, even though they claim to worship the true God. God has told us in His Holy Scriptures how to worship Him, and He does not accept any other form of worship! He does not accept syncretism—which, as explained before, is the combining of different forms of belief or thought, such as, mixing paganism and Christianity. Christ said that we worship Him in vain when we teach as doctrines the commandments of men, and when we follow man’s traditions in an attempt to worship God (compare Mark 7:6–9).

The Feast of First Fruits and the Two Loaves

The Feast of Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, is also called the “Feast of Firstfruits.”

What is the meaning of the two loaves, identified as “firstfruits,” which are mentioned in Leviticus 23 in regard to the observance of Pentecost?

The specific reference in question is from Leviticus 23:17, where it says: “’You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD.’”  The vital key found in this Scripture that will lead to understanding what (or more specifically, who) is being represented by these two loaves appears in the last sentence: “‘They are the FIRSTFRUITS to the LORD.’”

As God introduced the observance of this annual Feast Day—known to us today as the Feast of Pentecost—to the children of Israel, we note that several different names were used: “…the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field” (Exodus 23:16); “And You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest…” (Exodus 34:22); “Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks…” (Numbers 28:26). (Compare, also, Deuteronomy 16:9–12.)

Following His resurrection, Jesus Christ carefully instructed His disciples “…not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me’” (Acts 1:4). Continuing in Acts 2:1–4, we read that this waiting period culminated on the Day of Pentecost—the transliterated Greek name for the Feast of Weeks, meaning fiftieth:

(1) “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

At the time the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, and the New Testament Church was founded on the Day of Pentecost, all Church members were Israelites.

Gentiles Included

One of the two loaves in Leviticus 23 pictured, identified or foreshadowed—as part of the firstfruits—converted Israelites (including those few righteous people in Old Testament times, who had been called and converted by God). Acts 2 contains the record of a partial fulfillment of the meaning of Pentecost; however, consider, also, what Peter was inspired to say by way of explanation. He quoted from the prophet Joel (compare Acts 2:17–21; Joel 2:28–32). Note, in particular, the broadly inclusive statement found in Acts 2:21: “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.”

As we continue to read this account in Acts 2, Peter preaches about repentance, baptism and the promise of God’s Holy Spirit. Verse 39 again opens up the scope of the opportunity that God is presenting: “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Peter addressed “…all the house of Israel” (Acts 2:36) on this momentous Day of Pentecost, but God would soon send him to preach the same message of salvation to another representative group of people. The circumstances of this occurrence are found in Acts 10. Through remarkable revelations, God caused Peter to go to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. Here is what Peter said: “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him’” (Acts 10:34–35). Peter continued to explain the message of salvation to those assembled, and “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word” (Acts 10:44).

Note this reaction: “And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also” (Acts 10:45). However, those of the circumcision did not readily accept this development—that is, those of Israelite descent who were believers. We find that Peter carefully explained what had happened, and we find this statement in Acts 11:18: “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’”

Only Firstfruits Called Today

However, the Bible reveals that God is not calling everyone, now! Rather, He is calling some to be firstfruits, and that includes both those who are descendants of Israel and those who come from among Gentiles. These are being offered an opportunity for salvation in the first resurrection, and they are called firstfruits:

James 1:18: “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures”; Romans 8:23: “…we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption [better: sonship], the redemption of our body”; Revelation 14:4: “These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.”

Remember in Leviticus 23:17, in speaking of the two loaves, it says that “‘They are the firstfruits to the LORD.’” Again, in verse 20, the bread is called “‘…the bread of the firstfruits.’”

The second of the two loaves in Leviticus 23, then, seems to refer to the other part of the firstfruits—converted Gentiles.

We find in Luke’s account that Jesus specifically chose men during His lifetime on earth to be apostles (compare Luke 6:13). Following His return to the Father, Jesus Christ continued to choose individuals to assist in building and administering the Church of God. Speaking to Ananias about the man called Saul (later named Paul), Jesus said, “…for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Later on, Paul makes this statement in explaining his own calling: “But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised [Gentiles] had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised [Israelites] was to Peter” (Galatians 2:7).

The Gentiles as an Offering

In this context, let us consider the remarkable statement found in Romans 15:16, Authorized Version: “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy [Spirit].” In addition, other translations support this understanding of Paul’s testimony:

“…so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God” (New International Version); “…so that gentiles might become an acceptable offering” (New Jerusalem Bible); “…to offer the Gentiles to him as an acceptable sacrifice” (Revised English Bible); “…so that the Gentiles, when offered before him, may be an acceptable sacrifice” (Century Translations in Modern English).

Speaking of the sacrifices associated with the Feast of Weeks, God says: “The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest” (Leviticus 23:20).

Verse 22 of Leviticus 23 is, at first glance, seemingly out of place. However, this verse unlocks the understanding of the Gentile role in the promises that God made to Abraham and his descendants. Here is the verse: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.”

The story of Ruth, the Moabitess and a Gentile, is part of God’s Word. You can read the very interesting details in this short book, but the particular events surrounding Ruth’s gleaning in the field of Boaz are of particular significance (compare Ruth 1:22; 2:1–2). Ruth was the mother of Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, and in the lineage of Jesus Christ! Through the provision of God’s Law, this faithful Gentile woman was accepted as a part of God’s chosen people. It is interesting to note that Jews specifically read from the Book of Ruth on the Feast of Pentecost or of Weeks (Shavuot).

Now consider another very revealing account regarding this concept of gleaning. When Jesus was asked by a woman from Canaan to heal her daughter, Jesus replied: “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Also, He said: “…It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs” (verse 26). Note this remarkable statement from the woman in response: “And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table’” (verse 27). At this, Jesus said to her: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire” (verse 28).

A Light to the Gentiles

Further proof that firstfruits from among the Gentiles seem to be represented by one of the two loaves may be found by examining more about Jesus Christ’s role. Shortly following His birth, this testimony about Jesus was given by Simeon: “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:32). Jesus, knowing the unfolding plan of God, stated: “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

In one of the Messianic prophecies, the all-encompassing role Jesus was to fulfill for the totality of mankind is revealed: “Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth’” (Isaiah 49:6).

Two Loaves Represent Firstfruits of Israelites and Gentiles

Paul offers this compelling overview of God’s plan of salvation—starting with the firstfruits and including both those of Israel and of the Gentiles (that is, the rest of the nations): “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:11–13).

Then, in Galatians 3:26–29, we find this summary—a kind of capstone for us to understand that God will accept not only the firstfruits of Israel, but also the firstfruits of other nations as well, which are both apparently represented in Leviticus 23 as the two loaves:

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Thus, we can see that the two loaves seem to represent the firstfruits of both Israelites and Gentiles, called and chosen by God the Father to be included in the first resurrection at Christ’s coming. The waving of the two loaves on the Day of Pentecost pictured this harvesting of God’s firstfruits.

As God’s great master plan is revealed in the remainder of His Holy Days to be observed in the Fall, we find that an even greater harvest of all of the rest of humanity will follow!

Why Are Christ and His Disciples Called First Fruits?

In 1 Corinthians 15:20 it says that “…Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the FIRSTFRUITS of those who have fallen asleep.” James 1:18, however, refers to Christ’s true disciples, in this day and age, as firstfruits: “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of FIRSTFRUITS of His creatures.”

We reviewed several passages that true Christians, who are called to the truth and to salvation in this day and age, are referred to as “firstfruits.”

For instance, recall that Revelation 14:4, which we quoted before, says: “These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being FIRSTFRUITS to God and to the Lamb.”

Please note the following additional passages: In Romans 16:5, Epaeneteus is called “the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ,” and 1 Corinthians 16:15 refers to the household of Stephanus as the “firstfruits of Achaia.”

Time Sequence of Calling

These Scriptures, and many others, point out a sequence or time order. They refer mainly to the time of the resurrection, but also to the time of calling. Although some were called to the truth in Old Testament times (compare Hebrews 11), most true disciples of Christ have been called for salvation since the beginning of the New Testament Church, in A.D. 31, when the Holy Spirit was given to Christ’s apostles and disciples. In addition to the time sequence of calling, the risen Christ became the FIRST or the “firstfruits” of those being resurrected from the dead as an immortal Spirit being and a glorified member of the God Family. Christ’s true disciples in this day and age will be resurrected or changed to immortality at the time of Christ’s Second Coming. But they, too, are just the firstfruits—the first of many others who will be resurrected from the dead AFTER Christ’s return.

When God was dealing with Israel of old, He required the firstfruits of their labors—the yield of their land. This included the first yield of fruits, grain, oil, wine, the fleece from the first shorn sheep, and the first yield of honey. These were required of the people as an offering. These offerings were to be free of blemish and they were to be presented at the tabernacle to be given to the priests for their work at the altar, as prescribed by God.

But was there any other reason God required “firstfruits” at that time, other than looking for obedience in His people? Several Scriptures in the Old Testament give a hint that there was much more to what God was doing.

The Wave Sheaf Offering

In Leviticus 23:10–17, we read of the requirement of the wave-sheaf offering. In addition to its meaning in counting the 50 days to arrive at Pentecost, the significance attached to the waving of the sheaf of the firstfruits and the waving of the two baked loaves is most important in revealing God’s intent. The sheaf of the firstfruits represented Christ as the FIRST of the firstfruits. The two loaves represented those God has called down through the ages who, if faithful to their calling, will make up the firstfruits of God, whom He will use as He establishes His Kingdom on this earth! Although some have felt that the two loaves represent those called into the truth in Old and New Testament times, it is much more likely, based on Biblical evidence we covered earlier, that these two loaves represent ALL of those called, from the creation of man until the time of Christ’s return, both from the tribes of Israel and from non-Israelite nations—the “Gentiles.”

Christ, being the FIRST of the firstfruits, was the first to be resurrected from the dead as an eternal Spirit being, and has returned to the Father to carry on with His duties of being our High Priest and Mediator, or Advocate, intervening before God on our behalf, as was pictured by the waving of the sheaf of the firstfruits.

The Resurrection of the Firstfruits

When Christ returns to the earth to establish His Kingdom, those who have died in Christ, will be resurrected first to immortality and glory to meet Him in the air. Then those who are living and faithful to their calling will also be changed into spirit and will rise to meet their King in the air! This was pictured by the waving of the two loaves, making no distinction as to their national or racial origin or heritage. Christ, along with those who are with Him, will then descend to the earth, and He will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4).

Yes, Christ is the first of the firstfruits, and those who are His at His coming are the firstfruits of God.

1 Corinthians 15:22–23 tells us: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” The two resurrections noted here—Christ, in His day, and those at His coming—are represented by the wave sheaf offering and the Day of Pentecost [the Feast of Firstfruits].

1 Corinthians 15:24, still speaking about the resurrection from the dead, continues: “Then comes the end…” The balance of mankind will have the opportunity to be brought into the Kingdom later. This is pictured in God’s Fall festivals, especially the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. All of mankind will eventually have the opportunity to enter into and to have a part in God’s Kingdom. When this aspect of God’s plan is completed, Christ will deliver “the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death…the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him [God the Father], that God may be all in all” (verses 24–26, 28).

Once God calls an individual, in the order, and at the time God has established, he will be required to be faithful to that calling in order to have the wonderful opportunity to live for eternity in that great Kingdom!

When Was the Holy Spirit Given to Gods NT Church?

In John 20:22, we read that Christ, after His resurrection, but before His ascension to heaven and the subsequent Day of Pentecost, breathed upon the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Some erroneously teach that on that occasion, Christ gave His disciples the Holy Spirit (compare Nelson Study Bible and the Ryrie Study Bible, comments to John 20). Others understand correctly that Christ did not give the Holy Spirit to His disciples at that time.

The New Bible Commentary: Revised explains: “The breathing upon them of the Spirit is understandable since the Greek ‘pneuma’ means both breath and spirit. This would appear to be in anticipation of Pentecost, although some specific assurance of the conveyance of the gift is clearly given here.”

The Holy Spirit Given on Pentecost

The Bible makes it very clear that Christ’s early apostles and disciples received the Holy Spirit AFTER Christ’s ascension—on the Day of Pentecost, in 31 AD, as recorded in Acts 2. We read in Acts 2:1–4 that they were in Jerusalem (Acts 1:12; 2:5), and that they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 2:16–18, Peter, in quoting from the writings of the prophet Joel, emphasized that the Holy Spirit was poured on them on the Day of Pentecost. He also explained in verse 33: “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Jesus Christ] poured out this what you NOW see and hear.” They saw and heard a rushing wind, divided tongues as of fire, and the speaking with other clearly understood or understandable tongues or languages—not some kind of unidentifiable “gibberish.”

After Christ’s resurrection, but before His ascension, Christ told His apostles and disciples: “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem UNTIL you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). In Acts 1:4–5, 8, the risen Christ reiterated His promise: “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you SHALL BE baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now…you SHALL receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem…’”

We read in Acts 1:9: “Now when He had spoken these things [promising them the receipt of the Holy Spirit IN THE FUTURE], while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” When Christ was taken up to heaven, His apostles and disciples had not yet received the Holy Spirit; but they were commanded to wait in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4) for the receipt of the Holy Spirit “not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). And as we saw, it was in Jerusalem, on the Day of Pentecost, when they received the Holy Spirit.

While still in the flesh, Christ had promised His disciples on several occasions that the Holy Spirit would be given to them in the future (compare John 14:17, 26; 16:13). That actual event, and the fulfillment of that promise, occurred when the New Testament Church came into existence—on the Day of Pentecost—not before then.

How, then, are we to understand John 20:22? We read, beginning in verse 21: “So Jesus [when He was resurrected, but before He had ascended to heaven, and before the Day of Pentecost] said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

“Receive the Holy Spirit!”

Continuing in verse 22: “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Verse 23 continues to quote Christ’s words: ‘’If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Since the Holy Spirit was not given before the Day of Pentecost, Christ’s statement and action in John 20 was a reassurance that they would receive the Holy Spirit not long from then. Christ breathed upon them, showing them that it would be HE who would pour out, directly, the Holy Spirit on them, after He would receive it from the Father (Acts 2:33; John 14:16–17). And since the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of power and of discernment, they would receive the strength and ability to witness for Christ and preach the gospel, as well as recognize whether someone had repented and therefore had received forgiveness from God, or whether God had not forgiven the person, due to a lack of repentance. Christ told His apostles that they would be able, because of the Holy Spirit within them, to discern God’s Will in the matter of forgiveness, and to communicate and implement God’s Will accordingly.

John 20:22 does not teach that Christ gave the Holy Spirit to His disciples at the time He breathed on them. Rather, it was a reassurance to them that they would receive the Holy Spirit later—on the Day of Pentecost, as described in Acts 2.

What is Gods Holy Spirit, First and Foremost?

God’s Holy Spirit is, first and foremost, a Spirit of POWER. With God’s power, we CAN overcome sin! With God’s power, we CAN live a life pleasing to God. (Please don’t assume, however, that the Holy Spirit is a Person. It is not! For proof, please read our free booklet, “Is God a Trinity?”)

With the POWER of God’s Holy Spirit, we CAN keep the Law of the Ten Commandments, which God gave to the ancient Israelites under Moses, according to tradition, on the Day of Pentecost. And so, God gave spiritual Israel—His Church—the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to enable them to KEEP His Law.

Power to Obey

We would like to quote from pages 74 and 75 of our free booklet, “Teach Us To Pray,” in order to briefly describe God’s power that He bestows on His disciples through the gift of His Holy Spirit:

We read in Isaiah 40:29 that God “gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.” He gives strength and power to His people (Psalm 68:35). For converted Christians, the gift of God’s power reaches an additional important dimension: God shares His very power already today with His begotten sons and daughters through the Holy Spirit dwelling within them:

Micah exclaimed in Micah 3:8: “I am full of power BY the Spirit of the LORD.” Christ promised His disciples that they would be “endued with power from high” (Luke 24:49) and that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon” them (Acts 1:8).

Once we have received God’s Holy Spirit, the power that we might potentially enjoy is beyond all human comprehension. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

He adds in Ephesians 3:20–21: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church.”

Paul explains that God the Father lives in us through the Spirit of His mighty power, the same power mentioned before, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:19–20).

With God’s power working in our lives, “nothing will be impossible” for us (Matthew 17:20). Even though it may be impossible for ordinary and unconverted men, it will not be impossible for God’s converted people, because GOD will be with them, and we KNOW that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26; compare Luke 1:37). But, we must believe it (Mark 9:23)! We must BELIEVE that all things are possible for God (Mark 14:36) and that, therefore, all things are possible for us, since God lives in us.

As God created and fashioned the universe and the earth with His mighty Spirit of power, so WE will also participate in future creative acts, since God will share His power with us, when we become born-again members in the Family of God. He already does so to an extent today, but He will share ALL of His power with us, when we enter His kingdom (For more information, please read our free booklet, God Is A Family.”)

We must learn today to apply God’s power in our lives—to use that portion that God has given to us in order to overcome. God wants to see how we handle it today. He needs to be sure that He can entrust us with limitless power later without running the risk of misusing that power and turning against Him, as Lucifer and his angels once did, ultimately becoming Satan and demons (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”)

How are we to prove to God today that we will never abuse His power in the future?

By allowing His Spirit in us to motivate and enable us to keep God’s law (Ezekiel 11:19–20; Numbers 14:24). God’s Spirit in us enables us to obey the truth, as Peter explains: “…you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit…” (1 Peter 1:22).

We must never underestimate or forget the fact that Jesus Christ is leading, guiding and motivating His people through His Holy Spirit within them. This is true individually, as well as collectively in regard to His Church, the “Body of Christ.”

How the Holy Spirit Guided the Early NT Church

As we already mentioned, it was on the Day of Pentecost that God poured out His Holy Spirit on His called out and chosen people. How did the Holy Spirit affect the early Christians? Since God is not a respecter of persons, we should realize, then, in what way the Holy Spirit dwelling in us can affect, motivate and lead us today.

We read in Acts 1:4–5, 8, that Christ gave instructions to the apostles to stay in Jerusalem. Christ told them that they would receive the same Spirit that He had—the Spirit that had been promised by the Father.

Once they had been baptized with the Holy Spirit, they would have the POWER to be Christ’s witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem, but ultimately encompassing the entire earth (Luke 24:46–49).  Jesus clearly enlarged the territory that He had originally given to the apostles in Matthew 10:5–6, when He instructed them earlier: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

They were to be baptized through the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ—the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13). They were to become part of an organism that was to do a job—to be witnesses of Christ, preaching the good news to all nations.

The word for “witness” is the same as the word for “martyr.” If we want to work for Christ, we must be willing and ready even to die for Him, if need be.

The Replacement of Judas

Judas, one of the twelve apostles, had betrayed Christ and then committed suicide, so he needed to be replaced. Although Judas had been an apostle, and although he had received the power from Jesus to preach the gospel, to baptize people, to heal the sick and to cast out demons, he had still fallen away. The remaining eleven apostles cast lots between two candidates who had been with them from the beginning, to determine who should replace Judas. The apostles were reminded that the betrayal through Judas, and his replacement through another, had been prophesied by God through His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:16).

This is the last time we read in Scripture that lots were cast to determine God’s Will. Here, they did so, as they did not yet have the Holy Spirit, which would be guiding them and leading them into the truth. It appears that, left to themselves, they might have chosen the wrong candidate, as Joseph is named first in Acts 1:23. God, though, chose the other candidate, Matthias. Subsequent to that, the Holy Spirit—not lots—would inspire God’s ministers to see who should be ordained. For instance, we read in Acts 13:1–3, how God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, chose Barnabas and Saul for a special responsibility in His Work.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

In Acts 2, we are introduced to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, on the Day of Pentecost, on the Church of God (Acts 2:1–4). This happened on June 17, 31 AD, exactly 50 days from the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread when the wave sheaf was waived and when Christ ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit is symbolized here by a mighty WIND. In John 20:22, Christ had told the disciples, when He breathed on them, that they would receive the Holy Spirit very soon—comparing the Spirit with air.

Speaking in Tongues

When the Holy Spirit was given, the disciples spoke with other tongues, or languages, as the SPIRIT inspired them to do (Acts 2: 4), and the people heard and UNDERSTOOD them each in their own language (verses 6–8). This speaking and hearing of foreign languages was a miracle.

God performed such a unique miracle on that occasion to prove to everyone there that He had indeed poured out His Holy Spirit on the Church in Jerusalem. Only two similar incidents of “speaking in tongues” are reported, which occurred subsequently, namely in Acts 10:44–46, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on GENTILES—Cornelius and his family—and in Acts 19:1–6, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on those who had only been baptized into John the Baptist, but not into the name of Jesus Christ. In these cases, God wanted to make it very obvious that the individuals received the Holy Spirit at that time.

Peter’s Sermon

In Acts 2, Peter explained that the giving of the Holy Spirit had been prophesied in the Old Testament, and that the miracle that had just occurred was the forerunner of mightier miracles which would still occur in the future (Acts 2:14–21).

This prophecy of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in most powerful ways on many more disciples is still to be fulfilled, in its fullness, in the future. But Peter explained here that the process had started. The giving of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in 31 AD to the Church had begun to set in motion developments necessary to bring about the end-time fulfillment of that prophecy.

Peter also told his stunned audience that it was they who had crucified Christ, their future Lord and King (Acts 2:36). When they heard this, they were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37), and when they asked what to do, he said in Acts 2:38–39 that everyone was to repent and be baptized in order to receive forgiveness of sins and the GIFT of the Holy Spirit.

God needs to call us, individually, to salvation; however, not everyone is being called at this time. But once we are called and respond to the call, we can be saved when we REPENT and BELIEVE in Christ’s sacrifice. Our faith is manifested by outward baptism, and then, we WILL receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, just as the early disciples did in 31 AD.

We read in verse 47: “…And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” It is still God who does it all. He calls, and when people respond to the call, HE adds them to His Church.

And so, God did not cease to back up the activities of His disciples with mighty miracles. In Acts 3:1–12, we read about a powerful healing through Peter and John.

This healing was done, NOT by the power of man, BUT by the POWER of the Holy Spirit. It was CHRIST, through the power of the Holy Spirit, who healed the man, as Peter explains in verse 16 (compare Zechariah 4:6; Luke 5:17; Luke 6:19; Luke 8:43–46).

Persecution Starts

In due time, after the apostles had begun to preach God’s Word powerfully, they encountered resistance and persecution from the religious establishment (Acts 4:1–10).

Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when he gave his defense. Christ had promised him and all of His disciples ahead of time that they would be motivated and inspired by the Holy Spirit to say the right things when dragged before the courts of this world (compare Matthew 10:19–20, 23).

After the apostles were beaten and then released from prison, they went to the Church to report to them what had happened. Rather than being discouraged, all the disciples prayed to God for more strength and wisdom to preach the word, and God responded very powerfully (Acts 4:29–31, 33)!

Unfocused “Brethren”

But not everyone attending with the brethren was really converted. Some had come for wrong or ulterior motives. They wanted to be part of the Church that had become noticeable and powerful, but their heart was not right. They thought, perhaps, that it was the great work of a man, not realizing that it was GOD who was behind it.

We find a frightening record of Ananias and Sapphira in
Acts 5:1–3. They lied to the disciples, falsely pretending to be generous donors; but they had not lied merely to men—they had lied to God the Father and Jesus Christ who were present through the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:9)! As a consequence, God let them die right then and there. Although men can deceive other men, they cannot deceive God. We can learn from this episode that God will manifest the secrets of the heart and the real motives—now, or later.

As time went on, additional persecution resulted from the Church’s activities. The apostles were arrested, but then supernaturally freed by an angel. Rather than fleeing, they went right back into the temple to preach—an act that resulted in their arrest again (Acts 5:26–32). It was the Holy Spirit of power and boldness that inspired them to preach and testify for God and to answer their accusers. But, the Holy Spirit is only granted to those who respond to God’s call and who show a willingness to obey His Word. Peter was telling his accusers, in effect, You don’t have the Holy Spirit, and you won’t receive the Holy Spirit, unless you repent and begin to obey God (compare verses 30–32).

Now, problems arose within the Church, causing the apostles to realize that they had to ordain some of the members as deacons to take care of physical matters so that the ministry could continue to pray, preach and teach the Word (Acts 6:1–7). The candidates had to be full of the Holy Spirit. Once the internal problem within the Church had been taken care of, the Word of God spread again, and the number of the disciples increased greatly.

The Deeds of Stephen

Stephen, one of the original seven deacons, did great miracles as the Holy Spirit within him empowered him (Acts 6:8). Stephen’s actions brought persecution upon him, but his accusers could not resist his wisdom as the Holy Spirit inspired him (Acts 6:10).

Nevertheless, they dragged him before the Jewish court and he gave testimony to them. He ended his defense with a challenging and bold claim against his accusers and judges, (Acts 7:51–54). And, through the revelation of God’s Spirit, he was even granted, just prior to his murder, to see—in a vision—heaven opened (Acts 7:55–58).

The Deeds of Philip

Following Stephen’s death, Saul began to persecute the Church. This caused a great scattering of the disciples, so that they went everywhere preaching the Word. Philip, another one of the original seven deacons, went to Samaria to preach there (Acts 8:5), but since he was not yet an ordained minister, he could not lay hands on baptized persons, which meant that they did not receive the Holy Spirit at that time. It was necessary for the apostles to lay hands on the baptized individuals. And so, we are told in Acts 8:14–16, that the laying on of hands by the ministry is necessary, after baptism, to bestow on a person the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Subsequently, Philip was inspired by God’s Spirit to meet the Ethiopian eunuch who had gone to Jerusalem to worship and was returning. God’s Spirit motivated Philip to teach the man so that he could be baptized (Acts 8:29). Presumably, Philip had become an ordained minister by that time.

Following that, the Spirit of God actually transported Philip to another place on this earth (Acts 8:39–40; compare for similar events, Ezekiel 3:12, 14–15; 2 Kings 2:16; 1 Kings 18:12. See also Matthew 4:5–6).

The Conversion of Saul

In the meantime, Saul continued to persecute the Church, until, on his way to Damascus, Christ appeared to him in a vision. Christ showed him where he was wrong, and blinded him. The disciple Ananias, living in Damascus, had a vision in which Christ ordered him to heal Saul (Acts 9:17–18). Saul who would now be called Paul, was baptized and was filled with God’s Spirit. Rather than persecuting the Church, he began, in due time, to preach God’s way of life.

The Church increased in numbers as the Church members were “walking in the fear of the LORD and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:31). When we are discouraged, God’s Spirit gives us comfort and encouragement. Rather than giving up, we are motivated to go on, to persevere. We read in John 14:16–17 that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, which will abide in us forever, if we allow it. Romans 15:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit of power gives us hope, joy, peace and faith. Once we know that we have God’s power residing in us, we can have hope, joy, peace and faith.

Now the time had come when God would bring Gentiles into His Church. He gave Peter a vision to let him know that every person who is called by God should be given access to the community of believers (Acts 10:17–23, 28, 34–38).

The Conversion of Cornelius

We read in Acts 10:44–48 that, even though Cornelius and his household had already received the Holy Spirit, Peter still commanded baptism as an outward sign that they HAD accepted God’s decision to bring Gentiles into the Church. Normally, one does not receive the Holy Spirit without having been baptized first. God made a unique exception here, to make absolutely clear, not just to Peter, but also to all of the disciples, that He had called GENTILES into the body of Christ (compare Acts 11:15–18).

Later, in Acts 15:8–9, Peter recounted this experience, stating that “God who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”

Returning to Acts 10:38, Peter had also pointed out that Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. Christ had the Holy Spirit—without measure—from His conception (John 3:34; Authorized Version). But at the time of His baptism, Christ received additional power from God to do mighty miracles. He could only do that through the Spirit of power emanating from God the Father. We read in Acts 10:38 that through the “power” of God’s Spirit, God the Father “was with Him” to go “about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”

Barnabas

In Acts 11:22, we are introduced again to Barnabas, who was already mentioned in Acts 4:36 and Acts 9:27. His name means “son of encouragement.” He was a Levite, one of those who sold his possessions to give them to the apostles (Acts 4:36–37). He was also the one who brought Paul to the apostles after Paul’s conversion, when everybody else was afraid of him (Acts 9:26–27). Barnabas was a good man (Acts 11: 24) because he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.

Barnabas and Saul

We read in Acts 11:29–30 that Barnabas and Saul were chosen by the elders to bring physical relief to the brethren in Jerusalem who were faced with a prophesied famine. They knew that such relief was needed because the Holy Spirit inspired certain prophets to foresee the future and proclaim what would happen soon (Acts 11:27–28).

Later, Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem to Antioch, where they were ordained, apparently, as apostles (Acts 13:1–3). They were subsequently referred to as apostles—they were not called that before (Acts 14:4, 14).

Note that Acts 13:1 says that Paul, or Saul, and Barnabas were “prophets and teachers.” In 2 Timothy 1:11, Paul refers to himself as “a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.” It was by the direction of the Holy Spirit that they were separated—set apart—for a certain work. No man did it on his own. The men were following God’s lead through the Holy Spirit when they ordained Paul and Barnabas as apostles.

Even when Paul and Barnabas were sent out for their task, this was done by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:4).

During their missionary journeys, they would encounter all kinds of strange people. At one time, they met a sorcerer who withstood them and tried to persuade others not to follow them. But Paul commanded him boldly to cease from his evil conduct. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and he KNEW that God would back him up (Acts 13:8–11).

Due to the BOLD preaching of Paul and Barnabas, the Church membership grew (Acts 13:46–52).

Early Doctrinal Controversy

In Acts 14, we read about a spectacular miracle performed at the hands of Paul and Barnabas. It was through the power of God’s Holy Spirit that they were able to do such a mighty work. After Paul and Barnabas had healed a cripple in the city of Lystra, the Gentiles of the city regarded them as Greek gods, calling Barnabas Zeus, the king of the gods, and Paul Hermes, the godly messenger. Paul and Barnabas were appalled by this, of course, telling the Gentiles that they were just ordinary men just like them—not pagan gods.

Following this episode, another controversy arose in the Church—this time over the question of circumcision. The issue was simply this: Must Gentiles become physically circumcised before they could become baptized, receive the Holy Spirit and be allowed to enter the community of believers? This question was brought before the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, as reported in Acts 15. After MUCH disputing, Peter spoke, followed by Barnabas and Paul, and finally by James, who declared the final judgment, stating that Gentiles need not be circumcised. But, notice how the apostles arrived at this judgment—it was not the arbitrary decision of just one man, but rather it had been clearly revealed to every one present, by the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:22–29).

God Directs His Work Through His Spirit

Acts 16:6–10 informs us that Paul wanted to travel through certain areas, but God did not permit him. We see how God, through His Holy Spirit, was carefully directing where Paul was to go to preach the gospel. Why and how was Paul prevented at that time from going to some of those areas, including Ephesus and all of the recipients of the seven letters in the book of Revelation? The Bible simply does not say, but it is clear that God, through His Spirit, determined at that time, and still determines today, the timing as to when the gospel is to reach which areas.

God, through His Spirit, compels us today to preach His Word, even though the recipients of the message may NOT listen. Acts 18:1, 4–6 reports how Paul preached to the people at Corinth, although most did not heed his preaching.

Later, God did allow Paul to go to Ephesus, where he found disciples there who had been baptized by John the Baptist but had not received the Holy Spirit. Paul baptized them in, or into, the name of Jesus Christ so that they could receive the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God the Father (Acts 19:1–6; compare Philippians 2:9–11).

Paul Being Forewarned

Subsequently, the Holy Spirit forewarned Paul repeatedly that he would become a prisoner (Acts 20:22–23; 21:4, 8–14), but Paul was determined to finish his race, even if that meant imprisonment and death (Acts 20:24–28).

Later, Christ appeared to Paul, perhaps in a dream or in a vision, to let him know that He approved of his conduct (Acts 23:11). So, the Holy Spirit was not trying to influence Paul not to go—rather, it was a test for Paul, whether he was willing to go all the way in the face of persecution and imprisonment, or to give up.

It is God, through His Holy Spirit, who ordains ministers and places them in various responsibilities or offices in the Church of God. But Paul pointed out, prior to his travel to Jerusalem, that some false ministers and members would rise up to deceive (Acts 20:29–30). God had NOT ordained them nor placed them in His Church. But God allowed them to come into the Church to test the true believers. This is still true today, as it was then (Compare Jude 3–4, 12, 19; 2 Peter 2:1–3; 1 Timothy 4:1–2, 6; 2 Timothy 2:15–17, 20–21).

What Just One Man Can Do!

Acts 21:27–28; 24:5; and 28:23–31 include a powerful testimony of what just ONE MAN—the Apostle Paul—was able to do, as he followed the lead of God’s Holy Spirit. Even in prison, Paul did not cease to do what God had called him to do. But note how Paul reminds the Gentiles of how the Holy Spirit had inspired Isaiah to preach to their fathers, and that what Paul was doing then was in fulfillment of that prophecy (Acts 28:25). God’s Work and God’s Church are NOT the work of human beings! God’s Work is done through the power and inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit (compare Philippians 3:3; 1 Peter 1:12). We are God’s instruments, as long as we are yielding to God.

God Works in Us Through His Spirit

We can be filled with the Spirit, just as many others before us have been (Titus 3:4–6). We are admonished to use God’s Spirit, and not to quench or extinguish it (1 Thessalonians 5:19). We are not to grieve God’s Spirit in us, either (Ephesians 4:30). Rather, if we follow the lead of God’s Spirit, we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. We will be able to follow others, as they follow Christ, and we will also be able to see that we must not follow others, if, and to the extent that, they don’t follow Christ. We will be able to distinguish truth from error (1 John 2:26–27; 4:6).

We must allow God’s Holy Spirit in us to lead us in living our lives, and we must GROW in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We must not be afraid to USE the power of God, which dwells in us through His Holy Spirit. We must have courage and boldness and faith and peace and joy and hope and confidence and comfort and perseverance because we KNOW that God, who lives in us through His Spirit, is mightier and greater than anyone and anything else—and we also know that nothing is impossible for the GREAT GOD whom we serve! (Matthew 19:26).

When we follow the lead of God’s Spirit, having the faith that God WILL do what He has promised, then nothing will be impossible for us (Matthew 17:20)—always, of course, subject to God’s Will. But, when things that are normally impossible with men become possible for us because God is with us (Luke 18:27), then we must not neglect to give God the glory, knowing that all power and all glory belong to Him—forever.

A New Creation

One of the greatest achievements that the Holy Spirit can possibly accomplish in man is to help man to become a new creation. When Jesus Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, we are becoming a new creation.

In the Living Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:15, 17 reads: “He died for all so that all who live—having received eternal life from him—might live no longer for themselves, to please themselves, but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them…When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!”

Galatians 6:15 reads, also in the Living Bible: “It doesn’t make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not; what counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.” Compare 1 Corinthians 7:19.

We are to become a “new creation,” which is also called “the new man.” Why new? What is supposed to be “new” about us, after we become converted Christians?

In order to become a new creation, our old being has to die. The Authorized Version calls what has to die “the old man.”

Before discussing what we are to become, let us first notice what we must leave behind.

Our Old Man Must Die

Romans 6:1–4, 6 points out that we, that is, our old man, has been crucified with Christ—and that he died in baptism. In Galatians 2:20, Paul makes the same claim: “I have been [that is, his old man has been] crucified with Christ; it is no longer I [the old man] who live, but Christ lives in me [that is, Christ lives in him His life of a new man or new creation].”

Galatians 5:24 adds that “…those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Those passions and desires of the flesh include our eyes, our hands, our feet—that is, if they are being used for fleshly desires. Christ tells us to symbolically “cut off” our hands or feet, or to “pluck out” our eyes, if they tempt us to sin—that is, we are to stop using our fleshly members for the purpose of sinning (Mark 9:43–48).

It is sometimes difficult to “cut off” or “pluck out” our eyes, our feet, our hands; that is, not to allow them to engage in sinful conduct. It’s like going through fire—very painful. But we are called to be living sacrifices, and as Christ says, EVERY sacrifice is seasoned—enriched, made better—through fire (Mark 9:49). Romans 6:13 tells us not to “present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

We need to use our physical members—our eyes, our hands and our feet—in a right way, not in a wrong way. Our old man, living the desires of the flesh, misused his members—the eye, the hand, the foot—in sinful ways. As a new creation, we have to use our members in ways that please God. And we can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is a constant battle, because the old man that was crucified with Christ at the time of baptism, does not want to stay dead. He wants to come to life again, and again, and again,  trying to destroy the new man within us. That is why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:31: “…I die daily.” We have to put that old man to death on a daily basis.

Put off the Characteristics of the Old Man

What exactly are the characteristics of that “old man” that we must overcome, eradicate, put to death?

Paul effectively describes this old man and his deeds in Colossians 3:5–8: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry… But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”

Paul said in Galatians 6:14 that the world had been crucified to him. The world had no interest in him anymore. Why was that? Because he had put to death the wrong or worldly use of his members, and all those things that the world delights in. And when we do that, the world loses its interest and temptation for us, even though it may scoff at and ridicule us (compare 1 Peter 4:1–4).

What, exactly, do we need to put to death? 1 Peter 2:1–2 says: “Therefore, laying aside [or: putting away, or ridding yourselves of] all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”

Ephesians 4:25–31 tells us: “Therefore, putting away lying… Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer… Let no corrupt word [or, foul language] proceed out of your mouth… And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom [which] you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor [or, loud quarreling or shouting], and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”

The Works of the Flesh

If we walk in the Spirit, having crucified the flesh with its evil lusts and desires—that old man—we are not to turn around and walk in the flesh; we are not to do the works of the flesh.

Christ tells us that our eye must be “single” (Luke 11:33–36; especially verse 34 in the Authorized Version), having one goal, one focus and one direction in our lives. James says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).

Before listing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23, Paul listed, by way of contrast, the works of the flesh that we should not be doing, in verses 19–21. Let us read this list in the Living Bible:

“But when you follow your own wrong inclinations your lives will produce these evil results: impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism [that is, encouraging the activity of demons], hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in your little group—and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties, and all that sort of thing. Let me tell you again as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul says that when we continue to practice such works of darkness, then our old man is not really dead; and, perhaps, he never even died at all.

A New Life

Not only were we crucified and died in baptism, but we were also resurrected with Christ to a new life. We were resurrected to be a new creation, to live the life of the new man (compare Ephesians 2:1–7; Colossians 2:11–13). Since we have been resurrected from the baptism or burial of our old man to live a new life, we are told to concentrate on the things of God, not on the things of this world (Colossians 3:1–2).

Our new life is hidden with Christ in God, as Colossians 3:3 says. It is “hidden” in the sense that we are not yet living in glory, as Christ is. That is why the Bible also uses the phrase “inward man” for the “new man” that is being created within us (compare 2 Corinthians 4:16).

When we spiritually die in baptism, we die to the wisdom of this world (Colossians 2:8, 20). We are no longer a part of this world and its way of thinking—we are dead to this world, and this world is dead for us. Galatians 6:14 reads in the Living Bible: “…Because of that cross [of Jesus Christ] my interest in all the attractive things of the world was killed long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead.”

The Bible is clear, then, that we have to view ourselves as having died to the lusts and desires of the flesh, and as having been made alive with Christ to live a holy and godly life.

The New Man

Colossians 3:10 states, in the New Revised Standard Version:
“… and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.”

This new self—this new creation or new man—is to become like Jesus Christ, who is actually the Creator of this new creation.

The Living Bible translates Colossians 3:9–10 very powerfully, as follows: “Don’t tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you.”

Ephesians 4:23–24 reads, again in the Living Bible: “Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better. Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. Clothe yourself with this new nature.”

Who Is the New Man?

What exactly is that “new man” that has to be put on by us? How can we recognize him? How is he described in the Bible?

We have been raised together with Christ when we rise out of our watery grave at the time of our baptism. Christ is living His life in us, through the Holy Spirit, and we have to become a new creation, according to the image of Christ. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this “new man” we have to put on, is, in fact, Jesus Christ!

Galatians 3:27 tells us: “or as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Romans 13:14, 12 confirms that we have, in fact, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and with Him, His “armor of light,” with which we can fight against all obstacles; whether these be our own human nature—the “flesh,” “the old man” that does not want to die—
or whether these be the evil influences of Satan and this world around us.

Christ’s Armor of Light

We find a detailed description of Christ’s armor of light in Ephesians 6:11, 14–17: “Put on the whole armor of God [that is, put on Jesus Christ completely and fully], that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil… Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit…”

Additional aspects of Christ’s armor of light are mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:8: “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

We are told in 1 Corinthians13:13, that faith, hope and love will abide, but that love is the greatest among these three.

The Fruit of the Spirit…

With this background, we need to take note of Galatians 5:22–23 where we see a description of the fruit of the Holy Spirit—the fruit of the New Man, Jesus Christ living in us. We see that some of those characteristics are associated with the elements of Christ’s armor of light, but other characteristics are also listed: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

We read earlier in Galatians 5:24 that we who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh and its passions and desires. Galatians 5:25 continues: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

We are to live a new life “in the Spirit.” We must walk in the Holy Spirit, following its lead (compare Romans 8:14). In so doing, we manifest the fact that it is really Jesus Christ, the New Man, who is living His life in us.

Addressing the New Man that we must become, let us continue reading once again Galatians 5:22–25 in the Living Bible: “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…Those who belong to Christ have nailed their natural evil desires to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit’s power, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives…”

Love—the Bond of Perfection

Note a few more characteristics of the New Man—characteristics we must develop if we want to let the New Man, Jesus Christ, live His life continuously in us through the Holy Spirit. Colossians 3:12–14 states: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

Love is called here the bond of perfection. We are told in
1 John 4:17 that God’s love has been perfected in us, if we love one another.

Does Christ Live in Us?

Christians are instructed in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to examine themselves as to whether they are in the faith. They are to test themselves. They are to know that Jesus Christ is living in them!

All of us who were baptized and who have received God’s Holy Spirit, should ask ourselves the question: Is the New Man, Jesus Christ, really living in us? Is He guiding, directing and leading us? Do we allow Him to live our lives? Are we willing to follow His lead, regardless of where He goes (compare Revelation 14:4)? Have we sanctified Jesus Christ in our hearts (compare 1 Peter 3:15); that is, have we set aside in our hearts a dwelling place for Him? Do Christ and the Father really dwell in us? Did they make their abode or home with us (compare John 14:23)?

If we do not meet or stand the test, if Christ is not living in us, we can and should get help from God to put to death the old man, and keep him dead and buried, together with his fleshly passions and desires. God will help us, through the Holy Spirit, which He promises to those who ask for it; who really want it; and who begin to obey God (Acts 5:32), showing thereby that they are serious about it. After we have done what is required of us, God will, through the Holy Spirit, let the New Man, Jesus Christ, begin to live in us.

Paul had to encourage the brethren in Galatia to return to the truth from which they had slipped away. He said in Galatians 4:19: “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…”

Thus we have seen through many examples how utterly important and how very significant the Holy Spirit is in guiding us away from the ways of this world. God will give us His Holy Spirit once we repent of our past sins, become properly baptized and continue to change, while repenting of sins we might commit after baptism. God is there to guide us toward that end, and we need to pray to God the Father in faith through His Son, Jesus Christ, to help us. For more information on the need to become baptized in order to receive the Holy Spirit, please read our free booklet, “Baptism—A Requirement for Salvation?

Your Challenge

On the Day of Pentecost, God poured out His Holy Spirit on the New Testament Church. We reflect on that momentous event, realizing that we can only become a new creation when God dwells in us through His Holy Spirit; that is, we can only become a new creation when Jesus Christ, the New Man, lives in us.

If you were baptized and have received God’s Holy Spirit, but have begun to slip and fall, entreat God in heart-rending prayer, with fasting, and ask Him to let you return to Him. And if you have not yet been baptized as an adult person and if you have been called to the understanding of God’s truth, then you must do this: You must repent of your sins, believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as well as in His gospel message, and begin to counsel for baptism! You must be baptized in order to receive God’s Holy Spirit! Only then will Christ begin to live in you.

Once you have become a Spirit-begotten child in Christ at the time of your baptism, you will begin the process of your transformation—which will ultimately enable you to enter the Kingdom of God and to inherit the salvation of an eternal life. The Feast Day of Pentecost pictures the fact that you CAN become a Spirit-begotten child in God’s Family NOW—but only IF you respond to God’s calling and allow God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to guide and lead you by the GIFT of the Holy Spirit!

Human Suffering, Why…and How Much Longer?

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Introduction

Why is there so much suffering in the world?

Why do we all, from time to time, experience suffering, pain, and even death? Why don’t we have peace with other people or even other nations? Why does this life seem to have no purpose? We are born, then live to be 70, 80 or 90 years old, and then we die! Or, in far too many cases, lives are snuffed out prematurely and surviving loved ones grieve in despair and frustration. Husbands and wives who lose their mates don’t want to go on living. Children grieve when their parents die. Parents grieve for their children who died before them, maybe in war, in an accident, or through an incurable disease.

Again, we ask, WHY is there SO MUCH pain and suffering?

Chapter 1 – The Cause of All Suffering

The Cause of All Suffering

First, we need to understand that there is ALWAYS a cause for every effect. There are reasons for suffering. In order to be able to cope with our trials, we must first know the reasons for them!

In our search for understanding the reasons, we must first go back to the very beginning of creation, long before the first human beings were created to live on this earth.

Most people down through history have not understood that it was GOD who created EVERYTHING (compare Ephesians 3:9). Very few comprehend the fact that God created the SPIRIT world, which includes angelic beings, before He created matter. And fewer still, realize that many of the angels DECIDED to rebel against God. Those disobedient angels are known today as the evil spirits of darkness, or demons, and demons have much to do with the present suffering of mankind.

In our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” we discuss, at length, the role of Satan the devil and his demons in this present evil world. Pages 38–42 of the booklet are excerpted herein to help you understand the profound influence they have had, and continue to have on human beings.

Lucifer and Satan

The Bible reveals that God created all of the angels. They were not created as robots, but as spirit beings with the power to choose and to decide. One high-ranking angel, a cherub by the name of Lucifer, rebelled and sinned against God (Isaiah 14:12–15; Ezekiel 28:11–17). Lucifer wanted to “ascend to heaven” to dethrone God (Isaiah 14:13). He wanted to “ascend above the heights of the clouds” (Isaiah 14:14). This shows us that he was here on earth, because he wanted to ascend above the clouds of the earth to go to heaven. When he sinned, he was thrown back to this earth (Isaiah 14:12). He became Satan, which means enemy or adversary. Lucifer, or Satan, was already here on earth when Adam and Eve were created. We are told that the serpent was already here in order to deceive Eve when Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. The serpent is identified as Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9). Since Satan appeared to the first man and his wife as the deceiver, he must have lived on this earth prior to man as Lucifer—when he was not yet the deceiver—before he tried to “ascend to heaven.”

Actually, before he was sent to earth, Lucifer had been trained in heaven before the very throne of God, and he had angels under his command. We read in Ezekiel 28:14 that he was the anointed cherub who covers. Recall that the cherubs covered the throne of God when God appeared to Moses in the Tabernacle. Also, we read in Ezekiel 28:14 that Lucifer was on the holy mountain of God in heaven (compare Hebrews 12:22). When he sinned by trying to ascend from this earth to heaven to dethrone God, he was cast out of the mountain of God (Ezekiel 28:16). Christ later said that He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18).

In the Hebrew, the word translated as “Lucifer” in the Authorized Version and in many other translations, is “helel,” or “heylel,” which means “lightbringer,” “shining one,” “morning star,” or “shining star of the dawn.” The word “Lucifer” is the Latin translation of the Hebrew word “helel,” or “heylel,” conveying exactly the same meaning. It is therefore appropriate to use this word in describing the cherub who later became Satan (“sawtwan” in Hebrew).

Satan, the prince of darkness, is still ruling on this earth. Revelation 2:13 tells us expressly that Satan has a “throne” here on earth. He holds the people of this world captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). He has authority over all the kingdoms of this world (Luke 4:5–7). He is called the “ruler of this world” in John 14:30. He is even called the “god of this age” in 2 Corinthians 4:4. Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2.

Angels Became Demons

Lucifer was not the only spirit being who rebelled against God. The angels under his control accompanied him and became known as demons thereafter. A reference to that rebellion is made in Revelation 12:4, stating that one-third of the angels (referred to as “stars”) followed Satan and became demons. This indicates that the other two-thirds of the angels stayed loyal to God.

Another attempt by Satan and his demons to fight against God is described in Revelation 12:7–9. This attempt will take place just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. This event is not the same as the event described in Revelation 12:4, but it shows the pattern. In both cases, Satan and his demons are thrown back to earth.

We read in Jude6 about angels who did not keep their own domain (the earth), but left their own abode in order to go to heaven to dethrone God. They are now reserved in everlasting chains under darkness; that is, they are angels of darkness. They are still ruling this earth under Satan (compare Ephesians 6:12 where demons are called “the RULERS of the darkness of this age”). They are “chained,” or held captive, by their own spiritual perversion. We read in 2 Peter 2:4 that “…God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell [in Greek, tartarus, describing a condition, rather than a place] and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.”

Satan and his demons are VERY REAL. They are not just symbols or metaphors of some unidentifiable “force” of evil. Satan tempted Christ. Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if Christ would only fall down and worship him. Christ cast out many demons when He was here on earth. At one time, He asked a demon, “What is your name?” The demon answered, “Legion,” because Christ was dealing at that moment with many demons (Luke 8:30). As God’s holy angels have individual names, so do demons.

The Power of Satan and His Demons

We must not underestimate the power and influence of Satan and his demons. The Bible tells us that Satan “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). His biggest deception, no doubt, is to convince unsuspecting man that he does not even exist. He deceives others by pretending that he is an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Many preach as “his ministers,” transforming themselves “into ministers of righteousness” (verse 15). John later said that “many deceivers have gone out into the world” (2 John 7), and he warned us in 1 John 4:1 to “…test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Christ prophesied for the end time that “…false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24).

Satan and his demons can show great signs and wonders. It is prophesied that Satan will ultimately give his power to a religious leader who will work “signs…by which he deceived” the people (Revelation 19:20). False religious teachers, inspired by demons, might even be able to accurately foretell the future (Deuteronomy 13:1–4; Acts 16:16–19).

Satan has the power to inspire people to go to war (Job 1:9–15; Revelation 16:13–14; Revelation 20:7–10). He has the power to throw down fire to consume man and beast (In Job 1:16, people felt that God brought this fire, but the context shows that Satan was the power behind it). As the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), he can bring destruction through mighty winds.

Though many people don’t believe in the existence of Satan and demons, they are quick to dabble in the occult, being ignorant of the danger therein. Demons are called “familiar spirits” because they want to familiarize themselves with man (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27). Haunted houses, poltergeists, séances, communication with the dead, and contacts with “aliens” are all clearly of demonic origin. Satan and demons are destructive. They love to torment people (Luke 6:18). Once we have made “contact” with demons, we can’t get rid of them anymore, barring a miracle from God (Luke 11:24–26).

There are many Scriptures that prove that Satan or demons can possess animals and people, forcing them to do terrible things (Luke 22:3; John 13:27). Demon-possessed people can be extremely violent (Matthew 8:28) and self-destructive (Mark 5:2–5). They lose all sense of decency (Luke 8:27).

The Bible also shows that demons can possess or influence people to make them spiritually, psychologically, and physically sick. Even Paul was sick because “a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Through the influence of demons, people can be mute, deaf and dumb (Mark 9:17, 25), epileptic (Matthew 17:15–18), and infirm (Luke 13:11, 16). When a demon leaves such a person, it may appear as if the person has been healed from a physical sickness.

Satan and demons have the power to transport a human being from one place to another (Matthew 4:5, 8; Luke 4:5, 9). This explains strange encounters with UFOs, where “abducted” people are sometimes found hundreds of miles away from their residence, without knowing how they got there.

Sorcery, witchcraft, hypnosis, and certain meditation practices are further methods of Satan to overpower the mind of a human being and to make him or her into a helpless victim. Whenever we give ourselves “over” to another influence, we have become victims of the powers of darkness.

So then, with this fundamental understanding of the spirit world, and the fact that Satan and his demons presently RULE this earth, we can clearly see the origin of so much suffering. Man has been following Satan’s influences without realizing it. Satan has deceived the WHOLE WORLD, and he has become the god of this world, because man has chosen, unknowingly and ignorantly, to follow the devil’s way of life, thereby rejecting God’s righteous way of life.

But, how did it happen that man CHOSE to follow Satan, thereby rejecting God? The answer can be found in the first few chapters of the first book of the Bible—the book of Genesis.

Chapter 2 – The Two Trees

When God created the first human being, Adam, and his wife, Eve, He placed them in a garden—the Garden of Eden, also called Paradise. God also created two special trees in this garden—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told man that he was allowed to eat from all the trees in the garden with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This means that man could eat, and should have eaten, from the tree of life.

These two trees had special symbolic meaning. They represented two ways of life: Eating from the tree of life would have meant following God in obedience to His Word, thereby reaping the benefits of happiness, joy and peace. Eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil meant disobeying God, and listening to and following Satan instead, thereby reaping the curses of unhappiness, sadness, suffering and war!

The Tree of Life

God said that man could eat FREELY from the tree of life. If man had done that, he would have received the free gift of the Holy Spirit of God, and with it, godly understanding and wisdom as to how to live. He would have received a down payment—a guarantee—of future eternal life, and he would have been changed—in due time—to an immortal Spirit being.

God WANTED Adam and Eve to partake of the tree of life—the Holy Spirit. Today also, God wants us—those He has specifically called for His salvation—to partake of the Holy Spirit, and to teach others about it.

When man partakes of the tree of life—symbolic of the Holy Spirit—then he reaps the benefits and responsibilities already in this life, as well as the gift of future eternal life.

For instance, Proverbs 11:30 tells us that the “fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.” This means that the good example of a godly lifestyle can influence others to follow that example. Someone who teaches and lives by the concept that we must be peacemakers—not warmongers—can, and does, influence others to think in the same way and begin to change their life.

Proverbs 13:12 tells us that when we obtain something we have desired, it is a tree of life. Our ultimate desire, of course, is to be in the resurrection. In the meantime, though, if we promise something to someone, and we keep our promise, then that can be a motivation for others to follow our good example and to think about the reason WHY we do what we do. Again, our lifestyle can either make it easier, or more difficult, for people to respond to God’s calling.

Proverbs 15:4 explains that a “wholesome tongue is a tree of life.” The reason for this is that the words we choose can also be instrumental in others becoming interested in God’s way of life. When we talk about repentance, forgiveness of sins, and the coming Kingdom of God at the time of Christ’s return, some may be led to acceptance of the gospel message and, ultimately, to repentance and receipt of the Holy Spirit in this life. Of course, we must be living the way of life we talk about, or people can easily be turned away from the truth without even recognizing that it is the truth.

Proverbs 13:14 tells us that the “law of the wise is a FOUNTAIN of life.” The law of the wise is the law of God—not our own law—as the ultimate fountain of life is with God (Psalm 36:9).

The Holy Spirit is many times compared with living waters. It flows into us and should flow out of us to others. That is, the effect of the Holy Spirit within us should be recognizable by others (John 4:7–14; John 7:37–39).

God is offering His Holy Spirit to just a few today, but the time will come when He will offer it to everyone. This was His purpose from the very beginning (Revelation 22:17; 21:6; Isaiah 12:3).

When God created a physical garden here on earth, with the tree of life in it, He patterned it after a spiritual garden in heaven. Lucifer was in that spiritual garden in heaven, before he rebelled and was cast to this earth. And so we find that even though the physical tree of life is no longer growing on this earth (presumably destroyed with the physical garden of Eden in the flood), there are still a spiritual garden and a tree of life in heaven today (Revelation 2:7). This spiritual garden and tree of life WILL be brought to this earth in the future, together with the heavenly Jerusalem—a spiritual city which God is preparing for us in heaven, and which will descend to a new earth (Revelation 21:1–2; 22:1–2, 14).

But there is also a warning for all of us today who want to eat from the tree of life, symbolizing living God’s righteous way of life. Revelation 22:18–19 only allows us to do so if we believe in God and His Word, and if we obey God.

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Adam and Eve did not eat from the tree of life, but they did eat, instead, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God CREATED that tree, too, but He told man NOT to eat from it. He did not tempt man to sin, but He did test man, and by offering an opportunity to man to eat from the tree of life, He enabled man to obey Him.

However, man decided to disobey God and to obey, instead, the serpent—Satan the devil.

In not eating from the tree of life, and in eating, instead, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man made the decision to reject godly wisdom and eternal life, and to accept the wisdom of this world, which leads only to death. Man rejected God (Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13) and became the slave of Satan.

God had informed man of the consequences of his decision well in advance. Genesis 2:17 reports that God told them that they would die if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Presumably, He had also told them that they would have to live in sorrow and pain (compare Genesis 3:16–19).

But Satan, the deceitful and cunning serpent, told Eve something different. Genesis 3:4–5 explains that Satan deceived Eve by telling her that she would NOT die and that she would begin to “know good and evil.” In other words, Eve would be like God in DECIDING for herself what is good and what is evil. “DECIDING” is a better rendering here than “KNOWING,” because God had already told Adam and Eve, before He allowed Satan to approach man, what was good and what was evil.

Genesis 3:6 reports that Eve looked at the tree and concluded that it would make her wise, and so she ate from it and gave some to Adam to eat. By doing so, what man acquired was human wisdom, which is CONTRARY to the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God can only come through the other tree—the tree of life—the Holy Spirit. And so, man has used his own human reasoning ever since to create his own world and try to solve his own problems (1 Corinthians 2:1–7; 3:18–20). Unfortunately, the result has generally been only unspeakable pain, suffering, misery, and death (Romans 3:10–18).

In Genesis 3:22–24, we read that God drove man out of Paradise, since man had sinned by disobeying God and rejecting His Way of Life.

Matthew Henry writes in his Commentary: “The reason God gave why He shut man out of paradise; not only because he had put forth his hand, and taken of the tree of knowledge, which was his sin, but lest he should again put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life and flatter himself with a conceit that thereby he should live for ever [sic].”

The Commentary of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown adds: “This tree [of life] being a pledge of immortal life with which obedience should be rewarded, man lost…all claim to this tree; and therefore, that he might not eat of it or delude himself with the idea that eating of it would restore what he had forfeited, the Lord sent him forth from the garden.”

Of course, God did not allow Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life because He did not see any repentance or godly remorse in Adam and Eve for what they had done.

God did not destroy the garden and the tree of life at that time. He had angelic beings—cherubim—guard the entrance to it.

The Nelson Study Bible states: “The fact that the tree of life remained, even though guarded by angels and a sword, was a ray of hope. Is it not possible that the very fact He guarded it, but did not uproot it signify that one day its fruit may be eaten again? Indeed, one day we will see it again (Rev. 22:2). Adam and Eve were no longer welcome in God’s presence, but they had the hope that one day Paradise would be regained.”

Suffering, pain, misery, and even death entered this physical world with Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God and follow Satan instead. And since man has, in general, continued to disregard God’s injunctions, suffering continues to this day.

This brings up a hypothetical question.

What would have happened IF Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life, while also refusing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus fully obeying God?

There would have been, presumably, no weapons or war; no killing of Abel through Cain; no hunger, famine, hard labor, misery or pain; no slavery; and no vicious animals. Instead, this earth would have been a happy place—a peaceful, prosperous, free world!

BUT—due to Adam and Eve’s wrong decision, this world witnessed murder when Cain killed his brother, Abel. It witnessed polygamy (Genesis 4:19); weapons made of bronze and iron (Genesis 4:22); more violence and murder (Genesis 4:23); and finally, grievous worldwide wickedness (Genesis 6:5–6, 11–13).

Even though God shut man off, in general, from access to the tree of life, some would be called to partake of it, including righteous Abel (Hebrews 11:4), Enoch (Genesis 5:22) and Noah (Genesis 6:8–9).

Hebrew Fairy Tales?

Some people claim that the events we read about in the first chapters of the book of Genesis, are just Hebrew fairy tales. They say that these stories were invented by humans to explain the existence of man and the existence of evil, as well as pain and suffering.

Did the events, which the Bible describes, actually take place? Was there a garden? Did Adam and Eve exist? What about Cain and Abel?

Many cultures around the world have very similar accounts of the creation of man and a lost Paradise. This suggests that they all go back to real, literal events.

Halley’s Bible Handbook explains: “Ancient Babylonian inscriptions say: ‘Near Eridu was a garden, in which was a mysterious Sacred Tree, a Tree of Life, planted by the gods, whose roots were deep, while its branches reached to heaven, protected by guardian spirits, and no man enters.’… Early Babylonian inscriptions abound in references to a ‘tree of life,’ from which man was driven, by the influence of an evil spirit personified in a serpent, and to which he was prevented from returning by guardian cherubs…”

Halley summarizes other traditions, as follows: “Persian: our first parents, innocent, virtuous, and happy, lived in a Garden, where there was a Tree of Immortality, till an evil spirit in the form of a Serpent appeared… Chinese: had a tradition of a happy age, when men had an abundance of food, surrounded by peaceful animals.”

More importantly, Jesus Christ Himself confirmed in the New Testament the accuracy of the events surrounding Adam and Eve and their offspring. He spoke of the creation of Adam and Eve and the first marriage as literal events (Matthew 19:3–6). He confirmed in John 8:44 that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. He also alluded in Matthew 23:34–35 to the fact that Abel was killed by Cain. Christ quite obviously believed in and taught the literal accuracy of the events described in the first chapters of the book of Genesis.

In fact, if there was no Adam, then Jesus Christ would not have existed as a human being. According to Luke 3:23, 38, Christ, in the flesh, was a descendant of Adam—“the son of God.” 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us that all die in Adam, and that all will be made alive in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47 states that the first Adam was made from the earth and became a living being, and that the “last Adam”—Jesus Christ—became a “life-giving spirit.”

The New Testament writes continuously about the existence of Adam and Eve and the events in the Garden of Eden as historical facts:

In 1 Timothy 2:13–14, we see that Adam was created first, and that Eve was deceived. We see, in 2 Corinthians 11:3, that the serpent deceived Eve. Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel offered “a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” In 1 John 3:12, John confirms that Cain was of Satan and that he killed his brother, Abel (compare, too, Hebrews 12:24). Finally, Jude 14 explains that Enoch was “the seventh from Adam.”

There is no lie that can come out of the truth, and it is impossible for God to lie. If Christ lied, then we would have no Savior. And if the Bible teaches lies, it would be useless.

Rather, the events described in the first few chapters of the book of Genesis were very real, and they have tremendous meaning for us today! They explain WHY we experience pain and suffering today, and they also tell us how we, individually, can AVOID, to an extent, the experience of UNNECESSARY suffering. To a large degree, individual suffering results from individual wrong choices. Many times, our personal suffering may be the result of wrong choices we have made, or of wrong things we have said or done. For instance, James 3:1–12 warns us that the misuse of our tongue can create much harm for others and for ourselves.

Every time we decide to sin, we eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Every time we overcome sin, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are willing to partake of the tree of life. Adam and Eve failed in this, but we are called upon to do better, and to succeed! WE ARE COMMANDED TO CHOOSE LIFE—to eat freely and continuously from the tree of life and to reap its benefits—now, and in the future.

Chapter 3 – Who Is in Control?

In times of personal and national uncertainties, trials and sufferings; in times of setbacks and sickness; in times of death and calamity; we might ask ourselves: Who is actually in control? Who directs our lives? Does God really exist?

The simple answer is, yes, God does exist, and He is very much in control over the affairs of this world. He is also very involved in our own individual lives, even though it may not appear so at times.

Your immediate reaction might be, But how can this be? We saw in the first chapter of this booklet that this is Satan’s world, not God’s. How then can God be in control?

What About Satan and His Forces of Evil?

As we have already established, Satan is called the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4, Authorized Version). He rules from his throne, right here on the earth (Revelation 2:13). He and his demons are the current “rulers of the darkness of this world” (Ephesians 6:12, Authorized Version).

Satan has been given all authority over the kingdoms of this world (Luke 4:6–7; Matthew 4:8–9). This includes authority over continental Europe, Russia, China, India, as well as the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—the WHOLE WORLD. Satan can give this authority to whomever he wants. Christ did not dispute Satan’s claim—Christ knew that Satan was right, while Satan was trying to tempt Him.

Is there a conflict then? Is it Satan or God who has control over man?

There is no conflict. Although God has not yet taken Satan from his earthly throne, Satan can only do what God allows him to do! Satan is still subject to God’s Will.

For instance, to carry out God’s plan for mankind, God has retained the right to determine WHERE and HOW LONG the nations and their kings will rule (Genesis 15:13–16; compare Deuteronomy 32:8 with Acts 17:26).

God is in control as to WHO should rule OVER a nation (Psalm 75:4–7; Daniel 2:20–21; 4:17; 5:18–28, 30–31; John 19:10–11; Hosea 13:11).

A Time of National Suffering

We are told in Isaiah 10:5–7 that God will bring modern Assyria (Germany) and its modern king or leader “against an ungodly nation.” The ungodly nation here refers to the modern house of Israel, mainly the United States of America and Great Britain. Even though the nation professes to believe in God, God calls the entire nation ungodly. The aforementioned king of Assyria is also referred to in Scripture as the beast (For more details, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”).

Notice that it is SATAN, the “dragon,” who gives his power and authority to the beast (Revelation 13:4). But Satan can only do it because “it was granted to him…” (Revelation 13:7). Although Satan gives his power to the beast (a soon-coming United States of Europe, led by modern Assyria or Germany), it is ONLY because God allows it, for His express purpose. It is God who will see to it that modern Assyria will fight, victoriously, against the United States of America and Great Britain.

WHY is God going to allow this future war and more suffering?

God will see the absolute necessity to punish modern Israel, in the same way that He used Nebuchadnezzar in ancient times to punish ancient Judah. Habakkuk 1:5–6 confirms that the modern Chaldeans—the modern Italians and other people in central and southwestern Europe—will also be used by God to punish the “ungodly nation” of the modern “house of Israel” (For more information, as to where the modern house of Israel can be found today, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”)

Since this IS Satan’s world, God allows Satan to use very wicked rulers to govern for a while, inflicting much suffering and pain on mankind. But He encourages us to always look at the end, considering in the meantime that man’s evil ways only produce misery and pain (Proverbs 16:4; Job 21:30; 2 Peter 2:9), which is so clearly evident all around us, every day.

We must be careful not to try to step ahead of God—not to take matters into our own hands. God is in control—and we must accept that fact and patiently wait for Him to show us what to do in a given situation.

Voting in governmental elections may fall into that category. Fighting in war might be another aspect of it. Or marrying a non-Christian, because one doubts that God can, or will, provide a Christian with a suitable mate. Abraham and Sarah thought they had to do something to help God out—so they produced Ishmael through Sarah’s handmaid, rather than waiting for God to give them a son through Sarah, as God had promised.

Unless the time is ripe for a change according to God’s plan, our human efforts would be futile and meaningless, anyhow. And when the time has arrived, GOD will bring it about in accordance with His purpose. He does not need your little check mark on a ballot for a political candidate.

In addition, notice that God said in Hosea 8:4 that the people of Israel “set up kings, but not by Me.” Israel decided whom they wanted to have as a king, without considering God’s Will in the matter. This was also true, in a general way, when ancient Israel asked Samuel for a king. God never wanted Israel to have kings, but they insisted on being like all of the other nations around them. Back then, God did choose and appoint Saul as their first king, followed by David.

However, Hosea 8:4 addresses primarily the end time and the modern house of Israel. God says that He does not appoint their kings and princes—that they appoint those themselves, but do not ask God for His input and direction. So God turns His back on them and does not acknowledge the outcome of some of their governmental elections. This means that not everyone who comes to power these days has been directly appointed by God. But, God allowed it to happen, of course.

Chapter 4 – Time and Chance?

Generally speaking, and barring situations where God intervenes in the human affairs of this world to bring about certain aspects of His overall plan for mankind, it IS true that this world is cut off from God, due to the first sin by Adam and Eve. When man decided to disobey God, God decided to cut off man’s access to Him and His Way of Life (with some notable exceptions, as we mentioned already).

Even though God is in ultimate control, He is allowing Satan to rule this world, until the chosen successor—Jesus Christ—returns to establish God’s Kingdom here on the earth. Jesus Christ has ALREADY qualified to replace Satan, by overcoming him, but He will not take over rulership until He comes a second time to this earth.

In the meantime, man is pretty much on his own. Man lives a wrong way of life and suffers the consequences. Man, having rejected God and His authority over him, follows Satan and his evil devices, as well as the desires of his own heart. He is not subject to God’s law and His Way of Life, and without God’s Spirit dwelling within him, he cannot be submissive to God (Romans 8:7).

Victims of Time and Chance?

And so, man might very well be a victim of time and chance. He might die in an accident, or he might be killed in war. He might suffer terrible trials, only because he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this does not mean that God was unaware of what was happening. God takes note of everything, and when Adam and Eve sinned against Him in the Garden of Eden, He determined that He would allot man about 6,000 years to rule himself—to develop his own governments, institutions, ideologies, civilizations, and religions. God Himself chose to not be directly involved, except on specific occasions (as discussed before) when God needed to intervene in order to ensure that His preordained plan would be accomplished.

God made the decision NOT to intervene, in general, in the affairs of this world, in order to teach man the lesson that, without God, man is incapable of ever living happily or peaceably.

But, does this apply to true Christians as well? Do Christians suffer and die BECAUSE OF time and chance?

Nowhere is this concept taught in Scripture! Actually, the Biblical proof that true Christians do NOT suffer or die because of time and chance is overwhelming.

Those who claim and teach this erroneous concept quote as proof a passage in Ecclesiastes 9:11, which states: “I returned and saw under the sun that—The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.”

“Chance” is commonly understood as the probability that anything could happen to us. As we will see, using this definition, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to say that the Bible teaches that just about “anything” could happen to true Christians.

According to the Jewish Tanakh Bible, the last phrase in Ecclesiastes 9:11 is a euphemism, simply pointing out that all will die. But the question still remains, HOW will they die?

True Christians Not Subject to Time and Chance

Note what Solomon said: “Time and chance happen to THEM all.” He did NOT say—“to all men,” or “to all of us.” In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was mainly addressing and writing about people in this world—people who only live and work for material possessions (Ecclesiastes 5:13–17), or people who do not understand God’s plan (Ecclesiastes 8:17). When he addressed true Christians, however, he referred to them as “you” (compare Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever YOUR hand finds to do, do it with YOUR might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where YOU are going.”).

The Hebrew word for “chance,” in Ecclesiastes 9:11, is “pega.” It is only used one additional time in the entire Old Testament, namely in 1 Kings 5:4. There, Solomon (the author of the book of Ecclesiastes) said: “But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence (in Hebrew, “pega”).”

Again, we see that Solomon is making a distinction between the people living in this world, being cut off from God, and those whom God has called to His Way of Life, including himself. Solomon said that “evil occurrence” or “chance” did not govern his own life, because God was involved in his life and had given him rest. Christ made the same distinction, in Luke 13:1–5:

“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but UNLESS YOU repent, YOU will ALL LIKEWISE perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but UNLESS YOU repent, YOU will all LIKEWISE perish.’”

Christ’s teaching is unmistakable: If we don’t repent, we might very well die as those did, on whom the tower of Siloam fell; that is, through an accident, apart from, or being cut off from God, by time and chance. If we repent, however, according to Christ, we will NOT likewise perish or die in that way. Rather, even if we were to die in an “accident,” God would have specifically—not just “generally”—DECIDED not to intervene and to LET US die. God is always in control over our lives. Nothing happens to us, which God is not aware of and which God does not “approve of” (compare Job 1:21–22; 2:10).

True Christians are NOT in the “hand” of time and chance. Rather, Solomon tells US: “… the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 9:1). David understood, too, that he was in God’s hands. He wrote, in Psalm 31:15: “My times are in Your hand.” He knew that he was always, constantly, and completely under God’s observation, His protection, and in His loving care (compare, Psalm 4:7–8; 9:9–10; 17:8; 23:1–6; 33:18–19; 34: 7, 15, 19–20, etc. etc.), as are all true Christians today. God promises that nothing will happen to us that is too difficult for us to bear (compare 1 Corinthians 10:13). This means, then, that God must be watching us every second to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise.

This also means that He is present with us when we go through suffering, including sickness. For instance, God has promised us healing from sickness. But sometimes, God does not seem to heal us at all, or at least, not right away. Why? Is this because we ARE subject to “time and chance?” Absolutely NOT! For more information, please read our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing in the Bible.”

The concept that we might be “overtaken” by a trial because God was not aware of it, or because it happened “so quickly” that He could not have prevented it, is ludicrous! Isaiah 40:27–31 and Isaiah 43:2 prove the opposite. Psalm 56:8; 139:1–6 and Matthew 6:8 show, too, how MUCH God is aware of everything pertaining to us. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God. The only way that EVERYTHING can work for our good is that GOD will work it out for our good—and not “time and chance.”

The very idea that a true Christian could die or become terribly sick because of time and chance, limits God and weakens our faith. It is a patently unbiblical concept. When a Christian dies, it is because GOD has DECIDED that it was time for His son or daughter to die. Notice God’s involvement, when it comes to the death of a true Christian, as clearly revealed in Scripture. There is simply NO ROOM for “time and chance”:

Isaiah 57:1–2 states: “The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace; They shall rest in their beds, Each one walking in his uprightness.”

Psalm 116:15 teaches: “Precious in the SIGHT OF the LORD Is the death of His saints.” (Compare, too, Psalm 72:14). So, God’s people just don’t die without the knowledge of God. Rather, they die in God’s SIGHT!

Revelation 14:13 points out: “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’”

Let us hear, then, the conclusion of the matter, as expressed by Paul in Romans 14:8. Did Paul teach that we are hopeless and helpless victims of time and chance? Quite the opposite is true: “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, WE ARE THE LORD’S.”

To reiterate; this world, generally speaking, is cut off from God and His direct intervention. It is ruled by Satan; actually, it is held captive by Satan to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). It is an evil world (Galatians 1:4, Authorized Version). God has given man 6,000 years to rule himself, under Satan’s invisible spiritual influence—and the end result of that human rule, under Satan’s influence, is misery, pain, heartache, headache, war and despair (compare as an example of human misrule, 1 Samuel 8:9–20).

Reap What You Sow

Since man wants to go his own way, God does not force man to accept Him and His protection. And so, in addition to events, which might happen because of “time and chance”—as God has left unrepentant man pretty much to himself and his own devices—man reaps what he sows. Since man lives in sin, following the lusts of his flesh, man reaps from his flesh, only destruction, suffering and pain (Galatians 6:7–8). Man is a free moral agent with the ability to choose—good as well as evil (Deuteronomy 30:19–20; Jeremiah 21:8; Acts 14:15–16).

When it comes to the people of this world who are cut off from the true knowledge of God and the right Way of Life, it is they who, perhaps unknowingly, create problems for themselves. As we read in Job 5:6–7, New Jerusalem Bible: “No, misery does not grow out of the soil, nor sorrow spring from the ground. It is people who breed trouble for themselves as surely as eagles fly to the height.”

God has called and chosen a few out of this world to live a life pleasing to Him. We once belonged to this world, but no longer. We are now in a different category. We are citizens of a better world, a heavenly kingdom. We are the begotten children of God. God is our Father, caring for and looking after us. He wants us to be in His Kingdom—to attain the first resurrection, which is a better resurrection. God is there when we face trials. He is not going to let time and chance rule over us.

What is our reaction when we find ourselves in trouble? Do we reason: It is because of time and chance? Or, do we say: Why did God let this happen? What is it that GOD wants me to learn from it?

What exactly is Solomon saying in Ecclesiastes 9:10–11?

Simply this: In Ecclesiastes 9:10 he encourages us to do with our might what we ought to do. In other words, to be very careful how we live our lives as Christians. Give all glory to God, he says, and don’t lean on your own understanding or strength. Because, he says in verse 11, when you fail, you’ll be right back in the world, which you once belonged to, and in the world, you WILL be subject to time and chance. Your own human abilities won’t necessarily help you in the world. Understand that without God’s help, we are pretty much lost, having become victims of time and chance. Solomon says, you may even die in a terrible accident or because of a terrible sickness.

But, as long as we are in God’s loving hands, we are not victims of time and chance. And when we die, it is NOT because of time and chance. Rather, when a Christian dies, it is because GOD has decided that it was time for him or her to die, as he or she has qualified for God’s Kingdom (Numbers 23:10; Isaiah 57:1–2; Romans 14:8; Revelation 14:13).

Individual Suffering

We have already seen, and will discuss this aspect in much more detail later on, that Satan’s goal is to destroy true Christians. He is willing to inflict enough physical and spiritual suffering on us, so as to make us forsake God. Such suffering, then, is not the result of “time and chance,” but is brought upon us because of Satan’s activities. So then we see that, even when it comes to individual suffering that Satan might inflict on us, Satan can only do what God allows him to.

Let us conclude this chapter with the following excerpts from our booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” pages 49–50, discussing the suffering of righteous Job:

Satan and Job

… Satan appeared before God, telling Him that he had been “going to and fro on the earth,” and that he had been “walking back and forth on it” (Job 1:7). Recall that God’s angels go to and fro on the earth, to serve and to strengthen God’s people. Satan and his demons walk back and forth on the earth, too, but their goal is to destroy God’s people (compare 1 Peter 5:8). Still, Satan can only do what God permits him to do. Satan told God that Job served God for ulterior motives. God allowed Satan to take away from Job all of his children and material possessions, but he was not permitted—at first—to “lay a hand on his person” (Job 1:8–12). We see that God set the limits of Satan’s actions. Satan the destroyer went out to destroy everything that Job had. Job’s reaction to this calamity is recorded in Job 1:21: “… The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.” Job attributed his calamity to God, and he was not wrong in doing so, as the next verse tells us, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (Job 1:22).

Although Satan brought this disaster on Job, he did it with God’s express permission. It was not wrong for Job to say that God was ultimately responsible.

In Job 2:1–7, we are told that Satan obtained permission from God to bring terrible sickness upon Job, but he was not allowed to kill him. Again, we see that Satan must act within the limits given to him by God. Again, we are told that Job accepted this adversity from God, and that he did not sin in saying that it was God who had brought calamity upon Job (Job 2:10).

So then, why did God allow Satan to deal in this way with Job? Why didn’t God intervene and stop Satan? Why does God still allow Satan today to rule this world and continue to try to destroy God’s people?

According to James 5:11, God allowed this calamity to come upon Job for a reason—God wanted to show Job how merciful and compassionate He is. Job needed to see a very serious problem that he had, which, if he did not overcome, would have prevented him from entering the Kingdom of God. This problem was Job’s self-righteousness (compare, Job 32:1–2; 27:6; 40:8). Once God opened Job’s eyes to see himself, he confessed his guilt and repented (Job 42:1–6).

Job had to learn—and he did—that every human being sins (compare Romans 3:10; 1 Kings 8:46; 1 John 1:8–10; Ecclesiastes 7:15–20; 3:17–18). This included Job. In comparison with God, he was nothing, although he might have been “blameless” in comparison with other people. This does not mean that Job never sinned. In fact, pride and self-righteousness are sins.

God allowed Satan to plague Job so that Job could see his own self-righteousness and his pride, so that he could overcome these sins and ultimately enter God’s Kingdom. This shows God’s great mercy and compassion for Job.

Chapter 5 – Products of a Selfish Society

If we are true Christians, God has called us to come out of this world—out of a society, no matter in what country we might be living, which is ruled and influenced by Satan the devil. God wants us to be different, but this requires time. It is a PROCESS. We all grew up in this world, and we ALL have embraced the same selfish way of thinking that most people do—a desire to please ourselves. This selfish way of life backfires on us, producing pain and suffering—not only for ourselves, but also for others—instead of happiness and peace.

Have you ever questioned HOW MUCH you have been influenced by Satan the devil, the god and ruler of this earth? Most people ignore Satan, rejecting the very thought that he exists or that he could in any way influence them. But even those who are aware of his existence and his evil devices, oftentimes will grossly underestimate him; in part, because they don’t realize just how much Satan has influenced them throughout their entire lives!

Satan’s Societies Built on Selfishness

When Satan rebelled against God, he believed he did not have to be obedient to God. He thought that he did not need God and that he could live without Him. And he didn’t waste any time influencing Adam and Eve, and ultimately all of mankind, to think the same way. He told Eve, in effect: “There is no need to obey God. In fact, don’t even believe God. God lied to you.” Eve bought what Satan was selling—a LIE. And man has bought the same lie ever since. Unfortunately, this led only to misery and pain, and war and bloodshed.

The human societies that were built following Adam and Eve’s sin, were all built on this same lie—the concept that man does not need God to tell him how to live. Man has thus created selfish, nationalistic, egotistical societies, believing in selfish ambitions and war as a means of gain. And so, man has brought on himself the wars and the terrible atrocities with incalculable human suffering as a consequence. After all, James 4:1–2 says that human wars are the consequence of selfish lusts, covetousness and desires for pleasure.

When Christ came as a human being to this earth, He brought with Him God’s solutions to man’s problems. But man did not accept Him or His message of hope at all. Man was motivated by his own selfish pursuits and did not want to give them up (John 11:46–48). At the beginning, many followed Christ, but only to an extent (John 6:60–66). Most of the people who followed Him, did so because He gave them food to eat; that is, He gratified their physical desires (John 6:26).

Even those of His disciples who continued to stay with Him did not fully realize their own selfishness and how big their egos were. When Christ was about to be crucified, and when He told them that all would forsake Him, they worried about who would be the greatest among them (Luke 22:14–24).

For instance, Peter, prior to his conversion, did not realize his own degree of selfishness. He thought that he would be able to die with Christ or to go to prison with Him. But when the hour of testing came, he failed miserably. Christ knew, of course, that this would happen, because He knew Peter, and He knew how Peter would act when being tempted by Satan (Luke 22:31–34).

Even after the resurrected Christ revealed Himself to Peter and some of the other disciples, Peter still showed signs of selfishness (John 21:15–22). When he was told that he would die for Christ, he asked Christ whether John would die, too. In other words, if Peter had to die, would this other disciple also have to die?

Even much later in his life, after God’s Holy Spirit had been dwelling within Peter for quite some time, Peter was still struggling with overcoming the wrong influences of a society that had instilled a pattern of selfishness in him, from childhood (Galatians 2:11–21). God saw to it that this pattern of behavior would eventually be exposed so that it could be corrected. While in Antioch, Peter was afraid of offending the Jewish disciples who had come there from James, so Peter refused to eat with non-Jewish disciples. He was more concerned about his reputation with the Jews than he was with showing love and respect for the converted Gentiles from Antioch. And so, God used Paul to rebuke Peter openly, in front of others, because his hypocrisy had a negative impact on others.

God was fully aware of this problem, and saw to it that Peter had ample opportunities to correct his behavior. That is why God required Peter to baptize the first Gentile convert, Cornelius. After Peter had done so, and after he had justified this act to the other disciples so that they understood that God had, indeed, opened the door of faith and repentance to the Gentiles, Peter certainly did not think that he would ever do what he later did in Antioch. He was still a product of the society in which he had grown up, and he still failed when the time of trial and temptation came. We all act at times as Peter did.

There are other examples that also show the negative effect that society has on people. In the Old Testament, when God freed ancient Israel from slavery and brought them out of Egypt, they essentially brought Egypt along with them. They brought along the society in which they had grown up (Acts 7:38–39), with the intent of even bringing it into the Promised Land.

In the New Testament, the scribes and Pharisees did not believe that they had killed the prophets of old. Technically, they had not; but Christ made it clear that they would have done so, if they had lived at that time, because they were products of the same kind of selfish society that existed when the ancient prophets were killed. In fact, Jesus made it clear that, because they were exactly the same as their ancestors, they would kill new prophets, and ultimately would kill THE Prophet—Jesus Christ (Matthew 23:29–36).

Before God called us, we were like a seed from a specific tree. This seed would grow up to become a tree similar to the one from which it came. Birds might pick up the seed and carry it miles away and drop it to the ground a long distance from the tree, but wherever the seed would take root, spring and grow up and develop, it would always produce the same kind of a tree. The seed could not say, “I don’t want to become that kind of a tree. I want to become a different kind of a tree.” The seed did not have that choice—the decision as to what kind of a tree it would become, had been made for it.

We, also, did not have any influence on who our parents were; where we were born; where we grew up; whether we were born male or female; or what race or ethnic group we were part of; i.e., Israelite or Gentile, American, British, Canadian, German, Italian or Chinese, white or black or yellow. Certainly, with the spirit in man that God gave us, we could eventually make certain limited decisions, such as what college to go to, what occupation to select, what person to marry—but every single decision that we made, was made within the system of the society in which we grew up. No decision that we made, prior to our calling, would save us from eternal death, or separate us from Satan’s evil influences. And this means that we have caused much suffering, not only to other people, but also to our own selves. We have lived selfishly—ALL OF US—and selfishness produces suffering and pain!

Only when God calls a person out of the society in which they live, are they actually enabled to make a decision that would save them from eternal death and free them from Satan. Having been called, God gives that person an opportunity to CHOOSE His Way of Life, a way that had been closed to them before (compare Acts 26:17–18; Acts 22:12–16). When God offers them this choice, they still must choose. God does not do the choosing for us.

In this world, God’s Way is not a very popular way. It is a narrow and difficult road to travel. It takes effort to go God’s Way in a society that is going the opposite way—Satan’s way. His societal structures offer a plethora of ideas, concepts, and philosophies, and a wide spectrum of opinions and beliefs, but they all lead to suffering and pain, and ultimately, eternal death (Matthew 7:13–14).

We are called upon to continue to come out of the society in which we live, a society that is detrimental to God’s Way of Life. That is the only way to avoid unnecessary suffering.

Realize How Much Satan’s Society Influences Us

In order to be able to REALLY leave Satan’s world and to submit to God’s rule, we must realize how much this society forms our thinking, influences our actions, and makes us who we are, and how bad that influence really is.

When God revealed to Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham tried to persuade God not to do so, because he could not believe that it was really that bad. Abraham thought there surely must have been at least ten righteous people living in that area. Abraham, himself, had adopted some selfish concepts from the society he lived in, concepts which were detrimental to God’s Way of Life. For instance, Abraham lied repeatedly about his wife, referring to her as his sister, because he was afraid for his life.

Lot, too, was a product of the society in which he lived. So was his wife who wanted to return to Sodom, and so were his daughters who later made Lot drunk to sleep with him and produce offspring through their own father. Lot adopted that society’s way of thinking. That fact is especially evident when considering that he was willing to offer up his daughters to the perverts of Sodom in order to protect the strangers who had come into his house. That offer, whether serious or not, shows Lot’s frame of mind at that time. He was, clearly, a product of the rotten, evil, abominable society of Sodom in which he lived.

We CANNOT overcome the society in which we grew up and which formed us, if we want to hold on and preserve what we were when God called us into His truth. The right approach for us is this: “I don’t like what this society has made out of me, so I want to change what I have become.” We must come to realize that everything we did before God called us was futile and non-productive, and we must acknowledge how much misery and pain it has created for us, as well as others associated with us. Even after our calling, we need to recognize that everything we do is useless if we are not staying on the straight and narrow pathway that God has designed for us.

God does not call us according to our works (2 Timothy 1:9). When God called us, we had not accomplished anything in our lives that would have compelled God to call us. Our works were part of this society in which we lived—they were evil. Even our “good” deeds were caused by selfish motives. God did not call us to change society, but rather to come out of society (Revelation 18:4) and to become a new creation—a new person (Ephesians 4:20–24; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

At the end of his life, Peter had no doubts or illusions about the society in which he lived and had grown up in (2 Peter 2:20–22). He encouraged us to GROW in Christ’s knowledge about this world’s systems and society, and to understand ourselves and the need to change, since we are a product of this society (2 Peter 3:18).

Realize Who Influences Society

In order to overcome the selfishness of this society, and our own selfishness as a result of having grown up in this society, we must understand who really influences this society.

Even those Jews who believed in Christ and who actually believed His message, did not see that they were products of a society that came into being through Satan’s influence, and that they were, in fact, following Satan’s devices (John 8:30–45). With regard to those whom God has already called, all of us had the same desires as our father, the devil. We sinned because our own desires tempted us to sin; and these desires came from Satan the devil and the society in which we grew up (James 1:14).

We were following Satan and his society, fulfilling the selfish “desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Ephesians 2:1–3). We did not use God’s Spirit to overcome those desires, because we did not have God’s Spirit in us. Most likely, we did not even know that those desires were WRONG and UNGODLY, because they were commonplace in society. And even when God’s Spirit began to work with us, how diligently and successfully did we actually use it? How consistently are we using it today? Of course, in order to use God’s Spirit, we must know how we can receive the gift of God’s Spirit. For vital information in this regard, please read our free booklet, “Baptism—A Requirement for Salvation.”

God gave His Spirit to King Saul to change him into another man (1 Samuel 10:6). But Saul did not let God change him; Saul was quite happy with his own ideas and concepts about life. Saul did not use God’s Spirit within him to fight against the powers of darkness of this age—those wicked rulers in high places, as they are described in Ephesians 6:12. He did not fight against Satan’s influences and try to overcome Satan’s attitude in his life, and as a result, he lost God’s Holy Spirit and was plagued by one of Satan’s demons.

Saul never did overcome his selfishness. When he realized that God had chosen David to replace him as king, he tried to kill David, because he did not want to give up his kingdom. Ultimately, God just let King Saul die in battle, after he had turned to witchcraft and sorcery.

Overcoming Selfishness

We can use our actions today as a kind of mirror to enable us to see how much we have changed our past selfish attitudes. Are we giving in to those selfish desires? Are we returning to what we came out of? Or have we not even left those selfish desires behind? For example, Gentile Christians wanted to return to pagan holidays and philosophies (Compare Galatians 4:3, 8–11; for a thorough explanation of this passage, please read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days”). How much pain and suffering has been caused, throughout history, through those misguided endeavors!

Look Out for the Needs and Interests of Others

In order to overcome the selfishness we learned from this society and to become a new creation, we have to look out for the needs and interests of others.

It really boils down to a question of selfishness versus selflessness (Philippians 2:3–11; Romans 15:1–3). If we constantly seek the best for ourselves, then what we look for will be taken away from us. The one who acts humbly and with the interest of others in mind, will be exalted in due time (Luke 14:7–11), by God Himself.

Genesis 13:8–13 records a strife between the servants of Abraham and Lot, and how Abraham, selflessly, solved that problem. He gave Lot the opportunity to choose what land he wanted for himself and his flock, in order to avoid further strife. Abraham was content with what Lot would leave him. Lot, however, acted selfishly, by choosing the best land for himself. It wasn’t Lot’s prerogative to select the best land for himself, as God had promised that to Abraham; but Lot selfishly chose the best for himself and Abraham let him have it, in humility. In the long run, though, Abraham increased in riches, while Lot, residing in Sodom, later lost everything that he had gained by selfish means, when Sodom was destroyed.

Paul tried to walk in the shoes of his fellow man, trying to understand what caused a person to be weak (2 Corinthians 11:29). He became indignant when others were accused or maligned. He had the best interest of others in mind.

Paul was careful not to act selfishly, but to look out for others. He sought to please others and avoid giving unnecessary offense (1 Corinthians 10:24, 31–33).

Place God First in Your Life

Most importantly, we can only overcome selfishness when we place God FIRST in our lives. When we think we don’t need God, we will act selfishly, serving our own desires.

Matthew 6:24 tells us that we cannot serve God at the same time we serve anything or anyone else. We must ask ourselves: Who is our Lord? Is it our work, our family, our hobby, or our own created comforts—things that make us feel good? Christ mentions needs, which must be satisfied (verse 25), but Christ warns us not to make those needs the first priority in our lives (verse 33).

When we don’t seek God’s kingdom AND God’s righteousness
first in our lives, we will lose all the physical things for which we worked so hard. We WILL suffer! But when we seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first (Matthew 6:33), thereby denying our own selfish desires, we will be blessed with fulfillment of our needs, and we can avoid unnecessary suffering.

The account in 1 Kings 17:8–16 contains a moving example about a poor widow who placed God and His servant before her own needs. If, in that example, the widow had not placed God and His servant first in her life, she and her son would have died.

It is impossible to love God, if we don’t love others. And in order to really love God and others, we must get rid of our selfishness. When we do so, God will bless us. Christ said: It is more blessed to GIVE than to receive! Man’s way of life is focused on how much he can GET. And yes—he does get a lot with that kind of philosophy: a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, a lot of misery, sickness, war, bloodshed, environmental pollution, crooked politicians, and even deceitful ministers who look after themselves first. The list is written with blood and tears, and it is endless!

Chapter 6 – Why Christians Must Suffer!

This world experiences much pain and suffering, merely due to the fact that this is NOT God’s world. The popular song, “This is my Father’s world,” is simply not true. This is Satan’s world, and Satan hates those who have left his rule and have become subject to God and His Way of Life. Satan is after those to persecute them, and he will use human tools to make life miserable for them. However, as we have seen earlier, Satan can only do what God specifically allows him to do, especially when it comes to true Christians.

Christ Suffered

It is no secret that true Christians suffer much in this life, perhaps more so than others. Jesus Christ, our great Savior and King, suffered terribly, even to death. His suffering was for a great purpose. We read that He became a merciful High Priest—One who understood our suffering and could intercede on our behalf—because He experienced suffering in the flesh. He suffered for us on the cross and in the days before, so that we can experience physical and spiritual healing, and reconciliation with God (Please read our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing in the Bible.”).

Also, Hebrews 5:8 tells us that Christ “learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” How, exactly, are we to understand this statement, and how does it apply to us today?

Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth as a human being, did, indeed, live a sinless life. He never sinned by breaking any of God’s Commandments (compare 1 John 3:4–5, Authorized Version). He kept all of God’s laws perfectly. He said in John 15:10: “I have kept My Father’s commandments.”

The Biblical record is conclusive that Christ never sinned. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He was “separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26); and even when He suffered, He “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:21–22). Christ challenged His listeners to convict Him of sin (John 8:46), knowing that they would be unable to do so. He also testified of Himself that “no unrighteousness” was in Him (John 7:18).

Before Christ became a man, He had lived for all eternity as a glorified God being, in the Spirit, together with the Father (John 17:5). But when He became human, having laid aside His divine attributes (Philippians 2:5–7), He experienced for the first time what it was like to live with human nature—in this “sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). He had to learn IN THE FLESH how to overcome sin and stay obedient to God; how to fight victoriously against the temptations of the flesh; and how to stay obedient in suffering, “to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

While in this sinful flesh, living with human nature, Christ learned obedience by condemning sin in His flesh (compare, again, Romans 8:3). He learned obedience to God’s Will, in the face of terrible sufferings and pain, by submitting His own Will to that of the Father, and by accepting and embracing the Father’s Will in His life (Matthew 26:38–39).

Christ never sinned. He was always obedient to God’s law. But as a human, He had to learn, by experience, how difficult it can be to always obey, and that sin can only be resisted successfully through the power of God’s Holy Spirit living within us. Christ emphasized many times that He could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19); that the Father dwelling in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, was doing the works which Christ performed (John 14:10); and that Christ was not seeking His own Will, but only the Will of the Father (John 5:30; 6:38). Although Christ never sinned, He still had to learn obedience to God’s law, as a human being, by the things, which He suffered.

We find this insightful explanation in the NASB Study Bible which sheds light on verse 8 of Hebrews 5: “Though He was the eternal Son of God, it was necessary for Him as the incarnate Son to learn obedience—not that He was ever disobedient, but that He was called on to obey to an extent He had never before experienced. The temptations He faced were real and the battle for victory was difficult, but where Adam failed…, Jesus resisted and prevailed.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary states, in regard to Hebrews 5:8–9: “This sonship did not immunize him from the necessity of learning as every genuinely human being must learn. The deepest lessons of life are learned through anguish. The learning of Jesus was not an exception to this. Being made perfect means, not that he was not at every given moment perfect, but rather, that his moral perfection ultimately depended upon his response to each challenge presented to him. This was especially true as this challenge intensified, as his cross drew nearer and became… a grim, present reality.”

The New Bible Commentary: Revised” adds the following thoughts: “Also by the experience of such a discipline, He, Son of God though He was, learnt the full meaning and cost of human obedience, and was thereby perfected in His human character, and in His fitness to be the cause to men of salvation eternal in quality. Men can enjoy the full benefit of his saving work only if they, too, are baptized into the same spirit, and become those who at any cost make active obedience to Christ their continual practice.”

The Nelson Study Bible explains the fact that “Jesus learned obedience,” in this way: “Jesus experienced all of what a person goes through on this earth. He knows how difficult it is to obey God completely, just as He understands the attractions of temptation ([Hebrews] 2:18). Yet He persisted in obedience, leading a sinless life (1 John 3:5).”

Notice, too, how other translations render Hebrews 5:8. Moffat says: “he learned by all he suffered how to obey.” William Beck writes: “He found out from what He suffered what it means to obey.”

One of the clearest interpretations of Hebrews 5:8–9 can be found in the rendering of the Living Bible, as follows: “And even though Jesus was God’s Son, he had to learn from experience what it was like to obey, when obeying meant suffering. It was after he had proved himself perfect in this experience that Jesus became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who obey him.”

Why True Christians Suffer

Jesus lived a perfect life without sin. Still, as a human being, He had to experience what it is like to live in this flesh, subject to temptations and sufferings, and stay obedient to God. He did, indeed, learn obedience by the things which He suffered. We must learn obedience in the same way.

But why, exactly, does God allow us to suffer? Is it really necessary that we MUST suffer? What are the reasons for Christian suffering?

As Christ’s Disciples, We WILL Suffer

First of all, let us understand that we WILL suffer, IF we are Christ’s disciples. That is, we will become partakers of His suffering (1 Peter 4:12–13); we will suffer in the same way—including, perhaps, even a violent death—if we truly follow the example of our Lord and Master. We are to suffer with Him (Romans 8:16–17), “bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13).

If we want to live righteously and godly—the same way that Christ lived—and if we really want to enter God’s Kingdom, we WILL suffer (Acts 14:21–22; 2 Timothy 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:3–5).

This is partially the case because we are living in a world that is ruled by Satan, and Satan HATES us. Christ said to His true disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). He also prophesied that the world would hate us and persecute us, if we are His true disciples (John 15:18–20).

The history of God’s true servants is one of suffering through persecution (Acts 7:52; Hebrews 10:32–34; 11:35–38; 1 Corinthians 4:11–13). We need to comprehend that persecution is a SIGN that we are pleasing to God (2 Thessalonians 1:3–7; Matthew 5:10).

As true Christians, we can expect, for instance, to be lied about (Matthew 5:11–12; Romans 3:8; 2 Corinthians 6:4, 8). In most cases, it is best not to respond to such false reports or accusations (Psalm 38:12–14; Proverbs 26:4; 1 Peter 2:21–23; 3:8–9).

At the same time, as we already saw in the case of Job, and as we will see more clearly in the following pages of this booklet, God would not allow Satan to tempt us, if it were not for our good. This might sound strange at first, but it is very true. When God allows Satan to tempt us, He gives us an opportunity to overcome and conquer Satan and thereby destroy the works of the devil. We can only do this, however, if we don’t allow Satan to find a place in our lives (Ephesians 4:27), and if we submit to God. James 4:7–8 tells us: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” In addition, we can only defeat Satan with God’s help. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11 to “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Even though Satan wants to destroy us, God gives us the opportunity to destroy his works and to defeat his influence in our lives.

We Must Be WILLING to Suffer for God

Since God predicted that we would have to suffer for Him, we must be willing to do so. In fact, we are to rejoice when we suffer for Christ, as we are counted worthy by God to suffer for Him (Acts 5:41). Suffering for God is a special favor GRANTED to us (Philippians 1:29).

In order to follow God fully, we must also be willing to choose the right way and to make the right decisions, even if this results in suffering (Job 13:15; Hebrews 11:24–26). We are to be “patient IN tribulation” (Romans 12:12). If we faint in the day of adversity of suffering, our strength is small (Proverbs 24:10). God wants us to stay and grow strong, even in the face of adversity.

Additional REASONS for Christian suffering

a) We must go through suffering when we are in need of correction.

David sinned greatly and had to be corrected by God. David said that God was faithful in doing so, as He carried out His promise to afflict us when we sin, so that we are motivated to cease from sinning (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75; Lamentations 3:39–40; 1 Peter 4:1–2). Christ tells us that He rebukes and chastens us because He loves us (Revelation 3:19). He does so because He wants us to inherit eternal life in God’s Kingdom.

God rebukes us when we have sinned against Him. When we go through suffering because we have sinned, we must not reject God’s chastening—otherwise, things will only get worse. Proverbs 15:10 tells us: “Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.”

b) We must go through suffering in order to become perfect.

We all have to “experience” suffering (1 Peter 5:9). The Greek word, translated as “experience,” also has the meaning of “complete” or “end.” As Christ became perfect through suffering, so must we. Suffering in our lives is for the purpose of completing us or bringing us to the happy end of being able to enter God’s kingdom.
Sufferings, or trials, assist us in becoming perfect, or complete, by helping us to:

  • Become more and more humble (2 Corinthians 12:7–10);
  • Become patient (James 1:2–4);
  • Become peaceful, so that we can also have a peaceful mind (Isaiah 38:17);
  • Acquire a better heart (Ecclesiastes 7:3); and to
  • Be strengthened in our faith (1 Peter 1:6–7).

We must go through suffering and fiery trials (Mark 9:49), as fire is to destroy everything that separates us from God.

Job, who endured much suffering, asked in Job 7:17–18: “What is man, that You should exalt him, That you should set Your heart on him, That You should visit him every morning, And test Him every moment?”

Paul gives the answer in Romans 8:18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

He continues to point out that nothing can separate us from the love of God, who predestined us to become His very sons and daughters. In verses 35–37, Paul explains: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

God allows or sometimes even brings upon us suffering so that we can:

  • Become partakers of Christ’s holiness (Hebrews 12:10);
  • Inherit His eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17); and
  • Obtain His CROWN of life, which includes rulership over His creation (James 1:12).

c) We must go through suffering and trials in order to draw closer to God—to learn how much we need God in our life.

Suffering motivates us to seek God and His help in prayer (Isaiah 26:16). This includes suffering because of sickness (James 5:13). Suffering and problems in life make us realize how much we are dependent on God (2 Corinthians 1:8–11). We will learn through the experience of suffering and God’s intervention, that God is aware of our trials, and that He is there to help us (Isaiah 43:1–2). We will experience that God will always, in His due time, provide us with the way of escape from trials and suffering (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Bible promises us that God delivers the righteous out of ALL of his afflictions (Psalm 34:19). This knowledge and conviction can only come through experience.

d) We must go through suffering in order to learn what it is like to suffer.

Christ suffered to become a merciful High Priest for us. When we experience suffering, we can better understand the suffering, pain and misery that others may go through. Also, when we suffer, we can experience God’s intervention, compassion and comfort, and we are to share God’s comfort with those who suffer. That is, we are to comfort others with the same comfort that we received from God.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3–4, we read: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Suffering produces in us empathy and compassion for others. When we suffer because of a sickness, we can feel for those who are sick. We can share in the grief of those who have lost a loved one, when we have had a similar experience. God wants people with a soft heart. We are not to harden our hearts, but to let God replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. Jesus CRIED when He saw the suffering and pain around Him. He felt COMPASSION for the people who did not know where to turn for advice and help. He healed sick people, because He felt sorry and GRIEVED for them. He LAMENTED and WEPT for people, considering that their sin would cause them great pain and suffering.

As Christ’s disciples, we must develop the same mind set which He has. And suffering will help us to do so.

Finally, when you are going through suffering, remember God’s promise in Psalm 126:5: “Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy.”

Chapter 7 – Discouragement and How to Conquer It

All of us have become discouraged at times, especially during severe trials and suffering. We may even question why we are here, what we are doing, and what is the purpose of it all. We all have experienced, to some degree, those nagging feelings of despair, helplessness, or even hopelessness. Life may not seem to make any sense, and what difference does it make, anyway? We may be tempted to just give up, throw in the towel, walk away from whatever we are struggling with. We may ask ourselves, What’s the use? Why go on like this…?

Satan Attacks God’s People

These feelings are very human and actually quite common to many people, but they are not right. They must be conquered and overcome. If you have ever felt that way, or if you are feeling that way right now—take courage! Many of the spiritual giants of the Bible have, at times, felt that way. They, too, have experienced temporary despair, frustration and depression, even to the point that they wanted to die. But they were able to overcome those feelings, and so must we. There is a way! God’s Way!

Most amazingly, it is man’s incredible potential to become a member of the God Family—the Kingdom of God—destined to rule this earth, as well as the entire universe! That is THE reason God created man! Satan, who is still the present ruler over this world, is very angry at that thought. He will do everything he can to make sure that you will not be in God’s Kingdom—that you will give up before you have reached your God-given destiny. He goes around like a roaring lion to see whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). And much of what Satan is broadcasting are feelings of despair, frustration, and hopelessness. Once we have lost our hope and vision for the future, Satan has won.

But take courage! Satan is not only attacking you! He has always been busy attacking the saints of God, using a variety of tactics, including feelings of discouragement. Let’s review some of those accounts, and gain courage in understanding how Satan’s attempts were thwarted.

Moses argued with God at a time when he felt that his task, responsibility, or job was too difficult for him. It was just too demanding. There was no way that he could do it, he thought, and so he was willing to give up (Numbers 11:11–15). Moses thought that death was a relief from his trials. But God had something else in mind. Moses still had a great job to do, and God knew that Moses could do it—although Moses thought that he could not.

The prophet Elijah is another one of the spiritual giants of the Bible. But he was just a human being, no different than we. James 5:17 explains that Elijah was just “a man with a nature like ours.” He was not immune to human temptations or Satanic temptations. At one time, Elijah performed a very mighty deed, executing all the priests of Baal after God had approved Elijah as His prophet in front of all the people. But then he heard that the wicked and evil queen Jezebel, a follower of Baal, wanted to kill him. That should not have come as a surprise to him. After all, what did he expect? He became frustrated and depressed, so much so, that he ran away and was even willing to die (1 Kings 19:1–4).

Have you ever had moments like this? One day, you feel so close to God, as if you could move mountains. But then, something goes wrong in your life and you are confronted with a severe trial, and you fall into utter despair, wishing you were dead and it would all be over.

Job certainly had moments like that. While he was being tested, he experienced momentary feelings of depression, wishing he was dead. He even stated during this time of frustration and hopelessness, that it would have been better if he had never been born (Job 3:11, 13, 20–22; 7:11–15; 10:18–21). But God had to allow Job to go through a lot of suffering in order to learn some very necessary lessons.

The prophet Jonah, too, had moments of despair when he wanted to be dead, simply because he did not want to do what God had asked him to do, nor did he like what God was doing (Jonah 4:3, 8).

Another one of the great prophets, Jeremiah, also fell into depression at times (Jeremiah 15:10, 17–18; 20:14–18).

God Is There to Helps Us

But in moments of despair, frustration, hopelessness and depression, GOD IS STILL THERE! God has not left us, just as He did not leave any of those saints we just read about. God is watching over His people, and He is there to help us, giving us strength and encouragement to go on and reach our ultimate goal—entrance into His Kingdom.

When Moses was filled with hopelessness, wanting to give up, and was even willing to die because he thought he was too weak to lead all the people, God gave him help and encouragement. It is difficult to believe that Moses, in fact, would have been too weak to lead the people alone, because he was not alone—God was with him, and God is with us too. God understands our human frailty, and He knows that sometimes, especially when we fall into a state of despair, we need some outward “proof” of God’s presence and His mighty power. God did give Moses help, in that He poured out His Spirit over seventy people, who would then be able to help Moses to lead the nation (Numbers 11:16–17).

When the prophet Elijah wished to die, because he thought that he was all alone—that everyone else had forsaken God and had become a follower of Baal—God appeared to him in a remarkable way. He showed Elijah that He was still with him, and that others had not forsaken God, either—even from a human standpoint, Elijah was NOT alone (1 Kings 19:9–18).

In the example of Job, after Job came to understand the purpose for his sufferings, God changed his condition and even gave him double of what he had before. Job lived another 140 years after his trials. We learn from James that the main purpose for Job’s sufferings was for Job to learn something about himself, but even more importantly, to learn something about God (James 5:11). Job had to learn how compassionate and merciful God is—that without the trials Job went through, bringing him to the point of true repentance, he would not have been able to enter the Kingdom of God. But because of God’s mercy and compassion, Job was able to endure his trials and suffering and to learn his vital lessons. God could have killed Job at any time, or He could have left him alone, but God clearly WANTED Job to make it, as He wants all of us—those whom He has called in this day and age—to be with Him in His Kingdom, not because we deserve it, but because of God’s compassion, mercy and love for us.

When the prophet Jonah wanted to die just because God did not destroy Nineveh, God did not respond to this request by fulfilling Jonah’s plea. Rather, God knew that Jonah would overcome his feelings of depression and hopelessness, once he understood God’s character and nature. And so, God revealed to Jonah His mercy, compassion and love for ALL people. He told Jonah that he should have rejoiced over the fact that God IS merciful and compassionate, and that He does not want to see sinners die, but rather—in due time—that sinners would repent and live (Jonah 4:11). It seems likely that Jonah came to understand this lesson of how great is God’s love, mercy and compassion for all people, as tradition tells us that it was he who wrote the book of Jonah.

Finally, what did God tell the prophet Jeremiah, when Jeremiah became angry with God, telling Him in a state of frustration and depression, that God could not be trusted or relied upon?

Jeremiah 15:19–21, in the rendering of the Living Bible, states: “…Stop this foolishness and talk some sense! Only if you return to trusting me will I let you continue as my spokesman. You are to influence them, not let them influence you! They will fight against you like a besieging army against a high city wall. But they will not conquer you for I am with you to protect and deliver you, says the Lord. Yes, I will certainly deliver you from these wicked men and rescue you from their ruthless hands.”

God Offers Hope

In all those aforementioned cases of depression, frustration and hopelessness, God offered HOPE, and He showed in mighty ways that He is merciful and compassionate, to all people. Just as God gave Moses, Elijah, Jonah, Job and Jeremiah hope, He also will give us hope in times of trials and suffering (Psalm 39:7; 78:7; 147:11; Lamentations 3:24–26).

We must never forget that God is there when we go through trials and become frustrated and disillusioned because of much suffering and pain. God wants us to place our hope in HIM. God is merciful and kind, and whatever He does, or allows to happen, has a purpose above what we see with our eyes on a human level.

When the Jews were in captivity, God was still there. He assured them of a brighter future, telling them what thoughts He had towards them. Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Many times, the conditions in which we find ourselves seem to be hopeless. And looking at them from just a human perspective, they might very well be. At that point, we have made ourselves an easy target for Satan to enter our minds and to feed on our human reasoning, until we become hopelessly frustrated and discouraged. In this process, have we actually forgotten, or failed to believe, that God is still on His throne, watching to see if we will ask Him for His help and for His hope?

In the book of Ezekiel, we are introduced to the entire house of Israel. They are pictured as dead and gone. They are nothing but dry bones, and God, in this vision, lets them speak. And so they say, in a figurative and symbolic sense: “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” (Ezekiel 37:11).

How many people may think that way when they visit the grave of a deceased loved one? How many wonder whether they will ever see them again? How many are suffering mental anguish and pain because they just don’t know!?

But God knows! Man’s hope, even in death, is not lost at all; in fact, God shows Ezekiel in that same vision that all of the house of Israel who died, will be brought back to life (Ezekiel 37:12–14). And the Bible says elsewhere that EVERY human being who has ever lived and died will be brought back to life. This truth is most comforting and reassuring! Yes, we WILL see our deceased loved ones again! (For more information, please read our free booklet: “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”)

God has thoughts of hope for all men. And even in this life, when we think that our hope is lost, God may revive us in ways we could not even anticipate.

Romans 8 makes clear that the entire creation is subjected to futility and decay. But God’s plan is not to leave the creation in such a state. Rather, God tells us in Romans 8:20: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope…”

The whole creation is in hope. The whole universe is hoping. But hoping for what?

Romans 8:21 continues: “…because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption [better: decay] INTO the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

The creation, which is subject to decay, is waiting, in hope, for our transformation to glory. The creation has this kind of hope. The question is, do we have this hope, even in times of severe trials, tests and suffering? It is a hope that cannot really be described in human terms. It is the hope of becoming a glorified, resurrected, everlasting child of God—a member of the Family of God. It is the hope of becoming a God being, freed from pain, suffering, despair, depression, hopelessness and helplessness—freed from this mortal, temporary, decaying body. It is the hope of obtaining God’s glory, the very same glory that God has (Romans 5:1–2). That is our hope. That is why we must be willing to suffer and endure in this life. That is why we must be making an effort to overcome and conquer hopelessness, turning to God and asking for His help.

Colossians 1:27 tells us that Christ, who is living in us, is the hope of our glory—the hope that we will obtain God’s glory, as well as Christ’s glory. It is Christ who will glorify us when He gives us glorified bodies at the time of our change (if we are still alive at Christ’s return) or of our resurrection (if we died before His return). We can have this hope, as long as Christ lives in us. He is the One, as we read in Romans 8, who will give us our glorious liberty—our freedom from everything that is detrimental to that glory.

So we see, then, the hope that motivates us to go on in this life, in spite of difficulties, goes far beyond THIS present life. Our hope cannot be limited to this life only. That is why Paul tells us in
1 Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” Why is that? Because we are willing to suffer for our future—for our resurrection or change, for our hope to come. And we are willing to give up certain pleasures in this life, if this is necessary to obtain the hope of our glory. This hope, which is directed toward our future, enables us to endure present sufferings.

But as we said, our hope in God includes our present condition as well. And God offers us hope for His help here and now! Rather than looking at our physical circumstances, which can and will make us depressed, we must look at the living Christ in us, leading us out of our trials and suffering—the physical realm—to a spiritual understanding, which goes far beyond what the human brain may grasp.

When we are depressed in this life, we need to focus on our future. God is always there to encourage us. And the greatest encouragement He could possibly give us, is to reassure us and to remind us of our future, which is as certain as the next sunset. Once we have entered our ultimate human potential, we will be free from pain, suffering, disease, sickness and disappointment. All sufferings will be a thing of the past. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and crying and pain won’t exist anymore for us (compare Revelation 21:4).

Today, more often than not, we can only comfort suffering people with words. But when we, in the future, have become born-again members in God’s Family, WE will be able to do away with their pain and their suffering. Creation waits and hopes for us, because WE will be granted the awesome privilege, under the leadership of God the Father and Jesus Christ, to free it from its decay. That is our hope! That is our destiny! That is the reason we must go on, in spite of temporary depression, setbacks, frustration and despair. That is the reason we are willing to give up things in this life, which the world enjoys. That is the reason, if need be, why we would rather live with affliction, pain and suffering, than with riches and the temporary pleasures of sin.

Jesus Christ, the hope of our glory, is waiting for us to help Him to free this entire world from suffering and pain. Let us continue to wait and hope eagerly for His return to this earth to begin this mighty task.

Chapter 8 – Working for a Better World!

Today, we are surrounded with problems that can be deeply discouraging. We might be tempted at times to just throw in the towel—give up—go on no more.

Why does God allow these trials? Why doesn’t He just intervene and take us away from it all—or, at least, take the trials away from us.

God doesn’t work that way. He allows us to go through trials, for a purpose.

Again, let us remember why there are trials in this world—why this world is a world filled with problems, with no human solutions in sight.

Not God’s World

It needs to be repeated again and again: This is NOT God’s world! This is Satan’s world. Satan is not a builder of a better world—rather, he is the destroyer of this present world.

Satan has rulership over all the kingdoms of this earth, and Satan will stay on his throne until Jesus Christ, the future King over the earth, returns to replace Satan. God does not RULE this world, yet. Rulership is still given to Satan and his demons.

At the same time, Daniel 7:26–27 makes it clear that we are called to inherit, in the future, a better world, but only if we are counted worthy to attain that age to come. We must OVERCOME Satan, Satan’s society, and Satan’s desires in us. If we OVERCOME NOW, we will be granted to judge or rule the earth, under Christ, to help create a better world—in the not-too-distant future (1 Corinthians 6:2).

Today, we are not to participate in judging or ruling or governing this world. Rather, we are to learn how to rule or govern ourselves! Again, this is Satan’s world—not God’s. At this present time, we are merely ambassadors of a better world to come (2 Corinthians 5:20).

We are not a part of this present evil world, as Christ was not a part of this present evil world, either. He said in John 18:36 that His kingdom was not of this world.

We are to be delivered from this evil world, as Galatians 1:3–4 points out. The Authorized Version says that God will “deliver us from this present evil world.” Thus, we are not to participate in this world’s ways.

Christ had to go through trials because Satan wanted to destroy Him. It was Satan who tried to kill Him, literally, at His birth, and it was Satan who possessed Judas to betray Jesus and have Him murdered. Further, Satan tried again and again to destroy Christ spiritually throughout His life (Luke 4:13)—tempting Him to sin, just once. That’s all it would have taken…just one sin. But Christ NEVER sinned! Satan fought against Jesus because He knew that Jesus had come to qualify as the next King, to ultimately replace him, and Satan knew that just ONE SIN would defeat Christ’s purpose.

Satan once ruled over us. We were subject to Satan’s way, and actually, were held captive by him. We escaped his rulership and came under God’s authority when He chose to call us out of Satan’s world. It should not be surprising then, that Satan fights us, treating us as traitors. Satan knows that we are in the process of qualifying to replace him and his demons. And so, Satan wants us dead, spiritually.

Ephesians 6:12 confirms that we are to FIGHT Satan and his demons. The Authorized Version says that we are to fight “against the rulers of the darkness of the world.” It is a fight for survival—a life and death battle—and it is not to be taken lightly. We are to fight Satan’s temptations (1 Peter 5:8–9). We must conquer his evil devices that entice us to sin. We must reject sin, which so easily ensnares us. We are to defeat his fiery darts of doubt, discouragement, hopelessness and fear, and we can only do so if we follow God’s mighty lead in our lives, through His Spirit dwelling in us.

Not Our World

As God’s “firstfruits,” we are becoming more of a spectacle to this world, which recognizes us as being strangely different. If we were of the world, the world would love us. But since we are not of this world, the world hates us, as Christ told us.

We are not citizens of Satan’s world, but foreigners (1 Peter 2:11). We presently live in this world, yet we look forward to the better world to come. Hebrews 11:9–10, 13–16 explains that God’s disciples DESIRE a better world, and Hebrews 13:14 confirms that they SEEK a better world to come.

We must ask ourselves, daily, how much do we still love this world, the ways of this world, and the material things that this world has to offer? Could it be that our misplaced love for the world and what is in the world is a reason why God allows Satan to bring trials and difficulties upon us? Do we still love the things of this world too much—whether it is its money, hobbies, houses, cars, or other physical possessions? Does God allow us to go through trials so that we can learn the lesson that none of these things can give us any lasting security or even happiness?

In 1 John 2:15–17 we read, from the Living Bible: “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever.”

A Better World to Come

Christ was not of this world. He worked for a better world—not a world ruled by Satan or human beings controlled by Satan. Christ qualified to become the KING of the world to come. He QUALIFIED by resisting Satan and overcoming him; by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God; by teaching His disciples everything the Father taught Him; by healing and helping the afflicted; by doing good to others; and by laying down His very life for us. He showed through His life that He practiced what He preached. He helped His disciples, and is helping us today, to qualify for a better world, as He Himself qualified. He overcame Satan’s world, and He wants us to overcome Satan’s world, as well. And when we stumble or fall, He is there to pick us up. When we sin, we can repent and be forgiven. We have no reason to give up! God wants us to succeed, and He expects of us to do so. He does not want us to give up!

God does not want us to love what Satan loves and what he offers us. Adam and Eve followed Satan, but Christ, the “last Adam,” OVERCAME Satan. He rejected Satan’s offer to worship him and to accept his way of thinking—and so must we, every day! We must reject this world and what it stands for, and we must reject the current, temporary god of this world—Satan. That is one reason why God allows Satan to continue His persecutions—so that we get so tired of this world and its spiritual leader, that we want to have no part in it—so that we really want the better world to come.

In Egypt, God allowed the first several plagues to affect Israel, right along with Egypt. God could have spared Israel from all ten plagues, but He did not. He wanted Israel to see the difference, to experience what it means to be under God’s government, and what it means to be under Satan’s rule.

We are to cry over the abominations we see in this world, because they are so grievous! Satan and his demons can temporarily afflict us, just as they afflicted Job, Daniel, and those who were sick because of Satan—including Paul.

This is sobering! It should make us realize that this evil world, which is ruled by Satan, is not our home! We are awaiting a better homeland—a better country or fatherland—to be ushered in by none other than our Creator—Jesus Christ!

How, then, are we to work for God’s better world? By overcoming our worldly ways as quickly as possible—giving up whatever hold Satan still has on us or whatever residual societal influence we still treasure.

We can also work for God’s better world to come by not being guilty of delaying Christ’s coming. How could we possibly be guilty of delaying Christ’s coming? By not repenting of our wrong desires and actions, or by not desiring that God’s Kingdom come quickly, or by not doing our part in preaching the gospel in all the world and feeding the flock.

Hastening the Return of Jesus Christ

We are told in 2 Peter 3:12 that we are to “hasten” the coming or return of Jesus Christ. The Living Bible says: “You should look forward to the day and hurry it along.” The Revised English Bible states: “… look forward to the coming of the day of God, and WORK to hasten it on.” Similarily the New Jewish Bible: “…while you wait for the day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming.” The New Bible Commentary emphasizes: “‘Hastening’ stresses the importance of human activity.”

How can WE hasten the return of Jesus Christ?

The awesome truth is that our personal conduct might have an influence on when Jesus Christ will return to this earth. Isaiah 62:7 encourages us to give the LORD “no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Jerusalem is not going to become a praise in the earth while Satan is ruling this present evil world—that will only happen in the world to come.

At one time, before God called us, Satan worked in and through us, and we worked for him. But now, we are supposed to be working for and with God for a better world to come (Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:58). We are God’s fellow workers (1 Corinthians 3:9), working for His kingdom (Colossians 4:11). So then, when we face trials, let us not become discouraged and allow ourselves to think about giving up. Rather, we need to understand that Satan is very angry, not wanting that anyone should be saved, but that all should perish. He will confront us with many problems in an attempt to persuade us to give up. But Christ encourages us with these words: “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

We need to understand that, once God called us to come out of this world, we then became subject to God’s Government and rulership, and, as such, God does not allow Satan to bring any trial or temptation upon us which we are unable to bear, or which we cannot endure or resist or overcome. We are being trained today, sometimes through suffering and trials, to overcome Satan, his evil society, and our own selfish desires. This is sometimes a painful process, requiring that we make some tough choices. But it is all worth it. Ultimately, “There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things [including this evil Satanic world] have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Chapter 9 – Restoration of All Things

When Jesus Christ comes back to this earth, as He said He would, this world will be in global turmoil, chaos and destruction, the likes of which there has never been in the entire history of human life. In fact, if Christ were not to return, mankind, under the TOTAL influence of Satan and his evil human instruments at that time, would completely annihilate all life on this entire planet! No human being would survive! Satan, the DESTROYER, would have reached his goal of totally DESTROYING all humans! Thankfully, Jesus Christ WILL come to stop war and to save mankind from utter destruction. He will give us—His called and chosen ones—eternal life, and He will dethrone Satan and strip him of all power to influence mankind during the Millenium.

What Will Be Restored?

Christ is coming back to RESTORE all things, and we are destined to help Him with that task. Acts 3:19–21 tells us that Christ will return, and when He does, the full restoration of all things will begin.

Let us review, in detail, what will be restored—what was taken away from this earth through Satan and his 6000 years of rulership, and what will be brought back.

The early apostles understood that the restoration of all things through Jesus Christ would include the establishment of the Kingdom or Government of God over the nations of Israel (Acts 1:6–8). Christ told them that it was not for them to know the exact time when God’s Kingdom would be restored, but that they were to proclaim the restoration of the Kingdom or Government of God on this earth in all the world as a witness.

How did the disciples know that Christ would restore the Kingdom of God over the nations of Israel and Judah? Obviously, they knew because Christ had taught them that. Where do we find such a teaching?

One such example is in Matthew 19:23–28. The context of the discussion was, entering the Kingdom of God. Christ told His twelve disciples that, once they were in the Kingdom of God, they would be sitting on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, along with Christ. But when, exactly, would this be? Christ said it would be “in the regeneration” (verse 28). This word, in the Greek, can mean re-creation, renewal, renovation, revival, new birth, rebirth or restoration. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, it means here, “Messianic restoration.”

The disciples knew that Jesus Christ would come back to RESTORE the Kingdom or Government of God on this earth. God’s rule was here once, but Satan took it away through his rebellion, and Adam and Eve failed to follow God and re-institute it. God’s rule will include judging the nations—the nations of Israel and Judah, as well as the “Gentiles”—which is just a reference to non-Israelite nations.

In addition, Isaiah 58:12 tells us that when God’s Kingdom is restored on this earth, beautiful cities will be built out of ruins. Those engaged in that task will be called the “Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In” (same verse). Destruction will cease, and construction will begin (Compare Isaiah 61:4).

At the time of Christ’s return to this earth, mankind, under Satan’s terrible influence, will have done their best to destroy this earth. They will have polluted this planet, and through man’s selfishness and greed, many animals and plants will have become extinct. This planet will be filled with poisonous gas and with smoke and dust from nuclear weapons, hydrogen bombs, and other chemical and biological weapons. This earth will not be a nice place in which to live. In fact, it will be incapable of sustaining life. It will look like a wasteland, with only a few people left alive, as it must have looked after the Flood at the time of Noah. God will have to intervene, through Christ, to fix what man has destroyed under the rulership of Satan.

Isaiah 49:8 explains that Christ, the Messenger of the New Covenant, will come to “restore this earth” to its original beauty. The earth was so beautiful when it was created, that the angels praised God for it. They shouted for joy when they saw its awesome beauty (compare Job 38:4–7). This earth was not created void and empty. God is the Author of beauty and harmony. Whatever He does is beautiful and, indeed, reflects His character of light and brightness and splendor and glory.

And so, Christ will RESTORE beauty to our planet.

In the process, Christ will also restore those from the nations of Israel and Judah who have remained alive, as well as from all the other nations (Isaiah 49:6). Christ will restore the remnant of Israel by bringing them back into the Promised Land. Today, only a very small percentage of the houses of Israel and Judah live in the Promised Land. Only some of the Jews (descendants of Judah, Levi and Benjamin) live there, and virtually no one of the descendants of the house of Israel. But the Promised Land, as we know it today, is not the kind of land that God had envisioned. Today, it is a land filled with violence, hatred and war. But once Christ has returned and has begun His rule, the Promised Land will be changed into a land flowing with milk and honey again, as it once was—a land of prosperity, beauty, peace, and abundance for everyone (Joel 2:23–27).

The modern nations of Israel and Judah will have been severely punished by God for their sins. They will have endured captivity and slavery. Survivors will be sick and feeble, and as nations, they will have been severely wounded and beaten. Jesus Christ, in restoring God’s rule over this earth, will change all of that (Jeremiah 30:16–17; 33:6–7).

God, in a prior fulfillment of prophecy, and as a type of His ultimate fulfillment, freed the ancient tribe of Judah out of Babylonian captivity and brought them back to the land of Judah. Jeremiah 27:22 says that God “restored” them to the land of Judah. So, here we see, to a limited extent, a type of restoration to the house of Judah. But this is only a very slim forerunner of the tremendous, all-encompassing restoration of both the houses of Israel and Judah, after Christ’s return, to restore all of them to the territory allotted to them.

God’s Kingdom Begins

At Christ’s return, He will begin immediately to set up the Kingdom of God and will rule over all the earth as the King of kings and Lord of lords. However, Christ will not rule alone. We already read that the apostles will sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. We know from Revelation 20 that all of those who will be resurrected in the “first resurrection,” will sit on thrones, judging all of mankind. Those who are “in Christ” will start ruling in Jerusalem, but the rulership of God’s Government will spread over all the land, reaching the uttermost corners of the earth. God promised that faithful judges would be given to the city of blood and war—the city of Jerusalem, which was once called the Holy City, and which will again be called the Holy City, in the truest sense of the word (Isaiah 1:21, 26–28).

There was a time when Melchisedek, as the King of Salem, ruled over the city of Jerusalem. He appeared to Abraham and was called the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace. We know that Melchisedek was none other than Jesus Christ. He apparently ruled at that time over Jerusalem, perhaps with angels under His command, or perhaps even with righteous human beings about whom we have no record in the Bible. And so, God will restore to the city of Jerusalem, righteous judges, which it once had. But there will be a huge difference: Christ will rule from there, but this time, we—not angels, nor human beings—will rule with Him, if we qualify.

When Christ begins His rule over the earth, He will call everyone alive at that time to repent. And He will do exactly the same with those who answer the call, as He is doing with us today who have answered the call. He will give them happiness, peace and joy through His Spirit, replacing the hatred and constant sorrow and pain (Isaiah 57:15–21).

When we sin and become disobedient to God, we feel guilt and dissatisfaction. Then, when we come to our senses, repent bitterly, and cry out to God for forgiveness, He responds to our plea by restoring to us the joy of His salvation. God will do likewise to all of mankind in the Millennium, and beyond, who also repent of their sinful ways and cry out to God for forgiveness. He will restore the joy of His salvation to mankind. He originally offered that joy to Adam and Eve, but they rejected it. Every time we sin against God, we reject it too, and that joy is only restored to us upon repentance and forgiveness. And so, the same will be true for all mankind in the future. God will grant them the joy of salvation, but only if they want it.

Let us notice some additional examples of when God restored something in the past. As we go through them, it is important to keep in mind that these examples are types or forerunners of the full restoration on a grand scale, which will occur when Christ returns and begins to restore God’s Government over all the earth.

One example is found in 2 Kings 8:1–5, where God used Elisha to RESTORE a dead person to life. When Christ returns, He will do the same, though on a much greater scale. He will RESTORE all of us who have died in Christ, to life, but this time to real life—eternal life—through the first resurrection from the dead. Later, at the appointed time, He will restore all mankind to physical life—in the second resurrection.

Another example is in Ruth 4:15, where we read that Boaz is called a “RESTORER of life” to Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth, since he was willing to help Naomi and Ruth and to take care of them. He married Ruth and produced offspring, bringing forth, as a future descendant, King David. Christ, at His return, will RESTORE to mankind all the happiness and prosperity and abundance that you and I only dream of today—the kind of happiness, prosperity and abundance that mankind, as a whole, has never experienced, nor even comprehended.

When here on earth as a human being, Christ healed people from sicknesses or injuries. We read that when He did that, a hand was RESTORED (Matthew 12:13; Luke 6:10). Or, the eyesight of a blind person was RESTORED (Mark 8:25).

We also read that Paul admonished the church in Galatia to RESTORE one who was overtaken in a trespass (Galatians 6:1). So here we see spiritual healing, in addition to physical healing, and the Bible refers to both as RESTORATION.

Again, these acts of restoration were forerunners, or types, of the all-encompassing, worldwide restoration still to come in the future. When Christ returns and restores God’s rule over this earth, He will bring healing—both physical and spiritual healing.

The Church’s Commission

We read in both Matthew 17:11 and in Mark 9:12 where Jesus Christ said that Elijah is coming to RESTORE all things. We also find in the book of Malachi, that God will send Elijah prior to the “day of the Lord,” to turn, or you could say, RESTORE the hearts of the fathers to the children, and vice versa (Malachi 4:5–6).

The “Elijah,” spoken of in those passages, is a reference to the Church of God—not just one particular individual! Christ gave to His Church—His spiritual body—the commission to RESTORE all things. The Church was to begin the restoration process by preaching the gospel in all the world; by acting as watchmen to the nations; by feeding the flock through correct teaching; and by emphasizing the need to get ready for His return. As long as the Church exists, that commission will NEVER end. After Christ’s return, the restoration process will really get started! The Church of God will continue to carry out its commission, by assisting Christ to rule the world—to send out His Word to those nations who will survive the “Great Tribulation” and who had not heard the truth before (compare Isaiah 66:19); to teach those who will be born and live during the Millennium; and to teach those who will come out of their graves, in the second resurrection, after the Millennium (Revelation 20:5).

The word for “restore,” as used when talking about the coming of Elijah, is the same word in the Greek as the word used to describe the healing or restoration of the hand or the eyesight. It is also the same word that was used when the disciples asked Christ when He would restore the kingdom to Israel. The word is, “apokathistemi.”

Commentaries, encyclopedias and concordances define this word as, “to reconstitute,” “to restore again,” or, “to place down again.” The syllable “apo” in the word “apo-kathistemi,” when used in composition as a prefix, usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion or reversal.

The word “kathistemi” is defined as, “to place down permanently, to designate, or to constitute.”

The Greek word “apo-kathistemi” conveys the concept, then, that something is again placed down or instituted, which is different from what is in existence at this time; it departs from the present and brings into existence—again—what was formerly in existence.

Let’s note how the word “kathistemi” is used in the Bible.

In the overwhelming majority of the cases, it is used in the context of rulership. For instance, in Matthew 24:45, 47; and in Matthew 25:21, 23, it is translated as, “made ruler.” It is also translated in this way in the parallel account, in Luke 12:42, 44. Finally, it is translated that way in Acts 7:27, 35.

In Luke 12:14, it is translated “made”—in the context of making or not making someone a judge. In Acts 7:10, it is also translated as “made”—in the context of making someone a governor.

In Titus 1:5, it is translated as, “appoint,” when talking about the ordination of elders. But it would also be correct to say that Paul instructed Titus to make elders out of certain people.

So we see, then, that this Greek word “kathistemi” is used many times in connection with what you and I will become in the World Tomorrow—spiritual rulers, governors, judges, and ministers or priests.

In the Millenium, Christ will restore God’s rule over this world, and we will assist Him. He will make us rulers, kings and priests, under Him. We are being trained today to qualify for kingship and priesthood in the future, by becoming perfect.It is necessary that we go through suffering in the process of becoming perfect.

Summary

We have seen in this booklet that this is presently not God’s world. Man decided to reject God and to follow Satan instead, causing all the suffering and pain that we are all so familiar with today. God has called us out of Satan’s evil world to be different, but He has not called us out of trials. God permits, to an extent, His disciples to suffer and be tempted and persecuted by Satan and his human instruments, for many reasons.

It is the purpose of this booklet to present to you some of those reasons, so that you can be encouraged, instead of discouraged, when trials come upon you. Remember that God allows our suffering so that we don’t forget that this is Satan’s world; so that we can become better persons; so that we can show God that we are willing to suffer for Him and our future; and so that we can show the world that God has considered us worthy to endure affliction for His name. By following Christ’s commission to His Church, we are preparing to become kings and priests and judges, willingly suffering for righteousness’ sake, as we know that our reward will be great.

If we fulfill our individual and collective responsibilities today, to be about our Father’s business, we WILL enter God’s glorious Kingdom! We will then be prepared to help Christ in the restoration of all things, thus making it a MUCH BETTER WORLD! In this future age, there will be no more suffering for us! Then, we will be given our part in God’s Kingdom, about which the Bible states in Isaiah 9:7: “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end…”

The Mysteries of the Bible

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Preface

It is the purpose of this booklet to introduce you to some astonishing and little-understood Biblical concepts that, until now, you may have found difficult to comprehend. While this booklet does not present comprehensive answers on each subject, it does give you a synopsis, if you will, of some great mysteries.

Mysteries? Yes, the Bible contains many mysteries! In fact, God’s Word describes and identifies them as such. It is our sincere desire to help you understand them.

In presenting this overview of the mysteries of the Bible, we first briefly discuss a given subject in broad terms, and then we offer you some additional literature (free of charge), relevant to the subject. It is through this additional literature that these vital subjects are presented in a much more comprehensive way, proving the true Biblical understanding of these mysteries.

We hope you will study this booklet prayerfully, and then take advantage of the additional literature offered, which is free for the asking. If you do, you won’t be disappointed. If you don’t, you will be missing the most important knowledge that God has revealed to mankind—knowledge that can lead to understanding the very reason for God’s creation and the incomparable future He is offering to those who respond to Him.

Introduction

You may have heard some people say, “I just can’t understand the Bible. For me, it is a book with seven seals. The whole thing is just a mystery to me.”

Surprising as it may seem, the Bible does, in fact, refer to many mysteries. And perhaps even more surprising is the fact that only those who have received the keys to unlock those mysteries can understand them—only those to whom God chooses to reveal them.

The word “mystery” is derived from the Greek word, “musterion.” It means: “That what is only known by the initiated.” In order to understand the mysteries of the Bible, we must belong to the “initiated”—to the very few whose minds God’s Spirit has opened at this time, so that we CAN comprehend what we read.

If you are truly interested in reading this booklet to gain Biblical understanding, then there is a good possibility that God IS opening your mind to His mysteries. This is a GIFT from God…don’t treat it lightly!

Join with us, now, in an overview of THE MYSTERIES OF THE BIBLE.

#1 The Mystery of the Gospel

Why does the Bible say that “the gospel” is a mystery? Because most people do NOT KNOW what the gospel is! This might be a challenging statement, but judge for yourself, as you read the following scriptural proof.

Ephesians 6:19–20 states: “[Pray] for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

We must let the Bible tell us just what the gospel is, because, there is only one gospel. Many have turned away from the true gospel of God AND Christ, and have replaced it with a counterfeit. This happened early in the New Testament Church, at the time of Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, and it has continued ever since.

Note what Paul says in Galatians 1:6–9, 11: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed… But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.”

Indeed, the true gospel is not “according to man.” GOD Himself must reveal to us the mystery of the gospel. GOD must tell us what the gospel is. The meaning of the word “gospel” is “good news” or “glad tidings,” but what IS that good news?

Mark 1:14–15 informs us concerning the gospel Jesus Christ preached: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”

Matthew 4:23 adds: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of disease among the people.”

The one and only true gospel is the gospel of the kingdom of God. THAT was THE GOSPEL, which the early apostles continually proclaimed! Notice in Acts 28:30–31: “Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.”

Also notice Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24:14, that His gospel of the kingdom would still be proclaimed by His Church just prior to His return: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

The gospel, or good news, which Christ and the early apostles proclaimed, and which the Church still is to proclaim TODAY, is the gospel of the Kingdom of God! Christ’s true gospel message has been a mystery to most people. It is time that the veil of this mystery is lifted.

Additional Booklet:

  • The Gospel of the Kingdom of God

#2 The Mystery of the Kingdom of God

Just as the identity of the gospel is a mystery to most people, so is its message. Many don’t know what the gospel is, and when they hear that it is a message about the Kingdom of God, they are confused about the nature of that Kingdom.

Mark 4:10–12 explains: “But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable [of the sower]. And He said to them, ‘To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that “Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.”’”

The Kingdom of God is a mystery to most people because they don’t know what the Kingdom is, who will be in it, where it will be set up and how one can enter into it. They erroneously believe that we go to heaven when we die and enter the Kingdom of God at that time. They also have an incorrect understanding of the Scripture where the Kingdom of God is referred to as the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:23–24: “… Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Though the Kingdom of God is referred to as the kingdom of heaven in some places, it is because God IS that Kingdom, and He is in heaven now. However, He will also set up His Kingdom ON THIS EARTH at the time of Christ’s return.

The Ryrie Study Bible states correctly in its comments on Matthew 3:2: “[The] kingdom of heaven… is the rule of heaven over the earth.” Today, the earth is under the rule of Satan the devil (Matthew 4:8–9).

Another point relevant to this subject is that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50). Rather, one must be born of the Spiritbecome a Spirit being—in order to be IN the Kingdom (John 3:5–6, 8).

Many are also confused about where the Kingdom of God is. They think it is already here, in “the hearts of men,” having misunderstood one of Christ’s sayings in Luke 17:20–21, translated as follows: “The kingdom of God does not come with observation… For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

The Ryrie Study Bible correctly points out that the better translation for “within you” is, “among you.” It continues: “It cannot mean, ‘within you,’ for the kingdom certainly was completely unconnected with the Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking (v. 20).” Christ, as the representative of the Kingdom of God, was in the midst of them.

So then, just as the identity of the gospel is a mystery to most people, so also is the identity of the Kingdom of God. Christ brought the gospel—good news—of the Kingdom of God. You need to know just what that Kingdom is.

Additional Booklets:

  • Are You Already Born Again?
  • The Gospel of the Kingdom of God

#3 The Mystery of God

Many don’t understand that the one true gospel is the message about the Kingdom of God. They don’t understand what the Kingdom of God is. And they don’t even understand who and what God is. They are in spiritual darkness about the true identity and nature of God. That, too, is a mystery to them. They are ignorant of what God looks like in appearance, and they don’t even understand how many beings “God” consists of. Some claim that God is just an all-encompassing “blob” without any form or shape (note, however, Numbers 12:8; Exodus 33:19–23), and that He is just “one” “being.” Others claim that God is one “person” in “three persons.” Still others maintain that man does not and cannot know anything specific about “God.” But that is not what the Bible says.

The Bible makes it clear that God must reveal Himself to us so that we can know Him. We find that Paul prays in Colossians 2:2–3 that we all come to “the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ.”

This is truly a great mystery, as many do not know that the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, are the only two Spirit beings, which are God. In other words, the Holy Spirit is NOT God! It is the power emanating from God, through which God creates and sustains His creation. On the other hand, the nature and identity of “God” is also a mystery to many, because they don’t know that BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON ARE God, and that God is not just one person, but a governing or ruling FAMILY—the Kingdom or Family of God.

The God Family presently consists of the Father and the Son, but with the potential of adding many more members. You, too, could ultimately become a member of the Family of God. Even though these things are a mystery to most people, they do not have to be a mystery for you.

Additional Booklets:

  • Is God a Trinity?
  • God Is a Family

#4 The Mystery of Christ

Most today don’t really know who Christ is, or what, if anything, He does today. It is therefore no surprise that the Bible speaks about the “mystery of Christ.”

We read in Colossians 4:2–4: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”

The mystery of Christ includes the revelation that Jesus Christ IS God. In Titus 2:13, Paul encourages all of us to look “for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The mystery of Christ also includes the fact that Jesus Christ has always been God. John 1:1 tells us that in the beginning was the Word who was with God the Father, and who was also God. Christ is called the Word of God in Revelation 19:13. God the Father calls Christ “God” in Hebrews 1:8–9.

But the mystery of Christ not only relates to who and what Christ was and is, but also, what Christ does. Again, human speculation is useless. God must reveal this mystery to us in His Word, and He does reveal it.

Ephesians 3:1–7 explains: “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.”

The mystery of Christ includes the fact that Jesus Christ is selecting people from all nations to be placed in His spiritual body, His Church, to become fellow heirs of God’s promise—the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. God the Father gives the Spirit of His Son to all those whom He wants (Galatians 4:6)—not just to those who are physical descendants of the tribes of Israel and Judah (and even the modern identity of Israel and Judah is a mystery to most people).

In Colossians 1:24–28, Paul sheds further light on the mystery of Christ—that Christ, through the Holy Spirit, lives in all whom God the Father has called, and that He is making us perfect to attain to His glory in God’s Kingdom.

He tells us: “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints [“the initiated”]. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Jesus Christ.”

Christ is a mystery to most people. They don’t know who He was, who He is now, or what He is doing today. They don’t understand that Christ lives in His disciples, through His Spirit (Romans 8:9), helping them to overcome, as He overcame (Revelation 3:21). And they don’t comprehend that Christ is leading His disciples to glory—His glory. Although these wonderful truths are hidden from most people, you could belong to the few “initiated” who do understand.

Additional Booklets:

  • Jesus Christ—A Great Mystery
  • The Fall and Rise of Britain and America

#5 The Mystery of Godliness

Not only is Christ God, He was also a man for a very short time. That is, He gave up His divine nature and became flesh and blood when He lived here on earth (compare Philippians 2:5–8). God the Father resurrected Him after three days and three nights in the grave, restoring to Him His divine, eternal glory (Philippians 2:9–11).

The fact that Jesus Christ, who WAS a glorious GOD being, BECAME a man, is a total mystery to many. They think that in some way, Christ did not really divest Himself of His divine powers. They claim that He was fully God and fully man when He was here on earth. They continue to preach falsely that while Christ’s “man-part” died, the “God-part” did not die—as God cannot die. But these human concepts are blatantly wrong and, in effect, reject the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is true that God, as a Spirit being, cannot die. That is why Christ had to become a MAN—a physical human being—so that He could die.

We read in 1 Timothy 3:16 about this mystery which is not understood by most people: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”

The mystery of godliness includes the fact that Christ who was God, became totally flesh and blood when here on earth. 1 John 4:2 explains: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” John 1:14 says that Christ became flesh.

Romans 8:3 points out why Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had to come “in the flesh” and why He “became” flesh (compare John 1:14): “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh [that is, we were too weak to keep it], God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.”

Jesus Christ proved that it is possible, with the power of God’s Holy Spirit, to overcome sin in the flesh—as a human being. He could not have proven this fact if He had been “fully God” and “fully man.”

Additional reasons why Jesus Christ had to come in the flesh, and become flesh, are explained in Hebrews 2:14, 17–18: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil… Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God… For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

The fact that Jesus Christ, the God of the Old Testament, who dealt directly with the ancients of old, became a human being, is one of the greatest mysteries to most people. They simply cannot understand how God could become man, and they fail to comprehend WHY Christ HAD to become a man. In rejecting this vital truth, they also reject the tremendous meaning and purpose of Christ’s sacrifice. As a consequence, they still live in spiritual darkness, even though they might think that they have come to the light.

Who and what Christ was, and what He became and is today, is a great mystery to most people. Is it still a mystery to you?

Additional Booklet:

  • Jesus Christ—A Great Mystery!

#6 The Mystery of Man’s Calling

In the same way that many people are ignorant of what Christ did and what He is doing today, they also don’t know that no one CAN come to Christ, unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). The concept that everybody can be saved today if only they will “accept Jesus in their hearts,” is totally wrong! We must be called out of spiritual blindness, and the fact that God must call us for salvation is, indeed, a great mystery to most people. But when God calls us, we must respond to His call. And as God teaches us more and more of His truth, we must act upon what we know. This would include baptism through immersion, upon repentance of our sins and the acceptance of Christ’s Sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. The need to be baptized, as well as the correct form of baptism and the “laying on of hands,” is a mystery to many people, including the understanding that we will receive God’s Holy Spirit upon proper baptism. Another important aspect of this mystery is the fact that God does not call very many today. He calls only a very few, who are identified as the “firstfruits.” The rest will be called later—after Christ has returned and the Kingdom of God has been established on this earth.

Paul explains the mystery of man’s calling in Romans 11:25–26: “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob…’”

Not every one is called now—that is, salvation is being offered to only a select few in this age. Today is NOT the only day of salvation for everybody. Many will be called later, after Christ has returned and established God’s Kingdom here on earth. This means that not everyone will be resurrected from the dead at the time of Christ’s return, either. Only those who died “in Christ” will be resurrected when Christ comes back (1 Corinthians 15:20–23). This astonishing fact is also a mystery to most people. So is the fact that we don’t go to heaven when we die, but that we are “sleeping” the sleep of death in our graves, until we are resurrected from the dead (John 5:28–29; compare Daniel 12:2: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake…”).

Most people think that we have an immortal soul that continues to live on when we die. This, too, is a false concept. The Bible teaches that the man is the soul, and that the soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:4, 20). Indeed, death is a mystery to most people. So is the fact that most of those who died without knowing and following Christ will be resurrected at a later time, which is called in the Bible “The Great White Throne Judgment.”

Revelation 20:4–5, 11–12 explains: “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years [the “Millennium”]. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection… Then [after the thousand years were finished] I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

Christ spoke on several occasions about the “second resurrection” at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment. He said in Luke 11:31–32: “The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Niniveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”

Christ made similar remarks in Matthew 10:15: “Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city [that had refused to listen to the gospel that was preached to it by the apostles]!” He added in Matthew 11:20–24: “Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.’”

Christ then thanked God the Father that He revealed to His Church the mystery of our calling in this day and age, and of the calling of others at a later time. Continuing in verse 25: “At that time Jesus answered and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.’”

Most people don’t understand that God does not call everyone in this day and age, and that both the calling and the resurrection from death to eternal life are subject to a certain order or timetable. This mystery also includes the correct understanding of what happens to us when we die.

Additional Booklets:

  • The Fall and Rise of Britain and America
  • Do We Have an Immortal Soul?
  • God’s Commanded Holy Days
  • Baptism—a Requirement for Salvation?

#7 The Mystery of the Church

Just as most people do not understand that only a very few are called in this day and age for salvation, they likewise are ignorant about another mystery which pertains to those who are called today.

We read in Ephesians 5:25–32 about Paul’s admonition to Christian husbands, as well as an analogy, which is a mystery to most people: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Paul is addressing here the mystery of the relationship between Christ and His Church. He emphasizes that those who are called must come out of the ways of this world in order to be joined with Christ. Christ must be continuously living within them (1 John 2:15–17; Romans 12:2; Galatians 2:20).

The true purpose and function of the Church is a great mystery to most people. The Church is not a building. Instead, the Church is a spiritual organism—the spiritual “body of Christ”—consisting of those in whom God’s Spirit dwells. Still, the Church is organized. Many think they don’t need the Church in order to be saved. Others have joined a religious organization, thinking that they have become a part of the true Church of God. You need to know why Christ has established His Church, where it is today, and what your responsibility is pertaining to Christ’s true Church.

Additional Booklets:

  • The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families
  • Baptism—a Requirement for Salvation?

#8 The Mystery of Man’s Future

Christ cherishes His Church and nourishes it so that it will be ready for His return. As long as those who are called by God for salvation, at this time, follow Christ’s lead and let Him prune them to produce the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, they can look forward to a glorious future. They will have made themselves ready to marry Christ—the Bridegroom—at His return (Revelation 19:7–8). As God allows for marriages only between beings of the same “kind,” Church members will have to be changed—from mortal to immortal, from flesh to spirit, from man to God—in order to be able to marry Christ. This future change is a mystery that virtually nobody understands.

1 Corinthians 15:51 sheds light on this mystery of man’s change from flesh to spirit: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [in death], but we shall all be changed.” The hidden mystery is that those who are “in Christ” will be changed to God, in the same way that the human Jesus Christ became, again, an immortal God being through the resurrection—the second member of the God family at that time. They will enter into the Family of God, or Kingdom of God, as additional born-again members of that Family. (Many believe that they are already born again, but they are wrong. The correct understanding as to when we are born again is a mystery to most people.)

1 John 3:1–2 tells us: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

God’s Word says that we will be LIKE Him. Many translations, including the Elberfelder Bible, state that we will be “equal with Him.” To most people, the very concept that we can be “like” or “equal with” God is a great mystery! But Colossians 1:15 explains to us that Christ “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” The Greek word for “image” is “eikon.” It means, “likeness, representation, profile.” Christ said that he who sees Him sees the Father.

As Christ is the image of God the Father, so we are to become the image of Christ. Romans 8:29 says: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Paul adds in 1 Corinthians 15:49: “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man [Jesus Christ, the second Adam].”

For those with spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear, Paul elaborates further on the fantastic future change of man in
2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

When we bear Christ’s image, we will look like Christ (note a description of Christ’s glorious appearance now in Revelation 1:14–18).

In Matthew 22:17–21, Christ was given a denarius, a Roman coin that had an imprinted image of Caesar on it. Anyone looking at the coin would easily recognize the imprint as that of Caesar. In a similar way, we will be recognized as being an image of Christ. We will look like Him in His glorious state. We will have His characteristics. We will actually become God, that is, a God being—a full and total image of God the Father and Jesus Christ, much like a physical child is often recognized as being an image of his or her parents. Those who are called and chosen in this day and age are already [begotten] children of God, awaiting their change to a full Spirit being at the return of Christ.

Additional Booklet:

  • God Is A Family
  • Are You Already Born Again?

#9 The Mystery of God’s Wisdom

1 Corinthians 2:7–12 and 14 introduces us to yet another mystery, which the “wisdom of this age” does not, and cannot, comprehend. As with the other mysteries, understanding this mystery is of tremendous importance if we want to understand why God has called only some in this day and age.

We read in the above-quoted passage:

 “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained [predetermined or predestined] before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit [which] is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God… but the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Again we read that God, through His Spirit, must reveal the mysteries of the Bible to us. Man, left alone to himself, regardless of how smart and educated he might be, CANNOT understand those mysteries! That is why the most sophisticated and brilliant minds do not know what the potential of man is! They do not comprehend the mystery of God’s wisdom for our glory.

God has predestined—predetermined a long time ago—some to inherit His glory. He chose them before they were born, even before the earth was formed—“before the ages”—to become born-again members of His Family. And He has now revealed to them, through His Spirit, the “mystery of His wisdom,” so that they “may know the things” that God has given to them, “for our glory.”

Additional Booklets:

  • Are You Predestined to Be Saved?
  • The Theory of Evolution

#10 The Mystery of God’s Will

Closely connected with the mystery of God’s Wisdom is still another mystery—that of God’s Will. Seemingly identical, these two mysteries do reveal slightly different aspects of God’s plan for man.

We read in Ephesians 1:7–14: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence [understanding], having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, [which] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

Again, we read that some have been predestined to be called in this day and age to inherit God’s kingdom (verse 11–12). But the mystery of God’s Will emphasizes an additional aspect of God’s plan—the fact that their calling did not occur accidentally or coincidentally, and that the outcome is not a big gamble in God’s eyes. Rather, it is GOD’S WILL and GOOD PLEASURE to give His kingdom to those whom He has called (Luke 12:32). God did not flip a coin, so to speak, to see whether or not they might make it into His kingdom. Insofar as God is concerned, their success is guaranteed. It is God’s Will—and He is confident—that they are going to succeed; otherwise, He would not have called them at this time.

God gives them all the “tools” necessary for their success. He offers them forgiveness of their sins if and when they sin, through the Sacrifice of His Son (Ephesians 1:7). He gives them His Holy Spirit, which is a guarantee of their inheritance of eternal life in God’s Kingdom (verses 13–14). This is not to say that they could not fall away. But it does mean that God does not expect them to fail. The mystery of God’s Will for them is that they win. Only they can thwart God’s plan for them by giving up themselves.

Do you belong to those whom God has predestined to be called in this day and age? How can you be sure that you are not? Are you interested in God’s mysteries? Are you willing to OBEY God and DO what He asks you to do? If you are, then there is a great chance that God is calling you now!

Additional Booklet:

  • Are You Predestined to Be Saved?

#11 The Mystery of the Faith

It is one thing to read about and understand God’s plan for mankind. It is quite a different matter to actually believe it—have faith in it. But we must have faith if we want to come to God
(Hebrews 11:6).

Unfortunately, many people don’t know what faith is. They think that faith is a human emotion, or, that it is something they have to work up themselves. Some confuse faith with superstition. So then, we see that faith is also a mystery to many people.

First, we need to understand that human faith is not enough to please God. Rather, what we need to have is God’s faith, and we can only have the faith of God in us, when God gives us His faith. The fact that we actually must have—and that we can have— God’s faith remains a great mystery to most.

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:8–9:

“Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.” These principles actually apply to every Christian.

But, most people know nothing about the faith of God and Christ, which must be in us, and which is required for salvation. It is an active faith, evidenced by obedience to God and His Law (Romans 1:5; 16:26).

It is not a passive faith in God, which even disobedient demons have (James 2:19). We must not only believe in God, but we must have “obedient” faith to DO what God tells us to do.

Revelation 14:12 refers to the necessary active faith that we must have in our lives as follows: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” We see that the faith of Jesus goes hand in hand with commandment-keeping.

Note, too, Galatians 2:20 (Authorized Version):

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth within me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Does God’s faith live in you? If not, how can you obtain it? This question is a great mystery to most people. It does not have to be a mystery for you.

Additional Booklet:

  • Baptism—A Requirement for Salvation?

#12 The Mystery of Angels and Church Eras

Closely connected with the mystery of God and the Church is a mystery that is described in Revelation 1:12–13, 16 and 20 in this way: “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band… He had in His right hand seven stars… [The Son of Man—Jesus Christ in His glory—said:]… ‘The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.’”

In a number of Scriptures, the Bible speaks of stars as being symbolic of angels. Even demons can be referred to as stars, as they are fallen angels who sinned against God (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). But most people today know little, if anything, about angels and demons, let alone the entire realm of the spirit world. It is simply a mystery to them. If they believe in angels, they have in most cases a totally wrong concept of them. Or, even worse, they may be in communication with demons, thinking that they are talking to God’s holy angels.

Additionally, Christ describes as a mystery, the history and future of His true Church, and the fact that seven stars—or angels—watch over the Church. Christ gave a message to John about seven churches. While His message pertained to the Church of God for all times, including seven historic Church eras, beginning with the Ephesus era and ending with the Laodicean era, it also pertained to seven local Church congregations at the time of John. This fact is also a mystery to many people.

The very last era of the Church—Laodicea—is described as being “lukewarm.” That era will be extant just before Christ returns to this earth (Revelation 3:20). However, remnants from previous eras, including the Philadelphia era, will be in existence at that time, as well. Christ tells the remnant of Philadelphia that He will come quickly and that they are to hold fast what had been given to them (Revelation 3:11). There will also be in existence at that time a remnant of the Sardis era, which is warned to watch, lest Christ come upon them as a thief (Revelation 3:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–4). Even a remnant of Thyatira would still be in existence at the time of Christ’s return, and they might have to go through the Great Tribulation because of the lack of repentance (Revelation 2:22).

The history of the true Church of God is a mystery to most people. Orthodox Christianity, as well as most of the rest of the world, assumes that a great powerful and well recognized Church organization constitutes the true Church of God. However, this view is in error. God’s true Church has always been a little flock (Luke 12:32), persecuted and sometimes unnoticed by the world at large (compare Revelation 12:6: the woman—God’s Church—survived unnoticed in the wilderness for 1,260 days, or years). At times, God’s Church has faced persecution, rejection and resistance because of the fulfillment of its commission to preach the true gospel in all the world as a witness, and those who are faithful to this commission will be hated by all nations (Matthew 24:8–14), even more so just prior to the return of Christ to set up God’s Kingdom on this earth.

Additional Booklets:

  • The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord
  • Angels, Demons and the Spirit World
  • Should You Fight in War?

#13 The Mystery of Babylon the Great

The last two mysteries we will discuss are as important to understand as the other mysteries, but it is imperative that we NOT, in any way, be associated with them because of what they represent.

The first of these last two mysteries is described in the 17th and 18th chapters of the book of Revelation. In Revelation 17, John sees in a vision a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns. We read the following about this woman in Revelation 17:4–6: “The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.” Even John did not understand, at first, the mystery of Babylon the Great.

As instructed by God, the angel began to reveal to John the meaning: “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains [or, hills] on which the woman sits… And the woman whom you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:9, 18).

This city is referred to as modern Babylon in several places (Revelation 18:10, 15–16, 21). It is a rich city, but it also represents a religious and economic system, which, in turn, rides a political system—the beast with seven heads and ten horns. But it is a brutal and violent system that has been persecuting the true servants of God. Revelation 18:24 says: “And in her [the modern city of Babylon—the city which is built on seven hills] was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

God tells His people to disassociate themselves from this system: “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’” (Revelation 18:4).

In order to come out of Babylon, one must know who and what Babylon is, and where it is to be found today. One must alsounderstand the mystery of ancient Babylon and how man’s civilization came into existence. After all, for most, ancient Babylon, as well as Babylon the Great, is a mystery. They don’t know what it represents. But God’s true servants do know, as God has revealed it to them. They don’t become confused with every wind of prophetic speculation, trying to give “new meaning” to the mystery of Babylon.

Additional Booklets:

  • Europe in Prophecy
  • The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord
  • Don’t Keep Christmas
  • The Fall and Rise of Britain and America

#14 The Mystery of Lawlessness

Once we have identified the mystery of Babylon the Great, we are prepared to review the last remaining mystery—that of lawlessness. The mystery of Babylon the Great identifies the modern Babylonian system, while the mystery of lawlessness describes what that system stands for and what it teaches.

The mystery of lawlessness was already in operation at the time of Paul. He warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:7: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work…”

We are told in 1 John 3:4 that “sin is lawlessness.” The Biblical teaching is that we will not enter the kingdom of God if we practice lawlessness. This is a mystery to most people, as they have been taught by the Babylonian system (the mother church and its daughter churches) that Christ came to abolish the law of God. They have been misled to believe that the Ten Commandments are no longer in force and effect; that God accepts us as we are; that we are already in His Kingdom; and that we are saved by grace without any need to keep His Law.

True Christians—those who practice what Jesus Christ taught—know full well that Christ did not teach anything like that. As Matthew 13:41–42 points out: “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

He also gave us this startling admonition and warning in Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Just as the fact that God’s Law is still in force and effect today is a mystery to most people, so also is the identity of that Law a mystery to them. Many don’t know what it is they are supposed to do. They think that as long as they follow the dictates of their own heart and their own conscience, they are pleasing God. They fail to understand that our conscience can never make us right in the eyes of God, when it contradicts God’s Law. God must reveal the mystery of His Law to us. He must show us His way of Life, His way of righteousness and what it means for us, and we must understand that the way of lawlessness will, in fact, keep us out of His kingdom.

David understood that God had to reveal to Him the wonders of His Law. He wrote in Psalm 119:18–19, 27, 34: “Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me… Make me understand the way of Your precepts… Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law.”

David also stated, in Psalm 25:14: “The secret of the LORD [or, the mystery of the LORD] is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”

Most people are deceived, thinking obedience is unnecessary for salvation. They never seem to ask why God would change a rebellious, God-defying mortal individual, who does not want to obey Him, to an immortal Spirit being and give him eternal life. And if they ever did ask this question, they immediately dismiss it, claiming that it is a “mystery” to them. But YOU do not need to be in doubt about the “mystery of lawlessness.”

Additional Booklets:

  • And Lawlessness Will Abound…
  • Tithing—Today?

The Mysteries Are To Be Made Known

As we have seen, the Bible contains many mysteries; mysteries that God CHOOSES to reveal to the “initiated”—God’s true servants. But HOW are these mysteries revealed to God’s people? Can just anyone sit down and read the Bible on his own, thinking that God will open his mind to all these mysteries we have covered in this booklet? Hardly!

Individual Christianity, which is the idea that anyone can inherit salvation apart from God’s Church—the Body of Christ—is as wrong a concept as the belief that we can come to true understanding while attending with an organization which is not a part of Christ’s spiritual body.

Paul asks these timeless questions in Romans 10:14–17: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel! For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

God has decreed that His truth be revealed by and through His Church and His faithful ministers (compare Ephesians 4:11–16). In fact—unbelievable as it may seem—God’s Church has a responsibility to declare God’s truth even to angels!

Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:8–10: “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Revised Standard Version)” Compare, too, 1 Peter 1:12).

In addition, Christ told God’s Church they must proclaim God’s Truth to all nations (Matthew 28:19–20). Paul stated in Romans 16:25–27: “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen (Revised Standard Version).”

Ultimately, everything that is secret, will be revealed. In preaching the gospel into all the world, the Church is following God’s commission to make known His mysteries to those who are willing to accept them. Christ said in Luke 8:17: “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”

He told His faithful servants in Luke 12:3: “Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

He added in Matthew 10:27: “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.”

A Warning and Challenge

This booklet would not be complete if we failed to state a warning and a challenge for you to consider.

Even if you agree with everything that has been written in this booklet, and if you have been motivated to study deeper into the mysteries of the Bible, all such knowledge would be of no value to you if a most important aspect is missing in your life.

Even if you know and understand all of these mysteries discussed herein, it would do you absolutely no good unless a most vital element was also present in your life—that of God’s love.

1 Corinthians 13 describes the love of God and prefaces it by saying: “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (verse 2).

Paul is addressing here the love of God—not just human love. We can only have this godly love if God gives it to us through His Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). And God does not promise that we will receive His Holy Spirit, unless we are first properly baptized (Acts 2:38).

Understanding the mysteries of the Bible is extremely important. But we must also have a proper perspective. God regards the fruit of His Holy Spirit in our lives as being even more important than understanding the mysteries of the Bible, and the foremost fruit of God’s Spirit is His love (Galatians 5:22). God’s love does no harm to our neighbor and thereby fulfills God’s Law (Romans 13:8–10). In fact, the love of God is defined as keeping His commandments
(1 John 5:2–3).

Notice how God’s love is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (Living Bible): “Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”

Does this describe you? If it does, then the knowledge of God’s mysteries can be of great value to you. They show you what only very few understand today. We hope that you will be motivated to study deeper into these mysteries and to read the literature offered throughout this booklet, as well as the material listed in the appendix of this booklet.

We pray that you will come to fully comprehend these mysteries and that you will treasure them.

Finally, we pray that you will live your life in thankful appreciation of the fact that God is offering YOU the knowledge and understanding of…

… the Mysteries of the Bible!

Appendix

In our regular weekly Update publication, we have a Q&A (Question-and-Answer) section, which presents the Biblical teaching on a variety of topics. As is the case with all of our literature, these are posted on our Websites:

USA: www.eternalgod.org

Canada: www.churchofgodacf.ca

United Kingdom: www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk

If you require hard copies (free of charge), please write to our nearest office (see last page for addresses).

Sample Q&A Topics

A sample listing of the Q&A topics that address questions and issues related to some of the topics discussed in this booklet, are as follows:

Questions Pertaining to Jesus Christ

Update #105—Accepting Christ as Personal Savior

Update #116—Sign of Christ’s Return

Update #119—Time of Christ’s Return

Update #156—How do we address the Messiah?

Update #166—Was Christ a sin and a curse?

Update #169—How did Christ learn obedience?

Update #193—How did Christ fulfill the law?

Update #224—How to discern the Lord’s body?

Update #236—Was Christ Created?

Questions Pertaining to God and the Spirit World

Update #55—Did Lucifer rule on earth?

Update #56—Was Satan’s former name Lucifer?

Update #69—Whom does the word “Lord” refer to?

Update #70—Whom does the term “Ancient of Days” refer to?

Update #74—Who are the Watchers in Daniel 4?

Update #97—Are there three or seven heavens?

Update #129—What is Satan’s fate?

Update #212—To whom should a Christian pray?

Update #223—Can angels reproduce?

Questions Pertaining to Sin and God’s Law

Update #58—Is the Sabbath for the Jews only?

Update #67—Should Christians participate in War?

Update #79—Who pays for sin?

Update #84—Why did the ancient Israelites fight?

Update #108—Are we free from the Law?

Update #114—Should we participate in Halloween?

Update #122—Why don’t you celebrate Christmas?

Update #134—What is the origin of April Fools’ Day?

Update #149—Was Paul a Sabbath observer?

Update #150—Is the Sabbath still in effect today?

Update #151—Did Christ’s death abolish all Old Testament laws?

Update #165—Is the law of circumcision still in effect today?

Update #170—Did God give laws that were not good?

Update #179—What is the Biblical teaching on polygamy?

Update #197—Is only belief needed for salvation?

Update #218—Did God tell Samuel to lie?

Update #225—Are Paul’s instructions binding today?

Update #226—What is the Biblical teaching on Adultery and Premarital Sex?

Questions Pertaining to the Future of Man

Update #54—Will there be a secret rapture?

Update #118—Where will the Biblical Wedding Supper take place?

Update #128—What happened to Enoch?

Update #130—Did Elijah go to heaven?

Update #152—Christ is the firstborn from the dead

Update #191—Will an aborted fetus live again?

Update #194—Do the Wicked go to hell?

Update #195—Update #201—What is the Baptism with fire?

Update #205—Does a Christian go to heaven after death?

Questions Pertaining to Christian Living

Update #92— What does the Bible say about Confession?

Update #103—Should we charge our brother interest?

Update #113—What does the Bible say about Tattoos?

Update #124—What does the Bible say about Water Divining?

Update #142—Are we to forgive those who sin against us?

Update #158—Are Christians subject to Time and Chance?

Update #190—Avoid a root of bitterness

Update #198—What do you mean—“to live is Christ”?

Update #203—How are we to take up the cross?

Update #204—Rejoice in sufferings

Update #221—Don’t act hastily

Update #230—Should Women study the “Hidden Secrets” of the Bible?

Update #232—How can we be perfect, since we all sin?

Update #237—What Is A True Christian?

Questions Pertaining to Prophecy

Update #121—What is the key of David?

Update #123—Who are the 144,000 of the book of Revelation?

Update #126—The modern identity of Biblical nations

Update #139—Distinction between the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord

Update #154—Who is the king of the south?

Update #159—What is the future of Ireland

Update #167—The King of the south—yet to come?

Update #174—Will prophetic events be cut short?

Update #185—Will the Jews build a temple before Christ returns?

Questions Pertaining to the Role and Function of the Church

Update #96—Why does the Church exist?

Update #107—The open door of Revelation 3:8

Update#157—Does the Bible teach Church eras?

Update #171—Who is authorized to baptize?

Update #172—God’s Church must warn of future events

Update #187—Identity of the seven church eras

Questions Pertaining to Historical Biblical Events

Update #68—Who created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

Update #82—Who created the vicious nature of some animals?

Update # 94—Did Jesus have brothers and sisters?

Update #95 —Did Jesus dishonor His mother Mary?

Update #101—Was Christ dead for only 72 hours?

Update #109—Is there historical proof that Christ existed?

Update #115—Genealogy of Christ

Update #136—Who was Moses’ Cushite wife?

Update #138—Who was Joseph’s Egyptian wife?

Update #143—Did Pharaoh drown in the sea?

Update #162—When was Jesus Christ born?

Update #173—Did Jesus wear long hair?

Update #181—The death of Paul

Update #182—Did Jephthah sacrifice his own daughter?

Update #189—Was Jesus resurrected on Sunday morning?

Update #207—How was Lot righteous?

Update #210—Where did Cain’s wife come from?

Teach Us to Pray

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Introduction

Do you pray?

If not, you are just one, among many, who don’t. Why is that the case?

Perhaps it is due to indifference–a lack of understanding of WHY it matters. Or maybe people don’t know HOW to pray. It could be that they don’t know WHAT to pray about, or they don’t know WHEN to pray. It may be they don’t even know to WHOM they should pray. Then again, it could very well be that some who were once diligent in prayer, simply got away from any meaningful communication with God, due to entanglement in the concerns of daily life.

The Bible is filled with instructions and principles concerning prayer, such that we are really without excuse when it comes to developing and maintaining a conversant relationship with God.

In this booklet, we will present those Biblical instructions and principles to help you pray successfully. We hope that you will be encouraged to begin a meaningful dialogue with God the Father, if you have never done so before. On the other hand, if you think you already know how to pray, but have become slack in this area, it is our hope that you will be motivated to renew a close, personal relationship with God through prayer. Then again, if you are one who does pray regularly, it is our hope that we can help you make your prayers more effective.

Whatever category you find yourself in, we believe this booklet will help you pray successfully.

To Whom Should We Pray?

It is common in Protestant churches to pray to Jesus Christ, while in the Catholic Church,  Mary and various saints are also addressed in prayers. There is, indeed, much confusion regarding how to pray and to whom one should pray, but what is the Biblical teaching on this important subject?

The Bible clearly reveals that the followers of Jesus Christ should direct their prayers, first and foremost, to God the Father. When one of Jesus’ disciples asked Him how they should pray, He was very specific regarding to whom prayer was to be offered: “…He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven’” (Luke 11:2). In the full context of His instruction about prayer, we find this final comment: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).

Jesus teaches that we should address our prayers to the Father, thus pointing to the ultimate relationship that God is creating with mankind! In the account in Matthew concerning Jesus’ instruction about prayer, we read: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

Jesus describes the heathen who think that their prayers are heard for their many words. This judgment also applies to those who believe they are practicing Christianity, but, in fact, are deceived! Jesus warns that many will say they invoked His name in order to validate their religious practices; however, His response to that will be: “…I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).

When Jesus and His disciples had come to a certain city in Samaria, He discussed the subject of worship with a Gentile woman from the area. Jesus stated: “…Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:21-24).

Later, in a pointed exchange between Jesus and some of the Jews, we find this record in John 8:42: “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.’” Continuing in this account, Jesus shows that even these Jews, who were a part of the physical lineage of Abraham, were NOT true worshippers of God the Father: “Jesus answered, ‘If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him… ‘” (John 8:54-55).

How do we come to KNOW God the Father?  We come to know the Father only as a result of being called by Him. Jesus provides the explanation in Matthew 11:27: “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, AND the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

Jesus also said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He told His disciples that, following His death and resurrection, they were to pray to the Father–asking in the name of Jesus Christ (compare John 15:16; 16:23). Jesus opened the way for His followers to pray directly to the Father: “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (John 16:26-27).

In His own personal references about God, Jesus refers to God as “Father,” particularly when praying (Compare Matthew 26:39, 42; Luke 10:21; Luke 23:34, 46; John 11:41; John 12:28; John 17:1). The remarkable truth is that this Father-Son relationship is what has always defined these two members of the God Family, and it is the kind of relationship that Christians are promised throughout the limitless future of eternity! Please refer to our free booklet entitled, “God Is A Family,” for a more detailed  explanation.

Jesus told His disciples that He was about to return to His Father, and in this context, He said: “…My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Paul adds this explanation about the plan God is working out: “Then comes the end, when He [Jesus Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:24). Also, we read in verse 28: “Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”

The Book of Hebrews explains: “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1). Hebrews also reveals that Jesus Christ opened the way to the Father, and that He continues as High Priest on our behalf when we come before God the Father in prayer: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25; also, compare Hebrews 4:14-16). John writes: “…And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1; also, compare Romans 8:34).

There is absolutely no Biblical basis for praying to anyone but God. Even John, on two occasions, was so overwhelmed and filled with awe by the visions revealed through one of God ‘s angels, he reacted by falling down to worship the angel, but the angel corrected him, saying: “Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God‘” (Revelation 22:9; compare Revelation 19:10).

There is at least one Biblical example when one of Christ’s servants prayed to Christ. We read in Acts 7:59-60: “And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God [note that the word “God” was added, as it is not in the original] and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he said this, he fell asleep.”

We can conclude from this example that it is not wrong to OCCASIONALLY include in our prayers to the Father, a direct acknowledgement of Jesus Christ [besides the fact that we are to pray “in Christ’s name,” as will be explained in more detail later in this booklet]. After all, Christ is God, and He was even worshipped when He was on this earth, in the flesh.

We receive the Holy Spirit from both the Father and the Son, so both the Father and the Son live in us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, however, is not God, nor is it a separate person; therefore, we should never pray to the Holy Spirit (see our free booklet, “Is God a Trinity?).

Praying to Christ should not be the focus of our prayers. As the Scriptures show, Christ Himself directed us to pray to the Father—the HIGHEST BEING in the God Family–and because the Father accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, the way is open for us to come, with confidence, to the throne of God for help (compare Hebrews 10:19-22).

Right and Wrong Ways to Pray

Some diligently pray, but they have established for themselves, a very precise regimen—praying exactly at the same time(s) of day, for exactly the same amount of time, and are even dissatisfied with themselves when they pray less than their designated time. Others fall into a routine of saying the same words over and over again, without really thinking or meditating about the meaning. Christ told us not to use vain repetition in our prayers. He warned us that we are not heard for our many words (Matthew 6:7).

In Old Testament times, and even at the time of Jesus, people would pray in the Temple in Jerusalem, but Christ said that His true disciples don’t need to have a special place for prayer. They can pray to God anywhere. He also said that they are to pray to God the Father in “spirit and truth” (John 4:21, 23-24). For instance, Christ prayed for a long time in the Garden of Gethsemane, before His arrest (compare Matthew 26:40, 44; John 17:1-26), as well as on a mountain, before He chose the twelve apostles (compare Luke 6:12-13).

The Bible shows us the proper way to pray, both publicly and privately. For instance, when we pray in public by giving an opening or a closing prayer in Church services, we must not pray to be “seen by men” (Matthew 6:5). Our motivation must not be to please men, but rather to please God. On the other hand, heart-rending, intimate prayers should be communicated to God the Father privately (Matthew 6:6).

Does it matter how we position our body when we pray?  A very common position of praying is to be on our knees (1 Kings 8:54; Ezra 9:5; Luke 22:45). However, the attitude of the one who prays is much more important than his or her particular “prayer position” (compare Hosea 7:14; Luke 22:44).

What about the length of our prayers? The Bible mentions very successful lengthy prayers, lasting in excess of an hour, as well as highly effective short prayers, lasting only a few minutes (John 11:41-42; 1 Kings 18:36-38).

When is the right time to pray? The Bible speaks of prayers being given at various times: very early in the morning (Mark 1:35; Psalm 5:3), at noon (Acts 10:9), at midnight (Acts 16:25; Psalm 119:62), and sometimes even throughout the night (Luke 6:12). We read that some prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10), while others prayed seven times a day (Psalm 119:164). As we will discuss in this booklet, there is really never a time when a Christian should not pray. This does not mean, of course, that the person is to pray on his or her knees all day long, but sometimes short, silent, heartfelt prayers are very effective.

Since it is God to whom we pray, then we are obligated to study the subject of prayer in the Bible so that we can learn to be successful in our communication with Him. We will begin with some very important principles for successful prayers.

Principles for Successful Prayers

The following principles, clearly laid out for us in the Bible, teach us how to properly address our Father if we expect our prayers to be successful. We encourage you to study them carefully if you want to have a closer, deeper, and more meaningful level of communication with Him.

1.  Ask

The Bible commands, and, in fact, encourages us to pray. We are told to ASK God to take care of our needs. We have no guarantee that God will give us what we need, unless we ask Him for it. It may even be necessary to ask more than once.

We read in Matthew 7:7-11: “ASK, and it will be given to you; SEEK, and you will find; KNOCK, and it will be opened to you. For EVERYONE who ASKS receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened… your Father who is in heaven [will] give good things to those who ASK Him!”

James tells us that possibly we don’t have what we need, simply because we don’t ask (James 4:2). Even though God the Father KNOWS our needs before we ask (Matthew 6:8), He still wants us to ASK Him, as this shows Him that we know our blessings come from Him, and that we do appreciate them. God will do much more for us than what we even thought to ask, when He sees we have a right attitude and are thankful for what He IS already doing (compare Ephesians 3:20).

Christ emphasized that God will give us His Holy Spirit if we ASK Him for it (Luke 11:13; compare John 4:10, comparing the Holy Spirit with “living water”). We can even ask God to work in the lives of others who might be sinning, so that they will come to repentance and obtain forgiveness. God says that He WILL do this when we ask Him (compare 1 John 5:16).

2.  Ask in Faith

When we ask God for something, we must believe that God can, and will, grant our wish. If we doubt that God hears our prayers, how can we expect an answer? (Compare James 1:5-8.) Christ questioned whether He would find anyone with faith in the otherwise faithless and God-defying generation at the time of His return (Luke 18:8).

We are to pray without doubting (1 Timothy 2:8). Christ even made this astonishing promise, in Matthew 21:21-22: “… Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt… if you say to this mountain [figurative for a big problem in our lives], ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, BELIEVING, you will receive” (compare Mark 11:22-24).

This requires MUCH faith. When we have only “little faith,” we WILL doubt (Matthew 14:31). With just “little faith,” we will be afraid and fearful in challenging situations (Matthew 8:26).

We are told that our faith must GROW, but since only God can increase our faith (Luke 17:5; compare Mark 9:23-24), we must ASK Him to give us more faith. Without faith, God will not do mighty works for us (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5-6). We read that God dealt with people according to their faith (Matthew 9:29; compare Acts 14:9).

God heals us, when we ask Him, IF we have the faith that He will do it (James 5:14-15; Luke 7:50). Christ healed a woman’s child because the mother had “great faith” (Matthew 15:28).

When we find ourselves in trouble or need help in our trials, we are to ask God for help, in faith, without worrying about the circumstances surrounding us; circumstances which  might appear to be too difficult to get out of, and even impossible. WITH GOD, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE (Matthew 19:26), and if we believe, nothing will be impossible for us (Mark 9:23)!

We must learn to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Abraham set a right example of that, who “contrary to [human] hope, in [godly] hope believed,” “not being weak in faith,” without “waver[ing] at the promise of God through unbelief,” but “being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:18-21). That is why we read that if we “know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we KNOW that we HAVE the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:15).

Our faith must be such that we know that God will grant our petitions even BEFORE we have actually received them. If we don’t just have “little faith,” God will give us food, drink and shelter (Matthew 6:30; Luke 12:28).

3.  Pray Boldly

When we have the faith that God will hear and answer our prayers, then we ought to appear before God’s throne with “boldness.” If we approach Him in a timid or fearful way, we show Him that we don’t really believe that He will do what we ask Him to do.

We are, therefore, encouraged to “come BOLDLY to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). Paul tells us that since we have boldness in Christ, as well as confidence through faith in Him, we are not to lose heart and give up, including not giving up in prayer (Ephesians 3:12-13). We are instructed to “draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith,” as we have “boldness to enter the Holiest [God’s Temple in heaven] by the blood of Jesus [who died for our sins and who grants us forgiveness] … and having a High Priest [Jesus] over the house of God [the church, representing us before the Father]” (compare Hebrews 10:19-22).

The Greek word for “boldly” or “boldness,” “parrhesia,” means “free utterance” or “free spokenness.” “Bold” is defined as “having courage, fearless, daring, or vigorous in… expression.”

Christ spoke BOLDLY to the people, thus showing His unshakable conviction (compare John 7:25-26). So it follows, then, that Christ’s disciples must exemplify the same kind of boldness in their lives (Philippians 1:19-20; compare also 1 Timothy 3:13).

This includes, standing up boldly for Jesus Christ and for the truth of God (Ephesians 6:19-20; Acts 4:8-13, 29, 31).

It also includes the right kind of boldness toward God. We read, in 1 John 4:17-18, that “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment… There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” As long as we abide in Christ, we can have confidence [“boldness” in Greek] when He appears (1 John 2:28). We are therefore admonished not to cast away our confidence [“boldness” in Greek] (Hebrews 10:35); but rather, to hold fast the confidence [“boldness” in Greek] firm to the end (Hebrews 3:6).

This kind of boldness needs to be developed and maintained in this life. We read that the righteous person is bold as a lion, and when we do the will of God, we can have boldness, even when we appear humbly in prayer before His throne to make our requests known.

John concurs, in 1 John 5:14: “Now this is the confidence [in Greek, “boldness”] that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

4.  Keep God’s Commandments

Even though we ask God in faith and with boldness for His favors and benefits, we cannot count on His positive response if we are living in sin; that is, if we refuse to get rid of sin when it comes to our attention. We all sin and are in need of forgiveness, but we must repent of our sins and forsake the WAY of unrighteousness, by ceasing to PRACTICE it.

We read in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that we are nothing if we don’t have godly love (“agape” in Greek), even though we might have all faith to remove mountains. Godly love—the love of God—is defined as keeping God’s commandments (1 John 5:3).  2 John 6 tells us that “This is love, that we WALK according to His commandments.”  Romans 13:10 tells us that godly love “IS the FULFILLMENT of the law.” When we practice sin, we do NOT have the love of God within us, and without living in a way that is pleasing to God, we cannot assume that God will answer our petitions.

We read in 1 John 3:22: “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, BECAUSE we keep His commandments and DO those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

As long as we walk according to our fleshly carnal desires, we cannot please God (Romans 8:8). While we cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6), faith without works, or obedience to God’s law, is dead (James 2:17). God requires of us “…obedience to the faith” (Romans 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7).

We are to walk worthy of God, “fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work…” (Colossians 1:9-10). It is pleasing to God when we do good and share (Hebrews 13:16).

If we want to please God, we must give up sin and embrace righteousness. In fact, we are told that God is “far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). God’s eyes are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12). We are promised that the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

How does the Bible define righteousness? Psalm 119:172 says: “For all Your commandments are righteousness.” So, if we want to be heard by God, we are to live righteous lives, which we do by keeping His commandments, thereby pleasing Him.

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7: “… you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God… that you should abstain from sexual immorality… that no one should … defraud his brother… For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”

Christ knew that the Father always heard His prayers (John 11:42). He had confidence and conviction that the Father would not leave Him alone, “because,” as He said, “I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). When we do the same, we can have the assurance that God the Father will always hear us.

Christ also tells us that as long as we abide in Him—by letting Him live His life in us, following His example—and His words or commandments abide in us, we can ask what we desire, and it will be done for us (John 15:7).

5.  Bear Fruit

When we concentrate on keeping God’s commandments and doing what is pleasing to Him, we WILL produce the fruit of righteous character (compare Galatians 5:22-23). And as we do, we have further assurances that God will answer our request.

Christ told us in John 15:16: “I… appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.”

6.  Pray in Christ’s Name

We just read that we are to ask God the Father in Christ’s name (compare John 14:13; 16:23-24, 26). We will discuss what this means in more detail later in this booklet.

7.  Pray Always

Some people are misguided in thinking that we only need to pray to God at certain designated times (perhaps in the morning, before going to work, or in the evening, before going to bed), and that these kinds of prayers are sufficient for the rest of the day. This is DISTINCTLY NOT what the Bible teaches!

Rather, we are to walk with God, like Moses did, who “endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). Actually, we are to walk, or better, “live” with God, and God is to “live” with us, through His Holy Spirit in us. God the Father and Jesus Christ came to make Their home with us (John 14:23).

It follows, then, that we are to pray to God “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In fact, we are to pray to God “always” (Ephesians 6:18); that is, we are to have an ongoing prayerful relationship with God, which encompasses even our very thought processes. Christ told us that we “ought to pray always and not lose heart,” and that God will help those who cry out to Him day and night (Luke 18:1, 7). We are to “watch… and pray always” that we may be counted worthy of Christ at His coming (Luke 21:36). Paul reiterated that we are to give thanks “always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). Paul also encourages us to continue “steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

David certainly recognized the need to be in touch constantly with God. He prayed in the daytime and in the night season, it says in Psalm 22:2. He prayed “Evening and morning and at noon” (Psalm 55:17). He prayed “all day long” (Psalm 86:3).

Asaph prayed in the day of his trouble and in the night without ceasing (Psalm 77:2), and Heman prayed day and night (Psalm 88:1).

Psalm 32:6 says: “… everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found.”

Sometimes, it may seem as if God does not hear our prayers, but we need to understand that it may be that God is testing our endurance. If so, this would most certainly not be the time to give up praying, but rather to pray more fervently and with persistence (compare Matthew 20:29-31; Luke 11:5-8). We are told to “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” (Psalm 27:14).

We have the promise that, when we sow in tears, we will reap in joy (Psalm 126:5), and that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). So, we are to “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him,” while keeping His way (Psalm 37:7, 34). God acts for those who wait for Him (Isaiah 64:4), and David relates his experience in this way: “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1).

In those circumstances, it would not be wrong to plead with God to answer us speedily, all the while never doubting that God is there, that He is aware of our trouble, and that He WILL act for us when He deems best (compare Psalm 13:1; 71:12, 14, 20; 89:46; 141:1; 143:7-11).

Summary

In order to pray successfully, we need to: 1) ask; 2) with faith; 3) with boldness; while 4) keeping God’s commandments; 5) bearing fruit; 6) praying in Christ’s name; and 7) praying always. If we do this, we will receive from God the Father, in His due time, what we ask of Him.

The Prayer Outline

If you don’t know how to pray or what to pray for, you are certainly not alone. Even Christ’s apostles did not know how to pray. We read in Luke 11:1: “Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’” Christ then proceeded to gave them an outline, which is recorded in Luke 11:2-4 and in Matthew 6:9-13.

Note that this is just an outline—a guideline, if you will—on how to pray. It is not a prayer per se, to be repeated, word for word, over and over. Most professing Christian churches routinely require their members to recite the “Our Father” prayer, verbatim, in their services. Priests may even instruct their parishioners to pray ten or twenty “Our Father” prayers in order to become absolved of certain sins. This is NOT Biblical! Christ never intended such a custom! In fact, He specifically warned His disciples not to use “vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7).

We find, in John 17, the words of Christ’s prayer to the Father, just prior to His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. When reading that prayer, you will see that it does not at all contain the exact words that were recorded in Matthew 6, but it does contain some of the concepts listed in that prayer outline.

Christ gave His disciples this prayer as an outline, essentially setting forth the basic principles for prayer. We are to expand on those basics and go on to develop a meaningful conversation with God. We are not to present Him with an endless cycle of repetitive words. Think about it! When you converse with friends or family, or if you were to give a speech to a group of people, how long would they listen to you if all that came out of your mouth was a drone-like, repetitive cycle of words ad infinitum ad nauseum? How long would you listen if you were on the receiving end? God is no different.  He wants to hear what our thoughts and concerns are, from deep inside the core of our being.

We will present herein, the outline prayer from Matthew 6:9-13, along with a careful, detailed analysis of the concepts that Christ was conveying, so that you can, in turn, incorporate those concepts in your prayers to God the Father.

The well-known prayer outline, as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13, reads:

 “Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into
temptation,
But deliver us from the evil
one.
For Yours is the kingdom and
the power and the glory
forever. Amen.”

“Our Father…”

Christ told us to pray: “Our Father…” (Matthew 6:9).

When we address God with the words “our Father,” we are telling Him that we KNOW we are His children. Acknowledging this entails several important commitments on our part.

1 John 3:1-2 explains that “we are children of God.” Verse 3 tells us that we, as God’s children, “purify” ourselves from unrighteousness. Verse 10 includes the thought that we will “practice righteousness” and we will “love” our brother, because we are “the children of God.”

Romans 8:14 explains that God’s Spirit will lead us if we are His children. This means, we must ALLOW the Holy Spirit to lead us. Only then can we truly call God our Father—our dear and beloved Father or “Abba” (compare Romans 8:15). And when God’s Spirit leads us, we will live differently than we lived before our conversion. The Bible calls this, walking in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4). As 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 explains, we will come out of idolatry and the darkness of this world, when we are truly God’s children.

When we pray to God as our Father, we tell Him that we are willing to become a “mirror” of His personality. Christ said in John 14:9 that those who saw Him saw the Father. Can people say this about us? Do they see in us the character of God the Father?

When we call God our Father, we tell Him that we do believe and that we do know that we WILL become a full and “equal” part of His very Family.

In John 5:18, Christ called God His Father. In doing this, He made Himself equal with God, as the Scripture says. We also are privileged to call God our Father. This means that we make the same claim as Christ made, in regard to belonging to God as His children.

We read in Romans 8:15 that God gave us His Spirit of “sonship.” The New King James Bible inaccurately says “adoption,” but the translation of “sonship” is much better (compare the New International Version; the Revised Standard Version; Moffat; Rotherham; and the New English Bible).

God does not just adopt us. Rather, when we receive His Holy Spirit, God the Father makes us a part of His Family by spiritually “begetting” us as His very children. God is reproducing Himself, not just by adoption, but by actually multiplying Himself. He does this by giving His very Spirit to His begotten children, so that they can become His born again children in the resurrection. At that time, they will become spirit beings—no longer composed of flesh and blood—with all the rights and privileges of God, and also with His very character and nature.

The Greek word, which is translated as “sonship” or “adoption,” means, “placing as a son.” It COULD refer to adoption, but there is more involved here. When we receive God’s Spirit, we are not merely adopted children of God. We are actually BEGOTTEN children of God. The Holy Spirit makes us sons and daughters, not by adoption, but by a begettal process that parallels human begettal, gestation, and birth, only on a spiritual plane. WE BECOME GOD’S CHILDREN! We not only acquire rights and privileges as  one does when he is adopted, but we also acquire God’s very own “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

And so, we read that just as Christ is equal with God the Father—insofar as His character and nature is concerned—so we also will be equal with Christ when He returns. (Compare, again, 1 John 3:2. See, also, Philippians 3:20-21). It follows, then, that as God’s children, we will inherit everything He has created (Romans 8:31-32).

Let’s analyze what it means, specifically, when we pray to God as our Father.

  1. We are to honor God the Father by living according to His instructions. Malachi 1:6-8 points out the principle of honoring our father. If we call God our Father, then we must honor Him. We dishonor Him when we offer to Him things that are defiled and worthless. With God as our Father, we owe Him deep respect. He must come first in our lives, every day!
  2. We are to be merciful to others and to comfort them, in the same way that our Father is merciful and full of comfort toward us (Luke 6:36; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
  3. We are to worship God the Father in truth, as John 4:23 points out. This means, that we need to know who and what God is, and what He requires of us, so that we can worship Him in truth.
  4. We are to thank God the Father for so many different things, including thanking Him for calling us, for forgiving our sins, and for our future salvation (Colossians 1:12-14). When we fully appreciate the all-encompassing truth that God is our Father, we will show this in the way we live (compare Colossians 3:17).
  5. We are to accept God the Father as our highest authority. For us, there is only one (spiritual) Father (compare 1 Corinthians 8:6; Matthew 23:9). When there is a conflict between the requirements of God and the requirements of man, we must always obey God the Father (Acts 5:29).
  6. We understand that the Father rewards us for the good things we do (Matthew 6:1).
  7. We understand that the Father gives us good things today if and when we ask Him (James 1:17-18; Matthew 7:11).  These good gifts include not only physical blessings, but also spiritual blessings (compare Ephesians 1:3: “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing…”) And strange as it may seem, these good things also include our chastening when we need to be corrected by our Father for wrong things that we do (Hebrews 12:5-7, 11).
  8. We acknowledge that God is OUR Father—not just mine or yours. This knowledge includes the fact that God the Father judges without partiality (1 Peter 1:17). It also includes our individual personal responsibility for each other; for instance, the general prohibition of a divorce when God the Father united a couple in marriage (Malachi 2:10-16).

The Love of God the Father in Us

In order to live a life that is pleasing to God, our Father, we must have, AND put into practice, the love of God the Father—the same love that God the Father has. It is God’s very love that  must live IN US, through God’s Holy Spirit! It is God’s love that must prompt us, lead us, and motivate us to live a life of love toward God the Father, manifested by love toward our fellow man.

Matthew 5:43-48 tells us that, if we claim God is truly our Father, we will love our enemies. The Bible uses the Greek word “agapao” in expressing our duty to “love” our enemies. This word describes GODLY LOVE, which is far above human love! It is love of the Father dwelling in us, enabling us to have love for people, even our enemies. We are told in 1 John 3:23  to love one another. Again, the Greek word here is “agapao.” In 2 John 3-6, we are taught that God the Father COMMANDS us to walk in His truth and in His love.

Summary

God is our Father, and we are His children. We are to live in subjection to Him (Hebrews 12:9), striving to become more and more perfect, as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48). When we begin our prayers to God by addressing Him as “our Father,” we must not use this phrase without thinking. Rather, we ought to have a deep respect for, and a good understanding of, all of the elements associated with that great title.

“…In Heaven!”

As an introductory comment, it is important to understand that HEAVEN is not a state, but rather, a literal location. It is, of course, a spiritual location, but nonetheless, a literal location. God the Father is in heaven—the THIRD heaven—and that third heaven is in the far North. It is invisible to the human eye because it is spiritual—not physical or made of matter (Isaiah 14:12-14; Psalm 75:6-7). See also 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, referring to the third heaven and to Paradise. Paradise, which is another word for a beautiful garden, is presently in heaven, as Revelation 2:7 shows, but it will come down to this earth, in due time.

There are many spiritual things in the third heaven, which we discuss at length in our booklet, “Angels, Demons, and the Spirit World.” For the sake of brevity here, there is an entire city in heaven—the heavenly Jerusalem—in which is the beautiful garden, or Paradise. This city with the garden will ultimately come down to this earth. There is also a heavenly mountain—the heavenly MountZion. There is a temple in heaven, an altar, and the Ark of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments. There is a heavenly throne, on which God sits, and a sea of glass. We know that the things Moses built here on earth were patterned after the heavenly things. Of course, God the Father and Jesus Christ live in heaven, as do many of the angelic beings.

Christ told us to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Or, as the Authorized Version has it, “Our Father which art in heaven.” After first addressing God as “our Father,” why did Christ insist that we acknowledge that our Father is in heaven? What does this fact have to do with the relationship we should have with God?

Psalm 33:13-15, 18-19 sheds some light on what God is doing from His heavenly throne. The Scripture tells us that God sees everything from His dwelling place in heaven; that He considers all of our works; and that He is ready to send help from heaven. This shows how great and awesome God is. Nothing escapes His attention. He fashions our hearts individually. He knows what is in our hearts. He knows what we will pray before we pray it, because He reads our minds. He knows the thoughts of man. He observes man.

Psalm 14:2 tells us that God looks down from heaven to see whether there are any who seek Him. Verse 3 reveals that nobody seems to be willing to do that, except the ones God Himself calls—those whose minds HE opens to the truth and then gives them a willing heart to seek Him.

Psalm 11:4-6 tells us that God is in His holy templeIN HEAVEN, and that He tests man. He tests, or examines, the righteous, as well as the wicked. He rewards man from heaven. He gives blessings to the righteous and He punishes the wicked.

Why does the great God even observe man? This shows His great love for man, His great humility, and His plan for mankind!

David wondered about the great humility of God that He would even pay attention to man. He asked, in effect, in Psalm 8:4: What is man that YOU—the great powerful God—should be mindful of him—that puny little being, called man—who, in comparison with God, is nothing but a little grasshopper?

All the people of the earth, combined, are nothing more than a drop of water in a bucket, compared to the Almighty God (compare Isaiah 40:15).

And still, God IS mindful of man. He observes man from His Holy heaven. Why?

Because He has something in store for man—something that most people today do not know, nor could they comprehend, unless God chooses to reveal it to them. Simply put, and as was mentioned before, GOD IS REPRODUCING HIMSELF THROUGH MAN! He created physical man in His image and likeness so that man, once he has qualified, can enter the spirit realm of the God Family as an immortal spirit being and a child of God. (For further details of this profound truth, please read our free booklet entitled, “God is a Family.”

Psalm 113:4 tells us that God’s glory is “above the heavens.” God created everything, including the heavens and the earth. This includes the spiritual—invisible to man—third heaven, as well. God created that, too, as He created the angelic world. Therefore, He is, of course, high above the heavens. He is the Creator and Maker of the heavens, as well as the physical universe and all life on the earth.

But He humbles Himself to observe His creation—both the spiritual and the physical world (Psalm 113:6). And, He looks down from heaven to this earth to bless those who seek Him. He blesses the poor person to make him a prince—physically and spiritually (Psalm 113:7-8). True Christians—the poor in heart—are to become princes in the world tomorrow—kings and priests. We are to become members of the Family of God. We are to become literal born-again children of God our Father, who is in heaven. THAT is WHY He observes us from heaven! That is why He is mindful of man. That is why He, our Father, takes care of us, His children. It is because WE BELONG TO HIS FAMILY—the Family of God!

God is the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named, as we read in Ephesians 3:14-15. The family in heaven currently consists of the Father and Jesus Christ—both in heaven. The family on earth consists of all those in whom God’s Holy Spirit dwells. They are His begotten children, and they will, in a short while, become His born-again children.

Deuteronomy 26:12-15 mentions an additional aspect of the way in which God observes us. The context is tithing. God observes us from heaven (verse 15). And when we please Him by keeping His commandments diligently, including His commandments to tithe to Him, He will send us blessings from heaven.

As quoted earlier, James 1:17 tells us that God gives us good gifts “from above”—from heaven. And the greatest gift He has for us, is to allow us to become “a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (verse 18). What does this all include?

God calls us, individually, from heaven. He gives us His law from heaven, which shows us how to live. After all, God—in the Person of Jesus Christ—descended from heaven to this earth to give Moses the tablets with the Ten Commandments, which He Himself had written with His own finger. God sends us His Holy Spirit from heaven, which gives us the power and strength to obey His law and to live the way we should.

And as firstfruits, we know that our names are written in a book in heaven. We know that our inheritance is reserved for us in heaven. We know that we are laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. We know that our reward is now in heaven, but that Christ will bring it with Him when He comes down to this earth. We know that when we die, our spirit goes back to God the Father, in heaven, together with the Holy Spirit, that God gave us, to be preserved there until He sends it back to earth when He resurrects us from the dead. (For more detailed information on this subject, please read our free booklets entitled, “The Theory of Evolution—a Fairy Tale for Adults,”Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” and “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?”

Also, as firstfruits, we are able to enter the heavenly realm, not literally, but in spirit. We can appear, in spirit, before our Father in heaven through prayer (compare Ephesians 1:3; 2:4-6 and Colossians 1:13). We are transferred into God’s kingdom in a spiritual sense, not literally yet, because our literal entrance into the Kingdom of God is still in the future, as many Scriptures prove, such as 2 Peter 1:10-11.

We also read in James 1:17 that the Father, who gives us good and perfect gifts from heaven, is the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” This means that GOD DOES NOT CHANGE! His character does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not give us good gifts today and bad gifts tomorrow. With God, there is no light and darkness. God is LIGHT. Shadows exist because the earth revolves on its own axis as it moves around the sun. The moon moves around the earth, and it is sometimes positioned between sun and earth. This way, there are “shadows of turning”—shadows existing because of the turning of the earth and the moon. The spiritual analogy is this: The sun can only give light to the earth half of the time. When one part of the earth receives light from the sun, the other part of the earth is in darkness. But God is not like that. He can bless us from heaven at all times. This also shows that James knew, or that he was inspired to write, that the earth and the moon move around the sun.

James is telling us that God is always stable—the same—full of light. There is no darkness in Him. He does not turn away from His holy and righteous character. Notice, too, the connection between the fact that God is light and that He sends good gifts from heaven, and the fact (as expressed in verse 19) that we ought to be swift to hear, but slow to speak and slow to wrath. As God is good and sends us good gifts from heaven, so we, too, need to live like God lives: Since God is slow to wrath and since He is slow to speak in wrath, we must behave likewise.

This shows what should be in our thoughts when we pray to God as our Father in heaven. We tell Him, in effect: “We know that you are Light; we know that you are slow to anger; we know that we must become like you are.”

In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, we are warned that we should not promise something that we won’t keep, as “God is in heaven, and you on earth” (verse 2). God watches us from heaven. He holds us accountable for what we say and do. Today, God’s judgment is already on the house of God—those whom He has called (1 Peter 4:17). God in heaven judges us. When we pray to God, calling Him “our Father in heaven,” we acknowledge the fact that He judges us from heaven. When we promise something, we must do it, even if it hurts (Psalm15:4 explains that God loves us if we promise something to our “own hurt” and still do not change).

In addition, when we call God “our Father in heaven,” we recognize that we can get help from God in heaven in times of need: An outstanding example of God the Father’s help from heaven can be found in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. (We encourage you to read the entire account.) In Verse 6 we are told that God in heaven rules over the kingdoms of men. And since nothing happens that escapes His attention and that He does not permit, He can also intervene for us in times of need. We can learn some lessons from this account:

  1. There is no need for Christ’s disciples to fight in war. If we rely on God, who has all the power at His disposal, we are safe and in good hands.
  2. There is no need for Christ’s disciples to vote in governmental elections, as God rules and gives power and authority to whomever He chooses.

We need to remember Christ’s words to Pilate in John 19:11: “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you FROM ABOVE.” It was God the Father in heaven above, who gave Pilate down here on earth the power to govern at that time. Now, either God gave Pilate the power directly or He allowed Satan to give Pilate the power. Either way, God was in control, FROM ABOVE, and a vote in governmental elections from Christ’s disciples here below would have no effect.

God is in heaven, ABOVE. We are to show God that we identify with Him by seeking to acquire His heavenly characteristics. We have to become what He is—perfect. In Colossians 3:1-17, we are told what things to seek—things that are “above,” where God the Father and Jesus Christ are (verse 1). These things include: tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, love, peace of God, thankfulness, the Word of God, and wisdom.

We are to seek the things that are ABOVE, where our Father in heaven is. We are to seek to attain the things from above, which come down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

James 3:17 also speaks about “the wisdom that is from above,” and encourages us to seek and incorporate it in our lives. And then he goes right on to show us, in James 4:1-2, that wars don’t descend from above, but that they are earthly, sensual and demonic. How anybody, reading those Scriptures and claiming to be a Christian, can still advocate fighting in the wars of this world, is absolutely beyond comprehension. (For further details, please read our booklet entitled, “Should YOU Fight in War?”)

Notice also 1 Kings 8:22-40, 46-50, where it is emphasized that God, our Father in heaven, forgives us our sins when we repent. Forgiveness became possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who was willing to come down from heaven to this earth in order to die for us so that we could live forever.

After His death and resurrection, Christ returned to HEAVEN to function as our High Priest, as He still does today. He IS the Mediator between the Father and us, appearing before God’s throne in heaven to plead our case, on our behalf, as Hebrews 10:19-22 explains. We can, in prayer, come before God our Father, in heaven, because Christ has made access to the Father possible for us.

Summary

When we pray, “our Father in heaven,” we are focusing on things above—not on things down here below. We tell our Father that we want to acquire those things that are in heaven. The Father will, and does, bestow some of them on us now. He will give us the rest when Christ, and ultimately, our Father Himself will come down from heaven to this earth (Revelation 21:3).

When we pray to our Father in heaven, we might want to remember God’s timeless promise in Psalm 20:6-9: “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God… Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.”

“Hallowed Be Your Name”

In Matthew 6:9, Christ tells His disciples to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”

Here we will discuss two concepts. First, we need to understand what is meant by “God’s name,” and secondly, we must know what is meant by the word “hallowed.”

What Is Meant by “God’s Name”?

God has many names, each of them describing certain aspects of His character and of His being. One of God’s names is “the Almighty”; another one is “the Eternal”; still another one is “the God who heals us.” Then there is the “God of hosts.” Note, however, that Christ did not say, “hallowed be thy names,” but, “thy name.” He is emphasizing the entirety of God—His entire being—everything He is and stands for.

We read in Isaiah 29:22-23 that Jacob will hallow God’s name and that he will hallow the Holy One of Jacob. God’s name is identified here as the Holy One of Jacob.

Likewise, Isaiah 8:11-13 identifies God’s name, “the Lord of hosts,” with God Himself. We read in verse 13: “The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow.” God’s name is identified here as the Lord of hosts. But even though God’s name is mentioned, it is obvious that we are to hallow HIM.

A name identifies a person. You may know a person, but can’t, at that very moment, identify him. Then, when his name is mentioned, you immediately say: “O yes, that’s him.” His name identified the person to you. It’s the same with God. His name identifies HIM. Both mean the same. When we pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” we are really saying: “You, Holy Father, are to be hallowed.”

The Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, states on page 905: “God’s name means ‘Himself as revealed and manifested.’”

What Is Meant by the Word “Hallowed”?

The word “hallowed” is derived from the Greek “hagiazo.” Both the Authorized Version and the New King James Bible do not translate this Greek word as “hallowed” in any other place. It is only rendered that way in the so-called “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:9 and Luke 11:2.

The word “hallowed” is used twelve more times in the New Testament. Eleven times it is translated as “sanctify,” and one time it is translated as “be holy.” The word “sanctify” has the meaning of “to separate” or “to set apart” for a “holy purpose.” The word “hagiazo” is derived from the Greek word “hagios,” which means “holy.”

Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines the word “hagiazo” as “to make holy… set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing the opposite of common.”

The Commentary  on  the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, states: “Hallowed be, i.e., Be held in reverence, regarded and treated as holy.”

And, the 20th Century New Testament renders this verse as, “May thy name be held holy.”

With this background, we might better understand what Christ is actually telling us to pray. He is saying, in effect: “Pray to our holy Father in heaven that He be held, regarded or treated as holy.”

The Father Is to Be Treated as Holy

Generally, insofar as this world today is concerned, God is by no means treated as holy by the overwhelming majority of mankind. However, He will be treated as such in the future, after Christ has returned and set up the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Psalm 145:21 tells us that ultimately, “all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever” (compare, too, Psalm 72:17, 19, and Malachi 1:11).

But what about true Christians today, those who have been called by God to His truth? Christ tells them that they are to hallow God’s name today. They are to regard God the Father, and everything He stands for, as holy.

How are we to do that?

First of all, let’s take note of what, exactly, is holy to God. Whatever is holy to God should be holy to us.

  1. The weekly Sabbath (the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) is holy to God. We read in Genesis 2:2-3 that God made the weekly Sabbath and that He “sanctified” it. The Hebrew word for “sanctified” is “qadesh,” and it means exactly the same as the Greek word, “hagiazo.” God hallowed the Sabbath—set it aside as holy, for a holy purpose. The holiness of the weekly Sabbath is also stressed in Exodus 20:8-11; and Jeremiah 17:21-22, 24, 27.
  2. God considers His annual Festivals as holy. God made the weekly Sabbath, and He made the annual Festivals or Holy Days. They are also called “Sabbaths” in Scripture. In Ezekiel 20:19-21, the Israelites are reported as refusing to hallow or sanctify God’s “Sabbaths.” The plural word for “Sabbath” is used, referring to God’s annual Holy Days, which must still be kept today and treated as holy.
    In Nehemiah 8:9-12, the annual Holy Day of the Feast of Trumpets, celebrated on the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (compare verse 2), is described as “holy to our LORD” (especially verse 10).When we do not KEEP holy what God has MADE holy, we profane God’s holy things (Ezekiel 20:21, 22, 24). The Hebrew word for “profane” is “chalal.” It means, “pollute.”God says that when we profane or pollute His holy weekly and annual Sabbaths, we profane or pollute His name: “… they profaned My Sabbaths… I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles…” (Ezekiel 20:21-22).
  3. God has made holy His entire LAW—the Ten Commandments, statutes and judgments–including its spiritual application.Paul tells us in Romans 7:12: “Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”
    Leviticus 22:31-32 makes it very clear that we profane God’s holy name when we DON’T keep His commandments, and in that case, we are no longer sanctified in His eyes: “Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the LORD. You shall not profane MY HOLY NAME, but I will be hallowed (margin: treated as holy) among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you…” Compare, too, Leviticus 20:2-3.When we profane and pollute God’s holy things, trample them under foot, we thereby profane, pollute or treat as common, God’s holy name—that is, God Himself. People will look at us and say that we are not better than others, and that our God is not better than other gods.You might want to read the entire record in Ezekiel 36:17-28 for an example of how ancient Israel polluted God’s holy name and how the Gentiles responded to that act of profanity against God.
    On the other hand, when we hallow, sanctify or treat as holy, and keep holy the things that God has made holy, including His holy laws and regulations, then we hallow God and treat Him as holy, and we ourselves are sanctified–made holy–in God’s eyes (compare Leviticus 20:6-8).
  4. God considers His Tithe (10 percent of the increase of our gross income) as holy (Leviticus 27:30, 32).
  5. God created animals for human consumption (called “clean” in Scripture), and He created animals, which are specifically excluded from human consumption (called “unclean” in Scripture).When we eat unclean meat, we make ourselves unclean with them. We are defiled by them and are no longer holy in God’s eyes (compare Leviticus 11:43-45).
  6. Most importantly, when it comes to our relationship with other Christians, God regards all of us as holy. He calls all of us “holy brethren” (Hebrews 3:1). This means that we are not to mistreat, abuse or condemn our fellow brother or sister, but rather to treat them with respect (James 4:11-12).

As has already become clear from the foregoing, we are to live holy lives. When we pray to God the Father in heaven, “Holy be Thy name,” we are telling God that we are willing to live holy lives, both in relationship to God and to others.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 warns us: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”

Ephesians 1:4 tells us that we should “be holy and without blame” before God. And Colossians 3:12 calls us “holy and beloved.”

We are to be holy for God (compare Numbers 15:40). We have to live a holy life, especially if we are involved, directly or indirectly, in the Work of the living God, and if we are to be a living sacrifice—serving others before self; otherwise, we profane God’s holy name through our wrong conduct.

Proverbs 30:8-9 tells us that we profane the name of God and deny Him when we steal or become proud because of our riches. Ezekiel 43:7-8 explains that we defile God’s holy name when we commit harlotry or idolatry and other abominations.

Don’t Use God’s Name in Vain

We also defile God’s name, of course, when we use His name in vain (compare Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12). To casually use expressions such as “My God,” “O my Lord,” or “Jesus Christ,” just to utter surprise or emphasis, is therefore clearly prohibited. So is the casual use of a common German welcome greeting (“Gruess Gott” or, “Gott zum Gruss”—meaning “Greet God” or “God as a Greeting”), or the casual use of the French or Spanish farewell expressions, “adieu” or “adios” (both meaning, “to God”).

The same prohibition applies when we use “euphemisms.” A “euphemism” is defined as a substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for another felt to be too blunt or offensive. God instructs us to let “no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29). This prohibition applies to careless speaking or using slang expressions or euphemisms, which would profane God’s name, such as “gosh” or “gosh almighty” (a substitute for “God” or “almighty God”) or “gee” (a substitute for “Jesus”). It also applies to the careless use of words describing characteristics or concepts clearly associated with God, such as “my goodness” instead of “my God” (compare Matthew 19:16-17) or “by heaven” or “for heaven’s sake” (compare Matthew 5:34; Revelation 13:6).

The same prohibition applies to curse words, such as “damn,” or “go to hell,” or euphemisms, such as “darn” or “go jump in the lake” (compare Revelation 20:14-15).

God wants us to use language pleasing to Him. Let us note how the New International Version translates Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary makes these insightful statements:

“Words are an index of character (Matthew 12:34). Good words are to be chosen over evil talk… Do our words build up the hearer’s character and make him a better man for his having heard your speaking? Do they meet his need? And do they in this way ‘bring a blessing’ by supporting that need?”

Whatever expressions we are inclined to use, we need to make sure that they are helpful, rather than unwholesome, offensive or even blasphemous. Christ warns us in Matthew 12:36-37:  “But I say to you that for every idle [careless, thoughtless, useless] word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

As holy people, we are to hallow God and His name through living holy lives.  In 1 Peter 1:15 we are told to be holy in all our conduct, because God, who is holy, called us to holiness. Revelation 22:11 encourages us to stay holy.

How, then, do we become holy?

1.  We are sanctified—set aside for a holy purpose—by God’s Word of truth (John 17:17).

2.  We are sanctified by baptism and the receipt of God’s Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:25-26; 1 Corinthians 6:11).

And how can we continue to be holy?  God enables us to continue to live holy lives, if we follow His lead.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays that “the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely…” This involves time and describes a process. We have to DO our part, as especially verses 15-22 point out. We are to “sanctify the Lord God in [our] hearts,” as 1 Peter 3:15 tells us. This means, we have to treat God as holy in our lives, even in our hearts, minds and thoughts, and we have to keep His holy Word.

We hallow God when we live holy lives. We profane God AND His holy name when we live unholy lives—when we violate His Will and His Word; when we, through our conduct, cause others to stumble; when we, through our conduct, give occasion for others to scoff at God and His way, and to blaspheme (compare 2 Samuel 12:14; Romans 2:24).

Isaiah 5:16 tells us that the holy God is to be hallowed in righteousness. We hallow Him, if we are righteous. When we pray: “Hallowed be thy name,” we are praying to God for His gift of righteousness in our lives (Romans 5:17), so that God’s name CAN be hallowed by us IN RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Revelation 3:12 reveals that Christ will write on us the name of God the Father only if we continue—all the way to the end—to overcome the oppositional pulls of our own human nature, the wiles of Satan the devil, and the temptations of this evil world. We will ultimately be called by the name of God, and we will be God—born-again members of the very Family of God. That is why we read in the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 11 (New International Version): “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.”

Summary

God’s holy name will, one day, be our holy name, too. We hallow His name, and thereby God Himself, when we live holy lives; we profane it when we sin. When we pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” we are saying to God the Father, in effect: Please, give us—Your holy people—the strength and ability to hallow You, by living righteous lives, in obedience to Your Law.

“Your Kingdom Come!”

Christ told us to pray, “Your kingdom come On earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). As there are no commas in the original Greek, the words “…On earth as it is in heaven” can very well refer to the first phrase, “Your kingdom come.”

When we pray to God the Father, asking that His heavenly kingdom come to this earth—

in accordance with His plan—we must realize that the gospel or good news of that kingdom must be first proclaimed on this earth, so that God’s kingdom can come (compare Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10). Christ commanded His disciples at His time, and He still commands His disciples today—His Church—to “preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). When Christ preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, He also admonished His disciples to “pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:35, 38).

We understand that when God’s kingdom is set up here on earth, it will end all misery, pain, and suffering that plagues mankind today. We must fervently pray to God to establish His kingdom soon, by sending His Son Jesus Christ to this earth, so that happiness can begin, and wars, sickness, and heartache can end. When Christ reigns on this earth, we will have true, lasting peace (Isaiah 9:7. Compare, too, Luke 1:33; Daniel 2:44; Revelation 11:15).

When we pray to God the Father for His kingdom to come, we include the thought that we, if we qualify, will be privileged to enter His kingdom as immortal spirit beings and His born-again children. As long as we are flesh and blood, we are not born-again, and we cannot be in His kingdom. God will change us into immortal spirit beings, thus making possible our entrance into His kingdom  (John 3:3, 5; 1 Corinthians 15:50; Matthew 25:34; Luke 12:32; Daniel 7:18).

When we enter God’s kingdom, we will also be given the privilege to rule over all of mankind on this earth, under the direction of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ (Daniel 7:27; Revelation 5:10; Revelation 20:6). Thus begins our ultimate rule under Christ for all eternity, ruling over EVERYTHING that God created (Revelation 22:5).

When we pray to God the Father for the establishment of His kingdom here on earth, and our part in it, it is with the understanding that we must qualify for our entrance into His kingdom. In that sense, we pray to God for His help in becoming worthy, and “have a walk” worthy of our calling (1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5).

What are some of the important characteristics we need to have in order to be counted worthy to inherit the kingdom of God?

  1. We must repent of our sins (Matthew 3:2).
  2. We must become converted and receive the kingdom with humility, as if we were  little children (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:15). This is another way of saying that we must become “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3) and “meek” (Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:11).
  3. We must seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33; Matthew 13:43). We cannot begin our walk toward the kingdom and then “look back” or desire again the things which we have left behind (Luke 9:62).
  4. We must seek first the righteousness of God (Matthew 6:33). This includes a willingness to suffer for God’s kingdom and for righteousness’ sake (Matthew 5:10; compare Acts 14:22). We are only righteous if we keep God’s law (Psalm 119:172). It is only the righteous who will be in God’s kingdom (Matthew 13:43; Psalm 37:29). When we break God’s law and teach man that we don’t have to keep God’s law any more, we are not righteous (Matthew 5:19). God will not allow in His kingdom those who teach and practice lawlessness—the transgression of His law (Matthew 13:41). He will not allow in His kingdom those who are disobedient to His will (Matthew 7:21). And finally, He will not allow those who fulfill the desires and works of the flesh to be in His kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5).
  5. We must be diligent to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). If we do, God will supply us abundantly an entrance into His everlasting kingdom (verse 11). To make our calling and election sure, we must give up habits that are detrimental to God’s kingdom (Mark 9:47). We must not put our trust in temporary riches (Mark 10:24). Rather, we must bear the fruits of God’s kingdom (Matthew 21:43).
  6. We must develop patience—learn to wait for God and His intervention (Psalm 37:9).

When we pray to God for His kingdom to come to this earth, we ask God to give us the heart and mind, as well as the power and strength, to live worthy of His kingdom until it comes. Even though God has not yet established His kingdom on earth, it is already ruling in heaven, and from heaven (Psalm 103:19), in the sense that nothing happens on earth that God does not allow, and nothing happens on earth that would be against His overall will and purpose.

We must already reflect God’s kingdom in our daily lives. Paul tells us that God’s kingdom is “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).  He also says that “the kingdom of God is… in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20). When God, through His ministry, casts out demons today, then the power of God’s kingdom has come upon us (Luke 11:20).

Paul says that God the Father “has delivered us from the power of darkness [Satan the devil and his demons] and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13). This does not mean that God has already established His kingdom on this earth, but it does mean that He has made His true disciples citizens of His heavenly kingdom. Philippians 3:20 tells us that “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are sitting today “in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6); that is, we are to focus our minds on the heavenly things that pertain to God the Father and Jesus Christ. When we seek God’s heavenly kingdom (compare Hebrews 11:14-16), we have to reflect His kingdom—as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:20)—in our daily conduct and actions.

Even though we read in Colossians 1:13 that God has freed us from this world and conveyed, or translated, us into His kingdom, we understand that this is figurative language. We are still living in this world, but we are not a part of it, as God’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). We are to be a part of God’s kingdom, but His kingdom has not arrived yet here on earth. That is why we are to pray to God the Father, fervently: “Your kingdom COME… on earth!”

Summary

God’s kingdom will come to this earth in order to rule over man and to bring peace, happiness and prosperity. Man, composed of flesh and blood, cannot be IN the kingdom. We can only enter the kingdom if we qualify and become born-again (changed from flesh and blood to spirit) members of the very Family of God. Once composed of spirit, we will rule under God the Father and Jesus Christ for all eternity.

Today, we must proclaim the gospel or good news of the kingdom of God throughout the whole world. We need to pray for the work of God’s Church in its efforts to preach the gospel worldwide.  And, as citizens and ambassadors of God’s kingdom, we must live a life worthy of it. We are to show the world how citizens of God’s kingdom are to behave.

“Your Will Be Done!”

Christ taught us to pray, in Matthew 6:9-10: “Our Father in heaven. Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

Why is this line included in the outline for prayer? Doesn’t God see to it that His will is going to be done, anyway? Yes, indeed. We read that God does whatever He wants to do (Psalm 135:6; compare Isaiah 46:9-10), and that not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father’s will (Matthew 10:29). But understand this: Even though God is in ultimate control and more powerful than any other being, including Satan and his forces of darkness, He has allowed Satan to continue to rule this world. God intervenes when there is a need for certain aspects of His plan to be accomplished, according to His will, as foretold in prophecy. But generally, He is letting Satan rule over the earth, until Christ returns to replace Satan.

God does not force us to do His will. He allows us to sin against Him, and to reap the bitter consequences (compare Deuteronomy 30:19). When we pray to God for His will to be done, especially in our lives, we realize it does not happen automatically.

We have to ask God for His help and intervention “according to His will” (1 John 5:14). This requires that we understand what His will is (Ephesians 5:17). In other words, God needs to REVEAL His will to us (Ephesians 1:9).

Once we understand what God’s will is for us, we need to carry out God’s will. As we do, our action and conduct will lead to further understanding of God’s will for us. Romans 12:2 tells us: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Throughout the course of our conversion, we become more and more in tune with God’s will for us. The German Elberfelder Bible translates this phrase as follows: “… that you may prove what is the will of God: what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

God’s Will for Us

What, then, exactly, IS God’s will for us?

In a general way, we are told that God called us according to His own purpose or will (2 Timothy 1:8-9); that we have become begotten children by the WILL of God (John 1:10-13); that we were delivered from this present evil age according to the will of God (Galatians 1:3-4); that by the will of God, we became the firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18). Those who are called into the ministry are placed there, not by the will of man, but by the will of God (2 Timothy 1:1. Compare Romans 10:14-15).

More specifically, God tells all of His disciples that they are to live in a certain way, according to His will. We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality… For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”

God wants us to become a sanctified people, a holy people—His people—reflecting Him in our lives. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 explains this further: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus FOR YOU.”

1 Peter 2:15 gives us additional insight information: “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

It is God’s will that we do good—even to people who are evil—because righteous actions reflect His righteous character. God says He gives rain to the just and the unjust, alike. God lets the sun shine over the just and the unjust, over those who thank Him and those who don’t (Matthew 5:44-45; Luke 6:35).

When we pray to the Father that His will be done, we ask Him to reveal to us the understanding of the mystery of His will; to give us the right kind of discernment to prove or test what His will is in a given situation; to permit Him to work in our lives, so that we can become sanctified and holy, responding to God’s will in our lives by abstaining from sexual immorality, by rejoicing, by praying and thanking God, and by doing good, even to those who hurt us.

What Is Not God’s Will for Us

2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is “longsuffering toward US, not willing that any [of US who are in the truth] should perish but that all [of US] should come to repentance.” Matthew 18:14 adds that it is not “the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones [who believe in Christ, verse 6] should perish.”

It is God’s DESIRE and WILL that ALL men be saved! (1 Timothy 2:4). This means that WE must have that same kind of a desire and will! As we work diligently on our own conversion, we must be sure that we really WANT others to come to repentance, just as God does. We must be mindful, then, that our involvement in preaching the gospel as a witness is also for the REASON of helping others to come to repentance (Luke 24:46-48; 2 Kings 17:13).

Further, we must remind ourselves of God’s presence, and meditate on His will for us in our lives, regardless of what we may or may not want to do. We should always ask ourselves when contemplating a major decision in our lives: Is this God’s will? We should not approach the issue with the attitude of: I know it is God’s will, because that is what I want to do. James 4:15 tells us, instead: “… you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”

Whatever we do, we must subject it to God’s will, as revealed in Scripture. In other words, we must AGREE with God’s will, and abide by it.

Paul and the other disciples set a right example in wanting to conduct their lives by always submitting to God’s will for them (compare Acts 21:10-14; 1 Corinthians 4:19; Hebrews 6:3).

When we are facing a serious trial, or when we are experiencing suffering and persecution, we are especially called upon to pray to God: “Your will be done!”  1 Peter 3:17 tells us: “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” 1 Peter 4:19 adds: “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”

It is God’s will to do good to others, as we previously read in 1 Peter 2:15. It is also God’s will that we suffer for doing good, at times, because it proves to God that we are convinced that doing good to others is God’s WAY of life and that we are willing to live God’s Way of life, even if it results in suffering. And finally, it is God’s will for us to continue doing good, while we are suffering.

But, we have a human will, and our human will does not like to suffer. Further, our human will may not always be the same as God’s will for us. That is, our human will may not even theoretically or ideologically agree with God’s will, let alone submit to it if it means enduring suffering, pain, and persecution.

Prior to our conversion, our human will was totally contrary to God’s will, because our carnal human mind was hostile to God and His Way of life. But even after our conversion, we still have to overcome human desires and weaknesses. After his conversion, Paul sinned, and although he had begun the process of transforming his way of thinking, he said that he still fulfilled, from time to time, the desires of his flesh. He said: “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans 7:19).

Even Jesus Christ, when He was here in the flesh, had to strive to always seek and submit His will to God’s Will (John 4:34; John 5:30; John 6:38).

When in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly before His arrest, He prayed to God the Father that He would not have to go through the terrible ordeal ahead of Him, but He still submitted to the Father’s Will (Matthew 26:39, 42). He was hoping, perhaps, that there could be another way to accomplish the same purpose. He never WILLED to do something that would have constituted sin. He had come to do God’s Will, so whatever God decreed He had to do, He was WILLING to do it (Luke 22:42).

Agreeing With God’s Will

Understanding the Will of God is not enough. We must also accept His Will in our lives and agree with it, even though it may be difficult. When we pray to God that His Will be done, we must accept and agree with His Will when it is done.

Strength to Do God’s Will

When we ask God that His Will be done, we are essentially asking God for understanding of His Will and the ability to agree with His Will, as well as the will-POWER and the strength to actually carry out His Will in our lives.

We are told that we must DO God’s Will (Matthew 7:21; Matthew 12:50; Luke 12:47; 1 John 2:17; Hebrews 10:36). But doing God’s Will is not enough, unless we agree with it, identify with it, and wholeheartedly and joyfully accept it.

David had this attitude toward God’s Will when he wrote in Psalm 40:8: “I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”

But even with a delightful acceptance of God’s Will, we still may not have the strength to carry out and do what God wills. We need God’s help. When we pray to God: “Your will be done!”, we are asking Him to give us the desire, as well as the strength, power, ability, and opportunity to DO His Will.

Hebrews 13:20-21 tells us: “Now may the God of peace… make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ….”

And Philippians 2:12-13 adds: “… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Summary

When we pray: “Your Will be done,” we pray for understanding from God to determine what His Will is; for the ability to accept His Will and agree with His Will for our lives; and the strength and desire to do His Will, even though it might not be easy. When we are facing difficult situations in our lives, we are asking God to help us not to make hasty decisions out of impatience or frustration, but to reveal His Will to us and give us the will-power to accept His Will, agree with it, submit to it wholeheartedly, and DO whatever God may require of us, knowing that God will help us. We are saying with Jesus, when He was facing the most difficult situation in His life: “Not My will, but Your Will be done.”

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

Christ taught us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

Some claim that this prayer addresses our spiritual needs and the daily supply of God’s Word. They reason that Christ spoke about Himself as the real bread (John 6:48-51), and that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

It is true, of course, that we must look foremost toward the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, but Christ’s admonition in Matthew 6:11 to pray for our daily bread CLEARLY refers to our physical needs. To teach differently would mean to read something into the text, which was obviously NOT intended. We should note that Christ’s reference to Him being the “bread of life” (John 6:48) introduces the annual New Testament Passover symbols of bread and wine (verses 53-58). But, we are not to partake of those symbols on a daily basis, but only once a year, as a memorial of Christ’s death. So, we see that Christ’s admonition to us to ask the Father for our “daily bread” applies foremost to our physical needs.

For instance, Lamsa translates Matthew 6:11 as follows: “Give us bread for our needs from day to day.” Some translators point out that the request includes the bread for today and for the next day. For instance, the Elberfelder Bible says: “Our daily bread—that is, the bread needed for today and for tomorrow—give us today.” Rienecker’s Lexikon zur Bibel states: “The fourth plea is, according to Matthew: ‘Our bread for tomorrow give us today’… It is to protect us from serious wants, but also from wrong worries. We are to ask of God whatever is necessary for the sustenance of physical life, but we are to do so every day for the next day, as God alone wants to be our giver and our assurance of His gifts.”

Even though we are to pray to God the Father for our daily physical sustenance, including food, clothing and housing, we should not be too concerned about the things we need for our daily lives. God knows about them, and He will supply to us what we need.

Christ told us in Matthew 6:25-34 that we are not to worry or to have anxious thoughts about what we will eat or drink, or how we will clothe our body, because our “heavenly Father knows” that we “need all these things” (verse 32). Christ continued, in verses 33 and 34: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. [Lamsa: “Tomorrow will look after itself!”] Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

We find a parallel passage in Luke 12:22-32. Christ tells us that we have little faith, if we worry about our physical needs (verse 28). He also tells us, in verses 29-32: “And do not seek [Lamsa: “So do not be anxious about”] what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind [Lamsa: “and let not your mind be disturbed by these things.”]. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Christ is not saying that we should just sit at home, doing nothing and waiting for God to miraculously send us food and clothing. We must take care of our needs. We are commanded to work so that we have enough to eat (compare 2 Thessalonians 3:10, 12). But if we have our priorities right, then God will help us, by providing opportunities for us to act upon, so that we will have enough food, clothing and shelter, and we will experience the fulfillment of other needs. Christ says that God wants to share with us His very kingdom—how much more, then, the mere necessities of life?

God Promises That He Will Give Us What We Need

We read in Ephesians 3:20–21 [Lamsa]: “Now to him who is able by power to do for us more than anyone else, and to do for us more than we ask or think, according to his mighty power that works in us, Unto him be glory in his church by Jesus Christ throughout all ages, world without end.”

Yes, God is able to provide for us in ways that we cannot even imagine!

Philippians 4:19 adds: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ.” Notice, it does not say that God will provide us with everything we want. He is talking about what we need. Many times, we might ask for things that may not be good for us, but only God, in His wisdom and foresight, may be able to see this. We read, in Proverbs 30:8, that we should not ask God for “poverty nor riches,” but that He would feed us “with the food allotted” to us.

We are admonished to be content with what we do have, especially if we have “food and clothing” (1 Timothy 6:6; Hebrews 13:5).

When Jacob blessed his son Joseph, he acknowledged that God had sustained him throughout his life. He said, in Genesis 48:15: “… God… has fed me all my life long to this day…”

Notice, too, this assurance in Psalm 34:9-10:  “Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”

God wants us to enjoy life, and so He promises that He will give “us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). But God’s physical gifts are not just for us. God shares with us so that we can share with others. 2 Corinthians 9:8 tells us: “God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

Many times, God miraculously intervenes for His people, including provision of necessary physical things. He did so for His people Israel in the wilderness, and He is most certainly capable of doing so for you and me today.

Deuteronomy 8:3-4 tells us that God fed Israel with “manna” and that “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years” (verse 4).

Nehemiah 9:20-21 adds: “You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.”

Ask God to Supply Your Needs

As mentioned earlier in this booklet, we are to ask God the Father to give us what we need. Even though God wants to satisfy our physical needs, and even though He promises that He would provide us with what we need, He still wants us to ASK Him. In doing so, we show Him that we understand where our help comes from. James 4:2 tells us that we may not have what we need, because we do not ask.

Philippians 4:6-7 tells us: “Be anxious for nothing [Lamsa: “Do not worry over things”], but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

This most certainly includes our physical needs. In fact, it echoes Christ’s admonition not to be anxious about food, drink, or clothes.

1 John 5:14-15 reassures us that God WILL provide us with the physical necessities of life, if we ask Him: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us [and we just saw that it IS God’s Will to meet our physical needs]; For if we beseech him to hear us concerning the things that we ask of him, we are assured that we have already received from him those things that we desire” (Lamsa translation).

Wait for God’s Answer

Sometimes, God tests our patience. He wants to see if we will remain faithful if our  desired answer does not come immediately.

Psalm 37:4, 7 encourages us: “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart [even physical things that we don’t necessarily need, but which are nice to have]… Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.”

Summary

God knows that we need bread and other physical necessities of life to sustain us, but He wants us to ask Him for them, day by day. He has promised that He will provide us with what we need if we look first and foremost to Him, His kingdom, and His righteousness; but He may test our patience and He may withhold something from us that would not be good for us. He wants us to learn to be content with what He gives us.

“Forgive Us Our Debts…”

Christ taught us to pray: “And forgive us our debts…” (Matthew 6:12).

One of the greatest attributes of God’s character is His willingness to forgive us our sins. The consequence of every sin we commit is ETERNAL death (Romans 6:23). But God the Father sent His Son to the earth to DIE for us—to pay OUR penalty—so that we can be forgiven and our death penalty be removed (compare Matthew 26:28; Acts 5:31; Colossians 1:13-14; Colossians 2:13; 1 John 1:7).

The Bible contains many promises of God’s forgiveness. We read in Psalm 103:3, 12 that God “forgives all [our] iniquities” and that He removes “our transgressions from us.” Psalm 130:4 tells us that there is forgiveness with God, so that He may be “feared” or deeply respected and worshipped. Exodus 34:7 reveals God’s willingness to forgive our iniquities, transgressions and sins. Even when we “rebel” against God, He is still willing to forgive us (Daniel 9:9). God is willing to “pass over” our transgressions (Micah 7:18); to “cover” our sin (Psalm 32:1); and to “cleanse” us from sin (Psalm 51:2).

However, in order to be granted forgiveness of sins, certain conditions have to be met.

We Must Confess Our Sins to God

1 John 1:8-9 says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 32:5 adds: “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said: ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

We Must ASK for Forgiveness

When we confess our sins to God; that is, when we acknowledge our sins to God and admit our mistakes to Him, we need to ask God at the same time to forgive us our sins. Even though God is more than willing to forgive us, we still need to ask Him.

In Psalm 25:18, David asked God for forgiveness, when he prayed: “Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.” He stated in Psalm 86:5: “For You, LORD, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”

We Must Ask in FAITH

When we ask God for forgiveness, we must firmly believe that He WILL forgive us. We read that “through this Man [Jesus Christ] is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified” (Acts 13:38-39).

We Must FORSAKE Our Sins

Proverbs 28:13 says: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

When we forsake our sins, we actually turn away from them. We read in Jeremiah 36:3: “It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

We Must REPENT or RETURN to God

It is not enough to turn away from our sins. We must at the same time turn, or return to, God. This is another way of saying: We must REPENT of our sins. That is, we must forsake or turn from our sins—cease doing what is wrong—and we must turn to God by doing what is right.

John would not baptize people who had not shown in their lives “fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). Christ came to call sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). He also said that we will perish, if we don’t repent (Luke 13:3, 5). He said that Nineveh was spared, because they repented (Matthew 12:41). Paul said that he might have to mourn for many “in the church” who did not repent of their sins (2 Corinthians 12:21). Of course, Christ’s message to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation (chapters 2 and 3) is filled with the admonition to repent, and He shows the consequences if they don’t (compare Revelation 2:5, 16, 21-22; 3:3).

Isaiah 55:7 tells us: “Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

Jeremiah tells us in the Book of Lamentations: “Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven” (chapter 3, verse 40). Jeremiah goes on to explain that God did not pardon them for their transgression and rebellion (verse 42). Why not? Obviously, because they had not turned back to God—they had not yet repented of their sins.

Solomon understood that God will forgive us our sins if we “pray… and confess… and turn from [our] sins… and return to [God] with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul” (2 Chronicles 6:26, 38-39; compare 1 Kings 8:33-40). Notice, too, Daniel’s prayer, asking for forgiveness after repentance, in Daniel 9:1-20, especially verse 13.

In Acts 26:18, Christ tells Paul that forgiveness is predicated on turning from darkness to light. Compare, too, Peter’s admonition to Simon Magus, in Acts 8:22: “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.”

God Does Not Forgive Without Repentance

God does not forgive us if we REFUSE to repent—refusing to admit and confess our sins to God, refusing to ask for His forgiveness in faith, and refusing to forsake and turn from our evil ways by turning to God and living His Way.

God is calling only a comparatively few out of this world, and is not yet judging the rest of the world. This means that God has not yet forgiven those who are in the world, as they have not yet repented. Their minds have not yet been opened to the truth, and they do not understand the basic element of repentance, so God does not hold them accountable, at this point in time. This is not to say that sin does not have built-in penalties that a sinner will have to pay automatically.  In other words, wrong decisions produce a wrong outcome, and problems compound themselves.

Those who are not called and thus not forgiven yet, are described in Acts 17:30-31: “Truly, these times of ignorance God OVERLOOKED [not, forgave!], but now COMMANDS ALL MEN [those called in this day and age] EVERYWHERE TO REPENT.” We have to REPENT of our sins before baptism (in addition to accepting Christ’s sacrifice as payment for our sins), even though we might have committed sins in ignorance (compare 1 Peter 1:13-15; Ephesians 4:17-18; 1 Timothy 1:12-13; Acts 3:17). God offers us the gift of repentance when He calls us, but we must respond to it and accept it (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Romans 2:4).

When the people realized that they had killed Christ, the Son of God, they asked Peter what they needed to do. His response was: “REPENT, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ FOR THE REMISSION [FORGIVENESS, see margin] OF SINS…” (Acts 2:38). Forgiveness of sins FOLLOWS repentance!

It is true that Christ prayed on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Some have said that this Scripture proves that God forgives even though there is no repentance. This is false. Christ was not asking God to forgive them AT THAT MOMENT. When they killed Christ, whether they were directly involved or whether they consented to His murder, they did not KNOW who Christ was. Note Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 where he explains Christ’s identity to them. They did not willfully and maliciously kill Christ, as the Son of God. When Peter explained to them what they had done, they “were cut to the heart” (v. 37); in other words, they came to realize the gravity of what they had done. Peter told them that, UPON REPENTANCE AND BAPTISM, they would obtain forgiveness of their sins, not before then! He did not contradict Christ— they both agreed. Peter did not say, God has ALREADY forgiven you, since Christ asked for forgiveness of your sins. Rather, Peter understood what Christ meant, in essence, asking the Father, Don’t remember their sin forever. Once they come to repentance, forgive them.

The same is true for Stephen’s prayer in Acts 7:60: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Moffat says, “Lord, let not this sin stand against them.” (Compare also: New International Version; Revised Standard Version; New American Bible; and the New Jerusalem Bible). Stephen was essentially saying the same thing that Christ had said: Don’t treat this as the unpardonable sin, for which there is no forgiveness. Don’t let this sin stand against them forever. Once they come to repentance—a realization what they have done— forgive them. In effect, both Stephen and Christ did NOT ask God to forgive these people right there and then. In fact, Stephen had just told them in verse 51: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.”

Stephen also told them, just as Peter did, that they had become “the betrayers and murderers” of “the Just One” (verse 52). While Peter’s audience repented, Stephen’s audience did not. Rather, they compounded their sin by murdering Stephen. So then, we see that Stephen did not ask God to forgive them—people who were stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit—at that moment in time. He asked God to forgive them ONCE THEY CAME TO REALIZE THEIR SIN AND THEN REPENTED OF IT. We also see that Stephen did not contradict Peter either, who had required repentance BEFORE forgiveness.

In fact, we find numerous Scriptures where God has refused to grant forgiveness, because there was no repentance. Note that these examples include the way God dealt with Old Testament people to whom He had not offered the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Compare Jeremiah 18:18-23 and Isaiah 2:9.)

God does not forgive us our sins if we refuse to repent of them, but He is quick to forgive, once we realize our sin and truly repent of it.

Since we are to pray, “Forgive US OUR debts,” this prayer includes not only the forgiveness of our personal individual sins, but also a request to God to forgive the sins of others (compare Numbers 21:7; 1 Samuel 12:19, 23).

Summary

Because of Christ’s Sacrifice, we can ask God the Father to forgive us our sins. But we must acknowledge and confess our sins to God,  and we must ask and pray in faith for His forgiveness while turning to Him and forsaking our evil ways. If we refuse to repent of our sins, we cannot expect that God will forgive us.

But that’s not all. There is yet another condition that we must fulfill in order to obtain God’s forgiveness of our sins.  This condition is taught in the next sentence of the prayer outline.

“…As We Forgive Our Debtors”

When Christ asked us to pray in Matthew 6:12: “And forgive us our debts,” He did not stop there. Rather, He continued to say, in the same verse: “…As we forgive our debtors.

The Bible is very clear that we cannot expect God to forgive our sins if we refuse to forgive others their sins and trespasses against us! We read in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Christ added this admonition in Mark 11:25-26: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 4:32 to be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

When we forgive, we must also forget, as God does (Jeremiah 31:34). Many may have a problem eradicating from their memories the bad things that someone has done to them. Without God’s help, it is clearly impossible to totally forget. However, with God’s help, all things are possible, and when we truly forgive someone his or her sins against us, we must make every effort to totally forget and we must pray to God that He gives us that ability.

Forgiveness Without Repentance?

As we saw earlier, God forgives us our sins when we repent. In the same way, God requires of us to forgive a sinner his or her sins or trespasses AGAINST US, when he or she repents.

We read in Luke 17:3-4: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Harboring Grudges

Many times, however, we may not know whether a person has repented of his or her sins against us. The Bible instructs us as how to deal with such a situation. We should always have a forgiving attitude and a willingness to immediately forgive upon repentance, as this can be the start of any reconciliation process. We must never develop and harbor grudges against another person (Leviticus 19:18). We must hate the sin, but we must never hate the sinner. If we begin to hate the sinner, and develop resentment against the sinner, then we may find ourselves in a position where we might not be able to forgive the sinner when he or she does repent, and/or when his or her repentance comes to our attention.

Further, harboring grudges against someone is not spiritually or physically healthy for us. It can deprive us of the inner peace and joy of God that we are supposed to have (compare John 14:27; 15:11; 16:24; Colossians 3:15). God is always willing and ready to forgive, and so must we. It has been correctly said that we must do everything we can to establish peace (Matthew 5:9; Romans 12:18; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 3:11), and to help a person to repent, realizing at the same time that repentance is a gift from God (compare again Romans 2:4).

Forgive Others AS God Forgives You

God tells us that we must forgive others in the same way that God has forgiven us (compare again Ephesians 4:32). This requires us to develop and have the same kind of mindset that God has. We are to become as God is—perfect (Matthew 5:48; Genesis 17:1).

For example, we are told that we need to love one another, AS Christ loved us (John 15:12). We know that Christ loves us with the same love that the Father has for Him (John 15:9). Actually, it is Christ’s love in us that enables us to love others in the same way (John 15:10). We are to develop and have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and God the Father. When Christ said that we have to love each other AS He loved us, this is to be understood quite literally, of course.

Although God does not forgive a sinner without repentance, He still loves the person. In fact, we read that God loved the WORLD (when they were still unrepentant sinners) so much that He gave His only-begotten Son so that everyone who BELIEVES in Him (having come to repentance and having accepted the sacrifice of Christ for payment of his or her sins) does not have to perish, but CAN have everlasting life (John 3:16). God may “overlook” sinful conduct (not forgiving it), as we read in Acts 17:30, and so can we (compare Proverbs 19:11: “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.”)

Be Always Ready to Forgive!

God is ALWAYS READY and WILLING to forgive (Psalm 86:5), and so must we forgive others. When someone sins against us, or if we know that someone thinks that we have sinned against him or her, we are to talk to the person in an attempt to reconcile. God’s Word does NOT instruct us to WAIT until the person who has sinned against us comes to us and asks us to forgive him or her. God gives us the freedom—and many times the responsibility and obligation—to go to our brother or sister in an attempt to reconcile the relationship. We read in Matthew 5:23-24: “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother HAS SOMETHING AGAINST YOU, leave your gift there before the altar, AND GO YOUR WAY. First be RECONCILED to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

IF our brother has sinned against us, but is motivated by love and chooses to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, he WILL respond to our attempt to reconcile with him. We read, in Matthew 18:15, that if he “hears” us, we have gained a brother. That is, he needs to hear—to repent of the sin that he committed against us. Conversely, if we find that we have sinned against our brother, we need to confess and repent of that, as well (compare James 5:15-16).

But, if he REFUSES to hear us, then what? Are we still commanded to forgive him? No. That is not what Christ says. He tells us, “But if he will NOT hear, take with you one or two more… And if he REFUSES to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:16-17). In other words, let him be to you as an “unclean person,” disfellowshipped from the community of the body of Christ.

Then what?

Upon his repentance, we are to “restore” such a person (Galatians 6:1), though we might have to make a “distinction” as to how to go about doing it (Jude 20-23). Upon repentance, Paul asked of the Corinthians to restore the sinning brother back into the fold (2 Corinthians 2:5-8). Restoring the person to the fellowship MUST include the concept of repentance, as otherwise there would be no point in disfellowshipping the person in the first place.

In Luke 15:11-32, we read the moving parable of the “lost son.” When the lost son returned to his father’s house, the father saw him coming (verse 20). He actually had been WAITING for his return. He ran to him and kissed him tenderly (as the original has it), showing him that he was willing to take him back (same verse). The fact that he saw the son RETURNING was already sufficient for him to grant him forgiveness. He SAW that the son was showing fruits worthy of repentance—he was returning. This is, of course, a parable that illustrates the fact that God the Father is WAITING for our repentance (compare 2 Peter 3:9), and that He is READY to forgive, when we are ready to repent and show Him that we want His forgiveness. God looks at our hearts. The son admitted to himself, before he had ever reached his father, that he had sinned (Luke 15:18-19), and when he reached his father, he acknowledged his sin to his father (verse 21).

Give the Benefit of the Doubt

Having a forgiving attitude sometimes requires GIVING THE BENEFIT OF DOUBT. Only God can look into the heart of a person. (God has, however, given His ministers a certain degree of discernment to ascertain whether someone is repentant or not, compare John 20:22-23. In addition, Christ tells all of His disciples to carefully analyze the conduct of false ministers, compare Matthew 7:15-20). When a person seems to express or show repentance, that must be sufficient for us to willingly grant forgiveness. A person, who sins against us and comes to us seven times “in a day” and says, I’m sorry, needs to be forgiven every time (compare Luke 17:4). Christ even said that we must forgive him “up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22), implying that there is no limit to forgiveness. On the other hand, a person who continues in wrongdoing, showing no signs of regret whatsoever, and does not ask for forgiveness, proudly claiming that he has nothing to repent of, does fall into a different category.

If in doubt, we are to show mercy, regardless. We might have a hard time believing that a person who asks us seven times in a day to forgive him has truly repented. Still, Christ said, if he comes to you seven times in a day and says, I repent, you must forgive him (compare again Luke 17:3-4).

We sometimes may not know whether a person has repented, especially if he or she lives far away from us. Nevertheless, we are admonished to be tenderhearted (Ephesians 4:32) and merciful (Luke 6:36). If a person initiates contact with us, even if it is by sending a card, or calling on the phone, or if the person does respond to us when we try to initiate contact, we should act mercifully and with compassion, with the goal of restoring the relationship. We need to always give the benefit of doubt! After all, if we are unwilling to forgive others their trespasses, God will not forgive us our trespasses either (Matthew 6:15). In the parable of the “lost son,” the father was willing to give his son the benefit of doubt. He saw him coming back, and while still afar off, he RAN to him!

As we read in Leviticus 19:18, we are not to hold grudges or anger against a person, and we are not to refuse to communicate with him or her, because we don’t know yet, FOR SURE, whether the person has repented. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:5, we must not be “too severe.” After the punishment had been inflicted (compare verse 6), he admonished the brethren: “… you ought rather to forgive and comfort him” (verse 7).

We need to become perfect, as God in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Even though God does not forgive “the bad” without their repentance, He still “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). If we have that same kind of a godly attitude, we will be “sons of our Father in heaven” (same verse), striving toward perfection (verse 48). That is why we are to love our enemies and to do good to those who hurt us, and even hate us (verse 44). We are to pray to God FOR them (same verse), so that God would, perhaps, grant them repentance and a change of heart (compare 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Acts 8:20-24).

A “character description” of the converted Christian can be found in Colossians 3:12-15. It discusses forgiveness in the context of a much bigger picture: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even AS Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love [which covers all sins, compare Proverbs 10:12], which is the bond of perfection. And let the PEACE OF GOD rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Summary

God requires us to forgive others if we expect God to forgive us. We have to forgive others in the same way God forgives us. God does not forgive an unrepentant sinner, and neither are we required to. But, we are to give the benefit of the doubt, and we must always be ready to forgive and to forget. We must never hate another person and we must not harbor grudges against him or her. When we ask God to forgive us our sins, we must, in turn, forgive others their sins.

“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

Most people in the professing Christian world are acquainted with this very familiar phrase. Many say it in church every Sunday. Some may even say it in prayer every day. But do they really understand what they are saying? If they did, perhaps they would not want to say it that way.

This phrase is commonly attributed to Jesus Christ. Quoting from the Authorized Version, Christ told His disciples to pray to God the Father: “Lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13). But, DID Christ actually tell us to pray to the Father in that way, with that exact wording?

As translated, this would be a strange request of God the Father. After all, why would God tempt us? Why should we ask God not to tempt us?

We have seen then, that the problem is that the translation of the New King James Bible, as well as the Authorized Version, is misleading.

The Bible is very clear that God does NOT tempt us to sin (James 1:13). Therefore, He would never actively do something to induce us or tempt us to sin. Christ did not intend for us to pray to the Father: Don’t tempt us to sin! or, Don’t bring temptations into our lives.

God does, however, allow things to happen in our lives, even though He may not approve of our actions. In other words, He allows us to do as we please, simply because He created us with the ability to make decisions. He does not force us not to sin, and He does not, at this point, change the society around us; nor has He removed Satan from his earthly throne (compare Revelation 2:13). This means that we are often subjected to influences in our lives, which may tempt us to sin. And so, we are to ASK GOD TO RESTRAIN THOSE INFLUENCES, so that we are not tempted to sin. The best way to prevent sin is to not allow ourselves to be put in a situation where we are tempted to sin. We are told to “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22), and to “flee fornication” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Godspell translates Matthew 6:13 in this way: “Do not subject us to temptation.” The Lamsa Bible writes: “Do not let us enter temptation…” In other words, prevent us from entering or walking into tempting situations that might lead us to sin.

In the Greek, the word for “lead into” is “eisphero,” which can also mean, “to bring into” (compare 1 Timothy 6:7), or, “to be driven into” (compare Strong’s, #5342).

The Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, states: “We incline to take it as a prayer against being drawn or sucked, of our own free will, into temptation, to which the word used here seems to lend some countenance—‘introduce us not.’”

Our Own Desires Tempt Us to Sin

James 1:14-15 tells us that we are tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed by them. Then, when we give in to our desires, rather than fight and overcome them, we will sin. The temptation of our own desires causes us to sin because we are unable, or unwilling, to resist.

Christ admonished His disciples in Matthew 26:41 to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” He added that the spirit, or mind, might not be willing to sin, but the flesh is weak. We need additional strength from God so that we don’t give in to the temptations of our own flesh and subsequently sin. We must pray that we don’t enter into temptation (Luke 22:40).

For instance, Paul warned us not to have a strong desire to become rich, as “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9).

We might even be tempted to sin, by our own desires, if we fail to look at ourselves and our own spiritual condition, and become proud or self-righteous while trying to help someone else overcome his or her spiritual problems (Galatians 6:1).

Satan Tempts Us to Sin

Paul was concerned that the Thessalonian Christians had been influenced by Satan to such a degree that they had lost their faith because of their trials and problems. He says in 1 Thessalonians 3:5 that “I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.”

While God never tempts us to sin, Satan likes nothing more than to induce us to sin. Paul warns married couples of Satan’s evil devices. He says in 1 Corinthians 7:5: “Do not deprive one another [of sexual affection] except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” Paul tells a married couple not to allow Satan to tempt them to commit a sexual sin, including the sin of adultery, when both partners don’t show mutual sexual affection for each other in their marriage.

We also know that Satan tempted Jesus Christ in the wilderness. We read that when the tempter (Matthew 4:3) had “ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

The Society Tempts Us to Sin

The Pharisees, Sadducces and Herodians tempted Christ on numerous occasions. We read that they came, “tempting Him that He would shew them a sign from heaven” (Matthew 16:1, Authorized Version). Later, they tried to ask Him a trick question, whether or not to pay taxes, and Jesus responded: “Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?” (Matthew 22:18, Authorized Version).

But… God Tests Us

While God never tempts us to sin, He does test us, to help us NOT to sin. Sometimes His tests can be very difficult. And so, this is another way we can understand Christ’s admonition to us regarding our prayer to the Father.

For instance, in the Jewish New Testament, by David H. Stern, it is written: “And do not lead us into hard testing…” This is also an accurate translation in the context, and here is why:

The New Testament Greek word for “temptation” (“peirasmos”), and the Greek word for “to tempt” (“peirazo”), can also mean, “trial” and “to test.” The same is true for the Hebrew words in the Old Testament, “massah” and “nasah,” which can mean “temptation” and “tempt,” or, “trial” and “test.” The context of the passage dictates the correct usage, and in most cases, the correct rendering is very clear.

As we will see, we should want God to test us so that we grow stronger in a spiritual sense, so that we will become approved in His eyes. We know, however, that we can ask the Father not to make it too hard for us, as Christ indicated in the outline prayer. Jeremiah once prayed: “O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing” (Jeremiah 10:24). So did David (Psalm 6:1; Psalm 38:1).

In addition, especially insofar as end-time Christians are concerned, they should also pray, “… do not subject us to the final test” (Matthew 6:13; New American Bible). This refers to the Great Tribulation—“the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10). Christ says that those who follow Him diligently will be able to escape that hour of final test (same verse).

We Should Not Want to Escape God’s Tests

Though we can ask God not to test us too hard, we should never ask God not to test us at all! We should know that God HAS TO test us and correct us when we need correction. David wanted God to test him. We read his words in Psalm 26:2: “Test me, LORD, and try me; search my heart and mind” (New American Bible).

God tested Abraham (Genesis 22:1; Hebrews 11:17).

Jesus tested Philip (John 6:5-6).

God told Moses that He would “test” the nation of Israel, “whether they will walk in My law or not” (Exodus 16:4). He explained that He might even allow a dreamer, who would teach wrong doctrines, to enter the community or congregation of Israel, “for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 13:3). At the time of the Judges, God tested Israel through pagan nations (Judges 2:21-22).

God tests you “to do you good in the end” (Deuteronomy 8:16), and “so that you may NOT sin” (Exodus 20:20).

That is why you are to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).  Later, in verse 12, James says: “Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (New Jerusalem Bible).

And Peter tells us: “… now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Do Not Test God!

We should ask God to help us never to sin against Him by “testing” Him. We cannot tempt God, as “God cannot be tempted by evil” (James 1:13), but we could test or try Him exceedingly—however, we should NEVER do this!

The Bible contains many examples where people tested God (compare Hebrews 3:8-9).

They “tested God again and again” (Psalm 78:41, New Revised Standard Version) by doubting Him and limiting His powers in their minds (verses 41 and 42).

They “tested God in their heart” by wondering whether He was willing and able to help them (Psalm 78:18-19).

They tested God by wondering whether He was even among them. Exodus 17:7 says (New Revised Standard Version): “He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’”

The Bible tells us never to test God in such manner. Christ’s famous reply to Satan in the wilderness should be correctly translated in this way: “Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’” (Matthew 4:7; New Revised Standard Version. Compare also the Revised English Bible; the New American Bible; and the New Jerusalem Bible).

We are not to put God to the test by trying to force Him to do something in accordance with ourwill. Satan tempted Christ to sin against God, suggesting that He throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple and forcing God the Father to intervene and help Christ. Christ knew that if He had done this, He would have sinned against the Father by “putting Him to the test” (Matthew 4:5-7).

We are admonished in 1 Corinthians 10:9: “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents” (New Revised Standard Version). They “tested” Christ—the Personage in the God Family who dealt directly with ancient Israel in Old Testament times—by questioning God’s purpose for their lives and complaining that Christ had not provided them with food and water (Numbers 21:4-6).

Finally, Peter asked certain Church elders why some wanted to “test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples” by insisting that Gentiles must become circumcised and keep the Old Testament rituals of the sacrificial system (Acts 15:10, compare verse 1). They tested and questioned God who had already admitted Gentiles into the Church, by giving them His Holy Spirit, without requiring of them to be circumcised. We all ought to pray that the ministry not create rules and regulations for the membership that test God and that are not in accordance with God’s Will.

Summary

When we ask God the Father to protect us from temptation, or serious and sore trials, we understand that God never tempts us to sin. Rather, temptation to sin comes through our own desires, the society around us, and Satan the devil. Christ tells us to ask the Father to protect us from the temptation to sin.

We also understand that God tests us to get to know us better. His tests are for the purpose of strengthening us and enabling us not to sin. We should not ask God the Father to withhold tests from us, but rather, as Christ tells us, ask the Father not to allow the trials we go through to be too difficult for us to bear. Conversely, we should ask the Father for strength and wisdom not to test Him, by doubting Him and His powers, by limiting—in our minds—His ability to help us, by trying to force our will upon Him, and by even questioning His involvement in our lives.

“Deliver Us From Evil”

What are we to do if we find ourselves in temptations and sore trials?

God does help us not to get into temptations if we do our part to resist, but if we do fall into temptations or serious trials, God is also willing to help us to endure and get out of them, no matter how we got into them.

We might have entered the realm of temptation because we gave in to our own selfish desires, or maybe we did not resist the influences of Satan the devil or the society that surrounds us. Or perhaps God allowed Satan to tempt us, but is using the occasion to test us. For example, Satan wanted to tempt Job, solely for the purpose of causing him to break down and sin. God allowed Satan to tempt Job, but at the same time, God used it as an opportunity to test Job, solely for the purpose of making him spiritually stronger—quite a different goal than Satan.

Christ not only instructed us to pray to God to not “lead us into” or permit “temptation,” including “sore trials,” but He also told us to pray: “…but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13, Authorized Version).

As we have seen, temptation can originate through Satan the devil, or our own carnal and selfish desires, or the society around us. Since all of them may lead to sin, they are evil, and in order to prevent sin, we must be delivered from them.

Deliver Us From Ourselves

Oftentimes we sin because we follow our own evil desires and the demands of our sinful human nature. We need to pray to God the Father to deliver us from the same.

The Bible is very clear that in us, that is, in our flesh, nothing good dwells (Romans 7:18). Our human heart is described as “deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). We are also told that the “imagination of man’s heart is EVIL from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). And so, the natural human being [not just his heart] is “evil” (compare Matthew 7:11; 12:34), because the person IS what he thinks—what is in his heart—and his actions show it. Christ said that out of the human heart “proceed evil thoughts,” leading to all kinds of evil actions (Matthew 15:19; Mark 7:21).

But Paul understood that God the Father and Jesus Christ “deliver” us from “the body of death” (Romans 7:24-25). If we follow our sinful human nature, we are headed toward eternal death (Romans 6:23), but we obtain a new heart and a new mind through the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we pray to the Father to deliver us from our evil self, we are, in effect, asking Him to give us more of His Holy Spirit, through which we can have  the power and strength to overcome ourselves, thus creating in us a new, godly mind.

And so, Paul encourages true Christians to “draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). When Jesus Christ rules this earth and gives mankind a new heart, a remarkable change will occur. We read in Jeremiah 3:17: “… No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.” (Compare, too, Ezekiel 11:19-20.)

Deliver Us From Society

We may also yield to sin because of following the examples of the evil society we live in, which is filled with temptations.

We are warned that “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33), and that we should “not follow a crowd to do evil” (Exodus 23:2).

As mentioned before, Paul tells us to “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). The Authorized Version renders this verse: “… abstain from all appearance of evil.” In addition, we are to abhor what is evil (Romans 12:9) and to depart from evil (Psalm 34:14). Job was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). The margin of the New King James Bible says that Job literally “turned away from evil.”

And so, we need to ask God the Father to deliver us from those evil influences and to give us the strength to resist them. Proverbs 2:11-12 tells us that godly “Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things.”

Even though we understand these principles when we read them, we still sometimes just don’t follow wise counsel and, instead, end up in tempting situations that ultimately overpower us. But still, we can cry out to God for deliverance. Paul tells us in Galatians 1:4 that Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…”

We should ask God to deliver us from evil circumstances and surroundings, brought about by evil men, as they could also discourage us and provoke us to sin against God. Remember, too, that even apart from the possibility of sinning, it is perfectly fine to ask God to give us rest and peace by delivering us from the evil of this society in all its various forms.

Paul was convinced that God would “deliver [him] from every evil work and preserve [him] for His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18). He tells us that God delivered him out of all his persecutions, adding that all those who want to live godly will suffer persecution in this God-defying world (2 Timothy 3:11-12).

He also testified in 2 Corinthians 1:10 that God “delivered us from so great a death [the danger of certain death that was brought upon them by evil men], and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.”

He added in 2 Timothy 4:17 that he “was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,” reminding us of how Daniel was delivered by God “from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6:27). In addition, Peter points out how God “delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed with the filthy conduct of the wicked” (2 Peter 2:7). Also, Jeremiah proclaims that God “has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of the evildoers” (Jeremiah 20:13).

God even tells us that He is willing to deliver us from all sickness, in His due time (Deuteronomy 7:15). In fact, we are told that God “shall preserve you from [or, deliver you out of] all evil” (Psalm 121:7).

Sometimes, God delivers the righteous from this evil society by letting the person die. Isaiah 57:1 tells us: “The righteous perishes… While no one considers That the righteous is taken away [or delivered] from evil.”

The whole point in this discussion is that we must never forget to pray to God the Father for deliverance.

Consider the example of David in Psalm 140:1-2: “Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war.”

Paul never forgot the importance of prayer for deliverance, either, including mutual prayer and intercession for others, asking the Christians in Thessalonica to “pray for us… that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).

Deliver Us From Satan

The New King James Bible translates Matthew 6:13 as, “…but deliver us from the evil one,” emphasizing that the main culprit of evil is Satan the devil. After all, it is Satan who influences us, including the society around us. God did not create us with an evil heart. When God created Adam and Eve, He said that His creation was very good (Genesis 1:31). Ecclesiastes 7:29 confirms that “God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” They did so because of Satan. We became evil because of Satan’s evil devices, which we absorbed and followed from our early days. Because of Satan and our acceptance of his influence, our flesh became sinful. And the more we follow Satan’s direction, the more we become carnal and hostile toward God.

It is God’s wish that we “escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26). Christ prayed to the Father, not to take us out of this world, but “that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). Paul confirms, in 2 Thessalonians 3:3, that “the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” Christ has come to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), and we are told that the “God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).

Generally speaking, Christ has already “delivered us from the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13), by dying for our sins and offering us the possibility of forgiveness, so that we don’t have to succumb to eternal death. We are told that “through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those [or, deliver those] who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

God’s Church has been given the commission to preach this glorious news to others (Mark 16:15). As Christ sent Paul to the nations, so He is asking His Church today, “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18).

But Satan is still on his throne, walking around like a roaring lion to see whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). We need to be on guard, and we need God’s help to resist Satan and to be delivered from his evil devices. That is why we need to pray to God for His help and deliverance—to be constantly rescued from Satan, the evil one. We also need the strength to resist the devil (1 Peter 5:9; compare Ephesians 4:27; 6:11;James 4:7); and so, we are to pray to God for such strength as well.

Help in Sore Trials and Temptation

We have seen that Christ tells us to ask God to deliver us from evil, including temptation originating from our own selfish desires or from Satan the devil or from the societal influences we are subjected to every day. And God promised that He would do that, if we really want Him to.

We read in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

In this case, rendering the words “tempted” and “temptations” as “tested” and “trials” would also make sense. Remember, the Greek words allow for both renditions.

For instance, the Revised English Bible states: “So far you have faced no trial beyond human endurance; God keeps faith and will not let you be tested beyond your powers, but when the test comes he will at the same time provide a way out [i.e., deliverance] and so enable you to endure.”

We are also told that God “knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:9) and/or “their trials” (compare the renditions of the Revised English Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible).

And finally, we read that Jesus Christ was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15); and that He is “able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18),  since He was “tempted” Himself. “Tempted” is the most likely meaning here, as the context is sin (“yet without sin”), and Christ could be tempted as a human being because  He had given up His divine nature and became a human being here on earth (John 1:1, 14). At the same time, Christ was also tried and tested in all points, and He passed all tests without ever sinning. So, then, in that sense, Christ was both tempted and tested, and He can help us in, and deliver us from, our temptations and trials.

When we ask God the Father to deliver us from evil, including temptations or very serious trials in our lives, we also realize that Jesus Christ is there to help us in those times of need.

Summary

When we pray to God the Father to deliver us from evil, we are asking Him to deliver us from our own evil nature; the influences of the evil society around us; and the evil one, Satan the devil. In addition, we can ask God to deliver us from very serious trials, which might include sickness and the possibility of death—always subject, of course, to God’s Will in a given situation.

“For Yours Is the Kingdom…”

Christ continued to ask us to pray: “For Yours is the kingdom… forever” (Matthew 6:13).

One of the early requests of God in this prayer outline in Matthew 6 was the coming of His kingdom to be established here on earth (“Your kingdom come,” verse 10). In approaching the final words of the outline prayer, we are to remind ourselves and express the thought that the kingdom belongs to God the Father, and that He will give it to whomever He wants. Christ expresses this in Luke 12:32: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

But God will always be THE king over His kingdom. Psalm 22:28 reminds us that “the kingdom is the LORD’S”; and even now, although this is Satan’s world, nobody rules without God’s express permission (Daniel 4:17; John 19:11; Romans 13:1-2).

When we say to God the Father that His kingdom is forever, we are telling Him that we understand that there will never be a time when God will not rule over His creation—including us. We read in Daniel 2:44 that the “God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed…and it shall stand forever.” Compare, too, Daniel 6:26; 7:14.

Even when God’s plan for mankind has been fulfilled, God the Father will still be the highest ruler over His kingdom. We read that at the very “end,” Christ will deliver the kingdom to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24). The time will come when God’s kingdom will rule over all there is (Psalm 103:19).

“For Yours Is the Power…”

Christ continued to ask us to pray: “For Yours is… the power… forever” (Matthew 6:13).

It was the day of Pentecost that marked the birth of the New Testament Church. It was on that very day that God gave His Holy Spirit to His converted sons and daughters. God sent His Spirit with a sound, from heaven, as of a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2).

Jesus Christ compared God’s Spirit with a mighty powerful wind, in John 3:8, when He talked to Nicodemus.  We find, then, that the Holy Spirit of God is many times described as a Spirit of POWER (compare 2 Timothy 1:7).

The Greek word for “power” is “dunamis,” from which come our English words “dynamo” or “dynamic.” It means “full of energy” or “energetic.” It is certainly not “a spirit of fear” or a spirit that motivates us to be ashamed or afraid. God will not allow us to enter His kingdom if we remain so fearful that we are never willing to fight the fight of salvation. Revelation 21:8 tells us that the cowardly and the unbelieving will end up in the lake of fire [signifying the second or eternal death], because they did not allow God’s Spirit within them to work through them. They remained filled with fear and timidity. They failed to reach their goal—the hope of salvation. So, then, it is God’s Spirit of power that must motivate us in a DYNAMIC way!

Paul was never afraid to make use of God’s power. He explains in Romans 15:18-19 that he accomplished tremendous things by the power of the Holy Spirit in him. He did not do this on his own. He KNEW that it had to be done through the power of God. He knew that “the power of Christ [did] rest upon” him (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We read that it is through the power of God the Father that Jesus Christ was resurrected (Ephesians 1:19-20). And God will resurrect His Spirit-begotten children with the same power He used to resurrect Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:14). But God will only resurrect us to the godly “power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:16), if His Spirit of power was in us at the time of our death (Romans 8:11).

It was Paul’s greatest goal and desire to attain the power of the resurrection, as we can read in Philippians 3:10-11. And so, when God resurrects us with His power, we will be raised in power (1 Corinthians 15:43). To put it differently, God, to whom belongs all power, is willing to share His power with us.

Let us therefore review in more detail the marvelous truth about the power of God.

All Power Belongs to God

We read in 1 Chronicles 29:12: “In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.”

Psalm 62:11 exclaims: “God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.”

God is “great in power” (Nahum 1:3), and no one is able to withstand Him because of His power and might (2 Chronicles 20:6).

We will be mistaken and deceived if we don’t know the Scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29). Our faith must be in the power of God, and not in the wisdom of men (1 Corinthians 2:5), as it is God’s divine power that “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

God IS Power

In Matthew 26:64, Christ identified God the Father as “THE Power.” God’s Spirit of power emanates from God, because God IS power!

Christ, too, is identified with the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Christ received the power from God the Father when He was resurrected (compare 2 Corinthians 13:4). The Father shared, and still shares, His power with Christ, and through that power, Christ upholds all things today, including the entire universe, as Hebrews 1:1-3 explains.

God Created Everything Through His Power

Jeremiah 10:12 tells us: “He has made the earth by His power.”  Romans 1:20 adds: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Jeremiah 27:5 explains that God “made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by [His] great power…” In fact, He “made the heavens and the earth by [His] great power… There is nothing too hard” for God (Jeremiah 32:17).

Job 26:12-13 points out that God “stirs up the sea with His power… [and] By His Spirit He adorned the heavens.”

God’s Power Is Revealed

We saw earlier that God’s power is revealed through His creation (compare again Romans 1:20). However, it is also revealed through the gospel, as Paul explains in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”

And, as the Church of God has a commission today to preach the gospel to prepare a people for Christ’s return, so John the Baptist went before Christ to prepare the people for His First Coming. He was able to do that “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).

God’s Gifts Through His Power

We read that God’s divine power gives us all things that pertain to eternal life (compare 2 Peter 1:3). In fact, we are kept or preserved today “by the power of God through faith for salvation” (1 Peter 1:5). In addition, God helps us in many different ways today, through His power, to preserve us from, or “deliver” us out of, physical harm (Isaiah 50:2). He gives us today physical things and opportunities by His power; for instance, the power to attain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).

God Heals Through His Power

God promises to heal us from our sicknesses. Christ performed many miracles of healing when He was on earth. He did it through the power of God the Father, which had to be present in order to heal (Luke 5:17).

There was a woman who was suffering from a serious sickness and, when she touched Christ, she was healed. Christ commented that He noticed that power had gone out from Him (Luke 8:46; compare Mark 5:30). It was the power of God’s Holy Spirit, which was in Him, that healed the sick woman. Christ had laid aside all divine attributes, so, as a man, He needed the power of God the Father in His life. And so, Christ was anointed “with the Holy Spirit and with power” by God the Father, and He was able to do good and to heal and cast out demons, “for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).

God Gives Us His Power Today

We read in Isaiah 40:29 that God “gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.” He gives strength and power to His people (Psalm 68:35). For converted Christians, the gift of God’s power reaches an additional important dimension: God shares His very power already today with His begotten sons and daughters through the Holy Spirit dwelling within them:

Micah exclaimed in Micah 3:8: “I am full of power BY the Spirit of the LORD.” Christ promised His disciples that they would be “endued with power from high” (Luke 24:49) and that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon” them (Acts 1:8).

Once we have received God’s Holy Spirit, the power that we might potentially enjoy is beyond all human comprehension. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

He adds in Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church.”

Paul explains that God the Father lives in us through the Spirit of His mighty power, the same power mentioned before, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20).

With God’s power working in our lives, “nothing will be impossible” for us (Matthew 17:20). Even though it may be impossible for ordinary and unconverted men, it will not be impossible for God’s converted people, because GOD will be with them, and we KNOW that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26; compare Luke 1:37).  But, we must believe it (Mark 9:23)! We must BELIEVE that all things are possible for God (Mark 14:36) and that, therefore, all things are possible for us, since God lives in us.

As God created and fashioned the universe and the earth with His mighty Spirit of power, so WE will also participate in future creative acts, since God will share His power with us, when we become born-again members in the Family of God. He already does so to an extent today, but He will share ALL of His power with us, when we enter His kingdom (For more information, please read our free booklet, “God Is A Family.”)

We must learn today to apply God’s power in our lives—to use that portion that God has given to us in order to overcome. God wants to see how we handle it today. He needs to be sure that He can entrust us with limitless power later without running the risk of misusing that power and turning against Him, as Lucifer and his angels once did, ultimately becoming Satan and demons (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”)

How are we to prove to God today that we will never abuse His power in the future?

By allowing His Spirit in us to motivate and enable us to keep God’s law (Ezekiel 11:19-20; Numbers 14:24). God’s Spirit in us enables us to obey the truth, as Peter explains: “…you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit…” (1 Peter 1:22).

God’s Power Lasts Forever

Christ mentioned that God’s power will last forever. When we pray to God the Father, we should be cognizant of this fact.

Psalm 66:7 tells us that God “rules by His power forever.” Revelation 5:13 adds: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne [God the Father], And to the Lamb [Jesus Christ], forever and ever.” Compare, too, Revelation 7:12.

Summary

God created everything by His power and He sustains everything through His power. God’s power is revealed to man through His creation, and also through the true gospel. God has power to help us in physical ways, and He offers us the gift of His Holy Spirit of power. As God the Father raised Christ from the dead through His power, so He will raise us up by the same power.

Christ, who sits at the right hand of God’s power, will return to this earth with great power (Mark 13:26). At that time, He will be clothed with a powerful spiritual body and He will rule in God’s kingdom of power (1 Corinthians 4:20). God the Father offers us the possibility to rule with, and under, Christ in His kingdom, with a powerful body that  will be equal to the body of Christ (1 John 3:2; Philippians 3:21).

“For Yours Is the Glory…”

Christ continued to ask us to pray: “For Yours is… the glory… forever” (Matthew 6:13).

What should we be thinking and meditating about when acknowledging to the Father that His is the glory?

God Our Creator

First, we are to realize that God is our Creator; that nothing would exist without Him; and that nothing would continue to exist without Him.

Romans 11:36 tells us: “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

God the Father, who is the highest in the Godhead (1 Corinthians 11:3; John 14:28; 20:17), created us physically, and He continues our spiritual creation today, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, by freeing us from the evil world.

Galatians 1:3-5 explains this aspect of our spiritual creation for which we should glorify God, in this way: “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

We also read that not only God the Father, but also Jesus Christ, deserves all glory, now and forever (2 Peter 3:18). This is so, as Jesus Christ had all glory BEFORE He became a Man, and He has all glory today (John 17:5; Luke 24:26; 1 Timothy 3:16). And we read that Christ, in His glory, will return to this earth (Matthew 25:31).

We must understand that both the Father and Jesus Christ are God. Christ tells us, however, that we are to pray to the Father, as He is greater, in authority, than Christ.

God’s Glory Too Glorious for Man

We cannot look with our human eyes at the glory of God and live. God had to cover Moses with His hand, so that he would not see God’s glorious face and die; but God did allow him to see the glory of His back (Exodus 33:18-23). Stephen was permitted to see God’s glory in a vision, just before he died (Acts 7:55).

We find described a glimpse of God’s glory in Revelation 15:8, where we read that the heavenly temple was filled with smoke from the glory and power of God. Even when the Israelites looked at God’s glorious appearance from afar, the “sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:17).

Understanding God’s Glory

Those who have been called by God into His Way of Life can understand the truth about the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:6). To some extent, God’s glory could and can be appreciated by all men (Psalm 19:1), but most have refused, and still refuse today, to consider it (Romans 1:22-23). Even in Christ’s time, and at the time of the early New Testament church, most people refused to give glory to God (Luke 17:18; Acts 12:23). Man’s rejection of God’s glory will continue until Christ returns (Revelation 16:9).

This must not be the case for those in God’s Church! Rather, we are instructed by God to declare His glory to all nations. Revelation 14:6-7 describes the time when God will judge the nations. Just before that time, an angel will appear with the everlasting gospel, which is to be preached to those who dwell on earth. He will introduce the message with these words: “Fear God and give glory to Him (verse 7).” 1 Chronicles 16:24 commands God’s people to “Declare His glory among the nations.” Paul asked the brethren to “…pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified” (2 Thessalonians 3:1).

Ultimately, “the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Glorify God in Your Life

It is the commission of God’s Church to proclaim the gospel of God, which includes a message about His glory, but we also have a personal responsibility to proclaim the glory of God in our own lives, by the way we live. When we conduct our lives within the parameters of God’s principles, we are actually ambassadors—representatives of God—to those who observe us. They will ultimately learn from us how to glorify God—how to give glory to Him.

Matthew 5:16 tells us: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Compare 1 Peter 2:12.)

John 15:8 adds: “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (Compare Leviticus 10:3.)

Our right example of Christian living should lead others to glorify God, as Paul says in Galatians 1:24: “And they glorified God in me.” Whatever we do, say, and even think, should be to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Corinthians 6:20). Even when we are persecuted for the name of Christ, God is glorified, as it will become apparent that we loved God more than anyone or anything else (compare 1 Peter 4:14-16). This may even include death, if we are put in a position to die for the faith (compare John 21:19).

We are to live for the glory of God, NOT for our own glory or for the glory of other men (John 7:18). Even Christ did not seek His own glory (John 8:50). He said, in John 17:4, that He had glorified the Father on earth. We also read that Paul did not seek glory from men (1 Thessalonians 2:6).  Proverbs 25:27 says that it is not even glory when one seeks his own glory.

Seek God in Time of Trouble

When we are in trouble and ask God for help, we can remember the plea of the psalmist in Psalm 79:9—the way in which he approached God—and we can do likewise: “Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake!”

God tells us, in Psalm 50:15: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

We must know that God will not leave us alone. We can, therefore, say confidently with Paul: “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18; compare Philippians 4:19-20).

We Are to Receive God’s Glory

When we pray to God, “Yours is the glory forever. Amen,” we are acknowledging that He is the “Father of glory” (Ephesians 1:17). At the same time, we need to realize that God has created US, so that we can obtain His glory! This may sound unbelievable, but Scripture reveals that God WANTS to share His glory with you and me!

Since physical man was created in the image and likeness of God, he does possess a certain glory, though it is only temporary, of course. Christ said in Matthew 6:29 that Solomon had this glory.  We are told in 1 Peter 1:24 that the glory of man is like the passing and temporary flower of the grass, and also in Isaiah 28:1, that man’s “glorious beauty is a fading flower.”

It is God’s purpose to share His eternal glory with us. However, human beings, left to themselves, could never obtain it. One reason is that they sin, and unless sin is repented of and forgiven, man “falls short of the glory of God” (compare Romans 3:23).

But the good news is that Christ died for us so that through Him—through His death AND through His life in us—it becomes possible for us to obtain God’s very own glory!  Romans 8:18 tells us that the sufferings of this world shrink into insignificance in comparison with the glory which shall be revealed in us. We are already “being transformed into the same image [of Christ] from [man’s] glory to [God’s] glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We read in 1 Thessalonians 2:12 that we must “walk worthy of God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory.” We are, in fact, to inherit “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14). 1 Peter 5:10 confirms that God called us “to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,” and Romans 5:2 emphasizes that we “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Philippians 3:20-21 leaves no doubt in this regard: “the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.”

To reiterate, when we pray to the Father and refer to His glory, it should be a reminder to us that God’s glory could be ours.

Summary

As God’s Church, we have a responsibility to make the mystery of God’s glory known to others (compare Colossians 1:27). Individually, we need to live a Christian life and set a right example so that others will glorify our Father in heaven.

Glory belongs to God. God’s glory will last forever. God’s glory is too bright for human beings to behold. Christ shares the glory of His Father. God the Father resurrected Christ in glory, and Christ will return in glory. But God wants to share His very glory with man. God has revealed to us the mystery of His glory—that it is obtainable for us, and that we will actually inherit it, if we walk worthy of His calling. We are to live our lives to God’s glory, so that others can glorify God as well. Ultimately, the earth will be filled with the glory of God. When we ask God the Father for help, we can refer to His glory, which He promised to give to us.

In the Name of Christ

Christ tells us that we are to pray to the Father in “Christ’s name” (compare, for instance, John 16:23: “… whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”). What, exactly, does it mean to pray to God the Father in Christ’s name?

We will review several interesting passages where the concept of praying, speaking or acting in Christ’s name is used. Notice what those passages actually convey to us.

The Greatness of Christ’s Name

When we pray in Christ’s name, we must always be mindful of the GREATNESS of His name.

Ephesians 1:20-21 reveals to us that Christ is above every name that is named. Philippians 2:9-11 adds that God exalted Christ and gave Him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. There is no other name given to man by which we can be saved, but the name of Christ (Acts 4:12). And, finally, Hebrews 1:4 explains that Christ became so much better than the angels, as He has, by inheritance, obtained a more excellent name than they.

We Belong to Christ

The mere fact that someone says or does something “in Christ’s name” does not mean that he will be heard, or that he will be accepted by God. Matthew 7:22-23 says that people prophesied in Christ’s name, casting out demons and doing many mighty works in Christ’s name, but Christ says that He never knew them.

In Mark 9:38-41, someone, who was not one of the Twelve Apostles, cast out demons in Christ’s name. Christ tells the apostles who objected to such practice, not to prevent him from working miracles in His name.  He went on to explain that if someone gives a glass of water to His disciples in His name, because the disciples belong to Him, “he will by no means lose his reward” (verse 41).

We see that the concept of  “in Christ’s name” includes the fact that one “belongs to Christ.” The people who are mentioned in Matthew 7:22 did not belong to Christ, so their words or actions “in His name” were meaningless.

Note another example in Acts 19:13-17, showing that the phrase “in Christ’s name” cannot be used as just some kind of a routine or a magical phrase, not even in prayer. Neither can it be used in vain repetition. In that passage, sorcerers tried unsuccessfully to cast out demons by calling the name of Jesus over those who were possessed because they noticed that Paul did it in the name of Jesus  (compare Acts 16:18). However, they were unable to do so, as they did not belong to Christ. They were simply trying to use the phrase “in Christ’s name” as a “magical formula.”

Christ Name Identifies and Describes Christ

When we speak of Christ’s name, we actually speak of Christ Himself. When we understand how great HIS NAME is, we can begin to comprehend just how great HE is, and when we realize that we can only be saved through the name of Christ, we can then recognize that we can only be saved through Christ Himself.

Matthew 12:21 says that Gentiles will trust in Christ’s name [trust in Him]. Matthew 18:5 says that when we receive a little child in Christ’s name, we receive Him. And Matthew 18:20 says that when two or three are gathered together in His name, He is among them.

Matthew 28:19-20 quotes Christ’s words as follows: “… make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of [in the possession of] the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit [the God Family, currently consisting of the Father and the Son who are both working through the power of the Holy Spirit], teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” But we also read that we are to be baptized into the name of, or possession of, Jesus Christ.  That is, we are baptized in, or into, Him. We are baptized into Christ’s death (Romans 6:3), and when we are baptized into Him, we have put Him on, as Galatians 3:27 explains.

For those of us who have been properly baptized, we were buried with Christ in baptism, and we were resurrected with Christ (Colossians 2:12-13). We died with Christ, and were raised with Christ (Colossians 2:20; 3:1). So, again, we see that being baptized in, or into, His name means being baptized in, or into, Him.

Acts 21:13 tells us that Paul was willing to die for the name of the Lord Jesus; i.e., all that Christ stands for. Or, we might say, Paul was willing to die for Christ.

Romans 10:13-14 makes an equivalent statement: Those who call on God (verse 14) call on the name of the Lord (verse 13). Further examples can be found in the Book of Revelation. We are told in Revelation 13:6 that the beast opens “its mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name.” Revelation 15:4 tells us: “Who should not fear YOU, O Lord, and glorify YOUR name?… all nations shall… worship before YOU.” Revelation 16:9 states: “… they blasphemed the name of God… and did not give Him glory.” Verse 11 says that they “blasphemed the God of heaven… and did not repent.” Also, verse 21 says that they “blasphemed God.”

To pray “in Christ’s name” means to pray “in Christ.” But what, exactly, does it mean to “pray in Christ”?

In the Name of Christ Means ‘Through His Present Power’

When we do something in the name of Christ, we recognize His great power through which He works.

Acts 3:6 says that Peter healed a lame person by telling him to rise up and walk “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” Acts 3:16 says that Christ’s Name, “through faith in His Name,” has healed a person—the faith which comes through Him did it.

Acts 4:7 quotes the high priest asking Peter, “By what power [dunamis in Greek; a reference to the power of God’s Spirit] or by what name have you” healed this man? Acts 4:10 quotes Peter’s answer:  I did it “…by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…, by Him this man stands here before you whole.”

Christ did the healing. Peter told the lame man, in effect: I command you in the name of Christ to rise; that is, I command you to rise, knowing that Christ will do it.

We also read in 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 that Paul said: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together… with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,” to disfellowship someone. Paul referred to the fact that the power of Christ was present. That is, CHRIST was present through the power of the Holy Spirit. Knowing this, Paul could tell them to do a certain thing, in the name of Christ, because Christ’s power and presence was there. To put it differently, Paul was telling the elders that Christ would disfellowship the person, through them. It is the same principle at work when God’s ministers baptize someone in, or into, the name of Christ. It is actually Christ who performs the baptism, while using His human servants as His instruments.

When We Pray in Christ’s Name, Christ WILL Do It

John 14:13-14 says that whatever we ask in Christ’s name, Christ will do it.

The Ryrie Study Bible’s comments on this verse are: “This is not a formula to be tacked on to the end of prayers, but means praying for the same things which Christ would desire to see accomplished. It is like using a power of attorney which a very dear loved one has given you.”

The Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, explains: “…whatever you ask in My name—as Mediator—that I will do.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary points out: “They were to plead his merit and intercession, and depend upon it… Christ’s is a good name, well known in heaven… By faith in his name we may have what we will for the asking.”

The Broadman Bible Commentary adds that we are to pray “consistent with His character.”

But HOW will Christ do it? WHY will HE do it? And WHAT, exactly, will He do?

In His Name Means “Through Christ”

John 14:26 says that the Father will send the Holy Spirit in the name of Christ. Titus 3:5-6 says that the Father gives us the Holy Spirit through Christ. It is actually Christ who receives the Holy Spirit from the Father, to then pour it out on us (Acts 2:33; John 15:26).

When the Father gives us the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name, He is actually giving us the Spirit through Christ. When we pray to the Father in the name of Christ, we pray to the Father through Christ. But how does that happen, and what does it mean?

We read in Romans 7:25 that Paul thanked God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He adds in 1 Corinthians15:57 that God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, somehow, Christ DOES something. When we pray to the Father in the name of Christ, we expect Christ to do something!

Notice Hebrews 13:20-21, where we read that God will make us complete through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:13 states that Paul could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.

John 16:23-24 says that whatever we ask the Father in Christ’s name, the Father will give it to us, and when we ask in Christ’s name, we will receive it. However, we had read earlier that Christ will do it. So, we see, then, that the Father does it through Christ! Simply put, the Father gives it to Christ, and Christ passes it on to us.

Christ Our Mediator

But there is more. When we pray to the Father in Christ’s name, it not only means that the Father works through Christ in response to our prayer, but also, that we acknowledge Christ’s role and function while we pray, expecting Christ to do something while we pray. In general, when we pray to God in the name of Christ, we are praying through Christ—expecting Christ to back us up, support us, and do something in regard to what we say.

The Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, explains that Christ is the living Conductor of the prayer upward, and the answer downward.

We read Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 that he gave a command to the brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 12 he commanded and exhorted them through our Lord Jesus Christ. In Colossians 3:17 we read: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

When we pray or say something in the name of Christ, we say it, not only with or by His authority, but we actually speak through Christ.

You may wonder how that can be. Let’s notice a key Scripture that sheds much light on what actually happens when we pray in the name of Christ. As 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 tells us: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

What this Scripture is actually telling us is that God, who was in Christ, reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ. Paul said that he and other disciples were ambassadors for Christ. They acted as though God were pleading through them. They implored the members on Christ’s behalf.

In the same way, when we pray to the Father in the name of Christ, we are, in a sense, asking Christ to plead our case to the Father. We are representatives of Christ—representing Christ as though Christ was pleading through us to God the Father. It is as if Christ is praying to the Father for us. He is our Mediator, our Intercessor and our Advocate. Compare 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is… one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Notice also 1 John 2:1: “… if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.”

Christ came in the name of the Father, as His representative. The Father lived in Christ and did His works in and through Christ.

As the Father did His works through Christ, so Christ does His works through, and in, us. That includes prayer. Christ lives in us, and when we pray in the name of Christ, it is actually Christ who gives us the mind to say the right things, and it is He who even communicates to the Father what we might have wanted to say—but we could not find the right way to express them.

We read that the Spirit makes intercession for us, when we pray (Compare Romans 8:26-27). Verse 34 clarifies that it is actually Christ, through His Spirit, who makes intercession for us or pleads our cause. He is a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). For a more in-depth discussion, please read our free booklet, “Is God a Trinity,” on pages 13-14.

How, then, do we understand John 16:26-27, which says: “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”?

Doesn’t this passage say that Christ will NOT pray for us to the Father?

The Commentary on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, explains: “Christ does pray the Father for His people, but not for the purpose of inclining an unwilling ear… It is not that the Father were not of Himself disposed to aid you.”

The Ryrie Study Bible agrees, pointing out: “To address the Father through the Son has been the normal Christian practice ever since.”

It is true that the Father knows our thoughts, and that He knows what we will say before we say it. Christ said that He would not ask the Father to do for us what we need, because the Father Himself loves us. Christ was saying, in effect: It is not that the Father does not love you. He does love you, because you have loved Me. At the same time, Christ IS our Mediator, and it is His role, as the One who HAD BEEN MAN, and can therefore sympathize with our weaknesses, to speak to the Father on our behalf.

When we speak to the Father through the living Jesus Christ in us, it is actually Christ who is inspiring us and who is doing the speaking. For instance, Christ even said that He, through the Holy Spirit, will inspire us to say what we ought in times of persecution (compare Luke 21:14-15; 12:11-12).

We are acting as Christ’s representatives, just as a police officer is a representative of the police force and the law. He might say that he is acting “in the name of the law.” When he says that, he represents the law, and the law speaks through him. In the same way, Christ speaks through us when we represent Him.

Also, as we saw, when we pray to the Father in Christ’s name, we speak to the Father through Christ, recognizing Christ’s function and role as our Mediator or Advocate.

Christ is speaking through us, and we are speaking through Christ. After all, Christ lives in us (2 Corinthians 13:5). Christ lived in Paul, and Paul lived by the faith of Christ (Galatians 2:20, Authorized Version), even when he spoke to people and when he prayed to God.  Notice 2 Corinthians 13:3: “… since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me.” As Christ lived in Paul, He was speaking through and for Paul.

So again, when we pray to the Father in the name of Christ, we do it through Christ. In a sense, we ask Christ to communicate our prayers, in their intended way, to the Father.

Notice these final passages as proof for this assertion:

Hebrews 9:24 tells us that Christ appears in the presence of God the Father for us, NOW, every time we pray in His name. Hebrews 7:25 states: “Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” And Hebrews 13:15 adds: “Therefore by Him (the Elberfelder Bible says: “through Him”) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” This passage tells us that we are to pray to God the Father through Christ.

Summary

Since we belong to Christ, Christ allows us to do and say things in His glorious and all-powerful name. That is, we can do things through the power of His Holy Spirit in us.

When we pray, write, or say something in the name of Christ, we are actually asking Christ to do those things for us. We speak to the Father through Christ. It is as if Christ speaks to the Father on our behalf—as if Christ communicates our prayers to the Father, helping us express to the Father what we think, how we feel, and what we are going through. Sometimes, we may not know exactly what to say, but Christ, through His Spirit in us, helps our weaknesses.

When we end a prayer by using the words “in Christ’s name,” we had better make sure that we CAN say this—that Christ IS actually speaking through us, or interceding for us. The warning here is that just saying “in the name of Christ” after a prayer can easily become a vain repetition. To prevent this from happening, we must be well aware of its meaning, and when we use this expression, we must realize the accompanying great responsibility, and liability, for us.

Every time we use the words “in Christ’s name,” we are to be very conscious of the fact that Jesus Christ is acting, at that very moment, as our Mediator, Intercessor and Advocate, interceding on our behalf as our merciful High Priest, and that He is pleading our cause, expressing to the Father our most intimate feelings and temptations, as well as our personal struggle with ourselves and our own human nature.

Christ promised that He would do for us what we ask when we pray to the Father in His name. The Father will answer our prayer through Christ. But we must ask the Father in the proper way, and with the correct understanding of what it means to pray “in Christ’s name.”

Amen

Christ instructed us to close our prayer with the word “Amen” (Matthew 6:13). But as is the case with praying “in Christ’s name,” the use of the word “Amen” can also become a vain repetition if we are not careful. Again, to avoid this, we need to have a good understanding of what it means to say “Amen.”

Rienecker’s Lexikon zur Bibel explains that the Hebrew word “Amen” literally means “this is certain” or “so shall it be.” It also carries the meaning of “true or truth, reliable, permanent, faith and faithfulness.” For instance, we read in Jeremiah 28:6: “… and the prophet Jeremiah said, ‘Amen! The LORD do so; the LORD perform your words which you have prophesied…’”

The commentary continues to point out that the Greek, and later the Latin, English and German, adopted the Hebrew word “Amen” without translating it.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament apply this word sometimes to God. We read in Isaiah 65:16 about the “God of truth.” The Hebrew word for truth is “Amen.” In Deuteronomy 7:9, we read about “the faithful God.” Again, the Hebrew word for “faithful” is “Amen.” In Revelation 3:14, Christ describes Himself as “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning [better: Beginner] of the creation of God.”

The solemn meaning of the word is also emphasized in 2 Corinthians 1:20: “For all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen [or better, according to the literal text: “…and therefore also through Him the Amen…”], to the glory of God through us.”

The commentary concludes with these important observations: “The ‘Amen,’ which the praying person says at the end of the prayer, is empty of meaning and a misunderstanding of its Biblical use, if it does not appear in a lively connection with the contents of the prayer.”

Summary

When we conclude our prayer with the word “Amen,” we must not use it as a routine  empty phrase. It is a very important and meaningful word, a confirmation, if you please, that we actually meant every word we said in the prayer. It must never be used thoughtlessly, as one of its uses is in reference to God Himself.

Conclusion

The Bible tells us that we need to pray, and it tells us how to pray, and to Whom we are to pray. As we said in the introduction, it is the purpose of this booklet to help you pray effectively. It is our sincere desire that, after you have read the booklet, you will feel inspired to incorporate the Biblical principles mentioned herein, and begin to realize how interactive God is with you on a very personal level.

In applying the keys for successful prayers, as well as using the outline in Matthew 6 as a guide, you can be confident that God will hear your prayers! His answers to your prayers will be gratifying, far beyond what you can imagine!

Just go ahead and try it!

Appendix

Ask for More of God’s Holy Spirit

Is it possible for a Christian to receive more of God’s Holy Spirit?

Yes it is, and the way in which this occurs involves personal growth, as well as God choosing someone to fulfill a special function in His service.

First of all, understand that God gives man His Holy Spirit as a GIFT. Peter explains this in context in Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [margin: forgiveness] of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'”

Paul further describes the purpose of God’s gift: “In Him [Christ] you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, [which] is the guarantee [margin: down payment, earnest] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14; also compare 2 Corinthians 5:5).

God’s Holy Spirit is also God’s power, and through it, Christians are able to live a converted life. We find a dramatic contrast of two ways of living explained in Romans 8:5-6: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Just repenting and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit is not enough. This is not the complete process that God has established in order for mankind to enter into eternal life. There is some effort required on our part. In His message to the seven churches found in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus Christ summarizes His instructions to each group with these words: “‘To him who overcomes…'” (Compare Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:26; 3:5; 3:12; 3:21).

Consider how Paul encouraged Timothy, a young minister under his guidance, to use the gift of the Holy Spirit: “Therefore I remind you to STIR UP the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

Power, love, and a sound mind are all areas in which Christians are to grow, and that growth comes through using God’s Holy Spirit to overcome. Each of us WILL experience the necessary growth and change if we heed Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Philippi: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5).

Even if we have God’s Spirit in us, if we don’t use it to overcome and grow, we may find ourselves left behind. Jesus taught a parable concerning a fig tree that was not bearing fruit (compare Luke 13:6-9). Ultimately, it was to be cut down because it was worthless as a fruit tree. The spiritual analogy for us is that we must use the Spirit God gives us to produce the fruit of conversion, which is manifested by our character becoming more and more like the Father and Jesus Christ–righteous in every aspect (compare Matthew 5:48).

King David understood that his own actions of adultery and murder had separated him from God. In deep and bitter repentance he acknowledged his mistakes. David’s prayer is recorded in Psalm 51, and in it, he makes this startling request: “Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (verse 11). He understood that if God took His Holy Spirit away from him, it was equivalent to God actually casting him away!

Christians are accountable to use what God gives them. Jesus taught in the parable of the talents that we will be judged, and rewarded, according to how productively we incorporate God’s power into our lives (compare Matthew 25:14-30)! Here is how Peter presents this challenge: “…but GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

A good example of some individuals who did just that, were the seven members who were chosen to fulfill needed roles in the Church. A requirement was that the men were to be “full of the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 6:3). These men were chosen based on the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit, manifested in the way they conducted their lives (compare Galatians 5:22-23).

In 1 Corinthians 12, we learn that spiritual gifts were given for the purpose of directing the Church of God: “There are diversities [margin: allotments or various kinds] of gifts, but the same Spirit” (verse 4). Paul goes on to name those gifts in verses 27-28: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.”

These various kinds of gifts are further explained in Ephesians 4:11-13: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”

Numbers 11 shows that God actually took some of the Holy Spirit He had given to Moses and gave it to the elders in Israel, in order to empower them to assist Moses (compare verses 17, 25-26). In another example, Elisha received a double portion of the Holy Spirit that Elijah had (compare 2 Kings 2:9-15).

However, in regard to God giving of His Holy Spirit to Christ, we find this statement from John the Baptist: “‘For he [Christ] whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him [Christ]‘” (John 3:34, Authorized Version). Also, in the example of John the Baptist, the angel, Gabriel, told Zacharias: “‘…He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb'” (Luke 1:15).

Generally, God gives us only a small portion of His Holy Spirit at the time of our proper baptism. But God expects us to use His Spirit to GROW in His way of life, so that He can give us MORE of His Spirit! That is why we need to be consistently RENEWED in the spirit of our mind (Ephesians 4:23). Paul addresses converted Christians in Romans 12:2, when he tells them: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” This is a continuous process, and the supply of the Holy Spirit helps us to accomplish this change (Philippians 1:19).

We read in the New Testament, in the Book of Acts, that Paul and Barnabas were ordained for a special work in the Church of God (Acts 13:1-4). The Biblical record shows that God will use zealous individuals for His special purpose. In explaining the qualifications of an elder, Paul states: “This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop [margin: overseer], he desires a good work” (1 Timothy 3:1). In these instances, when a man is ordained to the ministry, God grants help through His Holy Spirit (compare Luke 10:17-20; Mark 16:15-18).

Finally, if you desire to have more of God’s Holy Spirit, simply ask! Luke 11:13 says: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” We have this further assurance: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).

What Is Christ’s Name?

It is very important that we know Christ’s name and fully understand the meaning of it. The Bible reveals who Jesus Christ is, and by what name we should address Him. Peter, in speaking before the Sanhedrin in defense of healing a lame man, said: “‘let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole” (Acts 4:10). Continuing in verse 12: “‘Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

On another occasion, Peter addressed the Gentile household of Cornelius, explaining the power and significance of Jesus Christ’s name. “To Him all the prophets witness that, THROUGH HIS NAME, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Indeed, the Old Testament does speak of the coming of the Messiah (compare Daniel 9:25-26), and it also tells something about Him, through the name that would be given to Him: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL” (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel literally means, “God with us!”

From the “Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible,” by Herbert Lockyer, Senior Editor, we find this explanation: “The word MESSIAH comes from a Hebrew term that means ‘ANOINTED ONE.’ Its Greek counterpart is CHRISTOS, from which the word CHRIST comes. Messiah was one of the titles used by early Christians to describe who Jesus was (emphasis added).”

Just as in the Old Testament there were many names that were applied to God, so also in the New Testament were various names or titles used that pertained to the Messiah.

In Luke 1:30-33, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would be the one to bear the Messiah: “Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall CALL HIS NAME JESUS. He will be great, and will be CALLED THE SON OF THE HIGHEST; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.'” In answering Mary’s question as to how this birth would occur, the angel said to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be CALLED THE SON OF GOD” (verse 35).

When this announcement was given to Mary, she was betrothed to Joseph; that is, she was legally married to him in accordance with civil laws, but the marriage had not yet been consummated. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream to reassure him. He said of Mary: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall CALL HIS NAME JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Continuing in verses 24 and 25: “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he CALLED HIS NAME JESUS.”

We also find this testimony in Luke 2:21: “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, HIS NAME WAS CALLED JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”

To understand the meaning of the name “Jesus,” let’s again refer to what the angel said to Joseph: “…and you shall call His name Jesus [margin: “Lit. SAVIOR”], for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). In this instance, the angel tells Joseph what to name the Child, and he also defines what the name “Jesus” means. In the Old Testament, the name “Joshua” similarly means “Jehovah-saved.” It is quite likely that the Greek transliterated word “Jesus” has arisen from the Hebrew form of “Joshua,” the name that most Hebrew-speaking Jews would have used at the time of the Messiah’s earthly life.

During His ministry Jesus was called Rabbi (teacher) by both those who were His disciples (compare John 1:38) and by those who did not truly accept Him for who He was (compare Matthew 22:34-36).

Following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of His disciples made this revealing statement in regard to who He was: “…Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My LORD and my GOD!'” (John 20:28). Several times Jesus is referred to as “LORD,” which conveys the sense of “MASTER,” or the One we need to OBEY. Jesus Christ is our LORD, our MASTER, our sovereign CREATOR (compare John 1:1-4), and our REDEEMER. Aside from that, Lord may also serve as a polite term of addressing someone, in the sense of “Sir.”

Note how Peter concluded his powerful witness on the Day of Pentecost: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both LORD and CHRIST” (Acts 2:36). Even at the very conclusion of the Book of Revelation, in chapter 22, verse 21, we find this statement: “The grace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

The Roman ruler, Pilate, did something that gives us more understanding concerning how we are to address the Messiah: “Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). He actually wrote this title in more than one language: “Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in HEBREW, GREEK, AND LATIN” (John 19:20). The significance of this deed is also reflected in the miraculous events surrounding the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2. The crowd assembled there represented many different countries, but they all heard the disciples of Jesus speaking in their own native tongues—not just Hebrew, or Aramaic, or Greek, or Latin. In verse 11 of Acts 2, this testimony is given: “‘…we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.'”

What was said in those various languages would have also included appropriate names for Jesus Christ. These people truly understood what they heard, because it was presented to them in their own languages.

When Saul—later to be named Paul—was called, Jesus revealed Himself to him. Saul asked: “‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I AM JESUS, whom you are persecuting…'” (Acts 9:5).

Even the demonic world knows about the Messiah, as recorded in Mark 1:23-24: “Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, JESUS OF NAZARETH? Did You come to destroy us? I KNOW WHO YOU ARE—THE HOLY ONE OF GOD!'” Another incident involved the seven sons of Sceva who tried to exorcise an evil spirit: “And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?'” (Acts 19:15).

There are also those who use the name of Jesus Christ in false ways even today. Jesus gave one of the major warnings for the end of this age: “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). Jesus also warned about those who think that they are doing things in Christ’s name: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (Matthew 7:21-23).

As we can see from the foregoing, using the name of Jesus Christ must be with His approval.

We see that God, the Father of Glory, has seated the Lord Jesus Christ at His own right hand “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21).

Note, also, this statement from Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him THE NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that EVERY TONGUE should confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”

In the last days of this age, Jesus promised His help and protection to those who truly recognize who He is. In Revelation 3:8, we find this promise of hope from Jesus Christ: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, AND HAVE NOT DENIED MY NAME.” Continuing in verse 10: “Because you have kept MY COMMAND to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

Then, in Revelation 3:12: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.”

How we address the Messiah must be based on our understanding of who He is, and what He represents! His very name gives us access to the Father and to answered prayers! Whatever language we may speak, we must come to recognize the preeminence of Jesus Christ in our lives. Finally, whether we refer to Christ as the Messiah, Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ, Lord, God, Son of God, Master, Teacher, King, Savior, Redeemer, or any number of other names and titles that the Word of God applies to Him, we MUST understand the deep meaning conveyed with these expressions, and we must back up all that we do by making certain we are doing the Will of our Father in heaven!

Letter to the Brethren – December 12, 2005

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Dear brethren and friends,

It is only a matter of a few weeks since we were keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, as instructed by God. Throughout the world, faithful believers congregated to celebrate the Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23:2, 34-43). The master plan of God as revealed through His Holy Days is of the utmost importance to those few who have been called at this time. They help us to clearly see the meticulous planning of our great God. We must never underestimate the marvelous calling that those who have been placed into God’s Church at this time have been given. We should pray fervently, and continuously, that we never take for granted the wonderful truth, hidden from the world, but revealed to the called-out ones.

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the time when Christ sets up the Kingdom of God on earth and rules and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords for a thousand years. The Last Great Day pictures the time when all those who had not had their opportunity for salvation, will indeed be given their first opportunity. It is wonderful knowledge that is just not understood by the world. It is also knowledge that was once understood by some who have forsaken the truth and gone back into the world.

Having celebrated the autumn Feast Days a few weeks ago, “Christmas” now looms just over the horizon. The contrast couldn’t be more marked. The world will be celebrating the supposed birth of Christ on December 25th when any honest student of the Bible should be able to come to the understanding that Christ was NOT born in December, but in the early autumn. The exact day of Christ’s birth has been hidden from mankind–if God had wanted us to know His Son’s date of birth, and that we should celebrate it, He would obviously have given us that information. But He hasn’t. We can only know the approximate time of the year when Christ was born (Please see the Question and Answer in Update 162 on September 24th 2004, which is posted on the Web. If you have no access to the Web, please ask for a hard copy).

What does celebrating a birthday, on the wrong day, have to do with true Christianity? Well, in truth, nothing whatsoever! This world’s “Christianity” has devised its own days, just as the true Sabbath (the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) has been changed to Sunday, but without any Biblical authority whatsoever to make such a change. God commands us to keep the Sabbath holy–not Sunday (Exodus 20:8-11). Christ said that He was Lord of the Sabbath–not Sunday (Mark 2:27-28). And God’s clearly revealed annual Holy Days are substituted by uncoordinated days that have their roots in paganism–a haphazard collection of traditional man-made days–with no recognition whatever of God’s plan for mankind. (Please read or re-read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”)

The “Christmas season” is a time of the year that true Christians don’t greatly care for. They are bombarded with advertising about the Christmas period, and their children (or grandchildren) are subject to the usual functions at school from which they have to be removed–it is a time of the year like no other. And it is all based on numerous lies. The Bible talks about meat in due season (Matthew 24:45). While we can apply this to keeping God’s Holy Days, the same principle of looking at why we should avoid the rampant paganism that is so obvious at this time of year, fits into the same category.

There are a number of issues connected with this season. There is much lying, particularly to younger children (including the deceitful concept that Santa Claus or the little Christ Child bring presents, etc., etc.). Rampant hypocrisy and a spirit of compromise are prevalent–so much so that we do have to be very careful that the season itself doesn’t cause us to compromise our Christian calling in any way.

In the past, too often, Church members (many of those subsequently left the Church) have compromised because of family, business or other pressures. Of course, it can be difficult if a member has these pressures–BUT we need to ask ourselves what is most important. Is it obedience to God and His way, without compromise– or giving in to “keep the peace” within the family or with relatives, because of pressure? It goes without saying that we have to use a great deal of wisdom in this area, and seeking the appropriate counsel may be very necessary. But based on observations over the years, we have seen too many cases of compromise by those who really should have known better. We all have to look at this matter carefully. We can all be put into a difficult position, but 2 — how do we react? We should try to ask ourselves at all times, “What would Jesus Christ do?” The answer to this question is so very important for good decision-making. And conscientiously following through with the obvious answers is vital. To the world, compromise is just the way to go- -at Christmas time, or at any other time. So many probably do it without thinking or considering their conduct, but that is not the way true Christians should ever approach things. Compromise with Christmas festivities, celebrations and all the other inappropriate things that are indulged in at this time of the year must simply be not an option for us.

The spirit of this time of the year can also be a danger. It is a time of excess. Many children seem to expect and get everything they want, which cannot be good for them. As they grow up in such an environment, many come to expect to GET everything, which is not the way it should be. Adults also indulge themselves in many ways. The Christmas season is an excuse for bawdy, riotous office parties–with an excess of food, drink and wanton behavior. Advertisers tell us that there are only so many shopping days to Christmas and encourage as much spending as possible. The commercialized and advertised incentives to buy Christmas presents already start in November, at the latest. It’s a “prosperous” time for big commercial companies and store owners, but that is not true for the consumers. Both the UK and USA have trillions of pounds or dollars of personal debt, but the end of the year sees a frenzy of spending–in many cases, consumers spend money which they don’t have, but which they borrow to satisfy the expectations and greed of their family members and friends. Some shops don’t seem to be able to take the money quick enough. And, when the Work of God simply doesn’t have enough income to engage in all the really IMPORTANT activities it would dearly love to do, money is spent at a massive rate during a time of the year that has its roots in paganism–while most people today never even give a thought to the supposed religious side of the event.

Do we get into the “Christmas” spirit? Do we get involved with excess, just like the rest of society? If we have done it in the past, we should review our behavior. We may–albeit unintentionally–be imbibing the spirit of Christmas, without realizing it. On the other hand, if we don’t become part of the frenzy and celebrations at this time of the year, we will stand out in today’s society. That is the price we have to pay for obedience to God and His way. 1 Peter 4:3-5 are telling verses: “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

Society thought it strange that true Christians didn’t get involved in their ways, some 2,000 years ago. Today is no different. They think we are odd and that we deprive our children or grandchildren of the family fun of Christmas, by not being a part of the way that they think is normal. Notwithstanding that faulty reasoning, we must not imbibe the “Christmas” spirit! We always need to be focused on the right way to live.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Conformity with the world at any time is not acceptable to the great God. There surely is no greater time when this can happen to us, if we’re not careful, than at this time of the year. We are to be a walking, talking commercial for God’s way of life and, by avoiding Christmas and its spin-offs, we can be just that! Please read or re-read our free booklet on the subject, titled: “Don’t Keep Christmas!”

The festivals of God are wonderful days full of meaning and importance. Rejecting the ways of this world is that which is expected of us if we are to be true to our calling. We have to be very careful to make sure that we live up to the expectation that God has of us. To help us, God gave us His wonderful Feast days to look forward to, and to meditate about what they picture. Keeping our eyes on the goal of the Kingdom of God and all that it will entail, will help us to avoid and resist the “Christmas” spirit which is so heavily embraced by the world at this time of year (compare Ephesians 2:1-3).

With brotherly love,

Brian Gale

Letter to the Brethren – November 14, 2005

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

We have marked another milestone in our calling, having completed our observance of God’s commanded seasonal Holy Days for this year!

Year by year, the Church of God rehearses the dramatic events of Godís plan for the establishment of His Kingdom with mankind. The significance of what we do is little understood by the world in which we live. Neither do the societies of this age comprehend the nearness of these yet prophesied developments.

Paul addresses this contrast in his letter to the church of the Thessalonians: “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

By virtue of our calling and our continued obedience to God, we have an understanding of the future. Paul further states: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober [self-controlled]” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6).

Just what is it that we are to watch? What does this admonition to the church really mean for us?

In Paul’s comments, it is apparent that “others” were in what is tantamount to a kind of sleep, that is, they were unaware of where the course of this world would lead. The clear record of that generation of Godís church is that many who were awakened to understand the plan of God chose, rather, to go back to sleep.

Those who did not sleep were the ones who continued to do the work of the Church of God. That is what we must be doing, today!

At the Feast of Tabernacles, we asked those attending to complete a questionnaire to assess participation in certain phases of the work we are doing. We wanted to know if the members read the Updates, letters and booklets; viewed the StandingWatch programs; and, we also asked for suggestions.

We know that many do all of this and much more! It is exactly this kind of commitment that assures that each one of us does not sleep but continues to watch. It takes real effort to stay involved. Paul wrote Timothy: “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6).

In times past, the remnants of Judah who returned to Jerusalem were called upon to rebuild the Temple of God. The work of that time did not measure up to the former magnificence of the Temple built by Solomon (Compare Haggai 2:3 and Ezra 3:12-13). In this regard, God recorded this challenge: “For who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10).

We in the church find ourselves in a very similar circumstance when it comes to fulfilling the tasks given to us. Likewise, we have this assurance from Godóthe way we can complete our part in the work of God: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, Says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

In the time ahead and small though we are, we must zealously continue to reach out to the people of this world with the truth of God. As among those who have been assigned to watch and to warn, we are to draw from the power of God and stir up the gift given to us!

This past Feast of Tabernacles was remarkable for the spirit of unity and friendship that was shown among all. Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Knowing that ìGod is love,î it follows that when we stir up the gift of His Holy Spirit, love will be the fruit!

That love must fuel the work we have been given! This is how Jesus explained the work that both He and the Father had committed themselves to complete: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Even though the seasonal “feasts of the LORD” have ended for this year, we still have the weekly holy convocation, the Sabbath! We still are able to assemble together to honor God, to learn more of His ways and to be a light in this world of darkness.

Keep your hearts in the work of God, the work that Jesus Christ is conducting through those who remain faithful to Him! Stay ready for the future God has revealed to His church. Let us never sleep as others do, but let us stand our watch as Christians to the very end!

In Christís Service,

David J. Harris

©2025 Church of the Eternal God