It seems that Christians always believed that Christ would return during their lifetime. The early New Testament apostles believed this, until it became clear to them that His return would not occur that quickly. The Worldwide Church of God under its late human leader, Herbert W. Armstrong, believed for a while that Christ might return in the 1970s or even earlier. They understood numerous prophecies that seemed to indicate convincingly that the Day was near—but they then had to realize that some end-time prophecies did not find their fulfillment then.

Based on the upheaval at his time, Martin Luther believed that Christ would return soon… and so did those who were plagued by the devastating Black Death. Strong earthquakes, heavenly occurrences, devastating natural disasters, famine, pestilences and great wars prompted many to believe that they would experience the soon-coming return of Christ. They all looked at certain signs and predictions, which were startling and frightening, but they did not look at the entire picture.

The word “thanksgiving” is mentioned several times throughout the Bible. Depending on which Bible translation is being used, in the Authorized Version or the King James Version, it is mentioned 30 times; 32 times in the NIV (New International Version); and 38 times in the ESV (English Standard Version), just to give a few examples. Of course, there are many more Scriptures throughout the Bible where the theme of “giving thanks” or “thankfulness” is mentioned. 

The history of the American Thanksgiving Day is quite interesting as it contains origins of religious traditions, similar in ways to what the Bible alludes when referring to God’s annual Fall Holy Days. According to Wikipedia, “Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in Canada, the United States, some of the Caribbean islands and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan [as well as other countries like the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, and the Philippines].”

In the first installment of this two-part series, we saw that God may make His Will absolutely clear to us to the effect that He will not intervene in the way we hope or wish, and if that is the case, prayers to God to change His Will would be superfluous and futile.

We might not always be able to understand God’s decision not to intervene or fulfill our specific request in a particular matter, because we might not always see what God’s Will or plan might be. We must recognize, however, that His thoughts are much higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Psalm 92:5-6 says:

“O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this.”

God declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Man cannot do anything against His plan.

This might be a strange question to ask, but the answer to this question has tremendous practical applications. Is there ever a time when we should cease asking God for His intervention in a particular matter? If so, how do we know that the time has come to stop asking?

In this installment, we will look at several examples where God made it very clear that no further requests or pleas should be made in a particular matter. In the next installment, we will discuss situations where prayers should continue to be made.

Due to Saul’s disobedience and rebellion, God rejected him and asked Samuel to anoint David instead as king. We read in 1 Samuel 15:35; 16:1: “And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. Now the LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

In the 33rd chapter in the book of Job, beginning with verse 14, Elihu makes some stunning comments about God’s dealings with humans:

“For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.

“Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners.

In the weekly Update No. 146 on June 6th 2004, we printed an editorial, entitled “The Third Commandment”. Last week, we printed a Q&A, entitled “How do we need to apply the 3rd Commandment about not using the LORD’S name in vain?”. Also, on May 24, 2008, in a StandingWatch program, Evangelist Norbert Link presented a program titled, “Corrupt Communication–Why Not?” It is appropriate to emphasise this matter as it now seems that blasphemy is used by the youngest to the oldest in our nations, with virtually no consideration given at all to how serious a matter this is.

In Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11, we read “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”

It is best to define what “taking the name of the LORD your God in vain” (or blasphemy as it can also be defined) really means. We could look at many definitions, but the bottom line is that we simply should not, and must not, use the name of God in any irreverent way because that would be disrespectful. When we look at God’s creative power and the awesome size, beauty and majesty of His creation, it really is something wonderful to behold, and to denigrate the name of the Creator of it all is simply unacceptable.

The third commandment states the following, “‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain’” (Exodus 20:7). Like the first two commandments, the third describes the proper relationship that man must have with God. One of the distinguishing attributes about this commandment is that it involves how the name of God is used. The act of speaking or writing His name is so important to Him that it appears prominently in the Ten Commandments. How can the use of a word be so important? Why does it matter to God how we use His name? And most importantly, how are we to understand and apply this commandment in our lives today?

To begin with, we must understand that God’s name is holy. He expressed this fact to the nation of Israel as they were introduced to His commandments and Holy Days, teaching them how He is to be worshipped properly: “‘You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD’” (Leviticus 22:32-33). Clearly, God expects that man offers Him reverence, honor, and respect. Not only does respectful behavior involve obedience to His instruction, but also that we acknowledge the holiness of His name.

In our Q&A on 1 Timothy 6:10, we stated the following:

“Because of the refusal to follow God whole-heartedly, Mary said about rich people that God ‘filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty’ (Luke 1:53). Christ spoke this timeless warning: ‘But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation’ (Luke 6:24).

“James adds that the rich man ‘also will fade away in his pursuits’ (James 1:11), continuing, ‘Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasures in the last days’ (James 5:1-3).

Please notice the biblical principle of giving liberally in Proverbs 11:24-25: “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.” Compare Proverbs 21:26.

The principle of giving liberally is also strongly emphasized in God’s commandment to tithe to Him. The Bible leaves no doubt that the lack of tithing leads to curses, while diligently tithing to God leads to His blessing.

We read in Proverbs 3:9-10: “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.”

To answer this question, let us first explain how the “prosperity gospel” is commonly described.

Taking the following from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, we read the following (emphasis added):

“Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Christians, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them…

“Prosperity theology teaches that Christians are entitled to well-being… Christians have been given power over creation… The Bible is seen as a faith contract between God and believers; God is understood to be faithful and just, so believers must fulfill their end of the contract to receive God’s promises. This leads to a belief in positive confession, the doctrine that believers may claim whatever they desire from God, simply by speaking it… if Christians take dominion over aspects of society, the Earth will experience ‘peace and prosperity’…”