Good News 1973 (Prelim No 03) Jul-Sep

8/10/2019 Good News 1973 (Prelim No 03) Jul-Sep

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More bout Our Cover

The huge tent used for the Feast of Tabernacles at Jekyll Island, Georgia is set up

every year by the H arly Crew. We hear very littleabout these groups of dedicated men and their effortsat the various Feast sites around the world each year.Beginning on page lOis an article describing some oftheir work. You'll appreciate the Feast more this yearafter reading about some of the facets of Feast preparation we often take for granted.

Cover photo by Cary Salter - Ambassador College

hat our RE DERS S YA hundred hurrahs for the Worldwide

Church of God. Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong's article on page one of the April.June GooD NEWS is positively the mostexciting, totally encouraging bit of information I have received in some time. Thesefeelings are from the very depths of mybeing . The new openness and interest inpeople worldwide makes the immense satisfaction of being a part of this Work evenmore satisfying .

G .R., Argonia,Kansas

Again God has poured out His blessingson us in the April-June issue of the GooDNEWS God is richly feeding us these days ifwe will only digest and use the food He isgiving us daily. Mr. Garner Ted's articlereally hit me, because I have a tendency to

hide my rel ig ion - rea lly I'm trying toprotect "self" from persecution instead ofthinking of my fellowman. With Go d 'shelp, I pray to overcome this in the rightmanner - not blatandy or in a pushy manner . As usual, Mr. Dankenbring's article ismost encouraging to be about God's business. I mentioned these, but all are great -much needed prodding and correction. So ,thanks again for your work, love and concern.

C.K ., Corrigan,Texas

someone were to have seen me from adistance while I was reading Are WeAshamed of Go d 's Truth? in the GN issueof April-June, he certainly would havethought I went out of my mind.

What an exceedingly wonderful messageAs I was reading it, I laughed and cried, Istrolled around my room and sat downagain to continue reading. Garner Ted isdown-to-earth practical. The way he bringsout God's way in the very delicately needed

undoctrinal areas is absolutely unique.Thank you, sir , for your understanding ofthe needs of the Church and the way youbring it to us.

God's way is by all means exciting. AI-

though most of us strive to radiate theworks of God's Holy Spirit in our conduct,we all hid and choked the source we got itfrom . You just could not have brokendown with more clarity that sincere sense ofshame by our general artitude. I rememberto my shame and disgust how I felt uncomfortable when a friend of mine asked me ifit was true that I sent 10 percent of myincome to the Work .

There is, of course, the other extreme youexplained . But God's truth you brought tous does definitely add to the freedom Hegave us. Thank you again for the article,and the entire magazine which is the bestever.

P.Z ., London,England

Just read the article in the GoOD NEWSmagazine and I am so excited - in fact, myentire family is excited. We have neverbeen ashamed of God's Church, but sometimes it seemed as if we and others weretrying to hide the truth from other people .This is the greatest thing that has happenedsince my association with the Church. I justhad to write and let you know that myentire family and I, and everyone I talk toin the Church, are happy and excited aboutyour recent article.

I am proud to be a member of God'sChurch, and I am proud to have my name

mentioned along with yours, your father'sor any other of God's ministers. I and everyone I know are behind you and just waitingto see the tremendous results that this newway will produce

Mr. Armstrong, as you said, let's get thejob done and be happy and excited about itat the same time. W e are behind you 100percent, and we love you and your fatherand the entire Church.

W.1., Lowpoint,Illinois

We received the April-June issue of theGOOD NEWS a few days ago, and my

(Continued on inside back cover)

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

July-September 1973

Volume XXII Number 3

Published at Pasadena, California 1973 Worldwide Church of God

EDITOR

HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG

EXE UTIVE EDITOR

Garner Ted Armstrong

SENIOR EDITORS

David L. AntionDavid Jon Hill

Albert J. PortuneM N G I N G EDITOR

Richard H. Sedliacik

Associate Editors

Lawson C. Briggs Ronald Kelly

Contributing Editors

Dibar K. Apartian Ernest 1. MartinAlfred E . CarrolZo Leslie McCulloughRaymond C. Cole Raymond McNairWilliam Dankenbring 1. Leroy NeffRonald 1. Dart John RobinsonCharles V. Dorothy Paul S . RoyerCharles F. Hunting Norman A SmithRobert 1. Kuhn Dean R . WilsonBrian Knowles Basil Wolverton

Clint C. Zimmerman

Ronald Beideck , Copy EditorThomas Haworth , rt Editor

DIRE TOR OF PUBLISHING

C. Wayne Cole

BUSINESS MANAGER

Albert J. Portune

ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATI ON S to the Editor , P. O . BoxI l l , Pasadena, California 91109 .Canadian members should address P . O. Box 44, Stat ionA, Vancouver I , B. C. , Canada .Our members in United K ingdom, Europe , and Africashould address the Editor, P . O . Box Il l , St. Albans,Herts. , England .South Africa: P. O. Box 1060, Johannesburg , Transvaal ,R. S. A.Members in Australia and Southeast Asia should addressthe Editor , G. P. O. Box 345, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia. In New Zealand, P. O . Box 2709 , Auckland , New Zealand .In the Philippine s, P. O . Box 1111, Makati , Rizal D -708 .BE SURE TO NOTIFY US IMMEDIA TEL y of any change in youraddress . Please in clude both old and new address.IMPORTANT


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Were ou alled to the

GOOD L I F E ~ ~The primary target in life for some has become the thingsof this life - its fulfillment nd its security its rewards

nd satisfactions. Without realizing it we often let thishappen. But this is extremely dangerous Just what reGod's primary purposes for is people? How much should

we expect to get out of this life?

WEN TRIALS, tests and problems arise in people's lives,the immediate human ten

denc y is to think things have somehowgone wrong - that things aren' t theway they ought to be.

Irrationally, when we don't have thepeace of mind, security, happiness, rec-ognition or stability we may expectand desire , we automatically tend tofeel that things are off kilter , that something has gone awry and that nothingis right

Perhaps doubt begins to enter our

minds - we begin to doubt God spromises, His Word, or His love andconcern. And always when trials reallyget hot, some begin to question , "IsGod really concerned about me? DoesHe care? Or is He far off and uninvolved with my problems?"

Time for a Straight Look

Brethren, if God means for Christians to " coast" through life satiatedwith blessings , then He has miserably

failed His people down through thecenturies of historyFrom the pages of the Bible, and as

particularly summarized in the eleventhchapter of the book of Hebrews, wefind that Go d 's people have always suffered trials and tests .

" Some, through their faith, escapeddeath by the sword. Some were madestrong again after they had been weakor sick. Others were given great powerin battle; they made whole armies turn

by lbert J. Portune

and run away. And some women,

through faith, received their loved onesback again from death. ut otherstrusted God and were beaten to death ,preferring to die rather than turn fromGod and be free - trusting that theywould rise to a better life afterwards.

"Some were laughed at and theirbacks cut open with whips , and otherswere chained in dungeons . Some diedby stoning and some by being sawed intwo; others were promised freedom ifthey would renounce their faith , then

were killed with the sword . Some wentabout in skins of sheep and goats, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in dens and caves. They werehungry and sick and ill treated - toogood for this world" (Heb. 11 :34-38,The Living Bible).

The Apostle Paul was stoned, shipwrecked and imprisoned. Can youimagine his feelings - his possible moments of depression, loneliness, discouragtment? A man that is in bondsand imprisoned has no outward security, happiness and peace of mind. Godallowed Paul to have personal trials,inconveniences and difficulties just asHe does you and me . Paul was notalways "blessed" by having a warmhome, luxurious surroundings and aloving family to share them with. Hedidn't measure Go d 's love for him bythe degree of physical comforts and benefits he enjoyed (Phil. 4:11).

Yet Paul was an apostle of God.

And God was with him - even in

prisonOur Real Objective

Throughout history, God's peoplehave looked forward to blessings andrewards in the Kingdom of God insteadof this fleeting physical life .

But why should this be? The answeris simple : in all the history of Hisdealings with mankind, God's objective with His own people has neverbeen primarily the rewards, security,wealth, peace of mind, longevity, happiness of this physical life. He wantsmuch more for us than these temporaryblessings

Now I am not saying that God doesnot bless Hi s people. God does want togive us blessings in this physical life.When the circumstances are right , andwhen security and peace and tranquilityand blessings will tend toward thegreater good God is working to accomplish in and through us, God will blessand bless tremendously There have

been times in history when Christianshave enjoyed peace and quiet, andmany of the things human flesh desires .For awhile

Most of us in God's Church today,relatively speaking, have been tremendously blessed .

But let's remember that God is farmore concerned with what is beingproduced in our lives for the WorldTomorrow than He is with our personal satisfactions on a day-by-day


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basis. We need to learn that lessonnow, and we need to learn it deeplyand profoundly.

W H Y Should W e Endure?

In I Corinthians 15 :13 the ApostlePaul declared: But if there be no res-urrection" - that is, if there be noWorld Tomorrow, if there is no thou

sand-year millennial reign of Christ inthe future - and then after that anETERNITY of living, of building; ofhaving security, happiness, tranquility,peace and purpose - "your faith isvain." If that is not coming, then youand I are simply fools for believing so.And if there is no W orld Tomorrow,you might as well get all you can outof this life WITHOUT enduring afflic-tions and trials

If you don't have a future worthsacrificing for in this life, then you area fool not to eat, drink and be merry.

But there IS such a future for God 'speople

There is a future for the dead , andfor those who give u ll in this life .Christ did rise from the dead

Tragically, some have begun to puttheir confidence in the things of thisworld but without really realizing it.They reason : I have my little nichehere to take care of me when troublecomes and I am buffeted, this nest egg

of mine will protect me," and theybegin to truSt in their possessions togive security. But God says the day iscoming when men will flee to caves,flinging their gold and silver to themoles and bats (See Isa . 2 :19-20; Ezek.7 :19; Zeph . 1 :18; Rev. 6:15 .)

So , whatever your situation may be,however insecure or unhappy you mayfeel you are at the moment - and Ithink there can be a lot of insecurityfrom time to time in your life , a lot ofunhappiness (those people in Hebrews11 weren't always happy being beaten,hanged, burned, sawn asunder, either)- regardless of your state, your condition, your trials, h ng in there. Don'tgive up the ship. Don't become sour ordiscouraged . You were called to "endure hardness" (II Tim. 2:3) . So shoulder your cross - whatever individualcross each of us has been given to carry- and follow Christ who set us theexample.

GOOD NEWS

Faith - the Key

Even though there are a lot ofunknowns, a lot of disturbing and upsetting circumstances that make lifedifficult - even though there are manythings you may wonder about - re-member, the Christian life is a work ofFAITH. We deal in faith . And faithshould be very real to us . It is not anebulous , wishy-washy thing. Faith is avital power in our lives - a power thatcan change attitudes, alter circumstances, move mountains

Do you feel like you've "given up alot for God's Work ? Do you sometimes dream of all the wealth, prestige,recreation or power you might haveacquired if you had not been calledinto God's Church? Perhaps you had abusiness that has since grown into amultimillion-dollar corporation.

I didPerhaps you might have been a great

success in this world's eyes.But wait a minute . What attitude

should we have toward such things ?The Apostle Paul expressed it well:"Yea doubtless, and I count all thingsbut loss for the excellency of theknowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: forwhom I have suffered the loss of allthings, and do count them but dung,that I may win Christ" (Phil. 3 :8).

Is that our attitude, brethren? Or are

you overly worried about your physicallife, your job, your future, your familysecurity?

What did Jesus say about those whoare anxiety-ridden about such things?" 0 ye of little faith? Therefore takeno thought , saying, What shall we eat ?or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For afterall these things do the Gentiles seek:)for your heavenly Father knoweth thatye have need of all these things. Butseek ye first the kingdom of God, andhis righteousness; and all these thingsshall be added unto you . Take thereforeno thought for the morrow : for themorrow shall take thought for thethings of itself. Sufficient unto the dayis the evil thereof" (Matt . 6 :30-34) .

And when Peter told Him, "Lo, wehave left all, and followed thee," whatdid Jesus reply? And he said untothem , Verily I say unto you, There isno man that hath left house, or par-

July-September 1973

ents , or brethren, or wife, or children ,for the kingdom of God's sake, whoshall not receive manifold more in thispresent time , and in the world to comelife everlasting" (Luke 18:28-30).

Who Is a Fool?

Was Ezekiel a fool when he lay onhis side and cooked his tiny rations

over a dung fire , for week after weekand month after month? Was he a foolwhen he scratched around on theground on a Babylonian brick, portraying a siege against Jerusalem as atestimony for the people? Was he afool when he dug in the wall in themiddle of the day portraying the fu-ture?

Was Hosea a fool when God toldhim to go out and marry a prostituteand raise children by her ? Was he afool to "wreck" his life?

Was Isaiah a fool and a jibberingidiot as he walked up and down thestreets of Israel naked, with his buttocks blazing whitely in the sun, toportray a lesson to Israel?

Was Moses a fool to give it all upwhen he had it "made" as the adoptedson of Pharaoh's daughter, an heir tothe kingship of Eg ypt , eligible to inherit all the riches and possessions ofEgypt? Was he " insane" to serve Godin the wilderness, despised and

reproached even by the Israelites?How about Jeremiah? Was he a fool

when he spent much of his life as apersecuted criminal, being branded atraitor by the authorities of Judah andimprisoned in a cistern of mud armpitdeep?

Were all the rest of the prophetsfools? Were Elijah and Elisha fools?Was Jesus Christ a fool?

No, they weren't fools at all, al-though they would certainly have beencalled "fools" by the world today .

The Apostle Paul was no fool. Yethe wrote to the Corinthians, whoseeyes were too much on physical re-wards and pleasures: "All of you , nodoubt , have everything you could de-sire. You have come into your fortunealready. You have come into yourkingdom - and left us ou t . How Iwish you had indeed won your kingdom; then you might share it with usFor it seems to me God has made us


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JulySeptember 1973

apostles the most abject of mankind .Weare like men condemned to deathin the arena, a spectacle to the wholeuniverse - angels as well as men . Weare fools for Christ's sake, while you aresuch sensible Christians . We are weak;you are so powerful. Weare in disgrace; you are honored . To this day we

go hungry and thirsty and in rags; weare roughly handled; we wander fromplace to place; we wear ourselves outworking with our own hands . Theycurse us and we bless; they persecute usand we submit to it; they slander us,and we humbl y make our appeal. Weare treated as the SCUM OF THE EARTH,the dregs o humanity, to this very day"

I Cor. 4:813, The New English Bible .What about you and me? Are we

willing to be "fools" for Christ's sake ?Or is our chief desire to be looked upto by men, admired, applauded, respected, esteemed? Jesus did not seekpraise, honor or adulation from men.

Brethren, we should be thankfulthat for the moment God has blessed,prospered and protected His Work,and that He has blessed His ministerswith the tools to do their work - thatit appears we may perhaps have aperiod of peace and prosperity ahead ofus for awhile, and that, right now, wedon't have to go hungry, thirsty,

clothed in rags and tatters , to do God'sWork.

But no one - whether minister orlaymember - should set his heart onphysical rewards in this present temporary life - on status , prestige, newhomes, new automobiles , money andall the trappings of wealth .

Our lives should be LIVING SACRIFICES for God's Work - humbly striving to serve God with our whole heart,no matter what the circumstances, or

what men think.Is t Really Worth It?

Is eternal life and the Kingdom ofGod worth sacrificing for now ? Is itreally worth all the effort, strain,struggle, suppressing the self , denyingthe flesh?

The Apostle Paul felt it was . Heasserted: "And if children , then heirs :heirs of God , and joint-heirs withChrist; if so be that we suffer with him,that we may be also glorified together"

GOOD NEWS

(Rom. 8: 17). Then he added, undoubtedly with real emotion: "For I reckonthat the sufferings of this present timeare not worthy to be compared withthe glory which shall be revealed in us"(verses 18-19) .

What will this glory - this splendor - really be like? How great will it

be to make our sufferings of thepresent pale into pallid insignificance?Paul was contemplating our future

glorified condition when he declared,No wonder we do not lose heart

Though our outward humanity is indecay, yet day by day we are inwardlyrenewed . Our troubles are slight andshort-lived; and their outcome an eternal glory which outweighs them far"(II Cor. 4 :16-17, NEB) .

In the book of Revelation we aregiven a glimpse of this tremendousglory. The Apostle John was shown invision what the saints would be doingin the World Tomorrow . He said:"And I saw thrones, and the y sat uponthem, and judgment was given untothem: and I saw the souls of them thatwere beheaded for the witness of Jesus,and for the word of God, and whichhad not worshipped the beast, neitherhis image, nei ther had received hismark upon their foreheads, or in theirhands; and they lived and reigned with

Christ a thousand years. But the rest ofthe dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished . This is thefirst resurrection . Blessed and holy is hethat hath part in the first resurrection:on such the second death hath nopower, but they shall be priests of Godand of Christ, and shall reign with hima thousand years" (Rev. 20 :4-6).

Blessed and holy is he that qualifiesto be in that first resurrection of thedead. For this person there isn't going

to be any more death penalty . Therewon't be any more " old age" to provide for. There just won't be any moreof the needs of human life. Because thatperson will have POWER, and will haveLIFE INHERENT within himself

So if in this life God calls on us evento be beheaded for the witness ofChrist, the reward will be worth it

In Revelation chapter two , we learnmore about our future reward : Andhe that overcometh, and keepeth myworks unto the end, to him will I give

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power over the nations : and he shallrule them wi th a rod of iron; as thevessels of a potter shall they be brokento shivers: even as I received of myFather . And I will give him the morning star" (Rev. 2 :26-28) .

t is as if God looked down andsaid : "Look, I am going to rule the

world soon, and I need kings andpriests and governors and rulers. Because I want to make a beautiful world- a world of peace, order and security- a world of happiness and true libertyin law - I am going to give to thekings, priests and governors that I select, power and strength and office andhonor and authority. I am going togive them all of those things so that aworld of peace and harmony and tranquility can be produced.

I will give them REAL POWER, In-cluding a rod of iron to smash rebelJiops nations if necessary ."

God further says to you : Will yoube one of them ? Will you be one ofmy rulers and kings, priests and governors, if I train and prepare you? If I putyou on the training program, and qualify you, so that eventually I can giveyou POWER, honor and glory, will yoube willing to go all the way - tosacrifice, suffer and deny yourself now,for awhile, so you can have real power

and honor and glory then?"When you were baptized , you said ,

in effect : "Yes , Lord, I will." And thenthe rigorous training program began.God began to put you through trials,tests, circumstances , challenges, experiences.

Why?So that later on when you are over

other human beings, when you are aking and a priest, then you will be ableto understand what is in people'sminds in their trials. For you will haveexperienced it all yourself

That is why God puts us through allof this training , brethren . Believe me,there are no other human beings onthis earth that go through trials exactlylike TRUE Christian people go through

We Need the OVERVIEW

David knew this to be a fact - andit was hard for him to understand it atfirst. He complained to God: "My feethad almost slipped, my foothold had


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all but given way, because the boasts ofsinners roused my envy when I sawhow the y prosper. No pain , no suffering , is theirs; they are sleek and soundin limb ; they are not plunged introuble as other men are . . . ."

It was with keen feelings of astonished wonder that David beheld theprosperity of the wicked. Then he compared his own life to theirs , and for amoment he thought : "So it was all invain that I kept my heart pure andwashed my hands in innocence . For allday long I suffer torment and am punished every morning . Yet had I letmyself talk on in this fashion, I shouldhave betrayed the family of God . So Iset myself to think this out but I foundit too hard for me, until I went intoGod's sacred courts;. there saw clearlywhat their end would be (Ps. 73 :13-17 ,

NEB).We ARE in an intensive training pro

gram. Our endurance, patience and attitudes are tried and stretched to thelimit sometimes . We have been challenged and tested, and our minds haverun the gamut of thought and apprehension and concern .

But you know what?That's goodIt may not feel good, it may not seem

good, it may be upsetting and disturb

ing - but it's good. God is doing allthis to see how we will react. To seewhat we are made of - to determineour mettle. He is uniquely preparing usto deal wi th any and all real , humanproblems in the World Tomorrow .

What a mistake we will make if werelate the unique circumstances of ourlives to this life ONLY . What a mistakewe make if we say to ourselves, I'mnot happy . I want to conform to thelife-style of my neighbors or businessassociates . I'm not getting the peaceand satisfaction and tranquility I wouldlike to have." I tell you, you will rarelyget these things anyway, whether insideor outside of God's Church .

You may get them a little less oftenin God 's Church . But what fantasticawareness, knowledge and understanding we develop if we say to ourselves,"Thank God that my mind, my patience, and my thought processes andmy whole being have been tried to thelimit. Thank God for my trials , my

GOOD NEWS

tests, my experiences - even the badones . Thank God my character is beingpurged, purified, refined as gold andsilver . Thank God I can see the PURPOSE for my sometimes mind-reeling,brain-numbing, harrowing trials andtests . Because these things are preparing me for a glorious , transcendentreward in the Kingdom of God forever and ever and ever "

Ninety-Day Wonders

In World War II , when I was in theservice, we had a desperate need forofficers, commanders and leaders ofcompanies and battalions . Schools wereestablished to prepare officers in ninetydays Some of you who have been inthe service remember we used to callthem "the ninety-day wonders." Theywould come out still wet behind the

ears, figuratively speaking. They were"green," inexperienced and soft. Youcouldn't depend on their decisions under fire because they had no practicalexperience .

Some were hard and intolerant andothers were weak , loose , dirty and undisciplined . What a travesty on rulership They were in most cases, pathetic ,unqualified officers . If they ever becamegood officers they learned to be so bythe practical experience they got after

their schooling, right out on the frontlinesOne lesson I can understand from

that experience is that God isn't goingto have any green, " untrained ,"ninety-day wonders" as kings andpriests in the World Tomorrow. He isgoing to have leaders in the WorldTomorrow who have learned by beinghuman . Why? Because they are goingto deal with human beings for a thousand years.

Go d 's rulers, kings and priests aregoing to be people who have beenthrough the training and the experienceof being human. Who have gonethrough trials that are unique . Trialsthat have been hard to wrestle with.Situations that involve sadness , sacrifice unknowns, discouragements, insecurity. People who know people .People who can understand people .People who when given the power andthe authority that God promises , willbe perfectly qualified for the jobs they

Ju l ySeptember 1973

will be given in the World Tomorrow .They will be able to understand humanemotions and human situations in away that human beings who have notbeen called and have not had the Spiritof God could never do .

Are You Still FollowingChrist?

Jesus told His disciples to count thecost (Luke 14:28) . And He told them ,"Follow me." When you were baptized , y ou were told to count the cost .You determined to follow Christ , andso you were baptized.

But is your heart still 100 percentdedicated to God 's Work, to followingChrist , despite all the trials and testsyou have had to endure ?

We read in Philippians 2:5 : " Letthis mind be in you, which was also in

Christ Jesus." What kind of mind,thoughts, attitude did Christ have ?

Notice, from the New English Bible:"For the divine nature was his from thefirst; yet he did not think to snatch atequalit y with God , but made himselfNOTHING, assuming the nature of aslave. Bearing the human likeness, revealed in human shape, he humbled him-self, and in obedience accepted EVENDEATH - death on a cross" (Phil. 2 :5-8) .

Consider that pristine example ,brethren. It is obvious Jesus did notseek the fulfillment of His physical lifeas an end . Nor did He seek to becomebuffered against the future. He knewHe was on this earth for a much gr eaterpurpose.

Don't misunderstand. t is notwrong to experience the blessings ofthis life, as God provides It is notwrong to have happiness and peace ofmind and tranquility and other blessings . And it is not wrong to havesecurity if you use it rightl y Jesus hada measure of good things. He had goodclothes, He ate good food and drankgood wine . But the focus of His mindand life was not on this earth nor onthe accoutrements of this ph ysical life.

Jesus knew, as we do, what it is liketo be human. He knew what it was liketo be weak. (He was unable, remember,to carry that physical cross of wood allthe way to Golgotha.) Jesus also knew

(Continued on inside back cover)


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The ew Testament

FE ST OF T BERN CLES

P ERHAPSYOU never thought of it

before - but the Church ofGod observes the New Testament

Feast of Tabernacles.Of course we all know that the sacri

fices and preparatory washings of thelaw of Moses have ceased . But there areother, often overlooked, ways in whichthe New Testament Feast of Tabernacles differs from the manner in which

the Old Testament Feast was observed .

A Spiritual, Not Physical,Worship

The f ct that there is a New Testament manner in which to keep theFeast was first enunciated by Jesus tothe woman at the well in Samaria:

Jesus said unto her, Woman, be-lieve me, the hour cometh, when yeshall neither in this mountain [M t .Gerizim in Samaria) , nor yet at Jerusa

lem, worship the Father.. . . But thehour cometh, and now is when thetrue worshippers shall worship theFather in spirit and in truth Oohn4 :21 23).

The Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles, from Solomon's time on, wasobserved with all its rites at Jerusalemonly. But here Jesus plainly says thatthe place and manner of observing allthe feasts would be changed . Andtoda y we are to worship God in spiritand truth, not by mere ritual. Therituals of the law came by Moses, butgrace and truth - and that includeshow to keep the New Testament festivals of God - came by Jesus ChristOohn 1:17) .

Before we look at Jesus' exampleand what the New Testament revealsabout keeping the Feast of Tabernacles,we need to acquaint ourselves withsome of the customs that surroundedthe observance of the Jews' Feast ofTabernacles under the Old Covenant.Remember , John, in his account of the

Jesus commanded is dis-ciples to observe the e wTestament Passover, not byslaying a lamb in Jerusa-lem, but by washing oneanother s feet and partak-ing of unleavened breadand wine. ut how many ofu have realized that the

e w Testament Feast o f

Tabernacles is just as differ-ent from its ld Tesfament

celebration?

y erman l oeh

Gospel, commonly uses the expression

Jews' feast of tabern acles Oohn 7:2)or the passover, a feast of the JewsOohn 6:4). Why? Because varioushuman customs were added over theyears to the original Mosaic regulationsfor the festivals .

How the Jews Observed theFeast of Tabernacles

How was the Feast of Tabernaclesobserved in Jesus' day? What customswere the Jewish congregations following (customs that were not necessarilyordained by God and hence not to becontinued in the New Testament observance)? Lawson C. Briggs, AssociateEditor of The GOOD NEWS has prepared for this article a summary of theancient celebration. I want to sharesome of it with you. You may find itsurprising :

Although Israel forsook God's fes-tivals , the Feast of Tabernacles was themost popular of all the festivals inJudah . Josephus refers to it as being the'mos t holy and most eminent feast.'

The Jews found it delightful in the fallof the year, when the crops were in andthe summer's labor over , to rejoice .Funeral eulogies and fasting were alikeforbidden for the week of the festival.

The celebrations began as the fif-teenth of Tishri approached, shortly af-ter the regular afternoon sacrifice, andcontinued throughout the night. Fluteswere played, along with lyres , harpsand cymbals . Whoever could play aninstrument did so. Whoever could singsang . Others stamped their feet,clapped their hands, danced or whatever they could do , each to the best ofhis ability, while songs of joy andhymns of praise ascended to God.

In the midst of all this rejoicing,the Jews were very well aware that theywere strangers and pilgrims on earth,for they were living for seven days in

the temporary booths or tabernacleswhich gave this feast its name (Lev.23:42-43; see also 25:23). They werevery careful, even overly careful, tobuild their booths just so - three wallsand a roof of green leafy boughs, withnothing withered or dead , or takenfrom the precincts of pagan shrines, orstolen, etc., were specified by the typically strict Pharisaic regulations . Eventhe altar of burnt offering was fencedaround and over with leafy branchesfor the festival's duration .

During the feast each celebrant car-ried two things as signs in his left handa citrus and in his right hand a palmbranch tied with willow. The fruit ex-emplified the fruits of the good landwhich God had given them . The palmbranch in the right hand symbolized tothe Jews praise of God's kingly powerand His rule over the worshippers whocarried it.

A prominent part of the festivitiesin Jesus' day - and very popular withthe crowds - was the ceremony of the


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6 Tucson, ArizonaSt. Petersburg , Florida8 Jekyll Island , Georgia

9 Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania12 Squaw Valley, California

13 Pasadena. California

drawing of water. Early on the morning of the first day of the feast , onepriest headed a joyful and enthusiasticprocession from the Temple down tothe pool of Siloam . Here he ritualistically dipped up a golden vessel fullof the water and led the processionback to the Temple .

"As priest and procession reenteredthe city through the water gate , whichwas so-called from this ceremony, theywere greeted by a threefold blast of atrumpet .

The priest then ~ l k e dup the riseto where the altar stood and poured thewater from Siloam and the wine of thedrink offering (Num. 29 :16) into twosilver bowls , from whence a pipe conveyed it away from the altar.

"Meanwhile the people shoutedaloud to the priest, 'Raise your hand .'Thus the y made sure the water reall ywas poured where it was supposed togo , for once before, about 95 B.C. , thepriest -king Alexander Jannaeus (a Sad-

THE WORLD

ducee) to show his contempt for thePharisees to whom the water symbolized the fact of resurrection, hadpoured it on the ground . The watchingpeople promptly pelted him with thefruits the y held in their hands , precipitating a blood y massacre of severalthousand by his foreign bod yguard.

"As the water and wine were pouredinto the bowls, the Temple music began . Psalms 113 through 118 weresung . With the opening and closingwords of Psalm 118 and verse 25, 'Save

now , I beseech thee , 0 Lord' (KingJames Version), the waiting worshippers shook the palm branches in theirhands to all four points of the compass ,thus signif ying that God will rule overall nations ."

These various customs were very familiar to Jesus . He saw them enactedevery year as part of the Jews ' celebration of the Old Testament Feast ofT abernacles .

The question is how would Jesus

6 Perth, Australia27 Blackheath, Australia

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have us - the New Testament Churchof God - celebrate the e w T t a mentFeast of Tabernacle s? How would itdiffer from the cu stoms whi ch developed under the Old Testament )

Jesus Set His Churchan Example

Who amon g us is not familiar withthe fact that at the last Passover in Hisministry Jesus instituted new symbolsand a new ceremon y for the New Testament Passover ? But how m any of us

have looked at Jesus' example duringthe last Feast of Tabernacles in Hisministry ? Nearl y as man y chapters aredevoted to it as are devoted to the lastPassover

You will find Jesus' acti vitie s duringthe Feast of Tabernacles described inthe Gospel of J ohn , chapters 7 through9. Now the Jews ' feast of Tabernacleswas at hand, " reports John in 7:2. Notice Jesu s' example Now about themidst of the feast Jesus went up into


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the temple, and taught (verse 14) .And a few days later : In the last

day , that great day of the feast , Jesusstood and cried, saying, If an y manthirst , let him come unto me , anddrink. He that believeth on me, as thescripture h ath said, out of his belly[innermost being} shall flow rivers ofliving water. (But this spake he of theSpirit , which they that believe on himshould receive .. .) (verses 37-39) .

What did John mean , the last day ,that great da y of the feast ?The Festival of Tabern acles is an

autumn festival , seven days in length .It begins on the 15th da y of the seventh month (Tishri) in the Hebrewcalendar, corresponding to September/October in the Gregorian calendar.Immediatel y following the se.ven daysis an eighth day (Lev . 23 :34-36, 39),the 22nd day of Tishri . It is a one-dayfestival , called the Last Great Day . Theentire eight-day period came to beknown as the Feast of Tabernacles, just

GOOD NEWS

as the two adjoining spring festivals ofPassover and Unleavened Bread cameto be known as Passover (Luke 22 :1).

Jesus' evening message, as that LastGreat Da y began, centered on water assymbolic of the Holy Spirit of God . Itwas customary , as we have noted , tohave a special ceremon y of waterdrawing from the pool of Siloam during the Feast of Tabernacles h e Baby-lonian Talmud , Seder Mo'ed, Sukkah,iv , Soncino Press, 1938). The ceremonysymbolized the outpouring of theSpirit of God on the nations duringthe reign of the Messiah. The basis forthe Jewish ceremony was Isaiah 12 :3:Therefore with joy shall ye draw water

out of the wells of salvation . This water-drawing occurred on

each of the seven days of the Feast of

Tabernacles and on the eighth or LastGreat Da y. (Whenever, as in A .D. 30 ,the Last Great Da y occurred on aweekly Sabbath, the drawing of wateroccurred the previous evening.) Thepeople would gather at the place of thewater-drawing, at the pool in Jerusalemcalled Siloam , amidst rejoicing and music. A golden flagon was filled withwater which, after the regular dail ymorning offering, would be poured outat the altar in the sight of the people. If

the occasion were the eve of a Sabbath,a golden barrel was filled and placedthat evening in a chamber of theTemple (Sukkah , iv, 48b) .

I t was to this even t of wa terdrawing that Jesus made reference asHe taught in the Temple on that evening of the Last Great Day . Jesus ' message is recorded in less than two verses(John 7: 37-39) .

Now we read : And every manwent unto his own house . Jesus went

unto the Mount of Olives. And earlyin the morning [in the daylight part ofthe Last Great Day} he came aga in intothe temple, and all the people cameunto him ; and he sat down and taughtthem (John 7 :53 ; 8 :1-2) .

Here was Jesus ' example of keepingthe daylight part of the Last Great Day .

Shortly thereafter the Pharisees interrupted Jesus. They brought into hispresence a woman who had beencaught in the very act of adultery .

Some translations delete the sectionabout this woman and her adultery

7

from John'S Gospel. But the y are inerror. This section belongs in the Gospel , exactly where it is found. I t is inthe official text of the Greek New Testament used throughout the Greekspeaking world and is found in theauthoritative manuscripts of John'sGospel preserved by the Greek people .

Following this interruption , Jesus ,setting an example to the New Testament ministry, spoke again to thepeople (8:12) . In the crowds that listened were Pharisees who again interrupted (verse 13) . A heated discussionensued in which Jesus was accused ofbeing a demon-possessed Samaritan(verse 48). Within minutes a fightbroke ou t : Then took they up stonesto cast at him: but Jesus hid himself,and went out of the temple, goingthrough the midst of them, and sopassed by (verse 59).

But the episode does not end hereThe ninth chapter, verse one , continues:

And as Jesus passed by , he saw aman which was blind from his birth . Jesus made clay anointed his eyes andtold him to wash in the pool of Siloam. He returned seeing (verse 7)Later that last day of the feast , the onetime blind man, now healed , wabrought before the Pharisees (verse13) . Verse 14 continues : And it wathe sabbath da y when Jesus made theclay, and opened his eyes see alsoverse 16). Here, too, we have Jesus'example : healing on the Sabbath .

In summary , we see that on Fridayevening, at the beginning of the LasGreat Day , Jesus spoke those fewwords recorded in John 7:37-38 aboutcoming to Him for living water. The

golden barrel had , shortly before, beenfilled with water from the pool of Sloam . It was Jesus' opportunity to explain the meaning of the ceremony andto focus attention on W O it is fromW O M living spiritual waters flowLater in the evening - Friday night -Jesus went to the Mount of Olives torest . Next morning, on the da ylighpart of the Last Great Day, everyonereturned to the Temple . It was double Sabbath - a weekl y Sabbath -Saturday - and an annual Sabbath,A .D . 30 .


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The New Testament Teaching

Nowhere in the account do we findJesus directly participating in an y ofthe various Jewish customs that grewup around the Feast of Tabernacles.Not that He condemned them. Rather,Jesus set an example for the New Tes

tament ministry to follow - that ofpreaching and teaching the meaning ofthe seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles and of the Last Great Day , and ofhealing the sick.

That is why toda y the ministry during the Festival teaches, preaches andpra ys for the sick rather than directingthe performance of symbolic rituals -that is wh y, in so many different cli-mates, we "worship God in spirit andin truth" without the need to build

ritually defined physical booths - thatis why the Festival toda y does not haveto be held in the one place, Jerusalem,for the entire Church of God.

Many of those ceremonies and customs of Jesus ' day did have meaning.Indeed But they were physical andtemporary . Weare to present a spiritual worship at the Feast - in spiritand truth."

We today have access by prayer tothe hol y place in heaven itself - "Having therefore, brethren , boldness to enter into the holiest b y the blood ofJesus " (Heb . 10 :19) . And, "Let ustherefore with boldness approach thethrone of grace" (Heb . 4 :16, Panintranslation). We are a "royal priesthood " (I Peter 2 :5, 9) today. Today wehave , not a Mosaic copy of the throneof God, but the reality in heaven itself

Moses set the true Old Testamentexample . He was the one called of Godto establish the practice of the OldTestament Church. He gave the "law ofMoses" to the Old Testament Church.The Jews had Moses' example .

Jesus did not come in Moses' name,merely repeating the example of Moses .Jesus brought a new covenant message .The gospel came by Jesus Christ. Christbrought the New Testament promiseof the Holy Spirit . He set the examplefor the New Testament Church ofteaching about conversion and theHol y Spirit during the Feast of Taberna-cles Christ left us "an example that ye

should follow his steps" (I Peter 2:21) .

GOOD NEWS

The Apostle John was inspired towrite : " And hereby we do know thatwe know him, if we keep his commandments whoso keepeth hisword, in him veril y is the love of Godperfected: hereby know we that we arein him. He that saith he abideth in himought himself also so to walk , even as he[Christ] walked " (I John 2:3-6) .

Notice: We are to walk as Christwalked, and His ministers are to speakas He spoke. t doesn ' t say "as Moseswalked ." Christ not only died to pa yfor our sins - He also lived so that wewould know how to live. He kept HisFather's laws, and that included keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and settingus an example of how to keep it inNew Testament times

Paul Kept the Feastof Tabernacles

Paul followed Jesus' example andnot only kept the Feast of Tabernacles,but kept it after the New Testamentmanner long af ter what was "nailed tothe cross" was nailed there . And noticePaul's command that we follow hisexample as he followed Christ's : "Be yefollowers of me , even as I also am ofChrist" (I Cor. 11 :1) .

That is very plain . We follow Paul

in keeping the New Testament Feast ofTabernacles as he followed Christ. Notice now the sequence of events in thebook of Acts which clearl y indicatethat Paul kept the Feast of Tabernacles .

God used Paul to reach the Gentileswith the gospel. In A.D. 50 , Paulcrossed over from Asia into Europe andbegan to preach the gospel at Philippi(Acts 16:11-13) .

After a few weeks at Philippi, Thessalonica (Acts 17 :1 , Berea (verse 10)and Athens (verse 16) , Paul came toCorinth in the late summer of A.D. 50(Acts 18:1). After spending severalSabbaths teaching in the synagogue(verse 4), Paul continued to hold meetings in the house of Justus (verse 7 for" a year and six months " (verse 11) .This brings us to the spring of A .D .52 .

After a riot stirred up against theapostle was quelled , we read the fol-lowing about Paul: And Paul afterthis tarried there yet a good while, and

then took his leave of the brethren, and

Ju l ySeptember 1973

sailed thence into Syria" (Acts 18 :18) .It was now well into the summer ofA.D . 52. The Feast of Unleavened .Bread and Pentecost - the two festivals near the beginning and end ofspring - were now past .

To continue with Paul 's journe y, onhis wa y from Corinth to the port ofSyria, "he came to Ephe sus" and "entered into the synagogue, and reasonedwith the Jews . When the y desired him totarry longer time with them , he consented not ; but bade them farewell ,saying, I must by all means keep this feastthat cometh in J erusalem: bu t I will returnagain unto you, if God will. And hesailed from Ephesus" (Acts 18 :19-21) .

Was Paul planning to keep the feastwith the Headquarters Church at Jerusalem? Indeed

Which feast?The spring festivals were already

past . The two late summer or earlyautumn holy days, the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement , wereheld at any of the local congregations .

et here was a major festival beingheld at Jerusalem in th e autumn . Theone big major festival that occurs inthe autumn is the Feast of TabernaclesPaul told the Ephesians that he "mustby all m eans keep this feast that cometh in

Jerusalem " - with the HeadquartersChurch . (This was long before A .D .70, at which time Jerusalem fell to theRoman General Titus and the Templewas de stroyed.)

Paul had just completed his firstjourney into Europe with the gospeland undoubtedl y felt he had to reportthe progress of the work to the Headquarters Church and the brethren(verse 22) . What better time to do sothan while keeping the Feast of Tabernacles

Here is the example of Paul , theapostle to the Gentiles . After years inthe New Testament ministry he is stillkeeping the Feast of Tabernacles

W h y Verse Left Out inCorrupted Manuscripts

Acts 18 :21 appears correctl y in theKing James Version of the Bible . Butnumerous modern translation s leaveout that portion of the verse whichtells of Paul 's intention to keep the

Feast.


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July-September 1973

This verse, in its entirety, belongs inthe Bible It has always been 100 percent a part of the inspired Greek texthanded down to the Greek-speakingworld by the original true Church ofGod . The only manuscripts whichleave it out are those copied in Egyptand in the Latin-speaking portions of

the Roman Empire.There would have been no reason to

dd this verse t the Bible if it were. not there originally . But there is every

reason why men would like to remove itfrom the inspired text The Catholicversion of the Bible leaves it out as doalmost all modern Protestant translations of the Bible. These churches donot want to keep this feast.

ut Not at Jerusalem Only

Paul on this one occasion did travelt Jerusalem to keep the Feast. Yet, onmany other occasions, he observed itelsewhere - just as Jesus said HisChurch would do. Remember, to theSamaritan woman Jesus said : " thehour cometh, when ye shall neither inthis mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem,worship the Father." But this was notthe first time Jesus spoke on this subject .

Notice what He said as the Spokesman in the Old Testament: " . . . in allplaces where I record my name I willcome unto thee, and I will bless thee"(Ex . 20:24, last part). Jesus, born ofMary, was not speaking anything different from what He told the Israelitesat Sinai as the YHWH or Spokesmanof the Old Testament . In all places"- not merely for all time at Jerusalem .

As the New Testament Church ofGod grew in apostolic days, there soondeveloped a need for the scatteredbrethren to meet not only in Jerusalembut in numerous other sites to observeGod's annual festivals. And in no casewould the rituals of the Jews - such asthe water-drawing - have been observed by the New Testament Church,for these rituals were performed by theLevitical priesthood only at Jerusalemin the precincts of the Temple.

Though Paul kept the festivals everyyear (I Cor. 5 8; 16 :8; Acts 18 :21;20:16), yet for nearly 14 years Paul wasunknown by face unto the churches of

GOOD NEWS

Judaea which were in Christ: but theyhad heard only, that he which persecuted us in times past now preacheththe faith which once he destroyed"(Gal. 1:22-23). Paul .was not keepingthe festivals at Jerusalem these fourteenyears or he certainly would have beenknown by face.

Where was Paul observing the festivals during those years?

I came," he said, into the regionsof Syria and Cilicia" (Gal. 1 :21) . Pauland Barnabas spent many years preaching there before being sent on theirjourneys. The center of the region ofCilicia and Syria was Antioch. At Antioch it came to pass, that a wholeyear they assembled themselves withthe church, and taught much people ."Paul must have observed the Feast of

Tabernacles that year with Christians inor near Antioch (read Acts 11 :25-26).

On the second apostolic journey theApostle Paul went into Europe. Hecame to Philippi in Macedonia 19 yearsafter the Holy Spirit had come on theday of Pentecost in A.D. 31. He thenjourneyed in the late summer of A.D.50 to Corinth, in Southern Greece, inthe province of Achaia . He continuedthere a year and six months, teachingthe word of God among them" (Acts

18 :11). That period of time includedtwo more Feasts of Tabernacles, whichpresumably were spent in or nearCorinth.

Travel was so slow in those days thatit would have taken two weeks to amonth just to go to Corinth fromAntioch, or vice versa . So at the sametime, converts in the geographic area ofSyria and Cilicia were still observingthe Feast of Tabernacles in Antioch inSyria . And converted Jews in Judaeawere still observing it in Jerusalem, asalways.

Paul's third journey took him intothe province of Asia, which was subdivided into Mysia, Lydia and Caria.(This is the region of Western Turkeytoday.) The central location of this re-gion was Ephesus, where Paul preachedfor at least two years and three months(Acts 19 :8-10) without returning toJerusalem.

N ow consider how these facts fromthe New Testament affect God'sChurch today.

9

A COLLECTIVE Blessing

It is a collective duty of the NewTestament Church of God to observethe Feast of Tabernacles in the NewTestament manner. And as Jesusprophesied to the woman at the well,Jerusalem would soon cease to be the

primary site Oohn 4:21). In fact, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyedin A.D . 70 and Jerusalem temporarilyceased to be a festival site for theChurch of God . But it will become soagain, certainly in the Millennium ifnot before (Zech. 14:16) .

But how can the members of God'sChurch know where to keep the Feaststoday? It is the responsibility of theministry and leadership of the Churchto make it known, as Christ the Headof the Church (Col. 1:18) leads anddirects them through His Spirit. ForChrist hath set some in the church,first apostles, secondarily prophets,thirdly teachers " (I Cor. 12 :28) -or, as in Ephesians 4:11-14, some are"apostles; and some, prophets; andsome, evangelists; and some, pastorsand teachers; for the perfecting of thesaints, for the work of the ministry till we all come in the uniry ofthe faith that we henceforth be nomore children, tossed to and fro, andcarried about with every wind of doctrine . .. "

But perhaps the most importantNew Testament aspect of the Feast ofTabernacles is what Jesus continued toprophesy to the Samaritan woman inJohn 4 :23 : But the hour cometh, andnow is when the true worshippersshall worship the Father in spirit and intruth : for the Father seeketh such toworship him."

The New Testament worship mustbe a true, spiritual, meaningful comprehension of the meaning of the Feast andof the purpose, plan and character ofthe Creator God whom we there andthen worship . Only in this way can wetruly "rejoice" as God and Jesus Christ(the YHWH) intended from the be-ginning .

With this understanding, let's makethis year's Feast of Tabernacles an evenmore joyous occasion as the 'end of thisage approaches. 0


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THE E RLY CREWHave you ever wondered how the many facets of

preparation for the Feast of Tabernacles are accomp-lished An advance crew prepares the way to helpguarantee the success of God's Holy Convocation everyyear. We call that preparation group the Early Crew.Read about their work and learn how YOU are part of

another Early Crew.

by obert C Smith

JUST BEFORE the Feast of Tabernacles - with

little fanfare - a group of people arrives ateach Feast site a little earlier than the rest.

Their job is to help get things ready . To helpprepare for multiple thousands of people for aneight-day period.

They are the Early Crew - and they playavery important part in our lives at the Feast .

What t Would Be Like WITHOUTthe Early Crew

Picture in your mind for a moment this comingFeast without the Early Crew. Imagine, for example, Squaw Valley with 8,000 people from all

walks of life converging on its facilities.The first day of the Feast arrives - time madeholy by God Almighty. The swirling dust of therear parking lots settles into the arena, coatingeverything with which it comes in contact. Thereis nothing to stop the onslaught, for the giant canvas which should be over the open end of BlytheArena has not been installed. The reason? TheEarly Crew was not there to do its job.

Those inside, searching for seats, encounter thefrustration of first cleaning away a year's accumulation of dust (plus the newly settled dust) beforethey can be seated. Nobody was there to sweepthem clean ahead of time. Those on the main floorfind no chairs set up at all. Just simple jobs - butthey weren't done.

Complaints begin emanating from the manymusty restrooms . Those in line agonize at the sudden realization that no provisions have been madefor those hapless souls who preceded them. Simpleitems taken completely for granted are now theperpetrators of unexpected anguish .

The mother's rooms - filled to capacity withmothers trying to find a clean spot on which tochange their babies - add to the picture of mass

confusion. The cleanliness which should characterize godliness is totally absent - because theEarly Crew wasn't there to provide these services.

Meanwhile, back in the arena, several ministersare standing on a large wooden box - because nobody has erected a stage.

The thousands of God's people who have arrivedare cramped together in the bleachers, while thevast expanse of the arena floor is empty - exceptfor the ministerial box - because nobodythought to bring the chairs . But , of course, therewould not have been anyone to set them up anyway, without the Early Crew.

The special lighting has not been installed . The

speaker cannot be heard because no sound systemhas been set up in advance for this important Festival of God. And so it goes.

The Work of the Early Crew

t would be a sad story - if it were true. Butthis story will not be told , thanks to the advancepreparations of the Early Crew.

At every Feast site around the world, God'speople enjoy peace, harmony and order. They enjoy comfort and a sense of belonging because ofthe Early Crew's work. All the dusting of thebleachers, the preparation for parking, getting therestrooms in order, setting up for registration, aninformation booth, dining rooms, and a virtualnetwork of foresight and service are taken care ofby the Early Crew.

YOU Are Par t of an Early Crew

Just as the Feast of Tabernacles is itself a symbolic forerunner of the soon-coming Millenniumand government of God Almighty on this earth, sowe in God's Church are all an Early Crew in theplan of salvation.

We are the firstfruits of the sons of God . We


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12

are Christ's little flock. Christ remindsus: " . . . thou hast a little strength(Rev. 3:8). W e are not great and impressive to the world any more than isthe Early Crew to the Church . But,brethren, we all are preparing to play avery important part in the lives ofthose who do not even know we exist.

Imagine the masses that will turn toGod in true repentance after having experienced the great tribulation and theplagues of Go d . Millions will have become teachable . And it shall come topass in the last days, that the mountainof the Lord's house shall be establishedin the top of the mountains, and shallbe exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it . And manypeople shall go and say, Come ye, andlet us go up to the mountain of the Lord,to the house of the God of Jacob; andhe will teach us of his ways, and wewill walk in his paths " (Isa. 2:2, 3).

Who will care for this confused,beaten people? Who will sit downwith them individually, and patientlyteach them who God is, how to applyHis laws in their lives and how to betruly happy? Who will have preparedand qualified themselves ahead of timefor this opportunity? You guessed it -we will - the Early Crew.

Soon all nations and all peoples willbe keeping that greater "Feast of Tabernacles" - the Millennium . They will" . .. rejoice thou, and thy household,"because we were there first. Because theEarly Crew did its job

Just as most of us today are notaware of the many-faceted preparationsfor the Feast (which involve not onlythe Early Crew, but also the year-roundactivities of the Festival Office staff) -neither will most of those joy-filledhumans have really been aware of ourpresent "behind-the-scenes" activity -the work of this little handful ofpeople whom God calls His Church.But we will be waiting for them.

They will approach Christ and Hisborn-again saints with the same joy-

Howard Clark - Ambassador College

Early Crew workmen tie huge sec-tions of the canvas used to coverthe open end of lythe Arena atSquaw Valley California.

GOOD NEWS

filled anticipation with which we approach the Feast . They are going to expect to be taught, just as we do at theFeast. Their minds and their eyes aregoing to be wide open : They will behungry for truth - and ur efforts asthe Early Crew of Almighty God willmake possible the reality of theirhopes .

Rather than meeting confusion, theywill be guided and directed in an orderly and loving way . Instead of groping aimlessly about , they willexperience a sense of belonging .

A Job Wel l Done

As we assist Christ in the great rehabilitation program at the beginning ofthis thousand-year Feast of Tabernacles,we will see the fruits of our effortsmade manifest in those whom we will

have instructed. Their way of life willbecome one of joy, abundance and productivity.

JulySeptember 1973

And th e y shall build the oldwastes, they shall raise up the formerdesolations, and they shall repair th ewaste cities, the desolations of manygenerations. And strangers shall standand feed your flocks, and the sons ofthe alien shall be your plowmen andyour vinedressers.

But ye" - WE - "shall be namedthe Priests of the Lord: men shall callyou the Ministers of our God " (Isa .61:4-6) .

What a glorious calling is ours. Justas the Feast of Tabernacles could NOTbe the same success and serve its purpose without the advance efforts of allconcerned with Feast preparations, andjust as their behind-the -scenes" activity sets the stage , so OUR activity now in our homes, on our jobs , on ourknees is necessary and is helping to setthe stage for the World Tomorrow .

What zeal and enthusiasm and dedication this realization should give us D


15/36

W AT IS our goal - really?Is it a hazy, not too vivid,all-encompassing kind ofthing, like to get into the Kingdom,

to show love, or to do the \X' ork ofGod ?

Each of us must have a much moreclearly defined, moment-by-momentgoal than that. A goal so vivid and soreal that we can confidently know weare fulfilling God's desires - His purpose for our lives .

The Starting Point

Everyone wants to live forever. Butsince we are merely physical humanbeings, we all face ph ysical death .

Death is a sobering reality . As Davidsaid, our life is but a handbreadth(Ps. 39:5) . We are here today and gonetomorrow .

Death is our final appointment inthis life - then we simply no longer

exist. Nothing physical survives. Weare gone .

But spirit does survive. So our goalhas to be one of spiritu l survival.

What SpiritualSurvival Means

Look at it this way. Let's supposeyou want to hear music, so you compose a song. Then you hire an orchestraand a director. Finally you record theirrendition b y means of a tape recorder.

Afterward the orchestra disbands.

Do we really know whate meant? Christ said H o

ye and LE RN what thatmeaneth (Matt . 9:J3 .Knowing can mean your

eternal life

y Charles F Hunting

The sheet music is destroyed . Everything physical that went into makingthe beautiful sounds is gone . But aperfect record of the whole effort re-mains recorded on tape. It can be re-played in a tape player at any time.

In the same way, the spirit in man isthe spiritual record of each one of us .This is what survives.

God put this spirit in man for agreat purpose . Combined with ourphysical brain it enables us to think, toplan, to design . It gives us some of theimagination and even some of the de-sires of God Himself. And it providesGod with a record of our attitudes,personality , acquired knowledge , ourvery character - all that which makesus us - after we die . That which isphysical decays and dies, but the spiritin man remains indestructible, eternal.

But why does God want a record ?The answer is that God plans to

replay, reconstitute, rebuild - resur-

recc : us exactly according to thepattern of what we will have becomein this life - same basic personality,same attitudes, same character And sothe basic element of our whole beingwhich will survive our ph ysical life isour CHARACTER. Only we will then becomposed totally of spirit .

So what is being recorded in yourcase? Think before yo u answer. What-ever it is, it has to be recognized byGod as something He wants to surviveeternally - or He will not replay forthe purpose of eternal preservation therecord that has been made.

And here is where the problem lies .Some of us will fulfill the sickeningprophec y of nonrecognition found inMatthew 7:21-23, where Christ said:

Not everyone that saith unto me,Lord , Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven . . . . Many will say tome in that day, Lord , Lord . . . and then

will I profess unto them , I never knewyo u.

Physical Works Not theCriterion

Did you notice something veryfrightening about those words? Christwas speaking of those who have identified Him and call Him Lord and Mas-ter like we do. They know He is theMessiah. But Christ does not knowthem. He does not recognize them . He

is looking for something that He can


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14

not find . Therefore He will not replaytheir "record" for eternal life.

We keep the Sabbath, we tithe , wekeep the Holy Days , we may pass outsongbooks or give the opening or closing prayer, or even be ordained as adeacon or deaconness. We may feelthat these activities prove we are on

our way into the Kingdom .We may even be ordained into the

ministry of Jesus Christ, give sermons,anoint the sick and see them healed ,and even cast out demons Wouldn 'tyou say that doing these things wouldbe the obvious sign of a man of God ,well on his way into God's Kingdom?

But read what Christ said : "Manywill say to me in that day , Lord, Lord,have we not prophesied in thy name?and in thy name have cast out demons?

and in thy name done many wonderfulworks?" (verse 22.)Do you grasp that? They have done

all of those things that most of uswould regard as the final stamp of approval from God . They have donegreat works - preached inspired sermons , anointed the sick and seenpeople healed, and cast out demons.

But didn't the apostles heal the sickand cast out demons - before theywere ever begotten of God's Spirit?Didn't Judas also do all these things?Yes they did And so did some of theother religious Jews of Christ's time(Matt . 12:27) .

So what chance do you have? You'rea laymember of the Church. Perhapsyou took the leadership training coursebut you are still not "used ." Have youfailed? Maybe - but not because youwere not ordained or put on the visiting program . If that were true, whatabout the women in the Church whodon't even pass out songbooks or leadin opening and closing prayers , andwhose main duties are housekeeping?

Let's understand something Yourphysical activities are not what ensuresyour receiving eternal life in God's King-dom

Recall Matthew 5: 3-7. Jesus said:"Blessed are the poor in spirit: fortheir 's is the kingdom of heaven . . . .Blessed are the meek.. . . Blessed arethose who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . . Blessed are the merci

ful . . ." etc.

GOOD NEWS

Notice that all these are qualities(attitudes) of mind - of character .And it is these qualities that are required in an eternal son of God.

A Commandment-KeepingFailure

One young man came to Christ and

asked, just as we all do, What shall Ido that I may inherit eternal life ?"(Mark 10:17 .) Notice that he went tothe right person, just as we do. Christgave him the same answer that we areaware of : Thou knowest the commandments . . ." (verse 19).

The young man told Him that hehad observed and kept those laws fromhis youth. Then Christ loved thisyoung man . He wanted to help him.But there was a problem, and Christ

knew that something was wrong. Theproblem was not physical ; it was onlyexpressed physically, but it was a spiri-tu l problem. This man had a mindthat coveted. So he was a commandment-keeping failure, just as were theIsraelites who tried to keep God's commandments in Moses' time.

God said of the ancient Israelites:" 0 that there were such an heart inthem , that they would fear me, andkeep all my commandments always ." (Deut. 5:29). In otherwords, there was a spiritual inability -a spiritual lack - that prevented themfrom completely comprehending thespiritual meaning of the great laws ofGod . But brethren, we should not havethat lack; we should have the Spirit ofGod in our minds . God ' s laws are spiritual, and with His Spirit we can trulykeep those laws in their spiritual intent.

The Kind of Mind tCultivate

Notice the important question askedin Micah 6 :6-7 : "Wherewith shall Icome before the Lord , and bow myselfbefore the high G o d ? . . Will theLord be pleased with thousands oframs, or with ten thousands of rivers ofoil?" Is God going to be pleased withburnt offerings (physical works) ? Shallwe find approval from God with greattithes and offerings?

Now notice the startling answer inverse 8 . He hath showed you, 0 man ,

what is good; and what doth God

July September 1973

require of you , but to do justly, nd tolove mercy and to walk humbly withyour God ?"

Here is what God wants : He wantsyou to "love mercy ." Is there anythingph ysical about that ? Of course not . Sobe pursuing a merciful mind.

Are you happy when somebody who

reall y deserves harsh punishment is forgiven and does not have to pay thepenalty of his sins ? Are you sure ?

What happens when somebody haswronged you? Do you secretly hopethey will be punished - that they willhave to pay the just recompense forslandering or harming you? We mustcome to have a merciful mind that justloves to see people forgiven andallowed to escape the deserved penaltyfor their sins. For this is the mind ofChrist This is the spiri tual and men talyardstick b y which we can measure andexamine our own mind in every actionof our lives .

The Greatness of God

"Thus saith the Lord, The heaven ismy throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye buildunto me? . . " (Isa . 66 :1.)

In effect , God is saying , The vastexpanse of the universe is all mine . Theearth , which is so huge to you and to

which you are limited, to me i s aboutlike something you would put yourfeet up on in your own home. This isjust a part of my greatness . So what canyou possibly do for me?

'For all those things hath m y handmade . . .' (verse 2) - look how punyyour efforts are physically in comparison to the tremendous vastness ofmy creation in space and its awesomeunmeasureable power "

Can we do anything to comparewith this ? Of course not . An ythingphysical we would do in cOinparisonwith what God has already done istotal futilit y.

Bu t God will still come to know us,recognize us and ultimately use ourspirit-in-man "record," because of onething. He will look t (or "look to") usif each one of us is of a " poor and of acontrite spirit , and trembleth at m y[God's) word " (verse 2 . Christ saidthat God seeks those who worshipHim in spirit and in truth Oohn 4 :24) .

Do you see anything here about


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July-September 1973

physical accomplishments? Neithermental capacity nor a lack of it, norrace, nor sex , nor personal poverty canexclude anyone of us from attaining tothose things which God is looking for.A poverty-stricken paraplegic can stillpossess a poor and contrite spirit, forGod is looking for something spiritual.

So acquiring and developing thisspiritual character attribute must beour daily , hour-by -hour goal in life.

Moses Understood

Moses will be in God's Kingdomnot because of what he did physically,but because he "was very meek above allthe men which were upon the face ofthe earth" (Num. 12:3).

The meek are going to rule the earth(Matt. 5:5). Are you pursuing a goal ofmeekness? Don't be deceived. It is notdifficult to tell if you are one of themeek .

Meekness is totally different fromfeelings of inferiority . One who ismeek is very teachable. He does notresent correction, regardless of thesource from which it comes. You willnot find a harsh, unbending or criticalattitude in the spiritually mindedkeeper of the law . One who is meek iseasily approached by family, friends andthe ministers .

Moses took instruction and correction from a man beneath him in rank.Even with his vast experience in government in Pharaoh's court and withthe tremendous power that God haddisplayed through him, when hisfather-in-law came to him and told himhe was wrong, Moses listened andlearned (Ex . 18:13-27).

He did not take the attitude some ofus display when one younger than our

selves gives a sermon or sermonette, orhas a suggestion . Moses was not self-opinionated, or puffed up with hisgreat office, or with his age or withwhat he had accomplished.

Was Moses merciful? When Miriamwas struck with leprosy for criticizingMoses , he cried out to God to heal herinstantly (Num . 12) . Would this havebeen our attitude?

Why David Will Rule

Meekness , a broken and contritespirit, and all of the other attributes of

GOOD NEWS

Matthew 5 form the yardstick bywhich we can measure ourselves inGod's eyes . It is not sufficient to putthis on merely as a Sabbath facade, butit must be a continuous, ever-presentgoal in every activity - whether it is inour relationship with our employers,our wives or husbands , our children orany other human being .

Only this type of mind will be ca-pable of safely handling the greatpower God is going to put in ourhands .

Would you want a jealous, envious,revengeful type of person to rule overyou? Obviously not. Neither doesGod.

Do you mentally hunger and thirstafter righteousness (Matt . 5 6)? Withdeep emotion David said, Open thoumine eyes that I may behold wondrousthings out of thy law" (Ps. 119 :18) .Why? Because David realized his safetywas in not wandering from the commandments of God . He knew that ifhis ways were directed by God's law, hewould not make mistakes and beashamed (verses 6, 10) .

But what did David do when he wascursed and had stones thrown at him?Did he take vengeance? Notice a spiritual mind in action when Abishai,David's bodyguard, asked if he mightdestroy a man who deserved death .David replied : If he is cursing becausethe Lord has said to him, 'CurseDavid,' who then shall say 'Why haveyou done so?' . . . let him alone, and lethim curse; for the Lord has biddenhim . t may be that the Lord will lookon my affliction, and that the Lord willrepay me with good for this cursing ofme today" (II Sam. 16:10-12, RSV .

Would you react that way in similar

circumstances?David will be in God's family not

because of his military or other physicalaccomplishments, but because of hisgreat spiritual strength and a mind thatGod and Christ will recognize . Heloved God's law and meditated on it -until, by means of the Holy Spirit, hecame to understand the spirit of thelaw.

The Rest of the Story

What is the spirit of the law? ThePharisees were very strict keepers of the

15

law . But Christ called them hypocritesbecause they missed the most important part of the law. Christ said : " Woeunto you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites for you pay tithe of mint andanise and cummin, and have omittedthe weightier matters of the law, judg

ment , mercy, and faith . . ." (Matt.23 :23) .Did you notice that the most impor

tant aspects of the law, the "weightiermatters ," are good judgment (what wemight call balance today), mercy anCIfaith? These are spiritual things. Andthis is why " the law is spiritual" (Rom.7:14) .

The law hath domin ion over a manas long as he lives" (Rom . 7:1), but astrue Christians "we should serve in the

newness of the spirit, and not in theoldness of the letter" (verse 6) .You may not steal, but are you en

vious, jealous, stubborn or revengeful?One of the biggest problems we

have in the Church of God today is thebreaking of the law o aith . But Godsays without faith it is impossible toplease Him (Heb . 11 :6) .

Can we begin to understand whyDavid said, " Great peace have theywhich love thy law: and nothing shall

offend them" (Ps. 119:165)? Or whyIsaiah said, The work of righteousnessshall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for-ever" (Isa . 32 :17)?

Both David and Isaiah understoodthe spiritual purpose of the law. Theyhad the mind of Christ Do we?

The greatest expression of the mindof God is mercy . t caused Christ to bewilling to die for and at the hands ofthose who deserved to die. In His mosthorrible moment, forsaken, beatenbeyond recognition, He said : "Father,forgive them . . ." (Luke 23:34) .

The same Jesus Christ was quotingfrom Hosea 6:6 - an Old Testamentprophe t - when He said : Go ye andlearn what that meaneth, I will havemercy and not sacrifice" - why? -"for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance(Matt. 9 :13).

Have you learned what it means tohave mercy? 0


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JulySeptember 1973

Have you ever seen a landscape orportrait artist lovingly labor over apainting? He plans it, draws it in withloving care, and applies the pigmentwith careful diligence. Each stroke issignificant. All the elements arepainstakingly weighed against eachother. Color , value, hue, light and

shade, intensity and chroma are all evaluated and considered. The artist exultsin the rendering and rejoices if theresult is what he set out to achieve.

A sculptor may set out to sculpt amagnificent marble piece. He goes togreat lengths to select the material withwhich to work. He may oversee thequarrying of a fine marble monolith.He examines it closely for quali ty andpurity. He makes sure it is carefullyprotected as it is shipped to his studio.

There he begins work by careful planning and measuring . Each stroke of thehammer is cautiously yet authoritatively executed as the chisel does itscreative work. Soon the piece begins toemerge. The more it looks like whatthe sculptor envisioned, the more hedelights in his work.

God is a great Artist who is lovingly

GOOD NEWS

involved in a great work of art. He isthe Master Architect and Builder whois producing a great spiritual house.Peter used this analogy in I Peter 2: 5.

Ye also, as lively [living} stones, arebuilt up a spiritual house . . . acceptableto God by Jesus Christ." Paul also usedthis analogy: But Christ as a son over

his own house; whose house are we[Christians} . .. " (Heb. 3:6) .

God is also a Master Potter who willnot be satisfied with the clay until ithas achieved a certain character. (See"Lessons from The Master Potter,"Sept.-Oct . 1970 GOOD NEWS.

Of course, any artist or artisan has tomanipulate the materials with whichhe works. He does so with loving careand devotion. He pays attention to de-tail. He plans, he tests, he probes . He

works with the endproduct in mind. Soit is with the great Artist of the universe. He lovingly works with man andhis environment to produce a gloriousproduct that will give both Himselfand the product immense satisfactionupon its completion. Great art glorifiesthe artist who produced it.

God intends that His children be

A potter lovingly manipulates the cl y with which he worksDon Lorton mbassador ollege

17

brought to glory - a condition of spiritual perfection and maturity. This inturn will glorify the Creator Himself.And all of this expresses God's greatlove for His human creation.

The Shepherd and the Sheep

A second analogy of God and His

people is that of the shepherd and thesheep Asaph spoke of humanity as" . . . thy people and sheep of thy pas-ture " (Ps. 79:13). This type is usedthroughout the Bible. Jesus is spokenof as the "good Shepherd."

This analogy is somewhat more sophisticated than the previous one. Therelationship of a shepherd to his sheep- a man to his beast - illustratessome rather important points. Man isresponsive and intelligent, yet decid

edly inferior to God, as is the sheep tothe shepherd. Yet even a human shepherd, far above the intellectual plane ofhis sheep, is deeply concerned withtheir welfare. He will fight off bears,wolves and other carnivores who attempt to rob him of his sheep. He willcomfort them when they are frightened. He sees that they have adequatepasture and water. The good shepherdgoes to great lengths to see that hissheep are well taken care of.

Think of a man and his dog. Whydoes a man train his dog? Primarilythat he may love it, not that it maylove him But in addition, his trainingalso makes the animal better able toserve him, not that he may serve it

Man does not extend himself to thesame degree to train a roach or a ratThe man takes pains with a dog - or ahorse - because they are high on theintelligence scale of irrational creatures.A rat or a roach would hardly be worthy of such time and concern. A dog imore naturally lovable. And the manworks at making it fully lovable - aleast as much as is fitting between ahuman being and a brute beast.

No ridiculous anthropomorphicanalogy should be made of this, ocourse. This is a limited analogy. Butnevertheless God does make it. And wemay learn from it.

God takes such pains to express Hislove to man because man alone is worthy of such concern . He is the apex oGod's creation. God is naturally able to


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PARE NTShow ot to provoke your teen agers

Ephesians :6 and Colos-sians 3:2 J tell us not toprovoke our children towrath. Yet perhaps with-out realizing it m ny p r-ents are doing just that.Check up on yourself andsee wh t you can do to im-prove your rel tionshipwith the children God has

given you.

by Arch Bradley

and Gil Goethals

THIS IS what a teen-age daughter

of parents in God's Church ,

with tears rolling down hercheeks , recentl y told her local minister.

I want to please m y parents , but Ican never please m y dad no matter howhard I work - he always expects more .I try , but I can't get all the work done .I want to talk to him but he doesn ' thave the time to listen .

Wh e n dad comes home from workwe don't get love , we get 'chewed out.'If I go someplace and don 't call inright away I am in trouble.

" I am never allowed any mistakes. Imust bend to ever y demand no matterwhat . I am never allowed to make m yown decisions.

"Dad always think s I am going todo something wrong, almost to thepoint where I feel I might as well."

A Typical Example?

How many of the rest of us arebeing " too hard " and too unbendingin dealing with our teen-agers? Paulmentioned this as an all-too-likely situation in Ephesians 6:4: "Fathers, do

not irritate and provoke your childrento anger - do not exasperate them toresentment - but rear them [tenderly)in the training and discipline and thecounsel and admonition of the Lord "(The Amplified Bible .

This common parental tendency has

alienated all too many of our sons anddaughters from family and from theChurch . We've "turned them off," andmany teen-agers have simply turnedtheir backs on the Church , reasoningthat, If that's what Christianity is,they can have it " The result: we havepresented a stumblingblock to manyothers who yet faithfully attend.

Let's take a candid look, then find arealistic solution to the problem.

Why Parents Are Strict

First, let's realize and admit that parents are not deliberatel y trying to drivetheir children away from the Church ,nor intentionally making life unbearable for them . And teen-agers need torealize this - that parents really dodesire the best for their children .

And parents want to prevent at allcosts their sons and daughters frommaking the same mistakes, and suffering the same resulting penalties that

they have lived through.Parents - isn't it true that you wantdesperatel y to protect your teen-agersfrom having to learn from the "sc hoolof hard knocks" ? Don't you want themto have a better life than you had , tosteer the shortest and straightest courseto success and happiness? You desire, asChrist put it, That they might havelife , and that they might have it moreabundantly" Oohn 10: 10) .

But in our zeal to accomplish this,we often become overly strict and uncompromising about relatively unim-

portant matters. To our teen-agers, weappear unreasonable, unthoughtful, unreachable , unsympathetic and dictatorial.

When does a teen-ager become anadult? At what age? The father of a 21-year-old man recentl y related how he

woke up one day and had to face thefact that his "little boy" had become aman. Yet, in the father's mind his sonwas still his y, which points up thefact that during those teen-age years weparents often fail to recognize the development that is taking place and continue to treat our teen-agers purely aschildren .

Actually, terrific changes are occurring gradually throughout their teenage years. But it is hard - sometimes

even traumatic - for us to realize thatour children are growing up . And weoften unthinkingly deal with them totally as children when in fact they arealready well into the process of matur-ing and undergoing the transformationfrom little boy or girl to young man orwoman.

But though you may still think ofyour sixteen-year-old as your "littleboy," it is not realistic to expect todominate him as you did when he was

ten. Because he is not a ten- year-oldanymore . Granted, he does not yethave the mind of a thirty- fifty- orsixty-year-old - but he's not supposedto have . He would be abnormal if hedid

The sixteen-year-old realizes his interests, mental abilities , emotions, etc.,have developed greatly since he was tenyears old. He knows he is far along theroad toward adulthood . So if he istreated like a small child, he resents it

and a "generation gap" can begin todevelop.


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20

Teen-agers Deserve

Respect Also

Obviously, a complete cessation ofparental supervision is not the answer.Your teen-age sons or daughters arenot out from under your supervisionwhile at home, an9 they should respect

your authority. But you also must mixwith your supervision a great deal ofrespect for them, as befits individualswho are no longer little children .

They aren't perfect yet, and don'tclaim to be, so don't try to demandperfection of them . Think instead ofhow God deals with His spiritual sons .He gives us time to grow toward perfection. He is extremely patient withus, overlooking and forgiving multitudes of shortcomings and mistakes .

Rather than reminding us of each andevery little error we make, He simplyoverlooks and forgets many of them,encouraging us to "stay in there andkeep plugging."

Notice Psalm 78:37-39, which re-lates God's great patience with ancientIsrael: "For their heart was not rightwith him, neither were they stedfast inhis covenant. But he, being full ofcompassion, forgave their iniquity, anddestroyed them not: yea, many a time

turned he his anger away, and did notstir up all his wrath . For he remembered that they were but flesh; a windthat passeth away and cometh notagain."

Let's play that part back again Forhe remembered that they were but flesh.)JGod is realistic - He knows you and Ihave not attained to anything near Hislevel of perfection . He realizes perfection is a process and respects our ef-forts toward it. Let's deal with our

teen-agers likewise - with respect andgreat patience, not expecting instantperfe


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July September 19 73

" But the people refused to listen toSamuel's warning. 'Even so, we still

ant a king ,' they said, 'for we want tobe like the nations around us . He willgovern us and lead us to battle.' SoSamuel told God what the peoplehad said, and God replied again,'Then do as the y say and give them a

king'

(verse s 1922).Notice how God handled the situation over all . In spite of God 's warnings , the nation of Israel was convincedthat it needed a physical king . Thatwas their d ecision. And God honoredit . He ent reated them as a father does achild , and warned them of the dangersof their decision. When Israel acceptedthose dangers and stuck with her decision, God then honored that decision .

We can use th is same approach,using wisdom of course . We can andsho uld give our teen-agers parental ad-vice an

Documents

Good News 1973 (Prelim No 03) Jul-Sep