VOL. VIII, NUMBER 1

International MagazIne ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

JANUARY, 1959

Our GROWTH Is aChallenge for the Future!

Do you realize how much God's Church has grown during thepast few years? How big we are destined to become?

by Roderick C. Meredith

T HE "PHILADELPHIA" era of God'strue Church has grown amazinglyduring the past six years! An anni­

versary which helped point out thisgrowth has just occurred. But beforegiving you the significant facts behindthis, let us consider the most recent newsof the growth of God's Church.

Nation-wide Tour

Last month we told you about thenation-wide baptizing and counselingtours in progress. Mr. Gerald Water­house and Mr. Bill McDowell had beensent out on a tour from which they havenow returned. They traveled throughthe Southern states - to counsel withmany and baptize some of the peoplewho had written in saying that theyconsidered themselves members of TheRadio Church of God, and that this wastheir real church home. In addition, theyvisited many who had been missed bythe regular baptizing tours.

Visiting the people in their ownhomes, during a period of about threemonths they managed to visit 233 peopleand give them personal counsel and help!Of this number, 54 new people werebaptized-added by God to His Churchthrough the indwelling of His Spirit.

Both of these men report that theycan see more than ever that people allover the United States are being helpedtremendously to understand God's way

through The WORLD TOMORROWbroadcast and The PLAIN TRUTH mag­azine. In talking to many about theirpast baptisms, they found that very fewhave ever come to a REAL knowledge ofGod's truth and to real REPENTANCEwithout having previous contact withGod's true work. This should not sur­prise any of us, for God's Spirit is onlygiven to those who obey Him (Acts'): )L ). Therefore, it is very unlikely thata minister without the Spirit of Godwould ever bring anyone to real conver­sion, repentance, and the receiving ofGod's Holy Spirit-which they them­selves do not possess!

All of us must be willing to followthe command of the apostle Paul: "Ex­amine yourselves, whether you be in thefaith; prove your own selves. Know yenot your own selves, how that JesusChrist is in you, except ye be repro­bates?" (II Cor. 13: 5 ). If any of youare ever told by a true servant of God­ordained by and representing the veryChurch and work of Jesus Christ-thatyou are not converted, you should bewilling to very seriously examine your­self, pray ro God about it with all yourheart, and be willing to come to realREPENTANCE if you have never donethat before. Never forget that God'sChurch is composed only of those whoare filled with and led by His HolySpirit (Rom. 8: 14).

Some Fail to Apply the TruthPersonally

Another basic problem mentioned byMr. Waterhouse is that many of youpeople do not seem to take the spiritualexhortation and correction on the broad­casts and in The PLAIN TRUTH articlesas applying to you personally! Many ofour other baptizing and visiting tourshave said the same thing. I have foundthis to be the case in my own experienceon numerous tours.

Millions of people hear The WORLDTOMORROW broadcast, and severalhundred thousand are now readers ofThe PLAIN TRUTH. God's last warn­ing is going out to the world! The prob­lem lies in the fact that VERY FEW peopleapply the message they hear to them­selves PERSONALLY!

On many of our tours, we have talkedto literally scores of people who haveread articles in which God's laws, theSabbath, the Holy Days, different basicpoints on prophecy, and many pointson Christian living are all made veryclear and thoroughly explained. Yetthese same people-after telling us thatthey have read the very articles thatcontain this information-will sit intheir chairs and ask us to explain thesethings as though they had never heardthem before! We may give them thesame explanation which they heard on

Page 2 The GOOD NEWS January, 1959

Be sure to notify us immediately ofchange of address.

Address communications to the Editor,Box Ill, Pasadena, California.

Copyright, January, 1959By the Radio Church of God

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

ministering to its membersscattered abroad

Great GROWTH in the Work ofGod's Church

Now there are 21 full-time preachingministers in addition to Mr. Armstrong,five local elders, and many advancedtheological students who are fully capa­ble of serving directly in the work of theministry whenever required to do so!Including our churches in the BritishIsles and in the Philippines, there arenow at least 30 local congregations inthe true Church of God! And we nowhave about 10,000 known members­with the church constantly growing, andadditional hundreds being baptized eachyear.

The WORLD TOMORROW broadcast isnow sent out on over 5,000,000 wattsof radio power each week! And manyof these watts are going around theworld in foreign broadcasting. ThePLAIN TRUTH magazine is now 32pages and comes our regularly. In addi­tion, we now have the 12-page GOODNEWS magazine sent only to those inGod's Church. Also, we have the wonder­ful Ambassador College Bible Corre­spondence Course and many new book­lets which we did not have a few yearsago. The world-wide mailing list is nowgetting into the hundreds of thousandsand is constantly growing.

As stated above, we now have rnanvforeign stations broadcasting God;struth around the world. Mr. BenjaminRea broadcasts the program in the Span­ish language every week over an entirechain of stations in South America. Andthroughout Europe, South Africa, Aus­tralia, the Philippines and many partsof Asia The WORLD TOMORROW pro­gram is reaching hundreds of thousandsof English-speaking people around theworld' To take care of rhe foreign mail­ing list, we now have a full office andstaff in London. Through God's calling,several churches in the Philippines haveaccepted the truth and a great work isanticipated there.

With twenty-one additional ministersand many other elders, God's Churchhas grown TREMENDOUSLY during thepast six years!

The Challenge of Our Growth

Are YOU, personally, growing as rap­idly spiritually in proportion as is God'swork? This is a CHALLENGE to everyone of us!

Considering the remarkable growthduring the past six years, think of thetremendous growth that must lie yetahead of us before we reach ALL nationswith the truth of God and His lastwarning message to mankind! We, as aChurch, must be constantly praying andyielding to God as His instruments

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important and significant. Let me tellyou about it.

Remember that Jesus Christ said thatthe kingdom of heaven is like a grainof mustard seed-the smallest of allherbs when it is sown-but grows tobe the greatest among herbs and be­comes a huge tree (Mat. 13: 31 ). Thisis certainly a description of the wayGod's kingdom-and His work-havestarted among men.

Six years ago last Sabbath morning,the Philadelphia era of God's trueChurch had only one preaching ministerand two local elders. There were onlythree local churches still in existence.There were only about seven or eighthundred known members on the entiresurface of the earth!

The WORLD TOMORROW broadcaststill had to rely mainly on the Mexicanstations, and had very few United Statesstations carrying the broadcast regularly.There was virtually no foreign work,and no foreign broadcasting. The PLAINTRUTH magazine came out very irregu­larly and was usually only 16 pages­and sometimes as little as 8 pages. Therewere only a few booklets to be sent out,and no Correspondence Course was thenavailable.

The income for God's work wasrather erratic-particularly during thesummer months when the Mexican sta­tions did not reach out as far. Also, theirregularity of The PLAIN TRUTH wasa contributing factor to this. But Am­bassador College had been started andThe GOOD NEWS was just beginningto be published as a 16-page magazineto supplement The PLAIN TRUTH forthose on the mailing list.

By June of 1952, Ambassador Collegehad graduated two classes, and therewere now a few men who were begin­ning to get full-time experience in theservice of Jesus Christ. None were yetordained, hilt were being trained andtested in the actual responsibility ofcarrying on God's work.

Then, later that year, on December 20,1952, five men were ordained to thefull ministry of Jesus Christ by God'sservant, Mr. Armstrong. For the firsttime in many years, the Philadelphia eraof God's Church had several fully or­dained and qualified preaching ministersto help carryon the gigantic task setbefore God's Church in this end time!These men were Herman L. Hoeh, Ray­mond C. Cole, Richard D. Armstrong,Dr. C. Paul Meredith, and Roderick C.Meredith.

That was indeed a memorable andjoyous Sabbath afternoon! And it wasjust the beginning of many more localchurches and many more activities inthe world-wide ministry of God'sChurch.

NUMBER IVOL. VIII

Herbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorHerman L. Hoeh

Executive EditorRoderick C. Meredith

Garner Ted ArmstrongAssociate Editors

the broadcast or read in the magazinearticles, and they seem satisfied. As Isaid before, the problem is that theyhave failed to apply God's precious truthpersonallv to THEMSELVES-their home,their family, their situation.

Could this mean you? Yes, in all toomany cases it certainly could!

In the future, then, why don't everysingle one of you begin to apply everystatement made on the broadcast and ineach article you read PERSONALLY-toyourself and your situation? If you willheed this admonition, you will GROWin the grace and in the knowledge ofJesus Christ many times faster. And youwill qualify for a much greater positionof service in the soon-coming kingdomof Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

Two Anniversaries

There are two anniversaries in whichwe can all rejoice at this time! You haveundoubtedly read of the one big anni­versary by reading Mr. Armstrong's ar­ticle on the 25th Anniversary of The\'V'ORLD TOMORROW broadcast in theJanuary issue of The PLAIN TRUTHmagazine. Of course, we don't celebrateanniversaries in the usual sense in whichthis world does, but nevertheless, the factthat God has used Mr. Armstrong andthis broadcast for over 25 years to reachthis world with His message-and thefact that many of us have had a part in itfor some of those years-is certainlysomething to be very thankful for!

However, this past Sabbath, December20, many of us were giving God thanksfor another anniversary which is also

NEW TESTAMENT?the

•inFeast of Tabernacles

commandedtheIs

Is there proof IN THE NEW TESTAMENT that Christ, the apostlePaul and the New Testament Church observed the Feast of Taber­nacles? - and proof that we too are commanded to observe it?

by Herman L. Hoeh

T HE CHURCH OF GOD today is aNew Testament Church. And inthe New Testament is PROOF ­

astounding proof-that the apostle Paul,the apostle to the Gentiles, kept tbeFeast of Tabernacles. And PROOF thatChrist kept it and that Christ com­manded us to do the same!

Do We Keep Christ's Words?

Jesus declared: "If ye love Me, keepMy commandments" (John 14: 15).And He said again: "If a man lovesMe>, he> will beep My n.orrl.e" (verse 23)_

Notice it! If we love Christ we willbe keeping not only His command­ments, but also His words!

J<:sus silid furth<:r: "Llc Lh<\L lovethMe NOT kecpeth NOT My sayings"(verse 24).

Here is the test of whether we areGod's Church-the test of whether welove Jesus Christ, If we keep His wordsand His commandments, we are HisChurch, His people. This is the teachingof the New Testament. This is NewTestament doctrine!

But what are Jesus' command.ments?\Xfhat are His words we should be keep­ing" Do Jesus' commandments and Hiswords require us today to observe theFeast of Tabernacles?

Christ's Commandmentsor the Father's?

A commonly assumed idea is thatChrist Jesus came in New Testamentrimes to establish different command­ments, different teachings from those ofthe Father. But notice what Jesus Him­self said: "The word which ye hear isnot Mine, but the Father's which sentMe" (John 14: 24). And also: "For Ihave not spoken of Myself; but theFather which sent Me, He gave Me acommandment, what I should say, andwhat I should speak" (John 12:49).

Jesus spoke nothing contrary to theFather's will. Then what Jesus spokeis according to the Father's will. lVeare also to be judge,l by u/hat [esasspol:e. Notice it: "He that rejecteth Me,and receiverh not My words, hath one

that judgeth him: the word that I havespoken, the same sball judge bim in tbelast day" (John 12:18).

Christians-those who love Christ­are to keep Jesus' commandments andHis words. Those who rejeer His wordsare to be judged by them in the lastday!

But do Jesus' words and His com­mandments include observance of theFeast of Tabernacles? Is keeping theFeast of Tabernacles one of the testsby which we know if we love JesusChrist? Is keeping this Festival a NowTestament teaching?

Live by EVERY Word of God?

Consider the teaching of Jesus inMatthew 4:4. "It is written, Man shallnot live by bread alone, but by EVERYWORD that proceedeth Out of themouth of God."

This is the teaching of the NewTestament. These are the very wordsof Jesus! These are the words whichshall judge us! These are the wordswhich Jesus said those who love Himwill be keeping. Then it is plain thatGod's Church is to be living by everyword that proceeds Out of the mouthof God!

Is keeping the Feast of Tabernaclesa part of the words which have pro­ceeded out of the mouth of God? Indeedit is!

But how can we be sure that Godcommanded the Feast of Tabernaclesfor New Testament times as well as forOld Testament times? Is keeping theFeast of Tabernacles part of the NewTestament example and teaching ofJesus Christ? Did Jesus ever commandmen to observe the Festival of Taber­nacles or Ingatherings forever?

Notice the testimony of Scripture!

Who Spoke the Law to Moses?

A common assumption is that theFather came personally to Mr. Sinai,spoke the Ten Commandments, com­manded [he judgmems and statutes(which included the requirement to

observe God's Festivals) and appeared

visibly to Moses. That Jesus Christ theSon did not appear until New Testa­ment times, but when He appeared Heabolished all the Father's laws.

On this assumption it is argued thatJesus commanded something differentthan His Father did in the days ofMoses and of the patriarches.

But this assumption is false!It was not the Father who came to

Mt. Sinai and appeared personally toMoses. It was the One who becameJesus Christ who appeared. It was JesusChrist who, speaking in Moses' day forthe Father, commanded tbe people toobserve tbe Feast of 'Tabernacles. Thoseare Jesus' words in the Old Testamentand when He reappeared in the New'Testament He commanded ns to keepHiJ words-He commanded us to liveby every word of God!

Notice the proof that it was Jesuswho commanded His people to observethe Feast of Tabernacles in the OldTestament.

Jesus declared in John 6:45-46: "Itis written in the prophets, And theyshall be all taught of God. Every mantherefore that hath heard, and hathlearned of the Father, cometh umo Me.Not that any man bath seen the Father,save He which is of God, He hath seenthe Father."

We are all taught of God, declaredJesus, but no man has ever seen Himexcept the Son. In other words Godthe Father has always spoken throughagencies and messengers, never directlyto any man except to Christ the Son andto His apostles (II Peter 1: 17). Com­pare this with John 5:37.

Then it could not baue been tbeFather who spoke to Moses and whomMoses saw. It was Someone Else whocommanded the Festivals to our fathers.

Paul wrote to the evangelist Timothythat the light and glory of God theFather is such that "no man hath seen,nor can see" until composed of spiritat the resurrection (I Tim. 6:16).

But we read in Exodus 24:9-11:"Then went up Moses, and Aaron,Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the

Page 4

elders of Israel: and they SA W theGod of Israel: and there was under Hisfeet as it were the body of heaven inhis clearness, And upon the nobles ofthe children of Israel He laid not Hishand: also they saw God, and did eatand drink" in His presence.

This Divine Person could not havebeen the Father. No man-except Christ-has seen Him!

Now understand John 1:18: "Noman hath seen God AT ANY TIME;the only begotten Son, which is in thebosom of the Father, He hath declaredHim." And I John 4:12: "No man hathseen God the Father at any time."

Then Who was it that came downfrom Heaven to command the peopleto observe the Festival of Tabernaclesforever?

It Was Christ!

Jesus said in John 8: 58: "BeforeAbraham was, I AM!"

Jesus existed before Abraham. Hesaid, "I am before Abraham." He didnot say, "I was before Abraham," but "Iam." In the Greek language in whichJohn was inspired to write, the expres­sion for "I am" is ego eimi. It is thepresent tense, indicating that Jesuseternally exists. "I am" is the name ofthe Lord God in Exodus 3: 14. Christis the Lord who spoke to Moses! He isthe One who reveals LAW.

When Moses asked the NAME of theOne who was about to give the law atSinai, He replied to Moses, "I AM."That is Christ's name.

Christ therefore existed before Abra­ham. lIe said so! "Defore Abrahamwas, I am."

Jesus Christ told Abraham to walkbefore Him and be perfect. Abrahamobeyed. "Because that Abraham obeyedMy voice, and kept My charge, Mycommandments, My statutes, and Mylaws" (Genesis 26: 5). This was notGod the Father speaking, because noman ever saw the Father. Abraham andSarah saw the Lord (Gen. 17: 1 and21: 1 ). This Person must have beenJesus Christ.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who ap­peared to Abraham. The Lord also ap­peared to Enoch and to Cain. He ap­peared to Adam and He appeared toEve. He appeared to Isaac and to Jacob.But no man has seen the Father at anytime.

So this Divine Person who spoke inOld Testament times was the One whobecame the Son. Jesus the Son said, "Ifyou love me, you will keep my com­mandments."

Were Jesus' commandments given toAbraham different from the command­ments He gave to Moses-differentfrom the commandments that we ob-

The GOOD NEWS

serve today? We read that God "changesnot" (Malachi 3: 6 ). He is not like menwho have human legislatures and mustconstantly amend their laws. That isman's law. The spiritual laws that Godgave are unchanging. Spiritual thingsdo not change as matter does.

The laws that man makes change.But not God's spiritual law.

God expects us to keep the same com­mandments Abraham kept. Notice it.He said, "Abraham kept my command­ments." Jesus also said, "If you will loveme, you [we today} will keep my com­mandments,"

Jesus is "the same yesterday [in Abra­ham's and Moses' day}, today [in theapostles' day], and forever" (Hebrews13: 8). Therefore, what He revealed inthe New Testament must be in agree­ment with what He said before, sinceit is His words that are to judge us!

What Are the "Words" of the Lord?

Jesus said "If any man love Me, Hewill keep My word."

Now let's turn to the book of Exodus.We all know that chapter 20 of Exoduscontains the record of the command­ments Jesus Christ spoke to Israel. Ifwe now turn to chapter 23 of the bookof Exodus, verses 14 to 16, we find manis commanded to observe certain festi­vals three times in a year. This includesthe Feast of Passover and UnleavenedBread at the beginning of springtime,the Feast of Weeks or the Firstfruits,that is, Pentecost, at the end of spring­time, and then, in the fall, the Feastsof Trumpets, Atonement, and Taber­nacles or Ingathering, in Exodus 23: 16.

Next, notice Exodus 24: 3. "AndMoses came and told the people all theuiords of the Lord, and all the judg­ments, and all the people answered andsaid, 'All the words which the Lordhath said, we will do.' "

Here are more than just the TenCommandments. Here we find specifi­cally, definitely stated, the words of theLord. Moses told them all the words ofthe Lord.

What are included in the words ofthe Lord? The requirements to observethe Festival of Tabernacles! (Exodus23: 16.)

Remember, Jesus said, "If you willlove Me, you will keep My words."

If you love Jcsus Christ, you will notonly be keeping His commandments­won't be committing adultery, you won'tbe bowing down and serving idols, youwill not be stealing and lying to yourneighbor, and you will not be observ­ing Sunday, but rather the Sabbath.

God loved us first by showing us theway to life, and by making it possiblefor our sins to be taken Out of the waythrough Christ's blood. In similar man-

January, 1959

ner, we return the same love hy ohedi­ence to God, by observing the command­ments.

But Jesus requires more than keepingHis commandrnenrs. He said, "If youlove me you will keep My words." Andthat included observing the annualFestivals. If you do not observe thesedays, you do not love Jesus' words! Thatis New Testament teaching. Jesus wasnot talking to the Jews of the Old Testa­ment times in John 14:23. He was talk­ing to the apostles of the New Testa­ment Church when He commandedthem to KEEP HIS WORDS!

So it was the One who became theSon who spoke the words in Exodus 23:"You shall observe a Festival three timesin the year"-and that included theFeast of Tabernacles.

Before the Old Covenant

But many will respond that the com­mand to keep the Feast of Tabernaclesis a part of the Old Covenanr-andsince the Old Covenant was broken, itis no longer necessary to keep the Feast.

Consider two facts! The Old Cov­enant was a marriage agreement (Jere­miah 31: 32 ). If a marriage agreementis broken, that does not abolish the lawsthat regulate marriages. The laws in­corporated in the Old Covenant are likethe laws which regulate a marriage cov­enant. They exist before a marriageagreement and regulate it. Israel's break­ing of the Old Covenant did not abolishthe laws to which Israel agreed.

This brings us to the second fact! TheOld Covenant did not institute the HolyDays.'

The statutes which regulate the an­nual festivals existed prior to the OldCovenant. What the Old Covenant didnot institute it cannot abolish. The OldCovenant was merely a marriage agree­ment between God (the Husband) andIsrael (the wife) in which the wifeagreed to obey the Husband's laws whichwere already in force. In return forobedience, Israel was physically blessedand provided for above all other nations.

Notice that the statutes which regu­late the Holy Days were required to bekept before the Old Covenant wasmade!

Turn to Exodus 15:26: "If you willdiligently hearken unto the voice ofthe Lord your God, and will do thatwhich is right in His sight, and willgive ear unto His commandments, andkeep ALL HIS STATUTES, I will putnone of these diseases upon you thatafflict the Egyptians."

Here is the One Who became theLord Jesus Chr isr speaking He iscommanding His people to keep allHis statutes before the Old Covenant.These statutes could not have been

January, 1959

instituted by the Old Covenant becausethe Old Covenant was not completeduntil Exodus 24. The statutes which Godwas revealing to Moses and the peoplebefore Sinai were later incorporatedinto the Old Covenant-just as theweekly Sabbath (Exodus 20). But theOld Covenant did not begin them. TheOld Covenant merely included them.Notice that among all the statuteswhich were in force before Sinai andlater incorporated into the Old Cove­nant eire the requirements to observethe annual fe.rtiuals-induding the Feastof Tabernacles (Exodus 23: 14-17).If the annual festivals had not alreadybeen God's laws they could not havebeen included in the Old Covenant!

Here is absolute proof that amongthe statutes commanded to be kept be­fore the Old Covenant were the lawsregulating the annual Holy Days.

Began with the Church

The weekly Sabbath began with man.It was made at creation (Genesis 2).But the annual festivals God gave firstto the Church when the Church began.The twelve tribes of Israel were firstformed into a Church-a Congregationor Assembly-IN ORDER TO KEEPTHE ANNUAL HOLY DAYS. Thefirst time the word Congregation is usedfor the tribes of Israel is in Exodus12: 3, where the annual festivals arefirst introduced!

Just as the Sabbath keeps man in aright relationship with his Creator, sothe annual Holy Days keep the Churchin a right relationship with God. Anygroup which refuses to keep holy thesedays God made holy is not in a rightrelationship with God. Such a groupis spiritually like the Egyptians whoscoffed at God's festivals!

When the Congregation of Israel­the Church in Old Testament times­began to sin (began to be in a wrongrelationship with God) and to breakthese laws, God temporarily added­after the making of the Old Covenant-various physical rituals and sacrificeswhich were imposed on every day of theyear until the coming of Jesus Christ toshed His own blood for our sins (He­brews 9:10 and Galatians 3:19). Thesetemporary, physical laws did not existprior to the Old Covenant (Jeremiah7: 22-2 3). They were given only to theOld Testament Church for a limited du­ration. Jesus never practiced these rit­ualistic laws. You cannot find one placein the New Testament where He set usany example to keep them. But He didkeep the Feast of Tabernacles as an ex­ample for us-and He commanded thosewho love Him to keep His words, whichincluded the observance of the annualfestivals.

The GOOD NEWS

Now we come to the New Testament.What do we find as its teaching?

Nailed to the Cross?

Were the annual festivals a part atthe ceremonial law added "till the seedshould come"? Were the Holy Days"nailed to the cross"? After everythingwas nailed to the cross 00 WE STiLLFIND THE APOSTLES AND THE NEWTESTAMENT CHURCH OBSERVING THESEDAYS?

In I Corinthians 5: 8 Paul commandsthe Gentiles to observe the Feast ofUnleavened Bread. "Let us thereforekeep the feast," he exhorts the Gentileconverts at Corinth. By becoming neg­lectful of the Feast, the Corinthianswere allowing the leaven of sin to creepinto their midst.

Notice what this means. Either Paulwas not the apostle of Jesus Christ andwas trying to re-establish what was al­ready abolished, or else the laws regu­lating the festivals were not abolishedat the cross! Isn't that plain. Paul wouldhave been without any authority what­soever to command these Gentile con­verts to "keep the feast" unless it wasstill God's law to keep the Holy Daysof God.

Now notice the examples of Paulhimself planning to keep an annualfestival. The first is found in Acts 20: 16.Paul is rushing by Ephesus in order tobe at Jerusalem. Why does Paul wantto be at Jerusalem?-in order to preachto the Jews? Not at all! Notice howthis verse reads: "For Paul had deter­mined to sail by Ephesus, because hewould not spend the time in Asia: forhe hasted, if it were possible for him,TO KEEP the day of Pentecost at Jeru­salem."

Paul was determined to KEEP the dayof Pentecost with the HeadquartersChurch before launching on a cam­paign into Spain. Many translationsobscure the real meaning of this verse.The original, inspired Greek word heretranslated "to keep" is genesthai, whichis an infinitive form of ginomoi. TheKing James and other versions incor­rectly render it "to be." The Greek wordfor "to be" is einai, but Luke was in­spired to use genesthai here in Acts20: 16 which can mean among otherthings "to keep, to celebrate, or tosolemnize a festival" according to theAnalytical Greek Lexicon.

This same root word is used inMatthew 26:2, which ought to be trans­lated: "Ye know that after two daysthe Passover is celebrated . . ."

So here we have two important ex­amples of Paul-I) commanding theGentiles to observe the Days of Unleav­ened Bread and 2) planning to KEEP

the day of Pentecost with the Head-

Page 5

quarters Church at Jerusalem.But what New Testament examples

are there for keeping the Feast ofTabernacles?

Feast of Tabernacles in theNew Testament

We have two ways of knowing whatChristians ought to do. One is by theexamples of Scripture, the other is byexplicit command of the Scripture. Wehave already seen that Christ gave allexplicit command in the New Testa­ment that we should keep His words­that His words included the keeping ofthe annual festivals. Now let us turn tothe examples of Scripture to see ifJesus and Paul kept the Feast of Taber­nacles.

Turn, first, to I John 2 :4-6. "He thatsaith, I know Him and keepeth not Hiscommands, is a liar, and the truth isnot in him. But whoso KEEPETH HISWORD, in him verily is the love of Godperfected: hereby know we that weare in him. He that sairh he abideth inHim ought himself also so to walk,even as He walked."

Notice that the apostle John teachesus to keep the words of Jesus and tofollow the example of Christ. What wasChrist's example?

The last autumn before He died,Jesus went up to Jerusalem to observethe Feast of Tabernacles! The entireseventh chapter of the Gospel accordingto John is devoted to what Jesus saidand did at that Festival. Because of theJews, Jesus did not go to Jerusalem withhis family, but separate from them(verses 8 and 10). He did not appearpublicly to teach in the temple untilthe middle of the Feast of Tabernacles(verse 14) . John records parrs of thesermon of Christ delivered on the lastgreat day of the Feast in 30 AD., be­ginning with verse 37.

Paul Kept Feast of Tabernacles

Paul obeyed Jesus Christ. Paul keptthe Holy Days Jesus commanded. Thatincluded the Feast of· Tabernacles.Where, in Scripture, do we find Paulkeeping this festival? Turn to the bookof Acts for the answer!

God used Paul to reach the Gentileswith the Gospel. In 50 A.D., Paulcrossed over from Asia into Europeand began to preach the gospel atPhilippi "on the day of weeks"-Pente­cost-according to the original Greek(Acts 16: 13). Most versions improper­ly render the Greek expression "on thesabbath day"; but the original inspiredGreek means Pentecost. This was ex­actly 19 years to the day since theHoly Spirit came in 31 AD. (Acts 2).After a few weeks at Philippi, Thes-

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What Church Memhersshould know about

MASONRYIs it all right to be a Mason? What is membership in the Lodgelike? It is a highly respected Christian organization, isn't it? Hereare surprising answers based on Mr. Elliott's revealing book in

this second of a series of articles to our Church brethren.

by Jack R. Elliott

TH E FIRST installment of this seriesgave the facts and figures of thesize, importance and structure of

Masonry. It also makes plain how theLodge foists off ambiguous and extrava­gant claims on the gullible unquestion­ing public. Claims which are heraldedwidely but which are not backed upby any proof because Loc1ge activitiesand teachings are secretly closed to non­members. Even the prospective membercannot know what lies ahead until hehas been carefully screened, acceptedand sworn to the strictest secrecy.

During the initiation ceremony, thecandidate is also required to solemnlyswear never to reveal any of the secretsof Masonry under any less penalty thanhaving his throat cut across, his tonguetorn out by the roots, and his body buriedin the rough sands of the sea. To addsolemnity to this gruesome oath, thecandidate is made to kneel before analtar with both hands on the Holy Bible.The entire program for this initiationis included in the Handbook of Free­masonry by Ronayne available thru theEzra A. Cook Publishing Company.

Once initiated, the new brother isallowed to attend meetings of the first,or "Entered Apprentice," degree only.He is not allowed to attend or to learnany of the secret work of the higherdegrees. To attempt to do so is agrievous sin in Masonry.

A Lodge meeting consists of threeparts: The opening, the closing, and thegeneral Lodge business in between. Theopening is an elaborate, monotonousroutine primarily concerned with ex­cluding all but bona-fide members fromthe meeting. The close, also routine andlengthy, must surely tax the patience ofLodge members. The central portion ofthe meeting is concerned with Lodgehllsiness such as lodge dues, finances,charities, passing, raising, initiating can­didates, and finally "work" in each of thefirst three degrees.

Secret Work

The first part of Lodge business is

the reading of the minutes by the secre­tary. The second is the reading of peti­tions of applicants for admission intothe fraternity, and the assigning of acommittee to search into the character ofthe applicant. Third order of business isthe consideration of reports made bycommittees assigned one month earlierto look into petitions entered then.Fourth, is the report from standing com­mittees.

Fifth part is the business of votingon a prospective candidate on which thecommittee has reported favorably (afterone month's consideration). Voting isdone by secret ballot, worked out byplacing black or white balls into a box.A white ball is a vote for admitting him,and a black ball is a vote against admit­ting him. If a candidate receives onlyone black ball, he is rejected. Theseventh order of business is unfinishedbusiness from the last meeting. Theeighth is Hew business. The ninth is thework of the individual degrees. This iswork of a SECRET NATURE, and proceedsthrough the first three degrees.

If there is work to be done in thefirst degree, all remain present sinceall members are of the first degree orhigher. The "Worshipful Master" sim­ply "reduces" the Lodge down to thefirst, or Entered Apprentice, degree. Themembers then proceed to initiate thecandidate.

Once finished with "work" in the firstdegree, all first degree Masons are dis­charged because they are not allowed tosee what goes on in a higher degree.Then follows the "raise" to the second,or Fellow Craft, degree. This is done insimilar fashion to the act of lowering tothe first degree.

Once finished with work in this de­gree, the officers discharge all but MasterMasons ( the officers, especially the"Worshipful Master," hold much higherdegrees) .

Finally, when the initiation of MasterMasons and all other work is completed,the Lodge goes through the elaborate"close" ceremony.

Advancernent

Once our candidate has become amember of the Entered Apprentice de­gree, he is eligible to become a candi­date for the next, or Fellow Craft. Beforehe can do so, however, he must masterthe art of giving the secret signs, pass­words, and [he examination.

The part referred to as the examina­tion is often called by other names suchas "lecture." The word examination willbe used here to keep from confusing itwith the lecture delivered by the "Wor­shipful Master." The examination is aritualistic rMechism of the signs, tokens,and working tools of the degree.

There is an examination to be memo­rized for each of the first three degrees,but none for the degrees beyond that.The degrees above the third or Masterdegree are very recent in origin and arein actuality adoptive - the first threeoriginally comprising the total of Free­masonry.

Because the examination must betaught orally, a "bright" member of theLodge is assigned to "post" the candi­date in the examination. That meansthat one who has already mastered itmust teach the candidate, supposedlywithout the aid of written material, thewhole examination. This examination isso long that when written Out it coversseven typewritten pages.

When the candidate has learned theexamination of the first degree, he isready to apply for the Fellow Craft cle­gree. Here he is initiated, introduced tonew "working tools," taught the newhandshake, due-guard, distress sign,secret words, and given a lecture on theirsymbolic meaning. Then he is requiredto memorize another examination.

The same is true when he becomes acandidate for the Master Mason degree.

It is only after a man has completedthe Master Mason degree that he is aMason in the true sense.

Before he has received the "Master'ssecrets," he is considered an apprenticeor learner. These secrets are drawn

January, 1959

around a Jeeend about a man namedHiram Abiff, and its setting is supposedto be Solomon's Temple.

It is interesting to see what theMaster's secrets are, and for those whocare to take the trouble they can befound in Ronayne's Handbook ofFreemasonry.

Grand Lodge Masonry

Progress becomes easier for the candi­date after he passes the first three degrees,or the "Blue Lodge." There are no exami­nations to learn, and he can take wholeblocks of degrees at one time. In fact,one brother in the Church related to methat he took all the degrees from thefourth through to the thirty-second infour days.

In the case of the brother above, heand a group of Master Masons receivedthe fourth through the fourteenth degreethe first day after arriving in the city inwhich the Grand Lodge was located.After a night of fun and revelry (andvery little sleep), they went through theconferring of the "Chapter of RoseCroix," which is the fifteenth throughthe eighteenth degrees for the Scottishrite (Southern Jurisdiction) . Afteranother night similar to the first, hereceived the Council of Kadosh, or thenineteenth through the thirtieth degrees.Finally, on the fourth day, he receivedthe "Consistory," or the thirty-first andthe thirty-second degrees. The fact thatthey received little sleep at night seemedto be planned on the part of the officials,perhaps for the purpose of dulling thecandidate's senses during the rituals. Aclear head would seem inappropriate forreceipt of these "honorable mysteries."The brother related that he had a hardtime even remaining awake.

After a man has reached the thirty­second degree, he can, if he chooses,become a Shriner. The Shriners areprobably familiar to you. They are thatgroup of jolly individuals who take overwhole towns at convention time, wearingred hats adorned with tassles and"sausage knives." They engage in muchcelebration and revelry.

Shriners, as you probably also know,can point with pride to their hospitalsfor crippled children, which open theirdoors to all the underprivileged, nomatter what race or creed. The Shrineis the order, above all others, whichattracts the public's attention to Ma­sonry. As an advertisement, it is veryeffective.

The Shrine, then, is a side order ofthe thirty-second degree. There remainsonly one degree higher than the thirty­second: that is the thirty-third or "In­spector General," which is honorary. Itcan only be conferred for some act ofbenevolence, endeavor, or esteem far and

The GOOD NEWS

above the line of duty. It is usuallyconferred on presidents and kings andcertain other dignitaries.

With this introduction we are readyto plunge into an expose of the mysteryand deceit of Masonic philosophy andpractice.

Christian or Pagan?

It is our responsibility to take theseseemingly harmless proceedings and ex­amine them in the light of the HolyBible. The results will be shocking.

The average member of a populardenomination would see absolutelynothing wrong with Masonic proceed­ings. They appear wholesome and up­right to him; and unless a member ofGod's true Church is alert, he may seenothing wrong either-especially if thatmember is a new convert.

We should realize that the averageLodge member has not had the ad­vantage of seeing any Masonic teachingor symbol in the TRUE LIGHT of Scrip­ture. He received all teachings at thehand of an apparently wise and trustedleader. The leader nearly always pointedto the Bible to prove that certain symbolsare in accordance with God's teaching.Meetings are always opened with prayerand a Holy Bible is always open beforethe Lodge. To question Masonry wouldseem to him sacrilegious.

Who Can Be a Mason?

No place in the Bible can it be foundwhere knowledge of the way to liveobedient and enlightened lives in serviceto God is limited to those over twenty­one who are free from physical de­fects, and of irreproachable manners;nor are wives and children prevented,nor men who are unable to pay heavydues. God does not even keep His truthfrom the ears of the weak-minded; in­stead, they are responsible for all thatthey can comprehend.

If Masons do have such truth, theywould be selfish indeed to zealouslywithhold it from the weak, the lameand the blind. Furthermore, they musteither be guilty of this or be liars, be­cause they do claim that Masonry isa way to happiness and immortality.

Swear an Oath

One of the most predominant traitsthat characterizes Freemasonry is itsoaths. The oath of the Apprentice givenearlier is a typical example. Here thecandidate swears, without reservation,not to reveal the secrets of Masonryunder the penalty of death. He does sowith both hands on the Holy Bible. Inthis holy book are the words of Christhimself, "But I say unto you, swear notat all; neither by heaven; for it is God'sthrone; nor by the earth; for it is His

Page 7

footstool; neither by Jerusalem; for it isthe city of the great King. Neither shaltthou swear by thy head, because thoucanst not make one hair white or black.But let your communication be, Yea,yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is morethan these cometh of evil" (Matt. 5: 33­37).

Do the Masons not read this? Surelythey do! They insist that it refers onlyto the use of profanity. They even makea pretext of keeping profanity out ofthe Lodge. The Scripture shows veryclearly that profanity, as well as oaths,comes of evil.

Secrecy

One might ask, "If Masonic teachingsand morals are so high and pure, asMasons claim, why must they be secret?"

Masons answer, "Because the Biblesays, 'Pure religion and undefiled beforeGod and the Father is this: To visitthe fatherless and widows in their af­fliction, and to keep himself unspottedfrom the world' (James 1:27). Masonsdo take care of widows and orphans andthey do keep themselves apart from theworld by means of secrecy."

If the Mason really knows his crafthe will not have to stop here. He willquote Matthew 5: 16, "Let your light soshine before men, that they may see yourgood works, and glorify your Fatherwhich is in heaven."

He will be confident that every goodMason will be doing just that, and anyreference you might make to the factthat his Lodge meets in secret and carrieson business in secret will only reassurehim that his action is according to theScripture. If he is of the intelligentsiahe may also remind you that Christtaught the disciples in parables to hidethe meaning from the rest of the world(see Matt. 13: 13 ). He will give thisas the reason his Lodge uses secret wordsand symbols so that the uninformedwill see or hear and not understand.

Even if the Mason is not well versedin Masonic teachings, he at least hasheard them and will be convinced thatif the "Worshipful Master" or someother officer were present he could refuteanything said against Masonry.

Your task of showing him that Ma­sonry is not scriptural is further compli­cated by his belief that you are notenlightened if you are not a Mason andthat he should cease talking lest hereveal Masonic secrets to you and beworthy of death. He cannot tell youMasonic teachings; and if he feels thatyou are not truly familiar with them,further discussion is futile. The factthat you question Masonic teachingsis enough to convince him that you don'tknow much about them.

What is the answer to all these highly

FIGURE 4

A Candidate Being Conducted About the Lodge

Page 8

convlnClng arguments? Can you refutethem?

The true ministers of God's Churchdid not teach in secret, nor hide the factthat they were Christians.

Paganism has always been a practiceof secret and mystic rites. Masons makeno bones about the fact that it is thissystem which they follow. They pointwith pride to the fact that most of theirphilosophies and symbols are borroweddirectly from the "Ancients," They seeno wrong in doing so. They only attempt

The GOOD NEWS

to prove them to be in accordance withScripture too. This is not too hard todo if the one to whom they are attempt­ing to prove it is somewhat careless.

Christ spoke in parables because itwas not given for the world to under­stand. Why was it not given for themto understand? Verse 15 of Matthew 13explains, "For this people's heart iswaxed gross (hardened) and their earsare dull of hearing, and their eyes theyhave closed."

Why would a person harden his heart,

January, 1959

close his eyes and refuse LU hear God'slaws and learn of His ways, unless hedoes not like them? Men have proventime and time again that they will notfollow God's way or take His plan seri­ously. They will only do what they likebest and try to reassure themselves thatit has God's sanction.

Jesus knew that if He spoke plainlythey would understand Him, they wouldrepent as before and again agree to

follow God; but as before, rhey wouldfall back into worldliness. To keep themasses from doing that and losingeternal salvation by failing to fulfill theNew Covenant, they were kept in ig­norance.

It is not God's plan to save the worldnow, He is merely calling out some­the "first fruits." Large scale salvationis reserved for the Millennium and GreatWhite Throne Judgment when Christwill be here in person to supervise andrule with a firm hand.

Do Masons know this? Is that whythey UJe secret signs and symbols?

No! Freemasons use secret signs be­cause their whole philosophy is centeredaround giving and receiving aid froma fellow Mason to the exclusion of allothers. As stated above, they borrow thispractice from the ancient pagans.

Legendary records show that ancientpagans held public and secret assembliesin honor of their gods. The secret cere­monies and doctrines were known onlyto those who had been initiated andwho possessed signs and tokens by whichthey were able to recognize each other.It is this practice that Freemasons copyand very few Masons are ignorant ofthe fact. Pagans took advantage of theallurement of secrecy to attract the gulli­ble and because their lewd and licentiouspractice could not bear the light ofpublic witness.

The references to meeting places inthe initiatory "work" of the first degreeof Masonry is very significant. It states,"Our ancient brethren met on high hillsor low vales, (why?) the better toguard against the approach of cowansand eavesdroppers ascending or descend­ing." (This is not what Christ did.He let them hear, but they could notunderstand because of the hardness oftheir hearts.)

But this is exactly what the pagansdid-worshipping atop high hills or inthe depths of valleys! Read what Godsays about it in Jer. 2:20-23 and IIKings 17:9-1 I.

Freemasonry uses secrecy to accorn­plish much the same that the ancientpagans did. While they do not practicesexual immorality in their meeting, theirfoolish eccentricities cannot bear thelight of public observance, and the gulli­ble are attracted to their ranks by prom-

January, 1959 The GOOD NEWS Page 9

ises of secret enlightenment. Further­more, they accomplish the exclusivenature of the Lodge by its use, and areable to profitably exchange their "broth­erly love" among the initiated.

Their claim that they use secrecy tokeep from being a part of "this world"is quite absurd. Masons take an activepart in government, politics, economics,law enforcement and any other depart­ment of this world's society. Their at­tempt to explain away their purpose fursecrecy in this manner only demonstratestheir ignorance of what God meant whenHe said that we must come out of thisworld and be separate.

This ignorance is due to the hardnessof their hearts, and the true mysteriesof God which they claim to possess areactually hidden from them.

-To be continued-

FIGURE 5

Right, Candidate Taking MasonicOath

( Continued from page 5)

Is the Feast of Tabernaclescommanded in

the NEW TESTAMENT?salonica (Acts 17: 1) , Berea (Acts17:10) and at Athens (verse 16), Paulcame to Corinth in the late summer of50 AD. After spending several sab­baths teaching in the synagogue (Acts18: 4), Paul continued to hold meetingsin the house of Tirius Justus (verse 7)for "a year and six months" (verse 11).This brings us to the spring of 52 A.D.

After a riot stirred up against theApostle was quelled, we read rhe follow­ing about Paul: "And Paul after thistarried there a good while, and thentook his leave of the brethren, and sailedthence into Syria" ( Acts 18: 18). Itmust now have been well into thesummer of A.D. 52. The Days of Un­leavened Bread and Pentecost-the twofestivals near the beginning and endof spring-were now past.

To continue with Paul's journey. Onhis way from Corinth to the POrt ofSyria, "he came to Ephesus" and "en­tered into the synagogue, and reasonedwith the Jews. When they desired himto tarry longer time with them, heconsented not; but bade them farewell,saying, I MUST BY ALL MEANS KEEP

THIS FEAST THAT COMETH IN JERUSA­LEM: but I will return again unto you,if God will. And he sailed from Ephe­sus" (Acts 18:19-21).

Paul planning to keep the feast withthe Headquarters Church at Jerusalem?Indeed' That is what the Scripture says!

Which Feast? Obviously the Feast ofTabernacles! The spring festivals werealready past. The two late summer orearly autumn Holy Days, Trumpets andAtonement, could be held at any ofthe local congregations. Here was amajor festival being held at Jerusalemin the autumn. The only major festivalthat occurs in the autumn is the Feastof Tabernacles! Paul told the Ephesiansthat he "must by all means keep thisfeast" with the Headquarters Church inJerusalem. Paul had just completed hisfirst journey into Europe with the gos­pel. He felt he had to report the progressof the work to the Headquarters Churchand the brethren in Palestine (verse22 ). What better time than to do sowhile keeping the Feast of Tabernacles!

Here is the example of Paul the apos­tle to the Gentiles. After years in the

rrurusrry he is still KEEPING THEFEAST OF TABERNACLES.

Verse Left Out in CorruptedManuscripts

Acts 18:21 appears correctly in theKing James Version uf the Bible. Butnumerous modern versions leave outthat portion of the verse which tellsof Paul's intention to keep the Feast.This verse, in its entirety, belongs inthe Bible. It has always been in theGreek "Received Text"-which is theinspired text handed down to the Greekspeaking world by the original trueChurch of God. The overwhelmingmajority of Greek Manuscripts have thisverse in it.

The only manuscripts which leaveit out are those copied in Egypt and inthe Latin speaking portions of the Ro­man Empire. There would have been noreason to add this verse to the Bibleif it were not there originally. BUTTHERE IS EVERY REASON WHY MENWOULD LIKE TO REMOVE IT FROM THE

INSPIRED TEXTl The Catholic versionof the Bible leaves it out as do almostall modern Protestant versions of theBible. But these are JUSt the churcheswho do not want to keep this feast!

Here, brethren, is proof from theNew Testament-s-from Christ's teach­ing and example, and the apostle Paul'sexample - that the New TestamentChurch is commanded to keep theFeast of Tabernacles. How plain theScripture is when we are willing tobelieve and practice what it reveals!

HOW to ObserveFestivals

God's

Here is a clear, simple explanation showing how YOU can keepGod's festivals if you live with unconverted relatives.

by Herman 1. Hoeh

HOW SHOULD you observe the an­nual festivals if you are at homewith unconverted members of

the family? How can yOll keep fromoffending them? What should you doif you are unable to assemble at anyof our local congregations?

Here is what everyone of us needsto know about observing God's festivals!

Purpose for the Festivals?

God wants us to be happy. He is notthe stern God He has so often beenpictured. One primary way God hasprovided for our happiness-as well asour growth and development in thetrue Christian life-is through fellow­ship with brethren at the annual festi­vals.

But not all are able to have thiskind of fellowship. Many hundreds ofyou brethren are all alone in this world-except for the spiritual fellowshipyou have with God. Yet you, roo, canhave real happiness at every festivalif you know what to do and how tobe (111 example to unconverted membersof yom family. There may be manydifficulties, it may take time, but thereis a way you can achieve peace andharmony in your home even if all themembers of your family are unconvert­ed.

What Is a Festival?

A "festival," or "feast," is a part oftime ordained by God for our physical,as well as spiritual, rejuvenation. Thereis one chapter in the Bible which men­tions all the festivals God has ordained-Leviticus 23.

Notice that the first festival men­tioned occurs weekly. It is the Sabbath,which occurs every seventh day of theweek (Lev. 23:2-3). It is a periodof rest from our usual business andlabors and pleasures. Several articleshave appeared in previous issues of theGood News explaining how to keep theSabbath. Other articles will appear infuture issues. But notice, now, whatGod reveals about keeping the annualfestivals.

The first cl1lnual festival is the Pass­over (Lev. 2:'>: 4-5 ). The Passover isthe only festival that is not a sabbath( unless it happens to fall on the seventhday of the week). But the Passover, as

well as every other annual festival, isa COMMANDED ASSEMBLY-a time ofconvocation.

In this age, however, God realizesthat many of you are unable to assembleeither on the Sabbath or on the annualHoly Days. Weare to worship theFather in Spirit and truth no matterwhere we may be (John 4:21-24). Butwhenever it is possible to assemble weare commanded to do so. Many brethrenwho find it impossible to meet on theweekly Sabbath are, however, able to doso on the annual Festivals.

The whole family is commanded to

attend whenever possible (Deut, 16: 11,14,16). Jesus and his brothers and sis­ters came with Joseph and Mary at thePassover and the day' of UnleavenedBread (Luke 2:41,42).

How To Observe The Passover

The Passover comes the day beforethe great spring Festival of UnleavenedBread (Numbers 28: 16, 17). Since thePassover is not a sabbath day, work maybe done on it. That's why the Passoveris called a day of preparation (Mat.27: 62). The Passover is a very serioustime of the year. Jesus set us an exampleon the day of his death so that we todaymight know how to keep the Passover.

For the explanation of how YOU cankeep this commanded observance inyour own homes, if necessary, be sureto write Mr. Armstrong for the articleon "How and When to Observe thePassover in Your Own Home." Thisis very important so you will know howto observe it properly.

Although the Passover is the daybefore the Feast of Unleavened Bread,it was customary among the Jews touse only unleavened bread on the Pass­over day. That is why the Passover iscalled a day of Unleavened Bread (Luke22:7).

No leavened product is ever to beused with the Passover service-whichis improperly called "Lord's Supper"(I Corinthians 11: 20 ). The morningafter the Passover service, which is stillthe Passover day (all days start at sunsetthe previous evening, not at midnight),is probably the most convenient timeto remove any leavening agents or leav­ened bread.

Be sure that all leaven is removed

from your premises. Don't store it insome other room. Removing leavenedproducts which cost a few cents is justone way God has of testing you to seehow much you prize obedience abovemoney and the pleasures of this age.By following His will, God has promisedto give you more in this life in returnfor what you give up in loving obedi­ence to Him (John 10: 10).

It is wise to arrange your purchasesso that when the Passover comes therewill be little leaven to discard. If youdo have some left which is suitableto give to neighbors or friends, thatmay be done. Remember, there is noth­ing wrong with leaven. It is merelyused in the Feast of Unleavened Breadas a symbol of vanity and sin. There isnothing wrong in giving it to uncon­verted friends or neighbors who mightbe able to use it.

Perhaps some of you are wonderingwhat leaven is. A leavening agent isany substance that is used to puff upor produce fermentation causing doughto rise. Yeast, soda, baking powder,cream of tartar when combined with aleavening agent, are such products.Bread, crackers, some prepared cerealsand cakes, and some bought pies con­tain leaven and should be avoidedat home and at restaurants during thefestival. Home-made unleavened pies,cereals, and unleavened bread are tobe used instead, together with all theregular meats, milk, fmitf and vegetablesyou normally eat, for the festival ofUnleavened Bread following the Pass­over. Cakes with beaten egg whiteused purposely as a substitute for leavenshould not be used. But beaten eggwhite on pies, erc., is nor a leaveningagent.

At first it may seem strange to dowithout leaven in a festival, but oncewe come to know the mind of Godand of Jesus Christ, we see the lessonof obedience it teaches. "Happy are youif you do these things," Jesus said (John13:17).

As there arc many products contain­ing leaven, be sure to examine thelabels of all products on your shelves.As will probably happen, there willalways be some leavened material thatsomehow escapes! A very good type ofthe hidden sins that we don't always

Your questions ansu/ered in the.re colionns! YOU'Y opportunity to havediscussed tho.re problems pertaining directly to members of God's Church.

9.!festion

January, 1959

discover upon conversion. We rnust al­ways throwaway this forgotten leaven-a type of sin-upon discovering it.

Festival of TJnleavenecl Bread

Here is the great spring festival, mid­way in the first month of the sacredcalendar, when the people of God areto assemble with one another whereverpossible and rejoice over the wonderfulnew year ahead. The Feast is a seven£1ay period, beginning the day afterthe Passover.

Whenever possible, Christians shouldgather together for the Passover andthe entire seven days of UnleavenedBread. The Festival of UnleavenedBread, although seven days long, hasbut two anneal Holy Days or Sabbaths,occurring on the first and last days ofthe feast. The intervening days are notsabbaths and ordinary work may bedone on them.

Annsca] sabbaths differ from theweekly Sabbath in one particular re­spect-cooking for the festivals may bedone on them. But all other forms ofordinary business or work are not to bedone. Exodus 12: 16 reads: "No mannerof work shall be done in them, save thatwhich every man must eat, that onlymay be done of you."

Although the intervening days arenot sabbaths and work may be done onthem, be sure that the usual routinedoes not stop you from realizing thepurpose of the emire [estiual. It is to bea time of rejuvenating yourself spirit­ually and physically. The entire festival

Please notify me when the annualHoly Days occur this year. I need tonotify my employer in advance sothat my vacation can be made tocoincide with the Festivals.

It is always a good plan to let youremployer know when you need yourvacation. Your employer usually doesnot need to know WHY you want yourvacation at a particular time. On occa­sions it is necessary to tell him that theChurch requires your attendance at anannual Festival. Do not negatively askhim for the time off. Tell him positively,but courteously, that YOlt eire taking thistime oif.

Never enter into any doctrinal argu­ments about it!

We publish each year a calendar atthe beginning of the New Year accord-

The GOOD NEWS

is meant to be a special period of happi­ness. Spend more time in studying andreading your Bible.

The Use of Unleavened Bread

In this Feast, no leavened breadshould be in your homes for seven daysand no leavened products should beeaten. Use UNLEAVENED bread instead,together with your customary meals. Ifsome of you have never tasted un­leavened bread before, you have a sur­prise coming!

Children should be trained by theirparents to eat unleavened bread duringthese days, and also taught the meaningfor so doing. This will always be awonderful experience for them, becausemost children have never tasted nutri­tious unleavened bread, which can eitherbe bought, or baked very simply in yourown home. Unleavened products aresold in most all stores near you. Justask your grocer.

If some of you would enjoy bakingyour own unleavened bread, be sure towrite us for recipes, if you do not alreadyhave some.

What About Unconverted Relatives?

If families are divided with only someconverted, difficulties may arise. Per­haps you are a husband or a wife whosefamily £1oes not follow God. Don't letthat worry you. Never force your willon others. Don't force them to use un­leavened bread against their will. Thisfestival is a matter between you andGod.

'Box

ing to the sacred calendar. But for thoseof you who need the information now,here are the dates for the festivals thisyear (1959):

Passover (not an annual sabbath),from sunset Tuesday, April 21, to sun­set Wednesday, April 22. The Passoverservice is held Tuesday night. The Festi­val of Unleavened Bread extends fromsunset, \Vednesday, April 22, to sunsetWednesday, April 29. The two HolyDays are Thursday, April 23, andWednesday, the 29th. Pentecost occursMonday, June IS. The Feast of Trumpetsfalls on a Sabbath, October 3. Atone­ment is Monday, October 12. The Feastof Tabernacles begins at sunset, Friday,October 16. The first Holy Day fallson a weekly sabbath, October 1"1. Thelast Great Day falls on a Sabbath, Oc­tober 24.

Page 11

Where i.he entire family serves God,all leaven must be removed by the be­ginning of the Festival. If unconvertedmembers are in the family, all leavenshould be removed if they do not ob­ject. But if they object, rather than pro­voke arguments, it is better to reckonthe house as the others' property andnot remove the leaven. Doing other­wise would involuntarily impose yourreligion on the unconverted. However,a wife who does not need La bake cantake all leaven from the kitchen whereshe works and place it elsewhere in thehouse if no objections would be raised.Allow other.r their freedom to eat leav­ened products if they purchase them ordemand you bake them.

If God has not provided you themonetary means through the secondtithe, whether your own or others', then,of course, you will need to observe thesedays at home. Sometimes it is necessaryto explain to your family if they do notunderstand. You have to be "wise asserpents and harmless as doves" in ex­plaining the matter, however.

If opposition will likely develop, itwould be better, before saying anything,to delight unconverted members of yourfamily with unleavened products longbefore the Feast so that they will notthink anything strange when you firstmention it. It is surprising how manypeople know little or nothing about un­leavened breads, but who enjoy themfrom the very first. Perhaps if the un­converted really enjoy it, nothing needbe said about the Festival and you canuse unleavened bread for the entireweek.

When living with the unconvertedmany of these troubles can be avoidedby attending the festival with the breth­ren. Of course, there might be limitingcircumstances, especially if there is anew born child. In I Samuel 1:21-23 weare given an example of Hannah, themorher of Samuel, who, when her sonwas first born, was not able to attendthe Passover and Feast.

The lirst annual Sabbath or HighDay of Unleavened Bread is the onlvother NIGHT convocation that is com­manded after the Passover (Exodus12: 42). Whal could be more pleasantfor those of you unable to meet withbrethren than beginning a festival withan enjoyable dinner with members ofyour family in thanks to God?

What About Pentecost?

The next festival when all are lOgather is the Day of Firstfruits or Pente­cost. It usually occurs a few weeks be­fore summer. Pentecost alwayf occurson a LVlonday.

Pentecost is an annual Holy Day inwhich no work is to be done except for

Page 12

what a person must eat. In local churchesthere is to be a convocation held on theday, just as we find in the example ofthe disciples on the day of Pentecost inA.D. 31 (Acts 2: 1 ) .

As with every holy day when any ofyou are unable to gather together in anassembled convocation, there should bea great deal of Bible study. If you arekeeping this day alone and with opposi­tion from the family, be very consid­erate of the others. Give the day a fes­tive atmosphere! Don't withdraw yourselftotally from your family. Be happy withyour family. Let them all enjoy thebounteous material blessings of God ina dinner with you. Avoid, however, anystatements that would precipitate re­ligious strife. Let them see that the HolyDays which God set in motion are somuch more enjoyable than the burden­some holidays which our modern so­ciety has incorporated from the rites ofthe ancient pagans by way of an apostatechurch.

The Day of Trumpets

As autumn approaches, there is an­other single Holy Day-the Day ofTrumpets. It is an annual Sabbath daywhen no servile work should be done,except what is necessary for preparationof food on that day. Make this a day ofjoy for mr-mbers of your family. Andspend time srudying the Bible.

If any of the annual Sabbaths fallson the weekly Sabbath, then that annualSabbath iaees precedence and we areallowed to prepare meals on that day.

The Day of Atonement

A most unusual day is this! ImagineGod commanding one fast day for Hispeople annually.

The Day of Atonement is a com­manded [ast. Leviticus 23: 28-32 explainsthat there is no work whatsoever to bedone on it. God's people are to congre­gate whenever possible, as on the pre­ceding Holy Day.

Even though no one is to partake offood or juices, there is no specific pro­hibition on water. A fast is a fast,whether it be with or without water.Both kinds of fasts are mentioned in theBible. See the examples of Moses andthe prophets.

No explicit instruction is given in­fants. Nursing infants were assembledin a special fast (Joel 2: 16) bur thereis no indication that they did not nurseon the Day of Atonement. Since fastingon this day has a special meaning, littlechildren should be taught to fast whenthey can first comprehend the fact thatGod commands it, and not before. It isworse for a child to turn back on whathe should do, than not to have knownabout it at all.

The GOOD NEWS

We should not eat the usual eveningmeal on the beginning of the Dayof Atonement (remember, God's daysbegin at sunset). Eat in moderation, theevening meal that follows the Day ofAtonement. Always be careful not toeat the usual amount of heavy foods im­mediately after a fast.

If some of you have never fasted forthe first time there might be slightphysically uncomfortable reactions. Burhow small are these compared to theheart-warming benefits that come fromdoing the will of God!

Since God instructs that no workwhatsoever be done on this day, be surethat as much preparation as possible forthe day has been previously made sothat unconverted members of your fam­ily will nor have cause to complain.Sometimes a converted wife and mothermay have to do certain limited workon this day for her unconverted family.

The Festival of Tabernacles

The greatest and most joyous festivalis without doubt the Feast of Taber­nacles. What can be more wonderfulthan, after a hard summer's labor, withmuch of the winter's store in, that weshould rejoice before the Lord of heavenand earth? As we read in Nehemiah8:9-10 of all the festivals in general:"This day is holy unto the Lord yourGod; mourn not, nor weep .. Eat thefat [animals}, and drink the sweet[wine}, and send portions unto themfor whom nothing is prepared: for thisday is holy unto the Lord: neither beye sorry; for the JOY OF THE LORD ISYOUR STRENGTH."

The Festival of Tabernacles is a timewhen we should be separate from theworld, rejoicing as in a festive dance,before God who has given us everywonderful material and spiritual giftin the past year.

Although the festival itself is only

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Herbert W. Armstrong analyzes to­day's news, with the prophecies ofThe WORLD TOMORROW!

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January, 1959

seven days long-with one annual sab­bath at the beginning of the feast-thelast annual Holy Day coming immedi­ately after the Feast of Tabernaclesmakes it customary to refer to all eighrdays as part of the same festival. Onthe first and eighth days no work is tobe done except what is permitted formeal preparation. If you are alone andunable to journey to the Tabernaclenear Gladewater, Texas, because of somegreat unforeseen circumstance, be sureto study your Bible, and especially thelaw, these days.

If you are unable to attend the festi­val ar Gladewater (or London, England) ,the intervening six days are to be cele­brated in the same manner as are thefive intervening days of the Feast ofUnleavened Bread. Work is permittedon them, although God does not intendyou to do the usual routine. The Festivalwas given to relieve you from yournormal duties so that you can rejoicewith the brethren. It is to defeat thepurpose of the Festival if, when you areunable to attend, you merely rest on thetwo High Days and neglect the entirefestival as a whole period of supremehappiness.

If you have not yet been able to meetonce a year during the Feast of Taber­nacles with the brethren, begin now tosave your second tithe-which is God'sway of providing you an annual vacationin His spiritual presence with all thebrethren.

Our GROWTH IsChallenge

for the Future!(Continued from page 2)

through whom He can work!Is your heart really in the work of

God? Do you literally REJOICE over thewonderful news you have just read?

Let me rell you that this is not evena proverbial "drop in the bucket" com­pared to the awe-inspiring growth andpower which will manifest itself inGod's true Church in the coming years-IF we continue to yield to God as abody, and to let Him work through usas He sees fit. If we continually cry outto God-hunger and tbirs; for knowl­edge and truth (Mat. 5:6) -and con­tinue GROWING in the grace and knowl­edge of Jesus Chrisr.

Even if He has to raise up stones todo His work, God's Church and Hiswork will GROw-Jpiritually, and inpower! Just be sure you are growingwith it-and rejoice in what GOD isdoing!