The Handwriting Is Still on the Wall • Abraham: God’s FriendThe Real Gospel of Jesus Christ • Teach Your Children God’s Ways

The Handwriting Is Still on the Wall • Abraham: God’s FriendThe Real Gospel of Jesus Christ • Teach Your Children God’s Ways

January 1996

2 The Good News

JANUARY 1996 VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1

The Good News is published bimonthly by theUnited Church of God, an International Asso-ciation, P.O. Box 661780, Arcadia, CA 91066-1780.

Managing editor: Scott Ashley

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Editorial reviewers:John Bald, Roger Foster, Bruce Gore, PaulKieffer, John Meakin, Peter Nathan, BrianOrchard, Richard Thompson, Leon Walker,

Donald Ward, Lyle Welty, Dean Wilson

United Church of God council of elders:Robert Dick, Jim Franks, Roy Holladay, Doug

Horchak, David Hulme (chairman), VictorKubik, Dennis Luker, Burk McNair, Ray Wooten

Photography: Images provided by PhotoDisc,Inc., © 1994.

Scriptural references are from the New KingJames Version (© 1983 Thomas Nelson, Inc.,Publishers) unless otherwise noted.

© 1995 United Church of God, an InternationalAssociation. Printed in U.S.A. All rights reserved.Reproduction in any form without written permissionis prohibited. Subscriptions: The Good News is sent free to all whorequest it. Your subscription is provided by the gener-ous, voluntary contributions of members of theUnited Church of God, an International Association,and their co-workers. Donations are gratefullyaccepted and are tax-deductible. To request a sub-scription, write to The Good News, United Church ofGod, P.O. Box 661780, Arcadia, CA 91066-1780, orto the international addresses below.Personal contact: The United Church of God has morethan 250 congregations and 400 ministers in virtuallyall states and many international areas. For locationsand times of services nearest you, write or call theaddresses listed or dial our fax-back service at (317)839-5002. You can access our World Wide Webhome page at http://www.ucg.org/ on the Internet.

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From the publisherWith this issue THE GOOD NEWS begins its life as a full-fledged

bimonthly publication. The 32-page premier issue (September 1995) gen-erated much interest and enthusiasm. Reaction to its contents encouragesus to press on with articles that express clearly the hope that the Kingdomof God affords.

When Jesus Christ came into Galilee approximately 2,000 years agopreaching the good news of the Kingdom of God, people were astonishedat His message. In a world that desperately needs good news, that mes-sage is still filled with the hope and encouragement it originally held out.Why? The simple truth is that the promised Kingdom of God on this earthis yet ahead of us, but the disciples of that kingdom can experience a fore-taste of it now. The Bible’s message of a time of “restoration of all things”(Acts 3:21) is the great hope of all humanity, though many have neverheard about it. THE GOOD NEWS will make that truth plain from issue toissue.

The year 2000 shines like a beacon for many, but centuries’ endsoften bring frantic speculations. When linked with religion the resultcan be troublesome and misleading. Our cover story cautions againstattaching significance to humanly devised systems of counting years,and finds that the Bible gives balance to the overly excited propheticimagination. Jerold Aust’s contributions this month center first onanother aspect of prophecy, what the original and ancient “handwritingon the wall” means for the modern world, then on the Bible patriarchAbraham in what will be a regular feature—“Profiles of Faith.”

In a related article, Roger Foster explains what it is to be a Christian inmore than name. For the contemporary Christian “Called, Chosen andFaithful” is the logical extension of Abraham’s walk of faith.

At the end of a Roman calendar year and the beginning of a new onethe thoughts of many turn to the birth of Christ. Mario Seiglie invites usto reconsider the Christmas tradition, while Scott Ashley expands ourunderstanding of Christianity’s founder. Jesus’ ministry was a brief 31⁄2years, yet it forever changed the world. The essential message that Jesusbrought, however, has been poorly expressed by some who claim tounderstand. Bill Bradford explores the biblical truth in “The Real Gospelof Jesus Christ,” and our regular Bible study feature focuses on theKingdom of God.

One of the more challenging aspects of human life is the raising ofchildren. What does the Book of Books have to offer in this endeavor?Someone wisely said that child rearing is a 20-year experiment. We allmake our mistakes; we can all have successes. Bill Jacobs discusses“Teaching Your Children God’s Ways.” From the young person’s perspec-tive, the view is different. Dean Wilson surveyed a group of teenagers anddiscovered some very perceptive young minds. “What I Expect From MyParents” is heartwarming and direct. Finally the compassion so often lostin the rush of everyday events finds expression in Joanne Rutis’ “Act ofKindness,” Joan Osborn’s “In the Shadow of Death” and Abbi Plagenza’s“We All Have a Lot to Learn.”

THE GOOD NEWs’ staff members are here to serve you. Let us knowwhat you would like to see in the magazine. We can’t fulfill everyrequest, but with the Bible as our base, there’s a long future ahead forour writers!

—David Hulme

January 1996 3

Contents

Page 4

Page 16

Page 24

Page 44

COVER FEATURE

The Year 2000—Doomsday or the Age of Aquarius?

In a few short years, the world will see the dawningof the third millennium since the birth of Jesus Christ.What will this milestone bring—peace and prosperity,or crisis and calamity? Does the Bible tell us exactlywhen the end of the ages will be upon us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

FEATURE ARTICLES

The Handwriting Is Still on the WallAn ancient message has great importance for today . . . . . . . . . . . . 9The Meaning of the Name ‘Jesus Christ’ What His name tells us of His mission and purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . 12Christmas ReconsideredWhat you need to know about Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Teach Your Children God’s WaysHelp your children understand that God’s way works . . . . . . . . . . 24The Real Gospel of Jesus ChristWhat was the good news Jesus Christ brought? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Called, Chosen and FaithfulWhat sets apart an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ?. . . . . . . . . . 36An Act of KindnessThe importance of your example to others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41In the Shadow of DeathHow you can help those who have lost loved ones . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

REGULAR FEATURES

World News and TrendsSymbolism Abounds in Transfer of Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Profiles in FaithAbraham: God’s Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Understanding God’s Word‘Thy Kingdom Come!’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Letters From Our Readers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Just for YouthWe All Have a Lot to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43What I Expect From My Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

4 The Good News4 The Good News

Doomsday or the Age of Aquarius?

The Year 2000

b y D a v i d H u l m e

January 1996 5

One of the world’s best-selling books inrecent times is TheLate Great PlanetEarth, the work of areligious author who

has attempted a prophetic explanationof future geopolitical events from abiblical perspective. For some, theirfascination with prediction is ever pre-sent and insatiable, and, while manyothers publicly discount the efforts ofthe end-time prognosticators, theythemselves are privately curiousabout such forecasts.

Perhaps, in times of uncertain-ty, we long for some degree ofassurance that there will be afuture. We want certainties.

If we are realistic about thehuman condition and just a dashpessimistic, we can easily drifttoward the cataclysmic secularprophets.

If we are more optimistic andperhaps a little unrealistic abouthuman nature, we will probablyoverestimate the positive possibili-ties of the years just ahead. Fromthe human perspective it’s hard toachieve a really objective fix onthe future.

Whether you believe the 20thcentury ends immediately after thestroke of midnight on December31, 1999, or one year later, themuch anticipated third millenniumsince Christ is upon us. The con-tending visions of the optimist andthe pessimist are all around us.

There are those who foresee a worldin which our major problems will finallybe solved; there are others who predictmore crises, more turmoil, more upset.

What does the beginning of the nextmillennium portend?

For some inclined to religion, it is asignificant road sign on the way to thefulfillment of a major biblical prophe-cy. A recent letter from an evangelicalgroup invited me to participate in a fastfor the successful completion of thepreaching of the gospel by the end ofyear 2000. Obviously for some the endof the 20th century has become an

important benchmark. But, whether it’sa religious interest or a secular fascina-tion, the year 2000 carries its ownattraction.

Author Hillel Schwartz has studiedthe effect of the end of centuries on thehuman psyche. He says that a kind ofhysteria sets in as centuries approachtheir end. At the close of the past sever-al centuries, public discourse hasincluded alternate scenarios for thecentury ahead. Either the world wouldend in a series of catastrophes or

undergo a positive transformation. It’sDoomsday or the age of Aquarius, theEnd of the Ages or the New Age.

Earlier apocalypticsThe Roman author Lucretius wrote

during the first century B.C. that “themighty and complex system of theworld, upheld through many years,shall crash in ruins. Yet I do not forgethow novel and strange it strikes themind that destruction awaits the heav-ens and the earth . . . My words willperhaps win credit by plain facts, andwithin some short time you will seeviolent earthquakes arise and all thingsconvulsed with shocks . . . The whole

world can collapse, borne down with afrightful-sounding crash” (De RerumNatura, MCMLXXV, p. 387).

The year A.D. 1000 may also haveincited similar fears and some strangehuman behavior. A kind of millennialmadness seemed to strike Europe, ifthe 15th-century German MonkTritheim is to be believed. He wrote:

“In the thousandth year after thebirth of Christ, violent earthquakesshook all of Europe and throughout

the continent destroyed solidand magnificent buildings. Thesame year a horrible cometappeared in the sky. Seeing it,many who believed that thiswas announcing the last day,were frozen with fear” (YuriRubinsky and Ian Wiseman, AHistory of the End of theWorld, p. 66).

This preoccupation with heav-enly signs may have had itseffect on the Holy RomanEmperor of the time. Otto III isreputed to have said, “The lastyear of the thousand years ishere, and now I go out in thedesert to await, with fasting,prayer, and penance, the day ofthe Lord, and the coming of myRedeemer” (Hillel Schwartz,Century’s End, p. 13).

While such accounts of spec-tacular signs and end-time fearsin the year 1000 are disputed byscholars, the idea is strong inthe human imagination that cat-

aclysmic events in the heavens willannounce the end of the world and thegreat judgment of God.

Close of the 19th centuryAs the last century was coming to

an end, Parisians were enjoying labelle époque, the beautiful era: All waswell with the world in the eyes of asophisticated city. The Paris Exhibitionof 1900 was ablaze with electricity.The age of dirty coal was disappear-ing, and a new, clean power was here.It seemed the world was on the vergeof a civilized rebirth.

Lurking in the shadows, of course,was the coming horror of World War I.

Its antecedents were present as thecentury turned over and some recog-nized the possibilities of catastrophicwar. While some were enjoying X-rayparties (photographing their hands inan effort to energize themselves forthe new century, X-ray technologybeing a recent discovery), others heardthe words of Germany’s Kaiser Wil-helm II: “The first day of the new cen-tury sees our army—in other words,our people—in arms, gathered aroundtheir standards, kneeling before theLord of Hosts.”

In a diary entry from 1898, ClaudeBowers wrote of the pessimistic-optimistic view of the near future. Ofhis friend’s concern with impendingwar, he wrote: “This he thought wasprobably what people looked forwardto as the end of the world. It would bethe end of conditions existing at thetime, but the dawn of a far more splen-did era.”

The end of the worldSome portrayals of the end of the

world trace their origins, of course, tothe Bible. The Bible, a book open tomuch misinterpretation, indeed may bethe most misunderstood and misinter-preted book ever written. Those end-time images of comets and earth-quakes, wars and famines, judgmentand retribution, come from the prophet-ic passages of the Bible, both Old andNew Testament.

Sad to say, many can’t bring them-selves to take the Bible seriouslybecause others have so misused it, those19th- and 20th-century prophets whohave said the world would end on aspecific date only to be proven wrongover and over.

But, as you’ll discover in THE

GOOD NEWS, the Bible does not say alot of the things people claim that itsays. It actually makes it clear that weare not to know the precise time ofJesus Christ's return and that weshould not misinterpret wars, earth-quakes, famines and signs in the heav-ens as the end of the world—steps

along the way, perhaps, but not neces-sarily signs of the end.

The prognosticators who have comeand gone with their failed prophecieshave made a common mistake. Theyhave misinterpreted as signs thoseevents and activities that occur in thegeneral course of human life, or theyhave devised elaborate time sequencesto project a date for the end of this age.Many are the disappointed who haveaccepted too precise an interpretationof the Bible’s prophetic passages.

But Jesus Christ did say, “Then thesign of the Son of Man will appear inheaven, and then all the tribes of theearth will mourn, and they will see theSon of Man coming on the clouds ofheaven with power and great glory”(Matthew 24:30).

In this and other places the Bible isreplete with references to Christ’s sec-ond coming. The early disciples clearlybelieved and taught that their Masterwould return to set up a kingdom. Wasthis just wishful thinking, as one group

Some think the year 2000 will bring a dizzyingarray of technological advances ushering in autopia on earth. Others believe the coming third

millennium since Jesus Christ will bring cata-strophic devastation from famine, disease, natur-al disasters, environmental degradation and war.

6 The Good News

January 1996 7

of theologians suggests?For that to be true, we are asked to

believe that passages written after JesusChrist’s life on earth were inserteddeliberately to mislead. Moreover suchreferences would have to have beeninserted consistently over many years,as many as 30 or 40.

The biblical emphasisConsider this:

• According to The Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, 535 verses in the Biblerefer to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming.

• The four Gospel writers all com-ment on the Second Coming, eventhough they wrote in different placesover a span of decades.

• The Gospel historian Luke saysin the Acts of the Apostles that Peterattested to Christ’s Second Comingwith these words: “And that He maysend Jesus Christ, who was preachedto you before, whom heaven mustreceive until the times of restoration ofall things, which God has spoken bythe mouth of all His holy prophetssince the world began” (Acts 3:20,21). Here Peter, as one of the eyewit-nesses of Jesus’ ministry, said that allthe holy prophets (of the Old Testa-

ment) spoke of Jesus’ return to restoreall things on earth.

• The apostle to the gentiles, Paul ofTarsus, author of at least 13 letters, or25 percent, of the New Testament, men-tions Jesus’ return at least 18 times dur-ing the 14 years of his writings.

• The book of Revelation (or theApocalypse) shows a propheticsequence without any dates thatincludes Christ’s return.

• The book of Revelation, with itsimages of the return of Jesus Christ asKing of Kings and Lord of Lords, isthe final book of the New Testament,setting the capstone on the New Testa-ment canon.

What we face here is a paradox.Countless religious devotees have writ-ten and spoken about Bible prophecies,including Christ’s return, yet have con-sistently failed to get the messagestraight. In their attempts to be zealousscholars and students of the Word,many have inspired others to doubt theBible’s faithfulness.

Faith in the Word of God as God’sWord has been undermined. Not only

Contrary to what manypeople believe or claim,the Bible does not say

when Jesus Christ will return. Onthe contrary, it clearly says thatwe do not know. Consider thefollowing biblical statements:

Matthew 24:4-6—“And Jesusanswered and said to them:‘Take heed that no onedeceives you. For many willcome in My name, saying, “Iam the Christ,” and will deceivemany. And you will hear ofwars and rumors of wars. Seethat you are not troubled; forall these things must come topass, but the end is not yet.”

Matthew 24:23—“Then if any-one says to you, ‘Look, here isthe Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do notbelieve it.”

Matthew 24:36, 44—“But ofthat day and hour no oneknows, no, not even the angelsof heaven, but My Father only. . . Therefore you also be ready,for the Son of Man is coming atan hour when you do not expectHim.”

Matthew 25:13—“Watchtherefore, for you know neitherthe day nor the hour in whichthe Son of Man is coming.”

Acts 1:6, 7—“Therefore, whenthey had come together, theyasked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will Youat this time restore the kingdomto Israel?’ And He said to them,‘It is not for your to know timesor seasons which the Father hasput in His own authority.’”

All the above passages tell usthat we are not to know theexact time of the return of JesusChrist, and that we should notmisinterpret events as indicatingthe end of the world is upon us.We will not know for certainthey are signs of the end. GN

DOES THE BIBLE SAYWHEN JESUS CHRIST

WILL RETURN?

Continued on page 39

8 The Good News

Symbolism abounds intransfer of Hong Kong

Since 1841, Hong Kong, on thesouth coast of China, has been aBritish colony. At the end of June 1997it is to be handed back to China. Its 6.2million people will cease to be Britishsubjects andovernight willbecome citizens ofthe communistPeople’s Republicof China. The4,000 Britishtroops presentlystationed there willbe replaced by15,000 troops ofthe PLA (People’sLiberation Army).Some 10,000 ofthose troops are tosymbolicallymarch from the Chinese borderthrough the streets of the colony onJuly 1, 1997, the very day the territoryreverts to China.

Empire dismantledSymbolism abounds in this transfer

of sovereignty. Fifty years ago, aftervictory in the Pacific, the United Statesand Great Britain were the dominantpowers in the region. The Britishreturned to all their former coloniesafter the Allied defeat of Japan. Butthings were not to be the same.

Early Japanese victories overWestern powers had shown they werevulnerable, and nationalist movementswere to grow throughout the colonies,demanding independence. The Dutch,British, French and Portuguese all dis-mantled their colonial empires, leavingbehind a radically different Asia.

Now, almost 50 years to the daysince divesting itself of its Indian

Empire, the British will hand over con-trol of Hong Kong, the last major pos-session of the British crown. It’s notjust the end of an era for Hong Kong.It’s the end of an era for Asia andEurope.

At the turn of the century, the

European powers dominated the globe,and Asia was no exception. The Britishhad the largest empire, controlling thesecond-greatest population mass, India,along with what are now Pakistan,Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka.They also ruled Malaya, Singapore andBorneo, Hong Kong and a string ofislands throughout the Pacific.

The French possessed Indochina(Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia); theDutch owned Indonesia; the Portu-guese controlled Goa, East Timor andMacao (the latter also to revert toChina on December 31, 1999).

The century began with the colonialempires at the height of their powerand influence; it will end with all ofthem dismantled and Western influencethroughout the world continuing towane. It is not only the Europeans whohave lost power and influence through-out Asia; the United States is also on

the decline as a power in the region.

Shifting balance of powerA major shift in the world’s balance

of economic, political and militarypower has taken place this century andwill continue into the next. Hong Kongis symbolic of that change. China

today is a quite a different countryfrom the Imperial China that cededHong Kong island “in perpetuity” tothe United Kingdom more than 150years ago.

The Chinese had fought and lost abrief war with militarily superior GreatBritain over a problem that today stillresults in countless deaths: drugs. TheChinese, with an increasingly drug-addicted population, objected toBritain’s selling opium there and con-fiscated a shipment. The resultant con-flict left China humiliated. Furtherhumiliations were to follow at thehands of Western powers and Japan,which conquered much of China in the1930s.

Near the end of the 19th centuryHong Kong had become so prosperousit needed room to grow. The Chinesewere asked if they would lease Britainsome territory, which they did for 99

Continued on page 22

January 1996 9

Bring out the golden ves-sels that our great KingNebuchadnezzar took from

the temple in Jerusalem. Even themighty God, Yahweh, could not with-stand the power of the unconquerableBabylonians. Where is the great Godof the Jews now?

“Let it be known tonight that I, KingBelshazzar, am invincible and that Iwill do as I please even to the point ofdrinking out of the very gold and silvercups and bowls reserved for the so-called great God of the Jews, Yahweh!

“Long live the mighty gods ofBabylon—praise be unto them!”(Daniel 5:1-4, paraphrased).

King Belshazzar, then vice regentof the whole of Babylon and king ofthe city of Babylon, was alreadydrunk, his face flushed, his eyesglazed as he gulped down anotherimmense goblet of dark-red wine. Henearly choked on his last gaspingeffort to gulp down the entire contentsbefore servants hastily brought thespecial temple vessels to him.

As he struggled to gain his royalcomposure, servants quickly passedthese sacred vessels to the monarch andhis retinue, who clumsily thrust theirnewly acquired drinking vessels beforethe wine-pourer, loudly demandingthem to “fill it up to the brim and let itrun over the sides.”

As one, they all raised their contain-ers to the king, and together theymocked the God of the Jews whilepraising their gods of gold, silver,brass, iron, wood and stone. It was a

night to end all nights as far as theywere concerned.

An impregnable city?Although the Babylonians were

aware of the Medo-Persian threat out-side their magnificent and unassailablecity, they knew beyond a doubt that noarmy could penetrate their fortresswalls. They were secure in the knowl-edge that their walls had not been“stormed by invaders in over a thou-sand years” (The Expositor’s BibleCommentary, Vol. 7, p. 70).

The historian Herodotus reported hisaccount of that fateful night when KingCyrus’s army actually invaded andconquered the city of Babylon. Hewrote: “A battle was fought at a shortdistance from the city, in which theBabylonians were defeated by thePersian king, whereupon they with-drew within their defences. Here theyshut themselves up, and made light ofhis siege, having laid in a store of pro-visions for many years in preparationagainst this attack . . .” (The PersianWars, Book I, Sect. 190, 191).

It appeared ludicrous to theBabylonians for anyone to dare laysiege against their impregnable fortifi-cations. After all, according to Herodo-tus the city measured 120 stadia square(roughly square 14 miles) and boasteda wall 50 royal cubits (about 90 feet)wide and 200 royal cubits (approxi-mately 300 feet) high.

From the top of the battlements, theBabylonians insulted and jeered atCyrus and his armies. One evenmocked them: “Why do you sit there,

Persians? Why don’t you go back toyour homes? Till mules foal you willnot take our city.” This arrogant boastwas typical of the Babylonian attitudeabout their superior fortifications.

However, the night was not yet over.Cyrus’s clever military strategist, aGeneral Ugbaru, had a plan that wouldchange the course of history, therebyfulfilling the prophecies and plan ofAlmighty God.

Noting that the Euphrates River ranthrough gates right into the heart of thecity, the general “diverted the waters ofthe Euphrates to an old channel dug bya previous ruler, . . . suddenly reducingthe water level well below the river-gates” (The Expositor’s BibleCommentary, Vol. 7, p. 70).

The water was lowered to thighdepth, and the Persian attackers wadedunder the giant gates and clambered upthe riverbank walls before the Baby-lonian guards knew what had hap-pened. But, before this took place, Godhad warned Belshazzar of his demise.

Handwriting on the wallShouting, laughing, sometimes curs-

ing, Belshazzar continued to make sportof the Jews and their hapless God. “Fillmy cup again,” he demanded.

As he began to swill another gobletof the finest kingly wine, though hewas wholly incapable of enjoying it,the Babylonian regent noticed some-thing unusual in his peripheral vision.It looked like a man’s hand, but it wasnot attached to an arm and body of ahuman being.

The Handwriting Is Still on the Wall

b y J e r o l d A u s t

Your Bible tells of a future worldwide conflagration that will affect everyliving human. This warning remains emblazoned on the walls of prophecy!

“

10 The Good News

As the hand began slowly anddeliberately to approach the far wallnear a lamp stand, the king began tosputter and choke, spewing wine fromthe sides of his mouth. Suddenly thefingers of the apparently human handbegan to write on the wall. As thehand wrote, the king’s face turnedashen, his blood-streaked eyeswidened and his knees began toknock together (Daniel 5:6).

Immediately the revelry quieted to adeafening silence. The shocked musi-cians lowered and dropped their instru-ments. Dancing girls froze in theirtracks. Stunned waiters stopped andstared. All, as one, gazed transfixed atthe words being written on the wall.The stage was now set for the one trueGod to intervene directly in the affairsof puny mankind, specifically in KingBelshazzar’s life and the downfall ofthe mighty Babylonian kingdom.

Belshazzar couldn’t interpret thewords written on the wall, much lessthe impossibility of a disembodiedhand writing them. “I demand to knowwhat these words mean,” blurted theking. “Who can tell me what this writ-ing signifies? I will clothe the man inpurple and place a gold chain aroundhis neck and make him third ruler inmy kingdom if he can explain whatthese words mean” (Daniel 5:7).

This was a frightening moment forKing Belshazzar, so he commanded thepresence of his wise men to decipherthe meaning of the words on the farwall. Since the wise men could notread the writing, they couldn’t tell theking what it meant. This apparentlysobered the king even more. He greweven more pale and became more terri-fied than before. He was without a clueas to what he should do.

Daniel summonedHowever, the queen mother, aware

of the sudden tumult, entered the greathall to address the king (Daniel 5:10).

She attempted to calm Belshazzar,claiming she knew of a man who couldboth read and interpret the handwritingon the wall. “His name is Daniel, andyour grandfather Nebuchadnezzarmade him chief over all the wise menof Babylon because he could under-stand and interpret dreams,” she said

(Daniel 5:11, paraphrased). (Althoughmost translations call Nebuchadnezzarhis “father,” he was actually his grand-father. The Aramaic term used actuallymeans “ancestor” or “predecessor.”)

The king immediately had Danielbrought before him. Although scholarsdiffer as to Daniel’s age in 539 B.C.,he was probably at least 80 years old.Apparently he was in semiretirementsince he wasn’t present with the otherso-called wise men, and the king hadnot remembered his name nor his pre-vious accomplishments under hisgrandfather’s reign.

In any event, elderly Daniel stoodbefore the king, ostensibly to allay hisfears. The same promises were made toDaniel that had been made to the wisemen or anyone who could interpret thehandwriting on the wall. Daniel wasnot impressed, answering “Let yourgifts be for yourself, and give yourrewards to another; yet I will read thewriting to the king, and make known tohim the interpretation” (Daniel 5:17).

The news on the wall was not goodnews. Daniel diplomatically rebukedthe ruler and pronounced the propheticand disastrous warning etched into thewall. This was the message he read andinterpreted: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL,UPHARSIN,” which is to say, “Mene:God has numbered your kingdom andfinished it; Tekel: You have beenweighed in the balances, and foundwanting; Peres [the singular form of

Upharsin]: Your kingdom has beendivided, and given to the Medes andPersians” (Daniel 5:25-28).

Remarkably, immediately afterDaniel pronounced this curse on theking and Babylon, the king kept hisword and made Daniel third in com-mand in the kingdom. Belshazzarmight have momentarily consideredkilling Daniel for declaring such acurse, especially before his entirecourt. However, another thought mighthave overcome his first impulse: If herewarded Daniel, maybe Daniel’s Godwould have mercy on him.

There was, as well, the thought thatthe king had given his word in front ofhis own entourage and the partygoers.Whatever the motivation, God contin-ued to honor his servant Daniel for hisunwavering faithfulness.

Daniel’s elevation to this powerfulposition of rulership did not end withBelshazzar’s demise. King Cyrus (alsoknown as King Darius) placed Danielas the president over the princes of hisPersian kingdom once he controlled allof Babylon (Daniel 6:1-3).

Pride precedes a fallDaniel forthrightly reminded Bel-

shazzar of things he remembered. Hetold the well-known story of how Godhad humbled his grandfather Nebu-chadnezzar by making him forage inthe royal pasture with the animals forseven long years (Daniel 5:18-21).“But you his son [grandson], Belshaz-zar, have not humbled your heart,although you knew all this” (verse 22,emphases mine throughout).

Daniel continued admonishing theking, telling him he had lifted himselfup against the Lord of heaven. Speci-fically, Daniel cited that Belshazzarhad the arrogance to drink wine fromGod’s vessels (verse 23). Further, henoted the king had praised his owninanimate gods while engaging in suchblasphemous acts.

At this point, Daniel shows thereality of God’s greatness: “And theGod who holds your breath in Hishand and owns all your ways, youhave not glorified” (verse 23). KingBelshazzar actually experienced theirony of having his obituary read tohim by a captive slave.

The news on thewall was not goodnews. Danielrebuked the rulerand pronounced the prophetic and disastrouswarning etched into the wall.

January 1996 11

Belshazzar had not learned the les-son his grandfather was forced to learn:that God is in charge and whatever Hewills will be done. He had not learnedthat God requires mankind to honorHim through humility and obedience(Daniel 4:30-37).

The king could not have beenunaware of his grandfather’s seven-year demise. Though years had passed,such a remarkable act would still havebeen common knowledge among thepopulace. Belshazzar was family. As hegrew up, he would have been cautionednot to let happen to him what befell hisgrandfather. This incident has great his-torical import. Yet it has far greaterprophetic implications for us.

That handwriting’s meaningJesus Christ in the book of Revela-

tion prophetically interprets for usDaniel’s account. Three componentscomprise the fulfillment of that ancienttype: (1) a king, (2) an end-timeBabylon and (3) God.

Since God hasn’t gone anywhereand is still omnipotent and omniscient,the third component requires no expla-nation. But where is the end-timeBabylon, if there is such a thing?

Although characterized as a “greatcity” in Revelation 18, the end-timeBabylon is not just a city-state asancient Babylon was. God reveals thatthis Babylon is characterized both byits religious and political power (Reve-lation 17). Its economic power is sogreat that rulers and merchants will“weep and mourn” at its downfall(Revelation 18:9-19).

This great Babylon is a system andway of life so far-reaching that itencompasses many of the peoples andnations of the earth (Revelation 18:3).And it has a sinister foundation, for ittraffics in the “bodies and souls ofmen” (Revelation 18:13).

A king also will arise who will allyhimself with other rulers and the end-time Babylonian system and rule as ifhe were a god. This is the prophesied“beast” of Revelation 13. It is signifi-cant that this mighty end-time king isidentified as the beast, recalling thatthe first king of Babylon was alsoreduced to the state of a beast (Daniel4:32, 33).

The book of Revelation describes allthe ingredients of the prophetic fulfill-ment of Daniel’s physical antecedent.The bestial king of Revelation will fol-low the same foolish pride and arro-gance of Belshazzar, and his final act isto fight and defy Jesus Christ at Hisreturn (Revelation 19:19, 20). Belshaz-zar failed the test, and so will the beastin the end time. What about us?

Will we heed the handwriting?You should be aware that you can

understand the handwriting on thewall. Daniel showed how this is done:“There is a God in heaven who

reveals secrets” (Daniel 2:28).

However, to simply acknowledgethis is not the total answer. For a per-son to understand God’s great plan ofsalvation, humility must be a top prior-ity. The apostle Paul explains this,telling us that the wisdom of God is amystery hidden to the world at large,understood only by those to whomGod chooses to reveal it (1 Corinthians2:7-10; Matthew 13:13-17).

Humility, then, allows the great Godabove to teach us His great plan for us.Human beings can learn from God ifthey humble themselves before Hisalmighty hand (Daniel 5:22).

There will yet come a time in histo-ry that will be the lull before the storm.Various governments and religions willcombine and make pronouncements ofpeace and safety throughout the world.

To the ordinary person, a millennialpeace will appear to be on the horizon.

But woe to the person who acceptsthat ploy. For “that peace” will disap-pear in a heartbeat when the beast andfalse prophet begin to exercise theirmilitary might (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3;Luke 21:20). Many will perish(Matthew 24:21, 22). But the personwho truly knows God and understandsHis handwriting on the prophetic wallwill be protected and saved (Luke21:18, 19; Revelation 3:8-10).

God doesn’t forgetGod does not forget. What He has

promised, that He will perform. At thevery time of the end, when God poursout His seventh plague, mightyBabylon will come to its final end.“Now the great city was divided intothree parts, and the cities of the nationsfell. And great Babylon was remem-bered before God, to give her the cupof the wine of the fierceness of Hiswrath” (Revelation 16:19).

It is remarkable to see God use thesame language that characterizedancient Babylon’s destruction. Bel-shazzar drank wine from holy vesselsthat were dedicated to God alone. Thatwas his undoing. At the final curtain,the beast, false prophet and modernBabylon will “drink of the wine ofGod’s fierce wrath.” What irony. Whatperfect justice.

God gives us a choice. We can eitherfollow the proud way of King Belshaz-zar, avoid humbling ourselves beforeAlmighty God and remain blinded tothe handwriting on the wall, or we canbe like Daniel, who possessed an“excellent Spirit.”

God has promised and given thatsame excellent Spirit to Jesus Christ’sdisciples who obey Him (Acts 5:32).The Holy Spirit is that excellentSpirit, which not only reveals to us theglory of and honor due Jesus Christ,but it leads us into God’s completetruth (John 16:13).

This, of course, includes the under-standing, teaching and preaching ofprophecy (2 Peter 1:19; 1 Corinthians2:10, 12, 13). Whatever road you andI may choose, one thing is absolutelycertain: The handwriting is still onthe wall. GN

There will yetcome a time in history that will be the lull before the storm. To the ordinary person, a millennial peacewill appear to be on the horizon.

12 The Good News

Who was Jesus Christ?What was Jesus Christ? WasHe merely a gentle, kind

person who went around saying gentle,kind things and who died for our sins?Or was He much more than that?

Who and what is He now? What isHe doing now? Is He sitting in heaven,passing the time until He returns toearth? Or will He even return to earth?What will He yet do in the future?

Questions like these have been dis-cussed and argued over by theologiansand religious leaders for centuries.They have perplexed and puzzled mil-lions of believers. Many more have noteven tried to understand, thinking thatsimply accepting and believing in Jesusare all that matters.

Yet the answers to these questions,and the real significance of JesusChrist’s life and sacrifice, have beenavailable to mankind all along. Theanswers are found in the very name ofJesus Christ.

Peter said, “There is no other name. . . by which we must be saved” (Acts4:12, New King James Version exceptas noted). But what does that namemean? God attaches great significanceto names. His own names are powerfultestimonials to His great glory andmajesty: God Almighty (El-Shaddai),God of Peace (Yahweh-Shalom) andGod Our Provider (Yahweh-Jireh),among others.

Throughout the Bible, God usesnames to signify what the person orbeing represents (Genesis 16:11; 17:5,15, 16, 19; 35:10; 2 Samuel 12:24, 25;Isaiah 8:3; Hosea 1:4, 6, 9; Luke 1:13).They tell us of the individual’s role andpurpose in God’s great plan. Time andtime again God named or changed the

names of individuals to reflect the pur-pose for which God used them.

In the same way, the name “JesusChrist” tells us a great deal about Hispurpose and part in God’s great planas well. It enlightens us about Hischaracter, purpose and love forhumanity as well.

The Meaning of ‘Jesus’

What does “Jesus” mean? How didHe receive that name? Did Joseph andMary choose it because they liked thesound of it? Was it the name of a rela-tive or family member? Why was Jesusnamed “Jesus”?

In Matthew 1 we find that Mary wasdiscovered to be pregnant during herengagement to Joseph. Joseph, notwanting to embarrass this youngwoman he loved, was considering howto best handle the difficult situation.

“But while he thought about thesethings, behold, an angel of the Lordappeared to him in a dream, saying,‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraidto take to you Mary your wife, for thatwhich is conceived in her is of theHoly Spirit. And she will bring forth aSon, and you shall call His name Jesus,for He will save His people from theirsins’” (verses 20, 21).

The New Testament was written inGreek, and the name “Jesus” heremeans the same in Greek as theHebrew name “Joshua.” “Joshua”means literally “God is salvation.” Sothe angel’s message to Joseph was“You shall call His name ‘God is salva-tion,’ for He will save His people fromtheir sins.” That name tells us of Jesus’

purpose in God’s plan—that it isthrough Him that God saves humanity.

How are we saved?But how are we saved through Jesus

Christ?

There are two important aspects ofsalvation through Jesus Christ. First,we must realize that we have all sinned(Romans 3:23). We have all earned forourselves the death penalty (Romans6:23). Death is the total loss of con-sciousness and awareness forever(Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10). By our sins,we have earned eternal death—theright to be blotted out of conscious-ness, no longer to exist, not even to beremembered, for all time. We haveearned the right (if it could be called aright) to be erased from reality forever.

That’s the hopeless situation wewould be in without Jesus Christ. Thedeath penalty we have earned would becarried out, and there would be nothingleft for us, no hope for anything beyondthe grave (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).

But something happened to preventthat death penalty from being carriedout. In Romans 5 Paul describes howwe were stumbling along in our igno-rance and blindness, and then Paulsays, “When we were still withoutstrength, in due time Christ died for theungodly. For scarcely for a righteousman will one die . . . But God demon-strates His own love toward us, in thatwhile we were still sinners, Christ diedfor us” (verses 6-8).

God didn’t need us. What use werewe to Him? Paul makes the point thatrarely someone might give his life for agood man, but that doesn’t fit us. Wewere as good as dead, waiting for thedeath penalty to be carried out, but

b y S c o t t A s h l e y

The Meaning of the NameThe Meaning of the Name

January 1996 13

something happened. Jesus Christ inter-vened and paid the death penalty for us.

“For if when we were enemies wewere reconciled to God through thedeath of His Son, much more, havingbeen reconciled, we shall be saved byHis life,” said Paul (verse 10). Thepenalty of eternal death has been paidfor us by Jesus Christ. We can claimthat sacrifice and stand innocent, pureand clean once again before God. Weare reconciled, no longer cut off fromGod. We have access to God again. Wehave access to life again. Through JesusChrist—“God is salvation”—He hassaved us from being erased from exis-tence by paying the death penalty for us.

Saved by His lifeBut Paul also says we are “saved by

His life”—a second important aspect ofsalvation made possible through JesusChrist. We know that Christ was resur-rected from the grave and lives again for-ever. But how are we saved by His life?

Paul elaborates in Galatians 2:20,describing how Jesus Christ has trans-formed him. “I have been crucifiedwith Christ; it is no longer I who live,but Christ lives in me; and the lifewhich I now live in the flesh I live byfaith in the Son of God, who loved meand gave Himself for me.”

If we were crucified with Christ,says Paul, we died. That is what is pic-tured by baptism—the old self wentdown into the watery grave and wasburied there. Figuratively, we put theold person to death, and that person nolonger lives. After that has happened,Paul says, “it is no longer I who live,but Christ lives in me.”

If we properly understand the sym-bolism of baptism, we realize that ourold self is dead. Now Jesus Christ livesagain within us. We no longer live, butJesus Christ lives again within us, asPaul described it. The man Paul was nolonger important to Paul. Jesus Christliving within him was what was impor-tant to Paul.

“And the life which I now live in theflesh I live by faith in the Son of God,

who loved me and gave Himself forme.” That sums us Christ’s mission andsacrifice for us. He “loved me and gaveHimself for me.” Jesus Christ gave Him-self for us out of love for each one of us.

Personal sacrifice for usPaul related to Christ’s sacrifice on

an intensely personal level. “He lovedme and gave himself for me.” Jesus’sacrifice wasn’t an abstract concept toPaul. It was deeply personal. Paul feltit with all his being. Paul, a man whohad persecuted the Church, imprison-ing and executing followers of JesusChrist, had no doubt about his sins. Hehad no doubt that he deserved to beerased from existence for all eternity.But he knew that Jesus Christ inter-vened directly and personally for himto save him from that fate.

Do we take Jesus Christ’s sacrificepersonally? Do we recognize, likePaul, what it means that Christ died foreach of us personally and individually?Because of our sins, we deserve to die.Jesus Christ didn’t. But He did it forus, dying instead of us. That’s whatPaul meant when he said, “He lovedme and gave himself for me.”

No other person could fulfill the roleof Jesus in God’s plan for salvation. Heis the only one who has ever lived aperfect, sinless life. As God in the flesh,His one life is worth more than the sumtotal of all mankind before and afterHim (John 1:14). He died for every sin-gle one of us, and without His sacrificewe would have no hope for anythingbeyond this life. As Paul put it, withoutthat hope we would be “of all men themost pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

In recognition of and gratitude forthat truth, we allow Jesus Christ to livewithin us. But how does that happen?The apostle John said, “He who sayshe abides in Him ought himself also towalk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

We must follow Christ’s example.We walk as He walked. We think asHe thought. We live as He lived. Andwe submit ourselves to God’s divinewill and purpose in our lives, just as

Jesus did. “For I have come downfrom heaven, not to do My own will,but the will of Him who sent Me,” Hesaid (John 6:38).

So it is through Jesus, whose namemeans “God is salvation,” that we aresaved. It is through His death to paythe penalty for our sins in our place,and through Him living within us, thatGod gives us salvation.

The Meaning of ‘Christ’

What about the second part of thename “Jesus Christ”? What does theword “Christ” mean? Actually, it isn’tso much a proper name as it is a title.“Christ” comes from the Greek wordChristos, meaning “anointed.” Itsmeaning is the same as the Hebrewword Messiah (John 1:41). They bothmean “anointed” or “anointed one.”

What is the significance of beinganointed? The Jews of Jesus’ dayunderstood the meaning perfectly well.They were familiar with the Scriptureswe call the Old Testament today; thosewritings were their guide for daily life.These very Scriptures, said Jesus, fore-told His coming and purpose. “Yousearch the Scriptures, for in them youthink you have eternal life; and theseare they which testify of Me,” Hethundered to those who refused tobelieve (John 5:39).

The Jews of Christ’s day expected aMessiah, an anointed one (John 4:25).They knew the significance of anoint-ing, so they understood what the roleof the Messiah would be. Without thebackground of the Old Testament, theterm “Messiah” becomes meaningless,resulting in a shallow and distortedunderstanding of who and what JesusChrist is.

Those who expected a Messiahknew that, in the Old Testament,anointing was used in four extraordi-nary situations to set someone orsomething apart for a special purpose.Each of these teaches us somethingabout Jesus Christ, His purpose and

Peter said, ‘There is no other name . . . by which we must be saved.’ But what does that name mean?

14 The Good News

His mission, about why He is calledthe Anointed One.

Dedicatedfor God’s Use

The first significant act of anointingoccurred in Exodus 40. After Israel’smiraculous departure from Egypt, Godgave the Israelites detailed instructionsfor building the tabernacle, an elabo-rate tented structure designed to be thecenter of worship for the nation. Afterits completion, God told Moses, “Takethe anointing oil and anoint the taber-nacle and everything in it; consecrate itand all its furnishings, and it will beholy” (Exodus 40:9, New InternationalVersion).

This act of anointing would “conse-crate” the tabernacle. Consecratemeans to dedicate or set somethingapart for holy use. Through this anoint-ing, the tabernacle and the objects in itwere set apart for God’s sacred use andservice. Anointing was symbolic ofthat setting apart.

What does that teach us about JesusChrist? How does that fit into His roleas the Messiah, the Christ, theAnointed One?

Simply put, His entire life was setapart for God’s holy use. “My food isto do the will of Him who sent Me, andto finish His work,” said Jesus (John4:34). That was His motivation, Hissource of strength. His reason for livingwas to do the will of God the Father.

“. . . The Son can do nothing ofHimself, but what He sees the Fatherdo; for whatever He does, the Son alsodoes in like manner,” Jesus said (John5:19).

What did Jesus do? In His ownwords, He did exactly what the Fatherdid. Yet some people think He came topush the Father into the background,overturning God’s holy law and remov-ing it as a standard of guidance andbehavior for mankind. What a sad con-tradiction of Jesus’ own words!

He dedicated Himself to the mission

God had given Him. “I can of Myselfdo nothing,” He said. “. . . My judg-ment is righteous, because I do not seekMy own will but the will of the Fatherwho sent Me” (John 5:30). Jesus Christnever tried to please Himself, to do Hisown thing. His motivation was to pleasethe Father. What God wanted was mostimportant to Him.

His entire life was set apart to serveGod. He was an example of total com-mitment to and surrender to God’s willand purpose. Even when facing immi-nent death, His final prayers were,“Father, if it is Your will, take this cupaway from Me; nevertheless not Mywill, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Jesus Christ lived His life in perfectaccordance with God’s will, and Hegave His life in perfect accordancewith God’s great plan. A part of thatplan was that He was set apart, His lifefreely offered as the one sacrifice topay the penalty for the sins of allmankind forever (1 Peter 1:18-20).

Jesus Christ fulfilled this aspect ofanointing perfectly. His entire life wasan example of complete and total dedi-cation to God’s will.

Selected for thePriesthood

After the dedication and consecra-tion of the tabernacle in the wilderness,God instructed Moses to carry outanother anointing. “Bring Aaron andhis sons to the entrance to the Tent ofMeeting and wash them with water.Then dress Aaron in the sacred gar-ments, anoint him and consecrate himso he may serve me as priest. Bring hissons and dress them in tunics. Anointthem just as you anointed their father,so they may serve me as priests . . .,”said God (Exodus 40:12-15, NIV).

We see from this example thatanointing was used to set individualsapart to serve as priests to God.

What is the role of a priest? Whatdid a priest do? It is difficult for us tocomprehend, because that system of apriesthood and temple worship was

crushed during the Roman destructionof Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Althoughalive and flourishing in Jesus’ day, it isa foreign concept to many of us today,lost in the mists of long ago.

In its simplest terms, a priest’s func-tion was to serve as an intermediarybetween God and man. Under that sys-tem of temple worship, mankind as awhole had no direct access to God.Members of the priesthood served asGod’s representatives to Israel, and inperforming the sacrifices they interced-ed with God on behalf of the people.

How does this apply to Jesus Christ?We are told that “we have a great HighPriest . . ., Jesus the Son of God”(Hebrews 4:14).

Our perfect High PriestThe book of Hebrews explains how

Jesus Christ is the perfect High Priest.He can “sympathize with our weak-nesses,” we are told, because He “wastempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (4:15, NIV).Because He lived as a physical humanbeing, He knows what we go throughin this life. Because of that, He knowsthat we are weak and how we needGod’s mercy and help. In addition tothis, Jesus Christ is submissively obedi-ent and has been made perfect (5:8, 9).

Unlike human priests who grow oldand die, He will never need to bereplaced in that office “because Jesuslives forever, [and] he has a permanentpriesthood” (7:24, NIV). He continuesthe intercessory work of the physicaltemple priesthood: “Therefore he isable to save completely those whocome to God through him, because healways lives to intercede for them”(7:25, NIV). He will always be there tosave those who come to God, forever.

“Such a high priest meets ourneed—one who is holy, blameless,pure, set apart from sinners, exaltedabove the heavens.” Physical sacrificesare unnecessary, we are told, because,“unlike the other high priests, he doesnot need to offer sacrifices day afterday, first for his own sins, and then forthe sins of the people. He sacrificed for

His entire life was set apart to serve God. He was an example of total commitment to God’s will and purpose.

January 1996 15

their sins once for all when he offeredhimself” (7:26, 27, NIV).

Through His function as High Priest,Jesus Christ purifies us through Hissacrifice: “. . . The blood of Christ,who through the eternal Spirit offeredhimself unblemished to God, cleanse[s]our consciences from acts that lead todeath, so that we may serve the livingGod!” (9:14, NIV)

What is the result of this? Havingbeen cleansed of our sins, we can nowbe reconciled to God and come beforeHim confidently. “Therefore, brothers,since we have confidence to enter theMost Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. . . , let us draw near to God with asincere heart in full assurance of faith,having our hearts sprinkled to cleanseus from a guilty conscience and havingour bodies washed with pure water. Letus hold unswervingly to the hope weprofess, for he who promised is faith-ful” (10:19-23, NIV)

That paints a wonderful picture ofChrist’s sacrifice and function as HighPriest and how He allows us to be rec-onciled to God. It shows us that Christhas removed the barrier of sin betweenman and God and brought us togetheragain, making us one with God.Therefore we come boldly to God’sthrone, full of faith and confident thatwe are forgiven and pure in His sight.

Set Apartas Prophet

In 1 Kings 19:16 we find anotherexample of anointing being used to setsomeone apart for a particular purpose.In this case, Elijah’s days as a prophetwere numbered. “. . . Anoint Elisha sonof Shaphat from Abel Meholah to suc-ceed you as prophet,” he was told(NIV).

What significance does this have inJesus Christ’s life and mission? He wasoften called a prophet (John 6:14, 7:40),and said of Himself that He was aprophet (Luke 4:24, 13:33). He clearlyforetold the future during His physicalministry on earth. In Matthew 24, Mark

13 and Luke 21, He prophesied ofevents that would lead up to His returnto earth. The four Gospels containmany prophecies about His disciplesand the future Church, and the book ofRevelation is called “The Revelation ofJesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1).

Is foretelling the future the mostimportant thing Christ discussed? Eventhough Christ did foresee the future,that is a relatively small part of what isrecorded for us about Him and His life.A prophet isn’t just someone whoreveals the future. A prophet is some-one who reveals the will and purposeof God to mankind.

What did Christ speak about duringHis time on earth? “For I have not spo-ken on My own authority; but theFather who sent Me gave Me a com-mand, what I should say and what Ishould speak . . . Therefore, whatever Ispeak, just as the Father has told Me,so I speak” (John 12:49, 50).

Divine and holy TeacherWhat did He reveal? “Whatever I

speak, just as the Father has told Me, soI speak.” He revealed exactly what Godthe Father told Him to reveal. He taughtand revealed the plan, purpose and willof God. He foretold the future, but evenmore than that, He was a divine andholy Teacher, revealing God’s wonder-ful purpose and plan for mankind.

In Luke 10 Christ discussed whatHe revealed to people. “At that timeJesus, full of joy through the HolySpirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lordof heaven and earth, because you havehidden these things from the wise andlearned, and revealed them to littlechildren. Yes, Father, for this was yourgood pleasure’” (verse 21, NIV).

What was it that was beingrevealed? “‘All things have been com-mitted to me by my Father. No oneknows who the Son is except theFather, and no one knows who theFather is except the Son and those towhom the Son chooses to reveal him’”(verse 22, NIV).

Christ was revealing God the Father.

He was revealing a new view of God, anew understanding of God. His fellowJews had previously understood God asa sort of national champion, the “father”of their nation who had worked mightymiracles in the days of their forefathers.But Jesus Christ revealed a very differ-ent understanding: a loving God, gentlycaring for His followers as a father loveshis own children.

The Father that Jesus Christ revealedwas a God who desired a close personalrelationship with His people, wanting toshare all things with His children, to for-give them, to heal them, to bless themand to give them eternal life in HisKingdom. Jesus Christ Himself personi-fied that love. Throughout His life andministry He revealed a love far beyondwhat they could have understood earlier:a love so deep that God would give Hisvery Son as a sacrifice to reconcile eachof His children to Him.

This understanding of God was awonderful truth, said Jesus. “Then heturned to his disciples and said private-ly, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see whatyou see. For I tell you that manyprophets and kings wanted to see whatyou see but did not see it, and to hearwhat you hear but did not hear it’”(verses 23, 24, NIV).

So we see that Jesus Christ wasanointed to be a prophet, not just fore-telling the future, but, far more impor-tant, revealing God’s will, purpose andplan to mankind and showing us whata loving God we worship.

Born to Bea King

A final significant use of anointing isfound in 1 Samuel 16. God told Hisprophet Samuel that He had rejectedSaul as king over Israel because of hisdisobedience, and He had chosen a newking. Samuel was sent to David. “Thenthe Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; heis the one.’ So Samuel took the horn ofoil and anointed him in the presence ofhis brothers, and from that day on the

Continued on page 40

He is referred to as ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ or simply ‘the Lord,’ signifying that He is our Master, Ruler and King now.

16 The Good News

Does the Bible permit abeliever to observe religiousfestivals that are not estab-lished by God? Does He

allow us to use forms of worship thatoriginated in pagan ceremonies, adapt-ing them to worship Him? Is the NewTestament more flexible than the Old,allowing us to disregard God’s priorinstructions on how to worship Him?More to the point, can we justify theobservance of Christmas by Christians?

Let’s examine this subject andreview what the Bible and history sayregarding Christmas observance and itscustoms.

When the apostle Paul addressed theissue of how flexible Christians shouldbe in their fellowship, he stated: “Donot be unequally yoked together withunbelievers. For what fellowship hasrighteousness with lawlessness? Andwhat communion has light with dark-ness? And what accord has Christ withBelial? Or what part has a believer withan unbeliever? And what agreement hasthe temple of God with idols? For youare the temple of the living God. AsGod has said: ‘I will dwell in them andwalk among them. I will be their God,and they shall be My people.’ Therefore‘Come out from among them and beseparate, says the Lord. Do not touchwhat is unclean, And I will receiveyou’” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).

No new days of worshipRegarding pagan beliefs and customs,

the New Testament is as emphatic inrejecting them as the Old. There is not asingle example in the New Testament ofa new religious feast day being estab-lished in Christ’s honor. Following Jesus

Christ’s death and resurrection, the NewTestament was written over a period of60 to 70 years—yet nowhere in thatwritten record is there evidence of orinstructions for institution of new daysof worship in His honor.

Instead, the New Testament recordsthat Christians continued to keep theOld Testament Holy Days listed inLeviticus 23 without interruption, butwith greater spiritual understandingthan before. The EncyclopaediaBritannica states: “The sanctity of spe-cial times was an idea absent from theminds of the first Christians . . . [who]continued to observe the Jewish Festi-vals though in a new spirit, as com-memorations of events which thosefestivals had foreshadowed” (Vol. 8,p. 828, 11th edition).

It was natural for the early Chris-tians to continue keeping the biblicalHoly Days, which now centered oncelebrating Christ’s successive inter-ventions on behalf of mankind in thepast, present and future.

The Bible gives clear instructionsregarding the use of pagan practices toworship the true God.

God was clear when He told Hispeople: “Take heed to yourself that youare not ensnared to follow them . . . andthat you do not inquire after their gods,saying, ‘How did these nations servetheir gods? I also will do likewise.’Youshall not worship the LORD your Godin that way; for every abomination tothe LORD which He hates they havedone to their gods; for they burn eventheir sons and daughters in the fire totheir gods. Whatever I command you,be careful to observe it; you shall not

add to it nor take away from it” (Deu-teronomy 12:30-32).

The New Testament Church clearlyunderstood this, and there is no hintduring that time of new days of wor-ship being established. It was well intothe second century before new man-made feasts to honor Jesus Christbegan to appear in Rome.

The first was the Easter Sunday cele-bration, which history records was keptin Rome about A.D. 135. Christmasappears to have first been observedaround A.D. 230 and became definitelyestablished on December 25 by the yearA.D. 435. Meanwhile, the biblical HolyDays commanded in the Old Testamentand continued in apostolic times weresystematically abandoned.

History of ChristmasIf Christmas was not observed in the

time of the apostles, how did it come tobe observed? The pre-Christian originsof Christmas can be found in almost anybook about the day. The briefest researchwill show that its roots extend into manydifferent religions and pagan beliefs.

“Saturnalia and the kalends were thecelebrations most familiar to earlyChristians, December 17-24 andJanuary 1-3, but the tradition of cele-brating December 25 as Christ’s birth-day came to the Romans from Persia.Mithra, the Persian God of light andsacred contracts, was born out of arock on December 25. Rome wasfamous for its flirtations with strangegods and cults, and in the third centurythe emperor Aurelian established thefestival of Dies Invicti Solis, the Dayof the Invincible Sun, on December 25.

“Mithra was an embodiment of the

ChristmasRECONSIDERED

b y M a r i o S e i g l i e

What do decorated trees,Santa Claus, elves, reindeer,candles, mistletoe, holly, ornaments and exchanginggifts have todo with thebirth of theSon of God?

What do decorated trees,Santa Claus, elves, reindeer,candles, mistletoe, holly, ornaments and exchanginggifts have todo with thebirth of theSon of God?

18 The Good News

sun, so this period of its rebirth was amajor day in Mithraism, which hadbecome Rome’s latest official religionwith the patronage of Aurelian. It isbelieved that the emperor Constantineadhered to Mithraism up to the timeof his conversion to Christianity. Hewas probably instrumental in seeingthat the major feast of his old religionwas carried over to his new faith”(Gerard and Patricia Del Re, TheChristmas Almanac, p. 17).

“As ancient as civilization itself isthe custom of celebrating a festival atthe time of the winter solstice, at theturning of the year, when days begin tolengthen and the sun to return. InEgypt January 6 was honored as thebirthday of Osiris; in Rome December25 was the birthday of Mithra and thefeast of Sol Invictus, the unconqueredsun. Both dates became identified withChrist’s appearance on earth.

“In the East January 6, which hadalso been a pagan water festival, wasfixed as the date of his baptism andmarked by the blessing of baptismalwaters. In the West it commemoratedthe adoration of the Magi, the threewise men who came to worship Christas representatives of the people of theworld. Almost everywhere December25 came to be accepted as the day ofthe Nativity. The joyous celebrations ofthe pagan mid-winter festivals werecontinued by Christians” (Roland H.Bainton, The Horizon History ofChristianity, p. 368).

Additional beliefs mergedAs Christianity spread throughout

the Roman Empire, additional beliefswere merged into it, resulting in themixture of customs observed today.“There are indications . . . that asChristians went on from year to yearand century to century developing therites of Christmas, they borrowed,adopted, or simply carried over ele-ments of other midwinter celebrations”(Gerard and Patricia Del Re, TheChristmas Almanac, p. 15).

Many pagan customs were importeddirectly into the church with little or nochange. “Certainly the official Churchinspired its missionaries to make thewinter feast a Christian festival. In 601,Pope Gregory instructed Augustine of

Canterbury to follow the custom ofdecking temples with greenery by deck-ing churches in the same manner, and tosolemnize the time by Christian feasting.

“‘Nor let them now sacrifice ani-mals to the Devil, but to the praise ofGod kill animals for their own eating,and render thanks to the Giver of allfor their abundance . . . For from obdu-rate minds it is impossible to cut offeverything at once,’” Pope Gregorysaid (William Sansom, A Book ofChristmas, p. 30).

Does man have the authority of theBible to innovate and adopt other daysof worship? Notice what Jesus Christtold His apostles when He gave themthe great commission: “‘All authorityhas been given to Me in heaven and onearth. Go therefore and make disciplesof all the nations, baptizing them in thename of the Father and of the Son andof the Holy Spirit, teaching them toobserve all things that I have com-manded you; and lo, I am with youalways, even to the end of the age’”(Matthew 28:18-20).

Christ never even hinted that Hisfollowers would have the authority toestablish new days of worship. He toldthe apostles to teach His followers “toobserve all things” He had commandedthem. Throughout His earthly ministryHe had diligently kept God’s Sabbathand Holy Days, which now were filledwith new meaning. The early Churchcontinued in their observance, follow-ing Christ’s own example.

The New International Dictionary ofNew Testament Theology states: “In theearly Christian church the propriety ofcelebrating the festivals together withthe whole of the Jewish people wasnever questioned, so that it needed nospecial mention” (Vol. 1, p. 628).

Added traditions rejectedDoes the new covenant render all

prior biblical forms of worship obsolete,giving Christians freedom to expresstheir faith and gratitude in any way theywish? How much freedom do Christianshave to innovate in their worship? Theyare given only as much freedom as wasauthorized in the New Testament.

For instance, notice the Pharisees’approach to the Scriptures. Theyargued with Christ that they could

innovate and add to God’s laws newtraditions, reasoning that they couldbetter express their faith by doing so.They asked Christ, “Why do Your dis-ciples not walk according to the tradi-tion of the elders, but eat bread withunwashed hands?” (Mark 7:5).

How did Christ answer? Did Heexplain that their practices were per-fectly acceptable since He came sothey could add even more traditions?He certainly did not!

Here is His answer: “‘ . . . In vainthey worship Me, teaching as doctrinesthe commandments of men.’ For layingaside the commandment of God, youhold the tradition of men . . . All toowell you reject the commandment ofGod, that you may keep your tradition”(Mark 7:7-9).

Just as the Pharisees added their tra-ditions to the law of God, so do manychurches today. But Christ’s answerdirectly condemns this practice.

What happens when God’s feasts areno longer considered holy and theirobservance is viewed as optional? Avacuum results. Since the biblicalfeasts are the only ones authorized inScripture, historically mankind has hadto innovate. Religious leaders havelooked to popular religious festivalsoutside the Bible that can be “Chris-tianized,” such as the pre-Christian fes-tivals and celebrations that came to berenamed Christmas.

Unlike the biblical Feasts, whichpicture the steps in God’s plan thatoffer salvation to all mankind, Christ-mas is a shallow man-made substitute.

Christ did not consider His birth ofprime importance. Instead He instruct-ed His followers to observe the Pass-over, commemorating the sacrifice ofHis life for the sins of the world. Afterinstituting new symbols representingthe importance of His life and sacrificefor us, He told the disciples “Do this inremembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24).

The whole concept of celebratingChrist’s birth would have been foreignto His disciples and the writers of theNew Testament. “To the early Christiansthe idea of celebrating the birthday of areligious figure would have seemed atbest peculiar, at worst blasphemous.

January 1996 19

Being born into this world was nothingto celebrate. What mattered was leavingthis world and entering the next in acondition pleasing to God . . .

“No, if you wanted to search the NewTestament world for peoples whoattached significance to birthdays, yoursearch would quickly narrow to pagans.The Romans celebrated the birthdays ofthe Caesars, and most non-ChristianMediterranean religions attached impor-tance to the natal feasts of a pantheon ofsupernatural figures” (Tom Flynn, TheTrouble With Christmas, p. 42)

Origin of biblical festivalsSome go so far in advocating new

forms of worship as to propose that thebiblical feast days commanded by Godin Leviticus 23 are ultimately derivedfrom pagan celebrations. Certainlythere is no biblical basis for such aclaim. Such opinions are based in lib-eral theology. Conservative scholars onthe whole discard such theories.

Reflecting the conservative point ofview, The International Standard BibleEncyclopedia states: “The sacred sea-sons of Israel stem directly from divinerevelation and were designed to illus-trate significant aspects of the eternalredemption that God had alreadyordained for His own under the OT.The Hebrew calendar of convocationsis therefore not to be explained on thebasis of natural phenomena, such asthe phases of the moon or the Pales-tinian agricultural cycle.

“Neither may it be attributed topre-Mosaic custom, whetherCanaanite or nomadic. Israel’s feastsserved rather as divinely revealedexpressions of the moral obligationsof His people, as memorials of God’ssaving acts in the past, as sacramentsof His sanctifying power in the pre-sent, and as types of His anticipatedvictory over sin in the forthcomingfirst and second advents of JesusChrist” (Vol. 2, pp. 292, 293).

In fact, according to the biblical his-tory of Genesis 1-11, it was not God’sway that came out of paganism, butpaganism that came out of God’s way,when man left His guidance and laws.Mankind then established corruptedsystems with only glimpses of God’struths. Dr. Stephen Langdon, one of the

great archaeologists and Assyriologistsof this century, said: “In my opinion,the history of man’s most ancient reli-gion reveals a rapid tendency frompure monotheism to extreme polythe-ism and its focus on evil spirits. In itsmost absolute sense, it is the account ofthe fall of Man” (Sir Charles Marston,The Bible Spoke the Truth, p. 72).

Other feasts addedSome believe that since the Jews

added the feasts of Hanukkah andPurim in biblical times, we are freetoday to add religious holidays and cel-ebrations of our own choosing. Doestheir observance sanction the institu-tion of additional religious holidays?

There is a major difference in back-ground and intent. Nowhere did Hanuk-kah and Purim incorporate pagan formsof worship into a celebration honoringthe true God. Hanukkah celebrates therededication of the Jerusalem Templeafter its defilement by the Syrian kingAntiochus, and Purim commemoratesthe defeat of the Jews’ enemies in thetime of Queen Esther. As such, they arecelebrations of thanks and honor toGod, similar to Thanksgiving Day asobserved in the United States.

Christmas, however, is very different.It is a syncretism of numerous paganbeliefs and customs into a celebrationsupposedly honoring the Son of God, apractice soundly condemned in theBible (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:1-4, 30-32;2 Corinthians 6:14-17).

“. . . Though it celebrates the might-iest event in the history of Christen-dom, it was overlaid upon heathen fes-tivals, and many of its observances areonly adaptations of pagan to Christianceremonial. This was no mere acci-dent. It was a necessary measure at atime when the new religion was forc-ing itself upon a deeply superstitiouspeople. In order to reconcile fresh con-verts to the new faith, and to make thebreaking of old ties as painless as pos-sible, these relics of paganism wereretained under modified forms, in thesame way that antique columns, trans-ferred from pagan temples, becameparts of the new churches built byChristians in honor of their God andhis saints” (The Story of Santa Klaus,p. 58, 59).

Regarding the background ofChristmas, Tom Flynn wrote: “In myresearch, I found only one Christmascustom that seems to belong exclusive-ly to Christianity. Christians appear tohave invented the Midnight Mass outof whole cloth. Celebrated in Rome asearly as the fifth century, it aloneappears not to have significant paganantecedents” (The Trouble WithChristmas, p. 70).

Worship in spirit and truthSince Christmas is not authorized by

God nor by the Bible, it can never beholy. Jesus Christ Himself said that“true worshippers . . . must worship inspirit and truth” (John 4:23, 24).Christmas celebration is not sanctionedby the Scriptures. Such idolatrous prac-tices are at best futile, foolish andworthless (Jeremiah 10:1-8).

At worst, since such practices breakthe First and Second Commandments,they are sin. When God said: “Youshall have no other gods before Me”(Exodus 20:3), He condemns forms ofworship that celebrated the supposedbirth of the sun or false gods. WhenGod states: “You shall not make foryourself an idol . . . You shall not bowdown to them or worship them . . .”(Exodus 20:4, New InternationalVersion), He also condemns inventingreligious feasts and celebrations toreplace those God ordained.

Why not just keep the Holy Daysthat come directly from God and pic-ture His plan to offer salvation tohumankind?

Paul’s warnings to Timothy aboutwhat would happen in the churchshould also be a warning to us: “Icharge you therefore before God andthe Lord Jesus Christ, who will judgethe living and the dead at His appear-ing and His kingdom: Preach theword! Be ready in season and out ofseason. Convince, rebuke, exhort, withall longsuffering and teaching. For thetime will come when they will notendure sound doctrine, but accordingto their own desires, because theyhave itching ears, they will heap upfor themselves teachers; and they willturn their ears away from the truth,and be turned aside to fables.” (2Timothy 4:1-4).

Christmas is one of those fables. GN

Abraham

Son, let‘s go to themountaintop and offer asacrifice to God.”Abraham believed his sonwould be that sacrifice,but Isaac assumed theywould sacrifice a lamb.

Fully trusting his father, Isaac mighthave even reached for his father’s hand.

The touch of his son’s hand musthave sent shock waves through Abra-ham’s body. Abraham’s mind waswhirring; his thoughts alternated fromdeliberate, studied obedience and faithto passionate resistance, hoping thatGod might rescind this almost unthink-able directive.

Although the biblical narrativedoesn’t directly reveal Abraham’sfeelings until Genesis 22:8, we canspeculate on the probable thoughtsand emotions of Abraham. Abraham’sfaith is in evidence; the reader, unlikeAbraham, can know how the storywill end. God didn’t want Abraham tokill his son; He was testing Abraham’sfaith in Him.

“All right, Father, let’s go. May Ihelp carry the wood?” Abraham could

only nod consent, for thelump in his throat

blocked

the sound that would otherwise haveoffered a simple, “Yes, you may, myson.”

‘God will provide’Off they went, a sad father, his trust-

ing son and two servants, toward themountain on which Abraham believedhe would sacrifice the only son whomGod, in their old age, had given himand Sarah (Genesis 18:10, 11).

Three days later the travelersarrived at their destination, tired butaware this was the mountain God hadchosen for them.

“Stay here while my son and I wor-ship, then we will return to you,” Abra-ham told his servants.

Up the side of the mountain fatherand son trudged, Isaac with the woodfor the sacrifice and father Abrahamwith the fire and knife.

“Father, we have the wood and fire,but where is the lamb for our burntoffering?”

“God will provide, my son. God willprovide.”

This is the first hint of the rest of thestory and the remarkable faith ofAbraham. When they reached the pre-cise spot for the burnt offering, Abra-

ham laid down the fire and knife andbegan building an altar for the sacri-fice. He neatly laid the wood and gen-tly but firmly took hold of his son andbegan binding him. Then he laid Isaacon the altar on top of the carefullyplaced wood. At that point, Abrahamdutifully, obediently, raised his knife toslay his son.

“Abraham! Abraham!” cried an angelin a strong voice.

“Here I am! I hear you!” Abrahamresponded to the angel.

“Do not touch your son Isaac, fornow I know that you fear God, seeingyou have not held back your son, youronly son from Me” (Genesis 22:12).

Abraham had passed his supremetest of faith. In his mind and heart,Abraham had already followed throughwith his obedience to God’s command(Romans 4:17).

It was faith of this magnitude thatinspired others to write that Abraham isthe father of the faithful (Romans 4:12,16). He was a man who believed and hadtotal, complete trust and faith in God.

Abraham: God’s FriendTheir bond was so close that God

called Abraham “My friend” (Isaiah41:8). Besides just being an interesting

b y J e r o l d A u s t

‘‘

20 The Good News

January 1996 21

concept, this idea of Abraham as afriend of God points to some fascinat-ing and far-reaching implications. Wemight ask why would God pay Abra-ham the great compliment of callinghim His friend?

The answer can be found in compar-ing Abraham’s relationship with God toour Christian calling. Although we maynever have thought of it this way, JesusChrist also views us as His friends. Hesaid to His disciples, “No longer do Icall you servants, for a servant does notknow what his master is doing; but Ihave called you friends, for all thingsthat I heard of My Father I have madeknown to you” (John 15:15).

But there is more. For Jesus to callHis disciples “friends” requires a pre-condition. “You are My friends if youdo whatever I command you” (John15:14).

That was the key for Abraham to beknown as God’s friend. Obedience toGod was and is the prerequisite to faithand qualifying as God’s friend. Paulhighlighted Abraham’s faithful obedi-ence (Hebrews 11:8-10; 17-19).

Abraham’s faithful obedienceLet’s consider Abraham’s faith from

three perspectives:

• Abraham’s call: By faith when hewas called he went out (Hebrews 11:8)

• Abraham’s sojourning: By faith he sojourned in a strange country (Hebrews 11:9)

• Abraham’s trial: By faith, when hewas tried, he offered up his only begot-ten son (Hebrews 11:17).

From the beginning, Abrahamobeyed God (Genesis 26:5). Hebrews11:8 tells the story briefly: “By faithAbraham obeyed when he was calledto go out to the place which he wouldafterward receive as an inheritance.And he went out, not knowing wherehe was going.”

In the Greek, the thrust of Abraham’sobedience is emphatic: “By faith beingcalled out Abraham obeyed to goout . . .” (The Englishman’s Greek NewTestament).

This is an important aspect of faith.Abraham was not called because of hisfaith (Genesis 12:1-4). He was calledbecause God willed to call him. Hisfaith is to be understood in relation toAbraham’s obedience. It was Abra-ham’s immediate obedience thatproved his faith and justified him(James 2:21-24).

Hebrews 11:8 tells us that Abrahamwent out to obey God, not knowingwhere he was going. That is an impor-tant and difficult step for a Christianto take, because human beings desireindependence. However, God wants usto learn to depend on Him forever.Abraham looked to God for guidance,direction and protection. Had Abra-ham lived by sight, he would neverhave obeyed God’s call to go into aforeign land.

Another element of Abraham’s obe-dience is evident in his sojourning:“By faith he sojourned in the landof promise as in a foreign country,

dwelling in tents with Isaac andJacob, the heirs with him of the samepromise” (Hebrews 11:9). TheEnglishman’s Greek New Testamentshows that the Greek is emphaticabout how Abraham lived: “In tentsdwelling” highlights that he did notlive in a permanent abode.

Obedience without reservationLike you and me, Abraham would

surely have preferred a permanent, sta-ble home and life. However, Abrahamknew he was a stranger and pilgrim ina strange land. And because he knewhis citizenship was reserved in a heav-enly city built by God (Hebrews11:10), he remained faithful to Godand did not return to his homeland(Hebrews 11:13-16). Little wonderGod called Abraham His friend. God’sfriends obey Him; Abraham obeyedGod without reservation.

Finally, God supremely testedAbraham’s faith when He commandedhim to offer his only son as a sacrifice.Scripture indicates that Abraham some-how knew, that he deeply believed thatGod would raise his son from the dead(Hebrews 11:19). God was so movedby Abraham’s faith and obedience thatHe guaranteed His blessings to be uponAbraham and his descendants fromthen on, both physically and spiritually(Genesis 22:15-18).

We must remember that Abrahamand Sarah had Isaac when they wereold. Bearing a son beyond their timewas a tremendous blessing in itself.God had promised Abraham He wouldbless his descendants through Isaac.

What a shock it would be to a fatherthat someone, anyone, would demandIll

ust

rati

on

by

Ch

rist

y H

oo

per

that he take hisonly son’s life. All of thehopes of two older parents, all oftheir desires to see their son grow up tofather his own children, all of theseemotions and more would have dis-couraged anyone of lesser faith.

Abraham’s response to this trial iswhy God says that He is not ashamedto be called Abraham’s God (Hebrews11:16). This is also why God is prepar-ing a city for His faithful disciples. Youand I can exhibit this same faith.

Our faithful obedienceThe lessons of Hebrews 11 are

written for you and me. They are trea-sure troves of faith stored up for ourspiritual enrichment. Paul encouragesChristians to walk in the steps ofAbraham, the father of the faithful(Romans 4:12, 16). Your Bible makes

plain that we can and must exercisethe same faith that Abraham had—andthat kind of faith is within our reach.

We must remember the clear teach-ings of James 2, that faith withoutworks is dead. For faith to be aliveand well, for faith to be active, it mustbe seen as alive in the actions of theperson who professes it.

Don’t let anyone deceive you intothinking otherwise. The works thatprove our faith result from obedienceto God and Christ’s plain and directcommands. Such scriptural commandsare either the Ten Commandmentsthemselves, as obeyed in the Spirit, orprinciples based on the Command-ments (James 2:8).

The tools we need to exerciseChrist’s faith are all readily available.

Jesus Christ is on the job 24hours a day to help us expe-

rience thefaith

we need to weather the storms of life.With God’s help we can obey God’scommands. This proves our faith andpleases God.

“But without faith it is impossibleto please Him, for he who comes toGod must believe that He is, and thatHe is a rewarder of those who dili-gently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Our exercise of faith toward Godpleases Him. “And whatever we askwe receive from Him, because wekeep His commandments and do thosethings that are pleasing in His sight”(1 John 3:22).

To please God, one must believethat God is alive and all-powerful.Abraham believed God existed. Youbelieve God exists. Abraham diligent-ly sought God, for he knew Godwould reward him for his diligence.

You and I can diligently seek God,and we know He will reward us forstudying and obeying His will.

Yes, we can please God. Yes, we doplease God, and we do so through thesame faith that Abraham exhibited.

This is not to say that we obey per-fectly, that we show perfect faith. Wedo not. But our faith can grow throughdaily overcoming (that is, throughdaily contact with God in prayer,study of His Word and application ofHis law of love). What we lack Godwill provide (2 Corinthians 4:16;Philippians 3:14-16).

And so the story ends. God calledAbraham His friend. In the same way,Christ calls us His friends. We areGod’s friends because of our faith inHim, proven by our obedience to Hisholy commands.

Let us all continue to follow anexcellent example of obedient faith,that of God’s friend, Abraham. GN

years. The lease expires at midnight onJune 30, 1997, when the territoryreverts to China. Although Hong KongIsland had been given to Britain forev-er, it is now felt that the original treatyceding the island to Great Britain wasunfair and no longer applies.

Thriving against the oddsHong Kong today is one of the most

valuable pieces of real estate on earth.Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the pre-communist Chinese Republic thatoverthrew the emperors in 1911, saidof Hong Kong: “I began to wonderhow it was that Englishmen could dosuch things as they have done with thebarren rock of Hong Kong within 70 or80 years, while in 4,000 years Chinahad achieved nothing like it.”

Everything is stacked against HongKong. It depends on China for waterand food and has no raw materials ofits own, and it has one of the greatestpopulation densities in the world. Yetit has a high standard of living andwas recently ranked the third mostcompetitive economy in the world(after the United States and Singapore,replacing Japan, which slipped tofourth place). Its real estate is amongthe most expensive on earth; a 1,100-square-foot apartment sells for $1 mil-lion (in U.S. dollars) or rents for$10,000 per month.

Hong Kong has benefited greatlyfrom British rule. As a British colony itenjoyed more than a century of stabili-ty while China suffered unprecedentedturmoil as it was forced to adjust to themodern world. The Boxer Rebellion of1900, the revolution of 1911 and thecivil war between nationalists andcommunists weakened China beforethe Japanese invasion and occupationin the 1930s.

After Japan’s defeat, more sufferingwas to follow. The civil war resumed,with the communists gaining the victo-ry. Then, in the late 1960s, came theCultural Revolution, which left an esti-mated 25 million people dead.

In the late 1970s, after the death ofMao Tse-tung, the founder of thePeople’s Republic, came economic

Hong KongContinued from page 8

22 The Good News

The lessons of Hebrews 11 are written for youand me. Christians are encouraged to walk in

the steps of Abraham, the father of the faithful.Your Bible makes plain that we can and must

exercise the same faith that Abraham had,and that kind of faith is within our reach.

reform. Realizing the inadequacies ofthe communist system but fearingmore change would result in morechaos, the Chinese leadership beganexperimenting with the free market.The southeast province of Cantonbecame a “special enterprise zone.”Its capital city, Guangzhou, is now therichest city in China. Its industrialworkers take home U.S. $100 permonth, considerably more than thenational average.

Canton borders Hong Kong. Muchof the economic development in Can-ton is the result of investment chan-neled through Hong Kong. Canton’scapitalist system within a communistcountry (“One country, two systems”is the official slogan ) hasgiven China one of the highestgrowth rates in the world.

With a growing free market,calls for political reform grew,culminating in the disastrousevents in Beijing’s TiananmenSquare in 1989, the year thatsaw many communist regimesoverthrown in Europe. China’sleaders sent a clear message toits citizens and the world:Reform goes only so far.Economic reform is ostensiblyacceptable, but other freedomsare not.

Who will change whom?China’s century of instability and its

avowed communist system worry thepeople of Hong Kong, who fear fortheir way of life and financial stability.Over the last 10 years, many HongKong citizens have left the country toestablish businesses and gain citizen-ship in other nations, but many are nowreturning (with foreign passports) tocash in on what they see as a bonanza.Many feel that, rather than China tak-ing over Hong Kong, the latter will rad-ically change China.

The potential is enormous. If allgoes well after China takes over HongKong, the hope in Beijing is thatTaiwan will voluntarily reunite with themainland. Taiwan’s vast holdings offoreign currency would give China yetanother big economic boost.

Asia is the burgeoning giant of theplanet. Growth rates in Asian countries

are far higher than in Europe or NorthAmerica. Those nations in Asia thatpractice free enterprise are unencum-bered by some of the excess baggagelong-time industrial nations must con-tend with. Businesses and employees inWestern countries are paid high wages,which makes their products uncompeti-tive; they pay high taxes, which dis-courages investment and hard work;their governments waste billions ofdollars sustaining self-perpetuatingbureaucracies that stifle business, dis-courage individual initiative andencourage a welfare mentality.

Although many Asian nations are sup-posedly democracies, the ordinary votersdo not have the power to vote them-

selves expensive benefits as in the West.Today some of the richest countries

in the world are in Asia. Japan andTaiwan are the world’s leading creditor(surplus) countries, while the UnitedStates has greater debts than any nationin history. Unless this problem isresolved, the United States willinevitably decline as a major power,while others fill the vacuum. Economicdecline equals political decline equalsmilitary decline. Each follows the other.

U.S. influence decliningPolitically and militarily, the United

States is on the decline in the region.America handed Okinawa back toJapan more than two decades ago.Pressure to close bases on the island ismounting following the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three Ameri-can soldiers in September 1995. Onthe mainland of Japan, the public isnervous about China’s growing

strength and perceives the UnitedStates as an unreliable ally. Earlier thisdecade, American bases in thePhilippines were closed at the requestof Manila. Talk of reunificationbetween the two Koreas could lead toa U.S. withdrawal because Americantroops are unpopular there.

Other Western nations have alreadypulled out of Asia, and it appears to beonly a matter of time until the UnitedStates follows.

In Australia the government ofPrime Minister Paul Keating is deter-mined to break its one last remaininglink with Britain, its allegiance to theBritish crown. Many view this as amove intended to signal Australia’s

commitment to Asia at theexpense of its ties to otherregions of the world.

The French are experiencingopposition to their continuedpresence in Asia as a result oftheir unpopular nuclear tests inthe South Pacific.

Asia has experienced a centu-ry of great turmoil. At the endof the 20th century, after 100years of political instability,colonial occupation and debili-tating poverty, the continent iscoming into its own. Power ispassing from the West to theEast. That doesn’t mean that theWest is finished, but it does

mean that the West needs to makesome major changes if it is to competewith the rising power of the new Asianeconomic giants.

Rise and fall of nationsThe history of mankind has been the

story of the rise and fall of nations,much of it prophesied in the Bible.Daniel 2:21 says that God “removeskings and sets up kings.”

The peoples of Asia want freeenterprise and Western technology,but want nothing to do with theWest’s values. They still cling tena-ciously to their strong family valuesand the traditions they have held forthousands of years.

When China enters Hong Kong afew months from now, it will mark theend of a century that has seen the Westdecline and the East rise: the end ofone age and the dawn of another. GN

Now, almost 50 years to the day since divesting itself of itsIndian Empire, the British will

hand over control of Hong Kong,the last major possession of the

British crown. It’s not just the endof an era for Hong Kong. It’s the

end of an era for Asia and Europe.

January 1996 23

24 The Good News

If you are one of God’s people,you are a vessel God is using topreserve truth. God preserves Histruth and love for His ways in thehearts of people. He preserves Histruth across time, from generation

to generation.

This principle is so important thatGod commanded the nation of Israel:“Therefore you shall lay up thesewords of mine . . . You shall teach themto your children, speaking of themwhen you sit in your house, when youwalk by the way, when you lie down,and when you rise up . . . that yourdays and the days of your children maybe multiplied in the land of which theLORD swore to your fathers to givethem, like the days of the heavensabove the earth” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21). He knew that, if the nation was tosurvive and thrive, His spiritual truthsmust be preserved and passed downfrom parents to children.

Jesus Christ perpetuated this princi-ple, instructing His disciples not toignore the children in their midst.“Whoever receives one of these littlechildren in My name receives Me; andwhoever receives Me, receives not Mebut Him who sent Me,” He said (Mark9:37). He, too, recognized that childrenmust be included in the spiritual life ofHis followers.

The Sabbath commandSince God is vitally concerned

about our children, we must be con-cerned for our children’s spiritual welfare.

We must learn to pass God’s truth on to them.

How do we do that? To illustratehow we can teach our children God’struth, let’s look at one of God’s TenCommandments, the fourth. Speci-fically, let’s see how we can teach ourchildren to love and keep God’sSabbath as He intended.

Why single out the Sabbath as ourexample in this article? God command-ed that we observe His Sabbaths—theweekly and annual Sabbaths—as afamily. God commanded that all familymembers, as well as household ser-vants and visitors, were to refrain fromnormal work on that day (Exodus20:10).

The Sabbath is also a test command-ment, demonstrating our level of com-mitment to obeying God regardless ofany consequences.

The Sabbath also lays the ground-work for our relationship with God andthe religion of the heart. It reminds usweekly that He is our Creator and thatHis Kingdom will come as promised. Itis a day set aside to learn more aboutHim and His ways. It is time in whichwe cease from our work to allow Himto work in us, writing His laws andways in our hearts.

But, before we can teach our chil-dren God’s ways, we first build a rightrelationship with them, one in whichGod’s truth will grow and flourish inthe hearts of our children. Our teachingand example must demonstrate to thema way of life they will want to emulate,

Jesus Christ

recognized that

children must be

included in the

spiritual life of

His followers.

Are we teaching

them to love

God’s ways and

especially His

Sabbath?

Teach Your Children

God’s Waysb y B i l l J a c o b s

T H E C H R I S T I A N F A M I L Y

rather than a burden imposed on them.

Why differing viewsHow do our young people view the

Sabbath? Some teenagers resent it,feeling that because of it they are miss-ing out on something. “It’s so boring,”they may say. They’d rather be out withfriends than with their families.

Not knowing how to handle this atti-tude, parents sometimes have twoopposite, and equally wrong, reactions.Some think: Maybe if I’m morelenient, they won’t dislike it so much.This approach causes children to deval-ue the Sabbath and disrespect their par-ents as they do whatever they please onthat day.

Other parents think: Maybe if Imake them do it, they’ll learn to like it.This causes children to resent both theday and their parents. The tug of warcontinues, and everyone grows frustrat-ed, discouraged and confused.

Do teens respect the Sabbath? Somedon’t, but a great many do. In my jobas a national coordinator for programsfor youth, teens often asked me ques-tions about the Sabbath. During a visitI made to a church, a huge, strappingteenager, who looked like he was bornto play football, approached me. “Myname’s John,” he said, looking down atme. “Here’s my question: Is itreally wrong to play foot-ball on the Sabbath?”

I looked him in theeye and said, “Yes,John, it really is.”He broke out in abig smile and

said, “Right! I was just testin’ ya!”

And he was. He wanted affirmationthat his sacrifice was worth it. It was atest for him, just as it sometimes is forthe rest of us. He understood theSabbath and followed it.

Why some are boredWhy are other kids simply bored

with it? Let’s consider another teenagerand why her outlook is different. Tinais 16, an only child. She’s bright, butunmotivated in school. She doesn’t mixwell with other students or with anyoneelse. She’s not active at church, and shehates sports, dances and other socialevents. She’s disrespectful to her moth-er. Tina would sum up her life—school, church, family, friends, activi-ties—in one word: boring.

What’s wrong with this picture? Tinawas born when her parents were wellinto middle age. Her father was specialto her, but he is now seriously ill, andshe misses him. At 16, she needs himmore than ever, but he isn’t there.

Tina’s mother spends a lot of timetaking care of Tina’s father and there-fore can’t provide much comfort forTina.

Who is at fault here? No one. Butthere is a hole in Tina’s life. She feelsleft out, abandoned, ignored. She feelslike she’s not a part of anything. Todeal with her plight, Tina has chosen

to distance herself from her feel-ings ofabandon-ment

by being bored.She has closed herheart to her family,school, church andfriends. When we

have no involvement in anything, weare bored.

Teens who feel bored with theSabbath are teens who don’t identifywith their church, who don’t feel a partof it, who feel the church doesn’t offerwhat they need. They can’t see thatthere is anything there for them. “Thisis boring,” they say.

It’s boring because they are notincluded and therefore not involved.They probably have the same vagueuneasiness about their families becausetheir parents are too busy to talk tothem much. They feel excluded, dis-connected from family decisions.

Underlying relationshipsWhen parents who have not won the

hearts of their children try to imposerules, they meet resistance. There is asimple equation for summarizing thisphenomenon: Rules without relation-ship = rebellion. Rules without a rela-tionship are boring because they areseen as meaningless.

When we are interested in a subject,it is not boring. From a teen’s stand-point, when our church and our parentsare not interested in us, there is no con-nection, no personal involvement.When there is not enough personalinvolvement, there is no personal inter-est in the things thatare important tothe parent. The

The Sabbath also lays the groundwork for ourrelationship with God and the religion of the heart.

Sabbath is boring toteens because theyhave no personalinvolvement; itbelongs to other peo-ple, not to them.

If we want to pass on our values toour children, we must first open theirhearts to receive them. There is also asimple equation that shows this princi-ple: Rules with relationship = respect.Rules with a relationship are importantbecause the child knows the parentcares, and the things that are importantto the parent will be seen as importantby the child.

Even though peer pressure and innu-merable other distractions adverselyaffect children, their parents have agreater impact on their values than anyother influence, and this is especiallytrue when it comes to religious values.God, in spite of societal influences, hasput parents in the most powerful posi-tion to influence their children’s life-long beliefs. He places parents in thisposition so that they, unlike anyoneelse, can open the hearts of their chil-dren to receive their values.

If you want God to write the Sabbathon the hearts of your children, you mustwork on your relationship with yourchildren and open their hearts.

Dealing with boredomIs the Sabbath supposed to be bor-

ing?In some families, the main Sabbath

activity is sleeping. Children’s motivein sleeping through the day is right:They want to keep the Sabbath. Theysleep just to escape boredom.

But what does the Sabbath repre-sent? It symbolizes the millennial rest,the Kingdom of God. Is that boring? Ofcourse not.

The Sabbath is not supposed to beboring either. If we make it boring andtedious for our children, what messageare we sending them?

The problem lies in misunderstand-ings about the Sabbath. We sometimesdon’t know how to keep it properly. Tocorrectly and positively picture the

Kingdom of God, and eliminateSabbath boredom, we must teach ourchildren the real intent of the Sabbath.Everyone knows that God rested on theSabbath, and so should we. But Godalso works on the Sabbath, and soshould we.

But Sabbath work must be of a par-ticular kind.

In John 5:2-17 we read the accountof Jesus Christ’s healing on the Sab-bath of a man who had been crippled38 years, an act that elicited criticismfrom the Jews.

“But Jesus answered them, ‘MyFather has been working until now, andI have been working’” (verse 17).

God rested from His creative workon the Sabbath, to show us that weshould rest from our work as well. ButGod continues one kind of work sevendays a week: Night and day, withoutceasing, God is working to bring all ofus into His Kingdom. He works to help

people grow spiritually on the Sabbath.He works constantly to build a close,personal relationship with His people.

Jesus healed more people on theSabbath than on any other day. Hetraveled on the Sabbath; He taught andpreached on the Sabbath.

Was Jesus sinning? No. These activ-ities on the part of our Savior were partof God’s work of helping people enterinto the Kingdom of God and wereperfectly acceptable to God.

Sowing seeds for the KingdomWhatever we do on the Sabbath

should involve sowing seeds for theKingdom. Consider the many peopleJesus healed. As far as we know, mostof the people He healed did notbecome converted. So why did Hebother healing them? Did he just liketo amaze people with His miracles?

I don’t think so. Jesus paid a lot ofattention to beggars, the blind, crippledpeople, children: the people others

26 The Good News

When our children were growingup, we had a family tradition ofpraying together every Friday night.We called it “talking to God.”

To help everyone think of what topray about, we had a formula we allused. Each of us would make his orher own prayer list using this formu-la before we would begin to pray.We would each:

• Express thanks for someone orsomething.

• Pray about something concern-ing God’s work.

• Pray for someone else.

• Pray for something regardingourselves.

Once everyone had his list com-plete, we would all kneel side byside in front of the sofa. As themother, I would begin. Then eachof the children would take a turn

(the order was determined beforewe began), and Dad would go lastand close.

On occasion the girls might haveguests over for the night. On thoseoccasions, they were given theoption to join us or not. Some did,some didn’t.

We found this family tradition tobe beneficial in several ways. Notonly was it an opportunity to set theright example and teach our chil-dren how to pray, but it gave usinsight into how they thought: whatwas important to them, what theywere most concerned about.

If you’re not used to prayingtogether, it may seem awkward atfirst, but if you persist it will becomea habit. We found that we were ableto build an enjoyable family traditionof talking to God. GN

—Elaine Jacobs

TALK TO GOD AS A FAMILY

In some families, the main Sabbath activity is sleeping. Children’s motive in sleeping is to escape boredom.

ignored.Why? He knew that someone unac-

customed to acts of kindness who isshown a little of it will remember itforever.

Is it not possible that Jesus was set-ting these people up for a future rela-tionship with Him in the Kingdom? Hecan walk up to these people and say,“Remember Me?” and therapport will be instantaneous.I think He was sowing seedsfor the Kingdom.

Can we do the samething? I asked a group offifth-graders to tell me waysthey could sow seeds for theKingdom. Here are theirresponses:

• Be friends with the kidseverybody else picks on atschool.

• Study the Bible to learnthe answers to hard ques-tions.

• Visit friends and rela-tives when they get sick.

• Visit the elderly.

Do you want your childrento learn how to be kind, to beoutgoing, to project a giving,serving attitude? Do youwant them to be considerateof those less fortunate, totake them out on the Sabbathand, as a family, sow someseeds for the Kingdom?

Of course you do. And, asyou teach them, talk aboutwhy you are doing whatyou’re doing. Involve your children inthe thinking as well as the activity.

Why it’s importantWhy is it so important to set the

proper example for our children?

Because God requires it of us, asdescribed in Matthew 25:31-40: “Whenthe Son of Man comes in His glory,and all the holy angels with Him, thenHe will sit on the throne of His glory.All the nations will be gathered before

Him, and He will separate them onefrom another, as a shepherd divides hissheep from the goats. And He will setthe sheep on His right hand, but thegoats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those onHis right hand, ‘Come, you blessed ofMy Father, inherit the kingdom pre-pared for you from the foundation of

the world: for I was hungry and yougave Me food; I was thirsty and yougave Me drink; I was a stranger andyou took Me in; I was naked and youclothed Me; I was sick and you visitedMe; I was in prison and you came toMe.’

“Then the righteous will answerHim, saying, ‘Lord, when did we seeYou hungry and feed You, or thirstyand give You drink? When did we seeYou a stranger and take You in, or

naked and clotheYou? Or when didwe see You sick, orin prison, and cometo You?’And the

King will answer and say to them,‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch asyou did it to one of the least of theseMy brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Do you want your chil-dren to build a relationshipwith God? Do you wantGod to know your children?

Of course you do. Thenteach them to do good forthose less fortunate. Teachyour children to be partnerswith God in sowing seedsfor the Kingdom, on theSabbath, as Christ did. Do itwith them, and you’llstrengthen your relation-ships with God and yourchildren at the same time.

Get them involvedGet your children

involved in helping in theChurch of God. Teens andyoungsters can do mostthings the older memberscan do. Of course they don’tknow how at first, but that’swhat the rest of us are therefor: to show them how to doit.

Paul discussed this prin-ciple in Titus 2:3, 4: Instruct“the older women likewise,that they be . . . teachers ofgood things: that they

admonish the young women to lovetheir husbands, to love their children, tobe discreet, chaste, homemakers, good,obedient to their own husbands . . .”

We must get young people involvedand help them realize they have a partin the church too. Young girls shouldhelp out in the kitchen with snacks andrefreshments. Boys can help with setupand cleanup. Put them to work andpatiently teach them how to serve.That’s how they become a part of

January 1996 27

Do you want your children to learn how to be kind andoutgoing, to sow seeds for the Kingdom?

God’s Church.That’s how theylearn that they areloved, valuableand appreciated.

Will there be bugs in the system?You bet. But it’s far more importantthat young people get involved than itis for everything to run smoothly andon time.

This inclusive involvement is theway every society passes onits ways and values to its nextgeneration. It works, and ithad better work, for the sakeof our next generation.

Spiritual intentUnder the old covenant,

God clearly spelled out rulesfor how the Sabbath was tobe kept. When Christ came,He magnified the law (Isaiah42:21). He showed us thespiritual intent: that hatred,for example, is like murderand lust is as bad as adultery.

Jesus also magnified theSabbath. In Mark 2:23-28 thePharisees criticized the disci-ples because they pickedsome grain as they walkedthrough fields on the Sabbath.Jesus Christ pointed thePharisees away from theirrigid way of observing theSabbath and pointed them tothe original meaning of theday. “The Sabbath was madefor man, and not man for theSabbath,” He told them.

Jesus taught the Sabbath’sintended purpose: that the day is ablessing God gave us to help us drawclose to Him. Jesus emphasized whatthe day is for, rather than listing all thethings we can’t do. This is how wemust teach our children.

I received a letter from a teenagegirl. “Please help me with my confu-sion about the Sabbath,” she pleaded.“Is it okay to go out with my schoolfriends on Friday night? Is it okay to

play school sports on the Sabbath?Everyone I know says it’s no big deal.My friends wonder what’s wrong withme. I want to get along with my friendsand have fun, but I also want to pleaseGod and live like His Son. I don’tknow what to do.”

I did not send her a long list ofthings she could and could not do. Iquoted Isaiah 58:13, 14: “If you turnaway your foot from the Sabbath, from

doing your pleasure on My holy day,and call the Sabbath a delight, the holyday of the Lord honorable, and shallhonor Him, not doing your own ways,nor finding your own pleasure, norspeaking your own words, then youshall delight yourself in the Lord; and Iwill cause you to ride on the high hillsof the earth, and feed you with the her-itage of Jacob your father. The mouthof the Lord has spoken.”

Let kids make decisionsIf we take time out from the busy-

ness of our lives, ceasing from our ownworks to let God work on us, we willdraw close to God. That is what theSabbath is for, and we should teach ourchildren how to use it properly. As theygrow older, we can let them make deci-sions, just as God allows us to do. Forinstance, we can let them make thedecision of what to do for several

hours. Should they playvideo games, call a friendwho is sick, do homework,help Mom get dinnerready—or just lie back andbe bored?

Ask your kids which ofthese activities best fits thepurpose of the Sabbath. Inthis process they learn toparticipate in Sabbath deci-sion-making. When theymake the right choices, theyfeel good, and the rightdecisions are reinforced.When they choose unwisely,they also learn.

Through this process, ourchildren learn to becomepartners with God inSabbath-keeping. Theygradually learn the purposeand intent of the day, andthe Sabbath becomes a partof them.

God’s Fourth Command-ment is being written intheir hearts: not as a list ofrules, but in its spiritualintent. As they grow older,the Sabbath will be a part of

their lives. They will find themselvesSabbath-keepers.

When children are only a few yearsold, we need to tell them everything todo. But, if we continue that approach,detailing every move and behavior forthem well into their teenage years, thebest we can hope for is little peoplewho understand the Sabbath only as alist of rules and regulations. They willnot understand the purpose of the day

We must get young people involved and help them realize they have a part in the church, too.

28 The Good News

Most of us have experienceda time in our life when wehave had to reexamine our

spiritual foundations. During thissoul-searching, the dilemma of a spe-cial group of people, our children, hasgiven me pause.

My children are now grown, hav-ing been born and grown up in ourchurch. Since my husband is a min-ister who prepares his sermons onFriday nights, most of the time itfell my responsibility on the Sab-bath to read to our children andteach them God’s way.

I took my responsibility seriouslyand was diligent, but a conversationI had with one of my daughters afew months ago started me thinkingabout how I could have done a bet-ter job. My daughter told me shedidn’t know if she believed what shebelieved because itwas what she wastaught or because shehad proved it.

I imagine a lot ofchildren who havegrown up attendingtheir parents’ churchhave found them-selves in this quan-dary. I started think-ing about what couldbe done by parents of the next gen-eration to ensure their children don’tgo through this.

It seems to me the thing to do isnot only teach our children God’struth, but teach them how to prove itto themselves and provide anopportunity for them to do so.

For example, as the world’s holi-days approach, plan a day to takeyour children to the library toresearch the origin of the holidays.It seems to me encyclopedias wouldbe a good place to begin the search.Help your children understand themeaning of the days and the variouscustoms associated with them.Often, of course, you will discoverthe origins of such days lie in pagan

practices of the ancient world, and itis inappropriate for Christians toparticipate in those customs.

If your library skills are stale, asmine are, you might want to take adry run: First go the library withoutyour children and enlist the aid of thelibrarian to help you to negotiate, forexample, the computerized card files.

When you do take the kids,remember you’re on this outing tolet them prove something for them-selves. Offer to help them, but letthem find the book, look up thetopic and read the information.

Think of ways to make this apositive experience. Don’t allow itto become hard work (by requiringa 10-page report on their findings,for instance).

Perhaps you could plan a picnic

or go for ice cream afterwards. Goto a private place where you candiscuss what has been proved. Youcan stimulate conversation by ask-ing questions and letting your chil-dren tell you what they learned.

Later, if you have other literatureon the holiday in question, youcould guide a study of the holiday,with the children taking turns read-ing and looking up Scriptures.

I believe an exercise like this doneonce a year or even semiannuallywill help write some of these truthson our children’s hearts. Then, whenthey are older, they will know whatthey believe because they haveproven it for themselves. GN

—Elaine Jacobs

HELP YOUR CHILDREN PROVE IT

January 1996 29

in their hearts.

But, if we build that relationshipwith them, opening our hearts to them,then their hearts will be open to us.Our desires and beliefs will hold greatweight in their minds. They won’t wantto disappoint us, and they won’t wantto disappoint God.

Live our religionWe must live our religion at home. I

once met a young man who told meabout his mother. She had 18 children,and her husband did not like her reli-gion. The family lived 150 miles fromthe nearest location for Sabbath ser-vices.

After the young man’s motherattended church for several years, shecontracted rheumatoid arthritis, whichinvaded most of her joints and spine,disfiguring her hands and feet. She wasrendered bedfast, suffering excruciat-ingly.

However, every Sabbath at 4 in themorning her alarm clock would go off.She would rise slowly and, with greateffort, ready herself and her childrenfor Sabbath services.

She would ride with aching jointsfor three hours to services, sit on ametal chair for two hours, fellowshipfor an hour and ride three hours home.When she got home, she went to bed,where she stayed until 4 o’clock themorning of the next Sabbath.

After seven years of keeping theSabbath in this manner, she died. Herson told me he found it almostunthinkable to miss services for anyreason. He knew his mother’s heart;she loved and honored God and wishedmore than anything else to obey Him.

If we want our children to love andrespect God, the most important thingwe can do is love and respect God. Ifwe want our children to love and keepthe Sabbath, then we must love andkeep the Sabbath. We must live ourreligion at home, and we must remem-ber that each of our children is a vesseldedicated to God for the preservationof His truth. GN

30 The Good News

Let’s begin our study

Discussion: What is a kingdom, anyway?

The Greek word for kingdom is basileia, “pri-marily an abstract noun, denoting sovereignty,royal power, dominion,” which also can be “aconcrete noun, denoting the territory or peopleover whom a king rules . . .” (Vine’s ExpositoryDictionary of New Testament Words).

These meanings are standard in political science,which commonly identifies four characteristics ofa state or kingdom: It must have rulers, subjects,laws and territory.

Does the Kingdom of God meet these four cri-teria?

• Who is its ruler? (Luke 1:26-33; Matthew 6:10;Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 11:15; 19:11-16).

Note: The phrase “Kingdom of God” itself clear-ly identifies the Ruler; various scriptures defineJesus Christ’s role as the One directly governingthe Kingdom.

• Who are its subjects? (Isaiah 2:2-4; Jeremiah3:17; Daniel 7:13, 14; Micah 4:1-4).

Note: The term “mountain” is often propheti-cally synonymous with “government” or “king-dom.”

• What are its laws? (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Micah4:2; Isaiah 2:2, 3; Hebrews 8:7-13).

• What territory does it govern? (Psalms 22:27,28; 72:1-11; Daniel 2:34, 35; Zechariah 14:8, 9).

There’ll be some changes

Discussion: What will happen when God’s ruleis established over all the nations of the earth?Much of what we consider to be normal willchange!

• Where will the new world capital be?(Jeremiah 3:17; Micah 4:2).

• Not all areas of knowledge will increase; somewill just disappear (Isaiah 2:1-4). What otherareas besides war do you think might be for-gotten?

• The animal kingdom is in for big changes(Isaiah 11:6-9).

• How far, and into what areas, will God’s heal-ing extend? (Isaiah 35).

‘Thy Kingdom Come!’

For a moment, close your eyes and wrap your mind around this phrase: The Kingdom ofGod. What picture developes in your mind? Many people, even those with religious back-grounds, draw a blank. Many confusing ideas about God’s Kingdom often make it a hazy

and distant concept, raising more questions than answers. Is the Kingdom of God in heaven?Is it on earth? Who will be in it? Is it here already, in our hearts? Are you part of it now? Willyou be part of it in the future? What will you do there?

These are valid, thought-provoking questions for which God’s Word provides clear, authoritativeanswers. Throughout the Bible God focuses His servants—men, women and children, past, presentand future—on that Kingdom, and He promises that all people of all ages will eventually have achance to see the destiny, and hope, He has planned for their lives.

Researching the Kingdom of God also steers us to a personal question: Does it impact your life now?We live in a high-tech age that is bombarding our senses with thousands of distractions, all screamingfor our attention. Can the Kingdom compete with Hollywood, personal computers and life in the ’90s?Can it be real to us? If so, how should it affect us?

Let’s take a brief journey, in Bible-study format, and find out what you need to know about theKingdom of God.

U N D E R S T A N D I N G G O D ’ S W O R D

• What do “all things” include? (Acts 3:19-21).

Life after the Millennium?

Discussion: This all sounds wonderful, but what ashame it lasts only 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6).Or does it? Does God’s Kingdom ever end?

• Is God’s dominion limited? (Daniel 2:20-22, 34,35, 44, 45; Isaiah 9:6, 7).

• What lies beyond the millennial reign? Do theseresurrected people also have opportunity to liveunder God’s rule? (Revelation 20:4-6, 11-13;Ezekiel 37).

• What happens when it’s all over? (1 Corinthians15:22-28; Revelation 21:1-5).

Note: Revelation 21:5 gives an intriguing clue:“Behold, I make all things new.” What do youthink that means? God gives us that briefestglimpse, but it is assurance that He already hasgrand plans in mind.

But isn’t the Kingdom already here?

Discussion: These prophesied changes are allfascinating, but what about the idea that theKingdom of God is here now? If that is so, howdoes that work? If it is not so, does the Kingdomhave anything to do with us now? Does havingthe true knowledge of God’s Kingdom make youor me a different person? What about in thefuture? What will we be like? What will we do?

• Is there a way in which we experience God’ssovereignty in our lives now? (Colossians 1:13, 14).

• Has God given us some sign of His plan toinclude us in His kingdom later? (Romans 8:11;2 Corinthians 1:20-22; 5:4, 5).

• Does our having the Holy Spirit mean that weare now in the Kingdom? (1 Corinthians 15:50).

Will we have to do anything?

Discussion: As 1 Corinthians 15 and other scrip-tures show, at Christ’s return the saints will bechanged into spirit, given eternal life and com-missioned to rule with Christ. What then? Whatdo we do once we inherit the Kingdom?

• What is involved in “rulership”? (Revelation5:9, 10; 20:4-6).

• What are qualities of a great ruler andteacher? (Isaiah 40:1-11; 30:20, 21).

Having this golden opportunity laid before us,

how should that impact our daily lives?

• What should our reasonable response be?(1 John 3:1-3; Romans 12:1, 2).

• Should anything else take priority? (Matthew6:33; 13:44-46).

• How should our prayer life be affected?(Matthew 6:9, 10; Luke 11:2).

What should we seek first?

Discussion: How does Kingdom-centeredprayer motivate us? Or what motivates us to beKingdom-oriented people?

• What should this focus tell us about our physi-cal lives? (Hebrews 11:1, 8-10, 13-16; Matthew6:33).

Don’t stop now

As promised, our journey was brief. A study ofthe Kingdom of God takes time. In fact, it takesa lifetime! What could be more important, morerewarding, more challenging, than to dedicateourselves to the very purpose for which we draweach breath?

Thy kingdom come!

Further research topics

We’ve barely scratched this subject’s surface. Todig further, we suggest that you:

• Analyze how long the servants of God haveknown of His kingdom. You can start with Jude14, 15, all of Hebrews 11 and many of the Psalms.A topical Bible helps greatly in this type ofresearch.

• Examine the many parables Christ used toexplain aspects of the Kingdom of God. People inJesus’ day frequently didn’t understand, but Hemade sure His disciples did (Matthew 13:10-17).Matthew 13 is a good starting point. See howmany times you find the phrase “the Kingdom islike . . .” Think in depth about the ramificationsof each of these lessons. GN

This outline is intended to suggest topics andquestions to spark discussion in Bible study. Youmay find it useful to spread the study out over anumber of days and to adapt it to fit the agegroupings within your family. Special thanks toDoug Johnson from Mansfield, Ohio, for hispreparation of this study.

January 1996 31

32 The Good News

When Jesus Christ came tolive on earth as a human, Hebrought with Him a mes-

sage called “the gospel.” What was thismessage Jesus preached?

Many have been taught that the“gospel,” the “good news,” is the storyof Christ’s life, birth, earthly activities,death and resurrection. Paul’s wordsin 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 are often usedto support this definition of the gospelof Christ:

“. . . I declare to you the gospelwhich I preached to you, which alsoyou received and in which you stand . . .—unless you believed in vain. For Idelivered to you first of all that which Ialso received: that Christ died for oursins according to the Scriptures, andthat He was buried, and that He roseagain the third day according to theScriptures . . .”

Is this the full definition of thegospel message Christ preached?

As we shall see, Christ’s gospel mes-sage includes much more than simplythe story that His life and death lead toour salvation. It includes not only whatsalvation really is and how God intendsto save the human race from its presentdilemma, but it reveals our gloriousdestiny in the Kingdom of God.

The gospel of the KingdomLet’s first look at the message

Christ Himself proclaimed while onearth. Mark records for us, in Mark1:14, 15, what Jesus preached duringHis ministry: “. . . Jesus came to

Galilee, preaching the gospel of thekingdom of God, and saying, ‘Thetime is fulfilled, and the kingdom ofGod is at hand. Repent, and believe inthe gospel.’”

Mark says this gospel is the news of the Kingdom of God, and this is thegospel we are commanded to believe in.

As mentioned above, the word“gospel” literally means “good news.”Jesus brought as His gospel the “goodnews of the Kingdom of God.”

Matthew also records for us thesubject matter of Jesus Christ’spreaching. In Matthew 4:17 he writes,after Jesus’ temptation by the devil:“From that time Jesus began topreach and to say, ‘Repent, for thekingdom of heaven is at hand.’”Matthew’s term for the content ofJesus Christ’s preaching is “the king-dom of heaven,” another term for thesame message. Jesus began preachingthe message of God’s kingdom fromthe very beginning of His ministry.

Luke also confirms that Jesuspreached the Kingdom of God, notingthat Christ said, “Because for this pur-pose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43).

Luke’s account continues in Luke8:1: “. . . He went through every cityand village, preaching and bringing theglad tidings [the gospel, or good news]of the kingdom of God . . .” LaterJesus sent the 12 disciples to preachthis same gospel of the Kingdom(Luke 9:2). After that, He sent 70 oth-ers, instructing them to speak also of

the Kingdom of God (Luke 10:9-11).

After His death and resurrection,but before He ascended to His Father,He “presented Himself alive” to theapostles, again “speaking of the thingspertaining to the kingdom of God”(Acts 1:3).

Paul describes his own preaching inEphesus as relating to “the kingdom ofGod” (Acts 19:8). He discussed thatKingdom in most of his letters to indi-vidual churches. He referred to himselfand his companions as “fellow work-ers for the kingdom of God”(Colossians 4:11). When Paul met theJews in Rome, he preached to themabout the Kingdom of God and Jesus(Acts 28:31).

It is noteworthy that Paul used theOld Testament Scriptures—“the Lawof Moses and the Prophets”—to preachthe Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ(Acts 28:23). The Bible has a consis-tent message from the beginning of theOld Testament to end of the NewTestament concerning the Kingdom ofGod. The Bible is also clear why JesusChrist brought this message of theKingdom of God.

A literal kingdomWhat is the Kingdom of God? Is it

the Church? Is it something that residesin the hearts of Christians? Let’s beginin Daniel 2.

It becomes apparent, when we readDaniel 2:28-44, that the Kingdom ofGod is a literal kingdom that has notyet been established on earth. In this

The Real Gospelof Jesus Christ

b y B i l l B r a d f o r d

Is the gospel a message about Jesus Christ, or is it the message Hebrought? You need to understand the real good news of Jesus Christ!

January 1996 33

passage we see that Nebuchadnezzar,king of Babylon, had a dream in whichhe saw an image of a huge man. Thisimage consisted of a head of gold,breast and arms of silver, belly andthighs of brass, legs of iron and feet amixture of iron and clay.

Daniel, a prophet of God inNebuchadnezzar’s court, interpreted theking’s dream for him. Through God’sinspiration, Daniel revealed that the fourparts of this image were actually foursuccessive world empires. By God’sinspiration Daniel identified the first ofthe kingdoms, the head of gold, as theBabylonian Empire (Daniel 2:38).

The next two kingdoms are identifiedin Daniel 8:20, 21, which records a latervision that foretold the second and thirdempires. These two kingdoms arenamed as “the kings of Media andPersia” and “the kingdom of Greece.”History has confirmed that the Baby-lonian Empire was succeeded by theMedo-Persian Empire and the GrecianEmpire of Alexander the Great.

In chapter 7 these four kingdomsare pictured again, this time as fourbeasts. The vision in this chapter char-acterizes the empires as wild animals,predicting that their method of ruleand domination would be cruel andoppressive. The fourth kingdom fea-tured in chapter 7 is described as espe-cially cruel.

We know from history that Alexan-der’s Grecian kingdom was succeededby the Roman Empire, the latterdepicted here as challenging the veryauthority of God and persecuting Hissaints (Daniel 7:25). This entity isshown in vision as having 10 horns(verse 7), which are 10 extensions orresurrections of the fourth greatempire to arise.

These resurrections of this fourthkingdom continue through history toour day, and the final resurrection isdepicted as existing at Jesus Christ’sreturn (verses 8-14).

It is in the days of this fourth king-dom that God will replace these earthlykingdoms with His kingdom, accordingto Daniel’s prophecies. “And in thedays of these kings the God of heavenwill set up a kingdom which shallnever be destroyed; and the kingdom

The Bible calls the gospel “thegospel of the Kingdom ofGod” (Mark 1:14) or simply

“the gospel of the kingdom” (Mat-thew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14). But the bib-lical writers used other names for itas well. For instance, the Biblespeaks of the “gospel of Christ” andthe “gospel of God.” Do thesenames refer to various messages ordifferent gospels?

As we will see, these are otherterms for the same messagepreached by Jesus Christ.

For example, the term “gospel ofGod” simply means that it was amessage of good news that originat-ed with God. The apostle Peter tellsus that the gospel was sent fromGod through Jesus Christ. NoticeActs 10:36, 37: “The word whichGod sent to the children of Israel,preaching peace through JesusChrist—He is Lord of all—thatword you know, which was pro-claimed throughout all Judea, andbegan from Galilee after the baptismwhich John preached.”

It was in Galilee that the gospelof the Kingdom of God was firstpreached after John’s ministry hadended. It was this same gospelwhich Peter says God sent to thechildren of Israel by the preachingof Jesus Christ. Hence we see theterm “gospel of God” and also thewords the “gospel of Christ.”

The gospel of God is God’sgospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ isthe gospel Jesus brought as God’smessenger.

In a similar manner, Paul some-times uses the term “my gospel”(Romans 2:16, 16:25; 2 Timothy2:8). This does not mean it originat-ed with Paul, nor was it a gospelabout Paul. It was a message hereceived directly from Jesus Christ.“. . . The gospel which waspreached by me . . . came throughthe revelation of Jesus Christ,” hesaid (Galatians 1:11, 12). The term

“my gospel” makes sense becausehe was the one preaching it.

What about “the gospel of thegrace of God” (Acts 20:24)? Fromthe beginning we are called bygrace, then justified by grace andalso saved by grace. The “gospel ofgrace” is another appropriate termfor the same gospel Jesus preached.

The good news of the Kingdom isalso called “the gospel of your salva-tion” (Ephesians 1:13). Since thegospel of the Kingdom of God isabout your entrance into theKingdom of God and is synonymouswith salvation, there is no conflictwith the other terms for the gospel.

In Revelation 14:6, it is called“the everlasting gospel.” Why?Because God’s kingdom wasplanned even before the first manwas created. “Then the King willsay to those on His right hand,‘Come, you blessed of My Father,inherit the kingdom prepared foryou from the foundation of theworld’” (Matthew 25:34). God’skingdom itself will last forever(Psalm 145:13; Daniel 4:3, 34, 7:14,27; 2 Peter 1:11).

“The gospel of peace” is alsoused to describe this gospel(Romans 10:15; Ephesians 6:15).Peace is an important consequenceof the gospel of the Kingdom.Prophesying of God’s Kingdom,Isaiah said “Of the increase of Hisgovernment and peace there will beno end . . .” (Isaiah 9:7).

These words and phrases alldescribe the same gospel. The writ-ers of the New Testament simplyused terms that emphasized variousaspects of the same wonderful mes-sage. Jesus came preaching thegospel of the Kingdom of God(Mark 1:14, 15), continued to preachit throughout His ministry (Acts 1:3)and taught His disciples to preachthe same message (Matthew 10:7).Although the words to describe itvaried, the message is the same. GN

—Bill Bradford

ARE THERE OTHER GOSPELS?

34 The Good News

shall not be left to other people; it shallbreak in pieces and consume all thesekingdoms, and it shall stand forever”(Daniel 2:44).

We see that the fourth kingdom con-tinues to rule until Christ returns toestablish His kingdom here on earth.

God’s kingdom—foretold repeated-ly in Daniel—is the same kingdomJesus Christ spoke about. There can beno mistake about the nature of theKingdom of God. The four kingdomsdescribed in Daniel 2, 7 and 8 ruledover people and lands. They were to beworld empires with dominion andpower to rule, warring against andconquering other nations. They hadkings, governments and laws. Theywere literal kingdoms, whose ruins arevisible to this day.

So, too, will the Kingdom of God be

a literal sovereignty ruling over thewhole earth. “. . . The God of heavenwill set up a kingdom which shall neverbe destroyed; and the kingdom shall notbe left to other people; it shall break inpieces and consume all these kingdoms,and it shall stand forever,” said Danielof this kingdom (Daniel 2:44).

This kingdom was the subject ofJesus’ gospel. Jesus will return to theearth and establish the Kingdom. Hewill be the King of the Kingdom ofGod. “Then the seventh angel sound-ed: And there were loud voices inheaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of thisworld have become the kingdoms ofour Lord and of His Christ, and Heshall reign forever and ever!’” (Revela-tion 11:15).

Entering the KingdomWhen Jesus came preaching the

Kingdom of God, He said it was “athand” and commanded people torepent and believe the good news aboutit (Mark 1:14, 15).

His kingdom is something we mustenter (Mark 10:23, 25). Jesus warnedof obstacles that can prevent ourentrance into the Kingdom (Matthew5:20; 19:23-25; Mark 9:47; Luke18:17; John 3:5).

Jesus was at that time inviting peo-ple to repent so they could enter theKingdom of God (Mark 1:15). Hisparables described what the Kingdomis, when it would come and how aperson could enter it, and He clarifiedthe requirements for and obstacles toentering it.

When does a person enter theKingdom of God? Upon conversion,Christians become children of God and

Some verses about God’s king-dom, like Colossians 1:13,seem to imply that Christians

are now in the Kingdom of God. Isthis true?

Part of the confusion in someminds is caused by the meaning ofthe word “kingdom.” The Greekword basileia, translated “kingdom,”denotes sovereignty, royal power anddominion (W.E. Vine, Vine’s Exposi-tory Dictionary of New TestamentWords, “Kingdom”).

Colossians 1:13 shows that God’sroyal sovereignty and power beginsin the life of the Christian at conver-sion. The NIV Study Bible accuratelyexplains that in this verse the wordkingdom “does not here refer to a ter-ritory but to the authority, rule or sov-ereign power of a king. Here itmeans that the Christian is no longerunder the dominion of evil (darkness)but under the benevolent rule ofGod’s Son.”

Virtually all other occurrences of“kingdom” refer to the literal domin-ion that Christ will establish at Hisreturn (Matthew 6:33; Revelation11:15). As “heirs of God” in trainingto inherit that future Kingdom

(Romans 8:15-16; Matthew 25:34;Revelation 20:4, 6), Christians arethus subject to the sovereignty andauthority of that Kingdom now.

Jesus Christ, ruler of that comingKingdom, is the Lord and Master ofChristians now (Philippians 2:9-11).God rules the lives of convertedChristians who voluntarily obey Himand His laws. They submit them-selves to God’s basileia—His royalsovereignty and power. They individ-ually are part of the Church, theBody of Christ which God also rules.But the Church collectively looks toGod’s coming world rule when thebasileia will be fully established.

Likewise the Kingdom does notreside in the hearts of men, as someassume from Christ’s words that“The kingdom of God is within you”(Luke 17:21). The Greek word entos,translated “within,” is better translat-ed “in the midst of” (Vine, “Within”).Christ could not have been telling thePharisees here that God’s kingdomwas within them—after all, theywanted to destroy Him (Matthew12:14; Mark 3:6).

Jesus Christ was answering theirquestion about when the Kingdom of

God would come, and He told themthat it was already in their midst. He,as representative and king of thatKingdom, was right there amongthem, and they couldn’t recognize it(John 18:36, 37). Rather than tellingthem the Kingdom of God was some-thing in their hearts, Jesus Christ waswarning them that they were so spiri-tually blind they couldn’t recognizethe very personification of thatKingdom in Him.

Some think that the Church is theKingdom of God. Although there is aconnection between the two, they arenot identical. Jesus Christ is the headof the Church (Ephesians 1:22),which is the group of believers calledby God to prepare for the comingKingdom.

Christ rules His Church and in thatsense it is under his sovereignty androyal power. We might say that theChurch is the precursor of the com-ing Kingdom of God. The Biblenever uses the term kingdom to applydirectly to the Church. Instead itrefers to a coming world-ruling gov-ernment, as shown in the accompany-ing article. GN

—John Meakin

ARE WE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD NOW?

January 1996 35

heirs of the kingdom (Romans 8:16,17). But they will not inherit the king-dom until the kingdom comes. Paulexplains: “Now this I say, brethren, thatflesh and blood cannot inherit the king-dom of God; nor does corruption inher-it incorruption. Behold, I tell you amystery: We shall not all sleep, but weshall all be changed—in a moment, inthe twinkling of an eye, at the lasttrumpet. For the trumpet will sound,and the dead will be raised incorrupt-ible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor-inthians 15:50-52).

Many people stop reading after thefirst four verses of this chapter, think-ing they describe the entirety of thegospel Paul preached. But, by contin-uing to read the chapter, we see clear-ly that there is much more to thestory. Paul goes on to explain moreabout the resurrection from the deadand entrance into the Kingdom ofGod. We “inherit,” or enter, that king-dom “at the last trumpet” (verse 52),the great blast that signals Christ’sreturn to rule the earth forever(Revelation 11:15).

Salvation through Jesus’ life, deathand resurrection is indeed a part of thegospel message, but it is not exclusive-ly (as many assume) the gospel mes-

sage. Jesus Christ died, was buried andwas resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)for a reason: so we could have ever-lasting life in the Kingdom of God(John 3:3, 5, 16).

We can accept Jesus’ command torepent and believe this gospel message.We can turn to God for forgiveness andreconciliation through Jesus Christ andbegin to live by the laws of the King-dom of God as taught by Jesus Christ.Those who refuse to live by God’s holylaws will be refused entrance into theKingdom of God and eternal life (1Corinthians 6:9, 10; Galatians 5:19-21;Ephesians 5:5).

Entering the Kingdom of God issynonymous with salvation. Thus,without understanding what theKingdom of God is, we don’t under-stand what salvation is.

Humans not in the KingdomThis resurrection from the dead is

to take place when Jesus Christreturns at the last trump and the king-doms of this world become the king-doms of our Lord and of His Christ.Those who are resurrected from mor-tality to immortality will have enteredHis kingdom. The people who remainin the nations of the earth who are not

resurrected will not yet be in theKingdom of God because they arestill mortal (human); they will beruled by the Kingdom of God. TheKingdom of God’s rule of the earthwill consist of the reign of Christ andthose who have been given eternal life(Revelation 20:4-6).

Jesus Christ is setting up His king-dom on this earth with His resurrectedsaints so that all may have eternal lifein the Kingdom of God. God’s desire isthat everyone has the opportunity toescape death and inherit the Kingdomof God, each in one’s own time (1 Cor-inthians 15:20-26).

The message Jesus brought is called,appropriately, the good news of theKingdom of God. It really is goodnews, the most wonderful news imag-inable for mankind. Jesus Christ is ask-ing you to believe that good news and“seek first the kingdom of God”(Matthew 6:33).

This publication is named for thesame message Jesus proclaimed. Lookfor more articles in THE GOOD NEWS

magazine explaining the teachings ofJesus Christ about the coming King-dom of God and what you should doto enter that glorious kingdom. GN

Comments on the premier issue

Hurrah, Hurrah! We have a wonder-ful GOOD NEWS magazine again. It isbeautiful. I loved the cover and all thearticles. Thank you very much, and Iam looking forward to the next issue.

Mrs. Glenn MeeksRoseburg, Oregon

I read the article by BonnieGreider, “Are We Thriving or JustCoping?,” and “A Heart of Flesh,” byAndrea West. Both were good arti-cles, and as Mrs. Greider pointed out,we do take things for granted. I knowthis to be true.

I have several handicaps that havechanged my life and made me awareof what others must put up with. I tellothers that I once saw people with a

problem, but now I feel it. How peo-ple can see or know of a need and nottry to help is hard to understand.

M.W. BunchClarksville, Indiana

THE GOOD NEWS is certainly ahigh-class publication filled withspiritually uplifting material for allages. I certainly appreciate the greatefforts put forth to bring this maga-zine to us so soon, and it was espe-cially significant to be able to receivethe premier issue at the Feast.

What a blessing to read articlesthat were inspired by God and writtenby God’s people.

Jeri HolcombHawkins, Texas

We see THE GOOD NEWS as a greatasset in replenishing our spiritualgrowth. Overall, it seems that every-one would like to see articles regard-ing living according to God’s law in

the New Testament Church, and allthat entails (Sabbath, Holy Days,everyday Christian living, etc.)

It looks like you have a great starttoward that.

Dan WilsonBig Sandy, Texas

We got our premier issue of THE

GOOD NEWS during the Feast. Timehasn’t allowed us to get it read com-pletely, but we wanted you to knowhow great it is to have a wonderfulmagazine like this available.

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth GarrisonDes Moines, Iowa

THE GOOD NEWS magazine is sucha blessing! The look, content andpaper quality of the magazine—andespecially the content—representGod and His people.

Mr. and Mrs. Louis BarreiroStockton, California

Letters FromOur Readers

36 The Good News

‘Called, Chosen and Faithful’

b y R o g e r F o s t e r

How can you tell authenticdisciples of Jesus Christ fromanyone else? After all, there are

literally hundreds of Christian religiousgroups, each regarding itself as pos-sessing that special something thatgives it the edge with God.

Most groups professing to be Christ-ian represent themselves as having a“calling,” or as the “chosen” of the Lord.Many non-Christian religious groupsregard themselves as the chosen of God.

When viewed from a distance, thewhole religious scene is confusing. Nowonder millions are suspicious of allreligion. Is it possible to sort the truthin this religious milieu?

Yes it is, if we are willing to take anhonest look at the facts.

Jesus Christ is real. His impact onthe world has exceeded that of anyother man who ever lived. Everyone isfamiliar with the name “Jesus Christ,”but who knows what He taught, whatwas His mission? Who truly representsHim today? What makes His true fol-lowers different?

Jesus said, “I will build My church.”The Greek word for “church” is ekkle-sia, meaning “a calling out” or “called-out ones.” But Jesus warned that “nar-row is the gate and difficult is the waywhich leads to life, and there are fewwho find it” (Matthew 7:14).

Should we be surprised? Most peoplejust ignore what Jesus says if they don’tagree with it. Nevertheless, Jesus tellsthose who wish to be His true disciplesthat they must “enter by the narrow gate;for wide is the gate and broad is the waythat leads to destruction, and there aremany who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).

Even if one becomes an authentic

disciple of Christ, a real danger is thatone can be swept back into the clutchesof Satan, the arch-adversary of all whowould be godly. The apostle Paul wroteof his concern for those converted toChristianity under his ministry:

“But I am afraid that just as Eve wasdeceived by the serpent’s cunning, yourminds may somehow be led astrayfrom your sincere and pure devotion toChrist. For if someone comes to you

and preaches a Jesus other than theJesus we preached, or if you receive adifferent spirit from the one youreceived, or a different gospel from theone you accepted, you put up with iteasily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:3, 4,New International Version).

Many are easily deceivedPaul was amazed at how easily peo-

ple threw away his teachings to believea fraudulent gospel, embrace a decep-tive spirit or even accept a counterfeitMessiah. Satan is a master deceiver. Fartoo many people are easy prey, evenafter they have embraced the truth.They are enticed by persuasive teachershawking a counterfeit righteousness.

“For such men are false apostles,deceitful workmen, masquerading as

apostles of Christ. And no wonder, forSatan himself masquerades as anangel of light. It is not surprising,then, if his servants masquerade asservants of righteousness” (2 Cor-inthians 11:13-15, NIV)

No wonder so many varieties of whatsome would call righteousness aretaught under the name of Jesus Christ.His name serves as a mask for religiousphilosophies that didn’t originate withHim or His apostles. Jesus said, “Manywill say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,have we not prophesied in Your name,cast out demons in Your name, anddone many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘Inever knew you; depart from Me, youwho practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew7:22, 23). The practice of lawlessnesscan negate all other good deeds.

Disobedience comes naturallyLawlessness, the key ingredient in the

counterfeit righteousness of these falsegospels, is nothing more than a naturalexpression of what we call humannature. Under the influence of Satan,“the god of this age,” mankind has beenblinded (2 Corinthians 4:4). Humannature does not want to obey God.

Paul wrote that “the sinful mind ishostile to God. It does not submit toGod’s law, nor can it do so. Those con-trolled by the sinful nature cannotplease God” (Romans 8:7, 8, NIV). In other words, alternatives to the truemessage of Jesus Christ have beendevised to accommodate the naturalhuman unwillingness to obey God.

Sadly, most people who accept theselawless precepts are sincere. Theybelieve their delusions. “The coming ofthe lawless one is according to theworking of Satan, with all power, signs,

Paul was amazed at how easily people

could believe a fraudulent gospel,

embrace a deceptivespirit or even accept a counterfeit Messiah.

January 1996 37

and lying wonders, and with allunrighteous deception among thosewho perish, because they did notreceive the love of the truth, that theymight be saved. And for this reasonGod will send them a strong delusion,that they should believe the lie”(2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).

Now, back to our original question:What sets apart an authentic disciple ofJesus Christ?

Called and chosen The idea that one must be “called”

and “chosen” originates with JesusHimself, who told His disciples that“many are called, but few are chosen”(Matthew 22:14). The concepts of call-ing and choice are legitimately biblical,but they are rarely understood andincredibly misused. Let’s be sure to getthem straight.

“Many are called, but few are cho-sen.” That’s what Jesus said. But whatdoes that mean?

God’s great purpose is to give salva-tion—eternal life—to all mankind.“For God did not send His Son into theworld to condemn the world, but thatthe world through Him might besaved” (John 3:17). However, all arenot being saved at this time, in this age(Ephesians 1:7-10).

God chooses a person to receiveeternal life only when one learns andaccepts the truth.

Truth is that knowledge revealed byGod through His Word, the Bible (John17:17). All must learn and accept thetruth. “Therefore I exhort first of allthat supplications, prayers, interces-sions, and giving of thanks be made forall men . . . For this is good and accept-able in the sight of God our Savior,who desires all men to be saved and tocome to the knowledge of the truth”(1 Timothy 2:1-4).

All must repentAfter learning what is the truth, one

must repent. “The Lord is not slack con-cerning His promise, as some countslackness, but is longsuffering toward us,not willing that any should perish butthat all should come to repentance”(2 Peter 3:9). All must repent, said Peter.

Real repentance results from an accu-rate understanding of the gospel of Jesus

Christ, but how can one gain this under-standing? “How then shall they call onHim in whom they have not believed?And how shall they believe in Him ofwhom they have not heard? And howshall they hear without a preacher? Andhow shall they preach unless they aresent?” (Romans 10:14, 15).

It is clear that one must be taught byministers who are truly sent by God,ministers who do not teach lawless-ness, ministers who are faithful toGod’s Word, who teach obedience toGod and that repentance is to ceasefrom sin, to quit transgressing God’slaws (1 John 3:4).

Let’s examine the differencebetween called and chosen. “But weare bound to give thanks to God alwaysfor you, brethren beloved by the Lord,because God from the beginning choseyou for salvation through sanctificationby the Spirit and belief in the truth, towhich He called you by our gospel, forthe obtaining of the glory of our LordJesus Christ”(2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14).

There it is. People are “called”(“invited,” in the Greek) by the preach-ing of the gospel (the good news of theKingdom of God). They receive theknowledge that they need to repent oftheir sins.

Those who respond are “chosen” forsalvation. How? By believing the truthand by being sanctified (set apart) byreceiving the Holy Spirit.

Different responses to gospelIt is really a sorting-out process that

begins with a miracle from God. Jesussaid, “No one can come to Me unless theFather who sent Me draws him . . .”(John 6:44). Then He adds, “Therefore Ihave said to you that no one can come toMe unless it has been granted to him byMy Father” (verse 65).

God draws our hearts toward Him.

He grants us the desire to learn Hisways, to submit our wills to Him. Wenaturally resist submitting to God’s laws(Romans 8:7). Yielding our will to Godis truly a miracle, “for it is God whoworks in you both to will and to do forHis good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Jesus uses the parable of the sowerand the seed to illustrate people’s variedresponses to the gospel. In the parable,all hear the truth of God’s Wordpreached. Only those who are called byGod grasp the truth and understand it.Each responds differently. You can readthe parable of the sower and the seed inMatthew 13, where Jesus not only givesthe parable, but tells what it means.

First Jesus explains the response ofthose who are not yet being called.They do not grasp what they hear.“When anyone hears the word of thekingdom, and does not understand it,then the wicked one comes andsnatches away what was sown in hisheart. This is he who received seed bythe wayside” (verse 19). Such peoplenever understand the message and itssignificance.

Next He explains three responsesdifferent from the reactions of thosewho truly understand. God has openedtheir minds; they grasp the meaning.Each one responds differently, and fordifferent reasons.

Short-lived acceptance“But he who received the seed on

stony places, this is he who hears theword and immediately receives it withjoy; yet he has no root in himself, butendures only for a while. For whentribulation or persecution arisesbecause of the word, immediately hestumbles” (verses 20, 21).

This person’s first response is joyfulacceptance, but he quickly retreats.Why? He backs off because of pressurefrom other people who do not under-stand. He cares more about what peoplethink than what God thinks. He is afraidto make waves or rock the boat. Con-forming to his peers is what is impor-tant to him. The tribulation or persecu-tion he experiences from trying to liveGod’s way of life makes him stumble.He rejects the calling from God.

“Now he who received seed amongthe thorns is he who hears the word,

“Called” and “chosen”are legitimate biblicalconcepts. But they arerarely understood and incredibly misused.

38 The Good News

and the cares of this world and thedeceitfulness of riches choke the word,and he becomes unfruitful” (verse 22).

This person is not as concernedabout the opinions of his peers. Hisproblem is selfishness. Maintaining hisstatus and acquiring personal posses-sions consume all his interest, time andenergy. He has no time for God. He istoo busy serving himself. Materialthings are far more important than spir-itual matters. He, too, rejects the call-ing from God.

“But he who received seed on thegood ground is he who hears the wordand understands it, who indeed bearsfruit and produces: some a hundredfold,some sixty, some thirty” (verse 23).

This person understands God’s Wordand takes it seriously. He puts it intopractice. He changes his life! This per-son was chosen for salvation. He putGod first in his life.

Many are called. Many receive theopportunity for God to work in them“to will and to do for His good plea-sure” (Philippians 2:13). But only afew respond. Those few truly repentand surrender their will to God, makinga commitment to obey God’s com-mandments. Those who respond toGod’s calling are chosen by Godbecause they choose to serve God.

We must remain faithfulWhen God offers us an opportunity

to serve Him, the choice is ours. Thatchoice is not a one-time decision. Wemust commit to that choice and perse-vere to the end (Matthew 24:13).

The book of Revelation describesthe end of this age, when a great“beast”—a political and economicunion of 10 “kings”—will resist therule of Jesus Christ at His return. Theserulers will be the most influential andpopular leaders in the world at thattime. “These will make war with theLamb, and the Lamb will overcomethem, for He is Lord of lords and Kingof kings; and those who are with Himare called, chosen, and faithful”(Revelation 17:12-14).

That’s right. Those who are withChrist are not only called and chosen,but they are faithful. Being called andchosen is not the end of the story.

“For if, after they have escaped the

pollutions of the world through theknowledge of the Lord and SaviorJesus Christ, they are again entangledin them and overcome, the latter end isworse for them than the beginning. Forit would have been better for them notto have known the way of righteous-ness, than having known it, to turnfrom the holy commandment deliveredto them. But it has happened to themaccording to the true proverb: ‘A dogreturns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow,having washed, to her wallowing in themire’” (2 Peter 2:20-22).

Growing to be like ChristSalvation isn’t automatic. We must

remain faithful to our calling to be saved.

Jesus compares Himself to a vineand His true followers to its branches.He says, “Abide in Me, and I in you.As the branch cannot bear fruit ofitself, unless it abides in the vine, nei-ther can you, unless you abide in Me. Iam the vine, you are the branches. Hewho abides in Me, and I in him, bearsmuch fruit; for without Me you can donothing” (John 15:4, 5). He warns, “Ifanyone does not abide in Me, he is castout as a branch and is withered; andthey gather them and throw them intothe fire, and they are burned” (verse 6).

Those who remain faithful will growto be like Jesus Christ spiritually. “Bythis My Father is glorified, that youbear much fruit; so you will be My dis-ciples” (verse 8). He adds, “Everybranch that bears fruit He prunes, thatit may bear more fruit” (verse 2).

God remains active in the lives ofthose He has chosen for salvation. Heexpects them to remain faithful to theircommitment to Him and produce spiri-tual fruit in their lives. He even prunesthem. He allows trials to develop thattest and expose their weaknesses, forc-ing them to continue making choices toobey God, sometimes under circum-stances of great difficulty.

What fruit does God expect theauthentic disciples of Jesus Christ tomanifest in their lives? He expects themto obey His commandments (1 John2:3-6). He expects them to set an exam-ple in “love, joy, peace, patience, kind-ness, goodness, faithfulness, gentlenessand self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23,NIV). He expects them to exhibit the

basic characteristics of his own divinenature, the very character of God.

The apostle Peter sums it up so well.“. . . To those who through the right-eousness of our God and Savior JesusChrist have received a faith as preciousas ours: Grace and peace be yours inabundance through the knowledge ofGod and of Jesus our Lord. His divinepower has given us everything we needfor life and godliness through ourknowledge of him who called us by hisown glory and goodness. Throughthese he has given us his very great andprecious promises, so that throughthem you may participate in the divinenature and escape the corruption in theworld caused by evil desires.

“For this very reason, make everyeffort to add to your faith goodness;and to goodness, knowledge; and toknowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to persever-ance, godliness; and to godliness,brotherly kindness; and to brotherlykindness, love. For if you possess thesequalities in increasing measure, theywill keep you from being ineffectiveand unproductive in your knowledge ofour Lord Jesus Christ.

“But if anyone does not have them,he is nearsighted and blind, and has for-gotten that he has been cleansed fromhis past sins. Therefore, my brothers, beall the more eager to make your callingand election sure. For if you do thesethings, you will never fall, and you willreceive a rich welcome into the eternalkingdom of our Lord and Savior JesusChrist” (2 Peter 1:1-11, NIV).

God has made it abundantly clearwhat His authentic disciples are. Theyare called to surrender their wills toGod, to repent and receive God’sHoly Spirit. Because they choose toallow God’s Spirit to guide both theirhearts and their conduct they are cho-sen for salvation—to have a part inHis eternal kingdom.

They prove their faithfulness byenduring trials and obstacles as evi-dence of their continued commitmentto obey God. As truly converted peoplethey are “the body of Christ” (1 Cor-inthians 12:27) and “the church of theliving God” (1 Timothy 3:15).

They are called, chosen and faithful! GN

January 1996 39

do so many misinterpret the Bible’sprophecies; they cause others to stumbleas a result. But, as the apostle Paul said,“let God be true but every man a liar”(Romans 3:4). God’s Word will alwaysstand, though a thousand misinterpret.

What, then, can we know aboutBible prophecy in general and aboutthe year 2000—the last year before thenew millennium—in particular? Theanswer to the first question is rich ininformation for our natural curiosity.Those images of earthquakes, famines,pestilence, judgment and retribution arefrom Christ Himself.

Matthew’s Gospel contains aprophetic passage reiterated in Mark13 and Luke 21. Known as “the littleApocalypse,” the predictions inMatthew 24 spring from questionsposed by Jesus’ disciples. Matthewrecords that, in response to Jesus’statement that one day Herod’s mag-nificent temple would be destroyed,“the disciples came to him privatelysaying, ‘Tell us, when will these thingsbe? And what will be the sign of Yourcoming, and of the end of the age?’”(Matthew 24:3)

The answers to their two questionsframe the rest of Matthew 24 and 25. Itis instructive that Jesus does not direct-ly answer the “when” of the questionsin any definitive way. He does not set adate; in fact, as we saw earlier, Hestates that only the Father knows(Matthew 24:36).

He disabuses His hearers of anythought that the kind of signs that peoplehistorically look for to indicate the endare valid. Acknowledging that wars,rumors of wars, famines, pestilences andearthquakes will occur, He neverthelessmakes it clear that “the end is not yet”and that “these are the beginning of sor-rows” (Matthew 24:6, 8).

A real clueOne clue that the end is near will be

the international preaching of “thisgospel of the kingdom” as a witness(Matthew 24:14). Clearly that will notbe a sign like an earthquake or a war,or a famine or a pandemic.

Jesus also speaks of events in the

Middle East as precursors to Hisreturn. In so doing He refers to theprophet Daniel’s writings in the OldTestament: “‘Therefore when you seethe “abomination of desolation,” spokenof by Daniel the prophet, standing inthe holy place’ (whoever reads, let himunderstand), ‘then let those who are inJudea flee to the mountains’” (verses15, 16).

Some claim that this was fulfilled inthe Roman destruction of Jerusalem inA.D. 70. Yet Jesus calls that idea intoquestion by saying, “For then there willbe great tribulation, such as has not beensince the beginning of the world untilthis time, no, nor ever shall be. Andunless those days we shortened, no fleshwould be saved; but for the elect’s sakethose days will be shortened.”

These statements describe terror suchas the world has never seen. Because ofthe intense danger to all humanity, the“tribulation” will be halted for the sakeof “the elect,” the people of God. Onlythen will the heavenly signs of the sun,moon and stars in disruption occur.

The return of Jesus Christ will takeplace accompanied by the sign of theson of man, a visible appearance of thereturning Jesus Christ in the heavens.This will follow a time of unparalleledsuffering brought on by man’s ownhand and Satan’s wrath, as we discoverin the book of Revelation: “Then thefourth angel poured out his bowl on thesun, and power was given to him toscorch men with fire. And men werescorched with great heat, and they blas-phemed the name of God who haspower over these plagues; and they didnot repent and give Him glory”(Revelation 16:8, 9).

Soon after, there is a time of greathappiness during which at last thehuman misery can end: “And I heard, asit were, the voice of a great multitude,as the sound of many waters and as thesound of mighty thunderings, saying,‘Alleluia! For the Lord GodOmnipotent reigns! Let us be glad andrejoice and give Him glory, for the mar-riage of the Lamb has come, and Hiswife has made herself ready’”(Revelation 19:6, 7).

Where does the year 2000 fit into allof this? What do the end of the secondmillennium and the beginning of thethird signify?

From a strictly biblical perspectivethe beginning of the next thousand yearssignifies nothing and the turn of the cen-tury means nothing more nor less thanthe progression in a humanly devisedsystem of counting years. Rememberthat the year 2000 is the year 5761 forthe Jews, 1421 for the Muslims and4698 for the Chinese. In our limitedawareness we often assume that datesthat may be important to us should beimportant to everyone else on the planet.

God doesn’t follow man’s calendars

As we’ve seen, no one knows theday nor the hour of the end of thisphase of human civilization, and it’sunlikely that God the Father is operat-ing according to any of these humancalendars.

The prophecies of the Word of Godwill come to pass on time, when Hedetermines. In the meantime, we havemore than enough to busy ourselveswith. The apostle Peter wrote two let-ters toward the end of his life. In themhe distills his Christian experience.Thinking about the future day of judg-ment he writes: “But the day of theLord will come as a thief in the night,in which the heavens will pass awaywith a great noise, and the elementswill melt with fervent heat; both theearth and the works that are in it willbe burned up. Therefore, since allthese things will be dissolved, whatmanner of persons ought you to be inholy conduct and godliness . . .?”(2 Peter 3:10, 11.)

The idea that we live in the shadowof Judgment Day ought to make us askourselves about the spiritual conditionof our lives. There is a way that leads toholy conduct and godliness in this life.

Peter pleads with his readers to findthat way. It comes down to acceptingresponsibility before our Creator forwhat we are and what we’ve done andlearning how to be forgiven of sin andthat sin will be obliterated.

That’s the relief that God’s electfind as they begin their new life now.They can be assured of God’s protec-tion in the progression of events up toJesus Christ’s return. In the meantime,they live their lives not in fear but inenthusiasm for a new way that will beeternally satisfying in the ongoingwork of God. GN

Year 2000Continued from page 7

40 The Good News

Spirit of the Lord came upon David inpower . . .” (verses 12, 13, NIV).

From this example we see thatanointing signified that God had cho-sen that person for rulership. Severaltimes in the Old Testament, kings arereferred to as “the Lord’s anointed.” Itwas a title of respect and reverence,acknowledging that God had placedthe person in that position.

How does that apply to JesusChrist? Just before His execution, theRoman governor Pilate asked Him,“Are You a king?”

“. . . For this cause I was born, andfor this cause I have come into theworld . . .,” answered Jesus. “. . .‘Mykingdom is not of this world. If Mykingdom were of this world, My ser-vants would fight, so that I should notbe delivered to the Jews; but now Mykingdom is not from here,’” He said(John 18:36, 37).

Ruler of coming KingdomThat Kingdom, of which Jesus

Christ would be king, was at the heartof Jesus’ teaching: “. . .‘I must preachthe kingdom of God . . . because forthis purpose I have been sent,’” Hesaid (Luke 4:43).

The message He brought was “thegospel [good news] of the kingdom ofGod” (Mark 1:14). Jesus “went throughevery city and village, preaching andbringing the glad tidings of the king-dom of God . . .” (Luke 8:1). He com-manded His followers to “seek first thekingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).

That Kingdom is prophesiedthroughout the Bible in both the Oldand New Testaments. “. . . The God ofHeaven will set up a kingdom whichshall never be destroyed . . . It shallbreak in pieces and consume all these[other] kingdoms, and it shall standforever” (Daniel 2:44).

“Then to Him [prophesying of JesusChrist] was given dominion and gloryand a kingdom, that all peoples,nations, and languages should serveHim. His dominion is an everlastingdominion, which shall not pass away,and His Kingdom the one which shall

not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14).

This coming Kingdom will rule over“all peoples, nations, and languages” ofthe earth, as we just read. It willreplace the governments of this world,and Jesus Christ will be the supremeRuler. “Then the seventh angel sound-ed: And there were loud voices inheaven, saying, ‘the kingdoms of thisworld have become the kingdoms ofour Lord and of His Christ, and Heshall reign forever and ever!’” (Reve-lation 11:15).

Assisting Jesus Christ in administer-ing His Kingdom will be His follow-ers, now resurrected to eternal life.“Blessed and holy is he who has part inthe first resurrection. Over such thesecond death has no power, but theyshall be priests of God and of Christ,and shall reign with Him a thousandyears” (Revelation 20:6).

How will this government be admin-istered? “For unto us a Child is born,unto us a Son is given; and the govern-ment will be upon His shoulder. AndHis name will be called Wonderful,Counselor, Mighty God, EverlastingFather, Prince of Peace. Of the increaseof His government and peace there willbe no end, upon the throne of David andover His kingdom, to order it and estab-lish it with judgment and justice fromthat time forward, even forever . . .”(Isaiah 9:6, 7).

There will be no end of peace underthat government. It will be establishedand upheld with judgment and justiceforever. What a contrast to today’sworld, filled with every kind of suffer-ing and anguish imaginable! But that isthe kind of government mankind willhave under Jesus Christ’s rule in theKingdom of God.

Exalted above allNot only will Jesus Christ rule over

that Kingdom in the future, but He isalso a ruler now. Throughout the NewTestament, He is referred to as “theLord Jesus Christ” or simply “theLord,” signifying that He is our Master,Ruler and King now. “Therefore Godalso has highly exalted Him and givenHim the name which is above everyname, that at the name of Jesus everyknee should bow, of those in heaven,and of those on earth, and of thoseunder the earth, and that every tongue

should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father”(Philippians 2:9-11).

Do we recognize that “Jesus Christis Lord,” our Lord and Master now?Paul described to the church inEphesus the position to which God theFather has exalted Jesus Christ. “. . .He raised Him from the dead and seat-ed Him at His right hand in the heav-enly places, far above all principalityand power and might and dominion,and every name that is named, not onlyin this age but also in that which is tocome. And He put all things under Hisfeet, and gave Him to be head over allthings to the church, which is Hisbody, the fullness of Him who fills allin all” (Ephesians 1:20-23).

Paul says here that Jesus Christ isover everything, “far above all principal-ity and power and might and dominion .. .” He is over all the angels. He is aboveall the powers of the universe, the galax-ies, the stars, the planets. He is over allpower and authority both now and inthe age to come. God the Father has puteverything in subjection to Him, andincluded in that is the Church, His spiri-tual body. That is the greatness and thepower and the authority of our King andMaster, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is truly the One throughwhom “God is salvation.” He sacrificedHimself to pay the death penalty in ourplace. He lives now within us, helpingus to live as He lived and walk as Hewalked, developing God’s holy charac-ter within us.

He truly is the Messiah, the Christ,the Anointed One. He truly is set apart,having devoted and given His physicallife as the perfect example and sacrificefor us. He truly is our High Priest, rec-onciling us to God and giving us greaterunderstanding of God and His ways. Hetruly is a holy Prophet, a divine Teacher,showing mankind the way to peace andhappiness and life everlasting.

He truly is the One who will returnto this earth as King of Kings and Lordof Lords to establish a kingdom thatwill bring peace forever and salvationto all. And He is our King, our Lordand our Master now.

How great is the meaning of “JesusChrist” for us! GN

Jesus ChristContinued from page 15

January 1996 41

T H E C H R I S T I A N W O M A N

My daughter and I decidedto make some sock dolls, sowe went to a store to buy

some brightly colored yarn for thedolls’ hair. At first we didn’t pay muchattention to an elderly woman whowas carefully looking through thepackages of yarn until she held up askein and asked us, “Is this mauve-colored yarn?”

I answered that it would probablypass for such. I could have let it go atthat and kept on looking for my ownyarn, but something about the womanmade me ask if she was checking tobe sure she was getting the same dye-lot number.

Eyes no match for numberIf you’ve worked with yarn, you

know you can think you’re matchingcolors correctly, but, if different skeinswere dyed in different batches whenthe yarn was being manufactured, thecolors can vary enough to give you anunpleasant surprise once you’ve com-pleted your project.

The woman knew nothing aboutdye-lot numbers, so I helped her findthem on the packages. We made sureall the dye lots were the same so thecolors would match.

Thanking me for my help, shestarted to leave but came back shortlyto apologetically ask if I might knowwhere the scissors were. I directed herto the end of the aisle to a scissorsdisplay.

As my daughter and I were about toleave, the woman returned. My simpleact had so impressed her that she hadto come back to thank me profuselyfor my kindness. As it turned out shewas from a senior citizens’ home andhad come to purchase yarn for afriend who had just undergone heartbypass surgery.

I reflected on how sad it is that mysimple act of courtesy was so out of theordinary that the woman felt it warrant-ed such gratitude, and then I consid-ered how often I had shown friendshiptoward strangers. I had to admit that ithadn’t been often enough.

Too many of us live in a world inwhich we don’t communicate with thosewe don’t know. We pass each other instores and don’t make eye contact.

This sin-sick world has made usleery of strangers, yet God has instruct-ed us to extend ourselves. “A good manout of the good treasure ofhis heart brings forth goodthings . . .” said Jesus Christ(Matthew 12:35).

Following Jesus’ exampleis to be a way of life for us.“For we are His workman-ship, created in Christ Jesusfor good works . . .” wrotethe apostle Paul (Ephesians2:10). “And let us not growweary while doing good, forin due season we shall reapif we do not lose heart”(Galatians 6:9).

We know God doesn’twant us to put ourselves indangerous situations, butwhenever there is an oppor-tunity to do an act of kind-ness we should be respon-sive to it. “Therefore, as wehave opportunity, let us dogood to all . . .” (Galatians6:10).

Avoid isolationMost of us don’t have the

time to get involved in many public-service projects. Yet, as I learned thatday, we can do much with just a cheer-ful word or a small act of service.

Most people still pass me in thestore without looking in my direction.They have shut themselves into a pro-tective world of isolation. But, whenthe opportunity presents itself and I seea need, I feel it my Christian responsi-bility to reach out.

There might be someone, just likethat elderly lady, who is looking for asmile and a little show of concern:someone who can enrich my day farmore than I did hers.

As Jesus pointed out, in Acts 20:35,it is more blessed to give than toreceive. GN

b y J o a n n e R u t i s

An Act of Kindness

I learned that day we can do much

with just a cheerfulword or a small act

of service.

42 The Good News

Four months after myfather’s death, my mothermentioned that she often

found herself wandering aimlesslyaround the house, trying to “focus.”And why not? She had spent 61years of her life focusing her ener-gies on husband and family. Herhusband was now deceased, andher children were grown and gonefrom her household.

It is customary to rally aroundgrieving friends and relatives at thetime of the funeral. But asChristians we know to extend ourcare far beyond those initial daysand weeks after the shadow of deathfalls upon a friend. How is the bestway to show our loving concern fora friend or relative in mourning?

James’ admonition to “look afterorphans and widows in their dis-tress” (James 1:27 NIV) remindsus that pure religion includes theresponsibility for emotional as wellas physical aid to the grieving. Here aresome practical tips for ways to be therefor others in their time of need.

Remember that wedding anniver-saries, special occasions, familyreunions and other celebrations—aswell as the anniversary of the deathitself—will be especially hard times forthe bereaved. These represent times oftogetherness for most families, but nowpart of the loved one’s family is miss-ing. Sometimes people want to be aloneat these times of remembrance.Sometimes they want to be with othersto help them through these rough peri-ods. These are appropriate times fornotes or phone calls.

Don’t judge others by how they han-dle grief. Mrs. Jones seems to be doingfine after the death of her husband, but

we may wonder why Mr. Smith seemsso melancholy after losing his wife.

Each person deals with the death of aloved one in a different way. AlthoughMrs. Jones may seem to be doing well,inside she may be emotionally dis-traught. People don’t always outwardlyexpress their emotions. Mr. Smith, whoshows his grief, may be healing morequickly than his stoic counterpart. Weshould grant each grieving friend or rel-ative acceptance, love and respect.

Don’t assume that one manifestationof bereavement is more painful thananother. The loss of a parent or aspouse in a long-term marriage is ago-nizing. But nothing can compare withthe devastation of losing a child. Thisis true no matter what the age of thechild involved.

At the death of a parent, youngchildren or teenagers will no longerenjoy the benefit of a mother’s orfather’s guidance and loving pres-ence. On the other hand, an adultwhose parent has died has lostsomeone he has known all his life.As Christians we should be sensi-tive to everyone who suffers a loss,no matter what his age or relation-ship with the deceased.

Offer reassurance. The elderlyespecially often feel a sense of lossof purpose after the death of a mate.Show the new widow or widowerthat he or she is still important toyou as a parent, friend or sister orbrother in Christ. Help someone inthis situation see that you appreciatewhat he or she is going through.

Don’t place a time limit on grief.Some people may be healing wellafter a year. Some may never healentirely.

Continuing concern for those whohave suffered a loss can take manyforms. Sending notes and cards, evenjust to say, “Hi! I’m thinking aboutyou,” can be encouraging. A phone callmight also be welcome. Including wid-ows and their families at simple familymeals can fill a void for them. Droppingby with some vegetables from your gar-den or a new magazine can let peopleknow you care.

If you have never suffered the lossof someone close to you, it may behard to empathize with someone whohas. But as Christians we have aresponsibility to express loving con-cern. When the shadow of death fallson someone in your circle of family orfriends, you can be the one to bring thewords of James to life. You can be anexample of pure religion. GN

In the Shadow of Death

b y J o a n O s b o r n

In the Shadow of Death

Don’t place a time limit on grief. Some

people may be healingwell after a year. Some may never

heal entirely.

We All Have a Lot to LearnWe All Have a Lot to Learn

January 1996 43

I’ve always worked well withyounger children and thought thatsomeday I would follow in a pro-fession that involved them. It wasjust a few short months ago, with

some encouragement from a goodfriend, that I decided to pursue ateaching career.

I then proceeded to research myoptions and discovered a demand forenthusiastic teachers. To see exactlywhat I was getting myself into, I vol-unteered to help at an elementaryschool.

Through a program at my highschool, I began working with first-graders. Little did I know the lessons Iwas about to learn.

I observed, astonished, at how thesestudents’ regular teacher transformed thealphabet from shapes into sound. Q, Rand Z became sounds, and then words,and now somehow these five- and six-year-olds can actually read. The kidsdidn’t even know what was happening.It was all fun to them. They felt no pres-sure; they were just playing a game.

Now the children had mastered thebasic tool of reading. As they continueto read and gain knowledge, their regu-lar teacher and I are there to encouragethem, help with the difficult words andexplain the meanings of things.

While I was going through thisteaching and learning experience, afriend at high school asked me why Ican’t go out on Friday nights. I told himit is “because of my religious beliefs”and left it at that.

I thought that would be the end ofthe matter, but it wasn’t. He continuedhis questions, so I described for him ashort version of God’s plan.

The fall Holy Days were fastapproaching. I told my friend that myfamily and I would be gone for a fewdays, and he asked more questions.Warming to my subject, I told him, inbasic terms, about the Holy Days.

He asked even more questions.There’s only so much I will tell atschool, so I told him that if he really

wanted to know he could talk to mymother.

He talked to her. “What is this planAbbi has told me about?” he asked .

She explained the Holy Days andtheir meaning.

My friend thought her explanationmade a lot of sense, so, the Sabbathbefore the Feast of Tabernacles, hewent to church services with our fami-ly. He said he enjoyed services a lot.

He must still have been curious aboutthe church because while we were gonefor the Feast he crawled through a bed-room window of our home to get somechurch literature to read.

My friend was seeking moreknowledge about the truth, and heobviously was pretty desperate. Hedid call us at the Feast to apologizefor entering our house without per-mission. Myparents told himto borrow any-thing he wasinterested in, butnext time justplease use theback door.

He now plansto attend Sabbathservices regularlywith us.

Like the first-graders I helpteach, my friendhas been giventools to seekknowledge. I amglad we have somuch to offer,and I am gladthat our Churchis committed todoing a work forall the people like him in the world.Like those first-graders, many in theworld are hungry and eager to learnwhat we have to give them.

Watching my friend’s excitement hasgiven me a new zeal for God’s truth. Ithink it’s called first love! GN

b y A b b i P l a g e n z a

J U S T F O R Y O U T H

He must still havebeen curious about thechurch because whilewe were gone for the

Feast he crawledthrough a bedroom

window of our hometo get some church literature to read.

44 The Good News

ommunication, orthe lack of it, is one ofthe major issues con-fronting parents andtheir teenagers. Manyparents aren’t aware oftheir teenagers’ hopes,

dreams, aspirations, desires, problemsor issues. Somehow we never getaround to sitting down and discussingthese things as a family.

On the other hand, teenagers rarelystop to think about their parents’ love,dedication, goals, ambition or responsi-bility for them. They don’t think aboutthe decisions parents make on theirbehalf and how these decisions, in turn,affect their teens.

I asked some teenagers to write apaper that could be titled “What IExpect From My Parents.” The resultswere revealing, to say the least.

I think we can all learn from them.They can help us in our family rela-tions. They can help us bridge theproverbial generation gap.

The following essays are from 16different teens:

Essay not easyWriting an essay on “what I expect

from my parents” isn’t easy, but I’ll try.First, I don’t expect my parents to be

perfect, but I do expect them to do theirbest.

One thing that I expect is for myparents to give me the advice that Ineed when I do and don’t want andneed it.

Communication is another thing Ithink parents and their teens should beable to do. If not too well, then theyshould try to improve it. I think if youtalk about your problems, it will help tofind the answer and is also a goodlearning experience—most of the time.

Another thing I expect but don’t likeis discipline. If all the parents would

discipline their teens, the world wouldbe a much better place. Most drugabusers, teen pregnancies and runawaysare caused by bad homes, parentsalways being away and no discipline.

I also feel that families should dothings together. Some time should bespent with friends, but there should bea lot of togetherness in the family.Talking about friends: I expect my par-ents to treat my friends as if they aretheir friends too.

I know my parents aren’t perfect,and I love them the way they are. Theydon’t have to have all those thingsdown pat, but I would like them to try.

Teenagers didn’t realizeWhen I started this project, I didn’t

realize all of the things teens demandor expect from their parents. There area lot of things I never really thoughtabout before.

I expect my parents to love and takecare of me. Things such as nurse mewhen I am ill and give me a home I canfeel loved in. Many teens don’t have ahome that they can really feel loved in.When I say “loved in,” I mean thingsthat involve a family.

Having family discussions can reallyhelp you with problems at school orhome or to just sit down and talk aboutthings. It helps you to get to know yourparents even better.

I expect my parents to teach me allabout the right way of life, so I cangrow up knowing about right andwrong.

I expect my parents to let me haveprivileges and let me make some of myown decisions in regard to privileges. Iexpect them to tell me if I am wrong ina decision so I won’t do it again.

I also expect my parents to have funwith me, whether it be hiking, playingcards or just a game of catch or goingto see a movie. It doesn’t matter whatwe do as long as we have fun.

What I Expect From

Cb y D e a n W i l s o n

I want my parents to

respect me as a

person and also

respect my privacy. I

expect them to be

honest with me

always. And, more

important than all

the things I have

mentioned above, I

expect my parents to

love me.

J U S T F O R Y O U T H

Teenagers aren’t unreasonableIt’s really hard for me to write about

the things I expect from my parents,because I have never really thoughtabout it before. I suppose most kidsdon’t stop to think about their expecta-tions for their parents, and if they dothey never tell their parents what theseexpectations are. I know I never have,so I am really glad to have this opportu-nity to tell them.

I want my parents to respect me as aperson and also respect my privacy. Iexpect them to be honest with mealways. And, more important than allthe things I have mentioned above, Iexpect my parents to love me. It wouldbe nice if they told me so every once ina while.

I really hope I am not expecting toomuch from my parents; I don’t want tobe unreasonable or overdemanding. Irealize that because of today’s econom-ic problems it’s really hard for parentsto provide for their children. So we(teens) have to be understanding andpatient. We have to realize that they aretrying to provide for our needs, and Ihonestly believe my parents are doingtheir best to provide me with all of thethings I have mentioned above, whichmakes me feel great.

Parents are the greatestThere are a lot of things I expect

from my parents, but there are alsothings my parents expect from me.

First of all, I think my parents are thegreatest, and they do many thingswhich I take for granted.

Just about all my expectations myparents fulfill. They are always therewhen I need them. There may be timeswhen we have communication prob-lems, but they are always worked out.

My parents always seem to knowwhat is good for me, even though I maynot think so.

I expect my parents to let me dothings on my own. I think sometimes itmight be hard for them, because theyhave to judge things to see if they areright or wrong for me.

Parents should take responsibility seriously

First off, I would expect my parentsto take the responsibility of being a par-ent very seriously and to use that abilitywisely.

Second, I expect my parents to beexceptionally good parents and forthem to give me the same respect thatthey expect from me.

Also, I expect them to be there espe-cially when I need them. I mean, Iknow lots of kids whose parents work9-to-5 schedules and they are neverthere to say, “Did you have a goodday?” People wonder why teenagecrime is up. It is because they are leftout in the dark when the going getstough.

I am glad to have my parents, and ifit weren’t for them, well, I wouldn’t behere. So all I have to say is that I lovemy parents, and all I expect is for themto love me and just be themselves.Good parents.

I am not anybody elseFirst of all, I expect my par-

ents to be there to help methrough all my prob-lems.

I alsoexpect myparents to believein me just as I believein them.

Next, I expect them to loveme. I really love my parents, and Ireally expect them to love me. But Ialso expect them to discipline mebecause that shows me they really loveme.

Next is to let me grow up. Some-

times I get confused because you doeverything for me, then you expect toomuch.

Also, let me experience some thingsfor myself, because if I don’t some-times I don’t learn my lessons the firsttime.

The next thing is, let me be me. I amnot anybody else, even my brothers andmy sisters. I can’t be anybody else.

Support in time of needOne thing I expect from my parents

is support, the kind of support thatgives me the food I eat and the clothes Iwear. Then there is the other kind ofsupport I expect, the kind of supportand backing up that gets me throughlife and most of all through my variousproblems. I expect understanding whenI need it and that word of advice thatgets me through the day.

The thing I expect most is love, thelove and attention I need. Next to love,the thing I expect most is trust. Trust isof great importance. If you don’t have

trust, you don’t have much.I expect privileges such

as spending thenight at a

friend’shouse and

going to amall with a

friend. Youneed trust to do

these things. If Ididn’t have trust, I

couldn’t be relied onand wouldn’t have as

many privileges. Iexpect me to have trust in

my parents as I expect themto have trust in me.

I also expect respect. I expect themto give me as much respect as I givethem.

Be there

My Parents!

January 1996 45

46 The Good News

First, let’s start with the things allkids expect. I am talking about thingslike love, your parents being there whenyou need them, and directing you in theway to go. All kids expect their parentsto be there when something exciting orsad happens. But not all kids’ parentsare there when they need them.

Sometimes the parents are too busywith work or something. Yet other timesit’s a split or divorce in the family thatcauses that parent not to bethere. I fortunately feel thatmy parents have always beenthere for me to ask questionsand tell of all my achieve-ments.

My parents direct me inthe way I should go and seta good example, which alsohelp me in growing up.

I expect some respectfrom them just as I am sure

they want the same out ofme. I don’t want themalways calling me stupid or dumb(which they don’t). I want them toaccept me for who I am, no matter if Iam good in sports or in school or not. Iexpect my parents to plan things as afamily and to enjoy doing things as afamily. Some of the funnest times arewhen our family only goes skating or

hydrotubing.The last thing I expect from my par-

ents is a little freedom. I mean freedomto make some of my own choices. Ialso mean freedom to go places withmy friends or by myself sometimes.Along with freedom goes trust. I wantmy parents to trust my choices and trustme to choose the right friends. I feeltrust is what I expect most out of myparents.

Love more important than foodOne of the most important things is

food. There are lots of times when I feelhungry and they or myself fix some-thing to eat.

Another important basic thing islove, which is just a little more impor-

tant than food! Seriously, I expect myparents to love their kids so that theydraw closer together. Some families inthe world consist of hate, so lots runaway from home and never return.

Another really important basic thingis that I expect them, my parents, toalways be there when I need them.Sometimes, when I am troubled or introuble, I can always depend on themto help pull me through.

I expect my parents todo themselves whatthey teach me to do. A

small example wouldbe like if my parentstold me to say “please”and “thank you,” thenthey should say it also.

I don’t expect muchI really don’t expect

a lot from my parents.Of course, I expectthings like a place tolive, clothes to wearand food to eat. Mymom does a prettygood job at that.

I expect some money every nowand then and some time of my own tospend with my friends. You could proba-bly call that privacy. I also expect athank-you or maybe a little word ofencouragement every now and then.

But I also expect understanding and

January 1996 47

trust. My mom probably needs a littlebrush-up on those two categories.

I also expect a little religious help,maybe a little Bible study now and then.And, most of all, going to services onthe Sabbath. But not too much to whereit gets a little too much in this area.

Probably most of all love. I know mymom gives me a lot, but sometimes Iwonder. I guess that is the typical childfor you.

Even though I only live with one ofmy parents, I don’t feel deprived becauseI never really knew what it was like to

live with two parents. Iguess you could say thatI get what I need. But I

really don’t expect much.

Make me behaveI expect my par-

ents to give melove and sup-

port. Because once in a whilekids get to a point where they

think that nobody loves them.But you can always turn to Momand Dad for love.

I also expect my parents tomake me behave and to do

things right. When you get older, you aregoing to have a lot of responsibilities,and if your parents bring you up to be aresponsible person you won’t have anyproblems out in the world.

Needs someone to talk toSometimes when you feel bad and

you need someone to talk to, your par-ents should be there. But, if you wanthelp for your problems, you have toopen up and tell them just what it is.

You may not like their solution, butyou have to realize it is in your bestinterest and they care for you.

Parents need to teach their kids all thevaluable things they have learned in theshort time their kids are around.

Parents, don’t yellI expect love and compassion from

them when I do something wrong. Iexpect a chance to do things that I have

never done before and a choice on thingsthat I have to do. I expect them to havefun with me, as well as for me to havefun with them.

I expect them to be able to talk sensi-bly and not to yell if you do somethingwrong. I expect them to believe what Isay and not to doubt me. I expect themto help me when I have a problem that Ican’t solve.

Pay attentionI expect parents to correct, even

though we don’t care for it. I expect myparents to correct me when I have donesomething wrong.

Parents should help us work out prob-lems when they can and not tell us to asklater or act like they are listening butreally are more interested in the TV orthe newspaper. They should try to bethere when we need them. But also let ushave our privacy when we need it.

The main thing I expect parents to dois love their kids and to show they do.

Parents, set an exampleI expect parents to set the example for

us. If they do not set the example, wehave no role model and no one to lookup to to try to be like, not that we wantto be exactly like our parents. We asteens feel the need to look up to some-one, if not a parent then an older brother,sister or peer.

Parents need to be the teachers. Theyneed to show us what is right or wrong.Parents should set down laws.

But responsibility is important too. Ithink they should let us make some ofour own decisions, provided they are notdangerous or harmful to us or anyoneelse. When we learn the hard way, welearn the most and it sticks with us. Ithink parents should give us a chance toprove ourselves, to make our own deci-sions and learn what life is all about.

When parents constantly put theirchildren down, they learn to be shy. Ifparents give their children praise andapproval, they learn to appreciate andlike themselves. This poses anotherexpectation: self-esteem. Parents should

be encouraging and uplifting.Parents should do what they tell us to

do. If they tell us not to fight, yet theyfight all the time, how are we supposedto feel about fighting? If they can do it,why can’t I, right?

Wrong. No one should fight. That is aproblem that needs to be worked out.

Parents need to be honest. There aresome things that parents keep from usthat are okay. We should know aboutthings that affect us and our family. If weare all honest with one another, it makesit easier to deal with life and its manyproblems.

Parents should be there when we needthem. They should offer help, listen andtry to understand some of our problems.

Teens expect honestyI think that the most important thing I

expect out of my parents is honesty. Ithink that all parents should be honestwith their children. That goes vice versatoo. When I ask my parents for theiropinion, I expect them to give me anhonest opinion of what they think.

I think that love goes hand in handwith honesty. It really makes me feel sadwhen I see parents that don’t love theirchildren. They don’t care what their chil-dren do or what kind of trouble they getinto.

My parents seem to be really con-cerned about what I do and the people Igo around with. Sometimes I am reallyhappy about that.

Correction is another thing I expectmy parents to do. Everybody needs cor-rection at some time or another, no mat-ter what the age. Most kids today don’tget the correction that they need; theydon’t get along in life either, because ofthat. My parents have corrected me, andI am really glad that I learned early thatjust because things don’t go my way,that doesn’t mean that I get mad andthrow a tantrum about it.

My parents are honest with me. Theydo correct me, and there is no questionin my mind about whether they love meor not. I know they do. GN

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