Church Divisions

I have written before about church divisions and why I believe God allowed, or perhaps caused, the splits around 1995.  Just to recap, the old WCG often had all the answers, or so we thought.  We were often arrogant towards “the world’s churches” and sometimes even others within the Church of God.  I believe that God allowed HWA to die in order to test to see what people believed, and to sift and sort them all out.  The Pharisees and the lukewarm were all sorted out from those who truly believed in loving others as they loved themselves.  Pretty much, it was a pre-sorting of the wheat and tares at a basic level.

However, it would be a mistake to think that all who fell away were necessarily tares.  Some of them may have been driven away by the very people who were supposed to make them feel welcome!

Sometimes the best criticism does not come from one who is disposed towards your point of view, however.  A not-so-COG-friendly blog Shadows of WCG Next Generation also wrote about “Division” recently.  The author presents a pretty negative yet realistic picture of the scattered COG organizations.

Why point you to such a blog?  Just because we might disagree with other groups or even those who have left the COG entirely doesn’t mean they don’t have something to say.

The one criticism I might have of the article is the tendency towards generalizations.  I’m guilty of that from time to time, but I have learned to try to avoid them whenever possible.  I don’t think that takes away from his basic points, though.  He comes to the inescapable conclusion that if we were all being led by one Spirit and by Jesus Christ, we would all be saying the same things, teaching the same things.

The fact is that not everyone in the COG has been led by the Spirit of Christ.  The fact is that people have been treated badly.  Jesus Himself warned of this.

 ⁴⁴Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

 ⁴⁵Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

 ⁴⁶Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

 ⁴⁷Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

 ⁴⁸But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

 ⁴⁹And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

 ⁵⁰The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

 ⁵¹And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:44-51, King James Version)

So, when you really think about it, how many problems have been caused by the Church itself?  How many of these servants have mistreated other servants?

More importantly, how many of us have truly learned how to love your neighbor?

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Reflections: Blessed Be the LORD

Someone asked me the other day about blessings.  I suppose the person still had on their mind the Blessing of the Little Children.  God is greater than all of us, and He abundantly blesses us with life and the good things of the earth.

It is easy to see how God blesses us.  However, how do we bless God?  As Heb 7:7 puts it in the NIV: “And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.”  And yet, there are verses in the Bible where a human blesses God.  Noah said, “Blessed be the LORD God of Shem” (Ge 9:26).  Some try to water it down so that it means Shem is to be blessed by God, but there are other verses where men bless God.  Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, but He is lesser in rank than the Father.  Yet, Melchizedek not only blessed Abram, but He stated, “And blessed be the most high God” (Ge 14:19).  Even Abraham’s servant blessed God (Ge 24:27).  Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3).  And so on.

So, how do we “bless” God?

Well, “bless” comes from Strong’s H1288, “barak”.  It can mean either “to bless” or “to be blessed”.  Therein is part of the key.  However, it is interesting that it can also mean either “to kneel” or “to cause to kneel”.  Now, we are starting to move towards somewhere.  According to the Gesenius’s Lexicon entry on Blue Letter Bible, “the primary notion lies in breaking, breaking down”.  In other words, in either humbling oneself or causing another to be humbled.  If you will notice, it’s a two-way street!

However, I also noticed it can mean “salute” or “praise”.  Indeed, I had noticed that some modern translations replace “bless” with “praise” in some of the Psalms.  Some also render it as “give thanks”.  In addition, the Greek word G2127 can also be translated as "praise".

Back to the Hebrew word, though.  It can also mean “be adored”.

All of these actions, if you will notice, have to do with building up another.

Add to that, Matthew Henry’s Commentary says of Ge 9:1-7:

We read (ch. 8:20) how Noah blessed God, by his altar and sacrifice. Now here we find God blessing Noah. Note, God will graciously bless (that is, do well for) those who sincerely bless (that is, speak well of) him. Those that are truly thankful for the mercies they have received take the readiest way to have them confirmed and continued to them.

So, not only is it adoration and praise, things we do with our mouths, but to speak well of or act well towards another!

Then, I noticed an LDS site had under the topical heading of “blessed” “See also Bless; Glad; Happy; Joy”.  It suddenly began to make more sense.

In short, we bless God, that is we give God joy, when we speak and act righteously (according to His standards, giving Him the glory)!

When you think about any positive relationship you have, don't you try to do things that pleases the other person?  Don't you try to "bless" them with gifts they might like, letting them pick their favorite restaurant or letting them pick out the movie for the evening?  Don't you try to work their goals and aspirations into your plans as well?  Don't you try to speak kindly and with love towards one another?  God has great plans -- plans that include us.  Do we try to include Him in our plans?

Not sure why I didn’t quite grasp the meaning of "bless" before.

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Army: 12 die in dual shootings at Fort Hood, Texas - Yahoo! News

Tragedy strikes Ft Hood, one of the largest (if not the largest) Army posts in the US.  It is unclear if the gunmen were Army or not.  It is one thing to die in battle, but for a soldier to go like this is just senseless.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_fort_hood_shooting;_ylt=Aif4IJyAUzvcAdNepURwRl.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTMzaThsbmg0BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTA1L3VzX2ZvcnRfaG9vZF9zaG9vdGluZwRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2FybXkxMmRpZWluZA--

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With a Prophet, Prophet Here and a Prophet, Prophet There … Everywhere a Prophet-Prophet

Dr Robert Thiel, aka “COGWriter”, wrote a truism on his blog, Church of God News recently wrote in relation to false prophet Ronald Weinland:

Because of false prophets, people seem less willing to believe the true predictions of God’s word as explained by His servants.  But whether people believe the prophecies of the Bible or not, they will come to pass.

Personally, I think that concisely sums up Satan’s strategy for confusing people in the end time.

Thiel correctly identifies Weinland as a false prophet.  Not only does Weinland claim to be a prophet, but he claims to be no less than one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation.

Well, I guess the shoe is now on the other foot, as James Malm on the website "TheShiningLight" (sic) wrote the article “Robert Thiel: A False Prophet Unmasked”.

It is quite clear that Robert Thiel who runs a blog at: cogwriter; has thrown the Bible into a blender with every pagan prophecy he could find and created an appalling atrocity against the word of God.   Robert tries to interpret the Bible prophecies by melding all this mishmash together.  Vainly leaning on the fevered imaginations of God defying men, he has gone very far astray.

OK, whatever.  If it ended there, I doubt I’d be very interested.  However, he goes on to say:

Any man who relies on extra biblical and especially on pagan religions for his understanding of any part of God's Word and teaches others to do so: IS A FALSE PROPHET; SO SAYS THE WORD OF GOD, Deu 13 the whole chapter. He IS NOT TO BE RESPECTED OR TRUSTED. HE IS TO BE TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER FALSE PROPHET.

OK, so anyone who relies on “extra biblical” material is a false prophet?  So, does that mean using a concordance is out?  Commentaries?  Halley’s Bible Handbook?  The daily newspaper?  I mean, where does it end?

Of course, Thiel defends himself in “James Malm Continues to Mislead”.  It is apparent that Thiel has called Malm out on some of his timelines.  I’m not sure why people seem to get so carried away with date setting, especially after seeing all of the pain and confusion it has caused in the past.

I do not see anywhere where Malm has claimed that 2009 is the definitive year in which the False Prophet of Revelation would be setup.  At worst (from what I’ve read), Malm seems to be guilty of prophetic speculation.  And, yet is it truly unreasonable that if you are going to publish dates for someone to tell you why they think the dates are wrong?  Are we so conditioned against criticism in the Church of God that we cannot accept even objective analysis?

Again, why the need to set dates?  I just don’t know.  I do know that if you set a date and nothing happens on that date, then you should expect some flak!

Malm’s criticism of Thiel borrowing from all sorts of traditions prophecies of various types is not totally without merit, and Thiel should expect as much.  Thiel seems to spend quite a bit of time on his blog covering Catholic and Mayan prophecies in particular.  While I understand that it can be a reaction to the current fascination with such things, it seems to me that he is too drawn up in false prophecies and needs to emphasize the Bible more (for a good reason to concentrate on truth rather than spending too much time on falsehoods, see “Book Review on The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment by Tim Challies”).

However, calling Thiel a “false prophet” is truly beyond the pale.  To me, a false prophet is one who makes predictions and they don’t come to pass.  So, who does that fit more in this case?

What I want to know is where is Jesus in the midst of all of this?

 ³⁵By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35, King James Version)

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Is There a Place of Safety? Part 2 – Yes and No

We saw in Part 1 that it’s the attitude that makes all the difference. God will save the righteous, the ones who are willing to sacrifice and the ones who aren’t in it to save their own hides. God will save the ones who exhibit brotherly love, which doesn’t mean slapping a label on oneself does any good.

However, in the end, what will God save them from?

Keep in mind that we are promised persecution. We are promised that people will kill us and think they are doing it for God. We are promised that Satan will hunt us down to kill us. So, save us from what?

Do I believe in a Place of Safety? Actually, I do. However, I want to point out this Scripture before we get too far along:

⁹He who has an ear, let him hear.

¹⁰If anyone is to go into captivity,

into captivity he will go.

If anyone is to be killed^[a] with the sword,

with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

~ Rev 13:19-10 (NIV)

If you notice the footnote, there is a discrepancy about how this verse should be rendered. However, I believe the context justifies the above translation. Otherwise, why would there be any need for “patient endurance” of the saints if it simply says that what goes around comes around?

What does this mean?

It means just what it says! No need to read into the text. If you are slotted to be killed, you will be killed. If you are slotted to be imprisoned, you will be imprisoned.

⁹But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

¹⁰And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

¹¹But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

¹²Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. (Mark 13:9-12, King James Version)

It really should be considered an honor to be killed for the Kingdom's sake!

Consider that the Apostles weren’t given a Place of Safety! All were killed except John, who probably died in prison. And, I should add, prison in those days was not like how we think about them today!

So, really then, why all of the fuss over a Place of Safety? It really keeps coming back to human nature and the desire to save one’s own skin.

However, I do believe some will go to a Place of Safety. I really and truly hope it is the elderly and very young of believers.

Regardless, I want you consider how God pictures His dealings with the world. There is much rich typology throughout the account of the Exodus and subsequent wanderings in the wilderness of the Children of Israel.

I want you to consider the plagues of Egypt. The first 3, turning the Nile into blood, the frogs and the lice, were against all of Egypt. Each plague turned up the heat a bit. The 3rd plague could not be reproduced by the magicians.

However, notice the 4th plague something different begins to occur:

²⁰And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

²¹Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

²²And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.

²³And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. (Exodus 8:20-23, King James Version)

The Israelites were not separated off until the 4th plague!

We know that the Great Tribulation lasts 3-1/2 years. Yet, we seem to conveniently forget that there is a time simply called the tribulation leading up to it! How many plagues will lead up to it? How many Christians will be killed before we even get to it? Imprisoned? Chased off into hiding? The answer is we don’t know!

There may be some that are sitting in God’s church week after week hoping to save their own hides when the nasty truth is that the majority of God’s people may not live long enough to get to a Place of Safety!

Who is of more worth?

⁹And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

¹¹And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9-11, King James Version)

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15, King James Version)

Which is of more honor? To give a testimony for Jesus Christ or to be stuck on a rock in the middle of nowhere? To die for a cause or to be whisked away into obscurity?

¹⁴And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

¹⁵And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

¹⁶And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

¹⁷And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:14-17, King James Version)

So, who are these people that are carried off for 3-1/2 years, and who are the "remnant"? We simply are not told. However, I do have something for you to consider.

There is only one other place I know of where the earth opened up to do God’s will.

¹⁰And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.

¹¹Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not. (Numbers 26:10-11, King James Version)

I want you to consider how it states that the children were left (it isn't clear that the women were left, but the context suggests that is the case). In several places, God shows Himself to be a defender of the defenseless. How much more when it is children of believers?

And, while I’m at it, wouldn’t that be what a true Philadelphian would want?

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Is There a Place of Safety? Part 1 – It’s All In the Attitude

“When thou seest the abomination of desolation, thou shalt flee to Petra.”

OK, I confess that it doesn’t say that. I made that up. However, some would speak as though the Bible says it just that clearly. We are not definitely told that Christians will flee to Petra during the Great Tribulation. Even LCG acknowledges that this is not certain, even though Thiel makes (yet another) big deal out of it in his article “Some of the Differences between the Living Church of God and the United Church of God, ia”.

In fact, in his never ending zeal to put down all other COG organizations and preach about the “one true church (TM)”, he gets the questions out of order. How about first answering if there even is such a thing as a Place of Safety before answering where it will be?

Thiel’s Reading Disability

Instead, Thiel goes off on another tangent “that it is only the Philadelphians (Revelation 3:7-10) who are promised to be kept ‘from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world’”. Well, if you believe in church eras, then according to his theology, the Philadelphian era is over so we are all in trouble.

Thiel goes on to say, “Yet, thus far, I still have not seen who UCG believes will be protected and who will not be.” Utter and complete nonsense. I have to conclude that Dr Thiel has a learning disability, for he clearly copied and pasted just above it:

Furthermore, in the related article, UCG teaches,

"A passage in Revelation indicates that God plans to spare His people, granting them His protection during the 3 1/2 years of tribulation and wrath that will come on humanity (Revelation 12:14)…. Isaiah the prophet was inspired to ask: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isaiah 33:14). These questions impact every person alive at the beginning of the prophesied Great Tribulation. The answer follows in the next verses: “He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly [emphasis mine] … his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water will be sure” (verses 15-16)" (Elliot, John. Coming Calamities: Doe God Offer Protection? Good News, Jan-Feb 2003, p.13).

You see, Dr Thiel, it has everything to do with who is righteous and not who belongs to a manmade organization (that is, organized according to man’s laws for the purposes of accounting for taxes). The Church is spiritual and God's people are and have always been scattered throughout the world. Just read the answer God gave to Elijah when he lamented, "I only, am left". No, Elijah was not the "one man" God was working through. Rather, God told Elijah, "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel" (1Ki 19:18). God knew who was His, scattered all throughout Israel, because they had an attitude of obedience.

However, there are COG organizations that teach God will keep people safe in place. In other words, there is no “place” of safety but references to safety during the tribulation are not necessarily in one physical place. While I think there is some validity to the argument, that’s not how I read Scripture. However, groups that proclaim this actually do make another more important point that I want to address that next.

Saving Your Own Behind (or, Why Weinland is Still Around)

I have heard Garner Ted Armstrong in times past speak about this very subject. His point was that God can keep someone safe no matter where they are located. However, in his refutations of the rapture theory, he makes an even more important point (at least to the present discussion) that people want to escape times of trouble. Whether it is by rapture or by fleeing to Petra, people are into escapism. They want to leave the pain and trouble behind them.

And, let’s face it: People want to believe they are special and that God will protect them.

However, they are setting themselves up for possible disillusionment.

Does anyone remember 1975? In spite of every cautionary note given, some bought into it completely. Every caveat was completely ignored by a sizable portion of the congregations. When 1975 came and went, many dropped out. They had set themselves up (with the help of the ministry, by the way) for failure.

While there may have been some that were genuinely discouraged and confused, my bet is that the vast majority of those who dropped out had one thing in common. They realized that Christ was not coming back right away, and so they could continue indefinitely in their sins. They had no need to attend any more because the need for a Place of Safety was gone! They were in it to save their own hides. Now with the Great Tribulation much farther off than they imagined, they no longer felt compelled to swim against the world’s current.

When you think about it, why do so many still follow Flurry today? They are scared to leave! Why are there any at all who still follow Weinland in spite of failed prophecy after failed prophecy? They think he has the key to their physical safety!

Lot’s wife left Sodom only when compelled to do so. However, her heart never did. Jesus gave the warning, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Lk 17:31). She turned back, and so did many after 1975. They had never really left the world in their hearts!

However, Jesus’ warning did not stop there:

³³Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. (Luke 17:33, King James Version)

Jesus is not looking for people who are out to save their own behinds! He is looking for commitment – even to death if necessary.

It’s the Attitude

“Philadelphian” does not mean “get out of Trib free card”. No, it means “brotherly love”. It’s an attitude! Righteousness is the attitude of the ones that God will save. Sacrifice, even of one’s life if necessary, is the attitude of the one God will raise up again!

Do you really believe that God will not save someone with the right attitude but is in the “wrong” group? Or, do you not believe your own Bible? I challenge anyone who truly has God’s Holy Spirit to read and understand:

²⁵And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

²⁶But there remained two of the men in the camp [in the wrong place!], the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them [anyways!]; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

²⁷And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

²⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them [it’s the wrong time, place, organization!].

²⁹And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! (Numbers 11:25-29, King James Version)

Was this not written for our admonition? Was this not recorded for our learning? Or, as Paul wrote:

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

¹⁰Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:9-10, King James Version)

Indeed, all Scripture is God-breathed.

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Planned Parenthood leader resigns after watching abortion ultrasound - Telegraph

This is just too good not to share!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6489418/Planned-Parenthood-leader-resigns-after-watching-abortion-ultrasound.html

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Some Thoughts on Evangelism

In the past, UCG had a controversy with a couple of its ministers because they strayed from the official line on evangelism. Many COG organizations teach that the Gospel is to be spread by the ministry and not by its lay people. Some have even publicly stated that they do not preach to the world. After all, goes the reasoning, no one can come to God unless He calls them (Jn 6:44).

And, that is very true. God does the calling. However, does that relieve us of all individual responsibility? I would argue that the majority of COGs are wrong on this matter.

I was reading Blogging Theologically, and there is an article there about “Everyday Theology: Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words”. The author makes a pretty good point that this saying can be used as an excuse to not share the Gospel with others. After all, if we never reveal the source of any perceived “goodness”, then we are not being a witness to others. They will just think we are a good person! They will never connect the dots if they cannot even see the dots.

However, just to be clear: There is a difference between being a witness and trying to cram your religion down someone’s throat. “He who is convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” Certainly, Mr Armstrong learned this early on. However, have we gone too far into the other ditch?

We are told to be a light. The constant refrain of some seems to be that a light doesn’t make noise unless it is defective. Cute saying, but does it reflect what the Bible says?

I submit to you that Steven was stoned because he was preaching. He was a deacon, not a “minister”. I doubt that he was stoned because he was stepping outside of his role. After all, God gave him a rather beautiful vision just prior to dying.

You will also notice that when Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos, who only knew the teachings of John, they did not tell him, “Now stop preaching! You aren’t ordained, so you can’t do that!” No, rather, they “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Ac 18:26). They even wrote to the brethren at Achaia to receive him because “he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ” (vv 27-28)!

Why else should we be “ready always to give an answer … reason of the hope that is in you” (1Pe 3:15) unless we are to expect to be called upon to speak at some point? How will anyone even know to ask about our hope if we never even speak about it?

God always leaves a witness. A witness testifies … with his or her mouth.

However, there is one more thing to ask of those who are still not convinced: What will you be doing in the World Tomorrow?

We just ended the Feast of Tabernacles. What did you learn about there?

²⁰And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

²¹And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:20-21, King James Version)

Do teachers just jump up and appear out of nowhere? No! They go to school. They learn how to teach. They learn how to conduct a class, create lesson plans, etc. They then become student teachers to practice their art.

We are in school now. Are we learning or just idly trying to get a passing grade?

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,armstrong,herbert w armstrong,hwa,teachers,preachers,evangelism,gospel,preaching,teaching

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Living Church of God Blog Alternative

It appears that there is an alternative to reading Robert Thiel’s Church of God News blog by another LCG member, Wallace Smith.  It’s called Thoughts En Route.  I’ve only briefly toured it, but it appears pretty insightful.  He doesn’t just report on events, but he offers commentary, often digging into the factual background of a matter.

For example, yesterday’s posting was on “2012, Maya experts, Tomorrow’s World, and three bowls of chili”, in which he talks to an actual Mayan expert about the whole 2012 speculation.  Well worth reading, in my opinion!

Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,news,thiel,wallace g smith,thoughts en route,blogs,blogging

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Reflections: What’s So “Hallowed” About “All Hallow’s Eve”?

Or, perhaps the title should be “The Hypocrisy of the Catholic Church”.

According to the Telegraph, the “Vatican condemns Hallowe'en as anti-Christian”.  The irony drips off of several sentences in the piece, but perhaps none more than the statement:

The Bishop of Siguenza-Guadalajara, Jose Sanchez, said there was a risk that Halloween could "replace Christian customs like devotion to saints and praying for the dead."

Of course, that assumes All Saints Day, the day after Halloween, is a Christian custom to begin with.

Like Christmas, it was a papered-over holiday that was given a Christian label.  All Saints Day originally moved around on the calendar quite a bit, but it was eventually moved to 1 November by Pope Gregory III.  This fell within the Celtic holiday of Samhain (which, like most Celtic words, is not pronounced the say it is spelled, but rather sounds more like “sa-win” or in some regions “sa-wain”).  However, like Christmas, you cannot completely take over a holiday and get rid of the pagan trappings.

Look at this surprisingly frank assessment from Christianity Today:

The truth is that Halloween's deepest roots are decidedly pagan, and unlike Christmas and Easter, it as kept those pagan roots, despite its now Christian name. The controversy surrounding this holiday goes back well over a thousand years to when Christians confronted pagan rites of appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. But the early Christians didn't simply speak out; they tried to institute a Christian alternative. All Hallow's Day (November 1) was a celebration of all "the holies" - those people who had died faithful to Christ.

This surprising admission of the pagan roots of Christmas, Easter and Halloween should give anyone pause.

In spite of these pagan origins, it is nothing new for the Catholic Church to issue admonishments against “heathen practices” on declared holidays.  Ben Best writes in the web article The History of Christmas:

Celebration of birthdays -- even including that of Christ -- was rejected as a pagan tradition by most Christians during the first three hundred years of Christianity, but the matter became increasingly controversial. Partly in reaction to the claims by Gnostics that Jesus had not been mortal, Christians began to emphasize the Nativity. The Incarnate God as a lovable infant born to a holy mother evoked powerful instinctive emotions. The third century Christian writer Tertullian supported observance of Christ's birthday, but condemned the inclusion of Saturnalia customs such as exchanging of gifts and decorating homes with evergreens. Chapter 10 of the Book of Jeremiah begins by condemning the heathen practice of cutting a tree from the forest to "deck it with silver and gold".

The Vatican seems to have a history of condemning pagan customs on what is essentially a pagan holiday!  Should it be any surprise that a holiday with pagan origins would retain many of its pagan symbols?

The God of the Bible gave all of humanity perfectly acceptable festivals to keep (Lev 23).  They are the ones that have His stamp of approval.  It is due to the hard heartedness of mankind that they reject His holy days for manmade holidays.

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Parallels Between Job and Exodus: God's Dealings with His Enemies

My wife and I are currently reading through Exodus together.  While we look at the symbolism once a year anyhow, it seems that the full impact doesn’t hit you unless you actually read the story.

The metaphor for Pharaoh being a type for Satan goes deeper than some would treat it.

 ¹³And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

 ¹⁴For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

 ¹⁵For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.

 ¹⁶And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

 ¹⁷As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? (Exodus 9:13-17, King James Version)

Of course, part of this is quoted by Paul in Romans:

 ¹⁷For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. (Romans 9:17, King James Version)

Some of course would charge that God is unfair in His dealings with Pharaoh, to which Paul replies:

 ¹⁹Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

 ²⁰Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

 ²¹Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

 ²²What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

  ²³And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

 ²⁴Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:19-24, King James Version)

I understand that some will still not buy it that God is a just God.  Of course, most of them have been influenced as well by the doctrine of an eternal hellfire, which would justification to such a position.

However, when you compare and contrast Pharaoh and Satan, you begin to appreciate the theater of the exodus much more greatly.  You also begin to appreciate how God deals even with His enemies.

Let me ask you a question: Why does God deal with Satan the way He does in the Book of Job?  How much patience God has!  God did not have to have a conversation with Satan, I’m sure, in order for Satan to strike out at Job.  In fact, Satan’s answer to God tells us that it was on his mind in any event.  Yet, God not only deals patiently with Job throughout the book, but we see a lot of patience in His dealings with Satan.  The only ones we don’t see much patience with is Job’s 3 friends, and that is because their words are filled with lies and approach blasphemy.

Why did God deal with Pharaoh the way He did?  If Pharaoh was a type for Satan, then God showed restraint by not wiping him off the face of the earth.  He told Pharaoh that He could “smite thee” and “cut thee off”, but He chose not to at that time.  Yet, Pharaoh had a lot to learn.  He still carried the bulk of the responsibility because he “exaltest” himself.

Will Pharaoh arise in the 2nd resurrection?  I have every reason to believe he will.

Could it be that in the end Satan will have had every chance to repent and will not be able to deny it?  Could it be that if he were to repent this moment that everything would change?  However, God, Who sees the future, knows this will not occur.

Yet, God, in order to exalt His name, chooses to still deal patiently with even the worst of His enemies.

Let’s fact it: He has to.  If we are expected to hold God to the highest possible position in our minds and our hearts, then God Himself must set the example and do so as well.  God is not a hypocrite.  He will live up to His name.  He will exalt Himself because there is no one else that can take His place.  He has set the highest possible bar for Himself, but unlike us He will meet the standard.

OK, there’s a lot to let sink in, isn’t there?

I wish everyone a blessed Sabbath.

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