Letters & Responses
We print a representative sampling of our mail—both positive and negative. We do not include names unless we are fairly sure that the writer would not object. To avoid any difficulty, writers should specify how much of their name and address they would like us to print. We include our response to each letter in this type-style. We have selected a title for each letter for easy reference. If writers supply their own title, we will be happy to use it.
Stone Cut Without Hands
Letter: June 10, 1997
Norm,
In Servants’ News (May 1997) an article appeared under my name entitled Stone Cut Without Hands which argues that the geographic shape of the Italian Peninsular is an end-time sign for God's people concerning Daniel's 'Fourth Kingdom'. During the editing process certain words were inserted which do not accurately reflect my thinking on the subject, and indeed create the impression that these geographic features were a product of random coincidence. In the second last paragraph it is stated: "Obviously, though, we cannot be certain from geography alone that this is exactly what the Eternal meant." In fact, I believe that God fashioned the Italian Peninsular at the first with precisely this purpose in mind—that it should be a stunning sign for those who expect an end time resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire. One which immediately precedes, and is destroyed by God's coming kingdom.
—Dale Heslin, Canberra, Australia
dale@pcug.org.au
Response: We are sorry for the mix-up. When editing, we try to make some articles, especially prophecy articles, less dogmatic. We went a little overboard here. There are a few other viewpoints of the fulfillment of Daniel’s "Fourth Kingdom" and we did not want to presume that the reader had that understanding. Nevertheless, we do not know of any better explanation for the Fouth Kingdom—most "Church of God" groups and many standard protestant sources believe it is the Roman Empire.
We thought that if we had no other historical or Biblical clues to the location of the Fourth Kingdom, it might be a bit much to conclude it was Italy from shape alone—the Bible does not tell us to look for geography nor do we find any countries shaped like other parts of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. But when we put the prophecies together with the history of the Roman Empire and then add the geography, it makes a good case indeed!
—NSE
Thanks for Joe Good Article
Letter: June 13, 1997
On behalf of all the people who contributed to making Joe's visits to east Texas successful (and there were a lot of people who really worked hard), thank you for printing the article about Joe Good in the most recent Servants' News! Everyone was glad to see it in print - finally. We want to get the word out about Joe and your newsletter is the best medium to reach independent thinkers. Keep up the good work - you are a bright light in an otherwise dark world. Shalom,
—Veronica Smith, Tyler, Texas
Response: Thanks for writing the article. As you can see, we took out a few things simply to shorten it, rearranged a couple of paragraphs to make it flow a little better, and corrected a tiny bit of punctuation. But there never would have been an article if you did not write it in the first place. (Actually, the article you sent was quite good—we often work through articles that need much more help.)
We would like to encourage Servants’ News readers to write short articles on local events that would be of interest to other readers. Even if a reader feels like he "can’t write," it would still be helpful to send us the important details of an event along with your overall impression.. With our limited time, it is much easier to turn this kind of information into a story than it is to create a story by telephone interview.
Thanks again.
—NSE
Holy Days Under New Covenant?
Letter: March 9, 1997
Dear Norman Edwards and Staff:
[Paragraph about return card removed]
In the last year and a half or so, I have read most, if not all, of each one of the Servants’ News issues that you have sent. While reading the various articles, I have learned a lot about the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) that I did not know because I was never a member, although I have had some contacts with the WCG. My father received the Plain Truth magazine in the 1960’s; I attended two or three functions of the WCG in the San Francisco Bay area in 1974-75; I talked with two former WCG men while attending the Seventh Day Baptist church in Little Rock (1977-1991); and I met for nearly a year (May 95 to May 96) in the Mountain Home area with a small group of former WCG members who had forsaken any association with Seventh Day Sabbaths, having been erroneously influenced by Dale Ratzlaff and the book he wrote, Sabbath in Crisis, and by a man who was a "preacher" near, I think, Atlanta, Georgia.
Many of the articles have messages with which I can empathize, articles such as Why Does Our Father Let Us Believe Error? And other articles explaining tolerance for truly born again Christian believers who have not matured in some areas.
Some of the articles and announcements have to do with "feast" days and associated gatherings. The reasoning behind such days and gatherings in these last days (from the day of Pentecost to our present time; Acts 2:16,17) is not clear to me. Clearly, from the time that the Lord instructed Moses to command the Israelites to meet together, to "appear before the Lord God", at the tabernacle, and later the temple, for the feasts (Exodus 23:14-17) until the "veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51), these feast days were to be attended, primarily "to appear before the Lord God" whose presence and dwelling place on earth was in the Holy of Holies within the tabernacle and then within each of the temples that followed.
From the time of Christ’s resurrection onward until our time and onward until He returns again, we know that everything that pertained to the earthly tabernacle and to each of the earthly temples, which were copies of the heavenly things (Hebrews 8:4, 5 and 8:23, 24), has been removed. And, as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews mentioned, Christ now has taken His seat in the true sanctuary, the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man (Hebrews 8:1, 2). Also, we know from 1Cor 3:16,17 (second person plural); from Ephesians 2:19-22; and from 1Peter 2:4, 5 that those who belong to Christ are being built into a temple, "a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Considering all the Christians through all the twenty or so centuries since Christ the Lord ascended into heaven, that temple being built is not localized in geography nor in time. Consequently, a gathering at a specific location identified with the presence of the Lord, as in the time of Moses, is no longer possible. His church is worldwide and His temple being built is worldwide and centuries long. Thus His presence, His Spirit, is no longer localized but is worldwide and centuries long.
In light of the foregoing summary, it seems to me that just as the representational, earthly temple has been removed in favor of the real, heavenly temple so the representational physical gatherings of the feast days of Moses time have been removed in favor of the real spiritual gatherings of the church for spiritual sacrifices, prayers, communion (Lord’s Supper), fastings, edifying, ministering, etc., all performed by the new priesthood of believers (1Peter 2:5, 9) at the direction of the real High Priest, Christ Jesus, who presides from the real heavenly temple.
Incidentally, on another topic, I appreciate your non-incorporation thinking and resulting actions. Although your organization is not a church body, perhaps your explanations for not incorporating according to legal precepts and state laws will encourage church congregations also to not incorporate, thus avoiding superimposing a human organizational structure on the Lord’s organizational structure of the local church. Very likely, the Lord’s organizational structure will vary noticeably from one congregation to another depending upon His purposes for a particular congregation and for the needs of the members of that congregation.
Thank you for devoting time and effort and resources to understanding many of the various aspects of the Lord’s work in our time and region.
—Daniel Johnson, Arkansas
Response: Your analysis of the Old Testament feasts is largely correct: most of the instruction for Holy Days is about how many sacrifices to give. If the commands to give the sacrifices no longer apply, do we still need to observe the days? I believe we do. There was also instruction to assemble and to teach (Deut 31:10-13). Must we assemble in Jerusalem? Twenty times, the book of Deuteronomy gives the feast location like "the place which the Lord your God shall choose." It does not say "in Jerusalem." or "at the temple." I believe the Eternal did this because he wanted these days to be kept whether one could go to the temple or not.
It is significant that the holy spirit came on a holy day, Pentecost, at a gathering that was not at the temple (A crowd had to gather—there would have already been a crowd if they were meeting in the temple on Pentecost—Acts 2:1-6.) To me this confirms the importance of assembling on holy days even after our Savior’s death.
Furthermore, there are many New Testament scriptures about keeping holy-days. The book of James was written to "the twelve tribes scattered abroad," about 60 A.D., yet it is clear that many believers were still meeting in synagogues (James 2:2—see Bible margin or interlinear). Whether the Believers and the Jews continued to meet in the same or separate synagogues, there is no historic reason to believe that they did not continue their practice of locally observing holy days. Only the wealthy could afford to travel to Jerusalem.
Finally, much of the meaning of the holy days is yet to be fulfilled, and there is a great need among the Eternal’s people to come together to concentrate on His way and to fellowship with others of like mind.
—NSE
Tithing Comments
Letter: April 26, 1997
Dear Servants of God:
A friend loaned me Servants’ News and would like my name to be included for receiving at publication each time.
Servants’ News is very informative, timely, interesting, church news, challenging, and biblical subjects explained.
I enjoyed the letters and responses and feel that the letter from Pat Moody, Wash., gave very good advise and certainly rings a bell for a lot of us.
On the subject of tithing expressed, felt very interesting and varied information given to be considered.
We are told in the scriptures that "what is not of faith is sin", therefore I feel that the decision to tithe be left up to the individual. Personally, I no longer feel tithing is necessary in this gospel age, but is a matter of giving as the holy spirit leads each one in the body of Christ. If we are free in Christ, we are free indeed. If we are subject to a ten percent tax, we are in bondage, and not free indeed. Many I have known of, use their receipt to receive back the 10 percent from the IRS. How tragic.
A Jewish rabbi was asked regarding tithing and he stated, "We have no temple and we have no Levites. All given is purely voluntary." Certainly that statement says a lot, I feel.
As I am an isolated believer, celebrated Passover alone at home.
Sincerely in Yahshua’s name,.
—An Arkansas servant.
Response: Thank you for your encouragement. As with most other issues, there is a diversity of opinions among Jews on the subject of tithing: Some give 10% to poor people, some give 10% to "do good works," and some give on a completely voluntary basis. However, the New Testament gives clear commands to help the poor and to support the preaching of the Gospel.
We see nothing wrong with using every available law to reduce the amount of taxes sent to our wasteful governmental systems. However, giving only for the purposes of a tax deduction is the wrong motivation.
—NSE
Liked "Modern Bible Translations"
Letter: April 30, 1997
Dear Norman and Pam,
A very good article about the KJV only mindset. (SN Mar-Apr 1997, page 1.)
In my studies of manuscripts, translations, versions, etc., I came to a general conclusion that even though I use the KJV as my base for study, no work [Bible translation] has been so perverted that God is limited [unable to use it] to transmit His overall message to mankind.
He said His words are spirit and life. Also, nothing is impossible for God. And He promised His words, meaning, would never pass away.
I believe that even if a work is toyed with, and that is all we have, that we would be following the basic rules of obedience for salvation to attain the Kingdom of God by God’s direction, line upon line, precept upon precept.
Thanks again for a fine article.
—Bill Phillips, Ohio
Response: Most people throughout history have had access to only one translation. Most believers have never had a way to investigate the original Greek and Hebrew. The Eternal has not given every believer perfect or even equal access to His written word. Yet, salvation is possible.
Does that mean that we can use whichever translation we like and forget about trying to figure out the original meaning? No, since we have multiple translations, interlinears and concordances available to us, we are expected to use them. "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48).
—NSE
New Covenant Sabbath & Holy Days
Letter: May 6, 1997
Dear Sir:
I just recently became a subscriber thanks of learning of your work through a good friend who was an elder in UCG. Thank you very much for the work you are doing and the balanced approach you give to the scriptures and to christian living.
[Literature request omitted]
I was a part of WCG from 1981 until last year when I left and joined with the United Church of God. I’m still trying to understand the New Covenant as it relates to the Sabbath, Holy Days and Unclean Meats. When WCG chose to join "mainstream" Christianity, that meant to me they would soon have to teach heaven and eternal hell fire torment.
I believe wholeheartedly in the return of Christ our Saviour to set up his Kingdom on this earth, the resurrections, that the wicked do perish, so I had to leave. I have heard both sides of the arguments on whether the Sabbath is commanded, and the Holy Days, and for now I choose to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days and am still trying to study their place in the New Covenant.
Thank you again for the work you are doing and a contribution is enclosed to help with the costs.
Sincerely,
B.B.—North Carolina
Response: Do not feel alone. Many times we have realized that we do not know as much as we once thought we did. This is especially true when studying issues such as the Biblical calendar and the timing of some holy days. Some people give up and say "since I cannot be sure I am doing the right thing, I just will not do anything." We are saddened. Your approach is better: make a temporary decision now based on your current understanding, and then study to make a more permanent decision in the future.
May the Eternal bless your studies.
—NSE
"Discontinued Literature" & Baptism
Letter: March 21, 1997
Norm,
In reading the page on "discontinued literature" in the latest Servants’ News, you stated "Conder does not believe that we receive the Holy Spirit from being baptized in the name of Jesus or Yeshua." In the studies I have done, it is my understanding we do not receive the Holy Spirit by baptism, but through the laying on of hands. John’s baptism was the baptism of repentance and before the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost, in the form of fingers of fire. (Was this to represent the hands used later?)
Acts 8:16-17 states there were those who had been baptized but had not yet received the Holy Spirit until hands were laid on them, v 18. Simon saw this and wanted to buy that power.
Response: Our effort to give a brief summary caused us to be technically wrong. We should have said that Conder does not believe we receive the holy spirit through the process of repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands. He believes that the New Testament is a clever hoax, and since there is no general promise of the holy spirit in the Old Testament, he does not believe it is generally available.
Letter: Also, when you say, "they don’t believe the temple sacrifices are necessary to atone for sins," do you mean just during the Old Testament times until Christ died? Didn’t Christ end the need for animal sacrifices? Didn’t His sacrifice and shed blood atone for all of our sins—once and for all?
Rom 12:1 says we are to be living sacrifices now, and there is no longer a need for a Levitical Priesthood because we are the Royal Priesthood and Jesus Christ is our High Priest.
Response: We do not believe Levitical sacrifices are necessary today, and Conder does not either. But since Conder also rejects the sacrifice of Jesus, we cannot figure out how Conder believes his sins are atoned for.
Letter: Several scriptures state we are to be baptized in the name of Jesus, such as Acts 2:38, 8:16; 10:48; etc; but, Matt 28:19 says we are to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Was this scripture added or which way is correct? I thought the Father, Son, Holy Ghost was a trinity idea.
Worldwide Church of God is baptizing this latter way, but I thought I was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, back in the early 60’s. Could you please explain?
Thank you very much, and may God be with you all in your Christian walk.
Sincerely,
—BC, Idaho
Response: We printed an article on this issue, page 2, Dec 1995. While nearly all Greek manuscripts contain the "trinitarian" formula in Matt 28:19-20, two other sources do not. The church Historian Eusebius quotes these verses as: "Go and make all nations disciples in my name, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Shem Tob’s Hebrew Gospel of Matthew says: "Go and teach them to carry out all the things which I have commanded you forever." If these versions are right and the commonly used Greek New manuscripts are wrong, why did the Eternal allow such a thing?
It is for the same reason that He has allowed other problems, like the Trinitarian formula added to 1 John 5:7-8. Those who corrupted His words will be judged for doing it, but those who had to learn from the corrupt word never knowing its error will have no sin (Rev 22:18-19, John 9:41).
Finally, the Bible records the names of the Father and Son hundreds of times (though there is debate on exactly how to pronounce them). But there is no name of the "holy spirit"—so how can you baptize in that name? From the many examples of baptizing in the name of Jesus (Yeshua), we conclude that His name is sufficient—it is His blood that cleanses us. However, we see nothing wrong with mentioning the Father, and asking for the power of the holy spirit.
—NSE
Count Feasts from Equinoxes?
Letter: May 14, 1997
Dear Mr. Edwards,
Thank you so much for your publication of the Servants’ News. We truly enjoy reading every article that you have in print.
Enclosed is [amount deleted] to help your efforts towards this.
We also have a question we would like to ask. Is there any reason why the Spring and Fall Equinox could not be used to start the count of days for God’s holy days; the first day of the fall equinox would be the Feast of Trumpets and the 10th day would be the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The first day of the Spring Equinox would be the first day of the sacred year from which you count the Passover. These two Equinoxes have no bearing on the new moons, but determine the length of the year and the two solstices for mid-summer and mid-winter. The lunar calendar can be the Jewish calendar or the calendar we use today for business. There is no guessing with the equinoxes and it makes no difference how many days are in between the equinoxes. They still happen each year.
Thank you so much.
—G.R., California
Response: From a strictly functional point of view, you have described a workable system. The equinoxes can be determined fairly accurately from almost anywhere on the planet. Your system would allow the entire world to keep the holy days in the same season and on the same day(provided that they agree when to start counting Pentecost). Crescent moon sightings, postponements, 13th-months, and many other problems would disappear.
The difficulty with this proposed system is that it is clearly not what was used in the Bible. While there is much argument as to exactly when Biblical months and years should begin, there is no argument that the holy days are to be kept on specific days of months. Furthermore, there are Scriptures that require events in months other than the first and seventh. The second passover must be taken in the second month. Prophecies, such as Haggai 2 specify events to take place "in the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month" This is one day before the Feast of Dedication, which Jesus apparently observed (John 10:22). The only meaningful way to observe these days is with a calendar with lunar months.
I think these are the only two good reasons for adopting a calendar system:
1) You have studied calendar systems and are convinced that a certain one is what the Eternal intends us to use.
2) You have not been able to determine which calendar the Eternal intends us to use, so you keep a system used by the brethren with which you fellowship.
The system you describe cannot qualify under point #1. Also, since nobody (as far as I know) is using it, it does not qualify under point #2, either.
Thank you for writing about it. We would be interested in hearing about anyone who is actually using this system.
—NSE
More Organizational Control
Letter: May 4, 1997
Dear Mr. Edwards,
I just received my package from the Servants’ News yesterday (Saturday) and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I needed a lift. My wife and I had just returned from Sabbath services where a heated discussion had taken place in a congregational meeting to discuss problems the local church is having. The main problem seems to be control by the minister and the home office at UCG-AIA.
In an exchange of letters and talks with the local minister, I withdrew my membership from AIA, but wanted to retain membership in the local congregation. It’s all very involved. I have served the brethren here since 1970-71 (beginning in WCG) in many ways from parking cars at the beginning to giving sermonettes, opening and closing prayers, etc.
Response: We receive a number of telephone questions about memberships in organizations: "Is it all right to have one?" "How do I get rid of one?" We would like to point out that memberships in most hierarchical churches have little or no meaning—especially today. Years ago, the WCG would not accept a person as a member unless they were baptized by the WCG—a few exceptions were made for other groups’ baptisims. Today, most congregations will accept a person as a "member" if they attend and claim to have been baptized. The new member will not be asked to sign anything, renounce membership in other churches or make any promises. Some groups will add a person to their membership roles without the person’s knowledge.
Membership in a church organization has no real spiritual meaning—people are baptized into the body of our Savior, not into a church organization. The church organization can become defunct, but your membership in His Body continues. Also, organization membership has little physical meaning. In the WCG and GCG, there are no legal "members." In the UCG, the legal "members" are those in the General conference of elders. "Spiritual members" have no legal status or recognition. Nearly every church organization will let you send money to them whether you are a member or not. Most will let you attend services without membership. The only thing of significance is that some will not send you certain publications or allow you to attend Passover services unless you are a member.
As long as you are not asked to make promises that you do not intend to fulfill, we recommend a practical approach toward membership in church organizations: If you need to be a member to receive certain publications or benefits, then become a member. If you have to get off of a membership list in order to stop getting certain publications or prevent other difficulties, then ask to be removed. If you are not experiencing any of these problems, do not be concerned whether the organization counts you as a "member". Be concerned that your Savior counts you as a member of His Body.
Letter: We have a Planning Committee here with bylaws, and a procedure in which to amend them. I was the duly elected Secretary of the committee, and served better than a year in that position.
After seeing the divisiveness of church organizations: "these are our churches," or "those are their churches," I made a proposal for a bylaw change. Change our name from United Church of God (city withheld) to: (city withheld) Church of God. I also made a proposal to keep all the tithes locally for local purposes, sending them outside the local area only with 100% congregational approval. (It seemed right because not all wanted to support AIA, and we would circumvent a person’s wishes by every ¼ sending a subsidy to AIA from the local account.)
During this same earlier March meeting, gave the minister my resignation from AIA. To make a long story short, he removed me as Secretary, all giving of sermonettes, opening and closing prayers, song leading as well as committee head of the Information Committee (I produced our local bulletin and maintained the bulletin board.) He said I must be a member of AIA to serve locally.
Response: While I have never heard it explained in a sermon or sermonette, "punishment by removal of visible duties" has certainly been an unwritten law in the WCG spin-offs. When someone has done something wrong, or just offended a local minister, he or she would almost always find themselves removed from duties visible to the congregation.
Letter: While some would tell you that I resigned my duties here locally in order to visit other congregations, (which I did do later after leaving AIA, and then rescinded my local resignation by request of other brethren) what the minister would tell you or the congregation is he had discharged me from all duties at least one day earlier in a letter before he received my fax with my resignation from local duties.
Response: We do not know exactly how your organization is set up, but if it requires a person to be voted out of office, your minister’s "dismissal" had no meaning—you were still the Secretary. When organizations are ruled by law, rather than the whims of hierarchical leaders, a pastor simply may not be able to dismiss an elected position. However, once you resign and your resignation is accepted, I would think your position legally ends.
Letter: He didn’t mail me the letter, he gave it to me in the parking lot after services after receiving my fax. I sent copies of our correspondence to some of the brethren and some of them were disturbed by his actions, yet some think it’s all right because they say they want the hierarchical government in place in AIA. One brother told me in this open meeting Saturday before all present, he wouldn’t be ruled over by me. My question to him was when did I ever rule over him by serving him or the congregation? I didn’t know that serving was ruling. It hurts to have those with whom I have served and known for years to say such things, but I guess people have their loyalties.
Response: Do not despair. All of these situations will be judged by our Righteous Judge in the end.
Letter: We have only a small congregation here, with 38 on the membership list and dwindling fast. I can no longer fellowship in such an atmosphere., nor can others with me in like mind. We have decided to meet next Sabbath elsewhere. We don’t know how many will be there. We know of 5 and possibly as many as 10. With all this, can you steer us to an organization (even an independent church organization) that is willing to provide us with videos and audio tapes to be used on the Sabbath? I hate to see this division in the Body of Christ, it tears at my very soul. May we all come to see the damage we are doing to the Body, myself included, before the world turns on His people.
Thanks for your time, I know you are probably short of it, and keep up the good work you are doing.
A brother in Christ,
—West Virginia
Response: I hate to see division also, but it is happening. I pray that we can all learn lessons from it, so that we do not have to repeat the problems over and over again. There is a list of sermon tape ministries on page 4 of the Sept-Oct 1996 Servants’ News. In addition, we have found that it works well to read through the Bible in an organized manner in services—stopping for explanation and comments. It is amazing how much the Eternal can teach in this manner.
—NSE
Appreciates Servants’ News
Letter: May 3, 1997
Dear Norman:
Thank you for Servants’ News. I find its whole approach very balanced, thought provoking and enlightening. Although I may not agree with every article I do find you have a lot of truth and a mature way of presenting it.
Please find enclosed a donation to help cover costs.
—M.H., England
Response: Thank you for taking that approach. We pray for understanding and study as much as we can. Yet, we do not believe that the Eternal has guaranteed that all of our understanding will be correct. If we print something that our readers disagree with, we hope that they will tell us about it rather than simply ignore us. There are many cases where we have been corrected by or learned from our readers. Sometimes it takes a while before we can study and understand what they say and then change our view. Also, we receive much "correction" with which we never do agree. But we would rather receive 1 good corrective letter and 10 bad ones, than no corrective letters at all.
—NSE
When Does God Join a Marriage?
Letter: January 13, 1997
Dear Sir,
Thanks for your effort to serve and inform. You and your staff are doing a good job.
I am not sure why I have such interest in the articles, Marriage and Divorce and Joined Together, since we have been married fifty years. I guess it is a hard-line "mindset" from WCG dating from 1958 until 1978 when I left.
More than one "spiritual widow" was shipped to San Diego by ministers who had determined they were not bound and it would be in their best interest to relocate. In fact, one with four children lived with our family for a period of time, in a three bedroom, one bath house. "Great fun."
Who and how is it determined if God "joined" a male and female? Divorce, "from the beginning, it was not so?"
If they become "one flesh" when both were unbelievers, how does this change when one becomes a believer? From what I hear about re-marriage of divorced people, is based on 1Cor 7:15 NKJV "under bondage"; yet, in verse 11, it states "remain unmarried". Verse 39 says "bound by law as long as her husband lives."
Yet, one can conclude from Matt 19:9, that if the divorce is for sexual immorality, he/she is free to remarry
You state there will be more articles on this subject, looking forward to them.
Above all, I do not condemn those that have re-married after being divorced. As I admitted at the beginning, I may have a "mind-set" that is wrong.
Sincerely,
—D.G., California
Response: We dealt with the issue of divorce and remarriage at length in our May 1997 Servants’ News. However, your question of "When Does God Join a Marriage?" is a good one. We asked ourselves, "Does the Eternal join..."
...converted people who both intending to marry for life?...people who want to live by the Bible, but do not have His spirit within them?
...people who have no religion, but intend to stay married untill they die?
...people who think they are Christian, but plan to stay married "only if it works"?
...couples who just live together without any definite plan for the future?
...couples who plan to stay together, but also plan to have other sexual relationships?
...promiscuous people during the first time they have intercourse, no matter what?
We do not have specific scriptures telling us exactly which marriages the Eternal "joins" and which ones he does not. But fortunately, for the converted person, we do not really need such answers. For converted people planning to marry, they can ask and know that the Eternal will join them in the future. For converted people who were already married, they can ask the Eternal to join the present marriage, unless they are no longer bound as specified in 1 Corinthians 7.
We hope that our May 1997 article answers most of your questions. Please let us know if it does not.
—NSE
Is the New Testament Valid?
Letter: April 18, 1997
Dear Norman Edwards,
Thank you for your response to our e-mail following our attendance with you at the Dallas Calendar Conference. We've reconsidered our thinking, and now agree with the view you related in Dallas; that until the temple is rebuilt, and or, the Sanhedrin is re-established, the Hebrew calendar should be followed for reckoning of holy days. This is especially true in light of a more weightier issue that needs attention. Churches seem to be focusing on all the wrong things, what needs to be of concern is the validity of the New Testament.
To research this subject will require a number of factors. First-it will take an in depth study (skimming won't work). Second-one will have to put Christian prejudices aside, and take an honest look at the evidence. Scripture references should be from the Holy Scriptures, and not from any Old Testaments that were modified to fulfill the New Testament. Here are a few of the questions that need answers:
Response: We know of very few Old Testament mistranslations intended to harmonize with the New—we would like to see your list of such problems.
Letter: 1. Is it possible that Satan, 'the god of this world', is capable of a fraud that could deceive the whole world?
Response: Nearly the whole world (Rev 12:9), but not the very elect (Matt 24:24). If you reject the New Testament, you have very little information about how Satan deceives individuals.
Letter: 2. If, according to the Holy Scriptures, Israel will be worshipping at the feet of Baal in the end time:(Jer.23:23-27) where is Israel, and what is the Baal religion?
Response: Israel is spread across the world in too many countries, and the Baal religion has taken on many forms. The Catholic Church is by far the most powerful, and her greatest hold is over Gentile countries (Italy, Spain, Poland, South America, etc.), not Israel!
Letter: 3. Why is the life history, doctrine, and activities of the saviour of the New Testament so simular to Mithraism, the competitive 'other' belief during the 300 plus years that it took to develop the New Testament.
Response: Mithraism is more similarities to Greco-Roman mythology than it is to Christianity. It has much more similariy to false Christianity (Sunday, Dec 25th, etc.) than true Biblical worship. The manuscripts giving information on Mithraism are few and very diverse. It seemed to mix with local religions wherever it went. It certainly borrowed from Christianity. While the New Testament did not take its final form until the 300s AD, virtually all of the early NTmanuscripts contain the same essential message as other versions of the same books. You can get a very good idea of the New Testament manuscript variations by reading the footnotes of a NKJVBible—there is not much that would change anyone’s theology.
Letter: 4. Why is it so difficult to establish who really wrote the 'four gospels', and when? Were there any eyewitnesses?
Response: Why is it impossible to establish who originated, taught and wrote about Mithraism? Leaders through the ages have destroyed or distorted history for their own purposes. Also, consider that converted writers are more interested in telling the truth than promoting their names. We continually receive articles at Servants’ News where people do not include their own name.
Letter: 5. Does all our knowledge of the conversion and ministry of Paul depend on the writings of his Gentile companion Luke?
6. Same question for the Acts of the Apostles and nativity of Jesus.
Response: —No, we have Paul’s Peter’s, and Matthew’s words, too (Gal 1; 2Pet 3:15; Matt 1:18-25))
Letter: 7. If the 'sin of Adam' is passed on through all mankind, how did Mary avoid passing the 'sin of Adam' on to Jesus?
Response: No scripture says the ‘sin of Adam’ was passed to mankind. It says that "all have sinned" and sin leads to death. (Rom 3:23; 6:23) We die like Adam died (1Cor 15:22). Jesus did not sin.
Letter: 8. If Mary was a close cousin (probably a sister) of Elizabeth, who was of the daughters of Aaron (Levites), why is Jesus considered of Judah? According to the NT, Joseph had no physical part in the conception (Luke 1:5)!
Response: The Greek probably means "cousin." Mary could have had a Jewish father and a Aaronite mother who’s brother was Elizabeth’s father. That would make Mary and Elizabeth cousins yet conform to the Old Testament marriage laws
Letter: 9. Three major religions developed from the descendants of Abraham- Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Why does only one-Christianity, require multiple deities?
Response: Islam has not been as monotheistic as they would like you to believe. Rushdie’s famous book, Satanic Verses, explains the polytheistic sections that used to be in the Koran. While Christianity identifies a Father and a Son who is the "firstborn of many brethren" (Rom 8:9), they are all "one" in purpose (John 17:22). Pagan religions have multiple gods in competition with each other.
Letter: 10. If, according to the NT the veil to the Holy of Holies at the time of the 'crucifixion', was "rent in twain" to supposedly give direct access to God the Father, why was it necessary to have a human resurrected god to act a go-between-especially when the Holy ONE of Israel says 'He shares His glory with no other? (Is. 42:5)
Response: If the King of England has a servant, does that mean he "shares his glory with another"? Obviously, the Eternal did not lose any of his glory when Aaronites served as high priest or when the veil was rent and Jesus received that office.
Letter: 11. Could the Jews have legally done most of the things they were accused of at the 'trial and crucifixion'?
Response: Were the things they did according to law? No. Did they do them? Yes. One need only look at the Salem witch trials, to the lynching of blacks, to our legal system today to see that leaders often consider themselves above the law.
Letter: 12. Why does Josephus, the main Historian of that era, omit such dramatic events such as the mass slaughter of innocent babies after the birth of Jesus (especially since he recorded most all events in Herod's life)? How did the Persian astrologers with their entourage find the 'manger' without those loyal to Herod, knowing where they went, and the dramatic opening of the graves and mass resurrection at the time of 'the crucifixion'?
Response: Josephus probably did not record these events for the same reason that the Egyptians did not record their slaying of the Israelite babies, and for the same reason that the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians and others did not record their miraculous defeats at the hands of the Eternal. It is embarrassing to publicly acknowledge great evil works, or to acknowledge that there is a God who is working against you. Most American historians either ignore or are slow to acknowledge atrocities America committed or miracles where the Eternal delivered us in war (though there certainly were some—see the booklet We Have a Guardian).
Letter: Mr Edwards, there are many other questions, but you need to ask several questions of yourself before you research them.
1. Are you willing to accept the results? i.e. loss of friends, financial support, and status in Christendom?
Response: I am willing to accept what I and the holy spirit in me understand to be the results, not what someone else tells me "must be the results." We have already published several "not so popular" articles that we believe are true—and we have lost some friends and support because of them. We will do that again if necessary.
Letter: 2. Is your 'faith' in the integrity of the NT authors, compilers, and editors, such that you are willing to risk the outcome?
Response: My faith is in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah—that He has preserved enough of the writings that we may live a life pleasing to the Eternal. I worship the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." I believe that our Savior has done some "good works"—as defined in the Old Testament—through me. If we assume that Jesus does not exist, then these are my good works—I do not mind being judged for them.
Letter: 3. Do you know where you want to be when the Holy ONE of Israel rejoins the House of Israel with the House of Judah?
Response: Yes, I want to be helping to feed my Master's servants (Matt 24:25-26)
Letter: We will continue to monitor the Servants’ News (that is if we continue to receive them) to look for developments. A year ago we wouldn't have dreamed that we would be writing a letter such as this!
Sincerely,
—Bob & Margaret Rose
P.S. We don't want to hear anything about Josh McDowell!
Response: Thank you for your letter. We would hope that you would complete your study before trying to convince others to believe only partially-thought-out ideas. Are you willing to risk the outcome? "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt 18:6).
—NSE