Low Hanging Fruit

Low Hanging Fruit
by Eric Rank (28)

If you were wandering through a forest, hungry and searching for something to eat, and you stumbled across an apple tree full of ripe fruit, what would you do? The answer is pretty obvious. If you’re like most normal people, you’d reach up and grab the nearest, best-looking piece of fruit you could find, and eat it. If there were a number of ripe apples together within reach, you might even grab a few for the road. But you wouldn’t even consider climbing up the tree to get the fruit on the top branches when the bottom branches have what you want. That takes much more effort. It’s the low-hanging fruit you’d grab.

As Christians, it is our goal to produce fruits worthy of righteousness. To Satan, this is one of the most significant things that sets us apart from the rest of the world. As he wanders around, seeking whom he may devour, the more fruit we produce, the more attractive we look to him as his next victim of temptation. We read from the Bible that Christ was tempted in tremendous ways by Satan himself because He produced such fruits. Individually, you too are a threat to Satan because you have, and act upon, the knowledge about how to live righteously. This makes you look pretty tasty! Satan will not rest in his attempts to deceive you and take away the knowledge and inheritance you have.

If the fruit you produce makes you a target for temptation, what can you do? Fortunately, the answer is simple. Don’t put yourself within Satan’s grasp! If you’re producing fruit worthy of righteousness, make an extra effort to do so on the top branches of the tree. God tells us to draw near to Him, and that He will draw near to us. This places you far out of Satan’s reach because he knows that it would take too much effort to tempt you. No matter how much fruit you produce, if you open yourself up to temptation, the game is over. Vulnerability to temptation places you at the lowest branches of the tree, where Satan can pluck you off easily, and devour! As a Christian, it is your duty to produce righteous fruit, but it is also your responsibility to draw near to God. Doing so will keep you out of Satan’s reach as he hungrily wanders about.

Do the wicked go to hell?

The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. In fact, the Bible does not even teach the existence of an ever-burning hell, torturing wicked souls of departed ones for their evil deeds.

The concept of an ever-burning hellfire is derived from paganism. Richard Craze explains in his book, “Hell, An Illustrated History of the Netherworld,” copyrighted 1996:

“… the old horned gods of the Stone Age people became the new rulers of hell. There was a sort of logic in locating the place of the dead below ground — the underworld — because that was exactly where the dead were buried… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed Hel’s name [the goddess Hel ruled over the place of the “lost souls” in Viking mythology] for their own place of punishment… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed heavily from earlier mythologies, and the generally accepted appearance of Satan is an amalgamation of such things as the horns and shaggy hindquarters of the Greek god Pan, the wings of the Mesopotamian devil Pazuzu, and the scales and dragon skin of the Persian Azhidaahaka… The Greeks borrowed freely from the Babylonians… Pluto, Zeus’ brother, governed [hell] with a merciless severity and subjected his poor guests to the most ingenious tortures… [Others] were consigned to the deep bottomless pit… ruled by Kronos. Here they would suffer eternal torment… sinners were tortured for eternity… The Romans knew exactly where hell was located — underneath Italy. Everything else they borrowed from the Greeks.”

The author also points out:

“… it was the Synod of Bishops in Constantinople in 543 that… set the seal on hell, when they decreed that ‘if anyone shall say or even think that there is an end to the torment of… ungodly persons, or that there ever will be an end to it, then let them be excommunicated.’ And they promptly excommunicated Origen, an early Church father, for saying that he thought hell was finite.”

In addition, the Bible does not teach the concepts of “limbo” or “purgatory,” either. These concepts have their origin in pagan mythologies, as well.

Craze points out these most incredible facts:

“The early [nominal] Christians… introduce[d] the concept of a sort of waiting-room, where souls would stay for [a while]. They found a ready-made idea — limbo — that they freely borrowed from the Romans, who had borrowed it from the Greeks. Limbo became a place where anyone who did not quite fit could be put… Purgatory… was a cross between limbo and hell… Jesus’ mother, the Virgin Mary, was called back from heaven, where she had been asleep (the Dormition). She was given the keys of hell to look after, and the running of the purgatory. She does not administer any punishments — in fact, her main job seems to be protecting the souls of the sinners from the wrath of her son [Jesus Christ!!!]. Purgatory became a sort of temporary hell — but one from which sinners could be rescued.”

However, the Bible does not teach the concepts of limbo, purgatory or of an ever-burning hell.

It is true that the New Testament speaks about a fiery place, which is translated in some English Bibles as, “hell.” The Greek word for this place is “gehenna.” It does not, however, describe an ever-burning hell, as commonly understand by many. Craze explains:

“Gehenna — the place of fire. It is probable that it was named after the place just outside Jerusalem where the household rubbish, including the bodies of criminals and animals, was burnt.”

Please note the following excerpts from our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”, addressing the concept of a fiery hell:

“The word ‘gehenna’ and the very concept of it are derived from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which the corpses of dead people, mainly criminals, would be burned up. It is another expression for the ‘lake of fire’ in Revelation 20:15, in which all who have acted wickedly, and who have refused to repent, will be thrown into, to be burned up or ‘devoured.’ (Remember that Hebrews 10:27… tells us that the wicked wait for God’s fiery indignation that will ‘devour’ them.). That is the ‘hell’ or the ‘gehenna’ fire that Christ is talking about…-‘the second death’ from which there will be no resurrection.

“Those who sin deliberately, willfully and maliciously, God will resurrect to physical life [please note that they were dead — not in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory — and that they had to be brought back from death to physical life] to throw them-their physical body and their soul or their ‘life’-into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15; 21:8). They won’t burn there forever-rather, they will be burned up. They are the ‘chaff,’ that will be ‘burned up’ with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12)-that is, no human can quench it. Notice that this fire will ultimately even burn up or bring to dissolution ‘heaven and earth,’ so that a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ can be created by God (2 Peter 3:10-13).

“The wicked, such as the rich man in Christ’s parable in Luke 16, will not burn forever and ever, for all eternity, in an everlasting hell fire, but they will be ‘burned up’ (cp. again Matthew 3:12). The Greek word for ‘burned up’ is ‘katakaio’-conveying the meaning that nothing of what is burned up will remain. We read in Revelation 18:8 that modern Babylon ‘shall be utterly burned with fire.’ The word for ‘utterly burned’ is, again, ‘katakaio’ in the Greek. And we are told that ‘that great city Babylon [will] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ (Revelation 18:21). In the same way, the wicked, such as the rich man in Luke 16, that are [brought back to life from the dead and then] thrown into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire [called the SECOND death!], will be ‘burnt up’-they ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up… that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Malachi 4:1). They will become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3); it will be as if they had never existed (Obadiah 16).”

The wicked will be burnt up in a temporary gehenna fire, to die the SECOND death, from which there will be no further resurrection to life (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8) — they will not be tortured forever and ever in an eternal hell fire, without ever being destroyed. We need to understand, too, that those who will be burnt up will have committed the unpardonable sin. As it is true in regard to the concept of “hell,” very few understand properly, either, what the “unpardonable sin” really is.

To learn more about the future of those who will be burnt up in gehenna fire, because they have committed the unpardonable sin, as well as the fate of all of those who have died, please read our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”

Alcohol–Friend or Foe?

On Saturday, May 21, 2005, Norbert Link will give the sermon, titled, “Alcohol–Friend or Foe?”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Preaching the Gospel & Feeding the Flock

Public Bible Lecture
On Sunday, May 22, 2005, Norbert Link will present a message, titled, “Europe Is Uniting–What Does This Mean to You?” This address will be free and open to the public, and it will be conducted at the Embassy Suites in Arcadia, California (211 East Huntington Drive). We will be placing ads in local newspapers leading up to this event. The meeting time is 6:30 P.M. You may request further information at: info@standingwatch.org

A new StandingWatch program is intended to be recorded tomorrow.

A new member letter has been written. It is being finalized and will be sent out early next week.

What did Christ mean when He said that He had come to FULFILL the law? Doesn't this imply that He did away with the law?

Christ’s statement that He came to FULFILL the law does NOT mean that He did away with it — quite the CONTRARY is correct.

Notice what Christ said in Matthew 5:17: “Do NOT think that I came to DESTROY the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy BUT to fulfill.” Christ did not say here that He had come to destroy the law. Neither did He say that “fulfilling” the law meant, “destroying it,” because if that were true, Christ’s statement would read: “I did not come to destroy the law but to destroy the law.” This would make no sense.

In the Greek, the word for “fulfill” is “pleroo.” It is true that this word can designate completion or even cessation — but as will be pointed out, it can also mean a continued activity of carrying out something — depending on the context. For instance, in Luke 7:1, the word “pleroo” is used in the sense of “end” or “conclude”: “Now when He concluded all His sayings…” In Acts 19:21, the Greek word is translated as “accomplished” : “When these things were accomplished…” (The Authorized Version says “ended” in both passages.)

However, in the majority of cases, the Greek word “pleroo” conveys the meaning of “filling up” or “making full,” with the concept of continuing to carry out a specific task.

In our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound,” we explain on pages 17 and 18:

“Christ did not come to do away with God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments. He stated in Matthew 5:17 that He had NOT come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it-to magnify it, to exalt it and to make it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21), to fill it up with its intended meaning, to show how to keep it perfectly in the flesh. The Greek word for ‘fulfill’ is ‘pleroo.’ It literally means ‘to fill’ or ‘to make full’ (Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible). In Matthew 3:15 it is used in this context: ‘…it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’

“In Philippians 2:2, Paul states, ‘…fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love.’ Further, Paul reminds the saints in Colosse that he became a minister to ‘fulfill the word of God’ (Colossians 1:25), and he admonishes Archippus to ‘take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it’ (Colossians 4:17). None of these passages convey the thought that something has ended-rather, the obvious understanding is that something should be continued to be filled with meaning, or to be brought to perfection… God’s spiritual law, as defined in the Ten Commandments, the statutes and the judgments, ‘stand[s] fast forever and ever’ (Psalm 111:7-8), and… it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away ‘than for one tittle of the law to fail’ (Luke 16:17). A tittle is the smallest stroke in a Hebrew letter.”

In the above-quoted excerpt, the Greek word “pleroo” conveys the meaning of fulfilling a task in a continuing way, rather than completing a task and ceasing to do it.

In addition, note this quote from page 4 of the same booklet:

“The apostle James… silences those who claim that we today do not have to keep ALL of God’s Ten Commandments. Let’s read his decisive answer in James 2:8-12: “If you really fulfill [that is, keep] the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep [or, fulfill] THE WHOLE LAW, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of ALL. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a TRANSGRESSOR of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

In this passage, the Greek word for “fulfill” is “teleo,” but the intended meaning is obviously the same: We are to continue fulfilling or keeping the Law — not ceasing to keep it. This conclusion is clear when we understand what sin is — and that we have to repent of sin to obtain eternal life.

Please note these excerpts from pages 14-15 of our free booklet, “Baptism–A Requirement for Salvation?” :

“What, exactly, is it that we need to repent of…? Simply put, we must repent of the sins we have committed. What is sin? The biblical definition is: ‘…sin is the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Which law? The law of God’s Ten Commandments. James calls it the ‘royal law according to the Scripture’ (James 2:8). It defines our love toward God and our love toward neighbor. When we break even one of the Ten Commandments, we are guilty of having broken them all and have become a transgressor of the law (James 2:10-11). The law of the Ten Commandments is a spiritual law, as Paul explains in Romans 7:14, because it regulates not only our actions, but also the motives and intents of our heart. We sin when we commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), but we also sin when we DESIRE or COVET the wife of another man (Exodus 20:17), or when we look at another woman with the desire to commit adultery with her (Matthew 5:28). Additionally, we sin when we kill someone (Exodus 20:13), but we have already sinned by violating God’s spiritual law of the Ten Commandments when we even HATE another human being (Matthew 5:21-22; 1 John 3:15).”

Christ did not come to do away with God’s Law. Otherwise, there would be no more sin, and we would not need to repent of anything. But Christ said that we have to REPENT and believe the gospel (Mark 1:14-15). The resurrected Christ commanded His disciples that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name” (Luke 24:47). And Peter proclaimed that same message, as is recorded in Acts 2:38. Christ had come to FULFILL the Law, that is, He kept it PERFECTLY, giving us an example that we “should follow His steps” (compare 1 Peter 2:21). He did not keep the Law FOR us, so that we don’t have to keep it anymore. Rather, He told a young rich ruler: “If you want to enter into life, KEEP the commandments” (compare Matthew 19:17).

Note this quote from our free booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” on pages 24:

“Christ warned those of His time, as well as us today, that not everyone who would just say ‘Lord, Lord’ to Christ, would enter the Kingdom of God, but only the person ‘who does the will of My Father in heaven.’ (Matthew 7:21) This same thought is expressed in Luke 16:16: Everyone wants to desperately enter the Kingdom of God. But what does Christ tell us in verse 17: ‘And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.’ In other words, if you want to enter into eternal life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. Only those who do the will of the Father, which is, to keep the commandments of God, will enter the Kingdom of God. And now Christ continues to give us an example of such a commandment to be kept, in verse 18: ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery’ is one of the commandments that we are to keep. And divorcing someone for any other than Biblical reasons and then marrying again, is a violation of the law against adultery. In order to enter the Kingdom of God, in order to be part of the Kingdom of God, we must KEEP God’s Law. It is the SAME Law, as we are told in Luke 16:16, that had already been preached up until the time of John the Baptist. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the Law to fail.”

The teaching of the Bible is consistent. In order to inherit eternal life, we must keep God’s Law — the Ten Commandments, as well as the statutes and judgments, defining and explaining the Ten Commandments even further. Christ did not come to “fulfill” the Law by doing away with it or by destroying it. Rather, Christ came to “fulfill” the Law by making it more honorable (Isaiah 42:21 ), by MAGNIFYING it, by showing us HOW to obey it both in the letter AND in the SPIRIT. This includes ALL of God’s commandments — including the keeping of the Fourth Commandment, which enjoins us to keep God’s Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8). For more information on that important subject, please read our free booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days.”

A New Administration

On Saturday, May 14, 2005, Dave Harris will give the sermon, titled: “A New Administration.”

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 pm Pacific Time (which is 2:30 pm Central Time). Just click on Connect to Live Stream.

Choose Your Friends Wisely

by Aaron Hooper (19)

Choose Your Friends Wisely

Can the young mind comprehend the profound and vast wisdom in the statement: “Choose your friends wisely”? We young people are such that, simple admonishments must be explained to us in full — with real examples of things that have really happened to real people — and then, it’s still a big “maybe” whether or not we will even believe what we have been told. Wisdom is often the result of experience — and, if applied, can dramatically change the direction of our life. Now, the question is, whether we have faith in wisdom to act on what is right.

In this world, there are a lot of things we may try out of our own curiosity, bravery, and — to a greater degree — stupidity. But, there are an equal, if not greater number of things, that we will not try because of our own conscience — all those things we were taught not to do, that we know are wrong. That is, until we may make new friends, and if they have a lower moral standard than we have, then there are a lot of new possibilities of the things we will do, that don’t seem so bad… After all, our new friends seem like normal people and it seems like nothing bad has happened to them as a result of the things they have been doing.

The funny thing about doing something wrong is that we might not get in trouble right away. Doing wrong is so deceptive, and so easy, and we might even get away with it… for a little while — but, the “fun” won’t last forever. The consequences for doing wrong will always catch up with us sooner or later (probably sooner). And the more we do simple, “harmless” things, the more we may begin to hate ourselves. Also, the more we get involved in these “harmless” activities, the more we will become disconnected from God. We will pay for all the wrong things we have done to ourselves and other people — maybe even for the rest of our lives. But it all could have been easily prevented. Our friends have great impact on our immediate personality and perhaps even our long-term character development. Let us, therefore, choose our friends wisely.

Do You Believe in and Teach Self-Defense?

We addressed this question in our new booklet, “Should You Fight in War?” We are bringing you the following excerpts:

“Do we believe in God and rely on Him for our protection, having the faith that it is GOD who is our protecting shield, or do we think that we must have additional security in the form of a handgun or some sort of firearm? Do we think that God is incapable of helping us in certain circumstances? We should, of course, do everything that we can do to avoid getting into dangerous situations. We obviously should not go to places where gangs assemble, and we should not get involved with people who are known to be active in crimes, for instance. In addition, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath but that grievous words stir up strife. So then, we need to be peacemakers, and we need to avoid everything that would create strife. Proverbs 18:6 reminds us that a fool’s lips enter into contention and that his mouth calls for violent reactions. We are also told in Proverbs 26:17 that he who passes by and meddles with strife belonging not to him, is like one who takes a dog by the ears. The point is, the battles of this world, which are fought by this world, are not our battles! This Scripture tells us not to be a fool, meddling with strife not belonging to us!… The most important of all the things you can do to avoid using violence is to pray to God, on a daily basis: ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ (compare Matthew 6:13). We are to plead with God daily to NOT ALLOW a tempting situation that might be too difficult for us to bear, to overtake us. However, we read in the Bible that righteous persons have sometimes found themselves being attacked by others. What did they do, and what should YOU do, if God allows it?

“First, realize that God would NOT allow it if you were not able to bear it, as 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us. And when God does allow it, He will also provide a way of escape for you. This is sometimes literally the case. Sometimes you need to actually flee, to run away! Christ did so on occasion. We read in John 10:39: ‘Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.’… When we find ourselves, or others, in a dangerous, challenging, life-threatening situation, we must PRAY to God, with faith, to HELP us out of that situation. To fight our fight for us! To give us the wisdom and the power NOT to do the WRONG thing, however tempting it may be.

“We must realize that no matter what harm we may WANT to do physically in a given situation, we must not seriously injure or kill the attacker. But unless we understand beforehand, and have in our mind that we are not to do something with the intent to seriously injure or kill the attacker, we might very well do so when the occasion presents itself. If we carry a gun with us or have one handy, say, next to our bed, we will certainly try to use it, but then may be killed in the process.

“People who disagree with the foregoing may ask you what you would do if you came home and a robber was in the process of raping your wife or killing your husband… Realistically, how many times does this happen? But if it does happen, do you really think that you can take a gun and shoot the attacker, and that the attacker would let you do it without any resistance? Chances are, he will use his gun first. In any case, to use a gun and shoot the attacker would be against the clear Biblical teaching of prohibiting killing. But what about just trying to injure him? In the heat of the moment, you may not be able to do just that, even if you wanted to. And if the attacker would only be injured, he would still have the chance to kill you or others who are with you. Christ told Peter, when he pulled his sword in defense of Christ and just injured the servant, to put his sword away. Christ’s protection did not depend on human weapons. It depended on God the Father and His angels. So, too, with us. Our real protection comes from the same source….

“The whole issue really comes down to where we place our trust and confidence for our protection, in EVERY situation. Notice God’s promise to His people, in Exodus 34:22-24: ‘And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.’ When man places his trust and confidence in God, God will protect man. Ultimately though, no matter the consequences, we must be living a life pleasing to God. We must never fear the ones who can take our physical life from us, but we must fear, or deeply respect, the One who can refuse to give us ETERNAL LIFE.

“We must always have the attitude that Daniel’s three friends had when they were asked to violate God’s laws by worshipping an idol, and in case of refusal, were threatened with being thrown into a fiery furnace. We need to speak and act in the same way when we are being tempted to worship Satan – the god of war – by picking up a gun or a knife or another weapon to injure or even kill another person. We read their answer in Daniel 3:17-18: ‘ … our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’ We must not serve the wisdom of this world, worshipping the power of the air and the god of destruction and war. Rather, we must always follow the PRINCE OF PEACE.”

At the same time, we must firmly keep in mind God’s limitless power and His willingness to help His disciples, who place their trust and confidence in Him. Rather than resorting to violence with the intent to seriously injure or kill an attacker, God’s disciples are to pray to God for help in dangerous situations.

In 1982, the Mail Processing Center of the Worldwide Church of God published a collection of special letters, titled, “God Still Works Miracles Today.” These letters testified to the intimate involvement of God in people’s lives and His protection in times of trials. We are quoting excerpts from one remarkable letter, dated March 31, 1981:

“I would like to share with you an incident which happened at work, at a coal mine, several days ago. I received word from a foreman to go and repair the roof-drill for a new employee. When I got there, the employee informed me that he had already repaired the roof-drill.” The letter continued to describe how that employee engaged the writer in a discussion regarding the Sabbath, the Church and Mr. Armstrong, the late human leader of the Church. It continued:

“He then grabbed me, and threw me on the mine floor. With the cold edge of his knife at my throat, he said, ‘Take the words back that Armstrong is an apostle for today!’ All the time he was cursing Mr. Armstrong. I refused to take back my words. I managed to get my hand on his forehead and push him off but knew that if he got me down again, without a hand from God, he would kill me. I uttered a silent prayer, and immediately he started fighting something other than myself — and something I could not see. He began to vomit and cry violently and kept it up for several minutes. Then he crawled to the other side of the mine.”

God who protected Daniel in the lions’ den is ready and able to protect us today, if we long for His protection. We don’t need to use violence against others for our own protection, when we trust that God is there to help us, whenever we are in need. As we read in Psalm 46:1-3: “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.” And notice this comforting reassurance and promise of God’s presence in our lives, and His protection:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you (Isaiah 43:2).

At the same time, we must always look at God’s overall Will for us and our great potential and destiny for our lives, as Christ expressed in Matthew 10:28-31: “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground APART FROM YOUR FATHER’S WILL. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

To resort to violence with the intent to seriously injure or kill another person, even for the purpose of self-defense or defending others, is not in conformity with Christ’s teaching. As mentioned above, Christ told Peter, when he took the sword to defend Christ and injured the servant of the high priest in the process, to put his sword “in its place, for ALL who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). He continued to tell Peter that if He needed help, His Father would provide Him “with more than twelve legions of angels” (verse 53). Christ knew that His protection did not depend on man’s strength — including His own — but on God the Father’s.

God has assigned angels for our protection. For more information about this intriguing subject, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”

Absolutely!!!

by

At one time the world was flat, the Sun rotated around the earth and there were only 7 other planets in this solar system. Men of renown based their calculations on these “facts” and wrote down these and other observations as absolutes. Later, we became smarter and figured out that these “facts” were not to be set in stone.

Then came Einstein, considered to be one of the most brilliant minds of all time, who came up with his famous theory of E=mc2. In this equation c stands for CONSTANT and that constant is the speed of light upon which many other conclusions relied. Now there are scientists that say the speed of light is slowing down and they say they have evidence to prove it.

In the scientific community there is the necessity to have absolutes around which theories, laws, knowledge and ultimately science can be built. Yet new generations bring better precision which refines or even changes what has been held as absolute truth.

It seems, based on past experience, that we can not rely on the absolutes and truths that man has been able to extrapolate empirically. What then can we rely on?

The one absolute that we can use as a foundation for building our life upon, the one absolute that is not going to change is God. God and His Word are the same YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW. We read: “I the Lord change not” (Malachi 3:6); and that “there is no variation or shadow of turning” with God (James 1:17).

Even if man could explain his existence accurately, there is no assurance that it will always be that way. Even though the universe will change, God won’t (Psalm 102:25-27). Man does not have the ability to control the environment like the One who created it. God is the only One that CAN be and is absolute.

This being the case, God and His Word should be our foundation, our beginning, and our basis for life. We can rely on EVERY word in the Bible and WE SHOULD (Matthew 4:4). We can not rely on anything else, because everything else will perish along with those that believe in it and follow after it (Proverbs 14:12).

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