On Saturday, December 4, 2004, Norbert Link will give the sermon, continuing the series on the life of David.
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.
A new StandingWatch program was recorded last week and placed on the Web, titled, “Attitude!”
In the following Update, reference is made to “unique visitors,” “number of visits,” “pages” and “hits.” “Unique Visitors” are the total number of visits by a unique internet address. The “number of visits” is the total number of visits by all visitors over a given period of time. If I visit your site and then come back four more times, you should see one “unique visit” and five “visits” from me. “Pages” are the total number of pages viewed by visitors. These do not include images, java script or CSS and the like — just HTML and CGI type files. “Hits” refers to every file requested by the visitor. This includes pages and images together.
There are now 63 million registered Internet domain names. In October, we ranked in the top 7% viewed at 4,189,626. In September and October, the CEG Webpage received 49,349 and 51,621 hits, respectively.
The Sabbath is consistently the highest bandwidth use day. This would be attributed to people downloading sermons. These are presumably people outside of our fellowship, as we are listening to streaming audio off of a separate server.
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| Number | | |
Day | of visits | Pages | Hits | Bandwidth
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01 Sep 2004 | 69 | 322 | 636 | 11.24 MB
02 Sep 2004 | 70 | 318 | 1266 | 29.12 MB
03 Sep 2004 | 106 | 748 | 4646 | 44.64 MB
04 Sep 2004 | 120 | 513 | 1940 | 105.58 MB
05 Sep 2004 | 56 | 193 | 670 | 7.00 MB
06 Sep 2004 | 65 | 203 | 826 | 92.01 MB
07 Sep 2004 | 81 | 227 | 855 | 23.73 MB
08 Sep 2004 | 76 | 185 | 558 | 32.46 MB
09 Sep 2004 | 72 | 225 | 1167 | 63.80 MB
10 Sep 2004 | 108 | 745 | 4755 | 54.35 MB
11 Sep 2004 | 117 | 424 | 2352 | 43.38 MB
12 Sep 2004 | 83 | 300 | 870 | 31.60 MB
13 Sep 2004 | 84 | 443 | 1104 | 104.04 MB
14 Sep 2004 | 80 | 332 | 844 | 47.91 MB
15 Sep 2004 | 89 | 246 | 1028 | 19.84 MB
16 Sep 2004 | 160 | 539 | 1802 | 53.83 MB
17 Sep 2004 | 98 | 709 | 4340 | 36.51 MB
18 Sep 2004 | 123 | 735 | 2235 | 1.82 GB
19 Sep 2004 | 93 | 236 | 997 | 37.95 MB
20 Sep 2004 | 79 | 305 | 975 | 34.54 MB
21 Sep 2004 | 78 | 260 | 729 | 28.10 MB
22 Sep 2004 | 79 | 244 | 595 | 23.61 MB
23 Sep 2004 | 78 | 1111 | 1989 | 17.12 MB
24 Sep 2004 | 112 | 814 | 5524 | 54.46 MB
25 Sep 2004 | 149 | 550 | 2086 | 115.78 MB
26 Sep 2004 | 78 | 273 | 1170 | 12.55 MB
27 Sep 2004 | 80 | 298 | 1034 | 17.16 MB
28 Sep 2004 | 93 | 403 | 982 | 67.17 MB
29 Sep 2004 | 78 | 194 | 657 | 9.73 MB
30 Sep 2004 | 95 | 248 | 717 | 15.94 MB
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Average | 91.63 | 411.4 | 1644.97 | 103.28 MB
Total | 2749 | 12343 | 49349 | 3.03 GB
Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth as a human being, lived indeed a sinless life. He never sinned by breaking any of God’s Commandments (compare 1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). Rather, He kept perfectly all of God’s Laws. He said in John 15:10: “I have kept My Father’s commandments.”
The Biblical record is conclusive that Christ never sinned. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He was “separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26); and even when He suffered, He “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:21-22). Christ challenged His listeners to convict Him of sin (John 8:46), knowing that they would be unable to do so. He also testified of Himself that “no unrighteousness” was in Him (John 7:18).
Before Christ became a man, He had lived for all eternity as a glorified God being, in the Spirit, together with the Father (John 17:5). But when He became human, having laid aside His divine attributes (Philippians 2:5-7), He experienced for the first time what it was like to live with human nature — in this “sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). He had to learn IN THE FLESH how to overcome sin and stay obedient to God; how to fight victoriously against the temptations of the flesh; and how to stay obedient in suffering, “to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).
While in this sinful flesh, living with human nature, Christ learned obedience by condemning sin in His flesh (compare, again, Romans 8:3). He learned obedience to God’s will, in the face of terrible sufferings and pain, by submitting His own will to that of the Father, and by accepting and embracing the Father’s will in His life (Matthew 26:38-39).
Christ never sinned. He was always obedient to God’s Law. But as a human, He had to learn, by experience, how difficult it can be to always obey, and that sin can only be resisted successfuly through the power of God’s Holy Spirit living within us. Christ emphasized many times that He could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19); that the Father dwelling in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, was doing the works which Christ performed (John 14:10); and that Christ was not seeking His own will, but only the will of the Father (John 5:30; 6:38). Although Christ never sinned, He still had to learn obedience to God’s Law, as a human being, by the things which He suffered.
We find this insightful explanation in the NASB Study Bible which sheds light on verse 8 of Hebrews 5: “Though He was the eternal Son of God, it was necessary for Him as the incarnate Son to learn obedience–not that He was ever disobedient, but that He was called on to obey to an extent He had never before experienced. The temptations He faced were real and the battle for victory was difficult, but where Adam failed…, Jesus resisted and prevailed.”
The Broadman Bible Commentary states, in regard to Hebrews 5:8-9: “This sonship did not immunize him from the necessity of learning as every genuinely human being must learn. The deepest lessons of life are learned through anguish. The learning of Jesus was not an exception to this. Being made perfect means, not that he was not at every given moment perfect, but rather, that his moral perfection ultimately depended upon his response to each challenge presented to him. This was especially true as this challenge intensified, as his cross drew nearer and became… a grim, present reality.”
“The New Bible Commentary: Revised” adds the following thoughts: “Also by the experience of such a discipline, He, Son of God though He was, learnt the full meaning and cost of human obedience, and was thereby perfected in His human character, and in His fitness to be the cause to men of salvation eternal in quality. Men can enjoy the full benefit of his saving work only if they, too, are baptized into the same spirit, and become those who at any cost make active obedience to Christ their continual practice.”
The Nelson Study Bible explains the fact that “Jesus learned obedience,” in this way: “Jesus experienced all of what a person goes through on this earth. He knows how difficult it is to obey God completely, just as He understands the attractions of temptation ([Hebrews] 2:18). Yet He persisted in obedience, leading a sinless life (I John 3:5).”
Notice, too, how other translations render Hebrews 5:8. Moffat says: “he learned by all he suffered how to obey.” William Beck writes: “He found out from what He suffered what it means to obey.”
One of the clearest interpretations of Hebrews 5:8-9 can be found in the rendering of the Living Bible, as follows: “And even though Jesus was God’s Son, he had to learn from experience what it was like to obey, when obeying meant suffering. It was after he had proved himself perfect in this experience that Jesus became the giver of eternal salvation to all those who obey him.”
Jesus lived a perfect life without sin. Still, as a human being, He had to experience what it is like to live in this flesh, subject to temptations and sufferings, and stay obedient to God. He indeed learned obedience by the things which He suffered. We must learn obedience in the same way. For more information, please listen to our new sermon, “To Obey Is Better.”
On Saturday, November 27, 2004, J. Edwin Pope will be giving the sermon, titled, “Your Relationship with God,” Part 3.
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.
A new member letter was sent out this week. Dave Harris discusses in it the present state of affairs of our countries, and the continued obligation of God’s Church. You can find a copy of the member letter at: Letters to the Brethren.
A new StandingWatch program was recorded last week and placed on the Web, titled, “Balanced Living.”
Actually, Acts 14:23 teaches the exact opposite. Looking at the context, we find that the ones who “appointed elders in every church” (verse 23) were “the apostles Barnabas and Paul” (verse 14; compare, too, Acts 15:2).
As we have pointed out before, for instance, in the Q&A of Update #147 (June 11, 2004), God used ordained ministers to appoint others to the ministry (Titus 1:5). Titus was a minister. He is also referred to as a brother. After all, a true minister is a servant and a spiritual brother. This is why Paul could call Titus a brother, but this does not mean that Titus was not also ordained to the ministry. The Bible shows that ministers or elders are ordained or appointed by other ministers or elders. The laying on of hands through the ministry is very important in this regard (1 Timothy 5:22).
Some feel that the Church does not need any ministers, or that every Church member is a minister. This is simply not true. James tells us that sick persons are to call for the elders of the Church to anoint them with oil and pray over them. This is not talking about unordained brethren. In this regard, please read our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing — What the Bible Tells Us.” Also, baptism and the laying on of hands are to be done through the ministry — otherwise, no promise of the receipt of the Holy Spirit is given. Only when Peter and other ministers placed their hands on baptized people, did they receive the Holy Spirit. For more information, read our free booklet, “Baptism — a Requirement for Salvation.”
We read in Ephesians 4:11 that Christ has given the ministry to the Church, “for the equipping of the saints” (verse 12). Verse 11 speaks about certain ranks, offices and functions within the ministry, including apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Paul referred to himself on several occasions as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher (1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11).
God has set in place a ministry (ordained elders), through which He administers the Church. The Church is clearly not run as a democracy. This is not to say, however, that the ministry is to run the Church in a dictatorial or autocratic fashion — rather, as shepherds concerned for the welfare of the sheep, the ministry is to always have the good of the flock in mind. The ministry is well advised to consult with the membership before decisions affecting the members are made, including decisions pertaining to ordination. This does not mean, however, that the ministry is conducting its affairs by vote, but it is always good to obtain and receive a multitude of counsel.
The concept that an entire congregation “ordains” or “appoints” someone to the ministry is not biblical. We don’t read anywhere that Church decisions were reached through a majority vote of the membership. Note how it was done in Acts 15. The Church “agreed” with the decision of the ministry, but by that time, the decision was already made, and when the decision was made, non-ordained members were not even present.
It is claimed by some that the word” ordained” or “appointed,” as it is used in Acts 14:23, allegedly conveys the meaning of “voting.” The Concordant Literal New Testament renders this verse: “Now, selecting elders for them according to the ecclesia, praying with fastings, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
However, this is NOT an accurate rendition of the literal Greek. “The Englishman’s Greek New Testament…An Interlinear Literal Translation,” renders Acts 14:23, word-for-word, as follows: “And having chosen FOR THEM elders IN every assembly, having prayed with fastings they committed them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.”
Again, we see that Paul and Barnabas “chose” FOR THE CHURCH elders IN every congregation or assembly. The word for “ordained,” “appointed” or “chosen,” as it is translated from the original Greek in Acts 14:23, is defined by “Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible,” as “to elect by stretching out the hand.” Note again that it is Paul and Barnabas who do the “electing” — not the entire congregation. There remains no room for contending that the assembly voted on the matter. The Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W.E. Vine (under “appoint”) explains that the Greek word does not have the meaning here of voting, as the same Greek word is also used for God in Acts 10:40-41, as follows: “Him [Jesus Christ] God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses CHOSEN before by God.” Vine explains that the Greek word in Acts 14:23, translated as “ordained,” “appointed” or “chosen,” refers to the “appointment of elders by apostolic missionaries in the various churches which they revisited.”
God is not the author of confusion, but of order. He has designated that the ministry is to ordain or appoint qualified members to the ministry. This is the clear teaching of the Bible, which we must uphold and practice.
Many of the most “brilliant” minds of our time do not believe that God exists or that we can really know that He exists. Most of their doubt comes from the fact that they have not seen, heard or touched Him. In other words they have no empirical evidence; that which is proved or derived from observation or experiment.
Yet, what is ignored is the preponderance of circumstantial evidence or indirect proof of God’s existence. Perhaps when we hear the term circumstantial evidence we have a tendency to not give it credibility because of the way in which it is bandied about on television and in other mediums.
If we were to go to sleep tonight and wake up the next morning to find that the whole city or county had a foot of snow covering it, we would think that we had direct proof that it snowed. But this isn’t the case. Even though there was no snow when we went to sleep and a foot when we woke up, this would still be circumstantial evidence. We didn’t see it snow so we couldn’t testify to the fact that it did, BUT it would be entirely ludicrous to assume otherwise.
In the same way this is a case for the existence of God.
Around us is all the proof that we will ever need that God does indeed exist. In Romans 1:20 it states, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
God says there is no legitimate reason that any one can give when Christ returns for being an atheist, because of the overwhelming evidence that was there all along. The more technically sophisticated man becomes, the more we are able to see just that, in the most minute, as well as the most grand of scale. With each advancement we make we can see more and more that there is a great design too incredible to have happened by chance.
If anyone saw a watch they would assume that someone produced the watch. When they look at its design and careful organization they would have to conclude that it required a designer. Even though they did not see it produced, its mere existence proves this.
As we look at the entire universe in its magnificence, the only conclusion that we can come to is that this creation and its design points to God who designed and created it. There truly are too many illustrations and occurrences of the fact that God exists to enumerate and expand on them here. However, if we have an eye to see, His handiwork, His circumstantial evidence will declare that He does exist without a doubt.
On Saturday, November 20, 2004, Dave Harris will be giving the sermon, titled, “To Obey Is Better.”
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.
A new StandingWatch program was recorded last week, titled, “Christ’s Return and You.” The program discusses our individual physical and spiritual responsibilities in preparation for Christ’s return.
It is planned to record another StandingWatch program this Friday.
Ad Campaign in the UK
The recent UK advertising campaign offered two booklets, “Europe in Prophecy,” which received 1,450 responses, and “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” which received 1,427 responses. In addition, other booklets have been requested and so far, a further 135 have been sent out with more requests expected in the next few weeks. Requests for additional literature are still being received by telephone, post and e-mail.
Just a few comments from this latest advertising campaign:
“I would like to peruse your ‘America and Britain in Prophecy’ booklet, having found much that has troubled since schooldays, and is covered in ‘Europe in Prophecy’ which I have just read. Since schooldays are some 75 years ago, you may understand the state that applies.”
“Thank you for sending me a copy of the booklet ‘Europe in Prophecy.’ From the list on the back page, I am intrigued; would it be possible to send me ‘The Theory of Evolution’, ‘Is God a Trinity?’, ‘Baptism – A Requirement for Salvation?’ and ‘Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.’ Thank you very much. I appreciate all and everything I have and can learn from you.”
“Thank you very much for recent booklet ‘Europe in Prophecy.’ I found this very good and very informative. All I can do is thank you for this information as I find it very sad when I see the turmoil, war and hurt that is commonplace world wide at this moment in time. Once again, thank you for your publication.”
“After reading ‘Europe in Prophecy’ I am now intrigued to read your other publications. I would be delighted if you could send me a copy of each of those below.” (The writer then requests a further 14 booklets which will be sent to him over the next several weeks).
“Thank you very much for the two booklets which you have sent me, which I found informative and thought provoking. You also sent a list of what is available and so will you allow me to impose on your kindness and request further booklets.”
“Thank you for the booklet entitled ‘Europe in Prophecy’ – it’s quite fascinating to say the least. I must confess that I hadn’t heard of the Global Church of God, that is until I received the booklet. Perhaps I should throw a little light on my simple beliefs. I do not accept in any form or shape the Devil or Satan. I do not accept the Trinity or ascension into heaven. I have been baptised into the saving name of Christ my Saviour and await the judgement morning when I will alone answer for my sins. This is my simple faith as I walk towards Jehovah’s Vineyard in the sincere hope that I will be granted an abiding place in that glorious Kingdom. This I write in the hope of our Master’s quick return.”
“I have read your book ‘Europe in Prophecy’ and it is very interesting but there are a few things that I don’t agree with. I would like to read the book ‘Angels, Demons and the Spirit World’ as I belong to the Spiritualist church.”
First of all, it is important to realize that we must receive our teachings from the Bible; so even IF Mr. Armstrong HAD taught that there would still have to be a future king of the South, we still would have to be able to back up such a teaching with Scripture. We have published several articles in previous Updates (Q&A in Update 154; Comments from our Readers in Update #156), and we have also placed a StandingWatch program regarding the king of the South on our Web, showing that Scripture does NOT DEMAND a future king of the South. In addition, we are also pleased to state that Mr. Armstrong did NOT teach something contrary to this fact, several false claims of some notwithstanding.
Hours of research have established that Mr. Armstrong has never written that the final fulfillment of the prophecies about the coming king of the South are certainly yet to come. In fact, Mr. Armstrong wrote an Editorial in 1967, which was published in the Plain Truth, pointing out that the prophecy of Daniel 11:40 WAS fulfilled. There is no further mention of a king of the South after Daniel 11:40. It is clear that Mr. Armstrong, since 1967, never taught that there would definitely be a future king of the South, “attacking” or “pushing at” the future king of the North or Europe.
Further, Mr. Armstrong never taught that the king of the South would be a confederacy of Arab nations, in some way led by Egypt, as some teach today. In 1983 Mr. Armstrong wrote, “Ethiopia… is the only possible government that could be the king of the South.”
The idea of an Arab confederacy at odds with Europe seems to somewhat contradict, to an extent, the prophecy in Psalm 83, implying a confederation between Arab nations AND the future leading nation of Europe, Assur or Germany, AGAINST Israel.
Mr. Armstrong expressly rejected the idea that Egypt would or could be the king of the South. He clearly taught that at the time of Daniel 11:42, Egypt is NOT the king of the South. Compare his booklet on “Middle East in Prophecy.” He wrote that for the last 2,000 years since 31 B.C., the “king of the south… cannot be the king of Egypt.”
It is true that there have been occasional articles published in the Church, suggesting or stating that there still will be a future king of the South. None of these articles were written by Mr. Armstrong. It is correct that in December of 1980 and in June of 1983, a staff writer wrote in two Plain Truth articles that some type of Arab-Moslem confederation is coming as a king of the South, but Mr. Armstrong did not teach this. In his articles, the staff writer omitted to mention Mr. Armstrong’s strong belief that Daniel 11:40 HAS already been fulfilled.
We cannot assume that Mr. Armstrong agreed with the staff writer’s articles, only because they were published in the Plain Truth. Mr. Armstrong wrote in the Good News of October/November 1979, page 1, in response to a personal letter from a member concerning a discrepancy between what he preached and what the Church published: “With all the day-to-day administration responsibilities over the entire globe-girdling Work, it is difficult for me to read every article in The Good News and The Plain Truth before publication.” Thus it is clear that we cannot be certain of Mr. Armstrong’s approval for every article and idea presented in the Church’s publications during this time period. Especially when important details of prophecy were omitted [such as the fulfillment of Daniel 11:40] and thus by default the teaching contradicted what he himself wrote.
Prior to his death in 1986, Mr. Armstrong wrote one more time on the subject in the September 1983 issue of the Plain Truth, once again stating the historical fulfillment of Daniel 11:40. He at that time also wrote: “Ethiopia… is the only possible government that could be the king of the south.” This article appeared in the very next issue in the publishing cycle after the staff writer’s article, so it appears to be a correction of erroneous doctrine done with as little humiliation for the author as possible on Mr. Armstrong’s part.
In conclusion, it is important to let the Bible be our guide. The Bible is not clear that there needs to be a future king of the South, since history has shown that the prophecy in Daniel 11:40 concerning the king of the South was fulfilled, and Scripture could allow for, but does not demand, that this prophecy be dual in fulfillment. The current view of some, which DEMANDS the coming of another king of the South and identifies him as a confederation of Arab nations, under Egpyt’s leadership, is certainly in contradiction to the clear teachings of the Bible.
