Q&A – Page 63 – Church of the Eternal God

Do you have guidelines for proper appearance and conduct in your worship services?

September 30, 2011

In previous Q&As, we published guidelines for opening and closing prayers, and for preparing and giving sermonettes. We pointed out that our weekly and annual Sabbath services begin with a song service (usually by singing three congregational hymns), followed by an opening prayer, a sermonette or short spiritual message of about 10 to 15 minutes, the singing of another congregational hymn, announcements, followed (occasionally) by a special music presentation (especially during the Feast of Tabernacles), the sermon or main spiritual message of about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, and we conclude with a final congregational hymn and the closing prayer.

As all of these elements are part of a worship service in honor of and dedication to God, it is important that we always appear before God in the proper attire and with the right attitude, and that we exemplify correct behavior throughout the entire service. In the past, we have published numerous Q&As, setting forth the principles and guidelines as to how men and women should dress in general; what should be the proper hair length for men and women; and especially, how we should properly dress at Church services and social functions during the Feast of Tabernacles, including at pool or beach parties.

Is it true that Christ will return on the annual Holy Day of the Feast of Trumpets?

September 23, 2011

Christ told us that no one knows the DAY of His return. He even said that He Himself does not know the DAY, nor the angels, but the Father alone. The reason is that it is within the Father’s sole authority to decide when the day of Christ’s return has come.

Note what we said in one of our Q&As, addressing certain numbers in the book of Daniel, and answering the question as to whether the 1,260 days, 1,290 days and 1,335 days mentioned there show us exactly when Christ will return:

“… we do not know the exact day of Christ’s return. Matthew 24:44 reads: ‘Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’ In Mark 13:32-33, we read Christ’s words: ‘But of that DAY and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.’ Neither Christ, nor God’s angels, nor we ‘know’ [present tense!] the DAY and the HOUR of His coming. Christ seems to be saying that we won’t know the exact time — a phrase broader than just a 24-hour-day. The reason for this conclusion is given in Acts 1:6-7:

You recently wrote in one of your Q&As that Arabs were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD, when the Holy Spirit was given. This seems to be incorrect as Gentiles were only admitted much later to the Church of God, beginning with the Roman centurion Cornelius.

September 16, 2011

You seem to be referring to our Q&A on Saudi Arabia, where we wrote the following:

“Turning to the New Testament, we find that Arabs were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when God poured out His Holy Spirit on the New Testament Church (Acts 2:11), and that Paul, after his conversion, went to Arabia (Galatians 1:17) and stayed there for a while, perhaps, as Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible suggests, to associate with those Arabs who had been converted on the Day of Pentecost.”

It is true that some commentaries seem to suggest that the “Arabs,” who were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD, were Jews who were living at the time in Arabia and who had come to worship in Jerusalem. However, even though people of Jewish descent were included, they were not the only ones mentioned in Acts 2. Note carefully the inspired record in Acts 2:5-11:

Could you explain Isaiah 26:14, 19? Isn’t there a contradiction?

September 9, 2011

It might appear so at first sight, but upon closer scrutiny, we will see that there is no contradiction.

Isaiah 26:13-14 states: “O LORD our God, masters besides You Have had dominion over us; But by You only we make mention of Your name. They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And made all their memory to perish.”

On the other hand, we read in Isaiah 26:19:

“Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.”

At first sight, these statements might say that while God’s dead—those who were faithful–will be raised in a resurrection, God’s enemies will never come back to life. However, we know that all will come back to life (compare John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15).

Jesus instructed His disciples to make their requests to the Father in His name. What does that actually mean, and how should this be done?

September 2, 2011

Specifically, in the book of John, Jesus instructed His disciples about prayer. In the hours before His death, He revealed that they would now have access to the Father—but that He, Jesus, was the means by which that would be possible.

Here are the relevant verses:

“‘And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it’” (John 14:13-14).

“‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you’” (John 15:16).

“‘And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full’” (John 16:23-24).

Do you have any guidelines for preparing and giving a sermonette?

August 26, 2011

As we pointed out in a previous Q&A, discussing opening and closing prayers, the Church of the Eternal God in the USA and its corporate affiliates, the Global Church of God in the UK, and the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, trace their roots to the Worldwide Church of God under the late Herbert W. Armstrong (who died in 1986). During his lifetime, Mr. Armstrong established the way in which Church of God services should be conducted, and we have substantially adopted these procedures. As a consequence, our weekly and annual Sabbath services include opening and closing prayers, a song service, announcements, occasional special music presentations (especially during the Feast of Tabernacles), and a sermonette and a sermon (sometimes, we may have two split sermons instead of a sermonette and a sermon, and we may on rare occasions dispense with a sermonette in lieu of a longer announcement session).

Do you have any guidelines for opening and closing prayers?

August 19, 2011

The Church of the Eternal God in the USA, the Global Church of God in the UK, and the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, conduct their weekly and annual Sabbath services by opening with prayer (usually after singing three congregational hymns), and by closing with prayer (after singing a final congregational hymn). These prayers are given by baptized men who have been selected by the song-leader—sometimes after consultation with or direction from the presiding minister. On occasion, and subject to the discretion of the presiding minister, baptized visitors and guests from other Church of God organizations, who might not regularly attend our fellowship, might be asked to give the opening or closing prayer.

To clarify at the beginning of this Q&A, it is not against biblical commands to have baptized men conduct opening or closing prayers in services. We explained the following in our free booklet, “Teach Us to Pray!,” on page 5:

What does the Bible say about Saudi Arabia?

August 5, 2011

In our previous Q&A in Update No. 502, we showed that Saudi Arabia is the great nation that had been prophesied to Ishmael, the son of Abraham. Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years old. He was circumcised at the age of 13—a custom still followed today by the Arabs. Ishmael and his half-brother Isaac buried Abraham together. Ishmael died aged 137.

Ishmael had twelve sons—among them Ishmael’s second-born son, Kedar (“powerful”); Dumah (“silence”; compare Isaiah 21:11; Joshua 15:52); Naphish (“numerous”); Tema (“sun burnt”); and Jetur. The Bible, when addressing the descendants of Ishmael, sometimes refers to Ishmael, sometimes to Ishmael’s second-born son Kedar (synonymously used in Scripture with Ishmael); sometimes to Ishmael’s mother Hagar; sometimes to any of the other above-quoted names of Ishmael’s sons; and sometimes simply to “Arabia” (“wilderness”) or “Arabians.” Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible explains that “Arabia today consists mainly of Saudi Arabia. However, it also includes the two Yemens, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and the Sinai peninsula.”

Who is Saudi Arabia in the Bible?

July 29, 2011July 12, 2020

Many archeological and historical researchers and Bible commentaries have understood for a long time that the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham and Sarah’s Egyptian maid, Hagar. We read the following prophecy about Ishmael in Genesis 16:7-12:

“Now the Angel of the LORD found [Hagar] by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.’ The Angel of the LORD said to her, ‘Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.’ Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, ‘I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.’ And the Angel of the LORD said to her: ‘Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren’…”

Muslims believe that a “Mahdi” will come to bring peace to this earth. Does the Bible indicate the coming of a “Mahdi” as well?

July 22, 2011July 12, 2020

There are different schools of thought in the “Christian” world that seem to teach that a powerful and influential Muslim person will claim in the end time to be the Mahdi, trying to unify much of the Muslim and Arab world under his leadership. Some claim that the king of the South, mentioned in Daniel 11, will be that person; others claim that the “beast” in the book of Revelation, whom they very often mislabel as the “Antichrist,” will be that Mahdi.

Before discussing what the Bible says on that issue, let us review how the Muslim world looks at the Mahdi whom they expect to appear (Over the centuries, many have claimed to be the Mahdi, but so far, nobody [with one possible exception, see below] has been accepted by the Muslim world as the end-time Mahdi—for the obvious reason that nobody has fulfilled the predictions of the Koran, associated with the coming of the final Mahdi).