Questions and Answers
A: Many years ago, the Church of God, under Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, the late Pastor General of the Church, made the administrative decision to ask Church members and co-workers to send one tenth of their second tithe to the Church, to be used for necessary Feast of Tabernacles expenses, including rental for Church halls. Since then, the Church has usually referred to this amount as the “tithe of the tithe.” Church members and co-workers were asked to calculate their second tithe available to them at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, and to send ten percent of that (calculated) amount to the Church, in advance, as soon as possible. This practice has allowed the Church to avoid using for the payment of Feast expenses general contributions received to be spent for the preaching of the gospel and the feeding of the flock. At the time of the institution of the “tithe of tithe,” and sometimes since then, consideration has been given to the possibility to, instead, charge each individual Feast attendee with the same amount for his or her Feast attendance. This possibility was rejected, however, as it was judged to be arbitrary and unfair. Some Church members do… A: It is wrong. Such words are known as “euphemisms,” which are defined as the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for another felt to be too blunt or offensive. God instructs us not to take His name in vain (Exodus 20:7). To casually use expressions such as “My God,” “O my Lord,” or “Jesus Christ,” just to utter surprise or emphasis, is therefore clearly prohibited. So is the casual use of a common German welcome greeting (“Gruess Gott” or “Gott zum Gruss”– meaning, “Greet God” or “God as a greeting”), or the casual use of the French or Spanish farewell expressions, “adieu” or “adios” (both meaning, “to God”). Many common expressions such as “gosh” or “gee” are used as substitutes for God the Father or Jesus Christ. God instructs us to let “no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29). This prohibition applies to careless speaking or using slang expressions or euphemisms which would profane God’s name, such as “gosh” or “gosh almighty” (a substitute for “God” or “Almighty God”) or “gee” (a substitute for “Jesus”). It also applies to the careless use of words describing characteristics or concepts clearly associated with God, such as “my… Please read first, in regard to this question, our special tribute to Herbert W. Armstrong and the excerpts from his 1984 article, titled, “How Would Jesus Vote for President?”, which are published in this issue of the Update. The tribute and excerpts give an overview regarding the problems for a Christian being involved in voting in governmental elections. We need to understand that the issues of jury duty and voting for the government are connected with the issue of military service and war. We have addressed the problems regarding Christian participation in jury duty and joining the military in previous Q&A sections of these Updates (compare Issues #66 and #67, dated November 8 and 15, 2002). It is inconsistent to take the position that one cannot join the military, because one is an ambassador of Jesus Christ and a citizen of another government — the A: The Bible is very explicit, for important reasons, to enjoin the newly married couple to live separate from their parents. We read about this Biblical injunction at the institution of the marriage, in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Later, in Matthew 19:5, Jesus Christ quotes this very Scripture with approval, to explain and to uphold the sanctity of the marriage relationship. Commentaries agree that this command is meant to be taken and obeyed quite literally. A reason for this command is given in the Ryrie Study Bible, as follows, “Jesus cites the purpose of God in creation that husband and wife should be one flesh — the oneness of kinship or fellowship with the body as a medium, causing marriage to be the deepest physical and spiritual unity.” The Nelson Study Bible elaborates, “The implication is that the Creator is Lord and is the One who determines what is the ideal in marriage… God ordained marriage as the strongest bond in all human relationships. A man leaves his parents and is joined to his wife. The language is very strong here. Leave means… A: In Daniel 4, king Nebuchadnezzar tells Daniel about a dream. The king had seen “a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.” (verse 13). This “watcher” had proclaimed “a decision” that had been made “by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.'” (verse 17). Daniel interprets the dream to the king, explaining to him that because of his pride, he will have to live for seven years with the animals. He states in verse 23, “… the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven… this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king…” These watchers are holy angels of God. One of them spoke to the king in his dream, as Daniel recognized and confirmed. We are told about another episode in 1 Kings 22:19-23, where God is talking to His angels as to how to bring about a certain outcome: “Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the… A. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 reads, “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.” We need to understand several principles when dealing with questions such as these, relating to divorce and remarriage. (1) Marriage between two truly converted Christian partners Quoting from our booklet, “The Keys to Happy Marriages and Families,” page 2, “God wants our marriages to succeed. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16)… Two… A: Leviticus 25:1-7 reads: “(1) And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, (2) ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD. (3) Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; (4) but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. (5) What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. (6) And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, (7) for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land – all its produce shall be for food.”‘” Many commentaries acknowledge the wisdom contained in these verses to let the land lie fallow every seventh year. The Broadman Bible Commentary… A: Leviticus 19:17 states, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.” Other translations render this, “…so that you do not share in his guilt,” or, “participate in his sin.” Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary on the Whole Bible, ed. 1961, make the following insightful comments regarding this passage: “Instead of cherishing latent feelings of malice or meditating purposes of revenge against a person who has committed an insult or injury against them, God’s people were taught to remonstrate with the offender and endeavor, by calm and kindly reason, to bring him to a sense of his fault.” A similar admonition can be found in Jude 20-21: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” When we perceive that a brother or a sister may be going astray, we might be in a position to… The specific term, “Ancient of Days,” is used in Daniel 7:9, 13, and 22. As with the term “Yahweh” (see the Q&A in our Update of November 29), it seems to be referring to both the Father and Jesus Christ. In Daniel 7:9-14, we read that “thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated…And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion…” This passage identifies the Ancient of Days as the Father, and the “One like the Son of Man” as Jesus Christ, appearing before the Father in heaven after His resurrection. However, Daniel 7:21-22, when speaking of the “Ancient of Days,” seems to be talking about the returning Christ: “…and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days CAME, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.” Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, under #6268, defines the word for “Ancient,” “at-teek,” also as “venerable.” The… Both are correct. In most cases, when using the expression, “the LORD” [“Yahweh” in the Hebrew, basically meaning “The Eternal” or “The Everliving One”], the Old Testament refers to the One Who later became known as the Son, Jesus Christ. There are statements, however, which use the expression “Yahweh” for the One Who later became known as “the Father.” This also proves that both the Father and Jesus Christ have always been God beings, and that the Old Testament teaches that there is more than just one God being. Notice Jeremiah 23:5-6, which uses the term “Yahweh” for both God beings in the same context: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD [Yahweh], ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD [Yahweh] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.'” We see, then, that the LORD (Yahweh) will raise a “Branch of righteousness,” to be also called the “LORD” (Yahweh). It is the Father who raises Jesus Christ. Both are called here LORD or Yahweh. We find a…Q: What is the "tithe of the tithe"?
Q: Is it wrong to use slang expressions such as "gosh" or "gee"?
Why do you teach that a Christian should not vote in governmental elections?
Q: Why does the Bible teach that a man is to leave his parents in order to cleave to his wife? What is meant by this? Does this also mean, by extension, that the wife is to leave her parents as well, in order to cleave to her husband?
Q: Would you please explain who the "watchers" are that are mentioned in Daniel 4?
Q. Is Deuteronomy 24:1-4 still applicable today, prohibiting a divorced wife, who married a second husband, to return to her first husband?
Q: Please explain Leviticus 25:1-7, especially the apparent discrepancy between verses 4 and 5 and verses 6 and 7.
Q: Would you please explain Leviticus 19:17?
In the book of Daniel, the "Ancient of Days" is mentioned three times. Does this description refer only to the Father, or also to Jesus Christ?
When the Old Testament speaks about the LORD ("Yahweh"), Whom is it talking about? Some claim it's referring to the "Father"; others say, it's referring to "Jesus Christ." Who is right?
