Questions and Answers
We are indeed close to the time of the year when people get all excited in anticipation of the Christmas season, complete with the hustle and bustle of shopping and, far too often, excesses both in over-spending, over-eating and over-drinking. Far too many never seem to stop and think about the consequences of these excesses. Are people considering the fact that what is charged and overspent has to be paid back and sometimes at high interest rates, and that for a long time; also, that there are long range effects of excesses in eating and drinking to one’s health; and finally, that there are terrible consequences for family relationships; especially, when arguments break out, leading to violence to the degree that someone loses his or her life? Why is it that many don’t seem to ask: Is this really what God wants us to do? And apart from the excesses, where do the Christmas customs come from in the first place, and are they biblically based? The attitude seems to be: Don’t confuse me with the facts. But the facts are that in spite of the saying, “Let’s put Christ back into Christmas,” Christ was never in Christmas to begin with. For… The answer to this question has far reaching implications! First, consider that the people in the time of Jesus Christ looked for the prophetic Elijah—the one promised in the Book of Malachi. By way of background, here is the reference in question, in fuller context—quoting Luke 1, verses 15-17: “‘For he [John] will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink [indicating that he was a lifelong Nazarite]. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,” and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” Gabriel applies a portion of a prophecy of Malachi to John. Here are the relevant statements of that Old Testament book, as recorded in Malachi 4: 4-6: “‘Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the… Christ said the following in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” First of all, please notice that after Jesus has prepared these “mansions,” He will come again to the earth and receive His disciples to Himself so “that where I am, there you may be also.” When Christ spoke these words, He was here on earth. That is where His disciples “may be also”–here on earth, not in heaven. The mansions which Christ was going to prepare are in no way homes which Christians will occupy in heaven, after their death, as many denominations and even some in the Church of God erroneously teach. Rather, as we point out in this week’s Editorial, “Moving to a New Home,” “we have long understood that these mansions or dwelling places represent rulership positions of authority given to the saints here on earth,… It is true that many translations say that the “love of money is a root of all evil” (compare the New King James Bible; the New International Version; the Living Bible; the New Revised Standard Version; and the Amplified Bible). Other translations, besides the Authorized Version, maintain that it should say that “the love of money is THE root of all evil” (compare the Revised Standard Version; the Revised English Bible; the New American Bible; the New Jerusalem Bible; Moffat; Scofield; and Lamsa). The Interlinear Literal Translation states that the original says, “For a root of all evils is the love of money,” but it continues to render the phrase as: “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” From a practical standpoint, the difference between the two alternate renderings is slight, because in each case, it says that the love of money is the root or a root of ALL evil. (Some, like the New King James Version, render this as, “all kinds of evil.” They add the words “all kinds of,” but these words are not in the original.) The point is, whether the love of money is a root or the root, it leads to ALL… We need to understand that Christ died for our sins, and sin is defined as the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4, Authorized Version). In that sense, all of God’s spiritual commandments are of equal importance, as Christ died for each and every one of our sins. James 2:10-11 explains that we are transgressing the law if we fail or miss the mark in one point–even though we might think that particular prohibition that we violate might not be as important as other injunctions. But even though we might feel that not committing adultery is more important than not committing murder (perhaps by having an abortion or killing in war), James says that the violation of either one makes us a transgressor of the law and declares us guilty of all. The wages for each and every sin is the second death (Romans 6:23). At the same time, each sin, which is truly repented of, will be forgiven (1 John 1:7, 9). Notice Paul’s catalogue of sins in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Paul says that all these sins were washed away in baptism (verse 11). This does not mean that in God’s eyes, some sins are not more serious than others.… Let us read the passage in context, beginning in Romans 13:8: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does not harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment [better: fulfilling] of the law.” The Amplified Bible gives the following rendering, with the brackets in the original: “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor–who practices loving others–has fulfilled the Law [relating to one’s fellowmen], meeting all its requirements…” (1) Concentrating first on Paul’s statement that we are indebted to loving our neighbor, let’s notice the following comments: Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible states: “Love is a debt. The law of God and the interest of mankind make it so… [Paul] specifies the last five [actually, last six] of the ten commandments, which he observes to be all summed up in… Just the opposite is true! Christians still have to make a continuing choice to obey God and to reject the wrong way, and the Bible fully explains this most remarkable and foundational truth! As a beginning point, we need to understand that God’s intentions have always been that mankind would ultimately be given the sustainable option to choose a path leading to life and reject the one leading to death. Chapters two and three of Genesis recount the epic account of how Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. From this record we see very clearly that God gave man an opportunity to choose for himself (compare verses 16-17). In another time, after having selected the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as His chosen people, God, nonetheless, required that the people choose to follow His way and to reject the wrong way (compare Deuteronomy 30:11-20): “‘(Verse 15) See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil… (Verse 19) I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.'” In subsequent times, the Old Testament reveals the… Jesus Christ warned His end-time disciples of the Great Tribulation, which will be so terrible that nothing like it ever happened before and will ever happen again (Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1). At the same time, Christ challenged us to watch and pray always to be counted worthy to escape or be protected from the Great Tribulation. Even though God is certainly capable of protecting us wherever we might be, HE HAS DECREED that He will protect His very elect at a particular place here on earth. We would like to quote the following excerpts from chapter 8 of our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible?–The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation,” pages 54-55: “Christ promises His people—who are worthy—a way to ‘escape all these things that will come to pass’ (Luke 21:34–36; compare Revelation 3:10; Zephaniah 2:3; Psalm 31:19–20). That ‘place of refuge’ (Proverbs 14:26) will be on this earth—not in heaven (Revelation 12:14; Isaiah 33:16; Isaiah 26:20–21). “Even though God CAN protect us anywhere He wants, He has decreed that His people will be protected at a certain place here on earth—the place of safety and ‘shelter’ (Joel 3:14–16). Christ compares the time preceding His coming with the… We will be trying to answer this question as best as we can. In the past, the Worldwide Church of God attempted to strike a proper balance as to what is appropriate and inappropriate clothing, but in the process, some might have gone overboard at certain times by leaning too much to the “right” or to the “left.” Occasionally, the Church was even accused of promoting a yard-stick religion, while at other times, it was perceived to allow for appearances which were clearly not in line with biblical standards. The following write-up is a conglomeration of discussion and communication, between the ministry and their wives, of the Church of the Eternal God and their corporate affiliates, the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada, and the Global Church of God in the UK. We believe that it will be sufficient for the wise, but if particular additional questions should arise on an individual basis, please address those to the ministry and their wives (or widows of late ministerial husbands). We also need to keep in mind that we must NEVER condemn or judge self-righteously our spiritual brother and sister for what is being worn (compare James 4:11-12; 2:1-4, 13). If… In John 7:38, Christ spoke of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the apostle John added in verse 39: “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom [better: which] those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” We need to understand the context. The New Testament Church would begin on the Day of Pentecost in 31 A.D., when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early apostles and other true believers. Jesus had promised His disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit after His departure (John 16:7; 20:22). He again confirmed this promise after His resurrection, but before His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:8). When the Holy Spirit was given to His disciples on the Day of Pentecost, it was Jesus who poured out that gift from the Father, after He had been exalted to the right hand of God (Acts 2:33). Christ’s glorification and His ascension to heaven were necessary BEFORE the Holy Spirit could be given to His disciples. While He was alive as a human being, He told His disciples that He was WITH them, but He also said that there would come the time…You teach that Christians should not keep man's holidays, such as Christmas, but rather, they need to observe God's annual Holy Days. Why can't we do both? And what, exactly, are those annual Holy Days, and how are they different from days such as Christmas?
How did John the Baptist fulfill going “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” as prophesied by Gabriel and recorded in Luke 1:17?
What, exactly, are the mansions in John 14:1-3, which Christ is preparing for His disciples?
1 Timothy 6:10 says, in the Authorized Version that the "love of money is the root of all evil." Other translations say that it is "a" root. Which rendering is correct, and what does this passage mean?
Are there sins which are more serious than others? Are all of God's laws equal in importance?
What does Paul mean when he says in Romans 13:8 that we must "owe no one anything except to love one another"?
Philippians 2:5 states, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Does this mean that Christians no longer exercise free moral agency?
What are the biblical proofs for your teaching that members of the Church of God will be protected at a particular "place of safety," here on earth, during the Great Tribulation?
Could you give us some guidelines as to how to properly dress at Church services and social functions during the Feast of Tabernacles, especially at pool or beach parties?
Please explain John 7:39. Why was it necessary that Christ be glorified in order for man to receive the Holy Spirit?
