Are You Ready?

Are You Ready? - FOT 1981
By Herbert W Armstrong

Do you know brethren; Hollywood can’t put on a play like that. I want to read to you something I hadn’t intended to read. This is my mother’s favourite text in the bible. She died at age 95 and a half. I’ll be up to matching her pretty soon. I’m in my 90th year now. The 133rd psalm, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity!” The last time I was here, it was a few years ago, at that time this church was not dwelling together in unity. But God has been putting us back on the track. In many ways, He has been using me to help do that. That is He has been doing it through me to a great extent.
A Generation Set Apart
Well, let me tell you, you just saw some of the coming generation up here on the stage. I wasn’t been able to count them, there were so many, you couldn’t count them there were so many (laugh) but there must have been over two hundred. We’ve had choruses of two hundred both in Pasadena and in Bricketwood in England, the college campuses; I know there weren’t that many as we had here today. But the children are not only a heritage from the Lord but the children of baptized members of God’s church in whom the Holy Spirit of God dwells are sanctified or set apart in a way that the children of other parents in the world are not. I wonder if you knew that?
If you will study again the seventh chapter of I Corinthians, you will find that there. Where it speaks about parents who have a mate that does not believe, that the children are sanctified in either one parent, if one parent believes, that is they are set apart in a way that other children are not. Now God shut off the Holy Spirit in the days of Adam. He closed up the Holy Spirit from the world and it was closed up until the time of the second Adam. I’ll have a little something to say about that this morning.
A Chosen Generation
But the Holy Spirit was opened up to the people of God through Christ in the church when He said I will build my church. But everybody in the world have not been called into the church, only those that have been predestinated to be called. And brethren, I wonder if you realize that of all the millions and four billions of people in this world that the few of us and we are just a tiny small few compared to all the people in the world. God looked down of all these people and picked out you, you, you and you, and you, and all of us. He chose us. Jesus said no man can come to me, except the Father that sent me, draw him.
God has drawn every one of you. He chose you or you wouldn’t be here, if indeed the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you, as we would assume is true. But we’re children, and remember this; many parents today are neglecting their children, especially during the first six years of their lives until their old enough to go to school. Send them off and let the teachers begin to teach them. But let me tell you Satan is not neglecting your children. He goes to work on them when they’re, well a few days old. By the time they are 7,8, 9 months old, they already have been infused with the spirit of selfishness. Put two little babies about 9 months old down on a carpet together and one toy and watch them fight for it.
Satan isn’t neglecting your children, are you? So many of you neglect your little children. You think you don’t need to teach them anything but Satan is getting into their little minds as fast as their minds develop and got indeed into all of your minds and mine as we were developing. We’ve had a hard time and it has taken a long time for us to repent of that and to come back and to begin to get a lot of what Satan has injected into us out of us and let God’s spirit inject a lot of the love of God and the peace of God into us.
When Will Peace Come?
Now we were hearing about peace, and about President Anwar Sadat of Egypt who did die a man of peace. I had quite a conversation with President Sadat less than a year ago, just last November. I told him that I respected him and admired him for what he was doing for world peace. I also told him he would not be able to bring this peace but I told him peace would come. I said to him, “The one that we call God and you call Allah, is going to intervene in world affairs and in spite of this world and all of its troubles and all of its war makers is going to intervene and bring this whole world peace. I sent a telegram to his widow, whom I knew, and who would entertain me and talk with me for several minutes while I was waiting for the President to come into a certain room in the Giza palace in Cairo last November. Well her husband had risked his life for peace and indeed had finally been required to give his life for peace. But as I had assured him, I can’t say that his life was not in vain, because his efforts were not going to bring peace. He didn’t have that kind of ability but there was a man that did not know God really. He knew God as Allah but he didn’t know Him really, but was doing what he did know and was risking his life for that peace. And you know, I hope that someday I will meet Anwar Sadat again and be able to carry that conversation on and bring him into the Kingdom of God in the Great White Throne Judgement. We’ll be hearing about that next Tuesday.
(Gap in recording FOT-3A)
…to all the world today. Now there is going to be another film during this Festival that I want you all to see if possible. And that is, it’s a sort of, well it’s a film pictorially showing you just what this very work is and comparing it to the work of the early apostles in the first century and how the facilities that are made possible for us today, technological and scientific facilities are enabling us to do so much more today than Peter and the original twelve and Paul and the other apostles that went with him after the original twelve had apparently been sent over the Western Europe and to Britain because you don’t read anymore about them after you get just about a third of the way through the book of Acts. From there on you read only about the travels and the work of the Apostle Paul who begins Acts. But they had gone to the lost sheep of the House of Israel; the world doesn’t seem to know that.
A Time of Peace
Well brethren we are here enjoying a foretaste of the world tomorrow, the Kingdom of God when God does intervene in this world’s affairs and when He does bring us peace and there will be no more war. They’ll be beating their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks and they won’t learn war anymore. Today they learn war. We have our academies or our colleges you might say of the army, of the navy, of the air force and so on, where they are taught war and how to fight. Thank God, those days are going to be over soon. But this morning I want to ask you, what are you going to be doing then? What are you going to be doing say a hundred years from now, fifty years from now? Because if you have God’s holy spirit in you whether you’re still living at the time of the second coming of Christ or whether you die between now and then, you, if you die you’ll be resurrected immortal, if you are living you’ll be changed, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. And you won’t have a heart pumping blood in you any longer. You won’t have to breath air to live. You won’t be composed of matter from the ground any longer. You will have self-containing life. None of us has that now. We only have a temporary existence. We are only here for a little while and most of the people on the face of this earth don’t know why they’re here. They don’t know what life is. They don’t know WHAT man is and they don’t WHY man is and how he came to be here on the face of this earth. They just don’t know those things. But God has revealed them to us if we see them if we understand His word and God has made that word clear and plain to those of us that he has called to lead and to teach in His work.But this world does not know those things. This world has gone the way of Adam and this world is a world of Satan. It is lead by Satan. Satan works on the minds of every little child from the day it’s born and Satan gets in a lot of work in the mind of every child during its first year of life. And we have come up among that kind of a world. In fact Satan got to our lives too and to our minds too, every one of us when we were little and I hope we have gotten a lot of that out by now. That’s quite a process to get that out and to get the truth of God and Spirit of God and the Way of God into our minds.
The Wrong Way
But this is Satan's world and Satan has his religions, and he has his churches. And of all of the religions on the face of this earth do you know that not one knows who and what God is - not one! Do you think the Christian religion knows who and what God is? Most of them think God is a trinity and limited to a trinity. They don't know that God is a family, and that you and I will be part of that family someday, all of us who do overcome, who are led by His Holy Spirit, and who do endure to the end.
In Revelation 18:4, where the apostle John is telling what he saw in a vision, (it was like a dream, but it was a vision that he was in the isle of Patmos, looking into the time just ahead of us now in the Day of the Lord), in verse four, the eighteenth chapter of Revelation, he says he...heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues...what is he talking about? He's talking about Babylon, if you begin at the first verse. Talking about Babylon and it's described in the chapter just ahead, and verse five...upon her...and the female indicates a church and a religion...upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH...in other words the Babylonian mystery religion, having become great. And she is a great momma church. Her daughters came out of her protesting and calling themselves Protestant. And they, God calls them harlots. And calls her a great whore. She says that she is the Kingdom of God, and she is only a church of Satan. She says the millennium has already come, and Christ has returned, but it wasn't Christ who returned, it was the Pope - who is the 'vicar of Christ'. Do you know what 'vicar of Christ' means? It means 'in place of Christ', it means one what has kicked Christ out of the way and replaced Him. That's what it means. God calls that an abomination, and filthiness in the sight of the living God! And I do dare to say that in public.
Well, how did this world become the way it is? How did such religions come to be? Why did we grow up like we did? Why did Satan come to be here, and how did he come to influence all of us? And why is it if Christ came as the saviour that he hasn't saved the world? And that most of the world is still going the wrong way, and that even Jesus said no man could even come to him unless the Spirit of the Father drew him. The Father who had sent him would draw them, and he would draw them through his Spirit, of course. I'll explain those things - the world can't explain it. The world does not understand those things at all.
A Down Payment
Brethren, you noticed in Ephesians the second chapter, and beginning with verse one. This is speaking to the Church at Ephesus and it's also speaking to us - we are that same Church, about nineteen hundred and fifty years later. And you hath he quickened...or, that is 'made alive', because if we have the Holy Spirit of God, we already have the life of God within us. It is sort of a partial down payment on a down payment of immortal life, that's what it is. It's called 'an earnest' of the Spirit, like an earnest payment when you buy a piece of property - it's not the full down-payment yet, only a part of it. That's what we receive when we receive the Holy Spirit. ...you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;...We were dead! In other words, we were not born with life in us at all. God did not create Adam with life; Adam was created out of the dust of the ground. And God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man, made out of the dust of the ground, became not an immortal, but a mortal, living soul. And was made from the dust of the ground. A soul is material, out of the ground, not spirit at all. And yet God did put a spirit in the man he created, but the man needed another spirit - he needed the Spirit of God, but he had to undergo a test to see whether he could qualify for that Spirit or not. And the first Adam failed.
So notice this...you hath he quickened...or made alive - that is by giving us the Holy Spirit, which is the presence of immortal life within us now. And you read in first John, the third chapter, beginning with verse one, that ...Brethren behold that already we are the children of God, but it doesn't yet appear what we shall be...in other words we don't, you can't see yet what we will be because when Christ comes we will be like him for we shall see him as he is, as it says in the same verse, or the first two or three verses there. And his face is shining like the sun in full brightness, his eyes like shooting flames of fire, and that's the way we will be in the resurrection, and in the kingdom of God. But already we are the sons of God even now in this mortal flesh. We have the presence of God's Spirit in our minds, and his life within us through his Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Calling
(Continuing Ephesians 2:2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world...and you and I did, all of us. I did, you did, until God reached down, saw us, and in some way called us. Brethren it wasn't my preaching over the air, it wasn't my writing in print and it wasn't that of any of the students that came to Ambassador College and learned under me and have gone out and taught you. It was the Spirit of God that called you. And God Almighty, the Father looked down on the earth and picked out you and said "I'm calling this person" and he called you. But there were hundreds all around you, and thousands around you he did not call. He's called us to be the first to put our hope in Christ, the first to receive his Spirit, and to be saved. And this life is for a purpose; it's a temporary life. You don't have immortal life; you only have a very, temporary life now. This life won't last long. I know that my life is mostly over. I was late getting here this morning, and the reason was it took me so long because my eyesight is now so bad I had to have my wife helping me to get markers so I could turn to the scriptures I want to have to talk to you today, so it would save me time after I got here. So, I held you about ten or fifteen minutes before the service began. But I've probably saved you more time than that through the sermon!
The Ampulla
The anointing oil is contained in this golden vessel, which is in the form of an eagle. The Ampulla with the spoon are the oldest and most sacred objects in the regalia.
But my eyesight is getting bad my hearing is bad. Well, I find that the men of God of old were like that too. Isaac's eyes were so dark, he couldn't realise it when his wife was deceiving him with putting Jacob in the place of Esau and then Jacob's eyes were so dim that he couldn't see when he put the blessing on Ephraim and Manasseh, but he knew where they were and he crossed his hands when he put his arm on them to put the blessing on the sons of Joseph. And so I guess it's normal that people God is using find their eyesight gets very dim as this physical existence wears on toward its end. But we have to keep going just the same.
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience...” and it says 'children', and it does begin with little children. And he's been working in you and me, and he's been working in the people all around us. And yet, he's called us out from among them to be separate. Now brethren let me make one thing very plain right at this point. He didn't call you and me because we're any better than the others he did not call. Anything that we have is from the goodness of God, not from any goodness within us. You look at me as if there's something good in me - oh brethren, please don't do that, there's nothing good in me at all, except what God has put in me absolutely nothing. Of me, there's nothing that's good, of you there's nothing that is good. Don't deify a human being! Do you know that's what the Protestants are doing today? They deify a human Jesus, that was a false Jesus and not the true Jesus Christ at all. A Jesus that was a smart-aleck young man and that knew more than his Father, and did away with his Father's commandments, and says 'There's no law, you live any way you want.' Or live the way that the Protestant church has said you must live today. They don't know the truth of God at all. They just lack the knowledge. But we have to grow in knowledge, and the grace of God. We have to grow in the knowledge of Christ if we're ever going to get into his Kingdom.
Now it all started with the first Adam, as you read back here in Genesis 1, and verse one...In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the word for God was Elohim. Moses wrote those words a long, long time ago.
Showing Respect For God
Brethren I noticed it during the sermonette, there were all kinds of people just walking around here and there. Are we in a service of Almighty God, or are we not? Let's not get up and walk unless it is absolutely necessary. Because we should honour the God who caused us to be here and commanded us to be here for this day, and do you know that our fellowship when we meet here is not just with ourselves alone, but in first John at the end of the New Testament, you read that our fellowship is with Jesus Christ and with God the Father. And they, in spirit, are here with us. You know there are a lot of things that we should realize when we come to a service like this. It's a very solemn and serious thing. We’re coming into the presence of God. I'm going to just deviate here and sidetrack for just a moment, I want to tell you something, an instruction that I think you people need.
It was back in December the first, 1968. I was in Jerusalem, and I was in the palace as they called it at that time, although they built another one later, of the president of Israel. But first, I was over in one of the office buildings of the university, of the Hebrew university in Jerusalem, and with one of the top professors there, Dr Aviram. You know, over in Israel they don't dress up very much or very often, and he had an open shirt collar sticking out, and we started to go, and we got down the hallway and he said "Oh wait, wait, wait! I've got to go back and put a jacket on, we're going into the presence of the president. I mustn't go in dressed like this!!" And he went back to put a jacket on, but he still didn't put on a necktie or anything. But you notice that when you see a picture of Prime Minister Begin in Washington, he's always dressed up. But he's not always dressed up in Jerusalem, I've seen him in Jerusalem when he was not dressed up. And I've sat and talked with him for a long time, the same as I have with President Sedat of Egypt. And our last conference last November ended in a great big bear hug. And I found that Prime Minister Begin had left an important government conference in Tel Aviv, one-hour drive away to come to Jerusalem to meet me. And he left those people in the middle of it to be on time for his appointment with me, and then he had to drive another hour back after our conference, and finish the conference, and he left those people waiting for three hours on him back there. And I apologized, I said, "Well if I'd known that I wouldn't have asked you to do a thing like that." He said, "Mr Armstrong, I would get up at two-thirty or three o'clock in the morning to come and see you."
And so some of the leaders of this world have given great respect to Christ's apostle, even though they don't know Jesus Christ. But they do know that somehow God's presence is there. And that God is using his servant. And they do give respect. And we should realise that when we're here, we're in the presence of God, and brethren sometimes we're very careless of how we come dressed at the Sabbath meetings, or at any meeting where God is present. Now, if you had seen me getting off the plane last night, you'd have seen me unshaved and with wrinkly clothes. I wasn't dressed up very well. But I was coming now into an assembly where our fellowship is with God the Father, and with Christ, and I had to shave and dress up to be here this morning. And brethren, you should all be dressed up whenever you come to Christ's service and to the Church service. You're meeting with Christ and with God the Father. You owe them that respect, and sometimes we treat God and Christ very cheaply. We think we can just come with overalls or any old kind of sloppy clothes. Brethren, you must not do that!
Now while I'm on it let me tell you something else. There are many more people here than are registered. There are hundreds of you who have failed to register. In other words you're still children of disobedience!! You don't want to obey! Now that's the way we were last time I was here, and the whole Church was like that, it was divided. Some ministers were getting together and teaching different doctrines and trying to say 'Well I think maybe the doctrines of the Church are wrong, let's get some different doctrines.'
Now we've been getting back on the track these last three years. We've been trying to please Christ, and Christ is now beginning to bless us. When we please him, he will bless us. You know that for the last three years for the first time in history we haven't had to go to the bank and borrow money in January or in July. Before that, we always had to borrow a minimum of at least a million dollars in January and another million or more, and sometimes two or three in June or July. And pay it back out of the first Passover and Unleavened Day offerings, and pay back the other loan that we made in July with the Feast of Tabernacles special offerings. And do you know that for the last three years since we've been trying to please God and get back on the track, we haven't had to borrow any money whatsoever. Our financial budget is balanced. We have reserves in the bank drawing interest of an average of 15-18%, and several million dollars at that. We still don't have enough. This work can still expand and grow, and could grow a lot faster if we just had more money. I've been asking for more money lately, not because we're in debt. I find others poring out their hearts on the air, saying "Oh, we're going to have to go off the air if you don't send us money!" We never beg the public for money. You never saw me beg the public for money. You won't. When I have to beg for money, I get down on my knees and go to God and beg him. And let me tell you, when our ways please him, He takes care of us. And if He's not taking care of us we'd better look right down in our own hearts and our own minds, and see where the trouble is. That's where the trouble is! If we please Him, He will bless us.
Well I really received a great inspiration seeing all of those young people up here on the stage singing this morning. They are a heritage of God. They are coming children of God. And I know that God wants us to look after our children to love them and take care of them, and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And to begin to teach them, not just correct them, not just spank them or scold them, but teach. I find they have to be spanked once in a while, but if they were taught more they'd be spanked a lot less, let me tell you that. We don't teach enough, we wait for the teachers to teach them. Parents need to teach their children. Maybe it's more important to say some of those things than the things I intended to say to you in the sermon.
“I Can do nothing”
Well - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And Moses was writing that and the word he wrote was 'Elohim', which is a uni-plural, and God is more than one person. Now you read in first John (John 1:1) in the New Testament, In the beginning was the Word... Now the Word was a personage, a great immortal, divine personage, called the Word and the Spokesman. The one who spoke, …and the Word was with God. But the Word (and God is another person, so now we have two persons) but the Word also was God. They were both God, and yet they're different persons! Now Elohim that we find here is the same two persons. And the Word was made flesh later on and dwelt among us. That was nineteen hundred and fifty...nineteen hundred and, oh about eighty some years ago now. And he was Jesus Christ. But he was not the Son of God originally; he was only the Son of God when he was born of the virgin Mary as a human being. But he is the one, God told him what to do. When he came in the human flesh, he said, "I've spoken nothing of myself."
He said of myself I can do nothing - how much do you think you can do? How much can I do? Nothing! You give me credit for having done things in this Church. Brethren I didn't raise up this Church, I didn't build Ambassador College, I didn't do this Work, Jesus Christ did it. He only used me as an instrument. Did you ever see a violin play a tune? I never did. I've seen Yehudi Menuhin play a tune on a violin, I've seen Isaac Stern do it, and I know both of them. But I never saw the violin play itself. Well I'm only an instrument. Don't deify me! Don't look to me as if I'm some great person - I'm not! I'm just a hunk of human clay like you are, that's all. I've tried to let God come into my life, to take it and use it. I intended to give my life to him, 55 and some years, almost 56 years ago. I haven't always left it there 100% I'm sorry to say, but I intended to. And when I didn't, I repented of it, and I asked him to forgive me, but my attitude was right. Two can't walk together except they be agreed and I was the least agreed with him. He reached down and picked me up every time I slipped and fell. Oh yes, I've sinned even since I've been converted, and so have you, every one of you! You've sinned since you've been converted, every one of you! But in I John 1 it says that if we, we Christians who have his Spirit, if we sin. If we, if we say we do not sin we're just liars and are not telling the truth. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, reach down and pick us back up, and walk along with us again if we walk with him in harmony and unity.
But we must all believe the same thing, and we must all believe the same thing that Christ does and that God does. I've been trying to get this Church back on the track of what God believes and what Christ believes and what they say, not what I believe. I've had to change what I believe and give it up. I've had to accept what Christ believes and what he teaches. Don't go off with someone else and whisper and say, "I don't agree with Mr Armstrong, do you? Well let's us get some different ideas!" Oh no brethren, come to me with it. You can get to me. There was a time when some of them around me wouldn't let you get to me, well that's all over with now. You can get to me through the very man you heard preach the sermonette this morning, Mr Bob Fahey. As I say, I can be had - you can get to me. If I'm wrong, you come and tell me, so I can be right with you. I don't want to be wrong. Don't try to keep it from me, and go get others along in your wake. And if you have some truth don't be selfish about it. Share it with me; I try to share all the truth I have with you. If you think I'm wrong, look, we must all speak the same thing. That's what God tells us and what he commands, I Corinthians first chapter. But it must be the same thing that Christ speaks, and he's the Word. And everything he speaks he got from God the Father, and there's perfect agreement. I'm not the head of this Church, Christ is. I don't rule this Church, Jesus Christ is the ruler. If you don't like the government in this Church, you go tell God about it, because he made Christ the head of the Church, not me, and I just want to serve him. And I hope that's the way you do too.
God reproducing himself
Well now, God was more than one person. And then God said, in verse 26, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: Now he had made the animals; God made birds and fishes, land animals, each after its own kind, cattle after the cattle kind, dogs after the dog kind, elephants after the elephant kind. But he said 'Let us make man after our kind' - in other words 'Let us make humans after the God kind.' We are made after the God kind.
Now in form and shape and possibly having the same mind. We have a mind because he put a spirit in the brain, that he didn't put in animal brain to give us minds. Now when he made the first man that man wasn't complete. He wanted man to reproduce themselves and the reason? Because God is reproducing HIMself through man. YOU can become God! Just think of that! The world doesn't know that - that they can actually become God. No other religion, no other church on the face of this earth that I know of believes that. If there is one I'd like to hear of it, I just don't know of it. And we do need to know these things.
But God made man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a mortal, not an immortal soul, a living, mortal soul just like animals. But man couldn't reproduce himself, so God took a bone out of his ribs, one of his ribs, and made a woman for him, because he wasn't complete, so that a man and his wife become one. They're not complete, either one of them, alone. But your mind isn't complete either, he put only one spirit in it and he needed another spirit. And man did not have life; he only had a temporary existence. But the tree of life was there and offered to Adam in the Garden of Eden. And God said 'You can freely eat of that tree, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you cannot take or you will die.'
Now, man had the ability for certain knowledge - he had a spirit in him that gave him a mind that could comprehend physical knowledge, materialistic knowledge. Just the things he could see, the things he could hear, the things he could taste, and the things he could smell and feel. And you can't know anything else except what you know by one of those five senses. You can't know anything else. But he needed the Spirit of God and that was in the tree of life. Now, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the tree of death because God said 'If you take it you will surely die.' Well then, the tree of life was not a tree of death, it was a tree of life, but it also was a tree of knowledge. If Adam had taken of the tree of life, what would he have had? People don't stop to think about that. Well God has opened the tree of life to you and me through the second Adam, Jesus Christ. But it doesn't give you and me eternal life and immortal life just immediately. No, we receive the Spirit of God first, and the Holy Spirit of God impregnates us with immortal life, but we're not born yet. When you...(gap in recording)...your mother, until you develop a physical human form and shape and body before you can be born.
Now we are a spiritual ovum, and we have to be impregnated from God the Father, which is the sperm cell that imparts its immortal life to us, and that's only the start! And then we have to grow spiritually to be born again! Nobody is 'born again' but Jesus Christ! These Protestants that prate around about being 'born again' don't know what they're talking about!! Brethren, God has opened our eyes to understand what they don't understand. They are deceived; the whole world is deceived by Satan the Devil. All nations are deceived. You and I were deceived once, but we don't need to be any longer. Now we were dead in trespasses and sins, but now he has imparted immortal life to us through the Holy Spirit.
Two trees
Well Adam took the wrong tree - he took to himself the knowledge of evil. With his mind, which was capable of understanding only material knowledge, he said 'That's enough, I don't need spiritual knowledge.' So, God then shut up the tree of life. In other words, God shut up the Holy Spirit from human beings. He shut it off from human beings. And human beings have no access to the Holy Spirit or immortal life. But God reached down and picked out you and me, and the Church is only the first fruits of his salvation. And when Christ comes and begins the Kingdom of God, then we'll begin to convert everybody else that is now alive. But what about the rest of the people that died, what about Adam's children, Cain and Abel and Seth? Well, we read in Hebrews 9:28, it's appointed to men once to die and after this the judgement. And they all die in Adam. So we read in I Corinthians 15:22 as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. And they'll come into the judgement at the end of the Millennium, and we'll hear about that on next Tuesday, the final Great Day of this Festival.
Now Jesus came and said he would build his Church. And he did. And the prophet Joel in Joel 2:28 had said that the time would come when God would open up the Holy Spirit and pour it out upon all flesh. Hither he closed the Holy Spirit to all humanity at the time of Adam. You read in Genesis 3:22-24, Genesis 3, God closed up the Holy Spirit, and the world could never receive the Holy Spirit. And the world had only the spirit of man, not God's Spirit. Not immortal life at all, and he could only understand physical and materialistic knowledge, that is all. But Jesus came to qualify.
Now, God put Satan on a throne on this earth. Originally, he was the archangel Lucifer, and angels originally inhabited this earth. But Lucifer rebelled against the government of God. He was put on a throne on this earth over the whole earth to rule the whole earth with the government of God. He had been trained in the government of God at God's throne in heaven. But he rebelled. He said 'I don't believe in God's way.' Now God's way is God's Law and His Law is the way of love, out flowing love toward others, first love to God, then love to neighbour. And Satan said 'Why should I love others? I just love me. I want everything for myself.' So, he armed all of the angels under him, he was a super-angel, a cherub, an archangel, greater than the other angels, greater power, greater mind. They swooped up to heaven and tried to knock God off the throne, but they were knocked right back down to the earth. And Satan's been here ever since, and he was there for Adam, and he tempted Eve and Eve tempted Adam, and they took to themselves the knowledge with the kind of minds they already had, and they didn't get the Spirit of God, but Christ opened up the Spirit for the Church. And Joel said the time would come when he would pour out his Spirit on all flesh, now that time had not yet come. But on the day of Pentecost, there were the few of them there on the day of Pentecost that started the Church. And a great multitude of thousands came rushing in because they saw the great display of the Holy Spirit coming like tongues of fire sitting on their heads, and with the sound of a rushing mighty wind. And Peter said 'This is what Joel prophesied, that God would begin to pour out his Spirit on all flesh,' but that was only the beginning. Because Jesus Christ said of his Church no one can come to him except the Father draw them, and the Church are only the first-fruits. God is only calling a few, just the Church he's picking out of the world. That's why we're so small, brethren.
Overcoming and qualifying
But we are to overcome Satan. We are to come out of the way of Satan, and to come into God's way of love, out flowing love, and that's the way to peace. And then we will be made very God like God is at the second coming of Christ, and then he's coming to reign and to put Satan away, and we celebrated that just a little, well let's see, about seven days ago, on the day of Atonement which really is to teach us of the time when Satan will be put away after Christ comes. And we had a festival, teaching us the second coming of Christ about 17 days ago on the Feast of Trumpets.
Now we're seeing what is going to happen after Christ has come, and after he has put Satan away and when Christ is sitting on the throne ruling. But brethren, he's not going to rule alone by himself. He is raising up you and me, and we have to...well, we're going to school. This is a temporary life! We're going to school to learn about Christ, to learn the Word of God, and here's the text book!! (taps the Bible!) And we're to learn how to rule, under Christ, and how to convert and save the world when God opens up the Holy Spirit to the whole world. And he will, very soon now. And he's calling you and me to be able to teach them then. And we have to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. How much are you growing in knowledge? Do you know more now than you did when I spoke here 3 years ago? Well I do! I've learned a lot - I've learned a lot since the first of this year, in my 90th year I've learned a lot. How much are you learning every year? Are you growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Are you overcoming the ways that Satan got into you, the way of the world around you? You'll never get into the Kingdom of God unless you are, brethren. You're not already there! You're on trial, and we're coming to the time of final exams right now. We're getting very close to the time of the second coming of Christ, very, very close.
Now, it is prophesied of Jesus in Isaiah, his prophecy in 9:6-7 that Christ would come. You heard that read this morning in the sermonette - coming as the Prince of Peace, and called Wonderful, The mighty God, The everlasting Father. And he did come, and he overcame Satan, and he qualified to sit on that throne and rule over the world. Now we're in a world ruled by Satan, but Satan has governments over each nation. I know many of the kings of these nations. And they don't know themselves that they’re in part of the world ruled by Satan. They don't know that. Satan is invisible. They don't see him; a lot of them don't even believe he exists.
I know that they have problems they can't solve. I talk to them about their problems all around the world. I've probably talked to more kings and presidents and prime ministers, and emperors in their own offices, which is the thrones where they sit, than any other man on earth today. Because God is sending his apostle to those places and I go there, representing you. You can't all go there. Well, I'd expected to have another meeting with President Sedat next month. I don't know whether I can meet his successor, but I already had a telephone communication with President Sadat's right-hand man - the man right next to him, whom I know very well - and that was before the assassination. I'll wait till things quiet down a little bit and then I'll telephone him again and see if it's safe to come over and meet the man who will be elected. Let’s see, that election is to take place now almost any day isn't it? But it's almost certain that the man who was the vice-president will now be made president. And I hope to meet him.
But brethren, they're only on thrones that are ruled with the super throne over the whole earth, by Satan the devil. Christ is coming to rule over the whole earth, and you and I are going to be sitting on thrones, ruling other people and other nations. Now then, what are we going to be doing? As Jesus qualified, so you and I have to qualify to get into the Kingdom of God. He had to qualify to replace Satan and sit on that throne, and Jesus did. He met Satan, and refused to go Satan's way, and insisted on going the way of God, the way of love toward God and love toward others. It all revolves around the law of God.
But we have to first repent of the way we did live, and come out of living that way. Then we have to believe God, not only believe on Christ, but believe what he says. He’s the Word of God, and we have to believe what he says. And then, God will give us the Holy Spirit, and then we must grow in grace and in the spirit of God. How much are we growing? How much are you overcoming the way that is wrong and the ways of this world? How much have you come out of this world? How much are you still interested in the ways and interests of this world? How much are you interested in the ways of the kingdom of God and what is going to happen then?
Let's turn to Romans 8 beginning with verse 14, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit... Now there is a spirit in man, we need another spirit with it, the Holy Spirit. Just as Adam was a male and he wasn't complete, he needed another person, a wife, a female. And God made a female for him. Well we have the one spirit, the human spirit, but we need the spirit of God with it. Now if you have really repented, if you have really given yourself over to God, and to live his way from here on and not Satan's way and this world's way, and you have really believed and have been baptized in him, you have received his spirit. So The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are...already...the children of God...not yet born, just begotten...And if children, then heirs...not yet inheritors, only...heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him...as we do now in this life...that we may be also glorified together. Glorified! Made immortal! Given life inherent - self-existent life, not this temporary existence that we have now. Brethren, that's our heritage. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us...so you see we're only begotten now, not yet born. Not yet born at all. But as I said, we must grow in knowledge and in the grace of Christ.
Now also Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. How many have we had in the Church three years ago that are not here today? How many, when the Church was sort of...there were little groups splitting off here and there and dividing and wanting to get different ideas and different doctrines? They have not endured. It's only he that endureth unto the end the same shall be saved! And that is the verse just before it says that we'll have the sign that we are drawing very near to the end of this age, when this gospel of the kingdom of God shall be preached for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end of this age, and this world - Satan's world - come. At that time, it will come.
Now remember Satan is still on the throne on this earth. He is still there. And he is ruling over the nations. He is ruling over the people of this world. And when a head of a nation tries to go against Satan and bring peace, Satan has someone to assassinate that man as he did President Sedat. That's the world you live in, brethren. He's manipulated these people, that their minds are only half there. Their minds aren't complete until they have God's Holy Spirit. Do you know the most ignorant people in this world are the most highly educated? With the most PhD's and other doctorate degrees, letters after their names, because they don't have a complete mind, they only have this physical mind. They don't have the spirit of God in their minds which they need.
So, let me see how time is going. Well, we have a little time yet apparently.
As the serpent beguiled eve
Let's notice now in II Corinthians 11:3, where Paul said to the Church at Corinth, But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Satan can get to us, and he can get to our children. He is the prince of the power of the air, he broadcasts over the air. Now yesterday you saw me on the screen up above, or the day before yesterday I guess it is now, I get mixed up on time sometimes. Day before yesterday, I was in Pasadena. But what I was saying was transmitted over here, you heard it just the same as if you'd been in Pasadena, and they heard it in England, and it was late at night over there. It was really the next day. The first Holy Day had already ended over there, but we couldn't help that, because we live on a round earth. But, you notice how Satan is deceiving the world.
Now we come to verses 13 onto 15, and I want you to notice how the world is deceived by ministers just like Jesus said many would come in his name, professing that they are the ministers of Christ, and saying that Jesus is the Christ, and yet deceiving the world! And they have been doing that. Well, beginning with verse 13, II Corinthians 11, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ...or ministers of Christ...And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light... He says, "I am an angel of light!" but he's not, he's an angel of darkness. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers... Satan's ministers, professing to be the ministers of Christ! Everyone who says he's a minister of Christ does not represent Christ! But now listen to me just a minute right there! Most of these men are, themselves, deceived. Don't blame them; they're not absolutely dishonest. I can't judge them, I don't know their hearts. They probably are deceived. I don't know that they wilfully know they're wrong. Satan has deceived them, and a person who is deceived doesn't know he's deceived otherwise; he wouldn't be deceived he'd know he is wrong. But Satan is the deceiver. No marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers...Satan's ministers...also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness...saying they're the ministers of Christ. And so, the world is full of that, my brethren. And that is even the religion of Christianity - the greatest religion in the world. Has more followers than any other religion.
A gift of God
Now eternal life is a gift. It's a gift from God. And first, it is God who looks down and picks the one to be called now. Now the time is, you see, it's appointed for the world to die and after this the judgement. Judgement will begin on the world after Christ comes in the Millennium, and then it'll be on all the rest who have died at the end of the Millennium, after a thousand years, when there'll be a great resurrection and others who lived in Christ, as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive in that resurrection. And then they'll come up to be judged. Now Christ is going to be sitting on that judgement seat and Jesus Christ is going to say to them, "Alright, I FIND YOU GUILTY! AND I SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH! THE PENALTY IS DEATH." And about that time, they're really going to shudder, and break out in tears, and they're going to beg for mercy. They're going to throw themselves on the mercy of the court, and Christ on the bench will say "Well now you throw yourself on the mercy of the court, well now, I'll tell you...I myself paid that penalty for you. I didn't deserve it - I never did sin like you did, but I took your penalty on myself, and I died in your place and I paid it for you. And if you really mean it, and if you really want to go the other way and live the other way, I'll give you a chance. I'll give you a foretaste of the Holy Spirit, and if you will walk in it, and if you will grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord, and in knowledge of the right way to live and of the law of God - the law of love, of out flowing love toward others - and if you will endure until the end and you will overcome, you then may have immortal life, and become God just as I am."
Oh, what a wonderful God we have! But he's a God of knowledge and a God of wisdom, not a God of nonsense and emotion like most religions in this world. Eternal life is a gift. But brethren, you can't earn immortal life, but you can earn the reward you'll have if you gain eternal life as God's gift.
I'd like to have you notice now in Ephesians. Ephesians the third chapter, here's a scripture you hear so much read by the preachers in this world, beginning with verse 8. I got the wrong verse here somewhere, I meant it's Hebrews 2; I got the wrong one in my notes. I'm sorry, it's Ephesians rather, Ephesians 2:8, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God... Now that is the faith that you have. Some of you try to work up faith and wonder why you don't have more faith. Brethren, you can't work up faith. Faith is the gift of God, it says so right here. But you receive eternal life is the gift of God, and you can't earn it yourself. And so it says, Not of works, lest any man should boast...and right there most preachers stop. I remember, oh I think this is at least 40 years ago, a man who then was quite a famous evangelist on the air, he's been dead a good many years now. He read that and stopped! I said "Go on! Read that next verse!!" I shouted into the radio! Of course, he didn't hear me! Before the days of television, but I shouted and I said "Go on! I dare you! Read that next verse!" But of course, he wouldn't. Well, let me read it...Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them...in good works! Oh, he wouldn't read that! They don't want any good works. Well, good works is merely following the way of the law of God, but they want to do away with the law of God. Well salvation is a gift, please understand that, but we still have to obey God or you won't keep the law. You won't get into God's kingdom at all.
Growing and going on
Now in order to help you and me grow in grace, Jesus ascended up to heaven. Well, where has Jesus been for nineteen hundred and fifty-some years now? Nineteen hundred and fifty years. He's been in heaven as our high priest. He's been in heaven as our high priest. Now let me turn to the priesthood chapter of the Bible, Hebrews 6. And I want you to notice the first couple of verses. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us...in the Church...go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God... Now the Protestant churches do that. I don't know whether you have any such television channel over here or not, but we have a UHF channel in the Los Angeles area that is called...sometimes they call it the trinity network, and other times they call it the CBN, or the Christian Broadcast Network. And it's religion from morning until night and through all of the night, through most of the night you can find someone on there, and always the same thing - just know Christ. Do you know Christ? We want to get people to hear about Christ, and to hear that Christ died for them. And they think that that's all. If you just know that Christ died for you, and you say you accept what he did, you get, you get, you get...well they say you go to heaven, they don't know anything about the kingdom of God. They say the kingdom of God is something you just have inside of you right now, or as the Catholic Church says, 'the church is the kingdom.' They're so ignorant, they don't know. They are still harping on just 'knowing Christ'. But Christ here who is our high priest says we should go on from there, and learn more. We have to grow in knowledge...Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement... We must go on to more knowledge, and that's what we try to do in the Church of God, is to go on into more and more knowledge, and to know more of these things. Oh, I know why I
was wrong a while ago, I was looking at Hebrews 8, or I mean Ephesians 8, Ephesians 3 I mean, beginning with verse 8. Let me go back and get that...Well, I don't know why I have that here! Oh I know, I meant to have Ephesians 2 and I marked it 3, so I've already covered that. But we must be a growing Church, and we must grow in grace and in knowledge.
Now what are we going to be doing then, in the kingdom of God? Let me see how time is getting along. I still have Pasadena time! And according to Pasadena time I've got more than 2 hours yet! So I can talk that long if you can stand it!! (laughter & clapping) Well brethren, we need to learn, we need to grow in these things.
The throne of David
Well, the Bible gives us only two examples of what we may be doing in the kingdom -- Only two. And I'd like to read you those two; I think we can take time for that. One is in Ezekiel 37, and it's about David, and beginning with verse 21. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they...will at that time...be gone...we haven't been sent there yet as slaves, as they will...and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all... My eyes are watering, I'm suffering a lot of things, I guess you'd call it old age! I don't know, I don't think I'm in old age brethren I never reached middle age! If I ever did I never know it! And now they say that I'm in old age. My eyes water, my eyelids have drooped, and so the water comes down and fills my eyes, and the first thing I know I'm trying to read through water. And I can't see very well through water. Now I'll try and read this for you, you'll just have to bear with me in some of these handicaps, but God has given the Truth, and if you'll just bear with these handicaps I'll give you the Truth. And it is the Truth. And praise the Lord for that.
...And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations... Now they were divided into the two nations, Israel and Judah. The world doesn't know that, but this Church does know it. There were two nations...Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them...David will be king over all of the nations that come from the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom of God. He will be immortal, resurrected. He will come out of his grave. And his grave is over there in Jerusalem, and we're digging down to his palace now where Christ is going to come. And this Church is financing most of that greatest archaeological project on the face of the earth today, preparing for the second coming of Christ.
...And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them... So now, we know what David will be doing. In the 36th chapter, there's something about that also, about David. So, you and I can't have that job. We know David is going to be resurrected and have that job. Now, what about the twelve apostles? Jesus told them what they will do in the kingdom of God. And that's in Luke 22, beginning with verse 28. Where Jesus said, Ye are they...speaking to his apostles...Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel... Now over all those nations from the twelve tribes of Israel will be David. But each nation - there will be twelve different nations - and one of the original apostles will be the king under David on each one of those thrones. Now, if you've read our booklet, 'The Wonderful World Tomorrow', you've already read of that and also a possibility of where other principles will be in the kingdom of God. But as for you and me, God doesn't tell you and me specifically what we will be doing. But he does give us some very important guidelines.
Parable of the pounds
Now first, I would like to have you turn to Luke 19, just a few pages back here, Luke 19, and beginning with verse 11. And as they...the disciples...heard these things, Jesus added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear... They thought that the kingdom of God would come too soon. Well, fifteen years ago I thought it would come before this time. But it will come, very suddenly, and not too long from now. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return... Now that's the picture of Christ going to heaven to have God give him the kingdom over the whole earth, and to return. Christ will be king over all the earth, David will be king over the twelve nations of the tribes of Israel, each one of the twelve original apostles will be a king over one of those nations. Now I tried to figure out where I thought the apostle Paul will be, and so on in that book. You may have read it, but of course, that's all speculation and we can't be sure.
But now notice, And he called...to them before he left...he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come... Those ten pounds represented the Holy Spirit, one particle of the Holy Spirit to each one. That's the symbolism that it represents. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. In other words, how much have you grown? He gives you a little of the Holy Spirit when you start, but you don't have as much of the Holy Spirit as you need. You need to grow in grace and knowledge, and you need to increase in knowledge and you increase in the spirit of God, and in the righteousness of God and the character of God.
Now, Then came the first... Now this is at the second coming of Christ...Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds... He multiplied what God had given him ten times over. Oh, we have a bird up here on the stage! I wonder if that bird is enjoying the sermon! I don't think he understands it, but I hope you do! Well God created birds too, and I hope you love birds. I do. I just love to see them.
Anyway, the next one came and he said he had only gained five pounds. Now the one who had gained ten times over is going to rule over ten kingdoms. He did twice as much, with the same amount to start. The other one has the same amount to start, but he only did half as much, he gained 5 pounds. So, he will rule over five cities. Now another came and he had not done a thing. He hadn't gained anything. He just said, "Well, I didn't have to grow in grace and knowledge. I just stayed where I was." And he had the gift of God taken away from him. They took away from him that part of the Holy Spirit that had been given to him, and he did not get into the kingdom. Those who think they are already saved and do nothing about it are not going to ever enter into the kingdom of God, Brethren. We have to grow in grace and knowledge.
Parable of the talents
Now it doesn't tell us there what each one will be doing. But now, you have to - there's one other scripture that I want you to get in Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. Matthew 25, and beginning with verse 14, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country... Same kind of a parable as the other, Christ going up to heaven to get the kingdom. Who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents...five talents of silver, it's using an amount of money here, and of course the pounds were English pounds, where they have pounds where we have dollars. But it represents so much of the Holy Spirit. But anyway, to the one he gave five, and to another two...that's two portions of the Holy Spirit we'll say...and to another one; to every man according to his several ability... Now God gives to you according to your natural ability. But I want you to notice something here now that maybe you never noticed before. Then he that received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one...he had one portion of the Holy Spirit...went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money... In other words, he didn't gain anything. He didn't improve, he didn't grow in knowledge, he didn't grow in grace, he didn't overcome, he didn't grow in spiritual character. Now when Christ came, the one who had been given the - well, let's notice that, I wanted to save reading all of it if I could. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them...and he's going to reckon with us, brethren...And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also, that had received two talents came and said…behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant...just the same thing - he did as much in proportion...I will make thee ruler over many things...notice we're going to rule in the kingdom of God! We're going to govern the world! It's the government of God we're talking about. Now the one who had not gained any had that one taken away from him.
Held accountable
Now you notice this, the one that only was given to he didn't have as much to do with, but he gets as much reward - he did as much with it, with what he had to do with - as the other. But the one who did more with the same amount in the pounds, and who gained 10 will get twice the reward of the man who only gained 5 after starting out with the same one. So, it's like playing golf, and you have a handicap of so many points if you're not as good a golfer. We are judged according to how well we do with what we have to do with. You have to put those two parables together to understand that. And I've understood that for a good many years now.
Let's see, well when Christ comes, then we're going to begin to save the whole world. We begin in verse 31 and it shows that brethren. But it's all according to what we do with what we have to do with. Now I've miss figured my time, look at my watch, I'm on Pasadena time! I'm thirty minutes overdue, but we started fifteen minutes late! But brethren, I want to leave this with you.
God has given us the Truth that He has not given to other churches in this world. We're going to be held accountable for what he has given us...(premature end to tape)