Article archive
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The (A New) Truth About Abortion
| Is abortion murder? Is it a crime? Is it a SIN? A crime is a violation of a man-made law. Sin is transgression of GOD'S LAW.
God's law defines right as opposed to wrong. |
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Winds of Change
| The world is indeed a dynamic and changing place. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong is being proved right again and again as he taught through the Scriptures,as at this moment the BBC is reporting on the celebration, of the addition, of ten more countries, now making the EU the largest trading block in the world. |
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Does God Accept Same Sex Marriage?
| On Monday, May 17, 2004, an event transpired that will change this nation forever. The state of Massachusetts began to allow same sex couples to legally wed and also to bestow
on them all the rights and recognition of their union; something that up until
now had been reserved for legally married heterosexual couples only. |
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The Human Spirit
| God created man in his image and set him above all the creatures of this world (Genesis 1:26), but what is it that
separates man from animal? |
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The Plain Truth About Easter
| The Resurrection was not on Easter Sunday!
Easter is not a Christian name, but the title of the idolatrous "queen of heaven." Here's an explanation of the true origin and meaning of Lent, Easter eggs, and sunrise services!
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The Scapegoat
| The annual Sabbaths, or Holy Days, as observed by Israel before Christ’s appearance, were considerably different from the way we observe them today. Each day had its own specific rites that were to be carried out in accordance with the instructions given to Moses by God. The rituals, as they were performed, were rich in symbology and pointed to events yet in the future that would someday come to pass.
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Truth About Makeup |
Here are the eye-opening FACTS -- where, when, by whom, and why the use of makeup originated -- its history, and what the BIBLE says about it!
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Humility and God’s Holy Spirit |
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight. That you may be found just when you speak, and blameless when you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom.
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The Mark of the Beast |
Better be sure whether this brand is upon you! Without it, no man will be able to buy or sell! Without it, you may be tortured even unto death! But with it, you shall suffer the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES OF GOD!
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Do You Fear God? |
Fear, is one of the most powerful of human emotions. Fear can manifest itself in many different forms and can cause an otherwise normal person, to behave in a completely irrational manner. Fear can be a powerful means of motivation and has been used throughout history to oppress and restrain people. Fear can even be powerful enough to cause someone to abandon their other fears. People have entered burning buildings to retrieve loved ones, and even returned again and again, until everyone has been rescued and brought to safety. It is possible; to be completely consumed by fear and worry, until a person loses their ability to function normally. There are some people who are so fearful that they cannot bring themselves to leave their homes.
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Jesus Christ Our Passover |
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). These words were emphatically spoken almost 2000 years ago by John the baptizer in the presence of his disciples near the bank of the river Jordan. The disciples hearing what he said, were startled!
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EASTER . . . Is it Christian? |
Why do you believe the things you believe, do the things you do? The chances are you never stopped to ask yourself that question. You have been taught since childhood to accept Easter as the chief of the Christian holidays. You have supposed it is part of the true Christian religion to observe Lent, “Holy Week,” “Good Friday,” to buy hot cross buns at the bakery, to have colored Easter eggs, to dress up and go to Church Easter Sunday — perhaps to attend an Easter sunrise service!
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Are You Bound By A Foolish Vow? |
If you have taken a vow in the past, are you still bound by it? Has God made it possible for you to be released from it?
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Don't Stray into the Gray |
There are millions of people in the world and each one is a free moral agent. So, as you can imagine, there are many different mind-sets and thought processes around this globe. Psychologists like to classify people into categories, and one of the ways they like to group people is by how they think, or process information. Now, as I stated before, each person has a free mind to think with, but there are similarities in how people reason. You can fit most people into some basic categories that define the way that they think. One of these categories is called the black and white thinker and in this article I would like to examine this concept of black and white thinking, and how it relates to eternal life.
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Should A Christian Be Cremated? |
What about the practice of cremation? Is it Biblical in origin? Should a child of God allow themselves to be cremated when they die? What is the true origin of this common custom? There is far more to this subject than you may imagine! You may be surprised at the shocking, incredible truth about cremation!
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Building a Spiritual Tower |
One of the greatest human needs is the need to create. This need is expressed in many different ways in different individuals. There are artists, writers, poets, inventors, designers and builders just to name a few. There is much satisfaction in creating something and seeing it through from beginning to end. Our need to create can be fulfilled as a member of the body of Christ. Today I would like to expound on an analogy that Christ used that shows that we are all builders and that we are all building a spiritual tower.
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Love... The Greatest Of
All! |
Countless professions of “love”
are tossed about every day on television, in the movies, in all styles of
music and are included in just about every medium that is broadcast into our
lives! The popular saying, “love makes the world go ‘round”, seems true in
this 21st century! Could something so common as “love” actually
have a deeper significance than we realize?
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What You Should Know About The Passover And Festival Of
Unleavened Bread |
Most churches teach That Christ
finished the plan of redemption on the cross. But the very FIRST event in
God's great PLAN for man's redemption was the death of Christ on the cross.
We find the operation of this great sacrifice beginning in Eden, when God
killed a lamb or goat, in order to COVER the nakedness (type of sin) of Adam
and Eve with skins. We find it operating when Abel sacrificed a substitute
lamb. And so the PASSOVER is the FIRST of these events picturing to God's
children year by year His great PLAN.
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Jesus Christ our Passover |
Can we picture
in our minds eye a man taking a sheep in his arms, holding its head up
with one hand, and with the other, knife in hand, swiftly cutting its
throat? Can we see him
holding the young animal while its life’s blood pours out in a steady
stream until it finally goes limp in his arms? The beautiful young lamb, a
symbol of innocence and perfection, now dead.
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What Is a Mark, Anyway? |
The farther we are from the time of Mr. Armstrong’s death,
the greater the confusion in the “greater church of God” over
prophecy. One of the
specifics Mr. Armstrong taught was the definition of the Mark of the
Beast. Yet, there is now much
confusion as to what that mark really is. The following excerpt from his
1952 article titled “The Mark of the Beast” will clearly answer the
question: What is the “Mark of the Beast?”
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Do You Have A Balanced Mind |
It is literally true that most people, today, are
unbalanced. They lack vision. Their view is narrow. They tend to see only
ONE PHASE of a thing, and to go to one extreme or the other, in their
thinking, their planning, and their actions.
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Polygamy? |
"What therefore GOD hath joined together, let not man put asunder"
(Matt. 19:4-6). It is what GOD joins together. That is the definition of
MARRIAGE. God does not join together one man with plural women! Any woman
a man may "marry" according to man's codes, in addition to the wife GOD
joined him to, is NOT his wife, so long as his real wife lives. Any
additional women, whether in polygamy, or by divorce one at a time, is
plain ADULTERY! GOD never joins the second, let alone the additional
"wives." They are NOT truly wives -- they are adulteresses, and the man
becomes an adulterer. THIS BREAKS GOD'S LAW. IT IS SIN.
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Teachings 0f the Apostle |
With all the confusion in the Greater Church of God today, some have
begun to wonder what lies ahead for the Church during the
Tribulation. In the following
excerpts taken from Mr. Armstrong’s writing and one of his broadcasts, the
Church’s consistent teaching on that subject will become
clear.
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Ambassador |
During a time of national
tragedy, feelings of patriotism and pride in country come naturally to the
forefront of one’s mind. While there is nothing wrong in loving our
country it is important to remember the relationship Christian’s have with
the physical world around them.
As conditions around the world continue to worsen, it is essential
to remember where the Christians citizenship is and what his or her role
is in the present world.
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Teachings of the Apostle |
Mr. Armstrong
once wrote, "Sometimes it takes a siege of FASTING and PRAYER¾earnest, determined, persevering
prayer¾seeking God with all our
might¾with
weeping¾staying with it,
determined, until we get through."
He wrote this in the context of overcoming our fleshly desires and
conquering Satan. Drawing close to God is the vital key to overcoming the
bondage of sin!
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Teachings of the Apostle |
Once again, the
members of the Church of God find themselves approaching God’s annual fall
holy days. It is with
amazement that we find ourselves here, still waiting for Christ to return,
following a year of escalating troubles in the world. Abortion continues to claim the
lives of millions of helpless begotten children. Cloning, the improbable method of
reproducing oneself, is nearing acceptance. Homosexuality has become the
norm. Wars continue to break
out across the world; Asia finds itself in very unstable times. Africa has been written off, a
WHOLE continent, unsalvageable.
Power crises threaten the very way we live in America, and now, we
see the small nation of Israel embroiled in warfare with a determined,
unrelenting foe. Economic
recession has crossed the lips of many economic forecasters around the
world, and, in some of the farm areas of America, depression has struck.
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God's Holy Calendar Part 2 |
The following is a letter written by Mr. Armstrong in the spring
of 1940. It was written to
help the brethren determine the correct date for Passover and the other
Holy Days by using the Hebrew Calendar. Like today, many brethren were
having difficulty with this.
The letter is reproduced as it was written with only a few minor
edits.
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God' Holy Calendar Part 1 |
"Presently, there are any number of ministers and members who question
the validity of using the Hebrew Calendar to determine the dates for the
observance of the Holy Days. They also question the validity of
using the rules of postponements that form the basis for the calendar
calculations. Different conclusions have resulted from studies by
ministers and members alike who have not accepted the findings of Herbert
W. Armstrong, which were based on the Hebrew Calendar. It is obvious
their various interpretations have led them into error, since they cannot
all be right."
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Emotional Maturity |
Most people give little or no thought to this matter of their emotions.
We humans start life as little babies. We have to grow up. But to fulfill
life's real PURPOSE and mission, we must grow up not only physically, but
mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Did you ever stop to realize how
many people think primarily only of attaining physical maturity? If it
were not for compulsory public school education for children in our
Western world, how many would take the initiative to develop their minds?
How many, in each hundred, have done so in such nations as China and other
countries?
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Teachings of the Apostle |
"You Americans and British! You smug, proud, stiff-necked
complacent people! You enjoy a prosperity God never lavished on any other
people -- you heedlessly permit yourselves to became soft and decadent,
setting your foolish hearts on a lush, push-button, prosperity of leisure.
You ignore that entire prophetic THIRD of GOD'S WORD, warning you of
impending disaster and offering you divine protection from it!"
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The Holy Spirit |
"The Bible tells us the power we need
to be a true Christian comes from God, directly. That power is referred to
as the Holy Spirit. We know our Father in heaven begets us with it when we
are baptized, but beyond that, very few, these days, seem to know how it
works in their lives."
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Passover At Home |
This is an letter written by Mr. Armstong in 1956
instructing the brethern in God's church how to partake of the Passover in
their own home.
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For
Passover |
Around the world God's people will soon be partaking of the
Passover symbols picturing the sacrifice Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of
God, made for mankind. In general, Church members have had no
problem understanding what the small amount of wine symbolizes in the
Passover service. However, a problem has developed for some in the
Church about the symbolic meaning of the morsel of bread.
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Teachings of the Apostle
This Week (03-07-01) |
The doctrine around which most controversy swirls in the
greater Church of God these days is the understanding of what it means to
be born again. While some have adopted a protestant view as to the
understanding of this doctrine, others have adapted a half-way step in
which they believe a person is in some partial way born again at
baptism.
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Teachings of the Apostle
This Week (02-22-01) |
In this modern era of the Church there is much confusion
about the gospel. Some have come to believe it is a message about Jesus
Christ; some believe it is a dual gospel about Jesus Christ and the
kingdom of God; and some believe it is the complete teaching of the Bible
covering every aspect of God's word.
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