Pastor's Comments

PASTOR’S COMMENTS 11-21-03

Dear Brethren,

Once again I am returning to my writing of the events that Scripture reveals will occur in the beginning of the millennium after Jesus Christ has returned to this earth.

In my past writings I have shown from Scripture the liberation of the peoples of Israel from being held in captivity and slavery for three and one/half years. Then we have read of their being led to the ancient Promised Land with Jerusalem as its capital.

(As Scripture makes known, this will be made possible by the newly born members of the Family of God along with the holy angels while being directed by Jesus Christ.)

Beginning right away the desolate places will begin to be rebuilt and will after some little time there will again be thriving and bustling cities.

At the same time farmers will begin tilling and cultivating the land bringing into production all the food crops and other essentials that will be necessary for healthy lives, such as fruit, dairy products, nut and olive trees, meat, honey, and other things.

Once again there will be the golden wheat ripening in the fields along with other grain crops. There will also be the very green alfalfa fields, waist-high lush grass for the cattle, sheep, goats, and horses that will graze very contentedly while they are not being used in one way or another. Fields will also be seen with snow-white cotton to manufacture into cloth goods. These needs as well as others that will also be grown.

God’s good blessings will begin to be experienced by the nation of Israel as they develop a relationship with God and respond to His laws that will be taught to them. Laws that are designed for the welfare of man and a continued relationship with God.

Men and women will then be filled with overflowing praise to God for their relationship with Him, as they are filled to the full with exceeding happiness and joy:

And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You, though You were angry with me. Your anger is TURNED AWAY, and You COMFORT me. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid; for YAH, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation. ... Sing to the LORD, for He has done excellent things ; this IS KNOWN in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One WHO DWELLS in your midst” (Isaiah 12:1-2, 5-6).

These blessings will be poured out on them due to their repentance and true worship of Him and obedience to His holy and righteous laws.

Not only will the people of Israel be taught the Spiritual laws of God, but also the laws that have to do with the way they live, farm, and dress, in everyday life. God’s way is a way of life that affects everything we do, what we eat, what we wear, and all other areas that pertain to His way of life.

Through Moses, God taught His laws to the people of Israel that have to do with everyday life and are recorded in holy Scripture. They did not obey them and they suffered terrible consequences just as God told them they would. Blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).

Most people of today overlook, or think very little, about the statutes and judgments of God that were given to Israel during their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land. As the result they hardly ever give thought to the fact that the laws that are applicable to us from the Scriptures in the Old Testament still apply to us today and are to be obeyed.

God gave His laws for our good and at the same time they enable us to keep connected with the Giver of those laws and the blessings that come from obeying them.

“Do NOT think I came to destroy the law or the Prophets. I did NOT come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot (Greek – the smallest letter) or one title (Greek - the smallest stroke) will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least [by those] in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great [by those] in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19).

Except for the changes made by Christ in the New Testament, and His magnification of those laws, all others will once again be taught with expected obedience to them. With this in mind, it behooves all of us to be knowledgeable of them for we will be teaching them to Israel and later on to the Gentile nations when Jesus Christ is ready to work with them.

The people of Israel already had renewed to them the law of the Sabbath Day some little time after departing from Egypt in a very miraculous manner (Exodus 16:11-30). A little later, God, Himself, made known to them His 10 commandments on the Day of Pentecost at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20).

Almost immediately thereafter, God made known other laws to Israel through Moses (Exodus, chapters: 20-23). These laws were of the Old Covenant God made with Israel. Laws that Israel agreed they would keep and obey. Some of the laws contained in those three chapters will be observed by Israel in the millennium, such as the land Sabbath.

In the Scriptures we read of the Spiritual laws, and also the physical laws as well. Realizing the confusion that has been brought on the Church in past times regarding the Old and New Covenants, the statutes, judgments, and ordinances that are found in both covenants, I will put forth the effort of trying to clear up some of the confusion by taking some direct quotes from articles written in earlier years.

It seems necessary while writing about the physical laws of God to try and make some clarification between the laws that are applicable to us now, and tomorrow, from those that were taught to a physical carnal nation who understood nothing from the Spiritual principles we should draw from them today.

We should remember they did not have God’s Spirit to enable them to understand as do we who have been graced by His Spirit of love with understanding today!

To explain the differences I will now quote from an article written in the Good News, September, 1972, entitled, Old Testament Laws:

“The law of Moses was never called the 10 commandments. It comprises the statutes and judgments which God gave him to communicate to the people. The difference between the law of Moses and the 10 commandments is that God spoke the 10 Words, but Moses delivered the statutes and judgments.

The law of Moses had no sacrifices connected with it. Jeremiah said so (Jeremiah 7:22). But after the close of the Old Covenant (Exodus 24) the Levitical priesthood was established and the laws regulating offerings were added (Exodus 28:1). (Prior to this time offerings were voluntary and young men were priests – Exodus 24:5.) The law of Moses was originally the civil law, based on the 10 commandments. These civil statutes and judgments are right and good (Psalm 119:7-8). But ADDED to them were other statutes and judgments regulating material rituals, such as sacrifices, lighting of candles, burning of incense and various washings for the unclean.

(INSERT: Added Notes from Exodus 24 – “After the ratification of the ‘Old Covenant’ (Leviticus 24), the Levitical Priesthood was established and the laws regulating offerings were added to the ‘Law of Moses’ (Exodus 28:1). (Prior to this time offerings were voluntary and young men were priests, Exodus 24:5). Therefore the Law of Moses has more than one part! God’s definition of the original part of that law is in Malachi 4:4.”)

(INSERT: Added Notes from Deuteronomy 12 – “Chapter 12 and following chapters are civil laws that were NOT included in the Old Covenant – (as was Exodus 20-24). They were promulgated at later times.”)

This almost unnoticed fact is what causes so much difficulty in understanding THAT THE LAW OF MOSES WAS COMPOSED OF TWO DISTINCT PARTS: 1) The Civil 2) The Ritualistic

The Civil Law of Moses expands the 10 commandments by revealing how the 10 basic principles are to be applied. We are to keep this part of the law – not in the strictness of the letter – but according to its full spirit and intent.

The controversy in the early Church (Acts 15) did not involve spiritual intent of the civil law of Moses – but the ceremonial additions to the original civil law of Moses – customs, Acts 21:21 – ADDED ceremonies or rituals.

The four points in Acts 15 were originally part of the law of Moses – but these points were also included later within the added ceremonies because Gentiles ate their sacrifices with blood, often strangled their animals, presented them to idols, and commonly committed fornication in their religious ceremonies. To prevent these pagan customs being practiced by Israel, God included these four points of the law along with the rituals (Leviticus 17:7, 10; Numbers 25:1-3).

Because some have thought that they were abolished along with the temporary rituals when those ceremonies were declared no longer binding (Acts 15) these four points had to be specifically declared still in effect. Since these four points were part of the civil law before the addition of the rituals – they remained binding after abolition of the physical sacrifices and washings. So only the ceremonial customs of the law of Moses have passed away.

We do NOT enforce the death penalty today because in Matthew 5 Jesus gave instructions for a Spiritual Church – not for a civil Government. He raised them from narrow national laws – given to a carnal nation to be administered according to the strict letter – TO A SPIRITUAL PLANE regulating the whole of human society. In Matthew 5 He proceeded to expound the Spiritual principles underlying the civil law of Moses. The intent and underlying principle of the law of God is LOVE of God and neighbor.”
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Before we close out this area, let us also offer some explanation about the sacrificial offerings. In so doing perhaps we will have a better idea of why they will be re-established in the beginning of the millennium.

Animal Sacrifices —

“There were several kinds of offerings . Everyone was planned by God to distinctly remind the Israelites of their sins, and to give them an opportunity to worship Him with a feeling of close contact.

Each offering was given to teach Israel the habit of obeying God (Galatians 3:24). They also taught the need of a Savior to come ‘who would pay for the sins of the world.’ These offerings were not to pay for sin. Salvation never came through animal sacrifices. They were given to Israel UNTIL the coming of a Savior (Galatians 3:19) and were to remind the people of the fact that ONE would come to shed His blood to pay for sins (Hebrews 10:3-4, 18).

Burnt offerings were made twice a day (morning and afternoon), every day, so there was always an offering being burned on the altar (Leviticus 6:9, 12-17).

Those unblemished animals used for burnt offerings TYPIFIED THE MESSIAH who would later come to die for the sins of the people – instead of the people having to die.”
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The Spirit of the Law —

There are any number of laws that can be pointed to that were to be obeyed in the letter by ancient Israel. Laws that for the Church are not to be obeyed in the letter, but draw spiritual principles from them and obey them in that manner.

A question that has often been asked by married couples is regarding the sexual relationship after babies are born (Leviticus 12:1-8).

The Gentiles round about Israel were filthy. They did not pay any attention to menstruation, etc. No cleanliness and rest was practiced. Though the days are not to be counted in the letter today, these principles should be followed by the people of God

Further, these laws of health laid down in Leviticus are the basis of modern sanitary service. Chapters 12 through 15 of Leviticus are not binding on God’s people today, although the principles found here should be adhered to by God’s people. Always, God’s people, should practice principles of health and hygiene after child-birth, and most certainly practice principles of quarantine where contagious diseases are involved, and in the case of venereal disease.

A note in passing on the laws of health regarding Leprosy (Leviticus 12-14) from – An AP Article in the Morning Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA, 11/30/83:

There are other laws found in the first five Books of the Bible that are to be most definitely in the letter, such as the command not to eat the fat and blood of animals (Leviticus 7:22-27; 17:10-14).

“This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat NEITHER fat or blood” (Leviticus 3:17).

Other laws are recognized as laws that are to be obeyed today – such as the Tithing, Holy Days, the Dietary Laws, (Leviticus 13; Deuteronomy 14), etc.

Because of the obedience of Israel to these physical laws they were commanded to obey, they would be blessed while at the same time they would be honoring the Giver of every good blessing, God.

Unlike Cain who disobeyed and exploited the land, as well as disobeying other laws of God, Israel, God’s chosen nation, was commanded to respect and obey those laws for their own good health and well-being or they would fall under a curse from God (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).

Mankind does not look ahead! They only think of the here and now. If they failed to respect the law regarding the land-Sabbath, they would continue to exploit the good earth, without any rest for it at all! Penalties would then come to pass over time of poor health due to poor depleted soil, and disobedience to God’s dietary laws, and other laws of health.

This is very much in evidence in our time for hospitals are filled and often running over today due to the lack of respect and obedience to these laws. Dentists and other doctors do not lack for patients. And people wonder why?

Sickness, disease, cavities, teeth that have to be pulled, operations, etc., are as the result of disobeying the laws of health If these laws were to be practiced today by God’s people (and all other people) we would not be seeing the doctors of whatever kind to try and bail us out of our health problems nearly as often as we now are.

One point of clarification to my previous writing regarding the land Sabbath: I recall that some time prior to the death of Mr. Armstrong, permission was given for farmers to set aside part of their land each year that would be completed in the 7th year to satisfy the land-Sabbath law.

Realizing the many difficulties that farmers faces today it was felt that farmers would have a very difficult time in surviving if they did it all in one year.

Next time I will plan on writing further of the physical laws given to Israel of old that we are expected to obey today, and teach inside the coming millennium.

(There is now an ARCHIVE posted inside my Pastor’s Comments by which you will be able to review past writings. At present there are only two of them, but we hope to have others posted there very soon.)

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