April 30, 2021 Brethren Letter
Dear Brethren,
None can have God’s Spirit until he is first convicted BY God’s Spirit. NONE CAN come to Jesus Christ, except the Spirit of the Father DRAW HIM — so said Christ! And this is not the time God Almighty has chosen to SAVE THE WORLD — but only those few whom He is specially calling now, to be trained for a responsibility in the KINGDOM OF GOD, when Christ rules the whole Earth (The Plain Truth – Letter From The Editor, August, 1961).
When I was young teen, I heard of missionaries being sent out to remote areas of the world to preach about Christ to people who had never heard His name. The thought was, if a missionary could successfully reach these people and have them suddenly accept Christ as their Savior, they would be given a reward in heaven. However, if any of the people died before a missionary could arrive, salvation would be forever lost. Those people would be given the sentence of eternal hell instead.
In I John 5:12-13 we see that it IS only through Christ that can we have salvation. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Since I was quite the inquisitive teen, I remember asking someone the question, “What about all of those people who lived before Jesus Christ was born? How could they have accepted Him as their Savoir when He wasn’t born yet?” The answer I heard was, “Their sin was being born too soon.” I was quite puzzled with that answer.
II Corinthians 6:2 reveals something to us about salvation. “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Many have misunderstood this verse, believing it to mean that the only time salvation is available to mankind is… RIGHT NOW! The rest of humanity who lived prior to Christ, never had any hope. Of course, if you take into consideration that this epistle was written in approximately 55 A.D., that would mean that salvation was only available in 55 A.D.. That is far from the truth!
In Isaiah 49:8 (King James Version), we read, “Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in A day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.”
Today is not the only day of salvation but it is “A” day of salvation. As we know, God has a master plan for all of mankind, and not just for a few people living today. Those who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ will be given their first opportunity to understand at the time of their resurrection. (Revelation 20:4-5; Ezekiel 37:1-14.)
I will end tonight’s letter with two quotes from Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s book, THE WONDERFUL WORLD TOMORROW – What It Will Be Like…
The principal purpose for which Christ is returning to earth is to spiritually develop in humanity Godly character, and to save the world. Most religious people, ministers, and evangelists (fundamentalist), have supposed that this time, now, is the only day of salvation. The verse of Scripture they rely on is a mistranslation (II Corinthians 6:2). It should read “a day of salvation,” not “the” (quoted from Isaiah 49:8, where it is “a” not “the”). If Christ had been trying to “save” the world, He would have saved the world. It hasn’t been “saved.” God doesn’t use a babylon of confused, disagreeing religious organizations, divided into hundreds of different concepts of theological doctrine, as His instruments.
But the real world evangelism will be administered by this Headquarters Church, composed of resurrected immortals, under direct personal supervision of Christ Himself.
Here is the other quote from the booklet Pagan Holidays — or God’s Holy Days — Which?…
During this present Church age, the descendants of ancient Judah and Israel are blinded. After this, Christ will return, and then the rest of men — blinded Israel, and Gentiles alike, will seek after the Lord when Satan is chained and Christ reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords!
Those of the firstfruits of His salvation, made immortal, will then reign with Him as kings and priests in the wonderful work of building a new civilization.
Brethren, the Feast of Pentecost (observed May 16th this year), has everything to do with us and those who have died in Christ. We are the FIRSTFRUITS of His salvation. What a marvelous plan God has in mind for everyone!
Please have a wonderful Sabbath!
Your Brother in Christ,
Gary Liebold