December 13, 2024 Brethren Letter
Dear Brethren,
Several decades ago, my wife and I sat in a small kiosk set-up inside of a shopping mall. The kiosk displayed Worldwide Church of God literature, including Church booklets and the Plain Truth magazine. As I remember it, this booth was one of many displayed from various organizations during a two-week period. It seems that the Worldwide Church of God was the only one invited to display “church-related” materials. My wife and I were assigned to the kiosk (by the deacon responsible for it), one or two nights out of that two-week period, making sure the literature was well-stocked, and to answer any questions, if asked.
As I look back, it seems the most popular booklet of interest was “Why Were You Born?”, written by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. I can visualize various people picking the booklet up (free for the taking). I even remember one lady laughingly saying, “Well, I know why I was born. It had something to do with my parents.” Interestingly, I think she still took a booklet home with her. If she read it, she would have found there is a whole lot more to this subject than just her parent’s involvement.
The fact is… life does have PURPOSE! Mr. Armstrong made that very plain in his booklet. Tonight, I will include a portion of a Plain Truth “Personal,” where Mr. Armstrong discusses this very subject. I am splitting the article into two parts and will plan on posting the second part of it next week.
Please have a wonderful Sabbath, brethren. We look forward to fellowshipping with you after services tomorrow.
Sincerely, Your Brother in Christ,
Gary Liebold
June, 1964
The Plain Truth
Personal from the Editor
OF COURSE you’ve heard the story about the three men in hell. The Catholic asked the Jew, “Why are you here?”
“Because I ate some pork,” he replied; “but why are YOU here?”
“I ate roast beef on Friday.” Then they turned to the Christian Scientist. “And why are YOU here?” they asked.
“Me? Oh, I’m not here,” came the answer.
Some may believe that matter is illusory or non-existent. But it’s no illusion — you and I ARE HERE in this world of the living.
BUT WHY?
Do you know you were put here FOR A PURPOSE? Do you know what that purpose is? Are you sure?
Several years ago Queen Elizabeth gave birth to her first son. Everyone in Britain knew — and much of the world knew — that her son was born for a purpose. They knew he was born to become a king. From birth he has been receiving training to prepare him to be a king.
But if I should tell you that YOU were born TO BE A KING — and a RULING King at that — you’d probably expect me to tell you also that I, myself, am Napoleon. But I am not Napoleon. And I DO tell you, on authority of the living Jesus Christ, that YOU definitely WERE born for that very purpose! Ever sing that old hymn “I’M THE CHILD OF A KING”? Did it ever occur to you that the child of a King is HEIR to the King’s throne? Read Romans 8:16-17.
WHY has the real purpose of life been hid from the world? WHY must the world remain oblivious to the real MEANING of life?
Search, in this world, for the answers! The world does not have the answers! WHY?
Go on a quest for the truth. Ask the question: Is there any PURPOSE? Is there any MEANING to life? Do we know why we are here — where we are going — what is THE WAY — what lies ahead? Let’s ask Science. Let’s ask Education. Let’s ask Government, Religion, Technology, Industry. Do any of them have the answers?
Dr. Fred Hoyle gives his answer in his book “The Nature of the Universe”. He speaks of this wholly fantastic universe in all its incredible order and precision, yet leaving mankind with scarcely a clue as to whether there is any real significance to human existence. He wonders WHY the universe is as we find it, and not something else. Or, he wonders, WHY is it here at all? At present, he says, we are without a clue to the answers.
This scientist stands in awe of the fact that man possesses intelligence so powerful that he can penetrate deeply into the wonderful universe, yet he is left without the smallest clue to his own fate!
Did you ever hear of the grandmother who searched over the whole house for her mislaid eyeglasses, when all the while they had merely been shoved up on her own forehead? Scientists look way off in the remote regions of endless space to find the reason for their own existence, when all the while the answers are on their own bookshelves — probably covered with dust — in the one Book they never read — unless in skepticism and doubt.
Let’s ask the Nobel prize-winner, Dr. Harold Urey. He replies: “Science gives us no purpose in living beyond having a pleasant existence in one way or another.”
What, then, do scientists live for? Well, they are fascinated and inspired, he says, by the intriguing and magnificent things which they study. Yes, one can occupy his mind, for a while, with a hobby, a study, or almost any interest. But it’s a PASSING interest. It doesn’t answer our questions.
But if scientists may enjoy being wrapped up, for the once, in the fascinating things they study, what does science give the ordinary man? “But Science” answers Dr. Urey. “does not give the ordinary man, whose daily life is often drab, … any motive that gives him a feeling of dignity …. One of the great needs of this age is a great interpretation which can accept the facts of Science and at the same time give inspiration to fill this great void.”
But I wonder what he really means by the FACTS of Science? Science too often expresses its “facts” in terms of: “We cannot know, but we are coming to suppose thus and so ….” Or, “Many are of the opinion, that ….” Or, “It is coming to be believed hypothesis to be true, it naturally follows that such and such is a fact.” Then all these speculations, hypotheses, guesses, and imaginary fables are ASSUMED to be “facts.” All too often, that is.
Of course, there ARE many established FACTS of Science — facts that have been PROVED facts. And, if Scientists only knew, the TRUE “interpretation”, which can come only from God, DOES completely square with the true and proven FACTS of Science. And it does, at the same time, fill that void and inspire to joy unspeakable!
So Science does not have the answers. Science turns out to be a false messiah, after all.
Let’s ask Education. Thoughtful men have said that KNOWLEDGE is the one solution to all our ills. “Give us sufficient KNOWLEDGE, they say, and all problems will be solved.”
Look, first, at the colleges and universities where this education is being disseminated. Student enrollments are on a rapid increase — at an all-time high. But also there is a rapid rise in discontent, disillusionment, a sense of hopelessness and a “what’s the use” attitude. And there is an accompanying rise in illicit sex, in premarital pregnancies, in mental illnesses, in drunkenness and in suicides. AMONG STUDENTS! Plainly, the instruction they are receiving is not giving them the answers they need.
Then look at the product of this world’s education. The world leaders — the politicians, the scientists, the industrialists, the professional people — they are the product. They have the KNOWLEDGE.
Is, then, KNOWLEDGE the solution? Will KNOWLEDGE solve all the problems, end the world’s ills? The KNOWLEDGE acquired by these people has not brought world peace. It has not ended hunger and want. It has not brought health, happiness and joy.
Take a few specific examples at random. The technicians invent toothbrushes, the chemists produce toothpaste formulas, industry “educates” the public to “brush after every meal.”
Each toothpaste brand contains that one special ingredient, contained in no other, that will result in “fewer cavities,” and end tooth decay. So the world responds. Frantically the people brush, while the manufacturers pile up huge profits. Result? Tooth decay increases.
I do not say all this brushing CAUSES the decay. The point is, they either do not know, or in the interest of volume sales and mounting profits do not tell you, that the cause is faulty diet. But, then, if they crusaded against starch, sugar, and fats, THAT would threaten the profits of the flour millers, the sugar refiners, the breakfast-cereal companies, and a host of other commercial enterprises.
The more doctors we have, the more sickness and disease there is to be treated. The more psychiatrists, the more mental cases. WHY? Do the doctors CAUSE the sickness, the psychiatrists the mind-slippage? No, of course not. BUT, neither do they deal with and PREVENT the causes. They treat the effect, while they let OTHER commercial outlets increase the CAUSES.
So, Science cannot give the answer.
Education has gone materialistic and does not have the answers.
The world has tried about every form of government the human mind can devise — but none has brought world peace, universal prosperity and economic security, or given us the real MEANING of life.
Technology, Industry, the world of Business has never provided the answers.
And Religion? None of this world’s religions know WHY mankind is here, WHAT is his potential destiny, how to achieve it or to be happy along the way.
Do you know WHY none of the world’s religions have the answers? It is because NOT ONE of them has for the SOURCE of its religion THE TRUE AND PURE WORD OF GOD! People SUPPOSE their religion came out of the Bible. I supposed that what I was taught as a boy in Sunday School came out of the Bible. Then, nearly 38 years ago, when I was angered and challenged into my first real STUDY of the Bible, I was shocked with amazement to see that I had been taught the diametric OPPOSITE of the teachings of the Scriptures!
The Bible NOWHERE teaches that man’s destiny — IF he receives salvation — is to go to heaven, and to bask in idleness and ease in heavenly sunshine.
It DOES TEACH that man’s potential is to BECOME A KING — an actual RULING KING! It teaches that he is going to rule people RIGHT HERE ON THIS EARTH, not in heaven!
Notice the very words of the resurrected, glorified, living Jesus Christ: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and HE SHALL RULE THEM with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26-27). Again: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me IN MY THRONE, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21).
The Father’s throne is heaven (Psalm 11:4; Isa. 66:1; Mat. 5:34). But Jesus’ throne is to be ON EARTH — the throne of David, at Jerusalem (Luke 1:32). Jesus says that “saved” Christians shall sit on THAT throne with Him, ruling the nations!
The “saved”, in the resurrection, shall be KINGS, and priests, and shall REIGN with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6) and ON THIS EARTH (Rev. 5:10).
Jesus Christ preached the GOSPEL! WHICH Gospel? Always the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD! A Kingdom is a GOVERNMENT. The twelve original apostles were commissioned to preach the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD (Luke 9:2). They did. Philip did (Acts 8:12). The Apostle Paul preached the Kingdom of God (Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31).
In preaching the GOSPEL, Jesus gave, among other things, the parables of the “pounds” and the “talents.” Because the disciples thought the Kingdom of God should then appear immediately (Luke 19:11), He told them the parable of a Nobleman (Christ) going to a far country (God’s throne in heaven), to receive a Kingdom, and to return. So before going, He called His ten servants, giving each a pound — English money now worth $2.80. His citizens (His own tribe — the Jews — Judah) rejected Him. The ten servants were the ten tribes. He told them, “Occupy till I come.” When He returned (Second Coming of Christ), having now received the Kingdom (King of Kings as a WORLD RULER), He called His servants to account — to judge how far each had developed while He was away. One had multiplied what Christ had given him ten times over. This simply represents overcoming, and GROWTH in Biblical knowledge and in spiritual character of DOING. To him, the returned Christ says: “Have thou AUTHORITY OVER TEN CITIES. To the one who gained five pounds — that is, developed the spiritual gifts given him five times over — Christ says: “Be thou also over FIVE CITIES. The one who made no spiritual progress in his life, had taken away from him the salvation he expected. He represents the millions following the NO LAW, NO WORKS teaching.
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) also shows that the “saved” become KINGS — RULERS, but that the training and preparation for that rule MUST BE DEVELOPED IN THIS LIFE — NOW! Those who gained in this life, spiritually, BECAME RULERS (verses 21 and 23). Those who did not develop and grow spiritually simply “missed the boat” altogether! They had taken away from them the salvation they believed they had!
In the prophecy of Daniel 7, the world-dominating Empires of this world are to be DESTROYED. It is the “saints of the Most High” that “shall take the kingdom (from this world’s governments), and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (verses 17-18, 21-22).
When Jesus Christ returns to earth in all the POWER and GLORY of the Eternal GOD, and takes the reins of government FROM men, setting up the WORLD-RULING KINGDOM OF GOD, David — the ancient King David of Israel, resurrected to immortal life, shall be King, under Christ, over all the nations descended from the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 37:15-25; 34:23; Jer. 30:9). (5)
And who will be the kings over each of the twelve tribes — then of course actually twelve powerful nations? Jesus has promised those positions to the original twelve apostles (Matthew 19:27-28).The Father’s throne is heaven (Psalm 11:4; Isa. 66:1; Mat. 5:34). But Jesus’ throne is to be ON EARTH — the throne of David, at Jerusalem (Luke 1:32). Jesus says that “saved” Christians shall sit on THAT throne with Him, ruling the nations!
The “saved”, in the resurrection, shall be KINGS, and priests, and shall REIGN with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6) and ON THIS EARTH (Rev. 5:10).
Jesus Christ preached the GOSPEL! WHICH Gospel? Always the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD! A Kingdom is a GOVERNMENT. The twelve original apostles were commissioned to preach the Gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD (Luke 9:2). They did. Philip did (Acts 8:12). The Apostle Paul preached the Kingdom of God (Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31).
In preaching the GOSPEL, Jesus gave, among other things, the parables of the “pounds” and the “talents.” Because the disciples thought the Kingdom of God should then appear immediately (Luke 19:11), He told them the parable of a Nobleman (Christ) going to a far country (God’s throne in heaven), to receive a Kingdom, and to return. So before going, He called His ten servants, giving each a pound — English money now worth $2.80. His citizens (His own tribe — the Jews — Judah) rejected Him. The ten servants were the ten tribes. He told them, “Occupy till I come.” When He returned (Second Coming of Christ), having now received the Kingdom (King of Kings as a WORLD RULER), He called His servants to account — to judge how far each had developed while He was away. One had multiplied what Christ had given him ten times over. This simply represents overcoming, and GROWTH in Biblical knowledge and in spiritual character of DOING. To him, the returned Christ says: “Have thou AUTHORITY OVER TEN CITIES. To the one who gained five pounds — that is, developed the spiritual gifts given him five times over — Christ says: “Be thou also over FIVE CITIES. The one who made no spiritual progress in his life, had taken away from him the salvation he expected. He represents the millions following the NO LAW, NO WORKS teaching.
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) also shows that the “saved” become KINGS — RULERS, but that the training and preparation for that rule MUST BE DEVELOPED IN THIS LIFE — NOW! Those who gained in this life, spiritually, BECAME RULERS (verses 21 and 23). Those who did not develop and grow spiritually simply “missed the boat” altogether! They had taken away from them the salvation they believed they had!
In the prophecy of Daniel 7, the world-dominating Empires of this world are to be DESTROYED. It is the “saints of the Most High” that “shall take the kingdom (from this world’s governments), and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (verses 17-18, 21-22).
When Jesus Christ returns to earth in all the POWER and GLORY of the Eternal GOD, and takes the reins of government FROM men, setting up the WORLD-RULING KINGDOM OF GOD, David — the ancient King David of Israel, resurrected to immortal life, shall be King, under Christ, over all the nations descended from the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 37:15-25; 34:23; Jer. 30:9).
And who will be the kings over each of the twelve tribes — then of course actually twelve powerful nations? Jesus has promised those positions to the original twelve apostles (Matthew 19:27-28).
In the World Tomorrow — to dawn on this world within a VERY FEW years — we shall have WORLD PEACE. Soon there will be universal prosperity. There will be happiness — JOY!
There is, truly, a PURPOSE being worked out here below, as the former Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, said before the United States Congress.
To make POSSIBLE a perfect UTOPIAN condition, God created and set in actual living, inexorable motion, a great invisible SPIRITUAL LAW. That Law is THE WAY of LOVE. And LOVE is an outgoing concern for others. It is Love toward God — and Love toward fellowman. The BIBLE is the INSTRUCTION BOOK, for peace, happiness, prosperity, security, joy.