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neb&s 6
cr{APTER 6
-|HEREFORE leaving the
r principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on unto per-
fection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance frorn
deadworks, and of faith toward
God,
D Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and
of resurrection of the rlead, and
of eternal judgmenL
 THEFUNDAMENTAL
DOCTRINES
TESUS is t he aut hor ( b e g i n n e r)o f
I o u r et er nals alv at io n(H e b . 5 :9 ).
v H e i s t he aut hor an d fi n i s h e ro f
our fa i th ( Heb. l2: 2) .
Je su sChr is t is t he A l p h a a n d th e
Ome g a , t he beginninga n d th e e n d -
ing . th e fir s t and t he las t .H e w i l l g i v e
t o h i m who is t hir s t y t he fo u n ta i no f
t h e w a te r of lif e- et er n a l s a l v a -
t ion -fre ell ( Rev . l: 8; 2 l :6 ; 2 2 :1 3 ).
Je su sb eginsand endse v e ryC h ri s -
t ian 'scte r nals alv at ion.B u t i t i s a x i o -
: n.ri i c that ev er rt hing G o d b e g i n s
: : i :i :u rl l r. t hr ough hu m a n i n s tru -
: in '.:. m us t s lar t t he s m a l l e s t.
\-r]u \r€re not separatedfrom your
::':"riher'swomb as a full-grown ma-
:r-:'ehuman bein-e.lt took anywhere
irtrm thirteen to t\r'entvrears for you
I t 'r n 1 1 3 1 nm ar im um gr o w th i n th e
phl si ca l s pher e.
But the point is. 1'ou had to start
so me \rh er e. . \ nd t hat s t a rt w a s w h e n
)our mother conceived.At that pre-
cise momenl \ou \\ere no bigger than
"RepentanceFromDeadWorks"
r.1'rHr \\ {GEScf sin is death," pro-
I ci .r im edt he A pos t l e Pa u l . A n d
r e rer r hum an beineh a sc o n tri b -
l:eJ lris or her share io the sins of
: i:> i ro l [d . " F or all hav es i n n e d ,a n d
-'.-=e short of the glory of God,"
r-.::C Paul to the Romans (Rom.
- past in the lustsof our flesh.fulfilling
1\'e hateall walkedcontrarytoGod's
sa) tri life in the past. We have per-
formed the sorks of the flesh-we have
fulfilled the desires and 'lusts of our
minds and our bodies.We havewalked
accordingto the courseset for mankind
b1'Satanthedevil.
a pinpointor the periodat the endof
this sentence.
And it is, figuratively,
the samein
the spiritual sphere.There was a
time in the life of eachtrue follower
of Christ whenhe or shebeganto be
a Christian.All startout as spiritual
in[ants.
And if youarenot yet a Christian,
but do wantto become one,youmust
beginas a babein Christ-rot as a
full grown,matureChristian.
The First Principles. In the first
gradea smallchilddoesnotbeginhis
study of mathematicsby solving
higher equations.He starts with
t+l--2.
ln like mannerone must com-
mencehis Christianlife by learning
thefirst principlesof the oraclesof
God-the first principles of the doc-
trineof Christ(Heb.5:12:6:l ).
The newly begottenChristian
musty'rslbe thoroughlygroundedin
the basics.
"Wherein in time past )'e u'alked
accordingto the courseof this rrorld.
accordingto the prince of the porver
o f th e a i r [S a tan],the spi ri t that now
worketh in the children of disobe-
dience:among whom also x'e all had
our conversation[conduct] in times
the desires of the flesh and of the
m i n d ; a n d w ere by nature the chi l -
dren of wrath, evenas others" (Eph.
2:2-3).
Pre tty p l ai n! W e have al l per-
formed works which have led onlr- to
e te rn a ld e a th .A s P aul put i t: " W hat
Every Christian,when first con-
verted,is likenedto one that uses
milk, beingunskillfulin the word of
righteousness because he is a babein
Christ(Heb.5:13).
But what arethefirst principlesof
the doctrineoi Christ?What is this
"milk" of the word? What specific
doctrines shouldyou beginto under-
stand even in "boot camp," that
preliminaryperiodjust beforeyou
become a Christian(andduringyour
earlyconversion period)?Whereare
they f,oundin the Bible?
The followingare listed in He-
brews6:l -2.
I ) Repentance from deadworks
2) Faith towardGod
3) The doctrineof baptisms
4) Layingon of hands
5) The resurrection of the dead
6) Eternaljudgment
A summaryexplanationof each
oneof thesefundamental doctrines is
containedin the followingpages.
frui t had ye then i n those th ings
[sins] whereof ye are now ashamed?
for the end of those things is deoth"
(R om. 6:21). H e al so w rote that we
were "dead in trespassesand sins"
(E ph.2:l ).
We were, so to speak,on a sort of
spiritual "death row"-awaiting the
execution of a justly deservedulti-
mate capital punishment.We earned
this penalty by simply doing what
comesnatural l y-si nni ng.
The death penalty for sins has to
be paid. But God in His vast mercy
has provided a way by which you
may avoid that extreme penalty.
"For God so lovedthe world, that
he gave his only begottenSon, that
whosoeverbelievethin him should
nol perish,but haveeverlastinglife"
(John3:16).God is not willing that
any humanbeingshouldhaveto pay
that final penaltyfor sin (seeI Timo-
thy 2:4 and II Peter3:9).He wishes
that all would claim the sacrificeof
His Son,JesusChrist, for the remis-
sionof their personalsins.
This is the only meansby which a
personmay avoidhavingto pay that
terriblepenalty.JesusChrist became
humanflesh,lived a sinlesslife, and
paid the death penalty on your
behalf.He provideda way for you to
enter into eternity!
But there is something/oa must
do.You mustacceptthat sacrificeon
your behalf by demonstratingthat
youno longerwishto continuein that
sinful way of tife which qualifiedyou
for deathin the first place.You dem-
onstrateyour acceptance of Christ's
sacrifice by changing your way of
living. This change of direction is
called"repentance"in Bible termi-
nology.
A SPIRITUAL
..POINT
OF
NO RETURN''?
Can a personever reach a "point
of no r et ur n" i n h i s re l a ti o n s h i p
wit h G od? ls th e re a n u n p a r-
donable sinT The booklet, What
ls The Unpardonable Srn? ex-
plains t he B i b l i c a l a n s w e rs to
these questions. For your free
copy, write lo The Plain Truth,
P as adena, CA 9 1 1 2 3 . O r, i l
y ou liv e out s i d e th e U n i te d
States, see back page for the
address nearest vou.
But what do we repentof?
Sin.
The motions, actions or works
which lead to death are simply
definedas sin. Sin is the violationor
transgression of any of God's great
spirituallaws(I John3:4).
To repent simply means to
"change direction." We turn from
the way of self-indulgence to the way
of give.We stopservingthe lustsand
desiresof our own fleshand beginto
serveothers.We turn from selfish-
nessto selflessness,
Whenwe demonstrate our willing-
nessto change,God appliesthe sacri-
fice of Christ on our behalves.We
are then free from the crushingguilt
of sin. We are forgivenand our con-
sciences are cleared.
Paulexplainedit this way:
"How much moreshall the blood
of Christ, who throughthe eternal
Spirit offeredhimselfwithoutspotto
God, purge your conscience from
dead works to servethe living God?"
(Heb.9:14.)
How beautifullysimple!
No amountof humanworkscan
bring about the forgiveness of sin.
Eventhe greatsacrificiallawsof the
Old Testament couldnot bringabout
forgiveness and a clear conscience.
Thoselawswereonly a type of what
wasto come.Paulexplained that the
Old Testament sacrificial
systemwas
". . . a figure for the time then pres-
ent, in which wereofferedboth gifts
and sacrifices, that could not make
him that did the serviceperfect,as
pertainingto the conscience" (Heb.
9:9).
Theseworksalsowere"dead" in
that they could not produceeternal
life.Theycouldnot forgivesin.They
couldnot erasethe record.Theywere
unableto purgethe conscience of the
guilt of sin.
But they did pictureor typify the
greatsacrifice of the Lambof God-
Jesus. As longasthoseundertheOld
Testamentadministrationkept the
sacrificial law, they were depict-
ing the sacrifice of the Son of
God.
Finally, when that great event
actuallyoccurred,it was no longer
necessary to portrayit in type.With
the destruction of the secondTemple
in l.n. 70, the sacrificialsystemof
ancientIsraelalsoperished.
No amount of physicalhuman
works can effect forgivenessof sin.
There is no way we can "make up"
for sin. Beads,indulgences, penance,
fastings,or africting one's flesh in
some other way will not erasethe
guilt of sin.You cannotpunishyour-
self for sin. and thus avoid God's
punishment!
Only a repentantspirit will bring
about God's mercy. God looks to
thosewho are of a meekand contrite
spirit-those who tremblebeforethe
two-edgedsword of His Word.
God recognizesa broken spirit, a
humble seekingfor forgivenessand
mercy.
God will honorthe attitude of all
who are willing to turn from works
anddeedswhichare sinfuland which
resultonly in death.We are admon-
ishedthrough the writing of Mat-
thew: "Bring forth thereforefruits
meet [fit to show] for repentance"
(Matt. 3:8).
True godly repentanceis a gift
from God. It is not somethingthat
can be "workedup" from within the
human psyche.God instructsHis
ministersto be "in meekness in-
structing those that opposethem-
selves;if God peradventureu,ill give
them repentance to the acknowledg-
ing of the truth . . ." (II Tim. 2:25).
Paul said ". . . the goodness of God
leadeththee to repentance"(Rom.
2:4).
And in the book of Acts, we find
that God has ". . . also to the Gen-
tiles granted repentance unto
life" (Acts I l:18). Thosedesiringa
godly repentancemust seekit from
God.
True repentancerepresents a per-
manentchangeof direction,It is a
commitmentto a coursefrom which
thereis no turningback.It is not a
temporarysawdust-trail, tear-jerking
emotionalresponse. It is something
much deeperand vastly more pro-
found.
Repentancerepresentsa total
commitment-apointof no return.It
placesyou on a coursedirectly into
eternallife. It represents a complete
forsakingof the dead worksof your
former way of life. It is the first
majorstepinto eternity!
Is it any wonderthenthat God in-
cludes "repentance f rom dead
works"as oneof the basicand most
fundamentalof all Christian doc-
trines?
 "Faith TowardGod"
I-tAIrH is a foundationaland fun-
I damentalbiblicaldoctrine.It is
r- absolutely required for salva-
tion. None may obtain eternal life
withoutit.
But what rs faith anyway? Is it
just blind confidence? Or is it based
on somethingmuch more substan-
tial?
Perhapsan examplewouldprovide
the bestexplanation.
How was the faith of Abraham
expressed?He has been called the
"father of the faithful." His example
should tell us what constitutesreal
faith.
God promisedAbraham that he
would becomea "father of many na-
tions" (Rom.4:17).And yet (except
for the illegitimateIshmael)he wasa
childless99 and his wife Sarahwas
well pastthe child-bearing age.
But Abraham did not look to the
stark fact of Sarah'spreviousmeno-
pause,nor to his own apparentimpo-
tence.He lookedonly to God'sprom-
ise to make him a father.
"And being not weak in faith, he
considerednot his own body now
dead,whenhe wasaboutan hundred
yearsold, neitheryet the deadness of
Sarah's womb: he staggerednot at
the promiseof God throughunbelief;
but was strongin faith, givingglory
to God; and beingfully persuaded
that, what ie [God] had promised,
ne [God] was able also to perform"
(Rom.4:19-21).
Thereyou haveit: a biblicaldefini-
tion of faith. It was expressedin
slightly different words to Jewish
Christians:"Now faith is the sub-
stance [assurance]of things hoped
for, the evidenceof thingsnot seen"
(Heb. l1:l). The fact that God had
promisedwasall the evidenceAbra-
ham needed!
You do not need faith for some-
thing you alreadypossess. Faith re-
volves around something "not
sssn"-sslnething you do not yet
have. Romans 8:24-25 provesthe
point."For we are savedby hope:but
hope that is seen is not hope: for
what a man seeth,why doth he yet
hope for? But if we hope for that
[which] we seenot, then do we with
patiencewait for it," wrotethe Apos-
tle Paul.
The Apostle to the Gentileswas
himselfan exampleof livingfaith.
As a prisoner,Paul boardeda sail-
ing ship boundfor ltaly. He warned
the captain that the cargo and the
passengerswould be in jeopardy
should they undertakethe voyage.
But, his warningwentunheeded; and
not long afterwards,threedaysof se-
verelystormyweathertook away all
hopethat any aboardwould survive.
Although all the physicalevi-
dence-what they could see (the
swirling temptest surrounding
them)-indicated the contrary,Paul
stoodup and said: ". . . There shall
be no lossof any man's life among
you. . . . For there stoodby me this
night the angel of God . . . saying,
Fearnot Paul;thou mustbe brought
beforeCaesar:and,lo, God hath giv-
en theeall them that sail with thee.
Wherefore,sirs,be of goodcheer'. for
I believeGod.that it shall beevenas
it was told me" (Acts 21:22-25).
Paul had "faith towardGod" be-
causehe believedGod. He had an
unquestioning convictionthat God
wouldindeeddo what He had prom-
ised.
The Patriarch Noah preceded
Paul as an enduringexampleof
"faith toward God." The writer of
HebrewssummarizedNoah's faith
in HebrewsI l:7. "By faith Noah,be-
ing warnedof God of things not seen
asyet, movedwith fear, preparedan
ark to the savingof his house:by the
which he condemned the world,and
becameheir of the righteousness
whichis by faith."
HebrewsI I is knownin theologi-
cal circlesas "the faith chapter."
And well it shouldbe becauseit is
filledwith "faith towardGod" amply
demonstratedin the lives of God's
patriarchs,prophets,kings,judges,
commoners, and evenone repentant
prostitute.
One very negativeexampleserves
to illustrate this crux point: "Faith
toward God" involvessimply believ-
ing what God says.
Our first parentsknew God exist-
ed; they knew He wastheir Creator.
They saw with their own eyesand
heard with their own ears things
we, in this twentiethcentury,are
simply not privileged to hear
or see.
God had told our first parentsthat
they wouldsurelydie if they partook
of the forbidden fruit. But, Adam
and Evedid not believeGod.Instead,
they believedSatan.Adam and Eve
hadvery little faith towardGod,but
they ironically seemedto possess a
kind of perverted"faith" in the as-
surances of Satanthe devil.
Now that we understand, by both
positiveand negativeexamples. just
what faith is. we needto defineits
relationship to salvation.
Again,faith is absolutellrequired
for eternalsalvation.Not a single
personwill enterGod'sfamill voidof
faith.
In summarizinghis ministrr for
the Ephesianelders,Paul explained
how he had testifiedto the Jewish
peopleand the Grecians". . . rep€n-
tancetoward God,andfaith toward
our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts
20:21\.
In orderto evenstartthe salvation
process,you must have faith in
Christ'sblood-His atoningsacrifice
for your sins.
Of course,you must also believe
and know that God exists.". . . He
that comethto God must believethat
heis . .," (Heb.I l:6). And youmust
believethat onereasonGod sentHis
SonJesusChristto this earthwasto
shed His blood in order to blot out
yourpastsins(seeJohn3:16).
Paulput it this way:"Whom God
hath set forth to be a propitiation
throughfaith in his blood,to declare
his righteousnessprthe remissionof
sinsthat are past, through the for-
bearance of God" (Rom. 3:25).
And sowe mustbelievein Christ's
sacrificeas an historical event that
God appliesto the repentantsinner,
now,at this presenttime.
RememberThomas,the doubting
disciple?"Jesus saith unto him,
Thomas,becausethou hast seenme,
thou hast believed:blessedare they
that havenot seen,and yet havebe-
Iieved" (John 20:29).
You haveneverseenJesusChrist
and neitherhaveI. And yet our very
salvationdependsupon our frm be-
lief that He was a historical person;
that He was a memberof the God-
head;that He suffered,bledand died
because of our sins;and that He rose
againto live forevermore.
Belief in Christ's blood-faith in
His sacrificefor past sins-involves
believingwhat Christ said. You can-
not really believein Jesus'sacrifice
without believingHis message-the
gospelof the Kingdomof God.
On Jesus'first evangelistictour,
"The Doctrineof Baptisms"
tT-tHE sIMpLE, unpretentious rite of
I baptismis meantto mark a mi-
r raculouschangein you. lt is to
testify that you haveembarkedon a
new,clean,right way of life that will
end in completesatisfaction,unre-
stricted reward, total successand
happiness unending.God wantsyou
to realize this and take full advan-
tageof His generousoffer.
Most of Christendom understands
in partthat baptismis a fundamental
doctrine of God's religion. But too
few capture the overwhelmingcon-
ceptwhich its symbolismis meantto
instill.Let's look back into the past,
and come to understandmore per-
fectly what God is revealing.
From the beginning God has
wantedmen to be clean-physically,
mentally and spiritually. He de-
signedan elaborateritualisticsystem
for His Old TestamentChurchto im-
pressthis grandlesson.He meantfor
you and me to find in the New Testa-
ment the brimmingspiritualfulfill-
ment which comesthroughJesusthe
Christ (Gal. 3:24).
Paulwrotethe bookof Hebrewsto
JewishChristiansto help makethis
4
He said:". . . Repentye,and believe
the gospel"(Mark l:15).
(If you have not yet receivedour
booklets lAhat Is the True Gospel?
and Just What Do You Mean-the
Kingdom of God?, pleasewrite for
your free copiesimmediately.)
Once a personhas heardthe true
gospelof the Kingdom of God and
hasacteduponit by repenting,being
baptized,and receivingGod's Holy
Spirit as a gift (seeActs 2:38),God
imparts to that individual the very
faith of JesusChrist.
"For by grace are ye saved
throughfaith; and that not of your-
selves:ir [the faith] is the gift of
God," wrote the ApostlePaul (Eph.
2:8).
You cannot work up this saving
faith towardGod.It is His gift to you
upon real conversion.
Notice Galatians2:16, ". . . A
man is not justified by the worksof
plain.He showshow Old Testament
ritual finds full spiritual expression
in Christ. TheseJewishpeopleknew
aboutthe washings(baptisms)of the
ritual (Heb.9:10).They knewabout
the prescribedcleansingof clothes,
people,priests(Ex. 19:10-14;Lev.
8:6).
But most peopletoday have not
understoodthe facts concerningthe
pre-Christian baptism of John.
Recall that John the Baptizerwas
acceptedby his community.This was
not some new and unusualaction.
Pharisees and Sadducees wouldhave
had no dealingswith anyonecontra-
dicting the traditionsof the elders
(Matt. l5:l-2). Why, they evenre-
jected Jesusbecausethey could not
fathom the spiritual application
whichHe madeof Old Testament in-
struction.
But they did acceptJohn'steach-
ing about baptism. Sadduceesand
Pharisees-perhapsnot yet having
heard of Jesus-flocked to John,
wantingto be baptized.Evidentlythe
unrepentantoneswantedonly to re-
ceivea mark of religiousdistinction.
They wantedto advertisetheir "righ-
the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ.. . ."
Graspthe fact that Paul doesno
say, "by a man's faith in Jesu
Christ" (althoughthat is the startinl
point);he says,"by the faith of Jesu
Christ"-which means Christ'r
faith.
In summary,how may you possesr
"faith toward God"-this savinl
faith of JesusChrist?First of all, yor
must repentof dead works (seethr
precedingarticle).Then you must br
baptizedas a symbolof your faith ir
Christ's preciousblood.to blot ou
your past sins,burying your old sel
in a waterygrave(seethe next arti,
cle).
Then you will receivea portiono
the very faith of Jesus Christ
which-if properly nourished-wil
eventuallyresult in your ultimatt
salvation-eternal life in God'r
Kingdom.
[gsgslsss"-to prateand brag aboul
their acceptance by this recognized,
rustic,prophetof God (Matt. 3:l-7:
Mark l:4-7).
But JohnwasdoingGod'sWork,
He wascallinghis countrymen to re-
pentance-change.He wantedprool
that they.weredoing somethingtc
changetheir miserable and evil lives.
He culled out thosewho were not
turningto God in heartrending con-
trition and obedience.
He wouldhaveno part in baptiz-
ing thosewho clungto their old evil
ways-sins-dead works. His bap-
tism wasfor the purposeof symboliz-
ing spirituallyclean people-those
who had changedso muchthat they
could take advantageof the Mes-
siah'supcomingsacrificefor the re-
mission-forgiveness----of their sins.
John was busily preachingand
baptizingwhen Jesuscame on the
scene.Jesusset His sealof approval
on John'sbaptismby undergoingthe
verysamerite asthe peoplewhowere
sick of their sinsand longedenough
for forgivenessthat they "brought
forth fruit" provedby changed,righ-
teous,obedient-to-God lives. Jesus
said His baptism". . . fulfill[ed] all
righteousness" (Matt. 3:l 5).
Later, after His death and resur-
rection, He expresslycommanded
His disciplesto follow this very same
procedurewhen they found people
who would really accept,believeand
do what He taught."Go ye therefore,
andteachall nations,baptizingthem
in the nameof the Father,andof the
Son, and the Holy Spirit" (Matt.
28:19-20; Mark l6:16).
Baptismis the symbolicdoor to
righteousness. You must go through
that door if you are going to enter
into eternallife. There is no other
way.
Ritualisticwashingcancleanpots,
pans,clothesandskin.But watercan
do nothing to cleansethe mind of
man-it cannot r each him
spiritually.
But John's baptismadded more
colorto the pictureof God'splan of
salvation.It pointedto the Jewish
need to improve in keeping God's
eternal law. It insistedthat they
shouldacceptthe government of that
law. John recognizedtheir mental
approachto life must be in accord
with God'sdirection.
Peoplemustdevelopthe discipline
and volitionto live by everyword of
God (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3). John
knewthat evenmorethanthiswould
be requiredif peoplewere going to
finally enter into the Kingdom of
God. He said:"I indeedbaptizeyou
with water unto repentance:but he
[Jesus] that cometh after me . . .
shallbaptizeyou with the Holy Spir-
it, and with fire" (Matt. 3:l l).
Baptismwith the Holy Spiritis the
ultimate baptismtoward which we
press.Thisis the highestformof bap-
tism.
The only way that sin-which is
the result of distortedmental ac-
tion-can be remitted,scrubbed out,
paid for, is through death (Rom.
6:23).If we wereleft to pay for our
own sins,deathwoulddescendupon
us and therecouldbe no hopefor the
future.Only blackoblivion!But God
is mercilul.
Evenwhilewe wereyet in our sins
Christdiedfor us.He paidthe entire
debt which encumbersus. We are
free whenwe acceptHis paymentin
our stead and so can live (Rom.
5:8-9).
But that is not to say we just use
the sacrificeof Christ and blithely
pursue our own wa1-.A complete
change is demandedwhen such a
great price has beenpaid so that we
can live-for we would have died
withoutthis payment.
Since Christ has beenwilling to
die for us, thenwe mustbe willing to
die for Him. When we are baptized
we pictureour willingness to partici-
patein death,just as He did,in order
that goodness,godliness(god-like-
ness),will prevailin our lives(Rom.
6:3). We will imitate the way He
lived.He didn'tbreakthe law of God
in one little point (Matt. 5:18-20).
Neithershouldwe!
He died horribly,ignominiouslyin
orderthat peoplewho recognizetheir
shortcomings could be washedclean
and givena new life-a changed,re-
pentant,spiritualway of living.
Baptismpicturesthe burialof our
old ways.A willingness to let our old
ways go down into the grave to
moulderaway to nothing-the pu-
trescenceof our own ways covered
andeatenup by death.ReadRomans
6:4-6with thesethoughtsin mind:
"Thereforeweareburiedwith him
by baptisminto death:that like as
Christ was raisedup from the dead
by thegloryof the Father,evensowe
alsoshouldwalk in newness of life.
For if we havebeenplantedtogether
in the likeness of his death,we shall
be also in the likenessof his resur-
rection:Knowingthis, that our old
man is crucifiedwith him. that the
bodyof sin might be destroyed. that
henceforth we shouldnot sene sin."
We, because we are sinners. die in
baptism from a spiritual point of
view.We no longerallowthe inordi-
nate desiresof our fleshl1-. sensual
existenceto dictate.Christ became
sin so we could live righteousl;*-
without sin-without breakingthe
law (II Cor. 5:21).
You and I areto bespiritualllcru-
cifiedwith Christ.Then His mind-
spirit-enters us. We live as Christ
wouldlive.He gaveHimselffor usto
thatpurpose (Gal.2:20;Rom.6:6-7).
The Christianis deadto the old wavs
of the naturalman (Rom.6:l l-12).
He no longerconformsto the waf in
which peoplenaturally respondto
life. His mind is renewed.He proves
what God wantsand doesit (Rom.
l2:2).
This way is entirely-different. The
spiritualimmersionwhichaccompa-
nies water baptism cleansesthe
man's mind. Materialistic,egotisti-
cal, vain, worldly, carnal, sensual
stimuli no longerprevail.All ways
that arecontraryto the spirit are now
abhorrent.
That spiritual immersion-bap-
tism-is promisedto all repentant
people.On the day the New Testa-
mentChristianChurchwasfounded,
conscience-stricken convertsim-
ploredthe apostlesto tell them what
they neededto do to get right with
God. Petergavethem the authorita-
tive,simpleanswer:"Repent,and be
baptized.. . and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts
2:38).
Those people,and all truly bap-
tized Christianssince,werebaptized
(immersed)into one body and have
all beeninfusedwith the Holy Spir-
it-the holy mind of Christ.
To havethat spiritualmind means
is washed
that thefilth of naturalness
out. The man now thinks,acts and
doeswhatGod wantshim to. He is a
begottenspiritual son of God. One
dayhewill be borninto theveryfam-
Suddenexperlence...
process?
orlifelong
How do you deline the word
conversion?An adootionof re-
ligiousbelief?A "born-again"
experience?Contraryto popu-
lar belief,the Bibleteachesthat
there is more to conversion
than a singularevent,a one-
time change. In the booklet
Just What Do You Mean-Con-
version? Herbert Armstrong
suppliesvaluableinsightson
the subject.Requestyour free
copy by writ-
ing to one of
the addresses
at the end of
this publica-
tton.
ily of God to be with the Fatherand The baptizedChristian comesup We havea free bookletentitledAll
the Son forever. out of his watery gravewith an alto- About WaterBaptism.Thevery next
Baptism brings together,in sym- gether different mind-a different thing you shoulddo-to pleaseGod
bolic grandeur,threewonderfulgifts way of thinking about life and the and help yourself-is to sendfor it.
from God: l) the preciousredeeming way to solveits problems.It is as if The bookletanswerssuch questions
blood of Christ, 2) the water of re- he.like Christ.had beenresurrected. asl-ls water baptismessentialto sal-
generation, and 3) the Holy Spirit. The restrictionsofthe fleshno longer vation?What aboutthe "thief on the
Baptismpicturesthecompletecover- predominateand encumber. cross"?Was he savedwithout it?
ingof a deadbody,placingit in a watery New valuesexist.A newlife is be- What is the properform, or mode-
grave.But aswehaveseen,muchmore gun. The old life-the old way-the sprinkling,pouring or immersion?
ispicturedin thisillustration. old man-is left dead in the grave. Shouldbabiesand childrenbe bap-
Evenas the old, deadbody of the Spiritual values take precedence. tized?Supposeyou werebaptizedby
convertis entombedin baptism,it is Every effort is madeto satisfyGod. a ministeryou havesincelost confi-
literally washedand cleansed. This Not many peopleunderstandhow dence in. Should you be baptized
completeimmersionand washingof God has intended,from the begin- overagain?
the exterior symbolizesthe inter- ning, that all men shouldbe bap- Evenif you are alreadybaptized,
nal-mental-moral-washing and tized. You now know about this there is probably much more that
regeneration of the mind. A man is gloriousfundamentaltruth of the you needto knowand do if you truly
what his mind thinks. Christianreligion. desireto serveGod as He savs.

"Laying on of Hands"
T-rHrs doctrineis of criticalimpor-
I tanceto Christianitybecause it
shows that God works and
^
dealswith mankindthroughfallible,
imperfecthuman beingsHe chooses
and setsapart for His purpose.
From the booksof Mosesto the
book of Revelation,we find the lay-
ing-on-of-hands ceremonyusedin a
widevarietyof circumstances.
It wasperformedasan officialcer-
emony, generally by an individual
ordainedor commissioned by God.
The ceremonycenteredaround
God's servant praying aloud as he
placedhis handson the recipientof
his petitions.It wasa formal request
to God, usually for a specificbless-
ing,gift or authorityasin ordination.
Usually a simple,short ceremony,
but filledwith meaning.
Let's noticesomeof the interesting
andvariedwaysin whichmenof God
haveusedthe laying on of hands.
Ordination. One of the earliestre-
cordedbiblical examplesof this doc-
trine is foundin Exodus29 duringan
ordinationceremony.And strangely
enough,the handswerelaid on ani-
mals by the personsbeingordained.
Here is how it happened.
In Exodus28:l God commanded
Moses to set apart Aaron and his
four sonsto be priests.
In Exodus29:10we read:"Then
6
bring the youngbull to the Taberna-
cle, and Aaron and his sonsshall /ay
their hands upon its head;and you
shallkill it beforethe Lord, at the en-
tranceof theTabernacle"(TheLiving
Bible).Versesl5-20 statethat they
wereto do likewisewith thetworams.
Why did they do this?Aaron and
his sonswerecommanded to lay their
handson the animals'headsto sym-
bolize their sins, their guilt being
transferredto the animals which
then sufferedthe penalty of sin
Aaron and his sons should have
received-death.
Of course,this all had symbolic
meaningsince only Christ's blood
really atonedfor sin.
Thelayingon of handsin thisexam-
plesymbolized thecleansingandpurify-
ingof theprieststhroughthetransferal
of theirsinsto theanimals.
We will soonseethat the layingon
of handsoften symbolizes a transfer,
transmittal or granting of special
gifts, blessingsor authority-ele-
ments that are literally priceless.
Thingsthat are only God'sto give.
"Then bring the Levites to the
door of the Tabernacleas all the
peoplewatch. There the leadersof
the tribes shall lay their hands upon
them, and Aaron, with a gestureof
offering, shall presentthem to the
Lord as a gift from the entirenation
of Israel.The Leviteswill represent
all the peoplein servingthe Lord.. . .
In this way you will dedicatethe
Levitesfrom amongthe rest of the
peopleof Israel,and the Levitesshall
be mine. After you have sanctified
themand presented themin this way,
theyshallgo in and out of the Taber-
nacle to do their work" (Numbers
8:9-ll, 14-15;The LivingBible).
Ofcourse,theleaders'hands hadno
magicalor mysticalqualities.They
merely symbolizedand formally em-
phasizedthat God,not man,gavethem
authorityandsetthemapartfor a par-
ticular job. God commissioned them
andissuedthemauthorityandjurisdic-
tiontodoHiswork.
This againdemonstrates oneof the
greatlessons ofthelayingonofhands-
that God worksthroughman----even in
ordainingHisownservants.
The WorldwideChurch of God
practicesthis doctrine today in or-
dainingqualifiedmen to be deacons
and ministers(and qualifiedwomen
to be deaconesses).
Notice the New Testamentexam-
ple of ordainingdeaconsin Acts 6.
The twelveapostleshad chosenseven
men to be deacons,"Whom they set
before the apostles:and when they
had prayed,theylaid their handson
them" (verse 6').
Acts l3:2-3 records the ordi-
 nations of Barnabas and Paul.
"As they.ministered to the Lord,
and fasted,the Holy Ghost [Spirit]
said,Separateme BarnabasandSaul
I for the work whereuntoI havecalled
them.And whenthey had fastedand
prayed,andlaidtheirhandson them,
theysentthem away."
Again,God'swill wascarriedout by
His ministersprayingandlayinghands
on the onesHe had chosen.This was
anotherexampleof God'sissuingau-
thority throughHis alreadyordained
andchosen humanservants.
Receiving the Holy Spirit. Christ
eavethe ministersof His Churchthe
3uthorit!'to baptizethosewho have
:rulr repentedof their sins. Along
rith the ph1'sical act of baptismis
rromi:ed the Holy Spirit-through
:ke laringon of hands.
\fiilions have supposedlybeen
:,::::zed. but very' few have had
iaid on them for the receiving
-:cs
f :he Holl'Spirit after baptism.
\tltice the example in Acts 8.
P:riip nent to the city of Samariato
preach the gospel. Many believed
and were baptized.When the apos-
tles in Jerusalemheardthat the gos-
pel had been preachedat Samaria,
they sent Peter and John, "Who,
when they were comedown, prayed
for them,that theymight receivethe
Holy Spirit:(For asyet he wasfallen
upon noneof them: only they were
baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus.)Thenlaid theytheir handson
them, and they receivedthe Holy
Spirit" (verses l5-17).
Notice,theyhad beenbaptizeddays
or evenweeksbeforeand had not re-
ceivedthe Holy Spirit.God had with-
held it until Peterand John had laid
handson them.Godrespected theorder
and authorityHe vestedin His minis-
ters.He grantedHis Spirit whenthey
laidhandson them.(Write for our free
reprints"How You Can Be Imbued
With the Powerof God" and "You
NeedGod'sHolySpirit.")
An interestingsidelightto Acts 8
is the story of Simonthe sorcerer.
He too was baptized in Samaria
when the others were. After he saw
that the othersreceivedthe Holy Spirit
when Peter and John laid handson
them and prayed, he desperately
wantedthe powerto do the same.
"And when Simon saw that
throughlayingon the apostles' hands
the Holy Spirit wasgiven,he offered
them money,safing. Give me also
this power,that on whomsoever I lay
hands, he may receive the Holy
Ghost[Spirit]" (versesl8-19).
The point is, Simon recognized
that the apostles
reallydid haveGod-
givenauthority-authority which he
sawdemonstrated throughthe laying
on of hands.
Healing. Christ set the examplein
healing. Luke 4:40 states, "Now
when the sun was setting,all they
that had any sickwith diversdiseases
broughtthem unto him; and he laid
his handson everyone of them, and
healedthem."
Mark 6:4-5relatesanotherexam-
ple. When Christ cameto His own
community. He found such little
faith that He remarked:". . . A
prophetis not without honour,but in
his own country,and amonghis own
G o d i s ...d e a lin g with
mankind today through a
physical group of human
beings,a Church doing
His Work.
kin, and in his own house.And he
could theredo no mighty work, save
that he laid his hands upon a few
sickfolk. and healedthem."
In Acts 28:8we find that Paulalso
laid his handson Publius'father to
healhim.
ConcerningHis true ministers
Christ stated:". . . They shall lay
handson the sick,and they'shallre-
cover" (Mark 16:18).While many
professingChristiansknow nothing
of God's promise to heal, others
make a public mockeryand display
of what they think is the healing
powerof God.
James5:14 is a commandfrom
God to thosewho are sick:"ls there
any sick amongyou?Let him call for
theeldersof thechurch:andlet them
prayoverhim,anointinghim with oil
in the nameof the Lord." No minis-
ter's handsare specialor holy. No
oliveoil hasany mysteriouspower.It
is God Himself who healsthrough
His Holy Spirit; but He has pre-
scribeda physicalact to show our
faith and trust in Him and to show
our acceptance of the authority He
has placedwith His servants.
The bookof Genesis containsa very
moving exampleof the laying on of
hands when Jacob blessedhis two
grandsons. Jacobwasan old man and
knewhis time wasshort.He askedhis
sonJosephto bringthetwoboysto him.
"Israel [Jacob]washalf blind with
age,sothat hecouldhardlysee.SoJo-
sephbroughtthe boyscloseto him and
he kissedand embracedthem.And Is-
rael said to Joseph,'I neverthought I
wouldseeyou again,but nowGod has
letmeseeyourchildren too.'
"Josephtookthe boysby the hand,
bowed deeply to him, and led the
boys to their grandfather'sknees-
Ephraim at Israel's left hand and
Manassehat his right. But Israel
crossed his armsashe stretchedthem
out to lay his handsupon the boys'
heads,so that his right hand was
upon the head of Ephraim, the
youngerboy, and his left hand was
uponthe headof Manasseh, the old-
er. He did this purposely.
"Then he blessed Josephwith this
blessing: 'May God, the God of my
fathersAbrahamand Isaac,the God
who has shepherded me all.my life,
wonderfullyblesstheseboys. He is
the Angel who has kept me from all
harm.May theseboysbe an honorto
my nameandto the namesof my fa-
thersAbrahamand Isaac;and may
they becomea mightynation"(Gen.
48:10-16, TheLivingBible).
Jacobwenton to blessthe boysin-
dividually,handingdown the bless-
ingspromisedto Abraham.The lay-
ing on of handswassymbolicof this
transferralby God'sauthority.
The layingon of handsceremony
is very relevantto this society-to
youandme!Godis aliveandactively
dealingwith mankindtodaythrough
a physicalgroupof humanbeings,a
ChurchdoingHis Work.And He has
providedin this day, as the Bible
recordsHe always has, spiritual
guides,ministers,to representHim,
to oversee His Church.And He has
giventhem a certainamountof juris-
dictionto carry out theirjobs.
The layingon of handsis the out-
ward ceremonyused in the delega-
tion and useof that authority.God
respectsit and we shouldtoo!
 "Resurrectionof the Dead"
1 1 That is therealhopeof thetrue
\A/ Christian? Will he spend
v v eternityloungingin idleness
and ease?Or will the resurrected,
newbornChristianspendeternity in
happy, but productive,activity-
faithfullyservinghisCreator?
Most professingChristianshavea
rather foggy ideaof what future life
in the Kingdomof God will be like.
They know very little about biblical
teaching concerningthe "resur-
rectionof the dead"-yet this is one
of the basic doctrinesof the Bible
(Heb.6:2).
But do you realizeyou can know
what it will be like in the next life?
The ProphetIsaiah wrote: "Since
the beginningof the world men have
not heard,nor perceivedby the ear,
neitherhath the eyeseen,O God,be-
sidethee,what he hath preparedfor
him that waiteth for him" (Isa.
64:4\.
But the Apostle Paul explained
that a Christian can comprehend
what God haspreparedfor thosethat
love Him. "But God hath revealed
them unto us [true believers]by his
Spirit: for the Spirit searchethall
things,yea,the deepthingsof God"
(I Cor. 2:9,l0). Many scriptures
speakof this"mystery"(Rom.l6:25;
Eph.3:3,5,9;Rev.l0:7).
Satan has deceivedthe whole
worldon thisall-important subjectof
the resurrectionof the dead (Rev.
l2:9). Many scripturesrevealthat
the wholeworld is in darkness,igno-
ranceand superstition.
The plain Bible teachingon the
subject of the resurrection(s)has
been submergedin darkness for
many centuries.There are no Bible
commentariesor dictionaries to
which you can go to get the truth on
this subject.
Invariably,you aregivena noxious
mixture of truth and error-light
and darkness.
But it is high time for professing
Christiansto go directlyto the Word
of God to learn the real. unadulter-
ated truth.
I
How deceivedhas the world be-
comeon this vital subjectof the res-
urrections?
A commonbelief is expressedin
the 1972edition of The lUorld Book
Encyclopedid:"Most Christiansbe-
lievethat on the last day of the world
all the dead will cometo life. They
call the day, JudgmentDay, because
God will judge everyone"("Resur-
rection,"XVI, p. 245).
Some believethat at death their
"souls" go immediatelyto heaven,
purgatory,limbo or hell.
"The WestminsterShorter Cate-
chism (questionxxxvii.) states the
doctrinethat the bodiesof the dead
rest in their graves till the resr.rr-
rection.but that their soalsdo imme-
diatelypassintoglory Iheaven]. This
was the view of the Reformers"
("Death," The New Schaf-Herzog
Encyclopedia of Religious Knowl-
edge,l9ll, p. 382).
According to this teaching the
"body" must restin the gravetill the
"soul" can be reunitedwith it at the
resurrection.
If the righteousare already in
heavenlybliss, is it logical to think
that they wouldbe madeto returnto
this earth to be reunitedwith their
"bodies"?
IEditor's note: For an in-depth
look into the falseconceptsof heav-
en,hell and the immortalsoul,write
for thesefree publications:"What Is
Man?" What Is the Reward of the
Saved? and Is There a Real Hell
Fire?
Thereare severalreferences in the
Old Testamentto the resurrection.
but only the ProphetDanielbeginsto
hint that there might be more than
one resurrection.
Danielwrote:"And manyof them
that sleepin the dust of the earth
shall awake,someto everlastinglife,
and some to shame and everlasting
contempt [or abhorrence]"(Dan.
l2:2).
And in the New Testament,Jesus
Christsaid:". . . The houris coming,
in the whichall that are in thegraves
shall hear his voice,and shall come
forth; they that havedonegood,unto
theresurrectionof life [eternal];and
they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation [judg-
mentl" (John5:28,29).
The Apostle Paul, when he was
speakingbefore Felix, the governor
of Judea, said that he had "hope
toward God" of a resurrection,in
which, affirmedPaul, the Jewsalso
believed.He plainly told Felix "that
there shall be a resurrectionof the
dead, both of the just and unjust"
(Acts24:15).
In noneof the previous passagesis
the time factor specified.However,
otherNew TestamentScripturesdo
clarify it.
Paulwroteat lengthregardingthe
resurrection(s) in I Corinthians15.
"For asin Adamall die.evensoin
Christ shall a// be madealive. But
every man in his own order: Christ
the firstfruits; afterward the1,that
are Christ's at his [second]coming.
Then cometh the end. . ." (verses
22-24).
Now if one turns to the twentieth
chapter of Revelation,he can see
whatis meantby "the end."Paulwas
referringto the end of the one-thou-
sand-yearreign of Christ and the
saintson thisearth.It will not be un-
til sometimeafter the thousandyears
are overthat the secondresurrection
occurs(seeRev. 20:7-12).
JesusChrist is depictedin Revela-
tion l9:l l-21 ascomingon "a white
horse"and then"he shall [in the fu-
turel rule them [the nations]with a
rod of iron" (verse| 5).
The resurrectedsaints(ioined by
the livingsaints)will be caughtup to
meetChrist in the air at His second
coming,and theyas kingsand priests
will "reign on the earth" (Rev.
5:I 0).
To these saints Christ promises:
"He that overcometh. . . to him will
I givepoweroverthe nations:and he
shallrule them [underChrist] with a
rod of iron . . ." (Rev.2:26,21).
But whenand how will theseglori-
 fied, then-made-immortalsaintsrule
w i th C hr is t ' l A nd lor h o w l o n g ?
The Apostle John was inspired to
g i ve th e ans wer :" A nd I s a w th ro n e s ,
and they sat upon them, and Trzdg-
me n t w asgiv enunt o t h e m: a n d I s a w
th e souls of t hem t h a t w e re b e -
h ca d e d . and t he y l i v e d a n d
re i g n ed I r ulc d] wit h C h ri s t a th o u -
sa n d .t' ear s '(^Rc v . 20:4 ).
Jo h n . in v is ion.s aw th o s ew h o h a d
bcen bchcaded now resurrected (at
C h ri st' s t r ium phal s e c o n d c o m i n g )
:,n d si vc n gov c r ning p o s i ti o n s o r
" 1 u d -er lc nt ".
Pa u l s ir es inr r r cdc t i ri l so i th i s g l o -
ri L ru src{ ur r c c lir t nt ' r l' t h cs a i n ts ." F o r
:i * c b c- lier ct h. it . les u sd i c d a n d ro s e
.rg .:t:.C \ L' n\ ( ) : hent al s O$ h i C h .r/e e p
,: /. , ' . i . Cit , dbr ing rri th h i m . . . .
F - : -.: I : c hint s el l s h a l l d e s c e n d

-:. : : : r r c hange l .a n d l v i th th e
'- ^ : : G.rd:and the dead in Christ
-
':.;.. r-it ' lr r . r / : t hen w e w h i c h a re
,. , c -'- ndr em ain s hall b e c a u g h t u p
'.-!c'rh c -nit r h t hc m in th e c l o u d s to
n e e t the Lor d il t he ai r: a n d s o s h a l l
\rc e ver be wit h t he L o rd " (l T h e s .
-l :1 .1 -17) .
No te t hat it doesnot s a y th e s a i n ts
w i l l g o t o " heav en" t o m c e t C h ri s t,
b u t th a t Hc will c om eJ ' re tm "heaven"
to th c a t m os pher cof t h i s c a rth , a n d
th e sa i nt s will r is c t o m e e t l l i m " l n
the ttir."
N o w not ic c a pr op h e c y b a c k i n
Zcchariah which showswhere ChrisI
a n d th e s aint swill go a f' tc rth i s re n -
d e zvo u sin t he air :
"An d his f eet I t he L o rd ' s -v e rs e
I I sh a l l s t and in t hat d a y u p o n th e
mo u n t ol O liv es. . . " (Z e c h . l 4 :4 ).
At th is t inr e *, ill Ch ri s t b e a i o n e ?
". . . And t he Lor d m y G o d [w ro te
Zcch a r iah] s hall c onte . a n d a l l th e
s a i n ts rv it h t hee" ( v e rs e 5 ). Bu t
wh crew ill Chr is r go' l B a c k to h e a v e n
wi th th c s aint s ' l" A nd t h c L o rd s h a l l
be ki n g ov c r all r he earth : i n th a t d a y
s h a l lth er ebe one Lor d. a n d h i s n a me
o n e " (ve r s e9) .
It sh ouldnot am az eu s to fi n d th a t
Ch ri st will r et ur n t o s ta n d o n th e
M o u n t o f O liv es . Nea rl y tw o th o u -
sa n d year s ago, His an g e l sto l d th e
di sci p l e st hat Chr is t wo u l d re tu rn to
th i s e a rt h jus t as He le ft i t-a n d H e
h a d b e en s t andingt alk i n g w i th H i s
d i sci p l e sat op M ount Ol i v e t j u s t b e -
fo re th i s pr om is e was g i v e n (A c ts
t .4 -t2 ).
 The Apostle Paul also spoke of
Christ's coming at the "last
trump"-the time when He will
gather His saints unto Himself.
"Now this I say,brethren,thatflesh
and blood cannot inherit the king-
dom of God; neither doescorruption
inherit incorruption.Behold,I shew
you a mystery;We shallnot all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,in a mo-
ment, in the twinkling of an eye,at
the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound.and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.For this corruptible must
put on incorruption,and this mortal
must put on immortality" (I Cor.
I 5:50-53).
These and other scripturesshow
that it is only the righteouswho are
resurrectedat Christ's secondcom-
ing.
John shows that those who had
beenmartyred will be raisedto life
and to a positionof rulershipduring
the thousand-year rule of Christ. But
the unjust will not be resurrected
until the end of this period:"But the
rest of the deadlived not againuntil
the thousand years were finished.
This [referring to thosemartyred-
verse 4l is the first resurrection.
Blessedand holy is he that hath part
in thelrst resurrection:on suchthe
seconddeathhath no power,but they
shall be priestsof God and of Christ,
and shall reign with him a thousand
years"(Rev.20:5,6).
Then,after the thousandyearsare
expired, Satan goes out to stir up
more troubleon this earth.And it is
still sometime later beforethe Great
White Throne Judgment takes
place-at which time the otherswho
are still dead(yearsafter the millen-
nium hasended)are madeto "stond
before God" in the second resur-
rection-when they have their y'rsl
chance.
What is your guaranteethat you
will be resurrectedwhen Christ re-
turns to this earth? How can you
makesureyou will be in the first res-
urrectionto immortality?
It is "they that are C&rist'sat his
coming" who will be in the first res-
urrection(I Cor. l5:23).
But who are "Christ's"? Paul said:
"Now if any man havenot the Spirit
of Christ, he is noneof his" (Rom.
8:9).
It is only thosewho are filled and
10
led by the Spirit of God who will be tions that he gave up everythingin
in the first resurrection."For as order to serve Christ and became
manyas areled by the Spirit of God, willing to suffer "the loss of all
they are the [begotten]sonsof God' things"(Phil.3:7,8). Why?
(versel4). "That I may know him, and the
God's Spirit in us is like a seed power of his resurrcction.. . If by
that is developinginto godly charac- any meansI might attain unto the
ter. resunectionof the dead" (verses10,
Paul continues:"But if the Spirit I I ).
of him that raisedup Jesusfrom the He then went on to explain that
deaddwell in you, he that raisedup "our conversation[citizenship]is in
Christ from the dead shall also heaven. . ." (verse20).
quicken [make alive] your mortal And it is from there-from heav-
bodiesby [the power ofl his Spirit en-that we "look for the Saviour."
that dwellethin you" (verseI l). "Who [meaningChrist] shallchange
Thereit is! If we havethe indwell- our vile body'. that it may be fash-
ing presence of the Holy Spirit in us ionedlike unto hisgloriousbody,ac-
when we die. then we will be resur- cordingto the workingwherebyhe is
rected through the power of that able even to subdueall things unto
sameSpirit-at the secondcomingof himself' (verses20. 2l).
JesusChrist. This redemptionof the body-this
Paul then explainsthat we are changefrom mortal fleshto a spiri-
tual body-is the only hopeheld out
to the Christian.
The resurrected. glorified,immor-
talizedsains will live in eternalhap-
pinessfor ever and ever:"And God
The plain Bible teaching shall wipe away all tearsfrom their
on the subjectof the eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
resurrection(s)has been neither shall there be any more
submergedin darkness pain. . ." (Rev.2l:4).
Each of thesesonsof God, then
for many centuries. born into the very God family, will
"inherit all things;and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son" (verse
7).
Will they ever have to suffer any
earnestlywaiting for that time when moreevil trials? "And thereshall be
we shall be born as spiritual beings no more curse.. . and his servants
into the family of God. Remember, shallservehim" (Rev. 22:3).
Christsaid:"Ye mustbe bornagain" What will theydo throughouteter-
(John3:7). nity? Just sit back and bask in idle-
Paul explainedthis smn-coming ness,ease and luxury, lapping up
new birth: "For the earnestexpecta- never-ending riversof pleasures?
tion of the creature [man] waiteth No, they will be busy."... And
for the manifestationof the sonsof they shall reign frule or govern]for
God" (Rom. 8:19).That is what the ever and ever" (verse 5). And re-
true Christian waits for----earnestly' member. "his servants shall serve
longingfor the time whenhe will be him"-throughout all eternity(verse
born into the family of God-as a 3). Then will cometo passthe in-
divine,glorifiedsonof God. spiredwordsof Hebrews2:8: "Thou
He continues:". . . Even we our- hastput a// thingsunderhis [man's]
selvesgroanwithin ourselves, waiting feet.For in that he put all in subjec-
for the adoption[sonship],to wit [in tion underhim, he left nothingthat is
other wordsl, the redemptionof our not put underhim."
body" (verse23). We shouldstriveto be in the "first
What did he mean by "the re- resurrection"(Rev.20:6).It is spok-
demptionof our body"? Paul begins enof as"a betterresurrection"(Heb.
to explain in the book of Philip I l:35). Thosewho risein that resur-
pians. rectionwill be wonderfullyblessedof
By way of backgroundhe men- God!
 "EternalJudgment"
TERNA Ljudgm ent ! It s c a re s ter how long, no matter how large. far lessthan one smallgrain of sand
some. What God offers is eternal,beyond comparedto the multiple billionsof
Eternal judgment? It makes the physical-incredibly beyond,in- tons of sandon all the beachessur-
otherslaugh. comprehensibly beyond!Physical roundingall the oceansin the entire
To the religious,the foreboding eventsand time spheresno longer world.
threat of "eternal judgment" por- havemeaning.When eternityis con- Eternity as a conceptdefinesthe
tends a fearful apprehensionof a sidered,a million yearsspenton each boundary reachesof the human
majestic throne upon which sits a planetin the entiretyof the universe mind; almost,in a mannerof speak-
sternjudge condescendingly looking becomesbut a moment. ing, the interfacebetweenthe physi-
down upon a quaking skeletonof a Nothing in the physicalcreation cal and the spiritual. Becausenoth-
personwho is barelyableto keephis evenapproximates eternity.Nothing ing physicalis eternal.The physical
kneesfrom knockingagainstone an- physicalis eternal;nothing physical by very definition is subject to
other. will ever be eternal.Eternity by its change and decay (see II Cor.
To those "modern sophisticates" very nature, by the enormousvast- 4:I 8).
not given to religious"superstition," ness inherent in the word itself, To thoseof us who are extremely
the archaicthreat of "eternal judg- transcends the physical.Tirs is what busyeveryday of our lives(whether
ment" is scornfullylookeduponasan God offersus! Eternity. Beyondthe commutingto work,puttingin a hard
ancientremnantout of man'sdistant physical. day at the office,getting our exer-
past, a uselessappendage,a shriv- The humanmind canalmost com- cise,coming home at night, having
eled-uprelic of a bygoneage. prehendthe meaning of eternity. dinner, playing with the children,
Yet in clearly listing "the princi- This is remarkableby itself. We can perhapsgoing out to a party or a
plesof the doctrineof Christ" in He- begin to conceptualize eternity. We movie and coming home to bed-a
brews6:1-2,the ApostlePaul con- can think of that line with no begin- realpackedday in a verybusyweek),
cludestheseabsolutelyfoundational ning and no end;we canthink of the a year,365days,is an awfully long
principlesof God's Word with the unending vastnessof time that time.
phrase"eternaljudgment." occurredbeforeour birth and will go And yet the reality of eternity is
"Eternaljudgment"in the Space on after our death. alwaysthere.It neverleavesus; it is
Age? Sneersof ridicule----or perhaps We can considereternity,but we just overshadowed by what may seem
chills of fright! "Eternaljudgment" cannotcomprehendit. Wheneverwe to be the more pressingneedsof the
seemsto do evervthingto the modern try, we become frustrated. Our moment: How much do eggs cost
mind exceptportra)"what it really brains balk, our gray matter turns now? Will I have enoughgasoline
means, into soup.We can understand just next Sunday?Will I be promotedon
Disregardingfor a moment the enoughto understandthat we can my job? What movie (or cinema)
fine distinctionsbetweenthe Hebrew neverunderstand. shallwe seethis weekend?Whenare
words translated"eternal" (olam, That's the uniquenessof the hu- the in-lawscomingto visit?How are
ad) and the Greek word (aionios), manmind-almost but notquiteable the childrendoingin school?
let's for a momentconsiderwhat the to comprehend.It's there---+ternity Yet, all the while, the absolutere-
Englishword "eternal" means.How is there-but just out of our reach, ality of the eternityof time that will
can we express it? A line that hasno just beyondour grasp. followyour deathis ever-present and
ends, the progression of time Is this coincidental? Isn't it ever-real.If you don't feel its pres-
forever? strangethat what our Creatorholds sure,you are deludingyourself.
How can the human mind ever out to us as the ultimate goal of hu- But we are not left without hope.
conceiveof an1'thingwithout begin- man life-eternity-is somethingwe The Creator God-the God who
ningandwithoutend?Let yourmind are almostable to comprehend,but createdus, who designedour human
wanderin spaceor in time-then in yet with awesomeness of mysterystill minds able to almost comprehend
both. Considerthe earth. the solar surrounding it? eternity, has given us the knowl-
system,the sun.our Milky Way gal- Evenassumingthe entiretyof the edge-knowledgethat has had to be
axy (in which the earth is but tucked universeis as old as cosmologists tell revealed----ofwhat eternitycan mean
away in one small corner),the gal- us-some l0 to l5 billion yearsold- to humanbeings.
axieswithin our local galacticstruc- the totality of this time (asincompre- As Pauldescribed in thisculminating
ture, and then the universeof galax- hensibly endlessas it seemscom- doctrine of God's Church-eternal
ies on beyond-all engrossed in end- pared to our short 70-oddyear life judgment--4od in His Word takesus
lesseonsof time. spans)is but a few fleetingseconds in beyond,takesus to reality, takesus to
But, the physicalis finite, no mat- the endlessvastness of eternitv.It is sanity,takesusto eternity.
t1
 To those steepedin the "heaven-
hell Churchianity"so longofferedas
the biblical model, "judgment"
meansa decisionleachedafter care-
fully consideringevery sin that you
have ever committed from the first
time you ever hit your baby brother
or talked back to your parentsuntil
your last, wheezinggasp as an old
man or womanabout to expire.
How many sins do you think you
have committed in your life? How
long wouldit take someone to reada
detailed account of every one of
them?
Let's assumethe averageperson
sinsaboutoncea day, and sinceGod
saysa sin is a sin,we'll includeall the
"little" sinsaswell asthe horrendous
ones.Consequently,in the averuge
lifetime, the averagepersonmight
sin roughly 25,000times. (Granted,
someof thesesinswouldtake longer
explanations,coveringthree to four
pagesof written materialto describe
the exactsituation:otherof thesesins
might just take one to two lines,ex-
plainingwhy you "had" to utter that
unfortunateword in that unforeseen
circumstance.)
Now,facetiozslyassumingthat in
the future God wouldhaveto consid-
er the livesof, let us say, ten billion
human beings,and giving God the
benefitof the doubt that He couldgo
through all the intricate details of
everysinglesin in the fleetinginstant
of onesecond.it wouldstill take God
roughly (and this is, of course,ex-
tremely rough) 100 million yearsto
fully analyzethe totality of every-
body's sins. And, of course,God
couldn't make a 'Judgment" until
He did such----or so we might be led
to believe.
Isn't it strangethat when we hear
the word 'Judgment" we automati-
cally feel bad? We havea negative,
depressing moodoverwhelmus. Why
does the word 'Judgment" evoke
sucha reaction?Is this what God in-
tended His Word to portray? Is
this what Paul meant in Hebrews
6:2, when he spokeof eternaljudg-
ment?
No it isn't!
But, thank God, our God is the
real God! And the "judgment"
taught by this world's religion is as
fallaciousas it is foolish.
When we read of "judgment" in
the Bible, we should experience
12
wavesof elationandjoy, greatexcite-
ment, enthusiasmand expectation
concerningthe fantastic events
awaitingus in the future.
To givewhat must be a very weak
analogy:Think of the graduationday
after four yearsof high schoolor col-
lege.That'sthe day when,after thou-
sands of hours of hard work and
classes,homework,periodsof ner-
vous exhaustion,tension and con-
cern-finally, after all that, a person
has made it! He has completedthe
course;he hasachievedthe goal.Fol-
lowing each graduation,every indi-
vidual has won somenew place.For
example,many high schoolstudents
havebeenacceptedat the collegesof
their choice;manycollegestudentsin
the medical,dental, law, or profes-
sional or graduateschoolsof their
choice.
There are generallyfew failures;
althoughsomeeachyeardo fail. But
graduationfor the vast majority is a
very happy time-a time of confi-
dence,achievement,successand
jov.
So it will be with God'sjudgment.
Only God's"graduationday" will be
from far more than a few years of
study;it will be from a lifetime-and
the rewardswill be far greaterthan
any diploma or promotion.because
from God's graduationthe rewards
will be eternal.
The 'Judgment" is really a deci-
sion-a decisionthat your Creator.
your personalFather in heaven.the
very God who givesyou breath and
life, the Being that hears 1'our
prayersand lovesyou morethan any
father lovedany son,makesfor 1'our
benefit.
Thejudgmentis whenGoddecides
or informs you of His decisionof
what, where, and how you will be
spendingeternity. And for rhe vast
majority, this will surel;- be the
greatest moment in their entire
lives-incomprehensibly greater
than everythingthey have done be-
fore!
The marriagesupperin Revelation
l9:9 and the breathtakingnew heav-
en and new earth of Revelation2l
can only beginto hint at the magnif-
icentrealitythat Godhasplannedfor
all humanbeings.
As God the Fatherhasstructured
all spiritual and physical reality,
thereare many areasof responsibili-
ty in the future that are neededto be
filled by individual human beings.
This is why Christsaidin John 14:2,
"In my father'shousearemanyman-
sions.. . ." The universeis a big
place, and eternity is a long time.
God hasa lot to do (eventhoughwe
may not know much about it
see Hebrews2:8-9) and He has
createdus to becomesons to help
Him administerall reality forever.
How doesGod decidewhat indi-
vidual responsibilityor position (or
whateverGod chooses to call it) each
of us will have in the future? He
knowsand lovesus personally,and
will choosethe bestpossiblesituation
for everyone of us. We will surely
each haveour own specificareasof
responsibility, our own personallikes
and dislikes-we will not be like sta-
tuesin a garden,or candles in a mon-
astery, set up merely to adorn or
makeGod feelbetter.We will be real
personalities doingrealjobs, individ-
ually and personally.
Our Father,your Father,knows
you personally.He knowsthe type of
work, recreationand situationsthat
you enjoythe most.He hasdesigned
reality to give you everythingthat
you havealwayswanted.
But you havea responsibilityalso.
You haveto qualify.You haveto at-
tain the requirementsfor "gradua-
1isn"-nnd, asyoudo attainthesere-
quirements, God will determinehow
well you havedoneand giveyou your
reward in direct proportionto how
successful you havebeen.As Christ
said in Matthew l6:27, referringto
the time of His spectucularreturn to
earth: ". . . And then he [Christ]
shall rewardeveryman accordingto
his works."
How long does it take God to
"judge" an individual?Does He
quickly cometo a decisionin a few
minutes, upon being given the
"pluses"and "minuses"of your en-
tire life? Or is judgmenta process?
I Peter4:l7 statesthat "the timeis
come that judgment must begin at
the houseof God. . . ." In fact,judg-
ment and development of the people
of God toda;-must take placein or-
der that God may, during this age,
developsucha groupto assistHim in
'Judging,"in ruling.in developing, in
encouragingthe vast multitudesof
peopleto be taughtin the millennium
followingthe return of Christ.
 And what of the multitudesof un-
told billionswho havelong sincedied
and who have forever been forgot-
ten-from those who died in the
NoachianFloodor perishedfrom the
Black Deathto thosewho werevapo-
rized in the atomic-bombblast over
Hiroshima?Are these peoplelost
and forgotten?Is therea 'Judgment"
reservedfor them?
Remarkablyand incredibly,the
biblical "plan of salvation"-which
is a religious-sounding term indicat-
ing the processby which the Eternal
Creator works with the human be-
ings He createdto bring them into
the God family-will eventuallybe
madeavailableto everyone.
That meanseveryonewho hasever
lived, from a fifth-century,newborn
baby that died after two weeksof a
laboredlife in somebackwardprov-
ince in China. to old men who have
lived beyond100 yearsof age in the
Caucasus of CentralRussia.
All who have not been called of
God in this life will eventuallyhave
that opportunityas fully and com-
pletely as anyonehas ever had the
chance-all will have their chance,
their first chance, in the future.
(Write for our free article "ls This
the Only Day of Salvation?")
But whatof us whoare participat-
ing in thisworldwideWork of Godin
oneway or another?Many of us will
not be in future groupsthat will be
called of God. God only gives one
chanceto evervindividual;but that
chancemust be a real chance.
When a personknowsand knows
that he knowsthat thereis a God in
heaven.that that God inspiredthe
Bible and has openedthat person's
way to be baptizedand receiveGod's
Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and be put
into God's Church-then, in all
probabilitl-.he hashad his chance.
But u'e have both an opportunity
and a responsibility: an opportunity
to becalledof God nowin this age,to
helpdo His work of witnessingto and
warningthe world,and an awesome
responsibilityto commit ourselves
and our livesto God in toto now.
When Peterstatedthat judgment
must begin at the houseof God, he
was directinghis commentsto those
whomGod wascalling.
How do you know if God is calling
you? You cannot know from any
analysisof your blood. Examining
your brain waveswon't help,nor will
an electrocardiogram.
There are ways of knowing,how-
ever. Are you moved deeply when
you read your Bible? Do you really
beginto seethe plan of God as out-
lined from Genesisto Revelation?
Are you fascinatedand excited by
spiritualconceptsyou seeexpounded
and explained?
And what aboutyourown personal
life? Do you seeyourselfas God sees
you? Do you feel, on one hand, ex-
cited and enthralledat the prospects
for the future,at the reasonwhy God
createdyou; and, at the sametime,
do you see yourself as a worthless
worm, a disobedientfleshly being
who desperately needsto be forgiven
of his sinsby his Saviour?
Finally, do you yearn for the op-
portunityto associate and fellowship
with peoplewho havesimilarfeelings
to your own who are themselves thor-
oughlycaptivatedby the opportunity
to participatein this worldwideWork
of God?
God in this end time, as the return
of JesusChrist soonapproaches, as
the needto extendand establishHis
Work over the entirety of the world
increases, hasraisedup His Church.
There are now hundredsof conse-
crated and ordained ministers
throughoutthe world (and especially
lf t/ou'dLiketoKnowMore
Manyhundredshavewrittenasking
if we haverepresentatives in theirlocal
areasto counselwith them personally
and to answertheirquestions
The answeris yes, we do
The WorldwideChurchof God sta-
tions personalrepresentatives (most
are ordainedministers)in the United
Statesand BritishCommonwealth and .
manyotherareasof the world.These
local ministerswill visityou, if invited,
directlyin your own home.
So if you have spiritualmattersto .
discussor questions io ask aboutbibli-
cal topics such as repenlance,bap-
tism,etc., pleasefeel free to writeus
and request a private appointment.
W o rl d w i d e m ai l i ng addresses and .
phonenumbersare as follows:
. U n i te dS ta te s:P .O. B ox 111, P asa- .
dena,Calitornia 91123(or simplydial
thistoll-freenumberin the continental
in the United States,England,Cana-
da and other English speakingna-
tions)whosesolefunctionis to work
with, encourage,help and to serve
thosepeoplewhom God is calling.
If you haveany questionsthat you
would like answeredregardingthe
Bible,God'splan of salvation,God's
true Church, or your personallife,
pleasedo not hesitateto makeuseof
theseministerswhom God has pro-
vided for you. If you want to meet
people who have similar views to
yours---otherswhom God has placed
in His Church-y' God is calling
yott, or if you simplywant somespir-
itual helpand advice,pleasewrite to
as and we will immediatelyinform
you of thosein God'sministry.Or if
you would prefer faster service,
pleasedial this toll-free number in
thecontinentalUnitedStates:l-800-
423-4444.(Readers in California,
Alaska,and Hawaii may call 213-
577-5225collect.)
You may beverysurprisedto learn
that God's ministers are available
within or near your hometown.
Again,if you want to meeta minister
of God, write to us. (Worldwide
mailing addressesare on the back
pageof thisreprint.)If God is calling
you, it is your responsibility.For
"the time is come that judgment
must beginat the houseof God."
U.S,: 1-800-423-4444. In Calilornia,
Alaskaand Hawaiicall 213-577-5225
collect).
. UnitedKingdom, Eire,EuropeandMid-
dl e E ast:P .O. B ox 111.S t A l bans.
Herts.,EnglandAL2 2EG(or dialthis
number i n U .K .: R adl ett I092 761
26701.
New Zealandand Pacificlsles:P.O.
Box 2709, Auckland1, New Zealand
(or dial Auckland686-114-reverse
the charges).
A ustral i a:P .O. B ox 202, B url ei g h
Heads,Queensland 4220 (or dialthis
number:075-35-4233-reversethe
charges).
Canada:P.O.Box 44, StationA, Van-
couver,B.C.V6C2M2
SouthAlrica:P.O.Box 1060,Johan-
nesburg2000 (or dial this number:
011-216406).