Latest Audio - 2025-09-20
Today’s insane world…
Separating Fantasy From Reality
Let’s start by defining insanity:
“Unsoundness of mind or lack of the ability to understand.” (merriam-webster.com)
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome.” (reddit.com)
“…Mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality.” (dictionary.law.com)
Look at the example of events in the Middle East. After the Hamas attack on Israel on 7th October 2023, and Israel’s ongoing response, the United Nations has come up with the latest peace plan, the two State solution. But this plan has been tried on four previous occasions and rejected by the very people it is designed to help, the Palestinians! The Arabs and Palestinians don’t want a two state solution - they want ONE state - a Palestinian State.
It didn’t work in 1936.
It didn’t work in 1948.
It didn’t work in 2000.
It didn’t work in 2008.
But now, it’s on an ‘irreversible path’ to a Palestinian State?
UN: Backing ‘Irreversible’ Path To Palestinian State
“US, Israel denounce the move for emboldening Hamas and harming the prospect of peace. The UN General Assembly (UNGA), currently in session, approved a resolution on Friday calling for an ‘irreversible’ path toward a Palestinian state. The resolution was an endorsement of the ‘New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine,’ adopted at an international conference in July at the UN headquarters in New York.
Signed by the EU, the Arab League, and 17 other countries, the declaration called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and supported the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission under a UN Security Council mandate. The conference was organized by France and Saudi Arabia and with a declaration ‘lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution’ according to French UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont.
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon said ‘The only beneficiary is Hamas… When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not advancing peace; you are advancing terror.’” (allisraelnews.com)
1948: Israel Is Created As A Homeland For Jews
“The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 is a pivotal moment in Jewish history, marking the establishment of a homeland for Jews after millennia of diaspora and persecution. Rooted in the Zionist movement, which emerged in the late 19th century, this development addressed the need for a safe refuge for Jews, especially in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The founding of Israel is framed as a national liberation, signifying a return to their ancestral land and the fulfilment of a long-held aspiration for self-determination.” (ebsco.com)
History: Two State Solution Rejected
“Several times, from 1936 to the 21st century, Arab and Palestinian leaders were offered a state of their own in which to live side by side with their Jewish neighbours.
REPEATEDLY, THEY DECLINED.
In 1936, in response to the Arab Revolt and increased Arab violence against Jews, the British government appointed a commission of inquiry headed by Lord Peel to assess the cause of the riots and recommend a solution. The Peel Commission was rejected by the Arabs and, by 1938, Britain had declared the plan unimplementable.
In 1948, the Arabs rejected the Partition Plan, which led to the War of Independence. The plan recommended dividing the British Mandate-controlled area of Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish, with Jerusalem designated as an ‘international’ city.
In July 2000, US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat gathered at Camp David for final status negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, it would end in failure, as Arafat rejected Barak’s offer of an independent Palestinian State, which included east Jerusalem as the capital, ‘religious sovereignty’ over the Temple Mount, and for a symbolic number of Palestinians to enter Israel.
In 2008, Palestinian leadership again rejected a land-for-peace offer. This time Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s offer that was comparable to Barak’s during the Camp David Summit in 2000.” (cija.ca)
Qatar: Right To Retaliate
“Qatar has threatened retaliation after Israel’s strike on Doha Tuesday which killed five top Hamas officials. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in a fresh speech condemned the attack as ‘state terrorism’ on the Gulf country’s capital and warned that payback is coming. He said Qatar reserves the right to retaliate, saying, ‘We’ve reached a decisive moment. There should be retaliation from the whole region.’
The Qatari leader continued of the Israeli prime minister, ‘He just violates all those international laws’ - he said through the translator from the Arabic. But for all the tough talk, the reality remains that Qatar has long been host to major US military and naval bases, especially Al-Udeid Air Base - the largest US installation in the Middle East, and is the operational regional HQ for US Central Command (CENTCOM).” (zerohedge.com)
The truth is…
Qatar Violated UN Security Council Resolution 1373
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country’s recent airstrike on Hamas terrorists in Qatar, saying Monday that the Gulf state was in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373. That resolution, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, bars countries from harboring terrorists, and implies that other states have a right to self-defense against terrorists that are being sheltered by other nations.” (breitbart.com)
International Law Supports Israel’s Strikes On Terrorists
“When US Navy Seals flew deep into Pakistan to eliminate Osama bin Laden in 2011, the world cheered and President Obama was rightly lauded for defending America, after the worst terror attack on US soil. Few, if any, stopped to ask whether Pakistan had consented, or the strike violated its sovereignty. Yet when Israel takes out Hamas leaders in Doha, who were responsible for orchestrating the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, those same Western voices rush to castigate Jerusalem.
The hypocrisy is absolutely astounding. What was deemed legitimate self-defence by the West for the United States, is suddenly branded ‘reckless’ or ‘unlawful’ when it is the Jewish state. Just as the attack that took out Bin Laden was just, necessary and entirely lawful under international law, so too was the Israeli strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar.
It needs to be underscored that the Hamas terrorists that were targeted, were not ‘political leaders’. They were terror masterminds, involved in the planning, execution and direction of every facet of the war that Hamas launched on October 7, including the ongoing captivity of hostages.” (telegraph.co.uk)
Netanyahu: ‘No Palestinian State, This Place Is Ours’
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood at a moment it is being pushed in the UN General Assembly, declaring, ‘There will be no Palestinian state - this land belongs to us.’ His audience burst into loud applause, at a celebratory event marking a major housing deal in Ma’ale Adumim this week. Netanyahu’s firm declaration that ‘there will be no Palestinian state’ was a direct challenge on the ground to what’s happening at the United Nations meeting in New York.” (zerohedge.com)
“King Of The South”
Are we witnessing the unification of the Arab states to form the prophetic King of the South? The best way to unify a number of countries with different ideas and histories is to have a common enemy. Israel fits the bill as that common enemy! Note the comment by Qatar: “We’ve reached a decisive moment. There should be retaliation from the whole region.”
Egypt Revives NATO-style Arab Force Plan
“Egypt is pushing to revive a NATO-style Arab military force for rapid defense in case of attacks. The proposal gains traction ahead of an Arab summit, with Cairo seeking regional support.” (jpost.com)
Gulf Cooperation Council
“The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union and military alliance comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.” (en.wikipedia.org)
Gulf ‘Joined Security System’
“The United Arab Emirates condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ‘hostile remarks’ against Qatar, adding that any attack on a gulf state is an attack on the gulf’s ‘joined security system,’ UAE official Afra Al Hameli said on Thursday.” (jpost.com)
Middle East In Prophecy
“…At the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
He shall enter also into the glorious land…” (Daniel 11:40-41)
The Arab population in the Middle East is around 450 million.
The European (EU) population is also around 450 million.
The word “push” in Daniel 11:40 means “to war against”.
It appears the “King of the South” attacks Europe. The armies of the Beast then sweep down through the Middle East, including Israel, and parts of North Africa.
The situation in the Middle East is “ground zero” in prophecy, and needs watching, carefully!
Meanwhile, The Rest Of The World Is In Chaos
EUROPE: Politics Turns Right!
“The FPO are polling 1st in Austria
The RN Party is polling 1st in France
The AfD are polling 1st in Germany
Reform UK are polling 1st in Britain
Europeans are voting for the most right-wing party available.” (x.com)
Germany Wants To Lead A European NUCLEAR WEAPONS System
This looks a “great idea” - or is it insanity? Give the nation that has plunged the world into two world wars control over nuclear weapons…
“Europe stands at a crossroads - one path leads to peace through diplomacy, the other to war through reckless militarization. As Germany signals a historic shift toward leading a European nuclear weapons program, recruiting France and Britain into a unified deterrent, the continent inches closer to a catastrophic confrontation with Russia. But who is the real aggressor here? Is Europe arming itself out of necessity, or is it fueling a self-fulfilling prophecy of conflict?
IAEA Director General warns Germany could develop its own nuclear bomb within months if it chooses, raising fears of unchecked proliferation. The push for a European nuclear umbrella risks escalating tensions, with globalists potentially exploiting war to enforce depopulation and financial resets.
Jens Spahn, a senior figure in Germany’s CDU/CSU bloc, has emerged as a leading voice advocating for a European nuclear deterrent. In a recent interview with FAZ, Spahn argued that US nuclear arms stationed in Europe are no longer sufficient against the perceived Russian threat.
His solution? Berlin must gain access to French and British nuclear weapons while contributing to their modernization - EFFECTIVELY CONSOLIDATING EUROPE’S ATOMIC MIGHT UNDER GERMAN LEADERSHIP.” (thelibertydaily.com)
NATO’s $400,000 Missiles Fail To Stop $11,000 Russian Drones
This is an insane way to wage war. The sums just don’t add up!
“When 19 alleged Russian drones violated Polish airspace this week, NATO scrambled its most advanced — and most expensive — weapons to stop them. Dutch F-35 fighter jets, Italian surveillance planes, and German Patriot missile systems were deployed in a high-stakes interception effort. The result? Only seven drones were shot down, despite each missile costing nearly 40 times more than the $11,000 wooden-and-foam UAVs they targeted. That means if Russia or any other adversary decided to flood the skies with cheap, disposable drones, NATO’s billion-dollar war machines would be outmatched, outnumbered, and financially drained before the first real battle even begins.” (stationgossip.com)
The Financial Order Is Turning Against America
The American financial situation is pure insanity. The US is paying interest on existing loans amounting to nearly $1 trillion. And now they borrow money to pay that interest. This simply cannot go on!
“Foreign governments now hold more gold than US Treasuries, a clear sign the financial order is turning against America. When foreign governments choose gold over Treasuries, it means they no longer trust Washington to protect the value of their reserves. This is the clearest sign yet that the post–World War II financial order is cracking. If demand for US debt keeps falling, interest rates will spike, deficits will explode, and the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency will be on borrowed time.” (citizenwatchreport.com )
Kirk’s Assassination Supercharges Turning Point USA
Here is another classic example of an unsound mind. We are now in an era where constructive disagreement is being replaced by violence, Charlie Kirk being the latest victim.
“Charlie Kirk’s grieving widow, Erika, delivered one of the most powerful speeches by any woman in recent memory last Friday, just days after her husband was assassinated by what has been described as a ‘radical left ANTIFA-adjacent creep’ with a transgender partner. The FBI’s investigation has widened its focus to a Marxist-aligned militant group calling itself the ‘Armed Queers’.
Erika emphasized to the nation, ‘If you thought my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you have just unleashed across this entire country.’” (zerohedge.com)
The School Shooting Industry Is Worth Billions — And It Keeps Growing
Should this situation exist in a sane society? A $4 billion industry protecting children at school with drones?
“On a sunny day in Grapevine, Texas, three drones are buzzing around the head of a test dummy balanced on a pedestal. It’s part of a demonstration outside the National School Safety Conference. ‘We use drones to stop school shootings,’ says Justin Marston, the CEO of Campus Guardian Angel, the company selling the drones. In the event of a shooting, remote pilots fly the drones, housed at the school, at the shooter. They shoot pepper balls and run the drones into the shooter to debilitate them. The technology is one example on a long list of products schools can buy to deter a shooter.
There have been more than 400 school shootings since Columbine in 1999, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. In the wake of those shootings, an industry has emerged to try to protect schools — and business is booming. According to the market research firm Omdia, the school security industry is now worth as much as $4 billion, and it’s projected to keep growing.” (wosu.org)
Growth In The Clairvoyance Racket
“…Most fortune-tellers in France ‘are only trained to defraud people.’”
"As if France did not have enough problems in the real world, now her fake version of it is in turmoil: there is a clairvoyance crisis. As The Times reported last week: ‘The French authorities are under pressure to regulate… after claims by the National Institute of Divinatory Arts that three quarters of the country’s 100,000 or so fortune-tellers are incompetent and dishonest.’ Yes, the nation’s respectable charlatans are appalled by the decline in standards, caused by the proliferation of online fortune-telling. The institute’s chairman, Youcef Sissaoui, said most fortune-tellers in France ‘are only trained to defraud people’ and estimated that at best 5 per cent of them were ‘honest and really competent’. What the astrologer never does is to suggest the client has the slightest possibility of moral failings. It is all in THE LANGUAGE OF FLATTERY AND REASSURANCE.” (thetimes.com)
The Bible Warning!
“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE SEEK UNTO THEIR GOD? for the living to the dead?
Modern translation - “But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?”
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:19-20)
Speaking Biblical Truth Is Inherently Dangerous
“Many people I have spoken to remain in shock, disbelief and tears over the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It is a reminder that speaking truth, particularly Biblical truth, is inherently dangerous in a world where truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.
To the earth dwellers in the Tribulation Period, God’s truth causes such severe physical and mental pain, the death of the two witnesses will be celebrated as an international holiday.
How could people act so wickedly? Wonder no more. The vile reactions which have flooded social media in response to the death of Charlie Kirk demonstrates that the same blackened heart which exists in the future earth dwellers is just as prevalent in the church age.” (harbingersdaily.com)
The Truth Will Set You Free
The Answer To Today’s Insanity
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Real Freedom Is Coming
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end…” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
“But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.” (Micah 4:4)
“Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.” (Isaiah 32:15)
Even The Nature Of Animals Changes
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Neither Shall They Learn War Any More
“And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)
“You don’t have to believe it!
It will happen, regardless.
It is sure – the world’s only sure hope.
This advance good news of tomorrow is as certain as the rising of tomorrow’s sun.”
Keep this picture in mind as we observe God’s Feast of Tabernacles - the reality is not far off!
Are We Ready?
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7)
This year of 2025 seems to have sped past and it seems incredible that the Opening Night service of this year's Feast is just a little over three weeks away – the evening of Monday October 6th. Those who have been given the job of organising a Feast site would tell you how much thought and how many hours of work goes into making the eight days profitable and enjoyable for all. And of course for some there are visas to apply for, plane tickets to buy, permission to take time off work or school etc etc. Yes, so much goes into getting ready for the Feast. But if we are not careful, all the physical "must-do's" can take precedence over what is really more important for us to consider and plan for. So let's do an analytical "What, How, When and Who" of this vital subject.
Ready ... for What?
- For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
- For every one that useth milk is unskilful [Gk: inexperienced] in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
- But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use [Gk: habit, custom] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
Having the priceless understanding of what and why humanity is on the earth, we know full well that the Feast is not a holiday the way the world looks at it, but depicts a crucial part of a seven thousand year Plan – the millennial reign of Christ and how we can be an integral part of it (Revelation 5:10):
... God cannot start the Kingdom of God until He first trains teachers. And He has called you and me to become those teachers! THAT’S WHY WE’RE THE FIRSTFRUITS. WE ARE CALLED TO BECOME TEACHERS! And it is, let’s see, I believe it’s the 5th chapter of Hebrews (Isn’t it?), where the apostle Paul says to them, “You ought now to be able to be teachers, and you have to be taught just the kindergarten truth about the Kingdom of God. You haven’t learned. You should have been better students.”
WE are NOT CALLED just for salvation; and, if it were for salvation, we wouldn’t have been called at all. You wouldn’t have been called at all just to get you into the Kingdom. THAT’S NOT WHY YOU WERE CALLED. You were called to become a student. You were called to learn how to save others when God’s Kingdom comes, when Jesus is sitting on the throne on this Earth. Brethren, YOU DON’T GET IT ... (Why The Firstfruits – 26 May 1985)
Do we get it - even now? Is it possible to be a member of God's church for decades, and still not be qualified to teach? It certainly appears that just before Christ returns, some will have to go through additional and even intense training and personally experience the Great Tribulation and heavenly signs, in order to get them "up to speed" with aspects of the Way of God that are missing in their lives. Even the apostle Paul didn't take for granted that he "had it made" for the first resurrection ...
- Do you not know that in a race, though all run, only one man gains the prize? Run so as to win the prize.
- Every athlete practises self-restraint all round; but while they do it to win a fading wreath, we do it for an unfading.
- Well, I run without swerving; I do not plant my blows upon the empty air –
- no, I master my body, in case, after preaching to other people, I am disqualified myself. (I Corinthians 9:24-27 Moffatt)
Even understanding the overall Plan of God, plus discerning the implications of Mr. Armstrong as the end-time apostle may not be sufficient depending on HOW we are living! Are we putting to daily use the understanding we have? Are we plugged into the vine, realising that without God's Holy Spirit, we are "poor, blind and naked"?
We need therefore to ask ourselves: Am I fulfilling my calling? Am I ready to teach? You see, before long you won't be sitting in the audience or listening via a computer to that opening night service ... it will be YOU giving it! I don't think that registers with us very often. It certainly didn't with me when I was a student at Ambassador College, but during those four years I was being trained for that very opportunity. And so are you. You may never have had the benefit of the two years of Speech Class that I had, but actually the mechanics of public speaking can be learnt fairly easily. What Mr. Armstrong understood was that knowledge on its own - whether public speaking or even if gleaned from the Bible classes - can be worthless, unless it is also used correctly! Under Mr. Armstrong's direction, the final two years of AC were focused on developing character. And it is this character that has to be built in our lives which will make our Opening Night sermon worthwhile.
WHAT will we teach?
At that time, having recently gone through the greatest time of trial that has ever been on this world, our Feast audience will no doubt be very receptive! What must be made clear to them at the outset is that the root cause of this cataclysmic, worldwide devastation was a SPIRITUAL problem – and one that reared its ugly head perhaps millions of years ago. In fact it has been the source of every minor conflict, every major war, every personal and every family's heartache ever experienced in the history of mankind. And to show this, we will no doubt go right back to the beginning:
Now once again, there are the Two Trees. If I mention it, someone’s going to get up and walk out and say “There’s Mr. Armstrong getting back to those Two Trees.” You betcha! And I’m going to do it again, and again, and again – because you can’t understand salvation, you can’t understand what Christ is doing, you can’t understand the Church, you can’t understand the world or what’s wrong with it, you can’t understand ANYTHING unless you understand the lesson of those Two Trees and the incident of the forbidden fruit. (Transcript – Sermon (1983-04-04) – Sin)
The two ways of life, Give versus Get. One way brought disaster to the world and the other way of life – if kept – will lead to utopia. We'll explain how mankind was created to need another spirit to join with his human spirit. That his mind was designed to be plugged into the spirit of God – the Tree of Life – but it was rejected and instead plugged into an opposing spirit. The satanic broadcast that we have all been subject to and influenced by produces a certain frame of mind, moods, attitudes and feelings, which result in negative, destructive words and actions. That is what has produced the kind of world that mankind has lived in, and the apocalyptic events they will have very recently lived through.
We'll explain that our forefathers, Old Testament Israel, was given the Ten Commandments – a perfect law for humanity, but it didn't benefit them as it should, and didn't bring them peace, happiness and security. So how will the millennium – the reality of this Feast – be any different? It will be because of a different spirit! A heart of flesh replacing the heart of stone, and the love of God made available to all:
"But in the last days [and we’re right in those last days now, in the last days] it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains [that is the nation of God will be established over all of the nations because it’ll rule over all nations] and it shall be exalted above the hills; and many nations will flow unto it. Many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the [nation, it is, or] mountain of the [Eternal], and to the house of the God of Jacob; and HE WILL TEACH US HIS WAYS! [It’s a matter of a way of life. And He will teach us that way of life – the way of give.] And we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion [that’s the law – it is a spiritual law – the way of outflowing love, go forth of Zion,] and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge amongst many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off [a world-ruling government] and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Micah 4:1-3) (The Two Ways Part 1)
HOW we are being taught NOW
- Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
- And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
- And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
- And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
The first two verses above are called the Shema in Jewish circles and apparently are still recited daily in their prayers. But what I want you to notice are the next two verses, because that gives us the approach that will work best for our students in the Millennium – and it so happens to be the way God teaches US, His children, now. Christ assures us: " In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) and it stands to reason that in the meantime, He and the Father are preparing us for that place – by teaching us when we walk in the way, when we lie down and when we rise up.
Currently we have weekly Sabbath services but God expects us to take what we have learnt and put it into practice in every day life and in each and every situation we are faced with. That is why we're not "whisked off to heaven when we accept Christ", but are generally given a lifetime in which to experience life on the physical level, and learn – more often than not – what doesn't work. Our varied life experiences and even the trials are vital teaching tools, used for our ultimate good. On a personal note, living with Parkinsons for many years now has opened my eyes to the difficulties and hardships – both physical and mental – in the life of a disabled individual. And my wife has agreed that she has a far better appreciation now of the role of a carer. Only someone who has been widowed for example, can really know the intense grief accompanying bereavement – and will be well suited to help the bereaved in the future. These temporary adversities – as painful as they are – are allowed for an eternal purpose (Hebrew 12:7-11) ... so we can be refined and purified, perfected and ready for the job at hand (Malachi 3:18).
- For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
- For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
- While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Corinthians 4:16-18)
HOW we will teach THEN
But teaching won't stop at sunset of a Sabbath – as it shouldn't for us now – but we will have the privilege of working alongside our students during their everyday lives; on their farms, their vineyards, their workshops, their family homes ... it is going to be a day-by-day, hour-by-hour and a totally hands-on experience for us, as born sons of God! When they need advice, all they need to do is call:
- And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
- For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
- And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
- And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:18-21)
No doubt there will be sermons at that millennial Feast on practical applications of "the Way" ... the Give approach, rather than the Get, which we have all been subject to. Sermons on how family life can be transformed – so that broken homes will be a thing of the past and divorce will never again be the dreadful curse in society it has been for millennia. (Malachi 2:13-16) No more abusive, violent and unruly children (Isaiah 54:13, Psalm 112:1-3). No more prisons, murders, thieves (Romans 13:9). No more dependence on the medical profession for healing (Exodus 15:26, Psalm 103:3). And instead of famine and food shortages, by applying the Give approach to the land as explained by the Sabbatical year, agriculture will be blessed and not cursed as it is today (Exodus 23:11, Amos 9:13,14). No more worries about inflation, rising prices, making ends meet or having a roof over one's head, as the prophet Micah brings out:
- But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. (Micah 4:4)
God's way of life is the sensible way to live. God's Word gives practical directions for successfully managing finances, building and beautifying marriages and even maintaining good health. Simply stated, God's Law is the way to all the good things in life – to peace, happiness and ultimately an eternal life of satisfying accomplishment! (Bible Correspondence Course Lesson 12 – Christianity is a Way of Life)
WHO will be the teachers?
At the beginning of Millennium it will be "the elect" ... those who have qualified to teach, because if there are no capable teachers, then this world is in dire trouble: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:22) But along with the now resurrected elect, there will be physical leaders to aid us, possibly our children/grandchildren as Psalm 45 indicates: "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." (Psalm 45:16)
As Mr. Armstrong brings out in his sermon "The True Gospel", May 1981:
After that, [Atonement] the Feast of Tabernacles, picturing the thousand years with Satan gone and Christ ruling here. And we will be God beings ruling with Christ and. And then everybody still living on earth will go on and they'll be having children. And in a couple hundred years the earth will be very thickly populated again and everybody will have the Holy Spirit offered to them then, just like it was offered to Adam. But there won't be any Satan around to tempt them. And we will be here to help them then .
Now, this thought came to me. A lot of the teenagers, a lot of children younger, they say, well, if Christ is coming soon and the Great Tribulation and all these troubles, what hope is there for me? Why should I go to school? Why should I do anything? Listen, you young children, if you're here today, you will be the men and women growing up at that time and helping to lead the others, and you'll be leaders.
What a wonderful opportunity for you. The children of other parents will not. You will be. You are sanctified, set apart by God. If one of your parents even is a member of this church, that is, if they have the Holy Spirit of God. (The True Gospel, 1981)
The whole thrust of the millennium is to train the trainers, so we'll be explaining to our students their future role as teachers, and how important it is therefore to grasp the spiritual nature of God's laws – the principle – so they will be able to teach them to the billions and billions of human beings, raised to physical life and given their first chance to understand what life is all about in the Great White Throne Judgment period. (Ezekiel 37 – the Valley of Dry Bones)
And if those raised in the second resurrection accept wholeheartedly and "run" with God's way of life, they too will be made immortal and along with the Bride of Christ and those changed in the millennium, will have the mind-numbing opportunity to take this eternal and all-encompassing way of life to the rest of the universe ... whatever is out there!
- And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. (Isaiah 51:16)
- And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
- And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3)
Learning and teaching will be a way of life for eternity! Are we gaining in the process of "making ourselves ready" now? There may not be much more time in which to do so, and the opportunity for YOUR Opening Night service could come sooner than you think.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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