Clear Truth Newsletter – Volume 1 Issue 4 – October 2014

World Tomorrow Commentary 

==================================================================

Herbert W. Armstrong Quote

I found the Bible to be a coded book, with answers to the paramount mysteries confronting all of humanity.

The revelation of these mysteries was lost, even to the Churchof God, although the revelation of them has been preserved in the Bible. Why, then, has the world not clearly understood? Because the Bible was a coded book, not intended to be understood until our day in this latter half of the twentieth century. I learned, in this night-and-day study, why it is the most misunderstood book, even though it is the world’s best-seller. The full explanation or truth of any one subject is seldom made complete and clear in any one passage. Other portions, factors, or phrases of the subject are usually contained in one or several other passages in other parts of the Bible either in the Old or New Testament. A true and full understanding of this subject is profitable only when these perhaps several other passages, scattered throughout the Bible, are put together.

Vistas of knowledge and understanding that have remained the chief mysteries of life to most people were opened to my astonished eyes and mind.  But it is recorded in that book that in these very last days in which our generation lives, the great mystery would be cleared. And indeed it was to my astonished mind.

Time may prove this to be the most important book written in almost 1,900 years. All these mysteries were long ago revealed by the one supreme authority of all knowledge, but in a coded message not allowed to be revealed and decoded until our time.

Author’s Statement; Mystery of the Ages

 ==================================================================

End-time Proverbs

* “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is     to speak. Not to act is to act”.  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

* ‘If you are going through hell, keep going’.                                                                  Winston Churchill

* ‘Life must be lived forward but can only be understood by looking backward’.

* ‘Most people only want selected facts, while others want only the FACTS. In order to  attain the TRUTH, one must embrace ALL of the FACTS’!

Fact or Opinion…?

‘The Kingdom of God is the Government of God, administered by the Family of God, into which we may be born’.

===============================================================

Reflections… 

The TEN COMMANDMENTS of the 21ST CENTURY 

1]  Thou shalt not have the God of the Bible before you.

2]  Thou shalt bow down to every image or idol including politicians, media       personalities, athletes and entertainers.

3]  Thou shalt take the name of the God of the Bible in vain. And make it a  part of your everyday vocabulary.

4]  Thou shalt not keep the Sabbath or the Holy Days, for in six days the God       of the Bible did not recreate the earth—everyone knows that it took life       billions of years to evolve.

5]  Dishonour your father and mother and if necessary take them to court in       order to get your own way.

6]  Freely kill over sixty million unborn human beings with the calculated cold       hearted efficiency of any mass murderer.

7]  Thou shalt commit adultery and freely practise every vial and perverted sex       act imaginable.

8]  Stealing is commendable when it is done with the right attitude.

9]  Lying is necessary, depending on the circumstance and how it appears.

10] Keep up with your neighbours standard of living whether you can afford it       or not.

Society of the 21st Century has so obviously lost any sense of normal human  conscience. With the moral compass of the God of the Bible gone, we are flirting with and looking into the abyss and a fate far worse than that of Rome. But for the activity of the people of God in the last days, this world would experience and suffer ‘UTTER DESTRUCTION’!

=================================================================

REINTRODUCING
the
REAL
JESUS

‘The REAL JESUS and Tithing’

If Jesus were here today, what would He be doing? What are His followers to be doing?

Seal up the words to the time of the end, many shall run to and fro (Dan. 12: 4)—we are in that time! This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached as a witness to all, the world and then shall the end come (Mat. 24: 14)….Accept those days shall be shortened there should no flesh be saved alive (cf. Mat. 24: 22). There is literally no other time like this, with the onrush of the convergence of events that clearly and ominously portend the end of civilization as we know it.

During Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, His literal Body then (when on earth 27- 31 A.D.) was filled with the Holy Spirit. His figurative body now is to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit—to do what? And greater works than these shall you do because I go to My Father (John 14: 12).

The original apostles used the means methods facilities available in their day to preach the true Gospel to the known world this included introducing the historical and real Jesus. Since He was a new figure and quite unknown to the masses (unlike today, although the one known now is false), the responsibility of the original apostles was to explain who He was. The message today in most religious circles has been so gutted and altered that it no longer resembles what the original apostles were teaching, but rather His true Gospel of the Kingdom has been jettisoned and substituted with a message about an entirely false Jesus and another Gospel ‘about Christ’ (11Cor. 11:  4).

How do these religious hucksters fund their works?  Certainly tithing is not mentioned for this would be focusing on God’s law, which they preach has been done away. Hence they resort to all kinds of inventive ideas such as offerings, sales pitches, merchandise for money, begging, pleading, donations, and promises of financial blessings if one would only just give to what is in their minds the obvious ‘work of the Lord’. With this kind of begging and nagging, the average person’s concept of religion is that of a pathetic spectacle of these various organizations and preachers constantly pressuring for money.

Preparing-The-Way!

John the Baptist (a type of Elijah) prepared the way before the first coming, a work of, at the most about 1 ½ years? The work of preparing-the-way before His second coming began in the modern era in about 1934 and has continued to be done through His true followers, even until His soon to occur reappearance. The work of preparing-the-way is being accomplished through the dispensing of the twofold Great Commission of: ‘Preach the Gospel and Feed the Flock’. [This makes ready a people prepared for their God.] The New Testament ‘Temple or Church’ that He will return to!

Although robbing a bank might be an option for some so called Christians, (since most feel that the law has been done away with anyway) in order to fund such a massive operation. Realistically, funding for such a venture obviously would have to be done in some other way.

In the second to last chapter of the Old Testament, (if it wasn’t important, why would they [restate] it at the end?) the prophet Malachi (B.C. 460) was inspired by the one who became Jesus Christ to command?! His true followers to tithe!!

Malachi 3:7-10
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from
mine [ordinances], and have not kept them, Return unto me
and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts, But ye
said, Wherein shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me, But ye say,
Wherein have we robbed ye? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even
this whole nation.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be
meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the
Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

These verses on tithing are prefaced in (verse 1) with the work of God done by John the Baptist and then Jesus Christ Himself. Again the verses that follow (8-12), explain how this ongoing activity is to be funded. Whether it was by the money from the ’bag’ carried by Judas one of the twelve, or the tithe monies given to the apostle Paul and others, or the truly massively funded operation in our day at it’s zenith reaching a mind boggling 200 million dollars annually.

Since the New Testament Church was founded on the apostles and the prophets (Old Testament), Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2: 20)…. and Malachi was a prophet who taught the law of tithing. This doctrine therefore would have been central to the New Testament Church. In fact, most of the Bible in existence at that time was the Old Testament Canon. And remember, this was all inspired by the Word, Logos, Spokesman, the same person who became Jesus Christ, who said; ‘I change not therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed’ (Mal. 3:6) and ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever’! (Heb. 13: 8). The only difference between the law in the Old Testament and the New Testament is that it now is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit instead of on tables of stone. And the ritual or sacrificial law has been rescinded at least during the New Testament dispensation (since Christ is our literal Passover sacrifice).

We might ask why it is that the Apostle Paul’s writings seem to be bereft of any direct citations in the way of commands to tithe—rather there being a number of oblique references? One possibility is that under Roman law, it was illegal to ‘tithe’ to any ‘sect’, or in there minds ‘sub-sects’ of the religion of Judaism. The early New Testament Church of God under Roman law was an illegal entity. This is one reason why we see a continual dance between Judaism (state recognized) of that day and the full or entire truth.

We could ask, whose tithes are they? Who owns them? We read where ‘All the gold is mine’ (Hag. 2: 8), implying that God owns everything! And yet He allows us to keep ninety percent of our income, requiring that we give back to Him only ten percent. And then He promises to bless the faithful tithe payer on that ten percent! There are literally endless accounts of God’s people being blessed over the decades—what we are challenged to do is test Him at His word. Many have been inclined to say ‘I can’t afford to tithe’, when the real answer to that question is that ‘one can’t afford not to’!

The first account of tithing in the Bible is recorded in the account of the slaughter of the kings (Gen. 14: 18-20). Where Abraham the ‘Father of the Faithful’ the main Old Testament personality presumably that all Christians would want to emulate—actually brought tithes to the exact same ‘person’  who later became Jesus Christ! Melchizzadek priest of the most high, prince of Salem received tithes from Abraham. This is later confirmed, that as Abraham gave tithes to this individual, the New Testament Church is to continue doing the same to the individual or ‘priest’ of the New Testament, Jesus Christ—that  is where His figurative ‘body’ is doing His Work!

In closing, let us consider some thoughts on what the New Testament Melchizzadek in the person of Jesus Christ had to say about this entire issue.

…first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made [like] unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually. (Heb. 7: 2-3)

Since Melchizzadek is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is Melchizzadek, and this represents an ongoing priesthood—we, as Abraham, are to pay tithes to that priesthood.

…Levi also, who receives tithes, pays tithes in Abraham. (Heb. 7: 9)

For even Levi (or, the levitical priesthood) paid tithes IN Abraham to Melchizzadek.

In the intervening years (from Moses to Jesus Christ) the Levites received tithes in lieu of Melchizzadek who ABIDES A PRIEST CONTINUALLY! (Heb. 7: 3)

The Levites from Moses to Christ, received tithes on behalf of Melchizzadek.

We must be certain that we are paying our tithes to Melchizzadek (who is Jesus Christ) and His work, where it is being effected. Our tithes go to Jesus Christ / Melchizzadek!

… ‘abides a priest continually’ (Heb. 7: 3)

Melchizzadek abides a priest continually, UNBROKEN / UNCHANGING!

In the World Tomorrow, Jesus Christ will be right here on earth to receive tithes on behalf of the government of God and the Levitical priesthood which will again be functioning in some way.

He is / will be both Prince and Priest!

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter…

From time immemorial the question that has begged to be answered is this—where is this Melchizzadek or Body of Christ? When you find where He / it is—that is the / obvious / activated / authorized / functioning / of that unique activity, you will have found where Jesus Christ and His work is. This is where we (as Abraham and the New Testament Church) are COMMANDED to send our tithes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *