Editor's Note: This article appears to be a forerunner to Mystery of the Ages. In other areas Mr. Armstrong has written that there are more than seven proofs of the Church of God, you can find the list of 18 Restored Truths on this website. This document thoroughly explains seven of those proofs, however more had clearly been added to the understanding of the Church of God since the production of this document. A condensed version of this article is "Where is the True Church."

Seven Proofs of the Church of God

YOU LIVE in a world of religious confusion. WHY so many different religions? The world has Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, with its many denominations and sects.

Religion is generally regarded as the worship of the Creator or the supernatural-although some Oriental religions are primarily philosophies.

The largest religion in the world, in asserted number of adherents, is Roman Catholicism. Its claim of being the original church of Christianity has won near universal acceptance in the Western world.

But where is the absolute AUTHORITY to identify the true religion, and the one original Church, of the Christian religion?

Or, is any authentic? Communism rejects religion, labeling it "the opiate of the people."

I seriously doubt if anyone has been put through the experience that came to me in settling this question with PROOF POSITIVE.

WHY do most people believe the things they believe? The philosopher C. E. Ayers said truthfully that few, indeed, have ever stopped to ask themselves in retrospect why they believe the things they believe, or HOW they came to believe them.

I have said many times that most people believe that which they have repeatedly heard, read, or been taught, and have carelessly assumed those things to be true without question and without proof.

I was born of stable and upright parents, whose Quaker ancestors had emigrated from England to Pennsylvania with William Penn a hundred years before the United States became a nation.

At age 18 I dropped all but the most passive interest in religion. I had put myself through an intensive self-examination, coupled with a survey of the various occupations and professions, to determine where I belonged-to avoid fitting the proverbial square peg in the round hole. This led me into the advertising profession and business life. I was unusually successful. I had continued through the years diligent study and application. I had planned that my business contacts were largely with "the great and the near great."

Then, at age 34, I was assailed by very disturbing dual challenges. My wife, after our nine years of happy marriage, had begun keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. I was aghast! That, to me, was religious fanaticism! She claimed to have found this teaching in the Bible.

My first upsetting thought was, "What will my business contacts and friends say?" It was a devastating thought, humiliating!

All the arguments came quickly to my mind. They were of no avail. She said she found this teaching in the Bible. "But the Bible says," I protested, " 'Thou shalt observe Sunday.' " "Can you show that to me in the Bible?" she asked.

"No," I replied. "I don't know much about the Bible. My interest and studies have been in the area of business. But I know the Bible teaches Sunday observance, because all these churches can't be wrong, and they derive their beliefs from the Bible."

"If," she smiled sincerely-but to me exasperatingly, "you can show me where the Bible commands Sunday observance, I'll go back to it." There was no dodging the challenge. My marriage depended upon it! Coincidentally, a sister-in-law, newly married and fresh out of college, hurled at me a second humiliating challenge.

"Herbert Armstrong," she accused contemptuously, "you are just plain ignorant! Everybody who has any education knows human life has come by evolution."

I was proud. I had not neglected study and education. I thought I knew the facts about evolution, and I didn't believe in it. But now I had to admit I had never pursued a thorough, in depth research of the question.

The dual challenge drove me into determined, almost night-and-day research. That intensive study continued for six months before I found the proven answer. Yet the study to this day has never ceased.

I was not only angered by these challenges-I was determined to prove both my wife and sister-in-law wrong. Both challenges focused on a common starting point-the book of Genesis in the Bible-although that was only the beginning.

These challenges came at a period in life when I had ample time on my hands. I plunged with intense concentration into the study.

But I did not begin the research in Genesis. First I delved thoroughly into the works of Darwin, Lyell, Haeckel, Huxley, Spencer, Vogt, Chamberlin and Moore, and even into the earlier works of Lamarck and his theory of "use and disuse," which preceded Darwin's "survival of the fittest" hypothesis.

Immediately those writings appeared convincing. They would have to be, to have won virtual universal acceptance in the world of higher education. I readily understood how the field of education had been gripped in the clutch of the evolutionary concept.

Evolution, as I finally learned, is the atheists' attempted explanation of the presence of a creation without the preexistence of a Creator.

This initial stage of my research rudely shook my faith in the existence of God. It brought me to the realization that I had assumed the reality of God, because from childhood I had heard-and therefore accepted-it. For a while my head was literally swimming. Was all I had ever believed mere myth and error, after all? I was awakened to the realization I had never seen PROVED the reality of God. Now I was determined to know the TRUTH! My mind was being cleaned out from ideas and beliefs previously taken for granted.

Of all the writers on evolution, Moore alone had culled out many discrepancies in the theory, yet he, too, went along with the doctrine overall.

But now I had, first of all, to prove or disprove the existence of God. It was no casual or superficial study. I continued in this research as if my life depended upon it-as, in actual fact, it did, as well as my marriage. I studied books on both sides of the question.

Suffice it to say here that I did find irrefutable PROOF of the existence of God the Creator-and I found proof positive of the fallacy of the evolutionary theory. I had the satisfaction of winning the admission of one thoroughly steeped in evolutionary thought (she had spent years in graduate work at the University of Chicago and at Columbia) that I had definitely chopped down the trunk of the evolutionary tree; though, like Dr. Moore, she had been so thoroughly brainwashed in evolutionary theory she had to continue in it, even though she had seen and acknowledged PROOF of its falsity.

Also I had the enjoyment of being able to cause my sister-in-law to "eat those words" branding me as "ignorant." This, of course, was mere vanity on my part, which I had not yet eradicated.

I had proved the reality of THE GREAT MAJESTIC GOD! But my wife's challenge was still tormenting my mind. Already, in the evolutionary research, I had studied Genesis. I knew each of the world's religions had its own sacred writings. Once God's reality was proved, I had expected to pursue the study of comparative religion-to see if any such sacred writings proved authoritative. Through which of these did GOD speak to mankind-if any?

Since I had to research the Sabbath question anyway, and had already delved into Genesis, I decided to continue my study of the Bible- intending to examine in depth the writings of other religions afterward.

In my biblical study I early came across the passage in Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death...." I stopped, amazed. "Wages" is what one is paid for what one has done. Here I was staring at a statement diametrically opposite to all the Sunday school teaching I had received prior to age 18.

"Why," I exclaimed, "how can that be? I was taught in church that the wages of sin is EVERLASTING LIFE-in an eternally burning hell."

Another shock came on reading the last part of the same verse: "... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

"But," I questioned in disillusionment, "I thought I already had eternal life-I am, or I have, an immortal soul."

I researched the word "soul" by means of a Bible concordance. Twice I found the words, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4 and Ezek. 18:20).

Then I remembered I had read in Genesis 2 how God said to the first human, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (verse 17).

In Genesis 2:7 I read how "God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man [dust- matter] became a living soul." This states plainly that a soul is physical-formed from matter. I found that the English word "soul" is translated from the Hebrew nephesh and that in Genesis 1, fowl, fish, and animals, all three, were nephesh, as Moses was inspired to write.

Next, I happened to read where Jesus said, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man" (John 3:13). I researched the heaven and hell teaching further. I saw that the inspired Peter, on the day he received the Holy Spirit, said: "For David is not ascended into the heavens" (Acts 2:34).

I was, in utter astonishment, coming to realize that what I had been taught growing up in church was the precise opposite of what the Bible says in clear language.

This is not the place for a lengthy, detailed account of my intensive search in the Bible-when I was bent on proving to my satisfaction that "all these churches can't be wrong- for their teachings come from the Bible." The essential point here is the simple fact that I did find irrefutable PROOF of the divine inspiration and SUPREME AUTHORITY of the Holy Bible as the revealed Word of God as originally written. Even all the so-called contradictions evaporated upon unbiased study.

Yet, to my utter dismay and chagrin, I was forced to "eat crow" in regard to my wife's supposed "fanaticism." It was not what I wanted to believe, THEN! But by now I had taken a real beating. I had proved truth contrary to what I wanted to believe.

Let me pause here to add a point to what I wrote above, saying most people believe what they have repeatedly heard, read, or been taught. There are two other psychological truisms in regard to WHY people believe what they do. One is that people carelessly accept what those around them believe. Most Thais are Buddhists, because those around them in Thailand are Buddhists. There is the psychological tendency to "go along" with one's peers. One other reason for people's beliefs is that human nature tends to cause one to believe what he wants to believe-and refuse, regardless of proof, what he does not want to believe. There is the old saying, "One convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

That is why I have said the experience I was painfully subjected to in this six months' intensive study was UNIQUE in human life and conduct. I know of no world religious leader who arrived at his teachings in such a manner. Perhaps that is why GOD'S INSPIRED WORD alone-as I proved-is TRUTH. Only GOD is infallibly correct!

I was brought, by the spring of 1927, to a complete MIND-SWEEPING-my mind swept clean of previous assumptions and beliefs and surrendered to the WORD OF GOD which by then I had proved to be TRUE and the SUPREME AUTHORITY.

More, I had been brought to realize my own inadequacy and nothingness. I had been brought to a real repentance-CONQUERED by the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD-and received as God's gift a solid rock-based FAITH in Jesus Christ. I was baptized, and the indwelling of God's Spirit opened my mind to the JOY UNSPEAKABLE of knowing God and Jesus Christ-of knowing TRUTH-and the warmth of God's divine LOVE!

What I once hated I now LOVED. I found the greatest and most absorbing joy of my life in continuing to dig out those gold nuggets of TRUTH from God's Word.

Now came a new enthusiasm for biblical study and receiving the REVEALED knowledge of God.

And I was led to find that ONE and ONLY true and original Church of God, founded by Jesus Christ on the Day of Pentecost, A.D. 31.

I now reveal to the reader SEVEN MAJOR PROOFS that identify it.

Proof One:

WHO AND WHAT IS GOD?

It seems utterly unbelievable! The religions of this world do not know WHO or WHAT God really is! Yet religion is the worship of God. How can one worship what is UNKNOWN?

The only answer is that the Bible reveals that ALL NATIONS have been deceived (Rev. 12:9).

The true understanding of the very identity of God is one proof that the one and only Church founded A.D. 31 by Jesus Christ is, today, the Worldwide Church of God.

It seems inconceivable-but you live today in a world of religious CONFUSION! Among the largest of the world's religions are Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, with its hundreds of denominations and sects. The latter is the largest in number of adherents.

And yet only one religion, neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant, knows WHO and WHAT God is.

Modern science does not know. Higher education does not know or teach it. The intellectuals of the world in the first century were the Athenians. Certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered the apostle Paul.

"What will this babbler say?" queried some in ridicule (Acts 17:18). Others sneered sarcastically, "He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods."

They took Paul and brought him to Areopagus, the supreme tribunal, on Mars Hill.

"May we know," they asked cynically, "what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears."

Here were the world's most "scholarly." Paul was preaching the truth of GOD.

"Ye men of Athens," said the apostle forthrightly and boldly, "I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions [idolatrous objects of worship], I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. GOD that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."

WHO is GOD? CREATION is the basic proof of God. These Athenian Epicureans and Stoics did not even know that. Perhaps the adherents of many religions do not.

But what of the real NATURE of God? Just WHO and WHAT is God? We need a more concrete understanding than to say, merely, that God is the Being who created all. That is the starting point. Only the one original Church Jesus founded in A.D. 31 has the full answer.

It seems inconceivable that, of all the religions and churches in the world today, only ONE is unique in UNDERSTANDING the nature of the CREATOR of all that is!

Mankind could know! God reveals Himself in plain language in His Word, the Holy Bible. But no book has been so distorted, twisted, and misrepresented as this ONE SUPREME AUTHORITY OF TRUTH!

The generally accepted teaching of traditional Christianity is that God is a "Trinity"-God in three Persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is designated as a "Ghost."

By about A.D. 59 the gospel Jesus Christ proclaimed had been suppressed (Gal. 1:6-7). A counterfeit "gospel" had replaced it. From about A.D. 70 there ensued "the lost century" of Church history. All historic record of the true Church of God had been systematically destroyed during that hundred years. The curtain had been rung down on Church activities, and when the curtain of recorded history lifted, an entirely different church appeared, calling itself "Christian." Extreme persecution by powerful forces had driven the true Church of God underground.

The church by the fourth century was more like the Babylonian mystery religion, having appropriated the name "Christianity" (Rev. 17:5).

There had been two heated doctrinal controversies-one called the Quartodeciman controversy between Polycrates and the bishops of Rome on the observance of the spring festival (should Passover or Easter be celebrated?). The other, between Arius, a priest of Alexandria, and the Roman bishops on the Trinity doctrine.

Emperor Constantine, the supreme head of the Roman Empire, called the Nicene Council in A.D. 325 and made both the pagan Easter (named from the goddess Astarte) and the Trinity doctrine LAW!

The Trinity doctrine limited God to three Persons. More of that later.

The King James biblical scholars translated the Greek words for Holy Spirit as "Holy Ghost," under the delusion that the Spirit of God was a third Person.

Also the translators of the 1611 version usually used the pronouns "he," "him," etc., in relation to the Holy Spirit, but not always: The pronoun "it" also is used.

But how does God reveal Himself authoritatively?

If one should ask, "Where, in order of time sequence, do we find the real beginning in the Bible?" the reply probably would be Genesis 1:1, beginning with the words, "In the beginning God...."

RIGHT?

WRONG! In order of time sequence the earliest prehistoric revelation is in the New Testament, in John 1:1-3: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

The Word was one Personage. God was another Personage. Yet the Word was a Personage separate from God-as shown in verse 14: "And the Word was [much later] made flesh, and dwelt among us.... " The Word became Jesus Christ.

The English "Word" is translated from the original Greek Logos, meaning "Word" or "Spokesman." That all things were made by Him is confirmed in Ephesians 3:9, where it speaks of God "who created all things by Jesus Christ." "He spake, and it was done" (Ps. 33:9).

Here are TWO Personages, yet both are GOD. How is that? A man named David Smith may have a son named Paul. But Paul, though a separate individual, is also a Smith. However, Jesus Christ did not become the Son of God until about 4 B.C., when born in human flesh of the virgin Mary. Prior to that, He had ALWAYS existed, even as had God. Christ was originally "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life" (Heb. 7:3).

Now come to Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God...." This was written originally by Moses in the Hebrew language. The English "God" is translated from the Hebrew Elohim-a uniplural noun. It is uniplural in the same sense as the words "family" and "church"-denoting more than one component forming the whole. Not two Gods-but ONE God consisting of more than one Person.

When, only nineteen hundred-plus years ago, Jesus was begotten of God in the womb of His human mother Mary, He was the only human ever so begotten prior to human birth! Yet, as we shall see later, humans may become begotten children of God-after human birth, but preceding a spiritual birth.

Throughout the first chapter of Genesis, the Hebrew name of God is always the Hebrew Elohim, which denotes both the Word and God.

But in chapter 2, Moses began adding another name for God-Yahweh in the Hebrew, usually combined with Elohim: Yahweh-Elohim. In the King James English translation, it is rendered "LORD God," which is somewhat misleading.

It is interesting, at this point, to explain this name Yahweh. There is no one word in the English language which adequately translates it. It means "the self-existent, eternal-living, creative one." The Moffatt translation renders it "the Eternal." The Fenton translation uses "the Ever-Living." Personally, I prefer to use only the one word "Eternal," instead of "Lord."

In any event, the English "LORD" in the King James translation refers to that Person in the Godhead who in John 1:1 is called "the Word"-the very one who later became Jesus Christ.

That leads to an important point in the UNDERSTANDING of WHO and WHAT GOD is. Many if not most seem to believe the God of the Old Testament was the one Jesus prayed to as His FATHER. But many New Testament passages quoting from the Old Testament prove that the one of the Godhead who was born in human flesh as Jesus Christ was the Yahweh of the Old Testament and the Word of John 1:1. That knowledge is a portion of PROOF # 1 identifying the true original Church today.

Jesus came, among other purposes, to REVEAL the Father. Ancient Old Testament Israel knew of only ONE PERSONAGE in the Godhead-although their Scriptures contained the Hebrew Elohim. But to them, primarily, God was conceived of as not only ONE God, but only ONE Person! The truth is, Israelites generally knew nothing of God-the Person to whom Jesus prayed and the Father Jesus came to REVEAL.

However, another technical point is: God only became the FATHER of the GOD FAMILY when Jesus Christ was begotten and born as a human. Yet He may become our Father in heaven when we are begotten by His Holy Spirit. More of that later.

Now notice that God (Elohim) is more than one Person, even though only ONE GOD.

In Genesis 1:26, Elohim said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...." Notice! Not "Let me" but "Let us"-plural, or uniplural.

Then, in Genesis 2:2-3, "On the seventh day God (Elohim) ended his work which he had made. . . . And God [Elohim] blessed the seventh day...."

Then, verse 4: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God (Yahweh Elohim) made the earth and the heavens." Again it was through the Word, in the Hebrew named Yahweh, that the earth and heavens were made-as GOD created all things by Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9).

God reveals that He is spirit-composed (John 4:24). Unless supernaturally manifested, spirit is invisible to human eyes.

Jesus said to His disciples, "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape" (John 5:37).

Later "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Jesus answered, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:8-9). WHY? Because God the Father-if human eyes could see-looks like Jesus. And what did Jesus look like?

Certainly NOT like artists' renderings you have seen which are supposed to picture Him. For one thing, HE DID NOT HAVE LONG HAIR (I Cor. 11:14). He looked like other Jews then in Judea, else the chief priests would not have paid Judas Iscariot 40 pieces of silver to identify Him.

Now notice once again Genesis 1:26: "God [Elohim] said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness [form and shape]. ..." God is described in the Bible as having eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, arms, legs, fingers, toes. Jesus was "the express image of his [the Father's] person" (Heb. 1:3).

If the Holy Spirit is not a Person-a "Ghost"-then what does the Bible reveal about the Holy Spirit?

The natural carnal mind of man simply cannot grasp an understanding of spirit. It is not matter. The Hebrew word for spirit, ruach, and the Greek pneuma both are often translated into the English "wind," "air," or "breath"-because these physical words perhaps most closely explain spirit to the human mind-yet spirit is not physical or material.

The Holy Spirit is the spirit (not Ghost) that emanates out from both God and Christ everywhere in the universe. Through His Holy Spirit, God projects Himself, in spirit, everywhere in the universe-yet both God and Christ have form and shape, even as man.

The Holy Spirit is many things. It is the very LIFE of the immortal God, which, entering into a human, begets him with God-life.

It is the POWER of God by which, when Christ "spake," it was done. It is the POWER by which God stretched out the heavens-created the vast endless universe.

The Holy Spirit, entering into man as God's gift, opens the mind to UNDERSTANDING of spiritual knowledge, unknown to the human mind otherwise. It is the LOVE of God "shed abroad in our hearts." It is the FAITH of Christ which may be given to God's begotten children. It is the POWER of God, begotten within humans, enabling us to overcome Satan and sin.

We have covered the nature of God. Now consider HOW GREAT He is.

King David was meditating on this, and man's insignificance by comparison. He wrote: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Ps. 8:3-4.)

Isaiah was inspired to write: "Who hath measured the waters [oceans] in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? . . . Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. . . . All nations before him are as nothing ..." (Isa. 40:12-17). Then God is quoted: "To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? ... Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power ..." (verses 25-26). Yet, there is much more to come, in relation to David's comparison of God to man, and why God should be concerned about us, in a later installment-and fantastically thrilling it is!

NONE but the Worldwide Church of God today possesses the REVEALED TRUTH and knowledge of WHO and WHAT God is!

Proof Two:

THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD AND CREATION OF HOLY, RIGHTEOUS CHARACTER

The most important feat of creation is holy, righteous CHARACTER.

That is so stupendous an accomplishment that even the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD, in all His matchless supernatural power, cannot create such character instantaneously or automatically by fiat. That ought to take the reader's breath! Is there actually something that even GOD cannot do- by Himself alone?

Such character is the ability of a separate conscious, thinking entity with free moral agency-capacity for free choice-to come to KNOW the right from wrong, good from evil, to make the decision, and then with God's help, exercise the WILL to DO the right or good, even contrary to self-desire.

Now for the moment go back to John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

That is the very earliest prehistoric record. It could have been millions or thousands of millions of years ago. The two eternally living Spirit Personages, who together constituted the ONE God, were ALONE in empty space. There was no physical universe-YET!

But, even as man thinks, and designs and plans before making-so did God, who much later made MAN in His own image.

God-with the Word-first conceived the plan and design to create angels, also immortal spirit beings, composed wholly of spirit.

So God created angels before creating the material universe, as revealed elsewhere in the Bible.

There is the DUALITY principle in God's creative process. Angels were the first thinking, reasoning, separate entities created by God.

Angels were created with minds- ability to know, reason, make choices. But their creation could not be a finished creation until CHARACTER-either good or evil-was developed in them. And this is a PROCESS, to be EXPERIENCED. That character development was the second part of the DUAL stage of their creation.

God initially INSTRUCTED them in His WAY-that of righteous character. It was THE WAY of God's spiritual law-the basis of God's GOVERNMENT.

Then came the time of the creation of the PHYSICAL UNIVERSE. There was a vital connection between the creation of angels and the creation of the material universe. For that, too, was created on the DUALITY principle.

To illustrate, I compare this physical creation to the manufacture of unfinished furniture-sold in stores of most cities. Such furniture may be of fine quality, but lacks the finishing polish, paint or whatever.

So God created the heavens and the earth-the universe with its countless planets in innumerable solar systems and galaxies, including planets such as our Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, etc.

Genesis 1:1, where "heavens" is in the plural in original Hebrew and modern translations, together with Genesis 2:4, which speaks of "... the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Eternal God made the earth and the heavens," indicates the earth was created as part of the material universe-all simultaneously created. Other scriptures imply this.

But, like the unfinished furniture, the universe, including the earth, was not at that time completed. Angels had been created prior to the universe, because they sang together and shouted for joy at earth's creation (Job 38:4-7).

Now we come to the fact of a double DUALITY in the creation of angels and of the earth. For the earth was inhabited by angels prior to the creation of man. Apparently God placed a third of the created angels on earth. They were given opportunity to share in God's creating activities by FINISHING the earth-working in and with its many elements, improving, beautifying, completing it.

This required harmonious teamwork-all working together toward the common God-ordained goal. The earth was the proving ground to QUALIFY them, by righteous CHARACTER development and finishing earth's creation, to share with God the same creative participation in completion of the myriads of planets of the vast universe.

To regulate this effort of the angels, God placed on earth's THRONE the archangel, the cherub Lucifer, to administer the GOVERNMENT OF GOD over the angels.

I repeat: That GOVERNMENT is based on God's spiritual laws-as all governments are based on a constitution of foundational law.

God's spiritual law is the way of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER.

The third of the angels (Revelation 12:4) on earth completed their creation by developing evil character- sinning (II Peter 2:4). The super-archangel Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14) had been perfect in all his ways from the day of his initial creation, till iniquity-lawlessness-was found in him. "Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering ... in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

Lucifer was not satisfied with rule over only the one planet-as the testing ground to prepare him for all planets. He wanted to rule all at once. He said, "... 1 will exalt my throne above the stars of God..." (Isaiah 14:13). He had been created with exceeding beauty, which "lifted up his heart" in vanity (Ezekiel 28:17). He became lustful, jealous and envious of God, decided on a WAR of invasion, attempting to overthrow God on the heavenly throne of the universe. He led his angels into rebellion. These angels "kept not their first estate, but left their own habitations"-meaning this earth! (Jude 6.)

But Lucifer and his angels were cast back down to earth (Revelation 12:4).

The creation of this third of all angels was finished-creation of evil character within them completed.

Once their creation was completed, being spirit, they could never change! And they are immortal!

The GOVERNMENT OF GOD no longer was operative on earth! Lucifer's name was changed to Satan the devil. His angels became demons. Their minds had become perverted for eternity.

Proof Three:

WHAT AND
WHY IS MAN?

It must be as shocking to the reader as it was to me to learn that NONE of the religions or churches but the Worldwide Church of God understands both WHAT man is and WHY humanity was put on the earth!

Science cannot give you the answer. Modern higher education does not know or teach the answer. And, along with these basic and important questions, WHY all the evils in this chaotic and sick world, now facing the number-one problem of whether human life can survive through the remainder of this 20th century?

I ask, HOW can even the most highly educated be so IGNORANT of SO IMPORTANT a TRUTH?

Instead of improving, beautifying, completing earth's creation, the sinning angels brought it to desolation and ruin.

Come now again to Genesis 1:1-2: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. ..."

The original Hebrew for "without form and void" is tohu and bohu- meaning "waste, desolate, deteriorated." The word "was" may also be translated "became." All was oceanic surface -and light had been by angel lawlessness turned into darkness.

Let me here interject a biblical principle. The entirety of a subject is often not stated within the context of one place. There is this instruction in Isaiah: "Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? . . . For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:9-10). But most who try to apply this principle in biblical understanding take each "little" out of context, in order to interpret their own idea into it.

Much directly concerned with what is revealed in Genesis 1 is filled in by other passages of Scripture in various parts of the Bible.

So now, let's UNDERSTAND the background. Earth's angels had not completed the creation of this planet by improvement, development and beautification. Rather, they had brought it to desolation and ruin. The GOVERNMENT OF GOD had been nullified on earth.

And now only God could be certainly relied upon never to depart from the way of His law and His government.

No higher, more perfect kind of being could be created than Lucifer-and he had rebelled. Since GOD ALONE would never deviate or turn from GOD'S WAY, God now determined (or probably had already predetermined) to accomplish the SUPREME creative feat-to REPRODUCE HIMSELF! In God's supreme wisdom He knew this must be brought about through matter!

To prepare the earth for the creation of MAN, God first renewed the face of the earth. This is explained in Psalm 104:30: "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth."

Now back to Genesis 1:2. The earth was in a state of ruin. "... And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

The first thing God did was turn darkness back into LIGHT as originally made. God said, "... Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).

So in six days God RENEWED THE FACE OF THE EARTH (the six days in Genesis 1 is not the time of earth's original creation), preparing it for the creation of MAN! Once again the earth was a perfect creation-but lacking the finishing touches.

WHY did the Creator God put MAN on the earth? To improve the physical earth as God gave it to man, finishing its creation, which sinning angels had deliberately refused to do; and in so doing to RESTORE the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, with God's WAY of life, and, further, in this very process, TO FINISH THE CREATION OF man by the development of God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, with man's own assent. Once this perfect and righteous character is instilled in man and man converted from mortal to immortal spirit, then is to come the INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL- man being BORN INTO the divine FAMILY of God and then participating in the completion of the CREATION of the entire endless expanse of the UNIVERSE!

So, on the sixth day of that (re) creation week, God (Elohim) said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:26).

Man was made to have (with his assent) a special relationship with his Maker! He was made in the form and shape of God. He was given a spirit (essence) to make the relationship possible. Much more of that a little later.

But God made MAN wholly of MATTER! This was necessary for the supreme accomplishment God willed.

"And the Eternal God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath [air] of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). Man, formed from material dust of the ground, upon breathing air BECAME a living soul. It does not say man is or has an immortal soul. What was formed from material ground BECAME a soul.

Therefore the SOUL is physical, composed of matter, and can die. This is a TRUTH believed by very few denominations and probably by no other religions - another PROOF that identifies the one true Church of God!

Now we come to another truth, so far as I know exclusive in the one true Church.

Did you ever wonder about the vast difference between human mind and animal brain? This incidentally is another PROOF of the falsity of the theory of evolution!

The physical brain of vertebrates in the animal kingdom is almost precisely the same in physical form, design, and constituents as human brain-and the brains of whales, elephants, dolphins are larger, and of chimps almost as large. Yet the output of human brain is indescribably greater. Few indeed know WHY!

Many passages of scripture show that there is a spirit in man. Spirit is not matter, and man is wholly matter. But, as there could be a small metal object swallowed by mistake in man, yet no part of the man himself, so with the spirit within each human. It is in the form of essence-not a ghost or being of itself, and to distinguish it from God's Holy Spirit, I designate it as the "human spirit." Nevertheless, it is spirit and not matter.

This "human spirit" imparts the power of intellect to the human physical brain. The spirit cannot see, hear, taste, smell or feel. The brain sees through the eye, hears through the ear, etc. The "human spirit" cannot of itself think. The physical brain thinks.

What, then, is the function of the "human spirit"? It is NOT a "soul." But it 1) imparts the power of intellect, of thinking and of MIND power to the human brain; and 2) it is the very means God has instilled to make possible a personal relationship between human MAN and divine GOD.

God creates, as previously mentioned, by the principle of DUALITY. So it is with the creation of MAN. It is accomplished in TWO STAGES: 1) the physical phase, which began with the first man, Adam; and 2) the spiritual stage, which begins with the "second Adam," Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:45-46).

So also, man was made from creation (and birth) with the one "human spirit"-but he is INCOMPLETE. He was made to need another Spirit- the HOLY SPIRIT of God, and when that gift of God is received, His "Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16)-in the begotten or first stage of the spiritual creation. This is most clearly explained in I Corinthians 2. "... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart [mind] of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (verse 9)-spiritual knowledge. The natural mind can know only what the brain can physically see, hear, taste, smell or feel. The natural mind is confined to physical, material knowledge!

"But God hath revealed them [spiritual things] unto us by his Spirit..." (verse 10).

"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? ..." (verse 11). A cow, sheep or dog cannot know the things a MAN knows-and neither could a man, except by the spirit of man which is in him. Likewise, the natural man with this one spirit is limited to material knowledge: "... even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (verse 11).

ONLY when the Holy Spirit enters, combining with the "human spirit," can a man come to know that which is spiritual. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (verse 14).

That is WHY the most highly educated are overall the most ignorant. They are confined to knowledge of the material. Knowledge of God and the things of God are foolishness to them. But, of course, God says, "... the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (I Corinthians 3:19).

Now back to the first human, Adam.

Remember God's PURPOSE in creating man on the earth: 1) to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD On earth, and by regulating human life through that GOVERNMENT, to complete the physical creation of earth where angels turned it to ruin, and in the process to complete the creation of MAN by developing righteous spiritual CHARACTER; and 2) to establish the KINGDOM OF GOD and eventually the incredible human potential of finishing the creation of the vast UNIVERSE.

This supreme PURPOSE required: 1) that MAN reject Satan's WAY, embracing GOD'S WAY of LOVE, based on God's spiritual law; and 2) that man be made first of matter so that if he were led into Satan's way of GET, he could be CHANGED, converted to GOD'S WAY of LOVE.

Spirit, once a finished creation, cannot be changed! That is why the one-third of the angels who followed Satan are forever demons. Spirit is constant and eternal-not subject to change. But physical matter is constantly changing.

Through God's master plan for His spiritual creation, to be covered later, it had been determined by God and the Word that the Word would divest Himself of His supreme glory, and in due time take on Him the likeness of human flesh as Jesus Christ, making possible the spiritual phase of the creation of MAN-God REPRODUCING HIMSELF! What a MASTER PLAN for the extreme ULTIMATE in creative accomplishment! How GREAT is our God-in mind, purpose, planning, designing, as well as CREATING-from the tiniest germ or insect to the most huge sun, dwarfing our own great sun to insignificance!

And the incredible human potential is that the GREAT MAJESTIC GOD is, in MAN, reproducing Himself- man can be born into the GOD FAMILY!

The first human, Adam, was created with the potential of qualifying to replace Satan, the former Lucifer, on earth's throne, restoring the GOVERNMENT OF GOD.

But it was necessary that he resist and reject Satan's GET way and choose GOD'S WAY of His law-the way of LOVE (GIVE)!

His Maker talked first to Adam and Eve-instructed them thoroughly in the GOVERNMENT and spiritual LAW of God-even though in Genesis 2 only the most condensed summary of God's instruction to them is revealed. Satan was restrained from any contact with them until God first had completely taught them.

In the gloriously beautiful Garden of Eden, in which God placed them, were two symbolic trees. One was the "tree of life." Taking its fruit, freely offered, symbolized obedience and faithfulness to God's law of outgoing LOVE and receiving the gift of God's Holy Spirit.

The other was the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Taking of its fruit was taking to themselves the knowledge of what is good and what is evil-deciding for themselves what is right and what is sin. This, of course, meant rejection of GOD'S LAW, which defined for them the right and the wrong.

The wily Satan got to Adam through his wife Eve. He did not say, "CHOOSE MY WAY." He appeared as a subtle serpent. He cleverly deceived her. He put DOUBTS in her mind about God's veracity. He deceived her into believing God had been unfair-selfish. He subtly injected vanity of mind. He misled her into thinking it was right to take of the forbidden fruit.

Adam, not deceived, nevertheless went along with his wife. With her, he took to himself the determination of what is right and what is wrong- thus DISBELIEVING what his Maker had said, REJECTING God as Savior and Ruler-rejecting God as the Source of revealed BASIC KNOWLEDGE. He believed and followed Satan's WAY!

God said, in effect, "You have made the decision for yourself and the world that shall spring from you. You have rejected me as the basic Source of knowledge-you have rebelled against my command and my government-you have chosen the GETTING, TAKING way of Satan. Therefore I sentence you and the world you shall beget to 6,000 years of being CUT OFF from access to me, my revealed knowledge, my WAY of life-EXCEPT for the comparative exceedingly few I shall specially call for special service preparatory to my Kingdom. Go, and produce your own fund of knowledge with your carnal, hostile minds. Produce your own carnal scholarship and system of disseminating it. Go, and create your own gods and religions. Go, FORM YOUR OWN HUMAN-DEVISED GOVERNMENTS. Satan, in all this, will deceive your world into receiving his ATTITUDE of vanity, lust and greed, envy and jealousy, suspicion and disbelief, competition and strife and violence- into unrealized REBELLION against me and my WAY of out flowing LOVE! After your world has written the lesson of your WAY in 6,000 years of evils, troubles, frustrations, sickness, sorrow, suffering and DEATH, I will INTERVENE! 1 will by supernatural divine POWER take over the government and education of the whole world, calling all to me-to repentance from your false way, and to eternal salvation."

Except for those specially called for special duty preparing for God's KINGDOM, ALL HUMANITY HAS BEEN CUT OFF FROM GOD THESE 6,000 YEARS!

I know and privately discuss world conditions with many heads of state-kings, emperors, presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors, men high in governments. They all have to deal with problems and evils with which they are utterly unable to cope.

WHY? Few indeed know. But 1 have just told you the CAUSE. This KNOWLEDGE makes the one true Church of God UNIQUE in the world!

The TRUTH that all are CUT OFF from God except those specially called by God was emphasized by Jesus. He said, plainly, "No MAN CAN come to me, except the Father which... sent me draw him ..." (John 6:44). No scripture contradicts that.

The most universal false teaching, believed by virtually all churches called Christian, except the one and only true and original Church of God, is that ALL are automatically lost unless they profess Jesus Christ as Savior and that now is the only day of salvation.

Those cut off from God are NOT lost-unless called and then lost. They are simply NOT YET JUDGED! All so far called since Adam have been called, not for salvation alone, but primarily for a special mission-and salvation goes along automatically if they do repent, believe, receive and are led by the Holy Spirit.

All still living will be called during the millennium, with Christ ruling all nations-and all others previously uncalled will be resurrected and called in the "great white throne judgment" following the millennium. There will be no Satan to overcome then.

Just as Adam was required to reject and overcome the pull of Satan to qualify to succeed to the throne of the earth, so was Jesus Christ, the second Adam. Jesus Christ did qualify. Those converted prior to His return must also qualify, in order to sit with Him on His throne (Revelation 2:26-27 and 3:21).

Proof Four:

THE TRUTH ABOUT ISRAEL

The Holy Bible is essentially the book of and concerning the nation Israel. It is concerned with other nations only as they come into contact with Israel.

But the answer to WHY God called that nation and the fact of their division into the TWO nations-the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah-and the present-day identity of the house of Israel forms another vital PROOF that identifies the one and only original, true Church of God.

God's true Church knows that ONLY those specially called by God for a special purpose have had access to Him from Adam until now.

Certainly it is almost without exception that those called did not first seek God-He sought out and called them.

Noah was not seeking God, but God called Noah to build a great ship on dry land away from any ocean. Noah carried out the assignment amid persecution and jeers.

Abraham was not seeking God, but God called him-and without protest or question he obeyed and went on to become the "father of the faithful," to whom the promises of both the national birthright of Israel and eternal salvation through Christ were given.

Moses was not seeking God, but God called Moses at the burning bush. He made excuse, protesting the assignment-saying he could not do it because he had an impediment of speech. But God called his brother Aaron to speak for him.

The children of Israel, 430 years after Abraham, were groaning and crying out because of their slavery in Egypt-but there is no statement recorded that they were seeking a relationship with God. However, God heard their groanings and delivered them by supernatural miracles out of Egypt under Moses.

There must have been two to four million of them-for there were 600,000 men, not counting women and children.

At Mt. Sinai God proposed to them His covenant that they become His nation and His congregation (". . . the church in the wilderness ..." [Acts 7:38]). God offered them, for obedience to His government, material and national rewards-but no spiritual salvation. The Holy Spirit was given only to the prophets whom God called and chose.

Now WHY did God call a carnal, unspiritual people into a husband-and-wife relationship, designating them as His nation and giving them His government?

Natural carnal MAN, with only the "human spirit" to impart materialistic intellect, has been-even without contact with and help from GOD-able to accomplish wonders in the physical realm. This is not testimony to the goodness of MAN, but to the wonderful creative ability of man's Maker!

At the tower of Babel God said: "... this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do" (Genesis 11:6). Invention and production of the modern computer and sending men to the moon and safely back are two modern examples.

Cut off from GOD-having only the one "human spirit" that empowers intellect-MAN has developed a scholarship that says, "Given sufficient KNOWLEDGE, we can solve every problem." The modern university is a KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION factory.

Yet, I have said the most highly educated are the most ignorant-because their development of knowledge has been LIMITED-confined to the physical and material. Without the Holy Spirit of God, they are, in the vernacular, "not all there"!

God says of this "intellectual" human mind, that it is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9); and, ". . . the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

God had shut man off from God's revealed knowledge.

One reason God raised up ancient Israel was to eventually prove to all humanity, the vast majority of whom do not yet realize it, that the carnal mind with all its intellectual accomplishments simply will not accept and live by the revealed knowledge of GOD-even though God should reveal it to them (Romans 1:20-21).

Other nations were cut off completely from God's revealed knowledge. But, as stated previously, God retained the prerogative of calling out of man's world a certain few in preparation for His Kingdom. So God deliberately called a NATION, and through Moses revealed to them the knowledge of His LAW, His WILL, His WAY OF LIFE, which is outflowing LOVE!

God DID NOT give them His Holy Spirit. He gave that only to Moses and the prophets-all specially called.

But God did give them His spiritual LAW. As a substitute for the shed blood of Christ, He gave them animal sacrifices, which could not remit sins-they were only a reminder of sin. He gave them also, as a temporary substitute for the Holy Spirit, a law of physical rituals, meat and drink offerings and carnal ordinances. These instilled the habit of obedience. Then, of course, He gave them, as a civil nation, His GOVERNMENT, with its basic spiritual law and its statutes and judgments. He gave them His SYSTEM of government- authority from the TOP DOWN. God Himself was their congress, parliament, knesset and diet. He, through Moses, was their Lawgiver.

Under God was "the Word"- Yahweh-who was to become Christ. Under Him was Moses. Under Moses were captains over thousands, captains over hundreds, over fifties.

When Moses' brother Aaron and their sister Miriam wanted equal authority in the government with Moses, God punished! When Korah and his group wanted equal say-so and authority, God destroyed them. It was GOD-not the people-who chose and put Moses in authority. There was no democracy.

But how did carnal-minded Israel respond to God's great generosity, love and blessings?

Let God answer!

He says: "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Eternal hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Eternal, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward" (Isaiah 1:2-4).

After Moses, the Israelites were led into the promised land by Joshua. Israel served God-to a degree-until Joshua died at age 110.

Then, true to human experience, when that generation died, "... there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Eternal. . . . And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Eternal, and served Baalim [a pagan god of the Canaanites]" (Judges 2:10-11).

Repeatedly they would forsake God, turn to idolatry of neighbor nations, go into captivity, and cry out to God for deliverance. Then God would raise up judges (heroes, leaders) by whom He freed them, but then, after a degree of peace, idol worship was resumed, and when the judge died, God allowed them to be taken into captivity again.

This continued for some few generations.

Then Israel was ruled by the priest Eli. Eli had two sons, also in the priestly service. These sons were taking unlawful gain from the people, misleading the people, having immoral relations with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle. Now Eli was very old-near 90-and said to his sons, ". . . Why do ye such things? . . . Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father ..." (I Samuel 2:22-25). The sons continued the evils, and the priest Eli did not put them out of the priesthood.

God said to Eli, "Wherefore . .. honourest thy sons above me?" (I Samuel 2:29) and decreed they should die. When news came to Eli that his sons had been killed and the ark of God taken in battle, Eli fell backward, broke his neck and died!

Perhaps another evidence of the Worldwide Church of God being the one original Church of God is that its apostle did remove his son, who was secularizing God's Church and college, besides other sins. It is a difficult and heartbreaking thing for a father to have to do. Eli honored his sinning sons, holding priestly office, above God. God's apostle of our day, crushing and heartbreaking though it was, was given the courage by the living Christ to do the very difficult task of removing his son.

Samuel had been trained as a prophet from a child under Eli. He was Israel's next leader. But the people rejected God as King over them and demanded a human king "that also we may be like all the nations" of Satan's world (I Samuel 8:4-7, 20).

God gave them Saul, tallest man in Israel. But in due time Saul disobeyed God and sinned. God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse where God had chosen Jesse's youngest son David to be the next king over Israel.

Samuel's sons had not continued in Samuel's ways. And now King David had sons who conspired to take their father's throne. First, Absalom, having been exiled for committing murder, on being received back by kind-hearted David, conspired to steal his father's throne. Later another son, Adonijah, conspired to seize it and overthrow his father.

But God had chosen David's son Solomon to succeed to the throne over Israel. After Solomon's death his son Rehoboam became king.

Solomon had reigned in splendor. Not only had he built the world's finest edifice, the Temple (as God had willed and approved), but he spent lavishly on great public works, buildings and other projects. He lived in gorgeous splendor, exceeding every king before him. For this he grievously overtaxed the people. He plunged, in old age, into idolatry and turned to women.

After Solomon's death the people sent a delegation to King Rehoboam. "Reduce the excessive taxes," the people's delegation said, "and we will serve you" (I Kings 12:4).

Rehoboam consulted the older, wiser men, who advised him to heed the complaint of the people. Then he sought advice from the younger men, whose advice he followed, saying to the people, ". . . My father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (I Kings 12:11, 14).

Again, a younger son departed from the wisdom of older men and willfully sought to lead God's people on his own rebellious way.

But the nation thereupon rejected King Rehoboam and made Jeroboam king. However, the tribe of Judah, with Benjamin, seceded in order to maintain David's dynasty and formed the new kingdom of JUDAH.

Jeroboam established the capital over the kingdom of Israel at Samaria, north of Jerusalem. And so the Israelitish nation was now divided into TWO NATIONS-the kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria and the kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem its capital. Often, in biblical history, they were called, respectively, the "house of Israel" and the "house of Judah."

Jeroboam immediately led Israel into idolatry. After a succession of 19 kings and seven dynasties of continuous idolatry and other sins, God drove the house of Israel into captivity. King Shalmaneser of Assyria conquered them in a siege from 721 to 718 B.C., removing them from their land, carrying them as slaves to Assyria on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea.

Shalmaneser thereupon "brought men from Babylon"-and other cities following the Babylonian mystery religion-"and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof (II Kings 17:23-24).

So here is another TRUTH unknown in the teachings of most churches called Christian: Israel was divided into two nations-and the people of the kingdom of Israel were NOT Jews, nor are they ever called Jews in the Bible!

The first place where the word "Jew" or "Jews" occurs in the Bible is in II Kings 16:5-6, where Israel and ally Syria were at war against the Jews!

But those of the house of Israel did not remain more than a generation or so in Assyria. They migrated northwest. They became known as "the LOST Ten Tribes." And indeed they were doubly lost-lost in identity until they themselves, after a generation or more, did not know who they were-and also lost spiritually from God. The knowledge of this, from the Bible, is ANOTHER PROOF of the one original true Church today!

This mystery is cleared up in a substantial booklet, The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy-sent free upon request. It is one of the most amazing, exciting, eye-opening accounts ever written. Shocking-but TRUE! Meanwhile, the house or kingdom of JUDAH (the Jews) continued to an extent in God's ways, but within a hundred years were sinning more flagrantly than Israel had.

By about 604 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar had become king over the world's FIRST EMPIRE-the Chaldean Empire, often called Babylon. From 604 to 585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar's armies captured the kingdom of Judah and moved the Jews into Babylonian territory as slaves.

Seventy years later, the Persian Empire had succeeded the Chaldean. God caused King Cyrus, by "stirring up the spirit of Cyrus" (Ezra 1:1)- his "human spirit"-to issue a decree sending a contingent of Jews back to Jerusalem to build the second temple. Zerubbabel was the governor of the contingent and builder of the temple to which Christ came at His first appearing on earth as the human Jesus. Also, prophetically, this Zerubbabel was the type of one to come in the LAST DAYS of this world whom Christ would use in building the temple to which the glorified all-powerful Christ shall come at His second appearing. Apparently none but God's Church understands the truth of the building of this temple.

Some of Judah remained in and near Jerusalem-others were scattered into Russia, Poland, Yemen. Most of the Israelis in today's Israel have migrated into the original "promised land" from these countries.

7
PROOFS
OF GOD'S TRUE CHURCH

Where is the one and only true Church today-the Church founded by Jesus Christ in A.D. 31?
Seven major eye-opening proofs identify it unmistakably.

By Herbert W. Armstrong

Proof Five:
THE TRUE GOSPEL

Could anything sound more unbelievable? To say the true gospel of Jesus Christ was not proclaimed to the world during 19 whole centuries-from the middle of the first century until the middle of the twentieth-may sound preposterous!

Incredible! But TRUE!

The world has heard much preaching about Jesus Christ as a person. That is good-but the gospel of Christ is the MESSAGE Christ proclaimed and taught.

Jesus Himself said that many would come in His name-claiming to represent Him-saying that He, Jesus, is the Christ-and deceiving the MANY (Matt. 24:4-5).

But the gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news-the message-He proclaimed and taught.

The word gospel means "GOOD NEWS." Jesus brought the GOOD NEWS of the world's ONLY and SURE HOPE! And I do not mean an ethereal, spiritualized unreal hope. He brought the good news of a coming entirely new and real world. A time when the earth will be filled with PEACE, HAPPINESS, JOY and ETERNAL SALVATION!

God's one original true Church is virtually alone in proclaiming that GOOD NEWS today!

What was that gospel message? One of the proofs that identifies God's one true Church in our time is the fact that, as Jesus foretold, His Church would at this crisis end time be proclaiming that same gospel at last!

But first, notice what was written in the book of Galatians around A.D. 53 to 58 to the churches in Galatia:

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6-7).

Again, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness SUPPRESS THE TRUTH" (Rom. 1:18, RSV).

No wonder we read of "the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9).

The prophet Malachi foretold the proclamation of the gospel, saying, ".. . the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant. .." (Mal. 3:1).

Jesus Christ was that Messenger of the New Covenant. Actually Malachi here is referring to the TWO appearances of Christ on earth-but verses 2 to 6 definitely refer to His yet-future SECOND coming.

Yet, he did refer also (in verse 1) to Christ's first coming, because this prophecy is quoted in Mark 1:1-2: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee."

Actually, this latter statement applies to both Jesus' appearing more than 1,900 years ago and to preparing the way before His second coming in power and glory as WORLD RULER. The latter is now being prepared from within the one true Church of God! That is another evidence of its identity!

However, in Mark 1, verses 14-15, the account continues describing John the Baptist preparing the way before His first appearing then: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the KINGDOM OF GOD is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

The gospel Jesus brought from God, which Christ proclaimed and taught His apostles, was the prophetic message of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD.

Jesus went all over the Holy Land teaching this same gospel. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom . . ." (Matt. 4:23).

He taught in parables about the KINGDOM OF GOD. Jesus said, "... Unto what is the KINGDOM OF GOD like? ... It is like a grain of mustard seed ..." (Luke 13:18-19). Again, the KINGDOM OF GOD "... is like leaven . .." (Luke 13:21).

Again: "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the KINGDOM OF GOD, and you yourselves thrust out" (Luke 13:28).

Jesus sent His twelve disciples out to proclaim the KINGDOM: "And he sent them to preach the KINGDOM OF GOD, and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2).

He sent another seventy disciples out on a special mission: ". . . the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two ... into every city and place, whither he himself would come... ." And He said to them, ". . . heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (Luke 10:1,9).

After His resurrection: ". . . unto the apostles whom he had chosen ... being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to [concerning] the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2-3).

The apostles proclaimed the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD. Philip, who became an evangelist, proclaimed it: "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God .. ." (Acts 8:12).

The apostle Paul proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the Gentiles: "And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the KINGDOM OF GOD, shall see my face no more" (Acts 20:25).

Again, Paul "expounded and testified the KINGDOM OF GOD" (Acts 28:23) and "preach(ed) the KINGDOM OF GOD . . ." (verse 31).

To the Corinthian church Paul wrote: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the KINGDOM OF GOD .. ." (I Cor. 15:50).

To the Galatians Paul wrote: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:8). And in verse 9 it was made a DOUBLE curse to preach any other gospel!

Yet THAT GOSPEL was SUPPRESSED about or just past the middle of the first century and was not again proclaimed to the world until 1953-19 centuries later-and THEN by the present living generation of that same ONE and ONLY true original Church of God, established by Jesus Christ in A.D. 31!

The proclaiming of that only true gospel message taught by Jesus identifies the one and only true Church of God TODAY!

IF "traditional Christianity" has NOT proclaimed that gospel-when the Bible is replete with passages showing that was the gospel Jesus preached-HOW DO THEY EXPLAIN IGNORING IT? The Roman Catholic Church simply claims that their church is the Kingdom of God. It is not generally realized, but the pope's title, "Vicar of Christ," means, literally, "in place of Christ." Not one merely serving Christ, but one who has REPLACED Christ! The Kingdom of God was already here! The papacy had come IN PLACE OF Christ, to rule the nations for 1,000 years. And the papacy did rule the "Holy Roman Empire" of Europe 1,260 years- A.D. 554 to 1814! But the popes and all Catholics are flesh and blood, and flesh and blood cannot inherit or enter into the Kingdom of God!

Many Protestant churches have simply designated the Kingdom of God as "the church" in general, not necessarily their particular denomination.

Others have spoken of the Kingdom of God as an ethereal something (or nothing) "set up in men's hearts."

But none of those ideas square with the teaching of Christ and of Paul about what the Kingdom of God is.

The prophet Daniel, who lived 600 years before Christ, knew that the Kingdom of God was a real kingdom-a government ruling over literal PEOPLE on the earth.

Jesus Christ brought additional knowledge about it, which the prophet Daniel might not have known. Still, Daniel knew there was going to be a real, literal Kingdom of God on the earth.

Daniel was one of four extraordinary and brilliant Jewish lads in the Judean captivity. These four men were stationed in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldean Empire, in training for special responsibilities in the Babylonian government.

Daniel was a prophet who had been given special understanding in visions and dreams (Dan. 1:17). Nebuchadnezzar was the first real world ruler. He had conquered a vast empire, including the nation Judah. This king had a dream so impressive it troubled him-moved him to tremendous concern. He demanded that his magicians, astrologers and sorcerers tell him both what he had dreamed and what it meant. They could not. They were baffled. Then Daniel was brought before the king.

Daniel disclaimed any more human ability to interpret dreams than the Chaldean magicians. "But," he said, "there is a GOD in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days . . ." (Dan. 2:28).

First, God's purpose was to reveal to this world-ruling human king that there is a GOD in heaven; that GOD is SUPREME RULER over all nations, governments and kings; that God RULES THE UNIVERSE-even though, during the past 6,000 years, God has allowed nations generally to be left altogether to their own devices. But God was giving Nebuchadnezzar a special opportunity to accept His rule.

This Chaldean king knew only about the many pagan demon gods. He knew nothing of the true living ALMIGHTY God. Like people and rulers, even today, he did not know that GOD is the living, REAL, active, RULING and GOVERNING PERSONAGE who actually and literally governs not only what is on earth, but the entire UNIVERSE!

The whole purpose of this DREAM was to reveal GOD'S GOVERNMENT: the fact that God RULES, the truth of THE KINGDOM OF GOD-the very thing that is the one and only true GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! And, secondly, to reveal-preserved in writing for us TODAY-what is to happen "in the latter days"-probably within the next two decades-this last half of the twentieth century!

This is no dry, dull, dead writing for a people of 2,500 years ago. This is living, tremendous, big news for our day! It is advance news for us, now. News before it happens-of the most colossal event of all earth's history.

Read, in your own Bible, Daniel 2, verses 28 through 35. In his dream, this king had seen a stupendous statue-larger than any image or statue ever built by man-so tremendous it was terrifying, even in a dream. Its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, legs of solid iron, feet and toes a mixture of iron and clay.

There was a time element. Nebuchadnezzar had viewed it until a supernatural STONE came from heaven, smashing the statue on its feet. Then the whole of the statue broke into small fragments and was actually blown away by the wind-it disappeared! Then this STONE expanded miraculously and quickly became a great MOUNTAIN-so great it filled the whole earth!

What did it mean? Did it have meaning? Yes, because this was God's doing. Unlike ordinary dreams, this one was caused by God to convey the message of God's sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar-and, because it is part of the written Word of God to us today-to reveal important facts of the TRUE GOSPEL!

"This is the dream," said Daniel (verse 36), "and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king."

This, then, is GOD'S interpretation. Men ought never to interpret the Bible. The Bible gives us GOD'S OWN INTERPRETATION! Here it is (verse 37):

"Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings [he was the first real WORLD RULER over a world empire]: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory." God was revealing Himself to this human world dictator as the MOST HIGH Ruler over all.

People today, like this Chaldean king, seem not to think of God as a RULER-as the Supreme One who GOVERNS-as the Head of GOVERNMENT. The Eternal was revealing Himself through Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar-and through the Bible to you and to me TODAY-as a sovereign, all-powerful, governing God who is to be obeyed!

This knowledge is another PROOF of the modern identity of God's one true Church!

"Thou," continued Daniel to this human emperor, "art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another KINGDOM inferior to thee, and another third KINGDOM of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth" (verses 38-39).

Notice! This is speaking of KINGDOMS. It is referring to kingdoms that bear rule over the people on earth. It is speaking of GOVERNMENTS! It is not speaking of ethereal sentiments "set up in the hearts of men." It is not speaking of churches. It is speaking of the kind of GOVERNMENTS that bear RULE and AUTHORITY over nations of PEOPLE here on earth. It is literal. It is specific. There is no misunderstanding here as to what is meant by the word "KINGDOM."

There is no misunderstanding the interpretation. GOD gives His own interpretation through the prophet Daniel. The great metallic image represented national and international GOVERNMENTS-real, literal KINGDOMS.

It represented a succession of world-ruling governments. First was the head of gold. That represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom- the Chaldean Empire. After him- later in time sequence-was to come a second, then a third, KINGDOM, "which shall bear RULE over all the earth"-world empire!

Then, verse 40, the legs of iron represent a fourth world empire. It was to be strong, even as iron is strong-stronger militarily than its predecessors. Yet, as silver is less valuable than gold, brass than silver, iron than brass, though each metal was harder and stronger, the succession would deteriorate morally and spiritually. The two legs meant the fourth empire would be divided.

After the Chaldean Empire came the still larger Persian Empire, then the Greco-Macedonian and fourth, the Roman Empire. It was divided, with capitals at Rome and Constantinople.

Now-verse 44! Read it! Get your Bible. See it with your own eyes in your own Bible. Here, in PLAIN LANGUAGE, is God's explanation of what the KINGDOM OF GOD is: "And in the days of these kings...." It is here speaking of the ten toes, part of iron and part of brittle clay. This, by connecting the prophecy with Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 and 17, is referring to the new UNITED STATES OF EUROPE, which is now forming out of the European Common Market before your very eyes! Revelation 17:12 makes plain the detail that it shall be a union of ten KINGS OR KINGDOMS that (Rev. 17:8) shall resurrect the medieval "HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE."

So, mark carefully the time element! "In the days of these kings"- in the days of these ten nations or groups of nations that shall, in our time, resurrect briefly the Roman Empire-notice what shall happen: ". . . shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed . . . but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever"!

Now here we have described FOUR universal world empires-the only four that ever existed! Revelation 17 shows that after the fall of the original Roman Empire there would be SEVEN revivals that would be ruled over by a Gentile CHURCH-the "daughter" of ancient BABYLON-a church claiming to be Christian, but actually named by God "MYSTERY BABYLON the Great"-or, more plainly, BABYLONIAN MYSTERIES! Six of those have come and gone. The seventh is now forming-the last, final, brief resurrection of the "Holy Roman Empire" by ten European groups or nations. These are the ten toes of iron and clay mixed. In their days-and they shall last but a very short space, possibly no more than two to three and a half years-shall the GOD OF HEAVEN SET UP A KINGDOM.

This, then, shall be THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Compare with Revelation 17. Here is pictured a church. Not a small church-a GREAT church. She rules over "many waters" (verse 1), which are described in verse 15 as different nations speaking different languages. She posed as the Church of GOD-which Scripture says (Eph. 5:23; Rev. 19:7; Matthew 25:1-10) is the affianced bride of CHRIST, to be spiritually MARRIED to Him at His second COMING.

But she has committed fornication. How? By having direct political union with HUMAN GOVERNMENTS of THIS WORLD! She "sat on" (Rev. 17:3) all seven of these resurrections of the Roman Empire-called the "Holy Roman Empire." She RULED OVER the human kingdoms-as a common-law and unmarried "wife" ruling her paramour "husband"-a totally unnatural and ungodly relationship.

She is, therefore, to "sit on" this last "head of the beast"-this final resurrection of the Roman Empire. It will be a union of church and state. It is to endure but a very short time. It is to FIGHT AGAINST CHRIST at His SECOND COMING! That will be its END.

We see it in process of rising now. Therefore we are CLOSE to the coming of Christ! We are now very near the END of this world!

When Christ comes, He is coming as KING of kings, ruling the whole earth (Rev. 19:11-16); and His KINGDOM-the Kingdom of God- said Daniel, is to CONSUME all these worldly kingdoms.

Revelation 11:15 states it in these words: ". . . The kingdoms of this world are become THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; and he shall reign forever and ever"!

This is THE KINGDOM OF GOD. It is the END of present governments- the governments that rule Russia, China, Japan, Italy, Germany-yes, and even the United States and the British nations. They then shall become the kingdoms-the GOVERNMENTS-of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, then KING of kings over the entire earth.

This makes completely PLAIN the fact that the KINGDOM OF GOD is a literal GOVERNMENT. Even as the Chaldean Empire was a KINGDOM, even as the Roman Empire was a KINGDOM-so the KINGDOM OF GOD is a government. It is to take over the GOVERNMENT of the NATIONS of the world.

Jesus Christ was BORN to be a KING-A RULER!

When He stood, on trial for His life, before Pilate, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world. . . ." But Jesus also said to Pilate: ". .. My kingdom is not of this world . . ." (John 18:37, 36). His Kingdom is of THE WORLD TOMORROW!

Have you not read what the angel proclaimed to Mary, the mother of Jesus, prior to His birth? Jesus told Pilate He was born to become a KING. The angel of God said to Mary: ". . . thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the THRONE of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be NO END" (Luke 1:31-33).

These scriptures tell you PLAINLY that GOD is supreme RULER. They tell you in plainest language that Jesus was born to be a KING-that He is going to RULE ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH-that His Kingdom shall rule eternally.

But all this is only part of the fantastic, amazing, actually SHOCKING TRUTH about the KINGDOM OF GOD.

The KINGDOM OF GOD will rule over the peoples and nations of the earth. Yet these mortal peoples and nations will NOT be the Kingdom, not even in the Kingdom of God. They shall merely be RULED BY IT!

We still have to learn OF WHAT or OF WHOM it is composed. Can YOU, as an individual, ever become a part of this Kingdom?

In Jesus' day, the religious leaders knew He was a teacher sent from God with GOD'S TRUTH. They branded Him a false prophet, heretic and seditionist. Yet they knew His was the voice of GOD!

One of them, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, occupying an office of authority over the Jews, came secretly by night to see Jesus. "Rabbi," said this Pharisee, "we know that thou art a teacher come from God" (John 3:2). Yes, we Pharisees, he said, know that! He did not say, "I know it." He said, "We know"-we Pharisees! They knew He spoke the TRUTH-yet they not only rejected it, they crucified Him!

But Jesus hewed straight to the line! He told Nicodemus about THE KINGDOM OF GOD. He told him some things you need to UNDERSTAND!

Notice! "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Yes, notice! The Kingdom of God is something that CAN be seen, but only by those who have been "born again." It is something others cannot see! Request our free booklet Just What Do You Mean- Born Again?

But what about the CHURCH? Can carnal people SEE A CHURCH? Of course! But they cannot see the Kingdom of God! So SAID JESUS! Then, if you believe Jesus, the CHURCH cannot be the Kingdom of God!

Notice further: "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (verse 5). The Kingdom of God is something that can be entered into-BUT, only those "born of water and of the Spirit" can enter into it!

He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh IS FLESH; and that which is born of the Spirit IS SPIRIT" (John 3:5-6).

Notice further! In the resurrection chapter of the Bible, we read: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (I Cor. 15:50). The Kingdom of God is something no human, of flesh and blood, can enter or inherit!

Let's take a good look at this. First realize, if the Bible does say the Kingdom of God is found in men's minds or hearts, it is contradicted by all the other scriptures I am giving you in this article. If the Bible does contradict itself, you can't believe it anyway-so then it still would prove nothing. First, to whom is Jesus speaking? Read it! "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21).

He was speaking to the unconverted, carnal, hypocritical, lying Pharisees. Notice, "He answered them and said. . .." It was the Pharisees who asked Him the question. Were they in the CHURCH? No, never! If one thinks the Kingdom was "within" the Pharisees-was THE CHURCH within the Pharisees? Such an assumption is rather ridiculous, now, isn't it?

Notice again precisely WHAT JESUS SAID. Remember the CHURCH had not yet been set up. Jesus did not say, "The Kingdom of God shall be set up in your hearts." He said none of the things people interpret into this verse. He said to the Pharisees that "the Kingdom of God is"-present tense, NOW! Whatever He was saying the Kingdom of God is, He made it present tense, not future.

Luke wrote these words, originally, in the Greek language. The Greek words he wrote were translated into the English words "within you." But, if you have a Bible with the marginal references, you will notice that this is alternately rendered "in the midst of you" or "among you." The context indicates that this indeed is the better translation. If your Bible is a Moffatt translation, you will notice that the translation recognized that Jesus was talking of His reign or rule, at the head of government.

This is the Moffatt translation of the same verse: "He answered them, The Reign of God is not coming as you hope to catch sight of it; no one will say, 'Here it is' or 'There it is,' for the Reign of GOD is NOW IN YOUR MIDST."

The Revised Standard translation renders it: ". . . the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." All these translations render it present tense.

Jesus was not talking about a church soon to be organized. He was not talking about sentiments in the mind or heart. He was talking about His REIGN as the Messiah! The Pharisees were not asking Him about a church. They knew nothing of any New Testament Church soon to be started. They were not asking about a pretty sentiment. They knew, from the prophecies of Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, that their Messiah was to come.

This world trouble began in 1914, with World War I. There was a recess from 1918 until 1939. We are in a second recess now-although we have been in what we call "the COLD WAR." But now at last we have nuclear energy. We have hydrogen bombs stockpiled in such power and volume that they could blast all human life off this planet several times over. There are two other destructive weapons today in existence, either of which could erase humanity from the earth.

Today world-famous scientists say only a super world government can prevent world cosmocide. Yet MEN cannot and will not get together to form such a world-ruling government.

It's time we face the hard, cold, realistic FACT. Humanity has two alternatives: Either there is an almighty, all-powerful GOD who is about to step in and set up THE KINGDOM OF GOD to rule all nations with supernatural and supranational FORCE to bring us PEACE-or else all human life would be obliterated (Matt. 24:22).

If the deceived religionists who think the CHURCH is the Kingdom of God were right, and there is not going to be any supernatural and all-powerful WORLD GOVERNMENT, which is the Kingdom of God, then humanity is utterly without HOPE. All human life is in danger of extinction.

But notice what Jesus Christ said!

Can you BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST?

Where is your trust-in the Word of God or in paganized, empty, deceiving teachings falsely labeled "Christianity"-inherited as "Christian tradition"-which say the CHURCH is the Kingdom of God, or that the Kingdom is merely a meaningless, frothy and ethereal sentiment "set up in our hearts"? It's about time you come to know who are the false prophets, and WHO is speaking the true Word of God faithfully!

Proof Six:
WHAT AND WHY THE CHURCH?

When we come to the question, WHAT and WHY is the Church, it is indeed astonishing that the one original true Church of God, still extant after 1,900 years of persecution, opposition, martyrdom, remains UNIQUE in having the answer.

The real PURPOSE and function of the Church is as little understood as the knowledge of who and what God is, what and why MAN is, what was the gospel of Jesus Christ, the government of God and His supreme creative achievement-holy righteous CHARACTER.

Isn't it incongruous? Man invents numerous religions for the worship of God-yet doesn't know WHO or WHAT God is. Man does not know what HE is! Or WHY! Seven hundred million who do not know the purpose or function of the church join "Christian" churches!

True, indeed it is, that the whole world has been DECEIVED!

The first and most widespread false belief in this world's churches is the assumption that this is God's world-that God is desperately trying to get everybody "saved," while Satan is trying to keep everybody "lost." If that is true, Satan is surely winning that battle!

But 1) God is NOT trying to "get everybody saved" spiritually, now! And 2) those uncalled are NOT "lost"-just not judged-YET!

We need first to understand the world out from which God's Church has been called to be a separate, holy people.

Let me restate it briefly. The first man Adam was given two MUSTS: 1) to reject Satan's way of "GET" and 2) to give himself to God's way of "GIVE"-the way of God's law-outflowing LOVE, thus developing the holy, righteous CHARACTER to qualify to restore the government of God on earth.

But Adam rejected God's way. He rejected God as the Source of basic knowledge and as the God to be worshiped and obeyed.

But let it now be emphasized that when God sentenced man, on Adam's choice, to 6,000 years of being cut off from God, the Eternal retained the prerogative of specially calling to Himself those He chose for special service. And, ALWAYS-in every case-those specially called were called for a mission PREPARATORY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Understand this! Everyone God called was chosen for a special mission PREPARING FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

God is no respecter of persons. He called no "favorites" merely to bestow upon them His gift of eternal salvation. Each has been called for service to prepare for the KINGDOM OF GOD.

BUT, understand this also: That special mission or service to which each called-out one has been chosen was GOD'S MEANS of developing in him the holy, righteous CHARACTER to QUALIFY him to reign and rule with and under Christ in God's KINGDOM-in THE WORLD TOMORROW!

In ancient Old Testament Israel only the prophets were called in this sense. The Holy Spirit was never made available to others in Old Testament Israel. The purpose for the special calling of that nation has been covered in proof number four.

Remember, God creates in DUAL stages. The first stage of man's creation was the physical stage. It began with Adam. The second phase of man's creation is the spiritual phase and begins with Christ.

As a group or nation, Israel was called under the physical stage of man's creation. The SPIRITUAL stage began through Christ with righteous Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets in Israel. But as a group-calling, the Church of God begins the spiritual phase.

The Church was called for a very special PURPOSE in preparation for the KINGDOM-a purpose not fully realized from the first century until the present generation.

The first Adam, formed altogether from the dust of the ground, was given a spirit to empower the human brain with intellect. This was explained fully in proof number three. But he was incomplete-he was created to need also a second Spirit-the Holy Spirit of God. Old Testament Israel was not given God's Holy Spirit.

Man, possessing only the one "human spirit," is, truly, "not all there"-yet he is unaware of the fact. He is a natural-born carnal person. He has only the physical, carnal mind.

And what says God of the carnal mind? It is hostile against God and not subject to the law of God, ". .. neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). Also, as Jeremiah explained, this natural carnal mind is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Hundreds of years of Old Testament Israelitish experience proved this! They were given God's revealed knowledge which was hidden from other nations, yet they rebelled and sinned even above other nations!

It was into such a world-and to such a people (Judah)-that Jesus came. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11).

First, before teaching or preaching His gospel of the Kingdom, Jesus had to QUALIFY to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD and establish the KINGDOM OF GOD. In the most titanic battle ever fought for the greatest stakes in the universe, Jesus overcame Satan, rejected Satan's "GET" way, proved 100 percent obedient and loyal to God (Matthew 4:1-11).

He called and chose the disciples He trained to be His apostles.

Then He said, ".. . Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell [the grave] shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee [His chief apostle] the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19).

Plainly Jesus was speaking to one man, His chief apostle, when He spoke of binding and loosing-not to the Church.

For 3 1/2 years Jesus taught His apostles-to-be about the Kingdom of God.

The first Adam, in order to qualify to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on earth, had to overcome Satan-Satan's way ("GET")-and prove obedient to God. Adam failed.

Christ, the second Adam, had to qualify by overcoming Satan and proving loyalty to God and God's way. He QUALIFIED!

Each one in the Church must also qualify in order to sit on Christ's throne with Him! "And he that overcometh [Satan], and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron . . ." (Revelation 2:26-27). Again, "To him that overcometh [Satan] will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame [Satan], and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Revelation 3:21).

I have shown that the whole world, except those specially called by God, is CUT OFF from God-cut off from access to Him who has eternal life to give. Jesus CONFIRMED THAT plainly and definitely. He said, "No MAN CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him . . ." (John 6:44). No scripture can or does nullify that! All others are CUT OFF from God. No one of them CAN COME to Christ!

Jesus was crucified, resurrected after three days and three nights in the tomb (another incidental proof of the one true Church), and after 40 days ascended to the right hand of God in heaven.

Then, on the day of the Feast of Firstfruits (Pentecost), A.D. 31, God sent the Holy Spirit in an amazing display, founding His Church!

The number of disciples who still believed after Jesus' 3 1/2 years of preaching was a mere 120 (Acts 1:15).

". . . They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-3).

I have purposely emphasized certain words in this scripture, because it was a ONE-TIME-ONLY incident. It never occurred before. It never has since. Modern "Pentecostal" meetings and "tongues speaking" are emphatically not the same thing at all.

Notice carefully! First, they were all of one accord-something often not true today. Second, the Holy Spirit came suddenly-they did not "work it up" by emotionally shouting, as is usual in such meetings today. Third, the Holy Spirit came with a sound-they heard it-like a blast of a rushing mighty wind. No such thing occurs today. Fourth, the Holy Spirit is here twice called "it," not "he"-not a ghost or personage. Fifth, they saw the Holy Spirit. It appeared as divided tongues like fire. This was actually seen, sitting on each of the 120. No such thing is ever repeated in so-called "Pentecostal" meetings today!

Now, further, do they today speak with the same kind of tongues'? Here again the REAL Pentecost experience is not in any sense duplicated today. Read on:

". . . There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad [word spread rapidly of this once-only amazing experience-hearing and seeing the Holy Spirit], the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them [the 120] speak in his own language" (Acts 2:5-6).

Study this again carefully. The Mede among these devout Jews who came running in heard them-the 120-speaking the language of the Medes. And he understood what they were saying! The one Mede heard and understood 120 Galileans speaking the language of the Medes! But the Parthian heard them-the same 120-speaking his Parthian language! And so on! It was not a gibberish-unintelligible-as "tongues people" speak in their meetings today! And it needed no interpreter. I well remember experiences in such meetings, where in service after service the same man rose to interpret- and although the gibberish of different ones was entirely different, the "interpretation" had been memorized, and in every case was the same! I saw that kind of experience drive sincere people hungry for God's truth away in disgust!

Let me add here that God's Holy Spirit is the Spirit of a SOUND MIND (II Timothy 1:7). The one and only original Church of God was founded that day of Pentecost, A.D. 31. They were all of SOUND mind-like-minded-of ONE accord.

The multitude who came running in were all amazed-in wonderment doubting and asking, "What does this mean?"

Then God's chief apostle, Peter, stood up to explain-to deliver to these thousands the first inspired sermon by an apostle.

These devout Jews were "pricked in their heart" by Peter's sermon and asked, "What shall we do?"

Peter gave no twentieth-century "altar call"-pleaded with none to talk them into conversion-but answered their question, saying, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). It was the power of the Holy Spirit that had struck straight in their hearts. GOD HAD CALLED THEM!

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine..." (verse 42).

Note here this important point! They did not appoint among themselves a "doctrinal committee" to decide intellectually in which doctrines they could believe God's apostle. God gave them the true doctrine through His apostle, and they continued together with one accord in "the apostles' doctrine and fellowship."

Now WHO added members to the Church? Not apostolic or evangelical salesmanship-but "the LORD added to the church daily such as should be saved [were to be saved]" (Acts 2:47).

But what was the FOUNDATION of the Church? It is referred to as a "building," and a solid building must be built on a solid foundation.

Of course Jesus Christ is the foundational Rock. But the Church is built on the FOUNDATION of the apostles (New Testament) and prophets (Old Testament), Jesus Christ Himself being the chief CORNERSTONE (Ephesians 2:20). Jesus taught the apostles. The CHURCH followed the apostles' doctrine. Lay members were not free to set, change or decide doctrinal TRUTH-but only to receive and believe it.

A day or two after the Church was founded, Peter and John went up to the Temple. At the Beautiful Gate entrance was a crippled beggar, lame from birth. Peter, being asked for alms, took the cripple by the right hand, lifted him up, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk" (Acts 3:1-6). "And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple. .." (verse 8).

The beggar was known to all. This miracle drew a huge crowd. Peter, explaining, preached to them about the resurrection of Jesus. He proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom, saying the heaven had received Jesus until the time of restoration of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD by the KINGDOM OF GOD (Acts 3:20-21),

As Peter spoke, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them and threw them into prison for the night.

Next morning, Peter and John were brought before the rulers, elders, scribes, the high priest and his family. Peter spoke briefly but boldly to them. They then threatened the apostles, forbidding them to preach any further about Christ and His Kingdom.

Peter and John, though now inspired by the Holy Spirit, were human, and naturally were somewhat shaken up and frightened.

Being released, they went immediately for moral support and encouragement to "their own company" (Acts 4:23), the Church.

The Church "lifted up their voice to God with one accord" (verse 24). And when they (the Church) had prayed, God answered by shaking the place where they were assembled, filling them with His Spirit, courage and power.

Another incident: The apostles had continued preaching, healing the sick and performing miracles. God added to the Church, but also the persecution grew. Peter again had been imprisoned, Steven had been stoned to death. In Acts 8:1 "... there was a great persecution against the church ... and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles."

By the following Passover, persecution had mounted. "About that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison... intending after [Passover] to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison . . ." (Acts 12:1-5).

Now came another example of how the Church stood back of the apostles. Remember, the word apostle means "one sent forth." Jesus had given the great commission to Peter and the apostles. The other members of the Church were not sent forth with the gospel. They were called to support and encourage the apostles in getting out the gospel message, as GOD'S MEANS of developing in them God's holy, righteous CHARACTER, qualifying them for places as kings and priests in the KINGDOM!

So here came another incident showing how the Church supported the apostles. Continue, verse 5 of Acts 12: "... but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him"-Peter. The brethren stood loyally 100 percent back of God's apostles.

What happened when the Church so unceasingly prayed? "... The same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands" (verses 6-7), and Peter followed the angel on out of the prison. Peter fled on to Caesarea.

Jesus gave His GREAT COMMISSION to the apostles-those sent forth with the message. The lay brethren were added to the Church to support the apostles.

Notice the GREAT COMMISSION as recorded by Matthew: "Now the eleven disciples [Judas had left them] went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.... And Jesus came and said to them [not the whole Church], All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, THEREFORE, and make disciples of all nations .... " Notice, "make disciples OF," or within all nations. A disciple is a student-one learning, being taught. "... baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ..." Notice here, this does not and cannot refute Jesus' own statement that "NO MAN CAN come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." The GREAT COMMISSION was not a commission to try to persuade ALL in those nations to come to Christ. Jesus said plainly, "... make disciples OF [within] all nations." He referred to those whom God had called-and they were, comparatively, exceedingly FEW by proportion to the whole population. Then Jesus continued, "... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:16-20, Revised Standard Version).

The apostles were NOT sent forth on a soul-saving crusade, but to TEACH those whom God had called and made willing to listen. That is what God's apostle does to this day. Today we are able to utilize modern methods of MASS COMMUNICATION- radio, television, the printing press. We TEACH the good news of the coming KINGDOM to those whom God calls and makes willing to listen. In this way we TEACH and PROCLAIM the true GOSPEL MESSAGE to many MILLIONS worldwide. Our magazine, The Plain Truth, has more than TWO MILLION subscribers, and estimates are that each copy is read by at least three people-actually reaching six or seven MILLION people! And we teach all who willingly listen to observe all that God commanded His apostles!

Now notice Mark's account of the GREAT COMMISSION: "Afterward he appeared unto the eleven.... And he said unto them, Go YE into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:14,15). Naturally Jesus did not mean every human being on earth-but all they might reach who would hear. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved...." Yet only those God called would be able to believe-for Jesus meant they should believe what was SAID-believe the GOOD NEWS!

However, this is quoted from the 1611 King James Version, but nearly all other translations omit it, saying Mark did not write the words beginning in verse 9 through the end of the chapter, but that they were added by some later editor trying to make it harmonize with Matthew 28:18-19.

But the great commission was given to the apostles-not the Church as a whole-although as cited above, the Church completely, prayerfully, wholeheartedly backed up and supported the apostles. That was their part in the great commission.

Proof Six:
WHAT AND WHY THE CHURCH?

Now let's get our bearings and understand the PURPOSE of the Church-its function.

Remember, the Church was called out of a world CUT OFF from God-a world, as Jesus said, in which "NO MAN CAN come to me, except the Father draw him." The Church was the "called-out ones"-called out from the world. "Wherefore come out from among them [of the world], and be ye separate, saith the Lord . . ." (II Corinthians 6:17). REMEMBER, too, that from Adam God had called out of this world only those He chose to USE in a mission PREPARING FOR THE KINGDOM!

The archangel Lucifer and his angels had been disqualified-changed into Satan and demons. Adam had chosen Satan's WAY of "GET" and rejected God as Source of basic knowledge, as Ruler and as Savior. According to Adam's decision, God cut THE WORLD off from access to Him. BUT, since God cut them off before they were born, God does not hold them responsible-they have not been judged; the responsibility is GOD'S-not theirs-for that which has been hidden from their minds.

But now the time had come when the "second Adam"-Jesus Christ- had overcome Satan and QUALIFIED to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD to earth and establish the KINGDOM OF GOD-which is the divine FAMILY OF GOD, ruling the world-and ultimately the UNIVERSE!

Jesus DID NOT come on a soul-saving crusade. Those uncalled and unsaved were NOT "lost." Just NOT JUDGED-yet! They shall be in the millennium and great white throne resurrection and judgment.

Jesus came 1) to overcome Satan and QUALIFY to establish the KINGDOM OF GOD; 2) to call and teach His future apostles; 3) to proclaim the GOOD NEWS of the coming Kingdom of God; 4) to pay the penalty of the sins of the world by His death on the cross with His shed blood, thus reconciling those called to God the Father; 5) to be resurrected from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb, making the resurrection to IMMORTAL LIFE possible for those who are God's; 6) to ascend to the throne of God in heaven, and there, as the HIGH PRIEST of the Church and ITS LIVING HEAD, to direct the Church and intercede for it with God; and 7) having received the Kingdom from God, to COME AGAIN as the KING of kings and LORD of lords;, in supreme almighty POWER and GLORY, to set up and rule THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

Jesus ANNOUNCED the fact of the coming Kingdom, which, by His overcoming Satan, was ASSURED!

He specially called and trained His apostles, started the Church with them and the 120, and then ADDED to the Church such as He needed to back up the apostles' ministry to THE WHOLE WORLD.

To those He called, upon complete repentance and faith, He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus they became partakers of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). The PURPOSE and FUNCTION of the Church is: 1) to back up with loyal support the apostles, as their part in the GREAT COMMISSION-and as GOD'S MEANS of, allowing them 2) to overcome Satan, developing God's holy, righteous CHARACTER within them through the Holy Spirit, thus qualifying them also to sit with Christ in His throne in Jerusalem, with power for ruling the whole earth (Revelation 3:21; 2:26-27). This latter promise applies to those CALLED OUT OF THE PRESENT WORLD-not to those who shall be called (as ALL will) during the millennium!

At this point a bit of personal experience will help the reader to UNDERSTAND.

Jesus had called His apostles and taught them IN PERSON. Jesus Christ is the WORD OF GOD in person. The Bible is the Word of God IN WRITING!

As the personal Word of God taught the original apostles, so He called and taught His modern-day apostle by the WRITTEN WORD OF GOD-the same TEACHING-the SAME TRUTH!

After calling, giving His apostle the initial teaching, having him ordained, God added the 19 members that started His Church of this Philadelphia era. Then Christ had opened before His apostle, as one "SENT FORTH" with the gospel message, the means of MASS COMMUNICATION of the printed word, radio and later television.

With such vast mass communication facilities, one apostle could reach many times more people with the gospel message than the original twelve, plus the apostle Paul and others sent to Gentile nations. I soon saw the need, as God's Word sets forth for the CHURCH, of evangelists, pastors, other elders and teachers- as well as people trained in ADMINISTRATIVE responsibilities.

So God raised up Ambassador College to provide training for the supportive functions behind the apostle in the GREAT COMMISSION.

Remember, the Church is still in the six-millennia era of this PRESENT EVIL WORLD. We are "called-out ones"-called to be SEPARATE!

Just as the angels on earth (pre-Adamic) needed the GOVERNMENT OF GOD to synchronize the various functions into a team unit, so was this necessary in God's Church.

The operation of the GREAT COMMISSION, especially in this twentieth century, requires, as the New Testament clearly states, organization.

So God set His GOVERNMENT in His Church. And God's government is authority from the TOP down. God the Father is in supreme authority over all. Next in authority under Him is Jesus Christ, living Head of the Church. On the human and earthly level, next in authority under Christ is His chosen apostle. God organized ancient Israel, under Moses, with captains over thousands next under Moses, then under them captains over hundreds, over fifties, etc., as God led Moses to choose.

I will here inject an incident in point. Christ had led His apostle to appoint the apostle's son next under him, because he was the best qualified, in the office of executive vice president. Perhaps it was a mistake to use such a modern business title. Nevertheless the son, like David's sons, Absalom and Adonijah, began to simply take over. He initiated policies he was not authorized to set. He wanted to secularize the college, the magazine (The Plain Truth), and even the Church. He wanted this world's accreditation for the college. He demoted or shanghaied the top-ranking ministers who had been trained under and were loyal to Christ's apostle.

Meanwhile, the apostle, as "one sent forth" with Christ's gospel message, was going into all the world - and was away from headquarters up to 300 out of the 365 days in the year. As the son departed from the ways of his father and of God (as did the sons of Eli and of King David), he SHUT OFF ALL AUTHORITY ABOVE HIM. He threatened with loss of their positions in the Work any under him who in any manner contacted or revealed to his father how he was departing from God's ways, watering down doctrines and teachings-first in the college, then starting also in the Church. Cowed with fear, those who knew how the son was destroying the Work of the living GOD kept silent.

Finally, four leaders under him took courage and came to God's apostle, saying, "God forgive us for keeping silent so long, but we were afraid for our jobs. But now we have to report to you that your son is systematically destroying all that Christ has built through His apostle and is building something for himself. Like a spoiled child, he wants his own way."

God's apostle, to be not guilty of Eli's sin, removed his son from all authority and disfellowshipped him from the Church.

The son had represented that no one dare "take it over his head" by going to Christ's apostle-that ALL authority in a then great worldwide Work of God stopped with him!- that he had SHUT OFF all authority above himself.

But even Christ's apostle has no authority to SHUT OFF the authority above him. In God's government, the one in lesser authority is still UNDER the authority of those over him. Authority does not END at any point under God the Father.

The end of this incident in point is that all in God's Church now know that the door to Christ's apostle is always open to ALL under him!

God's Church is NOT a worldly ORGANIZATION-it is a SPIRITUAL ORGANIZATION, called out of this world and its ways by Christ. Yet it is WELL ORGANIZED-it must be to function. The Church consists of the begotten children of God-the DIVINE FAMILY-TO-BE!

Actually the Church is, on the human level, the BEGOTTEN FAMILY OF GOD. To the Gentile converts at Ephesus, God inspired Paul to write: "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). In other words, of the begotten FAMILY of God. Continue:

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles [New Testament] and prophets [Old Testament], Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy TEMPLE in the Lord" (verses 20-21). So God reveals here that the Church is:

1) the HOUSEHOLD or begotten FAMILY of God; 2) a building-a HOLY TEMPLE-fitly joined together-that is, well organized (and, of course, on GOD'S pattern).

As a building-the HOLY TEMPLE to which Christ will come-it is built on a FIRM FOUNDATION: the apostles, chosen by Christ, and the prophets. MUCH of the New Testament is simply quotations, or citations, from the writings of the prophets of the Old Testament. The things written in the Old Testament were "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (I Corinthians 10:11).

Again the apostle Paul reminded Timothy: ". . . from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures [the only Scriptures Timothy could have known from a child were those written by Old Testament prophets], which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 3:15). The writings of the Old Testament prophets are part of the FOUNDATION of the Church of God!

And, of course, Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone-the very HEAD of the Church.

There has been much perplexity and discussion as to when the temple will be built to which Christ shall come.

Malachi's prophecy speaks of Christ's second coming to His temple (Malachi 3:1-6).

In Haggai's prophecy it is referred to prophetically. Zerubbabel had been sent as governor of a colony to build the second temple 70 years after the destruction of Solomon's temple. He built the temple to which Jesus came, though it had been enlarged and embellished by the Roman Herod. But speaking of this temple, as a type and forerunner of the temple to which Christ shall come at His second coming, it is written, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:9).

It is inconceivable that the Israelis, in the present international turmoil over their possession of old Jerusalem, could ever demolish the Arab Moslem Dome of the Rock-now standing on the site of Solomon's temple-and build a new one there of greater splendor and glory than Solomon's! However, as the second temple Zerubbabel was building was a typical forerunner of the temple to which Christ shall come, even so Zerubbabel was the typical forerunner of one Christ would use in building the far more glorious temple t