Volume 12, Number 2, September-October 2008
If You Are Going to Vote... Letter: Hi guys, Please read this link if you are going to vote. I personally am
not for biblical reasons. I don't want to cast a lot to put a king or ruler
over me, as I want God, Yahweh to rule over me. I put my faith and trust in
what his word truly teaches. Response:
Thank
you for this very good letter, but I would like to clear a few things up.
Deut Letter:
However I do know Christians and professed Christians and others who do
believe one is to vote. If I were to
vote, I'd likely vote for this guy. We
have freedom of speech and it's nonsense to say that
I don't have a right to speak my mind if I don't vote. Response:
We
are indeed thankful that our country allows you the freedom to say what you
think about voting even though you do not vote. However you ought to think of
the logic of what you are doing. Suppose that your e-mail was passed to
everyone with a computer in the Letter: But
on the other hand, those who voted for Bush can see (with further research)
you are partly responsible for his advancement of anti-constitutional powers. Response:
I
did not vote for Bush last time because I believed he cared little for our
constitution. I voted for the Constitution Party candidate. Even though he
was not elected, my vote was my official decision against both Bush and
Kerry. If everyone who could vote but chose not to,
did what I did, we would have a different president right now. Those who do
not vote are passively accepting whoever the rest of the voters elect and are
therefore more responsible for the election of Bush than I am. Please realize I
have had major flaws in this matter. I did not vote for over 20 years because
I accepted other’s religious teaching. After I studied the subject in the
Scripture myself, I realized that I was responsible for rightly using
whatever governing authority that I possessed—no matter how small that might
be. However, I also realized that if I began to vote, it would be an
admission that I had been wrong the whole time before--with no way to undo
any of it! That was hard to deal with. One election came
by and I read a lot more about who was running and what they stood for. I
said, “Hmmm, maybe I should be voting. I would vote for...” The next
election, I actually planned to vote, but found out I was too late to
register. In elections after that, I was registered and I voted for the
person whom I believed best represented Scriptural principles. So take heart! The
Eternal does not hold us responsible to redo the past, but to change for the
future. There will probably be another election, and you will probably have a
chance to register in advance and vote for the persons and issues in
accordance with the scriptures. Letter: Please read this article [A Wasted Vote by
Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party Candidate] too—quite insightful and
encouraging to me that there are still some men of character and guts. http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20081010.html Biblical context: read Exodus 20 and read where the people of — Pat Brady Response: Thanks for the
article by Chuck Baldwin explaining why a third party vote is not a wasted
vote. I will vote for him this year. I do not think he will solve all of our
problems or do everything according to the
Scripture. (I do not think I know how to do everything according to the
Scripture). But of all the men who have gone through the procedure to have
their names put on the ballot, I think he best represents a Scriptural view
of governance. — NSE First Resurrection: Know When It Is, or Be Qualified? Letter: Hello Yes, I just read a few articles that you
have on your Web Page about Mr. Coulter of the Christian Biblical Church of
God. I taught that your comments were very fair and I would like to know if
you know anything of his teaching of Pentecost Resurrection?
I am having a hard time with this and like you said, you have to go
through massive tons of material in
order to see if what he is teaching is right. And again, it is hard to really dispute
it even when you do go through all the material because how things are twisted and turned. I am a member right now with Christian
Biblical Church of God but I have a lot of questions which I
can't get no one to answer. I am about to do a study on this but like I said
it is going to take tons and tons of work. At least 25 - 30 hours of just
listening to tapes. But could you be a little bit more
clear on Deuteronomy 16! I don't know of this one at all. Would
greatly appreciate your help. —
E. Response:
I
remember reading about Mr. Coulter's Pentecost Resurrection teaching many
years ago and finding it reasonable, though it did not cover all of the
points that other teachers make for the Resurrection occurring at other
times. I have forgotten most of the details. But to be honest
with you, I would not stay in a group or leave a group based upon their
teaching of when the Resurrection occurs. If the group insists that you
believe their explanation, that might be a reason in
itself to leave. But if you are otherwise learning and serving there, then I
would stay. The truth of the
matter is that the greatest scholarship in the world cannot change the day
that the Father chooses for the Resurrection. Jesus did not know when it was
(Matt 24:36). The twelve apostles did not really understand what was going to
happen on Passover when Jesus died. After He died, they went back to their
fishing occupation (John 21:3) rather than clearly understanding that the
Holy Spirit would be poured out upon them in just a few weeks at Pentecost
(John 20:19). I have had many
good Christian friends who have died thinking they knew when the resurrection
was going to be—but that knowledge, whether right or wrong, really did not
make much of a difference in their lives. We need to pray for revelation of
those things that we need to know--some things we do not need to know. The
important thing is whether or not we are living worthy of being in the
resurrection. There are so many scriptures that tell us what to do to be in
that first resurrection: Matthew 6:9-34; 24:44-51, 25 (all); Luke 12:15-48;
Hebrews 11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8; 2Peter 3:8-14; Revelation 2; 3; 20:4-6. Living by all of
those verses actually requires much more faith and commitment than a 30-hour
study of Pentecost—but that is why the Eternal has put us here. I think you are
asking about Deuteronomy 16 and its relationship to the Passover. Consider
the priesthood in the old Testament: Exodus 12 - The Passover: each
family kills a lamb in their own home. The Egyptian firstborn die and the
Israelite firstborn are spared. While the name isn't used directly, we appear
to be operating under a Melchizedek priesthood at this time Exodus 13:1-3 - The firstborn are sanctified or
consecrated to God Exodus Exodus Exodus 28 - Aaron's sons set up as the priesthood. Numbers 3:45;
8:14-18 - Levites replace the firstborn in God's service Deut 16:1-8 - Passover sacrifice
commanded to be at the tabernacle, not in individual houses. With the change in
the priesthood form the firstborn to the Levitical Aaronic priesthood, it
appears that the Passover sacrifice went from being a home sacrifice to a
tabernacle sacrifice. The Old Testament does not record any in-home Passover
observances after Exodus 12, but records two Levitical Passover observances
at the Temple (2Chr 30 & 35). We need not be fearful of accidentally
doing the wrong thing as there were some in Hezekiah's day that had a good
heart, but did not keep the Passover the way it was commanded, and the
Eternal forgave them (2Chr 30:18-20). — NSE Treasures in Heaven Article Letter: Greetings Norm, This is in response to John E. Robinson’s
article, Treasures in Heaven, in the July-Aug ‘08 SN. I enjoyed
his article, and agree with most of his conclusions. So my following comments
are intended to perhaps build on what John presented. Scripture clearly shows that the future
will definitely see an increased emphasis on more earth-related activies: farming ranching, and like way of life. “Each
man will live under his own fig tree!” [Is 36:16]. Yet those same Scriptures
seem to teach a large emphasis on a capitalistic society! “Cities will be rebuilt!” People will live
in those cities. And, it is very unlikely they will have farms and ranches in
those cities. Thus, what purpose do the cities hold? The weapons of war will
be made into “plowshares”! (Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3). Yet, “plowshares”, while
picturing nature activities, do not seem to point to “other activities. Ask yourselves. In the future, are wives
and mothers going to hand-make all of the clothes for their families? Will
they take the clothes they make and wash them in a tub made at home by their
husbands? Or take them to the nearest stream and beat the dirt out of them
with rocks? Or, will their husbands manufacture modern
“washing machines and sewing machines”? And every thing else that are very
acceptable necessities? Electricity, furniture, toilets, windows, mirrors,
shoes, etc? Will the ranchers only raise animals for their own needs, or will
they raise animals to feed and clothe the “bigger” multitude that live in the
cities? Does it not make sense that the produce of
the land will find its way into the cities, meaning more than food and
clothing? How about lumber jacks? Miners? Fishermen? Yes, the acts of those
who deal with and in nature, will be “sold” to those
in the cities, who will manufacture and process for all men. They will make
the washing machines, refrigerators, etc. They will process food for the
masses! And they will sell much of it back to the farmers and ranchers! And, if the above is true, then there will
be banking institutions, that can finance people who
desire to enter into the capitalist ventures. Manufacturing, hotels, motels,
restaurants! And, they must charge interest! Only, it will be done the righteous way! —
Ray Daly, Response:
Thank
you for your letter. Much has been speculated about what society will be like
when Messiah rules the earth. There is no doubt that numerous scriptures
refer to cities and buildings, as well as farms and livestock at that time.
Ezekiel 40 through 48 describe a massive temple
complex that will require a sophisticated building industry to make. It is
difficult to believe that Messiah will say: “I get to live here, and the rest
of you live in tents.” Will banking
institutions be required? Must they charge interest? I cannot say “yes” to
that. Suppose that somebody in the Millennium wants to start making
electronic music keyboards so that every child who wants to,
can learn to write, play and record the parts of every instrument in a
symphonic orchestra. This ability is available for only a few hundred dollars
today, so why shouldn’t it be in the Millennium? Today, such a
venture might start by a corporation obtaining a large loan from a bank,
which obtained money from another bank, which made it from nothing. That will
not happen in the Millennium (see article, page 1). Alternatively, a
corporation might sell more stock to investors to fund the project. In both
cases, the bank and the investors mainly care about getting a return on their
investment. They do not care if the keyboards work, if children will really
use them, or if they quickly fail and create an environmental disposal
problem—unless it affects their profit. After all, the people who put savings
into the bank do not want to be told that much of their savings have been
lost, but the kids are really enjoying their keyboards. In the millennium,
might a keyboard entrepreneur go to a farmer, rancher or manufacturer whom he
knows, who has a large store of silver gold from many prosperous years, and
ask him to pay to build the assembly plant for his new keyboards? And if no
one man has enough money, then might he go to a group of such men? Won’t
these men be careful to ensure that the entrepreneur knows what he is doing
and produces something functional? If the cost turns out much greater than
expected, and no profits are made, but thousands of children learn music as
they never have before, might these Godly men be content that they have lost
some of their wealth, but that it has gone for a good cause? Hang onto your
hats, we are going the other way now: Suppose the
project is a great success, that the entrepreneur is able to repay all of the
costs of building the keyboard factory. Suppose that this group of wealthy
men continues to fund other individuals with successful ideas. Maybe all do
not succeed, but most do. Suppose that there is another very successful
farmer, who has a lot of silver from the sales of his produce, but who would
rather use spare time to play one of those keyboards rather than to
investigate the viability of new projects. Suppose he says to that group of
wealthy men, “I’d like to help you start new industries, but I don’t want to
get deeply involved in evaluation. If I just loan you 1000 pieces of silver,
can you pay me twenty extra pieces every year for the use of my money—and
give me the whole 1000 back if I ever need it?” And the group of wealthy men write his proposal down, and say,
“yes”. In a kind of folksy, down-home way, the group of wealthy men has just
become a bank, opening a savings account at 2% and investing that money with
reliable entrepreneurs doing sensible projects that are well known to them.
When I went to public school, I was taught that banks actually worked that
way. A century ago, some small banks actually did. But today’s centrally
controlled banks are nothing like that. It is very
important to note that in this example, most of the money that these wealthy
men are using to start projects is their own money—only a small part is other
people’s money. In today’s banking world, most bankers have little or none of
their own money invested in their own bank. I do not know if
there will be banks and lending at interest in the Millennium. I do know that
it will not be like the corrupt and unjust banking systems we have today. I am
ready to accept whatever our Savior will implement. I hope everyone else
will, too. Thanks for the
letter. — NSE Matt. 18 Form Improvements Letter: Norm, I must take exception to your Matthew 18
form [July-Aug 2008 issue, p. 44], at least in part. The second step of
Matthew 18 is not about taking people with you to help convince the other guy
what a sinner he is or how he needs to change his ways. The witnesses are not
to help resolve the matter at all. Christ said what their purpose was, to
establish everything. Response:
I
largely agree with you and will change the wording on the form. However,
please note that verse 17 says: "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it
to the church." So there must be a case where the person hears the
witnesses and there is no need to tell it to the church. In my experience,
there are many times when two people try to resolve an issue and are simply
not listening to each other enough to even understand the other's point of
view—they usually think they already know. When witnesses are brought into
the picture and they hear both people at the same time and try to understand
what the issue is, that often clears it up. There are also cases, and plenty
of them, where one person's issue is ridiculous and their simple effort to
explain it to a third party causes them to see the error and they give up on
it. Letter: It could be that the witnesses see something
that makes the one who brought them wrong. That is the point of witnesses,
and not allies, being brought. Response: I agree they should be witnesses. However,
since the person who brings the issue usually also decides to go to step two
and bring the witnesses, they may choose allies, either intentionally or
unwittingly. The church must be prepared to deal with situations where the
person has brought allies instead of witnesses. Letter: The witnesses are for the purpose of establishing for
the Church, Step 3, all that had happened between the two with the sin
between them. Response: Yes. Letter: You should rethink your form and replace step two
with instructions conforming themselves with the intent of Matt 18. The idea
is for the two involved in the sin to work out the problems without the
Church being involved. Two opportunities for this are given, one with
witnesses and one without. The witnesses are to report faithfully what they
observed in the interaction to the Church. It is possible that both parties
to Matt 18 are wrong, and the faithful witness will disclose that situation
to the Church. Response: I agree with all of this. I guess I just
need to replace "help resolve the matter" with a more complex
explanation. These are the trials of
designing a form that is: 1. Easy to understand 2. Thorough its instructions 3. Large enough type that people can read it 4. Big enough spaces that people can write in
it 5. And fits on one page so it is not too
cumbersome. Thank you for your
input. Letter: Hopefully, God will grant you what is needed to
continue your calling in Port Austin, and will take
those enemies from your door. —
Response: Thanks for the
encouragement. — NSE Likes Are Sermons Biblical? Letter: Dear Norman, My hat is off to Roj.
I did attend with a very small group that
met in members homes for a time. Questions were allowed and I watched the
people grow weekly. It was fun to go to services. Unfortunately we grew and
returned to the tape format with its attendant limitations. My prayers will be with you and your
struggles. Regards, —
Bob Shiloh Response: There is no doubt
that more learning can occur when questions and answers are permitted. But,
those in attendance need much more faith in the Eternal. In groups where all
teaching is controlled, it is easy for people to believe that their
organization has all the truth because they rarely hear more than one
understanding of any doctrine. But in groups that allow interaction, there
will almost always be disagreement on significant doctrines. Often, this
causes people to stop attending, or to participate on a limited level. We should be
careful of our boasting about this method of teaching, because the
controversy created sometimes drives those who are weak in the faith not to
attend any service any more. Then they are worse off than when they were in
the hierarchical group where they at least fellowshipping once per week with
teaching that was flawed, but still helpful. (Some ministers in the
hierarchical churches do teach a lot of scriptural meat, others mostly
promote of themselves and their organization.) Those who
participate in interactive services should develop the wisdom to see when
their comments are helping and when they are offending others. There are
signs we can look for. When people are quiet and refuse to talk about the
subject of a service, or when they resort to a simple dogmatic statement of
their belief and refuse to discuss it any further, they are having trouble
with it. If they leave during the teaching, or frequently skip the service
all together, that is not good. I know people who feel compelled to announce to
everyone present that they don’t agree with everything that is being said at
this service. Helping these people troubled by interactive teaching can be
accomplished in two ways. The first way is
to avoid openly discussing things that one knows would be difficult or
offensive to other believers. If there were some truths that the
apostles were not able to accept at that time (John The second way is
to teach people to be able to work among believers with whom they are in
partial disagreement. Show them that Messiah and His Apostles met in
synagogues where others spoke—there would be error taught there. They
participated in the service and spoke later (Acts While I would
personally not want to attend a congregation where only one understanding of
Scripture can be voiced, we all ought to recognize that we are all struggling
together to learn from our Creator, and that none of us have the perfect
method of doing that. — NSE Night in New Heavens/Earth? Letter: Norm, I am glad to see a Servant's News back
with articles of interest!!!! It's
been a while. I do have a question regarding one of the articles { July-Aug 2007, p.9], with discusses "who" is
in the new earth, and the comment that there will be day and night there.
In the description of the new earth in Rev. 22:5, the scriptures say there
will be "no night there" nor is there a need for a candle, as the
Lord God gives them light. Can you explain the writers comment regarding
there being cold and heat, day and night in the new earth? I don't see that. Thanks, —
Kim Response: The two Scriptures
are: “While the earth remaineth,
seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and
night shall not cease” (Gen There shall be no night there: They need
no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they
shall reign forever and ever (Rev 22:5). The last verse is
clearly written about those who have eternal life. They are the ones who
"shall reign forever and ever". There will be "no night"
for them, for they will always have the light of God. But it also says that
they "need no lamp nor light of the sun",
not that those things no longer exist. The flesh and blood people that are
still alive will still need those things. Those that are "outside the
city" (v 15) could not live without them. Hopefully they will learn to
keep God's commandments (v 14). If it also
important to realize that the Greek for "night" is nux and while it does mean a literal night, it
also has a
figurative use. According to Frieberg's
lexicon: ... (2)
figuratively; (a) as a symbol of death (JN 9.4); (b) as a sphere of moral darkness
(1TH 5.5); (c) as a symbol of the present age (RO 13.12) There will be no
more death and sin among those who are reigning forever and ever. — NSE Information on Healing Letter: Hi Norm, I was just speaking with Dixon Cartwright
about healings and he said you had some views on this subject. I'm interested
in getting a better understanding of divine healings historically and today
after having had some in and out of the WCG. What piqued my interest was his
statement that you believe there are just as many healings in protestant
churches as the CoGs influenced by HWA. I'm
interested in your evidence and reasoning behind that claim because it was
not what I expected. Do you have some articles on your site that address this
topic? Sincerely, —
Tim McHyde Response: I would say there are less healings in
the big denominational, institutional churches. But the Bible churches, the
charismatic churches, etc. certainly believe in it. They pray biblical
prayers, anoint with oil. I have seen a room full of people crowd around a
sick person and pray for them. I have seen some miraculously get well; I seen
some remain sick and later die. I have read the
prayer lists and updates of Sabbatarian groups and those of non-Sabbatarian
groups. The number of dramatic recoveries, gradual recoveries, and "no
answers" seem very similar—though I have not made a scientific study. We can see in the
New Testament that healing sometimes depends on the faith of the sick person,
but also can be of function of a Christian with the gift of healing. Jesus
and Peter sometimes healed people who did not even seem to be seeking it.
There are people in Sunday-keeping groups that claim to have the gift of
healing. I have never personally gone to one of their meetings. I have seen evidence
that some of them are phonies. On the other hand, I have met people who are
now Sabbatarians, but said that they were healed at one of these mass-healing
meetings. I am sorry that I do not have written documentation of this. I
would have to search through my notes and e-mails to find the
instances--which I might someday. I don't know where you live, but I think if
you attended some Sunday services of people who believe in biblical healings,
and asked people if they know anyone who has been healed or anyone with the
gift of healing, it would not take you too long to find your own data. Another aspect of
healing that I am studying is how to actually lay hands on people. Jesus
sometimes touched the place where the person was sick. He made mud to put on
people and did other things. He did not always just lay hands on people
and/or anoint them with oil. I have attached
some articles. When Will God Heal is a good basic article
available now on the literature page of www.servantsnews.com. Healing--Dunamis
usage is a set of overheads I used for a message. It is mostly verses
showing where the Greek word "dunamis" is used. It is frequently
used for “miraculous healing power” in the Bible. Sin and Healing
is another set of overheads, mostly scriptures, used in another teaching
message. An article entitled Biblical Elders Needed for Healings? from the May/June 2000 Servants' News by John Leitch is also available on the
Previous Issues page of our web site. [ A very recent thorough study is available
at Feast2008.org/Feast2008%20files/feast_2008_msgs/healin01.pdf ] May the Eternal
bless your searching. Please let me know if you
write anything up about it. Are you suffering
from something for which you need healing? — NSE Trial With Spouse Passing Letter: Sir: Sorry that I have not written sooner, nor
helped. The only reason I have is that I have not worked this year except in
the garden. My problem stems from my wife [name withheld] died [two years
ago]. From a mental way, I could not work as an electrician which I did for
forty three years. Hope this little will help some. May God bless you, —
J. L. Response: May the Eternal
give you strength and peace in your time of difficulty. Many of us totally
under estimate the value of a faithful spouse. It is always easy to see
their imperfections—which are always there—and to not appreciate their good
enough. We do not realize it until they are gone—either through death, or
even more sadly, the nonsense of unnecessary divorce. I had a taste of
this difficulty in a different way when my wife moved 2½ hours away from Port
Austin to cook for Even though I
called her virtually every day and visited her most weekends, I still found
that my work was not as effective as when we were together all of the time. I
understand how you might not be able to do the job that you did for forty
years. Why does the
Eternal let this happen? One reason is that He wants us to completely trust
in Him—even more than in our believing mates! Our Heavenly Father has helped
us through many trials in life, and the loss of a loving spouse is one more
He will help us through. I realize that it is a lot easier to intellectually
write than it is to live it. I struggled with it, but I do not think I let
the Eternal work in me as much as He would have. My wife has been
back with me for several months now and it is a great blessing. But the
Eternal does what He will. If he takes away a loving spouse, then we must
work with Him. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust
Him” (Job The Eternal may
also be testing other believers to see if they will help those who are
suffering from these difficulties, or if they will simply be too uncaring or
too busy to help. May the Eternal
strengthen you in your trial so you may overcome and again be a blessing to
others during the remaining years that He may give you.
May he strengthen others to encourage you. — NSE God Promises Trials... and Delivers! Letter: Dear Brethren in Christ, You are not alone in your struggles. Being a believer and persecuted is just a
sign of the times. Although this sounds a little lame, but there are people
who are praying for your welfare. I saw a street billboard the other day that
read, "The worlds greatest people built the Titanic, but God's amateurs
built the — by Norman Edwards Download Full Issue in PDF: September-October 2008 Quick PDF (.5 MB) September-October High-Quality PDF to Print (1.8 MB) Back to front page
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