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God's kingdom is established on
earth (Phil. 3:20;
1
Pet. 1:4).
A Christian is, in effect, an
ambassador for Christ and his
coming kingdom (11 Cor. 5:20).
He lives on earth as a
representa–
tive
of that kingdom, obeying
human governmental authority
and, where there is a conftict with
the higher laws of God, submit–
ting to the penalties of man's Iaw
(Acts 5:29), but taking no part in
its politics.
This magazine is a product of the
publishing arm of a globe-girdling,
PERSONAL
(Continued from page 2)
Certainly third in order is the
mystery of your own life-of
humanity as a whole. What and
why is humanity? Is man an
immortal soul? Do the dead know
what the living are doing? Is man a
flesh and blood being with an
immortal soul within? Is there
meaning and purpose to human
life? Did we evolve through unin–
telligent material forces without
meaning or purpose? Why are
humans beset with seemingly
unsolvable problems?
Fourth in line of the not-under–
stood mysteries is the civilization
that has developed in man's world.
How did it develop? Why do we
find a world of awesome advance–
ment and progress, yet paradoxical–
ly with appalling and mounting
evils? Why cannot the minds that
develop spacecraft, computers and
marvels of science, technology and
industry solve the problems that
demonstrate human helplcssness?
Next, in the development of
human society on earth, is the mys–
tery of the Jew and the ancient
nation of Israel. Why did God raise
up one special nation of Israel?
Why are they God ' s "chosen
people"? Are they God's favorites?
Does God discriminate against
other nations? Is God a respecter of
persons? What is lsrael 's purpose
in the divine order of things?
Come now to the mystery of the
church. Why should there be the
institution of the church in the
world? Is there sorne purpose for it,
not understood even by the religion
of traditional Christianity?
Finally, why the mystery of the
July/ August 1985
God-ordained work of witness and
warning to this world.
It
represents
the coming kingdom of God, soon
to be enforc.ed on this earth. In that
capacity, it must remain-and
does
remain-strictly nonpolitical.
Thus,
The Plain Truth
lS gov–
ernment affiliated, but not with any
human government of this world.
lt
represents and announces the com–
ing of a
new
age, a
new
civilization
and a
new
government, when all
peoples will learn the way that
brings peace and prosperity.
The Plain Truth
and those who
kingdom of God? Jesus' gospel
message was "the kingdom of
God. " Is the kingdom of God
something within each person? Is it
something that may be set up in
men's hearts? Is it the institution of
the church? Or is it something else
altogether? Why this mystery of
the very gospel of Jesus Christ?
These are the SEVEN GREAT MYS–
TERIES that concern the very lives
of every human being on earth. The
PLAIN TRUTH of all these mysteries
is revealed in the Bible, but none of
the churches or theologians seem to
have comprehended them.
WHY? The Bible is the basic
mystery of all.
If
one begins reading the Bible
continuously from beginning to
end, one becomes bewildered. The
Biblc simply cannot be read like
any other book.
It
is a mystery
because it is a coded book. It is like
a jigsaw puzzle, with perhaps
hundreds of various pieces of dif–
ferent forms and shapes that can be
fitted together in only one precise
pattern. The truths of the Bible are
revealed here a little, there a little,
scattered from beginning to end,
and revealed only through the Holy
Spirit within those surrendered and
yielded to God, willing to have con–
fessed error and wrongdoing, and
yielding to BELIEVE Christ, the
Word of God. Jesus was the Word
in Person. The Bible is the same
Word in print.
No one can have the Holy Spirit,
which alone can open the human
mind to understanding of this
Word of God, without a complete
repentance and an implicit belief in
Christ as well as believing what he
says. Repentance can only follow
admission of being wrong-of
produce it are concerned for
a/1
peoples, everywhere. Our mission,
as ambassadors of Christ- as
advance emissaries of his king–
dom-is to put this world into per–
spective. and proclaim to all nations
the
good news
of soon-coming
global peace and prosperity. The
petty personal aod political squab–
bles and issues of the present day
are largely
irrelevant
to the great
message of hope this magazine
announces!
That
is where
The Plain Truth
is "coming from"! o
wrongdoing and wrong believing.
The most difficult thing for any
human seems to be to admit being
wrong- to confess error of belief
and conviction.
Is it any wonder, then, that the
Bible is the book that nobody
knows or understands?-or cer–
tainly almost nobody.
God deliberately coded his book
so that it would not be understood
until our modern time. In the 12th
chapter of Daniel we read even that
devout man of God could not under–
stand that which was given to him
to write as part of the Bible. He saíd
he heard, but understood not. The
revealing angel said, "Go thy way,
Daniel. The words are closed and
sealed until the time of the end."
Today we have reached that time.
God has opened to understanding
his Word to those he has chosen,
who have yielded and surrendered
to him and to his blessed sacred
Word. In the 12th chapter of Dan–
iel , it says at this time of the end the
"wise" would understand, "but
none of the wicked shall under–
stand." Who, then, are the "wise"
who may understand the Bible?
"The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom" (Ps. 111:10)
and "a good understanding have all
they that do bis commandments"
(same verse) . Yet traditional Chris–
tianity has generally denied God's
commandments-says they are
done away, nailed to the cross. Tbe
clergy and theologians of organized
"Christianity," therefore, cannot
and do not understand the Bible.
How, then, can we, in this book,
understand and reveal to the reader
these boggling mysteries? That
question will be answered in the
Introduction next month. o
41