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AGE
Mystery
of
the Church
We continue, with this ninth installment, the serial publication of
Herbert W. Armstrong's last book,
Mystery of the Ages.
P
ERHAPS
the greatest
mystery of a ll
will
not
seem, at first glance, to
be a mystery to most readers
of this volume.
The reason that is true is the
fact that the true purpose and
meaning of the Church is as li t–
tle understood as the Bible
itself. The revelation of that
mystery must come as a shock–
ing truth. The real truth about
the Church- the reason for its
origin, and its purpose-has
remained hidden from even the
professing Christian world.
Church Exclusive to Christian
World
This is inextricably intertwined
with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
lt
is a fact to stagger the mind of the
reader that the gospel of Jesus
C hrist was not proclaimed
to the
world
from about
A.D.
50 until the
year 1953. The apostle Paul fore–
told this when he said, " But
if
our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that
are lost: in whom the god of this
world hath blinded the rninds of
them which believe not, lest the
l ight of the g lorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them" (II Cor.
4:3-4) .
Millions have read over this pas-
May 1986
sage without grasping its meaning.
The term
church
is applicable
only to the Christian religion. (The
Christian religion, as is generally
understood, is the largest religion
in the world in number of pr.ofess–
ing adherents.) Other religions may
have masques, synagogues and
temples. But is the Church a build–
ing? Many assume it is, which
assurnption reflects their ignorance
of the purpose and meaning of the
Church. But in this volume we are
concerned only with the Church.
For when stripped of its mystery,
the Church is of paramount con–
.cern to all peoples of the earth .
The Church, founded by Jesus
Christ, has an all-important mean–
ing to every human life that ever
lived. Yet almost no one has ever
known that meaning.
Even within the Christian world,
apostasy, division and changing
times have blotted out the true
original meaning and purpose that
now is indeed a mystery.
The word
church
is an English–
language word translated from the
original Greek
ekk/esia. Ekk/esia
means an assembly of called-out–
ones. Old Testament Israel was
usually called by the term "congre–
gation." In sorne respects the word
congregation
is synonymous with
the word
church.
Yet there ís a
distinct difference between the
terms church and congregation.
The congregation of Israel was sep–
arate, as a separate nation. But they
were not called-out-ones spiritually
in the sarne sense that characterizes
the New Testament Church.
What has been hidden from even
the professing Christian world is
the real purpose of the Church–
the real reason why J esus Christ,
the second Adam, founded the
Church.
Real Purpose of Church
To the shocking surprise to nearly
every reader of this volume,
1
will
state first what the Church was not
and is not.
I t
is not the instrumen–
tality by which God is trying to
"save the world." Few may realize
it, but Jesus made no attempt to
gain conver ts or to invite people to
"give their hearts to him" or to
"accept him as their personal Sav–
ior."
On the contrary, he "call ed
out"-drafted-twelve disciples.
The word
disciple
means student.
These twelve were students being
taught by Jesus the true gospel of
the kingdom of God. This involved
the entire purpose of God in creat–
ing the human race on this earth.
That meaning had been rejected,
then lost, by the first created man ,
Adam.
At this point let us recapitulate.
God is the Creator and Supreme
Ruler over his entire creation. H e
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