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learning, and never able to come to
the knowledge of the truth" (11
Tim. 3:7). That 's why so much that
is written in the field of theology
today is frustrating, vague and hard
for the average reader to compre–
hend.
But you don't have to be a theo–
logian to get salid, plain answers. It
really isn't as difficult oras compli–
cated as the experts have made it
seem.
In Matthew 11, verse 25, Jesus
Christ, in praying to the Father,
said, " 1 thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, because thou
hast bid these things from the wise
and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes."
Of course, he didn 't
mean literal babies, but
those whose minds are
open and willing, as little
children's should be, to
accept the plain and sim–
ple truth when it's taught
to them.
If you are to be truly
educated, and if you are
to establish life on the
right foundation, you
must know what you are,
why you were born, and
what is the purpose of
your life! You should also
know who and what is
God. Did he create man?
And if so, why? Does
God have a plan? And
where do you fit into that
plan? These really are very funda–
mental questions, and any educated
person should be able to answer
them.
1 mean really answer them- not
just waffle around, sidestepping the
real issues with vague generalities
and muddled opinions. How can
one say he is truly educated if he
doesn't know why he's alive?
The Bible is the instruction book
for all of mankind. lt gives the
cause of war and peace. lt reveals
the answers to the perplexing ques–
tions of life as no other book on
earth can.
lt
teaches those immutable, spir–
itual principies and laws that regu–
late successful human relation–
ships-and that produce peace and
joy and happiness.
Jesus Christ made it plain just
how powerful those principies are
October 1986
when he said in John 6:63, "The
words that 1 speak unto you, they
are spirit , and they are life."
He wasn't referring to life as just
a biochemical existence, but happy
life, eterna! life, abundant Jife!
The revealed Scripture is indeed
the foundation of knowledge, and
understanding comes by applying
that knowledge. Notice Psalm
111:10, " The fear of the l ord is
the beginning of wisdom: a good
understanding have ... they that
do his commandments."
When sorne theologians say you
don't bave to live by every word of
God, it is no wonder they have no
understanding.
But you can unrlerstand the
Bible, with the proper background.
That's where the right textbook
bringing you that background
comes in.
I've been privileged to have ac–
cess to the right textbook that ex–
plains the basic mysteries of the
Bible. It is called
Mystery of the
Ages
because it does explain the
seven majar mysteries that have
puzzled man throughout all the
ages. I use it in my classes.
Frankly, I wish that every human
being on the face of the earth could
have a copy of it in addition to the
Bible.
It's not written in awkward aca–
demic language that is hard to un–
derstand. It's not dull and dry like
so many textbooks tend to be. But
most important of all, this book,
Mystery of the Ages,
does tackle
head-on these basic and fundamen-
tal questions that theologians ought
to be able to answer.
As our founder, Herbert W.
Armstrong, was writing the book,
he mentioned to me that he really
felt this book could be one of the
most important books ever written.
He realized that there was a great
missing dimension in understand–
ing the Word of God, the Holy
Bible.
The Bible is and always will be
the main textbook for al! our theol–
ogy classes at Ambassador Col–
lege- even as the Bible should be
the main instruction book for your
life. But Herbert W. Armstrong
wrote this book not only for the
students but to help millions of
people understand the
Bi ble and to get more
from their reading of it.
We've often said that
the Bible is like a jigsaw
puzzle. All the pieces are
there, but befare the
complete picture can be
seen the pieces have to be
fitted accurately together.
Those pieces only go to–
gether one way.
But as the pieces are
fitted together carefully,
the picture emerges.
The Bible is just like
that. To understand the
truth of one particular
subject, one must search
the whole Bible on that
question. The problem is
that often when people start to put
the puzzle together, they already
have a preconceived idea about
what the final picture should be.
In other words, they interpret
the Scriptures to say what they in
their minds have already decided
must be true.
Can you imagine trying to put a
puzzle together like that?
This is what is so different about
Mystery of the Ages.
It is designed
to help you see the real message of
the Bible- one subject at a time–
piece by piece.
We want this book to be avail–
able to a much wider audience than
just the students at Ambassador
College. Many of our readers al–
ready have it. It can be yours, free
for the asking. Why not write for
your copy now or telephone our
toll-free number?
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