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Voice Cries Out
(Continued from page 6)
by God, ALL HUMANKIND was
CUT OFF PROM ACCESS TO ÜOD
OR HIS HOLYSPIRn:
UNTIL
the
second Adam (Christ) had quaJi–
fied and actually RESTORED THE
GovERNMENT OF Goo, RULING
THE WORLD BY THE KINGDOM OF
Goo. Jesus said plainly,
"No man
can come
to me except the Father
which sent me draw him" (John
6:44).
2) The Holy Spirit was not yet
given, even for the Church,
UN–
TIL
Jesus, having conquered Sa–
tan, had been glorified in heaven
(John 7:37-39). Therefore the
Old Testament Israel could not
receive God's Holy Spirit. Only
their specialJy called propbets
did.
3) Even the GOSPEL-good
news of the coming KINGDOM
OF Goo-could not be pro–
claimed
UNTIL
Jesus, the sec–
ond Adam, had QUALIFIED by
overcoming Satan
whi/e He was
human
(Mark 1:14-15). So, dur–
ing Old Testament Israel, "the
law and the prophets were
UN–
TIL
John; since that time the
Kingdom of God is preached"
(Luke 16:16).
4) Even now, today, the heav–
ens have received Jesus
"UNTIL
the times of restitution of all
things" (Acts 3:21). That is, the
time of RESTORATION of the Gov–
ernment of God over the earth at
Christ's now soon coming!
Old Testament Israel had a
function preparatory to ultimate
establishment of the KrNGDOM OF
Goo. But the Gospel could not be
proclaimed to the world, nor
could God's called congregation
of people have the Holy Spirit
UNTIL
Jesus a) had qualified by
overcoming Satan, and b) had
been glorified after ascension to
heaven.
But
NOW
we come to the
CHURCH of the New Testament.
The time had come when 1) the
Gospel announcement could go to
the world, and 2) the congrega–
tion or CHURCll could receive the
Holy Spirit.
So now we can explain, in aman-
December 1980
ner that makes SENSE,
WHA T
and
WHYis
THE CHURCH!
Foundlng the Church
First, what nearly alJ "Chris–
tians," including theologians, do
not realize: Jesus was born to
become a KrNG!
On tria! for His life befare
Pi late, Jesus was asked, "Art
thou a king then?" And Jesus
answered: "Thou sayest that I am
a king: To this end was I born,
and for this cause carne I into the
world ..." (John 18:37).
Prior to the begettal and birth
of Jesus, God had said to His
mother-to-be, Mary, by His an–
gel: " ... thou shaJt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name JEsus. He
~~
Jesus Himse/f was
to be not only Founder
but head and chief
'corner stone' of the
Church (Ephesians
2:19-21; 5:23).
' '
shall be great, and shall be called
the Son of the Highest, and the
Lord God shall give unto him the ·
throne of bis father David; and he
shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of bis KING–
DOM there shall be no end" (Luke
1:31-33).
.
Jesus was born as a human, to
become a KING, ultimately to
establish the KINGDOM OF Goo,
ruling the whole earth with the·
ÜOVERNMENT OF Goo! But that
RULE required more than the
individual JEsus.
Jesus carne for DUAL purposes!
He carne also as spiritual Savior,
to save God's people from their
sins, that they might be BORN
into the very Divine FAMILY OF
Goo (Matthew 1:21), that they
might share in that Government
RULE!
Neither professing Christians
nor their scholarly theologian
leaders today comprehend either
of these two majar PURPOSES for
which Jesus Christ carne!
His human birth was the arri–
val of the "second Adam." He
had come 1) to qualify, where the
first Adam failed, to replace the
former archangel Lucifer on the
THRONE OF THE EARTH, ruling
with the ÜOYERNMENT OF ÜOD.
He had come 2) to announce the
future establishment of the
KrNGDOM OF Goo and teach that
prophetic good news (Gospel) to
His chosen future apostles. He
had come 3) to take on Himself,
as our direct Creator, the penalty
for our sins by His death on the
cross-that we might share in
that world. And He bad come 4)
to be resurrected from the dead
by God, making possible ETER–
NAL Goo-LIFE for the people of
God. And He had come 5) to
establish Goo's CHURCH!
Meanwhile, for 4,000 years
since the first Adam, the wily and
evil Satan had been invisibly
swaying and ruling a mankind
CUT OFF from all contact with and
knowledge of Goo! He still sits at
that throne of POWER- though
not administering God's Govern–
ment.
Immediately after the birth of
the Christ-child, Satan sought,
through the Roman-appointed
King Herod, to physically slay
the future KING (Matthew 2:13-
15) .' But God warned Joseph and
Mary to flee with the Christ–
child into Egypt until King Her–
od was dead.
Wben Jesus was about age 30,
He was ready to begin choosing
His apostles, and proclaiming and
teaching them His Message from
God to man-His Gospel. But
first, it was imperative that He
QUALIFY to replace Satan and set
up the KINGDOM OF Goo, by
overcoming the devil.
This perhaps was the most
important, momentous, decisive
confrontation and battle ever
fought in all time in the universe.
It
is described in detail in Mat–
thew, chapter 4.
Jesus fasted 40 days and 40
nigbts-with neither food nor
water. But in His physical weak–
ness He was made spiritually
strong. Satan now used his most
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