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God has given man a chance to do things his way–
but if you'll notice how things have been going,
man's way has ¡ust not been working well at all.
sequent resurrection were, of course,
an integral part of an overall plan to
bring mankind to salvation - and
that they also illustrated the fact
·thal even when a member of the
family of God appeared in person,
mankind, as a whole, rejected every–
thing He stood for, didn't want to
listen, and eventually, brutally mur–
dered Hirn. Instead of rejoicing be–
cause of the truth that was revealed,
man's attitude was - and always
has been - "get lost God," an atti–
tude encouraged and reinforced by
the spiritual influence of Satan and
his demons.
The Church
As Christ nears the end of His
long answer to your question, you
forget entirely about your writer's
cramp and listen closely to what He
is saying.
"Afte r my resurrection, the
Church of God - of which I am the
Head - imbued with the Holy
Spirit, started out lo spread the
good news of our plan for humanity
throughout the world. Yet, even be–
fore the original apostles died, men
began - with a great deal of help
from Satao - to systematically
counterfeit my truths, to go right
back to the same types of paganism
found in ancient Babylon and
Egypt. Much of this paganism was
dressed up to look 'Christian' and
eventuaUy constituted much of the
beliefs of the leading church bodies
of the world - but it sirnply was not
the truth.
" Read my book for yourself if
you don't believe this. How many
so-called 'Christian' churches do
you find literally taking their beliefs
from it, explaining about my com–
ing government, helping people to
come out of sin, which is the viola-
PLAIN TRUTH March 1973
tion of my law (which was estab–
lished for their own good), and
leaching people to observe my Sab–
bath and my Holy Days? How
many preach the s imple fact
s tressed over and over again
throughout the New Testament that
I am going to return again to the
earth? No, even after I completely
revealed myself, 'carne out of hid–
ing' if you please, humanity once
again reenacted that old familiar
story. My church was persecuted
and had to fiee; the truth became
hidden from the majority of people
and was known only to a persecuted
few whom
T
preserved to do my
work.
" I do want to make clear one
thing I have mentioned before. Yes,
all this time that man has been re–
jecting me and saying, 'Where is
God?,' I could have
beenforcing
hu–
manity to obey me. But 1 haven' t
because
1
created man with a mind
capable of making decisions. Men
are not just automated extensions of
what you would probably call my
ego. I have given man a chance to
do things his way - and if you '11 no–
tice how things have been going,
man's way has just not been work–
ing well at all.
"Because of this, when 1 return to
the earth - and my return is the fo–
cal point of a great many Old and
New Testament scriptures - then
there is really going lo be no ques–
tion as to which way of Living makes
for genuine happiness and which
way leads to chaos and destruction.
Man's history has made that clear."
But now comes information
which you
know
the readers will
want: God offers a much stronger,
real and personal proof that He
is
alive - that He is personaUy con-
cerned with humanity loday, con–
cerned enough
to
save man from
self-deslruction. He tells about His
Holy Spirit.
The
Holy
Spirit
"The sick, emotionally based
'spirit' manifestations that are so
highly touted by certain religious
groups are not at all the fruits of the
Holy Spirit," explains Christ. "The
Holy Spirit is the Spirit of power
and love, and especially a sound
mind. Check
JI
Timothy 1:7."
"How can we get it?" is the nex
1
quest ion which springs instantly tv
your lips.
"The requirements are very basic.
First , you must completely quit re–
jecting me and my way of life. The
person who does not wholeheartedly
attempt to live by every word in my
book has been rejecting me ,
whether consciously or not - even
so-called religious people. Second,
you must be baptized, which sym–
bolicaUy pictures death, burial and
a resurrection to a new kind of life.
Rising out of the water from bap–
tism is the prelude lo a person's be–
coming a new man. Look up Acts
2:38 and Romans 6:4 for that. The
requirements are that simple.
"Once you have received the
Holy Spirit and continue to live by
my laws, then you will have a living,
personal, day-to-day proof that
1
am
still alive and that my Father is an–
swering your prayers. You will
clearly see that it has been man who
has rejected me aU along, rather
than me rejecting man. You will
have proof that I am not dead, that
I am not hiding nor ever have been,
that I am not 'on vacation.'
"Have my comments sufficiently
answered your original question?"
"Yes, Sir!"
o
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