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keepers, but as a whole, spiritually
OEAD - especially their ministers.
Still there were sorne among them
who had that first !ove of the TRUTH.
But they did NOT proclaim Christ 's
Gospel of the KINGDOM OF Goo,
nor even understand what it was.
They were bent on preaching a
" lhird angel's message."
God allotted
6,000
years for
humanity to go its own way - fol–
lowing Adam's example. Men orga–
nized lhei r own societi es,
governments, forms of educalion
and commerce, nol realizing they
were being swayed by Satan in the
process. Man is wriling the lesson by
EXPERIENCE- going Satan's WAY –
the way thal can only bring evi l re–
sults.
Now that
6,000
years is almosl
up, the KINGDOM OF Goo is aboul
lo take over and GOVERN this earth.
The time has arrived when God
wants the imminency of His KING–
OOM lO be ANNOUNCEO lO all the
world.
The living Christ trained and
chose me to carry out that stagger–
ing and tremendous GREAT COMM IS–
SION.
No MAN, of himself, could have
decided to do lhis. and, on his own
human ability and power alone.
have RAISED up lhis Worldwide
Church of God, have developed lhe
facilities and machinery for BROAD–
CASTING THAT ANNOUNCEMENT - by
radio, printing press. television, per–
sonal preaching lo THE WORLD. This
WoRK OF Goo has grown into a
great, powerful WORLDWIDE and
WORLO-KNOWN work.
There is but one a nswer. No one
can believe that
1
alone had 1he
ability and the power to accomplish
something that never before in the
history of man has been done! Goo
010 IT, though He used me as a
human servant. No MAN BY HUMAN
ABILITY COULO HAVE ACHIEVEO IT.
Yet God always has wo rked
through ONE MAN, surrounded by
helpers.
Early in my studies -
1926-27
- God opened my eyes to the fact
that, while Revelation 2 and
3
cov–
ered the condilions in the WHOLE
CHURCA from ils beginning to
Christ's coming, these two chapters
also represented
successive
ERAS,
with a certain characteristic domi-
18
nating each.
WE
are the Phila–
delphia era al lhe specific TIME
when God is having to OPEN OOORS
to nations where those doors have
been CLOSED to Christ's message.
Another vital NEW TRUTH God re–
vealed to me was our identification
as the lost sheep of the House of
Is rael (Ma lt.
10:6) -
as distin–
guished from lhe Jews (see booklel,
United States and British Common–
wealth in Prophecy).
Another was
lhe fact lhat ANGELS first inhabited
this earth, prior lo Adam. That the
GOVERNMENT OF ÜOD was esta b–
lished on earth over them, and thal
they sinned
( 11
Peler
2:4),
rejecled
Goo's GOVERNMENT, rebelled, and
went their own way OfDESTRUCTION
AND DARKNESS, inslead of God's
way of CONSTRUCTION and LIGHT.
Although
J
learned early many of
these BASIC TRUTHS, God did nol
commit to me His GREAT COMMIS·
SION until
1
had been severely 1ried
and tested - by opposition, per–
secution, hardship, giving up every–
thing my hearl had been previously
set on. The commilment to me of
the GREAT COMMISSION carne when
f
was 40 years old
-
almost SEVEN
YEARS after
J
was first caUed by
being challenged into Bible study.
In those early days of getting
Christ's las t MESSAGE to the people,
1
had lO start in the VERY SMALLEST
manner possible. I first spoke over
radio in October
1933.
I proclaimed ,
for five days straight, the KINGDOM
OF Goo, showing the PROMISESwere
made to ABRA.HAM - thal 1hey were
for inheritance of the EARTH, not
heaven - that Christ was going 10
return to EARTH and rule here for a
thousand years. Hundreds were
SHOCKEO! They looked in their Bib–
les, as
1
had asked lhem, to the very
scriptur.es
1
gave them. They went to
their ministers. They said to th em,
WHY have YOU been preaching to
me jusl the OPPOSITE of what the
Bible says, showing the scriptures 10
their ministers. Thal broughl per–
secution from lhe minislers, but
people began lo LISTEN.
On January
8, 1934
the program
called "Radio Church of God"
went on the air, never to cease lo
this day. Audiences GREW.
1
had lo
take it On FAITH.
Once, when
1
had lo leave home
in two minutes for lhe broadcast,
without the money 10 pay (as I had
10 in advance) for 1ha1
morni~g's
broadcasl. a man carne to the front
door, saying, "Here's my tithe," and
left running.
h
was
JO
dollars. An–
other time
J
was walking lo lhe sla–
tion for a broadcast, and the money
HAD NOT COME. But a roan met me
on the way. and handed me 1he
money. ALWAYS, one way or an–
other, the money carne. This was a
WORKOF FAITH. lt was the Work of
Goo!
In those early days
1
was espe–
cially inlerested in lhe book of Eze–
kiel. A special reason was thal
1
saw
Ezekiel was firsl given God's mes–
sage in PROPHECY. while he was a
Jewish slave, by the River Chebar in
the land of Babylon. Now lhis was
close to
120
years
after
the House of
ISRAEL had been taken caplive 10
ASSYRIA.
My aslonishmenl was aroused
when
1
saw lhat his message was 10
be taken to lhe HOUSE OF ISRAEL.
Now Ezekiel was a slave among 1he
House OF J UDAH - nol Israel. By
this time many of lhe " lost sheep of
the House of Israel" had migrated
north and wesl from Assyria. They
were, by Ezekiel's time, in Brilain
and Western Europe.
The book of Ezekiel starts off in
the first chapler with a rather weird
description of his vision of th e
GLORY oF Goo.
The first message. or ins1ruc1ion
from God, comes. beginning 1he
second chap1er. "And he said unto
me, Son of man.
1 send thee
to the
children of Israel, to a rebellious na–
tion ... [and they shall know) that
there hath been a prophet among
lhem" (Ezek.
2:3.
5;
cf. Rev.
3:9).
Now notice chapter three. In ver–
ses
8- 1O
of lhe second chap1er, he
had been given the message in a
book - a roll . written on both sides
- about which
1
will refer later. In
chapter
3.
verse
1,
God says:
"... Eat THIS ROLL, and GO speak
unto the house of Israel." Again in
verse 4: "Son of man. GO, gel 1hee
unto the house of Israel . and speak
with my words unto them."
NowHERE in the Bible are Jews
called " the house of Israel." This
term applies ONL
Y
to the TEN-Iribed
Kingdom of Israel taken into Assy–
rian captivily more than a hundred
years before Ezekiel and the Jews of
The
PLAIN TRUTH February 1977