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HEALING
(Continued from page 3)
Christ was NOT on Sunday, and the
crucifixion was not on Friday.
1
had
written in manuscript form an ar–
ticle on the subject. This man's fer–
vent prayer not only saved my
wife's life, it also opened my eyes to
a new biblical
truth.
Now
1
wanted
to share with him the eye-opening
truth about the resurrection.
1
took my typed manuscript along
and offered it to him to read, asking
his opinion about the truth of it.
I
left it with him. A few nights later,
1
called again on this man
1
looked to
as "a man of God."
1
asked if he
had read my manuscript.
"Well, yes, Brother," he replied.
"1
took it to our pastor and we went
over it together." He avoided giving
an opinion as to its truth.
"But did you find any error in
what
1
wrote?"
1
persisted.
"Well, no, Brother," he admitted.
"We couldn't find anything wrong
with it. But, Brother, we feel that
studying that kind of subject is
likely to be
dangerous.
It might get
you all mixed up. We feel it would
be better for you to just forget all
about it. We feel there are more
important things for you to study.
lt's best to just keep your mind on
Christ."
1 walked back home disillusioned,
grieved, tremendously disappointed.
He
admitted
1 had brought him a
new truth. He was unable to find
any error in it.
It
was the pure
teaching of the
Bible,
yet he not
only
rejected
the admitted word of
God, he advised me, a newly con–
verted man who had confidence in
him, also to accept
tradition
and
false teaching, and reject the Word
of the living God!
"Truth-or Conaequences"
Arriving home,
J
happened to turn
to Hosea 4:6 where God says that
because people have rejected God's
knowledge, He will
reject them!
Jt
weighed heavily on my mind. A
week later 1 walked back down
Sandy Boulevard to the old taber–
nacle formerly used by Billy Sun–
day, where this man and wife were
caretakers. 1 hoped 1 might even yet
rescue this man from the con–
sequences of rejecting truth.
The
PLAIN TRUTH August-September 1977
1 found him in the big audito–
rium, looking downcast and dejec–
ted. " Brother!" he exclaimed on
seeing me. "Brother, something ter–
rible has come over me. God has
left me. He doesn't answer my
prayers any more. Before, God used
me in a special ministry praying for
the sick. He always heard and an–
swered. People were miraculously
healed. But not anymore! Not one,
anymore.
1
don't understand it!"
Poor man! 1 understood. I tried to
expla in, but he wouldn't listen. He
had been a trusting and deeply sin–
cere, if simple and uneducated man.
God had used him asan instrument
in performing miracles, helping
people.
1
quoted to him from
I
John
3:22: "And whatsoever we ask, we
receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those
things that a re pleasing in his sight."
But he could not see that rejecting
God's truth and refusing to keep
His commandments had any con–
nection with his case.
1
had to think of the radio/
television show origina ted by Ralph
Edwards, "Truth or Consequences."
God had required him to accept the
TRUTH, or receive the consequences.
1
never saw or heard from that man
since.
But Christ did continue to reveal
His truth, as 1 diligently continued
studying His Word. Not only did He
open my mind to reveal His truth
about healing, but a lso to understand
the truth about His gospel message–
the
Kingdom of God.
1 saw the
great
commission
to His apos tles:
"Go ye
into al/ the world, and preach the
gospel ...
"(Mark 16: 15).
I
saw that it was a
worldwide
min–
istry, not a local one, nor even na–
tional to our own nation.
1t
was now
revealed to me how in the ministry
of Jesus and His first-century
apostles, miraculous HEALING of the
sick and diseased went hand in
hand with the preaching of the gos–
pel. What happened through Simon
the sorcerer to stop the worldwide
proclaiming of the true gospel and
stop the miraculous healings was
not revealed to me until years later.
But it was at that time revealed to
me how healing is for God's Church
today (James 5: 14-15), and also the
prophecy revealing HOW the great
commission was to be carried out in
this present END TIME of the twen–
tieth century.
That prophecy is in the pivotal
prophecy chapter of the New Testa–
ment-Matthew 24. Before 1 cover
what the Bible teaches about heal–
ing in both Old and New Testa–
ments, it is vital that the reader
understand how that gospel mes–
sage is today, after
19
centuries, go–
ing OUt into ALL THE WORLD for a
W!TNESS to all nations- not being
proclaimed to all the billions of
people
in
every nation, but pro–
claimed
in al/ the world- world–
wide- so that it becomes a witness to
or against every nation.
Jesus had been teaching in the
temple in Jerusalem. Leaving the
temple, His disciples carne to Him
privately on the Mount of Olives,
asking: "Tell us, when shall these
things be? And what shall be the
sign of thy coming, and of the end
of the world (age]?" (Verse 3.)
"And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Take heed that no man de–
ceive you. For many shall come in
my name, saying,
1
[Jesus] am
Christ; and shall deceive many"
(verses 4-5). First, Jesus warned
them of the great deception, the
fa lse "Christianity"-preaching
CHRIST to the world, preaching
ABOUT the Messenger, but
not pro –
claiming His message- His
gospel.
He did not give the sign by which
we might know when we are at the
END of thís present world, and His
coming is near, until verse ·14: "And
this gospel of the kingdom
shall be
preached in all the world for a wit–
ness unto all nations; and
then
shall
the end come."
The vecy fact He gave the pro–
claiming of the true gospel of the
Kingdom as the sigo we are at the
end time shows it was not preached
to the world these past
19
cen–
turies- otherwise it could not .be the
sign.
But notice, this prophecy says the
great commission will be going out
again
to the world,
yet
it
says noth–
ing about healing accompanying it.
Elsewhere biblical teaching shows
healing is
Jor the Church.
But it is
NOT, today, an ' integral part of the
proclaiming of Christ's gospel
to the
world!
Why?
O
(To Be Continued)
39