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This law is, simply, !ove for God
and love for neighbor,
as
defined in
the ten broad principies of the Ten
Commandments. A fundamental,
spiritual, eterna! law. The philoso–
phy Christ taught is that it is more
blessed to give than to receive. But
Satan argued for the
GETIING
way.
Competition, he argued, is the life–
blood of activity. Self-desire pro–
vides incentive to endeavor. Vanity
spurs to action. And so, in Satan's
philosophy, self-desire, competition,
strife, provide the root-principle for
accomplishment. The way of getting
is the way of progress and advance–
ment.
Had not God permitted this self–
ish way to be tried, tested, aod dem–
onstrated, God's creatures could
argue throughout eternity that they
had been denied the better way.
The Devil 's Week
And so God turned over to Satan
the first six days of one week, con–
sisting of seven one-thousand-year
days, in which to demonstrate the
falsity of this way- the way of greed.
During the first six days of this
week of seven thousand years Satan
was permitted to retain dominion
over all the earth. "Six days," God
said, "thoushalt labour,aod do a
JI
thy
work"- his work of deception and
hate-"but the seventh day is the
sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it
thou shalt not do any work." Six
thousand-year days have beeo per–
mitted Satan for his labor of decep–
tion. Even tben his dominion has
been limited to the power ofintluence
and suggestion. Never has God per–
mitted even Satan arbitrarily to force
meo against their wills.
And so for nearly six thousand
years roen have been left free to
accept the self-seeking competitive
philosophy ofSatan, or to follow the
golden rule of God. And for six
thousand years Satan has Iabored.
And mankind has fallen for his de–
lusion!
Satan's philosophy is the philoso–
phy of the world today. On it our
present civilization has been built. A
civilization meo love and cherish,
and for which they patriotically sac–
rifice their Iives! A civilization de–
veloped on desire for self-gain ,
The
PLAIN TRUTH
January
1978
competition, strife! In it success is
determined by how mucha man has
been able to get, not on how well he
has served.
God has never Jeft men in igno–
rance of the true way of life. Always
He has made known the true val–
ues- the way of His spiritual law of
love! Continually God has pleaded,
with patience and in !ove. He
pleaded through Noab in tbe days
before the Flood. He set up a nation
of His own on earth that pledged to
follow His laws, dedicated volun–
tarily to God's ways of life. But an–
cient Israel turned from God's ways,
.For six thousand years
men have lived in
defiance of God's laws.
Had God denied them
this right to be wrong,
men would have accused
God of injustice,
demanding freedom to
follow their own ways.
and persecuted and killed God's
prophets!
God sent His only begotten Son
to point meo back to the true paths.
And Him, too, men rejected and
killed.
During these six thousand years
since Adam, men continually have
spurned God's !ove, rejected His
law, turned a deaf ear to His proph–
ets and His true ministers. They
have built a world after the false
philosophy of Satan, replete with its
pagan customs, traditions and be–
liefs. Today people are hopelessly
engulfed in these false ways, but,
being deceived, realize it not at all!
Satan is revealed as the "god of
this world" (Il Cor. 4:4). The origi–
nal inspired Greek sbould properly
be translated, "the god of this age."
And this worldly civilization wor–
ships its God. The appalling fact
unrealized by the world is that
Satan, not the Eterna!, is its god!
The Creator God "is not the author
of confusion," we read in 1Corinthi–
ans 14:33. Its real author is Satan,
the world's god! And so he has his
rnany denominations and sects, all
striving in a babylon of confusion!
The Devil's Work
Today the people of organized reli–
gion refuse to hear the law of the
Lord (lsa. 30:8-11). They demand
that their ministers preach the soft
and smooth things-the deceits!
They have turned away from the
truth, and are accepting and believ–
ing fa bies
(ll
Tim. 4:2-4).
Y
es, Satan has
organized
religion.
He himself appears, not as a devil
with horns and a tail, bearing a
pitchfork, but "is transformed into
an angel oflight"(II
Cor.
11:
14). His
ministers are transformed
as
the
ministers of righteousness, appear–
ing
AS
the apostles of Christ! (Verses
13, 15.) But they are preaching
"an–
other
Jesus" (verse 4), in the power
of
"another
spirit," and deceiving
men with
"another
gospel" than the
true gospel of the Kingdom which
Christ brought and Paul and al! the
apostles preached! (Gal. 1:6-7.)
Satan's congregations go in for
mueh
form.
"Having a
form
of god–
liness, but denying the
POWER
thereof: frorn such turn away,"
plainly warns God's Word! (11 Tiro.
3:5.) The present worldly order-its
cornpetitive principie, its custorns
and traditions, its political systems–
are upheld by false churches within
every land! Truly, all nations are
deceived! (Rev. 12:9; 17:2; 18:3.)
Jesu s Chris t appeared 1-900
years ago as a messenger bearing a
message from God. He brought to
an unhappy world steeped in false
ways the
"good news
of the
KING–
DOM OF
Goo." A kingdom now,
soon, to replace these crurnbling
governments on earth!
That Kingdorn today is near at
hand-even at the doors! (Luke
21:31.)
Thank God, we are near the end
. of the six working days allotted to
Satan's dominion. God's thousand–
year Sabbath day is just about to
dawn!
There is a saying that it is darkest
just before the dawn. Now we see on
(Continued on page 42)
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