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to the opposite way of GETTING- the
way of self-love- the way of vanity,
lust and greed, jealousy and envy,
competition and strife, resentment
toward others, and over any author–
ity over one. (Especially the way of
rebellion against God and His
truth.)
Where Man Went Wrong
This brought on the earth chaos,
decay, waste, emptiness and dark–
ness. Psalms 104:30 says God then
RENEWED the face of the earth
(Genesis 1), in six days creating
man after God's own kind (Gen.
1:26). God created man mortal–
mate and female-out of the dust of
the ground (Gen. 2:7). God offered
the first man and woman, from
whom the human race has sprung,
eternallife in the Kingdom of God,
actually being born as one of God's
own children in the God FAMILY
(symbo1ized by the tree of life)- or
(Adam had to make a choice) rejec–
tion of God and His government,
and taking to himse1f the know1edge
of good and evil (deciding for him–
se1f right from wrong). God is the
source of basic know1edge. Man re–
jected this knowledge.
Adam rebelled- rejected God's
GOVERNMENT and God's WAY OF
LIFE, choosing to go his own way,
decide for himse1f, create his own
knowledge. In other words, follow
the course of the sinning angels
(II Pet. 2:4). Whereupon God sen–
tenced Adam and his family- all
mankind in genera1- to 6,000 years
of being totally cut off from God's
government, God's religion, God's
basic knowledge, God's ways that
produce peace and happiness and
give eternallife.
God said, in effect: "You have
decided! Go! Form your own ideas
of government, form your own reli–
gions and kinds of worship, form
your own type of education and
production of knowledge, forro your
own way of living-form your own
society and civilization, wholly cut
off from me."
For 6,000 years, that is.
Yet God reserved the right to IN–
TERVENE in specific cases, or in spe–
cific individua1s, as He deemed
necessary to His purpose!
The
PLAIN TRUTH February 1978
God has blessed His
Church with
stupendous knowledge
which I believe no man
-not even in God's
Church- ever
understood before!
ls God Trylng to Save
the World Now?
God did intervene in the cases of
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham-the
nation Israel. He communicated to
them His way. He intervened in
sending Christ with the MESSAGE to
be announced of the coming resto–
ration of the government of God
after the 6,000 years of man's rule.
Christ announced that man may be,
if and when called by God, forgi–
ven, reconciled (relationship and ac–
cess to God established), and can
receive God's Spirit (the impregna–
tion of Goo-life) and be born into
the God farni1y by a resurrection
from the dead. But a first death
was pronounced on all children of
Adam because of Adam's sin
(1
Cor. 15:22; Heb. 9:27) and a SEC–
OND death as penalty
IF
roan re–
jects God's salvation when and
after God calls him.
But He has not been calling THE
WORLD for the 6,000 years.
Adam and Eve did not believe
what God said. They rejected Him.
Jesus preached !"Jis good news mes–
sage to count1ess thousands, yet only
120 believed what He said (Acts
1: 15). Jesus taught His good news
message to His apostles. They went
forth and proclaimed it, but by
about A.D. 59 it was suppressed.
Christ raised up His Church on
Pentecost, A.D. 31. He called it "the
little ftock."
It
was, compared to the
world's total population, only a
"little" or "tiny" ftock. Jesus did not
come on a "soul-saving crusade."
Remember, the world as a whole
was cut off from God. God was not
yet trying to "get the wor1d saved."
Only those FEW God specially
called- just the few in whom God
intervened in this world 's civ–
ilization- those He deemed impor–
tant to His purpose.
What of all the others? They were
as yet not being judged- not lost.
Tbeir time is yet to come.
The only ones called to salvation
or any personal contáct with God
for the first 1900 sorne years were
Abe!, Enoch and Noah. Then God
intervened to specially call Abra–
ham. Abraham did not seek God; it
was God who chose, intervened,
and called Abraham. Notice it!
"Now the Lord had said unto
Abram, Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto a land that
r
will show thee. And I will make of
thee a great nation ..." (Gen. 12:1-
2). Tbat nation was to be Israel,
known as Goo's NATION, to be sepa–
rate from this world's society which
is cut off from God. Abraham did
not call on God. God caUed Abra–
ham for a special mission. Also his
sons, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Jo–
seph.
But the world as a whole was cut
off fróm all access to God. It was
building its own governments, its
own religions, its own knowledge
and systems of education- going its
own ways!
Four hundred and thir ty years af–
ter Abraham, God raised up Moses
in a special way for a SPECIAL MIS–
SION-to lead the children of Israel ,
descended from Abraham, then
slaves in Egypt, numbering proba–
bly two or three million (perhaps
even more, for there were 600,000
meo, besides women and children–
and they had many chi1dren!).
God did not offer spiritual salva–
tion to Israel. He offered them, in
return for obedience to His govern–
ment , only physical, material, na–
tional rewards and greatness. The
only ones "converted" or CALLEO
for salvation between Moses and
Christ were Moses and the prophets
sent to Israel and Judah. They, and
they ONLY, were given the Holy
Spirit, and that only so they cou1d
perform the WORK God called them
to do in God's own nations, Israel
and Judah. All these years God was
not trying to save the world spiritu-
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