OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL DATE: MONDAY, AUGUST 17TH 2026. TOPIC: THE GAINS OF GOD'S COVENANT II MEMORISE Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: - (Deuteronomy 7:12) BIBLE READING: GENESIS 20:1-18 (KJV) 1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. 4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. 6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. 7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. 8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. 10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? 11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. 12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. 14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. 15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. 17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. 18 For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife. MESSAGE Years ago, a highly influential man in an Islamic nation, where church planting was prohibited, invited one of our missionaries to establish a church within his compound. When the church started, his wife said to him, "With your position in government and your influence in this nation, you allowed a church be established in your compound?" He looked at his wife and said, "Don't you dare say a word against these people!" I believe that it was easy for the RCCG to plant a church in that nation, and indeed many nations in the world today, because of God's covenant with its founder, Pa Josiah Akindayomi. One of the gains of being in a covenant with God is that you will keep getting greater results than your peers as long as you keep fulfilling your part of the covenant. God will keep giving you results that are beyond your efforts. What other people struggle to get will come to you easily because of His covenant with you. In Exodus 19:5, God said, "If you will keep my covenant, I will make you a peculiar treasure." This means that people will take a look at you and wonder why God loves you so much. Several times, when I wake up at night and reflect on all the good things God is doing in RCCG, I usually say, "Lord, how can you love us this much?" Some people might claim that it is because we fast and pray, but believe me, some people fast more than we do. I recall vividly that when I became the General Overseer, I had some of my friends join me in a 36-hour non-stop prayer session. We thought this was a remarkable feat until we heard of a man who prayed non-stop for so much longer! I may not have spent as many hours in prayer at a stretch as that person, yet what God has done for RCCG is unprecedented and truly remarkable. Indeed, there are immense gains in being in a covenant with the Almighty God. Another gain of being in a covenant with God is protection. When a king took Abraham's wife, God intervened by appearing in the king's dream. He went the extra mile to protect her and instructed the king to ask Abraham to pray for him, as we see in today's Bible reading. Beloved, there are immeasurable blessings that flow from being in covenant with God. KEY POINT Being in a covenant with God gives you access to tremendous benefits and makes difficult things easy. AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR JEREMIAH 44 - 46 HYMN 19 - ROCK OF AGES, CLEFT FOR ME 1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee! Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Cleanse me from its guilt and power. 2. Not the labours of my hands, can fulfill thy law's demands could zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone, thou must save and thou alone. 3. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling naked, come to thee for dress, helpless, look to thee fir grace foul to the fountain fly wash me saviour or I die. 4. While I draw this fleeting breath, when my eyelids close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne, rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. PRAYER POINTS ON TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS DATE: MONDAY AUGUST 17TH 2026 *THE GAINS OF GOD'S COVENANT II ‎PRAYER POINTS 1.Father, thank You for Your covenant to build Your church and never to allow the gate of hell to prevail over it. 2.Father, thank You for the spread of the gospel across the nations of the earth. Thank You for raising men and women to bare the light of the gospel even to the inter lands. 3.Father, thank You for divinely positioning men and women to favour the advancement of Your gospel across the world. 4.Father, please help me never to go out Your covenant for my life. Help me to keep fulfilling my part of the covenant so I can keep enjoying greater results than my peers, in Jesus' name. 5.Father, please keep me in Your covenant, and grant me results that are beyond my efforts. Make easy for me what other people struggle to get, in Jesus' name. 6.Father, please help me to keep Your covenant, and make me a wonder to nations, in Jesus' name. 7.Father, please show me Your mercy and let it continue to speak for me such that I will constantly enjoy unprecedented and truly remarkable blessings of Your covenant, in Jesus' name. 8.Father, please keep me in Your covenant and let me and my household enjoy divine protection everywhere we go, in Jesus' name. 9.Father, please help me to hearken to Your judgements, to keep and to do them, so I can abide in Your covenant and enjoy Your mercies, in Jesus' name. 10.Father, please establish me and my household in Your covenant so we can have access to Your immeasurable blessings and benefits, in Jesus' name. 11.Father, thank You for the life of Your son, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. ‎ Help him to continue to enjoy the gains of Your covenant with him, in Jesus' name. Bless his children (biological and spiritual). Help him to continue to produce sons and daughters to Your glory, in Jesus name ‎ ‎12.Father, please bless Your son that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, with wisdom and favour. Answer all his prayers beyond measure, and all those who have been broadcasting them, in Jesus' name. ‎ ‎13.Father, please let every challenge and temptations, hindrance and obstacles of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name. ‎ ‎14.Your personal petitions. ‎(Philippians 4:6) ‎ ‎15.In Jesus name I pray. ‎(John 14:13-14; 15:16) ‎#GodBlessOThese prayers have no expiry dates! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you.

The Greeks used a unique word for "faith" in the New Testament which has three inter-related spiritual dynamics. I discuss relevant meanings to this word in my blogcast: https://templatesoftruth.podbean.com/e/believing-is-not-necessarily-belonging/

The Rapture Truth # 4 Please, share these lessons with your family, friends, and Facebook groups. To enhance the Kingdom of GOD. Signs of the End of the World They just wouldn’t listen. Some of them even thought it was a joke. At a boarding school in the northern Thailand province of Chiang Rai, young elementary students were asleep one Sunday evening as a deadly danger crept upon them. Investigators believe a faulty fluorescent light broke and sparked a fire. Flames spread quickly, but not so fast that some of the students—as young as five years old—couldn’t be roused and warned about the danger. The Bangkok Post newspaper reported, “Suchada Kong-arsa, an 11-year-old school girl who survived the tragedy … rushed back to wake up her friends and tell them to escape. ‘Most of them did not believe me and went back to sleep but others did and struggled to escape,’ she said.” At least seventeen young students died in the fire. It’s a tragedy, to be sure. But even at the last second, a warning was sounded, yet some wouldn’t, or couldn’t, listen. They had been in that dormitory for weeks, perhaps months. Every night they went to sleep, and perhaps on more than one occasion, pranksters tried to rouse them. The signs around them—frantic pleading, perhaps even the faint scent of smoke—just didn’t register. Can such a tragedy be repeated, and exponentially magnified, as the world nears its final hours? The Bible says millions will ignore the signs of the times and pay a similarly fateful price. WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES? If Jesus told His closest followers they could tell when His return is near, did He offer some concrete indicators—signs of the times? Yes! He certainly did: “Take heed that no one deceives you. … You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. … Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:4, 6, 7). Not every earthquake, famine, or war is a specific sign of His soon return. We’ve seen these tragedies repeat on a regular basis during the 2,000 years since Christ walked the earth. However, from Jesus’ words, we can expect to see a dramatic increase in the frequency and intensity of these calamities just before He comes back. Let’s look at some of these signs in detail … WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS It’s difficult to switch on the television and not hear news about war and other conflict somewhere in the world. While the last century was perhaps one of the world’s bloodiest, with upwards of 100 million people killed, this new millennium isn’t off to a much better start. Of course, conflict continues to plague these regions. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States spawned a military invasion of Afghanistan. Eighteen months after 9/11, troops invaded Iraq. Each war lasted years—eight in Iraq, thirteen in Afghanistan—and each conflict left behind fractured regions in its wake, not to mention thousands upon thousands of deaths and injuries. Africa’s sub-Sahara region has seen continued war since the independence movements of the 1950s and 1960s. In the past thirty years, blood-stained conflicts in the Sudan, Ethiopia, Liberia, Somalia, and Sierra Leone—to name but a few—have left their mark. In Rwanda, horrific inter-tribal war between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes killed tens of thousands. In many places, sub-Saharan Africa remains a powder keg, capable of igniting at any moment. The Middle East, including Egypt, Libya, and Morocco, has been bathed in war for years. The “Arab Spring” of 2011 toppled established governments in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia and led to a massive civil war in Syria, as well as Yemen. Iraq remains in turmoil with civil war. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are of great concern in the region, worrying not only Israel—a nation its leaders have pledged to destroy—but also neighboring Saudi Arabia, a country with the means to field an invading army if needed. South Asia: Periodic clashes flare up between India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers; in Pakistan’s northwest regions, fighting with Taliban invaders continues. There are also continued clashes between South Korea and the nuclear-armed North Korea. Other contentious hotspots include Europe and the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, where part of that nation was swallowed up by troops from the Russian Federation. Nations surely are “rising against nations,” as this list of wars and conflicts demonstrates. Another threat comes from non-nations, such as the so-called “Islamic State.” This group has committed and encouraged terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States, declaring that it is rising to destroy the West in a holy war to end all wars. The current dramatic escalation in "wars and rumors of war" isn't fantasy—it's reality. According to the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, an estimated “1.5 billion people live in regions haunted by violent conflicts, whose damage to the global economy is valued at 14.3 trillion U.S. dollars per year.” The same report indicated “over 30 million children are homeless because of wars, natural disasters, and other crises,” the highest number since the end of World War II. FAMINES In the wake of war, famine generally follows. The millions of refugees from Iraq and Syria, for example, are often found undernourished in refugee camps or on their treks to Europe and other nations. The United Nations World Food Program says “some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food. ... That's about one in nine people on earth.” A sudden disruption in food supplies could quickly turn that into a massive famine. DISEASE AND PESTILENCE “Let me give you a stern warning. What we are seeing now looks more and more like a dramatic resurgence of the threat from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. The world is not prepared to cope,” Dr. Margaret Chan, a physician who heads the World Health Organization, has declared. Headlines in 2016 on the rapid spread of the Zika virus speak to this threat. This virus can cause debilitating birth defects and is believed to be carried by certain species of mosquitos; it caused widespread panic during the Summer Olympics. For most of 2014, international headlines centered on an outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa. It quickly killed more than 11,000. People carrying the virus showed up in nations far from the outbreak zones, sending waves of panic throughout the world. The influenza crisis of 1918 killed 25 million people in one year. Other fast-spreading diseases have brought tragic consequences, as with the ongoing AIDS epidemic that began in the 1980s. NATURAL DISASTERS Michael Snyder, in his highly regarded “Economic Collapse” blog, noted in 2016 that the earth’s crust is becoming “increasingly unstable,” with forty active volcanoes erupting at the time and more than 3,000 earthquakes in one month’s time. He wrote, “The entire west coast of the United States lies along the [seismic zone known as the] Ring of Fire, and virtually every other section of the Ring of Fire is roaring to life.” An earthquake or a massive volcanic eruption can wreak havoc in minutes. Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area were stunned in 1989 when an earthquake hit one October evening, killing 67, collapsing a major bridge, and causing billions of dollars in damage. Six years later, the Osaka-Kobe area of Japan was rocked by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that killed thousands. And in 2011, the Fukushima earthquake in northern Japan led to a nuclear accident that spread deadly radiation and resulted in 1,000 deaths. These earthquakes are increasing in frequency and, some observers note, in intensity. And as was seen in Fukushima, the damage from an earthquake itself may be nothing compared with the collateral damage caused by a subsequent tsunami or other disaster unleashed by a tectonic shift. MORAL COLLAPSE When Jesus told His disciples that no one knew the day or hour of His return, He added, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37). What were the days of Noah like? In Genesis, chapter 6, the Bible reports, “The lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. … The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (verses 5, 11, 12). You don’t have to look very far to see this happening today. In just a few years, the unthinkable in many societies has happened: Governments around the world have legalized marriages that fall outside of God’s original design. Sexual immorality is now paraded openly, demanding and receiving acceptance in society at large. Divorce has skyrocketed, and in most nations, more couples live together without being married than those who tie the knot. More children are born without the traditional structure of a mother and father than ever before. It doesn’t take much imagination to see that the signs of the end are being rapidly fulfilled. We can know that God is ready soon to act upon the world stage to save those whom He has created, loves, and sent His Son to redeem. But it won’t be by a flood this time as in the days of Noah—it will be the return of Christ to establish something new for those who trust in Him. No longer will famine, disease, or disaster stalk societies. “Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Micah 4:3). What a glorious day that will be!

A Little Light Reading. THE COMING ONE WORLD CHURCH. Gary Gibbs One Christmas, a rabbi from Russia vis- ited an American family as part of a cultural exchange program. His host family wanted to treat him to a new culinary experi- ence, so they took him out one evening to their favorite Chinese restaurant. After the meal, the Chinese waiter brought each of them a little ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 1 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM  Coming! One World Church Christmas gift. It was a small, brass Christmas tree ornament that was stamped with the words “Made in India.” They all laughed at the irony of receiving a “Made in India” gift from a Chinese restau- rant. But suddenly, everyone stopped chuck- ling when they noticed tears rolling down the rabbi’s cheeks. Had they offended him in some way? “Nyet,” the rabbi replied. “I was shed- ding tears of joy to be in a country in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu.” 1 Such peaceful co-existence and affirma- tion doesn’t happen often between religious faiths. Even today, religious differences fre- quently escalate into fierce war. It’s no wonder that many people want to dismantle the reli- gious “Berlin Wall” that exists between faiths. In no other community is this truer than within Christianity. Even though all Christian churches profess faith in Jesus as the Son of God, they have not been able to find a way to form a single, united group. For near- ly two thousand years, doctrinal differences have splintered Christians into hundreds of ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 2 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM Coming! One World Church  independent denominations. But many within Christianity desire to reverse this. Foremost in the crusade for Christian reunification is the pope. During the last few years he has been doing all he can to pave the way for a single world church. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls reports that the pope “is pushing hard on the accelerator toward unity.” 2 One of the road signs along the pope’s autobahn to unity are his confessions to non- Catholics. While conducting Mass in the Czech Republic, Pope John Paul II said, “Today, I, the pope of the church of Rome, in the name of all Catholics, ask forgiveness for the wrongs inflicted on non-Catholics during the turbu- lent history of these peoples.” 3 And this isn’t the only confession. He is also trying to bridge the gap between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. He says, “men of both sides were to blame” for the con- flict that erupted between their churches in the 11th century. 4 The pope’s confessions have found a favor- able response. Pennsylvania State University professor William Petersen remarks: “He’s ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 3 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM  Coming! One World Church bringing the church into the 20th century. You’ve had statements from the early popes that the Roman Church can never err.” 5 Pope John Paul II is not only making ver- bal overtures; he has also committed himself in print in three highly publicized works. In his letter “Orientale Lumen” (“The Light of the East”) he writes: “The sin of our separation is very serious. … How can we be fully credible if we stand divided?” “These divisions must give way to rapprochement and harmony. The wounds on the path of Christian unity must be healed.” 6 The twelfth encyclical of John Paul’s papacy is dedicated to the subject of Christian reunifi- cation and is appropriately entitled “Ut Unum Sint” (“May They All Be One”). The pope calls it his “contribution to this most noble goal,” which is “to increase the unity of all Christians until they reach full communion.” 7 And in his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, John Paul says it is his desire to see Christian unity achieved within the next few years—before we reach the new millennium. “By the year 2000 we need to be more united, more willing to advance along the path toward ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 4 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM Coming! One World Church  the unity for which Christ prayed on the eve of His passion.” 8 Without question, a united Christian church is a very worthy goal. It was Jesus’ great burden just before He died. He prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20, 21). While none should fault the pope for seek- ing unity, several questions must be carefully considered. What is the true source of disunity within the Christian church? One Vatican insider suggests, “The main obstacle is not doctrine, but history with all its prejudices.” 9 But is this an accurate evaluation? Do the differences stem merely from prejudice, or is it doctrinal? And, if it is doctrinal, which doctrines are in question? Furthermore, where Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox doctrines differ, which body will adjust their beliefs to appease the others? And most important of all, how does the Bible instruct God’s people to achieve true unity? ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 5 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM  Coming! One World Church The pope is already anticipating some of these questions. In “Ut Unum Sint,” he identifies five key doctrines that need further study before we “reach full communion”: the relationship of Scripture and tradition, the church’s authority, the ordination of priests, the sacrament of the Eucharist, and the role of the Virgin Mary. 10 While this is a good start, there are numerous other areas that must also be covered before unity of any degree can be reached. But for now, let’s briefly look at each of these five doctrines to see what the Catholic Church teaches and what must transpire if a united world church is ever to become more than a dream in the night. Scripture Versus Tradition Admiral Byrd, the famous explorer, knows death is only minutes away. He’s caught out- side in an unforgiving blizzard at the South Pole. Snow swirls around him like a dancing sheet. The temperature, well below zero, chills him to the bone. His limbs stiffen and threaten to freeze. The cold is painful. But all is not hopeless. He knows that he is within 100 yards of the warmth and security of ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 6 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM Coming! One World Church  his hut. But how to find the hut is the problem. Everywhere he looks there is the same snow and ice. White. Everything is white. There isn’t a single landmark. If only he could find one to use as a central reference point, then he could navigate to find the hut. But without it, he might head in the wrong direction to certain death. “A man can’t last long out here,” he thinks. Byrd knows there is no time for panic. Calmly he assesses the situation. In his hand is the 10-foot pole he always carries. It is his only chance. He sticks the pole in the snow and then ties his brightly colored scarf to it. Then he strikes out to find his hut, first in one direc- tion and then in another—but always keeping the pole with the waving scarf in sight. Three times he returns to the pole, and on the fourth excursion he discovers his hut and stumbles into its warmth. Our world is like trackless Antarctica in a blizzard. The devil blinds the minds of humanity “lest the light of the glorious gos- pel of Christ … should shine unto them” (2Corinthians 4:4). We are lost in sin, but there is a place of safety—heaven. It is out ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 7 6/9/09 3:41:59 PM  Coming! One World Church there. And it is not too far distant. That is, if a person can find the straight and narrow path that leads to it. Just how do we find this path? We need a reference point. We need an inerrant guide that can lead us through all the twists and turns and the ups and downs of life. But there is one danger. If the thing we use as our refer- ence point slips either to the left or to the right, then we are sure to stray and die. Catholic and Protestant churches have disputed the identity of this reference point for centuries. The Catholic Church teaches that the guide to heaven consists of the Bible and nearly two thousand years of church tra- dition. “We find the truths revealed by God in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. … Both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are the inspired word of God, and both are forms of divine revelation.” 11 Protestants, however, believe the Bible alone must form the basis for faith and practice. In fact, this was a major issue in the Protestant split from the Catholic Church in the 15th cen- tury. John Wycliffe, John Huss, Jerome, Martin Luther, and many other Protestants began as ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 8 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM Coming! One World Church  faithful Catholics. But while in pursuit of a closer relationship with God they discovered the practices of their church often contradict- ed the clear teachings of the Bible. The ensuing conflict was more than a battle of ideologies. These men had tried to live by the authority of tradition and person- ally found it bankrupt. Luther had a tortured conscience. Painful penances and fastings threatened to rob him of life itself. He didn’t find peace until he discovered the plan of sal- vation clearly presented in the Bible as a gift to all who believe. Somehow the traditions of the church had obliterated this most vital truth. For centuries it taught that salvation could be had by penance, pilgrimage, and payment. Salvation by faith as the free gift of God had been completely forgotten. Clearly tradition and Scripture were at odds—a fact that was not lost on the Protestants. A fact for which Luther was willing to die. In Worms, Germany, Luther stood before an august assembly of bishops, prelates, priests, and noble men to answer for his strange “new” doctrine of salvation as a free gift to those who accept Christ as their Savior. When commanded ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 9 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM 10 Coming! One World Church to renounce his “heretical” teachings, he said, at peril to his life, “Unless I am refuted and convicted by testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear arguments (since I believe neither the pope nor the councils alone, it being evident that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am conquered by the Holy Scriptures quoted by me, and my conscience is bound in the Word of God. I can not and will not recant anything, since it is unsafe and dan- gerous to do anything against the conscience. Here I stand. God help me.” 12 Tradition or Scripture. Luther had drawn the Mason-Dixon line for the Protestant Reformation. In 1545, the Catholic Church finally con- vened the Council of Trent in Austria to answer the questions raised by the Protestants. What will it be, tradition or Scripture? The answer came near the conclusion of the meetings. “Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January, 1562, all hesitancy was set aside. The archbishop of Reggio made a speech in which he openly declared that tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the church could not therefore be bound to the authority of the Scriptures.” 13 ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 10 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM Coming! One World Church 11 Like a sledgehammer striking a wedge in a block of dry wood, a split was created that has never been mended. But now, nearly four hundred and fifty years later, the pope is call- ing for reunification. And he accurately states that this issue of Scripture versus tradition must be resolved. So what is correct? Is it Scripture and tra- dition, or Scripture alone? Certainly the best source for an objective answer to this dilemma is the Word of God itself. What does the Bible say about tradition? It teaches several things. First, traditions that are in harmony with God’s Word are to be respected. “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Secondly, not all traditions are pleasing to God. “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. … Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:7–9). Traditions that replace God’s commandments are vain worship. They reveal contempt for God’s authority. ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 11 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM 12 Coming! One World Church Lastly, God has promised to rid His church of unscriptural traditions. “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” “Every plant, which my heav- enly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (Matthew 15:6, 13). We cannot depend upon the traditions of men. They are often an erring guide. And not surprisingly so. Humans are erring. Even while trying our best, we make mistakes of mam- moth proportion. For centuries Protestant churches have claimed that Catholicism follows numerous unscriptural traditions. Is this charge accurate? If you are a Catholic, this question is doubly important. You love God and desire to please Him. But fellow believers say that many of your church’s doctrines are not found in the Bible. Your pope also acknowledges that this is a serious issue that needs study. And he says it must be resolved if we are to answer Jesus’ prayer for unity among Christians. Therefore, you will want to ask your- self this very important question. Does the Catholic Church really have many unscriptur- al traditions? Yes, unfortunately it does. This ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 12 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM Coming! One World Church 13 may be hard to accept, but it is true. Cardinal John Henry Newman made this candid admis- sion: “The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occa- sions with branches of trees; incense, lamps, and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; asylums; holy days and seasons, use of calendars, processions, bless- ings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning to the east, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesi- astical chant, and the Kyrie Eleison … are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church” (emphasis mine). 14 Many Catholic doctrines are of pagan origin and are not found in the Bible. But, wait. Catholics need not feel that this is an unkind thrust against them. This is not just a Catholic issue. Protestants also hold many unscriptural traditions that contradict clear teachings of the Bible. This fact has not been missed by some Catholics. Notice the following Catholic challenge to Protestants to be consistent with their “Scripture alone” maxim. “The Bible does not contain all the teachings of the Christian ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 13 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM 14 Coming! One World Church religion, nor does it formulate all the duties of its members. Take, for example, the matter of Sunday observance, the attendance at divine services and the abstention from unnecessary servile work on that day, a matter upon which our Protestant neighbors have for many years laid great emphasis. Let me address myself to my dear non-Catholic reader: “You believe that the Bible alone is a safe guide in religious matters. You also believe that one of the fundamental duties enjoined upon you by your Christian faith is that of Sunday observance. But where does the Bible speak of such an obligation? I have read the Bible from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation, and have found no reference to the duty of sanctifying the Sunday. The day men- tioned in the Bible is not the Sunday, the first day of the week but the Saturday, the last day of the week. “It was the Apostolic Church [i.e. Catholic Church] which … changed the observance to the Sunday. … In observing the Sunday as you do, is it not apparent that you are really acknowledging the insufficiency of ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 14 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM Coming! One World Church 15 the Bible alone as a rule of faith and reli- gious conduct, and proclaiming the need of a divinely established teaching author- ity which in theory you deny?” 15 John A. O’Brien’s logic is glaringly accu- rate. If Protestants are going to insist that Catholics return to the Bible, then they must do the same. And back to the Bible we all must go—Catholics and Protestants. God’s Word is the only true founda- tion for consensus of faith. Catholics must stop defending their position that tradition and Scripture are of equal authority. And Protestants must surrender their unscriptural traditions and truly live by “every word” of God (Matthew 4:4). We should all keep the Bible’s Saturday Sabbath along with every other teaching of God’s Word. Only as we Christians are honest with God’s truth can we hope to positively impact an unbelieving world for eternal good. Church Authority India has a problem. They worship rats. And their worship is literally consuming them. Tens of thousands of rats overrun certain ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 15 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM 16 Coming! One World Church cities. They race across floors; feasting on anything they can sink their teeth into. Rats are especially revered and worshipped at the temple of Karni Mata. Here the furry critters leap onto the platform where food is placed for them. They eat while the priest serenades them with hymns and plays cymbals. These well-cared-for rats reproduce prolifically. And few Indians will kill them, fearing that in so doing they will kill their god’s companion. But the rats have introduced something worse than more rats. They’ve brought the plague. Hundreds have died as a result. But since the Indians won’t kill the varmints, the plague continues to spread. The issue of what we worship is crucial in all cultures. This is why the Catholic posi- tion on the authority of the Church and pope is so sensitive with non-Catholics. Catholic catechisms teach that church authority refers to the infallibility of the pope. “When the pope in his official capacity, with the fullness of his authority, as successor of St. Peter and head of the church on earth, proclaims a doctrine of faith or morals binding on the whole Church, he is preserved from error. It is to be noted that ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 16 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM Coming! One World Church 17 three conditions are required: (1) The pope must speak ex cathedra, i.e., from the Chair of Peter in his official capacity; (2) The deci- sion must be binding on the whole Church; (3) It must be on a matter of faith or morals” (emphasis mine). 16 These infallible doctrines of the pope are “certainly true and binding in conscience on all the faithful.” 17 So what should we believe regarding the pope’s authority? Catholics and Protestants must turn to the Bible to form their opin- ions. Here we’ll find that Scripture teaches no human is infallible. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Even those who have been specially called to holy service are fallible. History is an eloquent witness to the foibles of church leaders, includ- ing popes. The apostle Peter himself fell into sin numerous times (see Matthew 16:21–23; Luke 22:54–62; and Galatians 2:11–14). Now, the church must have leaders. But every thing they teach as truth must be tested by Scripture. The Bible never teaches that spir- itual leaders have periods where they speak ex cathedra. There is no special chair or office from which they can proclaim infallible truth. ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 17 6/9/09 3:42:00 PM 18 Coming! One World Church But the Bible does tell us to test our leaders by the Word. The believers in Berea were com- mended for being “more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they … searched the scriptures daily” to see if Paul’s teachings were in accord with God’s Word (Acts 17:10, 11). The Bible also warns us against spiritual leaders who are used by Satan to lead many astray. “Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away dis- ciples after them” (Acts 20:30). Infallibility is a dangerous doctrine. If we ascribe it to any man, we make ourselves very vulnerable to deception. Therefore, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). How are we to “try the spirits?” Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” They are to be tested by the Bible. When Paul warned the church to beware of leaders who introduce erroneous teachings, he said to test them by the Word. “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 18 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM Coming! One World Church 19 to build you up, and to give you an inheri- tance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:32 emphasis mine). We can be safe only as we test every declaration of truth by God’s Word. Now the pope may be a good man with noble intentions. Nevertheless, all that he says and advocates must be tested by the Holy Bible. No human has carte blanche infallibility. For centuries, popes have claimed infallibility as direct successors of Peter, who they believe was the first pope. But according to Scripture, Peter was not established as a pope. He wasn’t even the leader of the early church councils— James was (see Acts 15:1–22). Another problem with the papacy is that it runs counter to God’s truth. Popes have great power. People bow before them. They confess their sins to them. Popes live amid great pomp, splendor, and riches. They have been some of the most powerful men who have ever lived. But when one studies the Bible for examples of men of God, we find a much humbler model. Our Lord Himself taught that those who desire rich robes and to sit in high places are not fol- lowing Him (Matthew 23:1–12). ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 19 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM 20 Coming! One World Church Clearly, the Bible never claims for church leaders what the papacy claims for itself. The papacy, therefore, is an unbiblical position. If consensus of faith is to be achieved, then all Christians will need to get back to the Bible. The claims made regarding the powers and rights of the papacy will need to be officially renounced. The pomp and splendor should also be traded for Jesus’ example of humility. The pope has indicated he is willing to explore some change in the function of the papacy. While not promising to surrender his ultimate authority over the church, he has said that he would seek “to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renounc- ing what is essential to its mission, is nonethe- less open to a new situation.” 18 What possible new situation could the Vatican be considering? The president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity of Christians has suggested that the pope may act as a mediator in religious disputes. Unfortunately, it seems the pontiff is only considering not insisting that Protestants accept the doctrine of papal infallibility. What he will settle for is to be the final mediator in ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 20 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM Coming! One World Church 21 doctrinal disputes between Christians. But this is still unacceptable to those who desire to take their faith from the Bible. No single human can claim the power to be the final word on doctrine and morals. Every believer must study the Scriptures for himself to determine what God would have him do. When there is a controverted point of doc- trine, the question can come to an assembly of representatives of the church for their humble study of God’s Word to see what Scripture truly teaches. Many minds working together to find God’s will is always a lot safer than one man being in charge of determining truth. But even in religious assemblies, we see the weakness of man. Many Christian con- vocations have made declarations that run counter to Bible truth. What should believers do in such cases? They should follow what the Bible teaches. Many American Catholics are already following their own convictions to some degree. Catholicism officially teaches that nearly all forms of birth control are sin. But most American Catholics disagree. Thereby they too deny the absolute, infallible authority of the pope. ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 21 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM 22 Coming! One World Church The authority of the church is a crucial question, and the pope is correct in tagging it for discussion. But until he reverses the supremacy and primacy of the papacy, apostol- ic succession, and the authority of the church to be the sole interpreter of Scripture, no unity can be achieved with those believers who want to remain true to the Bible. Christianity cannot unite around a fallible human, no matter how noble a person he may be. Only as we humbly submit ourselves to God and His Word will we be able to come together. The Ordination of Priests We now come to the third doctrine iden- tified by Pope John Paul II. What does the Catholic Church teach about the ordina- tion of priests? Official Catholic teaching is that priests are ordained to have the power to forgive sins. 19 Some American Catholics may disagree with this representation. They may be honestly unaware of this doctrine. Nevertheless, it is true. Here are a few excerpts from official Catholic sources. “An authorized priest … [says] the words ‘I absolve you from your sins.’ … All bishops ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 22 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM Coming! One World Church 23 and priests have the power to forgive sins or absolve sins.” 20 “Who has the power to forgive sin today? All bishops and priests of the Catholic Church can forgive sin. … What do you have to do to have your sins forgiven? You have to be truly sorry for them and confess them to a Catholic priest.” 21 Sometimes American Catholics defend the confessional by comparing it to going to a counselor or psychologist. They claim the priest does not actually forgive sins, but simply plays the role of a counselor. However, when the pope speaks about priests, he refers to the official Catholic posi- tion and not the “corrupted,” Americanized version. The Church tries to make its official teaching clear in its catechisms. “Does the priest merely pray that your sins will be for- given? No, acting as God’s instrument and ordained minister, he truly forgives the sins.” 22 “This is not a mere ritual repetition or psy- chological exercise.’’ 23 “Does the priest really forgive your sins? … the priest really forgives your sins. The priest does not merely ‘pray away’ your sins.” 24 ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 23 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM 24 Coming! One World Church This Catholic teaching is based on John 20:23: “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” A correct under- standing of this verse requires reading the context. Before telling the disciples about the remission of sins, Jesus said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” The dis- ciples were to go to the world in a way similar to which Jesus was sent to our world. How did the Father send Jesus to our world? Jesus said, “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). “I do noth- ing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things” (John 8:28). “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). Jesus was sent not to speak His own words or teach His own doctrine or to do His own will. He came to speak the Father’s word and will and sent His disciples to do the same. Like an ambassador, the disciples were to tell others about the will and word of the Person they represented. “God … hath given to us ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 24 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM Coming! One World Church 25 the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye recon- ciled to God” (2Corinthians 5:18–20, empha- sis mine). Notice that the power to actually forgive sins was not given to the disciples as priests, but only the word of reconciliation as ambassadors. Ministers and believers can only pass on the word of truth that Jesus has recon- ciled the sinner to Himself if they will confess and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the right to invite and urge people in behalf of Jesus to come to Him. But the actual ability to read the heart and to grant forgive- ness is something only the Almighty can do. So how is it that “whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained”? Whenever an unbe- liever does not accept a believer’s call to repen- tance, then we have caused them to retain their sins. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (1 James 4:17). “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 25 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM 26 Coming! One World Church ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:41). Sin remains and is retained when a sinner has encountered truth and has refused to repent and accept it. So when the disciples took truth to people and they refused to accept it, their sins were retained. “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak [margin: excuse] for their sin” (John 15:22). “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city” (Matthew 10:14, 15). On the other hand, if people accept the good news of sal- vation in Christ, then their sins are forgiven by God. Man is on dangerous ground when he tries to usurp God’s prerogatives. No one should ever say the words used by the priests in the Catholic sacrament of penance: “I absolve you from your sins.” Only God can forgive sin. “Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone” (Luke 5:21)? “Blasphemy,” ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 26 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM Coming! One World Church 27 the Bible calls it. Strong language we would do well to remember! Sin requires the death penalty be paid. Whenever we sin and confess to God, Jesus applies the blood of His death on the cross to our account. He alone can read the heart and apply the blood accordingly. We do not have this power. We don’t know if a person is truly sincere and desirous of transformation. We misjudge others all the time. There is a danger in accepting humans as our mediators with God. God regards only one Mediator. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1Timothy 2:5). For humans to take the place of this Mediator is presumptu- ous. This is trying to take the place of Jesus and God. And no good Catholic or Protestant Christian wants this to happen. One cannot find any indication within the biblical record that the apostles exercised the authority supposedly conferred upon them to forgive sins. They certainly would have done it if they had understood Jesus’ words in the manner the Catholic Church teaches. Neither does the Bible refer to the Catholic Church’s ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 27 6/9/09 3:42:01 PM 28 Coming! One World Church confessional. There is no record of sinners going to the apostles to confess their sins and receive forgiveness. Yet, we do read numerous instances of the disciples directing people to God for forgiveness. “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:22, emphasis mine). Associated with the ordination of the priest is celibacy. According to the Catholic catechism, “The basis for clerical celibacy is the example of Christ and His apostles.” 25 Does the Bible really teach that priests are to remain unmarried and celibate for life? Admittedly, Jesus was celibate. But He did not command this for all who should follow Him in ministry. He called Peter to be an apostle, and Peter was married. “[Peter’s] wife’s mother lay sick of a fever” (Mark 1:30). Although it is recommended for those who choose it, celibacy is not a requirement for ministry. Jesus says that there are those who “have made themselves eunuchs for the king- dom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it” (Matthew 19:12). The apostle Paul highly recommended celibacy. ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 28 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM Coming! One World Church 29 He saw it as an opportunity to care only for the things of God (1Corinthians 7:32). But he also says this is his opinion and not a direct command from God. “I speak this by permission, and not of commandment” (1Corinthians 7:6). Furthermore, Paul did not forbid marriage. “If thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned” (1Corinthians 7:28). The Catholic position is not as flexible as that of Paul. “By Church law a Catholic priest in the western Church is obligated to live a life of celibacy [no marriage].” 26 The dilemma the pope finds himself in is that he forbids that which God clearly permits. Many Catholics, recognizing this, are trying to get their church to change this teaching. But the pope has indi- cated it will not change. A church in Georgia once installed chimes to play hymns over a loudspeaker for the townspeople to hear during supper. Every evening the chimes faithfully played their sweet music. But a nearby turkey farmer was not soothed by the sound. It seemed that the chimes disturbed his turkeys during their evening feeding. The birds just wouldn’t eat ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 29 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM 30 Coming! One World Church while the music played, and they were not get- ting fat for the market. Discussions between the farmer and church deteriorated. Pretty soon things became quite ugly. The farmer tried to silence the loudspeaker on the steeple by shooting it. In retaliation church mem- bers sneaked into the turkey pens at night, spooking the birds and giving them one more reason not to eat. Only after the birds had a complete nervous breakdown and the church steeple was peppered with bullet holes did the two parties finally come to an agreement that met both their needs. The church played the chimes at a different hour and the farmer called a cease-fire. 27 Resolving doctrinal differences does not need to become a shouting match and cer- tainly not a shooting match. Both the pope and Protestants agree that the Catholic doctrine of the ordination of priests must be resolved. And it must be done in light of Bible truth. Teachings regarding the priest’s ability to forgive sins, apostolic succession, and celibacy will need to be radically changed to come into harmony with the Bible. This is the only wise thing to do if we are to answer Jesus’ prayer for Christian unity. ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 30 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM Coming! One World Church 31 The Eucharist Four children were born to a family in Amman, Jordan. Each birth certificate said the child was a girl. And for 13 years the fam- ily believed this. But when the oldest child reached puberty, “she” started revealing male characteristics. The teenage “girl” grew facial hair, her voice broke, and she developed a male physique. Doctors examining Mohammed diagnosed him with a rare genetic defect that left him appearing to be female when in reality he was male. Apparently, during his development in the womb his male organs never descended. Mohammed’s three younger siblings were also diagnosed with the same defect. Fortunately, all the children were successfully operated on and are now males. The day of their transformation was one of great celebra- tion. The girls, now turned boys, cut their long hair, removed their jewelry, and wore boys’ pajamas. And their jubilant grandmother Fatima Netasha said, “I had six granddaugh- ters and two grandsons, and now I have six grandsons and two granddaughters. I thank God and the doctor.” 28 ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 31 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM 32 Coming! One World Church Sometimes things aren’t as they appear. This is what is at the heart of the contro- versy over the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper. Protestants view the bread and grape juice as symbols of Jesus’ body and blood. But accord- ing to Catholic teaching the bread and wine aren’t what they appear to be—mere bread and wine. Instead, they are literally the real body, blood, and person of Jesus. Official Catholic teaching is unambigu- ous. “The Eucharist is a sacrament which real- ly, truly, and substantially contains the body and blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.” 29 “After consecration, this sign contains the whole Christ, his body and blood, his soul and divinity.” 30 “Christ is present in the Eucharist … with all his physical properties, hands and feet and head and human heart. He is present with his human soul, with his thoughts, desires, and human affections.” 31 Another difference between Catholic and Protestant beliefs is that of relevance. Protestants view the service as a holy ritu- al in which people voluntarily participate. However, the Catholic Church teaches that ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 32 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM Coming! One World Church 33 “The Eucharist is necessary for salvation.” 32 This is because of their view that the benefits of the cross can be had only by partaking of Jesus’ “literal” body as found in the bread. Follow this to its logical conclusion. The only bread that can be Jesus’ body is bread that has had the special prayer and bless- ing of the Catholic priest. No priest means no changing of the bread into the body of Christ. No body of Christ means no salva- tion. A Protestant pastor cannot do what the Catholic priest can with the bread. Only the priest has the power conferred upon him to command God to come down from heaven and enter the bread. Therefore, if people are going to be saved, they must go to a Catholic Church to receive the Eucharist. Furthermore, in order to receive the Eucharist they must first become a Catholic. “The person who is receiving instructions in preparation for full membership in the Catholic Church should participate in the Mass but may not receive Holy Communion.” 33 What did Jesus mean when He said in Matthew 26:26–28, “Take, eat; this is my body. … Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood”? ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 33 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM 34 Coming! One World Church Did He really mean that His literal body and blood were present in the bread and wine? The disciples knew this wasn’t what He referred to. They had heard Him speak like this before. Jesus once said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. … Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:51–53). On that day, many who listened inter- preted Jesus’ words very literally. They thought He advocated salvation by cannibalism. They were shocked. Jesus knew their thoughts, so He clarified what He meant. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Jesus says His life is contained in His words. To eat His Word means to read and meditate upon its meaning. When we apply Jesus’ teachings to our life, then we’ve truly eaten His Word. The Catholic teaching of the Eucharist misses this point. Instead, what Jesus intends to be spiritual is taken literally. ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 34 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM Coming! One World Church 35 Another controverted point regarding the Eucharist concerns the wine. In the Catholic communion service, only the priests drink it. This teaching came into the Church at the Council of Constance, a.d. 1414–1418, and is not taught in God’s Word. When Jesus took the cup, He gave it to all those present, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1Corinthians 11:25 emphasis mine; See also Matthew 26:27,28). The blessing of this service is for every believer, not just priests. Yes, the pope is right again. The Eucharist needs to be studied. Imagine what blessings can come to Christianity if we all return to Bible truth. United on the clear teachings of God’s Word, we can be a powerful witness to unbelievers. But before unity can be reached, we must also resolve another doctrinal dif- ference the pope said must be resolved—the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary The Lawrence Welk Show had its televi- sion premier in 1955 and launched Welk into becoming what Life magazine called “the most ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 35 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM 36 Coming! One World Church popular musician in U.S. history.” But things weren’t always so rosy for Lawrence Welk. Once, after playing his accordion for a dance, he overheard one of the band members remark, “Did you get a load of that accordionist? If I had to play every night with him, I’d go back to jerking sodas.” 34 At the time, it appeared Welk might be a failure, but he continued to play and finally landed his television show. Though many would rate him as an average musician, 40 million people tuned in to his program faithfully every Saturday night. Quite a large following for an ordinary musician! To many Christians, Mary, though extremely blessed to be the mother of Jesus, was still just an ordinary human. In the Catholic Church, however, she “is honored and loved second only to God Himself.” 35 Because the pope is well aware that this reverence for Mary is a major block in the road to unity, he has put it on the list for discussion. And Protestants have some very good reasons to raise objec- tions to this Catholic belief. The Bible is very clear that Jesus is our Savior. No other person can atone for our sins. So to God alone should we pray. It is Jesus ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 36 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM Coming! One World Church 37 “who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:34). Yet, Catholic catechisms contain numerous prayers to Mary pleading for her to make intercession for our sins. The very popular Hail Mary prayer says, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” 36 The Hail Holy Queen prayer addresses Mary as mankind’s advocate. “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. … O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, o holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.”37 The Bible, however, says that there is no advocate for man other than Jesus. “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1John 2:1). The second problem with the Catholic doctrine of Mary is called the Immaculate Conception. This teaches that Mary was ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 37 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM 38 Coming! One World Church “conceived without sin.” 38 “Not only was she free from the slightest stain of actual sin, but by a singular miracle of divine grace she was free also from original sin, with which all the other children of Adam are born into this world. It was eminently fitting that she … should be undefiled by even that slight shadow of Adam’s fall. To her alone, among all the members of the race, was granted this singular immunity … the Immaculate Conception [refers] … to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother without the stain of original sin.” 39 Unfortunately, this teaching finds no sup- port in the Bible. It was only recently pro- claimed as a dogma of the Catholic faith in 1854. 40 The Bible unequivocally declares that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Only one person ever lived a life of perfect sinlessness—Jesus. He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). So why does the Catholic Church teach that Mary never sinned? Simply because if Jesus was sinless, then they feel that His mother had to be sinless. But it is a mistake to assume that just because Jesus’ mother was ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 38 6/9/09 3:42:02 PM Coming! One World Church 39 a sinner, He had to be born a sinner. You see, Jesus received from His mother a body “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). But He received from His Father a divine spirit and mind. Jesus’ body, degraded by the effects of four thousand years of sin, did not control His actions or sully His character. Though His sinful flesh provided a launching pad for temptation, His divine nature recoiled from it. He chose not to heed temptation’s slightest whisper. Therefore, He was without sin. If Jesus had been born of a sinless mother, then He couldn’t be the sympathizing Savior that He is. It is because He did receive “the likeness of sinful flesh” from Mary that He is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). He is our Mediator and heav- enly Priest by virtue of this very fact. He under- stands us because He was tempted from His flesh. “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:17,18). ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 39 6/9/09 3:42:03 PM 40 Coming! One World Church The Immaculate Conception veils the compassion of Jesus. This is why Mary is often prayed to as a mediator and interces- sor. Catholic catechisms portray her as one who understands our weaknesses better than Christ. “She is our Mother, near and dear to us, loving us with all the warmth of a mother’s love. As the little child frightened by the shadows of night finds safety in his mother’s arms, so will we in time of temptation find a safe refuge by fleeing to the outstretched arms of Mary our Mother. If we will but clasp the loving hand of our Mother, stretched out to aid us in every danger, our uncertain foot- steps will be guided safely to that golden lad- der upon whose rungs we will climb step by step, to the very throne of her Son and Savior, Jesus Christ.” 41 The Catholic teaching of the Assumption of Mary is another area of concern. This declares that Mary was taken to heaven before her body decomposed in the grave. “It was eminently fitting that the body of the chaste and Immaculate Mother of God was not per- mitted to undergo disintegration and putrefac- tion but was assumed into heaven.” 42 ComingOneWorldChurch.indd 40 6/9/09 3:42:03 PM Coming! One World Church 41 Given the burial process in Bible days, this would have had to happen very soon after her death. Four days after Lazarus’ death, his sis- ters expected his dead body would be decom- posed. “By this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days” (John 11:39). Therefore, according to Catholic teaching, for Mary not to “undergo disintegration and putrefaction” we must conclude she was taken to heaven within four days. Again the Bible does not teach this. It is a new doctrine of the Catholic Church. “This belief … was formally defined as a dogma of the Universal Church by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950.” 43 Instead, the Bible declares that all who die go to the grave to sleep in the dust until the return of Christ. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2; see also Ecclesiastes 9:5,10; Psalms 146:4; 13:3). Catholics need to re-examine their doc- trines c

A Little Light Reading. The Savior And The Serpent. Doug Bachelor. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:14, 15). An Amazing Fact: It is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people die from snakebites each year, 75 percent of whom live in densely populated India. The most deadly snakes in the savior & the serpent by doug batchelor The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 1 12/20/11 10:19 AM 2 The Savior & the Serpent India are the cobra, Russell’s viper, and the Indian krait. Burma has the highest snakebite mortality rate, however, with 15.4 deaths per 100,000 people per year. Ironically, Australia has some of the world’s most poisonous snakes, but the average death toll there is only six persons per year. In South America about 4,500 people die annually from contact with the Fer-de-lance. None of the snakes already mentioned are found in the United States, where the chief offenders are coral snakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes. Four times in one year, John Fretwell’s air conditioning equipment com- pany in Dallas was robbed. Fed up with it, Fretwell went up to Oklahoma for a snake hunt and brought back what might be the ultimate in burglar protec- tion: seven diamondback rattlesnakes. During business hours, he now displays the snakes in the window of his business The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 2 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 3 office, labeled with a sign: DANGER: SNAKES BITE. Before going home at night, he frees the five-foot rattlers to glide around the premises. In the morning, armed with a hooked stick and a burlap bag, he rounds them up. The seven rattlers seem to be working like a charm to ward off burglars. The key to his success is that most people find these creatures among the most revolting and terrorizing beasts on Earth. My mother was so deathly afraid of snakes that she would jump around and scream even if she saw one on TV. My brother and I would sometimes capitalize on her phobia by placing a rubber snake in her dresser drawer to enjoy a cruel laugh when she discovered it. Why Study Snakes? Few people relish the idea of studying snakes. It might not sound like a very ap- pealing subject, but these cold-blooded, The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 3 12/20/11 10:19 AM 4 The Savior & the Serpent legless reptiles are mentioned in Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. The Scriptures are an epic record of the battles between our Savior and the serpent and, ultimately, how Jesus wins the war. This is why it is very profitable for us to compel ourselves to consider these unusual crea- tures, which are often used to symbolize the enemy. Throughout the Bible, the serpent generally represents the devil. It was in the form of a snake that the devil first manifested himself to the human race (Genesis 3:1). Through the snake in the forbidden tree, our first parents were en- ticed to sin, hence the symbol stuck all the way to Revelation 20:2, where he is called “the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan.” There can be some great benefits to understanding this slithery creature, which has traits analogous to our enemy. When I lived in the desert hills as a young man, rattlesnakes were abundant. A basic The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 4 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 5 knowledge about their habits and behav- ior helped me to avoid ever being bit, de- spite several close encounters. The Bible says that “the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1). Perhaps this is why Jesus commands us to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In order to be as “wise as serpents,” we must understand at least a little something about them. Master Counterfeiter Snakes are the ultimate experts in cam- ouflage and counterfeits. Whether hiding in the grass or entwined in the branches of a tree, they are masters at blending into the scenery to remain undetected. When threatened, the harmless bull snake will coil up and vibrate its tail in the dry leaves to sound and look like its venomous cous- in, the rattler. The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 5 12/20/11 10:19 AM 6 The Savior & the Serpent Satan, too, is a clever counterfeiter. In Revelation 12:9 he is called “that ser- pent of old...who deceives the whole world.” For every truth of God, Satan has a convincing counterfeit. He has counter- feit baptisms, a counterfeit Holy Spirit, a counterfeit of speaking in tongues, a counterfeit Sabbath, and even a counter- feit for love. In the Exodus story, the Pharaoh’s ma- gicians were able—to a point—to coun- terfeit the power and miracles of God. So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh … just as the Lord com- manded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a ser- pent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchant- ments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 6 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 7 But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods (Exodus 7:10–12). Likewise, Satan is most dangerous and effective when he is imitating God’s mir- acles and messengers. “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Flying Dragons In the Scriptures, the devil is called both a serpent and a dragon. Among many cultures around the world, stories and legends abound regarding flying dragons. These images can be frequently seen in their ancient carvings and art. Legends are generally rooted in some element of truth, and this appears to be the case with flying dragons. Paleontologists have found amazing fossil evidence all over the globe of giant flying rep- tiles called pterosaurs, or “winged liz- ards.” Pterosaurs were flying reptiles, The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 7 12/20/11 10:19 AM 8 The Savior & the Serpent some with a wingspan of nearly 40 feet. (That’s about the size of a small Cessna airplane!) They appear to be the largest flying animals that ever lived on Earth. They had lightly-built, hollow bones but 300-pound bodies. By comparison, the heaviest bird alive today, a Kori Bustard, is only 42 pounds. The pterosaur had a long, thin beak with toothless jaws. The neck was 10 feet long, and the legs were more than seven feet. To someone watching from the ground, the long legs trailing behind a flying pterosaur might have looked like a pointed tail. The pterosaur had a large brain and big eyes, and a fur-like fuzz might have even covered some of its body. We can’t tell from the bones, but it is also possible that some of these ex- tinct “dragons” were red. It had a bony crest on its head that some think acted as a rudder for flying. Other scientists have surmised that the chambers in the skull could have contained chemicals, like the The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 8 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 9 bombardier beetle, that were mixed and expelled, spraying a fiery liquid from its mouth. Some of these creatures might have survived long after the Flood. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote about “winged serpents” living in Arabia in the fifth century before Christ. According to the Bible, at least one dragon has managed to survive much lon- ger than that! “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:2). The Bible itself alludes to the existence of flying serpents. One prophecy states, “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, be- cause the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fi- ery flying serpent” (Isaiah 14:29). Genesis 3:14 even explains why we do not see flying snakes today. “So the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 9 12/20/11 10:19 AM 10 The Savior & the Serpent all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.’ ” If the serpent was cursed to go upon his belly after he tempted Eve, it is obvious that before the curse, he propelled him- self differently. Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Just as the serpent was grounded by the curse, the fallen angel Lucifer also had his wings clipped when he was cast to the earth. Satan and the Sword The first question found in Scripture is actually posed by the serpent, who sought to discredit God’s words. He asked Eve, “Hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1). From that first insidious query to the present, Satan has been ever seeking to cast doubt on the Word of God in order The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 10 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 11 to undermine the faith of God’s chil- dren. Sin, suffering, and death entered the world after Satan succeeded in lead- ing our first parents to disbelieve God’s words. Planting seeds of doubt regarding the dependability of Scripture remains the devil’s primary war tactic. Jesus explained this truth in His par- able of the sower. “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them” (Matthew 13:3,4). Later, explaining the parable, Jesus says, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wick- ed one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Matthew 13:19). However, victory comes to God’s chil- dren when they embrace and believe the powerful promises in the Word, “by which [has] been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 11 12/20/11 10:19 AM 12 The Savior & the Serpent having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). When Jesus did combat with the arch villain in the wilderness of temptation, He deflected every assault with a word from Scripture. Indeed, the serpent trembles when God’s people take hold of the living sword of His Word! (See Hebrews 4:12.) The Snake and the Seed Genesis 3:14, 15 is where we find the first prophecy recorded in the Bible, and this prediction tells of the ongoing battle that would exist throughout mankind’s history between the woman (the church) and the serpent (Satan). This passage also promises the ultimate victory of the woman’s seed (the coming Savior), who would crush the head of the snake. Verse 15 says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and be- tween your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 12 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 13 His heel.” The seed of the woman is, of course, Jesus. Now a great sign appeared in heav- en: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all na- tions with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne (Revelation 12:1–5). The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 13 12/20/11 10:19 AM 14 The Savior & the Serpent Notice in the Genesis prophecy that the serpent bites the heel of the woman’s seed, not the toe. The heel is the back of the foot, the lowest part of the body. Satan gets us from behind, when we are at our lowest point. Likewise, he came to Jesus when He was weak and tired after 40 days of fasting. The good news is that Satan only man- ages to bruise the heel of Christ and the church; the church continues to limp along, so to speak. On the other hand, the serpent receives a mortal wound to the head, promising the ultimate victory of Jesus over the devil. Power Over Serpents When the Lord commissioned Moses to return to Egypt and lead His people to freedom, at first the great leader was reluc- tant. Then the Lord gave Moses a strange command concerning his shepherd’s rod. “And He said, ‘Cast it on the ground.’ So The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 14 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 15 he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail’ (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand)” (Exodus 4:3, 4). A rod in the Bible is a symbol of power (Revelation 12:5) and protection (Psalm 23:4). When Moses’ rod turned into a serpent, it signaled that God would give him power over and protection from the forces of evil as he ventured into the snake pit of Pharaoh’s palace. This same power is promised to all of God’s children who seek to work with Jesus to liberate others from slavery to Satan. Luke 10:19 states, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” And Psalm 91:13 declares, “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.” The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 15 12/20/11 10:19 AM 16 The Savior & the Serpent Don’t Play With Snakes A rattlesnake only two minutes old can strike effectively. During a family picnic, a two-year-old girl discovered a brood of baby rattlesnakes. The unsuspecting child began to play with what she thought were merely pretty worms, until she had been repeatedly bitten beyond hope. Likewise, some people feel there is no harm in toying with the devil. Or they be- lieve that little sins are harmless and in- consequential, but these “baby” sins often prove more fatal in the long run than the more robust transgressions. While we should never tempt the devil, we also should not fear him. This power over evil is what Jesus was talking about when He said, “And these signs will fol- low those who believe … they will take up serpents” (Mark 16:17, 18). Some misguided pastors have inter- preted this passage to mean that Christians should double as snake charmers and The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 16 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 17 prove their faith by collecting and han- dling rattlesnakes or other venomous vi- pers. For obvious reasons, the member- ship in these congregations has always remained small. But the New Testament account of Paul’s shipwreck reveals how to correctly interpret this passage: Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bun- dle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 17 12/20/11 10:19 AM 18 The Savior & the Serpent allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were ex- pecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god (Acts 28:1–6). Notice that Paul did not go looking for this snake, but after it bit him he took it up and hurled it into the fire. Just as God saved Paul from the venom of that serpent, He will save us from the poison of sin. However, we are never to delib- erately seek out snakes to flirt with di- saster. That would be tempting the Lord (Matthew 4:7). Most Famous Verse Probably one of the most well-known, beloved, and memorized verses in the The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 18 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 19 Bible is John 3:16. But if you were to ask the average Christian what the two verses are that precede John 3:16, I would ven- ture to guess not one person in 50 could quote them. Yet that immortal verse we all know is actually the continuation of a thought begun in the preceding two vers- es. Here they are all together: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:14–16 KJV). These three verses together encap- sulate the entire great controversy be- tween the serpent and the Lord. Let’s look back at the original story to which Jesus was alluding: The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 19 12/20/11 10:19 AM 20 The Savior & the Serpent And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died (Numbers 21:5, 6). Remember that sin first entered the world when the serpent succeeded in tempting our first parents to doubt God’s Word. Like Adam and Eve, the chil- dren of Israel also became dissatisfied with the food God was providing them and wanted something more. “Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents” (1 Corinthians 10:9). In this story, after the children of Israel rejected God’s bread (a symbol for Jesus and the Word), the serpents bit them. It is The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 20 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 21 the Word of God that keeps people from sin (Psalm 119:11). Let’s read on: Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the ser- pents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived (Numbers 21:7–9). The Lord did not immediately take away the serpents, but He provided a remedy. Likewise, the devil might still be in our world, but God has provided The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 21 12/20/11 10:19 AM 22 The Savior & the Serpent healing for sin as we behold “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Snake on a Stick But why did God ask Moses to do this, and what did it mean? For this nation of shepherds, the serpent lifted on a pole served as a vivid symbol that they all well understood. Snakes are a deadly menace to sheep. A dog might get bit by a rattle- snake yet survive without special treat- ment, but sheep are much more fragile. This is one of the reasons why shepherds carried a rod. When I lived in the desert wilderness, I had a snake stick that served a couple of purposes. If I found a venomous intrud- er in my cave, I would club it to “bruise his head.” But a mortally wounded snake still might continue to thrash and writhe for hours. So rather than grab it with my hand, I would lift it up with the rod to The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 22 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 23 move it far away from my premises or a trail. A snake on a stick is a vivid sym- bol of a defeated serpent. Beyond this, there is a much richer prophetic signifi- cance to this symbol. Christian author E.G. White writes: All who have ever lived upon the earth have felt the deadly sting of ‘that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan.’ Revelation 12:9. The fatal effects of sin can be removed only by the provision that God has made. The Israelites saved their lives by looking upon the uplifted ser- pent. That look implied faith. They lived because they believed God’s word, and trusted in the means provided for their recovery. So the sinner may look to Christ, and live. He receives pardon through faith in the atoning sacrifice. Unlike the inert and lifeless symbol, Christ has The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 23 12/20/11 10:19 AM 24 The Savior & the Serpent power and virtue in Himself to heal the repenting sinner (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 431). She also writes, “The people well knew that in itself the serpent had no power to help them. It was a symbol of Christ. As the image made in the likeness of the de- stroying serpents was lifted up for their healing, so One made ‘in the likeness of sinful flesh’ was to be their Redeemer” (The Desire of Ages, p. 174). Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself ” (John 12:32). It is by looking to Jesus on the cross that we are drawn by His love for us. By gazing in faith at our Redeemer’s sacrifice, we are saved from the sting of the serpent. Again, God did not take away the serpents but instead provided a remedy. This world is something of a snake pit; as long as we are in this world, we will have to contend with the devil. However, The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 24 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 25 God has provided an abundance of anti- venom in the blood of Jesus to save us from the viper’s bite! When Jesus was on the cross, although His heel was pain- fully bruised, the serpent’s head was mortally crushed. Good Luck Charms God did not intend for the bronze ser- pent Moses forged and elevated on the stick to become an idol. Nevertheless, this bronze relic somehow managed to sur- vive all the wanderings and battles of the Israelites for more than 700 years. Most of the surrounding pagan Canaanite na- tions worshiped serpents as gods of fer- tility and mystical power. Over time, the Israelites began to imitate their neighbors and to treat this symbol of God’s forgive- ness as a deity in and of itself. [Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 25 12/20/11 10:19 AM 26 The Savior & the Serpent cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan [something made of copper] (2 Kings 18:4). Like the ancient Israelites, millions around the world today are inadver- tently worshiping the serpent thinking they are worshiping the Lord. They have slowly and unwittingly been sucked into base idolatry. Indeed, many Christians have done the same thing with the symbol of the cross as the ancient Israelites did with the bronze serpent. But as the Israelites were not to worship the serpent on the pole, we are not to bow down to the cross. Neither are we commanded anywhere in Scripture to make the sign of the cross or to wear a cross on our persons. While the symbol of the cross has evolved into The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 26 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 27 a logo for Christianity, there is no mys- tical power or virtue in praying to this shape of the ancient Roman implement of torture. When Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me,” He was commanding His fol- lowers to bear the cross, not to wear the cross (Matthew 16:24). Revelation speaks of being saved not by the cross, but by the blood of Jesus. It was the cross as a demonstration of Jesus’ love and sacrifice that Paul and the dis- ciples exalted, not the revolting instru- ment itself. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The redemption of the cross is what should be the focus of Christians. The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 27 12/20/11 10:19 AM 28 The Savior & the Serpent The Cup of Sin In the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, there rests a very precious goblet. In the center of the inside of that goblet is a gold serpent. It has ruby eyes and diamond fangs; its mouth is open, ap- pearing ready to strike. When the goblet is filled with wine, the red liquid covers the snake. As the wine is drunk, suddenly the serpent with its menacing appearance is revealed. Jesus, nearing the time of His cruci- fixion, shrank from the thought of sin and separation from the Father when He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). Yet humbling Himself, He drank the cup of sin down to the dregs. “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” At Calvary, the serpent, which had been lingering through it all, struck with all of his dia- bolical vengeance. The intensity of evil … Jesus bore it all! The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 28 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 29 Defeated Foe Some have wondered, “If Satan was defeated by Jesus on the cross, then why do we still see and feel so much evidence of his evil works?” The devil knows he was defeated at the cross, but he is crazed with pride and anger. In order to inflict as much heartache on God as possible, he continues to fight tenaciously, wanting to take down with him as many human be- ings as possible. Revelation 12:12 declares, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Satan is now thrash- ing about wildly in his final death throes, striking any and all within his reach. However, the Bible promises that, ul- timately, Satan and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire. This also holds true for those people who follow the devil. “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 29 12/20/11 10:19 AM 30 The Savior & the Serpent you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matthew 23:33). The good news is that in heaven, we will no longer need to walk through the woods in fear. Isaiah 11:8, 9 describes a paradise without harmful snakes: The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In the Father’s Hands A father and his eight-year-old daugh- ter were driving down a busy highway one balmy summer afternoon. Suddenly the little girl screamed and covered her head. A honeybee had flown in one of the open windows and was buzzing angrily around the cab looking for a way out. The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 30 12/20/11 10:19 AM The Savior & the Serpent 31 What so terrified the child was that, after having nearly died from them once before, she knew she was deathly allergic to bee stings. The father reached for the bee as it was buzzing, cornered between the windshield and the dashboard. The determined little creature escaped his grasp and now looked even more furious. The young girl pled, “Daddy! He’s going to sting me! I’ll die!” The father tried to calm her. “Don’t worry, sweetie. He can’t hurt you now.” “But, Daddy, he’s getting closer!” Then the father held out his right hand to his frightened daughter; there she saw a little stinger in his palm. “I took the stinger so he can’t hurt you now. All he can do is buzz around till he dies.” We can also rest assured Satan is doomed. Jesus has taken the venom of the enemy into His own body that we might be saved. Yes, the devil might still be rampaging through this world, but God’s children don’t need to be frightened. Jesus The Savior and the Serpent Text.indd 31 12/20/11 10:19 AM 32 The Savior & the Serpent promised, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Calling all Young Artists! 🎨✝️" Pick up those Brushes... Let your Creativity Shine... 🎨 Amen Art Crew presents... Online Kids Art Contest — 2026! ✨ This is not just a Competition... This is a Faith Expression! ✝️ 📋 Contest Details: 🖌️ Theme: Any Bible-Inspired Artwork! ✏️ Medium: Paints, Pencils, Crayons — Use whatever you love! 👦👧 Who: Open to everyone up to Age 15! 🏆 Categories & Prizes: 🥇 Junior — Ages 3 to 7 🥇 Inter — Ages 8 to 11 🥇 Senior — Ages 12 to 15 Top 3 Artworks in each Category will be Awarded! 🎖️ 🎁 Bonus: Every Participant receives an E-Certificate! 📜✨ 📅 Important Dates: 📌 Start: April 15, 2026 📌 Last Date: May 30, 2026 🎉 Results: June 3, 2026 📝 How to Enter? Step 1 — Pay the Fee: 💰 Rs. 50 per person GPay: 9994119004 Or Scan the QR Code in the Flyer! Step 2 — Submit your Artwork: 📸 Send a Clear Photo of your Artwork via WhatsApp: 📲 9488585570 Step 3 — Include Details: 📝 ✅ Artist's Name ✅ Age ✅ City Share this with every Parent and Young Artist you know! 🔄 Let every child have this opportunity to shine for God! ❤️✝️ 📲 Join us for Daily Updates: 👉 https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAUcNLFCCoekVvWrw18 📩 DM / WhatsApp : +91 8667481972 📞💬 🌐 Consultation: 👉 christianmediaartist.com/consultation.php "To God Be The Glory!" ✝️🙏 #AmenArtCrew #KidsArtContest #ChristianKids #BibleArt #ChristianArt #KidsArt #OnlineContest #ChristianChildren #TamilChristian #TamilMinistry #ChristianMediaArtist #YoungArtists #KidsContest2026 #BibleInspiredArt #ChristianCreator #FaithThroughArt #TamilChristianReel #ChristianCommunity #GodsGlory #TamilBelievers #ChristianYouth #KidsTalent #ArtForGod #Matthew1914 #DigitalMinistry #christianmediaartist #CMA

A Little Light Reading. How to keep the Sabbath Holy. Doug Bachelor. During the Paris Olympics in 1924, Scotsman Eric Liddell, the son of a missionary and a celebrated sprint- er, was expected to win gold in the 100-me- ter race. However, he discovered that the time trials for his event were going to fall on a Sunday, which he believed to be the biblical Sabbath. Even though he had relentlessly trained and his country had emotionally and finan- cially invested in him, he absolutely refused to run in a race on that day. This difficult decision put him under immense pressure from politicians, teammates, and even some How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 7 2/13/14 2:45 PM 8 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy friends. “God will understand,” they plead- ed. “Your country is counting on you! Do it just this one time!” But he said, “No. I can’t do it—not even once.” Well, it later turned out, providentially, that Liddell could run in another event that did not conflict with his beliefs: the 400-me- ter run. However, during the time trials, he didn’t perform very well. Teammates won- dered about his ability to secure even a bronze medal. But Liddell believed the re- sults were in God’s hands; all he needed to do was do his best. Then, just prior to running the final heat, he was handed a slip of paper from an American trainer with this profound mes- sage written on it: “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30). When the start gun sounded, Liddell went off like a shot, ran like lightning, and broke the standing record to finish first! Eric Liddell firmly believed in obey- ing God no matter the cost—and that meant following every one of His Ten Commandments, including the fourth. This How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 8 2/13/14 2:45 PM 9 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy deep faithfulness and devotion is to be ad- mired; even if he had the specific day wrong, he had the principle right. For him the Sabbath commandment was no less important than the ones that say, “Do not murder,” and, “Do not commit adultery.” It’s very difficult for some people to wrap their minds around that idea; “After all,” they say, “It’s just a day!” But I also believe it is absolutely true that this commandment is as equally important as any other. Very few people, after accepting Christ, dispute nine of the Ten Commandments, but the fourth they often see as a “personal preference” or an optional commandment. But it’s not just a recommendation from Moses; it’s the very law of the Almighty. The Bible tells us, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). The devil doesn’t care whether your sin is adul- tery or idolatry or murder or Sabbath break- ing, just as long as he can get you to sin and separate you from God. He knows that in God’s view, the Sabbath commandment is not any less important How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 9 2/13/14 2:45 PM 10 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy than the other nine. That’s why I believe it is the devil’s plan to erode our convictions about the Sabbath through rationalizations and compromises, so that when the big test of the last days comes, when we must choose whom we will worship on penalty of death, many people will have been so trained to stumble that they won’t be prepared to take a stand. That’s why it is so important to be faithful now in keeping the Sabbath holy; it’s all about preparation. But before we delve too far into the hows of keeping the Sabbath holy, let’s first begin by determining what it means for a day to be holy … What Is Holy? Let’s start our study of the Sabbath by taking a careful look at the commandment itself, found in Exodus 20: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 10 2/13/14 2:45 PM 11 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the sev- enth day. Therefore the Lord bless- ed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (vv. 8–11, my emphasis). God says there is holy time; what does He mean? The word “holy” means something “ded- icated, set apart, or consecrated to God.” And it’s clear from the Bible that some things are holy and should not be profaned or treated as common. For one, marriage is called holy. You can court someone for years, but it’s not a holy relationship until you seal the covenant and marry him or her. Profaning that holy rela- tionship is a violation of the commandment against adultery. Tithe is also called holy How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 11 2/13/14 2:45 PM 12 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy (Leviticus 27:30). It can be hard to grasp that one dollar among every ten dollars of income you earn is considered holy by God, but nonetheless, using that sacred 10 percent to make a car payment profanes something God has declared to be sacred. Well, likewise, God also points out in the Sabbath commandment that a certain amount of time each week is holy—not be- cause a particular church teaches it, but be- cause He said so. No man in the world can call common what God has blessed as holy. Nor does God say, “Remember the Sabbath to make it holy.” We can’t make it holy; God is the one who makes something holy. In the fourth commandment, He is saying, “I’ve al- ready made it holy, so recognize what I have done and respect me.” Keeping the Sabbath holy is all about a love relationship with God. The Sabbath Before the Commandments Did you know that the fourth command- ment takes us all the way back to Genesis? How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 12 2/13/14 2:45 PM 13 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sancti- fied it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:1–3). The Sabbath was not made only for the Jews but for all humanity. This is why Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). He is referring back to the time of the garden of Eden; the Sabbath was made for all mankind. The idea that the Sabbath was first presented at Mt. Sinai is a common misunderstanding. Exodus 20 might be where we hear God first speaking the fourth commandment—in fact, He hasn’t even written it down in stone at this point—but it is in Exodus 16, a few chapters before the commandment is actual- ly spoken by God, that the Lord rains down How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 13 2/13/14 2:45 PM 14 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy manna from the heavens six days a week. On Fridays, the Israelites were to collect twice as much manna because there would be no manna raining down from the sky on the seventh day of the week. God was treating the Sabbath as if it was something the Jews already clearly understood. When some of them went out on the Sabbath looking for bread, God responded, “How long will you refuse to keep my laws?” He was calling the Sabbath a law before they ever arrived at Mt. Sinai. Does mankind need rest? Yes! This principle comes from the very beginning. Some believe that because the Bible is si- lent on something, it must not have existed. Yet because you don’t read a lot about the Sabbath in Genesis, it’s no reason to assume that it wasn’t there or didn’t exist. Still, it’s quite obvious that it was there when God rested on the seventh day and hallowed it at the creation. In fact, there is no spo- ken or written commandment before Mt. Sinai that says we’re not to commit adul- tery, but Joseph acknowledged that adultery was a sin even before God wrote it in the How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 14 2/13/14 2:45 PM 15 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy Ten Commandments. It’s clearly stated in Genesis 39:9. And, of course, it was a sin for Cain to kill Abel long before God said, “You shall not murder.” Also take notice—when you look at the Ten Commandments, how many of them involve the word “keep”? “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” The com- mandment does not say, “You shall not keep adultery.” There is one place in the commandment dealing with idolatry that says “showing mercy unto thousands that love me and keep my commandments.” But that’s really a general phrase for all of the commandments. So the only law that spe- cifically uses the word “keep” is the Sabbath commandment. It seems strange, then, that it’s really the only commandment that much of the Christian world says is no longer an obligation to keep. But as we’ve seen, it was there in creation at the beginning. And the Bible promises it’s going to be in the New Earth (Isaiah 66:22, 23). God wants us to keep it now—it is an eternal, holy gift to all creation! How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 15 2/13/14 2:45 PM 16 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy A Dangerous Topic Unfortunately, it is easy to be misunder- stood or to appear to be extreme when some- one is committed to Sabbath observance—it might even be labeled “legalistic.” In the time of Jesus, two fanatical religious groups struggled for supremacy, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They were, for lack of better words, the liberals and the conservatives of their day. The Sadducees didn’t believe in angels or resurrection; that’s pretty liberal theology. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were so meticulous in their Sabbath keep- ing, they manufactured many intricate rules to ensure you didn’t walk too far on Sabbath or carry anything that might be considered a burden. For instance, I understand that de- vout Pharisees carried a ball of string they would unravel to measure off the distance they travelled to ensure they would only walk the appropriate distance on any given Sabbath. They didn’t want to carry a burden on the Sabbath day either, and if you carried How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 16 2/13/14 2:45 PM 17 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy a handkerchief to blow your nose on the Sabbath, it was a burden and you were con- sidered to be working. So they got around their own rules by sewing the handkerchief to their clothes. They’d blow their nose on the hankie, which was now considered a part of their clothing. It doesn’t sound very good to us to blow our noses on our clothes, but they figured at least they wouldn’t be carry- ing a burden! They had hundreds of such manmade rules about the Sabbath and other religious duties. Well, Jesus often battled with the Pharisees regarding Sabbath observance; He would heal somebody that day and then be accused of breaking the Sabbath. While the commandment certainly doesn’t forbid heal- ing on the Sabbath, and Jesus, God Himself, did it, we should also realize that Jesus never responded to His accusers by saying, “You don’t need to keep the Sabbath anymore.” Every debate He had about the Sabbath was about how to keep it holy, not whether or not to keep it. Interestingly, the spiritual problem in the time of Christ was certainly more about How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 17 2/13/14 2:45 PM 18 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy legalism. But before then, in the time of Jeremiah and Isaiah, Sabbath problems were more like the problems we face today. The Jews in their time were largely ignor- ing the Sabbath, not keeping it any better than the pagans. They were being careless in their Sabbath observance. And that’s the crisis in the Christian community at large today: We treat God’s commandment with sloppy indifference. As a pastor, I’m not just writing to you. I’m writing to the Batchelor family. My wife, Karen, and I are constantly educating and reminding ourselves about what is right and what is not right on the Sabbath. We are liv- ing in such a relentlessly busy culture that it takes conscious thought, planning, and effort to really rest. I confess that at times I’ve neglected to keep the Sabbath the way I should—so this isn’t about judging you; rather, it’s a Bible study for all people who love the Lord and want to do His will. It’s not legalistic to love the Lord and want to please Him by showing you’re serious about keeping the Sabbath day holy according to His commandment. How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 18 2/13/14 2:45 PM 19 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy So don’t let people accuse you of being legalistic because you’re asking practical questions about what a person should and shouldn’t do on the Sabbath. That’s our pur- pose here—to ask realistic questions that help us get closer to God’s will for our lives. Finding Out How to Keep It Holy The Ten Commandments are, in some ways, an abbreviation of the law of God. For instance, when it says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” the commandment doesn’t go into great detail to explain every possible way in which a per- son could take God’s name in vain—wheth- er it’s swearing, using God’s name carelessly, or claiming you’re a Christian but living as a hypocrite (Exodus 20:7). The commandment that says to not commit adultery is pretty brief (see Exodus 20:14). But I think you and I know there is a lot more to that one statement than a commentary on husband and wife. What How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 19 2/13/14 2:45 PM 20 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy else does it involve? How about two people who aren’t married having sex? Is it adultery then? You must invest a little practical study and understanding in how to rightly obey the adultery commandment when you’re mar- ried and when you’re not married. As Jesus clearly teaches, it’s broader than the summa- ry statement you find etched in stone. So the details of the law require our further study, and you’ll find examples of this command- ment being honored or disregarded in other ways in many places in the Bible. In regard to our goal of better under- standing the fourth commandment, we also need to look at the specifics of Scripture through a study of Bible principles. For example, in Hebrews 4:11, we read, “Let us [labor] therefore to enter into that rest” (KJV). Laboring to rest? That sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? But that’s really what happens when we prepare for the Sabbath. We invest additional labor so that we might enjoy the blessed rest of the Sabbath more fully. While I’m not compar- ing the Sabbath with a typical family vaca- tion, if you’re going to have a good vacation, How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 20 2/13/14 2:45 PM 21 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy it does require extra work, planning, and preparation to make it happen. I believe that in order for us to really enjoy the release and peace that God has designed for this holy day, we must labor to enter the Sabbath rest. And this involves educating ourselves. God throughout His Word gives us a lot more details about what is involved in keeping the Sabbath holy. As we’ll see, it does not mean that you simply swing in a hammock all day long, sipping pineapple juice through a straw. There’s a lot more to God’s rich rest! Of course, the fourth commandment is also the longest of all the commandments— precisely because it goes into the most detail. It says that people are to rest, their animals are to rest, their servants are to rest—every- body within their gates, their borders of au- thority, are to rest and enjoy the fruits of the Sabbath day. The Sabbath commandment is also somewhat different from most of the others because it makes statements in both a posi- tive sense and a negative sense. Most of the others are only stated in the negative—“you How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 21 2/13/14 2:45 PM 22 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy shall not.” The Sabbath commandment says, “You shall keep it holy” and “you shall not work.” It gives both sides, so I’m going to ap- proach this message in the same way. Preparing for the Sabbath John Wesley tells a good story about a devoted new convert to Christianity who was hurrying to shine his shoes just before the Sabbath. It took him about 15 minutes to do each shoe. Well, he got one shoe done, but realized the sun would go down before he could finish the other one, so he put it away. Did he make the right decision? He went to church the next day with one bright, shiny shoe and one dull, scuffed shoe. Would you call him a fanatic? Maybe even a Pharisee? I believe to call this fanaticism is to misun- derstand the principle that specific time is declared holy by God. We think, “How can it be okay to be shining a shoe one moment, but then after a few more ticks of the clock, it’s suddenly a sin?” How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 22 2/13/14 2:45 PM 23 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy Well, in a similar way, a young man might have a girlfriend he is very fond of, but it’s inappropriate for him to gaze upon her unclothed form or to be with her inti- mately. But after they make some vows be- fore God in a wedding ceremony, suddenly what was once a sin is now holy and good. So yes, little things, like the tick of a clock or saying “I do,” can mean all the difference between holy and common. In many of our Sabbathkeeping homes, we have become very sloppy, saying, “Oh, the sun is down, but I’ve still got a few more dishes to do.” And why stop mowing the lawn at sundown when you only have a few more passes to make to complete the job? “It’s not that big of a deal … right, God?” For one thing, what is your unbelieving neighbor thinking as he drives by and sees that the sun is down and you’re still mow- ing? What message are you sending to your family and your neighborhood? In your mind, the devil is saying it’s not a big deal. In the mind of the witness, the devil is calling you a hypocrite. It is part of Satan’s game to highlight our inconsistencies and to erode How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 23 2/13/14 2:45 PM 24 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy our commitment. Please don’t let him use you as a pawn in his game. And most important, God is watch- ing. So it truly is better to leave something common undone than to defile the edges of the Sabbath. What Is Your Attitude? Does God want us to dread the ap- proaching Sabbath? No! He wants it to be a blessing. But if we don’t have a love rela- tionship with Jesus, we’ll be watching the clock instead of enjoying time with Him. When the Sabbath nears, we’ll be thinking, “Oh, heavens! I’ve got all this stuff to do. Is it Sabbath already? Now I don’t have time to do it.” It’s as if the Sabbath is a burden rather than a blessing. That’s not the attitude God wants us to have. God wants us to eagerly look forward to the Sabbath. And who hasn’t heard a young child say, “Is it still Sabbath?” They’re looking for the moment they can do whatever they want, right? I’ve even caught myself looking How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 24 2/13/14 2:45 PM 25 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy wistfully out the window at twilight and wondering if the Sabbath is over so I can get on with my next project. I’m ashamed of having done that. Should we have that kind of attitude? It means we need a change in our hearts. The Bible mentions that this very thing was a problem even in Old Testament times. In Amos 8:5, people say, “When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat?” They were waiting for the sun to go down and the Sabbath to be over so they could do their own thing. Well, let’s suppose a young man is smit- ten by a young woman, but because of their schedules, they can only spend a few hours a week together. He arranges his schedule to get all of his business concluded, but while they’re together, she’s talking to him and he doesn’t seem to be paying attention. As they’re walking side by side, she says, “You seem like you’re a thousand miles away.” He confesses, “Well, you know, I’m thinking about my next work project I’ve got coming up this week.” How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 25 2/13/14 2:45 PM 26 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy Or what if they’re sitting together over a dinner that she’s spent time preparing and he keeps checking the text messages on his phone or looking at the clock, saying, “Is our date over yet? You mind if I leave ear- ly?” What would that say about his heart? Would that hurt her feelings? His words and attitude indicates something is wrong with the relationship. We want the Lord to have our hearts, and when He has our hearts we won’t be asking those kinds of questions about the Sabbath. God wants the Sabbath to be a delight. And I believe the more we come to know and love God, the more delightful the Sabbath will become. The Sabbath is a time for rest, so it should start and end with peaceful and biblical worship. There ought to be de- cisive beginnings and endings too—we should “guard the edges” of the Sabbath. We shouldn’t be scrambling around an hour after the Sabbath has begun and say- ing, “Well, I guess we should stop what we’re doing and have a little prayer.” Instead of really worshiping, singing, and reading How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 26 2/13/14 2:45 PM 27 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy something of substance, we’re in a state of hurried panic. True, it does take a little more effort and planning to give God the honor He de- serves. If a great king were coming to visit our home, we would plan how to prepare for his entrance and receive him with hon- or and respect. Jesus, our true King, said He will come again. We want to do all we can to be ready to welcome Him when He returns, right? Well, every Sabbath we have a chance to practice welcoming our King as He comes into our homes to bring us a blessing. Why put off God to the last minute any- way? When catching a plane, I like to get to the airport early. If I’m going to wait a little while, I would rather wait at the terminal, packed and ready to go, than to wait at home and fret over whether some traffic problem is going to make me miss my flight. I say be ready early! And that’s the way it is with the Sabbath. When it’s coming to an end, don’t watch the clock, blow the whistle, and an- nounce, “It’s over! We can finally do our own thing now.” That makes Jesus feel like you’re in a hurry to show Him the door. How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 27 2/13/14 2:45 PM 28 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy Remember, if you keep the Sabbath with your heart, you might be accused of being legalistic and Pharisaical and fanatical, but it will always be worth it in your relationship with God. Jesus is the one you are seeking to please. In fact, let’s take some time to see how God’s people honored Him over their own self-interests and in the face of persecution and the doubts of those around them … Daniel and King Darius I once watched a Muslim friend excuse himself from our lively game of racquet- ball, find a corner in the middle of a crowd- ed health club, roll out a prayer rug, and begin praying toward Mecca. Although it might have seemed odd to most people, the devoted man knew it was the time for his prayers—and he did not care what anyone else around him thought. He was more in- terested in what his god thought. Similarly, in Daniel chapter 6, we read about a political law that required an entire How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 28 2/13/14 2:45 PM 29 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy nation to pray to King Darius for 30 days; those who refused faced a grizzly execution. This meant that the Jews in the land were legally forbidden to worship their Lord, but Daniel had a custom he was not about to break. Three times a day he’d go to an upper room in his house, kneel down, and, in front of an open window, pray and give thanks to God. He always faced toward Jerusalem, as Solomon said, so passersby would know the identity of the God he worshiped (see 1 Kings 8:48). When the law was enacted, Daniel had to make a choice—to obey an earthly king or to obey God. But what we sometimes miss in this story is that Daniel had actually made the choice a thousand times before when he boldly and openly prayed to his God in a pa- gan land. It was his custom. So even though he risked getting torn limb from limb by rav- enous lions, it was his custom to honor God with his regular devotions. He could have compromised—perhaps even just a little bit. How easily he could have said to himself, “Well, look … I don’t want to offend the king. It might be a bad witness. I How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 29 2/13/14 2:45 PM 30 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy could look obnoxious, so I’m just going to shut my window.” It would have been easy for him to argue within himself, “I’m going to kneel and pray quietly, but I’ll face the royal palace so people don’t know that I’m really praying to Jehovah.” He had so many rationalizations at his fingertips, but he re- fused to grasp on to them for selfish reasons. Did God honor Daniel because Daniel honored Him? Yes! The Lord delivered his faithful prophet and destroyed his enemies. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Then, of course, you have the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter 3. The three Jews faced an- other government law requiring false wor- ship. The Bible records the decree as saying that if anyone failed to bow and pray to the golden image that the Babylonian king set up, they were going to die in the flaming fur- nace. The Jews could even see the colossal oven smoldering in the distance. How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 30 2/13/14 2:45 PM 31 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy How easy it would have been for the three Hebrew slaves to say, “When the music plays and everyone else bows down to the idol, let’s all just stoop down to adjust our sandals. I’m not actually going to pray to the image, but, you know, we don’t want to be a spectacle and disrupt the king’s party.” They could have found any number of additional excuses to look innocent and not really wor- ship the king. They’d totally pray to the Lord with all their hearts. After all, that’s what really matters—right? How many rational- izations they could have found to just cut corners, but they said, “No! We will not even appear like we’re compromising our worship of God.” They stood up for God, and God stood up for them! I can guarantee you—in the same way the three young Hebrew men probably had some friends tugging on their trousers to bow down when the music played, you will be challenged and tested when you de- termine to keep God’s Sabbath. As every- one else bowed to the image in Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prob- ably heard, “Get down! Are you crazy? Just How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 31 2/13/14 2:45 PM 32 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy this once. Don’t be a fanatic!” Yes, the world, even some in the church, probably thought they were fanatics, but God honored them, because Jesus said, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Mordecai In the book of Esther, we find a similar story regarding Haman the Aggagite, one of God’s enemies, who was descended from the Amalekites, the first nation to attack the children of Israel when they left Egypt. A law was made by the king of Persia that said everybody was to bow down and worship Haman. Mordecai, a Jew living in Persia, said, “I can’t do that, even if it means that I lose my life.” He knew that his people would be targeted for his actions, but even though his devotion might lead to the suf- fering of others, he said, “I’m not going to compromise.” And indeed, a law was made to exterminate all of God’s people. Did God intervene to deliver His people despite the threats? He most certainly did. I encourage How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 32 2/13/14 2:45 PM 33 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy you to read the story for yourself and marvel at how God will bless you if you choose to make His worship supreme. Desmond Doss I had the privilege of becoming friends with a man who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. It’s the highest award that can be given in the United States. It was awarded to only one non-combatant in his- tory—a Seventh-day Adventist Christian named Desmond T. Doss. When called to serve during World War II, he said, “I will serve. I will try to save lives, but I refuse to pick up a weapon or take lives.” He also told them right from the beginning that he wouldn’t work on the Sabbath un- less it was a medical emergency. Actually, he didn’t say, “I won’t do it.” He said, “I can’t do it, because as much as I respect my officers and superiors, God comes first.” The army would try to put a rifle in his hands, and he wouldn’t hold it. They would try to make him work, and he would say, How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 33 2/13/14 2:45 PM 34 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy “On the Sabbath, I can’t. I’ll work six days a week, 24-hours-a-day, but from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, I can’t work.” If a life was in danger, he would gladly assist— but when it came to chores like sweeping the barracks or shoveling dirt, he flatly refused. And for this commitment, he was jeered, tormented, ridiculed, and given the most unpleasant assignments all through his mil- itary experience … that is, until they got to the front lines in the Pacific theater. His unit participated in some of the worst fighting in Okinawa during World War II. They were once called to storm a Japanese-held escarp- ment, and a hail of fire was coming down on them. Many marines and soldiers were killed, and scores of wounded lay on top of the bluff. Doss heard their pleas for help and went up the cliff time after time to tend to them, and then lower them back down to safety, all while under a constant blizzard of ene- my bullets. Every time he got back, the other soldiers would say, “You better stop. Don’t push your luck.” But when he heard anoth- er person calling out, he went back. No one How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 34 2/13/14 2:45 PM 35 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy else went. In the end, Doss singlehanded- ly brought back 70 wounded men! He was fearless, saying, “I’d rather die than disobey God’s Sabbath.” Remember, the Bible says, “Those who honor me, I will honor.” The Attitude of Devotion During World War II, many Jews in con- centration camps were told they had to go dig up potatoes on Sabbath. The Nazis loved forcing people to compromise their beliefs. I have Jewish relatives who experienced this evil firsthand, and they were made to work on the Sabbath. Some of the victims were deter- mined to be true, saying, “I cannot do this. It’s God’s Sabbath.” And they were either killed or tortured. Just like that. Others, of course, did compromise to save their lives, and I’m not here to judge them in that experience—it’s nothing I’ve ever had to face in my life … yet. In the days of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they stood up, do you think they were the only Jews in the crowd that day? I’m sure there were some who How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 35 2/13/14 2:45 PM 36 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy bowed down. I’m afraid to say that there will be some Sabbathkeeping Christians who will go along with the world in the last days to save their lives. That’s why this message is important. And if you don’t know how to make a decision to honor the Sabbath when it is relatively easy, you need to ask the Lord for help now. Here’s why … A Last-day Test In these stories of Daniel, Mordecai, and the three Hebrew slaves, the issue was about whether to obey the commandments of God or men. (In fact, a dispute over true worship was also the issue involved when Cain killed Abel; see Genesis 4:2–15.) Could it also be that the last test before the end of time also revolves around the issue of proper worship? Revelation 13:15 explains that in the future, a terrible law will be enacted by the beast power, who is “granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the im- age of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 36 2/13/14 2:45 PM 37 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy the beast to be killed.” A law is going to be made regarding worship, that if you do not worship in the way the beast power dictates you should—at first you will not be able to buy or sell, then, ultimately, they will declare the death penalty. In Revelation chapter 14, where we find the three angels’ messages, an angel declares, “Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (v. 7). That’s a quote right out of the Sabbath commandment! “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea.” Then Revelation 14:12 says, speaking of the saved, “Here is the pa- tience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God.” It is contrasting those who keep the commandments of God with those who worship the beast— “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His in- dignation” (v. 9). How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 37 2/13/14 2:45 PM 38 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy The most fearsome curse in the Bible is found right here in Revelation 14, and it’s identifying those who worship the beast. Just a few verses later, on the other hand, it talks about those who keep the commandments of God. And it doesn’t mean some of the com- mandments, because everybody keeps some of them. It’s talking about a people who con- sistently keep all of the commandments. And whether you know something is holy or not, it’s still holy. Yes, there are go- ing to be many people in heaven who might have kept the wrong day as the Sabbath; they simply did not know the full truth, and the Lord will judge and bless them accord- ing to the light they had available. But they honored what they believed to be His com- mandments, just as Eric Liddell did. So now that we have explored and un- derstand the principles of why keeping the Sabbath holy should be our priority, what about some practical ways to ensure you’re keeping it the way God wants you to keep it? We’ll cover that in the next section … How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 38 2/13/14 2:45 PM 39 Part 2 A Cornell University study con- firms the detrimental effects that work-related stress can have on families. Married couples with children and also burdened by long hours of work report the lowest quality of life among couples. Additionally, 43 percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress, and at least 75 percent of all physician office visits are at- tributed to stress-related ailments, according to the American Psychological Association. Stress is also linked to the six leading causes of death in the United States: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis, How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 39 2/13/14 2:45 PM 40 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy and suicide. So many people are in desper- ate need of rest! Before Moses approached Pharaoh to seek liberation for Israel, he met with the op- pressed Hebrew leaders. During this meet- ing, Moses encouraged the people to conse- crate themselves to the Lord and told them that God was about to deliver them from slavery with a mighty hand. The Israelites had been laboring seven days a week to maintain their heavy work- load for the Egyptians. But after this meet- ing, they evidently decided to renew their covenant with God and began resting again every seventh day. A furious Pharaoh said to Moses, “You make them rest from their la- bor!” (Exodus 5:5). The angry king figured he must do something drastic to keep the slaves under his control, so in an effort to crowd God from their thoughts, he drowned them further in rigorous labor and increased their workload (see Exodus 5:7, 8). But in an incredible way, God liberated His people from their bondage. Well, God is about to do great things for His people again. Soon they will be delivered How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 40 2/13/14 2:45 PM 41 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy from the slavery of sin and journey to the heavenly Promised Land. And, once again, as God is now trying to turn the minds of His people toward the importance of the Sabbath rest, the devil is seeking to drown this generation in work and stress. Most people in the world don’t un- derstand the dire consequences of break- ing the fourth commandment. Even many Christians believe the Sabbath is just a day where you put in your two hours at church and then go to a football game, visit the mall, or mow the lawn. But is this trend a bibli- cal one? How is a Christian to keep God’s Sabbath day holy? And again, before Christ comes, the Bible teaches that loyalty to God’s Sabbath will be a dividing issue between God’s people and the rest of the world. If someday keeping the Sabbath will potentially cost us our lives, should we take a soft approach to this sacred day right now? It’s like taking a pop quiz in school with questions that will appear on the final. We’ve been warned that these quizzes will happen, so we make choices to prepare ourselves for How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 41 2/13/14 2:45 PM 42 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy the final test by being ready for the pop quiz- zes. Passing a weekly quiz now helps us to be ready for the final test—and in the case of the Sabbath, that means determining our commitment to God. Remember Reminder The fourth commandment begins with the word “Remember.” Why does God begin the Sabbath law with this word? Perhaps be- cause the Lord knew how inclined we would be to forget! In fact, notice how within this one command you will find the what, the where, the who, the how, the when, and the why for keeping the Sabbath. God must have known we would have a lot of questions about the Sabbath, so this commandment has more specifics than any other. Let’s look at the different parts: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy [what]. Six days you shall labor and do all your work [how], but the seventh day [when] is the Sabbath of How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 42 2/13/14 2:45 PM 43 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy the Lord your God [who]. In it you shall do no work [how]: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger [who] who is within your gates [where]. For in six days the Lord made the heav- ens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [why]” (Exodus 20:8–11). God covered a lot of ground in just this one commandment. Some people think that this is the least of the Ten Commandments, one that we can modify on a whim or totally skip over. But Jesus said, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these command- ments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). Is the Sabbath a “little” commandment? If you were to pick one commandment to break, perhaps you might think the Sabbath is How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 43 2/13/14 2:45 PM 44 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy not as important as not committing adultery, stealing, or worshiping idols. Yet, in the Old Testament, the penalty for Sabbath breaking was death. There was retribution for stealing, but the Sabbath law had a severe penalty. Perhaps you’ve read about this incident of Sabbath breaking in the Old Testament: “Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day” (Numbers 15:32). Here was someone who was clearly violating God’s holy commandment and went against the express will of the Lord. This purpose- ful sin was met with the penalty of death (vv. 35, 36). I am certainly not recommend- ing anyone be executed for breaking the Sabbath, but obviously this commandment is very important to God. A message from the Lord through Ezekiel also brings out how seriously the Lord takes the significance of the Sabbath: “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Yet How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 44 2/13/14 2:45 PM 45 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statues; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they great- ly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them” (Ezekiel 20:12, 13). Not only is the Sabbath a sign of our saving relationship with the Lord, breaking the Sabbath is not an issue God takes lightly. Verses 20 to 24 also bring out how earnestly the Lord feels about profaning the Sabbath day. If we let our consciences be our guide and let our feelings determine how to keep the Sabbath, we will ignore the specific in- structions given in the Bible for keeping God’s day in a way that honors Him. Avoiding Both Extremes Before sharing some specifics on how to keep the Sabbath, I want to highlight a couple How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 45 2/13/14 2:45 PM 46 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy of extremes that can distort our thinking on how to honor this distinct day. When Jesus was on this earth, the Pharisees taught people to keep the Sabbath in an extremely legalistic way. They went so far as to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath! Of course, Jesus never sinned or did any- thing that violated the Sabbath command- ment as outlined in Scripture. Jesus said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). Christ did violate some of the Pharisees’ manmade traditions regarding the Sabbath. He said, “For laying aside the command- ment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8). Just before this, Jesus explained, “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doc- trines the commandments of men” (v. 7). Worship and the Sabbath are intimately con- nected. Mankind’s traditions should never set aside or eclipse God’s requirements. Neither Jesus nor His disciples ever broke the Sabbath or taught others to turn away from observing God’s holy day. In fact, the New Testament gives us plenty of examples of Christ and the apostles worshiping on the How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 46 2/13/14 2:45 PM 47 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy Sabbath. Luke writes how Jesus “went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16). Christ not only wor- shiped on Sabbath, He also participated in the service. It was His custom. Most of the conflict over the Sabbath in the Gospels was Jesus working to clear up the Sabbath from manmade restrictions. Another example of distorting the Sabbath is found in how we might inter- pret the word “pleasure,” found in this Old Testament passage that speaks about how to keep the Sabbath. “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your plea- sure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall hon- or Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord” (Isaiah 58:13, 14). How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 47 2/13/14 2:45 PM 48 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy The word “pleasure” in this passage doesn’t mean anything that you enjoy do- ing is automatically wrong on the Sabbath. In fact, this passage calls Sabbathkeeping “a delight.” It is actually speaking of following your own personal pursuits, your own busi- ness plans, and your own selfish ways. If we understood this passage to be a restriction on anything in which we might find enjoyment, then we probably wouldn’t even sit down to a delicious Sabbath meal. Obviously, that’s not what the verse teach- es. It means to set aside pleasures that are self-focused and not God-focused. Walking through the beauty of nature is pleasurable, but going water skiing or snow skiing for the adrenaline rush would likely cause us to focus more on our own selves and not on the Lord or His glorious creation. So we need to avoid extremes in how we keep the Sabbath holy. We should not be- come so legalistic with manmade rules that we find the Sabbath a burden, but neither should we focus so much on our own plea- sures that we lose sight of our Lord who gave us this day. How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 48 2/13/14 2:45 PM 49 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy Let’s now consider some guidelines and activities, based on the Bible, for leading us to truly keep the Sabbath day holy, as God asks us to do in the Ten Commandments. A Time for Corporate Worship The Sabbath is a day for us to come to- gether in community worship. Notice how the Bible speaks about coming together for worship on Sabbath: “ ‘And it shall come to pass that … from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23). In another place it says, “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:3). A convocation is an assembly or gath- ering of people. In Leviticus, it refers to a coming together of God’s people to worship the Lord. The last book of the Bible tells us how important it is to worship. The first angel’s message states, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 49 2/13/14 2:45 PM 50 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy has come; and worship Him who made heav- en and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Revelation 14:7, my emphasis). Worship fo- cuses on the Lord as our Creator. I once read an article in a Christian magazine that suggested staying home and worshiping God is just as appropriate as go- ing to church. To make its claim, the writer quoted Exodus, where Moses told the peo- ple there would be no manna on the seventh day; God says, “Let every man remain in his place” (Exodus 16:29). According to the ar- ticle, they were to keep the Sabbath by stay- ing at home. But that’s not what it means. Moses was telling them not to go out of the camp to look for manna (or firewood). The sanctuary, where they would gather together and worship the Lord, was in the camp. The Sabbath is not a day to stay at home. Now, I realize that some people, because of illness or injury, are homebound and can- not get out. This isn’t about their situation, and God is understanding and merciful. But the Bible doesn’t support the idea that you can be blessed just as much by staying at home on Sabbath as you can be in coming How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 50 2/13/14 2:45 PM 51 How to Keep the Sabbath Holy together with God’s people. It’s not a time to just hang out in your “tent” at home; it’s an opportunity to corporately praise and wor- ship the Lord as a church family. I once stumbled across this point while reading the story of the Shunammite wom- an’s son who died. When she told her hus- band she was going to see the prophet Elisha, he answered, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath” (2 Kings 4:23). Did you catch the point? In other words, Sabbath was a day to come together with others, not sit at home alone. There are lots of examples in the Bible that show Sabbath is a day for corporate worship. One of my favorites is, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assem- bling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approach- ing” (Hebrews 10:24, 25). Not only do we come together to worship the Lord, but also to encourage one another. That’s difficult to do when you are cooped up by yourself. And How to Keep the Sabbath Holy TEXT.indd 51 2/13/14 2:45 PM 52

TELEVANGELIST HB MORGAN Digital Library Publications (BLOG NEWS) Beyond Canterbury: The Fight for the Soul of Global Anglicanism - THBMDL Compiled By Televangelist HB Morgan A News Devotional Reflection on the GAFCON Schism "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." — Psalm 127:1 (ESV) In the red dust of Abuja, Nigeria, a seismic shift is occurring within one of the world's largest Christian denominations. Leaders of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) have gathered for what is being called the first formal meeting of a newly constituted "Global Anglican Communion." This is not merely a conference; it is a formal declaration of realignment, a definitive break from the ecclesiastical structure that has, for centuries, been centered on the historic See of Canterbury. The Context: A Century-Old Communion Unravels To understand the gravity of this moment, one must appreciate the architecture of global Anglicanism. For centuries, the Archbishop of Canterbury has served as the spiritual primus inter pares (first among equals), a symbolic focal point uniting a diverse family of national churches. This "instruments of unity"—including the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Consultative Council—have held the communion together through wars, social upheaval, and theological debate. That fabric has now torn. The immediate catalyst for this schism is the impending installation of Bishop Sarah Mullally as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. While her historic appointment as the first woman to hold the post is a milestone, for GAFCON it is the final, untenable step in a longer drift. As one GAFCON prelate put it, they can "no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as an Instrument of Communion," effectively nullifying his role as the global figurehead. The Fault Line: Authority and Interpretation This fracture, described by church historians as an unavoidable schism, is the culmination of decades of simmering dispute. At its core lies a fundamental disagreement over theological authority: · The GAFCON Position: Representing a significant portion of the Global South (particularly Africa, Asia, and South America), GAFCON argues that the Church of England and the wider Western communion have departed from biblical orthodoxy. The approval of same-sex blessings and a perceived loosening of scriptural inerrancy are seen not as cultural adaptations, but as a rejection of the "faith once delivered to the saints." Their decision to "reorder" the communion in Abuja is framed as an act of preservation—maintaining a true Anglican witness by establishing the Bible as the communion's "only foundation." · The Canterbury Position: The Church of England and its allies view their stance as a development of tradition in light of modern understanding, utilizing the three-legged stool of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. They see their decisions as pastoral and inclusive, seeking to welcome those previously marginalized. This standoff, happening just weeks before Mullally's formal installation at Canterbury Cathedral on March 25, forces a painful question for the global body of Christ: When shared history and structures can no longer contain divergent beliefs, what remains? The Deeper Question: On What Do We Stand? For the observer, this is more than ecclesiastical politics. It is a poignant echo of the Corinthian church's own fractious spirit. Paul’s plea, "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you" (1 Corinthians 1:10), hangs in the air with a heavy irony, reminding us that division is not a modern invention, but a persistent human reality within the divine institution. The conflict in Abuja and Canterbury reveals that a shared history, a prayer book, or even a lineage of bishops is not a strong enough tether to hold a communion together when the interpretation of the text is radically different. The verse from 1 Corinthians 3:11 provides the crucial lens: "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This is the heart of the crisis. Both sides claim Christ as their foundation. Yet, they have built upon that foundation with different materials and blueprints. One side sees the inclusion of same-sex relationships as an expansion of the gospel of grace; the other sees it as a compromise with cultural currents that undermines the foundation itself. The Psalmist’s warning is stark: laboring to build a house—or a communion—without the Lord’s explicit architectural plan is ultimately vanity. A Call to Humble Orthodoxy This situation is a clarion call for the global Church. We are commanded to "contend for the faith" (Jude 1:3), and the GAFCON leaders believe they are doing just that, defending the faith against what they see as revisionism. However, the call to contend is always paired with a call to humility, recognizing that "now we see in a mirror dimly" (1 Corinthians 13:12). The way forward is not found in the triumph of one faction over another, but in a collective, desperate return to the foundation. It requires a fervent prayer for wisdom—not just for one's own "side" to prevail, but for the entire body to be conformed to the image of Christ, even through the painful fire of division. Pause and Reflect · On Foundation: Consider the difference between unity built on agreement and unity built on the Person of Christ. If your church's unity is tested, which foundation will hold? · On Contending: How can you "contend for the faith" in your own conversations without becoming contentious? How do we balance conviction with compassion? · On Humility: The leaders in Abuja are making a profound stand for biblical authority. How can you ensure that your own adherence to Scripture is marked by a teachable spirit and a deep reverence for the God of the text, rather than a rigid adherence to your own interpretation? A Prayer for the Divided Body Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Cornerstone, the only Foundation upon which your Church can stand. We bring before you the painful division within the Anglican family. We pray for the leaders gathered in Abuja, and for those preparing for the installation at Canterbury. Grant them wisdom that transcends human strategy. Where there is a genuine desire to uphold your truth, grant clarity and courage. Where there is pride or blindness, grant repentance and sight. We ask not for a superficial peace, but for a deep, costly unity forged by the Holy Spirit—a unity that can only be found when we all draw closer to You. Heal your broken Church, Lord, and help us all to build our lives, our churches, and our communions solely on You. Amen. Compiled By: Christian Church World News CCWN TV Presshouse Media Copyright ©️ 2026 CCWN TV Presshouse Media. All Rights Reserved.

Calling all Young Artists! 🎨✝️" Pick up those Brushes... Let your Creativity Shine... 🎨 Amen Art Crew presents... Online Kids Art Contest — 2026! ✨ This is not just a Competition... This is a Faith Expression! ✝️ 📋 Contest Details: 🖌️ Theme: Any Bible-Inspired Artwork! ✏️ Medium: Paints, Pencils, Crayons — Use whatever you love! 👦👧 Who: Open to everyone up to Age 15! 🏆 Categories & Prizes: 🥇 Junior — Ages 3 to 7 🥇 Inter — Ages 8 to 11 🥇 Senior — Ages 12 to 15 Top 3 Artworks in each Category will be Awarded! 🎖️ 🎁 Bonus: Every Participant receives an E-Certificate! 📜✨ 📅 Important Dates: 📌 Start: April 15, 2026 📌 Last Date: May 30, 2026 🎉 Results: June 3, 2026 📝 How to Enter? Step 1 — Pay the Fee: 💰 Rs. 50 per person GPay: 9994119004 Or Scan the QR Code in the Flyer! Step 2 — Submit your Artwork: 📸 Send a Clear Photo of your Artwork via WhatsApp: 📲 9488585570 Step 3 — Include Details: 📝 ✅ Artist's Name ✅ Age ✅ City Share this with every Parent and Young Artist you know! 🔄 Let every child have this opportunity to shine for God! ❤️✝️ 📲 Join us for Daily Updates: 👉 https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAUcNLFCCoekVvWrw18 📩 DM / WhatsApp : +91 8667481972 📞💬 🌐 Consultation: 👉 christianmediaartist.com/consultation.php "To God Be The Glory!" ✝️🙏 #AmenArtCrew #KidsArtContest #ChristianKids #BibleArt #ChristianArt #KidsArt #OnlineContest #ChristianChildren #TamilChristian #TamilMinistry #ChristianMediaArtist #YoungArtists #KidsContest2026 #BibleInspiredArt #ChristianCreator #FaithThroughArt #TamilChristianReel #ChristianCommunity #GodsGlory #TamilBelievers #ChristianYouth #KidsTalent #ArtForGod #Matthew1914 #DigitalMinistry #christianmediaartist #CMA