Herbert W Armstrong

   And greeting, friends. This is Herbert W. Armstrong with the good news of the World Tomorrow.

   And now, once again, we're going through this little understood book in the Bible. Where has Jesus Christ been these last 1900 years? You hear a lot about what he did for 3 1/2 years and about a dead Christ on the cross. You don't hear very much about what he's doing today, what he was doing 100 years ago and two or 300 years ago. What was he doing back in the year of 1879? Was he on the job or had he gone way off, or is he dead after all? You see him pictured as dead on a cross a great deal. And so, it seems to me that if one book in the Bible tells us about what he has been doing over a period of 1900 years and some additional, that ought to have about as much importance as the four books that tell us what he did during 3 1/2 years.

   So, we've been going through this book of Hebrews. Now, I started in the preceding program to give you a brief summary of all the ground we've covered because we have finally gotten up here very close to the end of it, almost to the end of the 12th chapter. And there are just 13 chapters in it. And I got over here into the second chapter about what man is. And well, I just devoted a lot of time on that because it is so important that we didn't get past it.

   Now, let's go on past that this time, important as it is, and go on to the remainder of a summary of this book. Just recapping now what we've gone over these past few weeks. Again, it begins in the first about God who in time past spoke unto the fathers by the prophets and of course, unto us too because we have it in writing. And now in these latter days of 1900 years ago, he spoke unto us by his Son.

   And then it expresses how great the Son of God, Jesus Christ was the express image of the Father's person upholding the entire universe by the word of his power. And as Christ had said after his resurrection to the disciples, he said, "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth." And here it gives us an idea of how much power that is, it's all power, power over all forces, over every energy in the world. I have mentioned quite often on this program, the power of gravity and the power of inertia. There are two things that we should understand. Although you don't see the power of gravity, you can't hear it, and you can't feel it, but you certainly can see the effect of it and the power of inertia.

   Now, the power of inertia tends to keep any object, for instance, a moving object, tends to keep it moving in exactly the same direction in which it's going, unless there is some friction or impediment that tends to stop it. For instance, your automobile, when you get it going, would keep going for a long, long time. Now, eventually without brakes, it would slow down if you're on level ground because there is some friction in the wheels, even though they're packed with heavy grease, I suppose, and they're made to run pretty smoothly with very, very little friction, but you need brakes to stop you. And if you're going around a curve, the power of inertia will tend to keep you going in the same direction unless you slow down or unless the curve around which you go is ditched.

   You know, we don't realize very often that God's laws were given for our good, but we must conform to them, then you get the benefits of them. So, there's the law of inertia. Now, that's one of the things that Jesus Christ absolutely upholds the same and controls, and that, my friends, is why God controls and rules the entire universe because He has power over every force, over every energy, over every law, and the laws of God are inexorable.

   Now, I mentioned about the spiritual laws of God and I think there are some that just don't like what I say about the laws of God because of their ignorance, perhaps, and not understanding the difference between physical, ritualistic laws and animal sacrifice laws and the spiritual law that God set in motion to regulate the happiness of the human race and to regulate the connection between man and his God and the connection between man and his neighbors.

   Those spiritual laws, like such physical laws as inertia and gravity, are in motion, and they are inequitable, they can't be abolished. And Jesus Christ, far from having abolished God's law, is up there at the very throne of God, at the right hand of God, with all power having been given into his hands, sustaining and upholding the forces and the laws of the universe, absolutely upholding all the things in the universe by the word of his power. That's how great Christ is.

   Now, later here, it said that he's worthy of the worship of the angels. It mentioned that the angels are not actually sons of God, but he is then born a Son of God and is very God by a resurrection from the dead. As you read back in Romans, the first chapter in the fifth verse (Romans 1:5), now unto the angels, he has never said, "Thou art my son, this day have I begotten." The angels are separately created beings, they're spirit beings, there higher than man. They have more intelligence and more power than man. But you can't see angels unless they are especially manifested in some way. And as we read in the last verse of this chapter, I want to repeat that again because I want to get to that a little later. Right now, the angels are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those that shall be the heirs of salvation.

   Now, Christ made a New Covenant, which is also a testament or a last will and testament. He died. Now he bequeathed by that testament to his heirs what he possesses. And what does he possess? All power in heaven and earth. Now you might ask, "What do you mean to make the absolutely preposterous statement that Christ is bequeathing to us, to some of us mortal humans? How old the universe?" Yes, I do. And that's exactly where we got to in this repeating program. Now, we found at the beginning of the second chapter that therefore we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things we have heard. Lest we let them slip because if God didn't spare angels that sinned and so on, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?

   And I began to explain to you how great that salvation is. A lot of people talk about being born again who don't have the slightest incontestable inkling of what it means. Now, here we got a little of it right here in this second chapter of Hebrews. When you ask, what is man that thou should be mindful of him? Why should God care about little puny insignificant man? The verse of the head said unto the angels hath he not put in subjection, the world to come where we speak no subjection to man. And in that man is going to actually rule over and judge angels. As you read back here in Corinthians and Paul's letters of the Corinthians.

   Now, what is man? God says where thou hast madest him a little lower than the angels, thou crownedst him with glory and honor and didst put him over the work of thy hand. Now, I mentioned a moment ago that Christ has been given all power, that he sustains the universe with all of its forces and its powers and its laws. If thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, that man, man in general, that is a condition all who come to God through Jesus Christ, all who completely surrender to God, who are conquered by him and to his will and all who are finally born again into his family. Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. And that includes everything.

   Yes, we are the heirs of Christ and all power has been given to him. He has power to destroy this world and every living thing in it. Now man is coming to the place where he is inventing engines of destruction. And by the way, there are now enough hydrogen bombs in the stockpile stored up by the United States government to destroy all human life on the face of this earth. There are certain men within the United States government that now have power to destroy humanity. I want to tell you that is a pretty great power, you know, that means that God Almighty is going to intervene and do something about it and mighty quick. You know, that means you're living in the very last day. If you don't understand the identity of the United States, my friend, if you don't understand where we are mentioned in the Bible prophecy, above all things, you must read our booklet, United States in Prophecy. My friends, you can't understand Bible prophecy unless you have that key. That is a veritable key to an understanding of the prophecy. Why the prophecies of the Bible have been grievously misunderstood and no wonder because this vital key that is needed to unlock prophetic doors to understand had this unlocked.

   That key is a definite knowledge of the true identity of the American and the British people in biblical prophecy. Where is the United States mentioned? Where are we in the property? Now write in this little booklet condensed in a nutshell where you have what you would get in a large book, but it's condensed for quick and easy reading. Now you have to do a lot more reading in your Bible. Search your own scriptures, this shows you where to look, find it in your Bible, find it in the works of history if you care to go to the library. But right here in this little booklet condensed in a nutshell is the most fascinating story that you have ever read.

   I don't care whether you're a skeptic, an atheist, a church member, a real spirit-filled christian. You're going to find here an amazing truth that has been hidden through the century, write in for that booklet, the United States in Prophecy. Now, back in the days of Noah and right afterwards and in the days of Nimrod and the building of that great tower of Babylon God said, go to let's go down and do something about it. Look what man is doing. We've created him with a mind, we've given him a certain amount of power. Now, look what he's doing with it.

   Man has become as one of us to know good and evil. Yeah, man took of the forbidden fruit and man has some of the powers of God and now man is learning to utilize and to harness and to direct some of these terrific forces and powers that God created in the atom and in the hydrogen bomb, think of it, but man has not learned how to properly direct those powers.

   Listen, Jesus Christ was given all power in heaven and in earth only after he had completely proved and qualified to handle that power in a right way and prove that he would and that he would never abuse or misuse it. But we have irresponsible men in seats of great power and authority on this earth, God protect this nation. And I hope we have men at the helm in the United States that will use that power wisely. Now, I believe that those men, they're not going to abuse it. But I still say it's too much power for any man or group of men on the face of this earth to control. They have not yet proved absolutely prove that they can under all conditions and circumstances and eventualities that might arise properly, control and safeguard that much power.

   But my friends man is to be given all power to become an heir of Christ, to share with him all that power. But you will never be given that much power by God Almighty until you have completely proved that you will admit it where you're wrong, that you have been conquered by God Almighty, that you have surrendered to him and to his will of righteousness and that you have overcome your own self and every wrong impulse and inclination of human nature. That you have striven against it, that you have learned self-control, that you have a right motive and the right goal ahead that you only utilize the powers that are given to you in a right manner and never in a wrong or a destructive manner.

   I want to tell you there are some conditions to this great salvation because when you get it, you're going to share all the power in the universe A lot more than even our scientists have now. Maybe they can wipe out all the power on the face of the earth. But they can't destroy Mars or the Sun or Venus or they can't destroy all the Galaxies or the Milky Way. They don't have that power yet. But my friend Jesus Christ has that power and you and I have been born for the very purpose of learning how and of qualifying by the power of God and by his grace and salvation of sharing that power with him.

   Why don't you hear a little more preaching what is in your Bible about our real destiny and about what salvation really is and of God's purpose in having put the human family here, man has been made lower than the angels, now, man is mortal. Man is made of the dust of the ground. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And as Jesus Christ was made very God and was glorified and been given all his power by a resurrection from the dead. He is merely the firstborn of many brethren. And so you and I, if we qualify, can be made the same. Yes, this bile body changed and made like unto his glorious body, even. Now he says, thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet, man's feet for in that he put all things under subjection unto him.

   He left nothing that is not put under Him. That includes everything, all the power in the universe, my friend. But now we've seen not yet all things put under him. Oh, thank God. Everything isn't put under man yet. We haven't yet come to the place where we can safely be impressed with such power and God will not put it there until we have. Listen, but we see Jesus just the one man, the pioneer of our salvation now. We do see him, not other men, but we do see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death and he did die, but he was resurrected from the dead and made immortal and given that power, we see him now crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should face death for every man for it became him, of whom are all things and by whom are all things.

   Because before he was even born of the virgin Mary, he is the one by whom God made the world. And all things there in. He is the creator, my friends of everything. Now he's been restored to all that power. So, it became him by whom are all things in bringing many sons unto glory. That includes potentially you and me if we qualify, if we qualify to make the captain of their salvation, perfect through suffering or a better translation rather than captain is the pioneer or the leader. The one who goes on before he has gone on before he has been made immortal. He has been given all that power. He's a pioneer. We are the ones to follow. He is the firstborn.

   Now, he was made perfect. He wasn't born perfect then, it says he was made perfect by suffering. Now, verse 16 in the second chapter, verily, he took not on himself, the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham that was in his human lifetime on this earth. So, he was made mortal and human so that he could die to pay the penalty of your sins and mine by his shed blood, which meant his life going out from him on the cross. Death is the penalty of sin, not everlasting life and hellfire. As you probably have come to believe your Bible says the wages of sin is death.

   Then why does so many of you believe just the opposite of what your Bible says. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Romans 6:23 isn't it? Why don't you believe it? Why do you believe you already have eternal life? You don't have my friends. Your bible says so a man that just hates another is a murderer and no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. If there's any immortality in you, you've got an eternal life abiding in you. That's back over in I John the fifth chapter. Why don't we wake up to these things and get some of these things straight?

   Oh, I tell you my friends it's time we wake up and blow the dust off of the Bible and get this revelation that's been here all these years that we haven't seen now coming on to the third chapter. Wherefore holy brethren. Now these brethren that are heirs for so great salvation, they're called holy brethren. You know what makes us holy? Only the spirit of God that begets you as one of God's sons can make you holy. God alone is holy. But if God is in you, if Christ is in you Christ in you is the hope of glory of being glorified, of being given all of this power, that's what glory means. Christ is in glory. Christ has this power. He sustains the universe. So, there's a responsibility on his shoulders, but he's qualified to take care of it.

   Wherefore holy brethren. If you're a real Christian, you have become holy by the presence of God and his spirit in you and most of you are not and you know, you're not, you better begin to do something about it. Wherefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and the High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ. Now, it has shown us what we're here for. It has shown us first how great Christ is. It has shown us how great we can become. What our purpose in life is. God is reproducing himself. As you read back in the very first chapter of Genesis.

   Now it calls us holy brethren if we are converted. And now it tells us to consider this pioneer of our salvation. Christ who is now our High Priest. Why don't you hear more of Christ as high priest where he has been for 1900 years on the job? It's in your bible. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Moses was the leader of a material physical race of people back there. Christ is a pioneer of those who are to be the spiritual sons of God made immortal by a gift of God to be given all power in heaven and in earth, of course, he's greater than Moses now coming down lower in this third chapter.

   Well, he speaks here about how we are not to harden our hearts as they did back in those days, they had not known God's ways and it begins to show us that we must know actually the ways of God, or we're never going to have this salvation. Now, skipping quickly to the fourth chapter and the 14th to the 16th verses (Romans 4:14-16). Here, here's a very important part of this whole book, seeing then that we have such a great High Priest that is tapped into the heavens. A High Priest that has all his power. How powerful is he? How great is he? Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our profession.

   And he's shown us how great is our profession here. For we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Listen great as he is. He still has suffered in the human body. He still has been human like you and me and mortals like you and I are mortal and he can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was in all points tested like as we are yet without sin, he never yielded to the temptation like you and I have. So, he can look on us with compassion and with mercy great as he is. He is still humble and he's still understanding and he is still merciful and forgiving and he is there to serve you and me.

   Now it begins to present Christ with all. First it told of his great power. Now it's beginning to show him as our servant, as our helper, as the one of mercy and compassion who loves us and who has suffered as we do and who knows the trials and the temptations that we get into the problems that we have to solve. He knows how you're having difficulty making ends meet. He knows of your sickness and disease. He has a lot of mercy and compassion as a matter of fact, because so many of you are sick, Jesus put your sickness on himself and paid that penalty in your stead and he was beaten, beaten and disfigured as no man ever had been.

   So that by his stips, if you could understand, and no one believes you could be healed as a part of his love and his mercy toward you. Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. Why do we neglect that part of our great salvation? Think of the help you can get in this life as you go through. If only you would do it now, it's presenting Christ not only as our ruler, as our lord and master, but as our helper, as our servant who loves us and who understands as our great counselor, the one right there where you can go to him at any time.

   Many people come to me so many that I can't always see them. Sometimes I have to have them and quite often now see other ministers because we have other ministers now that are ordained here out of Ambassador College in Pasadena and I'm human and mortal and I'm limited and I can only see so many people in a day, you know, and do so many things and I can't get around to all the things I have to do.

   But listen, Jesus Christ is immortal. He's there on the throne of God in heaven. And you pray, go into your closet, close the door, pray to him in secret. He'll hear you. He can hear a million of you or 10 million. He can hear a couple of billion of you on this all. At the same time. You know, I have a single track mind. I can only carry one thing at a time on my mind. And I can really concentrate quite deeply on that one thing. But it's quite a handicap in one way because if my mind is on one thing and you tell me something, I may say yes, but I, I don't know a thing you said, I didn't get it.

   My mind can only carry one thing at a time. But you know that Christ there as our High Priest, as our leader is our helper. His mind can carry everything you're asking him and everything everybody else is asking him at the same time and he can give you all the help you need if it is a need and if you, if you should have it, he's always thinking you want it for your good, not for his. And how do you neglect that? Now next, we come on to the fifth chapter and just notice here in skimming through to get the gist of it the eighth and the ninth verse though he Christ and our great High Priest now were a son yet learned the obedience by the things that he suffered and being made perfect.

   He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them. That what just say they profess his name that receive or accept Christ know unto all them that obey him, unto all them that obey him. He became the author of eternal salvation. Now, the last part of this tells us that we are to use our five senses and to have them exercise, to discern good and evil. Your five offenses were given to you to put to a right use, not a wrong use, but we should exercise them.

   Now, in the sixth chapter, the first verse, therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ just the beginning. Let us go on unto perfection or to the full growth. So, Christianity and coming, into all that power and final salvation is a growing matter. You must grow in grace and in knowledge, you must overcome. It's only the overcomers that are ever going to arrive there. Then it says it's impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit if they shall fall away to renew them again, to repentance, you'd better safeguard what you have if you have ever really been converted.

   Now, listen, if you are ready to really repent of your disobedience to God, to his spiritual law, if you're now ready to surrender your will to God, and you want to become one of his children. If you are now ready to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior and real living faith and a life of obedience, then by all means you should write immediately right now before you do another thing for our special booklet on Water Baptism. Because the next step that God commands you to take is baptism. But here again, the many are all mixed up confused seeds.

   Now, this booklet on Water Baptism will make it all clear. You can check with your own Bible and it will become clear now to delay getting this booklet might mean your eternity. It's the most important thing in your life right now. And listen, you better also ask for the booklet on Faith for Salvation. That's another booklet. Faith for Salvation. Now, just for your own peace of mind, I advise you to send in and get this booklet and read it and then read your own Bible. This book will open your eyes, this little booklet. What kind of faith? There's no charge for it. Now, I hope you've already gotten paper in an envelope, if not get it right now in a pen.

   First write down the call letters of the station to which you were listening and then request the booklet on Water Baptism and the booklet on Faith For Salvation and send your request to Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena, California. So, until next time, this is Herbert W Armstrong saying goodbye, friend.

   You have heard the World Tomorrow with Herbert W Armstrong sponsored by the Worldwide Church of God for literature offered on this program. Dial. This toll-free number 800-423-4444. That's 800-423-4444. If the lines are busy, please call again or you may send your request along with the call letters of this station to Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena California 91123. That's Herbert W Armstrong Pasadena California 91123.