Why should a condition of utopia with perfect government, a perfect society, perfect conditions, perfect living conditions? Why should that be impossible? Where everybody loves everybody else, where everybody wants to cooperate with and help everybody else, and everybody else trying to help you. We're trying to help one another. Why? If we could all do that, how nice that would be, and what's wrong about it? Why can't we have that kind of a condition on earth?
The World Tomorrow. The Worldwide Church of God presents the World Tomorrow with Herbert W. Armstrong, ladies and gentlemen, Herbert W. Armstrong.
Jesus Christ came as a messenger, a messenger of the covenant, and that was the new covenant. The old covenant joined Israel and God together in a husband and wife relationship. But it made Israel one of this world's nations, as I mentioned before. Israel did not have the Holy Spirit of God. They were just a carnal, ordinary human, worldly nation in a sense, and, but they didn't have God's laws. They did have God's revelation of fact and truth and knowledge, but they did not take advantage of it. And it showed that unless the heart is converted. And unless we receive the spirit of God and our whole lives have been changed, that even the knowledge of God cannot be understood, a natural mind cannot understand the things that God has prepared for us. Neither can it know them because they are spiritually discerned, and the natural mind cannot discern spiritual things.
The natural mind of man is incomplete. It's only half there. I said a while ago that God creates in a process of duality. Now you take the man himself, it not only first, he is made of matter and later will be of spirit, but he starts out with a carnal mind. We need to understand something about the mind of man, and that is that God put a spirit in man. Job said there is a spirit in man. In First Corinthians, the second chapter (I Corinthians 2:9), you read that 'Eye has not seen nor ever heard' and most of the knowledge what has come through the eyes or the ears, 'the things that God has prepared for them that love Him.' You can't see those things through a natural eye, and you won't hear them through a natural ear, but God has revealed them to us by His spirit. Now, if you do not have the spirit of God, then He has not revealed it to you. That's all there is to it. And these things of God to the natural carnal mind in this world are just so much foolishness.
On the other hand, God says that the wisdom of this world and all of its great intellects is just foolishness with God, absolute foolishness. You see the spirit in man imparts the power of intellect to a physical brain. The human brain is almost precisely like the animal brain, for example, the elephant and the dolphin, the whale all have larger brains than the human brain and the chimp almost as large and their brains are just like ours. As a matter of fact, I think scientists will say that the human brain is just ever so slightly superior because they want to believe that. I don't know if it is superior actually, but it's very, very slight. And yet the output of the human brain or the human mind is thousands of times that of the dumb animals. And they don't have minds to think with, they don't reason, come to conclusions, make decisions. They can't think creatively, man can, but man usually is thinking in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons and the wrong purposes. And yet man has never known what that Gospel is that Jesus brought.
Christ came with the good news, and the word Gospel means good news of the Kingdom of God. Now, the Kingdom of God is not the millennium. The Kingdom of God is the family of God. That will be the governing family ruling the earth during the millennium. One of the first things that Christ will do is to change a lot about human nature. This spirit in man imputes the power of intellect to a physical brain, but it's the physical brain that does the thinking. It's the physical brain that sees through the eye, it's the physical brain that hears through a physical ear that smells through a physical nose that tastes through a physical mouth, feels through physical fingers and so on. And that's the way knowledge comes into the human being is through those five senses. Now, when it comes to spiritual knowledge, you can't see spirit, you can't hear it, you can't taste it, you can't smell it, you can't feel it. So, the average person can know nothing about it.
Now, the spirit in man is just like so much spiritual essence, like so much air. It's not a ghost; it's not a being; it has no life of its own. It does not impart the life to us. I mentioned a while ago that human life is in the blood. So says your Bible and in the breath, which is the breath of life, that's where our life is. And if there was no spirit in us at all, we'd be just like the dumb animals. They're just like a human being except they're not in the form and shape of God. And we are, and they don't have that spirit. God put that spirit in us to make it possible for us to have contact with him because man was created in the image of God. God is reproducing himself. And I don't know any church, even in what is called Christianity, that knows that. I don't know of one. The Bible is full of it. I saw it for years before I could believe that. And I said, well, I, I, I thought that would be blasphemy to believe that we will be born of God until we become very God ourselves. That just seemed to be impossible. And I, I didn't want to blaspheme. I didn't want to say that we're going to be equal with God. Well, in authority, we won't be, but in every other way we will, and God has willed it that way. That is God's will. And that's why we're here. God had a great reason for putting humanity on the earth.
Herbert W. Armstrong will return right after this message.
Well, life's been pretty good—summer home, yacht, vacation when I wanted. Hm, some of the kids sure spend a lot of time with that. Too bad they never last. Yeah, a lot of things are like that. Kids are grown now, hm, and Sandy and I aren't getting any younger. Hm. Is this all there is? You can know the answer to this age-old question. Why Were You Born? To request your free copy, dial direct: 800-423-4444. That's 800-423-4444.
One thing I want to call your attention to that just brings to my mind I hadn't thought of before is that it says in Haggai, which is just before Zechariah. And Zechariah is the next of the last book in the Old Testament that the temple they were building would be far more glorious than the former temple, which was Solomon's temple. Now, the temple they built was not anywhere near as glorious as Solomon's temple, but they were building the temple Christ is to come to. And it said this latter temple, this latter-day temple, and the temple Christ will come to is to be a far more glorious temple than Solomon's temple. I think of that, heavens who wondered about the temple. Well, in some of the things I've been writing and some of the books that are coming out, that will all be explained because God has been revealing all of that. We used to wonder, are the Jews going to demolish the dome of the rock that belongs to the Muslims over there and put up a new temple? I'd say no chance, no chance. And yet Christ is coming to a far more glorious temple. The church is the family, the household of God, as you read in the second chapter of Ephesians. And it is built up unto a glorious holy temple in the Lord. And we, the church is the temple to which Christ is coming, and he's coming, the temple is his wife, and he's going to marry that temple. He's going to marry a church.
And in the New Testament, I find that church is well-organized. It is joined together, as the Apostle Paul said that we must all speak the same thing. Now in Corinth, some of them wanted to follow Paul. Some Apollo, some wanted to follow Peter, and a few maybe wanted to follow Christ. He says, you can't ever get into God's kingdom that way. He said I am Paul. I thank God. I didn't baptize any of you except just maybe one or two. Paul was explaining how that church must be compacted together, that means like cemented together, join tightly together, not all loose. And God has set some in the church, first apostles and then prophets, and primarily the prophets and he speaks under the Old Testament prophets. I wonder if you ever realize that? Do you know there are only one or two prophets mentioned in the New Testament? I think Agabus was the name of one, but you hardly ever remember the names of them. You don't. There was one prophetess, by the way, but their sole duty was to receive a message direct from God and, and God communicated direct to them, and they carry that message onto the apostle, but they themselves had no administrative office. They didn't preach, they didn't teach, they just received the message and took it to the apostle.
Now, I know that there's no, no such living prophet in the church today. For the simple reason, they would have brought it to me if there was, and no one ever has. Of course, I know I, I've had men come to me who said that they were Elijah, and some men have come to me and said that they are Napoleon and so on. But I rather doubted that. And anyway, Christ is coming to this wonderful temple.
And Christ had a message about the Kingdom of God, which is the family of God, the household of God, of which God, the father is the head of that family. We are to marry Christ when we are changed to immortality. Now you see the church to which Christ is coming is going to meet him in the air, but the dead will rise first, and we who are alive and remain at that time will be changed to immortality. No more flesh and blood. I won't have to worry about my heart still ticking because there won't be any heart we'll just be composed of spirit. We will be spirit.
Now, this spirit, when God wanted to have King Cyrus of the Persian Empire write out a decree to send a small colony of Jews back over to Jerusalem, 70 years after Jerusalem had been invaded and the temple had been destroyed and the Jews had all been moved out of there. Now, God wanted a number of Jews to go back and build the second temple. When God wanted to get this message through to King Cyrus of ancient the Persian Empire, he stirred up the spirit in Cyrus. That spirit is there, but it can't think, but it is connected with the mind and it got the message through the spirit into the brain of Cyrus. And he ruled out the proclamation, and the Jews went back and built that temple.
Now they're going back and building that temple is a type of the temple being built today, by the way. And I sometimes I take a little satisfaction when I see that the governor over them, the one who was the builder of that temple was Zerubbabel. And it said that Zerubbabel's hands have started this temple, they shall finish it. He's only a type of someone to build the temple to whom Christ will come. And sometimes I've wondered, could that mean that God will keep me alive until the temple is complete? Well, what else can it mean? You tell me what it does mean then if that isn't what it means? What else does it or could it mean? Because the, the whole purpose of the book is a prophecy. These books in the Old Testament are the prophecy.
You see God's church is founded on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Now, let me explain about the prophets what they wrote in First Corinthians. Let me see. It's the 10th chapter I believe (I Corinthians 10:11). First Corinthians is for our admonition on whom the end of the world has come. And Paul wrote to Timothy that from a child, you have known the holy scriptures on what scripture did Timothy know from a child. All of the Old Testament, the new hadn't been written yet, which are able to make you wise unto salvation, which is in Jesus Christ, we are being built into that wonderful glorious temple in the Lord that Christ is going to come to.
Now. Why was Christ born? Let's go back a little bit in to one of the prophets, the ninth chapter of Isaiah verse six and seven where this was written to Israel of the Old Testament (Isaiah 9:6). But nevertheless, it's a message for us because few of the old Israelites have got it anyway. 'For unto us, a child is born unto us a Son is given and the government', now notice that word government, 'the government shall be on his shoulder. His name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace, of the increase of his government and peace'. Because there will be a time of peace, 'there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the eternal of hosts will perform it', so it will be done.
Now, if we turn on over to the beginning of Christ's Gospel in the New Testament, Mark one verse one (Mark 1:1), 'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophets. Behold, I will send a messenger before thy face to prepare the way before thee'. Now, that's quoted from Malachi the third chapter in the first verse (Malachi 3:1). And if you turn back there, you will find that it talks about Christ coming as a messenger of the covenant, but a human messenger will prepare the way before Him. But if you read on is talking about his second coming, read verse two verse three, verse four, verse five, verse six in Malachi three (Malachi 3:2-6). It is not talking about his first coming.
Now, it's true that there was a messenger who prepared the way before his first coming. And that was John the Baptist, but he was only a type of one to prepare the way for the second coming of Jesus Christ. And God was going to give him a people back of Him to support him. Now, when do you think that's going to start, brethren, I tell you there's some things we need to begin to think about and God is beginning to reveal to me things now, since he raised me from the dead that I never knew before. And I'm going to bring them to you and let me tell you something. The difference between this church and all others is this is the work of the living God and everything else is the work of man.
Herbert W Armstrong will return right after this message.
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John the Baptist then is mentioned beginning verse two here in Mark one. And then we come down to verse 14 (Mark 1:14), after Christ then had been baptized and had met Satan and conquered him. 'Now after that, John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel' which means good news, wonderfully good news, 'of the Kingdom of God'. The kingdom of God is the family of God that will do the ruling. It is both the government of God and the family of God, but it's the family of God who will do the ruling, 'and saying the time is fulfilled'. Why? Because Christ had just simply qualified by conquering Satan. Now, this Kingdom of God that he talked about is a time of utopia, real utopia. I wish you'd stop and think why should a condition of utopia with perfect government of perfect society? Perfect conditions, perfect living conditions. Why should that be impossible? Where everybody loves everybody else where everybody wants to co-operate with them, help everybody else and everybody else trying to help you. We're trying to help one another. Why? If we could all do that, how nice that would be, now what's wrong about it? Why can't we have that kind of a condition on earth?
I'll tell you why. It's because there is this Satan and because he is a spirit being, a very, very, very vastly great power and he is broadcasting and he's the prince of the power of the air and he is surcharging the air with his attitude of bitterness and resentment of his attitude of rebellion, his attitude of vanity and exalting himself. But his attitude of hostility and jealousy and envy and competition and strife and violence against others and tearing down instead of building up. Human nature was not created by God. That's what I wanted to speak on last night, God did not create human nature. You go back into Genesis and before Satan got to Eve and got to Adam through Eve, you notice God gave Adam one thing to do. He says, Adam, I want you to name all the animals of the field. I've created all these animals and they're here for a purpose to help you in one way or another. So go ahead and name them. Adam went right ahead and name them all. He didn't say, oh go do it yourself. He didn't say oh no, I'm, I'm, I'm gonna resent to what, what are you trying to boss me around for? Not until after Satan got to him. Oh no, it was Satan that pumped that thing we call human nature into him. A child is not born with human nature. Human nature is something that is not transmitted by heredity. We didn't receive that from Adam. We received it from Satan the devil. And if you turn to Ephesians two and read it from the first, you will find that's a wonderful chapter in Ephesians one is a beautiful piece of English and Ephesians two, a beautiful piece of wonderful truth. It'll tell you too that we are the household of God to be joined together and not separated and how Satan is the prince of the power of the air and is working in the people in this world. Now, they don't know it, but they all have this spirit. That's what gives them mind of power. And just as God was able to reach Cyrus by stirring up the spirit in him. Satan stirs up the spirit of all humans from the time on the before they're even one year old. As soon as the infant's brain begins to work, Satan begins to get selfishness in there. He begins to instill hostility toward others. He begins to instill rebellion. So, they don't want to mind mommy and daddy. That's where that comes from, it didn't come from God.
Now, then when Christ comes, I want you to notice next, now, one of the first things he's going to do the 20th chapter of the Book of Revelation, and verse one (Revelation 20:1-3), 'And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a 1000 years and cast him into the bottomless pit and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nation no more till the 1000 years should be fulfilled. And after that, he'll have to be released for just a little while.' So, when Christ comes, one of the first things he's going to do, and that's what we celebrated just 10 days ago in the day of Atonement. And I hope you heard a sermon on that point that was to show us how Christ is going to do away with Satan. And how in the millennium will have perfect conditions because in the Kingdom of God, there won't be any Satan.
Now, human nature is what Satan is pumping into people now. And when Christ comes, what is it going to be pumped into them? Turn back here, let me see. Second Peter, first chapter, and verse four, (II Peter 1:4)', 'Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these, you might be partakers of the divine nature', not human nature. We receive through the Holy Spirit, we receive and become partakers of the divine nature. Now, you weren't born of the divine nature. That's the nature doesn't mean something you're born with. It's something that has become so much habit. It's like they call it second nature because it's habit, it's habitual, but it does not mean what you were born with. God did not, want is human nature? Human nature is hostile against God and not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be', Romans 8:7. It is the human heart which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked and who can understand about it? Jeremiah 17:9. That's human nature and that comes from Satan and when Christ comes, Satan is going to be put away, and instead Christ will be here and his spirit will be surcharging the air, and everyone is going to be called to salvation.
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