And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.  Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.  Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  (Acts 20:25-28, NKJV.)

The apostle Paul especially addressed the above-quoted valedictory testimony to leaders of the Church of God, assembled at Ephesus, in New Testament times.  Although said many centuries ago, Paul’s words are vital, to anyone who professes to preach the Word of God, in order not to bring the blood of all men upon oneself — to cause men to go in the path of death instead of life!  Paul’s exhortation particularly concerns the church leaders’ responsibility in teaching those who have become true Christians — those whom Christ has “purchased with His own blood” — true believers in Christ. Because many preachers — both in the Church of God and outside — have failed to follow Paul’s example, many people have been led astray in their understanding of God’s Word and the true way to salvation — the way to obtaining or entering the kingdom of God.

Christ warned: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin [KJV, “…whoso shall offend (or cause to stumble)  one of these little ones…”], it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes” (Matthew 18:6-7)!

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Yesterday, as I write, I had quite an interesting experience that suddenly switched on a light in my mind.  Days before, I had struggled with driving an old-model, but still trusty, Toyota Hi-lux pick-up truck which my kind nephew has lent for my use while my wife Paz and I are here in Malaybalay City, the home of my birth.

The whole time the truck had had a hard-starting problem because of a weak battery.  For this reason I had brought the battery several times to an auto-electrical shop for recharging.  For a while the truck would run well.  Eventually, however, the truck wouldn’t start, even with the battery at full charge. I sent for an auto-electrician, who diagnosed the problem as a defective set of glow plugs.  So a new set was installed, and for days the truck functioned well again.

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Joshua f’it de battle of Jericho…
And de walls came a-tumblin’ down.

This black American spiritual [song] was inspired by an exciting, miraculous and spectacular event in the history of the children of Israel on their way to their “Promised Land.”  The story is found in Chapters 5 and 6 of the Book of Joshua in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible.  For an oppressed slave people as the black Americans in the South of the U.S.A. were, back in the 1700s and 1800s, this Bible story gave them hope of sure victory over the obstacles confronting them on their way to freedom, their “Promised Land.”  While great progress has been made toward that freedom (or “emancipation”), pockets of oppression can, sadly, still be found in places, waiting to be broken down.

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Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  (Hebrews 3:12-13, NKJV.)

What is it about sin that makes it deceitful?  Satan the devil, who got our first parents to sin against God by disobeying His command not to eat the fruit of the tree He forbade them to, has since deceived the whole world! (Revelation 12:9.)   Not just a tiny minority but the entirety of mankind! As 1 John 5:19 echoes:  “…the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one [Satan].”

As the apostle Paul put it:  “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  Paul said further:  “Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12), for “the wages [consequence] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

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The Book of Revelation,  in chapters 2 and 3, describes seven different churches located in what is known as an actual “mail route” in Asia Minor during New Testament times ( in Turkey today).  Archeological and written records can attest to the veracity of the places mentioned here.  [For some major highlights of these churches, click on this link:  http://www.herbert-armstrong.org, click ENTER HERE , select “Books & Booklets” and scroll down to the booklet titled, “A True History of the True Church.”]

In these two chapters of Revelation the apostle John wrote down the messages to these seven churches given to him through a vision by the glorified Jesus Christ, who identifies Himself as “the Alpha (beginning) and the Omega (end), the First and the Last” (Revelation 1:11) and as “He who lives, and was dead and” — having resurrected from the grave, is now — “alive forevermore” (Verse 18).  [See: The True Christ.]

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“Your money — or your life!”  That is an expression I had heard since I was a boy.  As most everybody knows, this is a line spoken by a holdup who wants you to hand over your money, or else he takes your life.  And if you don’t, the thief kills you — and he gets your money just the same!

In an increasingly wicked world which we live in (Matthew 24:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-7), people daily confront situations which are also increasingly matters of life and death:

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One of the reasons why most Jews do not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was — or is — the long-prophesied Messiah is their contention that Jesus was not descended from King Solomon.  True, the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 1:1-16 traces him back to King Solomon (see especially Verses 6 and 7).  However, this genealogy is that of Joseph — Mary’s husband, who was not the biological father of Jesus at all.

As  Verses 18-20 continue with the story, Mary had become pregnant with the child Jesus by the Holy Spirit before she and Joseph had sexual relations.  Luke 1:35 testifies that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and through that power she bore Jesus who is called here “the Holy One” and “the Son of God.”  Thus Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus has been considered His “legal” genealogy, Joseph having become His “stepfather” of some sort.

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“If God is a good and loving God, why is there a devil?” is a question many have asked.  Some add:  “Why does God allow the devil to have such a powerful sway over mankind as to cause a lot of trouble and misery in this world?  Did God create Satan?  If so, how could God have created the devil?!”

Just where did the devil come from?

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The Bible — especially in the Psalms — overflows with great awe at the wondrous works of a marvelous God.  Israel’s King David wrote:  “I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works” (Psalm 9:10).

Psalms 72:18; 86:10; 105:2; 119:27;  and 145:5 declare that God does wondrous things and wondrous works.  Psalms 77:14; 89:5; 107:24; and 136:4 extol God’s great wonders in creation and in human history.  David looked at the heavens and was awe-struck that a God who created the vast expanse of the heavens could care at all for man, who is but made of dust (Psalm 8:34; 103:19).  How much more should men today — with all the powerful instruments we have devised to probe ever farther into the intricate details of our universe — stand in awe of God’s wondrous and marvelous works?

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“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”  (Matthew 12:31, NKJV.)

One of the difficult sayings of Jesus Christ is that quoted above, concerning the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, sin that will not be forgiven.  Mark 3:29 puts Jesus’ saying a bit differently:  “…but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation…”

Many Bible students have called this the “unpardonable sin.”  In light of such Scripture passages as Psalm 103:8 [“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.”] and Psalm 106:1 [“Praise the LORD!  Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.”],  some Bible readers wonder how an ever-gracious and ever-merciful God could run out of mercy and forgiveness.

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