Teaching Blessings, not a Curse

“My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew” (Deuteronomy 32:2).

The priesthood (high priest Aaron and his sons) was commanded to “make a distinction between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which Jehovah hath spoken unto them by Moses” (Leviticus 10:10-11). Priests¹ had the book of the Law of Jehovah; they, and others, “went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people” (2 Chronicles 17:8-9).

(1) The English word “priest” is derived from the Greek presbyter, signifying an “elder” (Hebrew côhên), per Smith’s Bible Dictionary.

Ezekiel’s Temple shows us that the true priesthood of Christ will, in His Kingdom, “teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And in a controversy, they shall stand to judge” (Ezekiel 44:23-24, Matthew 19:28).

For each of us to be prepared to teach the people of the Kingdom, we must learn to do so today, in both word and deed. “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day” (Edgar A. Guest).

A Conversation

We must first learn to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) if in Christ’s Kingdom we are to bless them. If Christ died “once for all,” then even our enemies are included. Consider a discussion with one of our Calvinist friends:
Person A: Jesus did “taste of death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9 ASV).
Person B: Yes … for everyone who believes.
Person A: “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Person B: Shall all who believe be made alive.
Person A: Do only believers die in Adam? (The conversation ended here, but they remained good friends.)

Our Jehovah’s Witness friends may show us that their Bible (New World Translation) says, “As through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, so too through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is their being declared righteous for life” (Romans 5:18, NWT). Yet, one may point out that their Kingdom Interlinear diaglott shows that the Greek and English interlinear say “all men,” rather than “men of all sorts.” (This applies similarly to “all sorts of men/people” in 1 Timothy 2:4 (NWT 1960/2013), where the KI interlinear says only “all men.”)

A reasonable question: If Jesus Christ died “once for all,” why would not all benefit?

A Step Forward in History

Albeit unintentionally, the French Revolution (1789-1799) enabled the “Christian Connexion” to form in America and encourage individuals to study the Bible. It sparked a renewed interest in the Bible and individual faith, as people sought meaning and stability during political and social upheaval. “The name Christian is the only name of distinction which we take, and by which we, as a denomination, desire to be known, and the Bible our only rule of faith and practice.”² They “insisted on Christian character as the only test of fellowship, and their creed the ‘plain language, and understanding of the Bible according to average judgment’”³
(Herald of Christ’s Kingdom 104, 1, 2022 Jan./Feb.).

(2) McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia.
(3) Froom, Leroy Edwin, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 1954, Review and Herald, Volume 4, page 31.

Some Truths More Important at Different Times

Truths are most important when they are to be acted upon. Just as the Gospel Age is divided into seven periods (e.g., Joshua 6, Revelation 2-3), so the church may be prompted to do something differently according to the circumstance of that period.

In the early church, consecrated believers needed to recognize that they were no longer under the Mosaic Law but now under Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24, 4:4-5). In later centuries, when Gentiles — never under that Law — became an overwhelming majority, the Law was seldom an issue.

Once Christians were dispersed throughout the Pagan Roman Empire, whether to eat things sacrificed to idols became an issue (Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:25-29). In modern times and in many nations, we have never seen meats sacrificed to idols for sale in grocery stores.

There were many prophetic warnings that the Antichrist would come. E.g., Daniel 7:24-25, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9, 1 John 2:18-22, Revelation 13:1-8, 17:3. It was important to those watching in the early centuries to know that the Antichrist was coming and that its spirit had already invaded the church. Today, it is important for those watching to see the Antichrist being judged. Yet, it was most important for those living under the Antichrist system to recognize its evil.

For many, the Reformation provided a degree of relief from religious persecution. Yet, it was necessary for faithful Christians to recognize that not all reformers were equally good. Their works did not perfect them before God, and only a few did not defile their garments of Christ’s righteousness (Revelation 3:2-4). While it remains a good lesson for us today, it was most important for those watching to understand this truth during the Reformation.

Prophecies of the 1260 days / years were less important before that time ended in 1798-1799, than afterward. Those who were watching began looking for Christ’s return in the near future, and the consequent return of the Jews to their land. (With the background of Albury Prophetic Conferences, Joseph Wolff took this age-to-come Adventist message to four continents.)

Also, among American Adventists in the nineteenth century, there was the view that the door to the heavenly calling would be shut in 1844. The view was maintained even after it became evident that Christ had not returned in 1843 or 1844, and it soon was dividing the Adventist movement.³ The sixth, “Philadelphia,” period had already prophesied the “shut-door” controversy (Revelation 3:7-8). So the wise continued to teach the door was still open and pursued public witness.

For the seventh and last period of the Gospel Age, it is no longer “I come quickly.” Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20). The Christian must first recognize what is meant by Babylon, and then “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins” (Isaiah 48:20, Revelation 18:1-5). Coming out once may not suffice. Lot was called out of Sodom and went to a small city, but soon had to leave it as well (Genesis 19:15-22, 30). Elijah was called to leave a city three times in succession (2 Kings 2:1-6). The lesson is clear: We are to leave “Babylon” and not take its sins with us (Jeremiah 50-51).

Several prophecies are given for the Christian to act upon during the period in which he lives. Others are observing whether we are being watchful. We are to both teach and practice.

The world will especially remember how Christians developed Christian character, and also how they acted upon the prophecies.

Teaching the Gospel

Always preach the Gospel. Use words when necessary.

We are to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ unselfishly and because we want others to be blessed. Around the time of the wicked King Ahaz, the priests taught for hire and the prophets divined for money (Micah 3:11), giving us “the horrible example.” Instead, Peter tells us to tend the flock of God willingly and not “for filthy lucre” (1 Peter 5:2-3). “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

Foundation of Christian Belief

A reasonable foundation for Christian belief and teaching may be summarized: All men — all of Adam’s children — are sinners. None can be reconciled to God without a Redeemer’s sacrifice. Jesus came into the world to be that sacrifice, and later to apply that ransom sacrifice for the sins of the world. Based on faith in the Redeemer’s word, the believer may accept the Lord’s invitation and consecrate himself to the divine service. That invitation will remain open until the faithful church is complete. Such as meet these conditions are to be accepted as brethren in the highest sense of the term. (Abridged from “Doctrines More or Less Important,” Watch Tower 1913 August 1, page 232, R5284).

What we must believe about Jesus is summarized by three verses in 1 John:
● “Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22).
● Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4:2, similarly in 2 John 7).
● “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

The Apostle John uses no theological terminology: homoousias, Trinity, Triune, modes, etc. Luther is quoted as writing, “Although the Arians had wrong views with regard to the faith (Luther’s opinion), they were nevertheless very right in this … that they required that no profane and novel word should be allowed to be introduced into the rules of faith.”⁴

The word Trinity is not found in the Bible. This is acknowledged by the celebrated Calvin, who calls the Trinity “a popish God, or idol, a mere human invention, a barbarous, insipid and profane word,” and he utterly condemns that prayer in the litany — O holy, glorious, and blessed Trinity, etc., as “unknown to the prophets and apostles, and grounded upon no testimony of God’s holy word.”⁵

We, too, should limit required wording to the words of the Bible itself.

The End Product of a Loving God

The final product of a loving God is not a creation that obeys Him because they are afraid of what would happen if they do not, but one that obeys Him because they want to. “God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and [self-]discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 ASV).

Late on the sixth creative epoch (“day”), “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion … And God created the man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26-27 RVIC). Initially, God made man in His moral image, but not yet in His likeness to know good and evil. After the sin, “In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him,” but now the image is not mentioned; it had been lost (Genesis 5:1). God’s plan was to restore that image in another seven millennia.

The priesthood-in-training is to learn to set a noble example in this Gospel Age. Then in Christ’s thousand-year Kingdom, in contrast to the curse of second death (cf. Deuteronomy 27:11-28:14), they will teach the world on earth the everlasting blessings of obedience.

(4) Adolph Harnack, History of Dogma, translated by Neil Buchanan (1900), Volume 7, page 225).
(5) Admon. 1st ad Polonus — Cardale’s true Doctrine — Works of Elder B. W. Stone, page 51 (Lonzo Pribble, Theology Simplified; God, His Son and His Spirit (2009), page 49. Xlibris Corp.).