OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD 1557GladTidingsGladTidings

What a Bird! What a Bird! –– page 3page 3Paradise Paradise –– On Earth or in Heaven? On Earth or in Heaven? –– page 10page 10

Treasure in Heaven Treasure in Heaven –– page 16page 16

Bible Talks, Study Classes, Sunday Schools and Youth Clubs areheld regularly by Christadelphians worldwide. The address ofyour nearest group can be obtained either from one of the Glad Tidings Distributors listed above, or from one of the contactaddresses listed on the back cover.

Bible VersionsThe version most used in this issue isthe New King James Version (NKJV)and other versions are sometimes

used.

✤ The New King James Version iscopyrighted by Thomas Nelson.

✤ The English Standard Version is published by Harper CollinsPublishers © 2001 by CrosswayBibles, a division of Good NewsPublishers. Used by permission.

✤ The New International Version is copyrighted 1978 by New York Bible Society

GladTidingsO F T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

130th Year 1557A monthly magazine published by the Christadelphians (brothers and sisters in Christ) andavailable throughout the world.

AcknowledgementsPhotographs:

Cover and pg.4 : Heron Sculptureat Northenden Riverside Park,Manchester, England, UK Hilary Lloyd

Other Illustrations

Clipart.com; istockphotos pg 6;Wikipedia Commons pg 10; www.ccel.org pgs 7-9.

ContentsB14

Glad Tidings Distributorsfor orders and payments

United Kingdom – Cilla Palmer, “Highlands”, 78 Mildenhall Road, Fordham, Ely, Cambs, England CB7 5NR Tel: (01638)723959 (24 hrs & Fax) cilla@gladtidings.fsnet.co.uk

Australia – Jon Fry, 19 Macey Street, Croydon South, Victoria, Australia, 3136

gladtidingsaustralia@gmail.comCanada – Vivian Thorp, 5377 Birdcage Walk,

Burlington, Ontario, Canada, L7L 3K5 vivianthorp@bell.net

New Zealand – Neil Todd, 14 Morpeth Place, Blockhouse Bay, Auckland 7, New Zealand

South Africa – A. J. Oosthuizen, P.O.Box 50357, Musgrave Road,Durban 4062, South Africa antoost@mweb.co.za

U.S.A. – Pat Hemingray, 3079 Kilburn West, Rochester Hills, USA, MI 48306

Other Countries – Andrew Johnson, 22 Hazel Drive, Hollywood, Birmingham, England, B47 5RJandrew@gladtidings.me.uk

Editor: Owen Tecwyn Morgan, 26 The Crescent, Hampton-in-Arden, Solihull, England, B92 OBP glad.tidings@virgin.net

Publisher: The Glad Tidings Publishing Association A registered charity – Number 248352

Contents

What a Bird! ....................3

Jesus and the Miracle ofCreation.........................5

Paul’s Missionary Journeys.......................................7

Paradise – On Earth or inHeaven? .......................10

More about the Devil ....13

Eyes and Ears.................15

Treasure in Heaven .......16

The Last Days ................18

Its objectives are – to encourage the study of the Bible as God'sinspired message to men; to call attention to the Divine offerof forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ; and to warn menand women that soon Christ will return to Earth as judge andruler of God’s world-wide Kingdom.

130th Year 3

scene, the remains of many of whichcan still be seen. The God who guidedthem away from slavery to freedomwas not seen nor depicted in any way.All they saw was a cloud that wentahead and the prophet Moses whoacted as their go-between with God.So when Moses was absent for nearlyseven weeks they demanded someother visible presence. The telling thingis what Aaron said when the sculptureof the calf was finished:

He received the gold from their hand,and he fashioned it with an engravingtool, and made a moulded calf. Thenthey said, “This is your god, O Israel,that brought you out of the land ofEgypt!” (Exodus 32:4).

It was a calf – a sculpture or animage. It was lifeless and powerless.They had made it, but now they offeredsacrifices, worshipped before it andattributed it with the power to deliverthem from lifelong bondage in Egypt!How pathetic and how deserving theywere of the anger that Moses showedand the judgment that fell upon thembecause of their unrestrained beha-viour, as they abandoned theirGod-given laws.

BlindnessThey were looking at one thing butwere not seeing it. It was a sculpture,but they had adorned it with super-natural power and that simple act hadfreed them of God’s control and anyrestraint imposed by His laws. One ofthose laws forbad making any visiblerepresentation of His person:

You shall not make for yourself acarved image—any likeness of any-

Visitors to the Northenden RiversidePark in Manchester are likely to marvelat the heron situated on the banks ofthe River Mersey. It is never likely toswoop down to seize a passing fish, ofcourse, for this heron was created byPhilip Bews who made it from recycledmetal. It is a marvel of ingenuity andcreativity, but, alas, it cannot fly.

CreativityThroughout the world there are sculp-ture parks, museums, galleries andprivate homes where works of art aredisplayed and widely admired. Sculp-tures and paintings sell for millions ofpounds. Even an object like a 14-footlong tiger shark floating in formalde-hyde in a glass case is regarded bysome as a work of art, being sold formillions of dollars, even though theoriginal shark deteriorated and had tobe replaced.

All through history people haveadmired the things that others havemade. Whether you gaze at Michelan-gelo’s huge sculpture of David, orRodin’s many sculptures of ‘TheThinker’, you are seeing more than theartwork itself. You can see for yourselfthe evidence of the artist’s creativity.

ImageryThe worship of things has a longhistory. In the Bible such things arecalled idols and they are condemnedbecause people who worship thembelieve they have supernatural power.Aaron and the people made a goldencalf while Moses was away beinginstructed by the angels of God. Theyhad come from Egypt where statuesand pictures dominated the religious

What a Bird!What a Bird!

4 Glad Tidings

in the Lord; He is their help and theirshield (Psalm 115:4–9).

CovetousnessThe worship of idols fell out of fashionin Israel after their return fromBabylon, following the establishmentof the Persian Empire. Perhaps theyhad seen so many things in exile thatthereafter they wanted money, power,position, influence and man-madegoods. By New Testament times thewarnings given by Jesus and his apos-tles were about putting one’s trust inearthly things, not true heavenlyvalues, and the apostle Paul couldsum up the danger in this way:

Put to death your members which areon the earth: fornication, uncleanness,passion, evil desire, and covetousness,which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

Today people covet many things thatthey do not really need. That is how aconsumer-driven materialistic societyfunctions. And we only see what wewant to see. We marvel at a heronmade from metal, but do we marvelmuch more at the actual creature,which can fly and fish? We admire thecreator of such artworks, and rightlyso. But do we worship the Creator ofthe sculptor, who is our Creator too?

We certainly should.

Editor

thing that is in heaven above, or that isin the earth beneath, or that is in thewater under the earth; you shall notbow down to them nor serve them(Exodus 20:4).

Yet all through Israel’s history, rightup to the time when they were forciblyremoved from their land and exiled inBabylon, they fought against this pro-hibition. Idolatry remained theirconstant attraction. For they preferredto worship things they could see ratherthan the worship of the one true Godwhom they could not see. They choseto adore lifeless things rather than theliving God. Man-made creations wereregarded as superior to the One whohad made mankind. It is no wonderthat the prophets pleaded with themand denounced them in equalmeasure:

Where are your gods that you havemade for yourselves? Let them arise, Ifthey can save you in the time of yourtrouble; for according to the number ofyour cities are your gods, O Judah(Jeremiah 2:28).

Their idols are silver and gold, the workof men’s hands. They have mouths,but they do not speak; eyes they have,but they do not see; they have ears,but they do not hear; noses they have,but they do not smell … Those whomake them are like them; so is every-one who trusts in them. O Israel, trust

130th Year 5

The very first recorded miracle of Jesuswas that of changing water into winefor the wedding feast at Cana inGalilee. You can read about it in JohnChapter 2. The wine was approved asbeing very good. It was not a substitute; it was the real thing, and it had beenproduced instantly.

The production of wine by the naturalprocesses of fermentation of the juiceof grapes which have drawn their waterfrom the soil via the roots of the vine,is a long slow journey − from water towine. The wine that Jesus producedbypassed all those natural processes,and the essential human supervision,yet was a mature delicious wine withevery appearance of age. The masterof ceremonies assumed that it hadbeen somehow “kept until now” (John2:10).

Instant TransformationAnother well-known miracle of Jesuswas that of the feeding of the 4,000(and later of the 5,000), in which botha processed cereal food (the bread)and fish (presumably already-cooked)were produced instantly, in quantitiessufficient to satisfy a multitude and stillhave some left over. The additionalsupply of loaves and fishes were

created instantly with every appear-ance of age. The hours of grinding theflour and baking the bread werebypassed in the miraculous making ofa great quantity of acceptable food ina moment of time.

A miracle of Jesus of a different kindthat stirred up the religious oppositionto fever pitch was the resurrection ofLazarus of Bethany. In this case arotting corpse was transformedinstantly into a living man.

Unlike the two previous miracles ofresurrection − when two newly-deceased young people had beenbrought to life − Lazarus had beendead four days and the evidence ofputrefaction was there:

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”Martha, the sister of him who wasdead, said to him, “Lord, by this timethere is a stench, for he has beendead four days” (John 11:39).

Was this miracle so very differentfrom the miracle of the creation ofAdam from the dust of the earth? Inboth events the power of the spirit of

Jesus and the Miracle ofJesus and the Miracle ofCreationCreation

6 Glad Tidings

God was shown to be able to performthe miracle instantly, without anyrecourse to the usual processes ofnature.

Creative TouchWhen Adam was created, he also wasgiven sight by the same power thatgave sight to this man, the power ofthe spirit of God. Is it unreasonabletherefore to perceive that the creationof the heavens and the earth, the seaand all things therein was the instantcreation of a mature earth, a maturesea, mature trees and plants yieldingseed, and innumerable forms of life,each able to reproduce its own lifeform?

Just as slow natural processes, asseen and known to us, were bypassedby the miracles of Jesus, so they werenot necessary for Creation in the firstplace. The same power that Jesus pos-sessed without measure was thepower that had created a mature envi-ronment for life on earth and finally forthe man and woman God created.

New-Made WorldThe Genesis account of creation doesnot say that God created seedscapable of becoming trees and plants,nor does it say that God created eggscapable of hatching chicks. The oldquestion of the sceptics: “Which came

first, the chicken or the egg?” isanswered emphatically in GenesisChapter One. The account of creationis quite explicit that God created allliving things “after their kind”. Indeedthis statement is repeated ten times,in case anyone should be in doubt.This must mean that all forms of lifewere created with an appearance ofage, even though they had only justbeen formed.

It has been alleged that if Godcreated life with an appearance of age,this would make him a deceiver. Inreply to such critics it must be pointedout that since God has clearly recordedwhat He did at Creation in His Word,the Bible, there is no deception. Theaccount in Genesis is clearly and dis-tinctly set out, just as in the gospelsthe instantaneous miracles of Jesusare clearly stated. Was Jesus a deceiv-er when he changed the water intowine? Or was he a benefactor? WasJesus a deceiver when he raisedLazarus from the death state to arenewal of life with his sisters? Or washe a benefactor? In each case, did henot make them glad?

The first chapter of Genesis is anaccount in everyday language that canbe understood by ordinary people. Thepower that created all life was thepower of God. The Creator spoke and itwas done. Moreover the Creator sawthat it was done and proceeded toinspire the written record. As if therecould be any doubt, the Creationaccount is encapsulated and con-firmed by these words of the Almightywhen giving the divine law to Israel:

For in six days the LORD made theheavens and the earth, the sea, andall that is in them (Exodus 20:11).

John V. Collyer

130th Year 7

They could not stomachthe idea that God’s prom-ised King would die like acriminal. But manyGentiles in the audiencewere impressed, and aweek later a huge crowdgathered to hear Paulteach. Many of thembecame believers. The

results of the first campaign werebeginning to flow in.

Jewish ReactionThe Jewish leaders at Antioch reactedby stirring up trouble for Paul amongstthe rulers of the city. He was forced tomove on further east to Iconium andLystra. At Lystra he was nearly killed.He had just started to preach there,when the Jews from Antioch cameafter him and had him publicly stoned,leaving him close to death. Thankfullyhe revived and resumed his journeys,moving on to Derbe, where he wasunmolested, before bravely returningto the cities where he had been perse-cuted to strengthen the new disciplesof Jesus. He made friends for the restof his life on this first trip to Galatia,including young Timothy, who was tobecome his right-hand man.

There were consequences fromPaul’s success. The Christians inJerusalem, many of whom were stillkeeping the Law of Moses, weregetting cold feet about this preachingto Gentiles. They wanted them, too, tobe circumcised and keep the com-mandments. Some came to Galatia,

Barnabas came fromthe island of Cyprus inthe Mediterranean Sea,so this was a goodplace to begin, as Pauland Barnabas set off onthe First MissionaryJourney. From Actschapter 13 to the endof Luke’s account(chapter 28) we follow the apostle andhis companions on three missionaryjourneys and then on an action-packedjourney to Rome.

They took a ship across to Salamis,the capital, and worked their waythrough the island. Luke notes a majortriumph – the conversion of the RomanGovernor, Sergius Paulus. Then the twopreachers crossed to the mainland andtrudged up into the mountains ofGalatia. It is possible Paul became ill atthis time, because when writing laterto the Galatian Christians he remindsthem:

You know that because of physicalinfirmity I preached the gospel to youat the first (Galatians 4:13).

Paul at AntiochIn any event, he still managed to givea stirring speech in the Synagogue atAntioch of Pisidia, rather like Peter’son the Day of Pentecost, where hepicked out key Old Testament prophe-cies that foretold how the Messiahmust die and rise again in order tobring salvation from sins. This wasunpalatable to his Jewish listeners.

Books of the Bible − 31 (The Book of Acts: continued)

Paul’s MissionaryPaul’s MissionaryJourneysJourneys

8 Glad Tidings

and Paul had to write a stronglyworded letter to the Galatians to warnthem not to listen to these men. Even-tually it was decided to hold aconference in Jerusalem to decidewhat should be done. This is describedin Acts chapter 15.

When the audience heard Paul’sreport of the amazing response he hadhad, and Peter and James, theirtrusted leaders, added their approvalto Paul’s work, it was agreed to writean official letter to the Gentile believ-ers. This said they need not keep theLaw, but it would be helpful if theycould avoid actions which would par-ticularly upset Jews, like eating meatwhich came from sacrifices to heathengods, or blood products. Paul couldbreathe again. If the decision had goneagainst him, Christianity would haveremained a branch of Judaism. Nowhe could press on into the Romanworld.

Back to GalatiaThe Second Missionary journey beganwith a return to Galatia, after which theApostle was guided by the Spirit tomove across into Europe, via Philippi,a major city in the north of Greece.

Having established a community ofbelievers there, the group of missiona-ries then turned south through theRoman province of Macedonia to

Athens, the capital of Greece. Paul’sformula was to stay in a city as long ashe could, but to move on when perse-cution became intolerable. We have toadmire the sheer courage of this greatman, who endured prison, beatings,robbers, shipwrecks and thousands ofmiles of foot slogging along dustyroads to bring the good news to yetmore eager ears.

He made it a practice not to acceptmoney from his listeners. This meanthe had to pay his way by manual workas a tent maker, a craft which he hadlearned as a young man. Paul’spreaching was done in his spare time,and all the time he was looking overhis shoulder, avoiding his enemies.

The philosophers of Athens wereunimpressed by Paul’s attempts topersuade them that Jesus had comeback from the dead, but he found aready audience further south in thebustling port of Corinth. Here hestayed for eighteen months beforereturning to his base at Antioch inSyria.

Paul at EphesusThe Third Journey took Paul back toGalatia, and then on to Ephesus, avast city near the west coast ofmodern Turkey. Here he spent a totalof three years. As was his custom, hebegan by visiting the synagogue – theJews must be given the first chance tohear the gospel. Only when theirleaders became hostile did he moveon to address the Gentile population.So many Ephesians became believersthat he caused a noticeable drop inthe number of pilgrims buying sou-venirs from the Temple of Artemis(Diana of the Ephesians). That hurt thepockets of the silversmiths, and theybanded together to make a publicprotest. They dragged Paul’s compan-

130th Year 9

ions into the theatre – a huge publicspace, the ruins of which can still bevisited today. Here they were rescuedby the Town Clerk, who tactfully dis-missed the rioting crowd, but Paul wasforced to move on to Greece. Here hehad previously arranged to make a col-lection of money from the believersthere to help the poorer Christians inJerusalem, a token of their love, theirsolidarity and their practical support.

Back to JerusalemThis plan went forward, interrupted (aswe have come to expect) by anattempt by the Jews to assassinatePaul on board ship, which forced himto travel overland instead, up throughMacedonia to Philippi. On his way backto Jerusalem he said goodbye to hisfriends in Turkey, because he nowintended to move on further west toItaly and Spain. But life is unpre-dictable, and his great scheme fellapart.

When the Apostle came toJerusalem and handed over the moneyhe had gathered together, he visitedthe Temple several times. By an unfor-tunate coincidence he was recognisedthere by some of his enemies, Jewsfrom the province of Asia who werealso visiting the city. They stirred up ariot, in which he was badly beaten, andrescued only by the intervention of the

Roman tribune in charge of the Templearea.

In PrisonThis was the beginning of a long, frus-trating period in Paul’s life. He spentthe next three years in jail, waiting fora proper trial. At the end of this timehe was forced to use his right as aRoman citizen (his father was a citizenand he inherited this privilege) toappeal to have his case heard by theEmperor in Rome. The dramatic storyof his voyage there as a prisoner, in thecompany of faithful Luke, occupies the27th chapter of Acts. Their ship waswrecked on the island of Malta, but hesurvived, and the following springcame to Rome, to be detained for twomore weary years in the long queue forRoman justice.

Luke ends his account at this point.However, we can work out from theletters he wrote that Paul was eventu-ally freed (there was no sound caseagainst him). For a few more years hewas able to resume his travels, untilthe Emperor Nero turned against theChristians, and he was brought back toRome to be sentenced to death.

The years of confinement, miserablethough they were to a man who hadspent much of his life on the openroad, were highly productive. Even inprison, Paul was not a man to sit in acorner and sulk. Unable to visit hisfriends, he wrote long and detailedletters to them, some of which havebeen preserved in our New Testament.Through them the principles and doc-trines of the First Century Christiancommunity have been recorded for ourbenefit. So Paul’s work goes on, in us.

David M Pearce

Jesus had a few words with thethief who was crucified along-side him, as recorded in Luke23. It ended with the Lordsaying: “... you will be withme in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

The essential issue is: Where will therighteous be rewarded? And, to alesser extent: When? So it is a limitedScriptural teaching which is beingconsidered in this short article. It is notthe aim to discover what makes aperson righteous in God’s sight, simplywhere are they to be rewarded – inheaven, or on earth?

Search the ScripturesA valuable method of Bible study onessential matters would seem to be;examine simple, clear, unambiguouspassages and use them as a basis.This is what we are now about to do.

Firstly, we are told where the right-eous will NOT be rewarded. Look at thefollowing clear statement:

No one has ascended to heaven buthe who came down from heaven, thatis, the Son of Man who is in heaven(John 3:13).

So, subsequent to the life, death,resurrection and ascension of the LordJesus Christ, the apostle John canrecord that NO ONE HAS ASCENDEDTO HEAVEN. There was, by the time ofwriting, one exception − the LordJesus − and the writer is careful toinclude that in the record. (He was, ofcourse, writing under inspiration andtherefore the words are accurate.) Theteaching of that passage is clear. Other

people who had died had not gone toheaven, however good they might havebeen.

The same teaching is found in theBook of Acts when the apostle Petersays this about David the good king ofIsrael. He was a man described by Godas “a man after My own heart” (Acts13:22), yet this is what the apostlePeter said:

For David did not ascend into theheavens, but he says himself: “TheLord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My righthand’” (Acts 2:34).

So, although he was righteous, yetDavid did not ascend to heaven butwas (and remains) in the grave untilthe resurrection of the dead, as theapostle Paul later affirms (Acts 13:36).

What Then?If people who have died are not inheaven, where are they? A clear Bibleprinciple is established in one of thePsalms:

The heaven, even the heavens, are theLord’s; but the earth He has given tothe children of men (Psalm 115:16).

10 Glad Tidings

Paradise – On Earth orParadise – On Earth orin Heaven?in Heaven?

This is a wonderful promise; that thisbeautiful earth, at an appointed time,will be taken from man’s misrule and,under God’s control, will be given tomankind. This is in perfect accord withthe prayer that Jesus taught his disci-ples:

Your kingdom come. Your will be doneon earth as it is in heaven (Matthew6:10).

These well-known words of theLord’s Prayer teach his disciples topray for the time when God’s kingdomwill again be set up on earth. Do yourecall these words of Jesus?

Blessed are the meek, for they shallinherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

(To pursue this further look up the fol-lowing passages: Psalm 37:9-11;Proverbs 2:21,22; Proverbs 11:31;Numbers 14:21; Psalm 72:19 andIsaiah 45:18. There are many others.)

God’s Coming KingdomThe gospel as recorded by Matthewmakes constant reference to “thekingdom of heaven”. That is NOT tosay that the kingdom is IN heaven. Forthe other gospel writers speak of “thekingdom of God” and, when you lookcarefully, they are seen to be one andthe same. In other words, THEKINGDOM OF HEAVEN = THEKINGDOM OF GOD.

Consider the following two passages,each referring to the beginning of thepreaching of Jesus after John Baptistwas put into prison:

From that time Jesus began to preachand to say, “Repent, for the kingdomof heaven is at hand” (Matthew4:17).

Now after John was put in prison,Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the

gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark1:14).

So, the kingdom for which Jesustaught his disciples to pray (“Thykingdom come”) will be the kingdom ofheaven, that is, the kingdom of God,established on earth.

Heavenly RewardJesus once said:

“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, forgreat is your reward in heaven, for sothey persecuted the prophets whowere before you” (Matthew 5:12).

Since the reward is in heaven thereare two possibilities;

➊ The righteous go to heaven toreceive it. This is already ruled outby statements such as “no one hasascended to heaven”.

➋ The reward is brought from heavento earth for the righteous to enjoyon earth, which fits well with“blessed are the meek for theyshall inherit the earth”. Also, seethe following two passages:

Blessed be the God and Father of ourLord Jesus Christ, who according to Hisabundant mercy has begotten usagain to a living hope through theresurrection of Jesus Christ from thedead, to an inheritance incorrup-tible and undefiled and that doesnot fade away, reserved in heavenfor you (1 Peter 1:3–4).

…when the Chief Shepherdappears, you will receive the crownof glory that does not fade away (1Peter 5:4).

The reward is to be brought fromheaven at the return of Jesus to theearth.

130th Year 11

12 Glad Tidings

The ThiefWhat then of the incident recorded inLuke?

One of the criminals who were hangedblasphemed him, saying, “If you arethe Christ, save yourself and us.” Butthe other, answering, rebuked him,saying, “Do you not even fear God,seeing you are under the same con-demnation? And we indeed justly, forwe receive the due reward of ourdeeds; but this man has done nothingwrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord,remember me when you come intoyour kingdom.” And Jesus said to him,“Assuredly, I say to you, today you willbe with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39–43).

First, notice the man’s beliefs. He:

❖ Feared God

❖ Knew he deserved to die

❖ Knew Jesus to be sinless

❖ Was waiting for a kingdom

❖ Recognised Jesus as its King

❖ Believed in resurrection, foralthough he and Jesus were aboutto die, yet he says: “remember mewhen you come into yourkingdom”.

ParadiseWhat of the Paradise of which Jesusspoke? The word simply means “agarden or enclosed park”. The thief didnot ask to go to heaven nor did Jesusreply that he would do so. Indeedheaven is not mentioned in the conver-sation. Jesus would not have offeredan immediate reward, for it was hisconsistent teaching that the righteouswill: “be repaid at the resurrection ofthe just” (Luke 14:14).

Because there is no punctuation inthe Greek original, it is possible totranslate the words of Jesus like this:“Assuredly I say to you today, you willbe with me in Paradise”. This is acommon Bible expression to giveemphasis to the words that follow; forexample:

I testify against you this day that youshall surely perish (Deuteronomy8:19).

Moses was not saying you will perishtoday, but was emphasising his words;“Today I am telling you”. This is amanner of speaking often found inScripture.

So the teaching of the Bible is clear:the righteous do not go to heaven, atdeath nor at any time. The reward –eternal life - promised by God is to beon earth after the resurrection of thedead.

With this as a basis, it is vital to dis-cover what makes a person righteousso that you too can have this greathope of blessing which God offers. Asin all such investigations the samebasic rule applies, “search the Scrip-tures”. Find out for yourself the sort ofearthly Paradise God has in store forHis people.

David Radford

If you want to access backnumbers of “Glad Tidings” youcan find copies for the last few

years on our website:

www.gladtidingsmagazine.org

130th Year 13

One of the reasons why Christadel-phians differ from many Christians whostudy and quote the Bible is that westart at the beginning and let the Bibleexplain to us what its words mean.

We have seen from Genesis Ch.3that temptation was put before Adamand Eve by a very unusual snake (or‘serpent’) who could think and expresshis ideas to them. There is no evidencethat this creature produced offspringphysically, and there are no serpentslike that now; but its ideas entered ourfirst parents’ minds and produced sin.

By its challenging words the serpenttempted Eve so, in one way, it was the‘father’ of sinners. The serpent slan-dered God by saying that He had badreasons for giving them His law, saying:

God knows that in the day you eat of ityour eyes will be opened, and you willbe like God, knowing good and evil”(Genesis 3:5).

That tendency to doubt God’s Wordis in all human minds now, but it wassomething that would never haveoccurred to Adam and Eve at the time,because of the nature they then pos-sessed.

False AccuserThe word translated ‘devil’ in theEnglish Bible means ‘slanderer’ (theact of accusing someone falsely). Thathelps us to see what Jesus meantwhen he said to sinful people “you areof your father the devil” (John 8:44). InMatthew 23:33 he called them “ser-pents, brood of vipers”. Earlier, aprophet called ‘John the Baptist’, whohad introduced Jesus to the nation,

said to some of them “Brood of vipers!Who warned you to flee from the wrath(God’s anger) to come?” (Matthew3:7).

That is what human nature does – itslanders God, and fellow-humans too:it is ‘the devil’. In some places inEnglish Bibles this Greek word ‘diabo-los’ is translated ‘slanderer’, and itwould be better if it was always trans-lated ‘slanderer’ instead of beingrendered ‘devil’. Some translatorsmake things harder by spelling theword with a capital ‘D’ − ‘the Devil’.This leads people to think that ‘theDevil’ is the name of a superhumanevil being. But the Greek languageused in the Bible did not begin nameswith capital letters in the way that wedo.

Some ExamplesHere are some places where the wordis used –

Jesus answered them, “Did I notchoose you, the twelve, and one of youis a devil?” (John 6:70). He was refer-ring to Judas Iscariot who betrayedhim.

Likewise, their wives must be reverent,not slanderers, temperate, faithful inall things (1 Timothy 3:11). Here theword “slanderers” is the Greek worddiabolos elsewhere translated “devils”.

…The older women likewise, that theybe reverent in behavior, not slanderers,not given to much wine, teachers ofgood things (Titus 2:3). Again, “slan-derers” is the Greek word diabolos.

A Christadelphian’s Faith − 12

More about the DevilMore about the Devil

New Testament OnlyThe reason why these quotations arefrom the New Testament is that theword ‘devil’ never occurs in the OldTestament! (You can find the word‘devils’ in some English translations,but it should be ‘demons’ − a worddescribing imaginary gods which wereworshipped by nations surroundingIsrael.)

For thousands of years God’s peoplewere taught about sin, and they wereblamed when they sinned, but neverwere they taught that their sins weredue to a superhuman tempter. Thereason is obvious. There isn’t one – thesource of sin is human nature itself.

Satan the AdversaryThe word satan means ‘adversary’ or‘opponent’ - (someone or somethingthat resists what another wants to do).Again, it would be better if this word‘satan’ was always translated. Butunlike ‘devil’, the word ‘satan’ is foundin the Old Testament and the New Tes-tament alike. The serpent hadopposed God by saying “you will notsurely die”. It contradicted what Godsaid, so it was a satan.

Anyone who resists another’spurpose is a satan. Jesus called theapostle Peter ‘satan’ when Peter triedto stop him obeying his Father’s will(Matthew 16:23). But unlike the worddevil (‘diabolos’) which alwaysdescribes something bad, satans(opponents) can be either good orbad.

When the false prophet Balaam triedto curse the nation of Israel, “the angelof the Lord took his stand in the wayas his adversary” (Hebrew satan,Numbers 22:22).

Later, when King Solomon wasturning away from the service of the

true God, “the Lord raised up an adver-sary (satan) against Solomon, Hadadthe Edomite” (1 Kings 11:14). Anotheradversary (satan) called Rezon is men-tioned in verse 23.

It is true though, that most often theword satan describes someone who isan opponent or adversary to God andHis people. The idea that this tempteris a superhuman being is verycommon. It is found in Judaism, Islamand many mainstream Christianchurches, and people do think that theBible teaches it.

So, in the next article we will look atsome rather special references to ‘thedevil and satan’, and see what theyreally mean. For unless we understandthe background behind the Bible chap-ters that mention ‘the Devil’, or‘Satan’, we are very likely to misunder-stand them.

John Woodall

14 Glad Tidings

130th Year 15

It was King Solomon who told us thatold age does not come alone. In hisportrait of old people, he says that theeyes grow dim, the ears are muffled,and lots of other faculties are lost.Perhaps it is only when these wonder-ful faculties begin to fail that we learnto fully appreciate them.

Gifts from God

“He who planted the ear, shall He nothear? He who formed the eye, shall Henot see? (Psalm 94:9).

God, who made us so wonderfully,hears all and sees all. When we lookon the marvellous working of the eyehow could it have evolved?

In fact Darwin admitted, “Thethoughts of the eye turn me cold.”

For it had to be perfect first time.Isaac Newton asked, “Was the eyecontrived without skill in optics, andthe ear without knowledge of sound?”

Eye and ear both needed a brilliantCreator.

Open Your EyesWe should thank God for both, and usethem in His service. The Psalmistpleaded:

Open my eyes, that I may see won-drous things from Your law (Psalm119:18).

Can we not say the same? He setthe example for us. The mighty God isspeaking to us through His servant sothat we might respond and see theglorious way that He can open to us.There are some though who cannotread, and many learn by constant rep-etition. It makes no difference whetherwe read the Word for ourselves orothers read it to us. We all can receivethat invitation and listen as Godrequires us to repent and turn to Him.

Seek a BlessingThe Psalmist declared this blessing forpeople who are inclined towards Godand His ways:

Blessed are the undefiled in the way,who walk in the law of the Lord!Blessed are those who keep His testi-monies, who seek Him with the wholeheart! (Psalm 119:1–2).

He saw the happiness of those whohad chosen the way of righteousnessand longed to learn more of God’sways and thus set an example for us.We too can pray that God will bless usin the reading of His law.

Finally we hear the apostle Paul, withgreat earnestness, say to a youngerman,

Till I come, give attention to reading, toexhortation, to doctrine (1 Timothy4:13).

It is vital that we do give such atten-tion to God’s Word, so that at theLord’s coming he may find men andwomen eager not only to read but toput into practice those things that theyhave learned throughout their lives.

Ken Clark

Eyes and EarsEyes and Ears

16 Glad Tidings

In what has come to be known as theSermon on the Mount − the greatestever uttered − Jesus urged his hearersnot to strive for the riches of this world.They can only be possessed for a shorttime and can easily be lost, and wecannot take them with us, as theapostle Paul explained:

For we brought nothing into this world,and it is certain we can carry nothingout (1 Timothy 6:7).

Learning from JesusSo how should we live, and whatshould we try to acquire? Here’s Paul’sadvice again:

Godliness with contentment is greatgain … having food and clothing, withthese we shall be content (1 Timothy6:6–8).

Paul impresses upon Timothy thevirtue of contentment and Jesusexplains why earthly riches can nevergive us that:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasureson earth, where moth and rust destroyand where thieves break in and steal;but lay up for yourselves treasures inheaven, where neither moth nor rustdestroys and where thieves do notbreak in and steal. For where yourtreasure is, there your heart will bealso (Matthew 6:19–21).

The vital lesson that Jesus wasimparting was that:

“no one can serve two masters”. Then he amplified what he was

saying by declaring that: “You cannot serve God and

mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

Time to ChooseThe clear message of Jesus was thatwe cannot have the best of two worlds.We have to choose either one or theother. For, at the return of Jesus, thefaithful dead will be raised in theResurrection and be rewarded witheternal life on earth.

It will be remembered that justbefore Jesus performed the wonderfulmiracle of raising the dead Lazarus tolife again he reassured his grievingsister, Martha, with these comfortingwords,

I am the resurrection and the life. Hewho believes in me, though he maydie, he shall live (John 11:25).

In urging his hearers to “lay up foryourselves treasures in heaven” Jesuswas telling them to turn to God inrepentance so that they could receivethe forgiveness of their sins. Paul, inhis Letter to the Christian converts atColossae referred to the “treasures”laid up in heaven for true believers, ashe writes:

Because of the hope which is laid upfor you in heaven, of which you heardbefore in the word of the truth of thegospel, which has come to you, as ithas also in all the world, and is bring-ing forth fruit, as it is also among yousince the day you heard and knew thegrace of God in truth (Colossians 1:5–6).

The hope of life everlasting in God’sKingdom upon the earth is truly atreasure beyond price!

Written in HeavenWhen the seventy disciples appointed

Treasure in HeavenTreasure in Heaven

many of the people in the communitiesamong whom we live aim at making asmuch money as they can and theircompulsion is amply catered for. Thisaddiction to the prospect of winningmoney is widespread in society andsends a wrong signal to young people,persuading them that it is quite allright to get as much as they canwithout having to work for it. TheApostle Paul addressed some verysobering words to his fellow-worker,Timothy, regarding things to be taughtin his preaching of the Christian faithand stressed that:

...the love of money is a root of allkinds of evil, for which some havestrayed from the faith in their greedi-ness, and pierced themselves throughwith many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:10).

Jesus appealed to those whothronged him not to set their affectionson what could be gained in this life oflimited duration, but to give earnestconsideration to the vital things that hetaught concerning repentance, beliefand baptism and in the giving ofhonour and praise to God in their lives.

The same hope of salvation offeredby Jesus Christ to people who saw andheard him so long ago is available toall those of honest heart today who willmake the decision to live in accor-dance with God’s laws − thoseprinciples of righteousness and truefaith so clearly manifested in all thatJesus said and did. The words of theSaviour convey the promise of eternallife, compared with which all that canbe obtained in this brief life pales intoinsignificance. Remember his words:

Where your treasure is, there yourheart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

Denis M Elliott

130th Year 17

by Jesus to preach the gospelmessage returned in a happy state ofmind having achieved remarkable con-versions we can well imagine howelated they must have been at theencouraging words of Jesus when hesaid to them, “Rejoice because yournames are written in heaven” (Luke10:20).

They had proclaimed the great newsabout the Kingdom of God which is tocome on earth and the salvation avail-able to those who put on the savingname of Jesus by belief and baptismand, because of their zealous Christiandiscipleship, had laid up for them-selves “treasure in heaven.”

Jesus was saddened by the way thatmany strove after wealth while neglect-ing the true meaning of life and thewonderful hope of salvation offered byGod. When a man in the crowdappealed to Jesus about his earthlyinheritance, Jesus gave this tellinganswer:

“Take heed and beware of covetous-ness, for one’s life does not consist inthe abundance of the things he pos-sesses…” (Luke 12:15).

For when Jesus returns, he will rulethe world in righteousness and estab-lish peace, as so beautifully portrayedby David, when he says:

…the meek shall inherit the earth, andshall delight themselves in the abun-dance of peace (Psalm 37:11).

The meek are those who, in humilityand reverence, have obeyed the lawsof God. They are the ones whosenames are written in heaven andwhose faithful lives have laid up “trea-sures” for themselves there.

Love God not MoneyIt is a sad aspect of life today that

18 Glad Tidings

dominate today’s society with peopletravelling all over the world both forbusiness and for pleasure and whenthere is an unparalleled increase ofknowledge in every sphere of humanlife. The overriding sign for each one ofus lies in the threat of nuclear annihi-lation and, most recently, in the use ofchemical weapons.

Time Up! “Time Gentlemen Please!” was a cryonce made by British barkeepers whenall the pubs in England closed down at11pm. It was an order to clear out, asign that the party was over. This scenewill be reenacted on the world stagesometime in the future, so successfulhas man been in proving that he is notcapable of governing himself (Jeremiah10:23), for the signs in the worldstrongly indicate that our Creator isabout to close shop.

The kingdom of men is destined togive place to the Kingdom of God: theformer, the natural dispensation ofwhich we are a part; the latter, God’skingdom established on earth. Accord-ing to Daniel and many other prophets,it will be a long and painful process.Can we see more signs to jog ourresponse to the call of the gospelmessage that God sent His son intothe world to save the world? Well,don’t count on it. We’ve been given theonly sign we’re going to get, accordingto Jesus, who reminds us of the sign ofthe prophet Jonah, clearly signifyinghis resurrection (Luke 11:29).

The Lord’s Day Concerning these things we might wellbe instructed by Paul’s inspired writing

Daniel was God’s beloved prophet,writing in the 6th century BC, over2500 years ago. In his prophecy hepredicts many things that have nowcome to pass, including a detailedresume in his 11th Chapter of thepolitical changes that would occur longafter his death. But other things haveonly just begun to happen, included inthese words:

At that time Michael shall stand up,the great prince who stands watchover the sons of your people; andthere shall be a time of trouble, suchas never was since there was a nation,even to that time. And at that timeyour people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book…(Daniel 12:1).

A Sealed BookThe prophet was then commanded toshut up the words of the vision andseal the book until the time of the end;for, he was told:

Many shall run to and fro, and know-ledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).

Many Bible readers reasonablybelieve this time has now arrived, atime known otherwise as the Day ofthe Lord, an expression whichincludes:

➊ matters prior to Christ’s coming,

➋ his advent, and

➌ the things that will then follow. Without God’s Spirit to inspire him,

Daniel could never have imaginedwhat it would be like when “Many shallrun to and fro” and “knowledge shallincrease”. Both of these aspects of life

The Last DaysThe Last Days

130th Year 19

to the Thessalonians (ca. 51 AD). Thisancient Greek city of over 200,000was a mixed and bustling society muchlike our big cities today. Mt. Olympus,home of the Greek gods, was locatednear this prosperous port where itsinfluence flourished. The pagans caredlittle for the lowly Christians in Thessa-lonica, and believers were persecutedunmercifully. It was dangerous to be aChristian in those days. Their para-mount hope lay in the doctrine of thereturn of Christ, and Paul catered totheir need for reassurance of this truthin both his letters. Don’t worry, headvised, speaking of the Day of theLord, but don’t be deceived. In oneplace Paul warns:

Let no one deceive you by any means;for that Day will not come unless thefalling away comes first, and the manof sin is revealed, the son of perdition(2 Thessalonians 2:3).

Paul was warning the Thessaloniansabout the same situation that hadbeen prophesied by Daniel so longbefore regarding events at the time ofthe end. He was telling them that god-lessness and rebellion against the lawof God would become the norm, justbefore Jesus returns. But the apostlegives this warning to all believers:

But concerning the times and theseasons, brethren, you have no needthat I should write to you. For you your-selves know perfectly that the day ofthe Lord so comes as a thief in thenight. For when they say, “Peace andsafety!” then sudden destructioncomes upon them, as labour painsupon a pregnant woman. And theyshall not escape (1 Thessalonians5:1–3).

The words “Peace and safety” springto life in a cry that reaches out andgrabs our attention as we watch what’s

going on in the Middle East. Theongoing war in Syria has steadily esca-lated as rebels bring militants in fromother countries and chemical weaponswere deployed. 1,400 people mettheir deaths in that fashion and worldleaders acted to limit further damageby forcing an agreement that chemicalstockpiles would be destroyed. But,that apart, there seems to be no endto the conflict and its effects that arespilling over into nearby countries.

Any Time Now!Christ’s approach may be near. It willbe unexpected, we’re told, and no onecan pinpoint the day or year. No doubtwatchers perceive the anxiety anduncertainty in the minds of worldleaders, who try to make sense of thefuture, and the possibility of a terriblecalamity. If world leaders see the futi-lity of a strike on Syria—and manydo—but nevertheless, in some miracu-lous way manage to negotiate a peacetreaty, thereby establishing a conditionof peace and safety in the world, will itlast? Or will “sudden destruction”follow?

To watchers everywhere help comesby Christ’s words to the seven church-es in Asia, after his ascension intoheaven. In his words to the church ofPhiladelphia, there was no reproof:

I know your works. See, I have setbefore you an open door, and no onecan shut it; for you have a littlestrength, have kept my word, and havenot denied my name (Revelation 3:8).

This is what we must all do. If westand by Christ, he will stand by us.

Marian Canoles

Local Information

To find out about your nearestChristadelphian Meeting, or ifyou want some free Bible litera-ture, or would like to enrol on acorrespondence course, write tothe address nearest you.

United KingdomThe Christadelphians, Freepost, MID 30912, Birmingham, B27 6BRlibraryCALS@btconnect.com

Africa & EuropeChristadelphian Bible Mission, 404 Shaftmoor Lane, Birmingham,B28 8SZ, UK requests@cbm.org.uk

The AmericasCBMA, 19111 Kinsie Street, Northridge, California, USA, 91324ksommerville@unitedagencies.com

Caribbean CBMC, Box 55541, Unit 119, 15280,101 Avenue, Surrey, BC, Canada,V3R 0J7 philsnobelen@shaw.ca

IndiaT Galbraith, GPO Box 159, Hyderabad, 5000001, India

South and East Asia ACBM, PO Box 42, Wallacia, NSW2745, Australiacoelmada@ozemail.com.au

Printed by Jarvis North West Print

Addresses for the Free Offer :Addresses for the Free Offer :In the UK write to: Glad Tidings Magazine,

FREEPOST, NAT7259, Ely CB7 5BRcilla@gladtidings.fsnet.co.uk

In Africa and Europe write to: Anne Bayley,68 Hay Lane, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands,

England, B90 4TAIn other countries, to: Andrew Johnson,

22 Hazel Drive, Hollywood, Birmingham, England,B47 5RJ

andrew@gladtidings.me.uk

GladTidingsOF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

If you would like toreceive the Glad Tidings maga-zine FREE for 6months – sendyour name andaddress to one ofthe addressesbelow. Or go to ourwebsite.

Your Name (BLOCK CAPITALS please)

Address

Post Code

Country

Visit our website:

www.gladtidingsmagazine.org

Free Offer Contact Details