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CGN AUGUST 2016
Volume 19, Number 3
3The Consequences of Belief:
Part Two
9 Sevens & God’s Feasts
13 Villains and Villainy
16 Don’t Blame Me,
It Wasn’t MY Fault!
18 Biography: Carol Johnson
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THE CONSEQUENCES
OF BELIEF
part two
We find our beliefs in the Bible—a hidden
treasure, interconnected and interdependent as
a whole, like a diamond with many facets.
These facets, the truth to which you and I hold,
have been revealed for our understanding.
The consequences of our understanding are
very real—for each of us individually, and for all
of us as a community.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 4
In Part One of this article, we examined four foundational aspects of the truth revealed to us as God’s
people, and the consequences of our beliefs.
Beyond the Letter
We begin Part Two with a fifth facet of our
beliefs; another foundational aspect of the truth:
5. The spirit of the law underlies the actions of the
converted person: obedience to the letter of the
law is necessary, but not sufficient.
One example, tithing, makes this point. The
tithing of one’s increase and the giving of offerings
are part of the Bible’s teachings. From this we learn
the broader principles and spirit of right giving,
becoming generous as God is.
“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the
seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the
Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30).
“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your
grain that the field produces year by year. And
you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the
place where He chooses to make His name abide,
the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your
oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks,
that you may learn to fear the Lord your God
always” (Deuteronomy 14:22–23, emphasis
added throughout).
Jesus confirms the rightfulness of tithing when
He says: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe
mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by
justice and the love of God. These you ought to
have done, without leaving the others undone”
(Luke 11:42).
If they had not done that, they would have
come under the condemnation leveled at others
before them: “Yet from the days of your fathers you
have gone away from My ordinances [statutes] and
have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return
to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you said, ‘In what
way shall we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you
have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we
robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:7–8).
So not giving tithes and offerings is equated
here with robbery and therefore breaking the
eighth commandment against stealing.
Leaving Nothing Undone
Tithing and giving offerings is the way God
provided for the work of the Church in the Old Tes-
tament and also in the New. It funds that work
externally and internally, as well as members’ observance of the annual holy days and the needs of the
less fortunate among us.
Offerings are freewill in nature, depending on
the individual’s decision in light of blessings
received (Deuteronomy 16:17) and actual needs
made known, as in the case of famine in Judea:
“Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the
brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare
your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of
generosity [spirit of the law] and not as a grudging
obligation. But this I say: He who sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will
also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity;
for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:5–7).
The spirit of the law with respect to giving
includes the example of the widow’s mite.
“Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and
saw how the people put money into the treasury.
And many who were rich put in much. Then one
poor widow came and threw in two mites, which
make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to
Himself and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you
that this poor widow has put in more than all those
who have given to the treasury; for they all put in
out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty
put in all that she had, her whole livelihood’”
(Mark 12:41–44).
This tells us that giving is even sacrificial at
times, as is also shown in the case of the Macedonians who gave generously out of their poverty
(2 Corinthians 8:1–4).
Priorities and Sacrifice
The Spirit-led mind is going to consider all of
these matters and leave nothing undone.
What, then, are some of the consequences of
this belief?
• A setting of right priorities.
God comes first. He gives us everything and asks
for one tenth and offerings for His work. But in
return He blesses. A second consequence, then, is:
• Blessings are received according to the promise
and principle.
“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be food in My house, and try Me now in
One In Spirit
Let’s consider a sixth facet of the truth:
6. Marriage in the Church, and therefore the
dating that precedes it, is for those who are
like-minded.
What follows here addresses marriages
begun within the Church. It does not discuss those
marriages already existing at the conversion of
one of the mates. These marriages are governed
by principles such as those expounded in 1 Corinthians 7:12-–20.
Paul tells us that one aspect of marriage is a
great mystery that concerns Christ and the Church.
Let’s understand then that this facet of the truth
concerning godly marriage is of central importance for our relationship with Christ. Breaking into
the context of how converted husbands and wives
should relate to each other, Paul takes the discussion to a higher level: “For we are members of His
body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason
a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:30–32).
The great mystery concerns not the institution of marriage itself, but the spiritual meaning
behind becoming one flesh. As Adam and Eve
were to become one flesh, united in body and
mind, so the members of the Church become one
in spirit with Christ, united with Him. In Ephesians
5, this union with Christ in turn becomes the prototype for godly marriage.
It gives force to the truth that in a converted
marriage the wife becomes one with the husband,
and both are required to behave toward each other
Tithing and giving offerings is the way God
provided for the work of the Church in the
Old Testament and also in the New. It funds
that work externally and internally, as well as
members’ observance of the annual holy days
and the needs of the less fortunate among us.
in a Christ-like way. He cares for her well-being in
every sense, as if she were part of his own body, and
she is his partner in a respectful and reverential way
in response to that level of care and concern, understanding his role.
The conclusion takes us back to the main
point of the passage: “Nevertheless [now, in any
case] let each one of you [husbands] in particular
so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see
that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).
Incongruously Joined
What are some of the consequences of this facet
of the truth?
• With this view of marriage in mind, converted
men and women cannot become involved in relationships that lead to marriage with the unconverted. Why would they?
• Dating and marriage outside the Church create
an unequal yoke.
This is an image based in Scripture: “Do not
be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For
what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Recall what we read in Part One about the difference between the spirit-led mind and the normal
human mind. The Greek here means “mismated,”
“mismatched” or “incongruously joined.” While
this passage is broader in application than marriage
alone, the principle certainly applies.
It is stated in very plain language. The image
is, of course, of yoking two unmatched animals
together to pull or plow. The result is that they
do not work together well. The law had said not
to plow by harnessing an ox and a donkey (Deuteronomy 2:10). Such an arrangement is counterproductive.
In respect of entering such a mismatched
marriage, we may think that we can still handle the
differences. People in such cases will often claim
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 5
this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for
you the windows of heaven and pour out for you
such blessing that there will not be room enough
to receive it’” (Malachi 3:10).
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running
over will be put into your bosom. For with the same
measure that you use, it will be measured back to
you” (Luke 6:38).
This doesn’t mean that there will always be
an overflow of funds. Sacrifice is not sacrifice if it’s
immediately compensated.
More consequences:
• Our participation in God’s holy days, given for
our benefit, is fully funded.
• The care of those of God’s people who may be
less fortunate is provided for.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 6
Unity and godly behavior within the Church
have to be evident as a witness to God’s calling
and selection of His people, and the gift
of His Spirit to change lives.
that their case is the exception and try to rationalize
going ahead. They might say, “But my friend does
want to go the right way”; “they have shown interest in the Church”; “they have promised that I can
always keep the Sabbath”; etc. Then the years go
by and frictions may develop over children’s education, tithing, even Feast observance.
If we are being tempted to go in this direction,
we need to ask some who have had the experience
and hear what they have to say. I have asked this
question several times and the answer is mostly the
same: they would not recommend it.
To get a different angle, let’s take this discussion out of the marriage arena for a moment and
think about an unequal business partnership. The
non-Church partner may be a fine person with good
standards, but is not coming from the same perspective when it comes to Sabbath and holy day
observance, or even the handling of finances. Our
stand on these issues may one day cause problems.
Similarly, a non-Church partnership in marriage means that the non-member will always be in
second place and not know why. They will not fully
grasp that the member’s loyalty to God comes first.
This is difficult for the unconverted to understand. It
can lead to compromises to keep the non-member
happy. And then there are the potential problems
that arise with children, Sabbath attendance and
sports opportunities. This can even occur when the
partner is a member of one of the groups that have
emerged from the same Church in recent years.
Let’s think about forming marriage relationships with others who have a similar, but not the
same, Church of God background. What are they
party to when it comes to differing beliefs and practice? Do you want to set yourself up to be separate
from your husband or wife in order to keep the
Passover? Do you want to go to different Feast
sites? Where will your children receive their Church
education? Make no mistake: there are differences
in teaching, and this will lead to conflicts of greater
and lesser proportions.
When people get married, they need to do so
with the best possible chances of success. Pre-
marriage counseling is in part about recognizing and
reducing the areas of incompatibility. No two people
are 100 percent compatible. Marriage is about
learning to overcome the remaining incompatibilities. How much more difficult is it when there is compromised spiritual communication or none at all?
Paul’s instruction to converted widows is
instructive to all in the Church who are considering
marriage. “A wife is bound by law as long as her
husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the
Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).
This last phrase is very significant. It means
that a widow in the Church should marry only within
the same faith. Why, then, would the same rule not
apply to those marrying for the first time? The aim is
spiritual harmony, and marrying someone with the
same beliefs is the best way to achieve that goal.
Those who would marry someone of another
understanding are not putting their faith first. Neither are they showing godly love and outgoing concern, in that they are not considering the burden
that is being placed on the other person.
Finally, Paul’s instruction to the church at
Philippi is helpful: “Fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one
accord, of one mind” (Philippians 2:2).
Why would we aim for something less in the
most intimate of human relationships? Why not
begin with the best opportunity for success?
Unified in Belief and Practice
We now come to a seventh facet of the truth:
7. God does not have many churches: He has one
Church, unified in belief and practice.
We have covered this many times, so let me
begin in a different place. Here is a quote from a
letter I recently received from a former member
who is presumably still part of a Sabbath-keeping
group. He explains his view of the Church.
“Jesus never created a closed group or a religious institution. He was open to people with different understandings who, on following Him,
observed the Torah and became more and more
are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father,
keep through Your name those whom You have
given Me, that they may be one as We are” (John
17:6–11).
Further, on that same evening Jesus prayed
that the group of believers would expand in numbers beyond the first disciples.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for
those who will believe in Me through their word;
that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me,
and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that
the world may believe that You sent Me” (John
17:20–21).
Unity and godly behavior within the Church
have to be evident as a witness to God’s calling and
selection of His people, and the gift of His Spirit to
change lives.
The history of the early Church is that it was in
agreement and grew in unity.
“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the
mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered,
they went up into the upper room where they were
staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and
Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the
son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas
the son of James. These all continued with one
accord in prayer and supplication, with the women
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts 1:12–14).
Fundamental Agreement
When the Holy Spirit came it united them in belief
and practice.
“Then those who gladly received his word
were baptized; and that day about three thousand
souls were added to them. And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship,
in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts
2:41–42).
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians about
division in the Church, he made it clear that it was
ungodly and was not to be tolerated. He didn’t say,
“I understand you have different ideas about who
should lead, and that’s just fine for now.” Nor did he
condone different teachings within the Church. “To
the church of God [singular!] which is at Corinth, to
those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to
be saints, with all who in every place call on the
name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and
ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2).
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 7
like Him (but not immediately). The best example is
found among His own first disciples who had erroneous beliefs including false opinions about Him.
Most of them fled Him before His death and didn’t
believe in His resurrection!”
Now, there are several errors here, but the
idea that the early Church was not intended to be
a singular, organized body is a good place to start.
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I
say to you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on’”
(Luke 12:22).
This is the context of what Christ teaches
through verse 34, of which the following is a part:
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good
pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Jesus referred to His disciples as a small,
cohesive and supportive group. He knew what they
had accomplished over the years they had shared.
Despite their lack of understanding, and knowing
that conversion and the coming of the Holy Spirit
were still ahead of them, He said: “You are those
who have continued with Me in My trials. And I
bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father
bestowed one upon Me” (Luke 22:28–29).
He also said, “And I also say to you that you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18–19).
We also read, “And other sheep I have which
are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they
will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and
one shepherd” (John 10:16).
On the final Passover evening, Jesus prayed
to the Father about His disciples. Here He makes
clear that they are a small cohesive group, united by
God’s calling and Christ’s teaching.
“I have manifested Your name to the men
whom You have given Me out of the world. They
were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have
kept Your word. Now they have known that all
things which You have given Me are from You.
For I have given to them the words which You have
given Me; and they have received them, and have
known surely that I came forth from You; and they
have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for those whom You
have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are
Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in
them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these
The history of the
early Church is that
it was in agreement
and grew in unity.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 8
thing, and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment. For it has
been declared to me concerning you, my brethren,
by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you
says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of
Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was
Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the
name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10–13).
This could not be any clearer! It’s a passage
that says the opposite of what those who want to
maintain contact after division say. There is to be
no division, and division is the very ground on
which we should not have contact. This is why Paul
told the Romans to avoid such people. It’s also a
passage that once more shows the reason that
God’s people are unified—their calling, belief,
practice, destiny.
“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who
cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those
who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ,
but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple”
(Romans 16:17–18).
And of course this is the pattern of teaching
that Paul followed in all his epistles, and the
pattern of behavior that he expected from the
brethren in all places. He spoke the same things
to one Church made up of congregations in
fundamental agreement.
Members of One Another
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you [he is writing to the
congregation(s) in Rome], not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think
soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of
faith. For as we have many members in one body,
but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and individually members of one another”
(Romans 12:3–5).
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one
Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether
Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have
all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the
body is not one member but many” (1Corinthians
12:12–14).
“For this reason I have sent Timothy to you,
who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who
will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach
everywhere in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:17).
Clearly, Paul was able to teach the same thing
across all the congregations in his care. Of course
he also sought to be at one with the elders at Jerusalem. In the first letter to the Corinthians about
many diverse problems and activities, we also find
this comment: “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the
saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33).
So we have clear scriptural instruction about
the oneness of the Church and about our behavior
within it.
The consequences of this seventh facet
should be clear:
• The Church is not scattered in many directions.
• It is not disorganized.
• It is identifiable and unified under Christ.
• It teaches the same doctrine in all its
congregations.
• We should want to be with like-minded brethren.
We have examined seven foundational
aspects of the truth that has been revealed to us—
this precious jewel with many facets. But we’ve
explored only some of the whole. There will be
much more to consider as we continue to seek
God’s mind. In the meantime, it’s helpful to recall
these foundational truths as we go about our daily
lives—keeping our eyes on the long-term goal,
remembering that there are always consequences
to what we believe.
DAVID HULME
[email protected]
Have you ever noticed how
many times the number seven
occurs in relation to God’s feast
days? In Leviticus 23, to which we
often refer when reading about God’s
feasts, it comes up 18 times: “the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest”
(verse 3); “for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread” (verse 6); “you shall present a food
offering to the Lord for seven days”, “on the seventh day is a holy convocation” (verse 8), and so on.
In addition to all of these mentions of the number,
when we count the annual holy days, we find that there
are seven of those as well. A significant mention of “sevens”
within this chapter occurs in relation to the seventh month
(see Leviticus 23:24, 27, 34, 39, 41). The Day of Trumpets, the Day
of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles (which happens to be
seven days long), and the Last Great Day all occur within the seventh
month—more feasts than any other month.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 9
Sevens & God’s Feasts
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 10
And beyond counting, have you ever
thought about the significance of the number
seven in relation to God’s feast days? Four separate festivals in the seventh month, two seven-day
long feasts, a holy feast day every seven days
throughout the entire year, and so on. This number
is very closely attached to God’s festivals in many
different ways. One cannot go very far in understanding God’s feasts without finding the number
seven—many times over. Why is this? What does
God intend for us to learn by relating this number
so many times to His festivals, and especially
within the feasts of the seventh month?
First, we need to understand a significant
aspect about the number seven from the Bible.
This can be discovered in a place seemingly unrelated to the Feast days: the story of Abraham and
Abimelech in Genesis 21.
Well of the Oath
“At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, ‘God is with
you in all that you do. Now therefore swear to me
here by God that you will not deal falsely with me
or with my descendants or with my posterity, but
as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with
me and with the land where you have sojourned.’
And Abraham said, ‘I will swear’” (Genesis 21:22–
24, English Standard Version throughout). Abraham entered into a treaty with the Philistine king
Abimelech. The two of them promised to be kind
to one another, and to each other’s descendants,
for as long as they were living near one another.
However, Abraham was not sure that
Abimelech could be trusted, because Abimelech’s
servants had taken over a well Abraham had
originally dug, which rightfully belonged to
Abraham: “When Abraham reproved Abimelech
about a well of water that Abimelech’s servants
had seized, Abimelech said, ‘I do not know who
has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have
not heard of it until today’” (Genesis 21:25–26).
Abimelech denied knowledge of this theft. How
could Abraham resolve this matter?
To settle this contention after the formal
agreement (Genesis 21:27), he separated seven
additional lambs, beyond what was already given
as the regular part of making a covenant (Genesis
21:28).
Abimelech didn’t understand: “Abimelech
said to Abraham, ‘What is the meaning of these
seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?’” (Genesis 21:29).
Abraham explained, “‘These seven ewe
lambs you will take from my hand, that this may be
a witness for me that I dug this well.’ Therefore
that place was called Beersheba, because there
both of them swore an oath” (Genesis 21:30–31).
Abraham and Abimelech resolved their dispute over the well. But then God inspired the
author of Genesis to make an interesting comment about the name of the place. “Therefore he
called that place Beersheba, because the two of
them swore an oath there. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba” (Genesis 21:31–32).
The place was named “Beersheba,” which
literally means “the Well of Seven”: Beer means
“well”, “pit”, or “spring” in Hebrew, and sheba literally means “seven.”
It would appear that the “seven” came from
Abraham giving Abimelech seven lambs. But in
explaining why the place was named “Beersheba”
—“the Well of Seven”—God doesn’t refer to the
number of lambs. Rather, He says, it’s “because
the two of them swore an oath.” Swearing of oaths
does not require seven lambs—or seven of any
item. So what is the relationship between the given
explanation, and the name of the well? The key can
be discovered in the Hebrew word for “swearing an
oath,” which can be transliterated as shabah. Peering behind the English into the Hebrew, Genesis
21:31 could be rendered as saying, “The place was
named Beersheba, because there the two of them
shabah (swore an oath).”
The similarity in the sounds of those words is
not merely a coincidence. In Hebrew, the word for
swearing an oath—shabah—is derived from
sheba, the word for “seven.” That’s why Abraham
chose to give seven lambs. It wasn’t just a random
number. The number was very symbolic, and not
just because they sound similar. It’s more than just
poetic; they are etymologically related.
To swear an oath is to complete
the doing of it, but the ability to control
what gets completed does not belong to us;
rather, it belongs solely to God. This is why
ideally, only God should be swearing oaths,
and we humans should not.
If people swore an oath, they “sevened”
themselves (seven being considered the
number of completion), and therefore they
could be considered as having completed it.
As Good As Done
Some clues may be found within Psalm 110.
This psalm speaks much about Jesus Christ, and
especially about the time when He will rule over the
whole earth as King and Priest—at the time that the
meaning of the Feasts of the seventh month of
God’s calendar will be fulfilled. Within this context,
notice in particular Psalm 110:4. “The Lord has
sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.’”
Remember, to swear something is the same
as completing it. And though humans may swear
to something but then never do it, God can and
will complete everything He has sworn to do—He
never lies. Therefore, when God says that He will
do something, it is as good as done!
God has sworn an oath that Christ will rule
over all the nations of the world; so in God’s mind,
it’s done. We can’t see it yet, but it will be happening. It is certain. God swore an oath—He “sevened
Himself”—so in His mind, from His timeless and
eternal perspective, it is already completed.
This is the symbolism that the number seven
provides for us, especially as it relates to the feasts
of the seventh month. Indeed, the Hebrew word
translated “sworn” here in verse 4 of Psalms 110,
is shabah—the same word mentioned in Genesis
21:30; the one that is closely tied to the word for
“seven.” God has “sevened” Himself and will not
change His mind; Jesus the Messiah will rule as
King and Priest over the entire world, for all of
eternity. It is certain. God has sworn it; therefore,
God completes it.
That Which He Will Do
But we humans often have trouble seeing
things like this. We don’t see Christ ruling, now.
The symbolism pictured by the feast days of the
seventh month is not now visible to our physical
eyes and minds: Jesus has not yet returned.
Satan has not yet been put away. God’s kingdom
does not yet rule over the earth. All of existence
is not yet in harmony with its Creator. In God’s
mind, however, these are already completed, in
a sense—because He has sworn that He will bring
it about. God has said that it will happen; therefore, it will happen. Nothing could be more certain, or more relied upon.
What God’s feasts picture could not be more
real. The physical things that fill our lives day by
day are not real at all, in the ultimate sense. Sure,
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 11
Number of Completion
The Hebrew shabah literally means “to seven oneself”—that is, to repeat a declaration seven times.
The idea was that if someone said something seven
times over, it was seen as being the same as completing it. If someone “sevened” themselves—
that is, if they “shabah”—then they for all intents
and purposes could be considered as to have
done it. The swearing of an oath was seen as functionally equivalent to actually completing the task.
To have something be “sevened” was to have it
be complete.
If people swore an oath, they “sevened”
themselves (seven being considered the number
of completion), and therefore they could be considered as having completed it.
The relationship between seven and completion also appears is Genesis 2, when the Creation was being completed. “Thus the heavens
and the earth were finished [or completed], and all
the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished [completed] his work that he had done, and
he rested on the seventh day from all his work that
he had done” (Genesis 2:1–2). Completion
occurred on the seventh day.
So we see that there is a strong relationship
between the number seven and the concept of
completion. What does this have to do with all of
the occurrences we see of this number around
God’s feasts?
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 12
they are there, but when compared spiritually to
what God’s seven festivals picture, none of it is
really real. This temporary world is not where our
minds should be focused. Our minds should
instead be focused on the things attached to and
symbolized by the number seven: the events that
God has sworn that He will do; the events that are
well on their way to being completed; the events
that cannot be stopped from happening. These
are the events pictured by the feasts in the seventh
month, the seven-day-long feasts, the seven
annual holy days, the weekly seventh-day Sabbath,
and the seven annual feasts of God.
The events associated with the number
seven are involved with what God has promised to
do; therefore, even if we do not yet see them, we
can rely upon them just as surely as we could rely
upon something that has already been completed.
That is how certain they are. There is no reason to
doubt. We are to firmly catch the vision that keeping these seven festivals provide. We are to learn
what God is teaching us. We are to fully see the
true reality: the completion of events that God is
bringing about, pictured by these days.
It Is Certain
God has sworn an oath. He has “sevened”
Himself. It is therefore certain. God will resurrect
and change to spirit everyone who has served Him
faithfully in this life, from every point in time. It is
certain. God will take over this world so that
humanity will no longer oppose Him nor will they
hurt one another. It is certain. All of God’s people
throughout history will become united with Him
and be a part of His family, and will rule together
with Christ as kings and priests and as fellow children of God. It is certain. Satan will eventually be
put away and not be allowed to deceive the whole
world anymore. It is certain. All humanity will be
offered forgiveness and repentance, and finally
have the opportunity for a right relationship with
their Eternal Father. It is certain. The kingdom of
God will rule over this earth; promoting peace, justice, happiness, and abundance to every single
individual. It is certain. Eventually, all humans who
have ever lived will be raised to life once again and
will be given the opportunity to live in eternal unity
with God. It is certain. And finally, all of existence
will be totally and completely in perfect and absolute harmony with the Eternal Creator God, forever. It is certain.
All of these things are completely certain,
and can be totally relied on in our temporary
sojourn in this world. Because God has promised
them and “sevened” them, nothing can be relied
on more completely. The profound symbolism of
the number seven is associated with God’s plan,
and has an inclusion in God’s feasts, especially the
ones picturing times in the future within the seventh month. The number seven is connected to
God’s holy day calendar because God will complete His work. He has sworn it. He has “sevened”
Himself. It is therefore certain!
BRIAN D. WALSH
Why is there always a bad guy in a story?
The answer is that without some challenge, the hero of the story doesn’t have
anything to do, nothing to change or
overcome. This goes for true stories as
well, not just fiction. The Bible is filled
with admirable examples of godly
people who have risen to the challenges
they faced in their lives, but there are
also many examples of biblical “bad
guys.” By studying these examples—
seeing what drove them, where they
went wrong—we can learn about them,
and also about ourselves.
A villain is defined as a wicked or
evil person, who does evil deliberately;
or the principal bad character in a film or
work of fiction. Some authors, though,
actively shy away from this stereotype,
seeing only people with problems,
struggling to solve them, driven by
something not unlike the things that
drive a hero. He or she could be anyone.
Each of us is capable of villainy. Let’s
look at a few examples.
Ahab and Jezebel
In 1 Kings 16 we read of Ahab, who is
listed as one of the worst kings Israel
ever had, doing more evil than all who
were before him. It could be argued that
his father had been a bad influence, but
what really made him turn a corner was
his wife, Jezebel, daughter of the king of
the Sidonians. We find an interesting
parenthetical statement: “There had
never been anyone like Ahab, who was
firmly committed to doing evil in the
sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife
Jezebel” (1 Kings 21:25, NET Bible
throughout unless noted).
She incited her husband—triggered his wrongdoing. Jezebel made
it her mission to destroy the worship
of God by killing the Lord’s prophets
(1 Kings 18:3–4). In addition, she sponsored the worship of false gods—Baal
and Asherah—by providing for their
support (1 Kings 18:19). Later, we read of
Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter, Athaliah,
marrying into the line of the southern
kingdom. She caused the same kind of
wreckage there as her parents had in
the northern kingdom (2 Kings 11). The
impact Jezebel had on those around
her was awful. She hated Elijah—after
his success against her priests of Baal at
Mt. Carmel, she swore an oath to kill
him. We know the outcome of the story:
Elijah is one of the great men of the
Bible, he is never defeated, he can perform mighty miracles—what does he
have to worry about (1 Kings 19:1–4)?
The threat she made was apparently
severe enough that Elijah ran. In the
end, though, Jezebel died horrifically
(2 Kings 9:30–37).
Ahab’s death was also as Elijah
had indicated it would be—not an auspicious one (1 Kings 22:34–38). Like any
king of Israel, Ahab had the opportunity
to turn to God and not fall under the
influence of his wicked wife. Elijah
warned him over and over about the
results that his actions would have.
Sometimes the villain is obvious,
but sometimes the worst villain is the
one behind that villain. Often, as in the
case of Ahab, one can’t see the true
impact of a wicked influence until it is
too late.
Potiphar’s Wife
Sometimes the villain is someone very
close to you, whom you might not
immediately recognize as a villain.
We know the story of Joseph, and
we may think first of his brothers as the
bad guys—they certainly acted out of
envy and malice when they sold Joseph
into slavery. However, let’s focus on
Potiphar’s wife. Her villainy was of a particularly notorious kind, and it can teach
us a lesson about evil desires.
“So Potiphar left everything he had
in Joseph’s care; he gave no thought to
anything except the food he ate. Now
Joseph was well built and good-looking.
Soon after these things, his master’s wife
took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Have
sex with me’” (Genesis 39:6–7).
Sexual desire is a feature of human
life—God made it so. Its purpose is to
bind a husband and wife together in the
closest of human relationships. It joins
minds together in a very special way
(Genesis 2:23–25; Mark 10:6–9); this is the
point of making male and female. What
God joins together is good and
worthwhile—fulfilling a deep purpose.
Potiphar’s wife sought something else—
not the deep, intimate connection of a
committed relationship, but its
facsimile—a false, fleeting connection,
based only on lust. Joseph’s response
shows that he knew God’s instruction on
the matter.
Joseph knew Potiphar had withheld his wife from him; but not only that,
this would be sin—violating the commandment against adultery. God had
blessed Joseph with a secure, trusted
position, and he respected that. Potiphar’s wife, though, was trying to use
her position of power to take advantage
of Joseph. He knew the limits of his
responsibilities, but she wanted him to
violate the position of trust he’d been
given. How many times did she ask,
offer, cajole?
It seems something was the final
straw for her, because the false accusation she tells her husband is designed to
direct the guilt away from herself and
place all the blame on Joseph. Maybe
she only wanted Joseph punished so
that afterward he might be more malleable to her wishes, once he had seen
the power she could wield (Genesis
39:8–20). She calls Joseph a mere
slave—a worthless nothing who tried to
take advantage of her. She also seems
to blame her husband for the incident:
It’s your fault; you brought him here.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 13
Villains and Villainy
When we suffer some injustice,
the task for us is to not become
bitter due to the experience.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 14
The incident with Potiphar’s wife
surely taught Joseph a number of hard
lessons. Though he was innocent, he suffered in prison for several years. There is
nothing in the story to indicate Joseph
had done anything wrong, but the false
accusation of Potiphar’s wife was enough
to convict him. Sometimes, as in the case
of Potiphar’s wife, the villain may be very
close by—someone you don’t expect to
be a villain.
Pontius Pilate
In Luke 3:1 we are introduced to Pontius
Pilate, the governor of Judea for 10
years. What kind of a man was he? What
did he do in those years? He was a
brutal ruler (Luke 13:1), who eventually
was cruel enough, even by harsh Roman
standards, to warrant his removal from
office. Some more character background—he was unapologetic, unwilling to change his edicts: “Pilate also
wrote an inscription and put it on the
cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the
King of the Jews.’ . . . So the chief priests
of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write,
“The King of the Jews,” but rather, “This
man said, I am King of the Jews.”’ Pilate
answered, ‘What I have written I have
written’” (John 19:19, 21–22, English
Standard Version).
Pilate didn’t care that the sign was
offensive to the Jews. He was in control
and would remain so. He may have left
the sign as it was to spite the Jews who
had goaded him to crucify Jesus. He
didn’t really care who Jesus was, either.
When he questions Jesus, Pilate doesn’t
find anything in what He says to be
worthy of death. Pilate’s wife tries to
convince him not to make the mistake
of getting involved with this treachery
(Matthew 27:15–19), and perhaps her
words had some effect: “A third time he
said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he
done? I have found in him no guilt
deserving death. I will therefore punish
and release him’” (Luke 23:22, ESV).
Why punish an innocent man?
What was Jesus being punished for? It
didn’t matter.
“And Herod and Pilate became
friends with each other that very day, for
before this they had been at enmity with
each other” (Luke 23:12, ESV).
This is Herod the Tetrarch, son of
Herod the Great. What kind of a man was
he? Horrible, brutal, just like his father.
He beheaded John the Baptist at his
wife’s request. What would it take to be
Herod’s friend? It wouldn’t be a proud
moment for him to call you his friend.
Pilate knew the Jews had accused
Jesus out of envy (Matthew 27:18). When
Pilate sought to release Jesus, the Jews
threatened Pilate by claiming that he
wouldn’t be Caesar’s friend if he let Jesus
go (John 19:12–16). At this point Pilate
decided to crucify Jesus, not because he
believed Jesus was guilty of anything,
but out of fear for his own position and
standing with the emperor. In order to
protect himself from the possibility of a
charge of treason, Pilate was willing to
condemn an innocent man to an excruciating death.
Sometimes the villain is hardhearted and doesn’t care about the sufferings of others—perhaps simply
caught up in the wheels of whatever
process is in motion, and truth or right
does not matter. When we suffer some
injustice, the task for us is to not
become bitter due to the experience.
Laban
Jacob, as we know, was the secondborn of Isaac, and his brother Esau
would have been a hard act to follow—
the better hunter, the older of the twins,
the stronger, the more loved by his
father (Genesis 25:27–28). Jacob would
have grown up understanding the bless-
ing that God had promised his father,
the stories of Abraham’s life and his
dealings with God, from his father,
Isaac. Jacob knew what the blessings of
the birthright entailed, and he apparently wanted to ensure he got them, no
matter what it took.
First Jacob connived to get Esau
to sell the birthright to him for a mere
bowl of food. Years earlier Rebecca had
gone to God to find out why her pregnancy was so difficult (Genesis 25:22–
23). She was told the older was destined
to serve the younger. Therefore, when
she overheard Isaac telling Esau to bring
him a meal of savory game so that he
would bless him, Rebekah conspired
with Jacob to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob rather than his brother. The
scheme worked, but it led to Esau
threatening to kill Jacob. Rebekah then
urged Isaac to send Jacob off to her
family (Genesis 27:1–28:2). This is where
the trickster meets his match.
Laban was Rebecca’s brother, and
Laban had more in common with Jacob
than Jacob could likely appreciate at
first. The trickster found himself tricked.
After 20 years of working for his uncle,
though, Jacob had learned a few
things—not tricks to get his way, necessarily, but to rely on God to provide him
justice. Genesis 31 tells the story.
Jacob wasn’t a bad guy, but he
did some dishonorable things. The
wound he dealt his brother was apparently serious enough that, many years
later, he was still afraid that Esau might
kill him on sight.
“Then Jacob prayed, ‘O God of
my father Abraham, God of my father
Isaac, O Lord, you said to me, “Return
to your land and to your relatives and I
will make you prosper.” I am not worthy
of all the faithful love you have shown
your servant. With only my walking stick
I crossed the Jordan, but now I have
become two camps. Rescue me, I pray,
from the hand of my brother Esau, for I
am afraid he will come and attack me, as
well as the mothers with their children’”
(Genesis 32:9–11).
Jacob, true to his name’s meaning,
“supplanter,” lived the life of a trickster,
scheming and taking what he wanted—
even though God had already indicated
the blessings would come to him. He
learned his lesson, though, at the hands
David and Bathsheba
When the prophet Nathan came
to tell David a story about a rich man
who stole a lamb from a poor man, it
was a turning point for David: “Then
David became very angry at this man.
He said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord
lives, the man who did this deserves to
die! Because he committed this coldhearted crime, he must pay for the lamb
four times over!’ Nathan said to David,
‘You are that man! . . . Why have you
shown contempt for the word of the
Lord by doing evil in my sight? You have
struck down Uriah the Hittite with the
sword and you have taken his wife as
your own! You have killed him with the
sword of the Ammonites. . . .’ Then
David exclaimed to Nathan, ‘I have
sinned against the Lord! . . .’” (2 Samuel
12:5–7, 9, 13).
David does not fight, does not justify himself, but simply acts to recognize
his sin, admit his villainy and seek forgiveness. David’s reaction to being confronted with his sin was the right
one—he goes to God for forgiveness.
We read in more detail in Psalm 51: “For
the music director; a psalm of David,
written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with
Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your loyal love! Because of
your great compassion, wipe away my
rebellious acts! Wash away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin! For I am
aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever
conscious of my sin” (Psalm 51:1–3).
Sometimes the villain is you.
Learn to See the Villain
What are we to think of villains like
these? What do we do when we are
faced with villains in our own lives?
We find a clue in the story of Jezebel,
when she schemes to have Naboth
killed so that Ahab can take his vineyard;
she bribes two men to give false witness: “Also seat two villains opposite
him and have them testify, ‘You cursed
God and the king.’ Then take him out
and stone him to death” (1 Kings 21:10).
Your Bible may say “wicked” or
“worthless men” instead of “villains.”
Are such people, such villains, truly
worthless? How do we relate this
description of them as truly wicked
with Jesus’ comments in the Sermon
on the Mount?
In addressing the spiritual application to the command against murder,
Jesus warns us to not condemn others
as worthless. “You have heard that it
was said to an older generation, ‘Do not
murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be
subjected to judgment.’ But I say to you
that anyone who is angry with a brother
will be subjected to judgment. And
whoever insults a brother will be
brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell”
(Matthew 5:21–22).
Verse 22 indicates that if we are
angry—the Greek indicates wrathful,
furious, full of anger—this results in
judgment. In the second clause—if we
insult someone, we will be brought up
on serious charges—the insult here is a
little more serious: in Aramaic Raca—
“one who is totally lacking in understanding.” Here we start to get an
inclination of someone worthless.
The third repetition, calling someone “fool,” is serious, and bears a serious penalty. Fool is a relatively light
term in our culture—what this really
means is that we have judged someone
as worthless; a condemnation of the
whole personality.
We are not to call anyone worthless. We are not in a position to condemn even a villain as worthless. God
sees worth in every human life. Only
God Himself knows how to weigh the
heart of a man. And if a villain repents,
we must forgive just as God forgives
when there is a change of heart. Forgiveness is based upon repentance.
Even if the villain repents, however, every villainous act will have its
physical consequences. Only God can
change or heal those. We, like Jacob,
must learn to trust in God to work out
the villainy that we will inevitably suffer.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the church
in Rome, we are not to seek revenge:
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves,
but rather give place to wrath; for it is
written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will
repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19,
emphasis added).
If we are wise and observant, we
can learn to see both the obvious villain, and the not-so-obvious one, the
villain behind the obvious villainy—the
influencer, the real reason for evil in
this world.
Sometimes the villain seeks us out
particularly; other times, he really
doesn’t care—the wheels of villainy will
just keep rolling as long as Satan is in
control of the world.
Sometimes the villain is very
much like us. If we have been villainous
ourselves, we might expect to get a bit
of our own medicine back, and we will
hopefully be the wiser for the experience. We can all be villains from time to
time. Our task is to overcome the villainous tendencies and learn to live as
God desires.
We need to be able to recognize
villainy for what it is and to understand
how to best resist its influence. Villains
are not worthless, but like each of us at
times, villains are simply deceived or
under a wrong influence.
MARK HULME
[email protected]
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 15
of his uncle, a bigger cheat than Jacob.
In the end, Jacob learned to rely on God,
not his own clever schemes: “If the God
of my father—the God of Abraham, the
one whom Isaac fears—had not been
with me, you [Laban] would certainly
have sent me away empty-handed! But
God saw how I was oppressed and how
hard I worked, and he rebuked you last
night” (Genesis 31:42).
Sometimes the villain is just like
you. Sometimes God uses the villain to
teach you a lesson about yourself.
Don’t Blame Me,
It Wasn’t MY Fault!
H
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 16
ow often have we heard or even said those
words when something bad happens? It’s a
natural reaction—none of us likes to be wrong or
be liable for anything negative. Typically we quickly
search for ways to explain and justify failure or setback by placing blame on something or someone
else before we ever think to put the blame on ourselves. It’s a trait most people struggle with—but it’s
not a quality any Christian should have.
We May Have a Problem
When we are first called into God’s Church it’s a very
exciting yet sobering time. We are enthusiastically
embracing our calling and eagerly recognize many
things in our life that need to change. It is something most of us take very seriously during those
early days, and we work hard to make changes in
order to become a better person.
As the years go by and the newness of our initial calling wears off, we may fall back into a few
worldly habits. Bombarded by the examples we see
daily in society, it’s easy for carnal human nature to
take over and pull us back into sins we may have initially overcome. After a while, we might find it
easier to harden our hearts and justify the sin in our
minds, minimizing its severity or blaming it on
someone else or a set of circumstances supposedly
out of our control.
In reality, any time we have to convince or
justify something to ourselves, it’s a good indicator
that something is usually wrong. It’s a line of thinking that only works against us when we should be
admitting fault and taking responsibility for our
actions.
In Galatians 6:4–5, the apostle Paul writes,
“But let each one test his own work, and then his
reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in
his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own
load” (English Standard Version). When we take
sole responsibility for our actions, it is something we
can and should be proud of. It shows humility, maturity and growth in our calling.
No Excuses!
Admitting our need to change is hard, but
actually changing who we are is even harder. Unfortunately today’s society does not make this any
easier. The message we typically hear is one that
offers excuses for our shortcomings—who we are
and what we have done is not our fault, but rather
Accepting Responsibility
Here Peter says: “Men of Israel, hear these words:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God
with mighty works and wonders and signs that God
did through him in your midst, as you yourselves
know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. . . . Now
when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and
said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers,
what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:22–23, 37, ESV).
Those hearing this sermon could have simply
denied their personal responsibility for Christ’s
death. They could have redirected the blame onto
the Jewish leaders who hated Christ, or even the
Roman government that actually carried out His
execution. After all, they weren’t the ones who
viciously beat Christ or nailed Him to the stake.
They didn’t drive the spear into His side. Rather,
miraculously, their reaction was not to place the
blame on others; instead they admitted their
involvement, took responsibility for it and asked the
apostle Peter what they needed to do to change.
A Tale of Two Kings
We have examples of both ways of dealing with
such situations in stories of Saul and David, who
each had to be rebuked by God’s prophets for their
sins. Their different responses to being confronted
with their guilt led to two very different outcomes.
The response of Saul was to declare his innocence and to blame the people—people for whom
he was responsible as their leader: “And Saul said
to Samuel, ‘But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord
. . . but the people took of the plunder’” (1 Samuel
15:20–21). Ultimately, Samuel had to tell Saul, “The
Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel”
(1 Samuel 15:26).
When God sent Nathan to rebuke David for
committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing her
husband, David’s response was, “I have sinned
against the Lord.” Nathan the prophet responded
by telling David, “The Lord also has put away your
sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). Psalm 51,
written after Nathan came to David, shows the
depth of David’s recognition of his sin: “For I
acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is
always before me” (Psalm 51:3, ESV). Though
David’s sin was grievous, he was forgiven and he
will be a ruler in God’s kingdom, as recorded by
the prophet Ezekiel: “And I, the Lord, will be their
God, and My servant David a prince among them;
I, the Lord, have spoken” (Ezekiel 34:24).
Prayerful Commitment to Change
Our calling is to a life of accountability. True conversion starts with self-examination and the admission
of wrongdoing in thought and behavior. Once we
can truly accept this, humble ourselves and honestly
tell God we are committed to change, He will help
us overcome.
Admitting something is our fault when we
have made a mistake is a difficult thing to do. It
goes against our human nature and our pride, and
makes us feel vulnerable to correction. Despite
those things, we have to realize it is something that
is essential for our spiritual growth.
We can be thankful that God is always willing
to help us overcome these negative human qualities—as long as we are honest and really want to
change. It’s simply a matter of recognizing we have
a problem and making a serious commitment in
prayer to change.
So the next time something bad happens and
we are involved, there is only one reaction we
should have: Yes, it was my fault.
PETER FELTEN
[email protected]
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 17
a reflection of how we were raised or the influences in our environment. Although it’s true that
such negative influences can have a real effect,
the focus of society’s message is to embrace who
we are and lay blame on factors other than ourselves for our actions.
For those who have been called by God, however, this type of thinking is not an option. It’s not an
excuse or crutch we should use. God expects us to
follow His ways and disassociate ourselves from this
world’s way of thinking. His hope is that we will seek
out our shortcomings, take full responsibility for
them and use the power of His Spirit to change.
A good example of this is the apostle Peter’s
sermon on the Pentecost after Christ had ascended
to heaven. Peter was given an opportunity to
preach to a crowd of observant Jews in Jerusalem.
From his message it’s obvious that many of the
people there were part of the crowd that had been
involved in the support of Christ’s crucifixion.
BIOGRAPHY
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 18
Carol Johnson
Carol Fansher began her life at Longview Farm,
known as “the world’s most beautiful farm,” in Lee’s
Summit, Missouri, on August 19, 1923. Ten years
later, she moved with her parents to another showplace, nearby Hallmark Farm (owned by J. C. Hall
of Hallmark Cards), where her father continued his
work as a well-respected Jersey cattle specialist,
breeder, judge and speaker, managing the awardwinning herd and the farm. Carol went to school
in a one-room schoolhouse for a while, and had
opportunities to travel to California and north along
the West Coast with her mother and aunt by automobile in 1929 (while her father sailed to Jersey to
acquire cattle), to travel around the country by train
with J. C. Penney and the dairy herd, to visit the
New York World’s Fair with her parents in 1939, and
later made news as a female cattle judge—most
unusual for the time.
Carol met her future husband, Robert Ruxton,
just as World War II was beginning. While she was
singing in the choir at the Methodist church they
both attended in Kansas City, she saw him on the
front row and decided to ask him to a picnic at her
parents’ home. But Bob, who had just earned a
degree in Mechanical Engineering and joined the
Army Air Forces, was soon sent to Europe. In the
meantime, Carol continued her education at Kansas
State University (then College) in Manhattan, then
moved to Dallas, Texas, to work at Braniff Airlines.
She waited anxiously for news as he flew the skies
over Europe, and landed on the beaches of Nor-
mandy two days after D-Day. After his safe return,
they were married on August 4, 1946. Carol worked
at various jobs, including Black & Veatch Engineering, Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, Fluor Corporation,
checking crystals with an oscilloscope, and cooking
for the American Legion, until their son Gary was
born in 1954. Bob had been working at Linde Air
Products while earning two more degrees (in business administration and engineering), then began
a new job involving classified, top-secret work at
Bendix Aviation Corporation.
Bob started listening to the World Tomorrow
program, thinking it was a science fiction program
at first. He shared it with Carol, and they soon realized it was much more real and much more important than any fiction. There were no ministers
nearby, so they wrote to the Pasadena headquarters for Church literature and devoured it. One time,
their son Gary was seriously ill, and they feared he
would die. Bob called Pasadena for an anointed
cloth. As soon as he hung up the phone, Gary’s
fever broke, and he recovered completely. After
meeting with several ministers on a baptizing tour,
they were baptized in St. Louis, Missouri, in August
1957. Two years later, they sold their home, left their
extended families and most of their belongings,
packed the rest into their Jeep and a trailer, and
moved to Pasadena, California, where Bob
attended Ambassador College. They lived on
campus for a while, on the corner of Del Mar and
Orange Grove Blvd. Although Carol was not a fulltime student, she took some classes and enjoyed
helping out in different ways, including hostessing,
and testing recipes for unleavened bread with her
neighbors Mrs. Isabel Hoeh and Mrs. Loma Armstrong. Soon they settled in their own home in
nearby La Cañada, where daughter Alice was born.
While he was a student, Bob assisted with
Facilities Management, and helped in designing,
coordinating and engineering the stream, fountains
and landscape architecture; planning the overall
design and layout; and remodeling buildings on
the expanding Pasadena campus. With plans for
another campus in Big Sandy, Texas, Bob was sent
there to lay groundwork (he was the first A.C. student to study there) while Carol and the family
stayed in California. After he graduated with his
fourth degree, the family relocated to Big Sandy,
where Bob assisted with counseling and visiting
members, and worked as Director, and Supervisor
of Buildings and Grounds of the campus. Carol set
up house as he laid out Faculty Row, the airstrip,
the lower dam, the campgrounds in the Piney
received a plaque posthumously commemorating
Walter’s 25 years of service to the Church, and a
gold watch for her service at the side of both her
first husband and then her second husband over
the decades. She remained in Redding for seven
more years, serving as hostess for church meetings
and activities, and winning more awards for her
home arts at the local county fair.
In 1998 she moved to Southern California
to live with her daughter and her family. In addition
to a son, a daughter and two stepsons, Carol’s
extended family includes a son-in-law, two
daughters-in-law, seven grandchildren (and their
spouses), and four great-grandchildren.
Carol has always loved travelling with friends,
and has visited many different Feast sites throughout the US (including Alaska and Hawaii), and in
Canada, Australia, England, and Wales, making
new friends and memories along the way. Throughout her 93 years, she has seen God’s hand guiding
her, with healings of serious ailments and untold
blessings for her and her family. She recalls times
when she needed help and was overwhelmed by
the prayers and selfless concern of members with
their outpourings of help. “With all the ups and
downs, everything has eventually just fallen into
place along the way,” she says, recalling many
“coincidences” and perfect timing of events
throughout her life.
Today, she attends the Pasadena, California,
congregation with her daughter (Alice) and sonin-law (Duane Abler) and their extended family.
For several months this year, she was ill and had
to stay home, missing Passover and holy day services for the first time since the 1950s. Carol says
this experience gave her more empathy and time
to pray for those in need, but is delighted to be well
enough to attend services again—and is looking
forward to entering her seventh decade as a baptized member of God’s Church.
ALICE ABLER
[email protected]
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 19
Woods, wells, roads—whatever required design
and engineering. Carol loved the opportunities for
family activities there—boating and swimming at
Lake Loma, riding motorcycles and scooters, flying
from the airstrip. As the campus began to form on
the raw Texas land, Bob oversaw the construction
of the first buildings. He had just begun working on
the construction of the World Tomorrow recording
studio when he was killed in a car accident on May
14, 1965.
Carol and her two young children continued
to live in their home on the Texas campus for a few
years. One night she kept spilling her beverage,
and wondered why. She looked on the floor, and
there was a rattlesnake in the house, coiled and
ready to strike. Carol killed the poisonous snake
with a fireplace tool, then heartily thanked God for
His protection and guidance.
She made news again when she won the
grand prize for her yam pie at the Gilmore, Texas,
“Yamboree” festival. It was the first time a nonnative Texan had won the famous pie contest.
Carol married Walter Johnson, a widower
with two sons (Doug and Dave), and the blended
family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Walter was
soon ordained an elder, and in 1968 the family was
sent to Vancouver, Canada. With a background in
finance, Walter worked in the Church office, served
as an elder in the nearby congregations, and was
often sent to the larger Feast sites where he served
as business manager and in other roles. At a time
when wives and mothers were expected to stay
home and not be employed outside the home,
Carol was his able assistant, hostessing, helping
with counseling and visits, and rising to the new
challenge of cooking with local moose, salmon,
pheasant, fiddleheads and huckleberries. She regularly entered baked and canned goods in the
Pacific National Exhibition, nearly always winning
first place ribbons.
In 1980, they were transferred to Waco and
Austin, Texas, where Walter served as an associate
pastor for eight years. Carol has fond memories of
hosting guests, meetings, Spokesman Club, and
socials for the congregation at their house.
Eight years later, they were transferred to Redding, California, where Walter served as associate
pastor for several congregations in Northern California. Walter was soon retired, then became ill.
Carol cared for him as he continued to serve in the
congregations as much as he could, giving his last
sermon (while seated) just two weeks before he
died of cancer in 1991. Shortly afterward, Carol
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Humility and Concern for Others
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 20
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but
in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3, English Standard Version
throughout, unless noted).
A common human perspective is to view
ourselves at the center of everything in a selfimportant way, but God counsels us to have a
humble view of ourselves and to reckon others
as more important than ourselves. We should
consider how we may follow His advice.
God the Father values humble-minded
people whom He can work with and
bless, who will walk with Him with a
sense of dependence on Him; those
without pride in themselves, not
thinking themselves above others.
Natural View of Ourselves
Paul compares our natural self-importance with a
mind prompted by God’s Spirit: “So if there is any
encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love,
any participation in the Spirit, any affection and
sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same
mind, having the same love, being in full accord
and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit,
but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:1–4).
In verse 3, most translations say, “Do nothing
. . .” from rivalry and conceit, or selfish ambition and
vanity. But the NET Bible comments: “There is no
main verb in this verse . . . . Thus, although most
translations supply the verb ‘do’ at the beginning
of v. 3 (e.g., ‘do nothing from selfish ambition’), the
idea is even stronger than that: ‘Don’t even think
any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.’”
The terms rivalry and conceit, or selfish ambition and vanity, sum up how we naturally view ourselves in our own eyes and in relation to others. But
our Father says we need to develop humility,
change our view of our own importance, and apply
it in our relationships with people around us. So
what is humility, exactly?
5:5, quoting Proverbs 3:34), who will walk with
Him (Micah 6:8) with a sense of dependence on
Him; those without pride in themselves, not thinking themselves above others.
Even more than that, He wants us to count
others more important than ourselves. This is a
term applied to authority figures who have supremacy or importance in this world (Romans 13:1,
1 Peter 2:13). So we are to have this progression
of converted thinking: from selfishness, to humility
(lowered self-evaluation), to thinking of others to
benefit them.
We can’t do this naturally because we think
so highly of ourselves! But as Paul says in Philippians 2:1, we have encouragement in Jesus Christ
and participation in God’s Spirit. Then, beginning
in verse 6, Paul points out that Jesus Christ had
status as the Word with God the Father, but He
didn’t grasp at it like human nature would—in ambition and conceit. Instead He came as a human servant to work out the Father’s will for us to have
eternal life in His family—the ultimate benefit to
us: “And being found in human form, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death . . .” (Philippians 2:8).
Jesus Christ is the very definition of humility,
and the example for each of us! And this thinking—this humble mind of Jesus Christ—can be
in us as well: “Let this mind be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, New King
James Version).
Lowliness of Mind
Paul here uses the term lowliness of mind. In the
Greco-Roman world at that time this was a negative
quality, associated with being of low social status
(see Vine’s Dictionary and BDAG Lexicon
for tapeinophrosune). Then, and now, the world
encourages us to be self-assertive—not humble!
God the Father values humble-minded
people whom He can work with and bless (1 Peter
Benefitting Others
The apostle James gives us three ways to ask God
to help us lower our self-concern and to benefit
others—especially to increase love, encouragement and accord in God’s Church.
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every
person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to
anger; for the anger of man does not produce the
righteousness of God” (James 1:19–20).
GRAHAM HOUGHTON
[email protected]
He Will Lift You Up
In Philippians 2:3, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “let nothing
be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” That’s a
tough task. It is one thing to “love your neighbor as yourself”
(Mark 12:31, 33), but to go beyond that, to the point of putting the needs of others ahead of our own, requires an
advanced level of growth and godly maturity.
Someone once said that there are two kinds of individuals: those who say “Here I am,” and those who instead say
“There you are.” Which kind of person are we? If our chief priority is to bolster our own image, then we will come short of
the Spirit-led requirement to sublimate our egos and show
outgoing love and concern, which are the hallmarks of the
mature disciple of Jesus Christ.
In the 1970 film Patton (subtitled in the UK Lust for
Glory), there is a scene in which the Nazi strategists are viewing newsreel footage of the American top commanders. First,
they see images of General George Patton, a swaggering,
brash officer in a gaudy uniform with pearl-handled revolvers
on his belt. Then the pictures they see are of General Omar
Bradley, an ordinary commonplace-looking man—indistinguishable in appearance from the soldiers he leads. The Nazi
planners comment on the fact that Bradley looks less like a
general, more like a lowly GI. It is interesting to discover in the
course of the film, which accurately depicts events from the
World War II, that it is Bradley—rather than Patton—who is
given the senior command. Those who serve humbly are best
able to inspire.
The apostle Paul was not alone in promoting humility
and sacrificial service. Quoting the book of Proverbs, the
letter of James reminds us, “God resists the proud, but gives
grace to the humble” (James 4:6). A few verses later, James
says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will
lift you up” (verse 10).
Worldly popularity and adulation are of little consequence in the overall scheme of things. Far more valuable
and to be cherished is a mind-set which is submissive to the
Almighty God and obedient to His instruction. If we are
learning now to overcome our carnal tendency towards selfpromotion, then we will become valued assistants to Jesus
Christ in positions of service and leadership during His millennial rule. These encouraging words from 1 Peter 5:6 are
something to think about: “Humble yourselves under the
mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
JEREMY RAPSON
[email protected]
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 21
In other words, each of us must:
1. be willing to listen to others from the heart—
their thoughts, hopes and concerns—not so concerned with “self,”
2. speak to others helpfully, thoughtfully, carefully—if we don’t, our professed religiousness is
worthless (James 1:26), and
3. keep our anger (so often just selfish frustration)
under control when dealing with others, and keep
well within God’s right way of doing things.
We all struggle with an attitude of conceit
about ourselves. But our Father exhorts us to be
humble, letting Jesus Christ’s thinking prevail in us
through His Spirit; to hold our self-opinion and
self-esteem in check; and to listen and speak
thoughtfully and helpfully—showing godly concern for others.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Obituaries
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 22
Goodall
Mary Kay Goodall died peacefully on
February 1, 2016, in a Mountain Home,
Arkansas, nursing home at the advanced
age of 98. She was a faithful member of
God’s Church from her baptism as long
as she was cognizant of life and its
meaning.
Mrs. Goodall led an interesting life
filled with challenges that she met
head-on.
Born Kay Holford in Gary, Indiana,
on May 4, 1917, she lost the sight in her
right eye as an infant and it had to be
removed. When she was two her left eye
was seriously damaged in an accident,
severely restricting her sight. Attending
school was a challenge because of her
handicap, but she persevered and was
eventually fitted with glasses to make
use of what vision she had left.
As a young adult she got her credentials from a Chicago beauty college
and landed a job managing a beauty
parlor until the neon light fixtures began
to affect her vision. She moved to a job
at Sears Roebuck and later married her
boss, Joe Goodall. While she was pregnant with her first child in 1946, glaucoma limited her vision to distinguishing
shapes through a fog, although she
could still see bright colors. During this
time she traveled the Chicago Loop by
herself, and would follow someone
wearing a bright color in order to get
across busy intersections.
In 1962, Mary was able to obtain a
telescopic lens that enabled her to read
sheet music, allowing her to indulge in
her love of music. She learned to play
the organ, guitar and ukulele, and even
had her own radio show in Chicago
called “Aunt Mary,” on which she played
the ukulele and sang.
The Goodalls moved to Mountain
Home, Arkansas, in the early 1970s.
There Mary was instrumental in starting
a group for visually handicapped individuals who needed encouragement
and help in developing life skills. Mary’s
philosophy was, “There’s no use butting
your head against a fact. There’s a lot
you can still do if you don’t let self-pity
get in your way.” Mary’s husband died in
1972 and she carried on by herself, raising a grandson.
By 1980 Mrs. Goodall had developed ulcers on her cornea and took the
chance of sight or total blindness by
undergoing a corneal transplant. To her
delight, it was successful—she was even
able to read highway signs on the ride
home from the hospital.
Mary began to study some Church
literature that belonged to one of her
daughters, and was baptized in 1994.
She was an enthusiastic member of the
Mountain Home congregation, always
encouraging and inspiring everyone.
Brethren fondly remember Mary’s love
of singing at the Feast of Tabernacles.
She also sang for local nursing home
residents, and enjoyed seeing their
faces light up when they recognized old
familiar songs. Mary told a friend, “To
me, this is what life is all about. When
the Bible talks about giving, it doesn’t
mean just money.” She believed that
what we give of ourselves comes back in
greater measure.
Mary is survived by a daughter, a
son, three grandchildren and her dearest friend, Linda Hutchins, a member of
God’s Church, whom Mary considered
family. All look forward to seeing Mrs.
Goodall in the resurrection.
Johnson
Jean Johnson, a faithful member of
God’s Church for 50 years, died at home
on Sunday, May 8, 2016, after a very
short bout with cancer.
Jean was born on April 6, 1940
in Baltimore, Maryland, to Elmer and
Loraine Bryan. She was the second born
of five children. Jean loved to care for
children. When she was eight, her father
died. Her mother was pregnant with her
fifth child and was both emotionally and
physically unable to care properly for all
her children. Thus started Jean’s caretaking role, a role she embraced her
entire life.
One day a few years later, while
Jean was caring for her neighbor’s children, their older brother, Carl, came
home on furlough from the Army.
Before long, Jean and Carl were married (February 2, 1956).
Jean was introduced to God’s way
of life by her uncle, who lived in Gladewater, Texas. She attended her first
Feast of Tabernacles in 1962 with two
small children, 4 and 2, in tow. She was
baptized in 1966.
Although Jean’s husband never
attended, she was faithful to God’s
Word and was faithful in raising her children in God’s way of life. Many times
Carl threatened her or said he wouldn’t
be there when she returned from the
Feast, but she trusted in God and everything always worked out.
Jean found joy in caring for four of
her grandchildren, one nephew, and two
great nephews. She also found great joy
in caring for her yard and gardens. She
was always out in her yard, mowing,
edging, mulching, and planting flowers.
In the winter months, she cared for her
beautiful houseplants, including her
much loved African violets.
Martin
Irene Marie Josephine Martin was born
into the Mardell family on December 8,
1917, in Kent, southeast England, in the
midst of World War I. A few days after
she was born, she was placed in a sideboard drawer to offer some protection
during a Zeppelin raid. Her father, a
dental practitioner, was from Hertfordshire (north of London) and her mother
was from Saxony in Germany.
As a young child, Irene was taken
by her mother to meet the family in Germany. That experience, including an
encounter with a dancing bear, was one
of her earliest memories. Her only other
significant travel was to the Channel Isles
for one Feast of Tabernacles.
During the 1920s, the family
moved to the UK Midlands, where her
father continued as a dentist.
Irene’s first job was in a Conservative Association office. When World War
II started, she became the chief clerk
under the local fuel overseer, allocating
coal rations to merchants. She continued
in this job until 1945, and volunteered for
the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service
for a short time. Contact with her relatives in Germany was permanently lost
during World War II.
Irene married Charles Martin in
1941, and after the war settled into life
as a housewife and mother.
In 1959, Irene came in contact with
what was then the Radio Church of God.
She became a founding member of the
Birmingham congregation the next year.
Irene became well known for her
enthusiastic correspondence with brethren, her industrious compiling of sermon
notes (which she provided to those
unable to attend services), and her warm
and caring greetings to visitors.
Irene and Charles were married for
over 56 years before Charles died in
1998. As a widow, Irene lived with determined independence, notably maintaining sizeable gardens and planting many
hundreds of flowers each year in seasonal stages. She enjoyed providing
hospitality to family and friends.
At age 87, she suffered a severe
double leg fracture in her garden, a long
way from her house. She crawled to the
house and up some stairs to a telephone
to call her son and declare, “I’ve got a
problem.” After long weeks recovering
in a hospital, she generally continued as
before, though her repaired leg always
gave her much pain and discomfort. She
kept mentally active with extensive Bible
study, crossword puzzles, and following
world news. She also continued writing
to and calling brethren who were alone
(as she was).
Frequent solo shopping trips continued through her 95th year, as did
extensive gardening and providing
excellent meals. She attended weekly
Sabbath services and also Feasts of Tabernacles until 2014. At the close of that
year, she became very ill and her cherished independence abruptly ended.
From early 2015, she received full-time
care in a nursing home. This upheaval
was traumatic and mental decline limited her ability to adapt to the new situation. One encouragement was to meet
her fourth great-grandchild Isabelle and
to monitor her development from baby
to toddler in a flow of photos. As she further declined, correspondence and telephone calls became too difficult.
In January 2016 she very painfully
fractured a rib and entered hospital.
When she eventually returned to the
nursing home she was extremely weak.
Having completed her journey through
this life, she died peacefully on February
7, 2016, at the age of 98.
All through many adversities of
later life she remained determined to
do what was right. Her mind was set on
building God’s character and obtaining
eternal life. As a motto she liked the last
line from Tennyson’s Ulysses: “To strive,
to seek, to find and not to yield.” That
matched her character well.
She is survived by her children
(daughter June and son Ian, an elder
in the Birmingham, UK, congregation),
along with five grandchildren, four
great-grandchildren and other
extended family.
Schenker
Alvin Anthony Schenker was born on
the island of Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean on March 23, 1946. Alvin became
the man of the house at a young age
when his father left the family. As the
oldest child, he was given the responsibility to manage all the household
chores while his mother worked to support the family. He was much loved and
respected by his younger brother,
sister, half-brothers and half-sister for
the various ways he helped and supported them. It’s understandable that
young Alvin began to wonder about
the bigger picture, and why there were
so many troubles and so much sadness
in the world.
He began listening to classical
music and developed a great love for
it, and was able to receive lessons for
about five years from a music teacher
who was a master violinist and saw
tremendous potential in Alvin. Later,
with a generous subsidy from the music
school, he was able to buy her personal
violin, which became one of his most
treasured possessions.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 23
Jean is survived by a brother and a
son; her brother-in-law, Earle Reese of
the Pasadena, California, congregation;
daughter Rebecca Campbell of the Baltimore, Maryland, congregation, and her
husband; daughter Kim Young and her
husband Alan Young, members of the
Birmingham, Alabama, congregation;
and six grandchildren.
Jean was a quiet yet shining example to everyone who knew her. She will
be greatly missed, but she is now resting
peacefully, awaiting her resurrection into
God’s kingdom.
cgn AUGUST 2016 | 24
SOURCES FOR THE SEASON
From the age of 16, he taught
himself electrical engineering. He
observed how laws govern physics and
mathematics and he concluded there
was a Creator and Designer behind
those laws. One starry night he spoke to
the Being that he concluded had to
exist but did not yet know. He asked for
two things: one, that this Being would
show him clearly that He had made all
things; and two, that this Being would
show him how to live the way of life that
would produce right results rather than
what Alvin saw in the world around him.
In 1966, the Fokker aircraft company came to the Dutch Caribbean to
recruit mechanical engineers to work in
The Netherlands. Although his skill was
in electrical engineering, Alvin’s high
achievements in technical school
resulted in his gaining a job, working for
Fokker in The Netherlands for about
four and a half years.
During this time, he saw and
responded to a Plain Truth advertisement and requested literature. When
it arrived, he saw that it answered the
two requests he had made five years
earlier—the Theory for the Birds publication and a Principles of Christian
Living booklet. He continued to study
more literature.
In Amsterdam, Alvin joined a symphony orchestra. As he had no formal
classical music training and was from the
Caribbean, he was placed in the back
row of the orchestra. Before long, however, the conductor appreciated Alvin’s
talent and moved him to the front of the
violin section. A move away from
Amsterdam for work reasons ended his
orchestral playing but his time there was
a treasured memory.
Alvin asked for God’s guidance in
finding a wife, specifically someone with
the qualities of a teacher or a nurse. It
became apparent that the answer was
his stepfather’s niece Ellen—a teacher.
Ellen’s father interrogated him carefully,
and the answers Alvin gave from his biblical understanding and his commitment
to that understanding secured his future
father-in-law’s acceptance. Alvin and
Ellen were married in July 1972.
Later, when Alvin became a
Church member, Ellen attended services
with him. Although Ellen never became
a member herself, she was highly
respected. Together they played special
music for services and music for social
events. Alvin’s high standards, along
with his qualities of responsibility, diligence, and faithfulness to God’s way
resulted in his ordination as a deacon in
the 1980s.
In the meantime, Alvin worked for
over 20 years in engineering consultancy companies, working with the construction industry and with automated
freight trains. Beginning in November
1993, Alvin had his own business undertaking various projects, including draftsmanship and technical translation.
Alvin was very fond of good food
and wine, and became a fine cook
himself. His love of God’s creation was
exemplified in beautiful photograph
selections of plants, animals and landscapes he sent to brethren in several
different countries.
Ellen became very ill in the 1990s,
eventually becoming wheelchair–bound.
Alvin faithfully, diligently and lovingly
cared for her until she died in 2004.
From 2012, Alvin fought a prolonged battle against cancer, involving
major operations and extensive chemotherapy with severe side effects. He
believed that only God could truly heal
him and trusted that God would do
what was best in this life.
He persevered cheerfully and positively, with clear focus and determination in God’s way of life, traveled to
attend services in Germany whenever
he had the opportunity and determinedly drove the long distance to the
Feast in Les Rousses, France.
On April 7, at the age of 70,
Alvin finally lost his physical battle. He
died peacefully, released from all the
trials and suffering of the last few years
and having won his spiritual battle,
awaiting resurrection as one of God’s
faithful servants.
Readers can find many articles in
previous issues of the Church of God
News that go into more detail or
address different aspects of topics in
this issue. For readers who would like
to find this material online, you can
search for more information on Vision.
org, Foundations, and on the Church
of God website. Just go to www.
vision.org, log on to Foundations, or
log on to the Church of God website
(www.cogaic.org), then enter the
topics in the search box.
A NEW Look for www.Vision.org
We hope that by now many members will have checked out the redesigned Vision website at www.vision.
org. The redesign represents a complete overhaul of the site, which by now
embodies 17 years’ worth of articles.
The process has therefore been many
months in the works. In fact, though the
site is fully functional in terms of all the
essentials, its development is ongoing.
In coming weeks and months you
should notice further improvements
and additional fine-tuning, not only
in the English version but also in the
French, German and Spanish.
The collective aim of the team
behind the redesign was to create
a clean, uncluttered and inviting site.
It would offer the stunning graphics
for which the print edition of Vision
was known, together with an easy-tonavigate interface that would help optimize the user experience. In short, our
aim has been excellence.
The site provides the contents
of every issue of Vision, all the way
back to 1999, and more. We’re confident that, as members of the Church,
you’ll find many of the posted articles
both interesting and informative. So
if you have access to the Internet
(whether on a computer, a tablet or a
smartphone, as the redesigned site is
fully responsive to all screen sizes) and
you haven’t yet spent some time browsing the new vision.org, please make
time to do so soon!