Truth Magazine

By Bob Owen

Repeatedly we are called upon to make decisions. Many of these are routine, physical actions such as stopping for a red light or eating when we are hungry. Some of our decisions are judgment calls on matters of significant importance: selecting a mate for marriage, choosing a vocation, investing money for future security, voting for a political candidate. All of us recognize the importance of the decisions in these matters and we also know there is no absolute direction. Each must “make up his own mind” on these issues. The freedom (and responsibility) we have in these areas is often “assumed” in religious matters. Many feel that each of us is at liberty to decide what is right or wrong on moral issues or for religious practices. A study of the Scriptures (Bible) indicates this is not man’s right – God has given us the direction and we are to recognize his regulations.

How are we to decide moral issues? Is it right or is it wrong to lie? to steal? to punish lawbreakers? to execute those guilty of murder? What process do you usually hear used to decide these maters? “It seems to me. . . ” or “I think. . . ” are common expressions in such discussions. Using this process, changes can result in standards of morality. Within the past generation a classic example of this process has occurred.

Thirty years ago, “everybody” condemned homosexuality. Any person who practiced homosexual relations was considered “queer.” The very term shows a variation from the norm. The practice was so generally condemned that violators were discharged from the army, removed from government posts, fired from businesses, and otherwise rejected by society. Although some of this rejection still exists, we see the practice defended now as “an alternate lifestyle.” Practitioners have “come out of the closet” and openly parade for gay rights. Many churches have given open acceptance for the practice and gay churches exist in many cities.

What standard should we use to govern our lives in religious or moral issues? A look at the Bible shows that the inspired writers recognized “the Scriptures” as the standard. In Romans I and 2 Paul reasons that both the Gentiles and the Jews stood condemned because they had left God and his word. No appeal was made to Paul’s own feelings or to how society felt about these issues. (Actually, “society” would have approved the common practices which Paul condemned.)

On another occasion Paul reflects the attitude toward God’s revelation which should characterize all of us. In 1 Timothy 5:18, while discussing the support of elders who gave their time and efforts to the teaching of the word, he says, “For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. And, the laborer is worthy of his hire.” Note the appeal made by the inspired apostle: “For the scripture saith . . .”

The reference to the ox and the corn is from Deuteronomy 25:4, a part of the law given through Moses. It was a law from God and Paul recognized it as Scripture. “The laborer is worthy of his hire” is not a direct quotation of the Old Testament but a statement of Jesus (Luke 10:7). By the time Paul was writing to Timothy, Luke’s letter recounting the life of James would have been written. Apparently it had been copied and circulated and Paul acknowledges it as Scripture.

What should we recognize as authority today for our moral code or for our religious practices? God’s word, the Scriptures, are the proper source and we should be careful not to substitute the judgments of men. How I feel or how you feel may be of interest, but what God says is right!

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 1, pp. 1, 21
January 7, 1988

By Larry Ray Hafley

“Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests” (Rev. 1:5,6). “But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration. . . That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:4-7).

Volumes could be written regarding the three words of our title. This triumphant trio of terms sums up the work of God. He loved; he washed; he made. Man can love, man is capable of love, but all the love of mankind cannot forgive a sin or save a soul. Man must act, man must respond to the love of God, but all of the obedient acts of man are unable to save. Man is a creative being, man can make many things, but man cannot make himself to be what God makes of him through the gospel of grace.

God’s love is seen in what God did – God so loved . . . that he gave his only begotten Son. God did not need to save us; God was not bound by justice to redeem sinful man. That he did so is part of his goodness and kindness which ought to lead us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Man is not so depraved as the creeds of men say, else he could not respond to God’s love. Regardless of the longing of man for forgiveness, whether it exists or not, God did not owe us anything. He could have been perfectly just and left us to writhe in the guilt of our sins. But, thanks be to his name, he “loved us” as our texts reveal.

Not only did he love us, he also “washed us from our sins.” This washing occurs “in his own blood.” Man cannot wash away his sins by himself (Tit. 3:5a). It is the blood of Christ that washes and cleanses man from his sins. Christ shed his precious blood for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2). Why, then are not all men saved? Because the washing in the blood of the Son of God is conditionally received. One is washed or cleansed by the blood when he is baptized; that is, when he receives the “washing of regeneration,” which is baptism (Acts 22:16; Col. 2:11-13). The sinner must be obedient. He must believe and be baptized (Mk. 16:16). In that sense, he washes. away his sins (Acts 22:16), but as Paul says in the Colossian passage, it is the “operation” or working of God; it is the “circumcision of Christ”; it is the cutting off of the sins of the flesh which God performs when he forgives the sinner who puts his faith in God’s working (Col. 2:11-13). Essentially, man reposes his confidence (has faith) and obeys God, trusting that he will do what he has promised; namely forgive his sins.

Finally, then, it is proper to speak of what God (and not man) has made. Forgiveness and salvation are not of man. They are of God. Consequently, whatever results from that action is the work or making of God. According to our twin texts, God has made us something – kings, priests, heirs. All of it, all of God’s making, is related to “the hope of eternal life.” God is able to save. God is able to destroy (Matt. 10:28). It is God that loved us. It is God that will wash us. It is God that will make us. He will make us a vessel of wrath, fitted to destruction, or as heirs together of the grace of life. Let his love lead you to repentance. Let him wash you in his blood according to the conditions or terms of the gospel. He will make you, then, what you could not make of yourself.

Guardian of Truth XXXII: 1, p. 13
January 7, 1988

By Irven Lee

Moses found a people who were not well informed about God when he went back to Egypt to lead Israel out of bondage. The Lord sent him for this task. It was not a strong faith in Israel that sent out an invitation to Moses to help them escape bondage and find freedom in a land flowing with milk and honey.

During the forty years in the wilderness these descendants of Jacob had a great opportunity to learn much about God and his righteousness. There was a great revelation made. These former slaves were taught by Moses who was given power to confirm his message by miracles, wonders, and signs. Food and water were provided by the power of God in the sight of all. The Lord blessed, punished, and protected a people who needed to learn of him.

After the death of Moses, Joshua continued this leading and teaching process. There may never have been a generation of Jews that knew more about God than those who were given the land by Joshua. Millions of people had grown from childhood to maturity in intimate and personal contact with God in all his power, love, and righteousness.

“The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. . . And that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor the works which he had done for Israel. . . and they forsook the Lord god of the fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger” (Judg. 2:7-12).

Moses commanded the parents to train their children with diligence. The book we call Deuteronomy is a book of sermons Moses preached near the end of his long and eventful life. In these sermons he made numerous appeals to the adults to train the young (e.g., Deut. 6:4-9). There was none to object to his teaching on this duty, but his suggestion was evidently not heeded with proper zeal.

Children can be taught. They can be taught to have faith and to accumulate knowledge. Eunice and Lois did their work so well in Paul’s day that Timothy had “unfeigned faith,” and from a child he had known the holy Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14,15). This faith and knowledge made Timothy one of the very best servants of his day (see Phil. 2:19-22). There are very few like Eunice and Lois, so there are not so many rooted and grounded in the truth as was Timothy.

Many general statements could be made about people in America today. One such remark is that there is a pathetic lack of Bible knowledge in our country. There are a few excellent students today, but in some cases their own children are not being well taught. Such students may be too busy writing, studying and teaching others to teach their own children. They may have a feeling that their children may absorb precious knowledge or just inherit it.

We are to buy the truth and sell it not. Peter wrote of precious faith (2 Pet. 1:1; Prov. 23:23). Timothy’s life was truly enriched by these two wonderful gifts from his mother and grandmother. Are you in similar way making your children rich? Parents need to start early and work hard at this worthy task.

Ignorance of the holy Scriptures is not a new thing under the sun. Many in the generation before mine did not attend school much so they were poor readers. They worked long hours to earn a living. Fifty years ago there was a serious lack of effective teachers and song leaders. In those days many attended worship services once a month on “preaching Sunday.” Others attended only during the “big meeting” in the summer. Some speak of the great Bible students in the past with “testaments in their pockets.” I knew a few, but very few, such people.

Now there is school for every one and there are many with their graduate degrees from the universities. There are many known for their great scholarship. Many of these highly educated people have been trained to a. great extent by atheists, and they have been taught to disbelieve the Bible and to have no reverence for God. These educated people are pathetically ignorant of the Bible, but they may often speak with dogmatic arrogance about spiritual things as if their degree with biology gave them authority to speak about Christ and his Father.

There is a great multitude of people who attended school for twelve years, more or less, and who have developed skills and earn good salaries. Many of these watch TV to keep up with the world about them and for entertainment, but they do not read. The TV networks are not teaching people to be Christians! They teach promiscuity, evolution, and materialism. It is hard to reach many of this segment of the population because they do not listen to the gospel or read it. Of course, they are not teaching their children.

We are taught to pray for more laborers in the vineyard. They will have to be found among those who “give attendance to reading” (1 Tim. 4:13). If people close their, eyes, stop their ears, and harden their hearts, there is hardly any way to help them. Even the Master and his apostles did not reach such people (see Matt. 15). The faithful need to shout the gospel from the housetops to awaken those who are asleep spiritually. Children of the spiritually blind are not well taught, of course. Preachers, teachers, and parents should, by all means, do their “homework” and be well prepared to teach the needed lessons.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 24, p. 747
December 17, 1987

By Forrest D. Morris

Some passages of Scripture receive more than their share of speculative interpretation. Such is certainly true of Revelation 20. Millennial theorists have given all sorts of fanciful treatments of this chapter. One of the most often asked questions in our Bible study groups is “What is meant by the binding of Satan?” First, let me dislodge from anyone the notion that I am approaching this with a dogmatic disposition. I would like to suggest some thoughts for your careful study. If anyone sees error in what I am writing, I should be most pleased to hear from him. So with that having been said, let us approach our study.

What The Text Says

And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him in the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time (Rev. 20:1-3).

Please observe carefully what the binding of Satan accomplished: “so that he should not deceive the nations any longer.” So far as I am able to understand from the text, this is the restriction that was placed upon Satan by this binding. I don’t believe that we should try to make the text say more than it does. He was to be bound in this area of activity. There are other areas of activity in which he continues to move. For example, “You adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). The binding of Revelation 20 would not hinder the activity of 1 Peter 5:8.

How Had Satan Deceived The Nations?

Sometimes the activity of Satan is clearly catalogued in the Scriptures. At other times we must search more diligently to see what he is up to. Our text tells us that he had “deceived the nations.” As we look back into the history of the people of God, we often see hostile nations rise up to seek to destroy God’s people. Sometimes God used an evil nation to bring discipline upon his people. One case in point is Babylon. In Jeremiah 25, the prophet said, “I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all his servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear” (vv. 3-4). Then God spoke and said, “Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send . . . to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land . . . and I will make them a horror, and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation . . . and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (vv. 8-11). Babylon was a wicked nation. Yet God would use it to discipline Judah. “Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation . . . for their iniquity” (v. 12). The extent of the iniquity of the king of Babylon (not just one king, but symbolic of all) is seen in Isaiah 14:3-23. The king is a tool in the hand of Satan. This nation is deceived by the devil.

The Four Beasts of Daniel Seven

In Daniel 7, we read of Daniel’s dream of the four beasts (vv. 3-11) which are interpreted as being four kingdoms (vv. 17-28), namely, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. In describing the fourth beast (Rome) he says, “It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.” Then he tells of seeing a “little horn” come up that possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts.” This “horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them” (v. 21). “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One” (v. 25). Quite obviously, this nation would be deceived by the devil.

This beast is prophetic of the same nation that Revelation 13 describes. Observe John’s description of the beast that comes out of the sea as an instrument of Satan:

And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast. . . And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. . . And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him (Rev. 13:1-7).

It is not difficult to see the identity of this beast we compare what John says with what Daniel says. Daniel tells us that this beast is the fourth kingdom of the four he described. That makes it the Roman empire and its emperors. The little horn that would rise up and make war with the saints would be a persecuting emperor. Daniel said he would do this for a time, times, and half a time (3 = times). John said it would be for forty-two months (3 = years). This corresponds with the 1,260 days of Revelation 11:3; 12:6. The Roman Empire as a persecuting force against God’s people – Christians – was under the authority of the devil.

We even see the devil using governments at other times to try to overthrow the plan of God. He used Herod in his effort to devour the man child (Christ) after his birth (Rev. 12:1-5; Matt. 2). He used the decadent governing Jewish power along with Rome to crucify Jesus. But the greatest deception of all was that of Rome’s persecution of Christians and the demand for emperor worship. It was this deceiving power that was to be limited by the binding of Satan.

The Battle of Armageddon

In conjunction with the binding of Satan there was to be another great event – the overthrow of Rome under the symbol of the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16). This is not some future battle. It symbolized the overthrow of the persecuting beast – Rome. The details of this overthrow are seen in Revelation 19. Under the symbolism of the rider of the white horse, Jesus makes war with the beast (Rome). “The beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence . . . these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” (v. 20). Please observe that this describes the destruction of the beast. That beast was Rome, so he is describing the overthrow of Rome. Let me repeat: This is not some future battle, but the overthrow of persecuting Rome. The saints of God were not defeated! God always wins the battle! No one can defy the saints of the living God and come out victorious. The beast is destroyed!

What Happens To Satan?

At the time of the destruction of the beast in the lake of fire, something happens to Satan, the one who had given the beast his authority. That brings us back to our text in Revelation 20. The devil is bound with a great chain and thrown into the abyss. Need I remind you that this is symbolic? He is not thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet are – not at this time. He is cast into the abyss. So at the time (if we can put a time on symbolic events!) that Rome is destroyed, Satan is bound. (Let me suggest just here that we should not equate this binding with that mentioned in Matthew 12:25-29. That was another area of Satan’s work that was limited.) Now, remember, he is bound in the sense that “he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed.” He had been able to do something that now he cannot!

The 1,000 Years

Are these literal years? Of course, not. This is symbolic language and we cannot count out a literal 1,000 years. The figure 1,000 is used in the book of Revelation to indicate completeness. Insofar as the devil’s power to control Rome, he was completely bound. It’s hard for us not to think in terms of a time span and then try to find literal periods for the symbolic language, but let’s just think of a complete time. What happens after the thousand years of being bound? “After these things he must be released for a short time” (v. 3). “And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the sea shore” (vv. 7-8). After his release, Satan once again will try to deceive the nations. He wants to overthrow God’s kingdom. That’s what he tried to do over and over again. When he could no longer do that, he brought his attack against individual Christians (Rev. 12:17). Now, he tries again to overthrow Jesus. But this time he goes too far! “Fire came down from heaven and devoured them (the armies). And the devil who deceived them was, thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (vv. 9-10). In his final battle, Satan goes down to everlasting defeat. He is this time thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented forever. The poor guy never wins! Sometimes it may seem like he is winning, but ultimately the victory belongs to the Lord and his Christ! And the victory belongs to those who belong to him. You can be victorious only when you are under the banner of Jesus Christ. That is the message of the book of Revelation and it is God’s message over and over in Holy Scripture.

The devil still has power today. He is as a roaring lion seeking to devour you (1 Pet. 5:8). He is “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). He is the shrewd and cunning tempter (2 Cor. 11:3,13-15). He tempts, blinds (2 Cor. 4:3-4) and lies (John 8:44). He is after you! To overcome him we must submit to God, and resist the devil; then he will flee from you (Jas. 4:7). The first step is in our submission to God. We must watch and pray (Mt. 26:41); put on the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16) and then fight against him and the wickedness that he promulgates in this world. He is a mighty foe, but his doom is certain. If you are on his side, your doom is also certain. Let us all align ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 24, pp. 748-749
December 17, 1987