Truth Magazine

By Raymond E. Harris

Today we are dealing with a term that has all but become obsolete in the English language.

With the exploitation of sex and nudity in TV, movies and magazines, we find ourselves living in a generation when most seem to have lost all sense of modesty. “Modest” is defined as “orderly, well-arranged, decent.” That which is modest and decent is in sharp contrast to that which is shameful!

In 1 Tim. 2:9, the Apostle Paul wrote, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety.” And in Titus 2:3-5, he explains that older women are to teach the young women to be “discreet” and “chaste.”

With the emergence of spring flowers and warm days we find our streets, shops, parks and lawns over-run with near nudity. It is amazing that the folks from six to sixty-six who would be horribly embarrassed to be seen in their under garments, boldly display themselves in swim and sun fashions that reveal far more.

But what’s behind all this practice of near-nudity? That is the thing that is most disturbing! It is a proven fact that lack of clothing does not make one cooler but rather has the reverse effect by exposing one to the sun and heat. Lack of clothing in fact exposes one to sun burn, insect bites and various poisonous plants So, why all the shorts, halters, bikinis and sun suits? The answer is obvious – exhibitionism! (A desire to show off oneself.)

Despite the fact that God has expressed His displeasure with such action, it is obvious that multitudes expose themselves in order to enjoy the response of head turning, goggle eyed males.

We would remind one and all that it is a sin to cause another to sin. The one who provokes lustful thoughts in the mind of another will not go guiltless. In Gal. 5:19, “lasciviousness” is listed as a work of the flesh that will bar one from the kingdom of God. “Lasciviousness” is defined as “indecency, shameless conduct, absence of restraint.”

We would encourage one and all to enjoy the pleasant days of summer without joining that shameless legion, trudging the road of ungodliness-that ultimately leads to eternal shame and despair.

Guardian of Truth XXVI: 6, p. 93
February 11, 1982

By Eugene Crawley

In writing to Timothy, among other things, Paul made this very interesting and vital admonition, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

This is a statement with which most brethren are quite familiar. It is one that we have read, heard quoted and heard read ever so many times. But are we impressed as we ought to be with all that is found in it? Maybe we are not aware of some of the very important and impressive truths. Let us see!

1. Study is enjoined. Perhaps this is the thing (duty) we remember most from this reference – that we should study! For sure, and I would not discount or discourage to any degree the important and essentiality of study, and the value of it to all of us.

2. Approval of oneself is seen. Certainly no one can so live, act or teach so that he may secure or gain God’s approval for someone else. Individual, personal duty surely is emphasized here. If one is ever approved unto God it must be by his own work, his own efforts.

3. To be a workman. Christianity is indeed an active, demanding religion; one surely must work. We should remember that we are “workers together with God,” as Paul admonished the Corinthians (1 Cor. 3:9). By our work we may reach the place that we need not be ashamed, either before God or man.

4. Word to be rightly divided. We must recognize the value and importance of proper division of the word of truth. We should fear making an improper division and, if proper division can be made, so can improper. Thus, we need to strive for correct dividing and proper understanding.

5. Approved unto God. Have we put so much emphasis and attention to some things, as these, and failed to notice and be impressed with this truth? Do we appreciate and respect the demand made here? Some things that are not required here are “approved unto men,” “approved unto brethren,” or “approved unto self.” Seemingly much effort is made by not a few to have the approval of either brethren or men, sometimes both, even to the oversight and neglect of gaining God’s approval. Do we not realize the vital requirement here is “approved unto God”? Let us recognize this, and then let us strive by study and effort to gain God’s approval, even though we may not gain the approval of men, for this is what will really count in the last day!

Guardian of Truth XXVI: 6, p. 91
February 11, 1982

By William C. Sexton

Women seem to steal the show most of the time. They are often given the most attention being, no doubt, the most attractive of the two sexes. They are often held up as being the purest of the human creatures in society and, at times, she certainly demonstrates such in her behavior.

Unfortunately, however, evidence surfaces that some women are unproductive, undesirable and miserable persons. It is what they do that determines how “pure” and desirable they are, as with any human being!

Women, as the largest portion of humanity, are contributing, wonderful people, to be respected, loved, and received. My aim is not to degrade anyone but, rather to hold up for recognition any and all deserving persons. Dad, too, is deserving of recognition!

There is a day called Father’s Day to honor him, too! His worthy qualitites need to be recognized, elevated, and reward, too, in the eyes of us all!

Man has a mind and heart, too; he feels the need for love, companionship, and “emotional qualities” if you will, also. A song was recorded in the late forties or early fifties, “Dad, too, is lonely,” by Jimmy Skinner. It stirred my emotional fiber, causing me to ponder on the social and psychological forces contributing to the mind set of our strong men! I wish that the song could be re-recorded and released and all would listen to its message.

In our day when real human character, which is commendable to this very important figure, is played down, we need something to high-light the courageous behavior of a real father! On the evening news, we are fed a daily dose of disaster (infidelity, crime, destruction of persons and property, disrespect for decency). Movies thrive on the destructive behavior of people. I believe that we need and deserve something better. I’m challenging each of us to recognize, evaluate favorably, and reward by commending fatherly behavior.

Potentially, each man is a father. Each has a biological father. Each has to have a father sociologically, psychologically, and economically. Often however, the biological father does not have the courage and character qualitites necessary to function as a father sociologically, psychologically, and economically.

Value systems have developed that feed the ego of some who pride themselves on being biological fathers, but who cast off the value of the qualities necessary to serve in the real fatherly functions. They reject responsibility, wanting the sexual pleasure without the pain of caring.

What are we doing to support fatherly behavior, honorable responsible manhood? Beloved, people who reject the responsibility of serving and providing cultural values, emotional support, sociological elements, and economic support for their offsprings are without redeeming value, to society and to themselves. May we help bring this message home to those involved, by giving our whole-hearted support to commendable behavior of the real fatherly figure!

People who reject the responsibility of serving in a fatherly capacity, I’m convinced, live on a very low plane. They can never experience the real satisfaction of being a real father, sociologically and psychologically, which has much richer rewards than the instant thrill of planting the seed, biologically!

Let men be men, accepting the responsibility of planting the seed, legitimately as God approves in- wedlock! With love and appreciation, anticipate the arrival of that little one; stand by the mother and manifest your concern for that one you helped to bring into this world! Share in the happiness as that offspring grows and live an exemplary life before it. Yes, let men be men, experiencing the rich rewards that come only in this fashion!

Take time to recognize that fathers, too, are people with feelings! They have a large reservoir of affections, commodities of tenderness, companionship, too! Let us recognize, respect, and reward the fatherly characters! Are you honoring your father? “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Eph. 6:1-3).

Guardian of Truth XXVI: 6, pp. 10-11
February 11, 1982

By Fred Holthouser

When a Witness talks to you about “the little flock,” he always has reference to the 144,000 which they call the heavenly class or the anointed. All other Witnesses are what they refer to as “the other sheep” or the earthly class. In John 10:16 Jesus says, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold.” They teach that this verse proves their doctrine of the two different hopes for mankind, one in heaven and the other here on this earth. What they don’t teach is that in the same verse Jesus says that there will be one flock and one shepherd. The “other sheep” are brought into the one fold to share the same blessings and to serve the one shepherd. This does away with two groups, two hopes, and the authority of the Watchtower Society. So when they talk to you about the little flock or the two hopes, make them use all of what the scriptures says in John 10:16. Then they cannot prove their doctrine from this Scripture. Later on in this article, I will show you some more points on how to combat this false doctrine of the people in heaven being limited to just 144,000.

As I have said before, it is no sin to change. The sin is that when we find out we are wrong, we do nothing to change in order that we may obey the will of God. I have changed before and am willing to do so again if you can show me from the Bible that I am wrong. But you had better be able to use the Bible, the word of God, and not some man’s book as I will not accept that as binding. I spent too many years following some man’s doctrine to ever fall into that trap again.

Jude 3 tells us to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. “The Faith” was delivered one time for all time without change or addition to it. Peter tells us (1 Pet. 2:21) that Christ left us an example to follow in His footsteps, not that of some manmade organization. In 1 Peter 4:11 Peter tells us to speak as the oracles of God. In other words, if we do not want to teach what the word of God says for us to teach, then we had better keep our mouths shut. In the church of Christ, we have a saying that we speak where the Bible speaks and are silent when the Bible is silent. Let us live up to this motto or else quit saying it.

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that there will be only one hundred and forty-four thousand in heaven along with Jehovah and His Son, Christ. That makes one hundred forty-four thousand and two. Now when you add the Holy Spirit and the host of angels you already have a number greater than that which they teach. As you can already see, the number of those that will be in heaven has become so great that I do not know of any one that can count them.

This doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses is copied from the Seventh Day Adventist group. They teach about the same thing on the one hundred forty-four thousand in heaven. There are a number of Witness books that teach that there will be only one hundred forty-four thousand in heaven. Some are Make Sure of All Things, New Heavens and New Earth, Let God Be True, and many others. They cannot deny that this is what they teach as one of the main doctrines of the Witnesses’ religion.

Compare Witness Doctrine to Bible Doctrine

There are only two places in the Bible that speak of the 144,000 and both of these are in the book of Revelation, chapter seven and chapter fourteen. The next thing that we should do is find out what the Witnesses teach about the 144,000 class and what the Bible says about this group of people. First, let us take what the Witnesses teach about this class of people and then I will show you how to refute their doctrine about it. The seventh chapter of Revelation names all the tribes of the old nation of Israel and tells us that twelve thousand were sealed from each tribe. This would make a total of 144,000 of the nation of Israel. Now the Witnesses believe that Jesus talks about the 144,000 as “the little flock” in Luke 12:32. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Now this Scripture does not teach as the Witnesses do that there is any specific number making up this little flock. The Witnesses lift it out of its context and use it to try to place a number on the little flock. God’s people, as compared to the world, have always been just a little flock and times have not changed. God’s people are still in the minority and I believe that they will always be in the minority this side of the judgment bar of God.

Now let us look at the 144,000 and see just what we come up with, doing as the Witnesses do. Let us follow the context in the light of the Witnesses’ argument on the 144,000. If we are going to take the number as being literal, then we must take all that is said about this number as literal. Revelation 7 states that these ones in heaven are made up of twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. So, they are natural Jews. The passage would exclude women as it says they were men. Now if we take the number as being literal, we must take these facts as being literal also in the same context. No Gentiles or women can be included.

Next, verse nine of the same chapter seven states that along with the 144,000 there was a great multitude in heaven out of all nations that no man was able to number. What about that? Would the Jehovah’s Witnesses care to try and answer that for me? And do not say that these are the ones that get life here on the earth; the Bible says that they are in heaven. By lifting the Scriptures out of their context, the Witnesses make themselves false teachers.

Are They “Witnesses?”

Revelation 20:4 tells us that this group of men (this 144,000 class) was beheaded for the cause or witness of Christ. Notice that it says here that they were witnesses of Jesus the Son, not the Father Jehovah. It is clear that the modern so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses are nowhere to be found in these passages. Those who died in Revelation 20 died to defend the testimony or the witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which had been given by the apostles. The modern so-called Witnesses are not eyewitnesses of either the Father or the Son. The so-called Witnesses are not teaching the testimony, witness, or record of truth left by the apostles. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His Apostles that they would be witnesses of Him to the uttermost parts of the earth and I do not think that we have any Apostles alive today. So all I do is teach the people what the Apostles that saw Jesus left in the revealed word for me to teach about Jesus, because these men both saw Him and heard Him. That is one qualification of being a witness in the first place. The so-called Witnesses today have neither seen the Lord nor taught the witness of Him left by the apostles. The modern group is not in the 144,000.

Revelation 14:4 tells us that these men had not defiled themselves with women. In other words these were pure men in morals. Also they were first fruits to the Lamb, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is also said of these, in chapter 20, that they are of the first resurrection and live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Just what this thousand years means would take us into the field of speculation and I am not willing to go that far as yet. But remember that to a Jew the number ten had a special meaning and some say it meant completeness. The number one thousand is a high multiple of the number ten. That is just where I am going to leave it at this time. I do know that Revelation 22:5 says that we will live and reign with Christ forever and forever.

Now let us see what you can show the Witnesses who come calling at your door and who talk about there being only 144,000 in heaven. Ask them the following questions and see what their answer will be. If the number is literal, then must all that deals with this group be literal also? Are all that claim to be of the 144,000 class natural born Jews? Are they all virgin men? I know of some women that were in the Witnesses that claimed that they were of the 144,000 class. Are women excluded from this group since it talks of men? Have they been beheaded for the witness of Christ? There is not a so-called Witness alive on the earth today who can meet any of these qualifications to be a member of the 144,000 class as they themselves teach it.

Our Plea: Forsake All False Religions

Revelation 18:4 tells us to come out from among “her my people if you do not want to be partakers of her sins, and that you receive not her plaques.” This means all false religious organizations and their doctrines no matter who practices them. If we cannot give book, chapter, and verse for the things we teach and practice in the worship of God, then we had better not teach or practice them. To do so would be a violation of the word of God and would send our souls to hell for all of eternity; surely we do not want that to happen.

Before I close this article I just want to add one more thing to this about the 144,000. To a Jew, the number 12 is supposed to mean spiritual completeness and as 144,000 is a high multiple of the number 12, then I believe that what John is teaching us in this number is that there is enough room in heaven for all the redeemed ones, the children of God. John 14:1-4 teaches and explains the same point, that in heaven there will be no lack of space for God’s people. I am writing these articles in the hope of keeping someone out of the false witness religion or helping someone to get out.

The next article that I write will be on the Witness organization, which is set up and patterned after the Roman Catholic Church from the top down. None of the offices have any Scriptural basis. Now please do not tell people that Fred Holthouser believes that there will be only 144,000 in heaven as I do not believe any such thing, although I used to believe that as a fact and also taught such when I was a Witness. Acts 17:11 tells us to search the Scriptures. That way we will know that we are keeping the doctrines of Christ. If we are not, then we had better change and do so before it is too late to do any changing since we are not told when we will die. After death there is nothing we can do about changing. As the Hebrew letter tells in 9:27, “And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

It is my sincere desire that this article will help in some way in combatting the false teachings of the Witnesses about there being only 144,000 in heaven. This belief was borrowed from the Seventh Day Adventist group as they have taught the same thing long before the Witnesses did. A lot of other Witness teachings were borrowed from the Adventist group, such as the soulsleeping idea. If you learn how to combat the false teachings of the Witnesses, you also learn how to combat the false teachings of the Seventh Day Adventist group because the differences in the two groups on this doctrine are minor.

Guardian of Truth XXVI: 6, pp. 88-90
February 11, 1982