Truth Magazine

By Mary Mayberry

In the final scene of the movie classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy came to realize that “There’s no place like home!” How true! After a long day at work, we look forward to the rest and relaxation of home. Soldiers stationed on foreign soil long for the time when they can go home to family, friends and sweethearts. The most commonly asked question in a hospital is, “Doctor, when can I go home?”

The Bible speaks of heaven as the enduring home of the soul. Abraham sojourned in a strange land, but “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). Jesus told his disciples to “rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10: 17-20). The Christian’s greatest hope is finding a home with God. What a joy it is to know that, if we are faithful, one day heaven will be our home. In the words of the chorus of that old gospel song: “When the saved get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When the saved see Jesus, they will sing and shout the victory.”

The Various Uses of the Word “Heaven”

What is heaven? Of the several words translated “heaven,” the most important are the Hebrew shamayim and the Greek ouranos. This Greek word appears 284 times in the New Testament. The word “heaven” is used in three distinct ways in the Scriptures: First, it refers to the atmospheric heavens, i.e., the sky. It describes the region where the birds fly and where the clouds and tempests gather (Gen. 1:20; Lk. 4:25).

Secondly, it refers to the celestial heavens, i.e., outer space, It describes the firmament in which the sun, moon and stars are located (Gen. 1:14-18). The Old Testament had no word for “universe,” so the concept was expressed in the words “heaven and earth.”

Finally, the word heaven refers to the perfect and eternal abode of God (Deut. 26:15; Matt. 7:21; etc.). Heaven is the present dwelling place of God and his angels, and the ultimate destination of men and women who love him. Paul described this paradise of the soul as “the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2-4). In other words, the “third heaven” refers to a place distinct from the atmospheric and the celestial heavens. Both the Old and New Testaments recognize that this present physical universe is not eternal. When the Lord returns, this old earth will be destroyed and it will be replaced by “a new heaven and a new earth” (2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1).

What Is Heaven Like?

Let us examine the description of heaven that appears in the New Testament with a special focus on Revelation 21-22. Remember that heaven is a spiritual place, but it is described in human terms so that we might comprehend its lofty greatness.

First, let us understand that heaven is not just a mood or a state of mind. It is a place, a place as real as these United States! Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:3). Those who inhabit heaven will have an undeniable existence. Our bodies will be different, but they nevertheless will be real (1 Cor. 15:42-44,50; 1 Jn. 3:2).

Secondly, heaven is described as a city (Heb. 11:16; 13:14). Not a village or a small town or a hamlet, heaven is a magnificent and spacious metropolis. This great city, the New Jerusalem, is described from the outside. Heaven is surrounded by a wall of solid jasper which sits upon a great foundation, composed of twelve beautiful stones. Twelve gates line the wall, each made of a solid pearl (Rev. 21:18-21). The city lies foursquare, i.e., its length, height and breadth are all the same. It measures 12,000 furlongs, or stadia, in each direction (Rev. 21:16). In other words, it is 1,500 miles long 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high. Obviously these figures are symbolic. The number 12,000 is a combination of the numbers 12 and 1000, both of which are used in the book of Revelation to represent perfection or completeness.

To enter the city, one must pass through the pearly gates. The pearl is the only gem that is conceived by suffering. Pearls are formed within the shells of certain mollusks as mineral layers are deposited as a protective coating around an irritating and painful foreign object, such as a grain of sand. The symbolism is obvious: The suffering and sacrifice of Christ provided access to heaven. Furthermore, there is a cross that we each must bear. Those who are faithful to God will suffer persecution as they travel the path to heaven.

This heavenly city is also described from the inside as a place of overwhelming beauty. Its inhabitants will not face the multitude of problems that are encountered here on earth. Many urban areas face decline and decay. However, heaven will have no burned out warehouses or dilapidated slum districts. Empty buildings will not dot the landscape. Heaven has a beautiful street made of pure, transparent gold (Rev. 21:21). This boulevard is lined by fair mansions (Jn. 14:1-3).

Heaven is a spacious city. Earthly municipalities suffer with problems of overpopulation and congestion, but in heaven there will be room for all. Jesus said, “In my father’s house are many mansions.” According to the measurements given in Revelation 21:16, the city is 1,500 miles long and wide. This equals about 2,250,000 square miles. What a spacious city!

Heaven contains a beautiful, luxuriant and fruitful garden (Rev. 22:1-2). James Montgomery once said, “If God hath made this world so fair where sin and death abound, how beautiful beyond compare will paradise be found.” Paradise was lost because of sin, but in heaven Eden is restored. The river of life flows through the midst of the city, and on either side of the river is the tree of life. This tree yields twelve kinds of fruits, and “the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Think of that! The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, and the sick will be made well! In heaven, there will be no more tears, sadness, pain or death (Rev. 21:4). The sorrow and tragedy of this life will no longer trouble us. Death will no longer curse mankind. Pain will be a thing of the past. Heaven is a place of perfect and eternal happiness.

Heaven is a place of total security, with no danger from without or within. Although surrounded by great and high walls (Rev. 21:12), heaven is so secure that its gates will never be shut (Rev. 21:25). All threat of evil will then be gone because Satan and his followers will have been cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10; 21:8). What a contrast with the perilous cities of men! Our inner cities are crime-ridden cesspools of violence. However, the citizens of heaven will not have to fight the scourge of drugs, gambling, alcoholism, vice, etc. We will have nothing to fear in heaven. It is a place of light, with no night or darkness (Rev. 21:23-25). Heaven will be a city of righteousness, and evil will not enter therein (Rev. 21:27). God Almighty will serve as our Protector.

It is a place of newness (Rev. 21:5). Earthly treasures are subject to decay, but not heavenly treasures (Matt. 6:19-21). They are incorruptible, undefiled, and will not fade away (1 Pet. 1:4). In heaven we have a better and an enduring substance (Heb. 10:32-34).

In heaven the saints will enjoy complete fellowship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit (Rev. 21:23). The redeemed of all ages will delight in the immediate presence of God, forever gazing upon the splendor of his majesty. We will see him even as he is (1 Jn. 3:2).

Heaven is a place of rest from our earthly labors (Rev. 14:13). Yet, there will be activities in heaven to engage man’s energies and highest faculties (Lk. 19:17; Matt. 25:20-21), Whatever their form, these activities will be the glory of God, and will therefore be a form of worship.

Conclusion

In summary, let it be said that heaven is a delightful place Qn. 14:1-3), a place of beauty (Rev. 21:1-22:7), of life (1 Tim. 4:8), of service (Rev. 22:3), of worship (Rev. 19:1-3) and of glory (2 Cor. 4:17). However, is it easy to go there? Many people seem to think so. They ignore God’s will, rebell against his commandments, and yet think that somehow they will be able to slip through the pearly gates. The Bible does not support this view! No one will get to heaven by accident. It is not easy to go to heaven (Lk. 13:24; Matt. 7:21-23; Rev. 22:14-15). Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Obedience and faithfulness are required. Yet, the rewards are worth every effort. It has been said, “If the way to heaven be narrow, it is not long; and if the gate be straight, it opens into endless life.” As C. S. Lewis once said, “If you seek heaven you will get earth thrown in; if you seek this earth you will miss both heaven and earth.” Are you laying up for yourself treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21)?

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 20, pp. 622-623
October 19, 1989

By Larry Ray Hafley

“And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Eph. 2:16). Four great questions are answered in our text. The questions are: (1) What did God purpose to do? (2) For whom did he propose to do it? (3) Where did God fulfill his plan? (4) How did he effect his goal?

Questions Answered

(1) What? The Plan: God’s plan was to “reconcile.” To reconcile is to make peace with alienated, separated parties. “Re” means “again.” “Conciliate” means peace; hence, to make peace with again.

Man is estranged from God by sin. “Your sins have separated between you and your God” (Isa. 59:2). “And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled” (Col. 1:21). Note the past condition contrasted with the present state – were alienated enemies, now reconciled. This forever destroys the false doctrine of total hereditary depravity. Calvinism says men are born in sin, having never been at peace with God. However, this cannot be true, for God reconciles, makes peace with again. How could man be again reconciled if he has never been at peace with God in the first place?

(2) Who? The Persons: Whom did God seek to reconcile? The text says “both.” “Both” whom? The context shows that Jews and Gentiles are under consideration (Eph. 2:11). So, God sought to reconcile “both” Jews and Gentiles. This corresponds with “every creature” (Mk. 16:15), “all nations” (Matt. 28:19), “every nation” (Acts 10:34,35), “whosoever will” (Rev. 22:17), “all” (Matt. 11:28), “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16; cf. Acts 1:8; 2:21,39; Eph. 2:11-13; Rom. 1:5; 16:26).

Primitive Baptist doctrine, Calvinism, denies that God loved and that Christ died for all men (Jn. 3:16; Heb. 2:9; 2 Cor. 5:14). They limit the love of God and the efficacy of the death of Christ, but our text shows that “both” (all men) are objects of reconciliation. Calvinists say Christ died for the elect, not the non-elect, but John says that, “He (Christ) is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:1,2).

(3) Where? The Place: Where are all men reconciled unto God? The passage says “in one body.” But what is the body? Lenski says it is “one spiritual organism.”

Paul says Christ has been made “head over all things to the church, which is his body” (Eph. 1:22,23). “Which, ” is a relative pronoun of apposition. The church, then, “is his body.” Thus, those reconciled are reconciled in the church. If you are not in the body, the church (Col. 1:18,24), you have not been reconciled. To be reconciled is to be justified (Rom. 5:1,9, 10). If you are not “in one body,” “the church” (Eph. 1:22,23; 2:16), you are neither saved, justified, redeemed nor reconciled (Rom. 3:24; 5:1,9, 10; 2 Cor. 5:18-20).

The church, therefore, is the realm of redemption, the sphere of salvation and the place of pardon. If we are not “members of his body” (Eph. 5:30), we are not reconciled unto God. Hence, those who say, “I am not a member of any church, but I am reconciled unto God,” are deceived. One might as well say, “I am a member of his body, but I am not reconciled.” Both statements are equally absurd in view of Ephesians 2:16.

(4) How? The Process: By what means are all men reconciled unto God in one body? Our text says “by the cross.” “We were reconciled to God by (dia) the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:10). We are “reconciled in the body of his flesh through death” (Col. 1:21,22). Surely, none who profess the faith in Christ will deny the process, the “how” of reconciliation. Suppose I did? Suppose I said, “It is true that all are reconciled unto God in one body, but it is not accomplished “by the cross”? If I were to say that, objections would be long and loud. “You cannot deny the process,” they would insist.

True, but if one cannot deny the process, can he deny the place where one is reconciled? Many do. They say that all men are reconciled “by the cross,” but they deny the place, the location of reconciliation. They say one may be reconciled whether he is a member of any church or not. By what authority can they ignore the place (“in the body”) but refuse to neglect the process (“by the cross”)? The truth is that all four aspects are essential.

Conclusion

Reconciliation unto God in one body by the cross is conditional. How else could Paul beg or “pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20)? Christ indeed made “reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17), but men are not reconciled until they hear and obey the “word of reconciliation. ” Have you heard and obeyed it (Acts 2:38; 18:8)?

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 20, p. 615
October 19, 1989

By Jady W. Copeland

You had no choice about whether or not you entered the world; you do have a choice as to which world you enter for eternity (Matt. 25:46). And the way you live in this world will determine which world you will occupy in eternity. Since that is obviously true (to the Bible believer), doesn’t it argue for a “prescription” as to how to live while in this world?

We must have no fellowship with the evil of the world (1 Cor. 5:10; 2 Cor. 6:14-18). We must be “in” the world, not “of” the world (1 Cor. 5:10; 1 Jn. 2:15). The new Christian has a problem sometimes. Before he becomes a Christian he has a family, a job, associates and civic duties. After he becomes a Christian he has the same job, the same family and duties. In some cases he may have to give up his associates and, in a few cases, his job. In most cases he would not need to give up his family. So often he had the same temptations before him, and yet he has a changed life. Repentance may cause him to quit some of his actions, words and sometimes the associations. But the devil never quits; he just changes his strategy. Instead of keeping him out of God’s family, the devil now wants to make him an ineffective worker, or even cause him to quit.

Too often, the new convert has another problem, and this has to do with the Christians themselves – those in Christ. Often when one is baptized, he finds out (perhaps gradually) that all those in the fellowship are not what they ought to be – some simply are hypocrites. And this discourages him, being young in the faith. He has to learn (hopefully before it is too late) that all of God’s people are not what they should be, and that he must not let their actions control his actions. He must let God do that, and he must learn that from the beginning God has had his people go astray.

But as the new convert begins his life as a Christian, is there some way we can prepare him for what lies ahead? Of course there is no magic formula or spiritual “vaccine” one can take to prevent temptations, but there are a few Bible principles we can point to that will surely help. This will not only help the babe in Christ; it will help us all, and they are not new at all. They are Bible principles which have been preached from the beginning and are “tried and true.”

Recognize the Nature of Satan’s Devices

They are nearly always deceptive. As the poet said, “things are not what they seem” and “all that glitters is not gold.” But Jesus said it best in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” Paul said, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:13). Even Satan “fashioneth himself into an angel of light” (v. 14).

He wears a face of beauty appealing to the five senses. He tempts by sight, sound (like the rock music of our day), taste (alcoholic drinks), feel (lust of the flesh), etc. He promises pleasure, popularity and excitement; but he tells you nothing of the outcome of such sins. This is not only dishonesty, but it is the temptation of the lust of the flesh. Satan has (through the world around us) caused most to believe there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex, “live ins,” cursing, cheating, immodest attire, homosexuality and the like and many Christians have come to believe that these things are not so bad after all. Indeed Satan is very subtle in his ways. Beware!

If Satan fails in one area he will not quit. If the Lord convinces you to quit gambling, Satan will tempt you to work on the Lord’s day to make an honest living. If you are convinced to quit working on the Lord’s day, Satan will try to get you to be stingy with the Lord in your giving. If the Lord convinces you to get married, repent of fornication and live godly, Satan will try to get you to abuse your wife and children. He never quits. If the Lord convinces you that you should obey the gospel, Satan will try to convince you that you need not save others. Beware! Satan has many faces, and outwardly many things “look good” but take a closer look and check it by the word of God.

Develop A Hatred for Sin

“Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way” (Psa. 119:104). Again the Psalmist, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psa. 119:11). We are often inclined to “wink” at sin, or make excuses for sinners. “Off-color” jokes, “white lies” and “watered-down” cursing is getting too common among brethren. How many parents teach their children to hate sin – when they allow them to listen to Satan-inspired rock music and attend R-rated movies? Even the movies rated a bit “higher” are unfit for most Christians to see, yet we flirt with the world trying to rationalize and make ourselves think they are “not too bad.” Should we not hate those things which the Lord hates? The wise men gives a list in Proverbs 6:16-19 and includes a haughty spirit, lying, murder, those who plan wicked things, mischief, false witnesses and those who sow discord among brethren. The Lord’s hatred for sin is manifested in Jesus’ dying on the cross. What better argument need we make? If he hated sin to that degree, should not we?

Remember How Jesus Met Temptations

We can live among our fellows much easier if we become familiar with Jesus’ methods of resisting temptation (read Matt. 4:1-11). Each time Satan tempted him, he met each temptation with God’s word. Are we familiar enough with the word to be able to use it in such trials? As noted above, we must “hide” the word in our hearts to the extent that we “might not sin” against God. It is the great weapon for fighting back. Jesus proved it. If one is tempted to commit adultery, remember Hebrews 13:4, “Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” If we are tempted to divorce, remember Matthew 5:32 and 19:9. If you are tempted to sin by swearing, remember Matthew 5:37. If you are tempted to forsake the Lord, remember Hebrews 10:25.

I believe the reason many do not resist temptations as they ought is because (1) they do not know the Scriptures and (2) they have not thought seriously enough about the consequences. When we think of the fact that all God’s promises have come true, and every transgression of people in the past has been justly rewarded, why should I think God will overlook my sins? Am I different than they?

Choose The Proper Companions

“I need all the help I can get” we hear so often. Christians can help one another. “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33). Godly companions encourage us in the things that are wholesome and right. Evil companions tempt us and influence us in the wrong way. Christians have to be strong enough on the job to say “no.” But in their social contacts, how much easier it is to five a godly life when all have the same ideals, desires, motivations, love for God and habits as we. Proverbs 1:17-19 gives us some good advice in this matter. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (v. 7). “If sinners entice thee, consent thou not” (v. 10). They may act secretly, as they “lay wait for blood.” Indeed they are very bold sometimes about their methods (v. 12). They promise rewards for “we shall find all precious substance” (v. 13). They are very generous and say, “Let us all have one purse” (v. 14). But the wise will not fall into their trap (v. 17). Indeed the improper choice of companions has led many away from God.

We Must Pray Constantly

Jesus said, “Lead us not into temptation” as he taught his disciples to pray (Matt. 6:13). Does God hear the Christian? Does the prayer of a Christian appeal to God? If you answer these in the affirmative and if Jesus’ prayer in teaching his disciples means anything, then surely he will help us to resist the devices and temptations of Satan. And what a comforting thought that Paul left: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to men; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

You will be tempted by Satan but with God’s help you can be faithful. You hold the key.

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 20, pp. 620-621
October 19, 1989

By Daniel H. King

“How can people of the twentieth century and beyond be expected to believe that a man walked on water, healed the blind and the deaf, and walked out of the grave three days after his crucifixion?” This is, as it has ever been, the burden of faith.

Faith challenges us to believe that which seems unbelievable, even as it did those of two thousand years ago. On the one hand it expects us to look forward to an unseeable future, toward an invisible heaven, and trust in unprovable prophecies and promises. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1), and again, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). On the other, it just as remarkably stands between us in the present and those in the distant past. We read the biblical histories and are met with men and women of like passions with us, and yet hear of them experiencing incredible happenings – things which we know we have never known or experienced. We read of Moses and the burning bush, of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, of Elijah and the chariots of fire, etc.

But most remarkable of all is our confrontation in the text of the New Testament with the Galilean Jesus. The stories of his miracles boggle the imagination of the modem reader. They are stupendous in every way and yet the gospels report them in such a matter-of-fact fashion that we often forget to feel the utter incredulity of the onlookers and witnesses to the events. The writers clearly were convinced that Jesus of Nazareth not only performed such feats of in explicable power, but that this was fully to be expected of that Person who came to say and show and be more than any Old Testament prophet or priest had ever before claimed. The miracles are plainly a declaration of his divine nature as well as the seal of divine approval of his message. Can we believe them today? The answer to this can only Or be given by each individual as he or she analyzes the evidence put forward in the accounts and decides whether to accept it or not. We were not there to see these wonderful incidents, and so are left to judge the case on the basis of the historical information contained in the gospels about Christ. Perhaps we may even say that our decision must rest upon degrees of relative probability. Do the accounts sound credible, aside from the miraculous aspect couched in the stories? Most reasonable people would agree that they do. In other words, there are no “magic dragons” or personages who ordinarily inhabit the environs of fantasy (gremlins or hobgoblins).

The man who appears at center stage is a very ordinary figure in many ways: he is raised in Nazareth in Galilee, pursues the common trade of carpentry till he is thirty, then becomes an itinerant teacher and preacher for some three years or so, and, at the last, when the tide of public sentiment turns against him, is executed for crimes against the state. Were it not for the extraordinary appeal of his teaching and the miracles – we cannot seem to ignore those miracles – then his life and death would probably have gone unnoticed in history.

Are the witnesses trustworthy? This is one of the most crucial of issues in examining their testimony. What kind of men were they? Any unschooled person may quite easily extricate a few simple facts from the text. First, they were men who were just as ordinary as Jesus. They were fishermen, tax gatherers and people of the streets and towns of Galilee. Second, they were men of honesty and integrity. The Christian religion, which they vouchsafed to those of subsequent times, exalted truth and honesty while it condemned all falsehood and lying. Third, they were men who showed no signs of mental incompetence. Fourth, they gained nothing by what they said. In fact, they gave up everything to herald the message of a risen Savior to every corner of the globe. When the story of the apostolic age had been finally written, it was a saga of misery and suffering for each of them, with all but one having to die a cruel death for the cause of their Lord. Where can we find in this history a shred of proof that these men had ought but their desire to meet their Master in another and better land as inspiration for their sacrifices?

Fifth, their testimony is of such a personal and tangible nature as to elicit trust on our part. John describes the demands of “Doubting Thomas” as though he needed for us as readers to appreciate their inability to naively accept such an incredible story as that of the resurrection (Jn. 21:24ff.): “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Whenever I read those words, it is as though I am there with him, doubting as he doubted – but hoping all the while that he might be alive. Moreover, all my doubts and questions are, along with those of the first doubting disciple, put to rest in the Master’s challenge at his appearance to Thomas: “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” I can, along with him, feel my own trembling hand reach out and touch the terrible scars left by the driven nails – and with that touch experience the dawning of faith in my own soul. Though we cannot broach he wide centuries personally to see and talk with our Lord after his resurrection, still our thirst for evidence may be abundantly satisfied in this and other accounts of his greatest display of power. Paul even attests that on one occasion he appeared to over five hundred people at one time (1 Cor. 15:6).

John concludes his synopsis of just a few of the Lord’s miracles in this way: “Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name” (20:30-31). The most important of these, of course, is his resurrection. In his life the miracles display his mastery over sickness and disease, the powers of evil, even the forces of nature. But in his death, and in the resurrection, there is something else again. It brings us face to face with his divinity. It shows us that he cannot die without our hopes and dreams dying with him. And if he lives, then we can also live with him.

Herein we discover our own God-given aspiration for enduring life. As Paul worded it: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling . . . . For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety . . . . For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:1-2,4,7). In this miracle of Jesus we have God’s promise of our own resurrection and the demand for faith on our part. The New Testament is the source of both. If we cannot trust the New Testament, then we can have neither.

Conclusion

Living as we do in an age of television and hypermedia, it is not as easy for us to “stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene” as it once was. What is accomplished on film is, at times, nothing short of fantastic. But it is only trickery. Technologically wonderful, yes; but really only slight of hand taken one step beyond the magician’s bag of tricks.

The Book of God, though, confronts us with one who needed no stunts or tricks. He possessed power. And with power he needed only to command a thing to be or to happen, and it did. What we have in the New Testament is the report of this miraculous work, utterly dependable in all its details, amazing though they may sometimes seem! In this chronicle of his life and works there is not only a story of events but also a communication to our hearts and hopes. Some may question whether this is merely conjured up to pull us through the rough spots of life, but as the disciples on the road to Emmaus knew so well when they remarked that “our hearts burned within us . . . while he talked with us by the way,” the Word of God speaks to the needs and hopes of man in a way that is quite unique. It is the key that answers to the lock of our souls, opening up for us the vistas of eternity. Well-crafted it is, exactly as its divine Author planned it!

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 20, pp. 628-629
October 20, 1989