Beyond Today November December 2023

®
Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow January-February 2016

A Magazine of Understanding November-December 2023
The Devil
Goes to
Church
How False Religion Is Leading to a Dangerous New World 8 • Christmas: The Untold Story 11
Was the Biblical Sabbath Changed to Sunday? 14 • What’s Behind Hamas’ Brutal Bloodbath? 23
B Tm a g a z i n e . o r g • November-December 2023 1
TABLE OF
CONTENTS November-December 2023
®
Photos, from top: Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn/iStock/Getty Images Plus, Marc Dufresne/iStock/Getty Images Plus, Scott Ashley, nojustice/iStock/Getty Images Plus Page 3: Scott Campbell Cover: Xavier Duval/iStock/Getty Images Plus
FEATURE ARTICLES
4 The Devil Goes to Church
8 How False Religion is Leading

to a Dangerous New World
11 Christmas: The Untold Story
14 Was the Biblical Sabbath

Changed to Sunday?
17 Religious Pretenders: 8
Lessons From an Ancient King
19 Are You Saved by Faith Alone

Without Works?
21 How to Raise Godly Children

in a Morally Sketchy Society
23 Israel’s 9/11: What’s Behind

Hamas’ Brutal Bloodbath?
28 “Antipas My Faithful Martyr”—

11 14
Holding Fast to His Name
DEPARTMENTS
26 Current Events and Trends
30 Letters From Our Readers
31 Beyond Today Television Log

21
2 Beyond Today • B Tm a g a z i n e . o r g
EDITORIAL
Live by Every Scott Ashley
Word of God
Managing editor
Then I read in the Bible about God’s disgust with people
I
following pagan practices in their worship, and I looked
t wasn’t until my teen years that I began to seriously into the history of popular holidays like Christmas, Easter
study the Bible. Up until then I had no issue with and New Year’s Day. I was shocked! Why were people
God’s existence; that was self-evident from the amazing following the same pagan practices and customs used to
world I saw around me. It was Christianity itself that worship pagan gods and goddesses thousands of years
puzzled me. ago? None of this made any sense. I asked my church-
My three best friends attended three different churches going friends about it. Once more they had no answer.
with very different beliefs and prac- It gradually dawned on me that
tices. Which was right? Was there what we have today is a “pick and
a way to know for sure? These were choose” Christianity—meaning
key questions as I seriously looked that various churches and denomi-
into the Bible for the first time. nations pick and choose what they
One verse that jumped out at want to believe and practice.
me rather quickly was Luke 4:4, And all too often they’ve picked
where Jesus Christ said, “It is writ- and chosen their worship practices
ten, ‘Man shall not live by bread not from the Bible, but from wor-
alone, but by every word of God’” ship of ancient gods and goddesses
(emphasis added throughout). That God repeatedly condemned!
seemed simple enough—we are to I struggled to make sense of
live by every word of God. what inherently made no sense.
I also read other statements from How could people ignore and
Him and His apostles such as “If you want to enter into dismiss what was clearly stated in God’s Word and
life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17) and “For instead choose worship practices and customs that are
this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” not approved in the Bible, but are actually repeatedly
(1 John 5:3). condemned in it?
These also seemed simple enough: If we want to enter It would be some time before I came to grasp the real-
eternal life, we must keep God’s commandments. And ity of the dark side of the spirit world—that just as there
if we love God, we should obey His commandments. exists a God of infinite truth and light and love, there
As the saying goes, It’s so simple that a child can under- also exists an opposite “god of this age” (2 Corinthians
stand it. And I was certainly a novice when it came to 4:4) who is a being of infinite darkness, lies and evil who
the Bible. hates the true God and His ways.
But the more I delved into God’s Word, the more I was This being is also called “the father of [lies]” (John
puzzled by the churches around me. I could read passages 8:44), and is so seductively powerful and persuasive that
like the Fourth of the Ten Commandments, which tells us he “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
to keep the seventh day holy and not work on it (Exodus In this issue we bluntly look at this deception—and the
20:8-11). Calendars showed that Saturday was the sev- way to counter it. May we all have the wisdom to do so!
enth day of the week, so why did people go to church on
Sunday, which was the first day of the week? I asked my
churchgoing friends about it, and they had no answer.
I also read in the Bible about specific days of worship PS—With this issue, I am retiring after a 50-year career
that God said were His feasts, days He declared to be holy in the publishing industry and 28 years as managing edi-
on which His people were not to work, but were to gather tor of Beyond Today and its predecessor, The Good News.
to worship Him (see Leviticus 23 and many other places). It has been a privilege and pleasure serving all of you as
I read that Jesus Christ and His followers celebrated these readers and working alongside a dedicated media team.
days. I asked my churchgoing friends about it, and again My fervent hope and prayer is that you always strive to
they had no answer. live by every word of God!
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
The Devil Goes to Church

The devil is much wilier and may be much closer than you think. The Bible
reveals that he deceives the whole world—meaning he has even duped churches
and religious figures. How is this possible? Could you be deceived too?
by Steve Myers
B
elieve it or not, Satan plays tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). strike. In the same way, Satan is evil
an enormous role in religion. Satan then contradicted God, saying, but not obviously so. He’s deceptive,
He is very interested in what “You will not surely die” (verse 4). subtle and cunning.
happens in churches. We That was a lie. It could be cast as This is how he actually tried to
often think of the devil as out there partially true in the sense that Adam undermine Jesus Christ as His earthly
somewhere, maybe on the attack. But and Eve weren’t going to immediately ministry began. You may be familiar
do you realize that he may be much drop dead if they disobeyed God. Yet with the story in Matthew 4. Christ
closer than you think? from the moment of succumbing to was fasting for 40 days and nights,
Have you ever considered that sin, their eventual death as its cost and Satan came to Jesus and tempted
Satan goes to church? Is it possible would be assured. Him. He took Jesus from the wilder-
that the devil has weaseled his way So the deception was on. They took ness to Jerusalem’s towering temple
into your church? from the tree of the knowledge of complex and then did something
God’s Word says in Revelation 12:9 good and evil. It represented decid- shocking.
that “the great dragon was cast out ing good and evil for themselves He quoted Scripture. He told Christ
[of heaven], that serpent of old, called under Satan’s influence, leading to a to go ahead and jump off, and quoted
the Devil and Satan, who deceives the mixed-up morality of truth and lies. Psalm 91:11-12: “‘He [God] shall give
whole world; he was cast to the earth, And through many half-truths, Satan His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In
and his angels were cast out with throughout history has led people their hands they shall bear you up, lest
him” (emphasis added throughout). to misunderstand God’s words. He you dash your foot against a stone.’”
How much of the world has the wants us to make decisions that lead That’s indeed what Scripture says.
devil misled and conned? Here God us away from what’s right. But did God the Father want Jesus
says it’s the entire world. And that But you may think, I wouldn’t be to jump off a building just to prove
includes his deception in religion. So misled; my church couldn’t be off a point? He did promise angelic
if you believe the Bible, you should track! Yet as we see here with Satan’s protection, but it wasn’t for show.
recognize that Satan has deceived first interaction with humanity, he So here we see Satan presenting the
even churches! What are the signs does not come across as all evil all the holy Word of God in a totally wrong
to look for to find out if Satan has time. Satan has a scheme, a strategy, and evil way, using that to try to trip
infiltrated your church? and in 1 Peter 5:8 we see another part up Jesus Christ. That’s Satan’s strategy.
of that strategy: “Your adversary the The devil purposely misrepresents
Blending truth with error devil walks about like a roaring lion, the Word of God. He knows how to
The Bible reveals some of Satan’s seeking whom he may devour.” use Scripture, but he’ll distort it. He’ll
methods in its opening pages. Remem- You’ve probably seen nature shows take it out of context; he’ll change the
ber the story of the Garden of Eden presenting lions on the hunt. They meaning.
where Satan said to Eve, “Has God hide, they’re camouflaged well, So it’s important to ask yourself:
indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every they’re opportunistic, and then they How well do I know Scripture? Do
I know it well enough to prove a point? establish His Kingdom on earth so we actually good for you? Remember,
Can I justify what I believe and speak can be born into the family of God. Satan convinced Adam and Eve to
the truth? Meanwhile, Satan goes to church to take from the tree of the knowledge
Many times when the Bible comes spread his influence and mix things of good and evil—to make what was
up in discussion, the conversation up. And sadly, most of what’s called wrong seem the right choice (and see
goes something like this: “Hmm, Christianity is built around a false Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). Today he goes
doesn’t the Bible say something about message. to church to deceive, to twist Jesus’
that somewhere? Isn’t it something Have you heard this passage at message, to mislead, even perverting
like this?” Or, “Yeah, I think that church? It’s a powerful one: “Listen how to worship God.
might be in the Bible.” And too often to what the Lord your God demands Consider our most popular reli-
it’s out of context, paraphrased, mis- of you: Worship the Lord and do all gious holidays, Christmas and Easter.
quoted or even contradictory of what that he commands. Love him, serve Do you find those as appropriate
the Bible clearly does say. him with all your heart, and obey worship in the Bible? No. But what
Make no mistake: The devil knows all his laws. I am giving them to you days to observe do you find in the
the Bible. But he uses it deceitfully. today for your benefit” (Deuteronomy Bible? God’s own Holy Days. Yes, God
He did that with Jesus, and he does 10:12-13, Good News Translation). is concerned about when you worship
it with churches. And you’d bet- At your church, do you hear much Him. Do you worship any day you
ter know it and be able to apply it about obedience to God’s laws? choose, or do you worship on God’s
Sabbath day (which He defines as
Satan loves to mix it up. He loves to blend lasting from Friday sunset to Satur-
day sunset)? That’s the day referred
evil with good, and his deceptive power can to when Jesus said He is “Lord of the
make it convincing, but it’s a deadly fiction. Sabbath” (Mark 2:28).
Remember what happened to
correctly or you will be tricked and Jesus Christ certainly thought it was Adam and Eve. They were banished
misled. Pretty scary thought, isn’t it? important. He said, “Why do you call and separated from God. Remem-
me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things ber that Satan’s most effective tool is
Satan teaches a different gospel which I say?” (Luke 6:46; compare deception.
It’s interesting that Satan also went Matthew 5:19; 7:21; 19:17). The fact
to church at the time of the apostles. is, true religion requires obedience God’s warnings about great
The apostle Paul wrote to the church to God’s commandments, which are deception
congregations in Galatia: “I marvel given for our good. The apostle Paul warned the young
that you are turning away so soon minister Timothy: “In latter times
from Him who called you in the grace Satan uses emotion and some will depart from the faith, giving
of Christ, to a different gospel, which misdirected feelings heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines
is not another [as it wasn’t really good Yes, Satan goes to church, but you of demons . . .” (1 Timothy 4:1).
news]; but there are some who trouble have to be on your toes to see that Have you ever heard a minister
you and want to pervert the gospel of influence. You might be thinking, tell you something that doesn’t quite
Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). My church is fun to attend. And when match with what the Bible says? What
Here the apostle Paul knew that you leave, you feel good about your- was your reaction to it? Did you just
Satan was in church to present an self, happy that you’re not wrapped kind of accept it? Ignore it? What did
entirely different gospel that was a up in dull formalities like some you do?
digitalimagination/iStock/Getty Images Plus
fraudulent message. So does your congregations. Notice that Paul gave another
church teach the true message of I get it. It’s been a tough week. You powerful warning in his next letter to
Jesus Christ? want to feel positive, you want to be Timothy: “The time will come when
Exactly what was that message of emotionally uplifted. And that’s a they will not endure sound doctrine,
Christ? It’s God’s message to man- good thing. But what is worshiping but according to their own desires,
kind. It’s the good news of God’s pur- God all about? Is it about big-screen because they have itching ears, they
pose and plan. It involves mankind’s projections, rock bands and coffee will heap up for themselves teachers;
need for salvation and God’s require- shops? and they will turn their ears away
ment that we repent from sin, accept True worship is so much more from the truth, and be turned aside
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, obey His than just emotion and entertainment. to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
commands, and believe and seek the Satan loves to stir up misdirected What a powerful reminder! The
reality that Christ is going to return to feelings. Is everything that feels good devil tells a compelling story. It
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
sounds believable. And it even con- churches today about sin? Or about
Check us out tains some true elements. Because

Satan loves to mix it up. He loves to
its consequences? Maybe you think
it’s not that big a deal. But your Bible
online!
fuse things together, to blend evil tells you sin is breaking God’s law
with the good. It can be convincing, (1 John 3:4). It’s crossing over the
and his deceptive power makes it line God has forbidden us to cross.
more so, but it’s actually fiction— Yet so many teach that Jesus was
You’ll find much deadly fiction. just about love and grace. But that
doesn’t give the whole picture. When
more helpful biblical Satan’s spiritual frequency Christ miraculously healed a man,
material on our Ephesians 2:2 in the New Living
Translation says: “You used to live
He told him, “Take up your bed
and walk” (John 5:8). Is that all He
website, including in sin, just like the rest of the world, said though? No. Jesus further told
obeying the devil—the commander him, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing
Beyond Today of the powers in the unseen world. come upon you” (verse 14).
He is the spirit at work in the hearts You see, the true message tells
Television of those who refuse to obey God.” the whole story. God’s people must
Satan is an influential and control- be like God, living God’s way.
ling spirit, working on humanity to And whenever we find ourselves
produce an atmosphere of evil and out of that perspective, not living
rebellion against God. God’s way, that’s rebellion. It’s sin,
He’s created a spiritual “wireless it’s unacceptable to God. Yet that’s
network” of sorts, and just like the human nature through Satan’s
air that surrounds us, it permeates corrupting influence.
Bible Study Guides our world. Just as the air around us
God’s nature or human nature?
is saturated with cell signals and TV
and radio waves, the devil wants to Paul wrote in Galatians 5:19-
control our minds through having 21: “Now, the effects of the cor-
us tuned in to his mobile network, rupt nature are obvious: illicit sex,
his dark web, his evil frequency. perversion, promiscuity . . . hatred,
Satan saturates the world with his rivalry . . . factions, envy drunken-
wicked spiritual broadcast of selfish- ness, wild partying . . . People who do
ness, sinful attitudes and wrong these kinds of things will not inherit
Video Bible Study moods. And our minds are all too
receptive to it.
the kingdom of God” (God’s Word
Translation).
Series The result? Satan influences So what does God say on the mat-
humanity—including churches—to ter? Sin is a big deal. And if you’re reli-
misunderstand and end up rejecting gious, you should consider whether
God and His law. The apostle Paul you are striving to overcome that
warns in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that nature in your life.
“Satan himself transforms himself There is a solution—repent. But
into an angel of light.” He loves the you have to understand what that
masquerade. He loves to play the means. Repentance is heartfelt sor-
game, to disguise himself and be row for breaking God’s laws and
the pretender. Yes, it seems religious, turning away from committing sins.
plus video sermons, our it seems good, it seems to be right. It entails completely surrendering
12-part Beyond Today But it isn’t. The world’s religions, your will to God and really chang-
including most of Christianity, are ing the way you think so that it
Bible Study Course built on the wrong foundation—the changes your actions. You see more
and lots more! foundation of Satan’s deception. and more what’s so bad about sin
Maybe you’re not convinced and what’s so good about God, His
ucg.org/learnmore Satan goes to church. But here’s

something to think about. How
laws and His way of life. And you’re
grateful for the awesome sacrifice
much do you hear from Christian Jesus Christ paid for your sins.
Does your church teach about true laid hands on them, and they received based on what God actually instructs.
repentance? It’s absolutely required. the Holy Spirit.” Here it describes Could your thinking have been
Acts 26:20 tells us, “All must repent of people who believed and were bap- affected? Don’t let Satan influence you
their sins and turn to God—and prove tized, but to receive God’s Spirit they to compromise true biblical belief.
they have changed by the good things needed to have hands laid on them. Be aware of the warning signs. Ask
they do” (NLT). The Bible says obedi- Having a minister of Jesus Christ these questions: Do you, or does your
ence is the proof of repentance. So we pray over you and lay hands on you church, truly rely on the entire Bible?
demonstrate that our repentance is after baptism signifies that a newly Jesus Christ said we are to live “by
sincere by obeying God. baptized member has been set apart every word” of God (Matthew 4:4;
Of course, that’s the last thing Satan by God. That represents the actual Luke 4:4).
wants you to do. He doesn’t want manner and moment of receiving the Does your church stress obedience
you to change. But you can overcome Holy Spirit. to God, following His will and His
his influence and stop bowing to his So is that what happened to you? way? The apostle John wrote: “Now
control. Does your church follow that practice by this we know that we know Him, if
—or some other tradition? Christ was we keep His commandments. He who
Following God or human tradition? emphatic when it came to human tra- says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep
Acts 2:38 emphasizes that point ditions, saying, “For you ignore God’s His commandments, is a liar, and the
and tells us how we can change: law and substitute your own tradition” truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4).
“Repent and be baptized every one of (Mark 7:8, NLT). Does your church teach about sin
you in the name of Jesus Christ for Read history and find out what and the need to repent as a require-
the forgiveness of your sins, and you really happened over time. You’ll ment to change? Does your church
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” see that fusing ungodly symbols and follow the biblical practice of baptism
and laying on of hands to receive
Does your church stress obedience to God, God’s Spirit? Reread the scriptures
above that speak directly to this. They
His will and His way? Don’t let Satan influence have not changed.
you to compromise true biblical belief. Now’s the time to realize who is
determined to bend your think-
(English Standard Version). dates and manmade holidays and ing away from God. Satan loves to
What does this mean? Some think rituals into Christianity brought imitate, to present his ideas as truth,
you receive God’s Spirit by simply about an unbiblical religion that is but it’s all for his own evil purposes in
asking Jesus into your heart. Or still alive today. defying God.
maybe you trust an emotional feeling Think about it: False traditions in Stand instead among God’s people,
as indicating you have God’s Spirit. Christianity. Holidays with Christian- defined in Revelation 12:17 as those
Or maybe a minister told you that sounding names yet ignoring God’s “who keep the commandments of
you have God’s Spirit, or you simply instruction and His Holy Days (see God and have the testimony of Jesus
by faith believe it. “Christmas: The Untold Story,” begin- Christ.”
Or maybe you answered an altar ning on page 11). These are more We pray that you will seek, as Jesus
call and were so overcome by emo- examples of Satan’s mixing of truth said in John 4:23, to “worship the
tion that you wanted to give your life and error, making what’s wrong Father in spirit and truth”!
to the Lord. Or maybe you read a seem right.
little Bible tract and prayed the sin- Have you looked into these things? LEARN MORE
ner’s prayer and considered yourself You’ll find a powerful statement in Believe it or not, you
saved from that point on. Isaiah 8:20: “To the law and to the tes- have an enemy—a
Are all these ideas and experiences timony! If they do not speak according dangerous enemy
who wants to deceive
overtly evil? They seem good and to this word, it is because there is no
and destroy you! You
righteous to a great many people. light in them.” need to understand
But the devil has his foot in the door how he thinks and
even when it comes to the concepts of Human tradition or seeking operates and the
receiving God’s Spirit. How so? Let’s to obey God? methods he uses. Be sure to download
compare these ideas to what the It’s true. Satan indeed goes to or request your free study guide Is
There Really a Devil? A copy is waiting
Bible says. church. I hope you can begin to see for you!
Acts 8:17 tells us clearly how a per- how religion has been deceived by the BTmagazine.org/booklets
son receives God’s Spirit: “Then they devil and how true worship should be
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
How False Religion Is Leading

to a Dangerous New World
The Bible reveals a coming evil ruler and false religious leader who,
under Satan’s sway, will deceive nearly all the world. Where will you stand?
by Steve Myers
H
ave you ever thought about the devil in Bible proph- Satan launching a war against Him. As we see in the next
ecy? When we look at the book of Revelation, we see chapter, Satan was the power behind the Roman Empire.
some of Satan’s main objectives and motivations. And And he used the Roman-appointed king over the Jewish
we learn not only of his hatred of mankind leading to future nation, Herod, who wanted to eliminate any potential
deception and coming wrath, but that these are not just in threat to his throne, to try to undermine God’s plan.
the future—off in the distance. They impact you even today. Matthew 2 says that when Herod learned of the Mes-
Let’s start with the opening of Revelation 12: “Now a siah’s recent birth in Bethlehem, he had all the children
great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the there and in surrounding areas under 2 years old put to
sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a gar- death. Yet God wasn’t about to allow the Messiah to be
land of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in killed at this time. He helped Jesus, Mary and Joseph
labor and in pain to give birth” (verses 1-2). A dragon soon escape to Egypt until Herod died.
appears, intent on devouring the child at its birth (verses And just as Satan was prevented from destroying Christ
3-4). The dragon is revealed to be Satan the devil (verse 9). at that time, he’s going to be prevented from destroying
As with the rest of the book, the fantastical and sym- this woman in Revelation 12. Her story continues in
bolic imagery tells an important story. In examining some the account here after Christ’s ascension to heaven. We
of the symbolism, we can recognize Satan’s influence not see her fleeing into the wilderness (verse 6). The picture
only in the future, but today as well. going forward in Revelation 12 is of the Church as a
whole taking refuge where it has a place prepared of God.
The devil’s war against God and His followers
The child here was to rule all nations and was caught up Satan will persecute God’s people
to heaven (verse 5), a reference to Jesus Christ, who ascend- God protects His people from Satan, but that’s not
ed to heaven following His resurrection. So the woman on the end of the story. Satan is not going to give up. He’s
one level was His mother Mary giving birth to Him. relentless in bringing persecution against the Church. He
But there’s more to the story. It’s also a picture of Israel. wants to demolish God’s plan. He wants to do away with
In a prophetic dream in Genesis 37, Joseph, son of the any chance God would succeed. And so he’s going to try
patriarch Jacob or Israel, saw the sun, moon and 11 stars to kill God’s people at the end.
bowing before him, representing his parents and 11 broth- He’s going to wage all-out war against God, against
ers being under his authority. This actually happened after His angels and against humanity as well. Revelation 12:7
the pharaoh in Egypt placed him in charge of running the says, “War broke out in heaven.” This is a future event,
country. But note the symbol of 11 stars for 11 brothers and yet described in past tense in the prophetic perspective of
another for Joseph. The 12 stars came to signify the tribes Revelation, with God calling “those things which do not
descended from these brothers—the 12 tribes of Israel. [yet] exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17; compare
But the woman in Revelation 12 symbolizes more than Isaiah 46:10).
just Joseph’s family. The son chosen to be the light of the What’s the outcome? “So the great dragon was cast
world represents not only Christ but God’s other children out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who
as well, given the later mention of other offspring (see deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and
verse 17). The symbolism of the woman here includes not his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).
only Mary as a representative mother among the nation That’s describing a time soon ahead of us—shortly before
of Israel, but also the collective body of the spiritual Israel Christ returns to earth!
of God—the one true Church made up of all Christ’s Verse 12 says: “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth
followers (see Galatians 6:16; compare Romans 2:29). and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having
The mention of the dragon ready to devour the child at great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time”
its birth recalls what happened when Jesus was born, with (emphasis added throughout). When Satan loses that
We’re further told that “the dragon
[Satan] gave him his power, his
throne, and great authority” (Rev-
elation 13:2), explaining why the
heads and horns emerge from the
devil in the previous chapter (12:3).
The world is shown bowing to the
empire’s dominion: “All the world
marveled and followed the beast . . .
saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is
able to make war with him?’ . . . And
authority was given him over every
tribe, tongue, and nation” (13:3-4, 7).
The Beast here is a term for both
the imperial power and the human
being set in charge of it—a dictato-
Do you love the truth? The truth Jesus Christ rial leader operating under Satan’s
authority. And the devil is going
Himself taught? Will you give in, or will you to use this as a principal weapon
believe God’s Word and faithfully follow Christ? against Jesus Christ and to conduct
war against the people of God.
battle with God’s angels, He will turn and direct his rage What’s Satan’s purpose in this? We see the world here
at the people of God, symbolized by the woman and her being seduced into worshiping the Beast as well as the
offspring (verse 13). one who ultimately empowers it, the devil (verses 4,
Again, this refers primarily to the Church of God and 8). That’s a key to his motivation—redirecting people’s
its members, though Satan will also bring severe tribula- worship. He’ll give this coming dictator the power to
tion among the people of national Israel as well. That the transform things to look like they’re good, like they’re
Church is intended is plain from verse 17, as it specifies wonderful, to gain trust and devotion so as to promote
that the woman’s offspring targeted by the dragon are false ideology. Working in tandem with political and
those who keep the commandments of God and have the military power will be a religious crusade to bring the
testimony of Jesus. And note that these are not just those world under united worship.
labeled Christians, but those who believe in and obey
God’s commandments. A powerful end-time false religious leader
Jesus had earlier warned His followers: “Then they will A little farther on in chapter 13 we see a second beast
deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be described: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of
hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9). the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like
Some of God’s people will survive this persecution, while a dragon,” this one causing people “to worship the first
others will be martyred. Yet how could today’s world beast” (verses 11-12). So who or what is this second beast?
become a place where true Christians are hunted down We see here a tool of Satan, outwardly Christian in appear-
and killed? ance, using position and authority to influence mankind to
worship the political leader and his government.
Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Satan’s empire leads the world into false worship Through what appear to be supernatural displays he
Revelation 13 adds more to the story. Here we see a will persuade the masses into accepting false religious
beast rising up out of the sea with seven heads and 10 teachings: “He performs great signs, so that he even
crowned horns and bearing a blasphemous name. It’s makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the
described as a mixture of wild animals, but it wields sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the
power and control (compare the succession of kingdoms earth . . . and [will] cause as many as would not worship
in Daniel 7). So it’s not talking about animals; it’s talk- the image of the beast to be killed” (verses 13-15).
ing about government. It’s talking about the geopolitical Might this powerful religious leader’s apparent mira-
powerhouse of the Roman Empire and a series of revivals cles be due in part to the use of such computer advances
culminating in a final resurrection of a new geopolitical as artificial intelligence and other technological trickery?
leader and power that will control the world in the end We don’t know, but supernatural forces are definitely
time. (To learn more, download or request our free study involved, since the apostle Paul tells us his arrival is
guide The Final Superpower.) “according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs,
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9). While Satan’s kingdom is founded on an outward form
Paul also calls him “the lawless one” (verse 8). He is of godliness, it is filled with lies. Sadly, most people don’t
referred to later in the book of Revelation as the False realize that religion has consistently embraced ungodly
Prophet (Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10), who heads up false traditions beginning in ancient times to do away
a great false religious system (see Revelation 17). with the commandments of God.
Why will people fall for these deceptions? Paul gives So these chapters of Revelation are not just prophetic of
us the answer: “Because they did not receive the love of the the future. They concern what’s been ongoing. The lawless
truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). corruption described has influenced the Christian religion.
Do you love the truth? Do you know the truth? We have Wayward teachers substituted the day of the sun, Sunday,
to ask ourselves, Do I really follow the truth Jesus Christ originally dedicated by the pagans to worshiping the sun
Himself taught? What it comes down to is a war on your god, in place of the biblical Sabbath day (see “Was the Bib-
mind, on your thinking, on your loyalties. Will you give lical Sabbath Changed to Sunday?” beginning on page 14).
in, or will you believe God’s Word and follow Christ? And so it is with various traditions of Christianity
today, like celebrating Christmas, derived from ancient
Take it seriously, and take action now traditions celebrating the winter solstice (see “Christmas:
Could this global-scale worship of rulers and martyr- The Untold Story,” beginning on page 11).
dom of Christians really happen today? Emperor worship Jesus warned against adopting man-made practices in
is something we last saw long ago in the Roman Empire, place of what God commands: “‘And in vain they worship
right? Actually it wasn’t that long ago—just go back to Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’ . . .
World War II. The Japanese people were required to ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you
worship their emperor as a god. And obeisance to Hitler may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:7, 9).
was practically worship. Through the decades we’ve seen And this does not even begin to get into how a number
false religious leaders deceiving their own disciples into of supposed Christian denominations today have under-
impoverishing and even killing themselves. So history taken major changes to fundamental biblical teachings
shows it’s possible, and we need to recognize that society like its condemnation of same-sex relationships, its
is run behind the scenes by Satan and his demons. portrayal of God the Father and Jesus Christ, the divine
Besides the fervor of true belief, there will also be power- pattern of marriage and family, and the authority of the
ful coercion. Those who don’t fall in line with the system Bible as God’s inspired Word.
will face penalties in commercial business restriction. Verse
17 says no one may buy or sell except the one who has the Will you take heed?
mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. The events foretold in Revelation will affect you and
Temptation to comply will be great. But we must heed your family, and they’re in the works right now. So what
the warning in the next chapter: “If anyone worships the will you do?
beast and his image, and receives his mark on his fore- Never underestimate Satan’s ability to deceive and cor-
head or on his hand [symbolic of mind and actions], he rupt. Don’t fall for his delusions. Get rid of unbiblical prac-
himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God” tices as you find them in your life. We know Satan goes
(Revelation 14:9-10). to church, that he’s subverted Christianity, and he wants
And yet to the very end, Satan is going to pursue those to further control the message and you as well (see “The
who won’t go along with his system—those who serve and Devil Goes to Church,” beginning on page 4). In the future,
obey God. Who are those people? As we’ve already seen, the he’ll empower the Beast against God’s people.
book of Revelation makes it plain. These are commandment- But there is hope! We’re told in James 4:7-8: “Submit
keeping Christians. These are people who follow Jesus Christ to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
and His actual teachings in Scripture instead of following near to God and He will draw near to you.” We pray
the false system of the Beast and False Prophet. you choose to dedicate yourself to discovering the true
Go to the end of the book where it says, “Blessed are worship of the true God!
those who do His commandments” (Revelation 22:14). So
many churches today teach that God’s commandments LEARN MORE
are done away. Yet here at the very end of Scripture we The book of Revelation can be confus-
find praise and blessing for true, commandment-keeping ing, but you need to understand what it’s
saying regarding your future and your life
Christians. These are those who love God, who love Jesus now. We’ve prepared a study guide to help
Christ, who follow His teachings, who obey God, who in that, The Book of Revelation Unveiled.
like Christ keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Download or request your free copy today!
These are the ones Satan attacks. Yet these are also the BTmagazine.org/booklets
ones who have every reason to be confident in the outcome.
Christmas:
The Untold Story
Christmas is one of the world’s most popular holidays, yet it has
a strange and convoluted past—one hinted at in such puzzling
symbols as decorated trees, holly wreaths and mistletoe.
by Scott Ashley
P
eople the world over celebrate they likewise adopted those peoples’ winter solstice as December 25” (Tom
Christmas. But did you know religious practices. Flynn, The Trouble With Christmas,
Christmas and many of its In addition to the Bacchanalia, the 1993, p. 42).
popular customs are nowhere set Romans celebrated another holiday, On the heels of the Saturnalia, the
forth in the Bible? the Saturnalia, held “in honor of Romans marked December 25 with
Historians tell us the Christmas Saturn, the god of time, [which] began a celebration of the Bruma, referring
celebration came from questionable on December 17th and continued for to the solstice. The term is thought
origins. William Walsh summarizes seven days. These also often ended in to have been contracted from the
the holiday’s origins and practices in riot and disorder. Hence the words Latin brevissima, meaning briefest
his book The Story of Santa Klaus: Bacchanalia and Saturnalia acquired an or shortest, denoting the shortest day
“We remember that the Christmas evil reputation in later times” (p. 65). of the year. (The start of the month
festival . . . is a gradual evolution The reason for the Saturnalia’s dis- of festivities leading up to this was
from times that long antedated the repute is revealing. In pagan mytholo- eventually designated the Brumalia.)
Christian period . . . It was overlaid gy Saturn was an “ancient agricultural Why was this period significant?
upon heathen festivals, and many of
its observances are only adaptations History shows how nonbiblical observances
of pagan to Christian ceremonial”
(1970, p. 58). came to be forcibly promoted while the
How could pagan practices become biblical feast days were systematically rejected.
part of a major church celebration?
What were these “heathen festivals” god-king who ate his own children “The time of the winter solstice has
that lent themselves to Christmas presumably to avoid regicide [being always been an important season in
customs over the centuries? murdered while king]. And Saturn the mythology of all peoples. The sun,
was parallel with a Carthaginian Baal, the giver of life, is at its lowest ebb. It
Christmas customs’ ancient origins whose brazen horned effigy contained is [the] shortest daylight of the year
During the second century B.C., a furnace into which children were . . . At the low point of the solstice, the
the Greeks practiced rites to honor sacrificially fed” (William Sansom, people must help the gods through
their god Dionysus (also called A Book of Christmas, 1968, p. 44). . . . religious ceremonies. The sun
Marc Dufresne/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Bacchus). The Latin name for this begins to return in triumph. The days
celebration was Bacchanalia. Because Winter-solstice celebrations lengthen and, though winter remains,
of the drunken sex parties associated Both of these ancient holidays were spring is once again conceivable. For
with this festival, the Roman Senate observed around the winter solstice— all people, it is a time of great festiv-
suppressed its observance in 186 B.C. the day of the year with the shortest ity” (Gerard and Patricia Del Re, The
Suppressing a holiday was unusual for period of daylight. “From the Romans Christmas Almanac, 1979, p. 15).
the Romans since they later became a also came another Christmas funda- The early Christians had no knowl-
melting pot of many types of gods and mental: the date, December 25. When edge of Christmas as we know it.
worship. Just as the Romans assimilat- the Julian calendar was proclaimed in Over the following centuries, new,
ed culture, art and customs from the 46 C.E. [A.D.], it set into law a practice nonbiblical observances such as
peoples absorbed into their empire, that was already common: dating the Christmas and Easter were gradually
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
introduced into traditional Christianity. History shows this time log-fires were burnt to assist the revival of the
that these new days came to be forcibly promoted while sun. Shrines and other sacred places were decorated with
the biblical feast days (listed in Leviticus 23) were system- such greenery as holly, ivy, and bay, and it was an occa-
atically rejected. sion for feasting and drinking.
The message of Jesus Christ and the apostles—“the gos- “Equally old was the practice of the Druids, the caste
pel of the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14-15)—was soon of priests among the Celts of ancient France, Britain
lost. The celebration of Christmas shifted Christianity’s and Ireland, to decorate their temples with mistletoe . . .
focus away from Christ’s promised return to His birth. St Boniface, in the eighth century, persuaded [the Ger-
Is this really what the Bible directs Christians to do? manic tribes] to [adopt] the Christmas tree, a young fir-
tree adorned in honour of the Christ child . . . It was the
How the Christmas date was set German immigrants who took the custom to America”
Gerard and Patricia Del Re explain the further evolu- (L.W. Cowie and John Selwyn Gummer, The Christian
tion of December 25 as an official Roman celebration: Calendar, 1974, p. 22).
“Saturnalia and the kalends [first of the month, in this Instead of worshiping the sun god, converts were told
case of January] were the celebrations most familiar to to worship the Son of God. The focus of the holiday
early Christians, December 17-24 and January 1-3, but subtly changed, but the traditional pagan customs and
the tradition of celebrating December 25 as Christ’s practices remained fundamentally unchanged. Old reli-
birthday came to the Romans from Persia. Mithra, the gious customs involving holly, ivy, mistletoe and ever-
Persian god of light and sacred contracts, was born out of green trees were given invented “Christian” meanings.
a rock on December 25. Rome was famous for its flirta- We should keep in mind that Jesus Christ warns us to
tions with strange gods and cults, and in the third cen- beware of things that masquerade as something they are
tury [274] the unchristian emperor Aurelian established not (Matthew 7:15; compare Isaiah 5:20; 2 Corinthians
the festival of Dies Invicti Solis, the Day of the Invincible 11:13-15).
Sun, on December 25.
“Mithra was an embodiment of the sun, so this period The roots of modern customs
of its rebirth was a major day in Mithraism, which had Many of the other customs and traditions of Christmas
become Rome’s latest official religion with the patronage are merely carryovers from ancient celebrations.
of Aurelian. It is believed that the emperor Constantine Knowing what we have already learned about the
adhered to Mithraism up to the time of his conversion to ancient pre-Christian origins of Christmas, we shouldn’t
Christianity. He was probably instrumental in seeing that be surprised to learn that Santa Claus is nothing but a
the major feast of his old religion was carried over to his figure recycled from ancient beliefs tied in with pagan
new faith” (The Christmas Almanac, 1979, p. 17). winter festivals.
Although it’s difficult to determine the first time any- The trappings associated with Santa Claus—his fur-
one celebrated December 25 as Christmas, historians are trimmed clothing, sleigh and reindeer—reveal his origin
in general agreement that it was sometime during the from the cold climates of the far North. Some sources trace
fourth century. him to the ancient Northern European gods Woden and
This is an amazingly late date. Christmas was not Thor (Earl and Alice Count, 4000 Years of Christmas, 1997,
observed in Rome, the capital of the empire, until about pp. 56-64). Others trace him even farther back in time to
300 years after Christ’s death. Its origins cannot be traced the Roman god Saturn (honored at the winter Saturnalia
back to either the teachings or practices of the earliest festival) and the Greek god Silenus (Walsh, pp. 70-71).
Christians. The introduction of Christmas represented a What about other common customs and symbols
significant departure from “the faith which was once for associated with Christmas? Where did they originate?
all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). “On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were dec-
orated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to
European influences on Christmas customs children and the poor. To these observances were added
Although Christmas had been officially established in the German and Celtic Yule rites . . . Food and good
Rome by the fourth century, later another pagan celebration fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir
greatly influenced the many Christmas customs practiced trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different
today. That festival was the Teutonic feast of Yule (from the aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols
Norse word for “wheel,” signifying the cycle of the year). of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated
“As Christianity spread to northern Europe, it met with with the winter festival” (The Encyclopaedia Britannica,
the observance of another pagan festival held in Decem- 15th edition, Micropaedia, Vol. 2, p. 903, “Christmas”).
ber in honour of the sun. This time it was the Yule-feast “In midwinter, the idea of rebirth and fertility was
of the Norsemen, which lasted for twelve days. During tremendously important. In the snows of winter, the
evergreen was a symbol of the life that would return in the Romans “kept the winter solstice with a feast of drunken-
spring, so evergreens were used for decoration . . . Light ness and riot. The Christians thought that they could bring
was important in dispelling the growing darkness of the a better meaning into that feast. They tried to persuade
solstice, so a Yule log was lighted . . . As many customs their flocks not to drink or eat too much, and to keep the
lost their religious reasons for being, they passed into the feast more austerely—but without success” (A History of
realm of superstition, becoming good luck traditions and Christianity, 1995, p. 24).
eventually merely customs without rationale. Thus the In the beginning, Christians were opposed to Christ-
mistletoe was no longer worshiped but became eventually mas. Some of the earliest controversy erupted over
an excuse for rather nonreligious activities” (Del Re, p. 18). whether Jesus’ birthday should be celebrated at all.
“Christmas gifts themselves remind us of the presents The Encyclopaedia Britannica states: “The [church]
that were exchanged in Rome during the Saturnalia. In Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, such as Clement
Rome, it might be added, the presents usually took the of Alexandria, Origen, and Epiphanius, contended that
form of wax tapers and dolls—the latter being in their Christmas was a copy of a pagan celebration” (15th
turn a survival of the human sacrifices once offered to edition, Macropaedia, Vol. 4, p. 499, “Christianity”).
Saturn . . . In our Christmas presents we are preserving The decision to celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25
under another form one of the most savage customs of was far from universally accepted. “Christians of Arme-
our barbarian ancestors!” (Walsh, p. 67). nia and Syria accused the Christians of Rome of sun wor-
When we see these customs perpetuated today in Christ- ship for celebrating Christmas on December 25 . . . Pope
mas observance, we can have no doubt of this holiday’s Leo the Great in the fifth century tried to remove certain
origin. Christmas is a diverse collection of pagan forms practices at Christmas which he considered in no way
of worship overlaid with a veneer of Christianity. different from sun worship” (Robert Myers, Celebrations:
The Complete Book of American Holidays, 1972, p. 310).
Accommodating a pagan populace
How did these pagan customs become a widely accepted Christmas evaluated
part of Christianity? They were assimilated into a new We cannot escape the fact that Christmas is rooted in
church religious holiday supposedly celebrating Christ’s ancient customs and religious practices that had nothing
birth. William Walsh describes this process and the ratio- to do with Christianity and the Bible. Tom Flynn sum-
nalization behind it: “This was no mere accident. It was a marizes the issue: “An enormous number of traditions
necessary measure at a time when the new religion [Christi- we now associate with Christmas have their roots in pre-
anity] was forcing itself upon a deeply superstitious people. Christian pagan religious traditions. Some of these have
In order to reconcile fresh converts to the new faith, and to social, sexual, or cosmological connotations that might
make the breaking of old ties as painless as possible, these lead educated, culturally sensitive moderns to discard the
relics of paganism were retained under modified forms . . . traditions once they have understood their roots more
“Thus we find that when Pope Gregory [540-604] sent clearly” (p. 19).
Saint Augustine as a missionary to convert Anglo-Saxon Even with its failings, Christmas remains an entrenched
England he directed that so far as possible the saint tradition. Although some recognize the intrinsic paganism
should accommodate the new and strange Christian rites of the holiday, they believe people are free to establish their
to the heathen ones with which the natives had been own days of worship. Others cling to the naive and bibli-
familiar from their birth. cally insupportable belief that paganism’s most popular cel-
“For example, he advised Saint Augustine to allow his ebrations have been won over by Christianity and therefore
converts on certain festivals to eat and kill a great number are acceptable to God.
of oxen to the glory of God the Father, as formerly they Human reasoning aside, we need to consider God’s
had done this in honor of [their gods] . . . On the very opinion about such celebrations. We need to look into
Christmas after his arrival in England Saint Augustine God’s Word to see how He views mixing pagan practices
baptized many thousands of converts and permitted their and customs with worshiping Him!
usual December celebration under the new name and
LEARN MORE
with the new meaning” (p. 61).
Gregory permitted such importation of pagan religious This article is excerpted from our eye-
practices on the grounds that when dealing with “obdu- opening study guide Holidays or Holy Days:
Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?
rate minds it is impossible to cut off everything at once” Download or request your free copy to learn
(Sansom, p. 30). much more about the origins of other popu-
Tragically, Christianity never accomplished the task of lar holidays such as Easter and Halloween.
cutting off everything pagan. According to Owen Chadwick, BTmagazine.org/booklets
former professor of history at Cambridge University, the
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
Was the Biblical Sabbath

Changed to Sunday?
History and the Bible show that the biblical Sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day
of the week. But most of today’s churches gather to worship on Sunday, the first day
of the week. How was this changed and why? Does God accept this change?
by Scott Ashley
G
od’s command regarding His command no longer matters. But just book of Acts (see also “How Can
Sabbath day is quite clear: to be clear, Sunday is the first day of the You Find God’s True Church?” on
“Remember the Sabbath day, week, as calendars have shown for ages page 16). The early Church members
to keep it holy. Six days you shall (though some have recently switched to continued the practices they had long
labor and do all your work, but the the business calendar, moving Sunday known, including following Jesus
seventh day is the Sabbath of the to the end). The biblical Sabbath lasts Christ’s example of worshiping on and
Lord your God. In it you shall do from Friday sundown to Saturday keeping holy God’s Sabbath day (Mat-
no work . . . For in six days the Lord sundown, as the Bible counts days as thew 12:8; 24:20; Mark 1:21; 2:27-28;
made the heavens and the earth, the beginning at sundown (see Genesis 1:5, 6:2; 16:1; Luke 4:16; 13:10; 23:56; Acts
sea, and all that is in them, and rested 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; Leviticus 23:32). 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:1-3; 18:4).
the seventh day. Therefore the Lord How and when did this switch take However, within a few short decades,
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed place? Who authorized this unbiblical things began to change. During the
it” (Exodus 20:8-11). substitution, and why? time of the apostles some, claiming to
God repeated the basics of this com- be faithful ministers of Christ, began
mand in Deuteronomy 5:12-15. He did A story with a murky past to introduce heretical teachings. The
so again in Leviticus 23:3, prefacing it To understand the story, we must apostle Paul described such men and
by declaring the weekly Sabbath day to travel back to the first century and their methods: “For such are false
be one of “the feasts of the Lord, which understand the powerful forces apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
you shall proclaim to be holy convoca- impacting the Church. themselves into apostles of Christ. And
tions, these are My feasts” (emphasis Norbert Brox, professor of early no wonder! For Satan himself transforms
added throughout). Here God explains church history at the University of himself into an angel of light. Therefore
that the Sabbath is one of His feasts, not Regensburg, Germany, describes the it is no great thing if his ministers also
just for the Jewish people or ancient viewpoint of the early Church before transform themselves into ministers of
Israel, as many assume. He further this change: “The first [Christian] righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
states that it is a “holy convocation”— communities were groups that formed The damage caused by these false
or, as some translations word it, a within Judaism . . . Christians believed teachings spread far and wide. The
“commanded assembly.” as before in the God of Israel: their apostle John, near the end of the first
We see plain statements that the Bible was the Bible of the Jews . . . century, wrote of one false minister
Sabbath is holy—set apart—as declared They continued to observe (as Jesus who had risen to such power that he
by God Himself multiple times. It is a did) the Jewish practice of temple was boldly rejecting John’s own mes-
day to rest from our normal labors and worship and law (Acts 2.46; 10.14), sengers and excommunicating faithful
to gather to worship Him. and gave outsiders the impression Church members! (3 John 9-10).
Yet in spite of such clear instructions of being a Jewish sect (Acts 24.5, 14; When John finished his writings
—and the fact that Jesus Christ declared 28.22), not a new religion. They them- late in the first century, the books and
Himself to be “Lord of the Sabbath” selves probably also simply thought letters that would form what we call
(Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28)—most of of themselves as Jews” (A Concise His- the New Testament were complete.
what is now called Christianity views tory of the Early Church, 1996, p. 4). With his passing, however, trustwor-
Sunday as the Sabbath or think this This is clear from a reading of the thy eyewitness accounts of events and
changes in the Church largely ceased. worshiping on the weekly Sabbath Roman church’s lead were heretics and
We are left with little reliable infor- day, and keeping the God-ordained to be excommunicated. His resulting
mation for the next several centuries. festivals found in the Bible—rapidly letter showed the depth of his disgust
began to wane as new customs crept at practices he considered “Jewish”—
Persecution leads to changes into the Church. Few summoned up but were in reality biblical commands.
Part of the lack of information the courage to face continual persecu- “It appeared an unworthy thing,” he
about this time stems from persecution for remaining faithful to the bib- decreed, “that in the celebration of this
tion of the Church. Under Emperor lical practices followed and handed most holy feast [Easter] we should fol-
Nero (A.D. 54-68), Christians in down by the apostles of Christ. low the practice of the Jews, who have
Rome were blamed for burning the A very different version of Christi- impiously defiled their hands with enor-
city and many were martyred. Later anity emerged during this murky time, mous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly
the Roman emperor Domitian (A.D. a version headquartered in Rome with afflicted with blindness of soul . . . Let us
81-96) demanded that all citizens of the then have nothing in common with the
empire worship him as a god. Chris- detestable Jewish crowd . . .
tians and Jews who, in obedience to “Strive and pray continually that the
God’s commandments, refused to com- purity of your soul may not seem in
ply with the edict were viciously per- anything to be sullied by fellowship
secuted. Over following decades and with the custom of these most wicked
centuries, waves of bloody persecution men . . . All should unite in . . . avoiding
engulfed Christianity and Judaism. all participation in the perjured conduct
In the first and second centuries, the of the Jews” (quoted by Eusebius, Life of
Jews of the Holy Land revolted against Constantine 3, 18-19, Nicene and Post-
Roman rule. The second rebellion in Nicene Fathers, 1979, second series,
particular brought persecution of Jews Vol. 1, pp. 524-525).
and Judaism. The Roman Emperor British historian Paul Johnson sum-
Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), after captur- marizes how Constantine’s approach
ing Jerusalem, razed it and built a new of merging religious practices pro-
city that Jews were forbidden even to The Roman Emperor Constantine I decreed that the duced a corrupted Christianity that
weekly day of rest and worship change from the bib-
enter. He also banned circumcision meshed paganism with biblical
lical Sabbath day (Saturday) to Sunday in A.D. 321.
and observance of the Sabbath. elements: “Many Christians did not
Professor Brox describes the effect distinctly different worship practices. make a clear distinction between this
this had on the Church: “The Jewish By the end of the second century, bish- sun-cult [Mithraism] and their own.
Christians in Palestine had been driv- op Victor I of Rome (A.D. 189-199) They . . . held their services on Sunday,
en out in the First Jewish War (66-70) issued an ultimatum that all were “to knelt towards the East and had their
but then had returned to Jerusalem; follow the Sunday [worship] practice nativity-feast on 25 December, the
however, after the Bar Kokhba revolt, of the Roman church” (Brox, p. 124). birthday of the sun at the winter sol-
the Second Jewish War against the stice . . . Did the empire surrender to
Romans (132-135), they had to leave Constantine endorses a different Christianity, or did Christianity pros-
the land because, as Jews, they had “Christianity” titute itself to the empire?” (A History
been circumcised, and all Jews were Constantine’s reign as emperor (A.D. of Christianity, 1976, pp. 67-69).
now banned on pain of death. So for 309-337) further dramatically changed
the moment that meant the end of the direction Christianity would take. From Sabbath to Sunday
this [Jerusalem] church” (Brox, p. 19). Although he was a lifelong sun wor- Constantine’s long immersion in
From the scanty historical records shiper, under his rule Christianity sun worship led him to formalize a
it appears that, during this time of became the official religion of the change in the weekly day of rest for
intense persecution of Jews, a signifi- Roman Empire, and he was baptized— Christianity to Sunday, the day of
cant number of Christians began to albeit not until he was on his deathbed. worship of the sun. “In 321 Constan-
avoid any identification with Judaism. Under his dominating oversight, at tine introduced Sunday as a weekly
The more visible portion of Christi- the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) the day of rest . . . and on it no work
anity began a significant transition biblical observance of Passover was was done . . . The rest from work on
from the teachings of the apostles to rejected in favor of the manmade Eas- the Christian Sunday was derived
Scott Ashley
an anti-Jewish religious philosophy. ter, with its increasing borrowing of from the Jewish sabbath command-
Former practices held in common pagan customs. Constantine declared ment, with which Sunday intrinsically
with Judaism—such as resting and that those who refused to follow the had no connection” (Brox, p. 105).
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
For a time, some in what was now a day of rest and worship change? Many Protestant denominations
largely transformed Christianity con- likewise admit that Saturday is the
Admitting the truth about
tinued to keep the seventh-day Sab- biblical Sabbath day, but the change
bath and other festivals as had Jesus changing God’s commandment was made by the Roman Catholic
and the apostles. This was not to last. Cardinal James Gibbons, the Arch- Church and there is no biblical basis
Robin Fox, lecturer in ancient history bishop of Baltimore in the early 20th for Sunday observance (see the list
at Oxford University, states: “In the century, admits the truth about the of such admissions in our free study
430s, the Christian Council of Laodi- substitution of Sunday for the biblical guide mentioned below).
cea ruled in detail against Christian seventh-day Sabbath: “You may read the Yet there remain Christians who
observance of the Jewish Sabbath . . . Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and faithfully follow God and enjoy the
and their keeping of Jewish festivals” you will not find a single line authorizing blessings of obeying His commands.
(Pagans and Christians, 1987, p. 482). the sanctification of Sunday. The Scrip- They have discovered the “narrow”
The Council’s edict regarding the tures enforce the religious observance of way of life that few find (Matthew
Sabbath stated: “Christians must not Saturday, a day which we never sanctify” 7:14). With God’s help, may you seek
judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but (The Faith of our Fathers, 1917, p. 89). His will and follow it too!
must work on that day, rather honour- And The Convert’s Catechism of
Catholic Doctrine gives this concise LEARN MORE
ing [Sunday]; and, if they can, resting
then as Christians. But if any shall question-and-answer explanation What is the biblical Sab-
be found to be judaizers, let them be of the history we’ve covered above: bath day all about? Why
did God command His
anathema [cut off] from Christ.” “Q: Which is the Sabbath day? followers to rest and
What followed were centuries of “A: Saturday is the Sabbath day. assemble together on
persecution from a now-combined “Q: Why do we observe Sunday the seventh day of the
church-state power. Observance of instead of Saturday? week? Is this command
the seventh-day Sabbath was largely “A: We observe Sunday instead of still relevant today?
Saturday because the Catholic Church, Download or request
eradicated—except for a small and
our free study guide Sunset to Sunset:
scattered minority who continued to in the Council of Laodicea, transferred God’s Sabbath Rest today!
faithfully follow God’s commands. the solemnity from Saturday to Sun-
BTmagazine.org/booklets
So when and how did Christianity’s day” (Peter Geiermann, 1957, p. 50).
How Can You Find God’s True Church?

T
he above question is one we see regularly at Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). The Ten Command- 23:56; Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 17:1-3; 18:4).
Beyond Today. Readers find themselves on ments alone narrow the search. Look for church- These books and other writings of the apostles
a journey of discovery as they see that their es that believe and teach them—all of them. also show them observing the other Holy Days and
church’s teachings and practices don’t square When it comes to obeying the Fourth Com- feasts of God (Matthew 26:2, 17-19; Mark 14:12-16;
with the Bible. They naturally look for people mandment, to remember the biblical Sabbath Luke 2:41-42; 22:1, 7-20; John 2:13, 23; John 7:2-14,
teaching and practicing more of what the Bible day and keep it holy, that alone eliminates 37; 13:1-30; Acts 2:1-4; 20:6, 16; 27:9; 1 Corinthians
reveals as truth. well over 90 percent of churches. 5:6-8; 11:23-29; 16:8). This eliminates all but a
The reality is that it’s not that hard to find the Then you could look at God’s command to not fraction of all churches, and we’re left with a very
scriptural identifiers that point to God’s Church. incorporate pagan practices into worshiping Him small fraction of all churches who are doing these
We need only read about its practices and beliefs (Deuteronomy 12:31-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). things God commanded in the pages of your Bible.
as shown in the Bible. Read about its commis- Going by those who follow this command, you Keep in mind that Jesus didn’t describe His
sion by Jesus Christ to make disciples of all the can eliminate the huge number of churches that Church as large and conspicuous, but rather as a
nations, baptizing them and teaching them to celebrate Christmas and Easter, and you’ve nar- “little flock” (Luke 12:32), so it may not be easy
observe all things He has commanded (Matthew rowed the search by another 3 or 4 percent. to find among the thousands upon thousands
28:19-20). Read that the name or title given to it Then you could look at whether or not a of churches claiming to follow Him.
is, as commonly translated in most English Bibles, church keeps the biblical festival days God After going through these scriptural identifiers,
“the church of God” (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:2; plainly says are His, calling them “My feasts” there’s a very small pool of churches, denomina-
10:32; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians (Leviticus 23:2). The Gospels and book of Acts tions or groups from which to choose. Look them
1:13; 1 Timothy 3:5). clearly show Jesus, the apostles and the early up, check them out and examine their beliefs to
Read about the biblical descriptions of God’s Church affirming and keeping the weekly see whether what they teach and practice aligns
Church, such as it comprising “those who keep seventh-day Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; 24:20; with the Bible. (To learn more, download or re-
the commandments of God and the faith of Mark 1:21; 2:27-28; 6:2; 16:1; Luke 4:16; 13:10; quest our free study guide The Church Jesus Built.)
Religious Pretenders:
Lessons From an Ancient King
Scammers steal money, information and identity
with lies and false promises. And religion is not immune.
by Steve Myers
C
ould you fall for a fake? Scammers are everywhere,
trying to steal your money, seeking your personal
information, making all kinds of false promises.
And religion is not immune. Could you be taken in? The
ultimate deceiver is Satan the devil, the greatest con artist
of all who “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
This most accomplished pretender and counterfeiter
zeroes in on attacking religion, but maybe not in the way
you’d think.
He uses corrupt religion to mock God and destroy
lives. Over the ages, he’s convinced billions of people
to worship the sun, or astrology, or animals or even
deceased ancestors. Sometimes it’s to embrace atheism,
which is in itself another form of false worship. And not
only that, but Satan is even behind the many varieties of
traditional Christianity. Adherents are divided, arguing
over who and what God is, God’s purpose, and how He
wants us to worship and to live our lives.
Jesus warned, “There shall arise false Christs and false
prophets and shall show great signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). Jeroboam set Israel on a fateful path when he replaced worship of
The mention of false Christs and prophets points to the the true God with pagan practices such as worship of a golden calf.
fact that the devil has assembled a multitude of human
assistants—false teachers serving the devil’s purposes, the Promised Land was divided in two—with the kingdom
usually unwittingly but sometimes as outright pretenders. of Judah in the south under Solomon’s son Rehoboam and
The apostle Paul wrote: “For such are false apostles, the northern tribes forming the kingdom of Israel in the
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the north under a man named Jeroboam. The devil used this
apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself opportunity to set up a big counterfeit.
transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is God Himself appointed Jeroboam as king in the north,
no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves telling him: “If you heed all that I command you, walk in
into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be accord- My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My
ing to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). So we must statutes and My commandments, as My servant David
watch out and be on guard. There are many false teachers did, then I will be with you and build for you an endur-
proclaiming popular and traditional ideas that are false. ing house [or dynasty], as I built for David, and will give
Providence Collection/Goodsalt.com
The fact is, misguided teachers are among Satan’s most Israel to you” (1 Kings 11:38). Those instructions are how
influential tools of deception. So have your religious lead- not to be a pretender.
ers fallen for the devil’s scam? Has true belief been cor- But Jeroboam became concerned the people’s loyalty
rupted by Satan? After all, how can you spot a religious would shift in continuing to attend God’s festivals in the
pretender? south, thinking, “If these people go up to offer sacrifices
in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of
Religious innovation to maintain control this people will turn back . . . and they will kill me and go
Turning to biblical history, let’s consider what happened back to Rehoboam king of Judah” (1 Kings 12:27).
shortly after the reign of King David’s son Solomon when Instead of trusting God, Jeroboam worried he was going
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
to lose control. And under the sway of the devil, giving the seventh day to any other day.
in to fear and doubt, this shrewd politician came up with But the world’s Christian churches have substituted
a counterfeit he thought would help him consolidate his in their own holidays that are not biblical. We find that
power and position. Satan has influenced the Christian religion to ignore
As we’re told, he “made two calves of gold, and said to God’s Holy Days—those days Jesus and the early
the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. first-century Church celebrated—and to instead, like
Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from Jeroboam, create its own.
the land of Egypt!’ And he set up one in Bethel, and the Christmas, Easter and weekly Sunday observance are
other he put in Dan” (verses 28-29). And so, we see false the biggest pretender holidays, all being borrowed from
places of worship instead of Jerusalem, and idols, golden pagan rituals used to worship false gods (To learn more,
calves, instead of worshiping the one true God. download or request our free study guide Holidays or
Most people realize God forbids the making of statues Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?)
for idol worship. But the reality is we see many religions
today that worship idols. It’s pretty clear in Buddhism Seeing through Satan’s lies
and Hinduism, yet how many Christian denominations Satan, the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), continues
ignore God’s command? to upend the truth and influence Christianity to pretend
One could try to justify it by saying these are just sym- that’s good. The devil loves to make religion into doing
bols. But don’t be a religious pretender. In the second of what you want or what’s easier, such as saying you don’t
the Ten Commandments, God says not to make graven have to keep God’s commands. That’s done away. That’s
images representative of what we worship (Exodus 20:4). too much for you. Well, isn’t that what Jeroboam said in
Of course, idols aren’t limited to graven objects. They can 1 Kings 12:28? “It is too much for you to go up to Jeru-
be anything that takes our focus and reliance off God and salem.” Do you know how much farther south Jerusalem
His Word. was than Bethel? Only about 10 miles.
Today, Christianity isn’t all that different from the time
False shrines, priests and festivals of Jeroboam. Do you know what modern idol has a potent
Jeroboam’s scheme became a persistent sin for the influence on Christianity? In a Lifeway Research survey,
nation (1 Kings 12:30). It included him making “shrines the majority of pastors said it was comfort. Was Christ into
on the high places” and “priests from every class of comfort or sacrifice? He told us to strive on the difficult
people who were not of the sons of Levi” (verse 31)—so way (Matthew 7:13; Luke 13:24). King Jeroboam claimed
not just false worship places but false priests. It sounds to be making things easier for those in the northern king-
similar to what we read of deceitful workers presenting dom, with worship more suited to personal wishes, and
themselves as God’s ministers. the people took the bait.
Yet God is very specific in the Bible about how He Paul warned that in the last days, people would be
wants to be honored—not the way we think is best but “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” and “hav-
what He instructs. He tells religious pretenders, “You shall ing a form of godliness, but denying its power,” warning
not worship the Lord your God in that way . . . Whatever us to turn away from such people, who “resist the truth”
I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 8). You don’t want to be among these.
add to it nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:31-32, Hopefully, you can begin to see how Christianity has
emphasis added throughout). been under the sway of Satan. Don’t fall for just a form
A major component of Jeroboam’s scheme involved of godliness. You need the real thing!
changing the days designated for worship. He counter- The sad truth is that so much false worship masquer-
feited the great fall Feast of God, moving it to the eighth ades as Christianity. Don’t fall for the scam—or the ease of
month instead of the seventh as God had commanded going along. Go to your Bible. Look for authentic biblical
(1 Kings 12:32). Now, even most people who would con- teaching. Ask God to open your eyes to His truth. Live as
sider themselves religious are not familiar with the true He commands, and don’t be a religious pretender!
“feasts of the Lord” listed in Leviticus 23. God refers to
these as “My feasts” and “holy convocations” (verse 2), LEARN MORE
yet most in the Christian world today ignore that and Jesus promised he would build His Church
worship their own way. that would never die out. To aid you in recog-
nizing it amid all the religious pretenders and
The first festival listed in Leviticus 23 is the weekly
confusion out there, we’ve prepared a helpful
seventh-day Sabbath (verse 3). The Bible and history study guide, The Church Jesus Built. Down-
clearly reveal it to be Friday sunset through Saturday load or request your free copy today!
sunset. You can search through God’s Word and you will BTmagazine.org/booklets
not find any place where the Sabbath was changed from
Are You Saved by
Faith Alone Without Works?
The Bible says we are saved through God’s gift of grace
through faith. Does that mean faith in Christ is all we need?
by John LaBissoniere
M
any sincere Christians think belief is all that’s needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith
required for salvation. That’s based on verses like by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone
Acts 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your
and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Or Ephesians 2:8-9: faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and my works” (James 2:14-18).
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, I hope you can at least begin to see that there is a
lest anyone should boast.” It’s
further reasoned that seeing Jesus told His disciples that works of obedience are
any need for righteous works
or deeds is wrongly trying to
required. If this is contrary to what you’ve believed,
earn salvation. you might be inclined to stop reading right here.
Yet the next verse in Ephe-
sians reads, “For we are His workmanship, created in pivotal role for “works”—good deeds as evidence of
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before- faith—in a Christian’s life!
hand that we should walk in them” (verse 10, emphasis
added throughout). In fact, various scriptures use this Demonstrating intention to live “by every word of God”
terminology of works or deeds in the context of serving Again, works do not save us. Salvation is God’s price-
people’s needs and living God’s way of life by keeping His less gift that comes only by grace through faith, as we’ve
commandments (Matthew 6:3-4; 10:42; 19:16-21). seen. However, accomplishing works of serving God and
What may be surprising is that Jesus told His disciples that others, in line with obeying His commandments, is the
works of obedience to God are required (Luke 17:10; John means of demonstrating our intention to live “by every
14:21, 23, 25; 15:10). Now if this is contrary to what you’ve word of God” (Luke 4:4), showing how highly we value
believed, you might be inclined to stop reading right here. His incomparable gift of salvation and eternal life.
But think about these words from the apostle James: Consider some vital details. When God the Father calls
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he people to become disciples of His Son Jesus Christ (John
has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a 6:44) and they accept His invitation, what does He want
brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and them to do? The answer involves much more than “accept-
one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed ing Jesus as Savior” or “giving one’s heart to the Lord.”
and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are It also includes repenting of sin, which the Bible
How Your Gift Can Make Beyond Today Available to Others

We never charge our readers for website at donate.ucg.org or con-
Beyond Today magazine or any of our tact our office nearest you on page
literature. It has always been and will 31. Contributions are tax deductible
continue to be free of charge. Your where permissible by law.
subscription has been paid for by It is with such support that we
those who want to share these words are able to reach so many people
of hope and understanding. with the life-changing truth of
You can make a donation on our God’s Word!
EXPLORING
GOD’S WORD
describes as breaking God’s laws (2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 3:4). defeating sin (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Repentance can be defined as continually turning from a This is where God’s gift of His Holy Spirit comes into
life of sinful disobedience to an obedient way of thinking force! It’s another aspect of grace. God’s Spirit gives you
and living as part of forming a personal relationship with the spiritual capability and strength to overcome sinful
God and a godly, loving connection with people. Follow- conduct (Romans 15:13). It’s critical that you employ its
ing repentance, a person must be properly baptized and great power continually while maintaining a vibrant per-
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of sonal relationship with Christ (2 Timothy 1:6; John 14:6).
hands by one of God’s true ministers (Acts 2:38, 8:16-17;
Hebrews 6:2). Our striving with God’s help
But these are only the beginning steps for a new dis- The apostle Paul wrote about the efforts he expended
ciple. Jesus said, “He who overcomes, and keeps My works and the determination he deployed to secure his reward
until the end, to him I will give power over the nations” in the Kingdom of God: “Brethren, I do not count myself
(Revelation 2:26). He also stated, “To him who overcomes to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting
I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also over- those things which are behind and reaching forward
came and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Reve- to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal
lation 3:21). The dictionary defines “overcome” as “getting for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”
the better of in a struggle; to prevail over; to surmount in (Philippians 3:13-14).
a trial or temptation.” This definition evokes action. He did not take salvation for granted. Rather, he fought
vigorously and continually by employing the strength
For this is the love of God . . . and energy of God’s Spirit to serve people, overcome sin
But what are we to overcome? Christ wants us to be and obey the commandments (see 1 Corinthians 9:24-
committed to halting any further sin in our life. He 27). Christians today have this identical responsibility
desires that we would see the ugliness of sin in the way (Romans 15:13).
He does and then flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18). Yet this is not self-generated. The desire and power to
He wants us to be dedicated to follow-
ing His directive to “go and sin no more” It’s not sufficient for people to say they
(John 8:11). He desires that we strive to
obey His Father’s commandments, just “love the Lord” without also doing the works
as He did and as He taught His disciples that fully demonstrate those sentiments.
(John 15:10; Matthew 5:17-19; 19:16-
17). Again, it’s not sufficient for people to say they “love repent and obey come from God (Philippians 2:13). We
the Lord” without also doing the works that fully demon- are not earning salvation by works. We need forgiveness
strate those sentiments! for past disobedience and ongoing spiritual help to obey.
The apostle John wrote, “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and This is all part of God’s gift of grace through faith. This is
does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth a living, trusting faith that leads to righteous works. Our
is not in him” (1 John 2:4). He went on to explain: “For this duty is to strive to cooperate with God and not turn away,
is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And as we could (Hebrews 2:1-3). Continuing in the process,
His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). He enduring to the end, we will receive ultimate salvation
wants us to keep His laws because they benefit us and all (Matthew 10:22; 24:13).
those around us enormously. They are so important to God Jesus wants us to follow His example of overcoming
that our disobedience to them required Jesus Christ to die temptation and sin through the power of the Holy Spirit.
in our place (Romans 5:8). While this is a challenging assignment, our reward in
Jesus wants us to strive to triumph over “the sin that so God’s Kingdom will be more than worth it!
easily ensnares” us as we endeavor to emulate His example
(Hebrews 12:1-4; 1 Peter 2:21-22). A true Christian must LEARN MORE
actively resist the devil’s wiles (Ephesians 6:11) and society’s With all the confusion that has been
adverse influences while struggling against the pulls and wrapped around this topic, there is
enticements of his or her own human nature (Ephesians much to unravel. What does the Bible re-
2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8). ally say about grace, faith and works? To
Jesus understood the magnitude of this mission as He help in sorting it out, be sure to Down-
load or request our free study guides
personally battled temptation throughout His human What Does the Bible Teach About Grace?
life (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15; 5:7-9). Plus, He knows that and You Can Have Living Faith.
we are spiritually helpless without Him (John 15:5) and BTmagazine.org/booklets
how much we need His help in contending with and
THE BIBLE
AND YOU
How to Raise Godly Children

in a Morally Sketchy Society
With Christianity on the decline in the West, especially among young people, what are
parents and caregivers to do if they want their own children to have a life of faith and virtue?
by Mitchell Moss
O
n the whole, Christianity in methods of interpreting what it
given the responsibility to govern justly
the developed world is shrink- (Matthew 16:19; Revelation 20:4). says, will be better prepared to spot
ing. One of the major reasons This life is our training ground, falsehood when they hear it. We
is that young people are neither stay- and it starts at home with your own need more than a simple declaration
ing in church nor joining a church family. So here are three key areas like “If the Bible says it, I believe it,
at high enough rates to replace older to focus on with your children or and that settles it.” While there’s an
churchgoers who are dying. Mean- grandchildren, to help guide them to appealing simplicity in a statement
while, many mainline Protestant be the lights in this world Jesus callslike that, it’s a potential opening for
churches are undertaking major His followers to be. the misuse of Scripture.
changes to core biblical teachings like After all, Satan the devil used
the prohibition against same-sex rela- 1. Teach your children how to scriptures when tempting Jesus in
tionships, the divine identity of Jesus properly engage with the Bible the wilderness (Matthew 4). By using
Christ and the authority of the Bible. As many who grew up in a Chris- only individual passages in isolation,
For people with conservative and tian church can remember from he twisted the intent of each scripture,
traditional Christian values, it feels their own childhood, it was often the which Jesus correctly saw through and
like they are constantly in a defensive combatted by
position, both from without and from using other pas-
within. sages that created
What’s a conscientious Christian to a fuller picture
do? As a parent who’s trying to raise of what the Bible
my two sons to be God-fearing fol- says.
lowers of Christ, I’m extremely aware Our kids
of the disconcerting trends in society. deserve a robust
My wife and I are doing our best to biblical educa-
counteract those downward trends. tion built on
How can you and your family be a full picture
part of an offensive movement that of the entire
seeks to reverse the trend of a declin- Bible—so they
ing Christianity in our world? won’t crumple at
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus the first sign of a
told His followers: “You are the light challenge to their
of the world. A city that is set on a hill preacher’s kid (P.K. for short) who beliefs or be led astray by smooth-
cannot be hidden . . . Let your light was the worst-behaved (when the sounding words.
nojustice/iStock/Getty Images Plus
so shine before men, that they may parents were not around). Negative For a great resource to help in
see your good works and glorify your influences on our children come from learning to properly read, engage with
Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16). both inside and outside the church. In and comprehend Scripture, download
As members of God’s assembly of the same way, besides societal corrup- or request our free study guide How
believers—the Body of Christ—we tions, preachers can spread nonbibli- to Understand the Bible.
have a high calling of showing a better cal teachings from the pulpit and lead
way of life to everybody around us. a congregation astray. 2. Teach your kids to love God
And Jesus says that in His Kingdom, People who know how to properly in all circumstances
when He returns, His followers will be engage with the Bible, using sound When your kids are little, you have
THE BIBLE
AND YOU
to set boundaries on their behavior

for their own personal safety. Some-
times those boundaries make them
mad. Without fully understanding
our reasons, it might at times seem
to them like we’re being unfair.
Yet, they still love us and trust us,
given that we care and provide for
them and shower them with love in
in a variety of ways (many of which
are even taken for granted).
Similarly, we see God’s care and
love for us. We are thankful every
day for the blessings of good health,
of enough food, of a happy home, all
of which come directly or indirectly
Having other families as our “brothers- and
from God. He is the giver of every sisters-in-arms,” raising their children with the
good and perfect gift (James 1:17).
And we try not to take any of these same core values as us, is hugely important.
things for granted. (And to further help in that assess- meekness, longsuffering; bearing with
Yet we also know that in life there ment, see our free study guide The one another, and forgiving one anoth-
may be times when we become disap- Church Jesus Built.) er, if anyone has a complaint against
pointed or angry with God. We may There should also be a community another; even as Christ forgave you,
not understand His reasons for allow- of warmth. Jesus told His disciples, so you also must do. But above all
ing certain terrible things to happen. “By this all will know that you are these things put on love, which is the
That’s a lesson for us when we teach My disciples, if you have love for bond of perfection.”
our kids to love God. It isn’t a two- one another” (John 13:15). The word As we navigate the challenges of a
dimensional, feel-good, fair-weather translated “church” in the New Testa- world sliding away from God toward
relationship. Teaching your kids to ment is a Greek word for a sum- the eager embrace of the devil, whose
love God means that even when He moned gathering or assembly. By its influence is both subtle at times and
feels far away from them, they know very nature, it is a group of people. overt at others, our families can be
they can always reach out to Him and The apostle Peter described it as a a bastion of righteousness. We are
cast their cares upon Him. brotherhood (1 Peter 2:17; 5:9). It is called to be lights in the darkness. Let
a group of people who grow to love us take heart from those promises
3. Find a Bible-based church one another as a spiritual family, the and model to our children that they,
As our family navigates the hard members edifying one another and too, can take up the charge against
Photos, from left: andreswd/E+/Getty Images Plus, EyePress/Newscom

social pressures around us, I’ve found encouraging each other toward good the darkness and be lights to the
great comfort and stability through works (Hebrews 10:24-25). world (Matthew 5:14). And all the
involvement in church. While it’s a But as with any group of human while praying fervently, in the words
growth process, as none of us is yet beings, even those striving to live of Revelation 22:21, “Even so, come,
perfect, having other families as our by every word of God, there will be Lord Jesus!”
“brothers- and sisters-in-arms,” the difficulties at times. Being part of a
parents raising their children with group of people means you will be let LEARN MORE
the same core values as us, is hugely down, and you will witness hypocrisy The Bible has much to
important to us. —and so will your children. So make say about raising chil-
Every church will claim to follow sure to model to them the kind of dren. Our study guide
Jesus, but whether they also follow Marriage and Family:
grace that Jesus practiced. The Missing Dimen-
His actual teachings and the full Follow His guidance for conflict sion contains a helpful
teachings of Scripture is another resolution in Matthew 18:15-20, the chapter on “Bringing
question. So you have to evaluate wisdom throughout Proverbs, and Up a Moral Child.” And it
their beliefs against the Bible. Know- the exhortation of scriptures like delves deeper into the awesome purpose
ing how to properly engage with the Colossians 3:12-14: “Therefore, as the of marriage and family. Download or
request your free copy today!
Bible (tip 1) is critical to being able to elect of God, holy and beloved, put on
BTmagazine.org/booklets
assess any church and its teachings. tender mercies, kindness, humility,
WORLD NEWS
& PROPHECY
Israel’s 9/11: What’s Behind

Hamas’ Brutal Bloodbath?
The entire world was shocked by the viciousness of a brutal assault on Israeli civilians on one of Israel’s
holiest days of the year. What’s behind this latest bloody round of violence? You need to know!
by Scott Ashley
A
s in any large city, it’s normal to hear sirens at any being butchered, raped and dismembered by fanatical
time of day in Jerusalem. But this was different. Islamic Hamas terrorists from Gaza who had overrun large
Instead of going away in a minute or two, these areas of southern Israel in a shockingly brutal attack. The
sirens continued to wail, disrupting the early Sabbath- victims included dozens of young children and infants, and
morning peace. at least one elderly wheelchair-bound woman. More than
Opening the window of my hotel room to try to under-
stand what the noise was about, I heard about a dozen
muffled explosions in less than a minute. I’d seen enough
news reports to immediately recognize what was going
on—the sirens were warning Jerusalem residents of a
wave of incoming missiles from the Hamas-ruled Gaza
Strip, and the explosions were Israel’s Iron Dome defen-
sive system intercepting and blowing up those missiles
before they could hit the city.
A surreal experience
My wife and I were in Jerusalem as part of a 178-
member group celebrating the biblical Feast of Taber-
nacles and the Holy Day immediately following. During
the previous seven days we had visited many biblical
sites and celebrated the coming millennial reign of Jesus
Hamas terrorists prepare to launch one of thousands of missiles
Christ that this Feast represents. Now our group was into Israel. Many of the missiles are fabricated from water pipes
directed to the basement-level meeting room/bomb that have been converted into weapons to kill Israeli civilians.
shelter where we would hold our final church service.
One of the hymns we sang, “O God of Every Nation,” 260 young adults were slaughtered at an open-air concert.
was particularly poignant. Some of its lyrics plead for More than 3,300 others were injured, many critically.
deliverance from “bombs that shower destruction through
the night” and ask “that all may find release from fear of A long history of violence
rattling saber and dread of war’s increase.” This wasn’t my first brush with Middle East bloodshed.
For the most part we were in a news blackout due to On a previous trip, Beyond Today writer and TV present-
what has often rightly been described as “the fog of war.” er Darris McNeely and I had spent time in Israel before
Yet we knew conditions were serious, and most of our crossing the border to fly out of Amman to return home.
group hurriedly made plans to cross the border into But on our last night in Amman, we were shaken out of
neighboring Jordan and return home via flights through our sleep by a hotel employee pounding on our room
Amman rather than risk cancellations of our existing door and yelling: “Wake up! Get out! We must evacuate!”
flights leaving from Israel’s only major airport. That We were quickly rushed downstairs and out into the
turned out to be a wise decision, as only a handful were cold night air to a nearby vacant lot. There, as the hotel was
able to fly out that evening. Others ended up stranded in being searched, we eventually learned that suicide bombers
Tel Aviv or Jerusalem for several days with nowhere to go. had detonated their explosive vests at three nearby hotels,
Little did we know that over the course of the day, killing and maiming hundreds of innocent people. Many
more than 1,300 Israeli men, women and children were of the victims had been gathered for a wedding celebration
WORLD NEWS
& PROPHECY
that quickly turned into a national tragedy. bind your captives firmly . . .” (sura 47:4).
To many, such senseless cruelty is incomprehensible. In carrying out their surprise slaughter of more than
But Israel and its neighbors have suffered from decades 1,300 people, Islamic Hamas terrorists did exactly what
of this barbarity. What’s behind such savagery? their holy book tells them to—they beheaded captured
While war and murder are as old as the human race, Israelis, even infants, and took nearly 200 captives into
this region has a long record of brutality, with city-states Gaza. (In recent decades Muslim jihadists have recited
and empires clashing for control. The Bible itself records these same verses in videos while recording the decapita-
the rise and fall tions of their victims—they were simply quoting what
of the Egyptian, their holy book tells them to do.)
Israelite, Assyr-
ian, Babylonian, The short, deadly history of Hamas
Persian, Greek Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood,
and Roman established in Gaza in 1946 before the modern state of
Empires, all of Israel existed. Hamas officially formed in 1987 and car-
which at times ried out its first suicide bombings a few years later. Due
dominated the to its attacks against civilians, most Western nations have
area. designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Over its
But it took bloody history, Hamas has launched hundreds of attacks
the rise of Islam against Israelis, killing and injuring thousands.
in the 600s to Israel took control of Egyptian-ruled Gaza, along
launch this region Israel’s southwest border, after defeating Egypt in the
into a largely 1967 Six-Day War, but withdrew in 2005 and turned the
Hamas terrorists celebrate their attack on
permanent state nearby Israeli settlements on Oct. 7, 2023. area over to self-rule by the Palestinian National Author-
of war spanning ity. The following year Hamas won the first elections and
centuries and continuing to our day—and playing the key in 2007 took complete control over Gaza, even engaging
role in this recent slaughter. in a brief civil war to oust the competing Fatah faction.
This set the stage for a cycle of repeated Hamas rocket
Muhammed’s bloody new religion and mortar attacks on nearby Israeli settlements, leading
Few Westerners have read Islam’s claimed holy book, the to Israeli military retaliation and even more deaths.
Quran, dictated by Muhammad to his followers. If they Now Hamas has launched its bloodiest attacks ever on
did, they would likely be shocked at its repeated instruc- Israeli civilians. To put the numbers in perspective, the disas-
tions to wage jihad—holy war—against non-Muslims. trous 9/11 terrorist attacks killed almost 3,000 Americans.
Its incitements include many exhortations such as these Had the proportions been the same as the percentage of
(Dawood translation): Israel’s population killed recently by Hamas, the total would
• “Let not the unbelievers [non-Muslims] think that be 40,000 dead Americans and well over 100,000 injured.
they will ever get away. Muster against them all the men These numbers are staggering. Nearly every Israeli family
and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike personally knows someone killed or wounded in these attacks.
terror into the enemy of [Allah] . . .” (sura 8:59-60). Since taking control of Gaza, Hamas has not allowed any
• “Make war on them. [Allah] will chastise them at further elections. Their near-constant state of war with Israel
your hands and humble them” (sura 9:14). has led to great hardship and suffering for the people of Gaza.
• “Fight against them until idolatry [worship of any They, too, have been victims of Hamas, and many more will
Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Newscom
god other than Allah] is no more and [Allah’s] religion suffer as Israel tries to root out Hamas' terrorist leadership.
[Islam] reigns supreme” (sura 2:193).
• “Believers, take neither Jews nor the Christians for What is the goal of Hamas?
your friends . . . Whoever of you seeks their friendship While Hamas has tried to publicly present a face of
becomes one of their number” (sura 5:51). moderation, it remains at heart a terrorist organization
• “If you do not go to war, [Allah] will punish you [Mus- dedicated to the forceful eradication of the state of Israel,
lims] sternly, and will replace you by other men . . . March as plainly stated in its charter. These excerpts clearly state
on and fight for the cause of [Allah] . . .” (sura 9:38-41). their intentions (emphasis added throughout):
• “Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around • “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam
you. Deal firmly with them. Know that [Allah] is with the will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
righteous” (sura 9:123) • “The Islamic Resistance Movement . . . strives to raise
• “When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine” (which to
strike off their heads and, when you have laid them low, Hamas means the whole land of Israel).
• “There is no solution for the Palestinian question except and Israelis: “The Israelis are known to love life. We, on the
through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be
conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.” martyrs. The thing any Palestinian desires the most is to
• “In face of the Jews’ usurpation of Palestine, it is be martyred for the sake of
compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised.” Allah, defending his land.”
The slogan of Hamas is: “Allah is its target, the Prophet A particularly vile and
is its model, the Qur’an its constitution: Jihad is its path oft-quoted hadith—a saying
and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.” attributed to Muhammed—
The Palestinian National Authority, which governs the states: “The Day of Judge-
West Bank, is little better. The Palestinian Covenant, which ment will not come about
lays out its ideology, states in Article 9: “Armed struggle is the until Muslims fight the
only way to liberate Palestine . . . The Palestinian Arab people Jews, when the Jew will
assert their absolute determination and firm resolution to con- hide behind stones and
tinue their armed struggle and to work for an armed popular trees. The stones and trees
revolution for the liberation of their country . . .” will say O Muslims, . . .
The real issue, as shown by these statements, is the very there is a Jew behind me,
existence of Israel. Both the Hamas Charter and the Palestin- come and kill him.”
ian National Covenant call for violent jihad until the region In the minds of the The symbols of the Hamas logo
is ethnically cleansed of Jews and Israel no longer exists. Hamas terrorists who mur- illustrate the group’s intractable
dered so many Israelis on attitude toward Israel. At the top is
When they tell us who they are, believe them an outline of the territory of Israel,
that horrible day, they were Gaza and the West Bank shown
Because few Westerners have ever read the Quran or simply carrying out their as one entity covered in green,
goals and hastening the Hamas’ symbolic color. In the cen-
Hamas charter, most find such thinking incomprehen- ter is the Muslim shrine, the Dome
sible. So they cannot grasp what could possibly motivate time they believe their of the Rock in Jerusalem, sur-
such horrendous attacks. But when Hamas and its sup- prophet foretold when Islam rounded by banners bearing the
phrases “There is no god but Allah”
porters plainly tell us what they think and what motivates will rule the entire world. and “Muhammad is the messenger
them, we should believe their own clear statements. of Allah.” Underneath those are
The name Hamas is an Arabic acronym for Harakat The Middle East— the words “Palestine” and “Islamic
al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, meaning “Islamic Resistance ground zero of Bible Resistance Movement—Hamas.”
The swords are a common Islamic
Movement.” This acronym also has a meaning of its own. prophecy motif, representing the power of
The Arabic word hamas is typically defined as “zeal” or Jerusalem and Israel Islam and the desire to spread the
religion, by force if necessary.
“warlike strength and bravery,” but derives from older are the “ground zero”
connotations of forcefulness or severity. of Bible prophecy and the focus of end-time prophetic
The Arabic language is related to and largely derived events leading up to Jesus Christ’s return. As this issue of
from ancient Hebrew (since many of the Arab tribes are Beyond Today goes to press, a great deal is unknown. This
descended from Ishmael, son of the biblical patriarch war could dramatically expand overnight should Syria,
Abraham). So it should come as no surprise to learn Lebanon-based Hezbollah, or Iran intervene to fight in
that hamas is also a Hebrew word that appears in the solidarity with Hamas. This could draw in Western powers
Bible. It means “violence, destruction, malice, ruthless- such as the United States, especially with Hamas holding
ness, fierceness” (Mounce’s Complete Expository Diction- citizens of more than 20 countries hostage.
ary of Old and New Testament Words). What an appropri- However this war turns out, one thing is certain—there
ate name for a terrorist organization! will be more war, violence and devastation to come. This
In an interview on Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas attacks, has long been foretold in the pages of your Bible.
senior Hamas official Ali Baraka succinctly summed up Psalm 122:6 tells us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
the vastly contrasting mindsets between Hamas supporters We should all pray for the peace of this long-troubled land
and people, a peace that will come with the return of Jesus
LEARN MORE Christ to the Mount of Olives overlooking the city. This
Why has the Middle East been a hotbed of long-suffering city will continue to experience violence
violence and bloodshed for so long? Will and bloodshed until that time.
it always be so? What does Scripture say In the meantime we should take comfort in Christ’s
about its future? Download or request our
words recorded in Luke 21:28: “Now when these things
free study guide The Middle East in Bible
Prophecy to learn much more! begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because
BTmagazine.org/booklets your redemption draws near.” Join us in praying for that
day to come quickly!
WORLD NEWS
& PROPHECY Current Events & Trends
Governments spying to silence potential critics

A
recent commentary by John and Nisha danger based on your public activities . . . looking ciation’ society in which we are all as guilty as the
Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute for any hints of ‘large public events, social unrest, most culpable person in our address book.”
pointed out that, “on any given day, the av- gang communications, and criminally predicated The Whiteheads comment: “Now the govern-
erage person is now monitored, surveilled, spied individuals’ . . . [and] such ‘suspicious’ behavior as ment wants us to believe that we have nothing
on and tracked in more than 20 different ways by people buying pallets of bottled water . . . to fear from these mass spying programs as long
both government and corporate eyes and ears” “Flagging you as a danger based on your social as we’ve done nothing wrong. Don’t believe it
(“We the Targeted: How the Government Weap- media activities. Every move you make, especially . . . The government’s definition of a ‘bad’ guy is
onizes Surveillance to Silence Its Critics,” Aug. 29, on social media, is monitored, mined for data, extraordinarily broad, and it results in the war-
2023). crunched, and tabulated in order to form a pic- rantless surveillance of innocent, law-abiding
While the piece goes into more depth on some ture of who you are, what makes you tick, and Americans on a staggering scale. Moreover, there
of these elements, here are some highlights: how best to control you when and if it becomes is a repressive, suppressive effect to surveillance
“Consider just a small sampling of the ways in necessary to bring you in line. As The Intercept that not only acts as a potentially small deterrent
which the government is weaponizing its 360 reported, the FBI, CIA, NSA and other government on crime but serves to monitor and chill lawful
degree surveillance technologies to flag you as a agencies are increasingly investing in and relying First Amendment activity, and that is the whole
threat to national security, whether or not you’ve on corporate surveillance technologies that can point. Weaponized surveillance is re-engineering
done anything wrong. a society structured around the aesthetic of fear.”
“Flagging you as a danger based on your feel- This ties back to a quote from President Harry
ings . . . [by] an artificial intelligence surveillance Truman that opened the commentary: “Once
program that can detect ‘sentiment and emotion’ a government is committed to the principle of
in social media posts . . . Flagging you as a danger silencing the voice of opposition, it has only
based on your phone and movements . . . Flagging one way to go, and that is down the path of in-
you as a danger based on your DNA . . . It’s only a creasingly repressive measures, until it becomes
matter of time before the police state’s pursuit a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a
of criminals expands into genetic profiling and a country where everyone lives in fear.”
preemptive hunt for criminals of the future . . . This is the way to totalitarianism, and America
“Flagging you as a danger based on your face. and other Western governments that espouse
Facial recognition software aims to create a society freedom are on that track. The Bible speaks of a
in which every individual who steps out into public mine constitutionally protected speech on social time soon ahead when the world will be plunged
is tracked and recorded as they go about their daily media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and In- into even more severe repression under what the
business . . . Scientists are also developing lasers stagram in order to identify potential extremists book of Revelation calls the mark of the Beast,
that can identify and surveil individuals based on and predict who might engage in future acts of where no one will be allowed to buy and sell—
their heartbeats, scent and microbiome. Flagging anti-government behavior . . . participate in commerce—without demonstrat-
you as a danger based on your behavior . . . includ- “Flagging you as a danger based on your social ing compliance to the system. This will be part of
ing gait recognition (the way one walks) . . . network . . . the people you might connect with the final European revival of the Roman Empire. To
“Flagging you as a danger based on your spend- by phone, text message, email or through social learn more about that system, send for or down-
ing and consumer activities . . . Flagging you as a message . . . What this creates is a ‘guilt by asso- load our free study guide The Final Superpower.
China seeks new world order tries, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa” (ibid.).
The same piece interestingly notes: “Xi seems to perceive the future as
a binary competition between his China and the United States. But he is
W
hen world leaders gathered Sept. 9-10 for the G20 Summit in mistaken. The global order that is now emerging has multiple centers of
New Delhi, India, the year’s premier diplomatic event, the ab- power, each with its own goals and interests. China will not automatically
sence of China’s president Xi Jinping was palpable. As reported be the primary beneficiary of the coming world order, nor will the global
by Michael Schuman in The Atlantic, Xi “deemed it not worth his time. His South necessarily flock to its banner in a renewed anti-colonial struggle.”
absence sends a stark signal: China is done with the established world or- Quite true. The Bible shows that China, Russia and other Asian nations
der” (“Xi Jinping Is Done With the Established World Order,” Sept 9, 2023). will form a major power bloc in the end time. But they will be overshad-
The story goes on to say that “Xi is willing to hang on to some estab- owed by a European power, and these two forces will confront each
lished institutions, such as the United Nations, that he thinks he can re- other in global war, leading to massive loss of life and imperiling human
purpose to promote his global aims. But apparently, the G20 wasn’t one of survival if not for God’s intervention. To better understand where events
those . . . Xi has been pushing rivals that he thinks he can dominate or pack are headed, send for or download our free study guides Russia and Bible
with friendly clients. One such form is the BRICS group of developing coun- Prophecy and The Final Superpower.
Major cities plan to
Recent disasters: taste of more to come? ban meat by 2030
I
n September 2023, Mediterranean Storm Dramatic Increase in Earthquakes May Herald
A
Daniel dumped massive rain on the North Af- ‘the Big One,’” Israel Today, Feb. 23). s reported at The Federalist, “fourteen ma-
rican nation of Libya, causing horrific flooding Scientists have also been expressing concerns jor American cities are part of a globalist
that left more than 11,000 dead as of the time about a hole 50 miles off the coast of the U.S. climate organization known as the ‘C40
of this writing—with 20,000 still missing. “The state of Oregon spewing up hot “fault lubricant” Cities Climate Leadership Group,’ which has an
floods came without warning, sweeping entire so that enough is not left for the tectonic plates ‘ambitious target’ by the year 2030 of ‘0 kg [of]
here to slide smoothly. The resultant stress could meat consumption,’ ‘0 kg [of] dairy consump-
unleash a catastrophic magnitude-9 earth- tion,’ ‘3 new clothing items per person per year,’
quake in the Pacific Northwest (“Experts on Red ‘0 private vehicles owned,’ and ‘1 short-haul
Alert for Mega-Earthquake Off the US Coast— return flight (less than 1500 km) every 3 years
After Discovering a Crack in the 600-Mile Long per person’—goals laid out in 2019 report
Fault Line at the Bottom of the Pacific,” Daily “The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C
Mail, April 14, 2023). World,” reemphasized in 2023 (Evita Duffy-
And further concerns are noted about a Alfonso, “These 14 American Cities Have a ‘Tar-
nearing eruption of the Campi Flegrei volcano, get’ of Banning Meat, Dairy, and Private Vehicles
believed to be a supervolcano, on the west side by 2030,” Aug. 19, 2023).
of Naples, Italy, across from Vesuvius on the east Headed and largely funded by Democrat bil-
side. This would be devastating. “More than lionaire Michael Bloomberg, the organization is
1.5 million people have their homes inside its made up of nearly 100 cities across the world.
7-mile long (11 kilometers) caldera”—and Some corporate “fact-checkers” have argued
neighborhoods off the map and sleeping fami- many more would be affected by toxic ash and that the meat and dairy bans and travel and
lies out to sea . . . In Derna, the worst-hit city . . . resultant tsunamis (“Europe’s Most Dangerous clothing limits are not actual policy recommen-
a whole district had been dragged away by the ‘Supervolcano’ Could be Creeping Toward Erup- dations but merely considerations for emissions
raging waters” (“In Libya’s Flood-Shattered East, tion, Scientists Warn,” June 9, 2023). reduction and urban renewal. But these are spe-
a Disaster of ‘Mythic Proportions,’” The Washing- Bible prophecy foretells increasing seismic cifically labeled targets—actual goals.
ton Post, Sept. 14, 2023). events and other natural catastrophes in the These and other extreme maneuvers are re-
As awful as this was, an even greater disaster world leading up to Christ’s return, including ally not about saving the planet, but asserting
happened earlier in the year. On Feb. 6, 2023, massive earthquakes in the land of Israel soon more elitist government control over the world’s
southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria were before and when He arrives (see Matthew 24:3- population. Indeed, more than 1,600 scientists
rocked by massive 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earth- 8; Revelation 11:13; 16:18-19; Zechariah 14:3- from around the world recently signed the
quakes, causing great devastation, including 5). The Greek word seismoi used in Matthew World Climate Declaration, stating there is no
the deaths of 50,000 people. Aftershocks and 24:7 also refers to great storms—shakings or climate emergency and no need for climate
Photos, from left: Motortion/iStock/Getty Images Plus, Voice of America
other independent earthquakes followed soon commotions of the air (see Matthew 8:24, where alarmism (“More Than 1,600 Scientists, Includ-
after. Many have blamed government officials the singular form is translated “tempest”). ing Two Nobel Laureates, Declare Climate ‘Emer-
for the collapse of substandard buildings, while Our hearts go out to all who’ve suffered in gency’ a Myth,” Just the News, Aug. 28, 2023).
officials have in turn blamed developers. It’s true the recent tragedies and those who will be im- As the Federalist piece warns: “Ultimately,
that better building practices would have saved pacted by the calamities to come. Some will ask the climate coalition’s goals are anti-human.
lives, but many would still have died. why God would allow such things to happen, People generally need meat and the protein it
Experts in nearby Israel are concerned that yet there are a number of important factors to provides to flourish. Banning meat and dairy,
increased earthquake activity next door and consider when disaster strikes. To learn more, restricting calories, genetically altering the hu-
within the country signal that a strong earth- be sure to send for or download our free study man body, and impoverishing the masses will
quake here is not long away (“Experts Agree: guide Why Does God Allow Suffering? hurt the planet and people . . . It will do more
than hurt people—it will kill many of them.”
How can you make sense of the news?

So much is happening in the world, and so quickly. Where are today’s dramatic and dangerous
trends taking us? What does Bible prophecy reveal about our future? You’re probably very con-
cerned with the direction the world is heading. So are we. That’s one reason we produce the
Beyond Today daily TV commentaries—to help you understand the news in the light of Bible
prophecy. These eye-opening presentations offer you a perspective so badly needed in our
confused world—the perspective of God’s Word. Visit us at ucg.org/beyond-today/daily!
THE BIBLE
AND YOU Follow Me...
“Antipas My Faithful Martyr”—

Holding Fast to His Name
Relying on Jesus’ name, the church of Pergamos, including its faithful martyr
Antipas, was able to endure persecution to the end—as the way into life.
by Robin Webber
W
hat’s in a name? For the persecuted believers of Considering that Christ’s name is above all names, is
the ancient church of Pergamos in Asia Minor, it any wonder that the apostle John would later write in
the answer is basically “everything!” 1 John 3:23 that it was our Heavenly Father’s desire that
Among them was Antipas, who the ascended Christ “we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ”?
calls “My faithful martyr,” the Greek term meaning John was not instructing us to spell it, sign it or say it out
“witness,” who rendered the supreme sacrifice (Revela- loud. He was telling us to believe it!
tion 2:13). Who was Antipas? The Bible says nothing What would such belief in a name have meant to Anti-
else about him. While apparently an actual person in the pas and his fellow Christians of Pergamos? What exactly
first century, he might also represent thousands of other did they hold to by holding fast to Christ’s name? Let’s
Christians who suffered martyrdom. allow the Scriptures to fill in not the letters of a name, but
Jesus tells this church, “You hold fast to My name and the attributes that all of Jesus’ followers need to keep in
did not deny My faith” (same verse, emphasis added heart when they “ask in His name.”
throughout). They were holding on to something far more
precious than an autographed signature or verbalizing an The only name by which we must be saved
individual’s given name. Those early Christian martyrs held on to the reality
As fellow disciples heeding the Master’s invitation of found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which declared
“Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19; John 21:19), let’s delve deeper that Jesus is the Beloved of God (Ephesians 1:6). God’s
into understanding why Christ commended Antipas and Son is at the center of all that that our Heavenly Father
this challenged congregation. The answer behind the name desires.
they held to may hold the key to how you will handle not These believers were further strengthened by the teach-
only your many tomorrows, but also the challenges facing ings of John confirming that Jesus was the Word of God
you today. (John 1:1-4, 14). Jesus is not only the Word who is God
along with the Father, but He is the effective and power-
The name above every name ful uncreated Word through whom God calls creation out
There was a time when a name was the full personifica- of nothing and life out of death. Christ is not simply the
tion of all that a person encompassed. A name spoke to informative Word of God who brings information, but the
one’s reputation based on his or her full capacity. Names One who brings forth the “new creation” (2 Corinthians
were not merely a series of letters or sounds that identi- 5:17) and the transformation of men’s lives.
fied a person. No, they were lived out and known by The faithful Christians of Pergamos would have prob-
reputation! Your word was your bond, and your name ably come to appreciate the aspect of Jesus’ prophesied
sealed it. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be name echoing from the messianic prophecy of Isaiah.
chosen rather than great riches.” He proclaimed 700 years beforehand that one named
The name also speaks to authority, Jesus having told Immanuel or “God With Us” would appear on the scene
His disciples to pray to the Father in His name (John (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). He would come from
16:23). After His death and resurrection, Jesus received heaven to earth so that man might touch God and, in
from the Father “the name which is above every name” turn, God might be touched by the existence and frailty
(Philippians 2:9), being set “far above all principality and of His creation.
power and might and dominion, and every name that is The Beloved. The Word. Immanuel. And perhaps
named, not only in this age but also in that which is to another name Jesus Himself disclosed gave the early
come” (Ephesians 1:21). martyrs critical insight: “I am the door” (John 10:9). Yes,
about what Christ did for them. He is
often referred to as “the Lamb of God.”
That precious sacrificial name makes
plain the divine family’s personal self-
sacrifice for us. Jesus would never ask
us to do something He did not first do
Himself. Was God’s unfathomable and
undeniable love in question? No!
Did these Christians doubt God’s
wisdom at the time of their impending
martyrdom? I have a hunch that their
minds and hearts were in a good place
as they recalled one of Christ’s titles
being “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthi-
ans 1:24). Worry or doubt would have
indicated concern that somehow God is
not able to plan for His own or that the
With the end of life closing in, perhaps these Master of our lives does not know what
is best for those who belong to Him.
early believers remembered that Jesus iden-
At the name of Jesus every
tified Himself as “the resurrection and the life.” knee shall bow
He is our gateway to the Father above. He is our only Is it possible that, as Antipas and fellow believers faced
entrance to this meaningful relationship as “there is no their executioners, they doubted the power of God to
other name under heaven given among men by which we intervene at this seemingly most critical moment?
must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The One known as the Door Perhaps in their last prayers they reflected on what
is our return path to Eden, in which God desired to walk Paul had shared with the Philippians about the exalta-
and talk with His special creation. And He will yet abide tion of Christ following His death: “God also has highly
again with His people in another garden, as prophesied exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every
in Revelation 22:1-5. name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
However, what happens when the way forward seems of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
barred, with the end of this life closing in on us? It was under the earth, and that every tongue should confess
then that perhaps Antipas and his fellow believers of that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
Pergamos remembered how Jesus identified Himself in (Philippians 2:9-11).
declaring, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and further As an example of Christian faithfulness in the face of
stated, “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he death, Antipas understood that the name he and other
shall live” (John 11:25). believers held fast to signified a spectacular existence that
knew no bounds and met no borders.
Peace and assurance through His name Until that day when we are ultimately united with the
As Antipas and other believers faced death, perhaps One who bids us “Follow Me,” along with Antipas, other
they recalled one more name to comfort them in their faithful Christians and those yet to understand the power
last moments. This One for whom they were dying was of Christ’s name, let us hold fast to the fullness of His
“the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). name as we ponder the words of Psalm 23:1, here in the
The peace God grants is a divine calm that works from New Living Translation: “The Lord is my shepherd, I have
the inside out. It’s a peace that is better than knowledge, all that I need.”
better than any understanding man might conjure up.
It’s the peace of knowing that whatever God allows LEARN MORE
right now in our lives, He is working it out for the best Jesus has been gravely misrepresented over
(Romans 8:28). the centuries. Who was He really? What did
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Were early martyrs like Antipas humanly concerned as He actually teach? What did He come to
do? And what does it mean for you? For
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I pray God continues to bless your ministry with abundant favor read the Bible for many years and have never been taught the truth the
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Is the whole world really

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Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow January-February 2016

8 How False Religion is Leading

11 Christmas: The Untold Story

14 Was the Biblical Sabbath

19 Are You Saved by Faith Alone

21 How to Raise Godly Children

23 Israel’s 9/11: What’s Behind

28 “Antipas My Faithful Martyr”—

30 Letters From Our Readers

31 Beyond Today Television Log

Live by Every Scott Ashley

Then I read in the Bible about God’s disgust with people

The Devil Goes to Church

Check us out tains some true elements. Because

ucg.org/learnmore Satan goes to church. But here’s

How False Religion Is Leading

Was the Biblical Sabbath

How Can You Find God’s True Church?

How Your Gift Can Make Beyond Today Available to Others

How to Raise Godly Children

to set boundaries on their behavior

Photos, from left: andreswd/E+/Getty Images Plus, EyePress/Newscom

Israel’s 9/11: What’s Behind

Governments spying to silence potential critics

How can you make sense of the news?

“Antipas My Faithful Martyr”—

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Is the whole world really

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