The linked Good News article from 1974 summarizes five key doctrines that are unique to the Church of God, as distinguished from counterfeit teachings of so-called Christianity. They are helpful reminders of the core defining doctrines of the true Body of Christ. PLAN OF GOD The weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Days describe God’s plan for humankind through seven steps and three annual seasons. The…
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The Book of Revelation Unveiled podcasts.apple.com
Steven Orchard
2 years ago in Prophecy
The Book of Revelation seems like confused, fantastical imagery. But it can be understood. While the end-time events it foretells are terrifying, the ultimate message of the book is that God will institute universal peace, prosperity and cooperation over all the earth when Jesus Christ returns. It reveals how this wonderful new world will be established and why it will never be destroyed or superseded…
Implications of the Gospel of the Kingdom – David Grabbe cgg.org
Steven Orchard
2 years ago in Kingdom
The word gospel means “good news,” but conflicting ideas exist about what that is. Most consider it simply to be that Jesus died for the sins of humanity, which is indeed good news. But the good news that Jesus himself brought was about the Kingdom of God; that is, God’s rulership. God promises to claim rule over all the kingdoms and nations of this world….
The Falling Away – David Grabbe cgg.org
Steven Orchard
2 years ago in Prophecy
The Apostle Paul prophesied in the Bible about a great “falling away” before Christ’s return, wherein a “man of sin” would be worshipped as god. Sinful men of this type have risen up to lead church congregations to believe lies at various times. Is that what Paul meant? A bigger, more universal event that is unique in history is more likely, because this personality will…
The 4th of July and the Bible – Erik Jones lifehopeandtruth.com
Steven Orchard
2 years ago in Prophecy
America’s existence as a nation is highly unlikely; Its emergence depended on a very unusual and particular sequence of circumstances. And it isn’t contested that America has enjoyed rare, perhaps even historically unmatched, prosperity and power. Reflecting on these concepts should not exalt the nation or its people. But it should increase faith. Because the story of America, in the context of Bible prophecy, reveals…
What is the Kingdom of God? – Staff thebiblesaysthat.com
Steven Orchard
2 years ago in Gospel Message, Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Millennium, Kingdom, Feast of Tabernacles
Christ will return to establish the Kingdom of God and unprecedented peace and prosperity on planet Earth (Isaiah 11:6-9). Christ will rule that Kingdom, assisted by a corps of “Kings and Priests” (Revelation 5:10, 20:6) comprised of faithful Christians, past and present, who will have been resurrect and/or translated as spirit beings in the God Family. For a thousand years human beings will live in…
Symbolism of Second Holy Day of Unleavened Bread Festival youtu.be
This is a 30 minute podcast group discussion about why there are two Holy Days in the Days of Unleavened Bread. The day maps to the Israelite’s crossing of the Red Sea. A greater symbolic meaning is addressed in Hebrews 12:2, where Paul said that we look “to Christ as the author and finisher of our faith”. He is the beginning or originator. He starts…
Christ Our Passover cgi.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread
This article explains why Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are relevant to modern-day Christians, and gives helpful guidance on how to observe them. God (the Word who would become Christ) instituted the Old Testament Passover when Israel was enslaved in Egypt. The blood of lambs was the symbol by which the Israelites were protected when the angel of death “passed over”. Thus, the…
Amazing Grace – John Ritenbaugh cgg.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Grace
God gives us grace so that we might stand before Him. Grace makes salvation possible. To say that grace is simply a “gift” is woefully inadequate. 1) It is the single most important aspect of our spiritual and eternal salvation, and 2) God’s giving of it to us is completely unmerited. Even though grace is the foundation for good works, the good works, by themselves,…
What Is Truth? – Gary Petty ucg.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Physical World
Pilate asked of Jesus a rhetorical, sarcastic, and cynical question that feels extremely relevant today: “What is truth?” he posed. With limitless information at our fingertips, we can “know” anything. But society has never been less sure of truth. Somewhere along the way, it became subjective. Now, we seem to have given up on the idea all together. A lot of thinking that has undermined…
A Right Christmas – Edwin Stepp & Robert Boraker vision.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Paganism, Christmas
The early Christian Church didn’t keep Christmas. Christ wasn’t even born in winter. However, a solar feast commemorating the Persian god Mithra, whom the Romans also worshiped, was historically observed on December 25th around the winter solstice. Gift-giving and unrestrained revelry were also features of the Roman Saturnalia, another solstice festival that anchors modern Christmas traditions. Roman emperor Constantine saw the tension between emerging Christianity…
The Seventh Day sabbathcog.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Weekly Sabbath
The Sabbath is the memorial that reminds us each week, not only of God’s physical creation, but also of His incredible future spiritual plans for mankind. God blessed the seventh day, sanctified it, and rested on it. It is one of God’s Ten Commandments. Jesus observed the Saturday Sabbath and He is our example. Indeed, Christ said He is Lord of the Sabbath. The Bible…
Mankind’s Inheritance – Michael Kelley ucg.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in God Family, Plan of Salvation
The Bible teaches that God is in the process of expanding the divine family. God the Father and the Son are reproducing Themselves in the form of perhaps billions of spirit beings, who will be like Them, sharing Their level of existence: “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters” (2 Corinthians 6:18) This is a radically different…
Halloween – Bill Butler vision.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Paganism, Halloween
Halloween is rooted in ancient pagan rites and customs. Why do those who claim Christian identity keep it? Paul told the followers of Christ to disassociate themselves such customs when he said “…what accord has Christ with Belial? …‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord’” (2 Corinthians 6:14–17). Christians ought to reject this overtly pagan festival. Halloween’s history goes back 2,000…
Are People Lost Because of Adam’s Sin? – Herbert Armstrong hwalibrary.com
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Sin, Human Beings, Creation
Christian teachings concerning the “fall of man” hold that God made man complete, perfect, with an immortal spirit soul. Further, that this creation was then corrupted by Satan, forever condemning humanity to hell, and that God has ever since been trying to “save” men in a contest with Satan for these fallen souls. That’s not what the Bible says. Man is mortal. He does not…
The Last Great Day – Martin Collins bibletools.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Judgement, Last Great Day
The Last Great Day is the 7th and final Holy Day in God’s annual calendar. It looks forward to a time after the return of Jesus Christ, and after the 1,000 year period in which Christ rules over the Earth with peace and prosperity, when everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected to physical life and given a chance to know Christ, to have…
Original Sin – Sam Sweat ucg.org
Steven Orchard
3 years ago in Sin, Human Beings, Creation
Original Sin is a cornerstone of popular Christianity that claims human beings are born evil; i.e. Adam transmitted guilt for his sin to each of us by virtue of simple heredity. This is a fundamentally wrong premise with far reaching bad consequences throughout modern history for both Christians and non-Christians. The doctrine was championed by St. Augustine, who was a Gnostic blending paganism and Greek…
12 Scriptural Principles of Child Rearing vision.org
Steven Orchard
4 years ago in Children
Raising children is hard. It always has been. In a modern world that is accelerating and awash in uncertainty, there seems to be no reliable standards. Old wisdom can provide helpful anchors. The Bible is replete with timeless advice on how to parent. This link provides a brief list of principles drawn from scripture to provide a base of stability in child-rearing. Begin early. Parent…
Angels – Chris Moen lifehopeandtruth.com
Steven Orchard
4 years ago in Spirit Beings
Angels are ministering spirits carrying out God’s work. They praise God, they execute His righteous judgment, and they protect those that are His. Although they can be found in different forms, most often angels have appeared as men when making themselves known on earth. Angels are intelligent and have free moral agency which is why Lucifer was able to deceive one third of God’s vast…
Acts 10: Did Peter’s Vision Abolish Unclean Meats? – Ralph Levy lifehopeandtruth.com
Steven Orchard
4 years ago in Law
God’s law on the avoidance of unclean meats is a common theme throughout the bible, and in Leviticus 11:1-47 and Deuteronomy 14:3-20 he clearly establishes the criteria for clean and unclean meats. However, Acts 10:9-16 tends to cause much confusion on this topic. In these verses, Peter receives a vision from God discussing symbolic clean and unclean animals. One might view this vision as the…