Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 08) Dec.pdf

8/10/2019 Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 08) Dec.pdf

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T H E C H U R C H O F G O D

VOL. VII, N U M B E R DECEMBER, 1958

Over 4000 Attend Feast ofTabernaclesA Wonderful Time of Rejoicing Has Been Set Aside for You

Have You Been Missing I t ?by G a r n e r Te d Armstrong

AVE you been MISSING OUT on unt o the Lord seven days, on the firstwhat should be the greatest day shall bea sabbath , and on the eighth Is it Bondage ?H Spiritual experienceof your life? day shallbe a sabbath and ye shall Satan has deceived all nat ions (Rev.

This p ast fall thousandsof Gods people REJOICE before the Lord your God seven 12:9) into keeping certain false religi-gathered at the huge tabernacle building days (Lev.23:39-40) . ous customs. Among them, he has innear Big Sandy, Texas for the annual And Gods people trulyREJOICED troduced COUNTERFEIT FEAST days. TheFeast of Tabcmades . Mult ip lehandreds But to the WORLD, in w hich you live, gre test of the Ch ristian holidays isof them had come to a Feast for the such a practice would be considered a Christmas

very first timeYOKE OF B ONDAGE T he world scoffs at LetsC OM PAR E the pagan holiday of

And what a real FEAST it was God the customs of a people they believe to Christmas and the GOD-ORDAINEDsays, Also in the fifteen th day of the be returning to SLAVERY-to a harsh HOLYDAY OF THE Feast of Tabernaclesseventh month . ye shall keep a feast LAW Millions save money all year long, by

M a m m o t h N e w Ta b e r n a c l e t o w e rs a b o v e h u g e p ar k i n g l o t t i l l ed t o c a p a c i t y d u r i n g F e as t o f Tab ern ac l e s .


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Page 2 The GOOD NEWS December, 1958

0

International magazine ofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

ministering to i t s membersscattered abroad

VOL. VII N U M B E R 8

Herbert W. ArmstrongPublisher and Editor

Executive EditorRoderick C. Meredith

Garner Ted ArmstrongAssociate Edifors

Herman L. Hoe h

Address communications to the Editor,ox 11 1, Pasadena, California.Copyright, December, 1958By the Radio Church of God

B e sure t notify u s immediately ofchange of address.

means of special savings ~ C C U U I I L ~ , urChristmas. Th e money is spent on buyingg i f t s for others THIS, the world assuresus, is FREEDOM

G o d s people sav e mo n ey ALL YEARL ONG (Deut . 14:2 2-26) to travel where-ever He designates and SPE ND IT ONTHEMSELVES This, according to theworld, is surely BONDAGE

Millions of obedie nt servants to custom(Rom. 12:2, Rom. 6: 16) look forwardto O N E day spent in total or near drunk -enness, slaughtering each other on thehighways, mayhem and murder (mo remurders are committed during the 24hour period encompassing Christmaseve than any other similar period duringthe year), and family dinners. This, theworld loudly proclaims, is FREEDOM

G o d s OBE DI E NT C H I L D R E N look for-ward to EIGHT F U L L DAYS spent ineating wonderful physical food, anddrinking in of deep, satisfying SPIRITUALfood, days of moderat ion , of rejoicing,of HELPING one-another, of learninghow to SAVE lives. This, the worldwould have you believr, is BONDAGE

SERVANTS-but of WHOM?Have YOU found the real delight of

serving God?Wh en you were still of th e world-

you were practicing customs you neverquestioned, going along with the pressof the crowd, wherever i t led you. Youwere a servalzt of sin. But God has called

His true people O U T of slavery-INTOtrue FREEDOM

How many times have you heardpeople expressing how they HAT E tothink of Christmas shopping , trafficjams, confusion, gift lists, and all thedizzying hubbub of the years biggestcommercial season?

And how many times have you ob-served these same people CONTINUINGblindly in the same customs?

Peter, when warning about falseprophets, said, While they promisethem LIBERTY, th ey th emse lv es are theservants of corraption. For of whom aman is overcome, of the same is hebrought in bondage (11 Peter : 19)

This world SERVES Satan, its own

Meal t i m e br in g s th o u san d s in to l in e in f ro n t o f f ir s t Tab ern ac le , n ow co n v er ted in to d in in g hall. Th e o u t l in e of o r ig in a lTo b e t n a c l e s b a r e l y v i s i b l e f h r o u g h t r e e s


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B e ne a th be a u t i f u l a s t Texa s sk ies s t ands th e ma je s t i c Ne w Ta be rn a c le Thous ands ma rve l l e d a t i t s s o l id i ty and its huge-nes s-but i t a l re a dy ne eds to be e n la rg e d fo r ne x t ye ar

lusts, \ m i r y , and the whii i is of society made truly FRE E Know ye not , that toIT is TH E RORLD T H A l IS IN TOTAL w h o m ye yield yoursclves servants toHONI)AGI~--ARJ 1X:T SLAv[ Rl. (P l ease continire on p a g e 1 2

I n t er i o r o f N e w Ta b e r n a c l e f i l l e d t o c a p a c i t y d u r in g Mr. Arms t ron gs de l ive ry o f s e rmon .

But YOU have been g iven the oppor-tuni ty to become a servant of GOD Y O Chave been given t h e opportunity t o be


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What Church Membersshould know about

MASONRYEditors No te: An intensive and extended examination and thorough researchinto the FACTS, too long concealed from the Church, has been the conscien-tious and painstaking work of Mr. Elliott in the preparation of his forthcom-ing book, W hat Church Members Should K now About M AS ON RY . TheFACTS he brought t light from many authentic sources are astounding.This startlingly revealing book was written as a Thesis, in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theology conferredon Mr. Elliott June Gth, 1958, by Ambassador College.

This book is being reproduced serially in The Good News, the presentarticle being the first installment. I t will be continued in future numbers.

You will find it to be an astonishing and eye-opening revelation. We feelit is breathtaking in interest, intriguing, and shocking-but it is all the TRUTH,

carefully documented.We feel it is high time these little known facts be published for our

Church members. We need to know how it came about that, even in our mod-ern times, as the Word of God foretold: all nations were deceived

s MASONRY a Chiistian organiza-t ion? Do they have the t ruth? WhyI re they so secret? Is i t all right to

remain in the Lodge? Is i t a l l r ight tojoin the Masons?

This series is designed to help you

answer these questions, give the reason-ing behind the answer, and produce theevidence to back it up

This series is NOT WRITTEN FORGENERAL PUBLICATION, but to supplyinformation for membcrs of the Churchof God. I t i s important that you knowsomething about the Masonic Lodge-its teachin gs an d its beliefs-so tha t youcan answer questions on the subjectwith und erstanding. Many persons whoare interested in the way of life askquestions that need a true and accurateanswer, not the evasion they get whenthey ask information from a Mason.

The Mason cannot answer most oftheir questions because he has sworn,under penalty of death, not to revealMasonic secrets. Since the details cannotbe revealed, he merely assures them thatMasonry is a Christian organizationbased on the Bible. They further assureus that Masonry is in accordance withGods laws and a candidate is not re-quired to take any action against na-tion, state or family.

Defini t ions of M a s o n r yDefinitions of Freemasonry have been

numerous. Seldom do you find two alike.

by Jack R. Ell io t t

Here are quoted someof the most cele-brated ones which were composed byinfluential Masons and, as you mightexpect, they heap much praise upon theLodge.

Freemasonry is a bea utiful systemofmorality, veiled in allegory, and illus-trated by symbols.-Hemming.

Masonry is an art, useful knowledgeand learning, and stamps an indeliblemark of pre-eminence on i t s genuineprofessors, which neither ch ance, pow er,nor fortune can bestow.-Preston.

Th e grand object of M asonry is topromote the happiness of the humanrace.-George Washington.

If such statements can be mad eofthe Lodge by such noted people, thensurely it is a worthy organization Ho wcan belonging to i t be a discredit toanyone? they ask.

Take a closer look and you will see

that whilc these definitionsale iulpres-sive, they still leave the reader in thedark as to the what, why, and how ofFreemasonry.

Confus ion in D o c t r i n e

Masonic doctrine is very pliable be-cause it is so loosely knit together andembodies such a tremendous scope ofChristian as well as pagan ideas. Further-more, it is cushioned with allowancesfor those members w ho wishto disagreewith either or both because the Lodgeembraces men of all religions. These

allowances also absorb or explain awayany accusations brought against Masonicdoctrine. It makesno difference whetherthe accusation is pro-Christian, pro-Mohammedan, pro-Pagan, or pro-any-thing. To be more specific, Masonicphilosophy is very inexact, vague inprinciple and so devious in applicationthat i t can mean almost anyth ing to anyone. Its basic teaching method is bysubtle suggestion which allows the candidate to warp his former beliefs intothe Masonic framework.

Masonry can be more revealingly defined as a gro up of men, banded togetherin an exclusive lodge to advance, firstand foremost, their personal interestsand second, the interests of certainothers of thei r fcl lowmen. They set astheir guide, morals that are as high asother man-made codes. The fact thathey are man-made is not considered a

degradation by the brotherhood.They set as the highest and simplest

of these morals brotherly lov e -- thbrother referred to, however, is a brotherMason). The spirit of Masonry is thaof mystery, feigned p om p an d ceremonyand intemperate revelry. They searchancient writings, Christian and paganin order to find the mysterious secretof life.

The teachings of the Holy Bible andthe ancient (p ag an ) mysteries are accepted alike and constitute their mainsources of information. From these they


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December, 1958 The GOOD NEWS Page 5

seiect the principles which most appealto their desires. They have worked outten of their own commandments whichare an amalgamation of someof Godslaws, and some gleaned from the an-cients.

Mem bersh ip I s Pro f i t ab leBelonging to the Lodge is profitable

for a number of reasons. Among theseis the fact that a Mason is usually bet-ter informed lhdn the average personon community and civil affairs. Masonsare of every profession imaginable. T heyhave a vast storehouse of know ledge atthei r command which they share wi thone another at refreshment and duringspecial meetings. Furthermore, they donot content themselves with the knowl-edge that i s al ready among them, butcertain members make a l i fe workofseeking out the uncommon, and pro-claiming i t f rom lodge to lodge atspecial meetings. Not all information

is edifying, however. M uch erro r is in-troduced by t he in fo rmed . (Amongthese is the erroneous teaching aboutthe construction and architecture ofKing Solomons Temple. Il lustrativedrawings of the structure while veryimpressive usually show it adornedwith winged bulls and other pagan ob-jects of worship .)

Another helpful principle s that ofextending aid to a brother Mason. Eachmember is dedicated to help a needybrother wherever or whenever he isable. Membership in the Lodge is there-for e very useful to those who seek po-litical office, political favor, em ploy me ntopportunities, business connections,iravel accommodations, or a privilegedposition in the community. So pro-nounced are some of these aids that allwho do not enjoy them are greatlyhandicapped when they compete forcertain officesor favor. Political office isa good e xam ple, and the Presidency ofthe United States is n o r excepted. Mostof our Presidents have been Masons,either active or honorary.

Secrecy

Our definition could not be completewithout mentioning the secrecy of

Masonry. Smybolism, which meansno th ing to the average person, is usedto remind the Mason of his duties andmorals while hiding the allegoric mean-ing and beauty from th e vulgar eyeof the uninformed. Lodges meet insecret behind guarded doors. Secretsigns, handshakes and utterances revealm e Masnn to another regardless of hislodge, ri te, or country.

Membership in the Lodge is, there-fore, a t icket to favoritism in any cityor any state o r any country, arid is aMasonic promise to happiness and pros-perity.

In actuality, Masons find that altruis-tic ideals of the Lodge break down inpractice. Brother Masons are not muchmore trustworthy than the unenlight-ened. Some do not find the oaths theytake binding enough to keep them fromdefrauding even a brother.

At least two Church of God breilirerihave confided to this author that theyhave been seriously defrauded at thehands of brother Masons. One put i tthis way: In swearing to give aid andassistance to a brother Mason, an up-right member falls prey to dishonestmembers of the Lodge and is frequentlydefrauded. I have found the word ofmost Masons is just so much wind, andthey would not hesitate to defraud ifthey could do so successfully. They fol-low Masonic teachings just as far as isconducive to their own gain.

Size and Impor tanceOne does not ordinarily realize the

scope or importance of Freemasonry inour country. Its different rites, all inan interdependent system, boasted 4,-175,000 members in 1939-3,300,000of which were in the United States.There are probably between five and sixmillion members in the United Statestoday.

The various r i tes have upon thei rrolls the names of emperors, kings,princes, priests, and governors, togetherwith scholars, statesmen, and men oflesser stations in church and state. Hereare a few famous men w h o have beenMasons in the Uni ted States : BenjaminFranklin, President Washington, Jeffer-son, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Polk,Fillmore, Harrison, Buchanan, Johnson,Garfield, McKinley, Taylor, Pierce, Taft,Theodore Roosevelt , and Trum an. Otherprominent members were Lafayette,Fulton, Montgomery, Sherm an, Burr,Rush, Whip ple, Paine, Hamil ton, Gerry,Steubon, Stark, Livingstone, Dekalb,Warren, Paul Jones , Witherspoon, Re-vere and Hancock. Most of these areproclaimed Masons by no lesser author-ity than the Encyclopedia Americana.

Most local, stare and federal officialsare Masons. Realize that when you ap-ply for employment , the man who may

or may not employ you is likely tobe a member of the Lodge. By hand-shake or other Masonic sign, you wouldbe able to greatly increase your chancesof securing that job because he hassworn an oath to extend aid and com-fort to a fellow Mason if it is withinhis means to doso.

You are, likewisc, in a much betterposition to have a favor granted froma public official who belongs to theLodge when you are a member.Throughout the Uni ted States , manyMasons admit that they knowor haveheard of brothers guilty of a crime

against society, who were never bro ughtto trial because of their affiliation withthe Lodge, and because of aid ren-dered by an official who was a Mason.Others who have been brought to trialwere either acquitted by a jury con-taining Masons or were given light sen-tences.

In one such instance which occurredrecently, a man killed one of his closefriends. H e was convicted of prem edi-tated murder without malice, and sen-tenced to only two years in prison. A ftertwo months imprisonment he was outo n a 30 days leave. The man was aMason and so were a number of thejurors and law enforcement officials.

An t i -Mason ic Li t e ra tu re

On e seldom sees anti-Mason ic li ter-ature, even though much has been w ri t -ten. Because printers are often Masons,dedicated to conceal the secrets of theLodge, it has little chance. Bookstore

owners or l ibrarians seldom stock bookseither pro- or anti-Masonic. Laymenwho are Masons are unwil l ing to di -vulge secrets because they have beensworn to secrecy.

Nevertheless, even in the face of allthese obstacles, anti-Masonic li teraturedoes exist. Certain organizations havebeen very zealous in theit fight againstthe Lodge. Today, though their zealisgone, some continue to publish lodgesecrets. Masons, more than anyone elsebuy their books because they find thema convenient aid to learning the longlist of lodge secrets. This is againstlodge rules, however, because Masonsare not allowed to write down thesesecrets, but new members are supposedto be taught by word of mouth only.Th e arduou s and grueling task of insrriicring the uninformed is simplifiedgreatly by this underhanded method ofusing available written material .

One example is the Ezra A. CookPublications, Inc.,P.O. Box 796, Chicago90, Illinois. A letter to the Ezra A. CookCompany requesting publicationson thesubject of Freemasonry will bring youalengthy list of available books whichaccurately reveal Masonic secrets. Thesbooks are available to anyone.

S t ruc tu re of M a s o n r yFigure 1 ( found on page 9 of this

installment) is the symbo lic representat ion of Freemasonry in America. It isrepresented by a square and compassupported by two pillars, Jach in andBoaz. The illustration has been considered highly s r~ i t t i arid w a s allowedonly to Masons of high degree. It wasgiven to me by a church member whohad formerly been a Mason. Recentlyhowever, an article appeared in Lifemagazine (October 8 , 1956, pages

(Please continue on page 8


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PREVIEW OF THE 1959 ENVOYThe 1959 Envoy presents an insight into the yearbook


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the d i fferen t but accurate i l lus t ra t ion ,demonstrates their inconsistency.

The apprent ice enters the structure,symbolically, between the two columns,Jachin and Boaz, which are said to rep-

104-122) in which the structure of resent the two columns of SolomonsFreemasonry was represented in similar Tem ple (see II Chron. 3:15) andma nner . T he fact that Masons decided progresses by degrees toward perfection.to let the vulgar eye of the public see All this happens under the All-Seeing

MASONRY(Continued f r o m page .5

IMPORTANTANNOUNCEMENT

A new l a rg e r, f i ne r EN VO Y i s be i ng p repared f o ryou. Jo in ourg row i n g f am i l yof r egu la r E N V O Y s u bsc r ibe rs now

N e w and DifferentACH year a new creation-a new, dif -E ferent ENVOY. Not an up-to-date

reprint of last years issue but a new

insight into the headquarters of GodsWork.An alert ncw Staff is cagcr to prcscnt

a true view and yet a new view of Am-bassador. Th e campus youths of today arecandidates to lead and serve you tomor-row. Get to know the Faculty andhtudent Body through professional por-traits in the ENVOY You will meetmany of them i n person at th e Festivalsthrough the years to come.

W h y W e nc lu deYo uAn ENVOY is the solution to sev-

eral of your problems. Few of you areable to visit the Headquarters of GodsWork in person. Visitors from the cam-pus to your individual homes have alsobeen few. The ENVOY has the solu-

tion. Once a year in late spring an Am-bassador, a n ENVOY is sent to you.Once a year in the fall you come to thetabernacle i n Texas and meet our 200Ambassadors.

Our solution is to pack as much in-formation and interest, quality and quan-tity into an ENV OY as the subscriptionprice will allow and give every familya first-hand account of campus activities.Now each family can have a visitor fromthe Ambassador Campus year by year.

What You M n k e PossibleAn increase in pages to 128-sections

in rich new duotone, the pri nting processthat through the addition of a singlecolor will add life and realism to thepages of your new ENV OY. Attend a

commencement p r n g r a m o the Ambas-

sador Campus-relive the moments ofthe recent Feast of Tabernacles in scenescaught by the camera of a top profes-sional photographer. These are an exam-ple of the planning being done now asAmbassador students express their grati-tude for your participation in past years.

Added new subscribers this year canmake these dreams come true. Our finalword to the printer must be given earlyin January. The 1200 copies he is plan-ning t o print now includes you. Portionsof the new ENVOY will be printed be-fore you read these lines. Contracts weresigned late last spring giving tentativespecifications for this new book. Theh a 1 decisions are being made nowYour immediate decision is needed.

A flood of subscriptions will allow usto add still more to the quality of theENVOY you will receive next June. Feworders would mean a sharp cutback inall specifications.

Act N o wIn spice of its increased size and qual-

ity, in spite of increased postal rates,and labor costs, the price per copy ofthe ENVOY is being held to $5.00 .and that is the complete price to you in-cluding postage, mailers and so forth.The ENVOY will be ready for mailingin early June but th e printers must knowmonths in advance the exact number ofcopics to print. W e have given them a nearly guess as to the number you willorder. The y need to know now if thatguess is correct.

Just fill in the cou on below orPRINT the required inform tion in aletter and send it IMMEDIATELY toThe ENVOY, at Post Office Box 111,Pasadena, California Please use the en-

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Please make all checks payable to: The ENVOY.the sum of FIVE DOLLARS ($5.00) which pays the subscription price in fu l l .

(Print name)

Eye shown a t t h c t o p of the figure,whom (they say) the sun, moon andstars obey and under whose watchfulcare even the comets perform theirstupendous revolutions, (w ho ) pervadesthe inmost recesses of the human heart,and who will reward us (Masons)according to our merits. Lightfoot,page 33.) Th e reward supposedly comes

afte r death releases him from this worldand his soul progresses upwards towardheaven and perfec t ion .

W he n the apprent ice enters Masonry,he is compared to a rough ashler (orrough building s to ne ), and as the ashleris shaped and polished before itis readyfor use, so must the candidate becomeperfected during the first three degreesuntil he becomes a perfect ashler andmay be used as a building block in thehouse of God (the house of God assymbolized by Solomons Te m ple ). Thusperfected the Master Mason may enterinto and work with in the Holy of Holies.Th e Holy of H olies is symbolized by thecentral part of the structure surroundingt h e letiri G. The lerrer G stands forGod; therefore work in all degrees fromthe masters up is done symbolically inthe presence of God, in His m o s t holyplace. (N ot e: Fig. shows that all ofthe degrees from the masters to thethirty-third are in this part of thestructure.)

After one has successfully masteredthe first three degrees,or the Blue Lodge,he proceeds up through the G rand Lodgeby wa y of e i t h e r t h e York or the ScottishRite.

Th e Scottish R ite accepts membersof

all faiths, so long as they profess acreator God and believe in a life afterdeath. The York Rite is just as liberal,exceDt in its higher orders an oath hasto be taken that affirmsa belief in Christ,thus excluding conscientious Jews fromdegrees beyond that point.

More information can be attainedfrom the Encyclopedia Britannica bythose who wish to pursue the technicalorganization of Freemasonry in theUnited States.

Th e B eg i n n ing of a Di lemma

Very few Masons understand or careabout the technical aspects of the Lodgeor about its symbolic teachings. Theyare interested instead in such questionsas how important it is to be a member;therefore , how big, important andrighteous Masonry is; how to join; howto climb to the top; how to keep othersfrom get t ing to the top without dueprocess; how to keep enemies out, etcetera.

Th e great majority embrace Free-masonry for the purpose of enhancingtheir business prestige. As long as theycan pass themselves as Masons and makeuse of the secret language which M asonry


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Page 1 The G O O D NEWS December, 1958

puts within their reach, they are per-fectly satisfied and desire nothing more.

Information given in the first chapterwas concerned with the overall structureand organization of Masonry. A Masonis not required to know this unless hesits in one of the governing councils.It is only when his ambitions spur himin that direct ion that a Mason is will ing

to expend the effort to learn it, plusamass of other laws, doctrines, andphilosophies.

Th e present chapter is concerned withwhat the candidate for the variousdegrees is exposed to and what he isforced to learn. Every attempt will bemade to show you M asonryas the candi-date sees it . Therefore, few remarks willbe made to expose fallaciesor to criticizethe Lodge a t this phase.

As the candidate proceeds thru thedegrees, no one points to any of thefacets o f Masonry and says, That iscondemned by God Almighty. On thecontrary, each aspect is drawn up inbeautifully phrased allegories-the hig h( h u m a n ) morality being greatly empha-sized. W h o would dare quest ion thisholiness?

Who Can Belong?

If a person wishes to becomea m em -ber of the Masonic Lodge, he must befreeborn, under no bondage, of a t leasttwenty-o ne years of age, i n th e posses-sion of sound senses, free from anyphysical defect or dismemberment , andof i rreproachahle manners, or, as it istechnically termed, under the tongueof good report. No atheist, eunuch,cripple, or woman can be admit ted. Eventhose who possess all these necessaryqualifications can be adm itted only undercertain regulations.

Masons wives or children may notat tend the regular meetings, but onlysuch special functionsas may be plannedfor them.

To satisfy the desires of wives andchildren to take part in Masonic func-tions, special or side orders w ere adop ted-such as the Eastern Star ritual, theDe Molay for boys, and the RainbowGirls. These orders have their ownsecrets and functions apart from the

regular Lodge, but follow its generalpattern. They are supervised by Masons.Indeed, their meetings cannot be heldwithout a Mason present to supervise.

J o i n i n g t h e L o d g e

Because Masons are forbidden tosolicit members, a man must requestadmission for himself.

The usual procedure for pet i t ioningthe Lodge is to have another Masonrecommend the candidate. He does soby presenting a formal petition, signedby the candidate, to the particular lodgewhich he wishes to join.

The applicant must be vouched forand recommended by one or moreMasons. Once submitted, his petition isread before the assembly, and a com-mit tcc is appointcd to inquire into hischaracter. If nothing is found to dis-qualify him and the committee givesh i m a favorable report, his petition isagain presented to the assembly one

month later and voted upon by thebrethren.Once the applicant has been accepted,

he becomes a candidate for the first.or

Preparat ion fo r In i t i a t ionBefore attending any meetings or

taking any part in Masonic rituals, thecandidate must be initiated. On his firstvisit to the Lodge, he is kept outside inthe anteroom (see Figure2 ) while thefirst part of the meeting takes place.Neither he nor anyone else hasa chanceto know what is going on in the

meeting because the door is closed anda guard-usually w ith dra wn sword-isstanding beside it.

Finallv. three r a m are heard at theEntered Apprentice, degree. ( ~ i i a s eontiiw on page 12)

S e n i o r D e a c o n I \

ALTAR

Sq u a r e and C o m p a s s on o p e n B i b l e o n a l t a r

PREP ARATI ON ROOM

ANTE ROOM

PL A N O F THE LODGE( F i g u r e No. 2


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Continued GROWTH in TheChurch of God

The world wide body of Christ is now more strongly knit together.God continues t o BLESS His Church

URING this t ime of increasingworld chaos and the threat ofD uman annihi lat ion, God con-

tinues to bless His little flock-theChurch Jesus built. This Church is nowdeveloping into a real spiritual organ-ism around the face of this entire earth

Many changes have taken place-awonderful feast of tabernacles has comeand gone-since the last Churc h New scolumn in this magazine. During thecoming year, wc hope to be able togive you the point by point news of

gro wth in Gods local churches-and inHis work around the world. May Godmove your hearts so that you will RE-JOICE that H e has called us as co-workers together with Christto do thework of His Church in this age justbefore the World Tomorrow

N e w C h u r ch e s G r o w i n gNews f rom Mr. Carlton Smith-now

pastor of Gods churches in Spring-field and St. Louis-indicates that bothof these churches are growing in everyway. The new Springfield church, par-ticularly, has continued its growth anddevelopment. Mr. Smith reports thatthe average attendance there recentlyhas been around8 5 adults plus childrenIndications are that this new churchwill continue its growth. All of usshould pray for it-for these newbrethren are our brothers and sisters inJesus Christ. Also, we should pray forGods ministers in this and every areathat t h e Churches of God may bestrengthened spiritually as well as nu-merically.

The new church in El Paso, Illinois,near Peoria, is continuing to grow, andthe brethren in that area have indi-cated that they are certainly thankful

that the founding of this church wasmade possible. At present , Mr. DeanBlackwell is ministering to this church,which is steadily but slowly growing.Average attendance is now around 2 5adults plus children.

Mr. Blackwell also reports that theChicago church is continuing its re-markable growth, and average at tend-ance there is well over 200 people, in-cluding children Th e Chicago churchwas recently blessed by moving into anew and better hall. Every indicationis that it will become a possible rivaleven to the headquarter s church in

by Roder ick C . Meredi th

Pasadena if this rapid growth keepsup But isnt this kind of rivalry thekind that comes as a BLESSING fromG o d ?

Mr. Wayne Cole reports that thechurch in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, iscontinuing its slow but steady growthand that the members are now becom-ing really grounded in Gods truth. Thisis something to be very thankful for,because it often takes years for somebrcthren to become spiritually mature.Exciting plans are in the making that

Mr. Cole may possibly raise up a newchurch in New York City within thenext several months Let us all PRAYthat God may make this possible asH e knows is best-and guid e and blessthrough H is Spiri t in al lof these plans.

Mr. Raymond McNair, pastoringGods flock in th e British Isles, repo rtsthat the London church is continuingits growth and that there are peoplefrom many outlying cities who now at-tend services occasionally.

A new blessing in this area is thebeginning of a Bible Study in Bristol,England This is undoubtedly the be-ginning of a new church, and nowcomprises about 15 people who regu-larly attend this study. Let us continueto pray for our brethren in Ephraim

W e will save other local church newsuntil next time, but it should be mostinteresting to all of you scattered breth-ren to hear-if you have no t alreadydone s the speech clubs for themen in our local churches.

Several of our churches now havethese clubs, and they are patterned aft-er the Ambassador Clubs for the menstudents at Ambassador College. These,in turn, are patterned after the nationalorganization of Toastmasters Clubs

Anyway, they are after dinner publicspeaking clubs for the men of severalof Gods Churches which provid e op-portunities for Christian fellowship,personality and character developmentand ability to speak and explain Godst ru th as a witness. More details will begiven about the Spokesmen Clubslater, and new clubs may be inauguratedin other local churches as the need andopportunity arises. Certainly they aresomething we can be thankful for, how-ever, and we should pray that God wil lguide and bless them and help the meninvolved to draw ever closer and more

surrendered as instruments of JesusChrist in His service.

M o r e Deacons Orda i n edFour more deacons were recentlyor-

dained in the Pasadena congregation.Their service is needed not only in thelocal church, but at the annual Feasts.They are all men who have been inGods Church for some time, and weshould rejoice that H e has preparedthem for this office. They arc Mr. A1Dennis, Mr. Selmer Hegvold,M i. Bill

Rap p, and Mr. Lee Sefcak.The se men-with many othe rs likethem-are the ones whoS ~ K V E D ll of usin the many physical duties involved incarrying on the Feast of Tabernaclesand our other annual Feasts . W e al l owethem a great big expression of THANKSfor the wonderful job they did duringthis last Feast of Tabernacles W e shouldcontinue to pray that God will ad d moreconsecrated men to this office and all ofHis local churches. Gods Church is tobe one body-working together-knittogether in lovc (Col. 2 : 2 ) . Havingmore of our local brethren in these of-fices ordained by Christ-once H e hasc d e d t hem -ce r t a i n l y hel ps us realizemore the meaning of unity and thefamily spirit that ought to permeateGods Church today.

N a t i o n - Wi d e Vi s i ti n g To u r

One thing that many of you brethrenprobably didnt know is that scores ofour brethren and scattered co-workersare being helped, counseled, and somebaptized by a nation-wid e visiting tourThis tour is competently led by MrGerald Waterhouse, recently returnedfrom acting as Pastor of Gods Churchin London, England. His companion on

this tour is Mr. Bill McDowell, a zealoussenior theological student in Ambassa-dor College and member of The LetterAnswering Department . These menhave already visited dozens of peoplein the states of Texas, Louisiana, M issis-sippi, Alabama, and are now headingfor northern Florida. They are visitingmany people missed by the summerbaptizing tours, plus many co-workerswho have indicated that their realchurch-home is in Gods true church.W ha t a tremendous blessing this istothe scores of scattered brethren whomight not otherwise be able to mee


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with any of Gods ministers or peopleexcept at the annual feasts

In view of this fact, I know thatyou will all be happy to join withus inp q & g that God will bless and guidein this tour, and others like it in thefuture. As a matter of fact, by the timeyou read this Mr. Wa terhouse w ill prob-ably have returned from this tour and

be preparing for another most importantduty which we will now outline.

World-Wide Bapt i s ing Tour

It is now planned that shortly afterthe ministers conference ends-prob-ably around the first of February-Mr.Waterhouse will fly from Pasadena backto London, England. There he will joinMr. George Meeker. After preaching aSabbath or two in the London Church,Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Meeker willtake a jet flight to Johannesburg, SouthAfrica. From there, they will take sidetrips out to nearby areas to visit andbaptize many interested people whomGod is calling into His Church. Afterfinishing their work in South Africa,they will f ly to Australia and visit manyprospective candidates for baptism inthe continent down under. Remember,brethren, Cod is using us together asa team to reach this continent overan entire network of stations W e canbe very thankful that Christ is alreadycalling out a nucleus of what may de-velop into a large segment of HisChurch in that continent.

At this point, it is planned that Mr.Ted Armstrong will fly to meet thesetwo men in Sidney, Australia, and help

direct the important decision of select-ing a site for an office and headquartersfor Gods work in Australia and South-east Asia. Tremendous opportunitiesare opening up in that area From there,these three men will fly to the Philip-pines to contact and visit with the min-isters and brethre n w hom God has addedto His Church in the Philippine Islands.This will be a wonderful meeting

Mr. Ted Armstrong has written many,many letters and shared many thingswith Mr. Orteguero and the otherswhom God is calling in the Philippinesover a long period of time. Now theywill have the opportunity to meet inperson, to become fully acquainted, andto share the blessed fellowship, thegrowth, the knowledge, the mutual lovethat comes through our union one withthe other in Christ Jesus. In fact, it ishoped that these men from Gods head-quarters may be with our Phil ippinebrethren a t the Passover and share allthe blessings of Gods feast days withthose whom God is calling in this far-off land

At this point, Mr. Ted Armstrongmay leave the other two men and pro-ceed back to the United States and his

many important jobs here. If possible,he will stop by Formosa to visit andcounsel with a minister there whomGod is calling. Meanwhile, Mr. Water-house and Mr. Meeker will continuetovisit with, counsel, and strengthen thevarious congregations throughout thePhilippines whom God is adding tothe l iving branch of His true Church.

Then they, too, will proceed back toGods headquarters in Pasadena, prob-ably having to go by way of Japan toobtain prope r air passage.

Brethren, all of you should PRAY forthe safety of these men on this tripand that Gods blessing and gaddancewill be with them in every way hopeyou can envision the fact that this tripwill help many scores of peoplethroughout the world to be more close-ly knit togethe r as par t of th e verybody of Christ from now on, and will

to firmly establish Gods Churchhen work in several foreign lands as wecontinue carrying out our Divine com-mission to preach the gospel of thekingdom as a witness to all nations,and then to feed the little flock thatGod is calling.

In His parting commission to thisChuicli-Hi> Cliurch-Jesus said: Iam with you always, even unto the endof the age (Matthew 2 8 : Z O . Let usREJOICE that God has given our livesreal meaning by permitting us to bemembers of His Church in this eventfulage before the return of His Son

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MASONRY(Cont inaed f ro m page 10

door and the guard (w hom he wil l latercome to know as the TYLER ) returnsthem in like manner.

A short silence follows, then threeMasons emerge to interrogate him. Allwear short white aprons. These men arethe Secretary and the two Stewards.

The Secretary then proceeds to ques-t ion him in a rout ine manner and tocharge him with the great importanceof belonging to the Lodge a i d theseriousness of his und ertak ing. At th esame time the ca ndidate is promised thathe will not be required to do anythingcontrary to the laws of God or duty tohis king, country, state, family or self.

The reader must keep in mind thatthe candidate knows nothing of the rulesand customs of the Fraternity. H e canonly take the word of Masons that thereis nothing in those rules contrary to thelaws of God, etc.

After the Secretary leaves, the JuniorDeacon, another official who had servedas inside door keeper, joins the candidateand the Stewards and takes charge ofpreparing the candidate for initiation.H e is taken into the preparat ion room,

is divested of his coa t, vest, pants, boots,stockings, drawers, neck-tie, collar-infact, everything except his shirt. H e isthen handed a pair of drawers (alwaysfurnished by the Lodgc) which he putson.

All th e studs, sleeve-bu ttons and otherfurnishings are taken off his shirt.Everything of a rnetallzc kind IS taken

away. The left leg of the drawers isrolled above the knee, so as to makethe le ft foot, leg, and knee bare; thelef t sleeve of his shir t is raised abovethe elbow, so as to make the left armbare; and the left breast of the shirt istucked back, so as to make his left breastbare. A slipper is put on his right foot,with the heel slipshod; a hoodwink(blindfold) is fastened over his eyes;a blue rope, called a cable-tow, IS putaround his neck, and he is thenduly andtruly prepared to be made a Mason.

The candidate has no idea why thisis done, except he is told that it isnecessary he explanation mu st comelater. The candidate is kept in a state ofprofound darkness and all is calculatedto confuse and bewilder him. Once thehood -wi nk is placed ov er his eyes, he cansee nothing and must rely totally on hisother senses.

Next , the candidate is conducted bythe Junior Deacon to the door, wherehe is caused to give, or the Junior Dea-con gives, three distinct knocks, whichare answered by three from within. Wh atgoes on behind the closed door is stillan enigma to t h e c a n d i d a t e a l l t h i sfor the purpose of filling him with aweand cultivating an air of mystery. The

door is then partially opened.Senior Deacon (f ro m behind thedoor) calls, W ho comes there? Wh ocomes there? h o comes there?

The Junior Deacon answers, A poorblind candidate who has long been de-sirous of having and receiving a part ofthe rites and benefits of this worshiplodge, dedicated (som e say erected) toGod, and held forth to the holy orderof St. Johns, as all true fellows andbrothers have done who have gone thisway before him.

Thus the initiation begins and thegullibility of the can dida te is taxed to itsextreme in the performance of weirdrituals. To be continued

Feast of Tabernacles(Continued from page 31

obey, his servants ye are to whom yeo b e y. . being then made free from sin,ye became the servants of righteousness(Rom. 6:16-18).

DONT MISS attending the glorious

Learn what it means to be a servantFEAST OF TABERNACLES next year

of Go d, and to be really FREE

Good News 1958 (Vol VII No 08) Dec.pdf

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