Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Volume 17, Issue 2 March/April 2013 Consider the lillies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27
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Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings
Volume 17, Issue 2 March/Apri l 2013
Consider the lillies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luke 12:27
2
Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Glad Tidings is published
Glad Tidings is mailed free to anyone who requests it. Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.
Something To Consider ............... p.3
by Vince Finnegan
Seek Yahweh:
May Yahweh Be With You ............ p.4
by John Cortright
Honor God, Give Thanks,
and Prosper................................... p.7
by Mary Ann Yaconis
Jesus’ Description to the
Seven Churches ......................... p.8
by Vince Finnegan
Congo Connection ..................... p.10
by Armel Ngo
Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? ............. p.14
by Sean Finnegan
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Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings
March/April 2013
3
God bless you. The winter will soon be a distance memory as we move into the spring of the year.
Warm, fresh air, longer, light-filled days, new life spring forth. Indeed, it is a great time to glorify
Yahweh, the Almighty God of heaven and earth.
Jesus conducted his life in such a godly way that people saw the manifestations of the invisible God in
him and thusly glorified God. The response of the crowd after Jesus healed the paralytic man illustrates
the point well. According to Matthew 9:8 – “When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and
glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” His words and actions drew attention to God and
inspired others to glorify Yahweh.
We are encouraged to conduct our business in the same manner.
Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
1 Peter 2:12
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander
you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God
in the day of visitation.
The aim of the entire Christian church is summed up in one simple verse - “Unto Him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:21
An obvious essential to glorifying God is to know who He is, and yet, most people do not even know His
name. The research that John Cortright presents in this and subsequent issues of Glad Tidings about
the name of God are ground breaking for our time. Available on our website, the three-part teaching
called Light of the World - SASA (2/17/13), Light of the World - Speak Good Words (2/10/13), and Light
of the World - Glorify Yahweh (3/3/13) provide valuable insight regarding glorifying Yahweh.
Praise, honor, and glory be to the one true God, Yahweh our Father!
• He who has the seven He who has the seven He who has the seven He who has the seven
spirits of God and the spirits of God and the spirits of God and the spirits of God and the
seven starsseven starsseven starsseven stars
• He who is holy, who is true, He who is holy, who is true, He who is holy, who is true, He who is holy, who is true,
who has the key of David, who has the key of David, who has the key of David, who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will who opens and no one will who opens and no one will who opens and no one will
shut, and who shuts and no shut, and who shuts and no shut, and who shuts and no shut, and who shuts and no
one opensone opensone opensone opens
• The Amen, the faithful and The Amen, the faithful and The Amen, the faithful and The Amen, the faithful and
true witness, the beginning true witness, the beginning true witness, the beginning true witness, the beginning
of the creation of Godof the creation of Godof the creation of Godof the creation of God �
(Continued from page 7)
9
Honor God, Give Thanks, and Prosper By Mary Ann Yaconis I
f we want to have a long
life of faithfulness to
Yahweh, we need to
cultivate a lifestyle of continu-
ous thankfulness to Him.
Romans 1:21 and 22 For since the creation of the world His invisible attrib-utes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being under-stood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Very clearly, Scripture warns
that the sure road to a foolish
heart is paved with forgetful-
ness of the blessings of Yah-
weh. As examples, Adam and
Eve forgot about all they had
as blessings which resulted in
envying what the tree in the
garden represented. King
David, who wrote many songs
of praise and thankfulness,
forgot about the many provi-
sions that Yahweh had given
him. In both of these situa-
tions, their ingratitude started
a series of great, sinful deeds
which began consequences
that were very grave.
Jeremiah 5 :24 They [senseless people] do not say in their heart, “Let us
now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
Jeremiah stated Yahweh our
God is our only provider.
When we lose our senses, we
become unthankful and dark-
ened in our minds and hearts.
The soil of the heart needs to
be cultivated with thankful-
ness to Yahweh. Praise and
thankfulness to Yahweh go
hand in hand.
Psalm 111:1 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. [See also Ps. 7:17; 18:49; 30:4; 35:18; 69:30; 92:1; 100:4; 106:1; 108:3; 138:1; 147:7.]
We are to be thankful with all
of our heart. Some people
seem to be “naturally” thank-
ful. Others have to work at it a
lot. The heart described in the
parable of the sower and the
seed is the good ground, the
heart that is able to receive
the Word, maintain it, and
produce fruit day after day.
Yahweh’s unconditional love
blesses us with all that we can
ever need. Recognizing and
appreciating this concept
make one humble and able to
experience godly indebted-
ness. Because the heart is sof-
tened, blessings do not go un-
noticed, and the love behind
the blessings is acknowledged
and felt. The results are thank-
fulness to Yahweh and a de-
sire to bless others.
The one bestowing the gift,
the benefactor, actually thinks
about the person, sees that
there is a need, and if he or
she has the ability to help out,
it is done. It is especially ap-
preciated by the beneficiary
when the one giving the gift
paid special attention to or
appeared to go the “second
mile” because of loving con-
cern. Yahweh knows our every
need and provides all physical
and spiritual blessings. What
keeps our hearts like the good
soil is becoming aware of, ac-
knowledging, and responding
with a “Thank you, Yahweh.”
Thankfulness is a key to main-
taining a heart of love for Yah-
weh, ourselves, and our
neighbors.
(Continued on page 10)
10
Research reports that those who
are more thankful are healthier,
exercise more, have lower blood
pressure, sleep longer, and feel
more refreshed in the morning.
They are also more helpful, gener-
ous, and compassionate than
those who are less thankful.
Thankful people are more outgo-
ing and less lonely and isolated.
Psychologically they have higher
levels of positive emotions and are
more alert, joyful, and optimistic.
They are also more helpful to oth-
ers and have better coping skills
against trauma and pain. Thankful-
ness strengthens social relation-
ships because people experience
affirmation and support of others.
Yahweh opens up our minds by
being thankful so that we recog-
nize many different sources of
blessings. It gives us a godly hum-
ble dependence on Yahweh and
others.
God’s Word says that we are to be
thankful in all things. Some really
have to work at seeing Yahweh
and others as loving and giving
good gifts. Some people view life
as self-focused and independent,
and they refuse to look at what
benefits Yahweh and others give.
How do we cultivate a thankful
way of thinking all the time? One
proven way is to write down five
things that you are grateful to
Yahweh for every day for one
month. Writing the thankful
thoughts down is helpful because
we are actually thinking, writing,
and seeing what is being written.
Later, when tending to forget that
anything good has happened,
looking back over the list squashes
those thoughts in a hurry. Another
skill to build gratitude is to be
mindful of how others contribute
to your welfare, such as friend-
ships, family care, work, and, of
course, Yahweh. Taking the time
to be still and look up at the stars,
the mountains, the trees, and
creation also helps us to be mind-
ful of Yahweh’s blessings.
As good as gratitude is, its oppo-
site, ingratitude, is really very dis-
tasteful. People who show ingrati-
tude towards others are very un-
pleasant to be around. Yahweh
wants us to be thankful people. We
are not merely to be grateful in an
episode here or there, but instead
we are to maintain a lifestyle of
thankfulness to Him for His mag-
nificent blessings. Pervasive thank-
fulness is the beat of a heart that
will receive the seed of the Word
and remain faithful to the Word.
The first few chapters of Romans
record the depravity of man with-
out God. It is understandable not
to know God and therefore not be
thankful to Him. However, Ro-
mans 1:22 reminds us that those
who KNEW God did not honor Him
as God and did not give Him
thanks. In order to live a faithful
life with God and His Son Jesus
Christ, it is important that mo-
ment by moment, thought by
thought, we be thankful to Yah-
weh for His abundant blessings. �
(Continued from page 9)
Stop
Ask for help
Speak the word
Action
11
Congo Connection “Enter the Ark” Brings Deliverance to Many
By Rev. Armel Ngo * Note: The following article was submitted by Rev. Armel Ngo of Living Hope International Ministries of the Congo. The French
to English translation was fine-tuned by Ive Carlo, and it was edited for clarity by Richard and Cheryl Elton.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE EXAMPLE OF THE EXAMPLE OF THE EXAMPLE OF
Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? Continued...
17
for supporting Arius. Now it is
true that Eusebius signed the
Nicene Creed in a.d. 325, but
historians generally chalk that
up to compromise rather than a
sudden change of heart. (If he
refused to sign the creed, he
would have lost his job as
bishop of Caesarea, lost his in-
fluence in the debate, and lost
his position as one of the em-
peror’s advisors.) So, Eusebius
is not some super Trinitarian
defender like Athanasius but
actually quite the opposite. He
felt uncomfortable with the
Nicene Creed and even wrote a
kind of damage control letter
home to Caesarea explaining
how they were going to under-
stand the new formula. His
well-known anti-Nicene posi-
tion is probably why he is today
not known as “Saint Eusebius.”
Another reason I find the the-
ory that the Council of Nicea
changed the Bible unconvinc-
ing is that it would have given
the anti-Nicene party potent
ammunition in the sixty year
battle that followed. To my
knowledge, the subordination-
ists never accused the Nicenes
of changing the text of Scrip-
ture, a charge they surely
would have capitalized on if
they could have. Rather, the
battle centered on the mean-
ing of Scripture and arguments
based on reason. Thirdly, even
if the Nicene sect wanted to
change Scripture, they had no
mechanism to make that a re-
ality. As I mentioned earlier,
the required organization and
hierarchy simply did not yet
exist to pull that off. Lastly,
Eusebius quoted the shorter
version of Matthew 28:19 after
Nicea as well (see In Praise of
Constantine 16.8, written in
a.d. 336).
So if the conspiracy theory—
that the “evil” Eusebius
twisted Scripture to inject a
Trinitarian dogma—is not true,
why did Eusebius so often
quote this shorter version?
Ancient people did not look up
every verse they quoted as
they were writing something.
It was more common to
memorize Scriptures and pull
from memory. Ancient texts
did not have spaces between
words nor did they have chap-
ters much less paragraphs. As
a result, it would have been
very time consuming to look
something up, making authors
more likely to quote from
memory than to try to find
something that they were
fairly confident they knew.
However, sometimes their
memories conflated multiple
passages together. On this is-
sue, George Beasley-Murray
writes the following:
“F. C. Conybeare, in an oft
cited article, examined the ci-
tations of the text in Eusebius
and concluded that Eusebius
did not know the longer form
of the text until the Council of
Nicea, when the Trinitarian
doctrine became established.
…The real difficulty [with his
view] is to determine whether
we have any right to speak of a
‘Eusebian reading.’ E. Riggen-
bach, in a lengthy reply to
Conybeare’s article, showed
that Eusebius exercised consid-
erable freedom in quoting the
Matthaean text, as is evi-
denced in the fact that the text
appears in various forms, even
in one and the same work; af-
ter Nicea Eusebius cites the
commission in both longer and
shorter forms; while (in Rig-
genbach’s view) in the letter
written by Eusebius in 325,
during the Council of Nicea,
the manner in which he cites
the common form of the text
suggests that he had been fa-
miliar with it for a long time”
(George Raymond Beasley-
Murray, Baptism in the New
Testament (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans 1973), p. 81).
One can easily see how some-
one’s memory could blur to-
gether bits from one verse and
another when recalling a
verse. I’ve done this, and a
good number of the textual
variants in the gospels are due
to scribes remembering a bit
from another gospel and in-
jecting it when it was not origi-
nally there. But, just because
Eusebius habitually misquoted
Matthew 28:19 does not mean
he did not know the full ver-
sion as well. Everett Ferguson
is helpful here:
“An examination of Eusebius’
references where the baptis-
mal command was omitted
shows that it was superfluous
(Continued from page 16)
(Continued on page 18)
18
to the context (for in every
case the emphasis was on the
universality of Christ’s teaching
in contrast to previous reli-
gious and civil law), and con-
sideration of Eusebius’ method
of citing Scripture (omitting
phrases he counted irrelevant
and blending phrases from
other passages he counted
pertinent) deprives the argu-
ment for a shorter text of any
validity” (Everett
Ferguson, Bap-
tism in the Early
Church (Grand
Rapids: Eerd-
mans 2009), p.
134).
So, we can more
easily account for
the Eusebian ten-
dency to quote
the shorter ver-
sion on these
grounds rather
than positing a
conspiracy wherein the church
fathers altered the text of
Scripture. To entertain the idea
of changing Scripture because
one Christian misquoted a text
centuries later would require a
much more solid basis than
what we have. Methodologi-
cally this wouldn’t work any-
way. Should scholars start
combing through early Chris-
tian authors and correcting the
manuscripts based on quota-
tions? This would be like going
to a Christian bookstore and
throwing out all the Bibles and
then piecing together a “more
accurate” text based on quotes
from Christian authors!
Contradiction with Acts?Contradiction with Acts?Contradiction with Acts?Contradiction with Acts?
One last supporting reason
some use to cast doubt on
Matthew 28:19, as we have it,
relates to baptismal practices
in the book of Acts. If Matthew
28:19 is accurate, then Jesus
commanded his followers to
baptize “in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of
the holy spirit.” However,
throughout the book of Acts
when baptisms occur, they
never mention this formulaic
expression. Here are some ex-
amples:
Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the in the in the in the name of Jesus Christname of Jesus Christname of Jesus Christname of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive
the gift of the holy spirit.
Acts 8:16 For it [the holy spirit] had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in in in in the name of the Lord Jesusthe name of the Lord Jesusthe name of the Lord Jesusthe name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 10:47-48 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the holy spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name in the name in the name in the name
of Jesus Christof Jesus Christof Jesus Christof Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
Acts 19:5-6 When they heard this, they were baptized in in in in the name of the the name of the the name of the the name of the Lord JesusLord JesusLord JesusLord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the holy spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and
prophesying.
Allegedly these texts contra-
dict Jesus’ command in Mat-
thew 28:19. But, is there an-
other way to understand them
apart from changing what the
Bible says? Ferguson provides
two other options that are well
worth considering:
The phrases in Acts may
not, however, reflect
alternative formulas in
(Continued from page 17)
(Continued on page 19)
Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? Continued...
“I cannot allow my “I cannot allow my “I cannot allow my “I cannot allow my theology to theology to theology to theology to
change the text of change the text of change the text of change the text of Scripture.”Scripture.”Scripture.”Scripture.”
Our conference for women ages 12 and over will be at Living Hope Church! Registration will be Friday from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., and the first
meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. We will conclude Sunday after the first Sunday lunch. On or before May 12 is the registration deadline for a
cost of $75; however, we have a reduced rate for early registrants – only $60 when received by April 28. Directions and further information will
be sent after registration is received and accepted. Feel free to call Living Hope Community Church at (518) 785-8888 with any questions. Register
online at www.lhim.org, or mail in this form with payment to Living Hope International Ministries at 458 Old Niskayuna Rd, Latham, NY 12110.
Name: Birthday:
Mailing Address:
City: State: Zip:
Email: Special Needs (i.e. dietary, medical)
Phone: (H) (C) (W)
If under 18, supervising adult while at conference:
All rates are per person. Before May 12th—$ 60.00 After March 18th—$ 75.00
Remember to register before April 28th for special early bird rate.
Women’s ConferenceWomen’s ConferenceWomen’s ConferenceWomen’s Conference May 31 May 31 May 31 May 31 –––– June 2, 2013June 2, 2013June 2, 2013June 2, 2013