The World Tomorrow

What Is Life - Part 2

by Herbert W Armstrong

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The World Tomorrow - Herbert W Armstrong brings you the Plain Truth about today's world news and the prophecies of the World Tomorrow.

Well greetings everybody. Why were you born? Was it just to face all of the trials and the troubles, the fears and the worries that you have? Was it just to try to be amused, entertained? Do you know how much of this world is devoted to entertainment; that’s all television is. Radio is mostly entertainment, even the magazines you pick up and read, the whole purpose is to entertain you, that’s all.

Why were so many millions of people born over in, well, countries like Bangladesh and some parts of India and other parts of Asia, Africa, where so many people are practically starving to death, some literally starving to death? And where there are millions that are poverty-stricken, they’re illiterate,they’re living in filth and squalor. They seem to have nothing to look forward to.

What do you have to look forward to? What is life all about? Why did you come into this life? What is it, what lies ahead? Most people don’t know.

Now, I spoke on a Bible verse that is a puzzle to a great many people. People open up this best seller, the bestselling book in the world is the Bible. Almost everybody has one, very few read it, fewer still understand it. Very few are very much concerned about it and yet it is the book of God. It is the book that tells you why you were born. It is the book that tells you where you’re going, what lies ahead. What is the human potential? Do you know that very few people on this earth know? I don’t think one in a million really knows and understands what lies ahead; what is the human potential.

Well let me read you that verse. I started to cover it, I’d like to read it again, it’s in the second chapter of the Book of Ephesians and verse one;

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;" (Ephesians 2:1)

Now what does that mean to you? Doesn’t that just say 'lalalala' something like that, with nothing, no meaning at all? You don’t understand it. Well in the first place that’s the old King James English. You know, the New Testament of the Bible was altogether written originally in the Greek language and we don’t speak Greek here in America or in Canada or other places where this program might be aired and might be viewed.

So we have translations. Now most people have what we call the King James or the Authorized Version of the Bible. And it was translated into the English language clear back in the year 1611, that’s in the early seventeenth century, a long, long time ago. And the English language has changed a little bit in the meantime. But even if I change the reading of that and in a more modern translation; I will tell you just how it is in the Revised Standard Translation, a more modern translation. It reads like this; quote: "And you he made alive when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked" (Ephesians 2:1 RSV). But do you know even then what it means?

Let me read you another verse that’s quite similar to it over in I Timothy the fifth chapter and verse 6: "But she that liveth [or he or anybody that liveth], in pleasure is dead while she liveth [or he while he liveth]" (I Timothy 5:6). Now a better translation of that is self-indulgent; he that is self-indulgent is dead while he yet lives or while she yet lives.

Well how can you be dead while you yet live? You know that very few people can understand that at all. That’s one thing that people just don’t understand, that sort of language when they open up the Bible, and yet it has terrific meaning, it has meaning very vital to you and to your life and to your future.

Back To The Beginning (PLAY from 04:30)

Now to understand it we need to go back - I’ll take it very briefly this time - to the second chapter of Genesis back in the very beginning where it speaks of the very first man that was ever created on the face of the earth. And beginning in the second chapter of Genesis, with verse 7: "And the [Eternal] {1} God formed man of the dust of the ground [now man was formed of the dust of the ground. Everything you eat comes out of the ground, you are what you eat. We are made from the dust of the ground or from earth]. And [God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [that is what we have, that we call life], and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)

Now what became a living soul? The man that was made of the dust of the ground. In other words the dust of the ground and what came out of the ground; material substance, flesh and blood if you please, became a soul, a living soul, not an immortal soul, but a living soul. Well, we call it living, and yet I read you passages that say we’re dead, that is, we have been dead unless we have been made alive.

Let’s continue: "And the [Eternal] God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he placed the man whom he had formed out of the dust of the ground. And out of the ground made the [Eternal] God to grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight, and that was good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:8-9)

Now there are two trees, they’re symbolic, but they have terrific meaning, symbolic. One is the tree of Life; the other is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. "And the [Eternal] God took the man [I’m dropping on down to verse 15 to just to continue the same theme here], and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the [Eternal] God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But, of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17)

Now, he had a choice to make. There were two trees and they’re symbolic trees, they represent two different things. The one is the tree of life. In other words, he did not have life and if he had taken that tree he would’ve had life. That was the tree of life, but it meant spiritual life. The life was the Spirit of the Immortal Eternal Creator God. And to take the tree of that life, which was offered freely to Adam, God gave him a choice but God urged him to take that tree. He could have every tree in the garden, except the one, the knowledge of good and evil. And that meant taking to himself the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong.

Now God had been talking to him, God had talked to that first man, God told him, what is right and what is wrong. And here was offered the tree of life meaning the Spirit of God that would inject immortal life into him and that life, the very life of God - Spirit life - would open his mind to Spiritual knowledge of the way of life, the way of living that would produce happiness and also that Spirit would inject into him, impregnate him with immortal life so that he would become even as God; having eternal immortal self-existent life inherent within himself.

Now, we have life that is only a temporary existence. Our life comes from the breathing of air to oxidize the blood as it flows through the lungs and also of the pumping of the blood through the heart. I just read you a scripture that called the breathing the breath of life. But other scriptures speak about, well, one scripture says the blood thereof is the life thereof, (Leviticus 17:14) so the blood is the life and the breath of life is the life. But we also have to have fuel; we have to eat food and drink water, and keep pumping fuel into ourselves all of the time. Now what we have is a temporary physical existence, it’s not really life, it’s not eternal life, it’s only an existence as long as we keep eating food, breathing air and taking care of ourselves.

You don’t know when you’re born, or any infant doesn’t know when he’s born, whether he’s going to live one hour, a day, a year, or seventy years, or some live to a hundred years or more, not very many. The average life has been for quite a while around seventy years; I think it’s getting even a little bit longer right now. There was a time way back when people lived even much longer than they do today. But nevertheless, it is a temporary physical existence, sort of a chemical existence. Now it means this: It’s like an alarm clock running down, that you wind up, and when it runs down it stops if it isn’t rewound. And when you run down you’re wound up, you’re through and you die. This life ends. In other words, you are in the process of dying every minute you breathe air. Every hour that you live you are on the way to death; you’re in the process of dying. I’m going to read you a scripture if I can get to it a little later where it says that everybody is going to die, in this life. That’s the most certain thing in this life, the fact you’re going to die. We don’t like to face that do we? Don’t like to think about that, and yet that’s the most certain thing in your life or mine. And, but there is a life after life, and a lot of people don’t know about that and don’t seem to care very much about it but they ought to.

Adam Made A Choice (PLAY from 10:43)

Well, now I want to go on a little further while we’re here. Adam made a certain choice. He took to himself the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he took to himself the decision, and the creation of the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong. That is something that only God can give us because the way that is right is the way of God’s law, which is the way of outflowing love, love toward God, love towards your neighbor even as your own self. The law is "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Luke 10:27). That is the summary of the law of God. The Ten Commandments only give you ten points of that law; the first four commandments tell you how to love God and the last six tell you how to love your neighbor. And it is a law as inexorable as the law of gravity. You break that law it’ll break you and everybody’s been breaking it; you’ve been breaking it, so have I, unless we stop breaking it, unless through Christ we are brought out of it.

Well, now Adam took the wrong choice, and then what happened? He made the wrong choice for himself and he made it for his family. His family been born from him, that is the whole world today, that includes you and me. And here it says after he’d made that wrong choice: "And the [Eternal] God said, "...now lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever;" (Genesis 3:22).

That is unless the man puts forth his hand takes of the tree of life, which was available to him, and gains eternal life, immortal life, while he is living in sin, in other words breaking that law, doing the thing that is going to cause misery, going to cause unhappiness, going to cause pain and suffering and bring this physical death; "Therefore the [Eternal] God drove him from the garden of Eden and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:23-24 paraphrased). So that Adam and his family could not go back and take of that Tree of Life and receive immortal Spirit life, the impregnation of spirit life from the Holy Spirit of God Himself

Now, Jesus said in the New Testament, as you will find in John chapter six and verse forty-four; people have been shut off from that tree of life, all except a few that God would call. And you read here, where Jesus said: "No man can come to me" (John 6:44 first part) .

Now the only way you can get to that tree of life now is through Christ. God has shut you off, God the Father. You have sinned against God and that sin cuts you off from God and you can’t get through to Him, you’re cut off from Him by your sins. Only through Christ can you get to God who has eternal immortal life to give to you, but you can’t get to Christ unless God calls you. Now Jesus said; "No man can come to me except the Father which sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44). And that’s through a resurrection. Otherwise no man can come to Jesus Christ.

The world as a whole is shut off except those that God specially calls. And that has something to do with predestination, even those are predestinated to be called and that has to do only with the time of the calling and when God draws them to Him. And God is only drawing a very few so far. Otherwise there is a time of judgment coming.

Well now I want to go a little farther into that. Very few are called now and they’re being judged now as to whether they can receive eternal life. I’d like you to notice a scripture over here in I Peter the fourth chapter, I Peter 4:17-19: "For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that trust not in God" (1 Peter 4:17). Now we don’t need to read on to the rest of it, I just wanted you to notice that that is those in the Church and judgment is on them and it has begun at them.

Time of Judgement Coming (PLAY from 15:16)

Now there is a time of judgment coming, you’ve heard about the Judgment Day, I don’t have time to go into that detail today, I’d like to and I’m going to in some future program. But, how about all others? Only a few in the Church - well I want to go back a little bit here in I Peter while I’m at it. In I Peter, the first chapter, the second and the third verse.

Peter speaks as an apostle of Jesus Christ to the “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit [those that God has drawn to Him in other words, those that have been called], unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us [it’s a begettal, if you receive the Holy Spirit that’s the impregnation of God Life, God Life, immortal, self-sustaining inherent life] again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (I Peter 1:2-3). And then by the resurrection of us from the dead at a later time.

Now go back to Ephesians 2 once again, back in Ephesians 2 and the first verse and the second verse: "And you hath he quickened, which were dead in trespasses and sins [Or you has He made alive which were dead in trespasses and sins, in other words you had a temporary existence as I showed you, you didn’t have eternal life, you only had a temporary chemical physical existence]. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world," (Ephesians 2:1-2)

That’s what most of you have been walking in, you’re living in the course of this world just looking for whatever pleasures and entertainment you can, just looking for whatever you can enjoy temporarily for the moment now. But what about the future? There is a potential for you in the future that is so great, so monstrous great that you have no idea! Clear beyond human imagination, it's mind boggling.

But let’s go on here: "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world [like all of us have], according to the prince of the power of the air [which is Satan the Devil and the Bible does speak about a Satan the Devil even though it isn’t fashionable to believe in him today], the spirit that now works [worketh] in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). And is slaying the whole world and deceiving the whole world.

Alright, "you hath he quickened," - that’s just a few that God had called. Jesus said no man could come to Him except God had drawn them. Well God had drawn these people, He’s drawn those of His Church. Judgment is on the Church, they’re being judged and having a chance of salvation now, others are not being judged, not yet. They will be - everyone will be. Most are not having a chance of salvation now. They will have, everybody who was ever born will have.

Now I’d like you to notice back in I Corinthians a passage. First Corinthians 15 and beginning with verse 22, I Corinthians 15 beginning with verse 22: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Corinthians 15:22). Every one of us is going to die in Adam; I said a while ago that is the most certain thing in your life, the fact you’re going to die. All are going to die, but we die in Adam because of Adam’s sin, but in Christ all shall be made alive. Those that are not called now are going to be made alive in a resurrection to judgment. They’ll be made alive back into flesh and blood again, not immortal, just mortal life, temporary life when there isn’t any Devil around to deceive them and they will come to see the Truth. They will give account for what they’ve done in this life, they will have a chance however to repent, and be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of their sins for them and they will have a chance of salvation, everyone whoever lived.

You don’t understand how wonderful and how merciful and how loving is your God. Every man in his own order, now all will be made alive through Christ, "But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits; and afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. [And] then will come the end when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God" (I Corinthians 15:23-24). And after that everybody else is. The judgment is going to come and everybody’s going to be judged at that time. And judgment doesn’t mean a sentencing; judgment is a trying and testing to see if you get life or death.

Adam had to make the choice; every one of us is going to have a chance to make that choice for ourselves. Most of the world do not have that chance now and have not had it and have never had it. They have not been judged. Those that God has called for a purpose have had to make it while they’re tempted by Satan. Others are going to be given a chance to make it in a resurrection to judgment. That’s the judgment day you’ve been hearing about for so long a time and at that time they’re going to have a chance to repent and they’re going to find that Jesus paid for all of their sins if they want to repent and if they want to choose life and then they will make the choice of life, or death; eternal life or eternal death. It’s going to come down to a time of judgment.

The Time of Judgement (PLAY from 21:08)

Now I’d like you to read over in Hebrews the ninth chapter of Hebrews and in verse 27: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27).

You see, the judgment will come after the first death, after you have died. Now you read in Romans 6:23 that the penalty of sin is death, the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Everyone is under the penalty of death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Well, it’s appointed to all men once to die, and we die in Adam, but all will be made alive in Christ, and nearly all will be in a resurrection to judgment. That’ll be billions of people, and that’s more than a thousand years from now but it’s going to happen. "...as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). That’s the judgment day that you’ve heard a lot about but never had explained and you probably don’t understand it. It’s a time of judging, a time of trial as to whether you’re going to gain eternal life or whether you are not.

Now in the meantime we are already dead, spiritually speaking, spiritually you are dead. You have a chemical temporary life; its running down every minute you live. You are in a process toward death. It’s just a case of when it gets you. Something can strike you suddenly when you don’t know it from behind. Many people get struck in an accident and they die instantly. And some of them die so quickly they never knew what struck them. And you never know, this life is uncertain, but it’s appointed to all men once to die, after this the judgment, everyone is going to come to judgment, everyone is going to have a chance.

Most people are blinded, there is a Satan the Devil, he has blinded most people. You know I often think, most people walk around every day and they’re not God-conscious, they’re not thinking about God, God is not in their lives. They’re physical material beings out of this world, and we are living in a materialistic world, and our minds are on the physical material things of this world, and we never think of a spiritual God, He never enters into our mind. Oh, if you ask someone, "Do you believe in God?" perhaps the majority would say, "Oh yes, I believe in God," but do you believe God? No you don’t because you don’t even know what He says. How can you believe what He says when you don’t know?

Many people believe in God but they don’t believe God, in other words they don’t believe what He says. Here’s what He says in this book the Bible. He says that and He means what He says. But very few believe that. Adam and Eve didn’t believe what He said and He talked personally to them.

Jesus Christ came and preached to many many thousands - do you know how many believed what He said? In three and a half years He preached to thousands and thousands, Jesus Christ who was God in human flesh. Of all of them who heard Him only a 120 believed what He said. You’ll read of that in the book of Acts the first chapter and the fifteenth verse. Only a 120.

Most people don’t believe what He says now, they are blinded, and there is a Devil, who has blinded them, and God knows that and Satan is the one who is really accountable for that. Now Christ has already conquered Satan. Christ has gone to heaven where He is the High Priest for the Church for those who have already been called and who have repented of their sins and come to God through Christ, have accepted Christ as their Savior, have received the Holy Spirit of God and have been begotten as sons of God. We’re only begotten, just like each one of us was begotten before we were born, for nine months we were begotten in our mother’s womb before we were born, and finally we were born.

Well, now you’re going to have to be born again, and what do you mean born again? Very few seem to know that, but first you need to know why you were born in the first place. What is this great fantastic human potential?

I've written a book on that, you can get it at the bookstores if you want to procure a book there. I'm sorry I don't have it in a smaller edition or I would send it to you free. But I do have a booklet I would like to send to you free. There's no charge whatsoever. It's a book on 'Why Were You Born?.' 'Why Were You Born?.' What is the purpose of life? Why did you come into this life? What lies ahead? For what reason? What are you living for in this kind of temporary mechanical existence that you have? There is no charge, I want to give it to you, I want to send it to you. We never ask the public for money, and there's not going to be any follow-up asking your for money, whatsoever. Just write for this booklet 'Why Were You Born?.'

We'll be happy to send this to you. Any other booklets I've announced at other times - if you forgot then, write in for that and we'll be happy to send it to you.

This is Herbert Armstrong saying, "Goodbye friends."

Footnotes: {1} Mr Armstrong uses Eternal God instead of LORD God in the quoted scriptures.