Herbert W Armstrong

   To my surprise, in a lot of areas, God has written the Bible where it can be interpreted, where it can be altered, or where you can use human reasoning, and you can try to make it say several different things. So how do you know what's the truth? How do you arrive at the truth of the subject?

   Now, back in the second chapter of the book of Acts, Mr. Armstrong has been emphasizing lately the responsibility God has that he holds him accountable for. And he vigorously has taken this responsibility back to himself in the last couple of years. I realized more and more what was happening with the church until God raised him back up and put him back responsible more actively.

   But in Acts, the second chapter, a statement is made: "They gladly received his word" (verse 41) "and were baptized. The same day, they were added about 3000 souls." So now, with these 3000 added to the 120 they had earlier, they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. So, it's very plainly stated that these new converts, 3000 of them along with the previous 120, continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine as well as their fellowship for Bible study, or Sabbath, or during the week, or whatever, in their meals and in prayers.

   Now, in the 16th chapter of Matthew, we run across a passage that I guess in many ways, if you're from a typical Protestant background, these verses might frighten you. It might cause you a little bit of concern because here is where Christ says to Peter (verse 18), "I also say to you, you're Peter, and on this rock (Petra), I will build my church, and the gates of the grave will not prevail against it. And I'm going to give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven." Now, Christ, in contrast, said to the Jews that they shut up the Kingdom of Heaven to men. They locked people out of the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas to Peter, He said, "I give you the keys," and he opened the door, opened the way into the kingdom, just the opposite of what Christ said to His disciples from what He said to the Pharisees: "I give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven."

   I think most of us, when we look back and tend to understand how we arrived at the truth we believe God actually unlocked the door, opened the truth to us by a man that He raised up. And just as He did with Peter, here gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, when you look up the word "keys," you find several examples in scripture. The Key of David is one in Revelation 3. The keys are means of opening things to people, and God has given that responsibility to the Apostle, or the Apostles depending on the age: "I give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

   As an example of this, I want to turn to one particular scripture, and then I want to read a part from a couple of papers that have been turned in over the last seven years, either into the doctrinal committee or into the ministry or into the leaders. I think because of what's taken place in the area, maybe the acquaintance with these papers has gotten around among the people here in Southern California. And instead of sticking with the truth that they had unlocked to them by God's Apostle, they've wandered off by other people's teaching.

   In Matthew chapter 22, Matthew chapter 22, beginning in verse 15, the Pharisees went and took counsel on how they might entangle Christ in His talk. They sent out to Him their disciples with the Herodians and said, "Teacher, we know you're true. You teach the way of God in truth, neither do you care for anyone, you're not a respecter of person's in other words you don't regard the person of men. So, you tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not?"

   Now, right away, when you read that, one word strikes you in a hurry. This is the King James Protestant translation from back in 1611. And notice what they say: "Is it lawful to give tribute?" I've never given tribute; I've always paid taxes. I've always paid tribute, you try to get away without giving it. It's not voluntary; it's not give, it's paid. "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?"

   Of course, they had different opinions among themselves at the time. Jesus perceived their wickedness and right away labeled them for what they are: "Why do you tempt Me, hypocrites? You are not sincere in this; you are not really wanting to know the truth; you are not really interested in knowing the way it is. You show Me the tribute money." Well, they brought Him a penny, and He said to them, "Whose is this image and its inscription?" Well, He said Caesar's. And He said to them, "Give to Caesar whatever you want to give toCaesar, and give to God whatever you want to give God."

   That's not the teaching of the scripture here; that's not what Christ said. You know being from the South, when I read the word "render," the only time I've ever been acquainted with that word is when you take a pig and make soap out of the pig fat. You know, you render lard; you make soap out of this pig fat. That's a weird word, render. How do you render therefore unto Caesar the thingsof Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's?

   Now, if you read this in several other translations, it's kind of interesting what they say. The Amplified Bible says, "Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God." Now, is the Amplified right there? Do they know what they're talking about, or is the King James Protestant translation better, "give to Caesar tribute"? Well, the Living Bible says, "Give it to Caesar if it's his, give God everything that belongs to God." How do you do that? What belongs to God? How do you give to God everything that belongs to God? Well, you've got to find out what all belongs to God, and then whatever all belongs to God, then you've got to give everything that belongs to God to God. So even the Living Bible, which is in many cases a sick paraphrase instead of the Living Bible, but in a lot of cases, it helps out on some areas. The Williams translation says, "Pay Caesar therefore what belongs to Caesar, and pay God what belongs to God."

   So there are a lot of differences in translating. Do you give or do you pay? Is it what is due to God? Is it everything that belongs to God? You know, people would have you believe that in the New Testament, there's a different law, and the law in the New Testament is free will offering. But back in the Old Testament, that was a dispensation of law. And back there, you had this law of tithing, but in the New Testament, we are free from that; we're liberated; we have free will offerings. Now, that's a farce. That's not biblical, and that's not the truth. Free will offering originated in the Old Testament; it didn't originate in the New Testament. Along with the tithing law, existed the free will offering. You don't have the contrast between what was the law of the Old Testament compared to the liberty of the New Testament. Firstly, we ought to get over being duped by that Old Testament, New Testament argument.

   Can you show me any Bible basis for calling that Old Testament and New Testament? Where did that idea come from anyway? Isn't that really one whole book altogether? Isn't that really the way you understand the Holy Scriptures? You know, the Old part isn't complete without the New, and the New part isn't complete without the Old. It's interesting to me, though, how many things people want to pass off as Old Testament and then say, "We just live by the New Testament."

   Let me read a statement using the Companion Bible, appendix 95, page 137, with reference to this idea about Old and New Testament: "The word 'Testament' as a translation of the Greek word diatheke, which means covenant." You know how many times in the Bible, if you looked up with a Concordance, Old Testament, would you ever find that? One place. One place, and it shouldn't even be there in that one place, not in Old Testament, the Old Covenant. What was the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Well, the difference between the letter and the spirit. But notice what he goes on to say: "The word 'Testament' as the translation of that Greek word has been nothing less than a great calamity." Boy, to an ex-Baptist all I can say is, "Amen, brother, you sure know what you're talking about." Nothing less than a great calamity because by its use, by its use, truth has been effectively veiled all through the centuries.

   How many churches do you know of that get around the Holy Scriptures by saying, "Well, that's Old Testament, and you know, we don't follow that in the New Testament"? You've got to quit calling it that. God never did call it that. Christ never in His whole life called it the Old Testament. Peter never did call it the Old Testament. James never did call it the Old Testament. John never did call it the Old Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John didn't call it the Old Testament. You know, all the way through the New Testament, as we call it, they referred to the Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures, the Scriptures of truth. They talked about the law and the prophets and the writings. They talked about Torah, the law. They never did call it the Old Testament, and Paul by a poor translation, which is blamed for calling it that in Corinthians. But as he says, to use this word Testament the way it's been used is nothing less than a great calamity. By such, truth has been effectively veiled all through the centuries, causing a wrong turning to be taken as to the purposes and character of this present dispensation, by which the errors of tradition have usurped the place of important truth. The word Testament, as a name for a collection of books, is unknown to Scripture. It comes to us through the Latin Vulgate. And yet how many things do we eliminate, do away with, circumvent, cancel, get around by branding it Old Testament?

   Now, back in Matthew 22, in checking a little more thoroughly into what this statement really says, you know, some people say, "Why, there's just no command to tithe in the New Testament." In the first place, is that a policy to go by? Everything has to be commanded in the New Testament, otherwise you're not going to abide by it? What's that doing to the Holy Scripture? What kind of an attitude is that to God's sacred word? In the first place, checking out the word render, you find out the Greek word is apodidomi. What does that word mean? Well, I've checked that up in Thayer's Lexicon and Englishman's Greek concordances and various other translations, and there are several other places the same word is used. It's kind of interesting to see the other places the same word is used. For example, in the fourth chapter of Luke, Luke 4 and verse 20, Luke 4:20: "He closed the book and gave it again to the minister, returned it to the minister, gave back to the minister, gave it again." And that's the same Greek verb as the one translated back here, render in Matthew 22: "He gave it back to." So if you render to God the things that are God's, you're just giving back to God what already belonged to God, what never did belong to you, what was always owned by God, and you're paying it back.

   Now, there are other interesting translations. Luke 9, verse 42: "As he was yet a-coming, the devil threw him down and tore him, and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child and delivered him again to his father." Same Greek verb: delivered him again, gave back to, returned to, restored to, turned over to, to their owner, what's owed, what he owns. Again, in Luke chapter 10, verse 35: "On the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him, and whatsoever you spend more, when I come, I will repay.'" Same Greek verb: repay, repay to God the things that belong to God, the things that are due to God, the things you owe God. I will repay.

   Now, you might notice in Luke 19, verse 8, Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor." Here they translated it give. "I turn over to the poor; I give them their due. God holds me accountable as owing the poor, so I pay the poor what God tells me I owe them. If I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore, give it back." It was his; I took it from him falsely; I give it back to him fourfold.

   You know, the word is used many other times in the New Testament. In the Thayer's Lexicon, as the definition, they say to pay off, to discharge what is due because the debt, like a burden, is thrown off by being paid a debt. The German word kragen would be the same word. Then they give a number of examples of where the word is used, it's translated a tribute and others due to the government. It's translated produce due, things promised under oath, translated this way: to give back, to restore, to recompense, pay back, to recompense. And they give many other places where the same term is used.

   You might notice in Matthew chapter 6: "That your alms may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret Himself shall recompense you." He'll pay you back; He will reward you for what you have given. In verse 6: "When you pray, enter into your closet, and when you shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall recompense you." He'll pay you back for it; He will reward you for it. Same thing in verse 18, but there are many other places the same verb is translated. So what he really says back here in Matthew is pay back to God what belongs to God and pay back to Caesar what belongs to his. It's got his picture on it; he's entitled to it; it's his nation that produces it.

   Looking back, come back to Numbers. I want to look at a few of these other scriptures back in the Old Testament on. Numbers 18, beginning in verse 20, reviewing some of these Old Testament laws that we come to understand and any newer people need to be grounded in, but: "The Eternal spake to Aaron, 'You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any part among them.'" In other words, like priests or ministers do not get caught up in their property or their physical provisions but to keep available for serving all time. "You'll have no inheritance, neither shall you have any part among them. I am your part and your inheritance among the children of Israel. And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance."

   Now, there's several Bible Encyclopedias that point out how this excludes any other use for any of these tenth at all except as consecrated for this purpose God set aside. "I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance for their service which they serve, the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." And He repeats this in verse 24: "The tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the Eternal, I have given to the Levites to inherit." Now, did then these tithes all of a sudden, belong to Levi. And therefore, when there was no Levi, then you couldn't pay this tithe to anybody because it says, "I have given all the tenth to the Levi." And yet, you know, back in Malachi, we might turn back and read there, notice in Malachi verse 8, chapter 3, Malachi 3 and verse 8: "Will a man rob God?" So you notice, when you don't pay your tithe, you're not robbing the Levite. If it belonged to him, even though God gave it to him for his service that he rendered to God, God still considered it His, even though He gave it to them for their upkeep and their livelihood. And yet, when a man doesn't pay that tithe to the Levite, he's not robbing the Levite. He's robbing God. "But if you were to interpret the law as saying, 'Well, God gave all the tithes to the Levites, therefore, when there wasn't any more Levite, then there's no more obligation to tithe,'" you know, some people in their reasoning would say, "Since there aren't any Levitical priests today and any priests of Aaron, therefore, there can't be any tithing law." That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says, "When you don't tithe, you're not robbing the Levites, you're not robbing the priests of Aaron, you're robbing God." "Yet you've robbed me," God says. Well, you say, "Wherein have we robbed you?"

   And you know, in a sense, the prophet Malachi, writing right before the years between the Old and the New Testament period, the years between those times, God anticipated what the people were going to end up doing. And as a warning through His last prophet, He warned about people forsaking tithing. And yet, in many cases, the book of Malachi is as if he's a prophet warning those of us down in the end time. Also, many of the things in Malachi apply directly in this end time setting today: the coming of Elijah before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, remembering the law of Moses that God would raise back up, restoration of the knowledge and the obedience to the law of Moses along with the statutes and judgments. Doesn't it seem rather striking that the very last prophet before the time period leading up to what we call the New Testament time, the very last prophet would warn about forsaking the law of Moses, about robbing God, about forsaking the tithes?

   Notice verse 4 of chapter 4, the very last paragraph, God inspired the very last prophet to warn: "Remember the law of Moses which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel." And then notice what He says specifically to remember: "The statutes and judgments," not just the Ten Commandments. Don't just remember the Ten Commandments. Remember the law of Moses, the statutes and judgments. And then, right into that with the warning, He says, "I'll send you Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord." Very obvious end time warning and setting. And yet, one of the things connected with sending the Elijah before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord is remembering the law of Moses, the statutes and judgments.

   And you know, sure enough, that's what God has caused Mr. Armstrong and the church today to do because the Church of God, Seventh Day, very much believes in the Ten Commandments, but they certainly don't believe, as this church does, in keeping the statutes and judgments. I mentioned to the people up in Portland, I used to have an extra sermon I carried around in the back of my Bible all the time when I was up in Portland. And then anytime from the, anybody from the Church of God, Seventh Day would come in, I'd take that sermon out and I'd give that one all over again. It's about the differences in the laws. You know, what laws were meant to be kept forever and which ones weren't, which ones were ceremonies and rituals and which ones weren't. And you know, by continually reminding them about God's laws, ends up about half of that Church of God, Seventh Day forsook their place and started coming over where we met. And all of a sudden, Mr. Dugger came roaring back from Israel to have a campaign to get all these people back that they lost up there.

   But you know, one of the keys is understanding the differences in the laws. Why would God's last prophet in his last paragraph tell you to remember the statutes and judgments and then Christ comes right away and buries them all, nails them all to the stake, cancels them, eliminates them? That's kind of ridiculous. And what kind of a book is the Bible to advocate that kind of an idea? And yet, as a part of that and remembering the law of Moses, the statutes and judgments is connected in with tithing. In verse 8: "Will a man rob God?" And then the people who are doing it, like Laodiceans, you ever noticed the word "you say" in the book of Malachi? That's the Laodicean attitude. If you tie that in with Revelation 3, you remember the Laodicean says, "You say," God tells them one thing and "you say," God tells them another thing and "you say." And it ties right in with this warning in Malachi. "You say, well, wherein have we robbed?" "Not a law, just a matter of giving your freewill." You know, it's a matter of New Testament liberty. And then the prophet says, "Bring you all the tithes, the whole tithe, into the storehouse, He says, I'll rebuke the devourer for your sake." Well, even though God set aside that tithe, all of that tithe in Israel for the Levite, it still belonged to God. It was God's. He was just letting them use it as ones who worked for Him.

   Now, you might tie that in with Leviticus 27. Leviticus 27, you know, it's kind of interesting how people's minds, when they get intellectual or technical and they can get down into the twigs and forget the trunk of the tree. And that's one of the great things God calls a man who sticks to the trunk of the tree. You know, Mr. Herbert Armstrong has always been on the trunk of the tree. I've heard him say to us many a times, "Okay, you venture, some young men venture on out on those limbs and get them broken off from under you. You know, for me, I'm staying on the trunk of the tree." So a lot of us have, you know, we've gone venturing out on all kinds of twigs and limbs and fools rush in where angels fear to tread. But you know, Mr. Armstrong has always been a trunk of the tree man. Now notice here in Leviticus 27, verse 30: "All the tithe of the land," you know what a technical mind does all of a sudden? "Well, only the tithe of the land of Israel is sacred to God. He's the God of Israel, therefore no other land. Ah, the tithe is unclean, so that's the way the mind gets around God's law. They say, why, you can't tithe off of Babylonian land. That's unclean. That's corrupt money. You can't, it isn't God's land. The Holy Land is God's land and you can only tithe from the Holy Land." And is that a sensible argument? That's all it is, an argument, not the truth.

   You know, if that was the case, I can show you a scripture. Well, let's turn over there a second. In Psalms chapter 50, God says, verse 9: "I'll take no bullock out of your house, no he goat out of your flock, for every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon the Palestinian hills are mine." And what's that say? That's not what my Bible says. There aren't a thousand hills in Judea, you know. There aren't a thousand hills in Palestine. Where do we get that kind of an argument? God says, "Every beast of the forest." He doesn't say every beast of the Palestinian forest is mine and the cattle upon the Palestinian hills. They're all mine. That isn't what He says. That's what He ought to say if tithing is only from Israel, only from the Holy Land, only from Palestine. That isn't what He says. Every beast of the forest and every, the cattle on a thousand hills. You know, every time I'm driving across the country, I look out and I see cattle all over the hills and I think of that scripture. All those cattle belong to God, no matter whether you're in India, whether you're in Africa, whether you're in Russia, they're making them where you are. All of the cattle on a thousand hills belong to God." But your technical, straining out a gnat, swallowing a camel kind of a mind reads back here in Leviticus 27, and it says, "All the tithe of the land," that means just the land of Israel, "whether the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree is the Eternal's."

   Then right away, you know, they'll say, "Well, you know, it doesn't say anything about the fish in the lake. So you don't tithe if you're a fisherman. And it doesn't say anything about pottery makers. It doesn't say anything about hunters. And the only guy that gets slapped with a tithing law is a farmer. So he's always had it. You know, even back in the Bible, he's the poor guy that always got it." What kind of a radical straining out a gnat, swallowing a camel kind of a mind is that? "All the tithe of the land or the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree is the Eternal's. It is holy unto the Eternal." Is that only because it's Holy Land, therefore any produce on its holy or is it holy because it all belongs to God no matter where it is?

   Well, even here, the same term, all the tithe, like we read in Numbers, God gave to the Levite. Yet here He says, "All the tithe is holy unto the Eternal." Doesn't say it's holy unto the Levite. Doesn't say it's holy unto the Aaronic priest. It's holy unto the Eternal. That's the way it is. That's true. You might notice back in Deuteronomy chapter 12, I've rarely ever heard anybody explain the Worldwide Church of God doctrine about tithing accurately. They call it on the radio or in the press. They always want to seem to leave it unexplained and it makes it sound bad. You know, they say, "Well, you mean Armstrong takes 30% from you people?" You know that isn't true, I remember one ex-minister back in East Texas was interviewed on a Church of Christ radio program and they asked him about this idea that Armstrong takes 30% from the people. And you know, he knows better than that. Do you think he clarified that on the air? Do you think he explained that the way it really is? Do you think he said, "Wait a minute now, let me get this straight. After you set aside God's tithe to show how kind and generous and good God is, He turns right around and tells you to spend an equal amount on yourself." That's some kind of a God, isn't it? After He gives you all of it and then requires you to pay Him back the first tenth, then He turns right around and says, "Now that you've given me mine, I'm just going to turn right around and command you to save another 10% for yourself."

   Now, there's going to be people that aren't able to manage real well, and you're going to have the poor. So let's work out some kind of a plan on that. How much should a person give to the poor? Well, maybe about 3% a year or 2.8% or something. But you had to do it twice in seven years and have you let the land rest on the seventh year so it will produce more and better and turn back to you more because you have faith in God's law and you obey it. But you know, people don't explain that.

   Now, notice back in Deuteronomy chapter 12, verse 1, very plainly, as we read in Malachi, "These are the statutes." So, tithing is one of the statutes. It shows your duty to God, like judgments or judges, decisions made between a man and his brother. The statutes you observe to do in the land which the Eternal God of your fathers gives you to possess it. So right away, a technical mind would say, "Aha, see there? It didn't say any land or all lands. It just says you shall observe to do in the land which the Eternal God of your fathers gives you, to possess it. When God put the Israelites into the promised land, He left it up to them to take the land. Did He give it to them? He was going to give them far more land than they finally took. But does this mean that unless you're in Palestine, you don't have to tithe because you're not in the land that God gave them." You know people use the same kind of reasoning about the Holy Days and say, "Well, you don't need to keep the Holy Days because the only place God set aside to keep the Holy Days is Jerusalem. You go to the place God chose." And that was Jerusalem. That wasn't the first place He chose. You know, God had another place before that. He shows He changed His mind and later chose another place. And a little later after that, He changed His mind again and had another place. That doesn't make sense at all. If you have to be in Jerusalem, technically, by the letter of the law, you're going to keep the feast. You have examples in the New Testament I've been keeping the feast and they weren't in Jerusalem. But anyway, you shall observe to do in the land the Lord, your God of your fathers gives you to possess it all the days you live on the earth. Then He talks about getting rid of the heathen establishment that's been there before. And He said, you can't follow their practices to worship your God. Don't see how other nations worship their gods and say you're going to worship Me that way. "I'm God, and I tell you how you can worship Me. And if you don't worship Me the way I tell you, then you worship Me in vain." So does God have that prerogative? Is God to tell you how to worship Him? Or does God just leave it up to you to decide you worship God as you please?

   Well notice what He says, verse 5: "Unto the place which the Eternal your God shall choose out of all your tribes, now that leaves quite a wide choice there. God can choose out of any of the tribes. And later on, when the Gentiles started obeying God's ways, they even had places in Antioch and other areas. So God has chosen places according to these chosen people to live His way. God just chooses and puts His name on a place. And then that's the habitation you seek, and that's where you go. And there you bring your tithe. Now, we already read in Numbers 18:21 that God gave all the tithes to the children of Levi. And now He says, here you bring your tithe and heave's offerings, thou freewill offerings. Verse 7: "There you, you are going to bring to the place God chose. There you before the Eternal your God, you rejoice to put your hand to, you in your household." Don't be like you're vending every man what's right in his own eyes. But He said, now there's going to be a place I'm going to choose. Verse 11: "Because my name to dwell, there you bring all that I command you, your tithes, you rejoice. Don't forget the Levi. He has no partner, inheritance. Do all I command you.." Verse 14, He says, now verse 17, He says, "You can't eat within your gates this tithe but the one who's doing the bringing is the one who's doing the eating of it. And yet back in Numbers, He said all the tenth, all the tithe, He's given the Levite. And now here He says, you bring your tithes to the place God choses, you can't eat it within your gates. Now you get there before God with your household and don't forget the Levi, what can that be other than a second tithe? You know, what can that be other than an additional tithe? That can't be the same tithe That's impossible. The statement back in Numbers nails down matter belonging to the Levi. And then here it talks about you bringing tithes and eating it. Now notice, again people will be strained out like gnats and swallowing camel minds in verse 17, they say, "You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your corn, wine, and oil." So I guess you don't eat anything but corn, wine, and oil. That's going to be a crummy feast. You know, for eight days, corn, wine, and oil, corn, wine, and oil over and over and over. Well, that's no way to rejoice. Your household is going to say, "Yuk, you know, corn, wine, and oil." There are people with technical minds who want to say, "Well, see, they didn't say a word about animals, didn't say a word about fish and other things. It just says corn, wine, and oil." Now, might the term corn, wine, and oil be a general summary term for products of that particular type? And that's exactly what it is. You know, you ever take a Concordance to look up corn, wine, and oil? Well, I did that.

   Notice Genesis 27. Genesis 27, this is the story between Jacob and Esau, verse 27: "He came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, 'See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Eternal has blessed. Therefore, God give you of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine.'" So I guess that's all God blesses you when you are going to live God's way, then He's going to give you plenty of dew and plenty of corn and wine. No wheat, no meat, no fish or chicken, just corn and wine over and over and over. Those are the terms of blessing. They're not to be strained out like gnats and swallowing camels. Notice verse 37: "Isaac answered and said to Esau, 'Behold, I have made him your lord and all his brethren, and have given to him for servants, and with corn and wine have I sustained him. And what shall I do now unto you, my son?'" So a lot of us just need to go on a perpetual diet of corn and wine, I guess. And we'd be healthier and happier, and our whole household could really enjoy. That's ridiculous. Deuteronomy 7, verse 13: I can show you scriptures that talk about corn, wine, and oil all the rest of the afternoon. Deuteronomy 7:13: "It's going to come to pass if you hearken to these judgments and you keep and do them, the Eternal, your God, will keep unto you the covenant and the mercy which He swore unto your fathers. He'll love you, bless you, multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your land, your corn, your wine, and your oil." No grapes though, no chickens and fish. The increase of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep in the land which He swore unto your fathers to give you. You know, you can't strain out gnats and swallow camels technically that way. Notice Deuteronomy 28, what we call a blessing and cursing chapter, and look what He says here: "You shall eat the fruit of your cattle. This is when you're disobeying God. The fruit of your land shall you be destroyed, which shall not leave you corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of your kind, or flocks." Those are summary statements that cover the whole area of blessings and produce and animals, and not to be taken technically that you don't tithe or you're not blessed by anything outside of those few terms.

   I come back to Deuteronomy again. You know, I kind of feel like Mr. Armstrong does. I don't see why anybody wants to change the system. Between you and me, it's done pretty well for about 52 years. You know, I don't know why we need to be liberated from tithing. You know, why do we need to be saved by all these intellectuals that come along, and they want to get this big burden of tithing off of us, and they promise us liberty. But you know what's going to happen? People that promise you liberty, if that liberty is not having to tithe, it's not going to be liberty they bring down on you. It's going to be a curse, going to be a catastrophe. You know, in the years ahead, it's going to get tougher and tougher to tithe. What if we were in a country like some of them overseas, where they don't allow you to deduct all of your donations to the church? What if all of a sudden the Worldwide Church of God was canceled out and their donations weren't tax-deductible? Would you still tithe anyway? You may be tested on that, God's going to find out if your heart is really in the work and if the work really is your life or not. And a lot of us have proven that it didn't, because what our treasure is, hasn't been in tithing to God's work.

   Notice going on here in Deuteronomy 12? How else would you explain this? You know, not only that, but not that you go by secular sources, but there are many sources that recognize and admit that in the Jewish tradition or the Old Testament practice, there were three separate tithes. And Josephus very plainly states that, and many other writers very plainly state that. As a matter of fact, the only alternative are arguments about whether maybe the second tithe was used in a different way on the third year. You know, stop and think about that. Have you ever read anybody explain that? Have you ever read where anybody expounded on that and clarified that and showed you how that really works? That's no new argument. That's been an argument probably since God instituted the tithing law. What do you do? You don't have Holy Days on the third year. If you take the three tithes and use it on the third year, then what about the Holy Days on the third year? Do you find any records in the Bible where they had Holy Days two years, then skip one, then two years and then skip one, and then skip one, then two more years and skip? I've never read that. I've read is where they had Holy Days year by year, year after year, after year, after year, after year. I never read where they skipped years. But would be intellectuals would have you believe that that's something possible from the scriptures.

   Notice here in Deuteronomy 12, God plainly says: "You may not eat within your gates this tithe that He's talking about in chapter 12 of your corn, wine, and oil, or the firstlings of your herds or your flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor your freewill offerings." What on earth is that doing in the Old Testament? Freewill offering? I thought that was what we have in the New Testament instead of that old law, tithing. Why, you had freewill offerings back there long before the New Testament ever heard of it. With the argument people use, God says, verse 18: "You may, you must eat it before the Eternal, your God, in the place which the Eternal, your God, chooses, you and your son and your daughter and your manservant and your maidservant." Interestingly enough, God doesn't allow you to cram it down your wife's throat. You notice God says your son and your daughter and your manservant and your maidservant. But the law for adults is you got to obey God if you are called and shown the truth. Now, He goes on in the same place, verse 21: "In the place God, has chosen to put His name is too far from you, then you sell your herd and your flock as the God commanded you, and you eat in your gates, anything whether anything is clean.

   Both the roebuck and the hart, there both clean and you can eat them. Don't let the blood be there, you've got to pour it out. He said don't follow the nations and see how they serve their gods. Now in chapter 14, continuing with the story. You know, the way some people have believe you've got the one law that's in Leviticus, and then a little later God had a second thought and kind of changed some and added some more in Deuteronomy and the second giving of the law contradicted the first giving of the law and that isn't true. God adds to His law and amplifies the law, clarifies the law. Now, when you get into Deuteronomy 14, He's giving them various laws. Don't eat of anything that's died of itself, verse 21. Verse 22, You shall truly tithe, in other words, honestly, accurately, faithfully, honestly, and accurately, and faithfully tithe, all the increase of your seed, that the field brings forth year by year. Now, what tithe is He talking about here? Honestly, accurately, faithfully tithing all the increase. The only way you can tell what tithe He's talking about is what's done with it and God makes that obvious. Truly tithe year by year and you shall eat.

   So, now you know it's the one God has given to you. What we call a second tithe, the feast tithe. You eat before the Eternal your God in the place he chooses to place his name there, the tithe of your corn, wine and oil and your firstlings and your herds and the flocks [inaudible], that you may learn to fear the Eternal your God always. So, if somebody tells you, you don't need to keep the feast on the third year and the fifth year because you use your second tithe for third tithe on those two years. You had better learn to fear the Eternal your God. And when you go before God on the Holy Days, and you hear the sermons and you are with God's people and you're eating the tithe, then you're going to learn to fear the Eternal your God always.

   You know when the Holy Days come, whether it's convenient or not, you take your kids out of school, and they go, and it may be difficult for them. But through all of that, you learn to fear the Eternal your God, always. Now if the way is too long, if you're not able to carry it. The place is too far the Eternal chooses when the Eternal has blessed you. Now, notice that condition allows for some people that might not have enough income to be able to go every year. So, the law says, when the Eternal your God has blessed you. So, some people may have to save two years or three years if they save faithfully as verse 22 says, they honestly, accurately, faithfully tithe all their increase year by year. And when God has blessing, then they go and eat before the Eternal all these things. If the way is too long, they just convert that over into money, turn it into money.

   Verse 25, Bind up the money in your hand, and you go to the place God has chosen. And you bestow that money for whatsoever your soul lusts after. Now, notice then what this eating before God, this tithe God has given to you can be done with, you can buy oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, whatsoever your soul desires. Just as long as you're before God in the place He chooses, eat there before God, and you rejoice, you and your household, and don't forget the Levite that is within your gates, he has no part in inheritance, but you're able to tithe before God.

   Now, at the end of three years, you bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year and you lay it up within your gates. Now, all of the sudden it becomes obvious, one of them you got to take before God in the place He has chosen and eat it yourself. But now all of the sudden He's talking about, at the end of three years, bring forth all and keeping it within your gates, it that a, you can't have Holy Days of the third and fifth year? Or do you, is this another tithe?

   Well, just as many people believe, it's another tithe. How can you know when you've got all these different sourses? Well, God inspired Mr. Armstrong to understand that, sure enough, this is the charity tithe. It's the tithe for the poor, and it's only done during the third year. And then when you tie it in with the seven-year cycle, it's done on the fifth year, and then it's the seventh year, and it's done back again on the next third year. But at the end of three years, the tithe is different. We've already told you plainly about two, so we expect you to understand and realize that we've already told you about the others, so now he's telling you more so you'll know that it's another one. "At the end of three years, you bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and you lay it up within your gates."

   Now, the Levite and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow within your gates come, and they eat, and they're satisfied. He made it very plainly.

   Who uses this tithe and where they use it. They use it within your gates. Your territory or property to itself. The stranger, fatherless, widow within your gates, terminate, and be satisfied. Now, notice the reason that the Eternal your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. It's going to be another test this time instead of learning to fear God because you care about strangers, fatherless, and widows, God is going to bless you in all the work of your hands. You'll have more increase; you'll be blessed even more so when you read scriptures like this. What about if people don't obey that law, and they begin to reason around that law?

   Come back to Malachi chapter 3 again, and here again is a mistranslation n the King James translation. Malachi chapter 3, verse 5: "God says, I'm gonna come near you to judgment. I'm gonna be a swift witness against. Now, who in Israel is God going to come near to judgment and be a swift witness against? The sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right. What is the right of a fatherless widow, and stranger? How would you oppress the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger, and fear not God? If you're going to learn to fear God in paying your tithes and obeying God's tithing laws, you learn to fear God. But what if you lose the fear of God? You don't have any fear of God, and you begin oppress. You ever check up the word oppress? You know what it really means? Defraud of their legal right. What is their legal right? When would you defraud the widow or fatherless or stranger? When you don't give them what God requires, when you're not obeying God's law, when you're disobeying God's law of tithing. How do you take care of the fatherless, widow, and strangers? And that's really what it's saying here: God is going to be a swift witness against us if we forsake the fatherless and the widow and the stranger.

   And you know, God's church has been blessed greatly as we get back on the track, we get the truth restored again. But, you know, we haven't always had the truths restored. I got all of our four booklets we've had on tithing. You know, we've got one book used to be just kind of blunt, you know, it just said, "Tithing." Well, that's blunt, you know, you don't like that, so you say, "Your Best Investment." That's a lot softer, isn't it? That's even softer. "Managing Your Personal Finances." They're all good books. I've read all of them. "Ending Your Financial Worries." That's the best one because Mr. Armstrong wrote it. You ever compare those? I've just done that. I've been reading this one, reading that one, reading this one, reading this one. You know, it's kind of interesting to me. This one's got "by Herbert W. Armstrong" in there. I wrote one of these, and it says "staff." I've been hunting for him because I'd like to talk to old Bill Staff about some of the things he watered down in that booklet. It's kind of funny though, you know, you can hide behind the company, hide behind "staff." Well, Mr. Herbert Armstrong didn't mind putting his name on what he's got to say. He'd stick his neck right out there and say, "Now this is what I say. This is the way I believe it."

   Well, what would have happened if some of the liberals in the past had had their way as stated very plainly in this book on tithing? I almost fell out of my chair down in Big Sandy one time because I was sitting there at the faculty dining room, and this one church member who was a faculty member said, "Hey, I'd like to hear you give a sermon on tithing." And I said, "Well, you know, we had one not too long ago." And he said, "Well, that was a basic sermon for new people. That wasn't really detailed about everything." And I said, "Well, why do you request that?" And he said, "Well, I was out to an area and talked to an elder, and he said, 'You tithe on the increase.'" So the only increase he had was the interest on his savings account. And I said, "Boy, and an Elder said that?" He said, "Well, and I was talking to a faculty member, and he said that the new tithing booklet said you tithe on the net, not on the gross." I thought, "Well, the new tithing booklet said that? I must not have read that one. I'll run over to the booklet booth and get me one of those." So I went over and I got it, and I read all the way through it, and still didn't say, it did to him. But here he was, a faculty member, and he thought the section in that booklet that says if you're poor in one of the countries, you know, where they have this high tax structure, then you can tithe on the net instead of the gross. Yeah, faculty salary, a poor guy. I knew what kind of a house he lived in, poor. I never considered him poor. But here he was excusing himself, tithing on the net because he classified himself as poor. And I'm sure God's let him be what he's classified himself as. You know, I wouldn't need to tell you that guy is still in the church, would I? No, that guy is not still in the church. And a lot of people that are fudging on God and robbing from God, twisting the Bible, twisting and turning the Bible, what would happen to the widows in God's church if we listened to some of these liberals? What would happen to the Holy Days? What would have happened if all of a sudden we didn't go to the Holy Days every year?

   You know, we like to kid ourselves, but we'd be giving just as much if it were just a freewill offering. Now, I don't kid myself. I don't trust my human nature that much. And besides that, I've got a Christianity Today publication. They show what these born-again spirit-filled Christians give. You ever look at something like that? We're different though, aren't we? If you didn't have to tithe by law, you just give more than you ever have given, wouldn't you? You've got to be kidding. You wouldn't do any such thing. You know, when we said, "Well, you know, maybe people don't have to save the whole second tithe." And you know what happened? A lot of people didn't get to go to feast next year. Are you gambling with your salvation when you hit and miss going to the feast? How many feasts do you think you could miss and still be headed right into God's Kingdom?

   Well, they took a chart here, and they showed that the average per capita income of an American in 1971 was $4,164. So, the tithe of that annual per capita income would be $416. Well, you know how much people gave? The American Baptists, $80. United Methodists, $65. United Presbyterians, then way up to $115. Episcopalians, $110. Southern Baptists, $80. Seventh-Day Adventists, $385, almost the per capita tithe. Lutheran, United Church of Christ, you know, we didn't even get on the chart. I'd like to have seen us on the chart compared to these others. You know, we can't kid ourselves that in the New Testament, we'd just be giving more, and we'd be looking after widows and no, we wouldn't either unless God's law requires it.

   Malachi chapter 3 says God is going to be a swift witness against any of us who defraud the widow and the fatherless and turn aside the stranger from his right. And the only way you do that is if you don't fear God. And if you fear God, you're not about to let yourself defraud the widows, the fatherless, and strangers from their right. He says, "I'm the Eternal. I don't change." That's a weird statement in the last book in the Old Testament when all that was changed going into the new one, isn't it? Can you imagine that? God's prophet saying, "I'm the Eternal. I don't change." And then He changed everything, the very next book. I don't change, Therefore, you sons of Jacob aren't consumed." Now notice verse 7: "From the days of your fathers you've gone away from mine statutes." That's tithing, Holy Days. What are the statutes? From the days of their fathers that's what they've gone away from, God's statutes. They haven't kept them. God says, "Return to me. Go back to my statutes, get back to my tithing laws, get back to my laws against those sins mentioned in verse 5. Repent, return to me. I'll return to you." But you Laodiceans, you say, "Where do we got to return, God?" "Well, will a man rob God?" That's the context of that statement.

   Notice Jeremiah chapter 7, verse 5: "If you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor." That's what judgments are, decisions governing conduct between a brother and a brother. "If you thoroughly amend your ways and doings and thoroughly execute judgment." All right, what are you doing when you thoroughly execute judgment and amend your ways? "Quit oppressing the stranger, fatherless, and widow." Why would God list that right off the bat first? "A warning from Jeremiah: We've got to thoroughly amend our ways and doings and thoroughly execute judgment, not defraud them of their legal right, not defraud them of God's law that He gives for the stranger, fatherless, and widow. If you do, you're going to shed innocent blood in this place, then I'll cause you to dwell in this place forever and ever."

   Notice Isaiah, the first chapter: "When you spread forth your hands," verse 15, "I'm going to hide mine eyes. When you make many prayers, I'm not going to hear because your hands are full of blood." In what way? In what area are some people's hands full of blood? You know, I've known of people last year that were hunting for ways to spend their feast tithe. They just couldn't find enough ways to get rid of it. And yet we had widows who didn't get to go. That doesn't make sense. You know, that didn't used to be that way. Some of the old-timers have been around for 20 some years. You remember it used to be everybody got to go every year. Everybody, every year, got to go because everybody had the love for one another and they didn't want to live high and eat the biggest and stay in the fanciest and just think about all number one.

   You know, when I first came to Ambassador College, I'd never heard of the Feast of Tabernacles. I was up there in my Mayfair on the third floor down there on the south end one time, and a guy said, "Well, are you getting ready to go? You're getting ready to go?" "What are you talking about?" "Well, we're going to Seigler Springs." "What in the world for?" "Well, we're going up to the Feast of Tabernacles." I said, "The what?" He said, "The Feast of Tabernacles." I never heard of any such thing. Besides that, I just got here. What are you leaving so soon after school started for? You know, that's poor planning. Looks like you could wait a little later on when it'd be more convenient." And they said, "Well, we don't get to set when." I said, "Well, who does?" "Well, it's right there in the Bible." "Oh, yeah? Where?" So they began to show me what I've been going through there. I said, "Well, boy, that's in there all right. What good does that do me now? Y'all are all getting ready to leave, and I just got out here, and you know what's going to happen?" They said, "Oh, well, we'll all pitch in and give you some of ours." I said, "What? You're going to pay me to take a vacation to Seigler Springs for eight days?" Now you try that out in the Methodist church, the Baptist church, tell them you want them to all pitch in and give you an eight-day vacation at Seigler Springs or Squaw Valley or Jekyll Island or somewhere. And I don't go there this year, but you know, I never heard of the feast, but all of a sudden they said, "Well, we'll pitch in and help you." I never heard of any such thing. Dr. Hoeh invited me to go stay at his house before the feast. And I couldn't believe that people give money they'd saved all year to other people so they can stay in a nice motel and have good meals. Man, that sounded like Philadelphians. That sounds like people that love their brothers. But down through time, something's happened, you know. And I've seen people go to two or three feast sites, just plain members decide they're going to go to two or three feast sites just because they got that much money, and widows don't get to go sometimes every two years, sometimes every three years.

   Well, when I read Isaiah 1, I wouldn't want to be in that boat. God says, "When you spread forth your hands, I'm going to hide mine eyes from you. When you make many prayers, I'm not going to hear because your hands are full of blood." Where, God? Who, me? You know, wash you make you clean, put away the evil of your doings, learn to do well. All right, now get down to specifics, God. Where do we need to wash and make our hands clean, and where, God, do we need to learn to do well and seek judgment? Number one, look: Quit defrauding the widow and the fatherless and the oppressed. Quit depriving them of their legal rights. You know, in the New Testament, Jesus said, "You devour widows' houses." You ever scratch your head and wonder what that is all about? Same thing, not paying the tithe that takes care of the fatherless and the widow and the stranger. You don't think that's in the New Testament too? Why, it's all one book. It's all united. It's the Holy Scriptures, not any New Testament. It doesn't say anything different in the whole Bible. You robbed widows' houses, you defraud the widows.

   Boy, I'll tell you, there are hundreds of warnings about that. Notice Ezekiel 18, verse 12: Here God is talking about righteousness, and "have oppressed the poor and needy." He's talking about a man begetting a son that goes away from God, and one of the evils he does is "oppress the poor and the needy." There again, oppress them. Verse 16: "Neither have oppressed any, have withheld the pledge." Notice Ezekiel 22: "In you they have set light by father and mother. In the midst of you they have dealt by oppression with the stranger. They have vexed the fatherless and the widow." How do you deal with oppression? Deceit is what He's talking about, fraud, depriving of their legal rights. What's He talking about, in Israel they have dealt that way with the stranger, fatherless, and the widow, and vexed them in that way." Verse 29: He says, "The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery by vexing the poor and the needy by their oppressing of the stranger wrongfully from his right."

   Why, those are sure better if you translate them accurately. But there's warning in all books of prophecy about that very thing. In Matthew 23:14, He talks about robbing widows' houses. How do you do that, rob widows' houses? Is He literally talking about breaking in with a mask and holding up? Or is He talking about defrauding widows of what's their right, what the law is entitling them to? "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees." You've become hypocrites because you devour widows' houses. You don't have pure religion and undefiled, taking care of the fatherless and the widows. You ever noticed that when they find those terms lumped together, it's really talking about God's tithes that He set aside for the fatherless and the widow and the strangers and the poor and the Levite. You've got to mark those when you run across those where they're all listed together because that's what we're talking about.

   I'd like to read a few comments from a couple of papers that have been turned in in the past. The main purpose of this paper is to assemble material from the Bible and from a long history of extra-biblical literature on tithing and how the tithing instructions were interpreted and applied after the end of the Old Testament. Is that what we want to go by? You know, why at the end of the Old Testament? I didn't know it ended. I thought it was still in effect and still in force. And where do you go to find interpretations and how they applied the laws of God? Well, I believe what Mr. Armstrong has been inspired to teach. I believe what he's been able to show us in the scriptures. And research doesn't disprove that. Research just shows that some people take it the way that it is truth, and others interpret in another way that's not the truth.

   Extra-biblical evidence and practice is important. It can help to show how the laws were interpreted by those entrusted with the care of the Hebrew Scriptures. Well, a lot of ways, I don't care how those who are entrusted with the care of the Hebrew Scriptures interpreted them because if I want to know the truth about the Holy Days, I don't go to the Jews. If they did, I'd have two trumpets, and I think the Feast of Trumpets is a New Year and I wouldn't even know it's Christ's second coming. And you know, there are a lot of areas you can't go to those who are entrusted with the care of the Scriptures, whether they were Greeks or Hebrews.

   The Jews may have preserved the correct tradition, purely voluntary. Poor fund would replace the present third tithe. Boy, watch out with that. You're going to be hungry, trust in human nature for that. The purely voluntary poor fund. Well into that, we could also put a part of the excess second tithe given by the individual member of his own choice. You notice this emphasis on individual liberty and individual freedom and no law. Or it might be diverted there officially by the administration. More consideration could be given to a person's financial position. Those on fixed incomes, like widows, may not be in a position to tithe. I never heard of anybody who wasn't in a position to tithe. It's kind of like Cyrus Brown that was hanging upside down in the well. That's a great position to pray in. I never heard of anybody in a position not to tithe. You're going to be in a worse position if you don't. Many such people could get by without needing third tithe assistance if they don't tithe. Well, that's good reasoning except it isn't going to work. These suggested changes wouldn't keep the person from giving as much as ever to the work. It would allow more personal initiative and freedom. Thus, the person who now automatically pays a certain percentage because he's told to would have to assert a little more willpower and make a little bigger decision. Those who are really feeling the pinch, many of them leading rather miserable lives. I never had meet any of those because I've only been a minister 28 years, I guess I just haven't seen it. People leading miserable lives because of tithing. I don't believe that. And here, you know, who sets the church doctrine? I'm sure glad they didn't have the power to do it. I'm glad they didn't get away with it.

   Implications of this study for church doctrine: For second and third tithes, Jews have two separate traditions. Whether only theoretical or actually practiced is impossible to say, but the stronger tradition is that the second tithe was paid to the poor in the third and sixth years by religious Jews and wasn't taken up to Jerusalem. So we want to follow the Jews in their separate traditions. But one of their traditions was that they did pay the third tithe on the third year and the sixth year. I've never heard anybody explain what happens to the whole plan of God. When you turn your second tithe to the poor on the third and sixth years, the second and third tithe evidently didn't apply to animals since firstlings were the only animals mentioned in connection. It also seems the second and third tithe was figured only on the remainder. I never read any evidence or proof of that anywhere. Tithing is given little place in the New Testament. Unclean meats aren't given any place in the New Testament, so let's all go out and have a ham sandwich, huh? Where would you find in the New Testament everything listed that's clean and unclean? You don't. How many parts that you can't get without the Old Testament? Tithing is given little place in the New Testament. Certainly no system of first, second, and third is delineated either by express command or by example. The only real instruction one could draw from the New Testament alone, I didn't know we needed to draw instruction from the New Testament alone. The only real instruction you can do that is that the ministry and those spreading the gospel should be supported by the faithful. Nowhere is tithing as opposed to freewill offering. I didn't know they were both. I thought you did them both in the Old and New. They're not one instead of the other, one replaced the other in a different dispensation, one instead of it. That isn't true.

   These five summarizing points lead naturally to several questions and implications for our present church policy. Well, you know, Mr. Herbert Armstrong is the one that sets the church policy, and thank God, God kept him alive to keep it because it seemed like the church has done pretty well in the last 52 years. You know, we take care of the widows, and you know, God says that the Philadelphian church, we haven't denied His word, we've kept His word, and we haven't denied His name, and we've kept the faith. And well, those are the kind of papers. The other paper is even a lot longer. Let's just turn to a few examples in the New Testament.

   Matthew 23, you know, if a person takes the Bible as a whole and you go through and you notice what each king did when he restored God's worship, whether it be Hezekiah or whether it be any of the others back in Kings and Chronicles, you'll find out they always restored the statutes and judgments, they restored the tithing. You read back in II Chronicles 29 or II Chronicles 31 how Hezekiah restored the tithing. That was always done. Nehemiah, when he came back from the captivity and restored the worship, restored tithing and the Holy Days. Nehemiah chapter 10, of course, again, all the way through those books.

   But here, Christ very plainly, adding to what we have learned. God adds to the knowledge that we've got in the Old Testament. And He says, verse 23: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, because you're hypocritical because you'll be so precise when it comes to tithing of every little thing like mint and anise and cumin." Now that doesn't sound like they just tithe on corn, wine, and oil, does it? And it doesn't sound like they just tithe on it when they were in Palestine or something. He says, "You pay tithes of mint, anise, and cumin, and you omitted the weightier matters of the law." Now what most people don't notice when they read that is the weightier matters He's going to refer to are also defined by God's law. How do you know when you're exercising true judgment? By God's law. What do you know about true mercy? Well, God's law will tell you. What about faith? Just do what God says and believe God. It relates to law. You can't have faith without law, and you can't have judgment and mercy without the law.

   So Christ's statement to the Jews in His day, He didn't need to say, "Thou shalt tithe all the increase." They'd have said, "Where you been? So what's new? We've been doing that for 4,000 years. What do you mean you shall truly tithe?" You don't need an institution of the Sabbath in the New Testament. You don't need an institution of the laws. They've been in existence from the creation. So when Christ came on the scene in His day, the trouble was they went overboard. They strained out gnats and swallowed camels, and they get so technical about tithing mint, anise, and cumin, and yet they omit weightier matters, judgment, mercy, and faith. And notice Jesus plainly said, "These you ought to have done." You should have been exercising judgment, mercy, and faith, and you shouldn't leave undone tithing mint, anise, and cumin. But how does the tricky mind get around that? They just say, "Well, He's talking to Jews, and they were under the old law, so He's telling them they still had to tithe under their old law since He's talking to Jews." You see, a carnal mind will get around every law of God. You know what Paul meant when he said the carnal mind will not be subject to the law of God. It can't be, it won't be, it will find some straw to get around what God says. Well, what do you think Jesus would have said to the Pharisees? "You ought to tithe mint, anise, and cumin, but my disciples and I don't need to." "You ought to, but we don't have to." That's kind of ridiculous. That's kind of weird. "You tithe this, and you ought to have done it, not to leave the other undone."

   You might notice back in Luke 18, here's the Pharisee standing and praying, thanking God for what he's not: extortioners, verse 12. He says, "I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess." That's really better translated in some of the other translations. You want to read what it says in some of the other translations? He's really paying tithes of all that he, in all of his increase, he's paying a tithe of all that he earns, all that he gains, all that he acquires, he pays tithes on. That's really what that says. Now, did Christ rebuke this man for paying a tithe of all that he earned or gained or acquired? Well, He certainly didn't. Jesus plainly said, as we read to begin with, we should pay back to God what belongs to God. We should pay back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

   Now, I'm not going to read I Corinthians 9, but let's notice Hebrews 7 and we'll just quit here with this. Hebrews chapter 7. And what's the lesson in Hebrews 7? Well, primarily the fact that the priesthood was changed over from being a physical priesthood in a hereditary line, and now it became a spiritual priesthood, ministers called by Christ, the head of the priesthood, Melchizedek. And that the tithing law was transferred over from those physical priests to the spiritual priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, for the ministry that Christ called to do the work in this age. That's the lesson that He's getting across here. If you change the priesthood, you change the law or you transfer the law, as it says. So you transfer the tithe instead of going to Levites and physical priests, it's transferred over to the spiritual priesthood. Abraham gave a tenth part of all, verse 2 says, and he didn't just originate that. He didn't just think that up back when he paid his tithes. You know, most helps you can read on there admit that the way it's worded in the Hebrew, it was a previously known law. Abraham paid a tithe. "How great this man was to whom the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils." So verse 2, he gave a tenth of all, and now he paid the tenth of the spoils. And now that same law is transferred over to the spiritual priesthood to carry out the work of God in the New Testament, New Covenant time period. Back there, men that died received tithes. But that law is transferred over now to those that live forever, a spiritual priesthood headed by Christ.

   Well, I hope we can keep our footing on the truth of God and know that God has inspired Mr. Armstrong to set the doctrines in the church. And as we read there in Acts chapter 2, we're to continue in the apostles' doctrine. And you know, we're to hold fast the truth that's been shown to us. So we have to be careful because a lot of us can get caught up with a lot of human reasoning and a lot of carnal research. We can get carried away by books that we read into that are written by carnal men that never have had God's Spirit. And that's not the source of coming to the truth. That's not the way you can sort out truth from error. But I hope you can keep yourself grounded in these biblical passages and not let somebody interpret them and lead you right out of God's blessings and promises. You know, we're going to have rough times ahead, and some of us, if we forsake God's tithing laws, we're going to pay a penalty that's going to be really difficult, and we're going to find ourselves right in a time of trouble that we're not going to be able to get out of. So I hope all of us will get behind the work and behind Mr. Armstrong and really do our part in keeping these tithes and paying the tithes.