The Wrong Signal

By Dr. Suhento Liauw Translated by Mrs. Krista Ang

The Fall of Man

Since the first man committed sin, men can no longer live with the Most oly !od in the most holy heaven. "n their heart, there was once an evil desire to be e#ual with !od. They doubted !od and trusted Satan instead. This evil deed must be $unished before it can be deemed settled. The Most %ust !od will not ac#uit any sin without $unishment and !od has said that the $unishment of sin is death. But because !od so loved the world, e $lanned to send a savior who would bear the $unishment meant for sin. Adam and &ve had to confess their sins and re$ent, and believe in the !od's $romise for a savior who would atone for their sins. They once distrusted !od. So if they wanted their sins to be atoned by the Savior, they had to believe in that $romise. As a sign of their belief, they had to $erform a symbolic worshi$ that re$resented the $unishment that would be borne by the Savior by sacrificing a lamb on an altar while confessing their sins at the same time. This worshi$ would always remind them of the !od's $romise.

Fathers as the First Signalers

A father had to teach the truth of this sim$le symbolic worshi$ to his children. Thus this $ractice of symbolic worshi$ was $assed on from generation to generation so that they would always remember !od's $romise. (athers had to teach their children that they have to confess and re$ent from their sins and believe in !od's $romise of a savior who would atone for their sins. If a father taught the wrong concept, it was the same as giving the wrong signal to his children so that they went astray. At that time, fathers are the $illar and ground of the truth for their children. S$iritually, these children wal)ed guided by the signal given by their fathers. "f the signal given was the wrong one, those children would be misled. *ne e+am$le is ,imrod who might have e+$erienced receiving the wrong signal from his grandfather, am.

Israelites as the Signaler for All Nations

After the human race was scattered to all directions of the earth, !od built a nation as an accurate signaler to all other nations that !od would fulfill is $romise of a Savior. &ach man who wanted their sins to be atoned had to re$ent and believe in that $romised Savior, that e would re$lace him in the $unishment of his sins. All symbolic worshi$s centered on the oly Tabernacle and then around the oly Tem$le built by Solomon were reminders of !od's $romise to send The Savior. e would ta)e away the sin of the world -%ohn ./012, and every man who believes im will be counted as 3ustified since the Lamb of !od has atoned him. This truth is the signal that must be broadcasted by the "sraelites to all nations on earth. "f the "sraelites did not $erform their duty well, then all other nations would $erish because they did not receive the right signal. That was why !od was so angry when the "sraelites were not faithful to

their role. All the worshi$ rituals com$lete with the $riesthood of Aaron were the symbols of the truth to come - ebrew .4/.562. That was also why !od was so angry with Saul who did not obey the -doctrinal2 rules that only a $riest could offer a burnt offering. David's sin was related with morality, while Saul's sin was related with the salvation doctrine. Moral sin is also a sin, but the sin of the whole world has been ta)en away by %esus 7hrist. Sinful man only morally needs to confess his sin and re$ent. But, doctrinal sin will lead to $eril since it will distort the faith and mislead many $eo$le who hear it since they will misunderstand the salvation $rogram that !od has $lanned since the beginning. Thus, !od was angry with Saul and !od hated every )ing that caused the "sraelites to turn away from im. "sraelites were a$$ointed as the signaler to all other nations and when they broadcast the wrong signal, all other nations would $erish.

The ocal !hurch as the Signaler in the New Testament Age

The duty of the "sraelites as signaler to all other nations was finished when %ohn a$$eared to announce the coming of the Messiah -Lu)e .8/.9, Matthew ../.62. The age of symbolic worshi$ that served as a reminder to all $eo$le about !od's $romise of a Savior ended when the $romised *ne came. :But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshi$$ers shall worshi$ the (ather in s$irit and in truth/ for the (ather see)eth such to worshi$ him; -%ohn </062. ,ow !od is building is church and the gates of hell shall not $revail against it -Matthew .8/.92 and commanding them to s$read to all the earth -Acts ./92. !od uses the local church to tell about the coming of the Messiah to all man, even to all creatures -Mar) .8/.=5.82 in hy$erbole. &very believer must be educated to be a disci$le by first being ba$ti>ed as a symbol of the !os$el that has saved them -Matthew 01/.1504, ?ome 8/65<2. After that, they form floc)s of shee$ that must be lovingly she$herded for !od -%ohn .0/.=5.@2. These floc)s of shee$ are also called the ,ew Testament church, the $illar and ground of the truth -" Timothy 6/.=2. These churches are assigned to give the right signal to the world about the salvation of soul for each man. They must $reach the !os$el accurately so each man who hears and believes it can have the certainty of entering the Kingdom of eaven. There must be no mista)e, not even a small one, because one small mista)e can develo$ into a huge one. (urthermore, a wrong !os$el will not save its listeners anymore. ow im$ortant is the $osition of local church in this ,ew Testament Age. "t has the same $osition as fathers from the age of Adam until the Torah was written, and as the %ews since Torah was written until %ohn a$$eared to $ublic. The age of fathers as $riests and $illars of the truth was the age of family5altar, but not now. The :Abba5Love; grou$ who wants to $reserve fathers' $osition as $riests was born too late. "f they want to maintain fathers' $osition as $riests, they should have been born in the age of Abraham. &ven since Aaron was anointed as $riest, the $riesthood of father was no longer valid. That's why since the anointing of Aaron, fathers no longer blessed their children as %acob did -!enesis <12. *f course a father can and even must pray to !od to bless his children.

Satan"s #istur$ance of the Signal

As he has done to fathers from the age of Adam until the age of Moses, and to the "sraelites since they were at the Mount of Sinai until the a$$earance of %ohn the Ba$tist, Satan has never let !od's churches to $erform their duty in broadcasting the accurate signal to the world. "f only all fathers since the age of Adam continued to stand on the truth that !od ordained them to do and )e$t $erforming the sim$le symbolic worshi$ while confessing their sins to the $romised Savior who would come, then the global deluge in ,oah's time would not have ha$$ened. But 7ain intentionally disobeyed this doctrine by sacrificing the fruit of the ground rather than an animal that

could shed blood. !od already a$$ointed animals -lambs2 as symbol of the $romised Messiah. owever, 7ain tried to re$lace them with other things -cro$s2. After being rebu)ed, instead of re$enting, 7ain )illed his brother. Since then, 7ain's descendants destroyed the earth with their rebellion and by $roducing a generation who were evil in the eyes of !od. (ortunately, ,oah was still faithful and )e$t doing the symbolic worshi$ that !od had ordained. &ven when his ar) landed at the Mount of Ararat, the first thing that ,oah did was to build an altar and sacrificed clean animals -lambs2. But the grandson of am whose name was ,imrod ruled over the earth and led men to disobey their 7reator. As conse#uence, !od scattered their languages so men had to scatter to all the earth in grou$s based on the language s$o)en. After that, !od chose a nation as a broadcaster of the right signal to all other nations. But Satan did not sit still. &ven on the day of its establishment as a nation, when Moses and %oshua went to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten 7ommandments which would be the law for the nation, Satan used this o$$ortunity by causing the "sraelites to sin fatally by worshi$$ing a golden calf. Ahen !od chose a location, that was the Middle &ast which was very strategic to broadcast signals to &uro$e, Africa, and Asia, Satan tried to $revent it by ma)ing the "sraelites doubt that they could con#uer 7anaan even with the hel$ of !od and so causing them to wander in the desert for <4 more years. "n the end, they entered 7anaan and $erformed their duty as broadcasters of !od's signal. The symbolic worshi$ which was centered round the oly Tabernacle actually served as reminder of !od's $romise of a Savior to atone sins. All men who believed in this $romise at this time had to re$ent and loo) forward to the coming of the $romised Savior while $erforming the symbolic worshi$ that re$resented im. The rule of Solomon was the $ea) of the "sraelites' success in broadcasting the truth and the ma3esty of %ehovah to all the earth. The #ueen of Sheba who lived far away in the south received the signal and came to %erusalem. Besides admiring Solomon, the #ueen must have admired the symbolic worshi$ and the teachings of the $ro$hets. The King %eroboam who should have been faithful to !od because he had inherited most of the Kingdom of David led .4 tribes to worshi$ idols. The rule of King Manasseh was a $eriod of dar)est rebellion against !od. "sraelites who should have broadcasted an accurate signal about %ehovah, the 7reator of heaven and earth, and is $romise of a Savior, broadcasted a $erverted one instead. "f only the "sraelites were successful in broadcasting the truth, then Siddhartha !autama would have been enlightened -Buddha2 by visiting %erusalem 3ust li)e the #ueen of Sheba did. Kong (u Tse would have heard about Torah, the first most com$rehensive law on earth. (urthermore, the !ree) $hiloso$hers would not have #uestioned the meaning and origin of life. Bnfortunately, the "sraelites failed many times to broadcast the truth so many nations lost their way. *nly a few $eo$le, who were really )een to see) the truth des$ite the blurred signal, could see the right $ath by a very careful observation. Among these were the eunuch from &thio$ia and 7ornelius, a ?oman commander.

Satan"s #istur$ance of !hurch"s Signal

"f Satan did not let fathers $erform their function well as the $illar and ground of the truth, and also messed u$ "srael when that nation served as $illar of the truth, do you thin) he will sit still and let the local church $erform their function well -" Timothy 6/.=2C "m$ossibleD The first thing that Satan will do in disturbing the local church is to mess u$ their understanding between doctrines and daily life. Satan will try its best to control the teachers in the church so that they will $ay more attention to the sub3ect of love than to doctrines. "t is true that %esus said, :A new commandment " give unto you, that ye love one anotherE as " have loved you, that ye also love one

another. By this shall all men )now that ye are my disci$les, if ye have love one to another.; -%ohn .6/6<5 6=2. owever, we must not forget that !od also said, :"f ye continue in my word, then are ye my disci$les indeedE and ye shall )now the truth, and the truth shall ma)e you free.; -%ohn 9/6.5602 (urthermore, the !reat 7ommandment stated, :Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever " have commanded you.; -Matthew 09/042. There is not one 7hristian denomination who dares to disregard love because it is an e+$licit command stated in the bible. owever, many 7hristians a$$ly it wrongly, such as what is taught by The Children of God. 7hurch denominations a$$ly it wrongly if they $ut more em$hasi>e on love outside the right doctrine, of if they disregard doctrines in order to a$$ly this love $rinci$le. Love without the true biblical doctrines is no longer 7hristian love but Buddhism. &ven the Buddhists are e+$osing love and charity $ublicly by establishing a TF Station named DAA" -great love2. Ahen 7hristians are confused between charity and biblical salvation doctrine, Satan succeeds. 7hristians and 7hristian organi>ations that collect fund to hel$ the $oor $eo$le in the third world countries -"slamic countries2 are doing good things. But, if they relent to local government $ressures to give monetary aids without giving the gos$el, Satan will be ha$$y. e whis$ered, :%ust receive the aid, and don't trust in their !od. Ta)e the food offered to you but close your ears to the !os$el.; This is what ha$$ened in Africa, Aceh, and almost everywhere. The right love, a biblical one, meets the most im$ortant need along with other needs. The most im$ortant need is salvation of soul, the o$$ortunity to be reconciled to !od. Biblical doctrine is a love $ac)age that can't be disassembled. "t is even the main com$osition in the whole $ac)age of 7hristian love. "n the course of history, churches have gone astray many times. "n !alatia there was an :Advent; church which mi+ed u$ 7hristianity with %udaism even when the a$ostles were still living. Satan through the &m$eror 7onstantine succeeded in mi+ing 7hristianity with $aganism by introducing the conce$t of worshi$ to the sun and !recian gods into 7hristianity. The result was the ?oman 7atholic 7hurch with its doctrine of the Bniversal 7hurch, which has been broadcasting the mi+ed u$ signals for more than a thousand years. Augustine, the founder of the universal 7atholic 7hurch taught that babies had to be ba$ti>ed in order to cleanse them from their original sin. e created the oly 7ommunion that served as the way to obtain salvation. This is a very wrong doctrine which was later ado$ted by %ohn 7alvin. Both Augustine and 7alvin broadcasted the wrong signal. The ,estorian 7hristians who flourished in the Arabian regions have also broadcasted a wrong signal, otherwise Mohammed would have believed in the Triune !od. And if they understood that the revelation $rocess ended at ?evelation 00/0., Mohammed's family would have also understood that there would never be any additional revelation given in the 8th 7entury AD, and that the Bible was the only Aord of !od. The mista)e of the ,estorians in believing that !od is only in one Gerson and not three is now renewed and $romoted by the Jehovah Witness, while their other mista)e in believing that the revelation $rocess is still ongoing is now being develo$ed by the Charismatic movement. ,ow, in the 0.st century, thousands of 7hristian denominations have s$rung u$ with so many inter$retations of Scri$ture. This $henomenon will ma)e it more difficult for $eo$le see)ing for the truth to find the needle of the right doctrine from the huge haystac) of false ones. owever, whatever the conditions might be, those who want to go to heaven have the res$onsibility to assess the right faith to believe. %ust li)e a ca$tain faring in the sea of life. e reali>es that there are many false lighthouses constructed by Satan, but that does not mean that he can ignore his res$onsibility to get his shi$ safely to the haven. e must $ut forth a great effort and concentrate with all his worth to detect the right light broadcasted by the right lighthouse from the false ones. Ahat will ha$$en if he loses ho$e and steer his shi$ by the light of any lighthouse he sees $er chance. Aoe to him. Glease note that " am not saying that a $erson can be saved by his effort or his intelligence in steering his shi$ of life. The gift of salvation is wholly from !od, and men have no credit in it but to acce$t. owever, Satan is $laying !od and offers

false salvation to anyone who is willing to believe his lies. Thus, the $erson who is saved is the one who believes in the true salvation from the true !od. There are many 7hristians, even $reachers and $astors who are confused and without ho$e. They say that they are not willing to tal) about doctrines. "sn't it strangeC Ahat is then taught in the churchC *ldwives fablesC Ahat truly differentiate one religion from the othersC DoctrinesD Ahat differentiate one denomination with othersC DoctrinesD Ahat differentiate one church from anotherC DoctrinesD A $astor or $reacher has to learn doctrines by com$aring them against the others and assess them based on the Bible then decide which are the right ones. After that, it is his duty to broadcast them. The local church as the $illar and ground of the truth is the broadcaster of the true signal to its surroundings 3ust li)e a lighthouse. The world is watching the signals broadcasted by the church. "magine if a church refuses the res$onsibility assigned by !od by ignoring the doctrines and thus acts according to its own wisdom. Since it is not interested in the doctrines but )ee$s sending a signal, thus the signal must be a wrong one. Glease thin) it over.