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Page 3 Portland Observer NOVEMBER 9, 1989
-?2>V
RELIGION
Ï
Scripture O f ‘The ‘Weefç:
E cclesiastes C hapter 1 & 2
ANNOUNCEM ENT
by Rev. M ichael Lindsey, Dean o f North P ortland Bible College
The 144,000 and the Great Multitude
(This week's Sunday School lesson
comes fro m Revelation 7 - in the uniform
series).
Few texts in the Revelation have
excited the attention and imagination of
Christian believers that these visions do.
They have also engendered great co n
troversy between the saints, and in some
ways serve as a test case for various
positions on the whole book o f Revela
tions. 1 doubt I can resolve the interpre
tation o f this chapter to anyone's satis
faction, but 1 11 make a few observations
based on my study. I hope these will be
helpful to our readers.
1. The literal interpretation of this
passage w ould m ake the 144,000 to be
d escenden ts o f Israel. They are drawn
from "all the tribes o f Israel" (Rev. 7:4),
and the tribes are specifically listed (verses
5-8). W hen the same groups reappears in
a later vision, they are identified as "fol
lowers o f the Lamb," "redeemed from
the earth," "who did not defile them
selves with women" (14:1-5). They are
even called "virgins" (14:4, especially in
King Jam es Version), which should be
understood here only to mean purity
from sexual sin.
So to sum up the evidence o f Scrip
ture, these 144,000 arc Israelites ("Jews"
in the racial sense) who have become
followers o f Christ Jesus, the Lamb, and
serve him as a special legion o f pure,
blam eless saints.
O bviously, m any Bible students do
accept this literal interpretation. The most
com m on figurative interpretation is that
the num ber is sym bolic o f com pleteness
in three dimensions (12x12x1,000), since
both 12 (the num ber o f divine govern
ment) and 1,000 (the num ber associated
with eternity) are "complete" numbers.
As a result, these 144,000 represent the
whole com pany o f the saints who are
alive in the period o f final judgm ent.
This position would argue that the tribes
were no longer a part o f G od's kingdom
governm ent, and so are m eant only sym
bolically o f the people o f God.
2. The tribes of Israel were never
"lost." A very com m on view is that the
ten tribes o f the Northern Kingdom
("Israel" in contrast to "Jordah") were
"lost tribes" after the conquest by Assyria
(II KINGS 15:29,17:1-6). This specula
tion has led to som e fanciful legends
w ithout any solid basis in history, such
as the view that the British people are
part o f the lost tribes, or that the N ative
A m ericans are descendants o f Israelite
exiles. The Bible records that the faith
ful priests and the tribe o f Levi left Israel
and migrated to the Southern Kingdom ,
Judah, long before A ssyria's invasion (II
Chronicles 11:13-17). Furtherm ore, a f
ter the threat from A ssyria had been
assuaged. King H ezekiah o f J udah called
for a united Passover celebration in Jerusa
lem, and invited all the people "from
Dan to Beersheba" to join in w orship o f
the true God. (30:5) People from tlie
tribes o f Asher, Ephraim , M anassch,
Issachar and Zebulun responded (30:10-
11, 18), and a great time o f rejoicing
followed. This dem onstrates that a faith
ful, G od-fearing rem nant o f many tribes
rem ained in the land o f Israel. Though
later they became known as "Jews" (from
the nam e o f the dom inant tribe, Judah),
the tribe o f Levi m aintained its distinct
iveness in New Testam ent Tim es as
"Levites," and even one dear saint is
m entioned, "Anna . . . from the tribe o f
Asher" (Luke 2:36). There is every rea
son to believe that faithful m em bers o f
each tribe survived, by G od's grace, even
to the present day. within the family of
the Jews. The tribes listed in Revelation
7 may still be in existence, even if rec
ords to support that are sketchy.
(C o n tin u ed In The N e x t Is s u e . . . )
Unity o f Love
6720 N.E.
Martin Luther King Blvd.
(Formerly Union Ave.)
FELLOWSHIP MISSIONARY
BAPTIST CHURCH
The congregation o f Fellow ship has m oved
from the O .B. W illiam s Convention C enter and
has relocated in the newly refurbished M cKinney
Tem ple on N ortheast Alberta, 1737 N.E. Alberta.
Rev. Johnny Pack, IV and Mrs. Mary Pack, his
wife are indeed joyous for your prayers and calls o f
concern. Several land negotiations ventures did
not com e through as they had planned but the Lord
had a ram in the bush.
The Fellow ship congregation has grown so greatly, they need a larger
sancturary to worship in, to hold church meetings and other church related
functions.
M cKinney T em pleC .O .G .I.C . is not, unfortunately, their final stop. C on
tinue to pray that their m inistry will continue to grow, that their w ork in the
com m unity will continue to flourish, and that God will provide a lasting place
for them to worship.
il
D re s s A s Y ou P le a s e S u n d a y "
G reater St. Stephen Missionary
B aptist Church will be having their
m onthly "Dress As You Please Sunday"
on Sunday, N ovem ber 12th.
This service was designed by Pas
tor Robert E. Houston Sr. to em phasize
to the mem bers o f G reater St. Stephen in
their outreach that the Lord is concerned
about the condition of men's souls rather
than the value o f their clothes. "Many
people use the excuse, "I w ould go to
church except I have nothing to wear,"
but we have become com m itted to shar
ing the C hrist that goes beyond material
clothing, and we have asked our m em
bers to dress casually and to invite others
to church with them," said Pastor H ous
ton.
Casual apparel w ill be worn during
the 8:30 a.m ., Sunday School and the
11:00 a.m. M orning W orship Services.
Pastor Houston will be preaching at the
11:00 a.m. services (also in casual at
tire). The public at large is w elcom e to
attend these services. The Church is
located at 3922 North W illiam s Avenue
(com er of W illiam s and Failing) and
transportation is available to these serv
ices by calling 281-6337 by Saturday,
N ovem ber 11th.
G reater St. Stephen Missionary
B aptist Church will sponsor FALL
REVIVAL '89, Monday, November 13th
through Friday, N ovem ber 17th at 7:00
p.m . nightly.
The guest evangelist w .7 he the
Rev. A. Bernard Devers, I. Rev. D e v c .
L im ite d T im e O N L Y
Union Avenue
Baptist Church
SPECIAL ON CURLS
Wave Noveau
$10.00 Off
Ail Curls
is the Pastor o f the Progressive M ission
ary Baptist Church, Seattle, WA. He is
the form er pastor o f the New Hope
Missionary Baptist Church, Portland, OR,
and the first pastor o f the G reater St.
Stephen M issionary Baptist Church,
Portland, OR.
Rev. Devers is a gifted speaker, and
serves as President o f the M acedonia
D istrict Congress o f Seattle and V icin
ity; Chairm an, Evangelical Board, G en
eral Baptist Convention o f the N orth
west; M em ber, Board o f Managers,
Evangelical Board, National Baptist
Convention o f America, Incorporated.
Services throughout the week will
be led in w orship by Associate M inisters
of the city including, Rev. Charles Bembry
(Greater S t Stephen), Rev. Briscoe Odom,
Jr. (G reater St. Stephen), Rev. Jam es F.
Richardson, St. (V ancouver Avenue),
Rev. Roy E. Clay, Sr. (Fellow ship), and
Rev. Raym on H. Edw ards (New Hope).
Supporting the preached word will
be ministry in music. G uests throughout
the week include: D.C. Ensem ble under
the direction of Sis. Darlene W arren, St.
Paul M issionary Baptist Church, New
Hope M issionary Baptist Church, New
Jerusalem M issionary Baptist Church,
St. Mark M issionary Baptist Church,
The Church o f the Living G od, The
Church o f the Living God PG T, E ver
lasting M issionary Baptist Church, and
also the Progressive M issionary Baptist
Church C hoir of Seattle, WA. For More
details on these services you may call
2 b i ¿’ 37 or 287-6691.
Selena Brant and Jeremie
Mitchell will be united In Holy
Matrimony on Saturday, Novem
ber I I , 1989 at 5:00 p.m. at the
Mount Olivet Baptist Church, 116
N.E. Schuyler, Portland, Oregon.
Everyone is cordially invited to
attend.
Dr. James E. Martin, pastor
D ID
YOU
Care Free
Designer Curl
Touch Up
$55.00
$45.00
$45.00
$25.00
Ask for Daryl For Discount!
5029 N.E. Union Ave.
Portland, OR 97211
K N O W ..
...that despite much progress in recent years, finding adoptive homes for Black
children is still a difficult challenge for many communities throughout the country. In
Oregon, we do not claim to have all answers to face this challenge, but through the One
Church, One Child program, we have discovered a promising solution.
One Church, One Child is a special minority recruitment program designed to find
adoptive homes for Black children. Since its implementation in Oregon in September of
1988, One Church. One Child has been instrumental in the adoption of ten children.
|
I | of Oregon
s
.
.
.
’*
proudly announces:
a
v
M
Unity in the Community fo r our Children'
P
»
A banquet celebrating one year of service to Oregon's Black children
z
Red Lion, Lloyd Center
N o v e m b e r!
•'
6:30 pra
D onation: $25.(
Tickets can be purchased until Tuesday, November 14th at the
One Church, One Child office located at 5806 N Albina (503) 285-7634
■
Banquet supporters Include:
Trl-Met
NIKE, Inc.
KGW Channel 8
KATU Channel 2
* Emanuel Hospital
Portland Trailblazers
Pacific Power & Light Co.' T
' B
MB
W
Open your hearts and minds to the One Church, One Child challe ige:
g
A-.
__________jb .
ADOPT A BLACK CHILD!
Hope of Glory
Radio Ministry
KPDQ 8 0 0 A.M.
SUNDAY
o .
1
1 0:00 p .m . to 1 1:00 p .m .
M otto: “There Is Hope"
"Christ In fo u , ‘The Mope o f ÇCory ' C ot 1:2 7
Dlal-A-Prayer . . . (503) 286-HOPE
30 R
N o rth Portia..^
b ra n c h L ib r a r y
wbetn
Winter Revival
(4673)
24-Hour Prayer Request Line
Mon., Nov. 13,1989
to Fri., Nov. 17,1989
Please Come %nd
Jlelp Us In This
Qreat ‘JVorlCforLhe Lord
Jesus Loves You!
7:00 P.M. Nightly
4236 N.E. Eighth Avcnut
(com er of 8th & Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
Maranatha Church
(503) 287-0261
P hillip S. N elson, Pastor
With A Bold New Vision
Reaching out until He conies
Going Back when He comes
Sunday School
Sunday Service
Psalm 34:3
4222 N.E. 12th Ave.
Rev. Wendell H. \VAllace
Senior Pastor
"A TEACHING CHURCH
WITH A REACHING MINISTRY."
MT OLIVET BAPTIST
CHURCH
9:45 a.m.
morning
11:00 a.m.
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
Sunday Service
evening
6:00 p.m.
116 NE. Schuyler
Tuesday Teaching
Thursday
7:30 p.m.
Moments of Deliverance 7:30
The Friendliest Church in the city
Senior Pastor Rev. Samuel M. Irving.
• Li
t
I
Allen Temole CME Church
The Albina Church of God
5522 N.Albina/283-1635
r .,
■
ONE CHURCH, ONE CHILD
Mattie Ann Callier-Spears
How Safe Is Downtown Portland At N ig h t. . .
Will be continued next week, 11/16/89.
283-5440
R e la x e rs
WEDDING
ANNOUNCEMENT
Sunday Servcices
Sunday School 9:00 A .M .
Morning Workshop 10:30 A .M .
Maranatha School of Ministry 6:30P.M.
Mid- week services - Wednesday 7:30 P.M.
7:45 A .M . - Worship Service
9:30 A .M . - Sunday School
10:45 A .M . - Worship Service
6:30 P.M . - Worship Service
Bible Study:
10:30 A .M . - 12 Noon - Wednesday
6:30 AJM. - 8:00 P .M . - Wednesday
Radio Ministry each Sun. 8am KBMS
284-1954
F i