FORGET THE PAST!—Work Now & Study the Future! 8/83 DFO 1598
1. THE TIME FOR STUDYING ALL THIS ANCIENT HISTORY IN THESE LAST DAYS IS OVER! If the Family want to take the time in the Millennium when they’ve got a Thousand Years, or in Heaven when they’ve got Eternity, to study all of this ancient & Old Testament history just for amusement or curiosity, well, that’s up tot the, but I don’t think anybody’s got time to study this kind of past history like ancient history & Old Testament & even New Testament history.
7. YOU DON’T EVEN NEED A HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS! I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t think we need to get into all these stupid ridiculous details. We don’t even have time to go over the details & travels & times & days & dates of Christ’s travel, His whole life. It’s done, it’s finished! So why the Hell should we go back over it? I know all you need to know, & I told you all you need to know, & that’s it!
8. I SAID READ THE BIBLE. I DIDN’T SAY STUDY IT IN DETAIL! I don’t think you even need to read the Old Testament any more, frankly. (Maria: You mean we don’t need to know about David & Solomon & Samuel?) You know about it, I told you all you need to know about those guys. (Maria: We don’t have to read the Bible then?) Oh, sure, if you want to read it for devotions, especially the Devotional & Poetic Books like Psalms & Proverbs & Job & a lot of things like that, but you don’t need to go delving back into that ancient history any more, I’ve told the Family about all they need to know!
15. I DON’T THINK WE HAVE TO GO INTO FULFILLED PROPHECIES IN JESUS’ DAY! They have already been fulfilled & He’s already died & gone to Heaven & He’s already save us & that’s all we need to know! We don’t need to know all these ridiculous details about all these things that happened then. It was done, it’s finished! Jesus said, “It’s finished!” (Jn.19:30) And Paul said, “Forget those things that are behind!” (Maria: A lot of people have been saved through a witness about fulfilled prophecy.) You know who advocated that stuff about the fulfilled prophecy in Jesus?—The Jews!
24. EVEN THE LIFE OF CHRIST & THE BOOK OF ACTS & SOME OF THAT IS ALL ANCIENT HISTORY—WE’RE LIVING THE BOOK OF ACTS TODAY! We’re living, in a sense, the life of Christ today & what we’re far more interested, or should be, in the present & what we’re doing now & what were’ going to be doing in the Future, than all this stuff that’s past that there’s nothing you can do about how except learn some bitters lessons from it!
25. I WOULDN’T EVEN RECOMMEND READING THE “BIBLE IN PICTURES” ANY MORE! That’s ancient history! That was for my little kids 30 years ago!
28. IF WE WANT TO AMUSE OURSELVES WITH THAT KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT, WE CAN DO IT WHEN WE GET TO HEAVEN & actually see it on 3-D TV quick & fast & simple, or travel the Time Beam back into the past & watch the events for our education, amusement & entertainment!
30. (MARIA: PAUL STUDIED THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES A LOT, DIDN’T HE?) Paul was one of those God-damned Jews...
31. WE’RE NOT HAIR-SPLITTING THEOLOGIANS, SO WE DON’T HAVE TO GO INTO ALL OF EVEN PAUL’S DETAILED DOCTRINAL THEOLOGICAL STUDIES, proving that Jesus s was the Messiah & that grace was now preferable to law. How many people need to know that? I’ve told the Family all they need to know about that! They don’t need to study anything else. Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, they’ll get all the Bible they need to know right in the MO Letters! Period! (Maria: That’s good!)
32. IF THEY WANT TO READ THE BIBLE IN THEIR SPARE TIME—IF THEY EVER HAVE ANY, WHICH THEY SHOULDN’T—WELL, THEN THEY CAN READ THE BIBLE, but as far as I’m concerned, reading ancient Old Testament history of the Jews is a waste of time...
33. (MARIA: AND SO AS FAR AS THE NEW TESTAMENT GOES, WE NEED JUST MOSTLY THE WORDS OF JESUS?) The New Testament is a very short & simple Book about the Life of Christ, the beginning of the Church & how to evangelise the world ... I still say that the reading of the New Testament, especially the Life of Christ & particularly the Gospel of John, is very helpful to new Christians, & I think they’d almost be better off if they didn’t get tangled up in the Epistles of the Apostles! They get in some big doctrinal arguments there between Paul & Peter & some of the rest of them! (Maria: And even things contrary to what we believe now!) Yes!
47. WHY STUDY THE BIBLE? I’ve told you almost all you need to know & all the important Scriptures. I’ll be you’ll find in my writings practically every important Scripture that needs to be quoted out of the Bible! Virtually everything you need to know about he Bible is already in the MO Letters & my commentary on the Bible & the Scriptures & the up-to-date modern applications of today that are appropriate for now & have to do with the present & action & lives were living now, not re-hashing all that old passé junk!
53. FRANKLY, I WOULD JUST FLAT-OUT SAY THAT IF YOU HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN READING THE BIBLE & THE MO LETTERS, YOU’D LEARN A LOT MORE ABOUT THE PRESENT AS WELL AS ABOUT THE PAST &THE BIBLE PLUS THE FUTURE BY READING MO BOOKS! (Maria: yes, of course, definitely!) I”ve told you all that I have felt that you need tot know about the past & the Bible & Bible History & Bible Prophecy.
56. FOR GOD’S SAKE, IF YOU’RE GOING TO STUDY ANYTHING, STUDY WHAT GOD HAS HAD TO SAY TODAY! Why look backward to what He said way back yonder about people that made a mess of things & are done for?