DFO 1324France, 15/9/80

—A Grandpa Story!

(After watching a "Star Trek" video & before starting "Aladdin's Lamp," Maria was a little concerned about the children seeing the Evil Magician, & Dad says:)

1. THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING BAD OR THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY POINT TO THE STORY! (Maria: I know, but could you maybe explain the story first?) The whole idea of the whole Creation & all these stories is a struggle between good & evil, David. In every story there's good & bad, right? There's a hero, the good guy, & there's the villain, the bad guy, & every story has to have good & evil in it!—Even the Bible! (David: Like that movie.) Yes‚ like in "Star Trek," there were the bad guys & the good guys. (David: And that big bully, he was bad! He almost won, but God didn't want him to!)

2. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME GOOD & EVIL IN ALMOST EVERYTHING! You see‚ David, that's the whole idea of all creation, it's the struggle between good and evil and to show the difference! If there was no evil‚ you wouldn't even know what good was, right? And if there was no darkness, you wouldn't appreciate the light. Richard, turn out the light! Now, when do you appreciate the light? When it's all light?—No! When it's dark? You've got to have darkness to appreciate the light. Turn it on again. Now you know the difference, right? Darkness & light. If it wasn't for the darkness‚ you would never appreciate the light.

3. WHAT MAKES YOU APPRECIATE BEING WELL?—WHEN YOU'RE SICK‚ RIGHT? Then you think about how nice it was to be well! So you can only appreciate the good things by comparison with the bad things, by the difference between good & bad, see? If there was no bad, you wouldn't know what was good, because everything would be good. But you wouldn't even know it was good because you didn't know anything about any bad!

4. SO THE LORD ALLOWED ADAM & EVE TO EAT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD & EVIL SO THEY'D KNOW THE DIFFERENCE! He let'm do it! He knew they'd do it & they weren't supposed to‚ but He let'm. They could've just stayed good forever & they wouldn't have even been appreciative or thankful for it, because everything was good & nothing was bad & they didn't know the difference!

5. HE HAD TO LET'M TASTE & SEE WHAT EVIL WAS LIKE‚ & THEN THEY APPRECIATED THE GOOD! They never really appreciated the Garden until they got kicked out! Then they realised what a nice place they had to live in! So there has to be a little evil & a little bad around to make you appreciate the good things!

6. IF IT WEREN'T FOR BAD PEOPLE, YOU WOULDN'T APPRECIATE ALL YOUR NICE FAMILY & THE GOOD PEOPLE YOU LIVE WITH! You wouldn't know how good they were! But when you see how bad the World is, how wicked they are & how awful they are—like that bad mean bully—then you realise how good the good people are! There always has to be a little bit of evil to make you appreciate the good. God let it come into the World, He created the Devil to cause evil to help us appreciate good.

7. BUT IN THIS STORY OF ALADDIN WHICH YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, IT STARTS OUT WITH THE OLD EVIL MAGICIAN!—If Mommy lets you see it, that is! She wants everything to be good & nothing evil! (Maria: No‚ I just want you to explain it first!) (David: It makes these things go boom! But I read the Letter & just the Genie popped out.) Uh-huh! See, we didn't have time to tell you in the Letter about everything that happened in Aladdin‚ but it all started with this old evil magician. ("Aladdin's Lamp—Gaddafi's Magic," No.226.)

8. BUT YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE EVIL MAGICIAN OR YOU WOULDN'T KNOW HOW GOOD ALADDIN WAS WHEN HE COMES ALONG & IS SUCH A NICE GOOD BOY. And then you think, "Oh my, here's a nice good boy compared to this horrible old bad evil magician!" And then you appreciate Aladdin lots more. After you see this picture about the bad magician, you're relieved & thankful & happy when you see Aladdin come‚ see? It makes you appreciate & value Aladdin. That's the truth!

9. IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE A FEW TROUBLES YOU WOULDN'T THANK THE LORD FOR ALL THE GOOD THINGS! If you didn't have a few little problems, you wouldn't appreciate the solutions. If we didn't have the Devil, we wouldn't appreciate God & Jesus! There has to be evil in order to understand good & know the difference.

10. UNTIL THE LORD CREATED THIS GREAT ILLUSTRATION OR DEMONSTRATION ON EARTH to show the whole Universe & all the angels & everyone the difference between good & evil, they didn't know the difference! Nothing was evil! There wasn't anything bad! Everything was very good—good Creation, good sun, moon, stars, planets‚ good World, everything was wonderful!

11. THE GARDEN OF EDEN WAS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE! Everything was good, even the lions & the tigers were just like pets, like dogs, & you could pet'm & lie down & sleep with them! There was nothing evil, nothing that hurt nor destroyed in all of His beautiful place! But they didn't know it, they didn't appreciate it, they couldn't tell it was good because they'd never seen or known any evil! See? They weren't really thankful for it! They really weren't thankful.

12. HOW COULD THEY BE THANKFUL WHEN THEY DIDN'T KNOW ANY DIFFERENCE?—When they'd never known anything else? If you'd always been rich & had everything you wanted all your life, you wouldn't really appreciate it. Just like a lot of poor little rich kids, they're spoiled little brats & have everything they want & don't know what it is to be poor.

13. WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF, DAVID? Is that another little wart? (Maria: It's a mosquito bite!) Don't tell me he gets'm like Mommy, oh my! Jesus touch & heal him, in Jesus' name. Help it to go away. TYJ! Remember, Honey, you used to get'm like that in Tenerife? He had some bad bites that really almost got infected. He reacts to them like his Mother does.

14. BUT SEE‚ IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE HURTS & SORES & THINGS LIKE THAT‚ you'd never know the difference or appreciate what nice smooth skin you have that has no sores. But when you get one like that‚ then you're thankful for all the skin that doesn't have one! There has to be a little evil to make us appreciate the good. It's true!

15. AND ONE OF THESE DAYS THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF EVIL—THERE IS ALREADY—SO WE'LL REALLY APPRECIATE THE WONDERFUL KINGDOM OF GOD! We've got to experience the Kingdom of the Devil first so the whole world will know the difference and will appreciate God's kingdom! They'll be so thankful to get out of the Devil's Kingdom into God's Kingdom with Jesus & us reigning on the Earth, that they'll be thankful for a thousand years!

16. THEN BY THE END OF A THOUSAND YEARS THEY'VE FORGOTTEN HOW BAD THE DEVIL & HIS KINGDOM WERE, so they get bad again & they stop being thankful for God's Kingdom—that's the Millennium, you know, God's Kingdom—& they decide they want something different. So the Devil comes along & deceives them again & tells them lies just like he did in the Garden of Eden. He tells them, "Well, there are other things, better things! Follow me & we'll have fun!"

17. HE LEADS THEM INTO BIG TROUBLE SO THAT GOD HAS TO BURN'M ALL UP! He even has to burn up the surface of the World & chuck the Devil & the Antichrist into a big Lake of Fire. He hauls all those wicked people up before His Throne of Judgement & judges'm & punishes'm according to the way they ought to be punished! Then He makes the big beautiful New World with the New Heavenly City, & everybody that's left appreciates God & good & good things & pretty things forever, & they never want to go back to any of those evil things again!

18. GOD HAD TO REALLY SPANK'M PRETTY HARD SEVERAL TIMES! He had to teach'm these lessons two or three times before they finally learned, see? But after some of them have been through Hell on Earth, then they appreciate Heaven on Earth in the Millennium. But see, if we didn't have a few bad things around & a little bit of evil around, we wouldn't appreciate the good!

19. A FEW LITTLE BAD THINGS HAVE TO HAPPEN SO YOU'RE THANKFUL THAT THEY DON'T HAPPEN ALL THE TIME! You don't always get your way & get to do everything you want to do & have everything you want to have‚ because if you did, you wouldn't even appreciate it.

20. (DAVID: OUR ANTENNA IS NOT IN THE GROUND & THEN IT SHOOTS OUT THROUGH OUR TRAILER.) Oh my! (Maria: He's thinking about how the antenna kept coming up in the movie!) They must be awfully tired! (Maria: Are you listening to what Daddy's saying, Honey?) Yes, he's listening, of course he is! He's looking me right in the eye & nodding his head & smiling & everything!

21. SO WHEN A FEW LITTLE BAD THINGS HAPPEN THAT YOU DON'T LIKE—you get a few bumps & scratches & mosquito bites & things—it makes you appreciate that most of the time, 99% of the time, 999% of the time, everything is good that happens to you! Most of the time nearly everything is good for Christians that love Jesus, but that's not true of the World & the wicked people that follow the Devil. Most everything that happens to them is bad! They have hardly anything but trouble a lot of the time‚ even though God's good to them.

22. SO THAT'S THE REASON YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE MOVIE START OFF WITH AN EVIL MAGICIAN, OR YOU WOULDN'T APPRECIATE THE GOOD ALADDIN! And of course, the good always triumphs over the evil. The good guys always lick the bad guys & the good always wins!(David: Yes, like the good guy hit the big bully down to the ground!) Yes, he finally won the fight! He had a tough fight, like fighting the Devil, but he finally won.

23. WE HAVE A TOUGH FIGHT SOMETIMES FIGHTING THE DEVIL, BUT WE WIN! Good always wins, because good is of God & God can't lose! He always wins because He's the biggest & He's the toughest & He can out-fight the Devil every time no matter what the Devil does!

24. BUT IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE FIGHT, YOU WOULDN'T APPRECIATE THE VICTORY! If you didn't have a battle you wouldn't appreciate the winning! Without the trial there's no triumph‚ without a battle there's no victory, without a test there's no testimony! Maybe you can remember that one, it's in a Letter somewhere. TYL!

25. WELL, PTL! EVERYBODY HOME? TYL! HALLELUJAH! EVEN A JOURNEY LIKE THAT IS A BATTLE THAT YOU HAVE TO FIGHT, but when you get there, then you're very happy you won, you arrived! It's a battle to drive on the highway in a car & to fight the traffic & the curves & the crazy people‚ but you finally get home safe & then you're very happy because you won!

26. YOU GOT THROUGH ALL THE DANGERS & HAZARDS & THE TRAFFIC & THE HIGHWAY & YOU GOT HOME SAFELY & THE DEVIL DIDN'T CAUSE YOU AN ACCIDENT, & the Lord didn't let him give you any car trouble. You got home all nice, safe & sound—no car trouble, no tire trouble‚ no accident—& that is a very great victory! So we always rejoice when people come home safely, right? (Maria: Yes!) We're always happy 'cause they won the victory, they won the battle, they made the trip & they arrived safe & sound & the Lord answered our prayers to keep'm. Isn't that wonderful? (Family: Amen. TYL!) So TYL! TYJ!

27. WE THANK YOU, LORD, WHEN WE WIN THE VICTORY & WHEN YOU ANSWER PRAYER & PEOPLE COME HOME SAFELY. We trust You took the others home safely too, Lord. God bless & keep us all & give us a good night's rest. Keep us safely, keep the folks that are going to their little home, Lord.

28. WE'RE SORRY THEY HAVE TO BE AWAY FROM US FOR THIS LITTLE WHILE, BUT WE'RE THANKFUL, LORD, THAT THEY CAN BE THIS CLOSE. There were times when they were far far away & they couldn't just walk over to see us‚ so they should be thankful now that they're so close. They can just walk over here & see us & call us on the phone, Lord. TYJ for telephones! PYL! Help'm to keep working.

29. THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL SPOT BY THE SEA where we can be together & enjoy fellowship even late at night without bothering the neighbours! We can sing & pray & talk loud & be happy & see videos & make lots of noise without bothering any neighbours close by. Thank You that the folks from the trailers can come up & be with us for this, in Jesus' name.

30. BLESS & KEEP THEM NOW AS THEY GO HOME. Give them a safe journey & a successful arrival. Help them to win the victory & the battle of going home, as tired as they are‚ & give all of us a good night's sleep, Lord‚ safekeeping & strength for tomorrow & all of its labours & jobs for You, Lord.

31. EVEN OUR WORK, LORD, IS IN A SENSE A BATTLE! Every job & every work that we do is a struggle, whether it's cooking or washing dishes or washing the car or sweeping floors or writing Magazines or taking care of the children or whatever we do, Lord. It's all, in a sense, a battle & a part of our struggle that we try to work hard at to be successful & to win & come out on top victorious! So we've got lots to be thankful for!

32. OTHERWISE, LORD‚ WE MIGHT JUST GET LAZY PHYSICALLY & SPIRITUALLY! If we never had any work to do, never had any struggles in the spirit with the Enemy‚ we would get very lazy & very flabby physically & spiritually, & we would be in bad shape! But You give us lots of battles so we can win, & lots of struggles so we can have victories‚ & lots of hard work so we can be thankful that we've accomplished our tasks, in Jesus' name!

33. WELL, PTL! WE'VE WON ANOTHER DAY! Just to get through a day without too much trouble is a victory‚ & to get our work done! Amen? (Family: Amen!) Oh, we were praying for your sore. Lord, rebuke this thing in Jesus' name! Touch & deliver, Lord! Encourage David's faith by Thy winning the victory over this battle with this infection, Lord! Touch & heal for Jesus' sake.

34. AND REBUKE THOSE DEVOURERS, THOSE DAMN MOSQUITOES OF THE DEVIL! We ask You to rebuke'm & help'm not to bite him any more, in Jesus' name! Amen! Are you using your little mosquito machine to keep the mosquitoes away? (Rich: Yes, we are.) Be sure when you use those things you have plenty of ventilation, lots of fresh air, because if they're bad enough to drive away mosquitoes, they might not do you too much good either! (David: It might drive us right out of the trailer!) Yes, we don't want'm driving you out of the trailer or making you sick! PTL! XXX! Amen! Glad you came to see us! TYL! (Sara: We're so thankful! TYL!)

35. WELL, WE JUST HAD A NICE LITTLE FAMILY EVENING HERE! The children played around for awhile & Mommy & Daddy came out & ate supper while we watched "Star Trek"! A real old chapter, but it was funny. All about this planet where your dreams came true!—And your nightmares too. Well, really it was mostly all their good dreams. Even the guy who had that fight, he'd always wanted to lick that guy‚ so he got what he wanted! They kind of stretched that part out a bit. I thought that was a little overdoing it! (David: The antenna was magic, it didn't bother them.)

36. HE HAD AN ANTENNA UP TO CATCH THEIR THOUGHTS TO SEE WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE, & to find out what they wanted to meet next! He was reading their minds & their words & their wishes to see what they wanted, just like God reads our minds & our wishes & our words to find out what we want, & then He gives it to us if it's good for us!

37. GOD HAS HIS ANTENNA UP ALL THE TIME: "Let's see now, we've got to find out what David wants. Oh, he's tired & he wants to go home to bed!" So we'll make his dream come true & we'll let him go home! So, PTL! OK, folks! Time to go home. (Maria: Make David's dream come true!) Yes‚ we have to put feet to our prayers!

38. (MARIA: WASN'T GRANDPA GOOD TO YOU TO GIVE YOU A WHOLE GRANDPA STORY?) And dear Techi was in here for awhile! (Maria: Now Honey‚ aren't you glad we stopped the second movie to get an application on the first?) Especially since you couldn't take the Evil Magician! You had to have a little bit of a Good Magician! (Maria: Honey, we need the Word to be able to take the things of the World.) Amen, it worked out for good!

39. SEE?—THE EVIL WORKED OUT FOR GOOD! If we hadn't had the Evil Magician, you wouldn't have got that nice little lecture from the Good Magician! (Maria: Ah‚ TYL! So, you won't be mad at me, will you?) No, Honey! (Maria: Not about that anyway! Ha!) No. Amen! PTL! TYL! I think I'm ready for bed!—I'm tired! That makes bed feel so good!—Amen? GBY! ILY!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family