DO 23788/86

—Sacrifices!—Grandmother & the ACs!

1. (David: Amen, Thank You Jesus for this good Bible Study time that we can sit at Your feet & listen to Your Words that You have for us today! We pray that You'll make it really inspiring, Jesus, & that we'll be good listeners! Thank You for this Bible Study we can have, in Jesus' name, amen!)—Amen! PTL! And we've already had some bird study time too, studying the wonders of God's Creation! That's very inspiring too. We found a coo-coo bird! TYL! Did we finish the 51st Psalm? (Fam: No, we were on verse 14.) So we've just got five more verses to go, 15 to 19! Our signal for end of class is going to be when the tape recorder starts squealing at the end of the tape! PTL! TYJ! Bless the reading of Thy Word, Lord, & make it a blessing!

SACRIFICES!

2. "O Lord, open Thou my lips; & my mouth shall show forth Thy praise." What are we praying for here? (Children: For the Lord to open our lips!) In other words, "Lord, help me open my mouth so I can praise You!"

3. "For Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering." Then how come all the Mosaic Law talks a lot about burnt offerings & how to sacrifice animals & cook'm over the altar fire? If the Lord doesn't desire that‚ then how come they did it? It was the Law, but most of all the Lord wants what?—Not just animal sacrifices. That was to sort of carry them over from the old heathen worship etc., because they were used to the way the Egyptians worshipped & that's the kind of stuff they did. So the Lord just adapted it to His Own worship‚ so they wouldn't have too sudden a change. The Egyptians sacrificed animals to their gods, so He had His people sacrifice animals to Him.

4. But He was gradually changing them because that's not what he really wanted, was it? What does the Lord really want us to do? (Techi: To praise Him!) (Maria: It says, "The sacrifice of praise."—Jer.33:11; Heb. 13:15.) To praise Him, to pray‚ & most of all... (Techi: To love Him!) To love Him, right! That's the sacrifice of love. He was getting to a point where finally Jesus would say, "The Lord doesn't want you to worship here or in the Temple or some other temple," but what does He say? "The Father wants people to worship Him..." (David: "In spirit & in truth."—Jn.4:21-24.) Where is that? (Techi: In your heart.) In other words, in the center of your personality‚ in your soul. It doesn't necessarily mean this actual organ that pumps blood, but in the heart means the center of you, the real soul of you, your spirit!

5. "For Thou desirest not sacrifice." He had ordained sacrifices, He had ordered sacrifices, He told them to sacrifice, but what He means here is that's not what He wants the most! The sacrificing was just to show that they loved Him! But do you suppose some of those people came along & sacrificed who didn't love the Lord at all, just to obey the law?

6. A lot of people go to church who don't love the Lord! They just go as a sacrifice, as a form, a ceremony‚ just to pretend to be Christians‚ or even because they think they're Christians, think of that! You ask them if they're Christians & they say, "Oh yes, of course I'm a Christian, I go to church!" And then you ask them if they're saved & they say‚ "What's that? I don't know!" They're Christians in name only. They're what we call a professing Christian, not a possessing Christian. They profess to know & love the Lord, but they don't really possess the Lord in their hearts.

7. So David's saying that's not what the Lord wants most! He'd already ordered them to make those sacrifices, & to make the sacrifices was to show that they had love for Him. But the trouble is too many people can go through the motions & the forms & the ceremonies & have "a form of Godliness without the power thereof."—2Tim.3:5. So here he says now what the Lord really wants, 17th verse:

8. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." What's a broken spirit? (Techi: Humble!)—A humble spirit! "A broken & a contrite heart." That means humble, & the picture I get of the meaning of the word "contrite" is somebody kneeling down. Your heart kneels down to the Lord. It's humble & contrite with the Lord. "A broken & contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." Contrite—I don't know exactly what the dictionary says. (Maria: It's being sorry too‚ isn't it? Contrition?) When you bow down in prayer you're asking forgiveness, so you're sorry.

9. "Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem." Now we're not a bit interested in building up the walls of that old stinking city of Jerusalem in Israel, are we?—And I don't think the Lord was too much either! What kind of city of Zion or what Jerusalem do you think He's talking about? (Children: New Jerusalem!)—New Jerusalem! And what is God's City? He doesn't even dwell in one little place, not even just in New Jerusalem, the Holy City, the Space City, not even that can hold Him!

10. He says the New Jerusalem came down out of the sky like a bride.—Rev.21:2. Who's the Bride? (Children: Us!) The actual City itself is a home for His Bride‚ but it also typifies His Bride. In other words‚ we are His Jerusalem, because He dwelleth in what? "Not in temples made with hands!"—Acts 7:48. Not in rocks & stones! Not even in boards. But He dwells in the hearts of His people—men, women & children!

11. "Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion"—so He's saying what? Do good to... (David: The Holy City ... do good to us!)—Us! Right! I just got through explaining that one of the interpretations of the Holy City is the Lord's Bride, that's why He called the City His Bride. Do good to us! "Build Thou our walls"—in other words, our protection, & that's what we pray every day, don't we? Don't we pray "Lord bless & keep us"? We're saying‚ "Build Thou our walls," our defenses, our protection! "Of Jerusalem"—us!

12. "Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness." Then He'll be pleased with sacrifices. What kind of sacrifices?—Of righteousness! "With burnt offering and whole burnt offering"—of righteousness. The Lord likes us to be good! That's a real sacrifice. If we love Him, then we'll try to be good and do good, the sacrifices of righteousness. He doesn't really want burnt animals or barbecues! That's what they were!

BARBECUES, CHURCH PICNICS!

13. After they cooked a big side of beef or a lamb or a goat, then they used to summon all the poor, thousands of them‚ & they'd have a big barbecue & feed everybody! The priests who did all the hard work of doing all this barbecuing & everything, they got the choice pieces, they got first choice! That was fair, right? They were conducting the worship services & the sacrifices & they were cooking the meat & they had to slaughter it & clean it, & then they had to cut it in pieces‚ & then they had to wave it over the fire, a wave offering‚ or sometimes they had to heave it into the fire & it was called a heave offering!

14. It was all cooking! All this altar worship & killing animals & everything was all cooking a big barbecue for the poor all the time! Isn't that something? That's better than most preachers feed their congregations! Most preachers are getting up there & preaching: "Put more money in the waste basket so you can feed me!" I never saw too many preachers having a barbecue for the congregation! Even when they did have a barbecue or a picnic they said, "Let's have a picnic—you bring the lunch!"

15. At these church picnics everybody was supposed to bring a certain dish! Some were appointed to bring the salad, some bring meat‚ some bring the potatoes, some bring the vegetables, some bring the desserts. Boy, they'd have cakes & pies & cookies galore! Wow! On those Sunday afternoon church picnics you could really stuff yourself, & they did, they really stuffed themselves!

16. They originally called them "potluck lunches" because nobody knew what anybody else was bringing! But I know better, because the preacher's wife always phoned around & said‚ "Dear sister So-&-so, would you mind bringing the salad? Sister So-&-so, I hear you've got a good flock of geese, would you please cook a goose & a turkey or something? Sister So-&-so, we know how well you can bake those potatoes, you bring the potatoes! And sister So-&–so‚ you bake the most wonderful cakes! And sister So-&-so, would you bring one of those delicious cherry or apple pies that you bake? And sister So-&-so, bring some more of those gorgeous oatmeal cookies!" So that was usually the preacher's wife's job.

17. (Maria: But it was good organisation, because otherwise they might have ended up with all cakes or all cookies!)—Or all pies! They never would have ended up with all meat because that was the most expensive dish! Usually people got by with trying to bring the cheapest thing they could find. So if they hadn't organised it, they'd probably all bring salads! So the preacher's wife usually phoned around & made sure everybody brought something different so they'd have a well-rounded diet‚ a well–rounded table. But the main idea was that the people would feed themselves & the preacher, not the preacher feeding the people!

18. But here in the old Jewish Law they had these big daily all-day & all-night barbecues! They were cooking all the time, think of that! They had to take turns, like Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist did! He was taking his turn at the Temple as one of the Levites.—Luk.1:8,9. So these sacrifices weren't just some kind of a religious ceremony only, they didn't just kill all those animals & cook'm & then throw'm away, but they fed the poor! They were cooking constantly, all day long & even all night, because they had to keep the fire burning all the time. They didn't have matches to start a new fire every morning, so they had to keep the fire going day & night! Once you got a fire going it was very precious, almost priceless! Because in the old days, heat & warmth & cooking & everything depended on the fire. So usually in most cold climates they never let the fire go out!

DAD & MAMA IN ISRAEL!

19. I'll tell you, when we were in Israel we never let the fire go out, it was so bloomin' cold! At first we didn't have any heat in our hotel room, it was a cheap hotel‚ cheap room & we were cheap tourists because we had a cheap income‚ very little money. We were living by faith, we never knew where our next Dollar was coming from! So we got a cheap room in this hotel. What was the name of that hotel in Haifa? It began with an "A," that's all I can remember, & it had no heat! And yet the other poor people had their windows wide open, they thought it was wonderful weather! The people right across from us, the native Arab people living there had their windows wide open all day long! They just thought it was lovely weather because it was sunny. But we were freezing!

20. We were actually so cold that we ran hot water in the wash bowl! We had a wash bowl in our room but no toilet‚ we had to go outside our room to use the toilet. And it was so cold that we kept hot water in the wash bowl! As soon as the water cooled off we'd let it out & add another bowl of hot water to try to keep the room warm. But that wasn't enough.

21. So finally Grandpa went out & got a little electric hot plate that I found in a little store nearby, & we'd take that & set it in the middle of the room on the floor, & that's where I got my first dose of 220-volt electricity! I had one hand on the floor & set that hot plate down on the floor & apparently it wasn't too well insulated. But I found out 220 volts with only 15 amps wasn't as bad as 110 volts with 30 amps. It's the amps that hurt you. So I didn't think it was bad at all. I just got a little jolt. It didn't really hurt me all that much. I think I was already in bed & I jumped out to adjust it or something & I was in my bare feet on the marble floor. It was a perfect short, perfect ground.

22. But anyway, we put this little hot plate in the middle of the floor & we used it not only to cook but also to try to heat the room—although it was so cold it didn't hardly make a dent—but between the wash bowl of the hot water & this little heater, it was a little better than it was when we first got there with no heater. And Mama & I were completely clothed! I had on long underwear‚ shirt, pants, sweater—I took my good coat off because I didn't want to wrinkle it—but I had all this on, & an overcoat & a hat, in bed! (Maria: Covered up!)—Yes‚ completely covered up with thick blankets & bed spread & everything! (Maria: Nuzzled up to Mommy!) And Mama & I both in the same single bed to try to keep warm!

23. All those months we travelled in Europe, none of those cheap places had double beds. They always had two single beds‚ so Mama & I always slept in one single bed. In those days we always slept wrapped up in each other's arms, & mostly to keep warm. Because that's when we were travelling over there, in September & October, through the Winter, & it was cold! And when we got to Israel finally, it was about the end of October, beginning of November, somewhere around there, & it was cold, brother, I'll tell you! It was cold! Although it's a little bit sunny & pretty‚ it's cold! So we slept with all those clothes on & we had that little heater.

24. But not only did we have the little heater out there for heat, which we kept on night & day, it was so cold, but we cooked on it! We couldn't afford to eat out, except once in awhile when Mama wanted a falafel! It doesn't mean you feel awful‚ you feel good after you eat it! But that's that pita bread (a round, flat bread) that you guys eat. They cut out the top & stuff it full of delicious food—little bits of roast lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, maybe mayonnaise, pickles & especially these delicious little round parsley balls!

25. They were kind of like french fried potatoes‚ only they were made out of batter. How they ever made'm‚ I don't know! (Maria: I think they were made out of chickpeas too.) The batter was made out of the chickpeas & I don't know what all else. They made them in little flat circles first & they put just a little tiny bit of parsley in the middle & they'd fold up the edges. It was round, about that big, & then they dropped them in boiling oil. That's called deep fried, what they call fondue. They had a basket just like they do with french fries. They put them in the basket & let the basket down into the boiling oil & it would cook'm real quick. They'd pull'm out & drop several of them in the falafel along with all this other stuff. And it was nice & crispy, so delicious!

26. And one night, Mama was so hungry, she said‚ "I've got to have a falafel!" And we went out at midnight & found a little stand that was still open & got her a falafel. And they were so good! When that bread was fresh, you could eat them like a sandwich. They were called the Israeli hamburger! It wasn't hamburger at all! It wasn't even ham, neither was it a burger‚ but it was lamb! (David: A lamb burger!)—A lamb burger, right, not a hamburger! And it was all in this pita bread, which is kind of like a bun, only much bigger. They were about this big around, like a jumbo hamburger.

27. When it was fresh, people would stand in line to get the bread, & we did too once at the bakery, because it was so delicious when it was fresh. But the next day, it was absolutely hard as a rock! Right, Mama? (Maria: Yes, Sir!) I used to have to break it up with all my might to put it in my cereal. I used it in my health cereal that I'd eat for lunch. But even the next morning it was hard to break. You know! You were out there the other day trying to break up the pita bread for the birds, you couldn't even hardly break it! But when it's fresh, ah‚ it's so good! And that's what they made falafels out of. And how in the World did I ever get onto falafels? (Maria: Sacrifice.)—Yes!

28. We got on to all that talking about how cold it was in Israel, & we were talking about how cold it was in Israel because people in those days had to keep their fires going all the time, day & night! They'd do what they used to call "stoke the furnace." Do you remember anything about stoking furnaces at night, Mama? You got it down to just hot coals‚ not burning & flaming, but down to a minimum so it would stay hot & red coals all night. Then the next morning when it was really cold you'd get in there & stir up the coals & let in the draft & do what they call "fire up the furnace"!

29. We used to have an old chorus we used to sing: (Sings:)

"Fire up, fire up‚ brother, fire up!

Let the fire come into your soul!"

And everybody understood‚ because everybody had furnaces & they had to fire'm up in the morning. See, you let the air through which made the flames leap high & start climbing up! And the air is like the Holy Spirit, deep breaths of the Holy Spirit. When you deep breathe, you begin to fire up & it helps you get warm! Everybody else took deep breaths, why didn't you, Techi? Take a deep breath! Fire up! It gives you oxygen, it creates energy, so your fuel can burn faster & it helps you fire up! That's why the Lord makes you sneeze when you get cold. He has it so you'll sneeze and breathe a lot and the exertion and effort and everything helps get you warmed up, because you left your shirt or dress off and you got too cold.

PETER THE ROLLING STONE!

30. (To David:) Is that your scar from slipping on that rock, Honey? (David: Yes‚ but it's all healed!) Thank You Lord! Now next time you'll know not to leap on rolling stones but stand on the solid rock! The Lord said Peter was a rolling stone, he wasn't very stable. But He said He was going to build His Church on the solid Rock, Himself!—Mat.16:18. But the Catholics got it all mixed up! What Jesus actually said was, "Peter, thou art a rolling stone!" In other words, "I can't build My Church on you. But upon this Rock‚" meaning Himself, "I'm going to build My Church!" But the Catholics got it all screwed up & thought He meant that He was going to build His Church on Peter! He said, "Peter, thou art a rolling stone, so upon this Rock I'm going to build My Church, because I'm a solid Rock!" But the Catholics think because He said that that He was going to build His Church on Peter!

31. Well, I'll tell you, that church has sure taken them for a ride! He's a rolling stone, all right‚ he really took'm for a ride! What does that mean, "took'm for a ride"? Does it mean just a joy ride, just a pleasure ride, just to go out & see the scenery? (Maria: It means deceived them.) It's an old expression which literally comes from Gangland back in the '20s & '30s. If they "took you for a ride" in one of their cars you never came back! They took you out in the woods or the marsh or swamp or someplace & shot you & threw you out & that was it!

GRANDMA—TAKEN FOR A RIDE!

32. That's what they threatened Grandma with once, the ACs up in Detroit when they went to hear this speaker who was revealing the big plot of the ACs to take over the World. Some of those ACs that had taken Grandma for a ride in Miami, remember that story? (Children: No!) They took her for a ride in Miami because she had preachers there who were speaking against the ACs & how they were plotting to take over the World. A preacher by the name of Winrod had such threats on his life that he had to leave on a train with two police bodyguards to keep him from getting killed, because the ACs were after him! He was an evangelist, he preached the Gospel‚ but also in the course of preaching the Gospel, on one or two nights he'd revealed the secrets of The Protocols of Zion, that's their big plot to overthrow the World & grab it! (See ML #1342, "The Program of the Antichrist!") And now they've done it, they got it, just in my lifetime!

33. But my Mother was the one who invited him there, so the ACs of Miami blamed it on her! She had several threats on her life, they wrote threatening notes. The ACs were the leaders of Communism in those days & they painted a hammer & sickle on one of our house windows, threatening the life of my Mother. And they told her, "If you don't stop this, we're going to take you for a ride!" And sure enough, one day they did! She was right downtown coming out of the bank, & there was this car with these five ACs sitting in it! In those days in the American cars you could sit three across the front seat & three in the back. And they said, "Sister‚ come with us quick‚ your husband is sick & he's asked us to bring you to him right away!"—And she fell for it! In other words, she was a sucker! She believed these liars!

34. These two men got out & ushered her into the back seat between'm, & they sat down on each side of her, & then they started her out supposedly to go to the hospital where my Dad was supposed to be, & they just rode around & rode around! She said‚ "Well, when do we get to the hospital? You're not going to the hospital!" They said‚ "No, we're not going to the hospital, we're just going to ride you around until you give us that list [of phone numbers of your friends]. …

35. So they said, "We want that list! We know you've got it in your purse because they gave it to you!" How they knew, we don't know, there must have been a spy somewhere. [Her friends] gave her this list & said, "Sister, any time you have any trouble or anything, you call us! Here are our phone numbers." So she had this list in her purse with all their names & their phone numbers! She thought she ought to carry it with her in case she needed it. So the ACs said, "We're going to give you a ride now until you give it to us!"

36. She said, "Well, pretty soon my daughter will be getting home from school & she won't know what's happened to me & she'll be really worried & she'll probably call the police, she knows I'm supposed to be home." So they let her go to the phone & they stood right there by her to hear every word she said. She called my sister Virginia & Virginia said she knew Mother was in trouble when she heard her because she sounded so nervous & shaky. They told her to say, "I'm all right‚ Virginia, you study & do your homework until I get home. And tell Daddy I'm sorry he's sick & I'll be home to see him pretty soon." Well‚ my Father wasn't sick & he wasn't even home! But that's what they said, so they could hardly blame her for saying that. But finally they kept riding around & she just was really worried, so she finally gave up & gave them the list. She was afraid they were going to kill her! Because in Gangland conversation, to be taken for a ride meant a killing!

37. Well, that's what the church has done with the Christians, that's for sure‚ they've taken them for a ride and killed most of them spiritually! Since they built that church on a rolling stone, that really took them for a ride! (Maria: Hasn't today's meaning gotten more to mean fooling or deceiving?) Yes, "take you for a ride" means to fool you, deceive you, play a joke on you, play a trick on you. Well, that's what the Gangland guys were doing, they'd do the same trick. They'd entice the guy into the car with them by saying "So-and-so wants to see you" or something like that, and once they got them in the car, two burly guys on each side of them would hold them there and they couldn't reach for their gun or anything! Then they'd heist the gun off them, take them out somewhere in a lonesome place and shoot'm and throw'm out of the car! That's what Gangland "take you for a ride" meant!

GRANDMA—TROUBLE IN DETROIT!

38. Well, when my Mother went to this meeting in Detroit several years later‚ she saw these ACs walking up & down the aisles looking at faces & writing down names to see who was at the meeting! And then, of all things, Gerald L.K. Smith, the guy who was leading the meeting, called on her for closing prayer with her name & everything. And she had to stand up there in the audience & lead closing prayer.

39. So the ACs really had her, they knew she was there! So that night going home, Fred Shultz who we were living with said, "I think that car is following us!" And he tried to lose'm & he thought he lost'm, so he finally drove home then. But next morning under the milk bottle there was a nice little note. The milk man always used to deliver milk bottles early in the morning so it would be nice & fresh‚ outside your door. You don't know much about that because we get our milk in cans now‚ powdered! But in those days they didn't know how to powder milk or how to preserve it or anything! They were just starting to have canned milk, and oh, we hated that. So we got fresh milk in a bottle and it had cream on top, because the cream always rose to the top. And you got it right outside your door.

40. Well anyhow, Sister Shultz, Edna Shultz, went out to get the milk bottle & there they had slipped the note under the milk bottle! They apparently kept an eye on the place all night to make sure my Mother didn't leave and then slipped the note under the milk bottle after the milkman delivered the milk in the morning‚ think of that! They'd been watching the place all night! The note said‚ "Sister, don't attend any more of these meetings!"—In other words, these anti-AC meetings. … They didn't want us attending those meetings! I was with my Mother at the time.

41. Gerald L.K. Smith was the lecturer & he was speaking against the AC plot to take over the World, speaking against the ACs. …

42. Anyhow, they left a note that said‚ "Sister, you'd better stay away from these meetings if you don't want to go for another ride!"—And this was several years later! They knew that some of their ACs had taken her for a ride in Miami & had been keeping up with her ever since! So they said, "Don't go to another one of these meetings if you don't want to go for another ride!" In other words, threatening this time like maybe they'd kill her‚ which there was a lot of in those days, Gangland killings!

CITIZENSHIP DIFFICULTIES!

43. And that wasn't even the end of it! Years & years later it came up again when I was in my 20s, when my Mother went down to get her naturalisation papers to become a citizen of the United States. She found out she wasn't a citizen, because my Father found out he wasn't a citizen!—Because when my Father & my Grandfather came to the United States, they came in steerage, in the bottom of the boat where the machinery is, & they were poor & they came & settled down in Nebraska‚ & they told my Grandfather if he wanted to become a citizen he had to go take out these citizenship papers.

44. So he went down to the City Hall & got his first application, what they call first papers, and he filled them out and turned them back in again. And he thought that was all there was to it. After that you're supposed to be able to speak some English and know something about the country and the Presidents and Washington and blah blah and then you're supposed to go before a judge and be sworn in. But he never went through these other things at all, he just filled out the paper and took it back to the city hall and from then on he just went down to the polls and voted like an American citizen! You didn't have to show so many papers and identification in those days.

45. So he thought he was a citizen, & of course his children thought they were all citizens because their father was naturalised. And if your parents were naturalised‚ then the children were supposed to also become citizens, even though their parents may not have been born in the United States.

46. So years later they found out they weren't citizens when my Father, in order to get his old age pension, sent back to Omaha or somewhere for his father's papers to prove that he was a citizen. They said, "We don't have any, all we have is the application, he never came back. So sorry, but you're not a citizen, you're an alien!", that means a foreigner. And he came home & told my Mother, "The funniest part about it, Honey, is you're not a citizen now either, because you married an alien!"—Ha! At that time, even though a woman was born in the United States, born right in the hills of West Virginia & pure American, if she married an alien in those days‚ she became an alien, she lost her citizenship. That was a law during World War 1 because a lot of women had married Germans & they wanted to make sure they didn't cause any trouble‚ because they'd probably side with the Germans. So the wife lost her citizenship even though she was originally American.

47. So they went down and talked to the officials at the courthouse in Los Angeles & they said, "You're both going to have to be naturalised if you want to become a citizen. If you want to get your old age pension here in California you've got to become a citizen." So they had to go through all this rigmarole of all these papers and AC red tape and everything else. And when they finally got up before the judge in Los Angeles, a big AC judge, he said, "Well‚ according to our investigation, Mrs. Brandt, we find here that … in Miami, Florida … you campaigned against the ACs!" She didn't do anything of the kind, but that's what they accused her of! They said, "You're going to have to prove that you are no longer [doing that] before we'll give you U.S. citizenship!"

48. So she had to get all kinds of affidavits & testimonials & letters from friends all over the country saying that … she didn't speak against the ACs, which she didn't! She learned in Miami never to say anything more against the ACs! Ha! Because of the persecution she suffered there she told me once, "David, from now on I'm never going to say another word against the ACs or against Communism! I've suffered enough persecution, they've threatened my life & nearly killed me & I'm just going to preach the Gospel! I'm not going to fight any more, I'm tired of fighting!"

49. That's a little bit different from your Grandpa! I still say it because it's the truth, because I'm a Prophet of God & I've got to tell people the truth! (Maria: But also Grandpa stays some place safe!) Yes, I'm smart enough I don't hold public meetings … & everything else like Grandma did! That was her ministry‚ though, she couldn't help it. She was well-known & she had a big Tabernacle & preached to thousands of people & everybody knew where she lived, they even came out to her house.

JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY, SWASTIKAS, COMMUNISTS!

50. Even years later, just before we came out to California to minister to the hippies, Grandma had been going to meetings of the John Birch Society, which is also very aware of the AC plot to take over the country & the World, etc. Of course, they're a little late because the ACs have already taken it over! But she was attending these John Birch Society meetings & even was invited to be a speaker at one of them on the spiritual things, just on the Lord, etc. But after that, she woke up one morning & the ACs had painted swastikas on the local churches where she'd spoken & on her little cottage. They were trying to say she was a Nazi. (Techi: What's a swastika?) It's the Nazi symbol‚ kind of a little hooked cross. Give me a pen & I'll show you. I don't really remember which way these hooks go‚ but you start with a cross & then you draw the hooks on it. People who don't like Nazis call it the hooked cross.

51. She had a big black Cadillac & they drew a big white hooked cross on it, & on her white cottage they painted it in black, & they painted it on churches where she'd spoken. The police were trying to catch the hooligans that did it but they never did. But it just shows you they were active & keeping track of her many years later!

52. In those days the Communists were very unpopular, & although the ACs were the leaders of Communism, they'd come & paint a hammer & sickle on our windows trying to claim we were Communists! It was a scream, really‚ because Grandma was very anti-Communist.

53. Goodness, our half-hour must have been up! (Maria: It's been 45 minutes.) Oh my‚ I never even heard the tape recorder squeal! Anyway, you got a Grandpa story about Grandma & the ACs. We've only got one more verse, we've got to finish that! How did I get into all that? It was cold in Israel, & falafels & offerings & sacrifices & I was telling you how important it was for people to keep their fires going because they didn't have any matches, so they had to keep the fire going all night so they'd have fire in the morning. Otherwise they'd have to go out & borrow a little fire from their neighbours, a little stick on fire to come back & light their own fire! Meanwhile the house would get awfully cold, so they had to keep the fire going all night. (Techi: How did you get on to robbers.) (David: From a ride on the rolling stone!) Talking about a rolling stone! I don't know how I get into all these things! Don't worry, a Grandfather is just full of stories & just full of memories! I don't know what these stories had to do with this Psalm, but anyway, you wanted Grandpa stories & you're getting them!

KOSHER SACRIFICES!

54. So, Verse 19: "Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering." What kind of offering? (Techi: Righteousness.) The sacrifices of righteousness! "Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar." In other words, if you first of all offer your righteousness and your love to the Lord‚ then you can show Him how much you love Him by giving to the Lord and giving to the poor. Because that's what they were doing when they were giving these animals for sacrifice. They could bring anything from a little turtle dove to a great big bullock, a great big bull like huge big yaks or water buffalo. That's the biggest ox there is! They used to sacrifice those on the Temple altar. But it was the priest's job to butcher them, to kill them‚ and they had to do it in a certain way. They had to do it in a "kosher" way, the Jews call it.

55. The Jews wouldn't eat any meat unless it was killed kosher. They still have their meat killed that way because it's the clean way. After you kill meat of any kind you're supposed to hang it up by the hind feet & let the blood all drain out, because you're not supposed to eat the meat with the blood. (See Gen.9:4; Lev.3:17; 7:26-27; 17:10-14.) You're supposed to make sure it's all clean of blood. Apparently the Lord knew that somehow or another the blood could be contaminated. And boy, they're sure finding that out today, even human blood's contaminated. They say that even the monkeys in Africa now have AIDS & that sort of thing!

AIDS, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS & VD!

56. AIDS is almost the worst disease in the World you can get! It means you'll get every kind of disease that comes along till it kills you! It won't kill you, Honey, don't worry! It's a disease that mostly the Sodomites have, the ones called homosexuals, these men that have sex with men.

57. Anyhow, AIDS is a disease transmitted mainly by people who disobey the Lord & the law & get into Sodomy. It makes them susceptible to every other kind of disease. Any kind of disease that comes along, they can get it‚ they don't have any resistance to any disease at all. God ordained this as a punishment on the people that do those things. So when they catch a cold or catch anything it just nearly kills them, & finally does!

58. So, how did I get onto AIDS? ([Fam]: How blood carries disease.)—Blood, yes. They found out people can even get AIDS from blood transfusions now. Look how smart the Jehovah's Witnesses were all this time, as they don't believe in blood transfusions. That's where they give you somebody else's blood when you're real sick. It's supposed to help you, because maybe you've been wounded & lost a lot of blood or you were injured in an accident & you got a severe wound or you lost a leg or an arm or something & you bled so much that you don't have much blood left & they're afraid you're going to die, so they are always asking people to donate blood—blood donors, they call them—& then the hospitals bottle this blood & keep it in the refrigerator & then save it until somebody needs it to have more blood in their body. And sometimes they accidentally collect blood from people who are infected with AIDS.

59. We don't like to get blood transfusions either‚ & feel it's best not to in most cases.—But if we did have to in some rare occasion, we would certainly want it to be the blood of a Family member, so we'd be sure that we weren't getting infected blood.

60. They call it intravenous transfusion or something like that, where they stick a big needle in your arm and it's attached to a tube running up to a bottle of blood up here, and the blood gradually flows into your bloodstream. Well, they already found out a lot of people catch hepatitis from that. … It's a liver disease where your liver doesn't completely eliminate all the waste in your body and your skin turns yellow. We used to call it yellow jaundice, a simple little name like that, but they've always got to change names all the time so you can have something new and different. Now it's called hepatitis!

61. So they found out that people could catch hepatitis from blood transfusions! Of course, they also found out that you can get several VDs, venereal diseases, from the blood. You can get syphilis, gonorrhea & all kinds of horrible diseases! When the old bums down on Skid Row in Los Angeles wanted five Dollars to go buy a pint of liquor‚ they'd just go donate a pint of blood! So they give them five Dollars so they can go down to the liquor store & buy a pint of liquor! They'd trade a pint of blood for a pint of liquor—whiskey! But these old bums had all kinds of diseases, & then they'd go donate their blood & put it in the blood bank to give to people who didn't even have those diseases‚ but then they'd catch those diseases! Now people that aren't even homos or Sodomites, who aren't doing all those bestial things, now even good people who disobey the Lord's law & take a blood transfusion, they catch all those diseases!—Even though they may not have had any kind of bad sex at all!

62. …Venereal disease [VD is] a disease you get by having sex or making love to somebody who's got it. If somebody has it, you catch it. See? You can even catch it by kissing! … Some of the diseases are not very severe, they just get an itch or it's sore for a little while & then it goes away. Herpes is one of them. Some people get little herpes blisters, little sores. But some venereal diseases are real severe & can even kill you‚ like AIDS. The Lord sent that along as a real judgement against the evil wicked people that would have Sodomy, men with men & all that kind of stuff. So the Lord sent that as a curse on the Sodomites! And it's fatal! It may take years, but eventually it will kill them. Because whatever disease that comes along, they catch it, & it's severe because they have no resistance against it.

SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS, STEAKS!

63. So how did we get into all that, anyway? (David: By blood, hanging up a cow.) Yes‚ the Jews slaughter their animals according to the Bible, & it said that you were to chop off the head & then hang it up by the feet so that all the blood would drain out. And then they would cut it up into the various parts—shoulders, shanks, the different steaks & all kinds of things out of the parts of the animal. And it was a big job!—Keeping the animals there in the barns of the Temple. Most of the Temple grounds were occupied by barns all the way around where the animals were kept & fed until they could have time to sacrifice them, because they could only cook one great big animal at a time on that altar fire.—Even though the altar was so big, about as big as half of this room. So they could only cook one great big animal, & usually then just a half of a bull or half of a cow. They'd cut it in half & clean it all out & cook half of it. They wouldn't cut it across the midsection, but they split it down the middle.

64. The priests & the Levites had to do all that dirty work: Feeding the animals till they were ready, slaughtering'm, cleaning'm, cutting'm up, cooking'm & feeding them to the poor! So that was a big job, right? But it was a good job because they got first choice, first divvies on the meat! They got first choice on the best pieces. They could have the sirloin steaks. (Techi: What's that?) The special steaks, the best parts of the meat. Tenderloin steaks, porterhouse steaks, & what do they call those little round French steaks? (Fam: Filet mignon!) They could have all the nice pieces. The most common one is chuck roast. Round steak is another. There are all kinds of different parts of the animal. You didn't realise you'd been eating animals all this time‚ did you? Dear Techi doesn't look too happy about this!

WHY MAN MUST NOW EAT MEAT!

65. You see‚ before the Flood, Man just ate fruits and vegetables, but after the Flood Man needed more strength because of sins and the curses on the Earth which cut down Man's lifetime from a thousand years to less than a hundred, so Man had to eat meat. The reason these lessons are so long is because I go from one thing to another and I have to explain each thing to you! Now I'm telling you why Man has to eat meat, because he needs amino acids and things he can't get in vegetables. You see, after sin came into the World, his body became so weak and has so little resistance to diseases that he's got to have strong meat to keep him strong enough to resist diseases and be strong, and he's doing well to even live to be 70! Grandpa's been doing well to live this long! Just think of all the years I've lived!

66. Before sin got so bad in the World, before the Flood, they could live to be a thousand! But they got so wicked, God sent the Flood & He took away the protection of that water in the firmament around the Earth that used to filter out the sun's deadly rays, & now we get deadly cosmic rays when we're out in the sunshine‚ & if you stay out there too long it'll kill you! Think of that! You not only get sunburn, but it could kill you!

SACRIFICES!

67. So that's what the sacrifices were all about! This was all about sacrifices, so it's on the subject! So anyhow, the priests had to work hard, but they got first choice on the meat & they could take some of the meat home with them to their family, because they usually only worked shifts there‚ like Zacharias did. He was doing his shift at the Temple & then he would come home. Of course, it was a pretty good position because you got lots of nice good meat to eat, & your family too! And you also had to help serve all these thousands of poor people who came to the Temple who were hungry & poor & didn't have a farm & didn't have a job, didn't have anything to eat, so they could always go to the Temple & be fed! It was a regular restaurant! It was a regular constant cookout, a barbecue, a picnic, really, not a restaurant, because they didn't have tables & chairs & all that sort of thing. But people just came & probably squatted on the ground or something to eat it. I don't know if they had a few tables or chairs or not. Maybe they had some picnic benches. Anyway, so much for offerings.

68. What kind of offering does the Lord want most? (Techi: Of righteousness!) And what is righteousness, really? (Techi: To be right & just.) But it's really more than that! To really be right & just, you have to have what? (Children: Love!)—Love! Jesus said‚ "In this is all the Law & all the Prophets!"—Mat.22:37-40. That is real righteousness. So what He's really saying here is that if you really want to be righteous you've got to have lots of love & not just burnt offerings. Got it? PTL! So the best offering the Lord likes is what? (Techi: Love!) Your love‚ praise the Lord! Okay. I think it's your turn to pray, Techi.

69. (Techi: Thank You Lord, praise You Jesus! Thank You Lord! Lord Jesus‚ thank You for this fun Bible study! Please bless Grandpa for giving it to us, Lord, & thank You for Your Word. Please help us to have a good day today, Lord, & keep us in Your care, Lord. Keep Your Angels all around us, in Jesus' name.)—Amen! As we pray together the prayer You taught us to pray: (Prays the Lord's Prayer) PTL! Bless & keep these precious children all day & make them a blessing!—In Jesus' name, amen. (—Are you teaching your children the Word?—"Train up your children in the way they should go, & when they are older they shall not depart therefrom."—Pro.22:6.)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family