KEYWORDS: god, spirit, kingdom, truth, jesus, worship

Reformation or Revolution?

David Berg

—MOJune 19, 1970NO.I

1. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND LETTER in regard to the article about us in Sunday's paper. It was certainly one of those little miracles of God that one of our boys phoned you the very next day, which must indicate that our contract with you is from Him. Obviously we are of like mind in many ways along with your friend in Houston‚ whose letter and article we read with interest. Your poem was also an inspiration. It is encouraging to note that there are some members of the older generation who are young in mind and heart and have bridged the generation gap in spirit and are ready for the new.

2. HOWEVER‚ I THINK THAT YOU WILL AGREE WITH US THAT OUR "HAPPY REVOLUTION" TITLE IS MORE FITTING THAN "REFORMATION", for we are more inclined to agree with the first line of your poem that it is impossible to reform the old, as Jesus said, You cannot pour new wine into old bottles, or put new patches on old garments, (Mk.2:21,22) as every so-called "Reformer" discovered.

3. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REFORM THE OLD FOR THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT IT‚ and in the attempt the bottle will be broken and the contents lost, which is why God has to take young "new bottles" today‚ strong to contain the power of His Spirit, and a totally new batch of wine for a totally New Day. The old religious and economic systems cannot be patched up for they are tattered, threadbare and rotten & must be cast upon the fires of His Judgment that He may create "a new Heaven and a new earth" (Rev 21:1) in which "old things are passed away and all things are become new". (2Cor.5:17) God has never been for Reformation of the old rotten carcass, only for its total burial and the resurrection of a completely new man, for we are "new creatures in Christ Jesus" (2Cor.5:17). We must "be born again...to see the kingdom of God," (Jn.3:3)—the new world order which is about to take over‚ truly under God this time. The filth and debris of the old is only in the way of the new structure which cannot rise upon its ruins, for God has nothing to do with that which is in ruins. But God's new order must rise upon a clean, new foundation—the only Foundation which can last—the Personality‚ Power and Truth of Jesus Christ, upon which can only be built a brand new building of "new and living stones" (1Pet.2:5).

4. THE DEAD AND ROTTEN, CRUMBLING TIMBERS OF THE OLD MUST BE TOTALLY SWEPT AWAY and destroyed in the fires of His purification. Too many have tried too many years to patch up the old. The truly great Revolutionists from Noah to Christ had to totally do away with the old and start anew; for the old debris and the self-righteous hypocrisy of self-satisfaction always seeks to smother the new flame and stamp it out, lest it expose the sins of the existing system with the brilliance of the new light.

5. THE PHARISEES WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY TO SUBSIDIZE JESUS AND HIS GREAT FOLLOWING, if only He had been willing to work with them within the existing corrupt and rotten system of their hierarchy and accept their name tag so that they could have gotten the credit for Him. They would have been happy to have shared the limelight of His popularity and used His power to their own ends—even at the cost of a little reformation to appease the people, but He refused to compromise with them, but rather worked totally outside the existing system‚ attacked it head-on, ruthlessly exposed it and drove the money changers from the temple, and strove to lead God's little children back to the worship of the true Father; His little lambs back into the one and only true fold of the Great Shepherd and the way of simple Truth and Love and Peace—the True Kingdom of God, whose only laws are to "love God with all their heart" and "thy neighbor as thyself", and "these are all the law and the Prophets", with no place of worship but the human heart, no Guidebook but the Bible, and no authoritarianism but the dictatorship of the Holy Spirit, for "ye are the temple" (2Cor.6:16) and "they that worship Him must worship Him neither here nor there, but in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him" (Jn.4).

6. OUR LITTLE COMMUNE HERE IS A STRUGGLING EXAMPLE OF A TOTALLY NEW, YET AGE-OLD CONCEPT of such a new start at life and liberty and happiness.

7. THE "NOW GENERATION" SAYS, "STOP THE WORLD; I WANT TO GET OFF". Either that, or give me a "new heaven and new earth" "wherein dwelleth righteousness" and "a new Jerusalem" whose "builder and maker is God" (Heb.11). "Throw out the Old, Bring in the New! The old order is going, Help it go! A new day is dawning! Oh, watch it glow!" Hallelujah!

8. SO SORRY TO HEAR OF YOUR SAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE EXISTING SYSTEM, but what better can we except of Satan and his cohorts? "I find disillusionment in the standard of the Divided States of America‚ and in the autocracy to which it has degenerated: One Confusion, without God, totally divided, with Slavery and injustice for nearly all." Our only hope is the coming Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. "I pledge allegiance to the Truth of the coming Kingdom of God and to the theocracy for which it stands. One World, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all!" This is our only hope, and it will soon be a reality, if we are faithful to Him, His Truth, and His Love—with the Coming of the only Prince of Peace—Christ Jesus. It is as simple as that.

9. WE WELCOME YOU TO COME AND SEE A SAMPLE OF THAT GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF LOVE—Of nearly 200 young people living together in peace‚ studying the Truth‚ a Calm in the eve of the Storm, all around us in the midst, of all places—the State of Texas, surrounded by hatred‚ prejudice, discrimination, animosity‚ antagonism, and frequently threatened by the drunken, beer-bellied, gun-slinging cowboys at our gate. But best of all we are surrounded by the angles of God, for the "Angel of the Lord encampeth around about them that fear Him", else we would have long since been destroyed by the enemies around us. We are a living miracle of God and we welcome you to come and see. We live under what to some would seem extreme privation and hardship in the heat with the bare necessities of life, but we live amidst the beauties of his Creation, a simple life in the Garden of Eden of His Love.

10. OR YOU CAN VISIT MORE THAN 100 OF US WHO ARE LIVING IN A LIKE COMMUNE endeavoring to reach the youth of Southern California—and soon there will be thousands‚ for we have what the youth of today are looking for! We not only know what we are against, but we know what we're for, and we know whereof we speak. We not only know where we've been, but we know where we're going, and are on the way.

11. WE THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US IN SPIRIT and for your kind offer of the sharing of your apartment and telephone. This could be a real blessing to His Revolution, as we frequently have representatives in the city seeking our many needs. One of them will be contacting you soon. If there is anything we can do for you, let us know. Also extend to your friend our sincere thanks for the insight of her spirit in her article which we have read to our young folks here and are returning to you herewith as per your request. Enclosed also you will find some of our literature which we trust you will find appropriate and enlightening—please be prayerful as to who you share these with, as only the chosen few like yourself and your friend would understand. If you would like more copies of any of them, we would be happy to try to supply them.

12. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR KIND LETTER and invitation and we hope to see you soon. God bless you with the Truth and Love and Peace of His Kingdom.

Sincerely yours for His Revolution of the Spirit and Kingdom of God.