Course Content
We live in a world that seems to grow more insane by the day. Will the madness ever end? If so, how?
As I write this editorial, I can't help but feel numbed at the sheer brutality of the unrelenting violence plaguing our planet.
In July a Malaysia Airlines jet was blasted out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile apparently launched by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine. Weeks after the fact, bodies and body parts are still strewn around the crash site, unrecovered due to ongoing fighting between rebels and government forces in the area.
In war-torn Syria and Iraq, an Islamist group so extreme that it was rejected by al-Qaeda has announced a new caliphate—a new Islamic empire—and begun instituting sharia law under which those who hold to other religions are forced to convert, surrender their property and flee for their lives, or be killed. To illustrate their seriousness, they have shot or beheaded hundreds of captured soldiers.
In the latest war in Gaza, at least six cease-fires between Israel and Hamas broke down when Hamas terrorists continued to indiscriminately launch rockets—some from schools and hospitals—at Israeli towns and cities, bringing predictable counterstrikes that added hundreds to the unnecessary death toll.
We live in a world that seems to grow more insane by the day. Will the madness ever end? If so, how?
The Good News is a magazine of hope. We draw our name from the word gospel, which in its origins means "good news." And of course, that portion of the Bible called "the Gospels" tells us about the life, ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ—including the message of good news He brought.
But what does that have to do with the many problems that plague our world today?
One of the best-known and best-loved prophecies of Jesus Christ, immortalized in George Frideric Handel's musical masterpiece
The Messiah, is found in Isaiah 9:6-7:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."
If Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Prince of Peace, why does the world see so little of it? What part of the picture are we missing? If He truly is the Prince of Peace, how will peace come? Where is that hope in a world so devoid of hope?
The answer to these questions lies in a series of little-known festivals revealed long ago in the world's best-selling book—the Bible. God doesn't leave us in the dark about the solution to our many seemingly unsolvable problems. He has given us the key to understanding—though most have ignored or lived in ignorance of it!
We call The Good News "a magazine of understanding." We want to share the understanding of God's great plan with you. That plan is what the mission of Jesus Christ was and remains all about. His work is central to it. And that plan—along with the timetable for carrying it out—is revealed through God's festivals found in the Bible.
In this issue we share with you the great hope of how the Prince of Peace will finally bring peace. Be sure to read it carefully!
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
