A: We must ask our correspondent to be good enough to refer to B. S. vol. 2, p. 54, Q. 59, for an answer, and we would suggest that each correspondent before sending a fresh Bible Query should consult the detailed index of that volume which gives a list of some 500 answers given in 1882 to Bible Queries. Should further light be wanted on some verse or subject already touched upon, it will be well to say exactly what the difficulty is, in order that the correspondent may not be referred back to a previous answer that would not meet his difficulties.
A: This remarkable verse appears to us not only to speak of death, but of resurrection. Does not verse 15 also refer to this? We should be very glad of further remarks on this interesting passage. (2) Our answer to this may be best given in the words of another— “The circumstances by which God expresses Israel’s return to grace is of touching interest. The valley of Achor should be her door of hope. There when the judgment of God began to fall on the unfaithful people, after their entrance into the land (Josh. 7:2626And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day. (Joshua 7:26))—where God acted according to the responsibility of the people-there would He now show that grace abounded over all their sin. The joy of their first deliverance and redemption should be restored to them.” The chief interest to us of this beautiful passage foretelling the future restoration of Israel to divine favor, lies in the use the apostle Peter makes of verse 23 (2 Peter 2:1010But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. (2 Peter 2:10)), showing that these blessings, though still future to Israel as a nation, were the present portion spiritually of any amongst them who accepted the rejected Messiah.
A: The Holy Ghost who would be sent down in power “because Jesus went to His Father” was not confined by a body to one place, but could so energize believers everywhere, that the gospel could spread far more rapidly and widely then even when individually proclaimed by the Lord and supported by the mighty works that He did. The power was not in the disciples, but in the promised Comforter. The first fulfillment of this we see in Acts 2 in the mighty power that accompanied Peter’s preaching See also B. S. vol. 1. p. 114, Q. 374. (2) Though doubtless true that “sanctify” means generally to “make holy,” we must remember that this is after all a secondary use of the word, that is to say that the reason ‘a person is “holy” is because he is “set apart” to God. The word itself means simply to “set apart.” In this passage the Lord sets Himself apart to God in heaven in order that the disciples on earth might be set apart, by the communication to them of the place and position of Christ, and of their union with Him where He is.
A: The beast represents the revived Roman power seen in the hands of one man. The head wounded unto death and then revived, we think represents the imperial form of government which will again be restored in the days of Antichrist.
Q: 5. Why did John the Baptist preach the kingdom of heaven whilst the Messiah was on earth and before His rejection?
A: He proclaimed what was about to be set up. It was “at hand.” If his preaching had been received as “Elias that was for to come,” there would have been no rejection. It was because “ His own received him not” that the kingdom has been postponed some 2000 years at any rate as to its earthly and visible aspect, and that another “Elijah” will yet come as the prophet “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” to “turn the heart of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” Malachi 4:5,65Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5‑6).
Q: 7. Explain Galatians 1 “For do I now persuade men or God,” (2) Explain Galatians Chapter 2:2, “but privately to them which were of reputation, &c.
A: We understand the expression to mean that Paul was not seeking to “persuade” men by adulterating the gospel. In another place and in a different sense he does say “we persuade men.” We should be glad to know the force of “or God” in this phrase. (2) God had His ordained apostles, who were justly “in reputation” at Jerusalem and also “in Christ” long before Paul, and with great wisdom, but no servility, Paul lays his gospel before them, before pressing it among the Jews, and especially in those points where it superseded the Jewish ritual. The result showed the wisdom of his course.
Q: 8. What becomes of the departed spirits until the resurrection? Where are they?
A: They go to Hades. This word is used in Luke 16:2323And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23) for the present abode of lost souls; in Acts 2:27,3127Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)
31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31) for the abode of Christ when absent from the body; in 1 Corinthians 15:5555O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55) for the abode of spirits of believers. We therefore see it is the place of all departed spirits, and is divided by a great and impassable gulf into a place of blessing and of misery. At the first resurrection the former will be emptied, at the second resurrection (or death) the latter (Revelation 20:1313And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Revelation 20:13)), and then hades (or hell) having no further use is shown in a metaphor (ver. 14) to be finally abolished forever.
Q: 9. Please explain the meaning of “redeeming the time because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:1616Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16). Is there not always a price paid for a thing “redeemed?” If I am to be always buying back the time because Satan claims it as his right, what is the price I am to pay?
A: The Greek word is used in three other places, viz.: —Galatians 3:1313Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians 3:13), “Christ hath redeemed us” &c. Galatians 4:55To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:5), “To redeem them that were under the law,” and Colossians 4:55Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. (Colossians 4:5), “redeeming the time.” The word no doubt means to “buy back” literally, but we cannot see why it should not be taken metaphorically. We often use the word in a non-literal sense: we speak of “a redeeming quality” &c., but we do not ask from whom it is redeemed! So here; it means by diligence “buying back” the fleeting moments from the corrupt use to which they are naturally appropriated, for better and higher ends. We need not introduce the question of Satan into the passage at all.
Q. 10. Is it Scriptural to say Christ took our human nature? Please explain what it was pertaining to us which Christ took.
A: Certainly. He was as truly God as man. All that pertains to humanity in sinless perfection Christ had; every feeling, sensibility, capacity for suffering, and capacity, but not necessity for dying. Herein we distinguish between a human body and a mortal body. We must never imagine that Christ was really and truly God and only appeared to be man, but impossible as it is for our minds to grasp it, we must be content to believe that our Lord was as truly man as He was God.
Q: 11. Is fasting a Christian duty?
A: It was continually practiced and taught by the apostles (Acts 13:2323Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: (Acts 13:23) &c.), and we know no reason why on suitable occasions it should not still be practiced literally. For a deeper meaning of the word see B. S. vol. 1. P. 339, Q. 345.
Q: 12. Would the Israelites have returned to Egypt after their sacrifice in the wilderness if Pharaoh had let them go? (Exodus 3:18; 5:3; 8:25-29; 10:8-11; 24-2618And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. (Exodus 3:18)
3And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. (Exodus 5:3)
25And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 26And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 27We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us. 28And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me. 29And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. (Exodus 8:25‑29)
8And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go? 9And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. 10And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. (Exodus 10:8‑11)
8And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words. 9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink. 12And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 13And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 14And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. 15And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. 1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, 5And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, 6Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. 8And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. 10And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. 23Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. 25And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about. 26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. 27Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. 28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway. 31And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. 32And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. 34And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. 35And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. 36Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 38And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. 39Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. 40And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. 1Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. 2The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure. 3The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 5Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. 6And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle. 7And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. 9And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle. 10And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 11And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. (Exodus 24:8‑26:11)). It seems almost like a stratagem to get away altogether, and yet it could not be, for God had told Moses to say it.
A: The fact that God had told Moses to say it, sufficiently shows that Moses did not invent it. Nowhere do we find any thought that the children of Israel would return. On the contrary, Pharaoh evidently thought they would not, and sought to get their children or cattle as hostages, all of which Moses refused. There is no doubt that when a whole nation packs up, taking all their goods, cattle and children (leaving not a hoof behind) it looks very much like going away altogether, but it can hardly be called a stratagem, especially when not a word is said anywhere about returning.
Q: 13. Kindly explain “Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness,” Matthew 3:1515And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (Matthew 3:15), also “He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” Isaiah 61 to, also “Perfect, through my comeliness which I had put upon thee,” Ezekiel 16:1414And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 16:14), also “Jesus thy blood and righteousness, My beauty are, my glorious dress.”
I know we are justified by the blood of Christ, but did He not also keep the law for us, and is not that our “ robe of righteousness.” I feel very much confused about this subject, and should be grateful for light upon it.
A: Christ did fulfill the law and made it honorable. He kept it perfectly, and was the only one who ever did. Indeed it was this that in part showed His perfect fitness to be a ransom for us. The robe of righteousness is Christ Himself who is made unto us “righteousness,” 1 Corinthians 1 but we only get Him through death and resurrection. The hymn we do not comment on. Extreme accuracy does not always mark poetry, but it does mark the word of God. In view of further discussion on this interesting subject we will content ourselves for the present with affirming that Christ kept the law as being born under it, and not for us as substitute, and that we are justified through His blood, not by His life before the cross.
Q: 15. Has the Pentecostal gift of healing ceased? If so, ought we to pray that it may be restored to the church?
A: These special signs that were given when the church was first formed do not appear to have continued long. The reason for this may be two-fold, one that they were not intended to be permanent, and the other that the present divided state of the church would render any such manifestation of Divine power in any one section unsuitable.
A: Luke gives us the aspect in which the Savior came amongst men as an expression of God’s goodwill towards men and as the Prince of Peace. Mark expresses the results of man’s hatred and rejection of the One thus sent in love according to the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 21 Luke 19:3838Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. (Luke 19:38) skews that peace in heaven must precede the peace on earth proclaimed in Chapter 2 and the death of Christ, more than even His birth, proved the climax of the expression of God’s goodwill towards men (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). So wonderful are His ways! (2) “All” not “every” that is, all sorts and conditions, Jew and Gentile, the latter being expressly in His thoughts, it being the presence of the pious Greeks that called forth these words.
A: That we do not know, It is not however improbable that it was so, and hence Cain’s culpability would be increased in neglecting a known means of approaching God. We cannot however speak positively in the absence of Scripture. Animal food was not given to man until after the flood. (Genesis 9:33Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (Genesis 9:3)).
A: A thief might be killed in the night justifiably by accident or in self-defense; not so in the day time. On the contrary, the proper course then was not to kill him, but to exact restitution in full, or if he had it not, it was lawful to sell him into slavery for his theft. We must remember this is law, not grace.