Questions and Answers
As we point out in our booklet, “Teach Us To Pray!”, Christ’s Another additional extremely Generally, God has shown us His Will for When trying to understand Biblical prophecy, it is critical that we are familiar with the meaning of certain key prophetic phrases. For instance, all these terms listed in the Question have a FUTURE prophetic application. This means that when we read a passage in the Old or New Testament, which uses one of these phrases, we should recognize that the passage refers to the future! Here is an overview of the meaning of these phrases: When we come across the term “the latter days” (in Hebrew, “acharith” for “latter”), we are being introduced to events which will happen at the end of this age or present civilization, including the first resurrection or the “resurrection of the just,” and the beginning of the Millennium. After a powerful Spirit being had given Daniel an important vision, he told him, in Daniel 10:14: “Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the LATTER DAYS, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.” Ancient King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream once, and Daniel told him, in Daniel 2:28: “But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the LATTER DAYS.” The events pictured in his dream would culminate in… The answer is that the bride will ultimately involve many more First of all, Jesus Christ is presented as Note, as Jesus presented this example of John In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus speaks about literal murder as well as feelings and expressions of hate. The passage reads as follows: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ [Margin: Lit, in Aram., Empty head] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell [Margin: Gr. Gehenna] fire.” As seen above, the New King James Bible, as well as most translations, render the last expression as “fool.” However, as this word is understood today by the common reader, it does not seem to be much worse than the term “Raca” (i.e., “empty head”). Why, then, the strong difference in potential judgment? Some commentaries and Others equate the word for “fool” with “child of hell” or “profane.” Some say, “godless person,” or, “go to hell.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary… The Bible clearly prohibits the consumption of animal meat which it describes as “unclean” in Old and New Testament passages (such as Leviticus 11:1-47; Deuteronomy 14:3-20; and Acts 10:1-21, 28). For more information on this prohibition, please read our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound.” According to the Biblical designation, certain animals are considered “clean” and their meat is therefore appropriate for human consumption (compare, for example, Leviticus 11:3: “Among the animals…that you may eat…”). Although some have chosen to abstain from the consumption of animal meat, it should be noted that such a teaching, if adhered to and followed for RELIGIOUS reasons, is described in Scripture as a doctrine of demons, compare 1 Timothy 4:1-3. We can safely say that the following animal meat constitutes food that may be eaten. We will not attempt to list ALL clean and unclean animals, but will list the more common ones. As a general rule, if in doubt whether or not the flesh of a particular animal may be eaten, we should refrain from doing so, as “he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). INSECTS AND… The Biblical account of Noah’s Ark is clearly factual. Some have Some of the following Based on the Holy Scriptures, God spoke directly Skeptics have In order to answer this question, we need to explain first what the two trees symbolized. As God said The question addresses a seemingly difficult passage in Exodus 4:24-26, which reads: “And Please note that this incident occurred after God The David, in verses 7-11 of Psalm 19, had just described the David An important key to use when studying God’s Word is to understand In Biblical accounts, what is recorded represents the Concerning prophetesses, the BibleWould you please explain Mark 11:24. We are told in this passage that we will receive from God all things, if we only believe. Is this promise conditional, and if it is, what are those conditions?
promise in Mark 11:24 is indeed subject to several conditions. In this
passage, Christ is emphasizing the absolute necessity of manifesting
living, unwavering and obedient faith in our lives (compare verses
22-23). Without faith that God will do what we ask Him for, we cannot
expect to receive anything from Him (compare James 1:6-8). But godly
faith alone is not sufficient, either. As explained in our booklet,
additional necessary aspects of successful prayer include the need to
ask; to ask in faith; to pray boldly; to keep God’s Commandments; to
bear the right kind of Christian fruit in our lives; to pray in
Christ’s name; and to pray always.
important and all-encompassing condition for successful prayer is the
necessity to pray in accordance with God’s Will (1 John 5:14). This
requires that we learn to understand and agree with God’s Will for us
(Ephesians 5:17; Romans 12:2). In other words, God must reveal His Will
to us (Ephesians 1:9).
us. God wills that we live godly lives (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7) and
inherit His Kingdom (compare Luke 12:32). We…Would you please explain the meaning of the terms, "latter days," "last days," "time of the end," "end of the world," "day of the LORD," "in that day," and the "time of Jacob’s trouble."
The LATTER DAYSWho is the bride? When the Bible speaks of the “bride,” is it only in reference to the saints who will be in the first resurrection?
than those who are given eternal life in the first resurrection. A
review of this topic will reveal just what the Bible means when it
refers to the “bride.”
the bridegroom in many examples. Even at His appearance as a human and
before His death, Jesus spoke of Himself as the “bridegroom” (Luke
5:34-35). In this account, Jesus taught that He would be taken away and
that no “marriage” would be consummated at that time.
well, that Jesus gave a parable indicating that He, as the bridegroom,
would return (Compare Matthew 25:1-13). In this story, Jesus began His
teaching with these very important words: “‘The kingdom of heaven shall
be LIKENED to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom’” (Matthew 25:1).
bridegroom and virgins (that is, the bride) to instruct His Church to
be ready for His return. Most importantly, the Church was to remain
vigilant and not let God’s Holy Spirit (the “oil” for their lamps) fade
out of their lives! He would only marry those who were ready.Would you please explain Matthew 5:21-22? Why are there distinctions in judgments and penalties, and what do they mean?
translations admit that they don’t really know what the word means, which they render “fool.” Some say, one cannot translate this word.Would you please explain which animals are clean (and may be eaten) and which are unclean (and must not be eaten)?
Is the Biblical story of Noah's Ark based on fact, or is it mere fiction or folklore?
advanced arguments saying that Noah could never have built the Ark, and
that the Ark would not have been big enough to hold all the animals.
Both objections are without foundation.
material has been published in “The Good News” magazine, February 1980,
and in “Exploring Ancient History–The First 2500 Years,” Imperial
Schools, 1967.
to Noah, telling him of His decision to destroy wickedness from the
earth (Genesis 6:13). He told him to build a great ship through which
his family and all birds and land animals would be saved alive, while
God covered the earth with a flood (Genesis 6:14-21). The building of a
gigantic sea craft presumes a knowledge of workmanship with brass and
iron–showing that all the fundamental crafts of culture and society
were known in that day. God said that Noah would not have to go looking
for the animals, for they would come to him (Genesis 6:20), but he
would have to provide quantities of food and grain.
claimed the Ark could not possibly hold all those animals and
provisions, but simple fact proves…After Adam and Eve sinned by eating from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, would they still have lived eternally, if they had eaten subsequently from the tree of life?
we read in the first three chapters of the book of Genesis, when God
created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a beautiful garden, called the
garden of Eden or Paradise. In that garden, God had planted two special
trees. Although these trees were literal trees, they also had specific
symbolic meaning and significance. The two trees were called the tree
of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
that man could eat from all trees in the garden, including the tree of
life, but man was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. Therefore, God offered man to eat FREELY from the tree
of life. The Church of God has long understood and consistently taught
that the tree of life was symbolic of the Holy Spirit. If man had eaten
from the tree of life, he would have received the free gift of the Holy
Spirit of God, and with it godly understanding and wisdom as how to
live. Adam and Eve would have received, with the Holy Spirit of God,…Why did God want to slay Moses after He had commanded him to free Israel from Egypt?
it came to pass on the way [to Egypt], at the encampment, that the LORD
met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and
cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ [literally: his]
feet, and said, ‘Surely you are a husband of blood to me!’ So He let
him go. Then she said, ‘You are a husband of blood!’–because of the
circumcision.”
had prophesied to Moses how Pharaoh would react to his demand to let
the people of Israel go (verses 21-23). It would therefore make little
sense to assume that God had changed his mind a few hours later to kill
Moses. Note that verses 22-23 record God’s words to Moses, which
immediately precede the above-quoted passage: “Then you shall say to
Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say
to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let
him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”‘”
context of the passage in Exodus 4:24-26 shows…What was David seeking of the LORD when he asked: “Cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12)?
considerable blessings which exist in obedience to God’s law and His
Way of life! He spoke to the law of the LORD, to the testimony, to the
statutes of the LORD, to the commandment, to the fear of the LORD and
to the judgments of the LORD. He knew that all of God’s laws were in
existence during his time and had been established for all times–even
to the end of this present society and on into eternity! These laws
describe the very character of our God and a Way of life for us!
described the extreme value of God’s requirements of men; and then
raised the question in verse 12, “Who can understand his errors?” He
realized that he was not perfect in all his ways, when compared with
the requirements of the LORD! His desire was to please God in all that
he did, and he understood the need to correct all of the errors in his
life, which were in conflict with God’s Way! Thus, in his prayer to God
for help in overcoming his weaknesses, he requested that God would help
him in overcoming even…Why did God use Deborah in the leadership role as prophetess and judge to Israel, and why is this recorded in God's Word?
WHY God has inspired certain stories: “Now all these things happened to
them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Read the context
of this quote in verses 1 through 13, and you will understand that God
used their examples as a warning to others. He also revealed very
detailed information about Moses for the purpose of instruction: “And
Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward” (Hebrews
3:5).
actual circumstances and actions of people. The fact that God has
chosen to show examples that involved all kinds of human behavior does
not mean that He necessarily sanctions what was done! Rather, the Bible
tells the story of both faithful, obedient people and of those who
rebelled against God.
reveals that certain women spoke in exactly the same fashion as any
number of prophets through whom God revealed both His will and future
events. The first prophetess mentioned in…
