lar clothes. This means that no one will appear more elegantly than another. This one guest for some reason came in his own clothes, without the proper attire. Perhaps he thought he was a little better than the rest and wanted to show his achievements. He would not accept a garment from the host but sat down thoughtlessly to en joy the feast. While there were good and bad people in the crowd, the point here is the fact that just this one tried to come in on his own in an unorthodox manner. The wonderful spiritual application to keep in mind is that whether we are good, bad or indifferent, it makes no difference when we come to the wedding feast of the Lamb. We need to be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. None of our own self-righteousness will suffice. It is only as filthy rags in the sight of God. Only those, garbed in the way in which the Lord has prescribed, will find the assurance of eternal life. Q. Lake Oswego, Ore. "In lob 1:12, It seems to imply that Satan may in some cases have power ov er death. Are there any Scriptures to support this conclusion?" A. Satan delights to make insidious attacks, such as "No one would worship God except for what he could get out of it." The primary thing we learn from the Bible, however, is the absolute sovereign ty of God. He is the potentate of righteousness and alone has power over both life and death. For His own purposes He may allow a part of that power to be delegated to others on specified occasions. Note the barrier given to the devil in Job 2:6.
There is an excellent reference concerning our arch-rival being de feated in Hebrews 2:14, 15. Here we learn that Christ, through His death on Calvary's cross, destroyed "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." For some reason known to God alone, in His in finitely wise plan, He has allowed Satan to have power over death. This He took from him in the case of Job. In the case of one whole generation (I Thessalonians 4:13- 18; I Corinthians 15:50-58) at the Rapture, Satan will again be robbed of this power. The same was true in type with Elijah and Enoch. Q. Vancouver, B.C. "In I Corinthi ans 16:22 It tells us that 'if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.' What does that mean?" A. Historically the word "anathe ma" meant anything that was de voted. It was used in pagan phi losophy as something created and devoted to the worship of the an cient gods. In the New Testament teaching it stands for that which was set apart for destruction. In another place the word is trans lated "accursed." It is a tremen dously strong term and we would do well to take heed of it when it is found in Scripture. Marantha is a beautiful term which reminds us of the fact that the Lord is coming. How wonderful the conditions will be when Christ returns for His own. Q. Phoenix, Ariz. "A modern-day author claims that the people from Nazareth had golden-red hair and blue eyes. Is this true?" A. Such proposals certainly cannot be verified by Scripture or history. It is the romantic fantasy of some Page 15
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