attain the status of God for all their miracles. God will consign all three to everlasting, eternal hell, the lake of fire, of Rev. 19:19-20 and Rev. 20:10. The number 666 is not the clue to a name but an indication of the character of antichrist, who is only man. STOREHOUSE T ITH ING Q. What was storehouse tithing in the Old Testament times and is it applicable today? A. The Jews in Old Testament times brought their gifts to the temple, which was the storehouse. No, there is nothing today that parallels this at all and no preacher claiming to practice this really does so. If he did, he could not appeal for gifts over the radio; he could not ask for money for foreign missions. Every thing would have to be brought right to the door of the local church and no other giving would be al lowed. We have directions for New Testament giving in I Corinthians 16:2 and II Corinthians 9:5-14. THE SPIRIT 'S FORM Q. I understand that when a Chris tian dies, his spirit goes to be with the Lord, and his body remains in the grave until the resurrection, at which time spirit and body will be reunited. Has the spirit any kind of body of itself? A. Some Bible scholars believe that it does. Take the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, for in stance. We are distinctly told that the rich man’s body was buried but that in hades, the unseen world, his spirit was present and there he talked as if he had a body. We read “ he lifted up his eyes ” and the finger and the tongue are mentioned too. The same thing applies to Lazarus. They were both disembodied but they were not aware of the absence of the body. Paul, when he was caught up into paradise, did not know whether he was “ in the body”
or “ out of the body.” But at the same time he “ saw” and “heard.” It is clear that the body is not missed by the spirit and this has given rise to the belief that the spirit itself has a body—a tempo rary one to serve until it is united with the resurrection body. Of course, this cannot be proven abso lutely. We shall know some day. GOG A N D MAGOG Q. Please tell me of what countries in existence today Gog and Magog are the names? A. Gog is the prince and Magog is the land. Please note Ezekiel 38:2 where Gog is called the chief prince of Rosh, Meschech and Tubal (American Standard Version). By many Bible scholars Rosh is iden tified with Russia, and Meschech and Tubal with Moscow and To bolsk. The descendants of Magog, who was a son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2) settled in northeastern Europe and their territory includes what is now Russia. Ezekiel 38 and 39 de scribe the battle of Armageddon and the final conflict of the nations for the possession of the land of Pal estine and the victory of the Lord against the enemies of His people and His land. M A R Y MAGDALENE Q. Was Mary called the Magdalene became of her evil life? A. No, she was from the city of Magdala. There is no evidence that she had been unchaste. True, she was a sinner who had been delivered from demon p o s s e s s i o n (Mark 16:9) but a very great error has sprung up from confusing her with the woman “who was a sinner” (likely a woman of the streets) who anointed the Lord in the house of Simon (Luke 7:36-40) and had been cleansed by Christ. Of course the Lord had performed a great miracle in Mary Magdalene’s life and she loved Him greatly. THE KING'S BUSINESS
DEATH OF THE APOSTLES Q. Do we know how the apostles met their death? A. It is not absolutely certain but fairly well established by tradition that all except John were martyred for their faith. The British and American Encyclopedias and other sources in your public library can give you what information is known. MUS ICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR WORSH IP Q. I was reared in a faith that be lieves no musical instruments should be used in the church but only the human voice. Is there any Scripture on this? A. We have Ephesians 5:19 for use of the voice: ‘Speaking to your selves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Then almost all the Psalms of David bid us to sing a song unto the Lord. David also mentions the musical in struments of his day as media by which praise should be given to God so this should certainly allow them to be brought into the sanctuary. In Psalms 33:2, 92:3, 144:9 and 150:4, for instance, such instruments as the harp, trumpet, timbrel, ten-stringed instruments, organs and cymbals are used for producing music of praise and worship. 666 AGA IN Q, Is there an answer to the riddle of who 666 can be in Rev. 13:18? 1 have heard it applied to some men now dead and others who are living. A. Only one thing is certain about 666: it is the number of man, not the number of deity. Seven is the divine number. The antichrist, the false prophet and the devil, that trinity of evil who will seek to usurp the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are not God. They never reach seven—they never 26
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