voice of his wife, who, in turn had listened to the voice of the serpent. We need to remember that the determination on the part of God to make an intelligent creature capable of giving Him a voluntary love and obedience necessitated the creation of a being who could, if he would, give God hatred instead of love. A being who was good because he had to be, and loved,God because he could not do anything else, would be a mere automaton. God has shown His pow er to make creatures who have to act to an undeviating law in the animal creation. But how much we would have lost if we were but spe cialized animals. Our obedience is not a forced obedience, but it be comes the obedience of love when we know Him. Fulness of Grace What is the fulness of grace de clared to be the possession of Chris tians and how may I have this fu l ness? I would suggest that this fulness is free for all believers. It would be well for you to make sure of the new birth by reading John 1:11-13, and when you have made sure that you are a child of God, then it is that Christ becomes an everlasting occupant of the heart. One who will never depart. You are His, and He is yours throughout eternity. It is here that grace flows like a river. Says that great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon—“ I have heard our Lord compared to a man carrying a water-pot. As he carried it upon his shoulder, the water, yielding itself to the movement of his body, fell dropping and spilling about so that one could easily track the water- bearer. So should all of God’s peo ple be carrying such a fulness of grace that everyone should know where they have been by the tracks they leave behind . . . He who hath lain in the beds of spices will per fume the air through which he walks —others will follow the scent and rejoice in the fulness of grace.” Readers are invited to submit questions which will be answered in future issues. Address questions to Dr. Talbot's Question Box, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, California.— ED.
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Compare this message with First Thessalonians 4:13-18, which refers to the same event, and calls the trumpet, the trump of God. The seven trumpet judgments of Revelation are sounded by angels; “ the trump of God” will call the Church home. Perhaps it will be just the word Come, even as we read in Revelation 4:1 the message to John, “ Come up hither.” This call to John is prophetic of the call of the Church when the Lord translates His bride. Everything from Revela tion 4:1 on to the end of the book has to do with events which will take place after the rapture of the Church, including the seven trumpet judgments. United States in Prophecy Is the United States mentioned in the prophetic Scriptures? Most Bible students believe there is no direct mention of the United States in prophecy. However, there are many places where God speaks of the nations where the United States may be rightfully included. Let us consider Proverbs 14:34— “ Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people;” This most surely includes our land. An other passage worthy of our consid eration is found in Psalm 19:17— “ The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” ; this is a most solemn warning to America. Other passages include admonitions to “ Render therefore un to Caesar the things which are Cae sar’s: and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). Foreknowledge God must have had foreknowledge that man would sin before H e cre ated Adam. W hy did He not make Adam with will-power strong enough to resist temptation to sin? God did make Adam with will power strong enough to overcome temptation. There was no necessity for his falling had he but looked to God for needed help and confided in Him instead of listening to thé
Striking the Rock Twice What was Moses’ sin in striking the rock twice? God told Moses to speak to the rock, and his sin lay-—first in disobeying God by striking the rock, and second, in self-aggrandizement he seems to have been thinking— “Must we fetch you water out of the rock?” In this procedure he destroyed the type of Christ which God intended the rock to symbolize. Christ by one sacrifice gave the water of life to His people (Heb. 9:28). A second striking of the rock would, typically, signify that one atonement was not sufficient in God’s purpose and plan, but that Christ must needs suffer again. First Thessalonians was written by Paul to young converts. It should be deeply studied with real concen trated and consecrated zeal. Follow ing this study a course in Galatians will be helpful in establishing young converts in the doctrines of grace; follow this with the book of Philip- pians which presents right Christian experience. After this study Luke and John. Luke is called by Paul, “ the beloved physician” and in the third verse of the first chapter Dr. Luke expresses his belief in the virgin birth (an essential doctrine) as he says: “ It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee.” Read the whole chapter . . . it is a magnificent and delightful heart-warming bit of literature. The Seven Trumpet Judgments Please explain First Corinthians 15:52. What is its relationship to Revelation 8:11? The Corinthian statement has noth ing to do with Revelation 8:11 which pertains to the trumpet judgments. The Corinthian letter describes the first resurrection and the translation of the Church, which takes place be fore the anti-Christ is revealed on earth. Note that the words are ad dressed to Christians: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, What Book Should a Young Convert Read? What book of the Bible would you recommend for a young convert just beginning to study the Bible?
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