A . Any c o n t r a d i c t i o n s are only “seeming.” You have used the right word. If you have certain witnesses in a court case, and they never devi ate from the story, saying exactly the same words, those who are giv ing testimony are considered false. Everybody views things in a differ ent light and perspective. Compare the two passages about the women and you will find that Jesus told Mary not to touch Him because He had not yet ascended unto His Fa ther and their Father. But when He did allow the women to hold His feet, it was after He had already made that particular departure to God. These are from different time standpoints. The same is true with “the rising of the sun” and the statement “it was yet dark.” There is that mere moment of time from the darkness of the night to early morning as the sun comes up. The story moves chronologically and pro gressively. One merges into the oth er. There isn’t any contradiction. For a further indication of how these four narratives can be reconciled we refer you to the New Scofield Refer ence Bible, page 1044, footnote #4. This is extremely helpful. Q. Ventura, Calif. — “How many prophecies are yet to be fulfilled be fore Jesus returns?” A . Absolutely none! Keep in mind that the return of the Lord is in two phases. The first will be the Rapture when He will receive His saints unto Himself. The dead in Christ shall rise first (I Thess. 4 ¡IS IS). The second phase of that com ing is recorded in Revelation 19. He is represented as riding on a white horse, angelic attendants gathering His armies together, ready to over come any opposition which might arise. Again we say, as to the first phase, there are no prophecies need ing to be fulfilled before He comes for His Church, the Bride of Christ. 21
very helpful to many people, but it only claims to be a paraphrase, not a translation. The word is the Eng lish spelling of the Greek term. Some Bible teachers think the reference is to the Church as Christ’s body. Oth ers feel it refers to a particular per son, a very godly person of that era. Q. San Bernardino, Calif. — “I under stand that when God created man, placing him in the Garden, He clothed him with His own glory. This appeared as a mystic veil covering completely his naked body. Then, when man disobeyed God he lost his garment of purity and became shamefully naked. Was the shedding of an animal’s blood for sin offering instituted because God had to clothe man in skins? Was Christ’s blood then shed for the purpose of restor ing man’s clothing of glory? What Scripture indicates that man had a mystic covering?” A . There is nothing in Scripture definitely stating that man had a mystic covering. Adam and Eve could have been naked beforehand, and just not think anything about it. After they sinned they realized they were naked. The animal’s blood was a type of the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the redemption of man’s sin. Man needed clothing, and so God used the skin of the animal whose blood had been shed for that clothing. It’s possible that when we receive our resurrection bodies, we too will be clothed with a garment of light, even as our Lord is de scribed in Psalm 104:2. Q. St. George, Ga. — “In the four accounts of the resurrection, there are many seem ing contradictions. One states that the woman held his feet, yet John states that Jesus told Mary not to touch Him. Still another Gospel tells us, ‘and they went into the tomb after the rising of the sun.’ And John declares, ‘It was yet dark.’ ”
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