King's Business - 1969-06

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ated by God who held a high place in heaven but because of his pride, he sought to usurp the throne of God, and so was cast out. In heaven originally the devil was “ the anoint­ ed cherub,” “ Lucifer, son of the morning,” until iniquity was found in him. Some day he will be con­ signed to eternal and everlasting punishment in hell or the lake of fire with all of his followers (Rev. 20: 10-15). Jesus said as recorded in Luke 10:18, “ I beheld Satan as light­ ning fall from heaven” and this took place long, long before Jesus came to earth. It is a wonderful proof of Christ pre-existent deity that He should have been present when this occurred. A . Nothing makes us happier than to receive a question like this. It is simple: come to Him, ask Him, re­ ceive Him, believe upon Him. Read in the Gospels how the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, died for our sins, rose from the grave, and returned to Heaven. He took our place, died in our room and stead, received the penalty which we de­ served, will save us from hell — if we will allow Him to be our Saviour. Ours is a “ done,” not a “ do-it-your­ self” religion. Fill your heart and mind with verses such as John 1:12; John 3:16-17; John 3:36; John 5: 24; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:23; Ro­ mans 6:23; Romans 10:9-10; Reve­ lation 3:20. And obey His invitation — “ Come” — Matthew 11:28-30; Revelation 22:17. "S EE ING " GOD Q . I am very puzzled about what seems to me a contradiction in the Bible. In John 1:18 we read, "No man hath seen God at any time" yet HOW T O BE SAVED Q . Please tell me the steps to being saved.

in Exodus 2b:10 it is stated, “ They saw the God of Israel." Other pas­ sages too'seem to indicate that men did, see Him. A . In replying to this important question, I wish to quote from Dr. R. A. Torrey in his valuable book, Difficulties and Alleged Errors in the Bible: “ God the Father, in His eternal essence, is invisible (unsee­ able) (I Tim. 1:17). No man hath seen Him nor can we see Him (I Tim. 6:16). He is Spirit, not form (John 4:23, 24) so John tells us that ‘No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.’ This invisible, unsee­ able God is unfolded to us, inter­ preted to us in the words and person of Jesus Himself. So fully is He declared, that Jesus could say: ‘He that hath seen me hath seen the Father’ (John 14:9). “ This essentially invisible God has been pleased to manifest Himself again and again in bodily form. Moses and the 70 elders saw such a manifestation (or Theophany) when they were in the mount; Isaiah saw Him in the temple (Isa. 6 :1 ). Jesus was the crowning manifestation: ‘In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily’ (or in bodily form). The time is coming when all the pure in heart (the truly saved) shall be­ hold God permanently manifested in bodily form (Matt. 5 :8 ). The form in which Jesus existed in His pre­ existent state was the form of God (Phil. 2:6, margin). The Greek word translated form in this passage means ‘the form by which a person or thing strikes the vision—the ex­ ternal appearance.’ So we are clearly taught that the external appearance of Jesus in His pre-existent form was the external appearance of God, that is, that the invisible God, who is Spirit in His essential essence, manifests Himself in an external visible form.”

RESURRECTION OF OLD T E S TA M E N T SA IN TS Q . Please explain the resurrection of the Old Testament saints and where they fit into the first resurrection. A . The doctrine of the resurrection is only in very vague and general terms in the Old Testament. The reason is clear: these matters did not demand clarity until the resur­ rection of Christ. Please see I Peter 1:3; Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Hosea 13:14. These all speak of resurrection, but in very general terms, so that the time element is entirely lacking. The passage that is central on the resurrection of Old Testament saints is found in Daniel 21:2. Please notice that it is pre­ ceded by an indication of the Great Tribulation. Then verse 2 shows that the resurrection is subsequent to that time o f trouble. Thus we can be cer­ tain that they are raised prior to the reign of Christ on earth. As far as the New Testament is concerned, there are those who feel that the Old Testament saints are included in the statement in Revelation 20:4. They must be because if the resurrection were later, they would not be in the resurrection of the righteous. Thus this position harmonizes the Scrip­ ture on the subject of resurrection. Christ’s resurrection came first, and He is the first-fruits. Then come all New Testament saints. Finally Old Testament saints and m artyred saints of the Great Tribulation con­ clude the stages of the first resur­ rection. S A TA N 'S FALL FROM HEAVEN Q. When was Satan cast out of Heav­ en? A . This apparently occurred before the creation of Adam and Eve. We read of this event in Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:14-19. It appears that Satan originally was an angel cre­

JUNE, 1969

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