King's Business - 1962-01

O x * . T s t l t > o t ’s d i x e s t i o n

¡ B o x

thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” This passage reveals a great mys­ tery. Lucifer said, “ I will ascend into heaven . . . I will be like the Most High.” In so declaring he describes the location of the city of God: It is “ above the stars of God.” It is “ above . . . the clouds.” It is “ in the sides of the north.” That Heaven is above the stars of God and above the heights of the clouds we have learned from other passages, but here we have the addi­ tional information that it is “ in the sides of the north,” or, as the Amer­ ican Revised Version translates it, “ in the uttermost parts of the north.” Note also Psalm 75:2-7, especially verse 6, which reads: “ For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.” Here it is implied that the throne of God where He judges uprightly is in the north, seeing it is not in the other three directions. North is the same direction from every point on our earth, and north is “up” from everywhere. Perhaps the eternal city is the North Star. It is a possible con­ jecture. We cannot know until we get there. It is significant that the magnetic needle points unerringly in that direction, and astronomers have told us that our solar system is speed­ ing straight north at a terrific rate. Toward what are we moving? Heaven is as real a place as New York, Chi­ cago or Los Angeles. Are we all cer­ tain that it will be our eternal home? OTHER BOOKS ON THE BIBLE Q . Why are the Apocryphal Books included in the Roman Catholic Bible, and excluded from the Protestant Bi­ ble? A. Here are some of the reasons why the Apocryphal Books are not recog­ nized by the Protestant Church as

being inspired by the Holy Spirit: They do not claim divine authority. Some of these books even disclaim such authority, as stated in II Mac­ cabees 11:23, 15:38. They contradict facts that are found in the Scriptures that we know are inspired. Compare Baruch 1:2 with Jer. 23:6, 7. The Jews never received them as inspired. Orthodox Jews would rather forfeit their lives than falsify any portion of the Old Testament of sacred Scripture. They never accepted the Apocryphal Books as being anything more than the work of man. The Lord Jesus and His apostles never quoted from them. The Roman Catholic Church re­ jected them until 1545; therefore, it cannot claim apostolic authority for them. These books were accepted at this date because of a fanciful sup­ port that is found in them for the doctrine of purgatory. Some of the Apocryphal Books are historical; some are fiction. A careful reading of them will convince one taught by the Holy Spirit that they were not divinely inspired. TEMPLE OR SYNAGOGUE? Q . Who took the place of Judas — Mat­ thias or Paul? A. Matthias. I Cor. 15:5 answers this question definitely. Here Paul says that the risen Lord was seen “ of the twelve.” This certainly included Mat­ thias, because Judas had already hanged himself. Paul goes on to state in verse eight of the same chapter: “And last of all h e .was seen of me also, as of one bom out of due time.” Those who say that Paul took the place of Judas do not understand the peculiar character of Paul’s apostle- ship. He was the minister to the Gen­ tiles in a special sense (Acts 9:15; Rom. 1:5; 11:13; Eph. 3:8), whereas the twelve are connected particularly with the twelve tribes of Israel.

WHERE IS HEAVEN? Q . Have we any light on the exact location of Heaven? A. The Scripture always speaks of Heaven as “up” from the earth. We read that “ Elijah went up by a whirl­ wind into heaven” (II Kings 2:11). Again, “when he (Christ) had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of. their sight” (Acts 1:9). And again, “ then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to­ gether with them in the clouds” (I Thess. 4:17). But which way is “up” ? If we say it is in the direction at right angles with the earth’s surface wherever one may happen to be, then it would fol­ low that “up” would be in a some­ what different direction from every part of the globe. The earth is round, and if a command were given for everybody to look up, broadly speak­ ing, every person on earth would look in a different direction from every other person. If Heaven is just “ up,” then Heaven is everywhere in gen­ eral and nowhere in particular. But this is not what the Word of God teaches. When the Lord ascend­ ed, He went somewhere in particular and not everywhere in general. I refer you to Isaiah 14:12-15, where the fall of Lucifer is described. Lucifer was the name for Satan before his fall, and the event of his being cast out of Heaven is graphically pic­ tured: “How art thou fallen from heav­ en, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I w ill ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the con­ gregation, in the sides of the north; I will be like the Most High. Yet

THE KING'S BUSINESS

20

Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter