QUESTIONS (continued) ment of what will be for His greatest glory and our greatest good. Q . From among our listeners in San Luis Obispo is one who would like to know “What is the difference between the cherubim and seraphim?” A. Actually, both the cherubim and seraphim are angels. They are of an angelic order, but it is generally agreed among Bible students that the seraphim belong to the highest order of angelic beings. They are mentioned only once — in Isaiah 6. They guard the holiness of God; that is exactly a function in dicated with regard to the cherubim who are mentioned more often — first in Genesis 3. So the difference between cherubim and seraphim is one of de gree. I would say one of order, not of kind. The seraphim are above the cherubim in order —- seraphim first and the cherubim after that. Q . Fresno, California. “Can it be literally true that the lion and the lamb shall lie down together in Christ’s kingdom on earth, or is that a matter of speech?” A. That is not a matter of speech — that is actually going to take place. Read Isaiah 65:25, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock . . .” In the days of the Millennium, all of the carnivorous or flesh-eating animals are going to become non-camivorous; that is, they will eat vegetables, straw and grain. The carnivorous animals that feed upon one another will, during the Millennium, be very meek —¡1they will eat together and lie down together. All nature will be at peace, at peace with each other and at peace with God. Q . We turn now to Lynden, Washington for our next item of interest. “Do you feel that we are in the Tribulation period? If so, on what do you base your opinion?” A. No, we are not in the Tribulation period at all. The period is a time when God is going to judge a God-hat ing, Christ-rejecting wo r l d . T h e
Church, (or Body of Believers) will be taken out of the world before that time ever comes to pass, for this will be a time of judgment upon the world and not upon the Church. God will use human instrumentalities — one nation against another-—in judging the world. He has done that in making judgment in times past and He will do it again. We will not be here and we can thank God for that! Q . A friend in the State of Washington asks if the following verse is applicable today or was it addressed to the Jews of that time only? The verse: “If my people who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wick ed ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” A The passage in II Chronicles 7:14 is a parallel passage to I Kings 8 which is Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple. The first meaning, of course, is toward Israel — they were specifi cally a covenant people who had been chosen of God and needed to keep themselves in conformity to God’s will. God says, “If my people who are called by my name, shall humble themselves . . .” if they have gone astray from me, they do not need to become my people again, they need to come peni- tentially, to come to seek my face, to show real confession, turn from their wicked ways and then will I heal their land. Now I fear that a lot of folk in America, especially, have accepted this as in their own right as members of a so-called Christian nation. We are not by that God’s people. However, I be lieve there is an application of this pas sage to believers — those who are true born-again Christians. If they find themselves under the chastening hand of God, they are called by God’s name; just as Israel was an earthly people, they are God’s heavenly people and there is a way of restoration for us as well. But we do not have to turn to II Chronicles 7:14 to see the means of restoration to the Lord. This very same 20
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