Answers to Bible questions by the beloved President of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.
without fear . . . clouds without wa ter . . . autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots . . . wild waves of the sea . . . wander ing stars.” Therefore, on the face of it, one does not need to attempt to give a literal meaning to these words. Such is never the case in any litera ture. Yet the meaning is unmistak able, and all the more impressive by these comparisons. However, there is a two-fold de scription of the man who is unregen erated; that is, he is “twice dead,” as it were, for these two reasons, either one of which would mean that his is a lost soul: (1) He is “dead in tres passes and sins,” never having been regenerated (Eph. 2:1); and (2) he is dead in a false religion, trusting in a false sense of security. Such a con dition is described in Revelation 3:1, “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” John here is speaking of unregenerate church members. It is sad to see people who think that a certain ritualism, or church-attend ance, or alms-giving, or self-righteous ness can make them fit for the pres ence of a holy God. “Nothing but the blood of Jesus” can take away the sins of the unregenerate heart! ^ QUE.: Please explain the use o f the word “ espoused” in the time of Christ. I believe in the Virgin B irth of the Lord Jesus, ac cording to the flesh, bu t I have been asked to explain this term . The Revised Version translates the word “betrothed.” The following foot note, quoted from the Teachers’ Testa ment, published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York City, gives some help ful information: “The betrothal of a Jewish maiden was more binding and significant than a similar ceremony is with us. It implied that the bride groom had paid to the father of the prospective bride a sum of money, by which payment the control of the father over his daughter had passed to the bridegroom. Betrothal ordi
narily took place a year before mar riage.” (Footnote on Luke 1:27). ^ QUE.: Does 1 T i m o t h y 2 :15 teach that, if a mother dies in childbearing, she will be saved, whether she believes in Christ o r not? “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness and sobriety.” In the first place, nothing is said here of her death in childbearing. In the second place, the Revised Version renders the more accurate translation: “She shall be saved [or preserved] through childbearing.” And finally, the context makes the meaning clear. Paul had been speak ing of how the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, and of wom an’s consequent position of subor dination to the man—not inferiority to him. Therefore, Paul said that the woman should "keep silence” in the public assembly of Christian worship. Having referred to God’s declaration of woman’s position, Paul draws this conclusion as to her place in the church. Now God’s own words to Eve are found in Genesis 3:16: "Unto the wom an he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sor row thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy hus band, and he shall rule over thee.” Having restated this order, as set forth by God in the Garden of Eden, Paul then shows that, in spite of Eve’s sin, in spite of her “sorrow” as a re sult of her sin, God will preserve the woman through her sorrow, es pecially when she manifests faith and love and a life of separation from the godless world. There is nothing in this verse to in timate that a woman is saved because of childbearing. On the contrary, all Scripture teaches that no one can be saved except by a personal faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross. 15
^ QUE.: What is the meaning of the Lord’s words in John 11:25, 26, “ I am the resurrection, and the lif e : he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and be lieveth in me shall never die” ? Did the Lord re fe r to the dead in Him who shall be raised, and the living who shall be translated at His com ing fo r the church? I think so. The Lord Jesus here made an allusion to the translation of the living and the resurrection of the saints as outlined in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Accordingly, these words might be paraphrased as follows: “He that believeth in me, though he were dead [though he should die before Christ’s return for the church], yet shall he live [the dead in Christ shall rise first]; and whosoever liveth [un til Jesus comes] and believeth in me shall never die [but shall be changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye’].” However, through Paul the Lord set forth the details in regard to this event. The great truth concerning the translation of the church was not made clear until after the formation of the church at Pentecost; and to Paul this was made known by spe cial revelation. But referring again to the meaning of John 11:25,26, I should like to add this fact: There is the fundamental, underlying truth that every Christian holds, whether premillennial or post- millennial, that whosoever “believeth” on the risen Lord Jesus, in every age, shall inherit everlasting life. And I think this passage has this deep, spir itual meaning bound up in it. ^ QUE.: Jude 12 speaks of apostates in the last days as “ twice dead.” How can a man be twice dead? In the first place, this passage is highly figurative. Apostates are lik ened unto "hidden rocks . . . shepherds DECEMBER, 1946
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