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everlasting destruction from the presence o f the Lord, and from the glory o f his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.” The book of Revelation contains this revelation, as described in Rev. 1 :7 : “ Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because o f him. Even so, Amen.” The major part o f the book is taken up with the final phase of His Second Coming. Q. Why did Jesus pray? He was equal with God and needed nothing. A. He prayed because while He was indeed wholly God, He also was tru ly man through the incarnation. Of course, He might have used His di vine power to supply all His human needs but He limited Himself in order to accomplish H is atoning work and to be our example. We live in dependence upon the Father. He showed us perfectly how it was to be done. All these things He did for us, not for Himself. When He was arrested, He might have summoned 12 legions o f angels to defend Him, but He did not do it (Matt. 26:53). Very infrequently did His glory ap pear — as on the Mount o f Trans figuration. He clothed Himself in flesh and to a great degree limited Himself to our limitations. Prayer was not only petition, but commun ion with the Father as well. His prayer just before He raised Laza rus from the dead is very, enlighten ing in this regard, for He said to His Father: “ Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And .1 knew that thou hearest me always; but because o f the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 11: 41-42). THE PRAYERS OF THE LORD JESUS
perfect illustration of false handling of the Word of God. Nothing could be more definite than Revelation 7:4-8; the 144,000 are Jews, with the number and tribe in plain words. I believe that these 12,000 from each tribe will be the Jews converted d u r in g the tribulation (Jacob’s trouble) who then will become mis sionaries to the Gentiles as they were originally called to be. It is a thrilling thing to contemplate; we have a vivid description in Zecha- riah 12 and 13 o f the repentance of the remnant of Israel. “ And I will pour upon the house o f David, and upon the inhabitants o f Jerusalem, the spirit o f grace and supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitter ness for him, as one that is in bitter ness fo r his firstborn. In that day there be a great mourning in Jeru salem . . . and the land shall mourn, every family apart. . . . In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the in habitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. . . : One shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then shall he an swer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zech. 12:10-12; 13:1, 6 ). THE REVELATION Q. I understand that the first part of the Second Coming of Christ for the church is called “ the rapture." What is the name—if any—of the second phase when He brings the church with Him ? A. It is called “ the revelation,” based upon II Thess. 1:7-10: “ And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be re vealed from Heaven with his mighty angels. Taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel o f our Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall be punished with
SEVENTY WEEKS Q. Is it true that the “ seventy wee'ks" of Daniel have nothing to do with the Gentiles? A. It is so, as stated in Daniel 9:24: “ Seventy w e ek s are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Daniel’s people were the Jews; Daniel’s city was Jerusalem. These “ seventy weeks” divide as follows: The time referred to in the above verse is 490 years; 9:25 — “ seven weeks” or 49 years; 9:26— “ threescore and two weeks” or 434 years. Christ was crucified at the end o f the 69th week. Between the 69th and 70th weeks the church age intervenes, at the end of which Christ comes for the church, the antichrist is revealed and the tribu lation begins, ushering in the final, 70th week. THE 144,000 AGAIN Q. I know you have been asked this question many times: who are the 1U,000 of Rev. 7? A. Indeed I have. Nearly every cult in the country has claimed these for their own. When their memberships exceed this number, they have to re sort to other schemes, such as des ignating only the top-notch, well- paid leaders as the 144,000, and de moting the others to some other cate gory. This reveals how men will turn to fables and fancy when deal ing with spiritual matters. I f they would accord to the Bible the same treatment that other books receive, and believe it means what it says, except when it is indicated that the language is figurative, they would stay out o f confusion and trouble. This question about the 144,000 is a
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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