A. There are fine, evangelical Bible teachers, who differ on this point, as you have suggested in your question. It’s true that Old Testament saints believed God and that they had shadows of Christ’s coming. Notice the reference in I Thessalonians 4: 16, where it speaks of “the dead in Christ” That’s the best evidence for the answer without the need of any outside source. That can’t mean any one except the Church, His Bride. That was not started until after Pen tecost. Christ became the head of the Body after the resurrection. The Old Testament saints were ce rta in ly thoroughly saved, but they’re not to be confused with the Church. I Cor inthians 15 refers to a “mystery.” This means something never fore told in the Old Testament. It’s the Rapture. The resurrection of Old Testament saints, however, is foretold in the Old Testament. Daniel 12:1-3 speaks of a time when there shall be great trouble and distress. Michael, who stands for God’s people Israel, will rise and espouse their cause. Then many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise. For the godly this will take place before the reign of Christ here on earth. Here, then is the order of the biblical resurrec tion : First, there is our blessed Lord, as the first fruits (I Cor. 15: 20). Then, we who are His at His coming (vs. 20-24). This is the rap ture of the Church. Then the resur rection of the Old Testament saints as well as saints from the Tribula tion period. They will be, as it were, the “rear guard.” Q. Tacoma, Wash. — “Some of our church young people, as well as a few of their parents, want to have church-sponsored dancing. I object, but can’t find anything specifically from the Bible on which to base this. I have used I John 2:14-16.1 wonder if we shouldn’t find a church that isn’t so socially-minded. Also, I’ve oi-
cepted Jesus Christ as his own per sonal Saviour. He has been redeemed and thereby becomes a new creature. In Acts 11:26 we see that the dis ciples were called Christians first in Antioch. John the Baptist was of the Old Testament order. It wasn’t until after Pentecost that this word Christian appeared. John certainly recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. He pointed others to the Lord in that manner. He was redeemed by looking forward, in faith, to the cross, and Jesus said no one on earth was greater than he (Matt. 11 : 11 ). 0 . Long Beach, Calif. — Could you explain Galatians 4:27, where we read that ‘the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband’?’’ A. This is a quotation from Isaiah 54:1. Prophetically, while Israel is scattered throughout the world, she will have more children than when she was in the land. Isaiah 49 shows the great multitudes which come from all parts of the world. In other words, there’s going to be a tremen dous increase in Israel, in spite of all the enemy will attempt to do. We can see that in the world Jewish population today. Q. Huntington Beach, Calif. — “In reading the Scofield notes under I ThesscUonians 4 and I Corinthians 15, I always considered the dead in Christ to be Old Testament saints. Yet in the publication, ‘Papers on the Lord’s Coming’ by C. H. Mac intosh, he suggests the church as the first born ones. Aren’t Old Testament saints ‘in Christ’ because they be lieved God? AU throughout the Old Testament there are pre-incamate appearances of Christ. These people looked forward to His coming and believed. Can you help me under stand this?”
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