ful groves. A recent newspaper article stated that, through experimental farm ing, oranges weighing a pound each have been produced in this fruitful land. This has been made possible by the minerals of the Dead Sea, which are used to enrich the soil—and there is enough to fertilize the whole of Pal estine. It is this vast wealth that will bring Russia from the north “ to take a spoil.” (Read Ezek. 38:10-12). Where will Armageddon be fought, and what armies will be the contest ants? Armageddon is a large plain of tri angular shape a few miles from Jerusa lem; about fourteen miles on the north, bounded by the hills of Galilee; about eighteen or twenty miles to the east, bounded by the hills below Nazareth; and about twenty miles on the southwest, bounded by the highlands of Samaria. Here is a vast plain, in a hilly country, very suitable for the maneuvering of large armies. Many a battle has been fought upon this plain. It is called in the Old Testament the valley of Me- giddo, the plain of Jezreel, and the plain of Esdraelon. While many battles have already been fought upon that plain, yet in Revelation we read of the greatest battle of all, yet in the future. It will end with the most decisive victory of all history. The Antichrist, the king of the north (Russia), and the sunrising kings will meet on this battlefield. In Rev. 19:19 we have Armageddon described: “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” The battle will be over in a moment; for the Lord will slay His enemies by the “ sharp sword” that shall proceed out of His mouth. (See Rev. 19:15). The victory will accomplish the deliverance of God’s earthly people, the believing remnant of the Jews. Referring to Revelation 3:5, someone asks: “How can a name be blotted out of the book of life if it is not first en tered therein?” It is only by inference that the fall ing away doctrine can be built upon this quotation from the Scriptures. On the other hand these words mean just what they say, and give us the blessed assur ance that God will not blot our names out of the book of life if we are trust ing in the finished work of the Christ. Moreover, “ no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20); and if specific passages are con sidered in their relation to the whole body of truth as set forth in the Word of God, no contradictions will be found. When Christ promised : “My sheep. . . shall never perish,” He meant exactly what He said. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Dr. L. T. Talbot
is a mark of sonship: “ And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). Christ and His apostles plainly taught that baptism with water is an ordinance to be obeyed as an outward testimony of an inward change of heart, but they did not teach that one must be baptized in order to be saved. Is it right for a Christian family to send their boys to a military academy? Military academies for boys do not specialize in the science of war, in spite of the association connected with the name. They offer the curriculum found in any school, together with rigid train ing in discipline. Whether such a school has an advantage over other schools de pends largely upon who is guiding its policies. Why will the nations fight for the possession of Palestine? I have heard it described as nothing but a waste, and of no value commercially, or otherwise. The question you ask would have been difficult to answer some twenty years ago, but not so today. Palestine is any thing but a “waste, of no value com mercially.” In fact, it is acknowledged to be the richest land in the world. The Dead Sea is a vast chemical reservoir. Its riches alone are greater than the combined wealth of all the nations, to say nothing of other portions of this land of promise. Dr. Thomas A. Norton, of New York City, editor of Chemicals, gives the following estimate of the wealth of the Dead Sea: Mineral Tons Vaine Potash ................. 1,300,000,000 $ 70,000,000,000 Bromine .............. 853,000,000 260,000,000.000 Salt ....................li;900,000,000 27.500.000,000 Gypsum .............. 81,000,000 120,000,000 Calc. Ohio. ____ 6,000,000,000 85,000,000,000 Mag. Ohio.............22,000,000,000 825,000,000,000 $1,267,620.000,000 In rebuilding Palestine, the Zionists are using these minerals to enrich the land and to turn desolate places into watered gardens, vineyards, and fruit
1 am convinced that baptism is for saved people according to Ephesians 2:8,9, yet I am frequently confronted with the question of baptism as made in Mark 16:16. Does John 3:5 refer to the natural birth or to the physical birth? Please give me a clear answer that I may pass it on to these ques tioners. Mark 16:16 does not say, “He that is not baptized shall be damned” ; but only “He that believeth not.” John 3:5, says: “ Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This verse has no reference to baptism. It does refer, as in other passages of Scripture, to “ the washing of water by the word” of God. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3); and again He prayed, saying, “ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Paul, writing to the Ephesians, said that “ Christ . . . loved the church and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the wash ing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:25, 26). And to Titus he said plainly: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regen eration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). Peter, likewise, wrote, saying that we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorrup tible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Pet. 1:23). This is the meaning of John 3:5, as many other Scriptures prove. The sin ner is born again through the quicken ing, cleansing power of the Holy Spirit as He applies the living Word of God to the unregenerate heart. These are God’s only two agencies in regenerating the sinful soul—the Spirit of God and the Word of God. Then the ordinance of baptism follows in obedience to our Lord’s command, and as a testimony to the world of new life in Christ Jesus. Moreover, Acts 10:43, 44, 47 state that Cornelius and his household received the Holy Spirit before they were bap tized. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit Page Six
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