us in Scripture. As an example, many things God said to Adam and Eve would not be true of us in ap plication. While all of the Bible is for us, yet not all of it is to us. The Jews are God’s chosen people. Through God's sovereign will this is seen clearly throughout the Old as well as the New. Abraham was prom ised certain eternal privileges ex plained in Scripture. At this present hour we’re living in the dispensation of grace. God temporarily has set aside these promises. Right now there is no difference or respecter of person with God (Rom. 3:9). We are all sinners in the sight of God. Today individuals are being saved, not nations. Q. Vancouver, B.C., Canada — “I ’m having t r o u b l e understanding I Kings 18:11-32. Why didn’t the old prophet die instead of the young one? It was his fault that the young er man disobeyed the Lord.” A. The background is about 930 B.C. after Solomon’s kingdom had been divided. The northern kingdom went into idolatry. A man of God came from Judah to Bethel where he an nounced to King Jeroboam, “I’ve been commissioned by God to tell you that you’re following a practice contrary to the will of God. Today the altar is going to be torn down. The ashes upon it shall be burned out.” Hear ing that the king stretched out his hand and ordered, “Take that man!” But just then his hand withered supernaturally. The king couldn’t bring it back to his side. The proph ecy was fulfilled. The ruler then be came touched and asked, “Will you please ask God to take this disease away from me?” The man of God did so. As he prayed, the king’s hand was restored. Being grateful, the prophet was invited to his palace to enjoy royal hospitality. The prophet declined, explaining, “God told me not to become involved* but to return
whither I have come.” His intentions were spoiled when the sons of an other old prophet at Bethel told him the erroneous words of their father, telling him to stay. This time he lis tened and ate bread and drank wa ter. But while they were in the midst of the meal, God brought a message to the prophet letting him know that because of his disobedience a lion would meet and kill him. This is exactly what happened. When the old prophet of Bethel heard it, and realized what his false testimony had done, he requested that he be buried in the same sepulchre. It’s true, we might reason that the prophet who had misled the man of God should have suffered instead. Galatians 1:8 explains why God poured out judgment on the first prophet. He had preached or listened to another message. The first proph et had gotten the message clearly not to stay under any circumstances. But, because he failed to listen, he had to pay the penalty. This is a tremendous message for today. Re gardless how many degrees a pro fessor or a preacher has, if he de viates from the Word of God, don’t you believe it. The Bible is God’s final authority. It shows us the chas tening hand of the Lord. And if the judgment of God begins with the household of faith, think of what will happen to those who have denied the saving Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Q. Portland, Ore. — “When will the resurrection of the Old Testament saints and the unbelieving dead of that time take place?” A. There are a number of resurrec tions spoken of in the Scripture. The first is the resurrection of the Church, the Bride of Christ. This is made up of all true believers of this dispensation of grace. It takes place before the Tribulation period. We believe the resurrection of the 17
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