of every generation since Pentecost, who may belong to various denomi nations. It’s not necessary to belong to a visible church in order to be saved. Trusting Christ is all that is necessary for salvation. The Word of God tells us what constitutes a believing group of people. They have received Jesus as their personal Sav iour. They haven’t been saved by their good works. These people ac cept the Bible as the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. They believe in the virgin birth, the miracles, Christ's substi tutionary atonement, resurrection and personal return. These are just a few of the basic principles of a Bible-believing church. There are many organizations in the world to day calling themselves churches. In actuality, they are apostates. This is true of a number of denominations, too. Q . Hollister, Calif. — “One of your speakers stipulated that at all times the term ‘sleep’ refers to the believ er’s death, never to the unbeliever’s. I f this is true, how would you ex plain Daniel 12:2 and John 5:28, 29?” A. This is true. Sleep is not found in John 5:28, 29, so it is hardly a passage which we could consider. Daniel 12:2 states, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth (this refers to the resurrection of Old Testament saints after the tribulation) shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. The resur rections were not so clearly defined in the Old Testament with a period coming between them as we find in the New Testament. Sleep is used in the Old Testament of both. This is not the case in the New Testa ment. I Corinthians 15:51 shows us what happens to our loved ones in Christ who have gone on to be with the Lord. Sleep doesn’t have any
thing to do with the immaterial part of a person. There is no such thing as soul-sleeping. Sleep is not a quali ty of the spirit. It’s a quality of the body. It is the body, not the spirit, that sleeps until the resurrection. Q . Hollister, Calif. — “I understand that somewhere in the Bible we’re told about two compartments for the dead. One is for the righteous dead in Old Testament times and another for the unrighteous dead even to this very hour. I need help on where to find this.” A. Luke 16:19ff is one of the best passages on this. It shows that Hades originally was made up of two com partments: the abode of the wicked dead and the abode of the righteous dead. The latter was also known as Paradise and “Abraham’s bosom.” The event recorded here in Luke actually happened before Christ died and rose again. Therefore this is on Old Testament ground. The abode of the wicked dead is still inhabited and will be until the Great White Throne Judgment. But when Christ died, He emptied Paradise and took all those who were there to glory with Him. So that now when a be liever dies, his spirit goes immedi ately into the presence of the Lord. We must remember that destiny is settled at death. Ephesians 4:8 shows us that Christ has taken those who were in Abraham’s bosom into His presence. No believers go to Hades now, for “absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord.” Q . La Mirada, Calif. — “What should the Christian’s attitude be toward communism? How about those who are only talking about anti-commu nism? Can they be trusted?” A. We believe a Christian should be unalterably opposed to communism in every form, regardless of the way 31
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