up into paradise,” evidently refer ring to the same event. There are three heavens men tioned in the Bible: First, where the birds and clouds are; hence “ the birds of the heaven.” Second, there is the realm of the sun, moon and stars; hence “ the stars of the heav en.” And third, heaven is God’s dwelling place. This is the meaning of I Kings 8:27: “ But will God in deed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens can not contain thee.” This is where Paul was “ caught up.” It is now identical with paradise. However, before the resurrection and ascen sion of Christ, paradise was a wait ing place for the spirits of the re deemed, a part of Sheol or Hades. THE 144,000 Q. Who are the lUUfiOO of Revelation 7:1-8; W :l-5 ? A. They are converted Jews who will be God’s witnesses in the earth dur ing the seventieth week of Daniel, preaching “ the gospel of the king dom,” pointing many to the coming of the King. This will be after the translation of the church. It is note worthy that Israel is being prepared for this ministry, in that there are Jews in every land, speaking every language. When God’s hour strikes, they will go out in zeal, proclaiming the crucified and risen Lord Jesus as their Messiah and coming King. Different cults have claimed to be the 144,000. What could be more ridiculous, in view of the fact that the very names of the tribes of Is rael are given in Revelation 7:4-8? There will be sealed 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes. They will be Israelites, n o t some godless, Christ-rejecting members of a cult of satanic origin! Moreover, their ministry is still future —all of Revelation from Reve lation 4:1 to the end of the book is future. How, then, can these false cults today p re tend to be the 144,000? They have no scriptural ground for such a claim.
except by the name of Jesus. There is no second chance after death. (See Acts 4:12 and Heb. 9:27.) FRIGHTENED DEMONS Q. Please explain James 2:19, “ The demons also believe, and tremble.” A. If you read the context, you will see that James, in writing to the man whose empty profession of faith does not bear fruit, says, in sub stance, “ Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well [or, to para phrase, ‘so far so good’ ] : the demons also believe [that God is one], and tremble.” And why do they tremble? Because they know that their doom is sealed, and that they will one day be cast into the lake of fire with the devil and all his wicked angels. Theirs is a head-knowledge, but not a heart-knowledge. The same might be said of any human being who knows that there is one God, yet refuses the atoning work of Christ on the cross. He trembles at the thought of judgment —unless Satan has so blinded him that he has deceived him into a false sense of security. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, the demons recognized Him as “ the Holy One of God.” On one occasion they “ cried out saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come to torment us before the time?" (Matt. 8:29). Here they express a knowledge of certain doom. When the Lord Jesus “ suffered them not to speak” of Him as the Son of God, it seems as though He would not receive this testimony from demons. PARADISE AND HEAVEN Q. What did Paul mean by ‘‘the third heaven” and “ paradise" in II Corinthians 12:2, U? A. Paradise and heaven are one and the same place. Paul said, in the passage you quote, that he was “ caught up to the third heaven.” Then he added that he was “ caught
THE FATE OF THE HEATHEN Q. Will the heathen he lost? Will there not be, at least, a 'probation for them after death, since they have died in ignorance and superstition? A. There is nothing in the Word of God to justify even the slightest in ference that there will be probation after death for anyone. On the con trary, there is positive teaching to the effect that what one does with the Lord Jesus Christ in this life determines forever his eternal state. All must stand before Him, for He is the Judge of all the earth, and the Father has committed all judg ment unto him. (See John 5:22, 25, 27-29.) The answer to your question about the heathen is found in Romans 1 : 18-32. There we read that the “ in visible things of him from the crea tion of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are with out excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but be came vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Read on in this terrible indictment of sinful man, “without Christ.” It is one of the darkest pictures in the Bible, one of the most graphic de scriptions of the baseness and the vileness of the human heart that has reached the depths of sin. What God is saying here is that, because the nations, which we call heathen, refused to have God in their knowledge; because they deliberately and persistently turned their backs upon His truth, He “ gave them up.” The righteous judgment of God awaits all who refuse to “ have God in their knowledge.” Let it be re membered, however, that when any one seeks the light, God gives light, and in grace comes to him, offering salvation in Christ. No, my friend, “ there is none oth er name under heaven given among men; whereby we must be saved,”
4
he,
-<
28
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook Online document