DR. TALBOT’ When W ill the Church be Raptured? Q. T h e re seems to be a difference of opinion very widespread nowa days on the question as to whether the Church w ill be translated before or a fter the great tribu lation. W h a t does the B ib le teach? A. I believe the W ord of God makes it very clear th a t the church w ill be raptured before the 70th week of D an iel begins. Read 2 Thessalonians 2 :7 , 8. T h e an tich rist w ill not be revealed u n til the Holy Sp irit’s restrain ing influence in the Church is taken “out of the w ay .” T h e Church began on the day of Pentecost (A cts 2 ) and is now in the process of being formed. One day th e last m ember w ill be added to the body of Christ which is His Church. Th is is called by P au l in Romans 11 : 25 “the fulness of the Gentiles” wh ich expression m ay be fre e ly translated , “the fu ll num ber of th e Gen tiles.” W h en th e Church is complete, God w ill call the Church home to heaven and then the 70th week of D an iel w ill begin its course. T h e Thessalonians’ be lievers were not looking for the tribu lation but fo r the Saviour. And so should we. Hell Prepared — For Whom ? Q. W h a t is the meaning of the ex pression, “ everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (M att. 2 5 : 4 1 ) ? W ould this not im p ly that hell was not m eant for man? A. It does im p ly th a t hell was not “prepared” for m an but for the devil and his angels. W h en mail fell into sin, God “prepared” salvation for him through His Son and His death upon the cross. Bu t the Word of God elsewhere clea rly reveals that man who bypasses the salvation
and n in e of 2 Corinthians. To make tith ing a binding com mand in this age of grace is to re tu rn to legalism , but m any Chris tians testify to the fa ct that, as they have let the tith e be the beginn ing of th eir giving, God has prospered them to such an exten t that they have had all the more to give. Y et let it be remembered th a t God does not always prosper His saints ac cordingly; some of the most liberal, devoted C h r i s t i a n s never have much, in a m aterial way, in this life. Therefo re, every child of God should be consistent, faith fu l, sys tematic, cheerfu l in his giving. And the tithe seems to be the scriptural principle. God’s people under the law were servants; under grace they are sons. W h y then should not those more favored in this dispensation give more th an those less favored under the law? “ . . . Y e are not your own . . . y e are bought w ith a price . . .” (1 Cor. 6 : 1 9 , 2 0 ) ; “ . . . H e which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth boun tifu lly shall reap also bounti fu lly . Ev ery m an according as he purposeth in his heart, so le t him give; not grudgingly, or of neces sity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9 : 6 , 7) . His Hour Q. W h a t did Christ m ean by “m y hour” or “m ine hour” ? A. He referred to the cross. In the last prayer before the cross H e said to the Father, “Fa th er, the hour is come.”
prepared for him w ill find him self in the place prepared for the devil and his angels— an everlasting hell. Where is the Garden of Eden? Q. Do we have any scriptural proof for the location of the Garden of Eden? A. Yes, while the exact boundaries are not named, the general location is defin itely stated. A t least four proper names recorded in the second chap ter of Genesis m ay be located on the maps of history: E thiopia, Hiddekel (th e ancien t name for the T igris R iv e r), Assyria, Euphrates R iver (Gen. 2 : 1 3 , 14 ) . Secu lar his tory calls the T igris-Euphrates V a l ley or Mesopotamia, “the cradle of civilization,” and righ tly so, accord ing to the record of Genesis. Christian Giving Q. Should a Christian tith e his in come, since we are “not under law, but under grace” ? A. Although it is true that we are not under the Mosaic Law , y et it seems to m e th a t the tith e is the least the Christian should want to give to the Lord. It was instituted long before Moses was bom and seems to be the scriptural basis for all giv ing. Abraham gave a tithe 4 0 0 years before the law was given. (S ee also Gen. 1 4 :2 0 ; 2 8 :2 2 .) On the other hand, there is no instruction given in the New T e sta m en t about the tithe. God does say through P au l th a t we should give “upon the first day of the week”— regu larly “as God hath prospered” (1 Cor. 1 6 : 2 ) ; giving first our own selves to the Lord (2 Cor. 8 : 5 ) ; cheerfu lly (2 Cor. 9 : 7 ) , w ith joy and out of a sense of gratitude to God who has given H is all for us. Read ca refu lly a ll of chapters eight
Readers are invited to submit questions to both Dr. Narramore and Dr. Talbot. Address questions to them c/o The King's Business, 558 So. Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
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