of God — a declaration of wonderful faith in God. Hebrews 11:17-19 throws much light on this entire account and re veals what was in the heart of Abra ham. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried [or tested] offered up Isaac; and he that had received the prom ises offered up his only begotten son, “Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” This is a striking teaching of the resurrection and it shows how well Abraham understood it. God had a covenant with Abraham in regard to the land, the people, and the Seed [Christ] and had plainly said, “My covenant will I establish with Isaac” (Gen. 17:21), therefore he knew that it would be necessary for the Lord to raise Isaac from the dead (in case of his death) in order to fulfill His own Word. From God’s side, subsequent events show that He had no inten tion of having Abraham slay his son and bum him on the altar. It was merely a test of Abraham’s willing ness to obey and trust Him. The an gel of Jehovah forbade him to lay his hand upon Isaac, and praised Ab raham for passing this test of faith. This account is an illustration — a type — of Calvary when God did not withhold His only Son — but like all types, it is not perfect. The fire of the wrath of God did fall upon the Lamb of God, God’s only begotten Son, and it consumed Him in His death on Calvary. However, again the type is seen in the resurrection, for He rose from the dead and is our liv ing, eternal Lord and Saviour. Instead of “bothering” you, this wonderful story should thrill your heart and cause you to ask yourself two questions: How does my faith compare with Abraham’s — he who came out of rank heathenism, and knew nothing of the written Scrip tures and all the light that streams across our pathway? And: Am I will ing to give up anything Christ asks me to as was the patriarch of old?
views are steps on the road to throw ing overboard all of the revelation of the Word of God. Our Creator-Sav iour-God, the Lord Jesus Christ, “by whom were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,” (Col. 1:16), framed the worlds by His Word. We need to get back to the Word of God and believe what it says. Let us write words like Hebrews 1:10-12 upon our hearts, and teach them to the young people who must struggle with this flood of unbelief that is fast inundating the churches and semin aries of our day. It is God the Father speaking to the Son: “And, Thou, Lord, in the begin ning has laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands; “They shall perish; but thou re- mainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; “And as a vesture thou shalt fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou are the same, and thy years shall not fail.” HUM AN SACRIFICE Q. The account of Abraham’s offering his son Isaac has always bothered me. I thought the Bible was against hu man sacrifice which was practiced by the heathen nations which surrounded Israel. Will you explain what Gene sis 22:1-19 really means? A. This passage is often misunder stood. It definitely does not teach hu man sacrifice which was forbidden by God. He does not contradict Him self! If you will read the passage carefully, you will note that nowhere does the Lord command Abraham to “slay” Isaac. Read Genesis 22:2, the literal translation of which is: “make him go up [that is, upon the altar] for a burnt offering.” Abraham was merely commanded to place his son upon the altar for an offering. Of course, Abraham was not sure wheth er he would be required of the Lord to go any farther but he was pre pared to do whatever God com manded. Verse 8 is one of the most touching statements in all the Word
TRANSLATED BEFORE THE RAPTURE
Q. There is a great controversy over whether the church will be translated before or after the tribulation. I be lieve the Bible teaches that born-again Christians will be with the Lord be fore the seventieth week of Daniel begins. With what event does this seventieth week begin and with what event does it close? A. I am quite aware of this contro versy and as the coming of the Lord draws closer and closer, just such divisions will plague and divide the church of Christ. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes the rapture of the church which is the “blessed hope”. Do not let anyone rob you of this. II Thessalonians 2:6-10 makes clear the fact that the church will be rap tured before Daniel’s seventieth week begins. Antichrist will not be revealed until the Holy Spirit’s restraining in fluence in the church is taken “out of the way.” And then the Antichrist will be the ruling personage of that week of seven years. The week begins with the rapture and closes with the return of Christ with the church and the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ. HOW LONG CREATION? Q. Were the six days of creation solar days of twenty-four hours each or were they longer periods of time? What do you think of the “evolution ist-creationist theory”? A. I believe they were solar days of twenty-four hours each because the days of creation were divided into two parts, day and night—light and darkness. Had these days of creation taken thousands of years, all vegeta tion would have perished in the long period of night. There must be light for life. The so-called “evolutionist-creation ist” theory is simply another form of unbelief. To declare that God needed the evolutionary process to create the world and man is to deny the simple statements of the Word of God. These
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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