DR. TALBOT TH E TW O W IT N E S S E S Q. Who will the “ two witnesses” of Rev. 11:3-12 be? A, The Bible does not tell us definite ly, and there is a difference of opinion as to who these will be. Some think they will be a group of the redeemed, witnessing in the power of Moses and Elijah. Others think they will prob ably be Moses and Elijahs themselves. We are inclined to believe the latter, although we can not be dogmatic, where God has not told us definitely. Our reasons for believing the “ two witnesses” will be Moses and Elijah are these: 1. Moses died and was buried by God upon Mount Nebo; “ and no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day” (Deut. 34:5, 6). Satan contend ed with Michael over “ the body of Moses” (Jude 9). Elijah went to heaven without dying. Did God thus preserve the bodies of these two, re presenting the law and the prophets, that they might be His witnesses to Israel, as well as to all the world, dur ing the darkest period of all history? Surely their message would bear weight with Israel in that dark hour! 2. The miracles which they will do, as foretold in Rev. 11:3-12, are like unto the miracles performed by God through Moses and Elijah when they were on earth. 3. Mai. 4:5 tells God’s people, Is rael, some significant words: “ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet be fore the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Christ verified this prophecy (Matt. 17:11). Q. How would you show one who believes in baptismal regeneration the error of his teaching? A. By pointing out the dozens of re ferences in the Bible that tell us plainly how to be saved-—by faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus S A L V A T IO N T H R O U G H B A P T IS M
Christ. Some of these are: John 1:29; 3:16, 36; 5:24; Acts 16:31. There are hundreds of passages which definitely state that faith in the Lamb of God, and faith in Him alone, saves the soul. The thief on the cross had no time to be baptized; yet the Lord Jesus promised that he would go with Him to paradise. Of course, we should obey the Lord’s command by being baptized. But this ordinance is a testimony be fore men, angels, and demons, that we are trusting the blood of Christ; it is not essential to salvation. It fol lows salvation. Therefore, to claim that it is essential to salvation, is to limit the efficacy of Calvary’s cross. IS H ELL FOR M A N ? Q. What is the meaning of the ex pression, “ . . . everlasting fire, pre pared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41)? Would this not imply that hell is not for man? A. It does imply that hell was not “ prepared ” for man. Hell was “ pre pared” for the devil and his angels. When man fell into sin, God “pre pared” salvation for him. But it is clearly stated that, if man rejects that prepared salvation, he will find him self in the place prepared for the devil and his angels. Q. Was Cain ever saved? A. There is nothing in all the Bible to indicate that Cain was ever saved; whereas there is everything to imply that he died a lost soul. In the first place he tried to offer to God a blood less sacrifice, the works of his own hands—and this in open rebellion against God. In the second place, we read that “ Cain went out from the: presence of the Lord” (Gen. 4:16); and having turned his back upon God, he and his descendants built a godless civili zation, which became so corrupt that it had to be wiped out in the flood. S A L V A T IO N OF C A IN
R E C O G N IT IO N IN H E A V E N Q. Shall we recognize our loved ones in heaven? A . We know One whom we are go ing to recognize in heaven. The divine truth concerning this blessed reality and glorious experience is found in I John 3:2: “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet ap pear what we shall be: But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Here we learn that we are go ing to be like Christ, and that we shall see Him as He is. H O U R S IN H E A V E N Q. Were the six days of creation solar days of twenty-four hours each, or were they longer periods of time? A. I believe they were solar days of twenty-four h o u r s each. However, there are those who think II Peter 3: 8 implies that they may have been longer periods of time: “ One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day.” The insurmountable difficulty in believing that the Genesis days were ages is that the Word says that each of the “ days” of creation was divided into two parts: the light was called “ day,” and the darkness was called “ night.” If the night had consisted of thousands of years, all vegetation would have died. All vegetable life must have light in order to survive. The motive back of certain critics in estimating these six days of crea tion as longer periods of time, is to seek to apply the theory of evolution to the creation story. Certainly the God of all creation is able to do all things; and He could assuredly create all things in the six solar days, or less time than that if He so chose to do it. And our God did not bring hu man life into the world by such a process, as -organic evolution. To ac cept such a theory, is to deny the in fallible Word of God.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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