place” during the “ seventieth week of Daniel.” It will be an idol, an image of himself; and he will re quire all the world to worship him, or be martyred. An idol, to a de vout Hebrew, is an abomination, and certainly it is all of that to God. When Israel realizes by this act of the antichrist that he is a false Mes siah, the believing part of the nation will refuse him recognition. He then, in turn, will persecute Israel, and this will be the beginning of the great tribulation, to which our Lord re ferred in this chapter in Matthew. The 1 4 4 ,0 0 0 Who are the 144,000 and are they living after the Church is raptured? These will be converted Jews who will be God’s witnesses in the earth during 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 many Jews in every land, speaking every language at this very hour. When God’s clock strikes, they will go out in zeal, proclaiming the cru cified and risen Lord Jesus as their Messiah and coming King. Different cults have claimed to be the 144,000. How ridiculous this is in view of the fact that the very names of the tribes of Israel are given in Revelation 7:4-8. There will be 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes, and they will be Israelites—not some godless, Christ-rejecting cult of Satan ic origin. Moreover their ministry is still future —all of Revelation from chapter 4:1 to the end of the book lies in the future. How then, can these false cults today pretend to be the 144,000? They have absolutely no scriptural ground on which to base such a claim. Building the Ark Where can I find that Noah was 120 years building the ark? The widespread belief that Noah spent a period of 120 years in build ing the ark is based upon Genesis 6:3 where the Lord said: “My spirit
shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be 120 years.” Since it was fol lowing this statement that Noah was called of God and instructed concern ing the building of the ark (Gen. 6:13-21) the assumption is that it did actually take 120 years to build the ark, because the flood took place 120 years after that time. Christ's Return and the Millennium What difference does it make whether Christ appears before the millennium or after the millennium? The difference is that if His com ing is to be delayed a thousand years and more, it could not possibly be a present and blessed hope. It is a great thing to know that He may come for us at any moment, and it is upon this ever-present possibility that the Word of God bases its exhortations for every Christian grace. “ Every man that hath this hope in him puri- fieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). Translation of the Church Will the unsaved who are living on the earth at the time of the trans lation of the Church know what has happened? There is nothing in the Scripture to indicate that they will know what happened, Certainly they will miss their loved ones and friends but to the godless world the translation of the Church will be as a “ seven-days’ wonder.” Then the Antichrist will be revealed and his movements will so activate the minds of unregenerate men that many shall forget what has transpired in the rapture of the Church—so blinded will they be by Satan. However, let it be remembered that there will be the martyred remnant of believers during the tribulation pe riod, those who will accept the mes sage of the 144,000 Jews, God’s mes sengers on earth during that dark time.
Confession of Sin Is an act of disobedience to G„u. always a sin that needs confession.'1 Yes. All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, writes Paul in Romans 3:23. All sin is the com ing short of the glory of God, and should be confessed; we should judge ourselves for it. In the Levitical mes sage offerings were made for sms done unwittingly or in ignorance. Presumptuous sins were punished. Contrast Leviticus 4:1,2,13-20, with Leviticus 10:1,2 and Job 1:5. Jewish Remnant W ill Matthew 28:19 have a more literal fulfillment in a future dis pensationP I believe so. The Jewish age has seven years to run after the Church is caught away; (Daniel’s seventieth week). A Jewish remnant will turn to the Lord at that time and will be His evangelist?, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom in all the world as a witness to all nations be fore the end shall come (Matt. 24:14). Being a Pattern Please explain First Timothy 1:16, where Paul speaks of being a pat tern. This Scripture is believed to mean that his own conversion is a pattern of the final conversion of the nation of Israel. Paul was brought to Christ by a visible manifestation of His glory, and in the same manner will the nation of Israel be brought to Him. At His second advent to earth every eye shall see Him, and they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one moumeth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zech. 12:10; John 19:36, 37). Abomination of Desolation What is meant by “ the abomina tion of desolation, spoken of by Dan iel the prophet ” in Matthew 24:15? Both Daniel and the Lord, who was the speaker here in Matthew, referred to the image of the beast, which he will set up “ in the holy
Readers are invited to submit questions which will be answered in future issues. Address questions to Dr. Talbot's Question Box, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, Calif.— ED.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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