not because of any connection, how ever, with the judgment of God. Q . Paton, California — “What is the sin unto death spoken of in I John 5:16?” A. It is not any one single sin, 'but rather a sin which will issue in death. This was true in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. In I Corinthians 11:30, another picture of this is presented. Some had fallen “asleep” which means that they had died. It was God’s way of keeping the early church pure in the sight of the world. Q . Edwardsville, Kansas — “When Saul sought the witch of Endor, did this woman with familiar spirits actually raise Samuel from the dead? Did Saul go to Paradise?” A. The account is given to us in I Samuel 28. The law decreed that anyone who was consorting with a familiar spirit was supposed to be punished by the arm of the govern ment. She did not actually raise Sam uel from the dead. God sovereignly brought this to pass in order that a message of warning and doom might be given. Saul was taken away from the monarchy because he defied God. No one knows whether Saul went to Paradise. There is no Scripture to take proving that Saul was saved or that he was not saved. Some point to the verse that God gave him “another heart.” Others say that is just a kingly heart as contrasted to a common heart. This is something about which" we will have to wait until we get to glory to fullv understand. Q . Tucson, Arizona — “Please explain Matthew 24:20, ‘But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day? ” A. The context must be carefully con sidered. The Gospels contain much for today in the church age, however, they were also directed to the Lord’s disci ples in the day in which they were written. The basis of this verse deals with Christ’s answer to the disciples question concerning the days of the
Great Tribulation, or that portion of prophecy referred to as “The Seventieth Week of Daniel.” There is to be un precedented persecution unleashed up on Israel such as this world has never seen. There is going to be such oppres sion of a diabolical and Satanic nature that those that are in Judea are given a special warning. The Lord is telling this to His disciples because they are representative of the nation of the fu ture. God sees the continuity of the nation. You and I were not in the war in 1776. Yet we refer to the time when “we” broke away from the British rule and government. We take what they did as representative for us. Haste is the order of the day; time is of the greatest essence. The devil is going to unleash unheard of, unprecedented, un paralleled persecution against the peo ple of God. The context then shows it is at a time after the church age. It has no relevance or connection with us today at all. Q . Salinas, California — “Which Bible version do you recommend?” A. For popular and devotional reading we recommend the King James version' particularly with the Scofield notes for practical help in study. The American Standard Version of 1901 has also been a source of great blessing. It is a very scholarly work. The copyright ran out on this several years ago, and as a re sult, will be reprinted by the Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. The Amplified New Testament has proven to be a wonderful blessing to countless thousands of people. The sales are now somewhere over a million copies. There are others that may be good in some places, but they have their difficulties and can not be commended. Q , Santa Barbara, California — “What happened to the Old Testament saints who arose when Jesus arose? We never hear much about them.” A. There is only the one statement given to us in Matthew. The Scriptures give no indication what happened to these. 25
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