Q. 389. (1) Luke 15:25. Who is the elder brother? (2) Dan. 12:2. When are the resurrections here spoken of? J. E. T.
A. (1) The Pharisees and scribes of ver. 2. (2) We think if you refer back you will find this question answered; being away from home, we cannot give the exact reference.
Q. 390. Mal. 1 ii. To what does the incense refer and to what dispensation? J. E. T.
A. The praise which shall be offered to God from all the Gentiles throughout the millennium.
Q. 391. Explain Col. 2:18. L. S.
A. It is a warning against the Gnostic tendencies of the day, which while encouraging every sort of Angelic worship and self-humiliation, tended to deny and obscure the glory of the Person of Christ.
Q. 392. 2 Tim. 4:8. (1) When is the day spoken of here? (2) If there are no distinctions in heaven, will it only be during the millennium that the Apostle Paul will have his crown of righteousness? E. L.
A. (1) The day of rewards which must follow the rapture of the saints and probably will precede the public appearing to which the apostle alludes at the close of the verse. (2) We could not say so. Scripture warrants no such thought that the rewards given for faithful service are otherwise than eternal in their character.
Q. 393. Does Matt. 4:4 refer to the sustenance of the human frame of the Lord, or does it mean spiritual food? E. M. B.
A. It means that man's life does not exist merely by natural food as that of the beasts which perish; but that being made in the likeness of God and dependent on Him in everything, when in his true state he is sustained, guided and directed by the word of God. Such was the life of tour Lord, but of none beside.
Q. 394. Matt. 5:34-37• Are these precepts concerning ordinary conversation merely; or do they forbid oath taking in courts of justice? E. M. B.
A. We think you will find on referring back that this question has already been answered and fully gone into. We judge that this passage refers to ordinary conversation on account of verse 37.
Q. 395. What is the meaning of the latter clause of Hosea 11:12? E. M. B.
A. -'This prophecy was God's last warning to Israel before their terrible destruction as recorded in 2 Kings 17 At this time Judah was not yet cast off, and their spiritual condition is here contrasted with that of Israel; about this-time indeed a remarkable religious revival took place in Judah during Hezekiah's reign.
Q. 396. Do you think it was miraculous that the stone from David's sling sank into Goliath's forehead? Judg. 20 speaks of 700 men who could sling stones at an hair breadth and not miss: did they kill men thus? M. w.
A. We have no reason to think that the actual sinking of the stone into Goliath's forehead was miraculous-the penetrating power of a small stone launched with full force by a practiced slinger at close quarters is enormous. We think the clingers in Judg. 20:16 did kill men.
Q. 397. (1) Explain 1 Cor. 11 so especially the latter clause. (2) In John 3:27-36, how far does John's discourse go? E. S. G.
A. (1) This passage means that a woman's head should be covered when praying, as already mentioned in Verse 5. The margin throws light on the verse. (2) We have often asked ourselves the same question but have never been able to introduce any definite break into these verses, It is possible that the last two may be from the pen of the evangelist rather than from the lips of the Baptist, for in these we get the Father and the Son introduced as we do not before.
Q. 398. Does not the marginal reading of Gen. 4:13 suggest the idea that Cain was really sorry for his sin? and yet in v. 16 we read that he " went out from the presence of the Lord." E. S. G.
A. Whatever inference we might draw from Cain's apparent sorrow when he hears of his punishment, it is evident that the sorrow soon passed away, for only in a few verses lower we find him building his city and making himself thoroughly comfortable away from God.
Q. 399. Does Isa. 33:15 give the answer to the questions asked in v. 14? Verse 16 appears to contain a promise to the righteous mentioned in v. 15. E. S. G.
A. No; we think your view of verse 16 is correct.
Q. 400. (1) Luke 12:25,26. How can the very considerable addition of a cubit to the stature be called " that which is least "? (2) What is the teaching of Luke 4:25-27?
E. AL B.
A. It has been said that the illustration is in connection with a man's age, and not with his height; such a simile being common among the Jews ("My days are as a hand-breadth" &c.): this would explain ver. 26. We cannot, however, say that we have ever been convinced that this is the true interpretation, but at present we can suggest no other. We should be glad to hear on this subject from any of our correspondents. (2) That after all they were not to think that God was shut up to the Jews, they must beware how they rejected Him, for even the great prophets Elijah and Elisha of old went out in blessing to the Gentiles.
Q. 401. Luke 12:13,14. Does this teach that we ought not to seek to obtain what may legally be due to us? Having a heavenly inheritance ought we to forego a natural right to an earthly inheritance or leave it to any Ziba who may put in a claim? R M. B.
A. The general question which you raise is a matter for faith and divine guidance, and does not enter into the scope of this passage. The Lord here considered the great question as to where the heart is set, and shows the folly of having it centered on earthly things.
Q. 402. 2 Cor. 13:5. How can we examine and prove ourselves whether we be in the faith? If we believe in Christ is there any doubt of it? S. P. T.
A. Verse 4 is a parenthesis, and the reason they were to examine themselves is given in the first part of ver. 3. There was no doubt at all as to their being in the faith, but inasmuch as they were the seals of the apostle's ministry, their being in the faith would be a proof that God had spoken to them by him. He who knows himself to be saved does not doubt that the message that reached his soul was of God.
Q. 403. Lam. 3:26. What is meant by waiting for salvation? Is it not a present blessing, and if so, why need we wait for it? M. H. V.
A. No Old Testament saint could know salvation as a present blessing as the believer does now. Nor is salvation in its fullest sense even yet complete. The work on which it is based is finished, but all the results of that work are not yet manifest. The salvation of the soul is the portion of every believer; of the body that for which he waits. See Rom. 13 i 1, and Heb. 9:28, in both of which passages salvation is spoken of as still future.
Q. 404. (1) 1 Cor. 10:2. What is the meaning of "baptized unto Moses"? (2) 1 Cor. 10:3,4, is " spiritual " used here in its ordinary signification? If so, what is the meaning of spiritual meat" and " spiritual drink"? s. P. T.
A. (1) They passed through the Red Sea with a view to their being placed under the leadership of Moses. (2) The Apostle did not mean that the Israelites did not eat actual meat, and drink actual drink, but that what they did feed on is typical of the spiritual food which is now the sustenance of the believer's new life.
Q. 405. 1 Cor. 11:21, 22. What was the sin of which these Corinthians had been guilty? Does v. 21 imply that some took their own suppers before, and others being unable to do so were hungry? or that they made a feast of the Lord's supper and were drunken? S. P. T.
A. The excesses which the Apostle rebukes occurred at the love feasts, which were held before, or at the same time as the Lord's supper. The rich brought food from their own houses, of which all were to partake in accordance with the object of the feast. Instead, however, of this being carried out, the poor were neglected and excluded from partaking of what the wealthier had provided, the result being that some were hungry and others drunken.
Q. 406. 1 Cor. 12:4,5,6. The Spirit is mentioned in connection with " gifts," the Lord with " administration," God with " operations." Will you please explain this? S. P. T.
A. The Spirit acts in believers by various manifestations (specified in detail in v. 8-so), and the exercise or administration of these gifts must be subject to the Lordship of Christ.
Q. 407. (1) Deut. 18 ro. What was an "observer of times"? (2) 1 Cor. 15:29, what is meant by "baptized for the dead"? S. P. T.
A. (1) It has been thought that "observing times" was making a distinction between days, as though one were more fortunate than another, in the same manner that now, for example, sailors are averse to starting on a voyage on Friday. (2) See B. S. 1882 Q. 25, p. 16.
Q. 408. (1) 2 Cor. 4:10. What is the meaning of "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus"? (2) 2 Cor. 6:8. Explain " as deceivers and yet true." S. P. T.
A. (1) Practically setting the seal of death upon all that was merely human, in order that the life he had received-the life of Jesus-might be seen in power in all his actions. (2) Perhaps some correspondent will answer this.
Q 409. (1) 2 Cor. 7 I 1. What is the meaning of "indignation" and "revenge in this connection? (2) Gal. 2:20. Is it by the faith of the Son of God that I live, or faith in the Son of God? S. P. T,
A. Would the passage not mean that they were indignant with and took vengeance on themselves for their former laxity and indifference to that which was due to the Lord's name and presence? (2) Faith in is the more general expression. It is not the faith that the Son of God had, but that He is the object of faith. A similar expression occurs in James 2:1.