Q&A – Page 101 – Church of the Eternal God

From the wording of Matthew 5:19, it appears that even those who both break the commandments of God and then teach disobedience will actually be part of the Kingdom of God. Can you explain what this verse means?

June 18, 2004

This verse must be considered in light of other Scriptures in the Bible. Knowing that it is impossible for God to lie (Compare Titus 1:2), we know that the Bible does not contradict itself–that is, God hasn’t inspired teachings that differ. With that view in mind, let’s consider the verse in the context of Matthew 5 along with applicable principles in God’s Word.

Matthew 5:19 states, ” ‘Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’ ” It is vital to read the continuation of this statement from Jesus in verse 20: ” ‘For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, YOU WILL BY NO MEANS ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.’ “

You teach that the ministry of the Church has received authority from God to excommunicate or disfellowship Church members for their unrepentant public sinful conduct. Doesn't Matthew 18:17 give this authority to the entire Church membership, and not to the ministry?

June 11, 2004

In order to properly understand the passage in Matthew 18:17, we need to review all the Scriptures to see whom God has entrusted with the administration of the Church of God.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 2:18-19). It is He who leads and directs the Church, the building of God the Father (1 Corinthians 3:9). He adds those to the Church whom He wants (Acts 2:47). He is composing the body — the Church (1 Corinthians 12:18, 24). He is the One who places members in certain positions and appoints the ministry (1 Corinthians 12:28). He uses appointed ministers to appoint others to the ministry (Titus 1:5; compare Acts 14:23) by, among other things, the laying on of hands (1 Timothy 5:22).

Can you explain the Scripture in 2 John 1:10-11 and similar comments in the Bible which speak of people who hold to false teachings? How should we act when we meet someone who has left the Church of God or who is not in our fellowship?

June 4, 2004

Some have stumbled over this issue, and it does require a balanced understanding to properly apply ALL the Scriptures on this topic. Let’s begin with 2 John: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (verses 10 and 11).

In the previous verses John speaks of “deceivers” and of “whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ” (verses 7 and 9). It is evident that the subject being dealt with in this letter is that some no longer walked in the truth. Some had embraced a false doctrine and were actually preaching that Christ was not coming in the flesh; that is, that Christ was not living in the lives of His disciples (verse 7). After several decades in the first generation of the Church of God, false teachers and false teachings were spreading and threatening to deceive some. John also stated in 1 John 4:1-6, that some taught that Christ never came in the flesh.

Is the Old Covenant still in force and effect today?

May 28, 2004

There were, in fact, numerous “Old Testament” covenants. Our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…“, explains the different Old Testament covenants in detail. Bible scholars sometimes refer to “the Old Covenant,” but when they do, they basically talk about the covenant that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai, as described in Exodus 19. When Israel broke that first “old” covenant, by worshipping a golden calf, God made a new “old” covenant with Israel (Exodus 34:10, NIV). Later, God made a third “old” covenant with the younger generation of Israel, in Moab, just prior to their entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 29). By that time, the sacrificial system, which was added due to Israel’s sins, had become part of that covenant made at Moab. When scholars use the term, “the Old Covenant,” they include the sacrificial system that was added and became part of the package, as Israel broke the laws on which the original first “old” covenant (in Exodus 19) was based. A covenant is an agreement between parties based on law. When one party breaks the agreement, the other party is no longer bound by that agreement, either. God says that because they did not keep the Old Covenants (mainly the ones described in Exodus 19, Exodus 34, and Deuteronomy 29), He “disregarded ” them (Hebrews 8:9). He did, in fact, divorce them and sent them away (Jeremiah 3:8).

Did the Pharaoh of the time of the Exodus drown in the Red Sea?

May 21, 2004

Several have asked this question, especially in light of inconsistent teachings of the Church of God in the past on this matter. First of all, let us try to determine who the Pharaoh of the Exodus was. Some believe that the Exodus took place around 1290 B.C. and have concluded that Ramses the Great was the Pharaoh who resisted Moses. However, Ramses ruled a full century and a half later than the Exodus occurred.

Quoting from a Good News article of the March-April 1988 edition:

“A careful consideration of all biblical and extra-biblical evidence reveals that the Exodus occurred in the middle of the 15th century B.C. — specifically, in the year 1443, during the reign of Amenhotep II, whose tomb Loret excavated. He was the pharaoh who ruled… when the Egyptians would not let Israel go. This year — 1443 — was 430 years after the covenant with Abraham, made in the spring of 1873 B.C. (Genesis 17:1, Exodus 12:40-41, Galatians 3:17). And it was in the 480th year before the laying of the foundation of the Temple in Solomon’s fourth year (964 B.C.), as required by I Kings 6:1… Moses (born in 1523) was brought up as a prince of this ruling family [of Dynasty XVIII, inaugurated by Pharaoh Ahmose about 1570 B.C. Amenhotep II — a descendant of Ahmose — was the sixth pharaoh of this dynasty.] The ‘daughter of Pharaoh’ (Exodus 2:5) [was] Hatshepsut. She was the daughter of Pharaoh Thutmose I, a son-in-law of Ahmose… Thutmose — perhaps the greatest of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt — would therefore be the biblical ‘pharaoh of the oppression.’ In 1483 B.C., Moses was exiled from Egypt by this Thutmose upon the death of Hatshepsut, Moses’ foster mother and protector… Upon the death of Thutmose in 1450, Amenhotep II assumed the sole leadership of the country.”

Some claim that Elijah will appear before the return of Jesus Christ and that he may even still be alive. How do you explain the passage in Matthew 17:11 in which Jesus is quoted as saying that Elijah will come and restore all things?

May 14, 2004

In the context of Matthew 17, Peter, James and John accompany Jesus to a high mountain, and then, in verse 9, Jesus says, “‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.'” In this vision they witness Jesus being transfigured and appearing in His glorified state. Along with Jesus, Moses and Elijah also appear. In the parallel account of Mark 9, these disciples wonder at the instruction from Jesus when He spoke of His resurrection: “So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant” (verse 10).

Their curiosity led to the question we find recorded in Matthew 17:10: “And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'” The scribes, along with the rest of the religious leadership of that time, did not understand how the Messiah would first appear. Not understanding the scriptures, they were only looking for the establishment of Israel’s kingdom and the destruction of their enemies. Following the resurrection of Jesus, even His disciples asked: “‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel'” (Acts 1:6)?

You teach that God does not forgive us our sins if we refuse to repent. Does this mean that God does not require us to forgive those that sin against us if they refuse to repent?

May 7, 2004

A careful review of the Scriptures reveals that God forgives us our sins, when we repent. In the same way, God requires of us to forgive a sinner his or her sins or trespasses AGAINST US, when he or she repents. Many times, however, we may not know whether or not a person has repented of his or her sins against us. The Bible instructs us as how to deal with such a situation:

We should always have a forgiving attitude and a willingness to immediately forgive upon repentance, as this can be the start of any reconciliation process. We must never develop and harbor grudges against another person (Leviticus 19:18). We must hate the sin, but we must never hate the sinner. If we begin to hate the sinner, and develop resentment against the sinner, then we may find ourselves in a position where we might not be able to forgive the sinner, when he or she does repent and/or when his or her repentance comes to our attention. Further, harboring grudges against someone is not spiritually or physically healthy for ourselves. It can deprive us of the inner peace and joy of God which we are supposed to have (compare John 14:27; 15:11; 16:24; Colossians 3:15). God is always willing and ready to forgive, and so must we. It has been correctly said that we must do everything we can to establish peace (Matthew 5:9; Romans 12:18; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 3:11); and to help a person to repent, realizing at the same time that repentance is a gift from God (Romans 2:4). When we forgive, we must also forget, as God does (Jeremiah 31:34). Many may have a problem with eradicating from their memories the bad things, which somebody might have done to them. Without God’s help, it is clearly impossible to totally forget. However, with God’s help, all things are possible; and when we truly forgive someone his or her sins against us, we must make every effort to totally forget, and we must pray to God that He gives us that ability.

As the oracles are given to the Jews, why don't we follow their example of keeping Passover on the same day that they do, rather than keeping it one day earlier?

April 30, 2004

We need to properly understand what exactly was given to the Jews — what is meant with the word “oracles.” In Romans 3:2, we are told that the “oracles of God” were committed to the “circumcision.” At the same time, we are told that “their unbelief” did not make “the faithfulness of God” without effect (verse 3). The Greek word for “oracles” is “logion.” It is also used in Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; and 1 Peter 4:11. In all these passages, the oracles or “sayings” must originate from God. If something is being said or written which is contrary to God’s Word, it does not constitute any longer the “oracles of God.”

The “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W. E. Vine, points out: “”Logion, a diminutive of logos, a word, narrative, statement, denotes a Divine response or utterance, an oracle; it is used of (a) the contents of the Mosaic Law, Acts 7:38; (b) all the written utterances of God through the O.T. writers, Rom. 3:2; (c) the substance of Christian doctrine, Heb. 5:12; (d) the utterance of God through Christian teachers, 1 Pet. 4:11.”

Some teach that God forgives our sins, even though we may not repent of them. They claim that Christ receives us "just the way we are." Isn't repentance one of the requirements for God's forgiveness?

April 23, 2004

The Bible proves that God only forgives us, if we meet certain conditions. One important condition is repentance. God does not forgive us, if we refuse to repent. Today, God has only called comparatively few and is not yet judging the rest of the world. This means, God has not yet forgiven the world, as they have not yet repented, but God does not hold them accountable at this point in time (This is not to say that sin does not have built-in penalties which a sinner will have to pay automatically). Those not called and not forgiven yet are described in Acts 17:30-31: “Truly, these times of ignorance God OVERLOOKED [not, forgave!], but now COMMANDS ALL MEN [those called] EVERYWHERE TO REPENT.” We have to REPENT of our sins before baptism (in addition to accepting Christ’s sacrifice as payment for our sins), even though we might have committed sins in ignorance (compare 1 Peter 1:13-15; Ephesians 4:17-18; 1 Timothy 1:12-13; Acts 3:17). God offers us the gift of repentance, when He calls us, but we must respond to it and accept it (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Romans 2:4).

Please explain the difference between the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Does the Great Tribulation stop when the Day of the Lord begins? Does the Day of the Lord begin when Christ returns?

April 16, 2004

For a thorough understanding of the time frames referred to as “Great Tribulation” and “Day of the Lord,” please study our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

In short, the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) is followed by the Heavenly Signs (Revelation 6:12-14; Joel 2:30-31; Matthew 24:29) and by the Day of the Lord (Revelation 6:17). The indication is, from Scripture, that the Day of the Lord begins one year before Christ’s return (compare, for example, Isaiah 34:8). But even as the Day of the Lord does not end with Christ’s return, but is ongoing, so the Great Tribulation (which begins approximately 2 1/2 years prior to the Day of the Lord) does not end, either, when the Day of the Lord starts. Rather, it continues until Satan, who causes the Great Tribulation to occur, is removed from his throne.