Questions and Answers
Jesus Christ made the following startling comment in John 5:37: “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.” He also said this in John 6:46: “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.” The Apostle John added the following in John 1:18: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” He added in 1 John 4:12: “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” The Apostle Paul, likewise, confirmed in 1 Timothy 6:13-16: “I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Jesus Christ… that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He [God] will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be… This is a good question to ask. We will first have a look at how education is conducted today and then, what it will be like when Jesus Christ returns to set up the Kingdom of God on earth at His return. It should be obvious that there will be an enormous shift from what we see today in schools, colleges and universities for one very good reason, and that is that Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that his influence can be clearly observed by all who have eyes to see. And by extension, society as a whole is encompassed, not just the educational sector. For the purpose of this new series, we will give examples of how things have changed over the last several decades. It can only be brief because it is an enormous subject to cover, but a few highlights will show that we are, today, in a much poorer state than we were some decades ago. We will also show that the future is bright, as we have biblical guidance for how the plan of God will work out in His soon-coming Kingdom. In 1979, Mr Herbert W Armstrong, then the Pastor General… Revelation 14:14-16 reads: “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:17-20 continues: “Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the… We said the following in a Q&A, titled, “Did the Father really forsake Christ?”: “When Jesus was dying a terrible death on the cross, He cried out, just before He died, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ (Matthew 27:46)…It is true that for a brief moment the Father forsook Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:46). This happened just before Christ died (see verse 50), because at that time, He was carrying, symbolically, the sins of all of mankind (compare John 1:29), and the Father, being of purer eyes than to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13), turned His eyes from Christ, as unrepented sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2)… “God—both the divine Father and the divine Son—cannot look on iniquity… “Notice what we read in Deuteronomy 23:9-14: ‘When the army goes out against your enemies [as true Christians, we are today engaged in a constant spiritual battle with Satan the devil, as well as the world and our own selfish and carnal desires], then keep yourself from every wicked thing… you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall… We have written much about the mark of the beast in our Q&As and booklets, and we have given numerous sermons on the issue. As questions have arisen as to whether the mark of the beast applies to the governmental command or “encouragement” to wear masks or to get vaccinated, especially against the coronavirus, we are setting forth below, at first, a synopsis of what we have published about the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:16–17 explains that people will accept “a mark” of the ancient Roman Empire and its ten European revivals (the “beast” power) “on their right hand” or “on their foreheads.” Without it, they cannot buy or sell (compare Revelation 14:9). This mark is associated with the violation of God’s Sabbath commandment (compare Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:20; Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 58:13; Amos 8:5; Exodus 16:23, 26; Exodus 31:15). In the Bible, the “right hand” is associated with work (Psalm 90:17; 137:5). The “forehead” is the seat of thoughts (Ezekiel 3:8; 9:4; Revelation 7:3). The Roman Catholic Church tried to “change times and law” (Daniel 7:25)—that is, God’s law regarding holy time. It has changed the calendar in Europe in 1976, which identifies Sunday as the last day of the… Underlined is the word “true”. The reason for this is that there are many so-called “Christians” who will claim Christianity but fail to keep the commandments of God, such as the keeping of the Sabbath and annual Holy Days, tithing, clean and unclean meats, or who celebrate pagan holy days, such as Christmas and Easter, to name a few. So we really need to have context as to whom we are talking about. We MUST realize that we are not here to make this world a better place or to make a difference in the world by focusing on “good deeds.” (Please see our Q&A on this subject for further reference). Rather, it is the foremost commission of the Church of God to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness so that Jesus Christ can return (Matthew 24:14). In our free booklet, “How to Find the True Church of God,” How to Find the True Church of God | Church of the Eternal God we explain in detail what all is contained in that announcement. We also say this: “The Church of God must be watchful and zealous in fulfilling its… Recently, Pope Francis promoted both concepts. The Daily Mail wrote on March 2: “Pope Francis has warned that mankind is facing a second great flood caused by climate change unless leaders act to fix corruption and injustice. The 84-year-old said that, in the story of the great flood in the Bible, God used his wrath to punish injustice and ‘clean up’ the world. He then added that humanity is facing another ‘great deluge, perhaps due to a rise in temperature and the melting of glaciers. [That is] what will happen now if we continue on the same path,’ he said… “While discussing justice, Francis brings up the example of the biblical flood which destroyed the world except for Noah – who was deemed virtuous enough to survive. The flood itself may have been a myth, Francis says, but it is used as an example to show how God uses wrath to punish injustice and right wrongs in the world.” The Pope’s belief that Noah’s Flood was or might have been a myth is reflected by the common false understanding of scholars who do not accept the reliability of the Bible. For instance, we read in the Wikipedia Encyclopedia: “Although the story of Noah… has become the… This is a good question, and the answers are there for everyone to see if only they would look in the right place. We make no apology for always basing our answers on the instruction manual that God has given mankind – the Bible. But the Bible today is ridiculed, maligned, scorned, rejected and attacked by so many opponents, including intellectuals (so-called), many in the teaching fraternity, politicians and other leaders including those who are involved in shaping the direction of society which the overwhelming majority of people just blindly accept. It is such a huge subject to address, and yet the answer is simple. In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, we read about the promise of blessings and also the pronouncement of cursings (or retribution) that God would bestow on the ancient nation of Israel depending on their obedience or disobedience. Not just blind obedience, but obedience based on the principles that would bring about peace, protection, prosperity and plenty. The Bible does not hold back on its reporting of the good things and bad ways of Israel and of its kings and their subjects. We see that when the people respected and followed God, good things happened. When they rejected God… The passage in question reads as follows in the New King James Bible: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Let us review Christ’s different statements one at a time. First, He speaks of His disciples as sheep in the midst of wolves. Barnes Notes on the Bible states: “I send you, inoffensive and harmless, into a cold, unfriendly, and cruel world.” The Benson Commentary adds: “I now send you forth weak and defenceless among a wicked, cruel, and persecuting people.” Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary elaborates: “Our Lord warned his disciples to prepare for persecution. They were to avoid all things which gave advantage to their enemies, all meddling with worldly or political concerns, all appearance of evil or selfishness, and all underhand measures.” In Acts 20:29 and in Luke 10:3, wolves are used as symbols of persecutors and predators. Christ sends us into the world, in the midst of wolves, to overcome them. He wants us to withstand them, and with His help, we will. In our Q&A, we stated the following about the symbolism of wolves, as referring to world-ruling empires: “Habakkuk 1:6-8… describes the final rise of the… The basis of the question is correct; we do think that true Christian values are the only ones that would work in this society making it a much happier, safer and more enjoyable world than it currently is. What we see around us today is a world in turmoil, but this was prophesied. We have made it clear on so many occasions that we believe that the 6,000 years allocated to man is almost up and that we are living in the end times. A passage in the New Testament sums up the behaviour of man at the end of this age: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Having said that, man’s history over the last 6,000 years is a catalogue of anti-godly behaviour where evil, in general, has proliferated throughout that time. Man has had more than enough time to show that he can live happily and…Did anyone ever hear the voice of God or see His form?
Can you elaborate on education today and in God’s Kingdom?
Would you please explain Revelation 14:14-20?
Does God observe all the terrible individual and collective sins of mankind?
What is and isn’t the Mark of the Beast?
How do we handle poor true Christians in other parts of the world?
Is it true that the concept of a worldwide flood at the time of Noah may just be a myth, but that a worldwide flood could happen in the near future?
Why is society so at odds with itself?
Would you please explain Christ’s saying in Matthew 10:16?
Why do you think that Christian values are the right ones?
