Questions and Answers
It most certainly is not, even though some within orthodox Christianity teach this false idea. The biblical teaching, however, is altogether different. It is true that God WANTS those to be in His Kingdom whom He calls to salvation. And as we explain in our booklet, “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?”, God is confident that His disciples WILL “make it” into His kingdom (compare Philippians 1:6). He knows that all those whom He has called now CAN make it. We even read that God has already “glorified” them (Romans 8:30), even though their glorification is still in the future. God is so confident that they will be glorified that He speaks of that future event as something which has already occurred (compare Romans 4:17). Paul tells us in Colossians 1:12 that “the Father… has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” The Authorized Version states that He has “made us meet,” which actually means, that He has made us “fit” or “sufficient” or “able” or “worthy.” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 that God made him and others “sufficient as ministers of the new covenant.” When God calls us in this day and age,… The particular passage in question is found in John 8:3-11. It reads, in context (emphasis added): “Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, IN THE VERY ACT. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, TESTING HIM, THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING OF WHICH TO ACCUSE HIM. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first’ [better: ‘let Him throw THE first stone’]. And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, BEING CONVICTED BY THEIR CONSCIENCE, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,… Some have concluded that Jesus was Mary’s only child, and that He therefore asked John to take care of His mother after His death, as there was nobody else in His immediate family who could have done so. However, this is not what the Bible teaches. We read in John 19:25-27: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother… When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.” Almost every biblical scholar agrees that the “disciple whom Christ loved” was the disciple John (Compare for additional references, John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7). Especially in John 21, John identifies himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (compare verses 20-24). The fact that Jesus entrusted John, who was possibly one of His nephews [compare comments in the “People’s New Testament”], with the care of His mother, does not mean, however, that Mary did not have other children. The Bible clearly reveals that Mary and Joseph had additional children, AFTER Jesus was born. Our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery,” proves… Actually, this question has puzzled quite a few people. It is important to read all the relevant passages in context. We read in Matthew 26:27-29 that Jesus gave wine to the disciples, symbolizing His shed blood for the forgiveness of sins. The entire passage reads (Authorized Version throughout, unless otherwise mentioned): “And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” In the parallel passage in Mark 14:25, He is quoted as saying: “Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Compare, too, the wording in Luke 22:18. These passages do not only refer to wine per se, but also to any product or “fruit” of the vine–including grape juice or vinegar. Later, during the crucifixion, we read indeed that Jesus first refused to drink… We read in Romans 8:29-30 that God will glorify those whom He has called in this day and age. It is explained in verse 29 that He predestined those whom He foreknew “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Even though the Scripture says, in verse 30, that He already “glorified” them, this is still a future event, but it is absolutely certain to occur. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible explains that “they are already glorified in Christ, their head and representative… It is an observation of a Jewish writer… that a thing ‘which is decreed to be’, is spoken of in the past tense: ‘this is the Scripture style concerning things decreed, and such is the glorification of all God’s elect.'” As Christ was glorified, so His true disciples will be glorified. We read about Christ’s glorious appearance in Revelation 1:14-16: “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire… and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” His glorified state is also described in Revelation 2:18: “These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire…”… Before attempting to address those numbers, we need to understand–as we pointed out in detail in previous Q&As–that we do not know the exact day of Christ’s return. Matthew 24:44 reads: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” In Mark 13:32-33, we read Christ’s words: “But of that DAY and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” Neither Christ, nor God’s angels, nor we “know” [present tense!] the DAY and the HOUR of His coming. Christ seems to be saying that we won’t know the exact time — a phrase broader than just a 24-hour-day. The reason for this conclusion is given in Acts 1:6-7: “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ [They understood that Christ would establish the Kingdom of God on this earth, when He returns.] And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know TIMES or SEASONS which the Father has put in His own… We don’t believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, appeared to anyone after she had died in the first century. Mary is dead and buried, sleeping the sleep of death in her grave, and awaiting her resurrection to eternal life at the time of Christ’s return. The Bible makes it very clear that all who died in Christ will be resurrected when Christ comes back to this earth–not before then (compare 1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 50-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). As we explain in our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”, those who die sleep a dreamless sleep of death, without any knowledge, activity, consciousness or thought. For this reason alone, Mary could not have really appeared to anyone after she had died. Some believe that Mary appeared in a vision. For proof, they point to the occasion of the “transfiguration on the mount” (Matthew 17:1-9), when three of Christ’s disciples, Peter, James and John, saw Jesus Christ in a vision (verse 9) talking to Moses and Elijah, who had died. In that vision, the disciples were given a glimpse of how it would be like in the Kingdom of God, which will be established on this earth after… In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, John sees two “beasts.” These are symbolic descriptions of powerful world empires. Beginning with Revelation 13:1, John sees in a vision a fantastic beast rising out of the sea, which has seven heads and ten horns. This beast received a deadly wound, but was healed. We explained in previous Q&A’s and some of our booklets, that this beast describes the Roman Empire at the time of John, its subsequent fall and its ten revivals or resurrections throughout history until the time of Christ’s return. The last and tenth resurrection is unfolding in Europe right now before our very eyes. (For more information, please read, for example, our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”) Beginning with Revelation 13:11, John sees in vision a second beast coming up out of the earth. This second beast had two horns. It looked like a lamb (Jesus Christ is referred to as the Lamb of God throughout the New Testament, compare John 1:29), but it spoke like a dragon (Satan is identified as a dragon in Revelation 12:3, 9). This second beast is obviously a religious power, which is influenced by Satan, while pretending to speak on behalf… The answer to all of these questions is a resounding, “No.” Regarding pictures, images or statues of Christ (including those which picture Him on the cross), we clearly read that we are not to have images of God (Exodus 20:4). Since Jesus is God (John 1:1; Hebrews 1:8; Titus 2:13), the creation and use of images or pictures of Christ violates this express prohibition. Some say that this commandment does not prohibit us to portray Christ when He was a man, and not God. Even though Christ became fully man and fully flesh, He nevertheless did not cease to be the Personage that He had always been before–the Son of God, the second member in the God Family. That is why He, when here on earth, was called “Immanuel” or “God with us,” and that is why people, recognizing this fact, worshipped Him in the flesh. In addition, Paul tells us that we are not to know Jesus Christ any longer according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16), as He is now again a glorified, all-powerful and divine God being. He is depicted in Revelation 1:14, 16 with eyes as a flame of fire and as the sun shining in full strength. Pictures… The answer to this question might be quite surprising to some who have never heard the truth before. The fact is, a Roman soldier KILLED Christ by piercing His side with a spear. Notice what happened. The following is excerpted from our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery,” pages 78 and 79: “How Did Christ Die? “… Christ died by shedding His blood (Mark 14:24), and it is through His precious shed blood that we can be saved (1 Peter 1:18–19). “When we read Matthew’s account, in the New King James Bible, we will not find exactly how Christ died. The reason is that this translation omits a crucial verse, at the end of Matthew 27:49. Several translations, as well as many old manuscripts, have retained this missing verse. For instance, verses 49 and 50 read in the Moffat translation: ‘But the others said, “Stop, let us see if Elijah does come to save him!” (Seizing a lance, another pricked [better, pierced] his side, and out came water and blood.) Jesus again uttered a loud scream, and gave up his spirit.’ “The Fenton Bible translates the missing verse as follows: ‘But another taking a spear pierced His side, when blood and water…Since God has already qualified His people to be in His kingdom, isn't their salvation a fait accompli?
Why did Jesus refuse to confirm the Old Testament law to stone the woman caught in adultery?
Why did Jesus ask John just prior to His death to take care of His mother Mary?
Did Jesus violate His own words, when He first said to His disciples before His crucifixion that He would drink no more wine, and when He later drank wine before His death?
Can you explain what is meant by the word "glorification"? In what way will we be glorified–and in what way was Jesus glorified?
Would you please explain the meaning of the different dates and numbers mentioned in the book of Daniel, i.e., 2,300 evenings and mornings, 1,260 days, 1,290 days and 1,335 days?
Do you believe that the "Virgin Mary" has appeared to children and others with messages from God?
Would you please explain the "image of the beast," as described in Revelation 13:14?
Should we have and use crosses or pictures or statues, depicting Jesus Christ?
How, exactly, did Jesus Christ die? Why did a soldier pierce Him with a spear when He was already dead?
