Questions and Answers
Amos 8:11-12 reads: “’Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of HEARING the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.” Some have concluded that this passage tells us that in the future, God’s Word–the gospel of the kingdom of God–will NOT be preached anymore to the world. However, that conclusion would be inconsistent with Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24:14, which says: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” In addition, we read that at the time just prior to Christ’s return, the Two Witnesses will preach God’s Word (compare Revelation 11:3-7), and finally, we are told that the third angel has the everlasting gospel to be preached to all nations (compare Revelation 14:6-7). Christ commissioned His Church to preach His Word and to make disciples of all nations, and He promised to be with His Church… It is true that the Old Testament contains references to God using the term “Father.” It is also true that, most generally, the One who dealt DIRECTLY with Israel was the same Personage who was the Son, Jesus Christ–not the One known today as “the Father.” However, in Isaiah 9:6, we find a notable prophecy about Jesus Christ that includes several of His “names” or “designations”: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” On the other hand, there are several other instances in which the Old Testament uses the name or designation, “Father.” In those additional instances, the reference is NOT to Christ. Please note the following comments from our free booklet, “God Is A Family“: “Did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Daniel, and the other prophets understand that God, or ‘Elohim,’ is more than one person? The Bible reveals that they did know. “Acts 3:13 states that the ‘God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus.’ Abraham, Isaac and Jacob understood that their God was the… Exodus 23:20-23 reads, in the Authorized Version: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.” Much has been speculated as to the identity of the “Angel.” We should note, first, that these words are spoken by “the LORD” (compare Exodus 20:22). The Hebrew word for “angel” is “mal-ak” and means “messenger.” It can have reference to a human messenger, an angelic being, or God Himself, depending on the context. In Malachi 3:1, “the LORD” is referred to as the “Messenger of the covenant.” The specific reference in that passage is to Jesus Christ–not God the Father. The designation “LORD” can… Let us, first of all, understand that the Bible clearly teaches that God HEALS our sicknesses and diseases. To quote from a prior Q&A: “He tells us in Exodus 15:26, ‘If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.’ “We are also told how healing from sickness has been made possible. We are healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ who gave His life for us, and who was tortured and beaten so that we can obtain forgiveness of our sins and healing from our sicknesses and diseases (Psalm 103:1-3; Matthew 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:21-25; Isaiah 53:5). “Generally, God instructs us, when we are sick, to call for the elders of the Church of God — the body of Christ, a spiritual organism — to pray for us and to anoint us with oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) and to lay hands on us, so that we can be healed (James 5:14-15; Mark 16:18). “Many times, a… The Scriptural passage in question is found in 2 Peter 3:17-18, which reads: “… beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Grace has been commonly understood as unmerited pardon–especially in connection with the forgiveness of sin. God forgives us our sins, not because we deserve to be forgiven, but because of Christ’s sacrifice. However, the Greek word for “grace” conveys a much broader concept than just the “unmerited pardoning of sins.” Notice, in this context, Paul’s warning in Romans 6:1-2, 15: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound? Certainly not… What then? Shall we sin because we are… under grace? Certainly not!” We are not to “grow” in grace, by sinning, so that we can receive more and more forgiveness or unmerited pardon. Just the opposite is true. 1 Peter 4:1 tells us: “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” What, then, is meant with the statement: “Grow in the grace…… In writing to the Christians living in Colosse, a city in western Turkey, Paul addressed the unique revelation that they, as converted Christians, had received the Holy Spirit—that is, that Jesus Christ was living within them through the Holy Spirit–and this fact was their assurance of the hope for eternal life. In verses 24 and 25 of Colossians 1, Paul speaks of the Church of God by calling it the “body” of Christ. He also addresses the fact that he, Paul, had become a minister of the word of God. In this context, he continues addressing these faithful brethren: “…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ IN you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works IN me mightily” (Colossians 1:26-29). Even as Paul reminds these Gentile converts of the fact that Christ was in them,… The Bible teaches both. Unfortunately, many modern English translations–including the New King James Bible–have clouded the meaning by falsely rendering certain Scriptural passages. It is of course true that we must have faith in Christ–including in His name, identity, role and function, His message, and His Sacrifice (Acts 3:16; 20:21; 24:24; John 3:14-15; 5:24; 11:24; 12:46). Before we receive the Holy Spirit, which God only gives us after repentance, belief, proper adult baptism and the laying on of hands through God’s true ministers–our faith IN Christ is the ONLY kind of faith we can have. But even this is not a “dead” faith, but a “living” faith–it is that kind of faith which manifests itself through works of OBEDIENCE (James 2:14, 17, 22, 26; Romans 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7). John 3:36 reads, correctly translated: “He who believes IN the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not OBEY the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (compare Revised Standard Version, “RSV”). In fact, without living, obedient faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ, we cannot even receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). Once we receive God’s Holy Spirit, and with it a “measure… Even though our Western societies reckon days from midnight to midnight, and some even define a day as the period from morning to night, this is a purely human invention. The Bible is very clear that days are to be counted from sunset to sunset. For instance, the Sabbath, the last day of the week, is to be counted from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Set forth are excerpts from our booklet, “God’s Commanded Holy Days“: “God has revealed in His Word exactly when the Sabbath starts and when it ends. God reckons each day, including the Sabbath, beginning at sunset and continuing through until the following sunset. Today, we would say that the Seventh-Day Sabbath starts Friday evening, when the sun sets, and lasts until Saturday evening, at sunset. “We know from the Jewish people when to keep the Sabbath. It is the Jews to whom God committed His revelations or His ‘oracles,’ as Paul clearly explains in Romans 3:1–2. These ‘oracles of God’ included the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the knowledge of the week and of the Sacred Calendar. The Jews preserved the knowledge of which day the seventh day of the week is. Without an understanding… It is important to understand that true Christians are called out of this present evil world–its governments, administrations, laws and philosophies–in order to be different. They are set aside for the holy purpose of living a righteous life in this world, and preparing for the soon-coming Kingdom of God, which will be established on this earth when Jesus Christ returns. True Christians are to live under the law of God and His government, to which they must have their first allegiance. As a consequence, they do not vote in governmental elections or seek governmental offices, nor do they participate in jury duty. They are not fighting in the wars of this world, even if their country orders them to enlist, and they may be labeled as unpatriotic or “cowards,” when they refuse to fight. And, they do not hold a position or a job which would require them to take human life. Even though God allows man to establish their own form of governments and enact their own rules of conduct–including those which are in direct opposition to His commands–this does not mean that He desires His true children–His very sons and daughters–to participate in activities which violate His perfect and… Although this might be surprising to some at first sight, the answer is clearly, “Yes.” Here is why: In John 1:1, we read that the “Word” (“Logos” in Greek, meaning Speaker or Spokesman) was with God (the Father), and that the Word was also God. That is, both God (the Father) and the Word were members of the Godhead–they were both God Beings. Verse 3 tells us that “all things were made” through the Word, and verse 14 explains that “the Word BECAME flesh and dwelt among us”–as the “only begotten of the Father.” So, clearly, the “WORD” was none other than the second Member of the Godhead, Who became a human being. Hebrews 1:1-2 reveals that God spoke in these last days by His Son, “through whom also He made the worlds.” Colossians 1:13-16 explains, too, that God created “all things” through “the Son of His love.” The Son then is clearly identical with the Word, as God made everything through the “Son” and through the “Word.” Notice, however, that Ephesians 3:9 explains that “God… created all things through Jesus Christ.” This shows that the Word is not only identical with the Son of God, but also with Jesus Christ;…What is meant with the prophesied "famine of the Word," as alluded to in Amos 8:11-12?
The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Why is He also referred to as a "Father" in the Old Testament? Shouldn't the term "Father" apply only to the One who is said to be Christ's Father?
Who is the "angel," referred to in Exodus 23:20-23?
We understand that when we are sick, we can ask for an anointed cloth, in order to be healed. When, exactly, should we ask for a cloth, and when, exactly, does God perform the healing? Does God heal when we ask for the cloth, when the minister prepares the cloth, when he places the cloth into the mailbox, or when we receive and apply the cloth? Should we ask for a cloth for the same sickness more than once?
What does the Bible mean when it says that we are to grow in the grace of God?
Exactly what does the Bible mean when it states that Christ is IN us, as, for instance, in Colossians 1:27?
Does the Bible say that "the faith OF Christ" lives in a Christian? I can only find references in the Bible that we must have "faith IN Christ."
Can you prove from Scripture that according to God's reckoning, days start and end with sunset?
Should true Christians engage in mercy killing or euthanasia?
Was the name of the "Word" (in John 1:1) Jesus Christ before He became a human being?
