Q&A – Page 76 – Church of the Eternal God

Does Revelation 3:12 mean that there will be nothing to do in the Kingdom of God when it says “and he shall go out no more”?

June 18, 2010

Let us read what this verse says: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.”

Does this mean that we will be looking into the face of God for eternity or strumming on harps with no constructive work to do?

First of all, it is critical to show that work is something that is important to God. We read in Genesis 2:2 that “on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” In John 5:17 we read: “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’” Luke 13:14 also tells us that Jesus said: “There are six days on which men ought to work…”

Can you shed some light on the significance of a "red heifer" to be born prior to the coming of the Messiah?

June 11, 2010

Let us first of all understand that there is nothing in the Bible demanding a red heifer to be born prior to the return of Jesus Christ. It is true, however, that some Jews and Christians have attached an end-time application to the ancient Old Testament ritual of the killing of a red heifer for purposes of purification. As will be explained herein, this ritual is no longer in force. But some Jews and Christians believe that the ritual must be applied today, as a prerequisite for the commencement of sacrifices and the building of a third temple, and they expect a red heifer soon to be born. (In fact, when conducting a Yahoo search on the Internet, one receives about 280,000 results for “red heifer.”).

To obtain a better understanding as to the rationale behind this expectation, let us first review the rituals pertaining to the red heifer, as described in Numbers 19.

Would you please explain the concept of the "Jubilee Year"?

June 4, 2010

In Old Testament times, God established a system whereby the poor would not be in perpetual poverty. God did this in His great mercy, knowing what human nature is like, and that there are those who accumulate and those who squander. He did not want a few extremely wealthy individuals ruling over the masses who were just getting by, or who became and were poor. In reflecting on the situation of this world, Christ said in Matthew 26:11: “For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.” He knew that as long as Satan rules this world; as long as human carnality exists; and as long as societies work in the way they do; the poor would always be among us.

Of course, this was not what God had intended. He told the ancient Israelites in Deuteronomy 15:4 that if God would richly bless the people, “there may be no poor among you.” But anticipating that ancient Israel would not be obedient enough so that God could bless them beyond measure, He said in Deuteronomy 15:11: “For the poor will never cease from the land…”

What is known about the biblical "Urim and Thummim"?

May 28, 2010

The first time that the Bible mentions “Urim and Thummim” is in Exodus 28:30, in connection with the garments for the high priest; especially, the “ephod” and the “breastplate of judgment.” The breastplate was to be placed on the ephod (Exodus 28:28), and verse 30 reads: “And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD.” A similar statement can be found in Leviticus 8:8.

In Numbers 27:21, only the Urim is mentioned [but it has been understood that it included the Thummim as well–“Urim” is used here as a summary term for both]. On this occasion, God asked Moses to transfer some of his authority to Joshua. Verse 21 reads: “He [Joshua] shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim–at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in…”

If Isaiah 53 prophesies about the first coming of Jesus Christ, why do the Jews reject this understanding?

May 7, 2010

It is true that most Jews today do not consider the passage in Isaiah 53 as a prophecy pertaining to the first coming of the Messiah. We will discuss their rationale later in this Q&A. First, let us briefly point out that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah; and that He fulfilled precisely the prophecy in Isaiah 53.

For instance, Isaiah 53:1 (“Who has believed our report?”) is quoted in John 12:37-38 in reference to Jesus.

Isaiah 53:3 (“He is despised and rejected by men”) finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ (compare John 1:10-11; Luke 19:14; Mark 6:3).

Isaiah 53:4 (“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”) is quoted in Matthew 8:17 in reference to Jesus.

Isaiah 53:5 (“And by His stripes we are healed”) is quoted in 1 Peter 2:24 in reference to Jesus.

Would you please discuss the Scripture in Zechariah 12:10?

April 30, 2010

According to most Christian commentaries, this passage addresses the First and Second Coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Savior of mankind. However, most Jewish commentaries reject this conclusion and give the passage a different meaning.

Zechariah 12:10-11 reads as follows:

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be great mourning in Jerusalem…”

The phrase “in that day” gives us the time setting–it is a reference to the time of the end, the coming of the LORD and His reign over this world (note Zechariah 12:4, 6, 8-9; 13:1-2, 4; 14:4, 6, 8-9, 20).

What will happen to the spirit in man of those who die the second death?

April 23, 2010

In our last Q&A (in Update #438, dated April 15, 2010), we explained that God gives every person, apparently at the time of conception, a “spirit,” which the Bible calls the “spirit in man.” This spirit is not a soul–the person is the soul–nor is it a conscious being. When the person or the soul dies, the spirit in man returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It is being stored in heaven until the time of that person’s resurrection.

We also explained that the spirit in man has recorded all there is about the person–including his appearance, his thoughts and his deeds. It can be compared with a video cassette or a DVD, which only comes “to life,” when placed in a VCR or a DVD player and when the play button is pushed. Following this analogy, God uses the spirit in man to resurrect or better recreate the body of the person at the time of his resurrection.

What does the Bible teach about the "spirit in man"? Is that human spirit the same as an immortal soul?

April 16, 2010

The Bible does indeed teach that every human being has a spirit, but that spirit is neither immortal nor a soul.

I. The Spirit in Man

We discuss the biblical concept of the “spirit in man” extensively in our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–a Fairy Tale for Adults”.

In this Q&A, we are quoting the following excerpts:

“Most people know nothing about the existence of the spirit in man—even many religious people—lay persons and theologians alike. When they read passages in the Bible describing the spirit in man, they assume the Bible is talking about the soul. But the soul is not a non-physical component of the human being. The soul, according to the Bible, is totally physical. The Bible does not teach the concept of an immortal soul. Rather, we read in Ezekiel 18:4, ‘The soul who sins shall die.’ The word ‘soul’ in the Bible refers to the living body of both man and animals…

Would you please explain Zechariah 13:3?

April 9, 2010

The passage in question refers to the time of the Millennium, after Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God will be established here on earth.

Zechariah 13:2-3 reads:

“‘(Verse 2) It shall be in that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. (Verse 3) It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him,”‘You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.” And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies…'”

This passage is adopted from and reverts back to laws which God gave Old Testament Israel, to be found in Deuteronomy 13:1-11 (compare also Deuteronomy 18:20).

Would you please explain Matthew 24:20?

April 2, 2010

In Matthew 24, containing the famous “Olivet prophecy,” Jesus Christ explained the “sign of His coming and the end of the age” (verse 3). After discussing the “beginning of sorrows” (verse 8), He pointed at the worldwide preaching of the gospel (verse 14), followed by the Great Tribulation (beginning with verse 15). In that context, Jesus said, in verses 19-22:

“(19) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those with nursing babies IN THOSE DAYS. (20) And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. (21) For THEN there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until THIS TIME, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And unless THOSE DAYS were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake THOSE DAYS will be shortened… (29) Immediately after the tribulation of THOSE days the sun will be darkened… (30) THEN the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and THEN all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”