Questions and Answers by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Jul 23, 1914

Questions and Answers

By Editor

In this department there will be considered from time to time helpful and practical questions relating to the various phases of this message, church government, Christian doctrine, duty, experience, etc. The editors reserve the right to consider only those questions which in their judgment will prove of benefit to the readers of the REVIEW. All questions should be addressed to the editor.

11. Where and when will Jesus Christ set up his kingdom?

The kingdom of Christ will be established on this earth. In this will be carried out the original design of God, providing that this earth should be peopled by a holy race. Gen. 1:26-31. In this original plan, Adam, as the father of the human family, would doubtless have occupied the position of king. But through sin he lost possession of his inheritance. He could be restored to this lost dominion only through the provisions of the plan of salvation. In this plan Christ became the redeemer not only of man in his lost state, but of man's lost dominion as well. Through his grace both will be restored to their Edenic purity. Rom. 8:18-23. To Christ, the tower of the flock, by right of conquest and by virtue of his sacrifice, the lost dominion reverts. Micah 4:8.

That God's design that this earth should be peopled by a holy nation did not change with the entrance of sin is evident from his call to Abraham, to whom he promised that to him and to his seed he would give the earth. Gen. 13:14-17. The seed to whom the promise was made was the Lord Jesus Christ. Gal. 3:16. All who accept Christ are counted as Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Gal. 3:29. And Christ, in speaking to his faithful followers while on earth, comforted them with the promise, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. Thus, in the carrying out of God's purpose, Christ, the second Adam, becomes a quickening or life-giving spirit, and through the resurrection of the dead at the last day there will be gathered from every age of the world the people whom God has taken out of the nations of men for his name. Isa. 11:11, 12.

This kingdom will be established at the end of the world, the second coming of Christ. For proof of this see 2 Tim. 4:1; Matt. 25:31; 16:27; 13:40-43; Dan. 7:26, 27; Rev. 21:1-7; and other scriptures.

12. Will one who knows of the seventh-day Sabbath and does not keep it be saved?

The determination of this question does not rest with man. It is a question which only the Lord himself can determine at the last great day. At that time every man will be judged according to the light which he has possessed. “And that servant, which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” Luke 12:47, 48. In the judgment of the last day the law of God will constitute the standard of judgment. See James 2:12.

Undoubtedly many earnest Christians have lived in this world and died in the full and conscientious belief that in the observance of the first day of the week they were keeping the commandment of the Lord. The righteousness of Christ will cover this remissness in the lives of these children of his. They did the best they knew, and God accepts the will for the deed in the service they rendered. When light comes to an individual and he rejects it and turns from it, that light, which would have led him on into the fullness of the salvation of God, will prove his condemnation at the last day. But the records of heaven only can determine at what time and in what measure light is rejected by each individual. Judgment does not belong to us. It is for us faithfully to proclaim the message of God. It is for us to restore to its rightful place in the recognition of our fellows the Sabbath of Jehovah. But, having given the message of the Lord with meekness and with godly fear, let us leave to God the judgment of our fellows in the relationship which they choose to sustain toward his truth. It proves many times that some whom we have believed had forever rejected the truth of God out of their knowledge, under changed conditions and in hearing the truth in a new setting were attracted by its beauty and yielded themselves to its saving power. Whether men hear or forbear to hear the gospel message, let us hope on and pray on and labor on, leaving to God the results of the harvest.

13. Has the question of life insurance been made a test of fellowship in the Seventh-day Adventist Church?

We know of no instance in the history of the church where this question has been made a test of church fellowship. This is a question which pertains rather to the individual conscience and to the province of the individual relationship between the disciple and his Master than to the determination of the church. It is a question, however, which we believe should receive more careful and personal consideration on the part of our brethren and sisters than has been given it in the past.

We should not wish to take the position that no temporal benefit had ever come to individuals as the result of taking out life insurance policies. Such benefit has accrued to many from many other worldly enterprises and schemes. On the other hand, there have been many sore disappointments in receiving the benefits which it was hoped life insurance would bestow upon the beneficiaries. Thousands and thousands of dollars have been invested in these ways from which there have been received no commensurate returns. And there would have accrued to the participants much greater advantage by the safe investment of their earnings in conservative business enterprises.

But there is another phase of the question to the children of God, particularly to the believers connected with this movement. We are living in the day of the Lord's preparation. Is it his desire that we should make provision for the future?

If our lives are hid with Christ in God, if we have committed into the divine keeping our all, can we not safely trust the Father above for the outcome of our earthly existence? Is not the best life insurance that which lays up a bank account in heaven in store for the life to come?

The servant of the Lord has spoken with direct reference to this question:— “I was shown that Sabbath-keeping Adventists should not engage in life insurance. This is a commerce with the world which God does not approve. Those who engage in this enterprise are uniting with the world, while God calls his people to come out from among them and to be separate. . . . As a people, we are in a special sense the Lord’s. Christ has bought us. Angels that excel in strength surround us. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without the notice of our Heavenly Father. Even the hairs of our head are numbered. God has made provision for his people. He has a special care for them, and they should not distrust his providence by engaging in a policy with the world. “God designs that we should preserve in simplicity and holiness our peculiarity as a people. Those who engage in this worldly policy invest means which belong to God, which he has intrusted to them to use in his cause, to advance his work. But few will realize any returns from life insurance, and without God’s blessing even these will prove an injury instead of a benefit. Those whom God has made his stewards have no right to place in the enemy’s ranks the means which he has intrusted to them to use in his cause.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. I, pages 549, 550.

We believe that through life insurance, wild speculation, and worldly enterprises, much money has been absorbed which God would have had placed in his treasury. Our lives are in his hands, and we may safely commit to him their keeping against the day of his appearing. 1 Peter 4:19.

14. A reader of the “Review” raises the old-time question of where Cain obtained his wife.

We candidly admit that we do not know. The only record in existence at the present time regarding Cain and his posterity is found in the fourth chapter of Genesis, and that is silent on the question. We know of no other source of information to which we may appeal. How long after the creation of man before Cain's marriage we have no means of knowing. It is evident from the record that our long-lived forefathers did not marry at the early age at which marriages are consummated today. Undoubtedly before Cain's marriage a sufficient time had elapsed for the human family to largely increase and afford among some of Cain's relatives the woman whom he chose for his companion.

This woman was not found necessarily in the land of Nod, as skeptics sometimes aver. The record shows that after reaching the land of Nod, there were born to Cain and his wife sons and daughters. Gen. 4:16, 17.