p. 682 | Question Corner

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Nov 11, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 43.

Question Corner

WE can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question. It is well always to enclose a stamp for reply.

4214 — Tithes on Gifts

Is it one's duty to pay tithe on gifts of money, food, clothing, etc.? R. U. H.

The law of the Bible in regard to tithing is very plain and simple. The text says we are to pay the tithe on our increase. Deut. 14: 22. The scripture in Malachi is also very plain in saying: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 3: 8-12. The great principles of truth in the tithing law are perfectly clear. We become confused only when we wander off into some far-away occurrence that comes only occasionally in a lifetime. We can see how individuals might receive some gifts that it would be very proper and certainly their privilege to tithe. Other things might be given to us which there would be no necessity for tithing. In fact, the gift might be something that we would not care for or appreciate at all. On the other hand, the individual who is receiving a regular support from charity, in some cases might find it a privilege and a blessing to pay his regular tithe, but such cases would have to be settled by each individual in harmony with his own conscience. When we come to regard tithe paying as a great privilege, and consider that while paying tithes we have the Lord Himself for our partner in the transaction, we have no difficulty. There could be no specific law of detail laid down. God deals in fundamental principles, and one of the greatest fundamental blessings that the individual receives from tithe paying is the breaking up of the selfishness of his own heart and the cultivating of faith in God.

4215 — “The Beginning of Our Confidence”

Please explain Heb. 3: 14. H. J. P.

Heb. 3: 14 reads, “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;” and the next verse adds, “While it is said, To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” There is nothing difficult about this text. It is a simple statement of the fact that we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence true to the end. Our confidence comes through receiving and accepting the word of God. We are to hold that Word and build upon it, and the ever-present “to-day” is the time to act. God always says To-day; Satan is always saying To-morrow. God's time is always the ever-living, vibrant present. The devil's time is “the will-o'-the-wisp of to-morrow.” It is always twenty-four hours ahead of us, and nobody ever did anything to-morrow. Whatever we do must be done to-day.

4216 — Reading the Old Testament Scriptures

Should we not read the Old Testament? H. J. P.

Most certainly should we read the Old Testament Scriptures. The Master says, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” John 5: 39. When the Master made that statement, the only Scriptures in existence were the Old Testament writings. When He was on the way to Emmaus with two of His disciples, after His crucifixion and resurrection, He told them, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.” Luke 24: 44-46. Christ taught the Scriptures that were written by Moses, and by the prophets, and by David and the others who wrote the Psalms. This example and teaching of Christ was after His resurrection, and therefore unquestionably in the new dispensation. It is always safe to follow the example of the great Pattern.

4217 — At the End of Six Thousand Years

Will not the Lord come at the end of the six thousand years of this world's history? F. W. K.

We know of no scripture upon the subject; and in the absence of scripture, we would not be warranted in speculating upon a topic of this kind, for the Master plainly says in His word, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matt. 24: 36. Where God's word does not speak, it may be harmless, except for the waste of time, to speculate; but the individual who would refrain from falling under the deceptions against which the word of God warns us, will not speculate where that Word has plainly spoken.

4218 — The Power Referred to in Rev. 9: 5

What is the power referred to in Rev. 9: 5? Are we to understand the five months to be 150 literal years? MRS. K.

The power referred to in Rev. 9: 5 is, without question, the great Mohammedan scourge that swept over Europe in the Middle Ages. The five months represent 150 literal years, as these months are prophetic, and there were thirty days to the Jewish month. We could not give the space, in this department, to a full exposition of this part of the interesting book of Revelation, but would refer all who are interested in this subject to the book “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation,” published at this office.