QUESTION CORNER by Milton C. Wilcox

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, Cal. · Nov 23, 1915

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 46.

QUESTION CORNER

By Milton C. Wilcox

CONDUCTED BY MILTON C. WILCOX, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA

NOTE.—This department is for the purpose of helping Bible students. Answers must of necessity be brief, often only suggestive, never exhaustive, never infallible; only as they agree with the infallible Word. Such questions only will be answered as seem to the editors to minister to the mission of the paper. Questions of the same import cannot be answered repeatedly in the same volume. Name and address must be given, not for publication, but as evidence of good faith and to insure reply by letter if thought best. It is well always to inclose stamp, not stamped envelope, unless answer is desired by letter alone.

200 — RULERS IN EUROPE

Will you please tell me how the rulers of England, Russia, Germany, and the other warring nations are related? G. E. G.

This Question Corner is too limited to give the long line of genealogy necessary to show how the rulers of Europe are related. If you will look in the “World Almanac” for 1915, pages 498 to 502, you will get some idea of how it is. This would probably fill two pages of our paper. The “World Almanac,” however, which can be purchased for 25c, contains not only this information, but a vast amount of other information. Address the New York World, New York City.

Just to quote one paragraph from Germany: William II, German emperor and king of Prussia, was born January 27, 1859; succeeded his father, the emperor Frederick III, June 15, 1888. He married the Princess Augusta Victoria, of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (born 1858), and has had issue: 1. Frederick William, crown prince, born May 6, 1882; married June 6, 1905, to Duchess Cecile of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and has four sons: William Frederick, born July 4, 1906; Louis Ferdinand, born November 9, 1907; Hubert, born September 30, 1909; and Frederick, born December 19, 1911. 2. William Eitel-Frederick, born 1883; married February 27, 1906, Princess Sophie Charlotte, of Oldenburg. 3. Adalbert, born 1884; married in August, 1914, Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. 4. August, born 1887; married his cousin, Princess Alexandra Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, 1898; issue, one son, Alexander Ferdinand, born December 26, 1912. 5. Oscar, born 1888; married morganatically Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz, August, 1914. 6. Joachim, born 1890. 7. Victoria Louise, born 1892; married May, 1913, to Prince Ernst August, of Cumberland, duke of Brunswick; issue, a son, Prince Ernst August, born March 18, 1914.

It is almost impossible to retain in one’s mind, unless one is used to that sort of thing, the relationships and inter-relationships of all the royal families of Europe.

201 — THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES

I am desirous of enlightenment regarding the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders in Revelation 4. W. M.

It is impossible to give, in this department, a complete explanation of Revelation 4; for it involves also the two chapters that follow. We do not understand that the living creatures are so many different “beasts,” or living organisms. “Beast” is an utterly wrong translation. “Living ones,” or “living creatures,” is much better. It seems clear to us that they represent four different companies, or armies, of God’s messengers, or angels. These angels are arranged in the form of a lion, a man, an eagle, and an ox.

Human beings often combine so as to form very striking things. For instance, we have a photograph, in our office, of a big battleship of England in Chinese waters, in which the soldiers were so arranged on the side of that ship as to spell out, “God save the king.” At a distance, they do not look like soldiers at all. They are simply white letters against a dark ground. Children are arranged sometimes in vast companies, spelling out the word “Welcome.” Sometimes great companies have been arranged in the form of a cross—a white cross upon a dark ground.

These angels are represented in the form of these various creatures, because of the symbolism expressed in these creatures. For instance, a lion indicates courage and power. It is the king of beasts. The ox represents strength and patience. It is the most patient of all domestic animals, and is often used in sacrifice. The eagle is the king of birds. It represents glory. Man represents wisdom. So in God’s working, there is power and patience and glory and wisdom.

This seems to be indicated also by the fact that these cherubim, so called, change their form. They are represented in Revelation 4 as each having six wings full of eyes round about. In Ezekiel 1 and 10, they are said to have four wings. In Isaiah 6, they are again represented as having six wings. In Ezekiel, all four of the symbols are combined in each one. Each one had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, etc. But in Revelation 4, each one had but one face. This would indicate that they changed in different times and in different ages.

Tradition tells us that when the children of Israel went out of Egypt, each one had his own ensign, and all the tribes pitched under four different ones. That is, all Israel pitched under the four tribes of Judah, Ephraim, Dan, and Reuben. The ensign of Judah was a lion, the ensign of Reuben a man, of Ephraim an ox, and of Dan an eagle. God has used the same symbols. The tribes doubtless got them from the heavenly symbols, which show God’s great care and protection for His people, His power and wisdom in His own work, and assure His own children that heavenly beings are interested in carrying forward that work to ultimate and glorious triumph.

“Full of eyes round about” would indicate that they are made up of many individuals. When we look at an audience, one of the most striking things we see is the eyes. When we meet one of our fellow men face to face, we look at the eyes. Naturally these four great armies, or companies, made up in the form that they were, consisted of thousands of angels, and the one thing that impressed the prophet was the eyes.

Angels do not always appear, however, in this form. Sometimes they take other forms. When God’s prophet Elijah was taken into heaven, he was seen by Elisha. There came a chariot of fire, which took Elijah up into heaven; and Elisha, when he saw it, said, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” Therefore we read in Ps. 68:17, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels.”

The twenty-four elders of the fourth chapter of Revelation are evidently those who assist our Lord in His ministration. They answer to the twenty-four courses of priests spoken of in 1 Chronicles 24. There are doubtless thousands who have been removed from this earth, and who were taken to heaven when our Lord ascended. See Matt. 27:51-53 and Eph. 4:8. The first scripture declares that when our Lord died, many graves were opened; and that after His resurrection, many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose. Paul tells of their ascension,—that “when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive,” or “a multitude of captives.” John saw that those in heaven, or at least some of them, assisted our Lord in His priestly work.

The opening of the little book is the opening of the gospel. The opening of the various seals is the development of the work of the gospel in the world.

These things have been covered at various times in the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, the last, we believe, in 1912; and a series of articles by J. Vuilleumier, to begin the first of 1916, will quite fully present an explanation of these important prophecies of Revelation.

202 — MOSES AND ELIJAH

Would you please explain how Moses and Elijah could appear to Peter, James, and John on the mount of transfiguration after they had been dead and buried? W. H. M.

In the first place, it could not be said of both Moses and Elijah that they had been dead and buried, for Elijah never died. We have an account of his translation in 2 Kings 2:11, 12. He was therefore translated without seeing death.

You will get a better idea of the meaning of the mount of transfiguration by reading what comes just before it. In Mark 9:1 Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, There are some here of them that stand by, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power.” Then follows the account of the transfiguration, in which Peter, James, and John were with Jesus. Now, in the kingdom of God, there will be two classes of the Lord’s people in the beginning, those who have died through the ages of the past, who will then be raised from the dead, and those living when the Lord comes, who will be translated without seeing death. This is set forth in 1 Thess. 4:13-17, also in 1 Cor. 15:51-53.

The transfiguration was an epitome, or a miniature representation, of the kingdom of God.

Moses was there representing those who would be raised from the dead. Jude 9 seems clearly to indicate that Moses was raised from the dead. We read, “Yet Michael the Archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke thee.’” Now Michael the Archangel is Christ, the chief of all the angels. After Moses died, he was raised from the dead. The One who came to call him to life was Michael, or our Lord in His angelic form. Satan contended that Moses belonged to him, because of having sinned. Michael did not attempt to argue the question with him at all, but simply said, “The Lord [the Father] rebuke thee.” We certainly must know that He was victor, and that the body of Moses was raised from the dead as the result of Michael’s mission.

We have already learned that Elijah did not die. He was on the mount of transfiguration representing those who should be taken to heaven without tasting death. Therefore, on that mount of transfiguration we have our Lord. He is glorified as He will be when He comes again. We have Moses, one who was raised from the dead with the power of God. We have Elijah, one who was translated by the power of God, without seeing death. Therefore we have the substance of the kingdom itself.

Peter refers to this in his second epistle, the first chapter: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to Him by the Majestic Glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; and this voice we ourselves heard borne out of heaven, when we were with Him in the holy mount.” Verses 16-18, A. R. V.

Certainly this is conclusive. Peter saw the majesty of Jesus, heard the voice of God, saw types of the subjects of the kingdom in Moses and Elijah. Their appearance on the mount of transfiguration showed that they were both alive, and they were there for the specific purpose of witnessing to the coming of the kingdom of God. The record also clearly indicates that they were there to conduct our Lord, for they talked with Him over the death which He would suffer in Jerusalem. See Luke 9:30, 31. It was therefore not the soul of Moses and the soul of Elijah that appeared on the mount, but Moses and Elijah actually, and in their glorified bodies, as all will be after the general resurrection.

203 — TO BRING BACK HIS SOUL FROM THE PIT

Please explain Job 33:30. Shall we come back from the grave to be enlightened when we have once departed this life? J. H. D.

The text does not indicate this. It simply means that God brings back men from terrible affliction, when it would seem that they were lost, as in the case of Job. Read the context just before as to how God delivers men. They seem to be on the utter brink of destruction, and then God brings them back, that they may be enlightened. That is what Elihu wanted Job to understand, so that he might be enlightened.