Question Corner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 10, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 32.

1548.—Phil. 1:21-24, and Moses.

Please explain, through your Question Corner, Philippians 1:21-24. C. B. T.

Note the following great facts of Scripture, repeated over and over: (1) The dead are in unconscious sleep. Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:4; Job 14:20, 21. (2) Man’s only hope of waking is the resurrection from the dead. Job 19:25; 1 Cor. 15:12-19. (3) The resurrection will occur, and reward of the righteous will be bestowed, at the second coming of Christ. 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Luke 14:14; Matt. 16:27; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:12. Phil. 1:21-24 is in harmony with these, and must be so understood.

Now as to what it means, note the following: (1) In verses 12-19 the apostle speaks of his sufferings for Christ and declares that instead of injuring the Gospel they had fallen out for its furtherance, had really advanced its message. And therefore he concludes that whatever may happen to him,—whether life or death,—Christ shall be magnified in him; and he declares to his brethren: “For me to live is Christ [it is for His glory in the souls I shall win], and to die is gain [to Christ’s cause also].” Yet after all it were better for them that he should live. (2) Between these two the apostle can not choose, but he desires a third thing: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ; which is far better.” (3) The being with Christ will be when He comes. 1 Thess. 4:16-18. The original word, analusei, rendered “depart,” is the same as that rendered “return” in Luke 12:36. What Paul could not choose between was life and death; what he desired was his Lord’s return, and to be with Him. 2 Tim. 4:8.

1549.—Four Living Creatures. Eze. 1:10; 10:14.

Please explain Eze. 1:10; 10:14. What do the four faces represent in the prophecy? D. A. B.

They represent God’s angels; people, and other agencies which the great Master is using to His glory. The four creatures are the same as were used on the four great standards of Israel, we are told. See Numbers 2. The four standards under which Israel moved were those of Judah, Dan, Ephraim, and Reuben, of which the symbols were a lion, an eagle, an ox, and a man. There are some good suggestions for the study in “Testimony for the Church,” No. 33, the last chapter, “God’s care for His Work.”

1550.—Our Rights. Rom. 14:5.

Please explain Rom. 14:5. In talking with a Sunday advocate I find that he claims that he has a right, according to the Word of God, to keep the day that he esteems above others and then he quotes the above text. He says he is fully persuaded in his own mind. W. H. S.

It is true, solemnly, awfully true, that God gives to every man the right to choose. He may obey or disobey. The American Standard Revised Version reads: “One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord.” The clause which follows in our Common Version is not in the good Greek copies. We do not believe that the days here referred to have aught to do with the Sabbath enjoined by the eternal law of God; but to days of the Levitical law, which some of the early Jewish Christians still observed. But, even tho the Sabbath were included, the point of the chapter is not as to what a man’s moral duty is, but what is not his neighbor’s duty. We are not to judge him. We may preach God’s Word, we may show him the way; but the choice rests with him, and the judgment with God. Verses 10-12. Again, God asks man’s service, but he wants man to serve, not because some one else says so, but because man is himself convinced, assured. All other service is failure. A man may be wrong in his conviction. Leave that with God. It is every man’s duty to obey God. Tell them that, but do not judge them.

1551.—Salt of Covenant and Covenant of Salt.

What is the difference between the salt of the covenant (Leviticus 2), and the covenant of salt (Numbers 18)?

The salt of the covenant was the salt used to make the covenant effective, a sign of its preserving, uncorrupting nature. The covenant of salt was the covenant properly ratified by the use of salt according to God’s direction.