Question Corner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 28, 1903

1311.—Born Again. John 3:3.

Being born means coming out of. Now, are we born of God until God's power brings us out of the earth in the resurrection or changes us from mortality to immortality? F. A. A.

Born does not necessarily mean what you state. It rather means to bring into being, and is used not only of birth, but of begetting. In fact this seems to be the primary idea. The original word means “born,” by extension. The most important thing in man is character. The natural earthly character must be changed to an incorruptible heavenly character; and the new incorruptible character must as truly come from above as the incorruptible body. More, given the incorruptible character, and the like body follows. The great lesson that Jesus sought to impress upon Nicodemus was not that some time the Lord would change him and take him to heaven. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus doubtless believed that. The great thing for him and all others to learn is that the heart, the motives, the affections, the will, the conscience,—the whole moral man must be recreated, “born from above,” before he can be counted a member of the kingdom of God. See Col. 1:13; John 1:13; 1 John 3:1, 9; 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18. Of course when Christ comes the incorruptible character will put on an incorruptible body. 1 Cor. 15:51–54.

1312.—What Beast? Rev. 19:10, 20; Rev. 20:9, 10.

What beast is referred to by John, the two-horned beast or the beast with the seven heads and ten horns? C. N.

There are two powers mentioned in these scriptures, the beast and the false prophet, two leading mighty influences in the last great apostasy of earth. “The beast,” it will be seen, by carefully reading from Revelation 13 to 20 invariably refers to the seven-headed, ten-horned beast. By comparing Rev. 19:20 with Rev. 13:12–17 it will also be evident that the false prophet is identical with the two-horned beast. Note the specifications: (1) The false prophet gave a false message; (2) he wrought miracles or signs in the sight of, or before, the beast, (3) he deceived the people into believing his false message by the signs which he wrought; (4) he induced them to worship the beast and receive his mark, the badge of his authority. This is just what the two-horned beast did. The false prophet and the two-horned beast are identical.

1313.—Finished and Ended. Gen. 2:2.

In Gen. 2:2 A. S. R. V. are we to understand that God did something on the seventh day? To finish a thing, does it not imply labor? It seems to me to end, or “ended” His work is better. F. M. H.

The word finished seems to be a good rendering of the Hebrew in that place. It is frequently rendered “finish” elsewhere. See Ex. 40:33; Ruth 3:18; 1 Kings 6:9, 14, 38; Ezra 6:14, etc. Finish comes from Latin finis, end. We should have preferred the simpler Anglo-Saxon. God used just a week, a period of seven days in making, preparing, the earth for man. The earth was not complete, its cycle of days was not complete, man’s home-period above all others, was not complete, till rounded out by the crowning day of God, the memorial of His power, the sign between Himself and His people. And this part of God’s work was wrought by God’s resting and forever establishing the seventh day as His rest day, even as He established the earth, forever. How He finished His work for man on the seventh day is told in Gen. 2:2, 3.