Question Corner | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 27, 1896

Question Corner.

“Enquire, and make search, and ask diligently.”

[From time to time we will reply under this head, if deemed advisable, to such candid inquiries as may be sent us. Correspondents wishing a reply to their questions must give their full name and address, not for publication unless they wish, but as an evidence of good faith on their part, and to give us opportunity to reply by letter if deemed best. It is always well to inclose stamp. Let the questions be short and pointed, and such as may be answered in limited space. The questions will be numbered continuously.]

No. 268. Forbidden Food.

PLEASE explain Isa. 66:3, 4 and Lev. 11:7, 8, 20-24. E. M. H.

The question of forbidden foods, etc., is discussed in our issue of February 13, in the article “Meats and Drinks.” It seems to us that the principles there stated are sufficient to guide in the settlement of Biblical foods. Isa. 66:3, 4 speaks of a gross class of religionists, who do not discriminate between the sacred and common, and whom God will leave to their own delusions. Lev. 11:7, 8 declares the swine to be unclean, and therefore unfit for food. Verses 20-24 show what insects or flying things are clean and what unclean. The word “fowl” means flying things. See Revised Version.

No. 269. Civil Power and Human Life.

(1) Has God in this dispensation given the civil powers on earth the right to take the life of man for the crime of murder? (2) Has any man a moral right for any provocation whatever to defend and protect his life or that of his family by taking the life of any man, war included, of course. N. L. MC.

1. God has given just as much right to civil governments in this dispensation as in any other dispensation. It is the right and duty of civil powers to protect their own existence and the rights of their subjects. If the death penalty is needed in this work, we should think it would be justified. See Rom. 13:1-4.

2. In a civil government, from a purely civil and human standpoint, yes.

No. 270. 1 Cor. 4:5.

PLEASE explain 1 Cor. 4:5. MRS. S. N.

The text reads as follows:— “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.”

In this text is taught and implied the following: (1) Christians as individuals are not to set themselves up as judges now; God has not given them that work. Rom. 2:1; 14:13; Matt. 7:1; John 12:47. (2) When the Lord comes, and they are freed from the infirmities of mortal flesh, they will be associated with Christ in the judgment of the wicked. Rev. 20:4; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3. The judging in this world spoken of in the latter text pertains to the church as a body. (3) When Christ comes, the records of all motives and deeds will then be laid open, and all judgment will then be just judgment. (4) “Then shall every man have praise [approval, reward] of God.” See also Rev. 22:12. It will be seen by the context (1 Cor. 4:1-3) that the apostle is speaking of ministers of Christ, not of those who would receive punishment instead of praise.

No. 271. The Bible—Its Compilation.

WHO compiled the Bible? and at what date? R. D.

See any good introduction to the Holy Scriptures, as, for instance, the articles on the Scripture Canon in the Oxford Teachers’ Bible, or any good Bible dictionary or encyclopedia. In brief, the “Old Testament” was compiled by Ezra, Nehemiah, and by later servants of God; that is, the generally recognized writings were by them brought together. See Josephus against Apion, 1:8. How and where the first New Testament Canon originated is uncertain. But, according to Origen, it was in existence as early as A.D. 250. A century later, Eusebius, acting under Constantine, made up a similar collection.

No. 272. Catholic Church—Its Foundation.

ACCORDING to the Catholic Church, that church is founded on Matt. 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Was this Roman Church founded by St. Peter?

(1) It is exceedingly doubtful if Peter ever saw Rome. There is nothing but tradition to support such a claim; the Bible is silent. (2) The only foundation for the true church is Jesus Christ. See 1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20; Luke 6:47-49. Peter himself declares that he and other Christians are living stones, built upon the foundation Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-8. This was the import of Peter’s confession in Matt. 16:16: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus tells him that this knowledge did not come of himself, but of God, and then follows the text above. In that text Peter is petros, a stone, but the rock petra is Christ. The building of a church comes through confession of that Rock. The important question therefore is not, What church did Peter found? but, Is the church in question founded in Christ? (3) Even tho the Roman Church were founded by Peter (a highly improbable supposition), that would by no means insure its permanent righteousness. Abraham had a son, Ishmael, whose hand was against every man. Those who crucified Christ were descendants of Abraham. The church of Christ holds living connection with him by personal faith on the part of her members.

No. 273. Baptism—Its Mode.

HOW SHOULD baptism be ministered properly, and where recorded in the Bible?

By immersion, into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. See Matt. 28:19. The very meaning of the word “baptize” is immerse. Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection. See Rom. 6:3-5; Acts 8:38, 39. Nothing but immersion can meet the demand.

No. 274. Hygiene and House Plants.

IS IT healthy to sleep in a room half full of house plants, or not? MRS. S. N.

It is not generally considered unhealthful. House plants are said to absorb during the night carbonic acid gas, which the human system throws off. If this is so, their presence would be wholesome. However, house plants or not, there should be good and proper ventilation, so as to furnish a sufficient amount of fresh air to all the occupants of the room.

No. 275. Spirits of the Wicked.

DO THE spirits of the wicked go to God at death? We read in God’s word that the spirit returns unto God who gave it.

It will help our querist, and others also, to remember that the word “spirit” is used with a wide latitude of meaning. It may mean a spiritual being, as God, Christ, or an angel. See John 4:24; 1 Cor. 15:45; Heb. 1:14. It is often applied to the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost. It refers to demons, or evil spirits. But it never refers to an entity in man, something that has a conscious existence apart from the body. When used of man it simply means life, and all life comes from God. When man dies, his life goes into the keeping of the great Author of life, and will be given to man at the resurrection. This is true of both righteous and wicked. The spirit came from God as life; it goes back to God life, not an intelligent, thinking being.

No. 276. Was Christ a Priest?

DID John the Baptist belong to the Levitical priesthood? Was he a priest? If he was, was not Jesus baptized into the Levitical priesthood? G. L. P.

Yes, John was in the line of the priesthood. No, Christ was not baptized into the Levitical priesthood, any more than were hundreds of others baptized by John. One did not become a priest of Levi or Aaron by baptism, but by birth; he must be of the tribe of Levi. Christ could not be a priest after the tribe of Levi, because he sprang from Judah. See Heb. 8:4; 7:13, 14. Therefore a change in the law regulating the priesthood became necessary when Christ became a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 7:12.