Your ShelfYour Projects

170. VARIOUS QUESTIONS

9%

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 17, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 58.

Read the full edition

170. VARIOUS QUESTIONS.

By Editor

  1. Are the 144,000 of Rev. 14:4 gathered from among those who have died in the Third Angel's Message, or among the living only?
  2. Will we have a special warning as to when the first plague will be poured out?
  3. Why do we not celebrate the Passover? Ex. 12:14.
J. W. R.
1. The 144,000 will be alive upon the earth when Christ comes, and will therefore be translated from among the living. It is expressly stated in the 3d verse, "they are redeemed from the earth," and in the 4th verse, "redeemed from among men." It seems to be in contrast with "redeemed from death," as spoken of in Hos. 13:14. The above number may include some who have died in the message, but who are raised from the dead just previous to the second coming of Christ. But the language of Rev. 14: 1-4 would to us imply that they were living when Christ appeared.
2. The only special warning which we know anything about concerning the first plague, or any of the plagues, is the great threefold message of Rev. 14:6-11, in connection with Rev. 18:1-4. See also Zeph. 2:1-3. That is God's warning to prepare for the day of the Lord. But the plagues begin with the day of the Lord. What further development of light the Lord may give us we do not know. The wicked will certainly be in darkness when that day comes. The unrighteous will be overtaken as a thief, for the day will come as a "thief in the night." 2 Peter 3:10.
3. We do not celebrate the Passover in the sense that the children of Israel did, for two reasons: First, it is not a memorial to us of deliverance from Egypt, and, secondly, as a type it has met the anti-type, and has expired by limitation; yet in the very fullest sense we do celebrate the Passover in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Passover was the type of Christ, but now Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. 1 Cor. 5:7. To go back to the sacrificial system would be to deny that Christ has come and died in our behalf. It was a matter of faith to every intelligent and devoted Jew. It could not be a matter of faith to us. The Lord's Supper, however, is not a memorial of the passing over of the angel, but of Christ's death, not to be celebrated at any definite time, but "as often" as the child of God desires to thus bring his Lord to remembrance.

171. THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Is the Lord's prayer sufficient? We take Jesus for example, and he taught us that. Sometimes I think this is the only way we ought to pray. D. E. M'K.
Our Lord did not mean when he taught the disciples the Lord's prayer that they should invariably and always say that same form of words and no other. He did not say, "Pray these words," but he said, "After this manner pray ye." The Lord's prayer is given to us as a short example of what prayer should comprehend,—praise and glory to God, submission to his will, a request for those things that we need, a heart of love and mercy toward others, and the ascription to him of power and glory. It is a wonderfully comprehensive petition, covering all subjects in principle. He has told us elsewhere to pray for all men, for kings, for those who are in authority, to pray for the servants of God, to pray for our enemies, to ask in his name, etc., etc. He would have us by prayer and supplication cast all our cares upon him, and make our requests known unto him. But of course the long, detailed prayers should be in secret communion between ourselves and our heavenly Father. God would not have us learn any set form of words through which our petitions should be breathed at all times. Genuine prayer always has in it reverence for God and faith in him, with a deep sense of need on our part. Such prayers prevail.

172. SELLING.

What is your opinion in regard to selling property? A brother in the church has about 1,000 acres of land under cultivation, and four residences, all occupied by renters who are otherwise homeless. Would it be better for him to sell at a sacrifice and put part of the money into the cause, or to keep the place and give homes and occupations to families of Seventh-day Adventists who are paying tithes? R. C.
The above is a sample of many questions which come to us here, and which it is impossible to answer. To express an unqualified opinion we would wish to know all about the circumstances, and that is an almost impossibility. We could say, in general terms, if the sacrifice was too great, the better way would be to keep the land. If it was duty to sell, certainly the Lord would have some other place for the renters, or still permit them to keep the farm under the new purchaser. These are questions which the individual must settle for himself. They lie between him and God. The Lord never designed that man's opinion should be the criterion by which individual duty should be carried out. We may lay down general principles. Such is the instruction which the Lord has given us in his word. Sometimes the Lord himself speaks to individuals through his prophets, as he has many times in the past; but in all such cases as are here presented the Lord wants us to seek him, and if we seek him earnestly and with a desire to do his will, whatever it may be, he certainly will guide us aright.