Question Corner by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 22, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 16.

Question Corner

By Editor

"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 Correspondents wishing a reply to their questions must give their full name and address, not for publication unless they wish, but as an evidence of good faith on their part, and to give us opportunity to reply by letter if deemed best.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. 531. "Hate" and "Love."

WE say to people, "The Bible means just what it says," and they contrast us with the passage, "If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can not be My disciple." We say, "O, well, Christ meant that we must love them less than we do him." They reply, "Then perhaps these other things do not mean just what they say either." Was not that minister right who said that there were errors in our translation?

MRS. E. B.

The Bible means what it says, but the Spirit of God, not sin-loving man, must be the interpreter of those words. The Greek word translated "hate" is miseo (from misos, hatred), and is defined to mean, "to hate, regard with ill-will, to detest, abhor, to regard with less affection, love less, esteem less." What is said in Luke 14:26 is just what is said in Matt. 10:37. To love God with all the heart means not to love at all those things that would destroy our love for God. This is termed hate. But he who loves God with all his heart, will love father, mother, and all others, as no one outside of Christ can love them; but his love is for their eternal good, that they may be saved. To love them supremely is not to love God. Such love is worldly, carnal. It will end with this life. To love God supremely means oftentimes to forsake the dearest ties of earth; and this the world would call hatred. How many times is a child told that he does not love but hates his father and mother because he will do God's will contrary to their belief! And yet to follow Christ means to do this. He loves God so much that his regard for his friends the world calls hatred; and yet after all he loves them, if he loves Christ, with a love no worldly heart feels. Yes, there are errors in our translation, but not sufficient to lead a single soul astray who wants to find the way.

No. 532. Micah 4:5.

DOES Micah 4:5 refer to the new earth?

No; it is part of a false prophecy that the people of "many nations" will raise in the last days; it begins at verse 2. See also Isa. 2:3-5. But the Lord says that those who raise this cry of peace and safety are forsaken of the Lord, and are soothsayers like Philistines. Isa. 2:6. The Lord's message for the last days respecting the state and purpose of the nations is found in Joel 3:9-16.

No. 533. Eating Rabbits.

I WOULD like to know if it is any sin to eat rabbits, or is it just as much of a sin as to eat pork?

Both rabbits and hares, animals similar, are condemned in the law of clean and unclean meats. See Lev. 11:4-8. Whether it is a sin or not depends on the eater and the motive. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." See answer to No. 529. What reason have we to believe that they are better now than then?

No. 534. 1 Cor. 14:34.

WHERE is the authority for saying that 1 Cor. 14:34 applies to business meetings?

We do not know that there is any. The text primarily had reference to the condition of things existing in the Corinthian church then. There were those who were doubtless disorderly. Woman should not put herself forward with boldness and arrogance, assuming authority which the Lord has not given her. Her strength is in her modesty and power to win, not in her assuming to rule or instruct. And yet it was proper for a woman to pray or prophesy in public; for the apostle gives instruction concerning such. See 1 Cor. 11:5, 13; Acts 21:9. These instructions both have their place. If the Lord bids woman to witness for him, let her do it. But let her not assume to do what God has not given her power or ability to do. These are good principles for men to consider also.

No. 535. Matt. 17:1-3. Enoch and Elijah.

THE Bible says Enoch and Elijah were carried up to heaven without dying. Do you suppose that will be all the good people that will get to heaven before the second coming of Christ? Please explain the first three verses of the seventeenth chapter of Matthew.

Yes, both Enoch and Elijah were translated; of these the Bible gives us a record. There may have been others thus taken, we do not know. When Christ died the graves of many were opened, and when he rose from the dead, many came out of their graves and appeared unto people. Matt. 27:52, 53. When Jesus ascended, this multitude of those who were once Satan's captives ascended with him. Eph. 4:8, margin. Matt. 17:1-3 reveals to us that there was yet another who had been raised, namely, Moses. The transfiguration on the mount was to reveal to the disciples what the kingdom of Christ would be at his coming. See Matt. 16:28. There will be in that kingdom Jesus Christ glorified. There will be the righteous raised from the dead, represented by Moses, who died and the Lord buried him. When Christ, or Michael, the Archangel, came to raise him from the dead, Satan resisted him. But "the Lord rebuke thee" triumphed, and Moses came forth from the dead, and appeared a living, glorified man on the mount. Those who never taste death will greet Christ when he comes. Elijah represented these. Read 2 Peter 1:16-18, where the purpose of the transfiguration is stated, namely, to set before the disciples the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

No. 536. Recourse to Law.

IF a worldly man owes a Christian a debt, and refuses to pay it, is it right to sue him and make him pay it?

If the Christian is dependent upon that debt to meet other obligations, we should judge that for the sake of his creditors a proper recourse to law would be right.

No. 537. Beast and False Prophet.

WHAT or who are the beast and false prophet spoken of in Rev. 19:20?

"The beast" refers to the beast of Rev. 13:1-10, a symbol of union of Church and State, which has manifested its fullest development in the Papacy. This power will be a persecutor when the Lord comes. The false prophet which wrought miracles before the beast is the two-horned beast of Rev. 13:11-17, a union of Church and State in this country.

No. 538. Isa. 45:7. Create Evil.

PLEASE explain Isa. 45:7, "I make peace, and create evil."

God gives peace through mercy, justification, and righteousness, all of which are revealed in Christ Jesus. See Rom. 5:1; Isa. 32:17; Eph. 2:14. "Evil" is used, not in the sense of sin, but in the sense of judgment because of sin. The law of God is life to the transgressor, but death to the sinner. See Rom. 7:10; Hos. 14:9.

No. 539. Lucifer and Babylon.

EZE. 28:11-18; Isa. 14:12-14. Explain reference to Tyrus in Garden of Eden and Lucifer in heaven, still being Babylon.

The question is not plain. It has been said in these columns that the first "king of Babylon" was and is Lucifer. Isa. 14:4, 12. His spirit of selfishness in heaven as Lucifer is the spirit of Babylon, strife and confusion, the same spirit which has controlled Babylon ever since. The earthly king, or prince, of Babylon worked the will of Satan, or Lucifer, the king. Isa. 14:4-20 is a prophecy of what will come upon Satan and all his children in the end, typified by the destruction of ancient Babylon. Tyre was a city noted for its pride and wickedness. The prince of Tyre, its earthly king, had lifted up himself as God. Eze. 28:2. In thus arrogating to himself such authority and wisdom he was actuated by Satan, the king of Tyre, described in beginning and end in verses 11-19. The garden of God is in the city of God, in heaven, where Lucifer dwelt before his sin.