Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

Though many people have a high regard for the Bible, the greater majority still believes that the Bible is a book so filled with mystery that it cannot be understood. Even in reading simple verses, some have a tendency to look for hidden meanings. Because of the belief that the Bible is a mysterious book which cannot be understood, some people have just given up any hope of comprehending the Bible and do not even attempt to read it.

In addition to this, some men attribute our religious divisions to the inability of men to understand the Bible or to understand it alike. Consequently, there has grown up a disposition in religion which states that if a person thinks something is right for him to do, it is right for him. Each person is entitled to his own belief and no one should try to persuade any other person that what he believes is wrong.

My friends, these sentiments are not so. The Bible is not a mysterious book which cannot be understood; a thing is not right just because a man believes that it is right; God is not obligated to accept a man’s religion just because he is sincere and honest; our religious divisions do not come as a result of man’s inability to understand the Bible. We need to back up and consider some of the very basic facts revealed to us by God in His holy Word.

God Made Man As He Is

Maybe this seems ridiculous to state at this point in this discussion of this subject but it is necessary. We must begin with this fact: God created man. The early chapters of Genesis state, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them . . . . Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7).

In this discussion, we must begin with the proposition that man is a product of divine creation. He is not the product of billions of years of chance evolution; he is the product of divine creation. Hence, God made man as he is. The way we think, eat, sleep, drink, etc. were all designed by God.

God Made The Bible As It Is

The second point which we need to carefully remember is that God made the Bible as it is. The writers of the Bible were working under divine inspiration when they penned their words. Speaking of how Scripture originated, Peter said, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:20-21). The Bible came into being because God wanted it written and not because some men decided that religion should have a holy book.

“The Old Testament alone affirms 3,808 times that it is transmitting the very words of God” (Rene Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture, p. 37). On countless occasions, the prophet would begin by saying, “The word of the Lord came to me saying… ” If the Bible is not the product of divine inspiration, it is literally filled with lies. There can be no middle ground; the Bible is either the word of God Almighty or it is a book of lies.

Hence, we are forced to the conclusion that God made the Bible as it is. The Bible is not the chance development of years of religious evolution; it is not a cunningly devised fable. It is the work of God; He made the Bible just as it is.

The Bible and Man

The Bible which was made by God was prepared for man who was created by God. It is designed to be man’s compass to find his way through life (Jer. 10:23; Psa. 119:105); it contains all that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3-4); it is man’s complete and final guide in all religious matters (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Inasmuch as God is the author of the Bible and the creator of man, if the two do not fit each other the fault lies with God. Either one of two things is true if man cannot understand the Bible. Either, God was not able to make the Bible understandable to man, in which case He is not omnipotent or He chose not to make the Bible understandable to man, in which case He is not good. Because God has conditioned salvation upon a knowledge of the truth (Jn. 8:32), He is not a good God if man cannot understand the truth. Because I am unwilling to admit either of these propositions about God, I am forced to conclude that man can understand God’s divine revelation.

This is perfectly consistent with the claims of the Bible. Paul said, “. . . understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17). Earlier, he told the Ephesians that they could understand God’s revelation by reading what he had written (Eph. 3:1-5). Hence, one can understand God’s revelation if he will read and study it. I would like to demonstrate that man can understand the Bible by considering some of the facts, promises and commandments of the Bible which are easily understood. Consider the following:

1. Facts to be believed. The author of the book of Hebrews wrote, “And without faith it is impossible to please’ Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (11:6). Faith is the belief of certain facts. First, one must believe that God is. That is not hard to understand or incomprehensible. Anybody can believe that fact. Other simple facts which everyone must believe include the following: (a) God created all of this world (Gen. 1); (b) Jesus is the Son of God (Mt. 16:16); (c) Jesus died for our sins (Mt. 26:28); (d) He was raised from the dead on the third day following His death and burial. No one has any trouble comprehending these propositions; he may not believe them but he has no trouble understanding them. Hence, man can understand the facts which he must believe in order to be saved.

2. Promises to be enjoyed. The promises of the gospel induce men to believe and obey it: The promises of the gospel are easily understood. Jesus said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mk. 16:16). The promise is easily understood; Jesus promised to save every man who believes and is baptized. The salvation which he promised is from our sins (Mt. 1:21). Furthermore, He has promised everlasting life (Jn. 3:16) in which we will dwell with the Father to the obedient believer (Rev. 21:3). These promises are not hard to understand. Admittedly, many do not believe them but that has nothing to do with their ability to understand them.

3. Commands to obey. The gospel also contains some commandments which must be obeyed. For example, Peter told those believing Jews on the day of Pentecost that there were some commandments which they had to obey in order to be saved; he said, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Who can misunderstand these commandments? Repentance and baptism are commandments from God which must be obeyed before the individual can receive the forgiveness of his sins.

Here is another sampling of Christ’s commandments: “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:25-29).

From these examples, we can easily see that the Bible is easily understood by any man who wants to obey the Father in Heaven. The problems which confront men religiously have nothing whatsoever to do with his inability to understand what God demands of him. Rather, the problems of men religiously stem from lack of faith rather than a lack of understanding. Men simply lack sufficient faith to do what God says.

Truth Magazine XXI: 30, pp. 466-467
August 4, 1977

By Lewis Willis

For some reason I suspect “prolepsis” is a new term to many. Some might wonder if they had “prolepsis” for breakfast. Hardly! I was introduced to “prolepsis” as a means of revelation in Sermon Outlines On Acts, by C. C. Crawford, published in 1919. Webster defines “prolepsis” as “anticipation.” A failure to recognize this approach to revelation is the , explanation for the existence of a modern denomination we know as the Seventh Day Adventists. In this article I am seeking to show the presence of prolepsis in revelation, so that specific application of its force might be realized.

Some Examples

When Eve was created, “Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20). However, at that moment in time only Adam and Eve comprised the race. It would be some time before she mothered the first person in perpetuation of man upon the earth. So, in anticipation (prolepsis) of that fact, Moses reveals her relation to future descendants. There was a time differential involved.

Matthew 10:2-4 is another case of prolepsis. “And Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him . . . .” Matthew wrote his record of the Gospel over thirty years after the calling of the twelve apostles. In this passage, he connects the sending out of Judas and the betrayal of Christ by Judas in one passage, as if the two events happened at the same time. In reality, they happened three years apart. In anticipation (prolepsis) of his betrayal of Christ, Matthew tells us of the ultimate end of Judas’ acts (Crawford, p. 208).

Application

Now, here is the point I wish to make. In Gen. 2:2-3, Moses reveals that God ended His work of creation and rested on the seventh day. “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it . . .” The conclusion of the modern Sabbatarian is that the resting and the sanctifying occurred at the same time. This simply is not so! From the time of God’s rest day, to the sanctification of the Sabbath, centuries passed. If this were all we knew about the consecration of the Sabbath, people in 1976 would be bound by the Scriptures to faithfully observe that day, instead of the first day of the week. However, Moses, who gave us the Genesis 2 revelation (many years after the event, incidentally), also reveals to us when the Sabbath was sanctified and for whom.

Nehemiah, the prophet, said that God came down to Mt. Sinai and inadest known unto them thy holy Sabbath” (Neh. 9:13-14). It was on this occasion that the Ten Commandments were given, one of which is “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” When He said remember the Sabbath, it is apparent that they had some knowledge of the day. Where did that knowledge come from? Why would the Jews in Exodus 20 have occasion to remember this day? Is that remembrance traceable to Genesis 2?

The first introduction the Jews had to the Sabbath was only a few weeks earlier (Exod. 16). When they murmured for food, God sent manna from Heaven to provide their need. At that time, He also gave exact instructions concerning gathering of the manna in anticipation of “the holy sabbath” (Exod. 16:23). In this context, we see at a glance that they knew nothing about the Sabbath, for with the explanation Moses gave them, some still did not understand how God intended it as a Jewish day of rest. When finally reaching Mt. Sinai, God gave them the law of the Sabbath, written on tables of stone. This positive, written law was their guide throughout their generations. It was needed because they knew nothing about the day till then!

In Deuteronomy, the restatement of the Law, Moses pointed out that this law was not given to their fathers, but to those to whom he was then speaking (Deut. 5:13). The purpose of the Sabbath was that they might remember their Egyptian bondage and their deliverance therefrom “through the mighty hand and stretched out arm” of God. Hence, as it was to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from bondage, it has no meaning whatsoever to those of us who are Gentiles (Dent. 5:15). Thus, Moses assures them that the Sabbath was a sign between the Lord and one nation-the Jews (Exod. 31:12-17).

In Hosea 2:11, God said that He would cause Israel’s Sabbath to cease. There would come a time when men would not be bound by the Sabbath Law. But when was this done? Quite simply, the Sabbath and all the rest of the Jewish law came to its conclusion when Jesus Christ died and nailed the law to the cross (Col. 2:13-17).

Conclusion

Therefore, when Moses revealed that the creation ended, and that God rested on the seventh day, and sanctified it, he referred to the time lapse between creation and the events of Mt. Sinai. He anticipated the conclusion of the matter. This is an example of prolepsis. It is precisely the same as when God announced, in driving man from the Garden of Eden, that the seed of woman would bruise the serpent’s head. It was four thousand years later before Christ overthrew the power of Satan in His resurrection from the dead (Gen. 3:15; Matt. 28:lff). “Prolepsis” has been used by the Divine Writers throughout the giving of the Biblical record.

Truth Magazine XXI; 29, p. 461
July 28, 1977

By Irvin Himmel

It was the love of money that caused Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. Seeing that the Jewish leaders had blood in their eyes, Judas went to the chief priests and asked, “What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?” The agreement was that he would be given thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-16).

After Judas had served as guide to them that took Jesus (Acts 1:16), and following the realization that Jesus was condemned to die, the glitter of the money vanished. Knowing that-he had betrayed innocent blood. He returned the money to the chief priests and elders in the bitterness of remorse and regret. They were totally without sympathy. The wicked Judas, an apostate apostle, hanged himself (Matt. 27: 1-5).

It was the love of money that prompted Gehazi to run after Naaman with an evil scheme. After being healed of leprosy, Naaman wanted to give a present to the prophet Elisha. The prophet would accept nothing and urged Naaman to “Go in peace.” Gehazi was the servant of Elisha. Seeing an opportunity to get gain through deceit, Gehazi followed when Naaman started home. Naaman saw him running behind his chariot, so he stopped. Gehazi said the situation had suddenly changed just as Naaman was leaving his master’s house. Two young men of the sons of the prophets had come in from Mt. Ephraim. They needed a talent of silver and two changes of garments. Gehazi declared that Elisha had sent him to overtake Naaman and let him know that a present for these young men would be accepted. Excitedly, Naaman gave Gehazi

twice the amount of silver requested and the two changes of garments. Gehazi hid the silver and the garments.

Upon his return, Gehazi was questioned by his wise master about where he had been. Gehazi denied that he had gone anywhere. Elisha informed his lying servant that he was aware of his crooked scheme. This was no time to be taking money or other gifts from Naaman. “The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever.” Gehazi went out from his master’s presence a leper (2 Kings 5:15-27).

It is the love of money that motivates some preachers to teach falsely. Paul remarked in writing to Titus, “For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake” (Tit. 1:10-11).

Some will teach most anything if the price is right. And the threat of being fired if he dares to speak on certain subjects has silenced the preacher who loved money more than truth.

It is the love of money that makes some people miss many of the services of the church. They take the job that offers the highest pay even if they know in advance that they will be required to work when they ought to be in the assemblies of the saints. In some cases people miss services by working on Sunday when it is not a necessity at all. They work as a matter of choice. They choose work over worship because they prefer financial gain over spiritual communion and praise.

Some day we are going to learn that we can be rich and increased with temporal goods, yet in God’s sight appear “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). The problem is, it may be too late when we finally learn that lesson!

It is the love of money that causes a lot of parental neglect. Mothers and fathers have no time to spend with their children. Both parents are working to bring home more dollars. It is assumed that if there is enough money, all the family problems will be solved. In the meantime, where is love? Where is the mother when daughter has a problem to discuss? Where is father when son needs special guidance and fatherly advice?

Many young people have become runaways. Others have become lawless. In a lot of cases, the lack of money did not influence them to do wrong. To the contrary, it may nave been too much in material things and not enough in true values that drove them.

It is the love of money that is behind much of what now works to destroy America. The pushers make dope addicts out of children because they want money. The liquor industry makes alcoholics by the thousands to build fatter profits. Pornography, prostitution, gambling, and organized crime have become big business in America because of the money involved. Corruption in government usually connects with payoffs.

The Bible is right when it declares that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). No nation is demonstrating this Biblical truth more vividly than twentieth-century America.

Truth Magazine XXI: 29, p. 460
July 28, 1977

By Wm. B. Murrell

There has been much misunderstanding between brethren in England and brethren from the United States over the Christian and camel warfare. The purpose of this article is not to argue the right or wrong of any issue but simply to shed some light on the different attitudes in the two nations. Most brethren in England do not understand the options in America.

The citizen of the United States has now and has always had three choices. He can enter the armed services and bear arms, or he can declare himself a conscientious objector and be exempt from military service, or he can enter the armed services in a noncombatant role. The Englishman does not have this third choice; there is no middle ground. During World War I many a Christian man went to prison rather than fight in the war. Most of those who went to service either did not come back or were not faithful to the church when they returned. In World War II they were allowed to work “on the farm” or other similar work. I am told that just recently there is non-combat service offered in the British services but that it is in name only; that the noncom’s are trained in weaponry. Consequently most British Christians do not understand why so many members of the church from the States are in the armed services.

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1973 edition, page 777, says “The history of conscientious objection in the United States dates back to colonial times, when men had to serve in their colony’s militia …. In 1661, Massachusetts became the first colony to exempt conscientious objectors from service in its militia. Congress passed the first federal draft law during the Civil War. This law recognized conscientious objectors …. The 1940 draft law required religious training and belief’ . . . The 1948 draft law defined religious belief as belief in a ‘Supreme Being’ . . . . But Congress removed the term ‘Supreme Being’ in the 1967 law because the Supreme Court of the United States interpreted the term to include vaguely religious philosophies …. In 1970, the Supreme Court ruled that men may qualify for conscientious objector exemptions if they oppose war on strong ethical or moral grounds, even if such opposition is not based on religious belief.”

I suppose that among members of the church in the States there are not more than five per cent who believe that a Christian should bear arms in conflict; probably about ten or fifteen per cent who are opposed to any form of military service; and over eighty percent who believe in a Christian engaging in non-combat service. In England these last two percentages would be added together and ninety-five percent would be opposed to any form of military service. Why? Because the middle ground is not offered to them! For this reason, they do not understand the American viewpoint.

Among people who are not members of the church in the States there are few conscientious objectors, although their number has been rapidly growing in the past decade. This is not the case in England where many a man on the street is a conscientious objector and proud of it. In another quote from World Book, “Pacifist groups were most active between World War I and World War II, especially in Great Britain.” There is then a cultural difference that contributes to the lack of understanding of the English Christian toward the American Christian who is in the armed services.

The late Bennie Lee Fudge on the last page of his book ‘Can A Christian Kill For His Government?’ said, “God in his goodness has blessed us in America with the most considerate government known to man in its respect for the conscience of its citizens. It would make no difference in our duty to God, no matter what laws the civil power passed, but our Congress has provided for non-combatant service for the conscientious objector.” Oh how much you and I need to see and appreciate the many blessings we have. Most of us are too close to “home” to really appreciate them.

Truth Magazine XXI: 29, pp.459-460
July 28, 1977