Questions and Answers
Christ knew very clearly what He was saying, and He was by no means uneducated or incorrect about His statements regarding the proverbial mustard seed. He stated in Matthew 13:31-32: “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” The spiritual application of this parable is very clear. Christ compared the Kingdom of God with a very small seed, as it begins in a very small way. It is like a little bit of leaven, which will ultimately leaven the whole world (Matthew 13:33). Today, the gospel of the Kingdom of God is not accepted by very many, and very few–the firstfruits–respond to its message and become converted. Once they receive the Holy Spirit, they are begotten children of God and of His Kingdom–which is the Family of God that will rule on this earth, when Christ returns. Ultimately, the knowledge of God will cover the earth, as the… This is absolutely incorrect. Under the law, you are entitled to be excused from serving on a jury, if you have sincere religious convictions, based on the Bible, which prevent you from serving on a jury. You might be excused by a clerk, once you make your request in writing, or you may be required to appear before a judge to explain to him or her your sincere religious convictions. Our Q&A in Update # 66 (Update ending Friday, November 8, 2002), explains in detail the grounds for Biblical refusal to serve on a jury. It is true that some clerks have taken the incorrect position that the law prohibits them to excuse you from serving because of religious reasons. However, once their misapplication of the law was explained to them, sincere Christians opposed to serving on the jury were ultimately excused. To help you better understand the legal application of the issue, we are setting forth below excerpts from a letter with which we provide the courts in relevant cases. This document sets forth the legal rights of sincere Christians who refuse to serve on a jury because of their sincere religious convictions, which are based on Biblical grounds… It is important to understand exactly WHO did resurrect Jesus Christ, and that the Scripture reveals the truth in this matter. First of all, in the referenced verse in John 2:19, Jesus, as He oftentimes did, taught by means of an allegory and in this example He spoke of His own body as symbolic of the Temple (verse 21). This especially poignant parable was given by Jesus as the Jews were assembling to observe the Passover (Compare verse 13). A few years later, when the Jews did arrest Jesus, false accusations were made by some who thought that Jesus had spoken of the literal Temple in Jerusalem (Compare Matthew 26:60-61 and Mark 14:57-59). Additionally, Jesus was mocked by some even as He was crucified–challenging Him about His statement concerning the “Temple”(Matthew 27:40 and Mark 15:29). Further proof that Jesus was referring to His own body is borne out in the later teachings of the Church of God. We see that Paul instructed Christians in Corinth about the fact that God dwells in us through His Spirit: “Or do you not know that your body is the TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit [which] is in you, [which] you have from God,… We have published several pieces of literature on this misunderstood topic, including a booklet, titled, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” and an Editorial, in Update #89, on the celebration of Easter. In this Q&A, we would like to include several additional reasons, which clearly prove that it is absolutely WRONG for a true Christian to celebrate these holidays. These additional reasons are adopted from Professor Philippe Walter’s book, “Christianity–the Origins of a Pagan Religion,” copyright 2003, 2006. Walter is professor of medieval French literature, and has published numerous books on the Middle Ages. In his above-cited book, Walter makes several startling statements about the real origins of Easter and Christmas, as well as their customs. It has been well-known that Halloween was originally referred to as “Samhain” (compare our Q&A on Halloween). It is celebrated today by the Roman Catholic Church on November 1 as “All Saints’ Day.” That is the time, according to pagan belief, “when the beings of the Otherworld have temporary permission to visit the living and is also the moment when the living gain furtive access to the Otherworld” (Walter, page 35). Walter explains that pagans believed in the Otherworld “as a place of… While “forever” may indeed convey an absolute sense of being perpetual or interminable, “forever” is also used metaphorically and in a conditional sense. The Hebrew word that is translated many times as “forever, is “owlam.” It can be found in Daniel 12:2. In this case, the English word “everlasting” is used to translate the Hebrew word “owlam”: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to everlasting contempt.” This prophesied occurrence speaks of a future time when the fate of many humans will be decided on a perpetual and eternal basis. Jesus also taught about life that would be endless. In John 6:51, He states: “‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.'” The Greek word “aion” translated as “forever” in this passage is used by John in a similar context as he contrasted that which is temporary to that which is permanent: “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does… Surprising as it may sound to some, the Bible nowhere identifies a particular person as “the Antichrist.” Even though religious preachers and programs may be talking about the “coming Antichrist,” they really misapply certain Scriptures to promulgate such a false concept. It is correct that the Bible says that two individuals, called the “beast” and the “false prophet,” will appear on the world scene, and that Satan will use them, as his instruments, to bring havoc to this world. Scriptures also refer to the “false prophet” as the “man of sin,” and they speak of the “beast” as the “king of the north” or “King Jareb of Assyria.” But the Bible nowhere says that either one of those two persons–either the “beast” or the “false prophet”– is “THE Antichrist.” To give just one example, the following explanation of the “antichrist” in the “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W.E.Vine, must be rejected, as totally lacking all Scriptural support and being actually in contradiction with Scripture: “What the apostle [John] says of him [antichrist] so closely resembles what he says of the first beast in Rev. 13, and what the apostle Paul says of the Man of Sin in… Over the years, there has been much speculation about the identify of the “two witnesses.” Some fanciful and some down-right ridiculous concepts have been advanced, and there have been people at all times–it seems–claiming that they are one of the “two witnesses”, or that they know who they are. The truth is that it has not been revealed yet who the two witnesses will be–and we strongly hold that those who may believe that THEY ARE the two witnesses are misled and are misleading others. Some claim today, thereby inadvertently adopting the opinion of some confused Catholic “church fathers,” that the two witnesses are or will be ancient Moses and ancient Elijah or ancient Enoch, who will either be resurrected from the dead, or who have been kept alive for thousands of years in a state of “limbo”–not really being alive, and not really being dead, either. Apparently, this latter concept is alluded to in the uninspired Book of Enoch–a Jewish legend and fairy tale which has correctly been rejected as part of the inspired Word of God. Others feel that the two witnesses are two angels. However, there is absolutely NO indication in the Bible that any of these foregoing… There is no inconsistency, but we must understand the context of the passages involved. Titus 1:2 tells us: “… in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” God CANNOT lie. In other words, it is IMPOSSIBLE for Him to do so. Malachi 3:6 adds: “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” God’s character does not–CANNOT–change, because God has WILLED not to change in that respect. Since He has a perfect Will and a perfect character, He CANNOT do something against His own nature. It is impossible for God to sin because He has WILLED never to sin. And His Will is perfect. To put it still differently, God CAN DECIDE to make something impossible with Him. Note another example when something has BECOME unalterable–so that even God cannot change it. Due to a perfect unconditional promise, He binds Himself never to deviate from it. Since breaking an unconditional promise is tantamount to lying, it is impossible for God to break His unconditional Word. We read in Genesis 9:11 about one of God’s unconditional promises in this way: “Thus I establish My covenant with you:…… As we point out in our booklet, “Should You Fight in War?,” it is wrong for a Christian to take the life of another human being in war or otherwise, including in “self-defense.” But does this mean that a Christian must do NOTHING when he or a loved one is being attacked? The Bible does not say that at all. In fact, we have a tremendous responsibility for action in those kinds of circumstances–but we must know what exactly is required of us. Most will disagree with the following comments, because human nature is unwilling and incapable of obeying God and His Law. True Christians have no alternative but to do exactly what God commands–however unpopular and difficult and even wrong in the eyes of man this approach might be. For an answer to this important question, we are quoting at length from our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?“: “The question boils down to this:… Do we believe in God and rely on Him for our protection, having the faith that it is GOD who is our protecting shield…? Do we think that God is incapable of helping us in certain circumstances?… “The most important of all the… This passage of Scripture has indeed puzzled many people. Proverbs 26:4 reads: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.” Verse 5 adds: “Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.” When trying to understand these two verses, we need to realize that the Bible does not contradict itself. God’s entire Word is truth, as Christ said in John 17:17: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” This is a strong statement of Jesus’ confidence in the truth of the entirety of Scripture. Christ also said in John 10:35: “the Scripture cannot be broken…” There are no contradictions in God’s Word–no passage of Scripture “breaks” or contradicts another passage. Jesus’ response made the truth of His argument rest on the absolute trustworthiness of all Scripture. Rather than being contradictory, the two statements in Proverbs 26:4, 5, complement each other. The last part of each statement shows the sets of circumstances or scenarios under which each of the two statements is to be applied. In every case, before deciding whether or not to answer, we need to consider the questioner’s motives–where the questioner…Would you please explain Matthew 13:31-32? Was Christ incorrect when He referred to the mustard seed as the "smallest" seed? Aren't there smaller seeds than the mustard seed? And isn't it also incorrect that the full-grown plant is not the greatest among herbs? Wouldn't this mean that Jesus did not know the size of seeds and plants which He had created (compare John 1:1-3)?
Is it correct that we in the United States cannot be excused from jury duty for religious reasons? Therefore, we must serve on the jury, even though we are conscientiously opposed to doing so and might otherwise face contempt and jail?
In John 2:19, Jesus is quoted as saying "'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'" Did Jesus resurrect Himself?
Why do you teach that true Christians should not observe Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas?
When the Bible uses the term "forever," does this always mean the same as "everlasting" or "eternally"?
Who is the Antichrist prophesied to come?
Who are the "two witnesses"?
We are told in the Bible that nothing is impossible with God. But we are also told in Scripture that there are things which are impossible for God. Is there an inconsistency?
If someone tries to confront us physically, what is an appropriate response for a Christian? Would it be okay to try to subdue him, or should we not give any resistance at all? What if someone physically assaulted a loved one?
Would you please explain Proverbs 26:4, 5. Don't these two verses contradict each other?
