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whole Bible, believe it or not!
And it will take place, not
through a reincarnation, but
through a resurrection! The Bible
says the dead "sleep in the dust of
the earth" until they are resur–
rected (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-
29). The resurrection is our only
hope of eternal life. The apostle
Paul pointed this out. "But if
there is no resurrection of the
dead, then Christ has not been
raised.... If Christ has not been
raised, your faith is futile and you
are still in your sins. Then those
also who have fallen asleep in
Christ have perished" (I Corin–
thians 15: 13 , 17-18, Revised
Standard Version).
Paul continues: " But in fact
Christ has been raised from the
dead ... so also in Christ [not by
reincarnation!] shall
all
be made
alive" (verses 20, 22). How? By a
resurrection (verses 51-55)!
Justlce for All
Who
are you? You are a unique
individual-a mortal being hav–
ing the potential of becoming an
immortal individual member of
the God Family! You were not
somebody else in a previous life.
You will not be somebody else in
a future life. You are you!
Though you can be improved and
perfected, you will never lose
your uniqueness.
Every person who has ever
been boro will ultimately be given
the opportunity to develop his full
potential.
Most humans have had no
chance in this life to learn about
salvation. They have not under–
stood the benefits of obeying
God's laws- his "good statutes
and commandments" (Nehemiah
9: 13). Mankind has been blinded
to the truth-cut off from God
(1 Corinthians 4:4). Human his–
tory has been little more than a
chronicle of suffering, warfare,
disease, injustice, oppression and
all attendant evils.
Jesus declared, "Wide is the
gate, and broad is the way, that
leadeth to destruction, and
many
[yes, the vast majority who have
ever lived!] there be which go in
thereat" (Matthew 7:13). Then
he added that "narrow is the
30
way, which leadeth unto life,
and
few
there be that find it"
(verse 14).
,
Only a few! Did you ever won–
der why Jesus said that? It cer–
tainly is not fair for God to allow
the majority of human beings to
blindly follow the path to destruc–
tion when they don't know any
better- unless.... Unless there
is a time in the future-after this
life-when they will all be given
their chance for salvation- a
chance they never had because
they were cut off from the truth
of God in this üfe.
They could not turn to God
now even if they wanted to! We
have Jesus' own words that
"no
man can come to me, except the
Father which hath sent me draw
him" (John 6:44 ). And the
Father has been drawing only a
few. They are the " few" who
Jesus said are finding life. AIJ
others must wait until a later
time.
When will that be?
As we have seen, the Bible
states that "it is appointed unto
man [mankind in general] once to
die, but
after this
the judgment"
{Hebrews 9:27). (Actually the
definite article
the
is not in the
original Greek and should not
appear in English.) All human
beings die
once,
then a "judg–
ment" takes place.
What is this "judgment" that
comes
after
this life?
When the Bible uses the word
judgment
it does not exclusively
mean the passing of a sentence or
the giving of a reward.
It
can also
mean a process or period during
which judging takes place.
Those who do not experience
their "judgment" in this life–
and they make up the majority of
all people who have ever lived–
will be resurrected. Their physi–
cal bodies will be miraculously
brought forth out of the dust of
the earth and they will be given a
period of time again in mortal
flesh in which to learn God's
ways. This period is a time of
judging, of learning, of growing
in perfection preparing for eterni–
ty in God's Kingdom. I t is
described in the Bible as t he
judgment of God's "great white
throne" (Revelation 20: 11 -13). It
is then that God will set his hand
to save the majority of mankind.
(For additional details, write for
our free articles "Is This the Only
Day of Salvation?" and "The
Three Resurrections.")
So there is fairness with God.
This present life is not al l there is.
The inequities, the deprivations,
the tragedies suffered by people
through the ages hav e been
allowed by God to teach human
beings the consequences of sin. A
few people cometo understand this
lesson in this life. Most- the
majority who ever lived-will have
to die and be resurrected before
they will understand. But then
they will be given the chance–
their first and final opportunity–
to learn about salvation in a beauti–
ful world of peace on earth under
God's Government.
Those who choose God's way
will be made perfect and immor- .
tal. Those who reject
it
will, per–
ish. Either way, a person's fate or
destiny will be sealed once· and
forever. There will be no need for
" reincarnations."
How simple and wonderful is
God's Plan! o
CITY OF DAVID
(Continued from page 26)
Question:
Much discussion
has revolved around the question
of whether the Pool of Siloam
was inside or outside the city wall
of Jerusalem. Kathleen Kenyon
was of the opinion that it was out–
side. You believe it was inside.
What evidence has been uncov–
ered that would substantiate your
view?
Answer:
The evidence is not
yet definite.
lt
is clear that during a
certain period the Pool of Siloam
was outside the city walls.
1
believe
that from the time of Hezekiah,
the pool was included within the
walls. Isaiah states that the pool
was "between the walls." Also, the
pool was a major part of the water
system which Hezekiah built to
make the city secure from Assyr–
ian attack. lts purpose would be
defeated if the pool were located
outside the city wall. o
The
PLAIN TRUTH