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the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ. he is
none of his."
Only a short time before the cru–
cifixion, Christ told Simon Peter:
" ... And
when
thou art converted ,
strengthen thy brethren" (Luke
22:32)-acknowledging that Peter
was not as yet converted , in the
sense that he had not yet received
the Holy Spirit as a begettal from
the Father. Later-after Christ's
earthly ministry had been com–
pleted and He had been resur–
rected for nearly two months-Peter
did receive the Holy Spirit. (Read
the account in Acts 2.)
But there is no bibl ical record of a
single person ever receiving God's
Spirit
during
Christ's earthly minis–
try. True, many were baptized by
John, but it was only later that they
received the Spirit of God (Acts
19:1-7). For more on the subject of
baptism and conversion, write for
our free booklets
A// About Water
Baptism
and
Just What Do Yau
Mean-Canversian?
Q
" While reading the book of
Revelation, 1 found that those
who live in Christ will find salvation
and will not have to suHer God's
wrath . Why then does Revelation 7:3-
8 talk of
144 ,000
of the children of
Israel being 'sealed'? This passage
sounds as though only peoples of
Israel will be spared. 1 am Eurasian.
What kind of chance do 1have? Sup–
posedly, only those who have the
'seal of God' will remain unharmed.
Please explain this to me and give me
sorne proof that 1, who am without a
drop of lsraelite blood, can have a
chance too."
Barbara G.,
New York, New York
A
lt is most emphatically
nat
true that only those who are
racially of the tribes of Israel wil l be
included in God's protection or
given salvation. Parts of the Bible
which allude to the protection of
God's people from tribulation gen–
eral ly refer to the Church as a
whole, not just certain segments of
it.
Revelation 7:3-8 is
nat
an excep–
tion to this principie. Notice the
The
PLAIN TRUTH May 1977
context of verse 9 (RSV): "After this
1
looked, and behold, a
great multi–
tude ... fram every natian, stand–
ing befare the thrane and befare
the Lamb [Jesus Chrisfj, clathed in
white robes
[a symbol of righteous–
ness] .... " This great multitude is
protected right along with the
144,000
befare
any further plagues
are allowed.
While the theocracy of ancient
Israel was composed of one man's
family and was therefore of a spe–
cific racial makeup, God 's Church
today is composed of all races. The
apostle Paul wrote: " For as many of
you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Chri st.
There
is
neither
Jew nar Greek
(non-lsraelite] , there
is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are
al/ ane
in Christ Jesus. And
if yau
are Christ
's, then you are Abra–
ham's offspring, heirs according to
promise" (Gal. 3 :27-29 , RSV) .
God's Church transcends all racial
and ethnic barriers.
The story of Cornelius the centu–
rion and his conversion in Acts 1
O
reveals that it is God's will to work
with people of all nations. Peter is
quoted as saying: " Truly
1
perceive
that God shows no partiality, but in
every natian
any one who fears him
and does what is right is acceptable
to him" (verses 34-35 , RSV). See
also Ephesians 2:11-19. For more
information on the book of Revela–
tion, send for your free copy of
The
Baak of Revelatian Unveiled at
Last!
Q
" ls cremation forbidden in the
Bible? Sorne religions would
have us believe this."
Cecil C.,
Van Nuys, California
A
The pract ice of cremation is
an ancient one. Many cul–
tures have practiced it, and it is
gaining popularity today.
However, biblical examples show
that simple burial was the custom of
the Hebrews who lived before
Ch r is t (Gen . 15 :15; 35:20;
50 :5, 26).
According to the Bible taken as a
whole, the mode of a person's bur–
ial is not of great importance. Jacob
was embalmed (Gen . 50:1-3), and
the Bible states that he wil l sit with
Abraham and Isaac in the Ki ngdom
of God (luke 13:28). Christ was not
embalmed, but He was resurrected
to become the firstborn of many
brethren. Others who were mar–
tyred received no burial but were
torn asunder by wild beasts. They,
too, are promised a place in the
Kingdom.
So from a
spiritual
point of view,
what happens to the body after
death is inconsequential. Scripture
shows that it was the custom of the
Jews to merely wrap and bury
those who died (John 19:40).
Ch ri st was buried according to that
custom.
As did Christ. the apostle Paul
spoke of death, burial and resurrec–
tian. likening the process to a seed
which is planted and germinates
(John 12:24-25;
1
Cor. 15:35 -
37 , 42-44 ) . But regardless of
whether a body becomes dust or
ashes (burnt dust). the Bible prom–
ises that it will be resurrected (Acts
24: 15; Rev. 20:12-15). Through the
power of God, both cremated and
buried bodies will be resurrected .
For further information on this sub–
ject , write for the free booklet
After
Death-Then What?
and also the
free reprint artic le "lf Yo u
Die ... Will You Uve Again?"
Q
" Did Noah really live
950
years? And did other Old Tes–
tament people really live hundreds of
years?"
R.L. ,
Oakland, California
A
According to the biblical ac–
count. Noah and other pre–
Fiood individuals did live nearly a
thousand years. The Hebrew word
for " year"
in
Genesis is the same
one used elsewhere in the Old Tes–
tament, and the Greek word used in
the New Testament to refer to the
same period also means a normal
year (see Psalm 90:4 and 11 Peter
3:8 .) Many have offered various sci–
entific speculations as to why
people lived so long during the an–
tediluvian period, but the Bible does
not give us many clues to help un–
ravel this mystery.
o
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